http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the impact of the modern egyptian city on egyptian contemporary painting: a comparative analysis of five contemporary egyptian models doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.128 marwa mohammed shazly 1 1phd thesis, faculty of fine arts, helwan university keywords painting contemporary the city the scene identity civilization abstract introduction: the view of the outside scene of one of the cities in the painting is an expression mainly used about history and identity. it also expresses the last imagination and prophecy of the future. not just an embodiment of the scene in the street or part of a building or a temple in the picture, but it is a reflection of the identity of the people in all its elements. the search is a selective study of a group of contemporary egyptian artists who dealt with the theme "landscape" of contemporary photography in egypt is: fathi afifi, chant avedissian, mohamed abla, amr kafrawy and mona marzouk. this paper deals with the impact of the modern egyptian city of the contemporary egyptian imaging through following five artists with different ages, educational backgrounds and methods of modern processors and contemporary paintings. background: background lies in the presentation of styles of a group of egyptian artists and contemporary questionnaire handling the modern city in egypt. research problem: the seach of truth about the methods of pictorial handling of the contemporary city or urban landscape covered by the egyptians contemporary artists. research objectives: the search is keen to throw light on some contemporary methods that deal with the city intellectually, visually and technically through a simple, multi-launch of some of the different models of contemporary painters egyptians. hypotheses: the egyptian city has a cultural heritage. the reality of life and architectural, and the visual elements created a form of diversification or variety through the contemporary artists artisit of egyot who are different from the rest of the artists. the importance of research: the importance of research is giving the opportunity to learn about the impact of the modern egyptian city on the egyptian contemporary painting. spatial or geographical boundaries of the search: spatial boundaries are the arab republic of egypt. time limits to search: time-lapse is determined to search for the specified term "contemporary history", which extends to one generation, that is, approximately thirtyfive years. marwa mohammed shazly / the academic research community publication pg. 2 undoubtedly, the modern egyptian city – was affected vitally by the egyptian contemporary artists, both from artists landscapes or -artists who are not interested in the scenery at the base, and through the research, we find that the real impact stems mainly from social, political and economic changes in the city at a high pace in a few decades. these changes do not affect the scene of the city only, but roll change tempers people of the city and its art. political, economic and social changes appeared as an impact on the layout of the city and its development, which has produced various filming affected by the previous artists. fathi afifi, chant avedissian, mohamed abla, mona marzouk, amr kafrawy are a group of egyptian contemporary artists who have been taking part of their works in this research due to the various qualitiesin terms of style or dealings, technique, cultural and educational backgroundthe way of thinking and age group as well. fathi afifi: born on 1950 the city has many faces. one of which is the industrial side of the city, that is the most brutal side. fathi afifi shares his vision of the city factories and its relationship with workers via his paintings. in a large group of his paintings, he monitors the relationship he had experience from personal and realistic perspective. he hinged totally on his history of work in the sixties up to the eighties. also in his collection "hard workers", we find that afifi reviewed the simple man's life in a heroic image. it is the image of the struggling man who lives in a cruel city. we see the people of the city who are walking the streets and crossing the road, as we see them in the metro stations of different means of transportation. afifi presented in his artistic career, the city's life, people’s lives and workers’ lives workers in their factories. also, other inhabitatns are presented, like the pass byers in the streets and transit roads. he also introduced and dealt with the contemporary art to complicate the relationship between humanbeings and the city. some critics saw it as a confirmation of being an inherent artist who has not received any techinical or academic education. fathi afifi paints his works on canvas or wood, using black and white oil paints, as he believes that these colours give large graphical card contribute to the delivery of his ideas for the recipient. 1 figure 1 .fathi afifi: oil on canvas, 100 x 70 cm 2015 chant avedissian: born in cairo on 1951 chant studied at fine arts, in the city of montreal, canada, for a period of three years. it stated from 1970 to 1973, and then he moved to france and studied at the higher national college of art and decoration for two years from 1974 to 1976. then, he came back to egypt in 1980 to work with great emotion with the egyptian architect hassan fathi for eight years, since 1981 to 19892. through chant educational, cultural background, he became an orientalist to some extent. the egyptian city in his work seemed full of emotion and nostalgia. the egyptian city and urban landscape of cairo were translated 1 www.gate.ahram.org.eg/news/608784.aspx. 2 rose issa: chant avedissian – cairo stencils –, saqi, london, 2006. marwa mohammed shazly / the academic research community publication pg. 3 through crowded streets, their acolytes and narrow alleyways of intimacy in old cairo. he also had interest in the east or the pharaonic motifs. we also find that the state of pride to chant was coloured with a tinge of sadness on the laps and gone time. we find him attracted to other times of pharaonic egypt, painted temples and cities still turned into ruins as what has been done in the town of qurna in luxor. he fumble footsteps disappeared, including his campaign of civilization. in other words, the nostalgia and craving are the basis in chant avedisaan works. as for chant craft style or rather technique -, we find that chant greatly capitalized on his studies in france. however, chant depends in painting his pictures in the style of the stencil and practiced -vs. all its figurativeusing warm colors pointing to his city bustling crowd. the city that has provided him with myraids or memories and events. figure 2 .chant avedissian: mixed medis on paper, 50 x 70 cm 0.1992 to 1996 figure 3.chant avedissian: mixed media on paper 50x70cm, 1992-1996 mohamed abla: born in cairo on 1953 abla graduated from the faculty of fine arts alexandria university in 1977 and resumed studying art in switzerland and then in austria.3 abla turned to read history and if he was looking for the same roots, went to egypt's oases in the eastern desert of being artistic research of historic and humanitarian nature, that study made him realize that the egyptians culture based mainly on the idea of building and construction, and that they have a clear sense of very land, the place and the environment, all we made them capable of a different civilization, industry, and make them celebrate the urban scene.4 abla says: "egypt's problem now is the disappearance of the middle class from the scene, impact, to express themselves. the rich are not interested in building, and the poor can't afford it, and the middle class is the only one capable of building. doing so destroys the means and futre of culture". what occupies abla in his city is its people who care so much about the city stories that are being narrated. so, abla draws its great nile with sailing boats and evenings on shores. inspite he was from alexandria in the first place the topic of the nile has come into force strongly through the summoning of memories of childhood. such notion is stemmed from his experience when he was observing boatmen come from southern egypt on their boats with their skinny bodies dancing in continuous movementthat affected his visual imagination. also, the trip to luxor, where he spent two months close to the tombs of the western mainland with its pharaonic drawings that, has left its impact on his work so far. the nile and the people captured the issues that are very close to his path of art. -abla depicts his oil color on canvas or mono print technique on paper. 3 marwa mohammed shazly: contemporary painting in the middle east and political variables surrounding the impact on the work of the researcher (comparative analysis), phd thesis, faculty of fine arts, helwan university .2015 4 www.art.fenon.com/mohamed-abla/ marwa mohammed shazly / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 4. mohamed abla: oil painting on canvas, 100 x 70 cm 2015 figure 5. mohamed abla: oil painting on canvas, 100 x 70 cm 2015 mona marzouk: born in alexandria on 1968 marzouk got a chance to study at the dusseldorf academy in germany. the academy at the time enjoyed a good reputation in the eighties with professors such as joseph beuys, jannis connelas, and viet june paik.5 the practice and the methodology of mona marzouk had architectrd a unique strategy, not only because it involves a long process of research and planning, but also because of her work that is focused on aesthetic virtual systems and standards. it is the discipline that is consistent with the fact that the artist is open to many influences or materials that stimulate his imagination. we find that marzouk’s paintings have perfectly smooth surfaces, fixed solid colors, and are carefully selected. there is no room to chance in its implementation. as you can see that sculpture painting’s relationship is a complementary relationship, they feed each other. marzouk has a lot of passion about the history and architectural details as he tries to explore the ins and outs and the plans of those dates and details in the space on the wall. in doing so, he creates a different relationship to the science of architecture. it hings on saturated colors.6 figure 6. mona marzouq: untitled, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 45 x 10 cm, 1999 figure 7. mona marzouq: untitled, acrylic on canvas, 27 x 42 x 5 cm, 2001 5 marwa mohammed shazly: contemporary painting in the middle east and political variables surrounding the impact on the work of the researcher (comparative analysis), phd thesis, faculty of fine arts, helwan university .2015 6 object study mona marzouk in conversation with aleya hamza ibraaz, contemporary visual culture in north africa and the middle east, 6 nov. 2013 marwa mohammed shazly / the academic research community publication pg. 5 amr el kafrawy: born on 1980 kafrawy studied photography at the faculty of fine arts in cairo for five years. to amr kafrawy, blur city played an important role where kafrawy had contradictory feelings toward cairo, teetering between anger and fear. it creates plates located in the gray distance. the city comes to kafrawy in a spectacular view, semiconductor buildings, dilapidated buildings, and the explosion that has energised the fear enermously. the urban landscape of cairo from the standpoint of kafrawy is a great spectacle, which is reeling from the last act of weights under the weight of inheritance, evidenced by multiple selections carefully chosenat the same time – of what he drew. speaking about his style or technique, we find that kafrawy tended to the color fading to calculate the gray, we find that the colored "poison" he said, and he put it is a way to present and show the gray tones at the expense of the degree of the color strength. his works and his paintings are also executed on recycled paper. it is believed that the raw material is only an equivalent to the logic of his worn city the importance of research grants the opportunity to learn about the impact of the modern egyptian city on the egyptian contemporary painting.7 figure 8. amr kafrawy: printing and drawing on recycled paper, 220 x 100 cm, 2012 figure 9. amr kafrawy: printing and drawing on recycled paper, 220 x 100 cm 2012 analyizing the forementioned points briefly, they reveal the differences between contemporary various artworks of the artists. it also reveals the various forms influenced by artists of the modern egyptian city: fathi afifi who -is the oldest in the group –comes from simple educational background. he does not belong to any institution or technical academy; however, he was able through his hardworking and talent to turn his intense realism as a worker in a factory to the technical inter graphic designer carrying attributes of the egyptian city and its impact on the hard worker egyptian men. while chant avedissian works are rich of feelings, emotions and nostalgia for the city's golden age came in the fifties and sixties. of this centuries. his paintings reflect nostalgic joy to a great extent. we find abla, the alexandrian artist in the same age of fathi afifi and chant avedissian, as bearing the expertise of the academy, joining his artistic experience loaded with emotions and feelings toward the elements of his home city alexandria . it was noticed as closely related to his paintings of the sea and the nile, and the stories of humanity, or human beings lived in those areas of the city. mona marzouk, her study abroad experience affected her relationship with the egyptian city. sometimes her treatment loaded orientalism with a stinky odor. mona marzouk dealt with civilization, islamic architecture and egyptian identity from her personal perspective to a large extent. the city of mona marzouk was executed in the mentality of architecture, which added to its graphic tinge more excitement. in nutshell, we find that the city of kafrawy is only the city of blurry carrying the energies of contradictory and fear. it's the old man of his city who tries hard to postpone the last breath. it is a city in which he lived and his generation who has faced many economic, political and social frustrations. it is a generation believing in the culture of rejection which is shown harshly in their work. 7 a personal interview conducted by a researcher with the artist amr kafrawi in his studio in cairo in january 2017 marwa mohammed shazly / the academic research community publication pg. 6 references: 1. chadli, m. m. (2015). contemporary painting in the middle east and political variables surrounding the impact on the work of the researcher (comparative analysis)(unpublished doctoral dissertation). faculty of fine arts, helwan . 2. vitamin d2: new perspectives in drawing. (2012). phaidon. 3. karnouk, l. (2005). modern egyptian art: 1910-2003. auc press. 4. issa, r. (2006). chant avedissian – cairo stencils . london: saqi. 5. hamza, a. (2013, november 6). object study mona marzouk in conversation with aleya hamza. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.ibraaz.org/interviews/108 6. tamass (2004), contemporary arab representation, unia, arteleku, ms, european cultural foundation 7. pro helvetia cairo. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://prohelvetia.org.eg/en/ 8. ibrahim, s. (2013, march 13). بالص�����ور.. التش�����كیلى فتحى عفیفى عن معرض�����ھ "الكادحون": أنتمى لھذه الفئة والعامل البس�����یط بطل retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://gate.ahram.org.eg/news/608784.aspx .معارضي https://prohelvetia.org.eg/en/ microsoft word parallel architectures studying space as medium to express dreams, psychosis and the unconscious mind.docx http://www.ierek.com/press archive-online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) parallel architectures: studying space as a medium to express dreams, psychosis and the unconscious mind rania fouad el bayoumi 1 1lecturer in faculty of fine arts helwan university cairo keywords rotoscope, painting animation, parallel architectures, moving images, inner spaces, mental scapes, visual structures, cine tapestries, interdisciplinary abstract this is a paper that is written in relation to a rotoscope painting animation film project that the researcher is currently working on. the film, in a way, is about women. by interpreting both their tangible realities and inner spaces, polar entities co-exist in a way that seems to cancel their disparity. the project includes moving images of painted spaces and architectures that work within the context of the film as psychological doors to the otherness of the self, a mirror, or a medium to express dreams, psychosis and the unconscious mind. 1. introduction this research is inspired by a recent interest in parallel architectures, this included a rotoscope painting animation film that spans over several mediums: filmmaking, drawing, printmaking, photography and painting. the main idea was about giving form to the notion of memory and the fleeting reflections of lived moments and places that people have been through and now reside in their minds as blurred entities mixed with thoughts and emotions, contact almost lost with external reality. from the beginning, there were certain aspects that affected the working strategy while conducting this research: first, there was a growing interest from the researcher’s side to visualize inner spaces that accommodate the tangible reality of various women. the researcher therefore studied pre-existing patterns of visualizing personas in relation to space and looked for that in cinema, focusing on works that undertake a distinct formalistic approach to filmmaking. secondly, the researcher wanted to explore structures and create narratives of inconsistent prose, reflecting on what is real and what is imaginary. different scenes were therefore juxtaposed from film archives and real-time documentaries, treating them as if they were the same. third, the researcher wanted to explore the nature of vision the material world as experienced through senses. different mediums were used and the researcher experimented with different textures and the forms of apparition each can offer. 2. work strategies in “parallel architectures” 2.1 means of visualizing inner spaces that accommodate the tangible reality of various women. in his own study focused on ‘spaces in european cinema,’ david forgacs wrote about human presence and drama in films by directors with formal approached like michelangelo antonioni, andre tarkovsky and michael snow. he said, “because of its abstractness and its lack of conventional narrative pace or clear plot resolution – they were easily replaced by that of a landscape or an urban space” (forgacs, 2000, p.101). this was exactly the approach i wanted to undertake in my project, putting in mind three examples forgacs further mentioned: a“the repeated shots from different angles and in slow motion of a house exploding near the end of zabriskie point (1970), followed by the protracted dance of consumer goods through the air to the music of pink floyd.” doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.114 r.f. el bayoumi / the academic research community publication pg. 2 b“the very slow tracking shot towards and through a hotel window at the end of the passenger (1975).” c“the very slow zoom, lasting 45 minutes, towards the far wall of a long room in wavelength (1967).” ("ibid.") according to forgacs, these were “people-less” shots in which the presence of human figures was replaced by tracking space or landscape. in antonioni’s works, these spaces and landscapes were further combined with shots of a voyeuristic type that comprised women’s presence and foregrounded what laura mulvey called the “to –be –looked –at –ness” (mulvey, 1975, p.11) in his film solaris, andrie tarkovsky, who is another formalist film director, suggested creating an atmosphere, which would be similar to that seen in the works of the early italian renaissance painter vittore carpaccio. the picture is of the embankment of venice’s sailboats. there are many people in the foreground, but the most important thing is that all these figures seem to be wrapped up in them. “they don’t look at each other or at the landscape; they, in no way, interact with their surroundings. a strange, metaphysical atmosphere of noncommunication is created.” in the film, in order to produce the equivalent of this, the device of “being aloof” was used (mark, 2008). “to-be-looked-at-ness” and “being aloof” were tools the researcher used in my film to go beyond the tangible and create a metaphysical atmosphere that opens the door to express aspects of the inner soul and unconscious mind. 2.2 exploring structures to create a structural framework that underlies the order and manner in which the researcher’s images can be presented, experiments with creating one that is like an inconsistent prose, reflecting on the real as well as on the imaginary was carried out. the approach was to blend scenes taken from cinema or video archives with others from real-time documentaries, treating them as if they were the same. the aim was to make them interact seamlessly through the continuity of texture and medium, but also through a loose, broken and non-linear narrative that doesn’t provide an identifiable plot; one that is based on images, not on story telling. in the researcher’s film, moving paintings and pure projected images become the language and signs behind which are hidden arbitrary forms of representation. to create images that invite contemplation, the film was divided into sequences. each sequence seems unified and autarchic, executed with a sense of muteness and centered on unproductive movements. like the video works of painter michaël borreman’s “that evoke a state akin to dreaming, a hypnotic atmosphere and a state of mind that is similar to wandering aimlessly through unknown landscape” (van duynap, 2008, p.7), “cinetapestries” were made. they celebrate the absence of progress, loops in which time becomes viscous and coagulates into circular moments of repetitive gestures. 2.3 exploring the nature of vision, the material world as experienced through senses. 2.3.1 rotoscoping in this film, the researcher relies on rotoscoping, which is an animation technique where movement references have been taken from real filming views. live action film movements were traced over frame by frame onto which successive layers of paint were applied. frames that come from different sources were chosen and film stills of different qualities allowed for experimentations with apparitions and the tactility of the image. “when our eyes move across a richly textured surface, occasionally pausing but not really focusing, making us wonder what we are actually seeing, they are functioning like organs of touch” (grant, 2011). this draws to the mind the term haptic visuality, which laura marks used in her film studies (marks, 2000, 162). laura marks defines haptic visuality as containing some of the following formal and textual qualities: “grainy, unclear images; close-to-the-body camera positions and panning across the surface of objects; changes in focus, under and overexposure, decaying film and video imagery; optical printing; scratching on the emulsion; densely textured images, effects and formats such as pixelvision [...]; and alternating between film/video”. the haptic image is in a sense less complete, “requiring the viewer to contemplate the image as a material presence rather than an easily identifiable representational cog in a narrative wheel [...]” (totaro, 2002). 2.3.2 working with different mediums. creating a second layer of apparition inspired by the quality of my source (film stills), two different mediums were used, oil (figs1, 2,11-21) and colored pencils (figs3-10). the surface onto which i applied oil varied from cells/acrylic sheets (figs2), canvas (fig1) to paper (figs11, 12,15-27). the surface onto which i applied colored pencils varied from canvas (figs 3, 4) to translucent mylar (figs5-10). everything was hand painted and hand r.f. el bayoumi / the academic research community publication pg. 3 drawn. a digital camera with a proper focus and a 16mm lens preserved the tactility of the mediums. in addition the still frames, when set into motion, started to flow and generated its own tactility and skin. 2.3.3 gum dichromate printmaking: other than rotoscoping and painting with oil and colored pencils, a 19th-century photographic printing process using paper coated with a solution of arabic gum produced some of the frames. it contains potassium dichromate to make it light sensitive, and a pigment to provide image hue and tones resulting in an image which looks more like a drawing or a watercolor painting than a photograph. no frame would come out like the other and the same can be printed and reprinted differently with infinite possibilities (figs13, 14). 3. author’s work in the following lines, a brief synopsis for two sequences in the film “parallel architecture” will be presented. one exemplary of the part created based on cinema archive, the other on real time documentary. then 5 pages of photo documentation exemplary of the frames produced in different sequences including the rotoscoped scape paintings (figs16-27) will be presented. the latter played an important role in expressing the inner spaces and the unconscious mind of the characters that appeared briefly, almost in a ghostly way, all over the film. in addition, these landscapes/ mind spaces, even when abstracted, were an effective tool that helped me connect a heterogeneous mixture of “cinetapestries” into one homogeneous whole. 3.1 production as a film, this is a work that is still in progress. however, along the phase of production in the years 2016 and 2017, sequences were shown as autonomous artworks in the form of video and painting installations within the following venues: gypsum gallery in cairo, egypt (2016). the centre for creative activities in ustka, poland (2016). museum of faculty of fine arts in cairo, egypt (2016). bibliotheca alexandrina in alexandria, egypt (2016). contemporary image collective (cic) in cairo, egypt (2017). the arab fund supports parallel architecture production for arts and culture in beirut, lebanon and contemporary image collective that offered its dark room for the gum dichromate photo printing process. 3.2 synopsis 3.2.1 sequence no.1 (sample exemplary of sequences based on cinema archive) in this sequence, there is a subject looking upon a scene. a woman who is presenting herself as part of an image of the larger world, she is not separate from it, nor is she fixated on her own singular image. she can see, but, more importantly, she recognizes herself as being seen by others. based on cinema archive, the frames for this sequence were taken from the1994 tunisian film “the silence of palace” (samt el qusur) directed by moufida tlatli. my selection had nothing to do with the drama of the film. i was more interested in “skin” and the “apparition”; the quality of the surface and the moment when i turned off the sound and the girl on the screen moving her lips seemed to be looking at nothingness in the eye. in tlati’s film, i knew she was saying something like “i hope”. “i hope”, but in the animation, i broke the blocks of her words and reconstructed them into abstract syllables that no one can hear any way. (figs 1, 2).mediums used in this sequence were mainly oil painting and snaps of photography. 3.2.2 sequence no.6 (sample exemplary of sequences based on real time documentary) this sequence is a staged reenactment of gestures. being concerned with developing the expressiveness of bodies and movements within the frame, the opacity of the performance leaves uncertain what lies behind a certain action or gesture. the author aboard a ship originally filmed this where some girls were getting ready to go on stage and perform. with shots that are not obviously subordinated to or functional within a narrative, frame compositions invoke the forms of representation familiar in fashion photography. i used oil colors to hand paint the cabin scenes which then were combined to create the animated sequence (figs11, 12). in addition, experimenting with formal and textual qualities of the image as a means of defining different realities including inner space, separate frames of the girls consciously performing for the camera as r.f. el bayoumi / the academic research community publication pg. 4 they walk along the ship’s floating architecture were printed with gum dichromate (figs 13,14). flares of pure medi-um were created by blowing up the painted photographs of each character and combining it with animated close ups of ethereal landscapes (figs 15-27) . mediums used in this sequence spanned over photography, oil painting and gum dichromate printmaking. 4. conclusions parallel architectures is a long-term project that aims to expand the parameters of painting by putting it in dialogue with time-based visual media. injecting time into painting by cinematic means expands the aesthetic and affective possibilities of both mediums and defies the notion of medium specificity. as a painter, it helped me leave the comfort zone of canvas painting, cross-disciplinary boundaries and borrow approaches that are adapted in other mediums. the specific rotoscoping endeavor involves accumulations or choosing of certain moments that possess not only the inner worldliness of the presence of women generally or specifically, but also the sort of choreographies employed/ deployed (within specific blocking and/or character movement and positioning within space). these movement sentences are in a sort of non linear time continuum that allows for expansive tangential ties to appear mechanical and rhythmic at times; (since the coding of the movements and apparent similarity in the shots chosen involve semi similar energies within movement); this process of choosing existing moments in a choreography is instinctive almost at this point after my immersion in the accumulative process. analyzing such ‘traits’ or patterns is unimportant; however, these moments are almost units within a greater time organism being gradually constructed. therefore, the film becomes layered between existing layered meanings of the symbolic (i.e. the woman or women) and these newer layers involve the questioning again of point of view, voyeuristic stances, objectification or documentation. this subsequently happens through a process similar to tapestry weaving where certain blocks within time or space become interconnected with other time continuums such as alluding memories or flashback type realizations within a given ‘inner mind’ and at any given moment. this deconstruction and gradual reforming of linear times becomes a platform which the spectator his or herself can exchange positions of gaze with what is thought to be the subject or the protagonist of a movement sentence; therefore, placing first person and third person in a magnetic field of attraction and repulsion or very organically fluctuating and not dissimilar to human consciousness/ subconscious shifting. ‘figures 1 & 2. still frames from the film “parallel architectures” sequence based on cinema archive. oil painting on canvas and cells . author 2015’ r.f. el bayoumi / the academic research community publication pg. 5 ‘figures 3&4, still frames from the film “parallel architectures” – sequence based on cinema/video archive .colored pencil on canvas . author 2016’ \ r.f. el bayoumi / the academic research community publication pg. 6 ‘figures 5,6,7,8,9&10. still frames from the film “parallel architectures”.sequence based on cinema archive .colored pencil on mylar.author 2016’ ‘figures11&12. still frames from the film “parallel architectures” – sequence based on real-time documentary.oil painting on paper. author 2016-17’ ‘figures13&14. still frames from the film “parallel architectures” -sequence based on real-time documentary – gum dichromate prints multicolored and monochrome on arches watercolor paper. author (2017) ’ r.f. el bayoumi / the academic research community publication pg. 7 ‘figures15&16. still frames from the film “parallel architectures” -sequence based on real-time documentary. oil painting on photograph. author (2017)’ r.f. el bayoumi / the academic research community publication pg. 8 ‘figures17,18,19,20&21. still frames from the film “parallel architectures” -sequence based on real-time documentary. oil painting on paper . author (2017)’ r.f. el bayoumi / the academic research community publication pg. 9 ‘figures22,23,24&25. still frames from the film “parallel architectures” -sequence based on real-time documentary. oil painting on paper . author (2017)’ ‘figures26&27. still frames from the film “parallel architectures” -sequence based on real-time documentary. oil painting on photograph . author (2017)’ references: 1. konstantarakos . myrto (ed) 2000 . spaces in european cinema .forgacs, david , antonioni : space ,place ,sexuality. pp. 101-111 . chigaco : intellect books,.university of chicago press 2. marks. laura u. 2000.the skin of the film: intercultural cinema, embodiment, and the senses.durham and london: duke university press,. 3. van duyn,edna (ed.) 2008. michaël borremans: weight . coimbra: cav ,centro de artes visuais 4. mulvey .laura 1975. visual pleasure and narrative cinema.screen volume 16(issue 3) : pp.5-17 5. grant ,catherine 2011.touching the film object?. notes on the 'haptic' in videographical film studies. http://filmstudiesforfree.blogspot.com.eg/2011/08/links-on-videographical-film-criticism.html (28 febru-ary 2017) 6. mark ,sinclair 2008. andrei tarkovsky: film and painting.creative review. 7. https://www.creativereview.co.uk/andrei-tarkovsky-film-and-painting/ (1march 2017) 8. totaro .donato , 2002 ,deleuzian film analysis:the skin of the film .volume 6( issue 6 ). online essay http://offscreen.com/view/skin_of_film (24feb 2017) http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) artistic, aesthetic and edificial works as constant elements of the inconsistant physical character of a city doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.105 basem fadel sayed mohamed 1 1head of city beautification division at new urban communities authority, phd in fine arts keywords urban character – statues in city square – city planning – landmark theatrical works – identity heritage abstract research background: cities evolve and grow rapidly in a manner that is unprecedented throughout their long history. this great acceleration and growth is governed by many overlapping and intersecting factors (economical, social, political, etc.), the process of identifying the city's character or identity is no longer an easy task. this appears more clearly in historic cities and historic areas that in most cases contrast with the civilizational, cultural and urban extension of the mother city. this therefore justifies the importance of polyphonic and edificial aesthetic works as they are elements of consistency and solidity of urbanism. cities and their various components (facilities & planning, objectives & economics, construction & architecture) have witnessed a new turn and were influenced by many factors. these factors and their results should therefore be identified in order to understand how they reflect on cities and how artistic and aesthetic works reflect on the form and identity of cities. research objectives the objectives of this research include identifying and studying the following: • developments in the urban growth of cities and how ithey affect these cities’ identities. • the relationship between architecture, artistic works and identity in the past and present. • the effect of globalization and the technological evolution on both arts and architecture and their relationship. • the extent to which people accept the message and form of aesthetic works. • the nature of the relationship between the artist, the architect and the architectonics throughout the urban beautification process. this research postulates the following: • the correlation between architecture, the city and the human being and his or her identity. • the existence of changes in the form, characteristics and methods in today's cities. this research addresses the form of the city throughout its development in the 20th century and the turn of the 21st century. it also addresses the historic roots of cities. basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 2 research methodology the emerging of cities has been one of the major landmarks of human history on earth as it reflects a significant evolution in all of the social, economic, administrative, political, religious and military fields. it even came before the concept of a state as we see in egypt, mesopotamia, china and even the greeks who also started their civilization as a civilization of cities, before it took the form of a state or empire. [1] this phenomenon also persisted –to a lesser extent– during the middle ages when cities were the centers of civilization, culture and even regimen during the different islamic caliphates [2] when islamic cities scrambled amongst themselves. every new succession that rose had to take a new capital for itself to be its title, front and seat. each one also had to distinguish itself with a different architectural style. european cities, however, faded and the characteristics of civilization and culture lapsed, at least when compared to cities of the islamic east, with the exception of the movement of building massive cathedrals during that era. when the european renaissance began in italy, it was in fact a renaissance of cities, since italy didn't exist and wasn't as unified as we know it today. perhaps this is what made will durant call these entities "city-states" in his significant work the story of civilization. cities remained rooted in society and history until they underwent the greatest change movement that accompanied the industrial revolution. that movement has not only changed the shape, concept and mission of cities, but also created another revolution in the demographic composition of cities and the world as a whole. almost the entireties of people of the world have been living on professions and crafts closely related to land and agriculture, so they lived in villages and areas beyond the gates of cities. however, since the industrial revolution and to this day, cities have been witnessing the largest migration from the countryside and other communities to the city in order to work in the factories or the other services that associated this new form and function of the city. the tireless and ceaseless change of cities persists in parallel to the fascinating modern technology of electronics, cars, and communications. the appearance of modern construction materials and industries substantially impacted the form of cities. [3] whether it is the shape, the proportions or the notion itself, all the aforementioned advancements necessarily had their impact on the city as a whole. nowadays, cities develop and grow rapidly to the extent that we can't keep up with their shifting and acceleration except through old photographs of them that capture those changes. maps and aerial photographs are also ways to track the urban growth of cities over time. the movement of our cities today is much like that of sand dunes in the desert, they may falsely appear still to the eye, but in reality they are ever changing. we were taught that there is no way to halt the movements of these sand dunes except through the implementation of entrenching elements. these elements are either structural or natural (seeding types of plants that clung to the soil to achieve land stabilization). the same concept is needed when dealing with the stabilization of the urban character of the city. if we can't stop the ever-changing character of a city, we can surely preserve its identity. planning (orientation and integration) controlling modern growth of the city through planning. to preserve a city’s identity, city planners must consider that the new areas that will be developed must be in harmony and in consistence with the existing planning and satisfies present and future needs. at every level of such planning, artistic, aesthetic and edificial works are taken into account so that the new urban growth comes as a real extension of the mother city visually, structurally and aesthetically. this should take place while bearing in mind that such works exist to solidify identity and the national, cultural and traditional character of a city and a whole nation. planning does not only include artistic works, but even possible urban projects (especially those carried out by the state, given its directive and sound decision making capabilities that may not be carried out by other parties especially under the pressure of economic inducements.) [4] a good example of this is al-hamidiyah souq in the city of abu dhabi. despite being a modern market complying with the highest standards of building, its modern design and even its name aligns with arabian heritage. "figure (1) (a&b)" old is gold if cities, especially old ones, need re-planning to accommodate for the modern urban technological breakthrough, then under no circumstances should we demolish or marginalize the aesthetic, artistic, structural, antiquarian features of the city. however, city planners should rather subdue the planning in order to assimilate and aggrandize the role of such elements in confirming the identity and the physical character of the city. similarly, in prestigious historic cities such as rome, london and paris "figure 2 (a&b)", these cities underwent modern planning, however, iconic monuments and areas remain and are being glorified in a way that harmonizes between history basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 3 and modernity. the role of such elements is even emphasized in painting the profile of the city and its artistic, cultural and historic identity. for a very long time, our arab cities haven’t been handled correctly. during which, many architectural and traditional icons of our cities' spirit were exhausted before we paid attention to modernization, identity and the physical character of the city while it was imperative that traditional and modern aspects remained in line with each other. a simple comparison between the triumphal arch in paris "figure2 (a&b)" and marcus aurelius arch in tripoli, libya "figure (3)" makes us realize our shortcomings in dealing with the heritage of our cities. despite the latter being older, dating back to the roman era, it has been sidelined and is not included in the traditional, artistic and aesthetic fabric of the city as much as it should have been. centers of gravity it is necessary to pay strong attention to the artistic, aesthetic work within modern planning of the city which represents artistic, visual and moral centers of gravity. those works influence the shape and character of the city. the compelling examples are many: both the eiffel tower and the statue of liberty in the u.s and the statue of christ in rio de janeiro in brazil. all of them are distinctive marks and icons for these cities artistically, in the media and even when it comes to tourism. the statue of christ in brazil "figure 4" attracts 8.1 million tourists alone, which is less than the number of tourists visiting the eiffel tower or the statue of liberty. in the arab world, there are several iconic monuments and areas that need to be taken care of properly so that they can be considered within any new planning processes that will be implemented. works such as the statue of nahdet masr, "figure 5" the freedom monument in iraq "figure 6" and many others. the aforementioned are examples of what these icons represent by their role in the modulation of visual, cultural and physical character of the city, despite the small size and the spaces they occupy compared to the huge composition of the arab city. cities memory there are certain artistic areas or objects that have cultural and national importance given their contributions to the urban fabric of the city. these artistic works shape a part of the nation’s memory and a record of its pride, glory and history as they send lasting signals to every passerby, which is something no media outlet can accomplish. there are many examples like this such as memorials for martyrs "figure 7" victories, statues of leaders, writers and national symbols in every field "figure 8". some iconic symbols of a nation represent a certain era or regime and by time become part of the nation’s urban fabric, however, in some cases they are destroyed to represent the end of that particular time period. an example of this is the statue of saddam hussein which was destroyed as a way to mark the end of his era and the fall of the regime, but the real symbol here was manifested in the fact that the statue was destroyed by the us army and the american flag replaced this statue, a colonizing sign no eye can miss "figure 9". this is what happened to many works for nothing other than its symbolic value. the evidence for this is that while many artistic works which are related to saddam’s era were destroyed, regardless of whether we agree with his policies or not, except for the freedom monument for the pioneering iraqi artist jawad salim [5] "figure6" that remained untouched although it is in the liberation square, in the center of protests and revolutionary events. this is because the public sensed that this artistic work represents their home country, far from any false directions. this confirms salim’s wisdom as an artist, as when the president put him in charge of the mural and told him to create a portrait of the president, salim created art that could be perceived as a national symbol that goes beyond any person or leader. that's why he abstained from putting this request into action, and his rejection of the request is the reason for the survival of his mural and prevention of its destruction. the craft of beauty it is important to encourage and celebrate all the artistic works and endeavors of the arab world to bring up a generation that cares and values such works as well as cherish them. this would reflect on the shape, role, importance, and the reaction of those works to our cities, citizens and identities. it is also important to create works that are inspired by our heritage and are made by the hands of well-chosen artists like mohammed ghany hekmat, as their work expresses hope, ambitions and issues in our home countries "figure 11." other examples appear through the works of the pioneer artist mahmoud mukhtar "figure 5". if we browse all the famous sculptors, foreigners of arabs, we could see that the most famous of them are those who are most attached to societal issues within their countries. this attachment cannot be achieved except by local artists, as displaying foreign art can sometimes be unsuitable or lacking the understanding of the taste, culture or heritage of the country. this can be noticed in the city of jeddah’s cornice after the implementation of a new basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 4 ambitious plan when non-saudi and even non-arab artists were invited, which resulted in works that do not reflect the saudi arabian culture. this made them victims of criticism and even sarcasm, "figure 12" so much so that many works were removed under public pressure. we even find the statue of "the fist" by international artist césar "figure 13" removed and resold for no reason other than the lack of acceptance by the public. [6] many artworks in our arab cities are exposed to many manifestations of negligence and marginalization but also wrong restoration. at this point, artists in the arab world who are trained technically, culturally, and artistically to handle aesthetic works should come together and form a vision and a new orientation for arab countries. other cadres of artists affiliated with the local administrations of cities, trained on constant artistic restoration of works of art should also come together and do the same. figure1 (a&b): central market (al-hamediya) in abu dhabi completed in 2014. traditional arabic elements were used to give an artistic, historic and cultural fragrant that affirms the city's identity. basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure2a: in 1836 the triumphal arch in paris was inaugurated. the design is by: chalgrin and raymond. sculptor: françois rude figure 2b: observe the level of attention paid to how the site of the arch is preserved and emphasized for its role in affirming the city's identity and as an aesthetic fulcrum. figure3: marcus aurelius arch in tripoli, libya built in the year 165. observe the inefficient planning and how the monument is surrounded by structures. completely un-centered in the planning process. basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure4: concrete-cast statue of christ the redeemer in rio de janeiro, brazil. completed in 1931 and is considered one of the most important features of the city. rising at 32 meters. designed by heitor da silva costa. in the style of art deco. created by french sculptor paul landowski. basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure5: granite-cast statue of nahdet masr (egypt's reissuance) in greater cairo by sculptor mokhtar. completed in 1928. the first arab sculpture by an arab artist in the modern age. looking to the future that's built on a glorious past is represented in this work figure6: monument of liberty by iraqi artist jawad salim in baghdad completed in 1961. this work is considered a symbol of modern iraq with all its pains and hopes. the fact that it was not destroyed or taken off and sold for bronze like in many other works confirms the importance of the national role of such works being a part of iraqis' sentiment and history. basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure7: unknown soldier memorial in cairo. made of concrete and opened in 1975. designed by dr. sami rafe'. in the style of that of the ancient egyptian pyramids, while we can see the sides baring symbolic names of martyrs in kofi islamic calligraphy. figure8: bronze-cast statue of iraqi poet maarouf al rusafi in baghdad by sculptor ismaiel fattah et-turk in 1970. an example of that can be played by artistic works in perpetuating national icons in every field as symbols of homeland's memory. basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 9 figure9: the destruction of iraqi president saddam hussien's statue following the invasion of baghdad. the incident is considered an end of an era and the beginning of a new one. figure10: the stature of kahramana in baghdad, by artist mohammed ghani hekmat. it is inspired by tales from of iraqi tradition. it's considered one of the city's icons. basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 10 figure11: the bicycle statue. an international work implemented in the city of jeddah figure12: shameful image of what sometimes happens to works of art in our arab world -despite their importanceof negligence and the absence of awareness. despite the importance of the statue's position being in the forefront of the square, it did not prevent the piles of garbage to be tossed next to it. figure13: this monumental bronze-cast sculptured in 1986 by césar, known locally as "the fist of sultan" (or simply "the fist"). basem fadel / the academic research community publication pg. 11 references 1. amira matar-the scince of beauty and philosophy of art (cairo: gharib printing house. t3, 1998) page 117. 2. bassem fadel: the effects of modernization and technological development on the relationship between relief sculpting and architecture in the twentieth century. ph.d thesis-faculty of fine arts in cairo-2004) page310. 3. details: history of the emergence of cities and civilizations. 4. history of the world: by a number of authors. collected by sir john a. hammerton. chapter1 pages 433-460 & chapter2 pages 418427. (in the translated arabic version) by the ministry of public knowledge (cairo: en-nahada el-masriya library). 5. jabra ibrahim jabra: jawad saleem and the freedom monument (baghdad: ministry of information, 1972) pages 15-38. 6. please refer to the following sites to understand the public stance towards these works: 7. sa'd zaghlool abdulhameed: arts and architecture in the state of islam. (alexandria: knowledge institution) passim. 8. http://www.kalamon.org/articles-details-245 9. https://goo.gl/fz42li 10. https://goo.gl/i06nrm 11. https://www.alaraby.co.uk/culture/2690e2f1-3d2e-488c-9ba0-e4db2c71e3c6 issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication http://www.ierek.com/press the study of integrated conservation of four villages in mian mountain zhang yu, ding yi1 1 huazhong university of science and technology, wuhan, china keywords mian moutain; fortress; historical villages; conservation abstract the current study on the micro level of single-building protection and repair is relatively complete, however, the discussion about elements of cultural heritage and their relevance among the ancient villages is comparably insufficient. the protection work is strongly influenced by tourism development and cultural gimmick, thus resulting in low protection efficiency and many omissions. historical village as the cultural settlement patterns bears a large number of heritage relics. they were regionally scattered with a clear characteristic of gathering. the article takes these four historical villages in mian moutain as an example, relying on the historical time period theory, then tries to look for the association and similarities of the forming mechanism between villages. the article discusses the integrated conservation from three levels: the regional heritage conservation, the cultural line shaping, and the featured brand building. the development of culture is diverse. commonly, there are some alternative cultures in a kind of culture and together with the main culture, they form the complexity and diversity of the cultural circle, authentically recording the rich history and regional culture. hongshan village, nanzhuang village, zhangbi village, lengquan village at the foot of the mian mountain, taiyuan basin of china. the four historic cultural villages were built to defend and were made prosperous by the jin business. they are an ancient village -group bearing the function of residential life and defense (fig.1). take the qing dynasty as a time node, the four historic villages almost keep their continuous rampart before the qing dynasty and their courtyard pattern after it, which can reflect the social life of multiple periods. figure 1 four villages’ location doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.241 zhang yu, ding yi / the academic research community publication 1.the forming background of four villages 1.1. the influence of the geographical relationship by mian mountain and the fen river in shanxi province the long period of time is a history of stability and rarely change of all sorts of structure and the structure group (fernand braudel 1993). the core concept of "long time" is the intrinsic connection between geographical environment and social structure such as mountains, plains, geography, climate, nature and social organizations, cultural traditions, which seems to be stationary through time. the formation and evolution of the traditional villages are also affected greatly by the diverse surrounding geographical environment. the four ancient villages are located in the northern part of mian mountain, the fen river helps defense on the north, southeast is the guanziridge channeling to shangdang, southwest is the shuque valley which is on the way towards south. the mian mountain is a branch of the taihang mountain, which is elevated more than 2000 meters. this geographical landscape existed for a long time, impacting the space of surrounding villages holistically. 1.2. the change of regional social economic form in ming and qing dynasties the ming and qing dynasties, as a time unit during the long history in the middle of shanxi province, have impacted the four villages’ current situation beyond any time periods because of the limited land but convenient transportation, numerous people seek out for business, which led the economy to develop rapidly with the rise of a wide range of commercial trading activities. the evidence can be found in the “county annals (1819)". after the qing dynasty, the business routes were expanded based on the traffic routes, the people expand routes (fig.2). large amount of merchants relied their business on the routes. villages also gradually developed into commercial-service-oriented villages. thanks to the good business environment, the villagers also gradually grew from poor to wealthy celebrities. there were so many merchants gathered at the foot of the mian mountain for that moment. zhangbi village had only someone to go out to do business at the beginning of the qing dynasty. it has become a businessman village during the middle period of qing dynasty. there were four big families named jia, zhang, wang and qi. the temples, stages, roads, houses, gates, which are sponsored by the big families, still stand until today. hongshan village was an important trading town during the ming and qing dynasties. with the rise of the business, the village banks were also gradually formed. the most famous bank was qiao shijie’s baofenglong piaohao (bank). the existing building type, including housing, commerce, sacrifice and other kinds of buildings of the village, are all important material evidence. figure 2 business lines in the late qing dynasty zhang yu, ding yi / the academic research community publication 1.3. the impact of the historical war sudden major historical events in a short period affected not only the ancient villages directly, but also strengthened the cultural connection between these villages. the influence has locked the village’s spacial evolution in a particular historical period. the ancient war between the villages and outside happened frequently. his royal highness li shimin leading soldiers chased song jingang here in 2rd year of the reign of tang emperor wude (619 a.d). a few months later, li simin fought eight battles in one day and then occupied the bing state. the tunnel in zhangbi village hoarded grain for song jingang. 2. the defensive elements of villages’ pattern defense is the functional characteristic of the four villages, which has obvious features of space. the significant factors of the cluster of these villages are strategic pass, blind pass, walls, also other village defense facilities, which influence the villages’ integral space pattern. 2.1. the strategic pass against the huns lengquan pass was built by emperor gaozu to defend against the huns, named after the cold spring in it. lengquan pass is located at the arteries of the northern frontier to the central plains. the left of the pass is a mountain; the right is the river. a number of emperors deployed combat troops to the pass, setting a fortress here (fig.3). the pass has been the foundation of lengquan village from the ming dynasty. figure 3 lengquan village’s ancient position lengquan village’s frontier pass culture is a special cultural form, which embodies the the frontier village’s defensive settlement pattern in a turbulent society atmosphere. this pattern the continuous relations between defenseive culture and fortress culture that living under the social situation full of dynasties vicissitudes, peasant uprising and bandits infest and so on. the pattern of the village belongs to the specific age stage, as time goes by, more and more social culture adding up to the village itself, now it shows in front of our eyes the rich and colorful remains of several dynasties. zhang yu, ding yi / the academic research community publication figure 4 the underground passages’ model of zhangbi village 2.2. the underground passage for military food storage zhangbi village is located on the high ground with mountains surrounding its three sides. it is easy to defend but difficult to attack and it also has retreating roads. the geographical advantage of this village is obvious in those years. the initial purpose behind building zhangbi village was as a military fortress. in order to meet the needs of the army, the troops of sui dynasty dug a huge system of underground passages and stored grain there. the passages formed an "s" shape that is thousands of miles in length and freely crisscrossed. it has approximately three layers underground, the top is about 1 meter beneath the surface; the middle layer is 8 to 10 meters far from the surface; the bottom layer is 17 to 20 meters from the surface. each layer is about two meters high (fig.4). the passages were built with facilities of surveillance, command, drainage systems, ventilation with stable, granary, station troops in it. outside the valley is the mouth of the cave, which can be used as the entrance and exit and also can be used as a sentry. the whole tunnel system constituted complete underground military defense facilities belonging to the "garrison besieged" military tactics facilities, according to the fort "back channels" in the ancient art of war. 2.3. the mountain barrier as ground defense mountains and hills are commonly seen in this area. many villages here are located on the hills with natural barriers as boundaries. for example, nanzhuang village is located on a high mountain, the north and the west a big ditch, east and south is a slope so the villagers built a fort gate and walls in the east and south, and the other places all use natural terrains as barriers. all of these formed a safe enclosure space and there were also two atticsat the fort gate, villagers can watch out for the situation of the enemy. the mountain ridge, the scarp and the artificial fort walls together formed nanzhuang village’s boundaries. hongshan village is located in the high hinterland of mian mountain away from the fen river. the north and west of hongshan village are cliffs, elevation difference reaching dozens of meters, forming a natural barrier. like nanzhuang village, hongshan villagers use steeps to build up the castle walls, constructing the security defense system. 3. the differentiated characteristics of villages’ space the village space is not a short-term achievement, it formed shape through the multiple cultural evolution, as well alternately stacked influenced each other and then derived a temporal composite expression. the villages’ defensive needs caused by the war before the qing dynasty led to many remains as villages’ fort gate, fort walls, hidden hole, gate houses, etc. after the qing dynasty, wars decreased and there were many commercial trades. these trades pushed the defensive villages to have many typical characteristics of commercial towns, such as the main streets, commercial facilities along the streets, etc. zhang yu, ding yi / the academic research community publication zhangbi village’form hongshan village’form lengquan village’form nanzhuang village’form figure 5 four villages’ spatial patterns 3.1. a street, eight lanes and two gates in zhangbi village zhangbi village was surrounded by a continuous fort wall. there were two fort gates each in the south and north of the village made of stone arch and brick structure. the north gate has a barbican. there was a main street connecting the two gates. the main street has four lanes on each side, the only exit was at the j junction. the street system looks like a dragon spine, so the main street, also known as “dragon-spine street”. zhangbi village’s architectural layout is clear: temples were built near the south and the north gate while housing distributed on both sides of the streets. 3.2. two forts in hongshan village mountains and the river were the boundaries of hongshan village. the pattern remains intact basically. there are two forts in the village named baoze and xitoubao with the yuan temple and kuixing building in the southeast corresponding at a distance. baoze located in the highest point of the alluvial plain on the east and the west is gully cliff. the south and north are connected to the outside through gentle slopes. the houses lined up on both sides of the main street with huge fortress walls around. two gates were set at the north and south walls; another gate is set at the southwest. the artificial fortress walls and natural valleys gave the village the best safeguarding of the internal security. xitoubao’s location is exquisite, turning into mutual horns towards baoze. through the remaining walls of the north and the west sides the southern steep cut and fort gates we can clearly determine the boundaries. the internal is in the "back" glyph as backbone, remaining the traditional herringbone streets. 3.3. lengquan village: a majestic shut and an important node at the north of fen river lengquan village has been relying on the traffic advantages on the pass during the sui and tang dynasties becoming a famous commercial town in addition to its military defense function. lengquan pass’s military defense function weakened gradually after the ming dynasty. the pass area became the first choice to build houses based on its natural defense. the gate tower was very tall, built during the ming emperor’s jiajing period. the street in front of the gate was a straight line along the slope towards the mountain. there are a lot of relics on both sides of the main street such as street shops, banks, schools, memorial arch, drama stage, ancestral temple and so on. 3.4. nanzhuang village: a street, three lanes and two gates nanzhuang village was a "castle" mainly built as defense against the enemy. the village’s function was complete as a military stronghold. the castle walls, streets, courtyard, residence formed a defensive system together. during the ming and qing dynasties, the village became a commercial town because of its geographical advantages. the main street was the center of the trade and assembling. there were many shops on both sides of the main street, the important public architectures were strung into a line. three transverse streets were built according to the topography, at the same time, undertaking the business trade, transportation, communication, folk culture activities and other functions together with the main street presenting a “丰(feng)"glyph. as a summary, the four villages present an exclusive character towards outer space, the internal street spaces are circuitous and changeable, privacy is strong. to meet the transportation needs in the ming and qing dynasties, the main street was built throughout the village combining trading facilities and space together. villages are the carrier zhang yu, ding yi / the academic research community publication of culture; its spatial characteristic is the core content reflecting the characteristics of culture. the impenetrable defense system, the unique village layout, the courtyards all over the village have been remains here showing the defense and business culture during the hundreds of years. 4. the integrated conservation of the four villages in mian mountain unlike the up to down formation cities, most of villages are formed from the bottom up due to the natural terrain. its forming process is very slow and influenced by both nature and the social environment. because of the large quantity of villages, their scattered distribution and the lack of funds, the protection of ancient villages in china is often out of puff. for example, this study involves more than four ancient villages needing measures of protection. high efficiency and more systemic group covered protection methods are particularly important. 4.1. the integrated conservation of the "material evidence" first of all, the base of the village site selection and construction is the natural environment including the mountain, water, ravines and trees, etc. there is a contact between the cultural history information and monuments, from the ancient reads, battlefield handed down to the mountain temples, tombs and other historical witnesses. the last remaining are common in these villages. we can find the typical defensive facilities such as the big gate and the towers from the inside and outside walls. the texture components such as the dwelling houses and commercial street absorbing social structure change for a long time of local-style, to the cultural village ancestral temple, temples and other public buildings to maintain normal continuation of non-material. 4.2. the cultural routes –event system protection through the” material evidence” the macroscopic ancient village association system is the guarantee of the protection work’s persistence and integrity. these four ancient villages contain the similar historical background, presenting pieces culture characteristics under the series of historical events in different times. excavating the cultural relationship between villages, and planning all kinds of historical factosr as a whole are the focus of this level’s protection. the war before the qing dynasty had a strong impact on these villages. business culture in the middle and latter periods of qing dynasty also impacted on the whole taiyuan basin hugely. thus, the ancient war and ancient trade route station became the important clues throughout all kinds of remained"material evidence" (fig.6). figure 6 four villages’ development clues 4.3. branding the characters discovering and protecting villages’ own features zhang yu, ding yi / the academic research community publication focus of the historical origination has implicit difference, which led to the villages’ characteristic different in dominant form of expression directly. each ancient village has its cultural independence. we create a cluster architecture and centrally associate cultural characteristics on these multiple villages, at the same time, what we should avoid is its culture identical and manufacture imitation in a rough way caused by the similar characteristics. 5. conclusions in this case, hongshan village was greatly influenced by business in the ming and qing dynasties due to its moderate natural geographic location which is significantly different from lengquan village and zhangbi village under the influence of the war. in addition to the one-thousand-year-old water culture formed by the hongshan spring, there are also pottery and porcelain cultures due to rich forestry resources and climate conditions of cultural achievements in hongshan village. the rich intangible cultural heritage is particularly valuable. nanzhuang village as an old town in the past, has a more cautious building structure and form and is joined with the chinese traditional theory of environment like "nature and humanity". the value of the architectural remains is more worthy of scrutiny. given its serious damage, the village needs to limit its development. lengquan village and zhangbi village all have their defense characteristics. the difference is that lengquan village’s villagers have relocated overall and the village has become a "site" village, as brokeback venus, need not to be repaired deliberately. the loss of natural environment after the hollow broken beauty is very attractive. on the other hand, because of the ancient underground passages in zhangbi village that have been developed, the village has been a well-known tourism site. we should avoid excessive development that leads to the loss of the authenticity. references 1. braudel f, ollard r l. the mediterranean and the mediterranean world in the age of philip ii. china social sciences publishing house, 1999.27 2. braudel f. the perspective of the world: civilization and capitalism 15th-18th century, vol. 3. sirirajmedj com, 1992. http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the cities' identities between critical regionalism and globalization doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.125 ingy el zeini 1 1 assistant lecturer faculty of art and design –interior design department modern university of arts and sciences msa keywords critical regionaism; globalization; city identity; abstract “the task of critical regionalism is to rethink architecture through the concept of region.” (tzonis & lefaivre, 2003) the term critical regionalism, in its sense, raises several arguments in the architectural field. critical regionalism could debate the essence of the utopian idea of international design, that every building can be placed anywhere and function with high compatibility. critical regionalism questions the approaches used in international design; it opens up the idea that each region could have a specific characteristic that could serve function, form, and efficiency. this could also mean that each region will be distinct in the means of materials and treatments. “critical regionalism selfconsciously seeks to deconstruct universal modernism in terms of values and images which are locally cultivated, while at the same time adulterating these autochthonous elements with paradigms drawn from alien sources.” (frarmpton ,1983) critical regionalism does not intend to revisit history or dwell in the past, but to find a middle ground between two extremes. the universal design that the modernists strive to achieve by spearing louis sullivan’s saying “form follows function” wherever the building might exist, and the post modernists who celebrated ornamentation for its own sake. globalization is definitely a benefit for designers as it expands the visual cultures; yet designers need to use this design exposure in a way that could benefit the environment and maximize the built environment's efficiency. this paper questions the possibility to use critical regionalism in promoting a region’s identity but at the same time adheres to the international developments. the aim is to explore the idea of critical regionalism applications, and whether it could relate to both international design and regional identity. its being applied to four different interior design master’s degree student projects in florence, italy. the students were given a specific building in the center of florence to redesign but there were several fixed factors. first, the building should be a hotel that relates to the identity of the city of florence, second, the design should be minimal, third the use of literal images or direct analogies were not allowed. the data is analyzed through a comparative study between the four projects in terms of concept, analogy, color scheme, materials and level of ornamentation. the paper represents results of this focus group of interior design students who are from different demographics with only fixed education levels’ postgraduates in either interior design or architecture, and project description. ingy el zeini / the academic research community publication pg. 2 1. introduction the two poles of modern architecture – super modernism and the particularity of place – are clear reflections of the two poles of globalization and localization (adam, 2012). the ongoing conflict between visual exposure and cultural heritage in design is always intact. the rivalry between adhering to international design and enhancing the cultural belongingness has motivated many design theorists to debate and to advise how this integration could, should or should not happen. “the global culture of design is supported by architects who study what other architects are creating, no matter where” (el demery, 2009). globalization can no longer be identified only as a liberative act; it has become an expression that is directly associated with a loss of cultural identity. it is given that globalization did affect us as design communities. designers from the most diverse regions in the world could collaborate and somehow manage to create a kind of unified yet different design language between them. globalization is definitely benefiting us, yet we need to use this design exposure in a way that could benefit the environment and maximize the built environment efficiency. some theorists could agree that each architectural movement is an actual act of rebellion. regionalists believed that modernists had lost the identity and its beauty along the way so mostly their reaction manipulated them into revisiting history. "critical regionalists broke older forms of regionalism by rejecting absolute historicism" (lafaivre, 2003). a break in the essence of the regionalists' ideology became noticeable in a way that the core idea of opposing international design was argued. regionalism became discussed as "an engagement with the global, universalizing world rather than by an attitude of resistance" (lafaivre, 2003). at this point, the emergence of the term "critical regionalism" became that bridge that attempts to connect identity with a global vision. its strategy is to "mediate the impact of universal civilization with elements derived indirectly from the particularities of a particular place" (frampton, 1983). the question is could designers reach a formula where they can benefit from the globalization while adhering to the city's belongingness? 1.1 the concept of cities' identity in relation to critical regionalism identities are meanings derived from feelings, experiences, belongingness, and change. they are made of history, geography, biology, collective memory, power status and religious revelations. individuals are the ones who perceive identities according to social determinations and cultural projections that are rooted in their social structure (castells, 1997). it is how people connect to the distinctiveness of community and place in relation to global homogenization (adam, 2012). "like a piece of architecture, the city is a construction perceived only in the course of long spans of time. at every instant there is more than the eye can see, more than the ear can hear, a setting or a view waiting to be explored" (lynch, 1960). however, the identity of resistance can transform using all of the factors that construct the future, rather than reinvent history. "a region may develop ideas. imagination and intelligence are necessary for both"(frampton, 1983). the art of building is not a simple way to offer housing, but it is a struggling effort to reproduce and develop the purposes which distinguish a certain and precise age. any mechanical way to try to replicate these forms and get them back to life will end up by losing the essence of the life they had in the past (lafavier, 2003). seeking to replicate such a buildings nowadays will betray a fake and poor imitation, and how hard the architect will work to hide this truth, failure will be the result of his efforts. the spirit of the past is the only thing that can be recaptured (adam, 2012). 1.2 design standardization against globalization the conflict between the global and the regional is not stimulating in itself but the real disagreement that exists in all these areas is the one between stability and instability and here lays the interest (koolhass, 1996). globalization is accused to be the reason of the loss of city identity, but that can be defended because simply, the same openness to global design approaches in design enlarged the designers' capability to be engaged and be visually cultured. the standardization of design should be rejected. the term standardization in itself is against the core of identity; identity refers to uniqueness, maybe individualism and standardization disregards the essence of difference. defamilarization is at the heart of what distinguishes critical regionalism from other forms of regionalism and its capability to create a renewed versus an atavistic sense of place in our time. critical regionalism a device which ingy el zeini / the academic research community publication pg. 3 figure1 photo credits to arch. marialena kampani figure2 photo credits to i.d. joy dorkhom makes the familiar strange and makes the recollection of a precedent critical rather than a picturesque manifestation of the past. the idea of resistance, whether political, cultural, or architectural, can only exist where there is an entrenched regime of some kind to be fought against, to be resisted. there is no such thing as a universal architecture of resistance. it is always particular, responding to the specifics of a place and time. it is acceptable to have several approaches to its formation as long as critical regionalism will be selective to the way to reach a middle ground between accepting globalization while enhancing its use and connecting to the cultural identity without revisiting history ( zarzar, 2007). case study the following case study aims to explore the idea of critical regionalism applications, and whether it could relate to both international design and regional identity. it is applied to four different interior design master’s degree student projects in florence, italy. the students were given a specific building in the center of florence to redesign but there were several fixed factors. first, the building should be a hotel that relates to the identity of the city of florence, second, the design should be minimal, third the use of literal images or direct analogies were not allowed. the data is analyzed through a comparative study between the four projects in terms of concept, analogy, color scheme, materials and level of ornamentation. the projects are analyzed in two phases: 1. concept derived from observations 2. transformation from the observed to the perceived the four designers were in an interior design master’s program, but they come from different educational backgrounds and fields of expertise. they were divided among several professions: interior design, architecture and environmental engineering. furthermore, the comparative study will show how their background education and field experience changed their design approaches and concept formation. 2.1. concept derived from observations: ingy el zeini / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure3 photo credits to engineer elnaz pakzard the four designers observed the city and photographed what was interesting in their point of view. the four of them actually grasped the city’s identity; hence their inspired photography was somehow similar. what was surprising is when they decided to translate their observations into words and feelings the expressions was different. as shown in (figure 1), the city observation of this architect was articulated by the contrast of light and shadow, calm and intensity, reflection and roughness and finally chaos and romance. the designer attempted to even edit her own photograph to show what actually conveyed these feelings. in (figure 2), the city observation of the interior designer was communicated in a very different notion. rather than expressing her feelings by edited photos, the designer was very poetic about the city belongingness as she started to explain her concept with this opening line, "a clear division between center and oltrarno between urban city and rural countryside. a clear crisp separation, what’s more simple and clear than to represent that with a line, just a line" (dorkhom, 2016). in (figure 3), the city observation of the engineer was expressed by stating the main urban elements that capture her attention like narrow streets, piazzas reaching clarity as the key feature of florentine identity. it is noticeable that her observations were based on urban analysis rather than an artistic analysis and that could be due to her background studies. in (figure 4), the city observation of the interior designer was expressed in capturing the architectural distinctiveness in florence. that architectural analogy will be analyzed later on in her translation of perception. 2. transformation from the observed to the perceived: in this phase, the four participants started to translate all of their observations and expressions of the florentine identity. although, as stated before, the "personally taken" photographs showed similarities but the methods and words used for expressing them were different. in addition, how they translated these observations into their project concepts made their design approaches completely different. figure4 photo credits to i.d hagar bar-gil ingy el zeini / the academic research community publication pg. 5 as shown in (figure 5), the architect translated from all of her observations the concept of contrast, contradictions and uniqueness. the approach was mainly focused on diagonal lines which intersect and contradict each other, later on she used these intersections in dividing the main plan. figure 5 photo credit to architect marielena kampani ingy el zeini / the academic research community publication pg. 6 in (figure 6), the interior designer decided to be inspired by the duality of the arno river which she considered a transition between the calmness and the city, she translated that by creating a line; a fine line that makes a powerful transition, despite the fact that it might be thin, but it creates a clear separation. that might take u back to the concept of critical regionalism in which it shows how the designer was inspired by the region while defamiliarizing it although the designer was not introduced to this term. figure6 photo credits to i.d. joy dorkhom ingy el zeini / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure 7 photo credits to engineer elnaz pakzard in (figure 7), the engineer used the three words she previously observed into a direct plan solving. she focused on creating tight corridors that open to vast lobbies to convey the concept of clarity translating the narrow streets into tight corridors and the piazzas into vast lobbies. ingy el zeini / the academic research community publication pg. 8 in (figure 8), the interior designer, as mentioned before, used architectural analogies while being indirect about it. she focused on how the pipes are revealed and were visible on the buildings of florence. she also focused on the shutters that are used abundantly on the florentine windows. case study findings: the concepts were different but it is very noticeable that the four designers did feel the city. they saw its distinctiveness and translated the city's identity into actual conceptual structures. if city identity is analyzed by any of the definitions mentioned in the literature review, one can easily notice how the project forced the participants in vast observations to the spirit of the city and created a thin line in which critical regionalism can figure 8 photo credits to i.d hagar bar-gil ingy el zeini / the academic research community publication pg. 9 be explored. their expressions of how they conveyed the essence of the city in its contradictions was surprisingly different while they actually agreed on the most distinctive features of the city. the transformation from the observed to the perceived showed that although the realization of the place identity was somehow similar; the translation of the designers' perceptions varied. comparison between the 4 projects in terms of anology, color scheme, materials and level of ornamentation points of comparison project 1 m. kampani project 2 j. dorkhom project 3 e. pakzard project 4 h. bar-gil anology abstract concept of contrast abstract concept of duality and the effects of a natural typography( the arno river) anology to the city urbanizm (used indirectly) anolgy to physical architactal elements and features (used directly and indirectly) color scheme accent colors were implemented to complement the concept of contrast monochramatic colors monochramatic colors monochramatic colors materials mix of rough and smooth maerials to complement th concept of contrast change in materials only in the lines to complement the concept of duality smooth and neat materials to complement the concept of clarity level of ornamentation 7 8 conclusion through this comparative study, it has been shown that highlighting a city's identity is possible without using direct analogies to its history, yet at the same time capturing this identity is a difficult formula to be applied. the restriction that was enforced on the students in preventing the use of direct analogies to history while implementing the use of a minimalistic approach opened the door to the possibility of showing a city's identity without referring back directly to its history. although the students were not introduced at all to the term critical regionalism, they reached a preliminary result to the design formula that can be explored further. the identities of cities is bound to be lost in a time where the most common trend is following international design that mainly preaches the concept of ‘form follows function’, that’s why critical regionalism can be reconsidered as a gateway to maintain a city’s identity while adhering to international approaches. ingy el zeini / the academic research community publication pg. 10 acknowledgements i would like to extend my gratitude to architect peter forbes for inspiring me through his assignment choices to write this paper. furthermore, i would like to thank the participants of this project, marieleana kampani, joy dorkhom, elnaz pakzard and hagar bar-gil for helping me in providing all of the materials needed to create this study. also i would like to thank architect marc didomenico and the florence institute of design international for providing the interior design master's degree program that allowed me to conduct this study. in addition, i would like to extend all of my gratitude and love to prof. dr. aleya abdel-hadi for her continous support and provision. references 1. adams, r. (2012) "the globalisation of modern architecture: the impact of politics, economics and social change on architecture 2. and urban design since 1990". cambridge scholars publishing. 3. castells, m. (2004) "the power of identity. in: the information age, economy, society, and culture". volume ii. 4. eldemery, ibrahim mostafa. (2009) " globalization challenges in architecture" 5. frampton k., (2009) "towards a critical regionalism: six points for an architecture of resistance", in the anti-aesthetic. essays on 6. postmodern culture. edited by hal foster, bay press, seattle. 7. koolhaas, r. (1996) “architecture and globalization”. 8. lynch, k. (1960)" the image of the city", the massachusetts institute of technology and the president and fellow of harvard. 9. tzonis, alexander and liane lefaivre. 2003. "critical regionalism, architecture and identity in a globalized world". munich; berlin; 10. london; new york: prestel. 11. zarzar, m. k.. (2007) "identity in the work of tadao ando, an exploratory essay on the problems oof how to model identity" http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the impact of higher education projects on reforming urban identity of the urban communities: case study of 6th october city in greater cairo doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.127 ahmed abouaiana 1 1msc , cairo university, cairo , egypt keywords greater cairo ;higher education projects ; new urban communities ; urban identity. abstract the 6th of october city was established in 1970’s to be one of the national projects creating a new urban community to reduce pressure on the greater cairo. it is consisted of residential, industrial and recreational areas. the 6th of october university was the first higher education project established in 1996 followed by several higher education projects which played an essential role in changing the urban identity to meet the inhabitatns’ needs. an analytical study of 6th october case was held through a quantitative and a qualitative data on a time line study. the study is focused on the urban growth of this urban community during the last two decades to investigate how the land uses can change the urban community in terms of the urban identity. the study results show that a significant change has occurred during the period of study, visually and functionally. 1. introduction 1.1. urban identity the users' needs play an important role to reform the city’s physical elements, where these elements affect on the identity of place as an intangible aspect (alexander, 1979).the identity is the extent to which a person can recognize or recall a place as being distinct from other places (lynch, 1981). in other words it is what gives to the built environment or what makes it special in buildings, spaces and paths. in other context, identity is the sum of characteristics that are used to describe and differentiate assets with natural and cultural properties. as it can change in time based on the variable purpose. (beyhan & gürkan, 2005) likewise, the purpose of using the land plays an important role to reform the urban identity . lynch argue that the ability of the city depends on its ability to be identified in an easy way. in other words, it is what could be defined as in a legible way, where legibility of the city enhances the identity. in that sense, the identity is clarified significantly based on several aspects such as the city elements focusing on the study's context (i) paths; the channel of movement which is strengthed by several elements, like the width where the buildings’ elevations enhances its strength and gives it a clear identity. (ii) edges; it separates two areas even if they have a major differences in features or minor such as architectural vocabularies in the buildings' elevations or different housing types. (iii) nodes; as a gathering points such as squares. (iv) landmarks; as an external feature valid to be a reference point for users such as statues in squares or feature building. finally, (v) district; which has common features giving it an identity such as names or buildings types . abouaiana a. / the academic research community publication pg. 2 1.2. new urban communities in egypt in the 1970's, the egyptian experience in new communities has started the origins of the proposition of developing new communities outside the populated areas of egypt; it is dated back to the late 1960s. the greater cairo region – preliminary general plan, study (1970) , advocated the development of four new urban communities in the greater cairo region to enhance and support national development and help solving the expansion of urbanization, over-populated major existing cities problems (nasamat&ettouny,2009). the 6th of october city was established by new urban communities authority in 1979 to be one of the first generations of new urban communities' cities which symbols the 1973 war (yom kippur). it resembeled everything stratding from the city names and its squares names in addition to land marks statues. it is located in the west of greater cairo at a desert location about 40 km from the center of the metropolis. it is goal was to accommodate the expected population growth in greater cairo. it aimed at 500 thousand ihabitatns in the city, which was the anticipated complete growth in 2000 on urban mass area 4788 acre. the 6 of october city morphology is affected, mainly, by the city’s establishment that required creating an attractive areas for the people. therefore, the original schematic plan had to be consisted of three major components; (i) residential; the prevailing component which extended on the account of recreational areas where established several new housing patterns such as governmental housing and private housing, (ii) recreational; as an attractive points and, (iii) industrial; which hasn't changed. therefore, the original schematic is consisted of twelve residential districts distributed perpendicularly on a central service of linear axes, bounded by; recreational area in the northern east , industrial area in the southern west and green buffer zone in rest orientations. accordingly, it reflected the equitable distribution of the population, to ease the urban fabric, and cleared the identity of the land uses as shown in figure 1. figure 1. original scheme of 6 october city 1.3. higher education projects in 6 october city the original scheme has been developed several times; firstly in 2000, regarding to the presidential decree (pd) 192 followed by pd 269 in 2006 which aimed at 1.5 million people in 2027. finally, the pd is 89 in 2009 . these increases rounded about several land uses such as ; (i) tourism housing and recreational projects in east, (ii) housing projects in north expansions green buffer zone (iii) industrial and investment projects in the west, (iv) several land uses in the south such as governmental housing projects , clubs, graves area, media production city and private universities. abouaiana a. / the academic research community publication pg. 3 thirteen years after the establishment of the city, specifically in 1992, the pd 219 paved the way for the establishment of several higher education projects (hep) in egypt either in the form of private universities or registered high education institutes. regarding to the acceptance coordination of colleges and institutes services portal, hith were developed and started full operation in 1990. (figure 2) showed obviously that the hep’s component didn’t have a clear form or connectivity, for where it was distributed in the city randomly. naturally, these hep as a physical element had an effect on other surrounding components in the city. key project establishment ______________________________________________________________________________ 1 ahram canadian university (acu) 2005 2 akhbar el yom academy 1995 3 haut institut de tourism et d'hotellerie (hith) 1990 4 culture & science city 1994 5 october high institute for engineering & technology 1993 6 higher technological institute 1996 7 october university for modern sciences and arts (msa) 1996 8 october 6 university (o6u) 1996 9 higher institute of applied arts 1994 10 misr university for science & technology (must) 1996 11 international academy of engineering & media science 2002 12 pyramids higher institute for eng.& tech. institute 2007 _______________________________________________________________ figure 2. higher education projects in 6 october city. 2. methodology this paper investigates the impact of o6u on the urban identity of 6 october city. to identify this impact; firstly the relationship between legibility and identity was clarified, then the intimate context of o6u was analyzed legibly; (i) visually: based on four elements of kevin lynch approach to read the city (paths, edges, nodes and landmarks) in terms of its identity. the paths in surrounded streets and the nodes in squares included its land marks and edges as representatives in the surrounding residential buildings' elevations. (ii) functionally: to answer only one question; how clear the function of the rental housing pattern appeared? all above mentioned aspects investigated through the three decades are firstly ,since establishment of o6u in 1996 to 2006, only based on archive photos extracted from the internet and google earth. secondly, from 2006 to 2016 and from 2016 until now respectively, it is based on previous sources in addition to the on-site monitoring which is based on the daily experience of the author as a habitant of the of 6 october city since 2009 up until now . abouaiana a. / the academic research community publication pg. 4 3. the investigation 3.1. case study o6u was selected because it was one of the early establishment as a private university in egypt in 1996. it contained 14 authorized faculty memebrs spread on the area of 40 acre. it contained the largest amount of registered students in private universities by 15.1% (databases department 2015).the intimate context of o6u states that it is located on the central service of the linear axes in the city entrance, surrounded by two major paths from north and south bounded by the seventh and the first residential districts respectively. moreover, two minor paths from the east are bounded by 6 october club, and o6u, from the west is bounded by o6u library and al-hossary mosque. in crossroads, four nodes "squares" include landmarks. o6u buildings contributed to the urban identity concerning the architectural vocabularies in elevations and its location; as in the center of city’s entrance and exit paths. otherwise, a new housing pattern, host flats, took place noticeably in the surrouning residential buildings to meet the rapidly gorwoing demands of the students concerning the rental housing near o6u; especially from the foreigner students. the number of the registered foreigner students in 2014/2015 in o6u reached 2292 students or a 15.2% from the total numer of the registered students15160 students. in the same context, the o6u staff members is 629 or 11.3 % occupying the third place in registered faculty members t in hep in egypt . 3.2. between 1996 and 2006 in that decade, urban fabric was the same in the original scheme as mentioned previously. visually, it was surrounded two-way major paths consisted of four-lane street with a width of 12 meters (m), pavement width of 1.5 m and service road with width of 9 m, in between 6 m mid-island, the importance of the northern path because of it is the first access to the city which included three nodes; one square in the entrance then two nodes as a result of streets congestion, later on between 2003 and 2005 two squares were added al-nadi (the club) square and magda square respectively, where the second square included egyptian actress statue called magda .bounded by district 7 residential buildings elevations . at the same time, the southern path started with dolphin land square included soldiers' statues which symbols the 1973 war enhanced the original scheme identity in a figurative way followed by a node of streets intersections and ended by al-hossary square. it worthy of mentioning that it was one of the most important nodes in the city because of several points. firstly, its location that was mentioned before and the satellite image (figure 3) where clearly enhanced. the argument of the square wanted the city center to serve as a focal point for public transportation as station instead of what the original scheme aspires to. the square included earth statue. the path bounded by district 1 building elevations witness a less developed urban block, unlike the northern urban block . the minor two-way paths in the east and the west of o6u consisted of two-lanes street with the width of 6 m in each side, mid-island with a width 6 m, and the surrounding urban block land uses had not any changes from the original scheme which was described before. functionally speaking, the o6u was noticeably affected by the surrounding environment where services such as stationaries, coffee shops and restaurants occurred. clearly, it is shown in the block between the right side of the western path and the o6u. abouaiana a. / the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 3. o6u intimate context. significantly noticed that all mentioned squares in addition to most of city squares constructed by private investors which given a clear identity namely where these squares called by advertisement name instead of the official name, in addition to o6u and mosque. 3.3. between 2006 until now with regards to the strategic plan of 6 october province in 2006 issued by general authority for urban planning, 90% of hep's students, 25% of schools students and 40% of labors are from the outside the city. also, the rapid growth of the city and al-hossary square location has accounted to significantly have traffic congestion. between 2014 and 2015, the surrounding paths of the o6u has been converted by the decision makers to be looped around the university buildings to be the only one way path in the city. the major northern path was the entrance of the city, where the two ways and mid-island were merged, started by al-nadi square. the square got renovated by a businessman who added palm trees as a landmark. the way ended ended by the magda square. although the land mark of the actress statue was replaced by an art work renovated by another investor, it had the same name. the edge level surrounded the urban block, and the minor one was developed, yet no significant changes were noticed. also, the southern bath was converted, like what happened in the northern path to be the exit way of the city. al-hossary square land mark ,replaced by artwork, was developed by investor as well. the second art work land mark was added to the node called al-gehaz (city hall) square. finally, it was followed by the same node mentioned before. while the minor two-way paths in the east and the west of o6u were converted to be a one-way path, the surrounding urban block land uses had not changed from its original scheme. the minor two-way paths in the east and the west of o6u consisted of two lanes-street with the width of 6 m in each side, a mid-island a width of 6 m, and the surrounding urban block land uses had not any changes from the original scheme as well. on the contrary of northern path, surrounded by the totally developed urban block, a significant housing pattern took place. technically speaking, the students rental housing pattern ,either for males or females, or even most of the residential buildings constructed after 2006 were done following this pattern based on two aspects. firstly, the on-site investigation in the beginning of 2017 where written on the residential buildings elevations. evidently, different commercial names included key words such as (hostel, student housing, daily housing and long period housing) as shown in figure 4. although no words were written on the rest of the buildings elevations, this pattern easily identified either by seeing the reception counter in the entrance of these buildings or asking any guard man in the street. secondly, the personal meetings with four buildings' owners enlightened me that they were stressed about the main issue that the rapid demand on students rental housing, specially from o6u in addition to must and msa universities, encouraged them to provide this housing pattern from the beginning of their projects. it started to take that trend about the end of 2005. figure 4 showed that most of referred buildings in district one were for this housing pattern. abouaiana a. / the academic research community publication pg. 6 in the function context; service land uses in service block mentioned before were upgraded to be twenty four hours services. the o6u was affected by the menifestation of the surrounding environment where services such as stationaries, coffee shops and restaurants took place. it was clearly shown in the block between the right side of western path and the o6u, which is totally developed. figure 4. rental housing samples up and rental housing buildings down abouaiana a. / the academic research community publication pg. 7 4. conclusion and discussion the scheme of 6 october city was developed for several times. the educational component represented in hep showed clearly the random distribution in the city, o6u private university established in 1996 it was one of large hep in the city, and it recently enjoys a high number of studnent enrollments.. the influence of o6u on urban identity of the city was investigated through a time line in two decades in terms of the lynch visual aspects and the purpose of the surrounded land uses. the results showed that the first decade ,from 1996 to 2006, o6u itself gave an identity to the place concerning the architectural vocabularies in its elevations and its location as a land mark in the entrances of the city. also, it visually contributed –poorlyto the surroundimg paths, nodes, edges and landmarks. however, the functioning service-land uses related to students needs were enhanced consequently, and it was reflected on the social lifemainly for students . in the last decade, from 2006 to 2016 , and on the visual side and until 2014 users of o6u contributed in reforming al-hossary square to be a focal public transportation point. however, after 2014, the surrounding paths were converted to be circular around the o6u block ,which gave a unique identity compared to the 6 of october city’s urban fabric. the study showed that the impact of o6u on nodes, landmarks and edges were neglected. at the same time, a significant impact on the southern urban block was observed. the students rental housing pattern was shown clearly since 2006 to meet o6u users’ needs on housing, whereas most of buildings in the back street behind the southern edge were for new housing purpose. consequently, 24\7 services emerged to meet the demands of the students life. definitely, it added an attractive identity to the place . it could be concluded that the urban identity of the 6 of october city, as a new urban community, was affected by hep; ergo, the higher educational component should be taken in consideration during developing or establishing the urban communities. references 1. abdel-kader, n & ettouny, s. 2009. the egyptian new communities, between objectives and realization – a critical discourse, three decades, 5th international conference, towards a new architectural vision, cairo university, cairo, december 2009. 2. beyhan, ş & gürkan, ü. 2015. analyzing the relationship between urban identity and urban transformation implementation in historical process: the case of isprata, international journal of architectural research, march 2015. archnet-ijar, volume 9issue 1 :158-180. 3. cristopher, a. 1979. the timeless way of building, usa 1979. oxford university press . 4. databases department 2015. higher education facts and figures, academic year 2013/2014, the observatory of higher education, the ministry of higher education, november 2015. (in arabic). 5. google earth maps, www.earth.google.com . 6. lynch, k. 1984. theory of a good city, cambridge. 1984. ma: mit press. http://www.earth.google.com/ http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication the impact of western culture on the transformation of residential patterns in one of the heritage areas in baghdad (neighborhood cremat / salhiya baghdad model) shatha a. alamiri1, doaa m. alzubaidy2 1 d.pro. university of baghdad, baghdad, iraq 2 a.l alfarabi university college, baghdad, iraq keywords baghdadi residential patterns, traditional architectural style, chronology of western styles in baghdadi architecture, transformations of baghdadi residential patterns. abstract the traditional housing of baghdadi has undergone many transformations in the past century. this is noticed in many districts of traditional baghdad and its heritage. in this period, architectural styles with western influences were observed as a result of the political conditions and foreign colonization that swept the country. german architecture, english and french and other models in our old heritage stores, especially in the neighborhood of cremat in salhia baghdad. with this level of complexity of the models, we have to disclose and study during the research process to reach the mechanisms and adaptation of western models designed for an environment of a different nature adapted to our environment and the local baghdad and take advantage of these global experiences in the design process. therefore, the research highlighted the influence of western culture on our baghdadi architectural culture to preserve the landmarks of the past so that future children can see it. ever since man's historical awareness of the past, the present and the future, he tried to record his present and preserve his past for the future. the urban heritage reflects the cultural identity of man: his past, his present and his future. our baghdad municipality has been characterized by functional organization of the elements of the house, relying on the internal courtyard to provide the necessary privacy to the population and the use of local construction materials such as bricks, plaster, stone and palms and the use of the sheds in the internal atmosphere of the rooms. all examples of baghdadi heritage architecture share a distinctive architectural character that belongs to the region and reflects all of its cultural, environmental and social conditions. therefore, the research will try to reach the impact of these civilizations on the baghdadi style, especially in the residential architecture of baghdad. the objective of the research was to describe the effects of western culture on the architectural style of the salhia area and its adaptation to the local style of the region while attempting to come up with new and traditional indicators of transformation in residential patterns. in order to address the research problem, which is the phenomenon of divergence in the decisions of the traditional residential patterns in the locality of the cremat salhia, and to verify the goal of the desired research, the research plan is to analyze the chronological sequence of the ancient models in the region and identifying the identity of each model and then how to diagnose changes in traditional architectural styles through its holistic calendar and the appearance of the architectural style of the salhia in this architectural form. the results showed the impact of western cultures on the identity of the baghdad residential area. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) peer-reviewed under responsibility of archive's, the academic research community, publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.233 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ shatha a. alamiri / the academic research community publication pg. 2 introduction the research was based on the analytical method of the architectural styles and methods of construction of the baghdad residential units in al-kareemat district through the chronological sequence of these units and their impact on the design of the residential units. the study also adopted the method of transferring the field measurements that were taken for samples of the traditional and modern housing units into graphs and to demonstrate the influence of western culture on the baghdadi architectural styles and explain the adaptation of western architecture to our local environment. with the diagnosis of patterns of western architecture and its reflection on the domestic production of housing. the influence of the west in its attitudes and the nature of its products is unique and different from our own. 2 patterns in heritage areas of baghdad 2.1 the heritage areas of baghdad and its history and the area of creamat especially the arab city with its traditional cohesive texture is the best example of the application of the concept of social interdependence at the city level as a whole, city planning and pathway processors in terms of width, height, direction and change of direction is the main stage of adaptation with the environment. harmonized fabric can soften the effects of harsh climates and reduce their effects, especially high temperatures, solar radiation, dusty and warm winds, and thus reduce the total thermal load on the facades of buildings, especially residential units, where housing units constitute the largest proportion of total structural production in the arab city. (1) the karkh side of baghdad, as we know it geographically, starts from the district of al-jaafir to the north and the salhiya and the krimat to the south and from the tigris river east to the tombs of sheikh maarouf al-karkhi and al-junaid al-baghdadi. the karkh area consists of several shops and a shop on a number of alleys. each alley of a number of houses and shops most famous in karkh (creamat) is the river bordering the river because of the importance of water in particular in reference to the importance of water. this region is characterized by the beauty of the river and the coolness of the atmosphere in the summer. 2.2 the upgrowth of the cremation area and location al-mahalla is located on the western side of baghdad and its borders as stated in the atlas of baghdad, 1952 (mahalat 218) adjacent to the al-ahraa rasmi bridge administratively the salhiya area. the area was formerly large green farms and orchards, maud and currently, al-ahrar bridge. in july 1911, the german maister pasha arrived in baghdad to take up his post as director of its works and opened his offices in dar kadhim pasha (turki origin) on the west bank of the tigris river in the krimat area. it is not just a winding alley from which there are short alleys that lead to the tigris river and another to the center of the city. it is a popular place that has roots in the depths of shatha a. alamiri / the academic research community publication pg. 3 history and on its feet, it still has the secret of its existence. to the past, creams feel you are part of old baghdad that you read about in the tales of the round city (as in fig. 2,3). when you look at it, it takes time to reflect on its aesthetics, especially as the river, the boats and the movement of the land give it joy even though some of its old houses have become incapable of resisting nature. the most prominent of which is the british house of the british embassy. this house is located in the southern part of baghdad near the fence and not far from the proposed location of the railway station on the same bank to the south. on the morning of july 27, 1912 was an official celebration of the commencement of the development project in the presence of the governor jamal pasha and about 40 engineers, mostly germans from the effects of the baghdad railway project that is located in the south-west of the city. (garage alawi and the role of rail in salhia currently) was the compound in the era of construction is located outside the city limits so that the train comes out of the station and runs parallel to the western fence to the north towards samarra. this was most prominent reason for the region’s urban growth. the construction of this community contributed to the development of the karkh side and its expansion in this direction in later years until it began to appear in later eras of modern important installations after it was limited to a number of residential shops and some shrines. karkh witnessed developments in a series of important projects, including the development of the baghdad railway station iron, which became known as a station west of baghdad and to the northwest of it, an airport was built (muthanna airport currently) on a large land in 1931 considering that this site was then outside the city and far away from urbanization and the establishment of the iraqi radio house in 1936 took a position in salhia near the lord of baghdad station (3). then the english came to do a bridge mudd near the former liberal camp soldiers englishmen there. in the early 1920s, the railway complex and its neighbors, especially salhia, became a large urban center in the 1920s and 1930s. there was a significant change in the urban style and lifestyle of the grove. the western influence was evident in the urban and architectural environment and the new residential neighborhoods such as the railway complex. neighboring areas were based on straight and cross-border geometrical designs and if the new areas reflected a remarkable transformation and then a division of traditional folk architecture (as in fig. 3), the first time to show the impact of these western cultures on the local architecture in the creams. 2.3 nature of the fabric in the creams area: the nature of the textile in the region began with the harmonious organic pattern developed by the needs of the population and the emergence of dilapidated buildings around which was the urban growth of the region and was the beginning of its emergence. examples of this growth included the houses of the ottoman rulers and the british embassy where they are settled in the region in addition to the bridge ahrar linking karkh rusafa and then railway station and housing railway workers and sites. the fabric of their work was transformed from an organic type to a straight-cut pattern that followed the developments in the area in haifa street and divided the area into two halves due to changes in the lifestyle of the people and their influence on the western style as well as the british occupation of the area and the entry of cars during the same period, which forced the region to divide the streets geometrically to form an integrated road infrastructure (as in figure, 4). figure , 2, site by google earth figure,3,morphological ,creamat area by researcher figure,4, fabric area by researcher shatha a. alamiri / the academic research community publication pg. 4 3 .factors affecting the origin and development of traditional residential architecture from the beginning of creation, the main concern of man was to try to adapt to his environment. caves and huts were built in a primitive way during prehistoric times to protect against the danger of animals and aggressors and to overcome the various climatic fluctuations. through his understanding, the phenomena of the environment and its geographical and climatic characteristics enable man to develop his habitat and in different ways benefiting from previous experiences in the development of construction methods and building materials to create a suitable residential environment. residential architecture has been particularly affected by several factors including topography, climate, religious and social factors. • topography: geography has an important role in the architectural configuration.. • climate: climate plays a major role in the emergence and development of residential buildings and in the formation and composition of the main building elements. • religious, social and cultural factors: the social environment has greatly influenced how residential buildings are created. • economic factors: trade and agriculture are among the important activities that have contributed significantly to the development of traditional residential buildings. libya has been one of the regions that served as a trade intermediary between europe and africa. • political and legislative factors: political factors played an important role in the development of residential buildings in libya. islami, where people converted to islam, the houses took another style in accordance with islamic law. the houses were built in adjoining residential neighborhoods with inner courtyards, emphasizing privacy and respect for the neighbor. during the german and english occupation, t high-altitude multi-role balconies overlooking the wide openings on the outside and the current period is an extension of the period of openness to the outside and the full transfer of western architecture that does not fit customs, traditions and climatic conditions prevailing. • building materials and technology. 4. the chronological sequence of patterns and their differences in the area of creams and the impact of western culture on their residential patterns the style of architecture is characterized by its cohesive texture and its social and latent sustainability. it is unique in planning and design elements. inclusion was not coincidental but rather a product of climatic, religious and social conditions. the spatial organization of the organic city is characterized by streets and twisted walks, and relatively large and open neighborhood and garden units and indoor gardens act as reservoirs of moderate cold air. the factors of economy and politics have had the greatest impact on the change of baghdadi identity and style. this is noticed in the cremation area in baghdad where ottoman colonization began to occupy the area. the arrival of the germans and the english was also influential as they left their design fingerprints on baghdad. the difference between the baghdad models was clear: 4.1 traditional style baghdadi in housing • first: on the level of horizontal plans. • second: the level of sense of mass and space. • third: the level of the formation of façades. • fourth: the level of environmental and climatic treatments. 4.2 western style in housing: the classical european style is characterized by the clarity of the values of form and art and we find the mass unit surrounded by a vast courtyard as an extension. this block stands alone and has clear features and express themselves strongly and simply and embody the features of nature around with the use of iron in the balconies and in the quarries. additionally, there are statues in the entrances and massive columns were used to introduce the huge entrance. the german and english models are characterized by openness to the outside with balconies and chimneys and the presence of vertical windows. in addition, the use of iron in the facades with the high entrances to the level of the earth and the decorations and inscriptions at the top of the building. speaking of the influence of western culture and its influence in the area of creams in baghdad, at the beginning of the emergence of the region was the ottoman governor controlled baghdad where a palace was built. after that, the english came and built several houses in the region and then they moved to france to complete their studies and returned to the idea of the classic french style shatha a. alamiri / the academic research community publication pg. 5 of old legg. in this period, the mid-fifties of the nineteenth century took over the republic of iraq; the government began a period of urban prosperity of baghdad and tried to return the baghdadi style in their homes. from here came the designs of house zaher in response to the challenge of western cultures to maintain the the old baghdadi style. (fig. 5,6) shows the difference of cultures and their impact on the model of the study area. 5 .what is the adaptation of the patterns of the west with the pattern of local residential environment in baghdad the planning of the traditional housing was fully compatible with the environment, with all its pros and cons, and it was achieved according to two strategies: protection and adaptation. protection has been achieved by limiting the impact of the extreme natural environment conditions such as hot climate, relative humidity in some areas, elevation in other areas and the intensity of solar radiation. the adaptation was to exploit the potential of these harsh conditions and deal with them to achieve the thermal comfort of the inhabitants and the exploitation of natural energy sources such as the sun and wind. the use of the middle courtyard was one of the most important design principles in the architecture of different civilizations in iraq despite the differences in the urban environments and in the urban environment. this is due to the ability of the building with a central courtyard to adapt to various conditions in terms of achieving a lot of environmental requirements, civilizational and aesthetic and social, such as privacy and protection from external hazards or harsh environment, especially in hot climates. we notice that the housing was initially designed in the middle courtyard of the original baghdadi models open the spaces of the house and closed from the outside. this was clear on and off the baghdadi style to achieve privacy and isolation from the outside and create an external environment integrated climate and socially interconnected at home as in (figure 7). after the intervention of the political factor and the occupation of baghdad by western countries and the transfer of their cultures to us in the construction of buildings and houses in baghdad, we note the mid-closing of the middle courtyard of the house from the top because their homes are not designed on the basis of the central courtyard. donc entirely average in the design of baghdadi houses and turned his job to the distributor spaces home and change its size and open large windows in the facades overlooking the outside and the construction of open balconies to the outside as in (figure 8), all of these came western ktathirat on social traditions and patterns of architectural baghdadi. 6. indicators of the new transformations on the traditional residential patterns in baghdad at the planning level: the middle courtyard turned into a dynamic distributor or a transitional space in the house and shut it off from the top completely. بيت الشاوي . الطراز البغدادي في المنطقة البيت ا�لماني .ذات طرز معمارية المانية دار فهمي دولت : شيد على الطراز ا�نكليزي هر شيد على الطراز المحلي بتاثر غربي -دار الظا figure,5,by researcher figure,6,by researcher figure,7,by researcher figure,8,by researcher shatha a. alamiri / the academic research community publication pg. 6 at the level of the architectural mass: opening to the outside through the large glass windows and balconies and the creation of open spaces such as small green gardens in front of the house or surroundings to entertain the inhabitants of the house itself, in addition to the clarity of the entrances and highlighting the elements of architecture to confirm them but taking into account the privacy and traditions of the community. 7. conclusions and recommendations the essence of modern transformations in the model of the baghdadi dwelling lies in the impact of time and the continuation of the occupation of baghdad, which caused the phenomenon of division of the models with the advent of each occupation. vajdd house baghdadi model in terms of composition and planning, space organization has become almost non-existent spaces of the house and the disappearance of the open courtyard. western strategies must be a tool for progress in technology and contemporary rather than a way to eradicate the baghdadi style of traditional dwellings. traditional architecture still suffers from western influences and technological phenomena that are influenced by local architecture, so traditional architecture has to discover the principles of western architecture and choose what is suitable for the local environment and to mix these principles with modern technologies and use them in contemporary architecture. 8 references اددببب .1 اددببب ال�س�� دب،ق يب اله م ال ،دسببا اله ا،اتدببةدامب الحيييبشك ل ببتيم الةا��� اتدببتاعيبشك السحا ،اتحراب ،قة جامسب -الزبيدي،مهاصببحا 2006بغدا،، . اددبببببببببرالةتا مجيب .2 ما باله ادبببببببةدامبال�� الة يددببير اتمو رال�ساصبببببببحتاليمج، م،���يم، اامسب -عايم،ق�� عحدالحزا رشببببببب��وم ال 2008-11،السد،26الةتا مجيب���� . 1980اماعب بغدا، , م حرع لطمدح التحخ , .3 . 4. oliver, paul, (1997), encyclopaedia of vernacular architecture, phaidon press ltd , 4london, uk. 5. barton,hugh-1996.sustainable urban design quarterly,issue 57-juauary 1996,urban de-sign group. http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) guide to maintain historic egyptian mosques: case study of abul-hajjaj mosque luxor doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.108 hesham osman abd elrahman 1 1 lecturer, department of architectural engineering, faculty of engineering, al azhar university keywords guide; maintenance; historic ; mosques ; egypt.; abstract the mosque is considered one of the most important buildings of the islamic city since the prophet's mosque (peace and blessings be upon him), and maintenance is considered an important element and a cornerstone of buildings in general. this is due to the deterioration of public buildings generally given the bad use and common ownership of the mosque, in turn, its facilities are deteriorated. some mosques belong to historic buildings, so maintaining them is of extra importance. in light of the status of the construction and maintenance systems of historic mosques in egypt and the limitations and problems faced, this paper presents a proposed guide for the preventive maintenance of historic mosques. it also provides clear evidence for workers in the field of maintenance of mosques including the key elements that need to be taken into consideration while preparing the preventive maintenance plan for mosques. the preventive maintenance of the mosque needs a range of tools and methods in order to succeed. planning and scheduling for items are major elements among these tools. in order to achieve integration between the elements and the different phases mentioned above, we need to formulate them in a form of an integrated guide with completed elements and dimensions. to find a guide for the maintenance of the mosques we should clearly identify the principles and rules for that guide, which comes through clarity of the purpose, the elements required to be controlled, how to control them, the statement of the time and places and the economic aspects of the guide. this research aims to find a guide for the maintenance of historic mosques, by making a case study for the mosque of abul-hajjaj in luxor. 1. introduction historic buildings are facing a problem with staying in line with the idea of reviving the ancient buildings through the re-run. the elements of a historic building are split to two main sections: archaeological elements: any item older than 100 years, or belong to an era older than the current era, whether (single architecture, furniture, antiques, ... etc.). the new elements: that have been added to the building to revive it (such as a single architecture, architectural supplements, or alarms or elements of modern finishing, …etc). hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 2 1. aim of the research the research aims to create a plan for preventive maintenance of historic mosques in line with modern elements and their life span to be drafted in executable timetable. this is important because any malfunction, failure or corruption of one of these elements significantly affects the archaeological mosque, which can lead to significant damage to the building and make it incompatible with the concept of revival, especially with religious uses of the mosque by the local community. 2. contents of this research: − preventive maintenance. − historical study case study. − develop a plan and maintenance program, according to a schedule. 3. preventive maintenance: preventive maintenance is working to maintain and protect buildings from being damaged to function fully as long as possible with the repair of defects in order to preserve it; and to reduce the expensive costs resulting from negligence or delay. these measures also include the participation of all the technical and administrative means, these actions include the preparation, planning and execution of the maintenance process as well as following up and monitoring during and after implementation. preventive maintenance is planned maintenance and is characterized as the prior identification of the elements of planning through a system of prior examination and tests to determine the status of each element of the building and maintenance work required. preventive maintenance is defined as "the organization plan for the repair and maintenance of the building in order to preserve the building components in operating its best and work to prolong their useful life", including activities aimed at preventing breakdowns, such as regular inspections and the replacement of some parts on the basis of a regular schedule. where to prolong the life of the components of the buildings requires regular replacement of some of the different elements of the building such as electrical and plumbing elements, as preventive maintenance requires capital and operating expenses . (office of the legislative auditor) 4. historical study: the history of the establishment of the mosque to the ayyubid period; the year 658 ah (after emmigration of muslims from mekkah to medina), 1286 ad, and is built on the northeast side of the luxor temple. the design of this mosque resembles the design of the small fatimid mosques, such as the esna mosque in aswan and almashhad el-bahari on the bank of the nile. the mosque was built on a small square area and has a small dome. the entrance to the mosque is on the west side. it is well known that some changes were made to the mosque in the ayyubid era. the mosque was built in the northeast area of luxor temple. it probably dates back to the middle of the fatimid era. the entrance of the mosque has three arches with heights of about 12 meters or 39 feet, covered with marble and faience. this was probably one of the changes that was made in the ayyubid age as manifested by the artistic style. inside the mosque, there is a niche of simple design that is free of ornaments. there is also a small grave in which yousef ibn abdel-raheem, known as abu al-haggag, was buried. on the top of the mosque, there is also a row of balconies that were built with baked bricks as it was restored in 1914 ad by khedive abbas helmy the second. the slim minaret is located at the top of the northeast side of luxor temple. its height is about 14.15 meters or 46.41 feet and it was constructed on the thresholds above the four granite pillars in the temple, which form an invisible base. the minaret's base is set on those thresholds. the base was constructed from adobes, or sun-dried bricks, was made square-shaped, and had a height of 6.85 meters or 22.47 feet. the base has three belts made of wood, slightly sloping to the inside as it goes upwards. the base has three openings for lighting and an arched entrance in the eastern corner. four small domed pillars are located on the top of the four corners of the square-shaped base. there is also a sloping cylindrical body on the top of that base with a diameter of 2.58 meters or 8.46 feet at the bottom and 1.80 meters or 5.90 feet at the top, with its height at 7.66 meters or 25.12 feet. abul-hajjaj mosque hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 3 building period: 1286ad – 658hd typology: mosque state of conservation: fair recent restoration: 2009ad accessed by public: yes hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 1. interior & exterior pecture to the mosque of abul-hajjaj in luxor. 5. preventive maintenance guide for historic mosques: the followng are some of the steps that are integrated together to form a guide: 6.1 determine all the elements and components of historic mosques buildings: there are archaeological elements & new elemnts in table 1 table 1.archaeological elements & new elemnts of historic mosques buildings no. the main archaeological element the sub-archaeological element no. the main new elements the subelement of the new elements 1 the external elements archaeological fences 1 the yard and external corridors flooring 2 infrastructure foundations metal gates 3 architectural elements exterior walls fences metal windows and exterior doors lighting units roof 2 sanitation and water supply cold water covers surfaces hot water the stairs sewer lines domes the external sewage lines minarets 3 mechanical services (heating air gases) hvac 4 internal structure interior walls and partitions public utility interior doors generators the walls of the shrine electrical transformers 5 finishes and fixtures ceilings finishing 4 various works simple renovations walls finishing general cleanliness wooden units surrounded the shrine by studying both of the main and sub elements, we found the elements and components of (abu hajjaj mosque), show in the table below. hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 5 table 2. elements and components of abul-hajjaj mosque no. the main element the sub-element no. the main element the sub-element 1 archaeological fences metalworking 10 lighting units fluorescent lamps 2 windows and exterior doors woodwork + paints 11 water supply (cold –hot) metal pipes (galvanized iron) + plastic pipes + pipes polypropylene 3 the roof of external yard metal umbrellas 12 sewer lines pipes pvc + cast iron pipes 4 the stairs granite + metal handles 13 the external sewage lines pipes pvc + cast iron pipes 5 interior doors woodwork + paints 14 hvac fans 6 wooden units surrounded the shrine woodwork + paints 15 bathrooms wooden doors 7 flooring granite floors 16 bathrooms toilet devices 8 metal fences metalworks + paints 17 bathrooms sinks 9 metal gates metalworks + paints 18 bathrooms ceramic (walls& floors) 6.2 determine the life span for elements and components of historic mosques through references which determine the approximate life span of the elements and components of the buildings, we can determine the life span of elements and components of the mosque, as illustrated in table 3 .( a. c. panchdhari 2007), ( nahb, 2007), (spirinckx carolin & others, 2011), (j. breen, a. boersma, 2005). hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 6 . ta bl e 3. li fe sp an o f e le m en ts a nd c om po ne nt s o f t he m os qu e li fe e xp ec ta nc y be fo re re pl ac em en t * ye ar 10 0 + + (+ ) m or e th an ) ( l es s t ha n (* ) a ll of th e ab ov e in th e ta bl e w ith a p ro pe r m ai nt en an ce fo r e ac h ite m , a nd m od er at e co ns um pt io n pa tte rn s. 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 + 55 50 + 45 40 35 + 30 25 20 15 10 + + 5 + u se d ite m s w oo de n w in do w s do or s c ar pe nt ry h ar dw ar e a lu m in um w or ks a rti fic ia l s to ne p la st er ti le fl oo rin g (s qu irr el ) o il or p la st ic (p ai nt ) fa ie nc e, c er am ic s m ar bl e g ra ni te pl as tic p ip es g al va ni ze d iro n pi pe s w at er ta ps a cr yl ic s in k pi pe s p ol yp ro py le ne pv c p ip es c as t i ro n pi pe s h ea t i ns ul at io n ty pe s m oi st ur e pr oo fin g ty pe s fl uo re sc en t b ul bs el ec tri c fa ns c irc ui t b re ak er s sw itc h el ec tri ca l a cc es so ry el ec tri ca l w ire c op pe r c oa te d w oo de n um br el la s n o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 29 30 hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 7 6.3 determining the timetable for maintenance: this stage includes determining the type, location and timing of inspections procedures as well as schedules for maintenance operations. this was carried out through the study of the history of building elements and by identifying the needs of periodic maintenance work depending on the age span of construction materials and finishing to these elements. by studying the schedules of many tests for the maintenance of buildings in the world, table (4) shows some monitoring and periodic examination and maintenance operations of the components of historical mosques in egypt activities. table 4.some of regular inspection activities and maintenance operations of the components of historical mosques. no . building elements material monitoring and maintenance operations inspectio n time periodic / year 1 external and internal walls bricks • inspection and rehabilitation of the surfaces of exterior walls resulting from the various damages such as moisture. • inspection and rehabilitation of the surfaces of exterior walls at the points of intersection with other materials, and searching for any scratches on the outer surfaces with a follow-up to the final surface condition. • determine if there are cracks in the walls and determine the location and the nature, size and being a vertical or horizontal or slanted. • determine if there are signs of moisture or leakage and determine the location and size. • determine if there are any subsidence or cracks, faults in sentiment, the loss of plaster or gypsum, any bows or cracks. 2 2 internal coatings ceramic. porcelain • control of the adhesion of tiles and cracks or peeling of the cladding, any small works of restoration or replacement of the livery 1 3 facade stones cladding marble, granite • monitor any signs of cracks or fall panels. • verification of the degree of gloss and the integrity of the surface, and the presence of stains or dirt. • check the status of the surface, and connectors, spacers, cleaning by pressure washing, • apply any preventive treatment, working to reconnect walls. 5 4 roofs squirrel tile & metal gutters. • collect and clean up and remove all the leaves and waste from all roofs. • verification of the rain gutters on roofs. • ensure the protection elements of the roofs like stones or tiles. • achieve a minimum of paint to roof gutters by anti-water paints, especially at places of twisting bends and pipes. • ensure moisture stains on ceilings, which indicate the presence of leaks. • remove any leaves or garbage from the gutters and down pipes, especially during the rainy season 1 5 external and internal doors wooden doors • ensure that the doors are closed properly and do not touch the ground. • ensure the validity of door handles, locks and that they work properly • all doors are painted. • door and window frames cleaned every five years. • check the door and window hardware's, cleaning and lubrication. 2 hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 8 6 external paints • plastic • re-paint the exterior walls, after washing the surfaces and work to recover a minimum of putty 10 interior paints 5 table 5.continued some of regular inspection and maintenance operations of the components of historical mosques. no. building elements material monitoring and maintenance operations inspection time periodic / year 7 metal work iron fences • repainting the iron work in the most places susceptible to rust. • lubricate hinges. • lubrication, repair and / or replacement the locks and handles. • polishing artifacts brass. 3 stairs, window, and gates metals 2 8 windows wood & glass • ensure that all the windows open and close smoothly. • check the status of hardware (hinges, locks, etc.). • all windows are painted. • all glass panels are intact and there is no cracks or fractures 2 9 external floors external sidewalks & walkways • inspections and restoration to tacks. • replace the floor panels are damaged. • ensure the tiles are not fractured or cracked. • replace or re-install any dislocated or broken tiles. 2 ceramic, porcelain granite. marble. • small works repair and fill the breaks. • repair or replacement of partial to the area’s most prone to use (by up to 10% of the flat). • control of the adhesion of tiles and cracks. 1 10 interior floors ceramic. porcelain granite. marble. stone • small works repair and fill the breaks. • repair or replacement of partial to the area’s most prone to use (by up to 10% of the flat). • monitor the adhesion and cracks in floor tiles. • monitor any cracks in the edges of walls with the floor. 1 2 linoleum. pvc rubber. carpet • monitor irregular surface and any bulge or lift the edges. • check, clean and repair. 1 11 ceilings finishes cement plaster stucco plaster • observe any swelling or any chromatic change in the ceilings. • loss of plaster or gypsum, any bends or cracks. 5 12 wooden umbrella s wooden umbrellas of different types. • checking all the connectivity elements and change them if necessary, and verify of the stability of the umbrella. • check the integrity of wood panels and replace them if necessary, re-painted if necessary. 1 hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 9 13 electrica l fixtures electrical appliances. lighting units. • ensure that any pumps and electric motors are operating properly. • make sure the lighting equipment, fans, keys operating properly. • clean light fixtures and ceiling fans and change damaged. 3 14 electrica l connecti ons connectors insulators connectivi ty tools circuit breakers switches and fuses dielectrics • visual inspection to make sure the connecting links tightly to prevent overheating. • clean all the circuit breakers from dust. • tighten the connections joints, checking connectors and change the damaged ones. • cleaning the circuit breakers, check the keys and make sure not one of them is burning. • clean and sharpen fuses by the soft sand and change damaged when necessary. • insulation resistance measurement. 3 table 6.continued some of regular inspection and maintenance operations of the components of historical mosques no. building elements material monitoring and maintenance operations inspection time periodic / year 15 sanitary devices sink. urinals. toilets, centrifuges. wash basins, shower. water mixer. taps • inspect and install all the fulcrums by nails and silicon, • check and install the points of contact with the drain pipes. verification of links and joints. • cleansing and repair the siphons. remove waste from the sewage. • replace all drainage hoses. ensure that toilets work properly. • inspection of sinks and basins. • verification of waste and residues to reduce clogging of the pipes. 4 16 sanitatio n and water supply galvanized steel pipes. polyethylene pipes. insulation coatings. distribution network. • check and clean up the joints, and fixing the welding. • check the water supply systems include the following: • check the chlorine remaining in the sample points (sample check) on a regular basis from each branch to complete the verification of the network once in six months. • clean the dead ends to the network supply once every three months, check valves every six months 6 valves hot galvanized iron pipe. drainage pipes. • checking water tanks, basins and sinks. cleaning pipes with water to remove sediment. • inspect the sewage rooms once a year. • the plan to paint equipment and connections: • paint the water supply fixtures once a year depending on the rate of corrosion. • paint the equipment (pumps, motors, pipes ramifications), by bituminous or industrial paints. 6 sewage tanks and wells. sewage pipes, plastic pipes. plastic pipes • disinfection and cleaning of manholes, including ventilation holes for wells. clean horizontal pipe with the proper tools to remove all dirt and debris. • ensure the manhole covers in their place. • verify non-clogging the pipes by the waste, and the lack of leaks. 1 hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 10 hesham osman abd elrahman / the academic research community publication pg. 11 6.4 guide to maintaining historic egyptian mosques: through the previous tables (2), (3), (4), we can formule table (5), which is a guide to maintaing historic egyptian mosques, by it we can identify the different timing of the inspections. conclusions and recommendations: this paper found a guide to the maintenance the new elements in the historical mosques dependent on life span studies, including inspection and testing schedules and maintenance operations of the various elements. failure to follow the maintenance plan in the historic mosques leads to deterioration. furthermore, a set of challenges and recommendations should be taken into consideration including applying this guide on the historical mosques in egypt and test it for the dissemination of their results or avoid the negatives. it’s also important to update and evaluate the time plan to inspect the elements of historical mosques based on what appears in the various application stages. 6. references: 1j. breen, a. boersma, (2005), "long term performance of existing pvc water distribution systems ", 9th international pvc conference, brighton, 26-28th, pp 307-315, http://www.pvc4pipes.com/images/pdfs/long-term-performance-ofexisting-pvc-water-distribution-systems.pdf. [accessed 4-22017] 2office of the legislative auditor, (2000), "preventive maintenance for local government buildings", state of minnesota, p 3, available online at www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/0006all.pdf, [accessed 26-012017]. 3 panchdhari , a. c. (2007), " maintenance of buildings ", new age international limited new delhi. 4spirinckx carolin & others, (2011), "life cycle assessment of a pp pipe system for soil and waste removal in the building (according to en 1451)", study accomplished under the authority of the european plastic pipes and fittings association – teppfa. www.bureauleiding.nl/.../epd/pp-thirdpartyreport-sept2011.pdf [accessed 4-22017] 5the economics group of nahb, (2007), "study of life expectancy of home components", national association of home builders, bank of america home equity, http://stevesmallman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/nahb-lifetimes.pdf. [accessed 4-22017] http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication geopathy, earth and human connection: natural communication mayank barjatya prithwe institute of research & development (pird), pune, maharashtra, india keywords geopathy; nature; earth energies; sustainable & natural architecture abstract bio-architect mayank barjatya works with geopathy and geobiology as a medium to learn from nature. he has been instrumental in analytical earth assessment and its impact on human health and brain connections. he proposes the model and method by which detailed geobiological study can provide us information to derive the parameters for sustainable urban planning, construction & location of buildings, underground structures, and services that actually support and promote human health and well-being. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) peer-reviewed under responsibility of archive's, the academic research community, publication 1.1. introduction to geopathy humans have always been sensitive to certain places or areas where we do not sleep well, fall ill easily, or where our performance is lower. dowsers and geo-biologists termed such zones as biological stress zones. the knowledge of this influence of the earth (geos) on living beings (bios) is called geobiology. alternately the study of disease (pathos) caused by earth (geos) is called geopathy. this has also been called geomancy in the past, with the suffix ‘mancy’ referring to the process of divination based on the earth. 1.2. natural vibrations and the human body the world sees the interaction of humans with their space with a specific eye. vibration is the key element that affects each life-form. under earth elements includes grid lines, meridians, water streams, lakes, earth cracks, shastreams, earth cavities and also earth0sky chimneys. all the earth elements are foreign to human energies and their wavelengths do not match with human wellbeing. multiple cultures and experts have proposed the model of the human being as an antenna, legs connected to the negative pole of the strata, and head connected to the positive pole of the cosmos. the human body is thus continuously a part of perennial energy exchange between the poles. this energy nourishes and sustains the human body. though we are not consciously aware of this process, our body does participate in it. it receives and stores this energy and information in its cells, whereon it goes on to influence the day to day workings of a human being. resonance is the science of communication when two bodies or objects have similar wavelengths and frequencies irrespective of this location or distance. morphogenetic field theory is based on this knowledge as stated by rupert sheldrake. following the same process of resonance, earth and human communicates through the medium of the under earth elements which is mainly 70% water, common in both. 1.3. the tradition behind geobiology since long and referred to in books of history, the process to select the suitable land to make a home had documented parameters and rituals. in india, the vedic wisdom holders had recorded the science of building construction named vastu shastra [2], the basis of this invention was scientific knowledge acquired through their doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.229 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mayank barjatya / the academic research community publication pg. 2 supersensory perceptions and practical self-application (“tapobal”).[3] science today has little knowledge of these facts and theories. the sages had a detailed knowledge of planetary cosmic forces and they were aware of its impact on the wellbeing of a human. figure 1 lord vishwakarma ( god of creation & vastu ) much before the invention of modern sciences, indian forefathers had knowledge of these forces “ vedas” has described these forces in the chapters. even in ancient times, the sages were aware of the gravitational and magnetic effect of the earth. indian vedic texts have detailed the effect of cosmic forces much before scientists in other parts of the world noticed. vastu shastra principles have always considered the geobiological impact of earth grid of energy lines revolving around the globe. the german physician dr. ernest hartmann [4]later scientifically discovered these grid lines. swiss geobiologist, blanche merz, has discovered that by taking into account the measurements of earth radiations, we can build or amplify the needed power point of the strongest vibration based on four themes – orientation, strong radioactivity, vertical strata and an absence of all trouble making hartmann intersections inside the living space. understanding these principles, we can learn more about brahma sthala [6]which is much talked about in vastu shastra.vastu shastra is a building science which describes a balance between the human beings and their environment.we can achieve peace and prosperity by following the science of vastu during the construction. home and working space constructed utilizing the parameters of vedic vastu shastra which has a universal impact remains pleasant and prosperous. feng shui [7], is the chinese interpretation of vastu shastra. it is the system of analyzing a landscape and its influence on a space. energy (chi) is the potential vibrations as per the shape of mountain, lakes, rivers, and forests, their size, disposition and the relationship between them also matters and is the deciding force to check the suitability of the site. 1.4. the natural invisible order since ages and in history, the chosen site or plot of land would be verified before using it for multiple purposes. the decision for public buildings was based on the auspiciousness after special rituals, gods’ dedications, the influence of planets, or order of the saint. as per architect vitruvius, roman’s were one of the first to determine the healthiness of a site by checking the entrails of the cows who were forced to live on the site for a year. symbolism was considered most important. time of construction of escurial palace in spain was matched with the entrance of sun and moon in aries to attain the highest military and political ambitions. the plan of this building was given the shape of a grill following the similarity to st. laurence ( martyr tortured on a grill ). pillar of the world “ axis mundi “ as per the ancients was critical factor which would help architects to determine the orientation and position in relation to the sun, earth, and planets. figure 2 labyrinth stone circle figure 3 stone henges: earth puncture http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/standing_stones_of_callanish_(callanish_i)_(9605427).jpg mayank barjatya / the academic research community publication pg. 3 a natural and invisible order was seen as an image to understand architecture by the ancients. the subtle realms material form was seen in mayan temples, chinese pagodam indian spiritual spaces and gothic cathedrals. few older carpenters in the alps respect the forest and the wood and trees are felled only during a very specific period, between december and february, following descending moon. while building each beam, rafter and stud are specifically positioned according to the original direction of growth of the construction wood. a tree grows from the earth (negative pole) to the sky (positive pole), thus wooden rafters and studs are fixed so as to have their positive pole towards the sky. to make sure a natural flow of energies between the construction and the biosphere is maintained the beams would have their positive pole towards north or east, it is well known that our planet, being a great magnet has positive and negative poles, it is surrounded by its own magnetic field (the geomagnetic field) which is pulsating at the rate of 7, 8 beats/second. location and hour of the day determines its field intensity. underground water streams and geological faults cause magnetic disturbances. multistoried and massive construction without understanding the earth energies can reduce the effects of the geomagnetic to the extent of inducing different health problems such as heart diseases. scientists and doctors in germany and france have found that out of 400 deaths due to cancer revealed that 383 cases were related to dwelling over geological faults, underground water veins, and disturbances of the natural geomagnetic field. french beekeepers specifically place hives over underground water veins. such hives can produce up to three times more honey than hives positioned a few feet away, but due to the impact of the negative vibrations the lifespan of these bees is shortened and they become aggressive. figure 4 effect of geostress on bed figure 5 origin of gesostress below homes figure 6 geo-energy grids and lightning 1.5. what is geo stress the subtle vibrations coming from mother earth has an impact on our health and can cause chronic diseases is a difficult proposition to be explained to modern educated, pragmatic person. since millions of years, we have lived with this natural vibration which rises up through earth’s mantle. subterranean running water, certain mineral concentrations, fault lines and underground cavities when encounters with these natural vibrations, their original vibrations become distorted and harmful to living organisms. in the case of running water, normally 100 to 300 ft. (30 to 90 meters) underground, an electromagnetic field is created in the opposite direction to its flow by friction which then increases these vibrations passing through by up to 30 times. gepathic stress is the phenomenon which is the effect of these higher vibrations, also known as negative energies or harmful earth rays. human, plants, and animals if resides on this earth would feel discomfort and ill health. normally, each day and each minute we are in tune with these natural earth vibrations but it does not affect us during a short duration. these essential natural vibrations have a negative effect on human energies only when spending extended time in a still position, sleeping rooms and working offices are spaces which need to be checked for geo stresses immunity and general wellbeing are compromised with the effect of geostress. continuous spending time on geostress areas may result in diseases in the periodic time frame. disturbances in sleep patterns, restlessness and/or chronic lethargy and poor health would be initial symptoms of geostress. if not treated and if the position of bed or office desk is not shifted this stress can eventually generate more complex diseases or prolong your recovery from illness. proper absorption of vitamins, minerals, trace elements etc from your food (and supplements) can be delayed or prevented when you are staying on geostress zone. also, geostress can often make you allergic to food, drinks, and environmental pollution. mayank barjatya / the academic research community publication pg. 4 1.6. the layers of geobiology the purpose of geobiology is to provide information to enable us to reproduce a space as near to natural living conditions as possible, taking into consideration the need for the comfort provided by ancient and modern technologies favorable to the environment. the quality of our home and the elements necessary as basic ingredient is defined by geobiology. several elements. factors and layers determine a peaceful house with the right balance. these elements are in three interdependent levels.  the physical level deals with all the known effects related to the quality of the earth (i.e. geological fault, water streams, radon...etc.), to the quality of the location (i.e. air pollution, noise...etc.) and the quality of the building construction.building materials have a great influence on our health, both physical and psychological. we can easily imagine ourselves stroking a piece of wood, feeling its softness and warmth. the tree has grown out from the energies of the soil, the water, and the cosmos, it radiates a message of life, very different from the message of a piece of vinyl or plastic. even the best of natural materials can become hazardous by toxic chemical treatments which are slowly releasing unhealthy emanations such as lead, cadmium, formaldehyde, phenols, organochlorine...etc. they can cause human discomforts such as nausea, headaches, insomnia, asthma, brain damage and even chronic diseases like cancer  the energy level includes the placement of a house on the energy grid, curry or hartmann nodal points and other tellurian currents, electromagnetic pollution and the faraday cage effect due to poor earthing of electric devices, reinforcement of concrete slabs and steel frames. lately, the use of artificial sources of radio electric frequencies has become a cause for concern. it has surpassed many times the production of natural sources., electromagnetic pollution has increased a hundred times during the past 30 years as per german specialist wolfgang volkrodt. low-frequency electromagnetic fields around high voltage power lines are a major cause of cancers affecting 10 to 15 % american children, this is the astonishing fact given by the new york power lines project. this research group was formed by the commission responsible for the power grid of the state of new york.  the symbolic or spiritual level, which is the least recognized, is also the most important as it is the quality of the whole. most of us can feel clearly the difference of feelings in extremes (i.e. between burial or cremation spaces and churches) and are getting affected, people who are more sensitive will perceive subtle differences that would nevertheless unconsciously influence us. according to b. merz (institute of geobiology of chardonne, lausanne in switzerland) just as space, where we spend time, can make us prone to disease or depression, another environment or vastu (in the indian context )can lift us to more subtle levels of vibration, strengthening our body and spirit. throughout history, such places are often sought after and are called sacred spaces. tourist or modern pilgrims are often inspired by such power spots which our forefather already knew, indian, aborigines, aryans and others have made several monuments and temples on these spots. obeying a sacred tradition many man-made poles of attraction were built on powerful sites by the architect priests, like the pyramids of egypt, the statues of easter island or many gothic cathedrals. the celts considered the site on which the cathedral of chartres is erected as sacred. all past energetic imprints are recorded by land. water and earth has long-lasting memory. a divergence from its ideal natural condition would create disharmony. it becomes necessary to clear stagnant vibrations and energies from your home, office or property to make it return it to its original state of perfection. change the quality of your environment, creating a sacred space for living and working. to change the quality of your environment and creating a sacred space for living and working, energy sciences such as spiritual vastu, energetic feng shui, and geophysics clearing is utilized. by connecting and working co-creatively with nature and applying quantum technologies, we can clear our habitats and earth. utilising the wisdom of our forefathers we can lift the vibrations of our communities, thereby healing ourselves and the planet. geostress corrections can be done by connecting ourselves with the spirit (energy ) of the property then clearing the negative energy that runs through the grids of the earth using a process and defined protocols. these cross grid lines when burdened with negative and noxious energy, affect the health and well-being of everything that lives on the property. 1.7. case studies 1.8. sacred biology – kedarnath temple, india it is not surprising that this pilgrimage has been the subject of many miracles that can be attributed to many phenomena geobiological and spiritual presences. mayank barjatya / the academic research community publication pg. 5 among the 12 jyotirlingas ( spiritual indian sacred spaces ) kedarnath is the highest. this 1000-year-old and enormous temple is located in the rudra himalaya range in north of india. the mystery of this building’s structure has mystified scientists for decades. the structure survived being buried under the snow for almost 400 years, with several yellow lines implying glacial movement over the stones. glaciers in this region with mud and rocks can be really abrasive. the building is 85 feet high, 187 feet long and 80 feet broad with walls of 12 feet breadth. the kedarnath temple is built strategically on 6 feet high plinth following perfect divine proportions. prithwe research team is working on this mystery, how this european system which was first discussed by vitruvius in the first century before christ reached india around 18 century? how were 12-foot wide stones cut precisely and put together with such precision in a completely inaccessible part of north india with sub-zero temperatures? figures 7, 8, 9 kedarnath temple, golden ratio & vastu diagram 1.9. urban crime – negative energies in pune city even as 11 accidents were reported on the pune-mumbai expressway in the past four days, ar mayank barjatya shows how he thinks the negative energy and other parts of the city could be measured, contained and how it affects crime. he has been studying the crime hotspots of the city. eight years ago, he had suggested that the police could reduce the negative energy by placing harmonizers in these spots. barjatya’s studies showed that the crime rate has been very strong in the south of pune, in areas like sahakar nagar, gultekdi, and wanowrie and in the north-west of the city — pimple gurav, spicer college etc. a zonal map showing the spots with the highest criminal activities was prepared accordingly. barjatya demonstrated some of his research for pune mirror by actually taking readings on apparatuses named the lekar antenna, the esmog spion and the geo magnetometer in lulla nagar-kondhwa and sangamwadi bridge, two areas marked as crime hotspots. the apparatus showed the negative energy readings confirming barjatya’s theory. in lulla nagar and kondhwa, the reading showed cosmic energy vibrating at a frequency of 12 acu units: negative 2.8 (bad for mental strength and creates confusion); global vibrations at a frequency of 15.3 acu units: negative 2.2 (poor for relationships and generate antisocial thinking); telluric vibrations of frequency 8 acu units: negative 2.3 (signalling financial weakness and unemployment). the esmog spion showed geo stress at electromagnetic readings of a high frequency: 12,000 units at all levels which is high radiation and affects brain cells and generates anti-social thinking. at wakdewadi, near the new bridge, the readings were almost the same. the police have now started compiling fresh data as statistics have mayank barjatya / the academic research community publication pg. 6 obviously changed over the past eight years. police inspector (crime branch) sunil tambe told pune mirror, “barjatya has spoken to me. we are compiling the statistics and it will be completed soon.”. figures 10: geostress measurement near crime area & map of pune city showing crime zones 1.10. road fatalities – a geopathic perspective ancient science of architecture can help avert accidents on mumbai-pune expressway. the 96-km pune-mumbai expressway has become synonymous with the fatal accidents, that seem to be happening at regular intervals other than a scenic drive. it is very common to open the day’s papers and find news about an accident that has taken place on the expressway. a pune based research academy has conducted a fresh survey of accident-prone spots on highways at this alarming rate of accidents on the expressway has taken so many innocent lives. the survey was undertaken on the cause of these accidents by ar. mayank barjatya and his team at the vastuworld academy, has given some interesting findings, according to ar. barjatya, the high-accident spots (black spots) on the mumbai-pune expressway is directly situated on geopathic stress zones, which exert a strong debilitating impact on the physiological condition of the vehicle drivers. these zones could cause critical errors while driving. after a careful study using scientific devices like geomagnetometer, lecher antenna, and esmog spion mayank barjatya and research team of vastuworld has identified seven spots on the expressway, where a number of accidents have taken place in the past few years. each of these spots has been visited by a research team has checked for telluric and other geopathic stresses. thus, kind of detection work has been done in western countries with a great deal of success, ar. mayank reveals, not exactly on express highways but the same protocols have been used to find a strong correlation between crime and geopathic stress. in the first year the crime in denver where these geospthic harmonizers where installed went down 36% and the second year it went down 51%.’ he adds further, “now we have reported in from los angeles and san diego, as well as san francisco areas where they are working with the harmonizers and clearing the geopathic stress in their areas. they all report a reduction in crime. in san diego (the first year of the project which started there in march of 1997), there is a 28% decline in drive-by shootings from the previous year. homicide rates are down 15.2% from last year, and robberies are down 31%.” it goes without saying that geopathy and accidents are related. how can use the modern system of quantum science and utilize the development in instrumentation to absorb these vibrations ?. modern scientific society needs to accept these life-saving systems and should give a thought to these solutions. mayank barjatya / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figures 11: seven geostress accident spots on mumbai-pune expressway figures 12: accident spot 1 near shedung pune india 1.11. conclusions the study of architecture, bio-energetics, and effect of geostress on human, plants, and animals has given us a new insight. learning from age-old tradition, respecting our heritage and natural building science, we can develop relevant systems to take care of human health and well-being inside a built structure. using procedures like geostress mapping and getting the measurements from the site using h3 gold lecher antenna and geo-magnetometer, we can find the quality of geo-stresses and determine the location of negative grid lines. further study on to counter and shield bioenergetics from these stress lines became a guide for us to work/research on the bio-resonance application, scientific solutions, frequency-based remedies and utilizing indian heritage symbolism which is part of the science of bio-geometry. mayank barjatya / the academic research community publication pg. 8 references 1. robert endros (le rayonnement de la terre et son influence sur la vie) signal lausanne (switzerland). 2. babonneau lafleche martin (traite de geobiologie) editions de l'aire lausanne. 3. legrais altenbach (sante et cosmo tellurisme) editions dangles (france). 4. jean charles fabre (maison entre ciel et terre). editions arista paris. 5. legrais altenbach (habitat et sante) comitel (france). 6. blanche merz (l'ame du lieu) georg geneva (switzerland). 7. vitruvius pollio (the ten books on architecture) dover publications.3. mettam gr, adams lb. how to prepare an electronic version of your article. in: jones bs, smith rz, editors. introduction to the electronic age. new york: epublishing inc; 1999. p. 281-304. 8. tapobal (https://healholistic.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/the-scientific-facts-about-vaastu-shastra/#more-545) 9. geobiology the holistic house" by j.m. gobet, b. arch 10. www.vastutimes.com 11. www.vastuworld.com http://www.vastutimes.com/ http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) impact of environment on architecture of mesopotamia with respect to the use of materials, tools and mode of construction doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.111 saira iqbal 1 1quaid e azam university islamabad , pakistan keywords architecture; environment; mesopotamia abstract through architectural and engineering skills, humanity leaves its mark upon the earth. urbanization started from mesopotamia in west asia where the mesopotamian societies flourished. they evolved into various landscapes from the metal-rich highlands and elevations of southeastern turkey to the syrian deserts, from the woodman's of the levant to the bogs of southern iraq. mesopotamian civilization, along with its architecture, survived more than three thousand years. the architecture of the mesopotamian civilization is not only portentous in its outlook and proficient in planning, but it’s also considered rational and technical with respect to its environment. the civilization was very first of its kind, having technology and urban settlements that laid the foundation of future modern settlements. it considered the region's environment and climate as pivotal in the development of its culture and architecture. this study discusses how the people, consciously or unconsciously, shaped the land or landscape around them in relation to their environment. this study is both basic and applied, according to architectural research methods. by content, the research in this article is according to the process of design and construction and the data in this research will be analyzed morphologically and technically. the mesopotamian people used mud bricks, aqueducts, wooden beams, archimedes screw, courtyard and tripartite houses. the study in this article proves that all these constructions and the techniques used were according to their environmental and climatic conditions. 1. introduction mesopotamia is in the east of the district named "fertile crescent "approximately a semi-circle with its open side facing the south and the west end to the southeast corner of the mediterranean, the center directly to the north of arabia, and the east end at the north end of persian gulf, where cultivation and farming flourished (mays l. w., 2010 p.30). (fig 1). the desert sand buried mesopotamia's great cities but its technology has survived and is in use until the present. the land of mesopotamia is divided into two ecological zones-roughly: lower mesopotamia (south) and upper mesopotamia (north). the lower mesopotamia known as southern mesopotamia or babylonian alluvium, lacked stone while in the northern mesopotamia or plains of assyria, stone was available. further differences divide southern babylonian into akkad in the north and sumer in the south. large forests were lacking, the only wood available was the date palm wood. it was the name given to the area between two rivers as was largely dependent on the two rivers named tigris and euphrates. the tigris and euphrates river both shaped the society and the minds of the dwelling communities. these rivers not only provided water for agriculture but served main routes of communication (mclntosh, 2005, p. 7) . this was the county where summer and winters reach thermometric extremes, here agriculture was contingent upon the artificial river water distribution (kuiper, 2001, p. 135) . the climate of mesopotamia was so uncertain with periodic floods that laid the basis of hydraulic saira iqbal / the academic research community publication pg. 2 engineering. the natural resources of any civilization largely determined the structural materials used by its architects and engineers – same is the case with mesopotamian civilization (faiella, 2006, p. 7). it determines the basic shape, size and the style of the architecture produced. three contributing factors to mesopotamian art and architecture are: the socio political organization of the city states and of the kingdoms and the empires succeeding them; the second, even more important factor, however, is the major role played by organized religion in mesopotamian affairs of state and the third factor is the influence of the natural environment. the practical limitations imposed upon architects by geology and climate of southern iraq are immediately apparent (kuiper, 2001, p. 136). the natural condition of this area does not favor architectural development. it is an alluvial plain and the only building material present in quantity is mud deposited by the two great rivers. mud bricks were used for private and public houses. since bitumen obtained at hits of euphrates served as the water proof material. in the north gypsum known as mosul marble but its transportation required so much man power that its use was restricted to the palaces and temples. the idea behind this research is that “enviros and climate of an area begets the architecture of an area with regard to the adoption of tools, material and mode of construction”. the research is based on the following questions: i. how and why mud was used as construction material considering developmental needs of mesopotamian people? ii. how were the houses built between the two rivers viewing the environmental conditions and feasibility of people? iii. how methods of utilizing water led to the greatest achievement in mechanical and civil engineering? this research article will deal with the architectural techniques of mesopotamian civilization with respect to the environment, that includes building material and houses, techniques and construction and hydraulic engineering. architectural research has characteristics of both scientific and technical research on the one hand and artistic and humanistic on the other hand. christopher frayling, rector of london’s royal college of art, has argued that all research in architecture revolves around one of three or either all of the three prepositions; “into”, “for” and “through” (linda n. groat , david wang , 2013). research for design typically involves investigations of new technology, products and materials. research through design embraces creative production, with the design process itself as a form of discovery new knowledge. the research in this article deals with the preposition “into” – because research into design encompasses the historical and environmental behavior research. by content, the research in this article is according to the process of design and construction. the data in this research is analyzed morphologically and technically. morphologically, it involves looking at the specific characteristics of research i.e. influence of environment on architecture. technically; it involves looking at the specific area: 1. mesopotamian civilization 2.it is specified to mud houses / their techniques and hydraulic engineering. i. climate and ecology: there is diversity in natural landscape, which includes desert, foot hills, steppes, marches, they all have one common feature: a lack of rain fall in the summer. the climate and vegetation of mesopotamia has probably not changed over the past ten thousand years. the desert zone had mild dry winters and hot, dry summers but there was no vegetation. in the foot hills, the winters were mild, and summers were dry and warm. the vegetation included oak, pine trees, terebinth trees, grasses, barley and wheat. the steppes also experienced mild and dry winters, and hot, dry summers. the steppe lands were grasslands that were almost treeless. the climate of central and southern iraq is very hot sometimes reaching 120 degrees fahrenheit in the summer (nemet-nejat, 1998, p. 12). ii. impact of environment on architecture: the research deals with the impact of the environment on architecture in relation to the building materials, techniques and utilization or construction with respect to hydraulic system. 1.1.building material of houses with respect to the environment a shelter or a house is considered protection from the weather with barrier surfaces that are supported by a structure that is based on the environmental resources. mesopotamia is a land of mud and mud-bricks architecture (moorey, 1994) . mud is a very versatile building material: walls can be built up in lumps, a technique known in arabic as ‘tauf’ and normally called pise in english (roaf, 1992, p. 423) . the clayish soil of southern mesopotamia was saira iqbal / the academic research community publication pg. 3 ideally suited for the manufacturing of bricks (bertman, 2003, p. 186). the material was then formed into rectangular bricks and left to dry (wie, 2012) . there were two kinds of dried bricks – sundried and kiln dried. the sundried bricks were somewhat durable and cheap to produce, while kiln dried bricks were expensive because they required burning fuels, so kiln baked bricks were reserved for prestigious buildings and palaces. the perfect time to make sun-dried bricks was the summer time, when the sun was hot. for this reason, the ancient mesopotamian people called the first month of summer “the month of bricks” (bertman, 2003) . eventually builders realized that mixing clay with straw made bricks stronger. it also kept mud and clay from cracking (michael woods , marry b. woods , 2000, p. 25). the shape of the mesopotamian bricks changed over the course of history. these are categorized by period. 1.patzen 80×40×15 cm: late uruk period (3600–3200 bce) 2.riemchen 16×16 cm: late uruk period (3600–3200 bce) 3.plano-convex 10x19x34 cm: early dynastic period (3100–2300 bce) the earliest examples are long and thin. beginning in the fourth millennium b.c.e and onto the third, they became uniformly rectangular, with their length double their width. in the early dynastic period, they retained their rectangular outline but acquired a convex side produced by rounding off the soft clay atop the mold. such “planoconvex” bricks with their rounded sides turned outward, created a variegated wall surface. still, later in the akkadian period, the square brick, about 14 by 14 inches, came into its own (bertman, 2003, p. 187) . the name plano-convex brick was given because of its specific shape. brick styles varied greatly over time. the advantages to plano-convex bricks were the speed of manufacturing as well as the irregular surface which held the finishing plaster coat better than a smooth surface from other brick types (delougaz, 1933). bitumen is a petroleum like substance found in the ancient near east that bounded bricks in a morerefined manner compared to ordinary mortar because of its adhesive and cohesive properties (bertman, 2003, p. 88). moreover, it was used for coating roofs and pipes. the use of bitumen was common in mesopotamia among other ancient civilizations because of its abundance in that area. mud was sometimes mixed with gravel or lime to make them more stable. lime or gravel has the capacity to become a stabilizer among other construction materials. in the present day, we use cement as a stabilizer instead of lime or gravel. lime, on the other hand, is made from the same basic material as cement, but is thousands of years old, and can be manufactured almost anywhere on the spot, for a fraction of the energy and cost of cement, and it’s a first class stabilizer for mud (s, 2013, p. 51) . just as the land of mesopotamia provided its people with the clay to make bricks and bitumen to cement them together, it also provided them with the reeds they employed to fashion some of the earliest homes. because of their natural buoyancy, bundles of reeds have long been used to make boats, but the earliest people used the same material to build houses. mud, in this manner, can effectively be used to satisfy the majority of the development needs of a general public; it can not only be utilized for fortifications, temples or palaces, but it is also a highly versatile material for domestic use. mud has a reasonable compressive strength, permitting the construction of walls, platform and arches but it’s susceptible to the effects of water, requiring the surfaces to be protected. high thermal capacity confers advantages in environmental control. a major advantage of mud is its ready availability and its ease of use (r.s narayanan , a.w.beeby , 2001, p. 56). the mud construction system is less energy intensive and very effective in different climatic conditions (s, 2013, p. 38). it is usually assumed that the addition of substances like cedar, ghee, or honey to mud mortar and bricks improves the cohesive properties. substances like tannins, proteins, or sugar can stabilize mud-bricks. (as organic material decomposes inside ageing bricks they would not easily be identified by modern analyses) (moorey, 1994, p. 305). 1.2. construction techniques town planning might sound like a modern idea, but actually, town planning started in ancient times. babylonians were the first to introduce town planning. the greek historian herodotus described the town planning of babylonians as: “it lies on a great plain , and is in the shape of a square , each side a hundred and twenty furlongs in length , thus 480 furlongs make the complete circuit of the city … they built houses , of a single chamber facing each other , with space enough for the driving of a four-house chariot … there are a hundred gates in the circle of the wall, all of bronze with posts and lintels of the same kind ….” (michael woods , marry b. woods , 2000). the building methods developed rapidly but the earliest buildings were semi sunken round huts. digging a series of holes in the ground, the builders would insert a tall bundle of reeds in each hole. a circle of holes would be used to make a circular house and two parallel rows to make a rectangular one. once the bundles were firmly inserted, the ones opposite to each other would be bent over and tied at the top to form a roof. the thick bundle of reeds provided shading and some insulation (bertman, 2003, p. 188)(fig 2)(fig 3). saira iqbal / the academic research community publication pg. 4 later on, the use of rectangular rooms with walls of sundried bricks and mud plastered roofs supported by wooden beams appeared in the husanan, sammaran and ubaid periods perhaps as early as 6000 b.c.e. before beginning construction, the buildings were thoroughly planned on a clay tablet (roaf, 1992). variations had been noticed in the construction of different houses. for example, the houses in sammaran period had many rectangular rooms with the internal walls matching the external buttresses, while those at tell-sawan were t shaped and divided into two parts. at songor and choga mami, houses were rectangular forming a regular grid. in the halaf period, the typical houses were round structures often with a rectangular annex (incorrectly called tholoi). some of the roofs of the houses were built with poles or sticks weaved with reeds having a toping of clay on it (fig 4). in the ubaid period, the houses were tripartite; they had a large central room at par with the width of the buildings with rows of smaller rooms on both sides. during the uruk period, the tripartite house continued but there was also a new form of domestic residence; a courtyard house with rooms on all sides was introduced. the main reception room was away from the entrance – on the sides of the courtyards. the courtyard houses play an important role in facilitating natural light, thermal comfort and ventilation. moreover, they also played a major role in creating an open space within houses (myneni, 2013, p. 633). they provide a cooling effect by creating conventional currents. a major challenge faced by ancient builders was that of the door and the passageways. the openings of doors and windows were as wide as the longest available beams. if too much weight was placed on the top of the lintel, the stress could cause the lintel to be damaged. the only engineering solution was to build an arch that was presented by sumerians (bertman, 2003, p. 193). the stair cases were found in the courtyards of most of the houses giving access to upper floors to the roof space of houses. (baird, 2014, p. 94) mostly wooden ladders gave access to the roof, where families spent much of their time except during the hottest part of summer days. in large mesopotamian cities, roof holes often provided the only entry. in the early dynastic period, the only consistent use of stone in the south in buildings was for door-sockets, otherwise its appearances are sporadic (moorey, 1994, p. 340). the mud brick work used in mesopotamia tended to be protected either by fired or glazed bricks on the outer face or by an imported stone facing. another example of successful use of mud in the construction of dwellings is in the arid region. the thick mud walls of houses usually were lime washed to give a light, sun reflecting surface, providing a mean of controlling the environment within the dwellings. (r.s narayanan , a.w.beeby , 2001, p. 56). the unavailability of stone and timber forced the builders to look for some other way of erecting the ceilings – the vault brick ceiling. the vaults were built without frame work as a series of arches with inclination arranged in transverse rows. in mesopotamia, an arched vault was the basis for the structure (fedulova, 2014, p. 44). the valley of the two rivers experienced floods, so all important buildings, temples and palaces were erected on high foundations or platforms. architectural expressions were based on the ratio of the volumes and the masses in the tower like ledged composition. the most important monument of sumerian architecture is the ziggurats of ur that refers to the end of 3rd millennium bc (fedulova, 2014). 1.3. hydraulic engineering hydraulic technology was in use was long before the great works of such investigators like vinci, galileo, pascal, and archimedes. the people of ancient times gained those concepts before the developments of concepts of mass momentum, conservation of mass, energy, buoyant force etc. the ideas to control the flow of water was invented in the neolithic phase but was implemented in mesopotamian period (mays l. w., 2008). mesopotamia’s land was blessed with life-giving water, and that is one of the leading reasons why civilizations began there (camp, 1995). the water had to be bent according to the use of man – this was one of the important reasons that led to the invention of the greatest achievement in civil and mechanical engineering. both the rivers tigris and euphrates were opposite in nature. the tigris was more violent than the euphrats, so the calmness of euphrates was more readily turned to farmers for aid. water lifting devices were very famous in ancient mesopotamia. shaduf – a seesaw like contraption consisting of a long pool with an empty bucket at one end and counter bucket or a counter balance at another end was used to raise the water when the water of the river dropped below the inlet point. in fact, by using more than one shaduf, water can be raised from one level to another (fig 5). to supply water to hanging gardens, an army of gardeners would have been required, but this enormous task was achieved by a device known as archimedes screw. this was the device described in the inscriptions of the assyrian period, centuries before the invention of archimedes (mclntosh, 2005). archaeologists believe that river water was taken from the river euphrates. a chain pump (a chain pump was a series of buckets on a chain looped around two wheels. the bottom wheel sat in a pool of water. as it turned the buckets dipped into the water and carried it to the upper wheel, where they tipped the water out) carried to a pool at the top of the gardens (fig 6). gardens opened to send the water into channels that watered the gardens. to stop the clay bricks from getting damp, and to avoid seepage of water, the plants grew in containers lined with stone, reeds, bitumen, tiles and lead. (samuel, 2013, p. 22) the mesopotamian people built extensive networks of canals that they dug out by using primitive hand tools, and they lined the sides with bricks (faiella, 2006, p. 28). as the flow of water depended upon gravity, the slope of the canal was critical to its operation. (bertman, 2003, p. 204). the slope of the canal had to be precise because if the saira iqbal / the academic research community publication pg. 5 slope was too steep, the water would flow too fast eroding the canal and dropping the level of water to flow out into the fields. if the slope was too gradual, water would flow too slowly and the canal would clog up with silt (faiella, 2006, p. 28). surveyors had to calculate, not only the slope of the canal, but its depth, width and positioning of sluice gates. archaeologist found a number of tablets showing the calculations for digging of a canal (fig 7). in addition to canals, wells have been formed in mesopotamia. in these wells, the bucket was easily sent in the well. this job too was made easier by the invention of the pulley (bertman, 2003, p. 205). water was regularly transported to the lands of mesopotamia by an underground conduit, using a device for underground water transportation named qanat. vertical channels were dug into the rock at regular intervals. it was a device with a constant slope having a regular series of access holes. these holes were used for maintenance and to release the air pressure that can build up and impede flow when the rush of water through the pipes becomes too fast. this qanat was not suitable for southern mesopotamia because of the softness of the earth. in southern mesopotamia, the above ground canals were the method of choice for moving water (richard w. bulliet , pamela kyle crossley , danial r. headrick , 2008). hydraulic development involved, not only the digging of canal, but also the restoration and maintenance of river courses. besides dikes and canals, rock cuts were used to block the river water for diverting water into artificial lakes (viollet, 2005, p. 30). 1.4.conclusion: mesopotamia a civilization that was the first of its kind; it had technology and urban settlements that laid the foundation of future modern settlements. it considered the region's environment and climate as pivotal in the development of its culture and architecture. this study discussed how the people consciously or unconsciously shaped the land or landscape around them in relation to their environment. the natural resources of any civilization largely determines the structural materials used by its architects and engineers – same is the case with the mesopotamian civilization. the natural condition of this area does not favor architectural development. it is an alluvial plain and the only building material present in quantity is mud deposited by the two great rivers. since bitumen obtained at hits of euphrates served as the water proof material. in the north there was gypsum, known as mosul marble, but its transportation required so much man power that its use was restricted to the palaces and temples. they therefore effectively used all the materials in construction according to their environment. as this land was largely dependent upon the two rivers, the water course and its abundance led to the invention of civil and mechanical engineering like archimedes screw, water pumps, fulcrum and pulley etc. hence environment and climate of an area begets the architecture of an area with regards to the adaption of tools, material and modes of construction. figure 1: map of mesopotamia with fertile crescent and the twin rivers figure 2 : construction of reed houses saira iqbal / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 3 : clay tablet showing a reed house figure 4: technique of roof construction figure 5: a painting of technique shaduf figure 6: mechanism of hanging garden figure 7: canals in mesopotamia acknowledgements prima facea , i am grateful to the almighty for giving me determination , vigorous and positive energies for being able to accomplish this arduos task . it gives me great pleasure in acknowledging the support of my supervisor dr. saira iqbal / the academic research community publication pg. 7 rafi ullah khan and my friend cum mentor komal nazir abbassi for their continous support , encouragement and cooperation. references 1. baird, j. (2014). the inner lives of ancient houses . new york: oxford university press . 2. bertman, s. (2003). handbook to life in ancinet mesopotamia. new york : oxford university press. breyer, m. (1999). ancient middle east. westminster: teacher created sources. 3. camp, l. s. (1995). the ancient engineers. random house publishing group. 4. delougaz, p. (1933). plano convex bricks and the method of thier employment . chicago : chicago press. faiella, g. (2006). the technology of mesopotamia . new york : the rosen publishing group . 5. fedulova, t. (2014). architecture of ancient mesopotamia . progress builders. 6. kuiper, e. k. (2001). mesopotamia the world's earliest civilization . new york: rosen educational services. 7. levey, m. (n.d.). clay and its technology in ancient mesopotamia . centaurus-an international journal of the history of science and its cultural aspect . 8. linda n. groat , david wang . (2013). architecture research methods. new jersey : john wiley & sons . mays, l. w. (2008). a very brief history of hydraulic technology during antiquity . environ fluid mechanics . mays, l. w. (ed.). (2010). ancient water technologies. new york : springer . 9. mclntosh, j. (2005). ancient mesopotamia : new perspectives. california: abc-clio. 10. michael woods , marry b. woods . (2000). ancient construction : from tents to tower . minneapolis: runestone press. 11. moorey, p. r. (1994). ancient mesopotamian materials and industries : the archaelogical evidences . usa: oxford university . 12. myneni, k. k. (2013). “courtyard as a building component its role and application in developing a traditional built form, creating comfort: a case of athangudi village, india. international journal of chemical, environmental & biological sciences (ijcebs) volume 1. 13. nemet-nejat, k. r. (1998). daily life in ancient mesopotamia . london: green wood press. 14. r.s narayanan , a.w.beeby . (2001). introduction to design for civil engineers . london: spon press . 15. richard w. bulliet , pamela kyle crossley , danial r. headrick . (2008). the earth an its people . new york : houghton mifflon company . 16. roaf, m. (1992). palaces and temples in ancient near east . in m. roaf, mesopotamia and the ancient near east . 17. iraq: stonehenge press . 18. s, s. j. (2013). mud architecture . international journal of innovative research in science, engineering and technology, 48. 19. samuel, c. (2013). technology in mesopotamia . new york: garith stevens . 20. viollet, p.-l. (2005). water engineering in ancient civilizations : 5000 years of history . taylor and francis group. wie, j. (2012). great inventions that changed the world . new jersey : john wiley & sons . 21. yglesias, c. (2014). the innovative use of material in architecture and landscape. north carolina: mcfarland and company ,inc. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication buildings orientation and its impact on the energy consumption rania e. ashmawy1, neveen y. azmy1 1faculty of engineering, tanta university, tanta ,egypt abstract nowadays, many countries suffer from severe shortage of energy resources and the inability of saving it. it is necessary to develop an integrated strategy, to make buildings consume less energy and to integrate active and passive design techniques. since the building orientation is one of the most important factors affecting energy consumption, this paper addresses the effect of building orientation on the amount of energy consumption within buildings. we employ the simulator ”energy-plus” to estimate energy consumption annually and during critical months in summer and winter. to obtain the best orientation for maximum energy saving, different orientations are tested. it is found that an air-conditioned building that has a southern facade consumes less energy. however, a western facade causes higher annual energy consumption by 26% over the southern facade. in the case of a two-facade building, the lowest energy consumption is obtained between the northern and southern orientations in cairo, egypt. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords buildings orientation; active techniques; energy consumption; cairo; passive techniques 1. introduction energy represents a major component in any country’s economy and hence it affects the world’s economy. saving energy consumption, especially in buildings, directly affects national economy. the shortage in the traditional energy sources and the early stages in using the renewable energy sources motivated the design of energy saving buildings. many design treatments are developed to achieve energy saving. these treatments are targeted to enhance the thermal performance of the building shell e.g. walls, ceilings, floors, and openings (marszal, heiselberg, bourrelle, musall, voss, sartori, & napolitano, 2011). many studies have tried to reveal the effect of the building shell components and its orientation on energy usage efficiency (pai, 2015). many passive and active strategies for energy saving are employed to enhance the efficiency of cooling, warming, ventilation and lighting (sadineni, madala, & boehm, 2011). the effect of building shell improvement on the of energy consumption efficiency is extensively studied. this includes the techniques for thermal insulation for walls and ceilings and the techniques for openings shading, the type of glazing, and the window-wall ratio (wwr). in addition, the building orientation was subject to many experiments, especially in cold regions. this paper focuses the effect of building orientation on the amount of consumed energy. this is important as the orientation is a basic factor that affects the exposure to sun radiations and hence the thermal acquisition, ventilation and lighting. the amount of consumed energy in a hot dry climate is calculated for the different orientations pg. 35 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.344 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ashmawy / the academic research community publication annually and during critical months in winter and summer. the building is modeled and its orientation is changed by 15 degrees to calculate energy consumption every 15 degree including the basic orientations (north – south – east –west). the study area adopted is cairo, which is the capital of egypt. 1.1. objectives this research objective is to obtain the building orientation that provides the maximum reduction of energy consumption, while achieving the thermal comfort, and attaining the window wall ratio 20%, according to the egyptian code of energy, to find the optimum orientation that achieves lower thermal loads and less energy consumption for months. 1.2. research methodology the methodology is based on the study of energy problem, its causes and their impacts on the buildings sector. in addition, we discuss different strategies and architectural solutions to reduce energy consumption in buildings. the study of the effect of buildings’ orientations on reduction of energy consumption is achieved by using the simulation program “energy plus”. the impact of different orientations on the study model is calculated every 15 degrees. the selected study area is the city of cairo, egypt. the consumed energy in summer and winter is monitored to get the optimum orientation for achieving lower energy consumptions inside the building. the energy consumed in summer and winter is measured during the critical months and is annually measured. 2. the energy problem at the beginning of the new century and the fall of the global economy and with lower global energy indicators, it was necessary to pay attention to the energy problem because it would represent a radical part of our daily lives. moreover, our dependence on traditional energy increases every day, especially with the massive technological progress, which increases our energy needs. it is known that buildings constitute nearly half of global energy and local consumption. the high-energy consumption in buildings is due to the use of separate glass facades in our environment besides the increased dependence on mechanical methods instead of dependence on the most suitable designs. due to separation from our environment, it was necessary to establish new rules for the formation of our lives and to rationalize the consumption of non-renewable energy. it should be a trend to find a strategy to take advantage of the natural energies that is abundant in the arab world, such as solar energy and wind energy. solar energy stands as the best choice for consumption in comparison to other forms of energy. however, the challenges facing this system are seen in the difficulty of covering the needs of big cities and supplying energy for longer periods of time. these challenges push us to seek energy-saving architectural designs that depend on its structure to improve the building design performance in manner that makes it an energy-saver. if integrating it with renewable energy structure, it will become a low energy consumption building (pérez-lombard, ortiz, & pout, 2008). research has focused on studying the strategies that work to reduce energy consumption by controlling the building envelope as shown by the following. 3. energy reduction strategies for the building envelope (algohary, 2002). reducing energy consumption inside a building depends on the passive and active techniques as in figures (1), (2) (ashmawy, 2015). the figures show solar passive and active technologies that through their integration, low energy building can be achieved (givoni, 1991). however, because of the high cost of the active techniques, which rely on energy generation inside the building, this research deals with passive solar technologies that can be employed for the building design and operation. passive strategies for building design and processing help to avoid heat gain and pg. 36 ashmawy / the academic research community publication to reduce cooling loads. this leads to reducing energy consumption in summer and winter periods and along the entire year, and provides a range of thermal comfort for users in addition to reducing dependence on mechanical means. 4. passive solar strategies for energy consumption reduction ”building design” passive solar strategies and techniques depend on building design, orientation, efficiency of its outer envelope, and treating roofs, openings and outer walls. this helps controlling the consumed energy and achieving thermal comfort. the following discussion will explain this (paul, 2001). figure 1. passive solar strategies to reduce energy consumption inside buildings (ashmawy, 2015). figure 2. activesolar strategies to reduce energy consumption inside buildings (ashmawy, 2015). pg. 37 ashmawy / the academic research community publication 4.1. orientation of the building building orientation represents the relation between its elevations and the original geographical direction. in design process, it is important to consider the actual quantity of solar radiation on the facades of a building as a whole, as it affects the thermal load of the building and controls the thermal behavior and the amount of thermal comfort of the space (morrissey, moore & horne, 2011). in addition, it affects the quantity of ventilation crossing inside the building, which in turn affects the quantity of energy consumed in it to achieve the thermal and life requirements. 4.2. the window wall ratio windows are openings, which represent the weak areas in the outer envelope of the building, where the building is susceptible to the highest intensity of radiation through the opening, which means that it allows the entry of solar radiation to insider spaces. therefore, handling the windows has an effective role in reducing the thermal loads inside the building. ratio of windows in the facades varies according to its orientation. the thermal load on the facades of the building varies from one direction to another direction according to the movement of the sun in summer and winter, which requires the reduction of windows in a specific area of facades and increase them in certain facades (goia, 2016). 4.3. the glass thickness glass is one of the important determinants of openings; it is the means of transmission of light rays into the inner spaces. when the solar radiation is incident on the surface of the glass, a portion of it enters the space and absorbed, and the glass material absorbs another portion and the rest is reflected outside the space. the reflected part depends on the angle of the incidence of the solar radiation; either absorbed part will transfer via convection and conduction properties of the materials (vanhoutteghem, skarning, hviid & svendsen, 2015). 4.4. shading system a shading system is the means used for treating the different openings for significantly reducing the acquisition of heat into the building through them. in addition, it improves the quality of natural lighting in the spaces, depending on the number and location of windows. also, it contributes to improving the convenience of users visually and thermally by reducing glare and the thermal acquisition, in addition to controlling the natural ventilation (david, donn, garde, & lenoir, 2011). 4.5. thermal insulation thermal insulation is used to reduce heat transfer from outside to inside and vice versa. studies indicate that the heat transmitted through walls and ceilings in the summer is approximately 60-70% of the heat removed by air conditioning. the rest comes from the windows and air vents, and requires that electrical energy consumption of up to 66% of total energy consumption. therefore, we must use heat-insulating materials that reduce the influx and the flow of heat through the various structural elements and thus help in the rationalization of electricity consumed in the summer cooling and winter heating (eben saleh, 1990). 5. different orientation patterns and their impact on reducing energy and achieve thermal comfort (shick, 2009) building orientation and openings play an important role in achieving thermal comfort and reduction of energy consumed in cooling, heating, lighting, or any other purposes. it is found that many studies prefer to take the pg. 38 ashmawy / the academic research community publication building longitudinal direction axis along the east-west direction, so that the southern facade takes the largest amount of the heat in the cold period as the north façade takes less amount in extremely hot period, depending on the azimuth and elevation angles of the sun in summer and winter. therefore, this research paper studies the different orientations and their impact on reducing energy consumption to reach the best orientation that achieves greater thermal comfort and makes full use of lighting and natural ventilation. this is reflected in reduction of energy consumption in buildings. the energy consumption is studied and modeled for every 15 degrees from the north to the south over a year as shown below. 6. the applied study the energyplustm simulation program is used to study the effect of orientation on energy consumption of the model every 15 degrees. the amount of energy consumed per year is monitored to report the change during the critical months in the summer and winter and to find the loads affecting the consumption rates. 6.1. simulation tool description the energyplustm simulator is an energy simulation program for building to model both energy consumption for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and plug and process loads—and water use in buildings. a full list of its capabilities can be found in (energyplus). the developers of energyplus test it using industry standard methods. the goal is to assure reliable and accurate results as possible. it is subject to analytical tests such as hvac tests, based on ashrae research project 865 and building fabric tests, and is based on ashrae research project 1052. it is also subject to comparative tests such as ansi/ashrae standard 140-2011, energyplus hvac component comparative tests and energyplus global heat balance tests (energyplus). overall, the results of energyplus compared very closely with the analytical results obtained from the ashrae 1052-rp toolkit. in a study by and̄elković, mujan, & dakić (2016) an experimental validation test for energyplus shows that simulation results are very close to the measurements in the experiment proposed throughout it. hence, the energyplus can be considered a reliable simulation tool. 6.2. the study model buildings consume approximately 45% of the total energy consumption in any country. therefore, when developing a strategy to reduce energy, buildings sector should be taken into account to reduce energy consumption in it. therefore, many countries today seek how to realize the principle of energy-saving and low-energy buildings by the year 2020. this target motivated the choice of the research study model that is selected for the study, which is a room with a bathroom as an extension. such a unit is the core for most of the buildings used by individuals of residential buildings and hotels buildings. the room-area is (7.2 x 3.6) square meters (m2). a bathroom of area (2.4 x 2.4 ) squared meters is appended to that room. the room is painted using white color. the height of them is 3.3 meters. it includes one window as shown in figure (3). the window is square shaped with size of (1.9x1.9) squared meters i.e. 3.6 square meters. the glazing is a one layer transparent glass of thickness 3 mm. its lattice has total solar permeability of 0.64 and 0.9 photovoltaic permeability. this glazing specification represents the quality and type of the commonly used glass in egypt. the details of the structural components of the selected room and the determinants of key elements used, which are installed within the environmental simulation program, are found in table (1). note that the layers of structural elements are arranged from the inside outside. it is assumed that the building is fully air-conditioned throughout the day and it is not allowed to open windows and there is full dependence on the air supply in accordance with the air-conditioning system. pg. 39 ashmawy / the academic research community publication this assumption is important for rooms, especially for hotels in egypt, as the climate is very hot in summer and cold in winter. this necessitates the existence of air conditioners to achieve the thermal comfort for residents. table 1: research sample characteristics figure 3. model under thermal characteristics of the study area (hasanin, 2000). the city of cairo lies on the sides of nile river islands in the north of egypt directly southeast of the point where the river leaves its limits in the desert and becomes two branches in low-delta region. it represents the highest populated city in egypt and it is characterized by climatic characteristics of this region. cairo climate is characterized by high temperature during the summer months and cold during the winter months. the average pg. 40 ashmawy / the academic research community publication daily range of temperature in the month of july (summer) is between 37 ◦c and 21 ◦ c, while the average daily range during the month of january (winter) is between 17 ◦ c and 6 ◦c. solar glare rates in cairo reach a maximum of 95% in summer, while in december the glare rates in winter are about 60% as shown in table (2). table 2: climate zone characteristics 6.3. analysis of the energy consumed in different directions using the simulation program ”energyplus”, the energy consumption has been studied and analyzed for the model every 15 degrees for cairo region throughout a year and during the summer and winter months as shown in table (3,4,5,6) (h: heating , c:cooling , l:lighting , eq :equipment) . table 3: analysis of energy consumption in the directions (north + northeast) annually and during the summer and winter pg. 41 ashmawy / the academic research community publication table 4: analysis of energy consumption in the directions (east + southeast) annually and during the summer and winter months pg. 42 ashmawy / the academic research community publication table 5: analysis of energy consumption in the directions (east + southeast) annually and during the summer and winter months pg. 43 ashmawy / the academic research community publication table 6: analysis of energy consumption in the directions (west + northwest) annually and during the summer and winter months pg. 44 ashmawy / the academic research community publication figure (4) summarizes the results of estimation for the interior energy consumed in heating, cooling and lighting loads in summer, winter and all over the year for different directions that spaced by 15 degrees. figure 4. total energy consumed annually in the cooling, heating and lighting in different directions it shows that lighting loads are almost constant in most of the orientations. heating and cooling loads are fully responsible for the energy consumed at different orientations. moreover, most of the energy consumed is for cooling, which is the main source of energy consumption in egypt and the study area. it represents folds of heating loads around the southern and western orientations. up to half of the energy consumed in cooling is consumed for heating annually in the northern direction and orientation slanted especially toward east. the figure shows also that north orientation and (north + east) at angles of 15 and 30 degrees with the north represent the orientation for the least energy consumed in the cooling load per year, while the heating loads per year increase. the orientations of south especially the (south + west) at an angle of 15 and 30 degrees with the south introduce the least heating loads. the western direction and (south + west) at angles of 75.60 with south, the orientation for highest energy conpg. 45 ashmawy / the academic research community publication sumption in cooling affects the total energy consumed annually in these directions. figure (5) shows how much energy that annually consumed in different directions every 15 degrees, which is measured using the energy plus program. figure 5. total energy consumption per year in different directions it was found that the total energy consumed annually in the simulated room (study model), reaches a lower level when the room is in the direction of the south (3636.35 kw / h per year), followed by the direction south-east oblique angle 15 with the south (3661.41 kw / q). when the room is directed towards the north west at an angle 60 with the north the energy consumption becomes (4590.2 kw / h), which represents the highest level of annual consumption. this means that the southern façade, without any processors, gives less annual consumption of energy, so as to their role in achieving warm during the winter months, in addition to the fact that the east-south direction makes the energy consumed in the summer significantly less than that in the south-west orientation. it was observed that the maximum percentage reduction in the energy of the room consumption in different directions up to about 26% from the maximum value which is about (1000 kw). to reach the best direction for the rooms of the building and openings in terms of energy consumption, the following is measured – the energy consumed in every two opposite facades. – total energy consumption for a group of adjacent rooms that consists of the basic simulated room as a building unit. this allows finding how the impact of opposite facades on the amount of energy consumed, as well as to know the amount of energy that is reduced in the case of repetitive room construction. 6.4. analysis of the energy consumed in every two opposite facades because in urban planning, resort buildings face to achieve parallel road networks, we collect the energy consumed in all every two opposite interfaces to reach the best two opposite interfaces for reducing energy consumption, as shown in figure (6). it was found that the buildings with opposite facades that are oriented at (north south) represent the maximum reduction in energy consumption. the facades at (northeast southwest) at an angle of 15 degrees and (northwest southeast) at an angle of 15, caused an increase by 1.6% over the (north south) orientation. moreover, the energy consumption increases by nearly 5% over the north-south orientation, for the facades at (northeast + south-west) at an angle 30 and (northwest southeast) at an angle 30. interfaces with oblique angle of 45 represent the worst facades, as the energy consumption is over 8.8% of the energy consumption by (north + south) direction. when the facades (east + west) are monitored, it is found that the energy consumption significantly increased. energy consumption increases up to 13.7% over that for the facades (north south). this confirms that the facades in the direction (east west) suffer from an increase in the annual consumption to achieve the requirements of cooling, heating and lighting. pg. 46 ashmawy / the academic research community publication figure 6. total energy consumption in all two interfaces opposite annually 6.5. the study of consumed energy for adjacent chain of rooms that built using the core room model figure 7. the compound model for the study model to evaluate the impact of orientation on energy consumed within a whole building, the annual energy consumption for a model combines 20 units (modeled rooms); each 10 units constitute a façade as shown in figure (7). the direction of the combination is then changed by 15 degrees to calculate the annual energy consumption for all directions. the results of this experiment are shown in figure (8), which depicts the compound model by examining these figures, interesting results can be found. for the rooms chain model, the orientation (north-south) causes a decrease of the annual energy consumed to about 8577 kw as compared to orientation (east-west), which is equivalent to about 9% of the total energy consumed annually. economically, and in terms of electric power prices according to egyptian tariff, the reduction in annual energy consumption price in the direction (north-south) compared to the direction (east-west) is about 13%, which is equivalent to more than (3000 egp) per floor of this model. figure 8. total energy consumption of the model compound annually in different directions in case of the 15 degrees obliqueness with the (north-south) toward east, the increase of annual energy consumption does not exceed the (north-south) direction by more than 1.2%. when this 15-degree obliqueness is with west, the consumption increases by 1.7% as compared to the basic (north-south) direction. this represents slight pg. 47 ashmawy / the academic research community publication difference compared to the basic (north-south) direction. similarly, if the obliqueness is 30 degrees instead of 15 degrees and toward east, there is an increase of 3.7%. if the obliqueness is toward west, the increase is 4.3% as compared to the basic (north-south) direction. this increase is less than 5%, which makes it ineffective in terms of annual energy consumption at that basic direction. hence, it is clear that the building orientation has an impact on annual, summer and winter energy consumption. 7. conclusions in the hot arid zone climate like the city of cairo that is the capital of egypt, it is found that the building orientation has a major effect on the amount of the energy consumed to achieve comfort for its users. as the building is adapted to the local climate, it can benefit from the surrounding environment and achieve users comfort. this will directly reflect on reducing the energy consumption. it is found that a southern facade results in the least energy consumption because of lower heating loads in winter. however, the western facade causes the highest annual energy consumption by 26% over the southern façade. in case of two facades for the building, the optimum orientation for least energy consumption is the north-south. the orientation that is leaning with an angle ranges from 15 to 30 degrees with east causes slight higher consumption than the north-south. the orientation that leans from 15 to 30 degrees with the west leads to slight higher consumption than the former. these two leaning directions introduce low rates in annual energy consumption, which is no more than 5% as compared to the north-south direction. in the simulated compound model (the chain of adjacent modeled rooms), it is found that the energy consumption for the facades north-south is lower than the energy consumption for the facades east-west by nearly 10%, which is reflected on reducing the annual energy consumption rates by about 13%. 8. references 1. algohary, s., (2002) “the importance of energy and environmental aspects in the design of solar passive building”, doctor degree, ain shams university. 2. and̄elković, a. s., mujan, i., & dakić, s. (2016). experimental validation of a energyplus model: application of a multi-storey naturally ventilated double skin façade. energy and buildings, 118, 27-36. 3. ashmawy, r.e., (2015), establish a sustainable strategies for low energy building. master thesis, faculty engineering. tanta university 4. david, m., donn, m., garde, f., & lenoir, a. (2011). assessment of the thermal and visual efficiency of solar shades. building and environment,46(7), 1489-1496. 5. eben saleh, m. a. (1990). thermal insulation of buildings in a newly built environment of a hot dry climate: the saudi arabian experience. international journal of ambient energy, 11(3), 157-168 6. energy design tools. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.energy-design-tools.aud.ucla.edu/ 7. energyplus. (n.d.). retrieved from https://energyplus.net/ 8. givoni, b. (1991). performance and applicability of passive and low-energy cooling systems. energy and buildings, 17(3), 177-199 9. goia, f. (2016). search for the optimal window-to-wall ratio in office buildings in different european climates and the implications on total energy saving potential. solar energy, 132, 467-492. 10. hasanin, t. g. h. (2000). trains of urban development in egypt, update evaluation for the experience of new urban communities. pg. 48 ashmawy / the academic research community publication 11. marszal, a. j., heiselberg, p., bourrelle, j. s., musall, e., voss, k., sartori, i., & napolitano, a. (2011). zero energy building–a review of definitions and calculation methodologies. energy and buildings, 43(4), 971-979 12. morrissey, j., moore, t., & horne, r. e. (2011). affordable passive solar design in a temperate climate: an experiment in residential building orientation. renewable energy, 36(2), 568-577. 13. pai, m. y. (2015). effect of building orientation and window glazing on the energy consumption of hvac system of an office building for different climate zones. international journal of engineering research & technology (ijert), 4(9), 838-843. 14. paul, t. (2001). passive solar design for the home 15. pérez-lombard, l., ortiz, j., & pout, c. (2008). a review on buildings energy consumption information. energy and buildings, 40(3), 394-398. 16. sadineni, s. b., madala, s., & boehm, r. f. (2011). passive building energy savings: a review of building envelope components. renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 15(8), 3617-3631. 17. shick, w.l.,(2009). effects of building orientation on energy savings”, small homes council– building research council, university of illinois, champaign. 18. vanhoutteghem, l., skarning, g. c. j., hviid, c. a., & svendsen, s. (2015). impact of façade window design on energy, daylighting and thermal comfort in nearly zero-energy houses. energy and buildings, 102, 149-156. pg. 49 introduction objectives research methodology the energy problem energy reduction strategies for the building envelope (algohary, 2002). passive solar strategies for energy consumption reduction "building design" orientation of the building the window wall ratio the glass thickness shading system thermal insulation different orientation patterns and their impact on reducing energy and achieve thermal comfort (shick, 2009) the applied study simulation tool description the study model analysis of the energy consumed in different directions analysis of the energy consumed in every two opposite facades the study of consumed energy for adjacent chain of rooms that built using the core room model conclusions references http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) fine values for urban coordination in spaces of new communities of economic housing doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.138 muhammad yunus fekry amer 1 1assistant teacher interior architecture and decoration faculty of fine arts south valley university keywords urban coordination design sites identity ecology morphological configuration of the city abstract the idea of this research was developed as a result of the new direction of urban development taking place in the arab reupblic of egypt along with the emergence of new cities that mark a new age in egypt’s modern history. this paper also highlights the importance of completing important national projects with the highest possible standards and least possible cost in order to satisfy the people’s needs. egyptian artists have always excelled in the field of architecture as their creations are still present today and they all mark these architects’ interaction with the natural environment in terms of the materials used. these characteristics are now a way to distinguish egyptin artists because of the different analyses carried out for the modes of movement, the intersection of lines, shapes, light, colors, and consistency along with the various cultural values that contribute to the enrichment of egyptian history. there is a set of visual determinants and characteristics that are exclusive to every city, this, in turn, shows each city in its aesthetic form that distinguishes it from others. this is dependent on a group of environmental and design-based characteristics that are used when aesthetically designing a city. this is starting with its morphological model which is concerned with the overall aesthetic design of the city and ending with applying the values of the deisgn of urban coordination of sites (landscape), which is concerned with the design of public spaces. a good design is one that applies all the visual and aesthetic determinants needed for their formation. the concept of identity is considered one of those concepts that are hard to accurately explain as it’s more of an ecological concept rather than a scientific one. identity plays a leading role in the design of buildings that manage to reflect the environment which it’s in, as it is considered the main criterion for measuring the success of the community. on that basis, the identities of buildings are developed as a result of employing specific elements. the built environment therefore is an effective means through which the community can confirm its identity and distinguish itself among other communities. the establishment of new communities: there are many motives behind the creation of the new cities, and these motives are economic, social or ideological and more motives may exist, including: redistributing citizens over the country, directing the urban growth of remote places, and trying to go beyond the narrow strip of the nile valley (1). new cities have emerged and were set as an example of innovative way to highlight the relationship between humans and buildings, land, and development. this is what we aim to document along with the extent of benefits muhammad yunus / the academic research community publication pg. 2 these new communities gained from urban development and the new aesthetic values and from presenting new aesthetic characteristics (2). fine determinants of urban communities: there are a set of visual limitations that every city generally has in order to show that it has an aesthetic form that distinguishes it from other cities, depending on a variety of factors. this depends on a group of factors considered when designing a city starting with its morphological model that is concerned with the overall beauty of the city and ending with applying the values of the deisgn of urban coordination of sites (landscape), which is concerned with the design of public spaces. a good design is one that applies all the visual and aesthetic determinants needed for their formation. this allows for the creation of buildings that are similar to those in european countries because they include all the necessary architectural considerations on different levels that cimpliemnt each other, those include urban coordination, urban design, and attentiveness to detail in order to fit the general aesthetic form. this is exactly what fails to take place in egyptian cities as all the aforementioned steps and requirements are applied, but without considering aesthetic design. there are several things that are neglected, such as the study of visual dimensions or highlighting the importance of interior architecture even though they have serious psychological and physiological effects on the residents of these buildings and their vistors (3). this research aims t highlight the importance of creating an environment that is visually appealing by applying aesthetic values and urban coordination and development that the responsible architect depends on when designing the building internally in public spaces, this is done in order to beutify egyptian cities. this is carried out by studying their forms and their relationship to the surrounding building elements, colors, and the design of streets in order to improve the visual image of the city. the design of the city should reflect its identity so that it could be on the same level of private projects that have high-quality buildings, but at a more economical level. citizens' needs in new communities: residential buildings represent the largest part of buildings in general in newer cities as well as open areas and different service structures. in his famous model in which he gradually arranged the aggregation of basic human needs, abraham maslow pointed out that each individual needs overlapping and interrelated priorities that he or she seeks to achieve and these can be arranged in the following points: the provision of material needs. provide safety, security and protection. the provision of belonging to the environment and to achieve social networking being autonomous the possibility of creativity and cognitive needs (4) it is evident that the government and ministries that are specialized in architecture sought to establish residential buildings subsidized by the government. these were designed and implemented quickly but it resulted in the creation of superficial buildings that defy all developmental values. they represent architecture that is applied without thinking or innovating. there also buildings that with designs that do not match the requirements of the environment, and proved to fail for many reasons, such as they cause a defect in the urban environment as a result of disintegration of the fabric (5). problems of open areas: cities have become cement forests devastating our natural environment making it void of green spaces poor distribution of green areas the control of the mechanical movement on the formation of the urban fabric is considered to be worthy of the rights and needs of pedestrians the absence of humanitarian dimensions when designing open areas. man-made constructions established on green areas misuse of the open areas muhammad yunus / the academic research community publication pg. 3 figure (1) describes the cement forests of the city and the lack of respect for the green areas and privacy of the population along with the lack of interest in protecting public spaces and taking care of building fronts the causes of these problems: the absence of a comprehensive thoughts to implement open area planning strategies at the national, regiobal and local levels. the absence of the overall concept of a network of open areas, resulting in poor distribution of sites that are not linked to each other. lack of financial resources that allow the provision and maintenance of open areas. increased population and structural density, high real estate value of the land. neglect and deterioration of the existing few open areas and the lack of periodic maintenance. lack of environmental awareness among visitors and users of the open areas and it’s not maintained figure 1 shows the layout of the point of attractions in new cities ancient egyptian artist and its interaction with the environment: the ancient egyptian artist interacted with and excelled in architecture as their creations are still present today and they all mark these architects’ interaction with the natural environment in terms of the materials used. these characteristics are now a way to distinguish egyptin artists because of the different analyses carried out for the modes of movement, the intersection of lines, shapes, light, colors, and consistency along with the various cultural values that contribute to the enrichment of egyptian history (7). an architect is always a true reflection of his or her environment in all its historical stages because he or she has become the architect that he or she currently is as a result of the interaction of environmental factors such as the climate, economy, society, education, history, and religion. the interior architecture muhammad yunus / the academic research community publication pg. 4 of the environement comes as a result of the relationship between the natural environment and the design of the environement. this achieves compatibility between design and the surrounding environement and focuses on compatibility and harmony between the elements of design. this is in addition to trying to make full use of the sources of inspiration for natural objects through their internal construction and external characteristics to achieve creative design treatments. the task of the interior designer is to develop the principles and foundations, shape and design, and to be inspired by the natural elements to create a link between them and the external and internal designs. interior architecture plays an influential role in new architectural societies in terms of internal and external design as it provides the person with the suitable spaces and it deals with the natural and surrounding environements and the materials that are suitable in that particular time and place. it also plays a role in creating internal and external spaces that attracts people (8). environmental design: a modern trend in the field of design emphasizes how to preserve the environment and create a link between the economy and beauty. the designer is the person who links the products at hand to elements of the ecosystem and thus reach a positive environment and not a negative one. organic design: this refers to the integration of design with the properties of materials and ores while respecting the homogeneous relations between the shape, design and function of the interior space. this attempts visual communication and integration with the surrounding natural environment by studying its analysis of the organic elements of nature. the following are the characteristics of living plants and animals so that organic design can be influenced by the natural envirnement: 1.visual communication 2. added (growth) 3. texture 4. link design to the natural environment 5. merger 6. unity and integration 7. motion 8. flexibility 9. optical modulation 10. dormancy 11. cohesion 12. repetition 13. natural raw materials 14. gradient 15. overlap and connect 16. colors 17. impartiality 18. containment (9) figure (2) this innovative design illustrates the application of the thought of organic design in the open areas inspiration from nature nature is a source of inspiration in arts and architecture and the designer is aware of the importance of being inspired by the elements of the natural environment in his work. this is important in order to establish the concept of the natural environment as a superior one over formation systems and design solutions through the extraction (unity proportion rhythm raw materials balance dots lines spaces shapes texture colors) from natural elements. this is manifested in interior architecture which draws on and borrows from elements of the surrunding muhammad yunus / the academic research community publication pg. 5 natural environment. this achieves the compatibility between the form of design and function in order to reach the design that is both attractive, functional, and environmentally friendly (10). the factors of location and urban configuration: every location has unique characteristics or a distinct personality that is formed based on its natural potential and functional importance on the level of the city or region in which it is located, as follows: a. natural possibilities: some of the locations have advantageous characteristics like differences in elevation, a mountaineous background, beaches, and green areas. they therefore need to be proportioned in a visually appealing way in order to be able to take advantage of them correctly and develop them. b. the location of the given area in relation to the city: some places have unique locations within the city like in the center of the city, the borders of the city, city entrances, and a place that links all the traffic axes in the city. this gives them a functional importance and they have their own visual properties that have to be studied and developed, especially in visual aspects to achieve a balance between functional needs and aesthetic characteristics. c. the urban configuration of the area: the follow-up of the spaces and the layout of their distribution gives a special character to the region and provides opportunities for visual coordination to raise the visual environment of those spaces. the formation of these spaces varies in size and proportions of spatial dimensions and architectural elements that define the entrances and exits, and the relationship of these spaces with the activities practiced within and around (11). technological factors: this factor includes several elements from one era to another and from one society to another and it consists of building materials and the techniques followed during construction along with scientific and technological methods. building materials and construction methods affect the shape and structure of architectural spaces and this is evident in a new building if it reflects the magnitude of its development in its modern building materials, construction methods, and technological techniques. that is also evident when it comes to its large size along with its color and texture (12). figure (3) shows us how we depend on modern materials and new thinking in design role of urban coordination: the city has a very complex form, as its elements are overlapping and intertwined, and the realization of the city’s distinct visual identity is through visual images that conform to artistic and aesthetic architecture along with functional, social, and cultural values on which urban planning is based on. the role of urban planning is to recreate the visual identity of architecture using different ways such as the individual attempts that lean towards the concepts of unconcious beutification. architecture in general is a series of visual sequences that cannot contracdict with personal concepts. to activate the concept of integration between science of architecture, arts and aesthetics within the framework of an integrated design stemming from the concepts of civilization, culture and heritage. muhammad yunus / the academic research community publication pg. 6 encourage the spread of works of art in the urban spaces of the city provided that it represents a high level of thought and art and enhances the surrounding environment (13). figure (4) this is the design of one of the open areas between the units urban area were employed plants of different colors and artwork, and environmental and natural materials to create a unique visual spectacle. the design and coordination of external sites: the coordination of sites aims to integrate the sophisticated environment that is coherent and therefore serves the needs and demands of humans that require a harmonious and balanced interaction together with nature in its various elements and to get out of the state of monotony in architecture and add excitement to the urban environment and to meet the desire of man to approach the natural components of the environment, which is his first interest. figure (5 6 7) it is a range of different solutions in the coordination of external internet sites and the use of natural raw materials with the use of new possibilities and innovative design solutions. planning and coordinating sites: it is the technical process of science (engineering, agricultural and planning) to design, coordinate and improve and beautify the elements of life which contributes to the environmental balancing process, a continuous process of endless creation of the site and format. the site planning and coordination processes are very similar to the design and coordination of an internal space consisting of floors, walls and ceilings (horizontal and vertical elements). the sites are of two types: natural land scape: are existing sites as innate nature without human intervention, but by the laws of the life cycle and their interactions with each other, all these natural sites have distinct features (land scape character). muhammad yunus / the academic research community publication pg. 7 manmade land scape: they are the sites that involve human intervention in the components and elements where humans removed some elements of the original site and added other ways or their own distinct style (14). the objectives of planning and coordinating sites: − recreation and recuperation and convalescence and practice sports. − separation between buildings in crowded areas and provide privacy where required to do so. − provide places for children to play especially those living in apartments in high-rise buildings. − provide appropriate environmental atmosphere and provide certain protection from the sun or wind or noise or other air pollutants. − solve some problems, such as the protection of the hills and uplands of collapse. − solve of some problems on the city level, such as pollution, as well as city beautification and coordinate the streets, squares and so on. figure (8) coordination between different site in entertainment areas and parking facilities and residential buildings classification of open spaces and levels: the network of open spaces is made up of two main elements which are open areas or spaces and connecting axes. the open areas in the city vary in size, level of service and degree of specialization, and these gradient levels must be commensurate with the population and needs of their services. open areas can be classified into planning levels: linked open areas axes are classified as follows: green belt axial gardens environmental themes historical themes entertainment hubs directed contemporary design: a trend that is in line with prevailing philosophical and intellectual ideas and does not adhere to the well-known rules of design. however, it follows a philosophical self that conforms to modernity, postmodernism and deconstruction, which usually requires the use of technological development and progress in construction methods (15). fine and designed values and foundations for outdoor spaces: although there are different approaches and ideas to the design visions of the regions and external spaces from one location to another due to many variables, there is a common design language of its uniqueness (scale, unity, coherence, proportion, balance, simplicity, repetition, diversification, lighting and shade), which represent the foundations of the design of open areas.axes: the open area must be designed depending on the nature of the tracks within the major and minor axes and the relationship of that nature entrances and each axis is the beginning and the end. muhammad yunus / the academic research community publication pg. 8 the axes: the open area should be designed according to the nature of the paths within it from the main and secondary axes and the relation of that to the nature of the entrances and gradations, and that each axis has a beginning and an end scale: the scale of items should be determined in proportion to the spatial space and reflect the nature of activity and behavioral patterns of users of the area. unity and coherence: site coordination should reflect unity and coherence through the intended repetition of formatting elements. proportionality: all parts and components of the garden are balanced, taking into account the size, types and characteristics of plants and afforestation in order to conform to the nature of origin. sovereignty and control: in the design of gardens, the recruitment and highlighting of elements and components of the coordination of the site is important in order to maximize the sovereignty of the establishment or highlight the unique value of the site. simplicity: selection of a limited number of types of elements in coordination with the location to avoid the crowded garden with trees or buildings for easy maintenance. the external character and appearance: characteristic of the shape of the public park and each garden with its features that are formed by its establishment, which highlights its independent personality. repetition and diversification: it is preferable to follow the repetition of some elements of the components of the garden so that there’s a sequence without interruption to connect parts, but still taking into account the prevention of repetition so that it isn’t boring sequencing and widening: arranging the elements of the coordination of the site so that it is seen in a visual sequence to achieve a harmonious format in one system. colors and their gradients: careful study of the colors of plants and types of elements used and different materials and the gradients of colors to suit each other. dissonance and compatibility: the plant units set together should be coherent so that the human eye can shift from one plant to another smoothly and without one overshadowing the others. as for dissonance it’s prefered to be at the borders of a region to show the importance of one element of the composition. lighting and shade: light and shade are important elements in landscaping, this is due to the method and style of its shape and distribution (16). figure (9) one of the open spaces between the residential area and has been taking into account the different values in the fine design the concept of identity: the concept of identity is one of the concepts in which we find it difficult to find a clear and specific definition. it is an ecological concept rather than a scientific concept. identity plays a key role in the design of the buildings that express the society (visual identity), which is the main criterion for measuring the extent of the success of the community. therefore, it is possible to say that the identity muhammad yunus / the academic research community publication pg. 9 of buildings arises as a result of the employment of specific elements. the community must emphasize its identity and distinguish it among other societies (17). it’s obvious that the existance of buildings and the identity of a community is of utmost importance, and the interfaces of the architectural monuments existing in a country or a city express the identity of that place. identity is a crystallized concept in the structure through the shape and characteristics. the spatial identity is summarized in the ability of the person to recognize a place as a result of the uniqueness of its characteristics, and the environment depends on the identity of the use of special buildings and facades are distinct and this is because users always share and interact with such special activities. so the environment has its own identity and personality not only when it has the ability to instill its visual distinction in people's memory, but also when it has the ability to make people recognize it through the facades of its buildings. hence we realize that the identity of the buildings: it is not just a product or something consistent and clear, it is a process that has many dimensions, a trace of civilization in various stages of histor,y and that is the locomotive of culture or identity of a civilization that is evident on the buildings themselves. identity is the result of cultural heritage, it therefore can not be formed suddenly, but it develops in parallel to the development of modern raw materials and advanced technologyand this development is based on our vision to address our problems and existing and future buildings. identity is intangible (18). methods of evaluating and building facades foreign spreads in terms of identity: principles of evaluation: there are three main principles that should be taken into account in the evaluation, namely: * continuity: it can be expressed in a set of fixed values such as respect for the natural environment, unity in composition, respect for the human dimension and neighborliness, privacy protection to achieve communication between the interior design and the formation of the destinations of the building in simplicity and compatibility at all levels. * distinction: achieved through regional and environmental challenges as adaptation with the climate, the adoption of the principles of local architecture, the use of local building materials as well as the vocabulary of heritage in the internal and external architecture of the buildings, taking into account the integration of technology with the prevailing technology. * recognition: the perceptive to know the elements that integrate both the communication and excellence such as understand and absorb the local environment, the contemporary expression of traditional values and traditions, and re-use ideas and vocabularies of heritage architecture and integration of renewable curriculum and style heritage. research results: 1. the application of fine values on the outer spaces helps us to achieve successful designs. 2. to reach the bases and rules of urban coordination that are ideal for each space or building. 3. benefit from our ancient egyptian civilization and treatments that mimic the environmental and climatic nature of the various spaces. 4. dependence on the environmental design, materials and natural resources available within the city. 5. employment of modern technologies and technology is important not to get us in the departure and distance from identity. 6. to highlight the identity of the community and the impact of cultural heritage and civilization in the various designs of new communities. muhammad yunus / the academic research community publication pg. 10 recommendations: 1. setting standards and requirements for urban coordination of economic housing in new societies. 2 the need to link the interfaces of buildings and open areas. 3exploiting the available natural materials in the scope and employing them in design. 4 the use of plants and plants that are in line with the natural environment of the city. 5 to highlight the cultural identity and its role in the new communities and their impact in the design of distinctive features of different housing spaces. references: 1. mahmoud mahmoud fikri urban furniture into the new urban cities master faculty of fine arts helwan university 2001 the r 75. 2. basem fadel eid beauty of cities in egypt (problems and solutions) conference on art and economics faculty of fine arts minia university --2,016 p. 2. 3. mohammed saber abdul hamid interior architecture and its role in the development of curriculum to beautify the visual environment of the egyptian city art conference and economics faculty of fine arts minia university --2,016 p. 3. 4. mahmoud mahmoud fikri urban furnishing of new cities master faculty of fine arts helwan university 2001 5-maha loay mahmoud the role of the interior architecture in shaping and building facades art conference and economics faculty of fine arts minia university --2,016 p. 11. 6-foundations and standards of urban coordination for open areas the list of the national agency for the coordination of urban egypt first edition 2010 p. 15. 7-hala barakat on configuration elements from the surrounding environment and its relationship to the interior architecture art conference and economics faculty of fine arts minia university --2,016 p. 5. 8-op p. 2. 9reham ismail taha morphology pathetic creativity in interior design master faculty of fine arts alexandria university -, 2005. 10-jacoub, son of joseph planning and designing residential neighborhood college of architecture and planning king saud university 1429. 11-ali mehran hisham elements of urban planning and design --2,011 12abdullah bin mohammad aqeel towards an integrated and sustainable housing solutions king fahd national library for publication i 2015 p. 109 edition. 13. principles and criteria of open coordination urban areas the list of the national agency for the coordination of urban egypt first edition 2010 -. 14http://amenagementa.blogspot.com.eg/2016/06/design.html 18/08/2016 15. principles and criteria of open coordination urban areas the list of the national agency for the coordination of urban egypt first edition 2010 16-vkra amer muhammad yunus founded the design and implementation of gardens research master supervision of dr. / nabil rashid faculty of fine arts helwan university 2012. 17-https: //old.uqu.edu.sa/page/ar/55862 18-hilal mohamed ahmed the identity crisis of contemporary architecture in the egyptian city engineering sciences journal number 722 april 2004. 19. maha loay mahmoud the role of the interior architecture in shaping and building facades art conference and economics faculty of fine arts minia university -2016. utilization of artificial neural networks in management http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication utilization of artificial neural networks in managing and planning of urban projects sherif mohamed hafez professor of construction engineering and management faculty of engineering, alexandria university, egypt abstract: artificial neural networks (nn), have been applied to many construction management problems in urban projects. nn have showed some degree of success so the objective of this paper is to highlight some applications of this tool in the construction management field to help specialists find optimum solutions. a brief description of the input and output variables for each mentioned problem was illustrated in addition to the number and type of data set collected to train and test the neural network performance then the percentage error for each developed model was pointed out to demonstrate its accuracy. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) peer-reviewed under responsibility of archive's, the academic research community, publication keywords: artificial neural networks, construction, management, urban projects. 1. introduction: most construction management problems such as cost estimation, productivity modeling, budget control, mark-up estimation and others require expert knowledge, judgement and experience to consider all significant factors affecting these problems. although research has been conducted using traditional decision analysis techniques such as regression analysis, multi attribute utility theory, fuzzy theory and others to solve these problems, the obtained results weren't satisfactory because these techniques depend on advanced mathematics which make them less acceptable to represent the construction personnel experience in addition to most of the research consider the effect of a single factor or just a few multiple factors. after the researchers' efforts turned to using expert systems in the construction domain, knowledge acquisition has been considered as the major bottleneck in the development of these systems. they also lack the ability to learn by themselves, generalize solutions and respond to noisy, incomplete or unseen data and because of these limitations, artificial neural networks have been used as an alternative to represent implicit knowledge that can't be formalized. 2. overview: artificial neural networks are computational models inspired by biological models of the brain. they have been used for a wide range of problems such as pattern classification, speech synthesis, recognition, clustering, forecasting and others. neural computing approaches are different than programming approaches in the following aspects: the ability to learn and generalize using a set of given inputs and outputs, rules aren't visible, copes with noisy and incomplete data set and adapting solutions over time, the structure of neural network model is arranged in layers of units: (1) an input layer which receives input values from the outside; (2) an output layer that report doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.232 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ sherif mohamed hafez / the academic research community publication pg. 2 the final answer; (3) a set of processing hidden units in the hidden layer which link the inputs to the outputs by weights as shown in figure (1). input layer hidden layer x1 2x 3x 1o o2 output layer f f f f f f f        iw j wkj fig. (1) structure of artificial neural network neural network models are built by modifying the weighted inputs for each unit using a transfer function to reach to the required output. the transfer function may be a linear or nonlinear function which includes sigmoid and tanh functions, these two functions are the most common in neural network applications. two broad types of neural network architectures are feed forward and feed backward. the simplest and most common one is the multilayer feed forward network (back-propagation network) in which the information travels in one direction but feed backward network isn't common because it’s difficult to train and analyze. there are no formal rules to determine the best number of hidden layers & the number of hidden nodes in each hidden layer to obtain the required accuracy for a certain problem so it’s necessary to undergo a trial and error process to determine the best structure of neural network model. the learning rule for a neural network is the process of modifying the weights of a network to produce the desirable output, there are three types of learning rules: supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement. the most popular type of learning is supervised, which requires the existence of an external supervisor to control the performance of the network. 3. labor productivity: rifat sonmez & james e. rowings (nov./dec. 1998) presented an artificial neural network model to estimate labor productivity for concrete pouring, formwork and concrete finishing. the first step in developing this model was the identification of labor productivity factors for the three tasks which include: 1quantities completed; 2job size; 3-crew size; 4-percent overtime; 5-percent labor; 6-temperature; 7-humidity; 8-precipitation; 9concrete pump. the same factors were identified for the formwork except the last factor but for concrete finishing, the concrete pump and job type weren't included. the second step was to develop a regression model based on the data obtained from eight building projects on a weekly basis. the number of weekly data points for concrete pouring, formwork and concrete finishing were 112, 76, and 46 respectively, the benefit of regression analysis is to determine the significance of the factors included in the model by calculating the mean square error (mse) and the mean absolute percent error (mape) between the predicted and actual values. two neural networks were trained for concrete pouring task to find the number of hidden nodes that result in the best prediction using the following inputs after dropping insignificant factors: quantities completed; crew size; temperature; job type and concrete pump. the first network contains 13 hidden nodes while the second network contains four hidden nodes. the performance of the second network was better than the regression model because the neural network includes the interaction between quantity and the concrete pump. as for formwork activity, the input variables used to train the two neural networks were the quantity completed and crew size, the first network contains five hidden nodes while the second network contains three hidden nodes. the prediction performance of the neural network wasn't better than the regression model, the same process was followed for the concrete finishing activity using the input variables quantity completed and temperature, the first network contains five hidden nodes while the second one has three hidden nodes, the first network shows a better performance than the regression model because neural network succeeded to represent the nonlinear relationship between temperature and production rate. finally, a sherif mohamed hafez / the academic research community publication pg. 3 sensitivity analysis was done to illustrate the impact of significant factors identified during analysis on the productivity of the three tasks. lapidus, a. et al (2017) developed based on artificial neural networks (ann) has been actively implemented in construction companies to support decision-making in the organization and management of construction processes. ann learning is the main stage of its development. a key question for supervised learning is how many number of training examples we need to approximate the true relationship between network inputs and output with the desired accuracy. the design process of ann architecture is related to a learning problem known as “curse of dimensionality”. this problem is important for the study of construction process management because of the difficulty to get training data from construction sites. in previous studies the authors have designed a 4-layer feedforward ann with a unit model of 12-5-4-1 to approximate estimation and prediction of roofing process. this paper presented the statistical learning side of created ann with simple-error-minimization algorithm. the sample size to efficient training and the confidence interval of network outputs defined. in conclusion, the authors predicted successful ann learning in a large construction business company within a short space of time. 4. budget performance: d.k.h. chua, y. c. kog, p. k. loh & e. j. jaselskis (sept. 1997) illustrated a back propagation neural network was presented to predict the budget performance of a construction project using key management factors. the data set was obtained from questionnaire surveys conducted by jaselskis on 75 construction projects, 48 from contractor organizations and 27 from owner organizations. half of the projects were cross plant while the other half were a combination of manufacturing office, power, pipeline and other types, the average size of the projects was $ 124,000,000 and the mean duration is 29 months and instead of using the data as measured it was classified according to a six point scale from (0 to 5), 27 management factors were identified to affect the construction budget performance, these factors were classified into four categories which include: (1) project manager(pm): some of these factors under this category is pm site visits, pm levels to craftsmen, pm education level, pm experience and others. (2) project team: which include team turnover and design incentives. (3) planning: this category include design complete, start activities, budget contingency, constructability and modularization and others. (4) control: under this category progress inspection, quality inspection, safety, control system budget……etc. for detailed information about these factors, refer to appendix (1) at the end of the paper. during model development, the insignificant factors were dropped from the network to define the key factors for budget performance. this was done by dithering the input factors by +5% then if these factors showed a negative impact on the network output, they were discarded from the model. this resulted in identifying eight management factors used as inputs to train the neural network which include: project manager levels to craftsmen, project manager experience, team turnover, design level at construction start, constructability program, budget control system, construction control meetings and budget updates. two hidden layers were used in the model, the first layer contains five hidden nodes and the second one contains three hidden nodes while the output is the budget performance which was classified to (good, slightly good, average, slightly bad and bad), the confidence level was determined using 20 test examples to be 95% with a standard deviation of (0.827), also the model had been evaluated for unseen and incomplete inputs. about 30% of the predictions were exactly as expected while nearly 70% of the predictions weren't more than one degree of deviation from the expected. 5. construction equipment productivity: chao l. c. & skibniewski m. j. (april 1994) developed two neural network models to estimate productivity of a hydraulic excavator. the data used to train the neural network was obtained using a desktop excavator robot with electric servomotors and to simulate the performance of the excavator, a computer program was used to send instructions from a basic program to control the robot’s motion. the first network estimates excavator's cycle time while the second one estimates the excavator efficiency. the excavator simulation process is based on two scenarios, the first one simulate mass excavation when the truck queue is empty so the excavator has to wait until a truck travels back, which leads to losses in productive time. however, the truck has to wait and if the excavator is busy working with other trucks, the second scenario simulates a substructure excavation job in which the excavator, after loading a truck, has to perform additional work such as repositioning, clearing and shaping which sherif mohamed hafez / the academic research community publication pg. 4 adds extra time before being ready to work with the next truck. the input data for the first scenario is the mean time to excavate and load a truck, mean cycle time for a truck, the standard deviation between excavating and loading time of the truck, number of trucks and the standard deviation of the mean cycle time of the truck. the same input data were used for the second scenario in addition to the mean time to perform an extra task, standard deviation of that extra time and probability of performing an extra task. after loading a truck, 86 training pairs were used to train the network for estimating the excavator cycle time with average error of 0.82% and the maximum error was 2.13% and 700 data points were used for testing the network with average error of 0.92% and the maximum error was 5.37%. this performance was obtained using one hidden layer and 16 hidden nodes. the second network was trained using 200 training pairs with an average error of 0.43% and maximum error of 2.57%, then the network was tested using 1000 data points which gives an average error of 0.53% and the maximum error of 3.15%, from these percentages it’s obvious that the network achieves a sufficient accuracy level. hajjar d., abourizk s. & mather k. (1998) had presented a method for integrating neural network developed to estimate productivity for earthmoving operations with a simulation model called ap-2 earth which helps earth contractors in preparing their estimates for large and complex projects. microsoft visual c++ was used as an object oriented environment to provide both a common interface for all models and general linking structures between simulation models and other models which include cad models, estimate database, neural network model, optimization model and others. the proposed approach was implemented on a small scale where the neural network was trained to predict productivity for an ex-3500 hitachi shovel, this equipment has a 24 cubic yard bucket and its production rate ranges from 800 to 1700 (bcm)/ hour. the input variables required to develop the neural network model includes the following: (1) soil classification: five types were identified to include overburden; silt; sand; clay and rock. (2) general soil conditions: the general soil condition was either soft; hard or frozen. (3) excavator footing conditions: the condition of the excavator footing is either wet or dry. (4) excavator and truck relative positioning: which refer to the average swing angle, and the percent of both side loading, generally the productivity is higher when both sides are being loaded and the swing angel is decreased. 132 training pairs were used to train the neural network using one hidden layer containing 4 intermediate nodes, 20% of the data were chosen randomly to test the performance of the network with average error for unseen data of 5.6% while the maximum absolute error was 43%. 6. markup estimation: moselhy o., hegazy t. & fazio p. (1991) had presented an artificial neural network model to estimate the optimum mark up under different bid situations, the input layer consisted of three attributes: the number of typical competitors (n), the mean distribution of the ratio of competitors bid prices to the contractors estimated cost in previous encounters (μ) and the standard deviation of the latter distribution (σ). the practical values of these attributes are from 0.7 to 1.4 for (μ), from 0.05 to 0.11 for (σ) and from 2 to 10 for (n). the output of the neural network is characterized by three values based on the three bidding strategy models, friedman (1956), gates(1967) and carr (1987), these optimum markup were calculated using a computer program called (bid). the values of output ranges from 0 to 1. the designed network was trained using 10 examples of practical bid situations, one hidden layer was selected for simplicity and the number of hidden nodes in that layer was varied to evaluate the performance of the network as shown in figure (2). 0 5 10 15 20 25 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 no. of processing elements in hidden layer 1 ne tw or k to tal er ro r p er 1 00 0t ra in in g cy cle s fig. (2) selection of optimum number of hidden nodes sherif mohamed hafez / the academic research community publication pg. 5 it’s obvious from this figure that the best performance of the network was at six hidden nodes in the hidden layer. finally, the trained network was tested to evaluate the reliability of the network by comparing the predicted values with the actual ones, it is accurate in estimating the optimum markup for bidding, which encourages to put this network for actual use. h. li., l. y. shen & p. e. d. love (may/june 1999) implemented a rule based expert system to extract explanation from a trained neural network, at first a neural network is trained using the inputs of the three following categories: firstly, project factors: (1) project size, (2) project type, (3) location, (4) project complexity. secondly, company factors: (1) labor availability, (2) current work load. economic factors: (1) working cash requirement, (2) number of competitors, (3) market conditions, and (4) overhead rate. the neural network consists of an input layer representing the input factors, an output layer representing the markup percentage and one hidden layer contains three hidden nodes representing the three categories. the network was trained using 25 bidding examples collected from a local contractor and tested using five examples with average error rate of 6.7% which means that ann is a reliable tool in predicting markup percentage then an expert system was used to explain the choice of a certain markup percentage by the neural network which depends on using if then rule. 7. project cost estimation: tarek hegazy & amr ayed (may/june 1998) developed a neural network simulation model in a spreadsheet format to estimate the construction cost of highway projects. the inputs used for the model are the factors affecting the cost of highway projects which include: project type, project scope, construction year, season, location, duration, project size, capacity, water bodies, and soil conditions. after setting up the excel template with initial weights of ones the next step was to determine the nn weights that optimize the nn performance, this has been done using three approaches: 1back propagation neural network using a commercial nn software, the nn consists of three layers an input layer containing ten hidden nodes representing input factors, an output layer representing the total construction cost and one hidden layer contains five hidden nodes. the neural network was trained using 14 projects and tested using 4 examples with minimum weighted error of 10.34%, 1.43% on the training cases and 19.33% on the test cases. 2the second approach to obtain the optimum weights for nn was the simplex optimization which was applied using the excel add–in program called solver. the optimization objective is to minimize the nn weighted error, the optimization variables are the weights from inputs to hidden layer and from hidden layer to output layer, the optimization constraints were to limit the percentage error to 2% for training examples and 5% for test examples. using the trial and error method the optimum weights were reached with a weighted error of 0.71% for training sets and 1.25% for test sets. 3genetic algorithm is the third approach used to obtain the optimum weights for nn model, a population of possible solutions is created, then a cross over process is used to obtain the most fit offspring that solves the problem. after many generations, the optimum solution is obtained and this approach has been applied using a commercial software called (gene hunter). the optimization objective and constraints were like the objective and constraints performed using excel’s solver, the weighted error was noticed to be 22.48% for training set and 21.11% on the test set. the comparison between the results of the three methods is shown in fig. (3). sherif mohamed hafez / the academic research community publication pg. 6 backpropagation training 1.4% 19.3% 10.4% 0.7% 1.3% 1.0% optimization simplex optimization genetic algorithms 22.5% 21.1% 21.8% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% % err or in c ost es tim ate % error on 14 training cases % error on 4 test cases weighted error fig. (3) comparison between weight determining methods it is evident that the excel solver provides the minimum error percentage in determining the optimum weights of nn. a sensitivity analysis module also was incorporated in the developed nn model to consider the uncertainty in project factors, this feature put the developed model for actual use in predicting the budget cost for new highway projects. pearce a. r., gregory r. a. & williams r. developed an artificial neural network model for estimating the risk of cost escalation for construction projects which help planners and designers in identifying the potential of cost variation. the data required to train and validate the neural network had been obtained using the parametric automated cost engineering system (paces) for vertical construction ranging from communication centers to medical facilities and living quarters. twelve factors had been identified based on informal interviews with cost engineering experts to be the input variables of the neural network. these factors are building perimeter, floors above grade, roof area, foot print, floor to floor height, exterior doors, exterior wall area, exterior window area, number of stairwells, number of elevators, heating and cooling load, while the output was the cost of seven categories which include substructure, super structure, exterior closure, roofing, interior construction, conveying systems and heating, ventilation and air conditioning. a total of 46 training pairs were used to train the network in addition to five cases were used to test the performance of the model. the acceptable limit of error for the cost estimation problem ranges from +25% to -10% based on standard practice for vertical construction projects. various architectures of ann were tested ranging from one hidden layer of 0 processing elements to three hidden layers consisting of 21 hidden nodes. the best performance of the neural network was by using one hidden layer with five hidden nodes with average error of -3.79% and maximum error of -7.22% as shown in figure (4). architecture pe rce nt err or for te st c ase s 0% -2% -4% -6% -8% -10% -12% -14% -16% average error max error 120-7 122-7 125-7 129-7 123-3 -7 127-7 -7 123-3 -37 127-7 -77 127-5 -37 123-5 -77 fig. (4) neural network architectures vs. error the trained network was used to generate cost/probability function by increasing three independent variables: number of stories, building perimeter and floor to floor height thus a larger number of cases was generated while the other input variables were calculated using (paces) equation which depends on the three independent variables. this data set will be squashed and used to generate output values using the trained network then these outputs were not squashed and plotted as a histogram to obtain the cost/probability curve which illustrates the variations in the final cost based on the required level of confidence. sherif mohamed hafez / the academic research community publication pg. 7 anthony harding, et al. (2000) stated that a neural network approach to estimate the total cost to the client for a building project according to different procurement routes has been developed. two networks were trained to predict two measures of cost, the natural log of the cost and the cost/m2, thus four networks were obtained, two with the inclusion of procurement route and two without inclusion of the procurement route to assess the effect of the procurement route on the total project cost. the input variables for the ln(cost) model were location, natural log of the gross internal floor area, stores above, height, internal doors, while the inputs for the (cost/square meter) model were function, piling, internal doors, ceiling, the same inputs for the other two models but with inclusion of procurement route. the data set used to train the neural network was 58 projects of different functions (administrative, residential, industrial) with gross internal floor areas between 154 m2 and 11605 m2. of the data set, 34 are design and build and the remaining 24 were procured by the traditional route. the data set was split to 32 projects for training, 13 projects for verification and 13 projects for test. table (1) illustrates the r2 values for the four networks, it’s clear that the neural networks are not generalizing well and the values of mean absolute percentage error (mape) for neural networks is lower than those for regression models which are developed to predict the (cost/m2) and natural log of cost using the same inputs to the neural networks. table (2) demonstrates this comparison. a, b models without procurement c, d models with procurement table (1) performance of neural network model r2, training r2, verification r2, testing lncost a 0.971 0.992 0.837 cost/m2 b 0.718 0.865 0.348 ln (cost) c 0.969 0.990 0.843 cost/m2 d 0.702 0.859 0.252 table (2) comparison between nn model & regression model nn errors regres. errors model r2 mape% ape% r2 mape% ape% lncost a 0.933 25 18 0.985 13.8 12.1 cost/m2 b 0.538 31 22 0.979 15.6 11.0 ln (cost) c 0.945 23 13 0.985 13.9 12.2 cost/m2 d 0.696 27 25 0.979 15.4 10.1 this means that the accuracy of neural networks is less than the accuracy of regression models. the reason for this bad performance is due to using a small data set which isn’t enough to represent the real relationships between the variables and cost. another important thing to be mentioned is that the models contain procurement route yield some improvement, this means that the procurement route have some effect on the cost, but it can’t be identified without increasing the data set. the future development of this model is to increase the data set between 400 and 500 projects in addition to increasing the number of input variables to cover a wide range of project types and options. it’s also important to include the client costs in the model. michał juszczyk (2017) established that cost analyses are of the key importance for the success of the construction project. bim as developing and disseminating technology brings several advantages to the construction industry especially for the several analyses carried out during the construction project and cost analyses among them. this paper presents a discussion of the concept of combining the idea of bim and the use of artificial neural networks for the purposes of macro level cost analysis. the author’s intention is to present considerations about potential benefits as well as the nuisances of the proposed approach. 8. conclusions: based on the results of the studies reviewed in this paper, it’s evident that artificial neural network performs better than conventional methods in many situations such as productivity modeling for concrete pouring, formwork and sherif mohamed hafez / the academic research community publication pg. 8 concrete finishing activities in addition to predicting excavator productivity, markup estimation, budget performance, cost estimation for highway projects and the risk of cost escalation. however, the last application for estimating the total construction cost based on procurement route still needs much research to put this model for practical use. 9. references: 1chua d. k.h., loh p. k., kog y.c. & jaselskis e. j. “model for construction budget performance neural network approach” journal of construction engineering and management, vol. 123, no. 3, september 1997. 2chung li. c. & j. m. skibniewski “estimating construction productivity: neural network based approach” journal of construction engineering and management, vol. 8, no. 2, april 1994. 3e. siami-irdemoosa, s.r. dindarloo, m. sharifzadeh, aic, 58, 85 –94 (2015) 4f. costantino, g.d. gravio, f. nonino, ijpm, 33, 1744 –1754 (2015) 5h. dany, a. simaan & m. kevin “integrating neural networks with special purpose simulation” proceedings of the 1998 winter simulation conference. 6hegazy t. & ayed a. “neural network model for parametric cost estimation of highway projects” journal of construction 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rowings j. e. “construction labor productivity modeling with neural networks” journal of construct ion engineering and management, vol. 124, no. 6, november/december 1998. issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication http://www.ierek.com/press ethnomusical study on the ancestral sound produced by capolin maria fernanda viteri1, maria cristina paez quinde1, victor hernandez del salto1, ana del rocio silva mayorga1, ruth elizabeth infante1, francisco torres oñate1 1 facultad de ciencias humanas y de la educación, universidad técnica de ambato keywords capolin, leaf, ancestral sound, tourism abstract the spontaneous and traditional art represents one of the most important aspects in the culture of a town because it is the worldview manifestation that shows cultural reality in areas that are considered socially subaltern. this is the case of the ecuadorian andean region, where the ancestral sound of capolin leaves shows a historical experience and a particular sensitivity. capolin is a leafy tree native from america. it has simple, alternate, oblongo laceolate leaves that are 6 to 14cm long by 2 to 4 cm wide. it has 3 to 5 prominent nerves from the base of the leaf. this musical technique is part of the ecuadorian culture and has been inherited and transmitted from a remote past and at the same time is a resource with high cultural vulnerability. when talking about the research work it is worth adding that a descriptive study was carried out. it encompasses the representative cultural features of the plant in the population and the fundamental dendrolgical characteristics. the study also goes through the frecuency and the decibels created by the sound of the plant, the intonation and the human effect caused by this sound. the research concludes that the transversal axis of music is creativity and that boosting this type of manifestations can be a motivation for the dynamization of the touristic activity because it is part of the intangible heritage of a town. 1. introduction ethnomusic and ancestral sound ethnomusic forms part of musicology and it is defined as the musical study of cultures’ oral traditions. the object of study of ethnomusicology is traditional music and instruments of all mankind cultures (morales de la mora, 2003). the musical phenomenon allows to have a better communication among human population, but the most important thing is that music creates a sense harmony among peoples in a social context. in addition, it becomes an observer component of intercultural dialogue, which is aimed to individualise with the group of sounds like harmony, rythm, melody and tonal coherence (cámara de landa, 2010). it eases coexistence, learning and a town or population enrichment (carvalho, 2003). ethnomusic represents the person both socially and culturally, as an interpretation aimed at focusing on important circumstances such as festivals and rituals. it is also a musical expression that belongs to oral tradition and it allows to obtain musical imagination of the product found in the place (artez & felipe, s/f). it interacts directly with traditional musical instruments. the network of practitioners and music producers that make possible the deep study of the musical genre have found traces and paintings, sacred places, drawings among others. the ancestral sound is an interpretation performed with different musical instruments. they emit a gentle musical rhythm for ears. at the same time, there is a sense of contact with nature. these ancestral sounds are heard more frequently in indigenous areas since these keep a linked to the countryside lifestyle. that is why (fernández, 2010) doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.247 maria fernanda viteri / the academic research community publication pg. 4 the ancestral sound is a state of contact with unknown cultures. in the andean world, music is an important factor that reflects the relationship between the person and the different spiritual, ritual, cultural, natural and ceremonial expressions. it makes the person aware of the interaction between environment and his or her habitat (castillo, 2015). within nature it is very common to hear sounds of animals and their environment (bird whistle, wind, water, rain, trees among others). during ages, humans have learned to imitate and polish them by combining the sounds with rhythm created with other instruments. these musical expressions show indigenous ways of living both in their present and their past (benítez, albuja, & vaca, 2016). this encourages the community to have values like solidarity, friendship, and strength, which creates people from the community integration. the ancestral sound is considered as a means of communitarian communication (peña, 2012). people from the communities used it to show that there are problems into the community. they organize meetings and team work in order to defend the peoples’ wholeness. the interpretation of traditional music has become a form of identity resistance that characterizes and defines indigenous people. at the same time, it constitutes a strong bond with the past because it is closely linked to it. this was a historical time with a completely different way of living that the current times (flores, 2009). both the ethnomusic and the ancestral sound are part of the intangible heritage since they include representations, expressions, techniques, and cultural spaces that are congenital to a community (olivera, 2011). they have aesthetic value that characterizes a community (asiáin & aznárez, 2012). it also contributes to tourism in a significant way because it generates interest in the market. most tourists like to know different ways of living, so they would like to be part of them. capolin the tree that is called prunus serotina subsp. capolin (cav.), is a monopodic, evergreen, or deciduous or shrub tree that grows from 5 to 15 m. of height, and in some cases up to 38 m. they are distributed from the south of canada to the south of bolivia (mcvaugh, 1951). the anatomy varies, the most common tree has got a long and straight trunk in forests, whereas in temperated zones it is short and wide with alternating branches. their leaves are characterized by being stipulated, simple, alternate, shortly petiolate, and ovate alanceolate that measure 5 to 16 cm. of length and 2 to 5 cm. of width. it has brown and gray bark almost smooth and glabrous, its numerous small and white flowers are grouped in auxiliary long clusters. its fruit is a globular drupe of reddish-black color, which in the maturity gets a bittersweet flavor. it contains a single seed (fresnedo-ramírez, segura, & muratalla-lúa, 2011). the particularity of this plant is that it is not necessary to sow it with men's hand, but it grows independently. they are conserved by farmers because of their fruit and wood price. its leaves and flowers are used for therapeutic purposes due to the fact that it helps to improve respiratory diseases (lozoya, 1982). the capolin fruit is used to make sweet and liquid products, while its wood is appreciated because of its strength and durability. it was used in the colony to manufacture pianos. each part of the capolin tree has a goal in different fields such as: medicine, commerce, food, animal building or animal fodder (avendaño-gómez, y otros, 2015). in medicine, it is used to treat respiratory and nervous diseases. in addition, it is used as an insecticide in different communities of latin america (mcvaugh, 1951). in addition, capolin dry leaves are boiled and used as a cardiorregulator for the treatment of cutaneous infections. the cortex is used as antirheumatic medicine to treat wounds and bruises (agapito & sung, 2005). furthermore, in traditional medicine this plant leaves are used to treat diuretic and expectorant diseases as well as to deal with sleepless, diarrea, fever and digestive problems (mantilla, 2004). infusions made from their leaves and bark have medicinal properties such as antibacterials and antioxidants useful for respiratory diseases (jiménez, castillo, azuara, & beristain, 2011). a phytochemical study of capolin leaves identified relaxing compounds that smooth the muscle. simultaneously, capolin essential oil was investigated to verify its displacement as a vascular relaxant and thus to verify that it contributes to human health as a treatment against hypertension (ibarra at all, 2009, págs. 165-171). mixtures with chemicals and capolin leaf are also made to obtain ointments or medicines that are used to relieve gastrointestinal problems (rivero-cruz, 2014). something similar happens when chemical components are combined with the plant. for example, it in combination with hyperoside and chlorogenic acid have protective effects to improve cardiac functions and relieve pain. additionally, (hernández-rodríguez, y otros, 2016). it was found that capolin leaves are excellent antioxidant sources just like capolin seed that contains highly polyunsaturated fatty acids with omega 3 and omega 6, which are essential for human beings. within indigenous communities, leaves are used as musical instruments to create sounds similar to the ones birds do by placing the leaf in the mouth to blow. this technique was practiced by the native peoples, but it currently performed in rituals maria fernanda viteri / the academic research community publication pg. 5 like an expression of hubbub. in this way it can be confirmed that the capolin leaves have multiple usages in human beings life. 2. state of art the following topics are essential according to selected documents: popular music, identity, resistance, methodological tools, cultural fact, human development, everyday spaces, music anthropology, role of music in the construction of identity, creativity, holidays and sociological proposal. the related fields of inquiry are based on conceptions that raise questions and establish mental processes that allow music production as a cog in the social and cultural context. with an anthropological perspective, identities and semiotic configurations could be determined, which could make an ethnomusicological study the discovery of a socio-cultural fact with its own logics and dynamics (gonzález de pérez., 2005) “sobre el estudio de la música como hecho cultural”, claims that musical conceptions must raise questions that talk about mental processes and worldviews. the interest of music study lies on its social and cultural context. and in our society, what conception do we have of music, musicians, composers, and interpreters? does each type of music, each instrument, deserve equal opinions? however, there is a weakness in this research: the most empirical measurement tools. the sociocultural function of ancestral music, a material and sound support, often involves an extra dimension determined by the functional and symbolic role it plays in society (dorunon, 1981) “guía para recolectar instrumentos musicales tradicionales”, determines the importance of musical instruments in cultural heritage because it asserts that when traveling, it is surprising to discover, by consulting specialized works or visiting the rooms and reserves of a museum, to what extent the scope of the musical instruments is rich and diverse. at the same time, recommendations and working tools have been proposed so that the collection of the musical material is carried out reasonably and efficiently, without causing harm to the community that owns it. the desing of research collection tools contributes to the investigation. the social senses that are provoked in the musical listener, construct the sociomusical spaces with the capacity of resignification of the sympathizers and the possibility of generating own and differentiated collective practices (ramírez, 2012) “¿identidades sociomusicales rurales?” poses formation process of sociomusical identities, with acoustic structures typical of the musical genre. the social imaginary to which it appeals conforms the specific characteristics of the particular context in which listeners receive music in one way or another. therefore, it is possible to find the conducting threads between ancestry, biology and social production of music in the capolin leaf. the most significant contribution of ethnomusical research is that concepts do not exist in music (jardow-pedersen, 2003) “el manual de etnomusicología historia, recopilacion, instrumentos, transcripcion, signficado”, designs the third communicative dimension that consists of messages and meanings that music generates, attributable qualities and incidents in listeners, consciously or unconsciously make them part of that culture represented in harmonic sounds. the main contribution of ethnomusical research is to rethink the ethnomusicologist researcher technical condition, until becoming someone who can transform intercultural processes to intracultural nature (nettl, 2003) “reflexiones sobre el siglo xx: el estudio de los "otros" y de nosotros como etnomusicólogos confers on ethnomusicology a fundamental role in the study of the "other musical," then the transition to the "other" culture makes the researcher an active subject of that culture. the participation of environmental sounds exposes a social change, with the desacralization of certain areas of life in exchange for the sacralization of others (martí j. , 2009) “como el aire que respiramos: músicas ambientales en espacios de la cotidianidad”, proposes with his research the desacralization of the glorified world-music, then the ancestral music could be measured by using western quantitative forms. music is a means of symbolic communication, capable of expressing the repressed desires in the unconscious, and it is capable of creating responses where, it is assumed, all sorts of thoughts, both rational and irrational (steingress, 2006) “el caos creativo: fiesta y música como objetos des deconstrucción y hermenéutica profunda, una propuesta sociológica”, expresses the ambiguity of the humans as social and natural beings. expressive forms act in the process of collective renegotiation towards the relationship between nature and human culture. this is between the individual and society as factors of sublimation and desublimation, repression and liberation. artistic production has unsuspected qualities, capable of activating individual and collective self-esteem, as well as strengthening of social and territorial ties (londoño, 2008). “memoria colectiva y músicas locales en una de desarrollo humano”, concludes that it is possible to claim: taking care, giving value and re-creating local, rural and urban songs is assuming them as a collective memory and take advantage of them because they are unique cultural heritage. in addition, it opens possibilities for individual and community human development. this maria fernanda viteri / the academic research community publication pg. 6 encourages the intergenerational communication, and the growth of a historical consciousness like factors of tourist promotion. music has assimilated a wide range of changes and mutations that go through the introduction of new languages, communication and listening habits alteration. therefore, it is a crisis of traditional aesthetic canons from notions of art itself (hormigos, 2010) “la creación de identidades culturales a través del sonido”, states that the history of western music in the last fifty years was marked by its integration into a society, in which the predominant form of diffusion of culture is mass media and new technologies. the fact of knowing minority music types that belong to another time or space expands the range of alternatives and stimulates the end of that homogeneity (rodríguez, 2015) “el papel de la música en la construcción de una identidad durante la adolescencia ¿dime qué escuchas y te diré quién eres?”, establishes that the adolescent is the sole owner and responsible for their choices within the framework of diversity in order to analyze which elements intervene in the musical phenomenon from different points of view. it helps to understand that in addition to a very important cultural manifestation, it is also the product of business. the discussion on popular music often resorts to the appeal or the simple acceptance or not of the public and renunciation of judgment and evaluation (alabarces, 2008) “posludio: música popular, identidad, resistencia y tanto ruido (para tan poca furia)” it recovers the dimension of aesthetic valuation beyond a relativist concept, because the diversity of aesthetics can converge into political concepts. the ability to value biological, social and cultural diversity goes hand in hand with the advancement of thought models based on a socio-environmental conscience that promotes intra and intergenerational social solidarity, respect for heterogeneity and harmony with the environment (cergio, 2002) on his work “el imaginario sonoro de los tiempos”, leaves the vacuum of a methodology of analysis, as part of the experiences from the experimental orchestra of andean instruments musical performance. dimensions focus on subjectivity with the following categories: reincarnation, growth, longing and illusion. the aspects that need to be addressed in the analytical discourse are: theoretical discussion and measurement tools. musical research, besides penetrating the abstractions of thought, also tries to find the unprecedented and enduring precisions of spirit (veladiz) shows that “musicoterapia con instrumentos de origen precolombino”, there isn’t a theoretical reference, it is argued in favor of a music therapy diploma, with a duration of 206 hours along 13 modules. it remains as a pending aspect of an approach to an intercultural dialogue that allows to lower the emotional levels produced by urban everyday life. the objective of ancestral music research is to situate, through a multidisciplinary analysis that includes an organological, anthropological and acoustic description (fabre, de la cuadra, & pérez de arce, 2012). in the article “antaras aconcagua: un estudio antropológico y acústico”, there is a lack of acoustic measurement instruments, and the features of the instrument and the rites that accompanied it, in an attempt to rescue the memory of who was a central icon of aconcagua culture. a pending element in the methodology is an in-depth interview to the musical instrument performer. it will be a fundamental element in the configuration of the peoples’ cultural heritage, which in the case of the present research, is an added value for tourism. 3. methodology for the present study, an ethnographic research on the resulting ethnomusic sound resulting from the capolin leaf (typical practice in the ecuadorian andean reagion). in order to study this sample, music transcription along with musical and sound features measurement were applied. when a body or system reaches the maximum degree of oscillation, we speak of resonance frequency. we take as a reference the principle by which every body or system has one or more characteristic frequencies. the increase of vibration occurs because of resonance. in order to determine the intensity generated by the sound. spl were measured by (db) and it will vary between 0 db threshold of hearing and 120 db threshold of pain. the calculation of sound pressure levels (spl db) should be guided by the average of frequencies, and the formula to be used is: $(&') = 10 log & 10 012 563 34 the average values are analyzed by the free software; pacalculate, which studies the sound pressure level (spl db). in order to analyze the rhythmic and tonal features of the melody, major and minor scales were used. in addition, chords we added according to the tonality maria fernanda viteri / the academic research community publication pg. 7 4. results the capolin leaf vibrates when it is handled by the ends and the musician blows. the conversion from blow to sound is produced due to the excitement point that reaches the leaf. the level of the sound wave is directly related to the pressure exerted on the blade, the more energetic it blows, the sharper and stronger the sound it emits. in the experimentation the maximum frequency reached by capolin sheet when receiving pressure had an average of 6122 hz with an amplitude of -5.9 db. figure 1 in the left part of the table we can appreciate the change of db and in the lower part the frequency change measured in hz. bearing in mind that the sound is not pure, which means it does not have the characteristic of being simple sinusoidal because of the harmonics presence, it is concluded that in the fundamental frequency, the noises are represented by the grass in the graph and harmonics are represented after each high peak. figure 2 the sound pressure level has an average result of -4.2 spl db, as we can see below. it should be noted that the random phase option is for incoherent sources (different signal in each source). when performing the musical transcription in the melody produced by the capolin leaf blow, it can be distinguished the use of minor and major scales, which despite being based on ancestral sounds reminds us directly to “pasillo”. the results of the rythmic analysis done on finale demo version, show that the melody is on 6 8 . this fact leads to determine that despite the fact that the melody is similar to “pasillos”, it is different because pasillos are not normally on 6 8 but on 3 4. therefore, the use of a capolin leaf is part of a yaraví. the tone of the melody is on ab major and it has anacrusis. from the fifth bar a modal shift is made by using a c major to pass to f minor, which is the relative scale of ab major. this exchange is quite typical in ecuadorian music, it can be noticed in measure two and three that there is a chromatism in the melody (eb e f). for a better analysis, some chords were placed to the melody. in the first two bars the cadence iim v i (usually used in jazz) is performed, in the third bar it passes to the v degree that is eb major, in the next bar we can find a maria fernanda viteri / the academic research community publication pg. 8 d natural in the melody. therefore, an ebmaj7 chord was placed to give the melody a more contemporary sound. after ebmaj7 there is a g7 that functions as a secondary key to pass to c major. in the bar that belongs to c major the minor harmonic scale of f is used. it ends with a cadence v i m. figure 3 5. conclusions the musical expression of the ecuadorian andean world through the capolin leaf blow is constituted in an integrating world, in which creativity, subjectivity, technique and all the imaginary are inherited from a society that has traveled through processes of adaptation, conquest, resistance and self-determination. the various human groups that settled in what is now the andean region in ecuador have adapted themselves to their geography, similarly to capolin in the past. the capolin is of great importance not only for native peoples. its wood and the taste of its fruit conquered the spanish conquerors, it has conquered those who come later as well and it will continue to conquer those who come as tourists because of its musical expression. the music of the capolin leaf is a process of cultural identity resistance, whose relationship between nature and individuals are factors of sublimation and desublimation, repression and liberation. the one who emits music with the capolin leaf, starts from existential questions and establishes the mental process of gear between its subjectivity and the nature because it reconfigures its meanings. when somebody plays by heart, without any academic music knowledge, it is possible to create andean music genres like yaravi. performers will be able to get melodies with anacrusis among the ab majaor key or tone. from the fifth bar a modal shift is made by using c major to pass 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(2009). musicoterapia con instrumentos precolombinos. antropología, boletín oficial del instituto nacional de antropología e historia, 89-91 http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 sustainability development of smart public transportation in globalization otilija sedlak1, zoran ćirić1 1university of novi sad, faculty of economics subotica, keywords smart public transport; sustainable development; electronic monitoring system abstract the paper studies the sustainable development opportunities of the public passenger transport market in the globalized environment. the main aim of the research is to improve the competitiveness of sustainable public transport. transportation needs to be considered as an important aspect of the development of cities in a sustainable manner and for an attempt to create a smart city. those cities care about inhabitants, apply environmentally acceptable methods of waste management, offer more efficient public transportation, health care, and social system. many studies have shown the relationship between effective public transportation services and sustainable development at the city level. european commission is trying to motivate all the regional administration in an overall acceptance of sustainable urban mobility plans as part of the strategic vision for solving pressing problems in the process of functioning of modern cities. the purpose of this study is to present a concrete step in achieving the objectives of the "smart city" concept with the use of modern information technology in the traffic and passengers in the real-time monitoring process, tickets issuing, as well as passengers informing in subotica, serbia. there is a wide gap between community expectations from public transportation services and the actual quality of service provided. the resulted grounded theory has brought attention to the necessary reform of transportation institutions; transportation policy which is integrated into settlement development of the smart city strategy and consistency of economic systems; public transportation development proceeding from supply improvement; and finally, the need of awareness improvement via education. the research conclusion is a necessity of external fund allocation through emerging means of liberalization and public-private partnership and the introduction of the more demand responsive transportation system while taking into account sustainable consumption as well. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) peer-reviewed under responsibility of archive's, the academic research community, publication 1. introduction the european commission intensively motivates all regional and local governments to conduct urban mobility plans as an answer to the challenges of living quality improvement and environmental protection, since 2012. in accordance with these plans, many cities in europe and throughout the world apply the concept of a smart city the city of future with its several subsystems as their development guideline. the creation of smart transportation systems in accordance with the main principles of sustainable development based on protection of public health and environmental quality, respect for ecosystems, exhaust emission limits, sustainable use of renewable doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.235 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ otilija sedlak / the academic research community publication pg. 2 resources and minimal use of non-restorative are accepted in “the development strategy for railroad, road, water, air and intermodal transportation in the republic of serbia between 2008 – 2015”. on the other hand, the harmonization of traffic systems and the development of transportation infrastructure in the countries that are joining the european union will largely redefine control mechanisms of modern cities and the roles of city sub/systems. the challenges of fast technical-technological development include the application of systematic approach in the use of new information technologies in the process of city sub-systems management. 2. literature and regulation review governing attitudes in available foreign and latest domestic literature indicate that establishing the necessary prerequisites for sustainable urban mobility as well as the application of new technical and technological solutions in the functioning of city subsystems is imperative for the survival and development of the cities. the lack of legislation and scientific and professional observation of the problems in the functioning of the city subsystems, especially for public transportation have led to many different solutions implemented in various cities. many of them are often unsuccessful in practice. awareness of the need to regulate the public transport problems in accordance with positive examples, first of all, those from the european union has gained importance in our country in the recent years. the problem of public transport is very noticeable in the management of urban infrastructure (brook, 1995). the view that the government should improve urban planning by optimizing the rules and structure of public urban transport routes for the construction of the public transport company (ptc) and sustainable development in the future is a new idea of public transport priorities (han, 2010). several independent studies indicate the relationship between effective public transport services and sustainable urban development (too & erl, 2010). the aim of this study is to present and implement the "serkwal" framework for measuring public transport services performed within the master plan community in australia. according to the results of the survey, there is a big difference between the community's expectations from public transport services and the quality of services carried out on the ground. in particular, the results were useful in identifying areas where improvements are most needed, e.g. the response and reliability of services in order to encourage greater use of community-based public transport services. in the study (banister, 2008), the opportunities for a sustainable development of the public transport market are studied. the study focuses on the main problems of this activity and on finding a solution to the observed problems; therefore, the basic theory is based on qualitative detailed interviews with experts. a study conducted by ibm institute for business value in 2010 argues that so-called smart and lifelike cities use information and communication technologies in innovative ways in order to create a diversified and sustainable environment. sustainable transport systems are in line with all the main principles of sustainable development: protection of public health and environmental quality, respect for ecosystems, exhaust emission limits, sustainable use of renewable resources and minimal use of non-restorative (pitsiava-latinopoulou et al. 2006). the organization for economic co-operation and development (oecd) regulations relating to the sustainable transport in the environment is considered very important. the european community is moving towards the implementation of common transport rules by facing two basic problems: breaking the link between economic development and transport development, achieving equal development of all forms of transport. the european community of transport ministries (ecmt) is trying to create an integrated transport system across the member states and the rest of the continent by analyzing social issues as well as environmental and traffic issues. the world business council for sustainable development (wbcsd) launched the “2002 sustainable mobility project” in order to determine the goals of a sustainable transport system development. the study of transport processes with an emphasis on ptc has been improved by the conclusion that the transport system is one of the most complex production systems, according to its organizational structure and technical and technological characteristics. otilija sedlak / the academic research community publication pg. 3 the system of public transport with all of its performances capacity, speed, efficiency, technology, quality, investment and exploitation costs is very complex. the environmental impact is one of the most important factors. it is influenced by the location, size, and structure of cities, their economy, social relationships, etc. optimizing the structure and functioning of cities and their transport systems is a very complex and delicate task with far-reaching consequences in all spheres of life of its inhabitants. two basic strategies have been crystallized in the development of the cities: “sustainable development” and “quality of life”. satisfying these goals is possible by creating balanced urban transport system which would be achieved through a systemic approach in resource management, planning, implementation of new technologies, organization, financing, etc. in the european union, the achievement of sustainable development and quality of life goals in transport systems is obtained through the conduct of a policy which takes the principle of realization of the mobility of residents with limited use of passenger cars (uitp, 2005), as the basis. according to inadequate understanding of complex problems of transport mode choice, treatment of the city transport system as a free market, the demand for the pronounced influence of administrative bodies, the strong pressure of various interest groups is a serious obstacle to the generation of solutions that are in the general best interest (vuchich, 2002). based on numerous studies in our country and in the region it can be concluded that public passenger transport systems function in an unregulated transport services market in most cases. the market is unregulated often based on system management according to the concept of “traveler” with a partial or complete absence of a qualitative concept of any kind. the world passenger transport system development trends in cities (isotope, 1997) are directed towards the development of a new management concept which results in the quality of service improvement and lowering the costs. the lowering of transport services price is necessary in order to “gain” new users a condition for more efficient functioning of the overall transport system and preservation of the quality of life in cities. in relation to other public utility services, public transport is a specific activity because the cost of transport can’t be based on costs of investments. therefore it is necessary to finance the development and modernization of this activity from non-refundable financial sources by the city. given the increased revenue risk associated with the sale of transport services due to the nature of the activity, in the best interest to resolve conflicts between local authorities and local operators there are various types of contracts based on total costs, net costs, subsidies or hybrid contracts (mulley & nelson, 2009). the system and service quality in the ptc is measurable and represent the potential risks of misunderstandings between service providers, local operators, and local authorities. establishing realistic and optimal organizational relations between the local self-government and the operator in the application of transport and economic models eliminates most of the financial problems. these problems would substantially endanger the survival and the operation of the public transport system (murray, 2003). the processes of world globalization, as well as changes in the political social and economic environment in which cities operate today and their transport systems, require the development of new management methods in the sphere of economic efficiency. the european commission seeks to accelerate and increase acceptance of the sustainable urban mobility plans in local and regional governments in europe. the 2011 guidelines document “development and implementation of a sustainable urban mobility plan” outlines the steps needed to implement them. the implementation of the concept of “smart city” under the slogan “good functioning cities” is gaining more space in the process of managing modern urban subsystems at the same time. 3. public city passenger transport (pcpt) model the public passenger transport system target function is defined by the size and characteristics of the transport services market in the territory of the local community and the demands from stakeholders in the system in one hand, on the other hand it is defined by the characteristics of the structure, technology and the organization of public passenger transport system. in order to realize the requirements and objectives of the public transport system it is necessary to define which key performance indicators are measured by the performance of the system, how are they quantified, what are the model connections between the defined indicators and the elements otilija sedlak / the academic research community publication pg. 4 of the structure of the system. precisely defined indicators allow comparisons in different time intervals, which is one of the prerequisites for quality system management in the aspect of economic efficiency. thirteen years of research on the functioning of the city subsystems and its management, in different environments, in the territory of our country, a member of the european union and abroad, revealed that the establishment of the necessary volume and level of organizational relations in the field of regulation of the transport services market presents a bigger problem than technical-technological procedures on the establishment of functionally capable subsystems. cities that desire to develop the distinctive features of smart cities by innovatively using new information technologies build new organizational relationships and create a friendly and sustainable environment suited for the work of all of their subsystems. based on sublimated knowledge from examples of such subsystems, the necessary (but not yet sufficient) preconditions for a successful implementation of organizational relationships are: political will to execute management functions, the quality of service improvement, the quality of service improvement, financial sustainability. the structure and economic aspects of functioning are analyzed through the prism of local self-government and operators organizational relations within the public passenger transport system framework. the system of public passengers transport is the basic logistic subsystem of the city and the state which ensures the presence of its users as elements of production and other processes, at the place and in the moment where and when it is needed. as a specific transport system, public passengers transport belongs to a group of organizational-technologically complex and open systems with a stochastic change of state. the system name itself points to its basic determinants. the system determines that it is a complex component composed of parts which as the result has a greater quality than the combined quality its parts. the system is “public” because it is available for use by all residents of the city on equal terms. the “transport” definition defines that it is a system that is organized to perform “relocation/transfer” role with all sub-processes that help to accomplish this task. and finally, the transport is about people or travelers. from the basic guidelines, it can be concluded that the system of public passenger transport is a system with a complex structure of several technological and organizational subsystems, which represent an irreplaceable way of the realization of transport needs in the cities. it represents an economic activity that engages large resources invested in the system: vehicles, employees, facilities and equipment, energy, finance, etc., at the same time. the goal of each local government is the optimal management of city subsystems. the management process itself is a very complex process that envisages the implementation of several sub-processes and activities. for the successful organization and management of the traffic subsystem and in particular the pcpt, local governments have to provide the appropriate environment, which implies the definition of contractual frameworks in the pcpt system, as well as the definition of the type of contractual relations and the manner of implementing the contracting process with the operator. in the interest of smooth management process operation, the city system should be divided into functional subsystems whose analysis is carried out with using of hard statistical as well as soft subjective indicators. the increase in economic power leads to an increase in the mobility of urban residents, but at the same time it leads to problem of increased use of passenger cars, resulting in negative consequences caused by irrational use of resources (urban space and energy), congestion and the decrease in the speed in the transport system, negative consequences from traffic accidents as well as increased negative impact on the environment. sustainable urban mobility principle application in synergy with the necessary management processes based on the concept of smart cities in regulating the transport services market and selecting the appropriate transport and otilija sedlak / the academic research community publication pg. 5 economic model will give pcpt the optimal preconditions for systemic solving of the increasingly prominent organizational issues of modern cities. the new organizational relations solutions implementation process takes place in conditions of social transition and inevitably faces certain difficulties that hinder the smooth functioning. the most significant obstacles to this implementation are: technological and practical limitations, limitations caused by the lack of regulation, limitations in terms of accepting the principle of sustainable urban mobility and new solutions (resistance to change). when establishing organizational relationships with the operators of certain urban subsystems, local selfgovernment face a dilemma of the applicability of the smart city concept and the effects of its implementation on ensuring the sustainability of the pcpt as a whole. 4. modern cities in the global market conditions in order to achieve optimal functioning of the city's traffic subsystem, it is necessary to investigate the impact of the implementation of the smart city concept on the public passenger's transport sustainability. as the part of identifying and determining the boundaries of variables, their impacts on the sustainability of the pcptp system must be examined: the system of public urban passenger transport is a system of complex organizational and technological characteristics. in order to successfully achieve the goals of such a system, it is necessary to specify in detail all the obligations, rights and risks of the system itself as well as environments that may affect its functioning. the contemporary professional practice the work, efficiency, and functionality of individual city subsystems are monitored and analyzed systematically in the function of the entire organization and realization of the smart city concept. the natural environment for the manifestation of organizational relationships in the traffic subsystem is the transport services market in a certain territory, which can be regulated or disordered. the basic goal of each local government in the sphere of public transport is regulated transport services market with the model of the regulated pcpt system. regulation of the system and regulation of relations implies the distribution of competencies and responsibilities between entities in the transport services market. this is defined in a clear and comprehensive contract. the type of contract choice depends on the structure of the system and the costs that are produced in the system as well as the division of risks. the key risks in this relationship are the risk of the production of transport services and the risk of revenue. these two types of risks combined with financial risk, planning risks, and environmental risks are the basic accident-related parameters that can jeopardize the smooth operation of pcpt. the specific position of our country expressed the intention to join the european union and incompletely harmonized regulations on the one hand, as well as the more articulated wishes of the inhabitants of local communities to make their living space and the functioning of all subsystems of the urban environment sustainable and "friendly" on the other hand clearly impose the need for implementation of a strategic approach to the organization of the transport services market and the management of the pcpt system. inevitable globalization processes have become a natural environment for economies around the world. modern economy no longer recognizes the information, innovation and capital flow boundaries. technology improvements meet the desires of consumers who are craving for the cheapest and best quality products (vivier & pourbaix, 2005). regardless of the illusion of the limitless economic space and many opportunities investors otilija sedlak / the academic research community publication pg. 6 do not forget the fact that the global thinking is combined with "local action" for using all the advantages of the local market. a modern digital economy would be inconceivable without the tools of modern information and communication technologies. the “smart city” uses innovative and rational of the available technology in order to create a sustainable and diversified environment. new technology influences the operation of all seven city subsystems and enables their more efficient systemic connection. city subsystems are distinguished on their key functions basis: people (health, public safety, and education); business subsystem (city business policy and regulations); urban service subsystem; traffic subsystem; communication subsystem; water management subsystem; energy management subsystem. city subsystems are in continuous connection and interaction between themselves and with the city environment as well. optimal operation of the city is actually the result of a harmonious functioning and proper response of the subsystem to management actions. one of the world's most renowned portal dealing with new technologies “mashable” has defined a list of 25 innovations whose fulfillment leads to the epitome of a smart city. among other things, there are technical and technological solutions related to water recycling, building management, optimization of public transport, redirection of drivers due to crowds, video surveillance, parking management and information of citizens. all these solutions contribute significantly to the improving the quality of life in urban areas and environmental preservation. managing the traffic subsystem of the city is one of the areas where direct and immediate improvement can be seen because broader layers of the population in real time can have a clear picture of the city management actions success. the optimal functioning of public transport is very important within the traffic subsystem. the precondition for successful management of the subsystem is the accurate real-time information availability that is relevant for making good quality decisions. electronic real-time traffic monitoring systems with the option of issuing tickets in public transport have become an effective solution for removing inconsistencies brought by dynamic changes in the public transport environment. 5. public city transportation system organization and management in the city of subotica management is a very composite process with multiple subprocesses and activities and involves a systemic approach to problem-solving. subotica as a city has to form an organizational unit in the form of an expert body that would professionally deal with giving arguments in the field of system strategy in order to operationalize the goals and policies. the expert body must perform tasks and responsibilities from several areas such as research of the transport services market, regulatory frameworks adoption, planning, system design, and development as well as all tasks related to operational management of the system and control of system functioning. 5.1. an integral approach in the budget of costs and revenues in the public transport system in subotica when building a model of sustainable urban mobility one must take into account the analysis of the costs and revenues of the public transport system itself as well as on the costs and interests and benefits of the wider community. a sustainable urban mobility plan can’t be limited exclusively to traffic it must take into consideration environmental factors, economic development, social equity, health, and safety, etc. the efficiency and cost-effectiveness criteria must not be neglected at the same time. city budgets have been shrinking. in the last few years, this logically leads to a reduction in urban transport expenditure and mobility. unfortunately, in the city of subotica, expenditures for these needs are by about 70% lower than in other cities that have similar traffic systems of public passengers transport of by volume, structure, and complexity. with these very strict conditions, the key question is how to achieve the greatest impact with the least spending of resources. an integral approach involves considering costs and benefits, even those that are more difficult to measure such as gas emissions, greenhouse effects or air quality impacts. the european commission in its white paper on transport (2011) emphasizes the importance of internalizing external costs for all modes of transport through otilija sedlak / the academic research community publication pg. 7 common principles, taking into account the particularities of each type of traffic. (www.mobilityplans.eu, plans of sustainable urban mobility planning for people). 5.2. costs and revenues in the public transport system in subotica public company “subotica-trans” has been assigned by the city decision to transport passengers in public urban and suburban traffic in the city subotica, therefore the indicators are taken from the annual financial statements of public company “subotica-trans”. total costs in the public transport system in subotica the costs and revenues of the city public transport system are influenced by several factors starting with the quality and structure of the vehicle fleet, the fuel, and energy types and prices, spare part prices and availability, employee salaries, transport service prices, quality of organization and management. when approaching the analysis of the total system cost several different levels of aggregation can be utilized. costs can be viewed at the level of the entire system of public transport of passengers or at a modular level in order to obtain a clear picture of the participation of individual subsystems in the total costs of the entire system. the criteria for grouping each heterogeneous cost structure should be the nature of costs. table 1. structure of total costs in the public transport system of passengers for the period 2014-2016 (rsd – republic serbia dinar)1 no. cost description 2014. 2015. 2016. realisation % realisation % realisation % 1 business expences 590.040.000 98,64 664.989.000 98,18 679.179.000 98,84 2 financial expences 3.491.000 0,58 5.469.000 0,81 1.647.000 0,24 3 other expences 3.073.000 0,51 5.668.000 0,84 5.957.000 0,87 4 expenses based on write-off 1.595.000 0,27 1.184.000 0,17 326.000 0,05 total expenses 598.199.000 100,00 677.310.000 100,00 687.109.000 100,00 table 1. represents the structure of total costs observed by year, it shows that business expenses (operating costs) account for more than 98% of total expenses. other categories of costs (financial expense, other expenses, and write-off expenses) are practically negligible in relation to costs that are directly attributable to the production of transport services (costs of materials and spare parts, fuel and energy costs, wages and other personal income, depreciation, etc.). figure 1. total expenses in the public passenger's transport system in the period between 2014.-2016. 1 data from the annual financial statements of public company “subotica-trans” otilija sedlak / the academic research community publication pg. 8 the second-largest operating costs group is fuel and energy costs with a participation ranging from 24% to 31%, respectively per year. such large oscillations in the cost of power generation are the result of an unstable oil and oil derivatives market in the year 2014. and 2016. the two categories of costs practically represent two-thirds of the total operating costs (operating expenses) of the public urban and suburban passenger transport system in subotica. figure 1. shows the business expenditure of the public transport system in subotica for the period 2014.-2016. it can be noted that the total costs in the public transport system of passengers in subotica were steadily increasing in the period from 2014. to 2016. costs in the system had a positive trend of growth and they were accompanied by the total operating costs in the mentioned period. (figure 2) figure 2. total business expenses in the system of public passengers transport of in the period 2014-2016. it is very interesting to notice that the costs of propellant fuel and energy have increased by as much as 24%, which is evidently disproportionate growth trend compared to the number of kilometers traveled (an increase of about 1%) (figure 3). otilija sedlak / the academic research community publication pg. 9 figure 3. change in the price of power (oil) prices in “suboticatrans” for the period 2014-2016. taking into account all the facts related to the increase in the volume of production of transport services and their impact on the costs of propulsion fuel and energy, the biggest cause of the increase in this category of costs is a direct consequence of unexpected disruptions in the price of propellant fuel in the last three years (an increase of 28.7%). the costs of salaries and other personal earnings of employees also had a positive growth trend in the observed period. the number of employees did not change in the same period in the public transport system in subotica, unfortunately, the system can not reduce this category of costs. these costs still have a very high percentage of participation in business expenses of about 42% in the year 2016. acquisition of revenues in transport systems of public transport is one of the most sensitive issues of interrelations between the operator the local government authority. the guaranteed revenue of the operator that ensures the smooth operation and development of the system is obtained from the following sources: income from the core business (revenues from the sale of tickets, subsidies from the city budget and other sources). this important and sensitive issue is critical to the financial sustainability of the system. this must not be viewed without a wider context approach and the interest of the social community. although the local authority under the pretext of saving and reducing budget funds wants to reduce expenditures to cover the real needs of the transport system of public transport. balanced relations can also address issues of financial sustainability of the transport system as well as the interests of the sustainable urban mobility of the community. an acceptable transport economy model for all contracting parties must be a motivating factor in adapting the public transport system to modern demands of sustainable urban mobility. 6.conclusions the non-conflict functioning of the system of public passenger transport includes the creation of the necessary ambiance achieved through the adoption and implementation of regulatory documents for the public transport system. in regard to the sustainability criteria, neither the planning and risk management of the environment should be ignored: the planning risk sources lie in the fact that the planning of the centers of attraction, production, and travel is transformed into the separation of the public urban passenger's transport system from the rest of traffic and innovation at all levels of functioning of the system. the risk of planning is essentially the risk of a local government authority that has the necessary capacities to take over that risk. environmental risk: “one of the greatest ironies of the twentieth century is that all over the world we give away invaluable resources such as land, oil, clean air and all in the name of automobile traffic, although most people will never have it available” (lowe, 1994). most members of the european union use large funds from joint funds for the construction of modern transport systems in addition to technical and technological efforts and a lot of attention is paid to legislation that ensures sustainability. our country, as well as our cities, they have to adapt the work of their city subsystems, above all the traffic subsystem, the standards of the european union at the time of approaching the standards of the european union. environmental risk, therefore, becomes a very important topic in relation to the operational authority of the local administration, because of the environmental pollution problem as well as the “greenhouse effect” by the public transport system. in the mutual regulation of organizational relations, a special part must be devoted to stimulating acceptable environmental effects and nonstimulating forms of transport of passengers on the territory of the city harmful to the environment. although there are cases in which an operator takes over this form of risk, it is more appropriate that the local government provides support for the renewal of the fleet in accordance with state regulations concerning the environment through the grant of subsidies.conclusions should state concisely the most important propositions of the paper as well as the author’s views on the practical implications of the results. otilija sedlak / the academic research community publication pg. 10 the structure and functioning concept of the pcpt system today is aimed at implementing a continuous process of future positioning the system in terms of its sustainability and independence by defining the goals that the system seeks to achieve as well as the directions and ways for achieving the goals of the entire system. the current situation in the transport services marketplaces subotica in the ranks of unregulated markets (due to the lack of institutional, staffing and regulatory prerequisites). because of this, it is necessary to undertake certain management actions on market stabilization and management. the conclusion is that an external source of funding is needed through systems such as upcoming liberalization and/or partnerships between the public and private sectors and that there is a growing demand for “responsive” transport systems which is generated by the consumption. public passenger transportation environment consists of many complex conditions with different technical-technology organizational systems and levels of development and heterogeneous ownership structure. our region mostly has disconnected public transportation systems which are going to be replaced with intermodal transportation system (integrated system of ticket sales, integrated luggage management, uninterrupted mobility, high accessibility for physically challenged people) which will include entirely new approach by the transportation operators. references 1. han, s. s. managing motorization in sustainable transport planning: the singapore experience. journal of transport geography. volume 18, issue 2, elsevier. march 2010. pp. 314-321. 2. too, l. earl, g. public transport service quality and sustainable development: a community stakeholder perspective. sustainable development vol. 18, (1), 2010. john wiley & sons ltd and erp environment. pp. 51-613. 3. banister, d. the sustainable mobility paradigm. transport policy, volume 15, issue 2, march 2008. elsevier. pp. 73-80. 4. pitsiava-latinopoulou, m., basbas. s., 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mobility portal, downloaded april 2015 www.eltis.org 12. sustainable urban mobility plans planning for people, taken april 2015 www.mobilityplans.eu 13. mobility in cities analysis and recommendations, international association of public transport (uitp), brussels, 2005. 14. "smarter cities for smarter growth", ibm institut for business value, 2010. 15. development policy for public transport trolleybus subsystems, international association of public transport (uitp), brussels, sept. 2007. 16. isotope improved structure and organisation for urban transport operation in europe. transport research fourth framework programme, urban transport, vii-51. office for official publications of the european communites.1997. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09666923 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09666923 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09666923/18/2 http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1790&context=ese_papers http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the city and i: the impact of the community on the city identity a digital printmaking approach (an analytical critical study) doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.123 tamer assem ali1 1phd, lecturer in graphics & media art department faculty of arts & design – msa university giza egypt keywords community – identity – digital print – mixed media abstract the research explores the impact and influence the community has on the identity of a city. the construction of the city follows certain standards acquired by the nation with respect to its ideologies and ambitions while the essence of the city is shaped and formed by the communities. the community is based on a mix of tradition, culture and habits, creating the identity of the group. the individual, as part of the larger group, shapes the identity of his/her city. the essence of the city reflects the identity of its community. the norm of a certain community along with its irregularities constructs the identity of their surrounding, hence the city. therefore, one can assume that the identity of a citizen is equal to the identity of the city. in a visual art project consisting of a series of digital prints (mixed media), the researcher explores the relation between man and his surrounding atmosphere; between man and his home; between man and his city. this visual project delves in presenting how the surrounding atmosphere is affected by the human identity living within it. the community paints the city with its color, thus the city reflects its community. the city and the visual arts 1. art as a tool of change and advancement in communities: artists and intellectuals have always been forward looking and critical towards their community. modern art has solemnly found a purpose in depicting the future and causing fundamental social advancements that act as a refinement tool for society in a time when innovative practices by pioneers of cognitive and technical approaches are apparent. indeed, art in the broader sense always had a deep significance and influence on humanity and is a vital tool for social and cultural change as well as community evolution. 3. social responsibility avant-garde artists at the turn of the last century sprung boldly in an unprecedented manner to create change. indeed, they had all the rights as the world was going through crucial change. surrounded by the technological upheaval, introduced to the machine and affected by the disasters of the great war, humanity was definitely on the verge of a new beginning. using all means of visual communication and experiments, young artists rose to change the world. movements sprung confronting societies with shocking ideas, manifestos, visual outcomes and design. change was in the air and new visual languages were created. what was once shocking to the norm became familiar with time, precision and dedication. these young pioneers grew with their dreams and lived its manifestation. from defying war, death and the declining social and human condition proper visual expression executed by the german expressionists came about. that included bold paint strokes depicting diverse themes in an utterly liberated manner to celebrate the new age of speed, machines and technical advancement as manifested by the italian tamer assem ali / the academic research community publication pg. 2 futurists throughout their literature, visual works, typographical experiments and design; indeed change was happening. russian constructivists were extreme when naming the fine artist a constructor, to achieve the purpose of social reform throughout visual means in an attempt to follow their utopian dream of achieving a better society in the new soviet union. this occurred while the young dadaist had a nihilistic approach formulated in irrational, contradictory actions, recitations and visual expressions as a reaction to the social and political upheavals. therefore, without doubt, since the beginning of the 20th century visual expression became a crucial factor and tool for social and cultural change. 2. community and the city visual arts, whether directly or indirectly, play a crucial role in reflecting and anticipating social advancement within communities. they help shape the mass identity of the community. the community, on the other hand, reflects on the city it belongs to, where the city is the vessel that encompasses their lives with all their traditions, habits and cultural awareness and ethical values. as the city absorbs the essence of its inhabitants reflecting their identity, visual arts then have direct influences and cultural effects on cities. 3. visual arts relationship with the city aside from the important role art plays in affecting social and cultural aspects of communities leading to direct effects on cities, visual arts directly relate to cities through two major paths; public art in the city and city and community depiction in visual arts. a. public art in the city it’s almost impossible to find a city without public art. public art reflects the cities nationalistic tendencies and is usually commissioned by the state to reflect the city’s cultural entity to the world as well as to its habitants. under commissioned site-specific works, mostly in public spaces in different media, public art is accomplished by specifically selected artists (whether natives or not) through curators, organizers and the state itself. usually, the work reflects the essence and identity of the city where the approach is an amalgam of subjectivity and objectivity; subjective in representing the artists’ own perception, experience and approach towards the project and objective in the sense of reflecting the identity of the city. b. city and community depiction in visual arts the second relationship between the visual arts and the city is the city and community depiction in visual arts production which is the broader and more subjective part. the city has always had its share in the visual arts production, whether when being used as a background or foreground in art production, or being the subject itself as well as sometimes being a symbol of the community. the art works depicting the city reflect the subjective perception, the personal concern as well as the technical and visual approach of the artist. diverse depictions have been portrayed by infamous artists like piet mondrian’s broadway boogie woogie, 1942-43 and edward hopper’s nighthawks, 1942. this second path is what is covered here in this art project where one tends to directly link the human condition with the city in a contemporary approach. the experiment 1. background expression through faces (broad artistic experiment) my life art project mainly focuses on the human condition, its evolution and contradictions. throughout the years, this broad issue has been my main concern and apparently it repeatedly clears out in my various art practices despite the minor details i am working on in each phase. the human face never ceases to appear in my visual production – rarely extending to part or the entire human figure – in an expressionistic manner directly related to my status of being and my ideas at the time of practice. my faces are usually placed on diverse cold surfaces depicting the issue being tackled then. the message to be conveyed is sometimes hidden and other times clear in the worn out, yet strong features of the human face placed in a contradictive, alienated or compatible manner over the different surfaces from plain to mechanically patterned surfaces. 2. concept tamer assem ali / the academic research community publication pg. 3 a. introduction in this art project, one tends to capture a global sense concerned with the human condition as a whole proving that humans shape the identity of their cities as well as raising the question of the effect of globalization in blurring the lines between diverse identities, and tackling the subject of global identity vs. individual identity. so in this series of digital prints, the subjective part is apparent in human faces, which directly relates to my approach and visual experiment. the features of the faces are satellite maps of diverse cities with clear individual identities raising the question, to what extent have identities been blurred and smudged in the global digital age we live in. b. man and woman the choice behind selecting the two genders in representing each of the chosen cities is to present humanity as a whole without specific reference to a certain gender, stereotype or norm. men and women are the origins of life on this planet and are the reason for the continuity of the human race. c. satellite maps choosing satellite maps of each city to be digitally juxtaposed as the texture of the human face has a direct significance proving that the city and the humans living within it are both sides of one coin. an indirect significance is when the satellite maps from far away appear visually similar and start clearing out and become identifiable when zoomed in, symbolizing that even though communities appear similar under the broader cloud of globalization, diversity and identity still exist and appear timidly with a proper zoom in. in addition to that, satellite maps portray the technological advancement of the digital age. d. cities of choice the cities of choice are beijing, cairo, new york, sarajevo and vienna. the 2 main reasons behind the choice of these specific cities to be presented in this visual experiment lies behind the diversity of social, political and cultural factors shaping the identity of each of the cities. the privilege of personally visiting and observing the 4 cities other than cairo (hometown) thriftily and strongly capturing the essence, cultural, social and habitual backgrounds of their people throughout a broad spectrum of communication is also a reason. 6. technical approach each of the chosen cities has been represented by two portraits representing man & woman (origins of life) executed in the form of a digital print accomplished throughout mixed media techniques; drawing, collage, ink textures and digital collage. the sizes of the prints of the whole project are standard where the work size is 70x50cm. the works each two prints, of man & woman representing a city are displayed below under the title of the city they present. a. beijing tamer assem ali / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 1 tamer assem – beijing man – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) figure 2 tamer assem – beijing man – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) b. cairo tamer assem ali / the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 3 tamer assem – cairo man – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) figure 4 tamer assem – cairo man – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) c. new york tamer assem ali / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 5 tamer assem – new york man – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) figure 6 tamer assem – new york woman – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) d. sarajevo figure 7 tamer assem – sarajevo man – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) tamer assem ali / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure 8 tamer assem – sarajevo woman – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) e. vienna figure 9 tamer assem – vienna man – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) tamer assem ali / the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure 10 tamer assem – vienna woman – digital print – 70x50cm – (2017) references books 1. elger, dietmar. (1994). expressionism. ingo f. walther (ed.). germany: benedikt taschenverlag gmbh 2. elger, dietmar. (2006). dadaism. uta grosenick (ed.). germany: taschen gmbh 3. armstrong, helen. (ed.). (2009). graphic design theory reading from the field. new york, ny: princeton architectural press 4. wiggins, colin (1993). post-impressionism. italy: dorling kindersley ltd. 5. barnes, rachel, coomer, martin, freedman, carl, godfrey, tony, grant, simon, larner, melissa, … williams, gilda. (1996). the 20th century art book. hong kong: phaidon press ltd. 6. butler, adam, van cleave, claire, stirling, susan. (1994). the art book. china : phaidon press ltd. electronic sources 1. jones, jonathan. (2014, march 24). urban art through the ages. the guardian. retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/mar/24/urban-art-city-pictures-artists-hogarth-hockney 2. halle, howard. new york in art. timeout. retrieved from https://www.timeout.com/newyork/art/new-yorkin-art https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/mar/24/urban-art-city-pictures-artists-hogarth-hockney https://www.timeout.com/newyork/art/new-york-in-art https://www.timeout.com/newyork/art/new-york-in-art http://www.ierek.com/press arcive-sr (print) (issn 2537-0154) international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) public art development doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.139 hassan ahmed ismail 1 1barch – cairo university mdesr – sci-arc keywords public art development; challenges among the built environment; advertising practices; construction industry; urban observations; façade colors and patterns; organized randomness; creative efforts and contributions; commercial street art; decorative concrete; colorful bricks; tinted bricks abstract please allow me to express my interest in participating in the event; the agenda and objective are of high significance for discussing the maturity and development of a sustainable "cultural and creative infrastructure" powered by cultural policies and practices. involvement and lobbying for such topics is essential for the cultural and creative dynamics where creative cities attract creative people. while navigating through a search engine and typing a name of a city, the first images to appear visualize the built environment of the city. for instance when you type cairo into google, you will be mainly looking at the pyramids and built environment around the nile in addition to the old city of cairo. if you type in new york you will find images of skyscrapers positioned around the natural landscape of the city, and so on and so forth. thus tourism depends a lot on the built environment and the touristic standard is subject to the built environment, type and quality of tenants attracting the general public and of course the natural landscape. arts and architecture play an important role among the built environment having both tangible and intangible economic impacts resulting from touristic attractions as well as other means; cairo was once described as the most beautiful city in the world with the rich urban fabric and prosperity of the arts and architecture. in a country like egypt where segmentation between the different social levels is becoming a real threat for future generations, it is crucial to work with all stakeholders including the authorities, civil society and the general public with objectives that would aim to serve all interests and gain a positive public opinion. 1. introduction capitalizing upon the booming real estate development industry in egypt, public art development is a huge market especially for creative and cultural industries working towards community enrichment and place making through improving street visuals as a means of inspiration as well as creating value by exposure, interaction, understanding and appreciation of high artistic quality with an objective to connect art with people, enhance the design-build quality standards and stimulate the alternative tourism scene expanding as a model and catalyst for further artistic activity. there are many case studies for slums and informal areas that have been transformed from repellent neighborhoods into attractive touristic sites especially in africa and latin america where cultural operators sometimes even offer public art tours as part of the cultural experience. public art installations especially the contemporary ones are commonly located around main squares all over the governorates and are usually unappealing even though design and construction costs may reach a few hundred thousand pounds and sometimes even exceeding millions. budgets are allocated and available both by the public and private sectors however the selection, commissioning and management processes face challenges dealing with hassan ahmed ismail / the academic research community publication stakeholders and administrative structures simply because of bureaucracy, ignorance and corruption. egypt however has extreme urban settings with diverse social layers and which generates random yet fascinating outcomes, occasionally art initiatives take place but usually on a one-time basis yet maintenance of the works is rarely considered. however such art initiatives and projects gain a high popularity and create a positive atmosphere. 1. challenges among the built environment segmentation in egypt is becoming a major threat among social, cultural and urban contexts having extreme impacts on both the people and built environment whereas a healthy social fabric will only exist through penetrating and collaborating with such communities towards engagement and inclusivity. poor engineering and maintenance together with urban segregation have negative impacts on the built environment creating a deteriorated brand and image of the egyptian scene not reflecting upon the rich cultural heritage. 1.1 advertising practices outdoor advertising highly impacts the city skyline and aesthetics, on an environmental level the excess use of large outdoor advertising structures contribute towards an unsustainable sprawl in terms of new construction including but not limited to billboard frames, poles, foundations, power infrastructure and utilities resulting in accumulative built volumes which impact visibility, natural light and sometimes accessibility. creating media spots is an industry that will continue to boom and which may inspire the use of alternative design and technology solutions, for instance phosphorescent paints absorb heat during the day and glow at night potentially replacing outdoor electrical installations. figure 1 vast ripe surfaces figure 2 unsustainable practices 1.2 construction industry on the other hand design and construction capacities are limited to the absence of law enforcement including unresponsiveness to informal construction activities and protection of heritage buildings. repetitive interpretations and applications of design and building codes probably also limit the creative aspect and façade design qualities, one of the main reasons is that architecture and engineering are associated together when it comes to higher education on the national level lagging advanced tools and applied technical learning. the visual and design quality standards continue to fade into the local market dilemmas especially in less fortunate neighborhoods between limited varieties of cheap and low quality products, undeveloped taste due to lack of exposure and of course the complex circumstances prioritizing other important life aspects leaving art and design as a luxury that not everyone can afford. hassan ahmed ismail / the academic research community publication figure 3 partially finished building 2. urban observations 2.1 façade colors and patterns there is a high preference for colors and ornamentation when it comes to exterior and interior designs, from the least fortunate neighborhoods to the most luxurious compounds people tend to express bright and cheerful designs reflected upon the real estate and built environment. driving around the ring road in greater cairo for instance is a great inspiration for those interested in investigating the different façade typologies. figure 4 preference for colors in the countryside there are even more unique colors and patterns emphasizing the architectural elements and are inspired by nature, more colors and details usually demonstrate a higher social and wealth status. figure 5 faiyum governorate hassan ahmed ismail / the academic research community publication figure 6 high contrasts yet similar elements 2.2 organized randomness contractors among other suppliers may also advertise their products and services to the public most of which are successful by grabbing attention and conducting business. figure 7 color palettes hassan ahmed ismail / the academic research community publication figure 8 wall as advertising panels 3. creative efforts and contributions although the local art scene in egypt is considered underdeveloped compared to the west, there is a huge potential to capitalize and build upon such rich local heritage and artistic production. as a matter of fact egypt has the potential to become a center of excellence for art taking into consideration our expansive pool of talent in addition to the massive corporate marketing and construction budgets leaving behind surfaces and spaces ripe for transformative change. 3.1 commercial street art cairo is overwhelming and one of the most live cities full of energy, wandering the streets one may realize an extremely dynamic and intensive commercial presence probably perceived as a kitsch advertising prototype in terms of colors, material and quality. despite such immaturity there is a lot of potential in transforming those facades into an attractive street frontage with solid art and graphics providing direct and indirect advertising while preserving the local loud and decorative character observed as the colorful patches that we see everywhere around us on vehicles, walls and buildings. figure 9 examples of commercial street art hassan ahmed ismail / the academic research community publication 3.2 decorative concrete examining the traditional and recurrent informal construction activities in egypt one observes the repetitive typology of concrete grids and red bricks exposed all together as raw façades with minimum creative applications and interventions. alternative approaches could result in a visual transformation when it comes to bricks and concrete, for instance using colored as well as decorative concrete casts. figure 10 informal housing skyline figure 11 example of decorative concrete cast 3.3 colorful bricks several attempts occur for painting bricks as part of the façade treatment process resulting in very interesting and sometimes beautiful pixilated colorful surfaces, painting the bricks is indeed a practical and creative solution considering the additional costs related to alternative treatments including cladding materials among other applications. most importantly this is happening organically and expanding on a national level. figure 12 examples of painted bricks figure 13 example of painted bricks hassan ahmed ismail / the academic research community publication 3.4 tinted bricks this may also inspire the idea of color dyeing bricks via separate production lines in brick factories by tinting the clay before or while being casted directly into the molds, a process that would facilitate, consolidate and optimize the design-build process. figure 14 concepts for tinted bricks figure 15 concepts for tinted bricks conclusion egypt is and has always been very inspiring despite the lack or immaturity of a creative infrastructure and ecosystem including but not limited to art and design education, facilities and supplies however there is more need for competition, critical thinking and appreciation for arts and design. unfortunately many craftsmen nowadays are giving up their inherited and acquired skill for other jobs that would tentatively better secure them financially but not necessarily satisfy their creative expression contributing towards discouragement of craftsmanship and unemployment. the maturity and development of a sustainable creative and cultural infrastructure powered by cultural policies and practices is essential for the cultural and creative dynamics where creative cities attract creative people and without innovation we will continue to develop as a consumer based society, therefore t is crucial to work with all stakeholders including the authorities and civil society with objectives that would aim to serve the best interests and gain a positive public opinion. the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the invisible in painting art between east and west doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.132 hosam abd elkader metwally mohamed 1 1assistant professor; depart painting; faculty of fine arts;helwan universty;egypt. keywords visible; invisible; east; west. abstract the art of painting relies on the employment of the painting's vocabularies in an idiomatic meaningful format under the framework of the dialogue form. such methodology occurs at times and in a new style to create new systems and formats at other times (form structure). the dilemma lies between these two frameworks where there are reality and mind, sensory and mental or visible and invisible, that is, between what is perceived by the eye of idiomatic semantics forms and what is realized in accompanied suggestive or figurative meanings. the interpretation of the invisible in the vision of oriental art is different from the vision of the western art because the spirit of the culture is manifested in the first to incorporate the individual in the group. as in the universe, it removes intervals so that the individual may seem similar to his surroundings in order to reach the infinite and unlimited aspect. this vision is based on a type of intuitive knowledge in the form of detection or discovery, which is based on the dualism of the visible and the invisible. therefore, the receiving process is unlimited to the aesthetic pleasure that focuses on the form alone, and it is an existential process that is based on the dialogue between the receiver and the artwork. islamic sufi aesthetic thought tries to find the sensory effects in the universe. it is not concerned with the mental abstract perceptions of geometric shapes associated with the western logic." islamic abstraction would not seek to meet the formal requirements such as a mathematical current of mondrian or freeing the spirit of the form exracted from the content, internal necessity of the structure or the internal empathy for the colors and meanings. it does not intend to reach ideal purity in the form so as to realize the artistic feeling in malevich. it tries to find natural laws, including geometric shapes ,and then its loads them with facts and meanings towards the absolute. it results in a new standard vision that will create another independent reality which does not end with just watching the painting so as to combine the idea with the artistic vision to denote the meaning"(abu elmaggd, 2011). the research problem: it lies in the answer to the question 'what is the role that the invisible plays in paintings; as it is considered a spiritual connection language between the artwork vocabularies and the receiver. research methodology: the analytically critical method. research limits: this paper deals with the philosophy of vision as an equivalent art to the invisible between east and westthrough the study of some artworks which shows this idea in human civilizations. the importance of research: it tries to discuss a set of points: visible and invisible as a term and concept, to track the movement of the interpretation of the invisible through some eastern and western civilizations, the relationship of space in the artwork with the invisible, hosam abd elkader / the academic research community publication pg. 2 importance of mirror's role in highlighting what is invisible in the western artworks, and it ends with some results and recommendations. introduction: the artist has been obsessed with the concept of the invisible all over the course of history. he believes that the universe has hidden forces requiring sacrifice in order to know and get close to them until he can reach a totalitarian -and whole as a kind ofsalvation. ancient egypt and mesopotamia civilizations are the oldest human civilizations as they made progress in arts and architecture. they had a special concept for the interpretation of the invisible worlds, for many of which relied on the presence of metaphysics or the godly powers. most of the arts have dealt with sacred ideal framework embodied in legendary forms and bodies with a character, sometimes in combination of human and animal elements moving toward the spiritual the essence. both civilizations did not give importance to a similarity with the realistic form as far as to attempt to explain the phenomena, so that forms, as they were, became symbols seeking the invisible, like the sphinx in ancient egypt and the winged bull in ancient iraq. the greek philosophers were inspired by them in the quest for the dialectical relationship between the visible and the invisible:" talis (624/546 bc) believed that water -by which the universe was createdwas the hidden invisible force, whereas pythagoras (580/500 bc) found that the idea of the invisible is manifested in the development of mathematics through the language of numbers and their idealism and philosophy with its interpretation in legendary views. however, heraclitus (544/483 bc), believes that the invisible was crystallized through opposite conflict and fight which were renewed to become visible. plato (428-347 bc), found ideal ideas in the mathematical formulas which were near to the invisible and far away from the visiblewhere the geometrical shape owns in his concept an absolute beauty, intense in itself, is higher than the visible. according to his perception, it was necessary for the formation of the moral order which is synonymous with the idea of goodness and beauty. on the other hand, aristotle ( 348-322 bc) employed, not engineering and mathematics, but an analytical mental thinking to interpret the invisible, so it was incarnated in the tangible material and it became visible. thus, he found in the matter a tremendous energy and a great means to express the invisible – the unlimited"(almusawi, 2005). however, the idea of the invisible may be embodied and maximized in the islamic arts, which is originated and returned to god as he is the absolute and totalitarian beauty as well as the primary source of existence and creatures. therefore, they abandoned the similarity with tangible materials and turned towards manifestations. the abstract in lines and shapes extends to include symbols and hints of ideas and meanings which are not unknown for those who understand the islamic art. the muslim artist treated the visual arts on the basis of intellectual perceptions, where he paints what he knows, not what he sees, or he expresses the thing and he does not transfer it". as ibnarabi (1165-1240) says: "the outwardly and inwardly are twin brothers inseparable, if one of both is known the other is known". some philosophical views on this subject have appeared in modern times such as maurice merleau-ponty (1908-1961), who believes that the invisible is not the antithesis of the visible. the visible possesses a part that is invisible, since the meaning and metaphoric significance can not be seen but can be felt. it is worthy of mentioning that every effort is made to see them working on to hide them although they are located within the visible as a strategy in the formal structure"(abuelmaggd, 2011). terminology: the dilemma: a confusing problem. kant (1742-1804) says: that the provisions characterized by forms are the provisions where the affirmative and negative are possible, and its mental belief is based on the judgment. the visible: it is everything relative and changeable that could be measured and could be a standard of judgment. it is the variable that makes the receiver turns to the invisible. the invisible (to see vision) is the mental model of plato, which is the image of the invisible. however, aristotle says that it is the one who interferes in the formulating of visible, and it is the hidden force and the artist's imagination which changes the nature of objects and bodies. hegel (1770-1831) defined the invisible as an absent idea by which the artist can turn it into the visible, which is an identical perception of an abstract object from the necessities of nature. it is about the content and conditions of the outside realization. the invisible is also an independent, complete in itself and nonrelative. also, it is a constant indicating the infinite, and it does not depend on something else other than itself. the invisible creates all the existence. ancient egyptian civilization (akhenaton as a model).the art of painting is demonstrated in the ancient egyptian murals, especially in the era of akhenaton, who was looking for the mechanism of turning that idea of the metaphysics into the visible hosam abd elkader / the academic research community publication pg. 3 presence through the used raw material mold. groups of artists relied on experimentation and interpretation the idealism form for the purpose of access to the un-similarity – and the unlimited. they produce artistic images which are neither quoted from the external reality nor are the perfect interpretation of the self, that of the king, but it is an offloading of the emotional charge generated by the fusion of existence in the imagination of the artist. it is what led him to a mystical knowledge so that the images and statues seem as if they are alienated. such notion could be extracted from the face of akhenaton speared in ( fig. 1) with this elongation form with the almond eyes, extended nose and drooping mouth. the aesthetic discourse is inspired by his emotional ownself instead of the realistic form as a result of the artist's availibility and freedome at the time. other pictures and statues appeared different from the visible reality where the sensory and intuitive argumentation are realized and perhaps reminiscent of expressionist models of modigliani, the painting of jesus christ for the german noldh or a painting during the early period of picasso's cubism. the most important characteristic of the era of akhenaton is the manifestation of simplification and reduction by which the form-combinations stands out of working or activating the mental images. figure1 the witbour plaque,museum relief; akhenten&nefertiti,13521336 bc,broooklyn. figure 2 the god abu &his wife, iraque musueum,300 bc. the artist was not totlly concerned with the visual details, but rather the artist was more into translating the meaning and significance of the vision through a deep understanding according to constant laws and concepts that assist in bringing about the material into a perfect and idealistic place, that is, the symbolic world. the ancient egyptian artist replaced the visual image with an eternal one, which does not accept any changes in the world of eternity. that idea is associated with the effectiveness of the analogical magic where the image works here as a magic mediator in order to restore the structure system of the normal life into another environment, having the status of stability and immortality. this concept is enhanced by the origins of the heavenly king and his cosmic ability, prompting the artist to be diligent in working hard to provide the equivalent of that invisible meaning through the distribution of the artistic elements on the work surface. for example, the used color extends in uniform in all directions and is not based on the principle of shades, or hues. it also moves away from the bright color so that perspective-relationships include a variety of linear designations, and a visual equivalent is created between the work surface and the space to achieve a kind of emotional representation. accordingly, it dominates the images of the characters by abstract attitude that cut their contact with time and place in order to move into a dreaming world that reminds the viewer of the japanese drawings and (tanagra) small classical statues"(alhamedi,2012). it is worth mentioning that the ancient egyptian combined the material and the spiritual trends ,side by side, where he resorted to subduing the elements of nature with its manifestations. making identical copies of the original statues were also another way conveying his auto response to the world around him. however, he seeks the totalitarian and the universal aspects by trying to penetrate the phenomena for embodying the conceptual meaning of the new spiritual reality at that era. the major reason behind that was his belief in the importance of the essence in building forms and constructions. mesopotamia: the old iraqi artist realized that unraveling the mystery surrounding the invisible needs obtaining the truth that is tantamount to achieveing his safetyas the visible reality does not provide him with sufficient answers. he thinks that everything or phenomenon has a spirit or hidden god among the gods that were later divided into hosam abd elkader / the academic research community publication pg. 4 six levels: heavenly, earthly, sexual, animal, human and godly composite. therefore, the artist tried to be connected with invisible higher objects responsible for this universe, and he expressed it in the way of a legendary form aiming to worship those invisible powers, along with controlling the various manifestations of nature. in that light, the abstract compositions and statues became much distant from visual simulations, while the attention focuses on creating continuous and direct relationship between humans (visible) and the gods (invisible).thus, he can transverse the fictional world of ideas and myths, that the artistic compositions seem strange without any relevance to the world of visuals as in (fig.2), which represents the statue of ( the god abu and his wife). it is dated back to the year 3000 bc , and they were standing in a state of devotion and worship to the forces of the divine (the invisible). these are noticed in the clenched bodies which are preparing to embark on projects, while seemingly cut off from the outside world through combinations of wide goggled eyes. the expressive style may be shared in liberating the visible form (human) so as to be united with the divine form (invisible). therefore, sublimity of the supernatural appeared on the statue that includes artistic features, like flatness, simplification, hybridization and inlaying with precious stones until it appears with a new form outside its known limits. figure 3.one of collections of islamic art , paris . slamic art: islamic art is united in its essence, in spite of the emergence of minor changes in countries where islam entered. it is perhaps that the character of the transfiguration and the transcendence of the analogy is attributed to the divine order (invisible) is the origin of the creatures where his ability are reflected in the small atom nucleus as equally as in the great galaxy. this vision, as it is, needs to the continuity of the receiver and interrupting the dialogue between the eye and the mind of receiver. it is difficult for any-one to understand the origins of islamic art, without this vision, thus his philosophy becomes far away from the visual formation . therefore, muslim artists realize that relationship which combines the eye and the mind and comes from his being aware of the signs, symbols and gestures across the joined lines and spaces that make the picture far from spontaneous visual so as to compose another internal image (invisible) . "al-ghazali mentions in this regard: "the eye can recognize of the things their manifestations and top surface without their interior, and their molds and images but not their essence. the mind can penetrate the insider and secrets of things, realize their truths and spirits, and devise their reason, cause, end, purpose and wisdom as well as from what they are occurred, how they are created, how much meaning they are combined, on which level they descend, what their ratio and their percentage to other creatures". thus, the eye is considere an extension to the mind and its function is an extension to the function of the mind. the artwork is directed here to the eye as a way reach up to the viewer so as material image can move to the human brain and then self internals which are able to interpret and perceive making the field of vision to continue without interruption and finishing with the end of the vision. the combination of sensory and intuitive through conversion of the form is necessary to create the relationship between the signifier and the signified to reveal by subtly expression the invisible forms and unconscious sensations which are difficult to be expressed in pictures and words"(abd elazize, 2006). as a result, these barriers are crashed in the visionary of the artist that the universe with its manifestations and phenomena become a single unit. islamic art is based on abstraction, which marred with the mystery along with the regeneration process through repetition, symmetry, harmony, movement and rhythm in order to the viewer's eye moves from the visible to the perceived (fig.3). according to the jestalt theory, perception of things is occurred entirely, then the parts and details, as the mind of the viewer tends to see parts of the picture as a whole then turns him into details so as to complete the image mentally and extends to add missing parts and lost details by the experience and culture of the artist. looking at the artwork requires effort when you see visible things that are not obvious at first glance as the existence of circles, squares and duplicate units which push the viewer to try to imagine or realize the vision of unseen things. thus, the visible is transformed into invisible and this does not depend on a single axis in the vision but the viewer's eye seems in a state of continuous movement when more than mental image enters quickly the cerebral cortex in order to address the mind and conscience together. hosam abd elkader / the academic research community publication pg. 5 isthmus: ibn arabi says:" "the levels are three: outside, inside and in-between which distinguishes ,the outside the inside, and separates them. it is the isthmus which has a face to the outside and another to the inside but it is the same face which cannot be divided. thus the relationship between the outside and the insideis on the level of knowledge is not the differentiation of the existential relationship but the differentiation of knowledge for an existential fact"(abu elmaggd, 2011) . al-ghazali, in this regard, mentions in the theory of epistemology: "that there is in the known a fraction of the unseen. the knowledge is coupled with the unseen and what we know in some science is just the least little. what we do not know is the origin and the whole essence so that there is an intermediate state between the dualities (visible and invisible), (known and unknown) or ( evident and hidden) which are similar to the isthmus. the isthmus represents a state between two parties which can meet and separate at the same time but both of them do not meet with one face but several faces leading to the dynamics of the life. however, the surface appearances do not represent or tend to stabilize as what we see and feel does not necessarily reflect the truth that is broader and greater than that. thus, the isthmus is the greater bearer for the dynamics of phenomena and their multiple manifestations. muslim artist has drawn his mystical sufi and knowledge view across the overall vision of the existence states and perception of life. music has been also connected to the world of the unseen, the invisible. space and invisible (space is relative and fullness is absolute): space in eastern artwork isnot less significance and important than the whole music of the world or creatures as well as the moral isthmus and the significance of metaphors. "in buddhist artworks and meanings, the artistic space is considered a synonym for meditation, while making the area of the space much full is the interpretation by the artistic sense in chinese paintings, especially in the (tao) like (fig.4) as well as in the japanese paintings"(abd el aziz, 2007). however, the state of transcendence or promotion for not to be similar to tangible materials by filling most of the space in the islamic art. the fear of believing in the evil infused in them ensues saying that the space and the way of filling it are equivalent to the meaning of the invisible in the art of painting. figure 4 wall scroll painted by malin,1264;ink on silk,110 cm wide. figure 5 leonardo da venci,the virigin&child with st,anne oil on wood, 168×130cm, louvre museum. western view: the illusion that there is a third dimension is synonymous with the invisible in the european art. leonardo da vinci relies in many of his paintings on the juxtaposition of music with painting in order to make the connecting formula with the manifestations of nature. freud stated in his book (psychoanalysis and art) about the truth of the art as an expression of sub-consciousness of the man, and when he saw an exhibition of leonardo, he wrote: "the effort to write a biography, if he really sought access to understand the psychological life of the hero it should not (.... ) pass in silence of the sexual activity or sexual secrets of the person in question. "when freud read the novel (leonardo eagle), in which he came to him in the cradle and opened his mouth with his tail and hit him on his lips, only that freud can discover , through the interpretation of some of the work of leonard, that he had been an incident of homosexual assault in his childhood, so that his most important works (figure5) (the virgin and child with st anna) bears in hosam abd elkader / the academic research community publication pg. 6 its contents the symbol of the eagle where it includes sad colors, such as the painting of (mona lisa), and in that, there are indicators to access to the subconscious side of the artist leonardo"(elnivar, 2013). there are some realistic artworks that contain what is beyond the purpose and the meaning including an example of the painting (the origin of the world) (fig.6) of the painter gustave courbet, in which a naked body of a woman shows without a head, a neck without a leg, very thick haired vagina (faraj) and part of the right breast appear in the middle of this body. the view of courbet is that vagina represents the origin of the desire by which all mankind are born. he intends to paint the vagina as wide open to enable the viewer's eye to see it, as well as the vagina itself, takes the shape of the eye so that courbet can depend on the reciprocal relationship between this form and the viewer's eye. he acknowledges the fact that the vagina can see us and reveals our humans decadent features. courbet also wants his portrait to have an eye to see the others. figure 7 velasquez, maids of honor,1656; oil on canvas museum of madrid, 318cm ×276cm. mirror and invisible: the mirror does not only reflect the image of the person throughout history, but also his relationship with his surroundings. it contributes with a great in highlighting the ambiguity and contradiction that the man is incurred when he contemplates upon it. it is possible that the mirror can reflect invisible parts through the creation of extra dimensions in the painting as what has been achieved in some of the paintings of some artists such as van eck and georageony. "they may express the pride and flashy as in the painting (the basic seven sins) of jerome bush in 1500. the mirror, in other artworks, may express some (invisible) virtues as we see in the work of giovanni bellini (the face of a young woman with a mirror) in 1515. during the 19th century, the mirror image has acquired the artworks of manet, monet, renoir, and lautrec as well as others. even in our modern times, the mirror and its presence in the artwork differ from previous concepts and meanings. looking at the mirror has become a matter of concerns and fears, with the progress of arts, media, and photographs, because it reminds the person of his previous features of youth which was definitely more beautiful"(sharaf, 2013). among the most important artists who take the mirror in their paintings, velasquez in his work named (maids of honor) (fig.7) in which the face of the enlightening painter and his dark stature appear in-between a visible part and another invisible onethanks to the pictorial pose. the eyes of a painter stare at an invisible point, that is our faces, us the viewers, and perhaps heading outside of the painting towards the space in front of him. the viewer and the seen image exchanged here their roles without interruption, as there is no stability at a fixed position, but hosam abd elkader / the academic research community publication pg. 7 the ongoing conflict between the self and the subject of the painting on the one hand and the viewer with the painting model on the other hand. it is where they exchange their roles until infinity. in addition, there is s form in the background that represents an upside down painting which we do not behold its back, so it is meant to give a sense of wonderare we the viewers or the viewed? "the mirror presence becomes a stranger in this work as it does not reflect anything of the reality, not the painter nor the persona in the middle of the artwork (princess margaret and chaperones), and it conceals more than it reveals. as if it is a symbolic embodiment of the spirit, it may seek the mental presence of the painting elements (invisible) in exchange for the physical presence (visible)"(mohamed, 2015). figure 8 salvador dali, the persistence of memory,1931, oil on canvas,24×33cm modern art museum. surreal paintings are used to portray realistic things to express their dreams and improve the natural forms to be above the visible reality, as we find in (fig.8). so, as to be close to the invisible, as a result of converting elements to symbols that lay the problem of the relationship between the symbol and the sign that does not exceed the scope of the understood signal by the viewers. it is easier in that sense because it goes directly to the viewer's eye making it easier to be interpreted and anayized. the symbols are more complex or abstract and cannot be understood unless through realizing its core idea, as they are divided into two parts: general symbols and private ones, the second contains the art of critics which is interesting because the western art is nothing but an expression of personal thoughts and emotions. it is difficult to interpret the multiple indicative dimensions of the general symbols as a result of the correlation of the plastic symbols with their creator. in order to decipher their code, it is necessary to refer to the artist himself. the world of the symbol in the surreal logic poses a dialectical relationship with the concept of implication in the art expression that is not constrained by borders or a unified law. however, the symbol gains freedom which suits and composes with creative self. "the association of the symbol with the world of fantasy makes it seeks for the nothingness and the unknown. what is this thing, this fragile, this infinite, the dream is the truth of the reality and the possible whitch can be imaginated to us in the form of illogical hissings , the weak internal visiting fly, scattered of multi formless according to the saying of mahmoud darwish(1941-2008) however, when we contemplate in theses dialectical topics it can be discerned that the impossible, the absurd, the infinite and invisible can be formed within the dream circle"(abd elaziz, 2002). hosam abd elkader / the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure 9 kandinsky, multi colored circle,1921, yal university, art gallery, oil on canvas,77×101cm11t. figure 10 monderian, composition with red blue, yellow 1930, oil on canvas, metropolitan museum of art. with the abstract of both kandinsky and mondrian (figs. 9.10), they have a different point of view, where the first sought to dismantle the image of the visual shapes and re-launched it again to introduce signifier. he managed to do so without designating signifed that has a consensus. in spite of the fact that the signified lies inside the shape, it is subject to special artistic codes related to the artist, kandinsky himself. in other words, the interpretation and perception of the artwork stemmed from the relative mood of the viewer and the process become closer to the phantom. kandinsky tried to reach it by an abstract means and presented an interpreted world that is unknown and unspecified in the lower limits of the perception. it is a new language but without the alphabet. mondrian has known the end or a finite world which has a mathematic construction representing the metaphysics. in such world, the signifier is represented -herein geometric shapes, and it corresponds to the signified (metamathematic construction ). thus, the interpretation and metaphor area between them was shrinked due to the fact that he had similarities between the starting point with the end or the means with the aim. this view is different from the eastern or islamic vision that is not relative to the visible framework, even if it is found, it is just on the surface only because the internal or the inside does always refere to god (the almighty). therefore, the artwork becomes a signifier with a metaphysical signified which reaches up to the viewer in a way not embodied or imagined. this is found in the islamic art through figurative visual signifier synonymous to the meaning of the word and the image by abstraction, while in modernist abstraction, is associated to and coincided with the western civilization crisis. the crisis that was about to explode in a collision with general art technology and the loss of the unity of reference. these are the most important reasons were the separation of religion from the art and science lead to the dispersion of the standard vision and the general concepts. not to mention that these concepts govern the relationship between humansbeing and the manifestations of the universe in addition to the multiple frames of referencefor each school of art and for every artist. the preoccupation of the artists in the modern era with the invisible worlds perhaps coincided with the emergence of diseases, psychological problems, and complicated human conditions, prompting some artists to try to think of his artistic production such as the colombian "fernando botero"(1932-?). botero’s artworks rely on amplifying human bodies in order to create a sense of intensity in a cynical manner that is closer to a childish or caricature sense. his creations combined sobriety of classicism and contemporary: he extracts the first through periods of his stay in italy and spain. the second appears with a tinge of classicism that is spreaded in many of his artworks, such as (fig,11) in which figure and laughing faces are similar to balloon bodies because of their fatness. he abandons the visible form and dives into his world and their worlds on an equal footing. his philosophy probably implies several meanings; however, the exaggeration wonders aimlessly on fleshy bodoes and faces, which the features cannot cope with. the artist sympathized with them because their present sizes were their roles; small and limited in this world. the origin of his vision is the family and its social behavior which are formulated in visible templates bearing invisible characteristics so that social and psychological projections are generated on the persona of the prosperous bourgeois society at the expense of the misery of the poor starving classes in the society. hosam abd elkader / the academic research community publication pg. 9 figure 11 fernando botero, abu ghrib;2005 , oil on canvas , member of johnno. conclusions from the above, we can draw some conclusions and recommendations: 1-the artist of the civilizations of the nile valley and mesopotamia are able to make his art reach the direction of the invisible through several features including sanctification and ideal fantasy. it develops the invisible to the levels of absolute through the formation plurality saturated with symbol worlds, modulation by dismantling the clear visible. he could use also the fantasy element by proposing an ideal perfect world away from the temporary world of visible, especially after the invention of writing in 3000 bc. an expressive energy and search in imaginary and unmaterial worlds dominate the artistic production by the virtue of the evolution from imagery to symbolism laeding to the opening up in the sphere of metaphysics. 2-the idea of the invisible is maximized with the arts of islamic civilization covering its existentialism and compassionate philosophy. 3-the idea of outside and inside in the eastern communities corresponds to the form and content in the western civilization. 4-multiplicity of authorities concerning the invisible are multiple in western doctrines and with each artist while the authorities are united in the islamic and eastern civilization in general. 5-divine perspective and spiritual vision of the eastern civilizations correspond with a complete engineering perspective. it could also destroy it by personal, school or group in western arts seeking into the form and the mysteries of color. 6-the researcher is recommended to continue the purpose of this research by studying well the origins of the history of ancient egyptian and arabic arts and the real uncovering of eastern esoteric ideas drawn from the aesthetics and the merits of the ancient civilizations. appendix a. muhyiddin ibn 'arabi is one of the world's great spiritual teachers mystic philosopher, poet and sages. he was born in murcia, al-andalus, in 1165. his writings had an immense impact on the islamic world and even beyond it. the universal ideas underlying his thought are of immediate relevance today. maurice merleau-ponty’s work is commonly associated with the philosophical movement called existentialism, and its intention is to begin with an analysis of the concrete experiences, perceptions, and difficulties of the human existence. however, he never propounded quite the same extreme accounts of radical freedom, beingtowards-death, anguished responsibility and conflicted relations with others, for which existentialism became both famous and notorious in the 1940s and 1950s. georg wilhelm friedrich hegel (1770-1831) is one of the greatest systematic thinkers in the history of western philosophy. in addition to epitomizing german idealist philosophy, hegel boldly claimed that his own system of hosam abd elkader / the academic research community publication pg. 10 philosophy represented a historical culmination of all previous philosophical thoughts. hegel's overall encyclopedic system is divided into the science of logic, the philosophy of nature, and the philosophy of spirit. tanagra figures had not been much noted before the end of the 1860s, when ploughmen of vratsi in boeotia, greece, began to uncover tombs ranging in date over many centuries. the main findings, especially from the 4th and 3rd centuries bc, were secured in 1874. inside and outside the tombs of the hellenistic period — from the 3rd to the 1st century bc — many small terracotta figures were found. great quantities that were found in excavation sites at tanagra identified the city as the source of these figures, which were also exported to distant markets. in addition, such figures were made in many other mediterranean sites, including alexandria, tarentum in magna graecia, centuripe in sicily and myrina in mysia abu was a minor god of plants and he was one of the eight deities born to relieve the illness of tammuz, enki. abu means "the father of plants and vegetation." stephen langdon has proposed that abu may have been an ancient name. on the basis, that abu was identified as the consort of inanna, the name might not appear in any texts later than the third dynasty of ur. al-ghazali is one of the greatest islamic jurists, theologians, and mystical thinkers. he learned various branches of the traditional islamic religious sciences in his home town of tus, gurgan, and nishapur in the northern part of iran. he was also involved in sufi practices from an early age. being recognized by nizam al-mulk, the vizir of the seljuq sultans, he was appointed as the head of the nizamiyyah college at baghdad in ah 484/ad 1091 gestalt refers to the concept of the “togetherness” as greater than the sum of its individual parts. it is the total concept of the item being created – rather than just thinking of the separate pieces that make up the item. the name "taoism" comes from the chinese word taw (pronounced "dow"), which literally means "way" or "path." the tao is often translated as "the way of all things," and is conceived as an empty void pregnant with the infinite possibilities of existence. the tao is beyond the capacity of words to describe and beyond all opposites. as a result, it is often described using intentionally paradoxical languages. the way is like an empty vessel that yet may be drawn from, without ever needing to be filled. it is bottomless; the very progenitor of all things in the world. mahmoud darwish was born on 13 march 1941 in al birweh, a quaint village in the galilee. he lived a life that is a poignant example of how far talent and determination, combined with a precarious life, can carry an individual from a simple background into the international halls of fame. at the early age of seven, darwish and his family were forced to flee to lebanon to escape the ongoing massacres by the israeli army that occupied palestine. the dreadful massacare destroyed darwish’s village (in addition to over 400 other palestinian villages). returning –illegallyto their country the following year, he and his family were subjected to the military rule and emergency regulations of the state of israel, established on expropriated the palestinian land. they were given the status of “present-absent alien,” a status that will mark the poet from that point onwards, preventing him from ever finding his homeland, except in his language and his ever-loving audience. fernando botero is a colombian painter and sculptor who is known internationally for his highly recognizable style, which has become known as “boterismo.” botero often visualizes contemporary latin american life or atrocities—such as the violence of drug wars in his native colombia, or american abuses of power in his abu ghraib series—in his signature style. his portraiture depicts the human form in exaggerated, or inflated proportions. much of his work can be viewed as political or social critique, yet he has denied any satirical intention with the use of rotund forms. on april 19, 1932, in medellín, colombia, born fernando botero angulo traveled widely during his youth: first, to bogotá, then to europe, where got influenced by the masterpieces he saw in barcelona, madrid, florence, and paris can be seen in his work beginning in the 1960s. based in bogotá, museo botero is comprised of work from the artist’s collection. botero currently lives and works in monte carlo, monaco with residences in paris, pietrasanta, and evia. refrences 1. elnajeh, t. (2013, march 30). ** طریــــق النجــــاح **. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://tareekelnajeh.blogspot.com.eg/2013/03/blogpost_2759.htmlu51t 2. sharaf, m. (2013, september 13). أم�ام الم�رآة محم�د ش�رف. retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://newspaper.annahar.com/article/66974%d8%a3%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d8%a2%d8%a9 3. shehata, r. (2011, february 24). اس�تراتیجیة الحی�ز الھندس�ى المج�رد ف�ى انبث�اق المع�انى الروحانی�ة ب�الفن االس�المى. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://redashehata.blogspot.com.eg/2011/02/blog-post_2506.html ,retrieved august 30, 2017 .أحد خریجي الدورة االولى لمعھد الفنون الجمیلة لع�ام 1955 .. البروفس�ور حمی�د س�لمان احم�د الص�فار / وف�اء الربیع�ي .(.n.d) .و ,الربیعي .4 from http://mail.almothaqaf.com/qadaya2009/1955 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/boeotia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hellenistic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/alexandria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/taranto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/magna_graecia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/centuripe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sicily https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/myrina_%28mysia%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mysia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/enki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stephen_herbert_langdon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/inanna javascript:launchhelp('/taoism/glossary/tao.php',%20'width=250,height=275') http://tareekelnajeh.blogspot.com.eg/2013/03/blog-post_2759.html http://tareekelnajeh.blogspot.com.eg/2013/03/blog-post_2759.html https://newspaper.annahar.com/article/66974-%d8%a3%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d8%a2%d8%a9 https://newspaper.annahar.com/article/66974-%d8%a3%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d8%a2%d8%a9 http://mail.almothaqaf.com/qadaya2009/1955 paper title http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication keywords urban efficiency, resilience, architecture, planning, spatial planning abstract high rates of urbanization lead to a fragmented urban form with unequal access to jobs, amenities and public services. the lack of efficient and adaptive layout and design, integrated land uses (paton et al., 2013; saunders & becker, 2015), urban connectivity (taaffe et al., 1963) and sufficient forward planning at all levels of government is identified as a shortcoming which only exacerbates the consequences of urbanization. based on an analysis of spatial planning principles, this paper proposes a practical and policy-related set of tools for improved forward planning, promoting resilient layout planning and smart land use management as a means to enable diverse settlements to respond to events such as intense levels of urbanization. the case study is focused on the dualistic urban settlements of south-africa, but principles proposed could be applied to other settlements with similar spatially distorted patterns. the proposed set of tools could potentially improve urban resilience and efficiency. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) peer-reviewed under responsibility of archive's, the academic research community, publication introduction according to the world bank (2015), the world’s urbanization level is drastically increasing and stands at an even higher 53% urbanization rate. this assertion is clearly reflected in south africa as well, the un projects that 71% of south africa’s population will live in urban areas by 2030, reaching almost 80% by 2050 (un habitat, 2016). turok (2012:21) reveals that urbanization leads to a fragmented urban form with unequal access to jobs, amenities and public services in south africa. this, in turn, leads to a number of challenges including inefficient infrastructure, long travel distances, poor service delivery, low-quality spaces, disintegration, and separation. the ineffective and inadaptable layout and design, non-integrated land uses and insufficient forward planning at all levels of government and aspects result in the inability of some cities to effectively keep up with a high urbanization rate, therefore exacerbating the problems. by taking these various components into account and determining what causes one city to handle and absorb rapid urbanization better than others, a framework may be established which will lead to more resilient cities. this study was initiated to potentially provide a practical set of land use management tools that will lead to improved urban resilience and efficiency. this will potentially improve and simplify the implementation of urban resilience and efficiency, and enable cities to plan for shocks and recover from them with faster and more effective adaption. most of the available studies and research focus on resilience in terms of natural disasters and shocks, with little or no emphasis on urban resilience, especially pertaining to land use types. this study focuses on the numerous theories and principles associated with land use planning, resilience, and efficiency, and identifies key aspects of urban resilience and urban efficiency. the article will explore the different spatial components influencing the towards more resilient cities: land use and urban efficiency j.e drewes, m. van aswegen & m. richter north-west university, potchefstroom, south africa doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.231 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 2 capacity of a settlement to respond positively to rapid changes, and subsequently propose a multi-faceted approach that leads to urban resilience and efficiency proposals will also be made regarding a tool for the government to enhance resilience and efficiency and guide development through land use management systems. land use planning land use planning in this century faces both threats and opportunities. it is expected that land use planning should deliver sustainable development and livable communities, but it should also cope with serious conflicts regarding these two visions (godschalk, 2004:5). it seems that the future of land use planning depends on how it resolves these conflicts and creates cities that are liveable and sustainable. the new urban agenda (habitat iii un, 2016) embraces urbanization and calls for “more appropriate policies (which) can take advantage of urbanization across physical space”. urban sprawl could be identified as one of the main challenges of land use management and refers to land development that occurs at a specific pattern and a specific pace, where the pace refers to the rate which land is consumed for urban processes to ensure the growing population has sufficient land to develop on (pfister, 2004:4). urban sprawl also refers to the following (burchell et al., 1998:43): (i) low-density development dispersed over a large area of land; (ii) geographic separation of necessary resources such as work, homes, schools, and shopping; and (iii) high dependence of automobiles. therefore, urban sprawl leads to higher public and private costs, being less economic as the cost to supply infrastructure and services are more expensive (bhatta, 2010:28). he suggests that mixed land-use planning will fight against urban sprawl, otherwise it causes separation and fragmentation which in turn leads to urban sprawl. in answer to the challenges experienced worldwide, and more specifically in the south african context, various aspects are identified which facilitated the application of land use management practices to address these challenges, i.e. densification, zoning, mixed land use, corridor connections and sense of community. densification is discussed extensively in planning literature as a possible way to achieve compact cities, combat sprawl and create urban sustainability (daneshpour & shakibamanesh, 2011:110; gordon & richardson, 1997:97). therefore, depending on the context, densification can mean different building forms and processes. the approach aims to counteract negative effects of urban sprawl in terms of ineffective land-use and related environmental problems through densification and compact building. dowall and clark (1997:16) suggest that zoning measures are one of the most commonly used planning tools. they state that land zoning provides landowners with information on how their land can be optimized and where to situate buildings. to improve the different uses. zoning regulates the use of land in residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural or other land-use areas and is used to control population density, urban sprawl, traffic, and other urban problems. drescher (2015:2) argues that mixed zoning is important especially in clustered developments where residential areas and working sites are planned as one entity. in many developing countries, the impromptu squatter settlements around the outskirts of cities, where small-scale industries, housing, and agriculture are located in close proximity to each other, are also mixed zoning models. du plessis (2015: 218) asserts that the concept of mixed land use types in the south african context, has remained prominent on the spatial planning agenda since the early 1990s, and was most profoundly influenced by the seminal work of dewar and uytenbogaardt (1991) in which they argue that ‘the multifunctional use of space and facilities is not only desirable: it is economically essential (dewar & uytenbogaardt, 1991:59). they also identify the integration of urban activities and land use types as one of five central conceptual changes required for the transition of south african cities onto a more positive urban developmental path. economic or development corridors are defined by brunner (2014:29) as integrated networks of infrastructure within a geographical area designed to stimulate economic development and it may be developed within a country or between two or more countries. similarly, octaviano (2014: 2) and bowland and otto (2012: 3) affirms that development corridors may be created to link manufacturing hubs, areas with high supply and demand, and manufacturers of value-added goods and often feature integrated infrastructure, such as highways, railroads and ports, and may link cities or countries. mcmahon (2012:2) defines a sense of community is a unique collection of qualities and characteristics – visual, cultural, social, and environmental – that provide meaning to a location. the sense of place is what makes one city or town different from another, but the sense of community is also what makes our physical surroundings worth caring about (mcmahon, 2012:2). deitrick and ellis (2004:428) suggest that aspects such as street connectivity, mixed land use, and accessible destinations along with moderate j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 3 to higher levels of residential density, public gathering places and quality parks and open space all lead to an improved sense of community. the sustainable cities institute (2012) states that a strong sense of community is a vital principle for sustainable land use management. urban resilience this section connects resilience to the planning realm and determines how land use types and urban efficiency could improve the resilience of a city. according to christopherson et al. (2010:3), the term resilience originates from the field of environmental studies where it is used to describe the biological capacity to adapt and thrive under adverse environmental conditions. stumpp (2013:231), recognizes that the concept of resilience has been applied to different systems and increasingly understood in more fields for the last forty years, with its definition becoming ambiguous. meerow et al. (2016:42) argue that the problem with resilience is its multitude of different definitions and turning any of them into operational tools. he further states that the definition has become so broad that it is seemingly meaningless. in order to define the term urban resilience within an urban system, it is important to establish a common understanding of the term urban system and what it entails. many early writers, such as christaller (1966), harris and ullman (1945) and lösch (1954) discussed the origin and nature of systematic variations in the characteristics of urban places, however, a lot of detail remains uncovered. bourne and simmons (1978:15) stress that the mere understanding of how a city changes (grows, stagnates or declines) is not enough to study that particular city. rather, the city should be seen as part of a larger system. according to bourne and simmons (1978:15), it is a complex system where the strong interaction between the elements creates “feedback effects which regulate growth and change”, however this complex system was modelled as a relatively simple hierarchical order of cities“a national system dominated by metropolitan centers and characterized by a step-like hierarchy”. bourne (1975:32) states that the cities and urban regions of a modern industrial economy constitute a set of interrelated subsystems nesting in a complex hierarchy of increasing scale upward from individual urban areas to a national urban system. he adds that urban systems are structures which are determined by the spatial distribution of centers of production and consumption in the private and public sectors of the economy. he further categorizes an urban system into three levels, i.e. the national system, the subsystem at the regional level and the daily urban system. for the purpose of this study, references regarding the urban system will be focused on the third level (daily urban system) only, although it is apparent that each level impacts on the larger urban system as referred to by bourne (1975). according to bretagnolle et al. (2010:1), the organization of urban systems can be defined on three main levels: the (i) micro level represents elementary units (persons, firms, institutions) that are living together in a city, (ii) the meso level corresponds to the city itself (as a consistent geographical entity), and the (iii) macro level is the system of cities, which is made up of a large number of towns and cities which interact under a combined control (national political territory or a global economic network). this organization is shaped by interactions operating on different spatial and temporal scales of observation. a comprehensive definition of urban resilience needs to incorporate these four sub-systems conducted from the daily urban system and its interactions and to do so in an inclusive and flexible way, it is essential to allow some degree of perspectives and emphases to remain. consequently, for the purpose of this paper urban resilience is defined as: “the ability of a daily urban system-and all its constituent socio-ecological and socio-technical networks across temporal and spatial scales to maintain or rapidly return to desired functions in the face of a disturbance, to adapt to change, and to quickly transform systems that limit current or future adaptive capacity”. this definition was carefully worded and developed to articulate each of the sub-systems. urban resilience operates in non-equilibrium and emphasizes the importance of timescales and adaptive capacity and recognizes multiple change pathways (meerow et al. 2016:45). it is also safe to say that resilience shares much with other key contemporary urban goals such as sustainability, governance and economic development (hurlston & thompkins, 2012:171). dewar and uytenbogaardt (1991:22) identify the integration of urban activities and land uses as one of six central conceptual changes required for the transition of cities onto a more positive urban developmental path. the other changes include (i) balance, (ii) freedom, (iii) equity, (iv) intensity, diversity and necessary complexity, and (v) community. they argue that positively performing urban environments j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 4 reflect a high degree of integration between different parts and elements of the city. groups and communities should be able to benefit from a greater range of opportunities and facilities. for this to occur, they suggest that the more intensive activities and events need to be exposed to the inhabitants of many local areas. these principles will subsequently form part of the tools as identified in section 4. resilience and spatial planning principles according to iclei (2012:2), integrated land-use planning is an essential key to land use decisions and zoning extensions; they argue that a better land use management and integrated urban planning strategy, are essential to improve the current and future resilience of cities and that it should involve all levels of governance and local communities. saunders and becker (2015:75) state that land use planning is one of the main measures that contribute to resilience. this idea is supported by paton et al. (2013:38), who argue that land use planning is an integral part of creating a resilient society. therefore, it is vital to refer back to land use planning to try and establish the theoretical principles for successful land use compilation in order to achieve urban resilience. through an extensive literature review on best practice and generally agreed upon and accepted doctrines for sound spatial planning, the following principles were identified: place-making, opportunity, efficiency, choice, identity and change, proportion and scale, liveability, enclosure, access, movement networks, public transport, open spaces, public facilities and economy. lynch’s (1984:121) study on the several principles that contribute to the best practice city, shows that a city and its planning policies should make provision for the following dimensions: table 1: lynch’s spatial planning principles for the best practice city vitality the degree to which the form of the settlement supports the vital functions. sense the degree to which a city can be clearly perceived and mentally differentiated and structured in time and space. fit the degree to which the form and capacity of spaces, channels, and equipment in a city match the pattern and quantity of actions. access the ability to reach other persons, resources, information, services and other people. control the degree to which the use and access to spaces and activities, and their modification and management are controlled by those who use, work, or reside them. efficiency the cost of creating and maintaining the city. justice the way in which the environmental benefits and costs are distributed among people. source: adapted from lynch (1984: 121) lynch regards the above-mentioned principles important for the spatial planning of an urban area. similarity may be observed from behrens and watson (1996) and lynch and hack (1984) in some of the principles, which highlight the importance of these principles. behrens and watson (1996:66) state that the following principles are intended to contribute to the best practice city. the principles are discussed as normative concerns presented: table 2: behrens and watson’s spatial planning principles for the best practice city placemaking the concept of a ‘sense of place’ attainment cannot be accomplished through the submission of standardized planning actions: it results from imaginative, appropriate actions based on an understanding of the site, human need, function, and culture. scale the design of widths, heights, surfacing, and operations of a number of elements of a layout plan from the perspective of the person on foot has implications for the planning and design of public facilities. access circulation needs and maximization of levels of access should be met, especially to commercial, facility and employment opportunities. public transport, road network design and citywide land use distribution patterns are important and therefore have implications for planning and design of circulation and public facility systems. opportunity maximization of the economic opportunities happens in large agglomerations of people through the arrangement of infrastructural investments in space. local economic development and creation of economic opportunities have implications for the planning and design of amenity, circulation and utility systems. j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 5 efficiency land use policies, transport policies, and capital investment programs are affected by the cost-effective utilization of land and financial resources. choice the maximization of the range of choices available to end-user communities regarding housing consolidation, urban surroundings, service provision and movement modes affects design and planning of circulation, utility systems, and amenity. source: adapted from behrens and watson (1996:66) behrens and watson's (1996) principles are very similar to lynch's (1984) identified principles, but it is notable that behrens and watson (1996) elaborate more on these principles which might ease the application by making the principles more understandable and practical. lynch and hack (1984:75) suggest that the following principles will lead to the best practice city: table 3: lynch and hack’s spatial planning principles for the best practice city identity and change each site is unique and different in some degree. interrelations on sites indicate the planner’s limits and point out the damage that may be imposed since site development can provide unexpected effects that pass along the entire chain. proportion and scale spatial character varies with proportion and scale. proportion is the internal relation between parts or areas, while the scale is the relation of size of elements to the size of other objects through the observer. enclosure outdoor spaces are defined by trees, buildings, hedges, and hills, but are seldom completely enclosed. level changes can define spaces while creating effects of dynamic movement. the success of a site is more dependent on the levels than the general shape itself. access access is the degree to which users can reach other persons, resources, services, places or information. the quality of dealing with traffic is a fundamental advantage of any organized site, therefore it is important to create linkages between important activities with provision to various kinds of transport. source: adapted from lynch and hack (1984:75). lynch and hack (1984:75) emphasize the enclosure and access of an urban area which contributes to the aesthetic and the practical aspects of the city, as it assists to maintain the balance in the spatial aspects of an urban area. chapin and kaiser (1979:39-75) suggest that the following principles will lead to the best practice city: table 4: chapin and kaiser’s spatial planning principles for the best practice city liveability the qualities in the physical environment of the urban area which tend to induce the citizens a feeling of mental, physical, and social well-being. health and safety this refers to regulatory measures such as health, sanitation, housing and building codes. this includes density controls and controls over hazardous areas convenience public convenience is an element of the public interest in upholding the construction of streets and highways as a public purpose. economy this term is associated with efficiency in the land use pattern and its public cost implications in terms of municipal expenditures etc. amenity this term refers to the pleasantness of the urban environment as a place in which to live, work and spend leisure time. source: adapted from chapin and kaiser (1979:39-75). from the preceding table, it is evident that chapin and kaiser has a different approach to the spatial planning principles with emphasis on aspects such as the economy. it is less corresponding with other sources, which means that the combination of these different sources will lead to a comprehensive set of principles. the preceding tables (table 1table 4) illustrate that there is a lot of agreement between the different sources. it can be concluded that the overarching and most important principles consist of the following: place-making, opportunity, efficiency, choice, identity and change, proportion and scale, liveability, enclosure, access, movement networks, public transport, open spaces, public facilities, and economy. it is argued that these principles can be applied in the urban planning process in order to improve urban resilience. j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 6 the principles identified in the literature review were in turn linked to six land use planning tools (zones of public transport, infill planning, open space systems, mixed land use, densification, urban edge) available to address issues in relation thereto (richter, 2016). table 5: relationship between land use management tools and spatial planning principles public transport infill planning open space systems mixed land-use densification urban edge place making x x opportunity x x x x x efficiency x x x x x choice x x x x identity and change x x x proportion and scale x x x liveability x x x x enclosure x x x access x x x x movement networks x x public transport x open spaces x public facilities x x x x economy x x x x x source: richter, 2016. from the above table, it is apparent that all the recurrent aspects treated in the study can be addressed through more concentrated, integrated and combined principles. this will lead to improved implementation as it is simpler and has fewer aspects or requirements to adhere to. these six principles (x-axis) were selected on the basis of a vigilant and transparent process to ensure that it touches all the fourteen aspects (y-axis) which theorists and legislation argue have the greatest contribution towards urban efficiency and urban resilience. the six concepts are a simplified, comprehensive and inclusive version of the fourteen principles. this table buttresses the main argument of the study which states that the implementation of an appropriate land use and densification model will lead to more resilient and efficient cities. empirical study the literature study highlights that there are various opinions and views regarding the morphology of urban models, and their sustainability and resilience. given the fact that spatial aspects ought to be combined from the different urban models, it is implausible to proclaim a specific model as being more resilient and more sustainable than another. rather an integrated approach which assimilates the positive aspects of the various models should be, as such an approach is more likely to improve the resilience and sustainability of an urban area. the empirical study was performed using south africa as the focal case study on both a qualitative and quantitative basis. as a result of south africa's history in terms of apartheid and urban form, it is important to create a south african context to understand the background and origin of south african cities. it will also contribute to the background and basis of south african cities throughout the rest of the study. in 1981, davies developed the apartheid city model, which was preceded by his segregation model (davies, 1981:59), and had strong resemblances to hoyt's classic sector model (1939). the apartheid city was the result of the 1950 group areas act, which sought to separate various racial groups in south africa into distinct areas (christopherson, 1984:77). the south african cities are often regarded as a unique, defying contrast. a white minority were practicing the policies, while it led to racial discrimination and no freedom or independence to several races (simon, 1989:191). he states that south africa shares a colonial history of european conquest and is influenced by the early british ‘native’ policy which leads to segregation and became the model for german and other british settlement colonies in africa. afrikaner nationalists adopted and systemized this inheritance of native reserves and urban segregation of africans which resulted in the features of the apartheid city, as subsequently illustrated. j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure 1: the original apartheid city model source: davies (1981:64). the decision to use the generic twin city as a case study, rather than limit the study to one specific settlement, is informed by the uniform approach in land use and layout planning throughout south africa through various policies and legislation, the most recent being spluma (south africa, 2013). in the case of south africa, the apartheid city led to a physical gap between the city and the informal settlements (twin city) as previously discussed. this situation is not only visible in south african cities, it is also found in other international cities, which contributes to the development of slum areas and urban decay within the cbd area. land use management as a regulatory tool is one of the aspects that strongly influences the urban resilience of a city. the application mechanisms of land use management directly refer to tools that can improve urban resilience. these urban areas are seemingly non-resilient, unsustainable in certain levels, inaccessible due to non-integrated nodes and corridors, and inefficient as a result of urban sprawl. similarly, dilapidated areas are apparent in many settlements and the inefficient land uses directly affect the end-user. as a result, it is pertinent to find tools to improve communication, integration, and application of guidelines and policies across all levels of government. in order to minimize interracial contact, the simplified urban structure with its racially exclusive and unequal residential areas, health, and education and recreation facilities were designed. simon (1989:191) asserts that future growth occurs outwards from each segment to assure that the pattern remains preserved (figure 1). this white dominated urban structure reflects and reinforces the social formation required by the domination, whereby overcrowded african townships were designed with the minimum cost. the findings throughout the study reveal that contemporary south african cities are faced with several slow-burn challenges. evidently, there is a lack of practical policy and tools that can address these problems. the subsequent figure (figure 2) is based on a generic south african city with a typical apartheid city morphology where there is a rigid separation between the city and the informal settlements (twin city). the twin city is a smaller replica of the city, but with organic development with little town planning principles and tools applied to this area. this morphology and its related problems lead to non-resilient and inefficient cities. figure 2: current dualistic cities source: richter, 2016. j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 8 in the state of south african cities report (sacn, 2016) it is emphasized that spatial form, human settlement, and public transport interventions are interdependent and will undermine each other if planned and implemented separately. the challenge for cities is to enhance their spatial form in a way that makes them increasingly economically efficient and resilient, as well as more inclusive, enabling people to access different economic opportunities across city space. cities, therefore, need to use their spatial planning and land-use management (zoning) instruments, and human settlement and public transport investments more effectively to concentrate and densify where people live and where they work along core public transport corridors and economic centers (sacn, 2016). this is subsequently addressed through various land use management instruments. urban sprawl can be addressed by implementing the urban edge and applying densification within the boundaries of the city with a specific focus on important nodes and around corridors. segregation will be eliminated through the integration of corridors enhancing efficient transport systems and integration between the city and twin city, eradicating the invisible boundary between the city and its twin city. economic inefficiency can be transformed through enhancing and developing nodes and corridors that lead to improved competitiveness. land use inefficiencies will be addressed through densifying primary and secondary nodes, setting an urban edge and planning for mixed land use types (figure 3 refers). public transport has significant potential to contribute to the urban resilience of a city. it helps foster a sense of community by connecting people and providing accessible transport for people regarding their social or demographical status. it encourages people to have a healthier lifestyle with more available options regarding walking or cycling. public transportation also reduces the need for building car parks, leading to the more efficient use of land. it also leads to a better natural environment with less pollution. important movement corridors and networks should be identified within the urban area. these networks and corridors should be divided into certain zones due to the capacity and daily movement. efficient ways of public transport should be implemented within the identified zones. figure 3: urban resilience and efficiency model source: richter, 2016. transport modes may vary from bus transport systems, railway systems, and bicycle systems according to the distance from the cbd. although focus should be placed in and around the central area of the city, it is essential that the “twin city” forms part of this system to eliminate the gap or zone of segregation. efficient, effective and affordable public transport options are essential in this area. public transport zones, as illustrated in figure 3, will increase the number of opportunities in communities by having improved access to social, economic and environmental facilities. with more alternatives and different modes of transport people will have better choices and access to workplaces and other amenities. this will, in turn, have a positive impact on the economy of the city and lead to more efficient and livable cities with less traffic, improved accessibility and less pollution. infill planning will assist in regenerating areas and prevent urban decay, and by doing so, contribute to improved urban resilience. it will improve the air quality through improved transportation and shorter travel distances. daily needs and services are more accessible to the community. infill planning encourages quality affordable housing which improves choice, opportunity, and efficiency. areas within the urban edge should be identified where infill planning can be implemented. these areas may include open or unplanned areas (note that this does not include open space or protected areas), and areas with j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 9 ineffective use. the areas identified should have the necessary potential to contribute to urban resilience. within these areas specific focus should be on other principles that improve resilience, it should accommodate mixed land uses, zones of public transport, open space systems and densification. as figure 3 illustrates, infill planning will lead to areas with higher densities and mixed land uses. this will increase opportunity and choice in terms of housing and other social and economic amenities and improve efficiency and accessibility through the development of nodes which will provide the community with various facilities and services. infill planning will improve the safety and identity of urban areas by regenerating these areas. open spaces are a key part of any urban system. open spaces should not only provide for the physical and social needs of a community but should also increase the overall quality of the environment through accommodating natural systems, by protecting and conserving the biodiversity. it improves the physical and psychological health of people and strengthens communities open spaces make cities and neighborhoods attractive and liveable with adequate proportion and scale. it encourages people to socialize and integrate irrespective of race or demographic status. zones and systems should be identified and planned for. instead of creating one or two single large open spaces, cities should rather plan for more open spaces, which are smaller areas but serve part of a larger system of continuity. this will not only improve urban resilience but will also contribute to easier access to these areas. as illustrated in figure 3, open space systems improve the quality of an area; more open spaces will lead to improved social and environmental opportunities and choices. this will assist in creating an improved balance between the proportion of built areas thereby leading to aesthetically attractive and more livable cities. mixed land use types directly contribute to urban resilience. mixed land use types also lead to improved efficiency, sustainability, liveability and sense of place by enhancing the area’s unique identity and development potential. areas will have continuous movement, which will decrease crime and prevent urban decay by enhancing revitalization. mixed land use types encourage high-quality design by providing greater flexibility and more control. it increases opportunities and choices regarding housing, retail, public transport, and recreation. it promotes pedestrian and bicycle travel and reduces auto dependency, roadway congestion, and air pollution by co-locating multiple destinations. mixed land use nodes will also promote efficient use of land and infrastructure and guide development towards established areas, protecting outlying rural areas and environmentally sensitive resources. implementation of mixed land uses should be implemented next to main corridors and main focus areas. this will enable the development of mixed-use nodes which may extend to surrounding areas, creating a spread effect. as figure 3 indicates, mixed land uses would result in multi-purpose areas with improved opportunities, choice, and access to housing, services, work and other amenities. it could also lead to places that are aesthetically more attractive with an improved sense of place where people can live, work and play. this will ultimately accelerate the creation of liveable, resilient and efficient urban areas. if implemented appropriately, densification is arguably one of the most powerful tools that a municipality or city can adapt to achieve resilient, sustainable, competitive and livable cities. well-designed density has the ability to shift transportation away from automobiles to other modes of transport and possibilities. it makes retail, recreation, and business more efficient and supports daily services close to residential areas; this also improves walkability and makes it more enjoyable. densification requires more high-density residential areas, which can be more affordable and more efficient. furthermore, it fosters a public realm with activities and facilities that encourage interaction between residents. densification also limits urban sprawl, thereby motivating improved preservation of farmlands and other heritage areas. densification should be applied along main corridors, within the cbd and other secondary nodes. different intensities of densification could be developed, descending from the primary focus areas outwards to the surrounding areas. this will make a significant contribution to the overall urban resilience. as figure 3 demonstrates, densification will assist in creating more sustainable and affordable housing options which will, in turn, expedite improved opportunities and choices in terms of different densities and types of housing. in a similar vein, access to public facilities and other amenities will be enhanced due to the proximity of services, amenities and the development of nodes and resulting in overall efficient cities. the urban edge is regarded as a primary strategy to counter urban sprawl, encourage densification and protect natural resources. it facilitates efficient use of land and urban services within the boundary of the urban edge. this will signal future spatial locations and developments. the urban edge will prevent market failures and the misallocations of resources that lead to urban sprawl and developmental advantages in suburbs by internalizing and limiting externalities that may arise through shopping malls, j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 10 office parks, and residential development. the urban edge should include and integrate the city and the township. it must be as limited as possible to contain development. the edge must be strictly adhered to, with no development outside the edge. as an attempt to make the urban edge more efficient and resilient, it could be operated for longer periods. for instance, if a boundary is currently set for a period of five years, it may be increased through setting it as the urban edge for the next ten years. figure elucidates the argument that an urban edge will limit urban sprawl and will, therefore, lead to improved efficiency through the efficient use of land. the proportion and scale of an area will also be protected and enhanced. figure 3 illustrates the fact that all these tools are interdependent of one another and form part a cohesive network of urban resilience and efficiency, as has been extensively discussed in the study. each of these tools contributes towards a renewed urban form that demonstrates a continuous strive to be more resilient and more efficient. conclusion it is necessary for resilient planning to be based on systems analysis, which enables it to define the points and issues of the vulnerability of urban systems and focus on the key issues such as the gap or the zone of inaccessibility between the city and the twin city. this will provide possibilities and improve opportunities in terms of access to workplaces, social amenities, and other facilities which make the city more efficient. in relative terms, the use of public transport will reduce the dependence on oil and other fossil fuels and lead to a more self-sufficient and energy efficient city. based on ahern’s (2011) resilience principles, when a function or service is provided by a central entity of urban infrastructure it is more vulnerable and likely to fail. however, when the same function is provided by a distributed or decentralized system it becomes more resistant to disturbance. the green infrastructure allows for redundancy and modularization – that is, spreading risks across geographical areas, time and multiple systems. this is a result of the social, physical and economic diversity of green infrastructure that forms part of an effective strategy for supporting urban resilience. densification and infill planning need to be accompanied by a diversification of land uses, increased access to both social and physical infrastructure, better links to public transport, and integration with public and green spaces. this should eventuate in a more efficient, equitable, sustainable and resilient growth trajectory. the urban edge will further propel the growth trajectory even more resilient and efficient by combating urban sprawl through limiting growth within a reasonable and effective urban edge. this study concludes that the implementation of an appropriate land use and densification model will lead to more resilient cities. it was the objective of this study to achieve three succinct goals; firstly, to explore the different spatial components influencing the capacity of a settlement to respond positively to rapid changes. secondly, to propose a multi-faceted approach that leads to resilience through the implementation of mixed land uses and therefore more resilient settlements. finally, to create a tool for local government to enhance resilience and guide development through existing policy and legislation. these objectives have been dealt with and illustrated using the theories of young (1993), nel (2011), chapin and kaiser (1979), iclei (2012), saunders and becker (2015) and paton et al. (2015), which all agree that land use planning is one of the main measures that contribute to what has been defined as urban resilience and efficiency. it is argued that the recommendations made in this section could improve urban efficiency and urban resilience within urban areas by providing possible solutions which could be integrated into policy and legislation, and by providing local government with a practical set of tools. it is envisaged that the utilization of urban efficiency and urban resilience will broaden cities' and government's views on resilient and efficient urban planning and development. references 1. ahern, j. 2011. from fail-safe to safe-to-fail: sustainability and resilience in the new urban world. landscape and urban planning, 100(4):341–343. 2. behrens, r., watson, v. 1996. making urban places. cape town: creda press. 3. bhatta, b. 2010. analysis of urban growth and sprawl from remote sensing data. springer science and business media. 4. bourne, l.s. & j. simmons. 1978. systems of cities. new york: oxford university press. 5. bourne, l.s., 1975. urban systems: strategies for regulation: a comparison of policies in britain, sweden, australia, and canada. oxford: clarendon press. j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 11 6. bowland, c. & otto, l. 2012. implementing development corridors: lessons from the maputo corridor. saiia policy briefing, 54. 7. bretagnolle, a., pumain, d., and vacchiani-marcuzzo, c., 2009. the organization of urban systems. in complexity perspectives in innovation and social change (pp. 197-220). springer netherlands. 8. brunner, j., cozens, p. 2013. ’where have all the trees gone?’ urban consolidation and the demise of urban vegetation: a case study from western australia. planning practice res., 28:231–255. 9. burchelll, r.w., shad a.n, listokin, d., phillips, h., downs, a., seskin, s., davis, j.s., moore, t., helton, d. & gall, m. 1998. the costs of sprawl – revisited. washington, dc: national academy press. (report 39, transportation research board). 10. chapin, f.s., jr. & kaiser, e.j. 1979. urban land use planning. usa: university of illinois press. 11. christaller, w. 1966. central places in southern germany. translated by baskin, c.w. new jersey: prentice-hall. 12. christopherson, a.j. 1984. south africa: the impact of past geographies. kenwyn: juta. 13. christopherson, s., michie, j. & tyler, p. 2010. regional resilience: theoretical and empirical perspectives. cambridge journal of regions, economy and society, 3(1):3-10. 14. daneshpour, a. & shakibamanesh, a. 2011. compact city; does it create an obligatory context for urban sustainability? international journal of architectural engineering & urban planning, 21(2):110–118. 15. davies, r. 1981. the spatial formation of the south african city. geojournal, 2:59-72. 16. deitrick, s., & ellis, c. 2004. new urbanism in the inner city: a case study of pittsburgh. journal of the american planning association, 70(4):426–442. 17. dewar, d. & uytenbogaardt, r. s. 1991. cape town: university of cape town, urban problems research unit. 18. dowall, d. & clark, g. 1997. urban land policies for the uninitiated. economic and social commission for asia and the pacific. http://www.unescap.org/huset/land_policies/ 19. drescher, a.w. 2015. technical tools for urban land use planning. http://www.ruaf.org/ 20. du plessis, d.j. 2015. land-use mix in south african cities and the influence of spatial planning: innovation or following the trend? south african geographical journal, 97:3, 217-242. 21. godschalk, d.r. 2004. land use planning challenges. journal of the american planning association, 70(1):5-13. 22. gordon, p. & richardson, h. w. 1997. are compact cities a desirable planning goal? journal of the american planning association, 63(1):96–106. 23. habitat iii, united nations. 2016. a new urban agenda. quito declaration on sustainable cities and human settlements for all. quito un habitat. 24. harris, c. & ullman, e.l. 1945. the nature of cities. the annals of the american academy of political and social science, 242(1): 7-17. 25. hoyt, h. 1939. the structure and growth of residential neighbourhoods in american cities. washington: federal housing administration. 26. hurlston, l. & thompkins, e. 2012. public-private partnerships in the provision of environmental governance: a case of disaster management. adapting institutions: governance, complexity and social-ecological resilience. cambridge: cambridge university press. 27. iclei (local governments for sustainability). 2012. integrated land use planning for resilient urban communities. http://resilient-ities.iclei.org 28. losch, a. 1954. the economics of location. london: geoffrey cumberlege, oxford university press. 29. lynch, k. 1984. good city form. 2nd ed. massachusetts, london: mit. 30. lynch, k. & hack, g. 1984. site planning. 3rd ed. london: mit. 31. mcmahon, t. 2012. why sense of place is worth caring about. http://www.planetizen.com 32. meerow, s., newell, j.p. & stults, m. 2016. review: defining urban resilience: a review. landscape and urban planning, 147:38-49 33. nel, v. 2011. land-use management system as a tool towards achieving low-carbon cities in south africa. http://www.ajol.info/ 34. octaviano, t. 2014. economic corridors boost markets, living conditions. http://research.bworldonline.com/ 35. paton, d., mamula-seadon, l. & selway, k. 2013. community resilience in christchurch: adaptive responses and capacities during earthquake recovery. gns science report, 37:28-39. 36. pfister, j.l. 2004. using landscape metrics to create an index of forest fragmentation for the state of maryland. master thesis, towson university. https://tigerweb.towson.edu/ 37. richter, m. 2016. land use and urban efficiency: towards more resilient cities. dissertation. potchefstroom campus, north-west university. 38. sacn. 2016. state of south african cities report 2016. johannesburg: sacn. j.e drewes / the academic research community publication pg. 12 39. saunders, w. & becker, j.s. 2015. a discussion of resilience and sustainability: land use planning recovery from the canterbury earthquake sequence, new zealand, international journal of disaster risk reduction, 14:73–81. 40. simon, d. 1989. crisis and change in south africa: implications for the apartheid city. transactions of the institute of british geographers, january (1):189-206. 41. south africa. 2013. spatial planning and land use management act no. 16 of 2013. 42. stumpp, e. 2013. viewpoint: new in town? on resilience and “resilient cities”. cities, 32:164-166. 43. sustainable cities institute. 2012. land use and planning. http://www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org/ 44. taaffe, e. j., morrill, r. l. & gould, p. r. 1963. transport expansion in underdeveloped countries: a comparative analysis. geographical review, 53:503–529. 45. the world bank. 2015. urbanisation reviews. http://www.worldbank.org/ 46. turok, i. 2012. urbanisation and development in south africa: economic imperatives, spatial distortions and strategic responses. london: human settlements group. 47. un habitat. 2016. world cities report 2016: urbanization and development: emerging futures. http://wcr.unhabitat.org 48. young, a. 1993. guidelines for land use planning. rome: food and agriculture organisation. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication abstract knowledge is considered one of the effective assets which control the success of organizations, and its effective management is crucial. although knowledge has existed and has been used along all projects, the way it was managed was almost intuitive and highly reliable on in-house systems. as a consequence, knowledge management was introduced in the late 1990s to help companies create, share, and systematically use knowledge. knowledge management can be defined as the identification, optimization, and active management of intellectual assets that create value, increase productivity, and gain and sustain competitive advantage. construction field, as one of the most complicated fields, is considered a project-based field where numbers of investments in it are in millions every year. although knowledge in construction is among the main factors for project success, most of this knowledge lies in the minds of the people, which makes it hard to be captured and stored. accordingly, effective knowledge management in construction is affected by different factors, including the willingness of people to share their knowledge and the mobilization of the workforce from one project to another without sharing lessons learned and previous knowledge. here comes the role of application of km, which could help prevent “reinventing the wheel” in construction. this paper aims at offering a comprehensive overview of the application of km in construction through reviewing extant literature sources. topics discussed included factors affecting km, km tools and techniques, the processes of km, and the main benefits and challenges facing km. there are many factors affecting knowledge management and many tools and techniques to manage knowledge. as for the findings of this paper, they took the form of an analysis of the main benefits and challenges facing the application of km in construction. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords knowledge management; construction sector; construction project 1. introduction “knowledge is power” (uriarte, 2008) in the past, knowledge was an important element for many fields, especially the political and the war fields. it was the main motive for many decisions. by time, the strength of knowledge existence grows and has become an important element in business. the existence of knowledge is not enough in business competitiveness but in managing and sharing knowledge as well. in the construction sector, knowledge is essential for a project success. the nature of knowledge in construction is pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.342 applications of knowledge management in construction: a literature review asmaa sallam1, ali eid1, ali elfaramawy1, laila khodier1,2 1faculty of engineering, architecture department, ain shams university, cairo, egypt 2department of architecture, the british university in egypt, cairo, egypt https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ sallam / the academic research community publication different as it depends mainly on the learned lessons and the experience of people involved in the project. thus, managing knowledge in construction has become so important in the last few years, especially as construction projects have become more complicated and many disciplines have been involved in them. 2. data, information and knowledge data, information and knowledge are basic terms in knowledge management needed to be defined. it is important to differentiate between these terms first to understand the field of km. data: is the raw material of knowledge. it is numbers, words, facts, etc. that have no meaning without being in a context. information: is data, processed and leads to results in a meaningful context. knowledge: is information in human minds, it is the experience of people. it is the using of information and data to make actions. (uriarte, 2008) 3. history of km the concept of knowledge is an old term, which existed thousands of years ago and had different images. there would not have been civilization or development in all fields of life without the existence of knowledge. our ancestors understood the value of knowledge and using it, so they created several ways to share and save knowledge. they didn’t recognize knowledge management term, but they used the available tools and techniques to get the benefit of knowledge. the timeline of the field of km since 1970s and its main turning points are stated below. 1970s: it was the beginning of the appearance of the term knowledge management, as management theorists and practitioners published their papers, showing how knowledge and information are valuable assets in organizations. among those management theorists and practitioners are peter drucker, paul strassman, chris argyris, christoper bartlett, dorothy leonard-barton, etc. . . . in the late 1970s, early knowledge management systems included technology solutions such as the early hypertext/groupware application systems, which were introduced to help in sharing knowledge. in addition, rop acksyn and don mccraken developed a hypermedia tool for km systems, a decade before the existence of the world wide web. (uriarte, 2008) 1980s: the importance of km as a professional competitive asset was not recognized until the mid-1980s. according to kimiz dalkir (2005), some concepts like “knowledge acquisition”, “knowledge engineering” and “knowledge-based systems” were developed by the late 1980s, and they enhanced km systems. in 1989, the term km became popular and a formal part of the lexicon of management. it began to appear in business-oriented journals like sloan management review, harvard business review, and others and conferences began to be held for it. the international knowledge management network (ikmn) started in europe and meanwhile the consortium of the u.s. companies started the “initiative for managing knowledge assets”. not only that but also the first book about km was published by sakaiya and was entitled the knowledge value revolution (dalkir, 2005; uriarte, 2008). 1990s: by that time, km has become one of the subjects in the new business practice. it has gone through several turning points as follows: – in 1990, many companies in the u.s., europe and japan founded programs for knowledge management. it became widespread in business journals and a main subject to be discussed in the business conferences’ agendas. it was published in journals and magazines as a theory in the management field but it didn’t get the full attention from business professionals. – in 1994, the international knowledge management network (ikmn) became online and then the knowledge management forum in the u.s. joined it. numbers of groups related to km were founded and the number of km publications, conferences and seminars increased, focusing on the km importance in the pg. 2 sallam / the academic research community publication business competition. in addition, the european strategic program for research in information technologies (esprit) began offering funds for km related projects, as stated by f. a. uriarte, jr. (2008). – in 1995, ikujiro nonaka and hirotaka takeuchi published a book in japan entitled the knowledge creating company: how japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. it was the start to get the corporations and organizations’ attention towards km as a valuable asset to organizations. by the end of the year (september 1995), “a knowledge imperative” symposium was held in houston by arthur andersen and the american productivity and quality center apqc (uriarte, 2008). – by the end of the 1990s, professionals and practitioners recognized the role of km in the market competition and business organizations began to apply km in their businesses. also, major international consulting firms such as ernst & young, arthur andersen, and booz-allen & hamilton used knowledge management projects as a big source of revenue a number of organizations, such as the american productivity and quality council and the american society for information science, began to study and find the relation between km and other management areas like benchmarking, best practices, risk management, and change management (uriarte, 2008). in 2003, km became an important academic course, as there were more than 100 universities, business and library schools which offered km courses and degrees (dalkir, 2005). many people talk about the benefits of km and how to apply it. in each stage of km development, there was a pioneer who assisted through his writing to show the importance of km. (table 1) shows the known pioneers who contributed to this field and their works since 1970s. table 1. contribution of management theorists and experts (uriarte, 2008). pioneers year their work peter drucker paul strassman 1970s they were the first to write about km in papers. they talked about the importance of information and knowledge for organizations. chris argyris christoper bartlettdorothy leonardbarton 1970s they participated in developing the km theory through their publications. dorothy leonard-barton 1995 she wrote the book wellsprings of knowledge – building and sustaining sources of innovation, which was published by harvard business school. she documented the case study of chaparral steel company that implemented an effective km strategy since 1970s. thomas allen at mit late 1970s he made studies on information and technology transfer and was largely responsible for the current understanding of how knowledge is produced, used and diffused within organizations. continued on next page pg. 3 sallam / the academic research community publication table 1 continued pioneers year their work peter drucker matsuda sveiby in the mid-1980s they coined the term “knowledge worker” and wrote in depth about the role of knowledge in organizations. peter senge 1989 he wrote one of the first books on organizational learning and km the fifth discipline. sakaiya 1989 he wrote one of the first books on organizational learning and km the knowledge value revolution. tom stewart 1991 he published the article “brainpower” in fortune magazine, which was the introduction of knowledge management. ikujiro nonaka hirotaka takeuchi 1995 they published an influential book entitled the knowledge creating company: how japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. karl erik sveiby 1995 he wrote one of the most popular articles in km field, entitled “the new organizational wealth.” verna alle 1995 he wrote one of the most popular articles in km, entitled “the knowledge revolution.” butterworth-heinemann (publishing company) 1995 it launched the series “resources for the knowledge-based economy” and started publishing an annual yearbook on km. 4. km definition what is km? what is its definition? and what are the fields it is involved in? researchers and professionals in business practice began to put definitions and rules for km in the last two decades. some of them found that km has a multi-disciplinary nature and is used in many domains all over the world (dalkir, 2005; girard & girard, 2015). to start with, kimiz dalkir (2005) identified more than 100 definitions for km through an informal survey for the published definitions in this field. also, john and joann girard (2015) gathered more than 100 definitions for km from different domains. they collected these definitions from 13 countries and from 23 domains, representing the points of view of the authors of the definitions, based on their domains and cultures. according to what is mentioned above, it is clear that there are too many definitions for km and until now there is no one definition that is agreed on by researchers (uriarte, 2008). however, there are common points and concepts among the presented definitions. the following are some of the published definitions for km from different countries and domains: knowledge management (km) is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organizational pg. 4 sallam / the academic research community publication knowledge (”knowledge management,” 2014). international knowledge management is the process of efficiently organizing, analyzing, retrieving, using and – in some cases – monetizing knowledge (”knowledge management definition, hrzone,”). united kingdom strategies and processes designed to identify, capture, structure, value, leverage, and share an organization’s intellectual assets to enhance its performance and competitiveness. it is based on two critical activities: (1) capture and documentation of individual explicit and tacit knowledge, and (2) its dissemination within the organization (”knowledge management. business dictionary online.,”). usa knowledge management is the systematic management of an organization’s knowledge assets for the purpose of creating value and meeting tactical & strategic requirements; it consists of the initiatives, processes, strategies, and systems that sustain and enhance the storage, assessment, sharing, refinement, and creation of knowledge (frost, 2010). denmarkknowledge management is achieving organizational goals through the strategy-driven motivation and facilitation of (knowledge-) workers to develop, enhance and use their capability to interpret data and information (by using available sources of information, experience, skills, culture, character, personality, feelings, etc.) through a process of giving meaning to these data and information (uit beijerse, 1999). germany the purpose of knowledge management is to provide support for improved decision making and innovation throughout the organization. this is achieved through the effective management of human intuition and experience augmented by the provision of information, processes and technology together with training and mentoring programs (snowden, 2009). united kingdom. knowledge management is a conscious, hopefully consistent, strategy implemented to gather, store and retrieve knowledge and then help distribute the information and knowledge to those who need it in a timely manner (stuhlman, 2012). usa knowledge management is therefore a conscious strategy of getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right time and helping people share and put information into action in ways that strive to improve organizational performance (o’dell & grayson, 1998). usa the definitions mentioned above are some of the definitions definitions stated by john girard & joann girard (2015). other definitions are stated by other researchers as follows: knowledge management is the conversion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge and sharing it within the organization, it is the process through which organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge based assets (uriarte, 2008). knowledge management is the deliberate and systematic coordination of an organization’s people, technology, processes, and organizational structure in order to add value through reuse and innovation. this coordination is achieved through creating, sharing, and applying knowledge as well as through feeding the valuable lessons learned and best practices into corporate memory in order to foster continued organizational learning (dalkir, 2005). from these definitions and the mentioned references further reading, the following points are noticed: – most of the definitions say that km is a process to achieve goals. – km is an organization process. – capturing, sharing, storing, using, and their synonyms are used in most of the definitions in all domains, as the processes of km to get advantage from knowledge. 5. km life cycle as stated in the km definitions, km is a cycle, which consists of a number of processes. interestingly, there is no one model for km cycle agreed on among researchers and pioneers, but the differences between models are pg. 5 sallam / the academic research community publication not great. kimiz dalkir (2005) and sanjay mohapatra, arjun agrawal and anurag satpathy (2016) , selected four models for km cycle, which are clear and had a full comprehensive and detailed description for the cycle processes; besides they could be applied in the real world (table 2). 5.1. the zack km cycle table 2. km cycle models (dalkir, 2005; mohapatra, agrawal & satpathy, 2016) author meyer and zack year 1996 concept of the model in this cycle the main factor is the information products, meyer and zack proposed that the processes applied on the design of products can be extended to the intellectual field. at the same time each stage of the km cycle adds value to the knowledge product that is created through the model. they suggested that knowledge products are presented as a repository comprising information content and structure. this repository holds the raw material of knowledge, data and information, to be the basics for knowledge products. the stages of the model acquisition: is to get information from its source. the source of information must be of high quality to get good information product. refinement: is the process of refining the content of knowledge through a statistical analyses to add value to the knowledge product and get use of it. storage/retrieval: is the process of storing knowledge acquisition and refinement in the first two stages. it is the process where knowledge could be usable and accessible to everyone in the organization. storage may be physical such as file folders, printed information, etc. or digital such as database, knowledge management software, etc... distribution: is the process by which knowledge is transferred to users through many ways (e.g., fax, print, and e-mail). in this stage, it is important to select not only the of transferring but also its timing, frequency, form, language, etc. . . presentation or use: is considered the evaluation of the whole cycle and the value-added through previous stages. if the user have the context where to use the content of the knowledge product, so the cycle succeed to add value to people and organization. 5.2. the bukowitz and williams km cycle author bukowitz and williams year 2000 continued on next page pg. 6 sallam / the academic research community publication table 3 continued concept of the model “how organizations generate, maintain and deploy a strategically correct stock of knowledge to create value” this is the concept that bukowitz and williams (2000) emphasized on in their framework. therefore it deals with knowledge repositories, relationships, information technologies, communications infrastructure, functional skill sets, process know-how, environmental responsiveness, organizational intelligence, and external sources. in addition to depending on the long range processes that make knowledge management is convenient for organization objectives. the stages of the model get: is to gather information to be able to take decisions, solve problems, or innovate. the most important issue in this stage is not to obtain knowledge but to deal with the huge amount of available information. use: is the process of dealing with information to extract important knowledge to help in organization innovation. learn: is the process of learning from previous experiences and get the benefit of lessons learned. contribute: is the process by which employees share their knowledge with others through the organization database or network. assess: is the process by which an evaluation of intellectual capital is held to define the mission-critical knowledge and manage existing intellectual capital to be convenient with the future knowledge needs. build and sustain: is to ensure that the organization’s future intellectual capital will keep the organization viable and competitive. divest: organizations need to examine their intellectual capital in terms of the resources required to maintain it and whether these resources would be better spent elsewhere. this involves understanding the why, when, where, and how of formally divesting parts of the knowledge base. 5.3. the mcelroy km cycle author mcelroy year 1999 continued on next page pg. 7 sallam / the academic research community publication table 4 continued concept of the model he emphasized that organizational knowledge is held both subjectively in the minds of individuals and groups and objectively in explicit forms. in this model he proposed that knowledge of the organization is used in business processing environment and evaluated through loop of feedbacks. if it matches the organization expectations it reuse and become part of the the organization intellectual capital, and if not the business process behavior is adjusted and reused again the stages of the model individual and group learning represents the first step in organizational learning. knowledge is information until it is validated and used in context. knowledge claim formulation involves codification at an organizational level. is a formal way to codify individual and group knowledge and innovations in the organization. information acquisition is the process by which an organization acquires knowledge claims in the organization or from external sources in general. these knowledge claims are library services, research initiatives, think tanks, consortia, and personalized information services. knowledge claim evaluation is the process of evaluating knowledge claims to determine their validity and value. and also show that these claims have great value more than the existing knowledge in the organization knowledge repository. knowledge integration is the process of exchanging the old knowledge claims with new one. besides making sure that new knowledge is integrated in organization knowledge system. 5.4. the wiig km cycle author wiig year 1993 conceptof the model he focused on the three conditions that need to be present for an organization to conduct its business successfully: a business (products/services) and customers. resources (people, capital, and facilities). the ability to act in this model he emphasized on the concept that knowledge is the way to make decisions and solve problems. therefore the km is important to facilitate the best use of knowledge in organizations. he suggested the expression “working smarter” which mean making use of all the best knowledge we have available. therefore wiig’s km cycle stated how knowledge is built and used as individuals or as organizations. continued on next page pg. 8 sallam / the academic research community publication table 5 continued the stages of the model building knowledge refers to activities ranging from market research to focus groups, surveys, competitive intelligence, and data mining applications. building knowledge consists of five major activities: obtaining knowledge, analyzing knowledge, reconstructing/synthesizing knowledge, codifying, modeling knowledge and organizing knowledge. holding knowledge consists of remembering, accumulating knowledge in repositories, embedding knowledge in repositories, and archiving knowledge. pooling knowledge consists of coordinating, assembling, and accessing and retrieving knowledge. to coordination the knowledge a collaborative teams must work together to create a “who knows what” network. after getting knowledge it collected together to sored in a library or repository, to make it easy to be accessed and retrieved. applying knowledge in this last process, knowledge is applied to work tasks. when knowledge is applied to routine tasks the compiled knowledge in human minds is used which almost used unconsciously. but on the other hand difficult tasks need to get more concentration and to dig for the needed knowledge well. 6. km types in the modern economy, the knowledge that it is able to harness is the organization’s competitive advantage. this competitive advantage is realized through the full utilization of information and data coupled with the harnessing of people’s skills and ideas as well as their commitments and motivations (uriarte, 2008). knowledge is divided into two types; tacit and explicit knowledge. explicit knowledge is a tangible knowledge and tacit knowledge is intangible knowledge. knowledge can be transformed from tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge and vice versa. in (table 3), there is a comparison between tacit and explicit knowledge to clarify the meaning of each of them and the differences between both of them (dalkir, 2005; uriarte, 2008; anumba, egbu & carrillo, 2005). table 6. tacit and explicit knowledge tacit knowledge explicit knowledge location it is stored in people minds. it is stored in documents, databases, websites, emails and the like. where does it come from? it is accumulated through people’s experiences, interactions, studies, trials and practices. it is stored through the process of codifying knowledge into documents such as reports, memos, business plans, drawings, patents, trademarks, customer lists, methodologies, and etc. continued on next page pg. 9 sallam / the academic research community publication table 6 continued tacit knowledge explicit knowledge knowledge characteristic -it is personal -it depends on the success and failure trials and could be useful or not. -it is hard to record, codify and articulate. -it is considered a subjective insight as it is related to the person’s experiences and point of view. -it depends on the personal willingness to share own knowledge. -it is a unique knowledge as when an organization employs a person who has such knowledge, it is an advantage for it. -it is codified, documented and archived. -it is sharable. -it could be stored by using computers and information technologies. -it is tangible can be accessed. -it could be duplicated as it is stored in documents and databases so any one can get it. managing it the first step is to identify it through differentiating between the useful and the unuseful knowledge. next, use different ways such as conversations, workshops, training, technologies (e-mail, groupware, etc.. . . ) to share it. first step is to identify the knowledge that could be articulated. next, it is documented and stored. then, it is shared and used. (uriarte, 2008) as a matter of fact, explicit and tacit knowledge are integrated, both together form the intellectual assets of the organization and give it its competitive advantage. tacit knowledge is important to be able to make use of the explicit knowledge and explicit knowledge helps to understand, analyze and share the tacit knowledge. so, the two types of knowledge are so important and the interaction between them is necessary. nonaka (1996) called this interaction “the four modes of knowledge conversion” (uriarte, 2008) and they are as following: socialization is a process of creating common tacit knowledge through shared experiences. in this mode, people interact and share their experiences with each other. this happens when a person takes a part of other person’s experience and enhances his own. the exchanged experience is not documented so in this mode the knowledge is still intangible and could not be shared without the person’s willingness. externalization is a process of transferring tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, this happens through articulating and codifying tacit knowledge into documents, drawings, diagrams, etc... this mode helps in extracting knowledge from people’s minds to keep it safe in documents and repositories for others to use it. and in the same time it helps to get benefit from this tacit knowledge and create a new product. combination is a process of combining several existing explicit knowledge to produce new knowledge in other form. for example, a researcher can assemble an array of previously existing explicit knowledge to prepare a new knowledge such as a thesis or an article. this mode is helpful to gather codified knowledge and get benefit from it through a new product. internalization is a process of using explicit knowledge to create tacit knowledge of people. in this mode people get their knowledge by using tangible knowledge such as manuals, videos, books, etc. . . and learn it. the expression “learning by doing or using” is shown clearly in the process of using manuals to know how to use the machine. the instructions are learned and become part of the person’s tacit knowledge (uriarte, 2008). pg. 10 sallam / the academic research community publication 7. pillars of km there are four main pillars that must exist for any km initiative. without these pillars km implementation will not succeed. they are considered as the four corner columns holding the building. these pillars are: 7.1. management and organization this pillar depends on the high level managers in organizations and their commitment to the implementation of km. top management must be involved in the process of km and must provide the example for the rest of the employees. it is worth mentioning that km implementation must serve the strategic objectives of the organizations. therefore, the organization structure needs to include a km department and define its responsibility. besides the top management commitment, organizations value chain must be considered. the relation between organizations as customers and suppliers is too important to define the objective of km and the way to manage knowledge in the organization. once the customers’ needs and feedback are defined, they must be known to the whole organization members to help them develop products, provide services and take decisions. 7.2. infrastructure to apply km, the infrastructure support and technology are required. information and communication technologies (icts) are needed in km processes creating, organizing, storing, sharing and using knowledge. there is a number of tools for each process which assist in terminating the process in an easy and fast way. portals, e-mails, internet, databases and other tools are examples for the icts available nowadays. these technologies are developed rapidly to adopt the competitive market and the complexity of the knowledge processes. the use of these technologies makes the implementation of km more effective in organizations. 7.3. people and culture km depends on the human factor as the main enabler through its processes. it deals mainly with tacit knowledge, which is the knowledge in human minds. people attitudes, culture, social values and aspirations must be considered when managing the knowledge which people possess. to enhance the knowledge flow in the organization, some points must be considered: -defining the organization structure relating to its strategies. -defining the required knowledge according to these strategies. -refining the recruitment process, by choosing people who have the required knowledge and experiences to add new knowledge to the organization. -choosing people who have the potentials and attitudes to share and acquire knowledge. -providing the required training to the employees, which serves the organization objectives and assist in improving employees’ experience. -building up an atmosphere of trust and openness to encourage employees to share and gain more knowledge. -creating the motivation to help employees to learn and apply their knowledge (uriarte, 2008). there is an argument among theorists about the most important factor in km processes the human or the technology factor. in fact, there are some organizations that use icts in creating and sharing knowledge even if they do not know that they are applying knowledge management. although using technology spreads widely in organizations, human knowledge is the core and the intellectual asset of the organization; this knowledge is unique and is the competitive advantage of the organization. therefore, managing people is more important and difficult than managing technology usage (dalkir, 2005; uriarte, 2008). pg. 11 sallam / the academic research community publication 7.4. content management system is the information assets and systems that support digital information management, these assets and systems could be internal or external. these systems are responsible for the digital content such as websites, internet, intranet, databases, etc. . . . content management system is an important pillar to make sure of the knowledge management system performance. therefore programs for managing this content need to be developed and implemented, and maintaining and updating roles need to be defined. in addition to thie authors should enrich this content through their new articles (uriarte, 2008). 8. km frameworks the importance of knowledge management increases and spreads in the business world. many organizations seek to implement km because if they implement it in a proper way, they will get the benefit of it and improve the work environment and the collaboration in the organization. thus, theorists and practitioners have developed different frameworks and systems to implement km. for example, f. a. uriarte extracted five stages of many knowledge management initiatives in large organizations to implement km (uriarte, 2008). also, sanjay mohapatra, arjun agrawal and anurag satpathy set ten golden steps to be followed in corporations (2016). f. a. uriarte stages and sanjay mohapatra, arjun agrawal and anurag satpathy’s steps are explained below. uriarte’s stages are: – advocate and learn. – develop strategy. – design and launch km initiatives. – expand and support initiatives. – institutionalize knowledge management. stage 1: advocate and learn in this stage, the advocates of the concept of km must introduce to the rest of the organization benefits, problems and other companies’ trials to implement km. in this stage there are five steps to be followed: a)introducing knowledge management to the organization members to show them how km will help them to do their work more efficiently. b)identifying the km team and focal points that will support the development of km, by choosing people who already make small groups of communication and have a connection with the high level management and by selecting the existing activities that are related to km. c)learning about the experiences of other organizations and defining the benefits and the problems they face to avoid their mistakes. d)identifying advocates of knowledge management. stage 2: develop strategy in this stage, there are some conditions which need to be available to make it possible to move to the second stage of implementing km. these conditions are: a)the organization has established a km group or committee for km and it has successfully met a few times. b)a top management member support further exploration of km. c)a group, a section, or a division within the organization is looking for successful, internal grassroots efforts related to km that are already underway. d)the it section or division of the organization is interested in actively supporting the km initiatives. e)availability of an experience of knowledge sharing that helped the organization in the past. f)some pilots have been identified allowing the demonstration of how km will benefit the organization. pg. 12 sallam / the academic research community publication g)ownership of the proposed pilots have been identified and their possible funding has been secured. after meeting these conditions, the initiative of km can begin through pilot initiatives. through these pilot initiatives the organization can choose the best strategy that is consistent with the organization strategy and help to achieve the organizational objectives. the pilots need to have a support team with identified tasks; budget and technologies need to be provided to make these pilots. finally, an evaluation for the pilot is carried out to measure its suitability. stage 3: design and launch km initiatives in this stage, the km pilot projects are measured and lessons learned are shared. some indicators need to be developed to make the decision to continue in the third stage; these indicators are: a)the pilot projects have been fully conceptualized and designed, including the detailed implementation strategies and procedures. b)communities of practice have been organized and launched or an interactive km intranet site or other kmrelated initiative is operational. c)the task force team leaders have been enlisted and pilot facilitators and implementers have been trained. d)pilot measures and indicators have been established and a system for tracking and reporting results has been developed. e)policies and strategies for learning from the km initiatives have been created and disseminated to all relevant players. f)strategies and procedures for expanding the pilot initiatives have been mapped out and desired outcomes from the pilots have been clearly described. this stage comes after the success of the first two stages, so it is more detailed and focuses on budget and actual performance. the benefits of applying km is known; there is just a need to show the measurable gains and the roi to top management. stage 4: expand and support this stage could take years to be achieved. at this point, the pilots would have been launched and results gathered, some important lessons would have been learned and captured, and the further continuation of the km journey would have been already decided. some of the following indicators need to be present to continue implementing km: a)other departments in the organization are expressing a desire to actively participate in the km system as a result of successful pilots. b)the promotion and marketing of km throughout the entire organization has started to show positive results. c)the entire organization has been made aware of the existence of the km initiative and the results of the pilot activities. d)an expansion strategy for the km initiatives is in place, supported by a number of top executives in the organization. e)adequate resources have been identified for expanding the km efforts and the finance and budget departments are supportive of these efforts. the main objective of this stage is to develop and market an expansion strategy throughout the organization and to effectively manage the growth of the km system. stage 5: institutionalize knowledge management in this final stage, km become a part of the organizational processes and the organization has to redefine its strategies, review its organizational structure and revisit its performance assessments. one or more of the following indicators need to be present: a)the km system is now directly linked to the business model. b)a number of km initiatives are widely deployed throughout the organization. c)all executives, managers and employees are trained to use km tools and technologies. d)the km strategy is methodically assessed, gaps are being identified, and methods to close the gaps are available. e)a formal support structure is in place to maintain the operation of the km system. pg. 13 sallam / the academic research community publication f)an employee compensation and rewards program is in place and aligned with the km strategy. g)sharing knowledge is now the norm in the organization and communities of practice are actively operating. speaking of sanjay mohapatra, arjun agrawal and anurag satpathy’s ten golden steps, they are: step 1: select a business strategy for km: this is the basic step to implement km. it is essential to define the business goal of the organization for which the km needs to be implemented. this will facilitate the implementation of km. step 2: align km strategy with the business strategy: this step is to make the km strategy in consistent with the organization objectives. as a result, integration between km processes and the organization internal processes is done. this would happen through analyzing the internal environment and the interactions in it. step 3: audit and analyze present knowledge: in this step, the present tacit knowledge available within the organization needs to be checked and audited to analyze the strength and weakness points in the organization knowledge and to have a full picture for the situation of the information flow in the organization. so, the km strategy could fill the existing gaps and solve problems. step 4: analyze existing infrastructure: analyzing the existing infrastructure supports availability and feasibility for implementing the km strategy. this is because it will give the information about the scale of investment required for fulfilling the gap, ensuring the proper functioning of the km processes and determining the available potential for these processes and their usage in order to help make use of available resources effectively and efficiently. step 5: build km team(s): building km teams is one of the important decisions that need to be taken for effective implementation of the km strategy. the selection of members of km team must be aligned with the business objectives and goals and community of practice can also be the determinant of the members of the km team. the number of the teams will depend on the size of the organizations and the team can include sponsors, facilitators and members. step 6: define roles and responsibilities: defining roles and responsibilities clearly for each individual in a team is a very important step. this will help to reduce rework and conflicts. it will help everyone in the team to focus on his own activity, which will enhance the performance. besides, this will help to manage the team and assess its performance. step 7: develop the km system: in this step, a km system is developed to help people to integrate km activities with their daily working activities and make sure that km will support their working environment. at the same time this system must be easy to use and help people to take decisions in participatory environment. therefore, matrices and critical success factors processes should be defined according to the organization internal dynamics and should be suitable for the business goals and objectives of the organization as well. step 8: implement the km system: this is the ground part of the km implementation process. this step will be the initiative of applying km. it will face some problems and challenges and the most important challenge is the human attitude as employees will have a problem to deal with the km principles. to change their mindsets and their culture they have to find the motivation and to see the commitment of the top management towards km. their performance indicators should also take km work into consideration, which means the key performance indicators (kpis) must be aligned with the km strategy. step 9: km evaluation/audit: in this step, the organization defines the period of evaluation and the success and the failure of the system will be checked on the basis of predefined matrices and csfs levels. who will perform evaluation/audit will mainly depend on the organizational culture and the internal dynamics of the organization. evaluation could be done by using questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions. pg. 14 sallam / the academic research community publication step 10: identification of issues and challenges: km is a continuously evolving process. it requires continuous reviewing to define the problems and the challenges that face the km initiatives. the focus in this step is not only on identifying the problems but on solving them as well. the nature and the size of the problem will decide the type of solution to be process improvement processes (pips) or it could be structure improvement processes. besides, it will define who the decision taker will be; the km team or the top management team (mohapatra, agrawal & satpathy, 2016). in these two road maps, f. a. uriarte’s five stages and sanjay mohapatra, arjun agrawal and anurag satpathy’s ten steps are explained below, there are some common steps. both of them depend mainly on having a sequence in implementing km: first: knowing km, the goal of implementing it and how it will help in the organizational objectives and the business goals. second: according to the km goals, its strategy is defined. third: the organization infrastructure is defined to know the gaps in the system to be filled and to identify the needed work. fourth: applying the system of km as a pilot project. fifth: evaluating the pilot project and identifying the weakness points then trying to find solutions to them. 9. km in construction knowledge is one of the intellectual assets in organizations and construction sector is no exception. as construction sector is a project-based industry, it needs to manage the knowledge of the project. 10. construction projects the construction industry is a project-based industry. the nature of the construction project is different from other projects like manufacturing or it projects. it depends on the client’s need for a facility. then, the project phases begin, unlike the manufacturing industry, where there is a product purchased in the market to be sold to customers. therefore, the construction projects are different from manufacturing since the construction projects have their own nature and special characteristics. thus, it is important to know how to manage a construction project to achieve best performance (hendrickson, 2008; senior & halpin, 2011). construction project characteristics:-it has a unique nature as every project has its own requirements and conditions even if they are of the same type. for example, if there are two office buildings which will be constructed, they will not be the same, and they will not be handled in the same way; their circumstances will be different in terms of location, occupation, building skin, budget . . . etc. all of these determinants will differ in the two projects and as a result schedules, cost, cash flow, design, studies . . . etc. will differ too. -it takes long time. -it is a multidisciplinary project as many stakeholders collaborate during the project phases. different disciplines are involved in the project such as architecture, structure, mechanical . . . etc. -it has a temporary nature as each project has its own team from the early planning phase until the opening time. after that, the team splits up to work in other projects or members of the team stay together to work in another project. for example, the consultant, the contractor and the subcontractor make one team to finish the project and after a project close-out, the contractor would work with another consultant to build another project. pg. 15 sallam / the academic research community publication 11. km tools there are different classifications for km tools. some practitioners classified them into two types of tools; a) it tools, b) non-it tools (table 4). others classified them according to the processes of km cycle (anumba, egbu & carrillo, 2005; young, 2010). some practitioners stated that knowledge management tools are it tools only and these tools are more effective to deal with explicit knowledge rather than tacit knowledge. km tools need to have the following characteristics/features: -facilitate information contextualization by putting information in context and define its characteristics to facilitate reaching the required information.-consider the nature of the user, the content and the time while transforming information. -facilitate social interaction and verbal communication. -provide an easy and customized computer interface to help using and searching for information and to keep continuance (ghani, 2009). table 7. it tools and non-it tools of km it tools non-it tools • document libraries leading to a document management system. • knowledge bases (wikis, etc.). • blogs. • social network services. • voiceandvoice-over-internetprotocol (voip). • advanced search tools. • building knowledge clusters. • expert locator. • collaborative virtual workspaces. • knowledge portal. • video sharing. • brainstorming. • learning and idea capture. • peer assist. • learning reviews. • after action review. • storytelling. • collaborative physical workspace. • apo knowledge management assessment tool. • knowledge café. community of practice. • taxonomy. • knowledge worker competency plan • knowledge mapping. • km maturity model. • mentor / mentee scheme. these tools and techniques are used to manage knowledge in general and in construction sector as well. but there are some tools it tools – that are used especially in the construction field such as cad (computer aided drafter) and bim system (building information modeling). specifically, bim is considered nowadays the most important tool to manage and coordinate project information and data. there are too many researches that talk about bim and km and many aec organizations around the world that use bim to develop project performance in the design and construction phases (2014). 12. conclusion as mentioned earlier, the term knowledge is not a new concept to introduce. it is known in all fields but the new issue is why we need knowledge management. the problem now is not about the availability of knowledge, rather it is about know-how, know-what and know who. this is why we need knowledge management. as a result of globalization, the world has become “a small village”, business has spread around the world, organizations in different fields and construction sector even the small ones has had different branches and customers all over the world. by the increase of construction business and the complexity of its projects, the need to organize and codify knowledge on organization and project levels increases. implementing knowledge management has had benefits on different levels and has helped to face challenges too. in fact, there are benefits on the individual, project and pg. 16 sallam / the academic research community publication organization levels. according to kimiz dalkir (2005) and anumba, egbu and carrillo (2005), the benefits are: -km facilitates taking decisions and problem solving, which helps to save people’s time and the project time as well, accordingly, it helps to improve the performance of the project. -km keeps people up to date with the construction issues. -km raises the competitive spirit among employees to get more knowledge and to share it. -km creates a collaborative environment in the workplace through sharing knowledge among employees. -km keeps organizations ahead of the competition. -through fertilizing ideas, km increases opportunities for innovation. meanwhile, challenges that face the implementation of km are (anumba, egbu & carrillo, 2005; forcada, fuertes, gangolells, casals, & macarulla, 2013):changing the mentality and the culture of the construction organization. -most companies are divided into departments and business units that operate independently and have little contact with one another, which makes it difficult to share knowledge. -the most challenging issue to manage knowledge is the lack of time. most of the project schedules are condensed and time is limited for employees to take over their tasks and share their knowledge. -as the human factor is one of the main reasons for km success, it is also the main challenge to implement km. this is because without having the culture of sharing and accepting knowledge, km can’t be implemented. besides, the rivalry between employees makes them keep their knowledge for themselves. -selection of the km tools is one of the major challenges that faces its implementation as it needs to define the organization goals and to define the knowledge nature in the organization, which sometimes become hard to define accurately. 13. references 1. anumba, c. j., egbu, c. o. & carrillo, p. m. (2005). knowledge management in construction. blackwell. 2. hendrickson, chris.(2008). project management for construction. ver. 2.2. pittsburgh: department of civil and environmental engineering, carnegie mellon university. 3. dalkir, k. (2005). knowledge management in theory and practice. elsevier. 4. forcada, n., fuertes, a., gangolells, m., casals, m., & macarulla, m. (2013). knowledge management perceptions in construction and design companies. automation in construction,29, 83-91. doi:10.1016/j.autcon.2012.09.001 5. ghani, s. r. (2009). knowledge management: tools and techniques. desidoc journal of library & information technology, 29(6), 33. 6. girard, j., & girard, j. (2015). defining knowledge management: toward an applied compendium. online journal of applied knowledge management,3, 1-20. 7. mohapatra, s., agrawal, a., & satpathy, a. (2016). designing knowledge management-enabled business strategies. springer. 8. senior, b. a., & halpin, d. w. (2011). construction management. 9. the architect’s handbook of professional practice. (2014). hoboken, nj: wiley. 10. uriarte, f. a. (2008). introduction to knowledge management: a brief introduction to the basic elements of knowledge management for non-practitioners interested in understanding the subject. jakarta, indonesia: asean foundation. pg. 17 sallam / the academic research community publication 11. weippert, a., & kajewski, s. l. (2008, november). value-adding knowledge management (km) framework: an aec industry perspective. in proceedings of the cib joint international symposium dubai (pp. 15-17). 12. young, r. (2010). knowledge management tools and techniques manual. the asian productivity organization. pg. 18 introduction data, information and knowledge history of km km definition km life cycle the zack km cycle the bukowitz and williams km cycle the mcelroy km cycle the wiig km cycle km types pillars of km management and organization infrastructure people and culture content management system km frameworks km in construction construction projects km tools conclusion references http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) cityscape as an inspiration for contemporary painting doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.106 fayrouz samir abdelbaky 1 1 associate professor, painting department, faculty of fine arts, helwan university, cairo egypt keywords art; painting; contemporary; cityscape; landscape; urban; identity; composition; inspiration; reflects; ancient; modern;architect; technique; vision;impression; expression; abstract cityscape painting or urban landscape painting is an art that depends on city scenes and their elements such as streets, buildings, types, composition and other city elements. this kind of art considers cities as a source of inspiration, because it reflects all the different sides of the cities like its identity, ancientness, modernity, size, density, interstitial space built forms, and of course the architectural design. moreover, this research is concerned with this form of art that reflects all the differences between the artists’ technical trends and the artistic visions of each one separately. this will be discussed given the interest to find the mutual effective relationship between the artist and the city through an analytical comparison between different examples of paintings that dealt with cities as a subject. introduction “whether we are aware of it or not, architecture is a part of everybody’s personal history. it is the place where we are born and where we work and play, think and make things and eventually will die. we wake up in a building and go to another” accordingly, a lot of artists get inspired by buildings (nuttgens, 1997). since the beginning of human history, artists were inspired by everything that falls under their sights from nature to things surrounding them. they get their inspiration from a number of different objects and for a lot of purposes, motivations, incentives, rationales, intentions, rituals, ceremonies, or cultural traditions to make their visual arts. artists have other aesthetic considerations that differ from our understanding of art today (lamp, n.d.). this happens when a piece of architecture becomes pleasant to draw or paint in great art works, in this type of painting, artists use light, shadow, perspective, lines and styles (schaller, 1998). all that led to the emergance of cityscape painting which is considered in visual arts as a painting of the urban properties of each city. it reverberates several parts of cities like skylines, buildings, streets, parks and the main structural specifications of cities which we consider the urban landscape (cityscape art: a walk through history, 2015). 1. cityscape painting history the city is obviously not a newcomer to art, but since the emergence of cities, it has become an inspiration for painters. we can recognize the value of cityscapes in a lot of paintings, but the beginning of cityscape painting was in the ancient world. 1. 1. cityscape in the ancient world there’s no exact date for neither the birth of the first city nor to the start of cityscapes art. however, early works date back to ancient rome in the first century. it was a large fresco about 10 square meters in the baths of trajan. there was a massive bathing area commissioned by emperor trajan. they were being utilized mainly as a fayrouz samir abdelbaky / the academic research community publication pg. 2 recreational and social center by roman citizens, both men and women; (fig. 1) depicts a view of a city by bird’s eye perspective, in which we can see clearly: theaters – temples – statues – houses and a series of canals. it possibly shows an imaginary type of an ideal city (old news, 2013). the theme of the fresco is unusualbecause classical wall painting tended to represent rural landscapes, not city streets. fig. 1 (detail) the baths of trajan 2. 1. cityscape in the middle ages cityscapes were current during the middle ages but used to appear as a background for biblical themes and portraits rather than having a specific role in the painting composition. however, in the late 13th and 14th century, painting started to be influenced by it, thanks to duccio da buonisegna (national gallery of art, n.d.) and his ‘road to emmaus appearance’ (fig.3)and also giotto di bondone’s ‘legend of st francis’ (fig. 4) (giotto, 2017). it is often thought that ambrogio lorenzetti has painted the first true cityscape ‘the allegory of good government’ (fig. 5). that painting sparked a remarkable tradition in italy and northern europe and after that, artists continued to paint the city in the background of many paintings. fig. 3 (detail) road to emmaus appearance 1308-1311 fig. 4 (detail) legend of st francis appearance 1297 1299 fresco 270 cm x 230 cm fig. 5 the allegory of good government -1338 1339 -200×770 cm fresco fayrouz samir abdelbaky / the academic research community publication pg. 3 1.3 17th and 18th century from the 16th up to the 18th century, numerous works were made showing cities in a bird's eye view or from a high angle as if seen by a flying bird. however, in the middle of the 17th century, the cityscape became a separated subject such as the 'view of delft' by jan vermeer, ( fig. 6 ) which shows a portrait of a city in western holland. by following the dutch example, cities became subjects for european painters and a very popular subject for cityscape painters. the flourishing time of the cityscape painting was the 18th century by giovanni antonio canaletto’s ‘the entrance to the grand canal, venice’ (fig.7). canaletto is said to be an artist who could “make the sun shine in his paintings” (w., 2015) . two of the most talented followers were francesco guardi’s ‘view on the grand canal at san geremia’ (fig. 8) and bernardo bellotto dresden’s from the right bank of the elbe (fig. 9). fig. 6 'view of delft' 1660-1661 oil on canvas 96.5 cm × 115.7 cm fig. 7 the entrance to the grand canal, 1730 oil on canvas painting 49.6 cm x 73.6 cm fig. 8 view on the grand canal at san geremia, venice(1760-65) fig. 9 dresden from the right bank of the elbe, 1747 oil on canvas 132 cm x 236 cm 1. 4 19th century in the 19th century, painters were interested in life in the city such as building sites and industrial areas, which became subjects for cityscapes. during the late 19th century, impressionists focused on the everyday urban life, building sites and industrial areas as they all became subjects for cityscapes. however, paris was the most common subject for impressionist artists as it was the definitive source of inspiration for painters such as gustave caillebotte ‘rue halévy, vue d'un sixième étage’ (fig. 10) and camille pissarro ‘avenue de l'opera, morning sunshine’ (fig. 11). to create this painting, he rented a room in the hotel du louvre situated on the place du palais royal and to be able to see the views of the rue de l'opera, and the place du theatre francais. he painted the building, the roundabouts in free brushwork, but he also had to contend with the moving traffic and the pedestrians entering and leaving the place du theatre francais from different directions (the avenue de l'opera, sunlight, winter morning, 1898). the 19th century also brought american cityscape painting through important artists such as childe hassam, (fig. 12) who focused on painting everyday life in new york city. fayrouz samir abdelbaky / the academic research community publication pg. 4 fig. 10 rue halévy, vue d'un sixième étage 1878 oil on canvas 60 × 73 cm fig. 11 avenue de l'opera, morning sunshine by 1897 964 × 779cm fig. 12 rainy day 2. contemporary cityscape painting cityscapes have been considerably a part of the history of contemporary painting because painters had an interest in specifications of the new elements of the modern city. the avant-garde brought the varied vision of the cityscape such as the works of cubist painters fernand leger‘the city’, (fig. 13) which presents the cubist notion of fracturing objects into geometric shapes, but retained an interest in depicting the illusion of three-dimensionality. influenced by the urban spaces, he expressed the noise, dynamism, and speed of new technology in the illusion of three dimensionalities with experiments in abstraction and non-representation. also robert delaunay and his ‘champs de mars, la tour rouge’ (fig. 14), infused the dynamism of modern life into this painting by employing multiple viewpoints, rhythmic fragmentation of form, and color contrasts. delaunay accentuated the structure’s towering presence by framing it with tall buildings and placing smaller, shorter buildings, seen from above, at its base. the top of the tower seems to soar, its massive structure augmented by wing like clouds and patches of lightfilled sky (artic.edu, n.d.). through works by painters from the school of paris, the paintings on the way to abstraction inspired some abstract painters like joan mitchell who painted ‘city landscape’ (fig.15) however, it’s still abstract expressionism (birmingham museum of art, 2010). later on, all the attention of painters of the 20th century became focused on the abstract (arnheim, 1969) and conceptual art; the production of cityscapes became rare accordingly . fayrouz samir abdelbaky / the academic research community publication pg. 5 fig. 13 the city (la ville), 1919 oil on canvas, 231.1 x 298.4 cm fig. 14 the red tower 1911-160.7 x 128.6 cm fig. 15 city landscape 1955 oil, canvas edward hopper was one of the most important realist painters, and was the only one who created intriguing paintings of the american streets scene. he had a unique and selective vision when portraying an empty cityscape, while capturing the mood and the feeling of the 20th century such as ‘early sunday morning’ (fig.16), a painting of a peaceful scene of a closed small business. his painting appears as a picture of new york or an image of america. he had painted the architecture of the buildings to look like basic industries such as selling shoes and clothes. the dark passage in the upper-right corner of the picture is the large side of the building next to the sunny block (edward hopper, n.d.). hopper said that he is “always using nature as the medium to try to project upon canvas my most intimate reaction to the subject as it appears when i like it most; when the facts are given unity by my interests and prejudices. why i select certain subjects rather than others, i do not exactly know unless it is that i believe them to be the best mediums for a synthesis of my inner experience." he created many paintings that deal with the line of city block buildings, while architecture plays a main role in his work. he admitted saying "i was always interested in architecture, but the editors wanted people waving their arms." thus, his buildings are protagonists that show embodiment cultural and social concepts. fig. 16 early sunday morning 1930 fayrouz samir abdelbaky / the academic research community publication pg. 6 the revival of figurative art towards the end of the 20th century was a revisit to cityscape painting. photorealist and hyperrealist painters have made an important contribution to cityscape painting in more recent times (cityscape art: a walk through history, 2015). cityscape has experienced a renaissance through the works of the painters from the hyperrealists and street photographers to present the cityscapes artworks of contemporary art (stunning art cityscapes of contemporary art, n.d.).well-known contemporary cityscape painters include rackstraw downes, who has been painting panoramic scenes of the american land and cityscape for over thirtyfive years (schwartz, sanford, storr, robert, downes, rackstraw, 2005). painted after a lot of studies that could last from days to months, his paintings evince careful attention to details and possess a unique balance between realism and abstraction. subjects like ventilation towers (fig. 17) depicting the subway underpasses, barbed wire fences, constructions and landfills, prove that he is fascinated by what he describes as ‘the magic’ of these places. in his painting, we can see demolition and excavation on the site of equitable life assurance society’s new tower at 7th avenue and 52nd street, (fig. 18) a crowded painting with a holistic view for what is around him. he said “as far as one can see” or distinguish the ordinary from the extraordinary. he instances to put in the painting all that he can see his desire to recognize the space in height, depth and time (downes, n.d.). another artist, antonio lópez garcía and his paintings grand via by antonio (fig. 19) and view of madrid from martínez campos (fig. 20) seemed to have been influenced by european painters in their aesthetic. he had to learn from the past but he painted his time. moreover, he passes through the knowledge and the experience to extract the technique of the ancient painters. he said "living in a city like madrid, the most interesting thing is the pulse of life. it's not a city with a special level of culture, but you still see the people, the men, the women, the children, the sickness, the good, and the bad. i want to get close to all that, and those are the motives of my paintings." his paintings have a special spirit in all the forms, and everything was done correctly. fig. 17 ventilation tower with estivating snow plows, 1988 fig. 18 demolition and excavation on the site 1983oil on canvas – 81.28x91.44c m fig. 19 grand via by antonio lópez garcía, 1974-1981, 500 × 522 fig. 20 view of madrid from martínez campos 1960, oil painting on board, 48 x 96 oil painting richard estes, known to be a photorealist, creates his paintings from photographs (graham, 2007). his paintings show reflective surfaces and often his inspiration is new york city and he shows it like a new city with its iconic https://www.google.com.eg/search?tbs=simg%3am00&tbnid=m_p0imyo_wtvum%3a&docid=8seyhq0zdsy6nm&bih=445&biw=1024&tbm=isch https://www.google.com.eg/search?tbs=simg%3am00&tbnid=m_p0imyo_wtvum%3a&docid=8seyhq0zdsy6nm&bih=445&biw=1024&tbm=isch fayrouz samir abdelbaky / the academic research community publication pg. 7 sites while giving it life. his ‘columbus avenue at 90th street’ (fig. 21) is one of his most famous cityscapes that presents perspective and reflection in a symmetrical composition and a panoramic view. the bright sunlight and deep shadow plays an important role in many of his cityscapes, while the foreground of the painting have shadows and the bright sunlight areas draw the distance, increasing the sense of depth (five richard estes paintings you should know about, n.d.). besides that, his storefront creates reflection images. “the city as both a reality and an abstraction becomes the subject of the painting. hyperreal in its detailed perfection, it evokes the city as an ideal.”he might have focused on the urban environment by avoiding the inclusion of any citizens in his scenes, as “the city is a construct of mankind yet humanity can seem eerily absent from estes’s urban landscapes of the 1970s and 1980s.” fig. 21 columbus avenue at 90th street (1974) by richard estes another painter is yvonne jacquette, who made a specialty of aerial cityscapes (cozzolino, 2012). she creates low-altitude aerial landscapes using pointillist-like techniques. she began chartering planes to flying commercial airlines in order to sketch and study landscapes and clouds to get the views she desired . she began formations of ‘third avenue (with reflection) iii’, in 2005 (fig. 22). it shows the contrast between her quilt-like style and the gleaming modern skyscrapers and rushing traffic of manhattan. in ‘empire state building ii’ (fig. 23) is night views of new york city, her cityscapes are characterized by their intense colors and elaborate detail (jacquette, n.d.). it inspired an ongoing exploration of the effects of bright lights, reflections, and indistinct objects set against surrounding darkness. in a different style, francis livingston painted primarily in a monochromatic way with a love for nostalgia. he painted places which may no longer exist. his bold and impressionistic paintings take the viewer back in time to the day when amusement parks with wooden roller coasters, movie theatres with neon signs and buildings with ornate embellishments were in their prime as in ‘city sky’ (fig. 24). his thickly applied brush strokes that emphasized shape rather than line, his scenes of yesteryear have exciting movement, color, texture and balance (livingston, n.d.). on the contrary, stephen wiltshire’s panoramic cityscape painting, the ‘manhattan skyline from top of empire state’ (fig. 25) looks photorealistic. fig. 22 third avenue (with reflection) iii, 2005 fig. 23 empire state building ii, 2009. oil on canvas fayrouz samir abdelbaky / the academic research community publication pg. 8 fig. 24 city sky 2017 oil on panel 24 x 36 inches fig. 25 manhattan skyline from top of empire stateoil on canvas 765 × 573 cm in the same way, cairo, the capital of egypt has inspired many artists since the french expedition between (1798 -1801), when artists painted every detail in the ‘description of egypt’ book. moreover, contemporary painters depicted cairo in many ways, where some of them were interested in the details, the architectural composition, the architectural diversity of styles and its sense of rich history. other painters paid attention to the life in the city that does not sleep. reda abdel salam’s abstract expressionism paintings summarized life in the city with its hustle and its beauty. he expressed the rhythm of life and its frequency in a hard mix of color (fig. 26). while in an atmosphere of mystical realism, mahmoud bakshesh shortened the forms of his city, and turned it into shades. the colors are luminous and cool at the same time, as his cities were dominated by dormancy and silence ( عز الدین as we see in his painting ‘city and barriers’ (fig. 27), it is depicting a view of a city from afar and .(2007 ,نجیب the buildings are almost barely visible, while the desert colors are blurry. he presented a city imprisoned in iron barricades. fig. 26 the rhythm of life in the city 2 oil painting on cardboard 100x70 -1991 fig. 27 city and barriers oil painting -75x60 cm -1986 in a completely different point of view, we find paintings of zahran salama offer a study filled with details nearest to the photorealism. his city was soaked in an atmosphere filled with history and modernity, which we can see in his painting (fig.28). in the same approach, we find nabil metwally, who was inspired by ancient cairo, especially the archeological-like appearance of the aesthetics, and where ancient buildings belong to several historical eras mixed with contemporary human life (fig.29). fayrouz samir abdelbaky / the academic research community publication pg. 9 fig. 28 oil painting on canvas 2000 fig. 29 view from gamalia 1 oil on canvas 130 x150 cm 2016 3. conclusion the beginning of cityscape painting goes back to the ancient world and was prominent during the middle ages, but used to appear as a background. however, in the middle of the 17th century, the cityscape became a separated subject. in the 19th century, the painters were interested in the life in the city and during late 19th century, impressionists focused on the everyday urban life that became subjects for cityscapes. cityscapes have been considerably a part of the contemporary history of painting because painters had an interest in specifications of the new elements of the modern city. cityscape painting is an art that depends on city scenes and all their elements. cityscape painters consider the city as a source of inspiration such as identity, anciently, modernity, size, densness, interstitial space built forms, and of course its architectural design. these paintings reflect all the differences between the artists’ technical trends and the artistic visions of each one separately. photorealist and hyperrealist painters have made an important contribution to cityscape painting that has experienced a renaissance through their works. the contemporary painters depicted the city in many ways; some of them were interested in painting each detail and some of them were interested in expressing their feelings toward it. references: 1. "old news" by candace weddle. (2013, august 3). retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://candaceweddle.wordpress.com/ 2. . london: giles. p. 243. isbn 978-1-904832-77-5 3. 19 the avenue de l'opera, sunlight, winter morning, 1898. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.camillepissarro.org/theavenue-de-l-opera-paris-sunlight-winter-morning.jsp 4. about this artwork. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork 5. arnheim, r., (1969) visual thinking, university of california press, isbn 0520018710 6. birmingham museum of art (2010). birmingham museum of art: a guide to the collection 7. cityscape art: a walk through history. (2015, march 24). retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://blog.whsmith.co.uk/cityscape-art-awalk-through-history/ 8. cityscape art: a walk through history. (2015, march). retrieved from https://blog.whsmith.co.uk/cityscape-art-a-walk-through-history/ 9. early sunday morning, 1930 by edward hopper. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://www.edwardhopper.net/early-sundaymorning.jsp 10. five richard estes paintings you should know about | art | agenda. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2014/september/30/five-richard-estes-paintings-you-should-know-about/ 11. giotto. (2017, february 19). retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://www.geni.com/people/giotto/6000000010940082546 12. graham, t. (2007)american culture in the 1980s (twentieth century american culture) edinburgh university press 13. jacquette, y., (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.artnet.com/artists/yvonne-jacquette/ 14. jacquette, y., (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.dcmooregallery.com/artists/yvonne-jacquette/series/city-paintings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/international_standard_book_number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/special:booksources/978-1-904832-77-5 http://www.camillepissarro.org/the-avenue-de-l-opera-paris-sunlight-winter-morning.jsp http://www.camillepissarro.org/the-avenue-de-l-opera-paris-sunlight-winter-morning.jsp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/international_standard_book_number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/special:booksources/0520018710 http://www.birminghammuseumstore.org/bmapu.html https://blog.whsmith.co.uk/cityscape-art-a-walk-through-history/ http://www.artnet.com/artists/yvonne-jacquette/ fayrouz samir abdelbaky / the academic research community publication pg. 10 15. lamp, l. (n.d.). inspiration in visual art: where do artists get their ideas? retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://www.sophia.org/tutorials/inspiration-in-visual-art-where-do-artists-get-the 16. livingston, f., (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.hidellbrooks.com/artists/francis-livingston/ 17. national gallery of art. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/collection/artist-info.1249.html 18. nuttgens, p. (1997). the story of architecture (2nd ed.). london: phaidon press. 19. pennsylvania academy of the fine arts; cozzolino, robert (2012-01-01) 20. rackstraw downes. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.bettycuninghamgallery.com/exhibitions/rackstrawdownes?view=slider#4 21. schaller, t. w. (1998).stock image architecture in watercolor. mcgraw-hill professional . 22. schwartz, sanford; storr, robert, and downes, rackstraw, (2005) rackstraw downes. princeton university press. 23. stunning art cityscapes of contemporary art. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.widewalls.ch/cityscapes-contemporary-art/richard-diebenkorn-yellow-porch-1961/ 24. w. (n.d.). boogie desierto leones, 2007-2009. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.widewalls.ch/cityscapes-contemporaryart/boogie-desierto-leones-2007-2009/ 25. w., w., & w. (2015, september 18). cityscape art: a walk through history. retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://blog.whsmith.co.uk/cityscape-art-a-walk-through-history/ 2007اغسطس –الھیئة العامة لقصور الثقافة –افاق الفن التشكیلى -محمود بقشیش فنان وعصر –عز الدین نجیب .26 https://www.sophia.org/tutorials/inspiration-in-visual-art-where-do-artists-get-the https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/collection/artist-info.1249.html http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) screening & mashrabiah new applications as smart, green , and unique identity factors doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.118 hala abdelmoez mohamed 1 1 lecturer & head of the architecture department at the higher technological institute, 6th of october. keywords screening;mashrabiah;green architecture;identity;traditional abstract due to living in a society plagued by acceleration and significant development in building technology, information, and computer applications, a transformation in arts and architecture has resulted in a neglect, whether deliberate or non-deliberate, in the dimensions of moral and non–physical values such as heritage and civilization. it is safe to say that such neglect has led to the creation of architectural products with no idenities. as a result, an appearance of new architectural trends that includes green and smart architecture, for instance, was identified. this new type of architecture generally relies on merge between the use of the natural and surrounding environment in serving the design process as well as the use of modern computer applications, fixtures, technology, and new building materials combined to provide a comfortable and safe environment for users. when traditional arab architecture is the product of a rich experience of its manufacturers’, it presents an integrated mixture between each of the non–physical features represented in religious beliefs, traditions and customs prevailing in the community, and the physical elements that include the effects of the natural environment, climate changes, building materials, and natural resources available. screening and mashrabiah represent a very important element in traditional and arab architecture. it is also still being used nowadays in modern architecture after enduring a study of its functions, benefits, new materials and applications such as smart mashrabiah. the conslusion of this research provides recommendations of new applications and architectural treatments for screening and mashrabiah and their possible use as unique identity factors that represent our modern architecture both in the arab world and worldwide. introduction the arab architectural identity is a dream sought by all architects only to be turned into a reality when we, as arabs, establish a unique architectural style that represents our traditional, social, and cultural values. nonetheless, it should satisfy the needs of today’s users as it should correspond to new building technologies and satisfy the demans of green architecture. for instance, traditional islamic architecture in the past had some unique elements such as courtyards, domes, vaults, arches, malqaffs, and mashrabiahs. such elements generated a unique architectural identity for traditional arab architecture and recognition all over the world. unfotunately these elements became old fashioned and had been neglected by architects over time. consequently, a new era of building technology and rapid growth in the built environment encouraged by mass production in building materials led directly to a new and worldwide architecture hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 2 without an identity. one building could be built in a certain setting and moved to another and yet make no significant difference or impact even while considering the building materials, orientation and façade treatments. 1. mashrabiah and screening systems mashrabiah and screening facades are two methods of treatments used in building exterior walls to achieve certain design goals such as privacy, climate control, and shading. mashrabiah is a traditional element while a screening façade is a much newer one. 1.1 mashrabiahs mashrabiah is the arabic term given to a type of projecting window enclosed with carved wood latticework located on the second storey of a building or higher. such windows could also sometimes be set wihtout a projection (mohamed, 2006). the mashrabiah is an element of the traditional arab architecture that has been used since the 12th century in the mamloki period and up until the mid-20th century. most of the time, a mashrabiah was being used on the street side of a building. however, it may also be used internally on a courtyard side (rafat, 2009).generally mashrabiahs were used in houses and palaces although and, sometimes, in public buildings such as hospitals, inns, schools and government buildings. they were very prevalent in iraq, hejaz and egypt. the mashrabiah, as shown in fig1(a) and 1(b), generally has five functions as well as different patterns and shapes that have been designed to accommodate a variety of conditions and circumstances which require an emphasis on one or more of these functions. these functions include controlling the passage of light, controlling the air flow, reducing the temperature of the air current, increasing the humidity of the air current, and ensuring privacy (ajaj and pugnaloni, hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 3 2014). each mashrabiya design is selected to fulfill several or all of these functions. in the design, it is the size and shape of the units and the spacing between units that are adjusted (fathy,1986). fig. 1(a) projected mashrabiah fig.1(b) non-projected flat mashrabiah the mashrabiah inspired the architects and designers of the modern building’s shading devices. like the mashrabiah, the design of the shades was both to control the amount of sun rays entering the building, as shown in fig.2, as well as to create beautiful light and shade patterns. fig.2 control over the amount of light depending on pattern size 1.2 screening and dynamic facades designers and building owners have always admired the use of glass in building exterior walls. the façade is an interpretation of the building image representing prestige and power. glass is a great material that gives the designers a wide range of opportunities in creating a design characterized by elegance, transparency and lightness. transparency increases interaction and communication between exterior and interior environments. moreover, and from an architectural point of view, the benefits of the exterior glass wall solution vary from daylight to view. however, the design chosen for the facade has a high effect on both indoor climate and energy consumption as there are several energy-flows between exterior and interior surroundings. the main role of the façade is to act as a barrier that protects hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 4 the indoor areas from the outdoor environment. to achieve mentioned functions of the façade design, a control of the following should be ensured: heat transmission from inside to outside solar load from outside to inside high utilization of passive solar gains high utilization of daylight protection against glare from outside air flows between inside and outside (both ways) allow for a view to the outside allow for privacy (johnsen and winther, 2015) screening and dynamic facades are the perfect tools to achieveing the above points. there are many types of screening such as folding shading systems, kinetic titanium screens, or simple double skin screens of wood, steel, aluminium, titanium or grc that are designed according to a certain criteria to meet the designed facility needs and functions (see fig 3and fig 4). fig 3 folding screen system(city-emotion.com) fig 4 simple double skin metal façade(abiya-mashrabiya,com) identity through architecture in the moein dictionary, identity can be expressed as follows: a supreme being, essence, and existence (ettehad, azeri, and kari, 2014). 2.1 architectural identity what constitutes the identification of something are the special characteristics making it unique. when considering architectural identity, included are all the elements of the built environment such as buildings, spaces, urban fabric, landscape, and special architectural elements that identify a certain regional architecture, or that of a certain era (nooraddin, 2012), as a social construct shaped by the need for meaning and a frame of reference for the respective present. the past is considered to a product of culture rather than a product of nature (czumalo, 2012). the current built environment and architecture, specially in arab world, fails to express the arab’s magnificent legacy, morals and social heritage. it does respect its sunny and warm climate. on the contrary, the architecture in arab world now reflects a flawed image of western architecture. 2.2 how to achieve a unique arab architectural identity to achieve a unique arab architectural identity, arabs simply need to pause, take a closer look to their architectural legacy; one that continuously inspires the whole. necessary then would be an analysis of and emphasis on the strengths and elements of architecture built then. it was an architecture that respected environmental circumstances, social heritage and availability of building materials. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 5 the answer is simple, we need to merge our traditional arab architectural elements with new smart building technologies to design new architectural models that represent and portray the arab identity. arabs dream of an identity that respects moral and social heritage, cultural legacy, climate of the arab region while using the unique elements and features of the arab traditional architecture. it should meanwhile fulfill the customers needs and adopt new smart technology systems and green and smart architecture principles (abdelmoez, 2012). new applications and interpritations for mashrabiah and screening facades in this section, presented will be an analysis and study cases, both, from the arab world and worldwide for buildings that have adopted the above solutions of merging design using modified traditional elements and adapting smart technological systems but still reflect a unique architectural identity. 1.1. arab world case studies three case studies are to be presented from the arab world that shoud reflect the concept of merging traditional architecture with smart technology and present new applications and interpretations for mashrabiah and screening facades. 1.1.1. al bahr twin towers building name : al bahr towers (fig 5a) location : abu dhabi, a.r.e designer : aedas architects year of opening : june 2012 study element : folding shading screen façade the geometrical pattern of the shading screen folds and unfolds in response to the movement of the sun, see fig 5(b), and reduces solar gain by up to 50%. it improves visibility inside the towers. each triangle is coated with fiberglass and is programmed to respond to the movement of the sun as a way to reduce solar gain and glare as shown in fig 5(c) (fernandez, 2016). fig 5(a) al bahr towers, abu dhab fig 5(b) folding screen fig 5(c) the geometric pattern coated with fiberglass 1.1.2. doha tower building name : doha tower (fig 7(a)) location : doha, qatar hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 6 designer : jean nouvel year of opening : 2012 study element : geometrical fixed screen façade the facade’s screen pattern of grc material, as shown in fig 7(b) and 7(c), is fixed on comprised aluminium grids that take the shape of butterflies representing traditional old shansheal -the mashrabiah name in qatarat four different scales as shown in fig 7(d). the geometrical pattern of several scales is overlaid at different densities along the facade in response to the solar conditions to reduce sunlight and plur. it also gives an excellent experience from the interior of the building as shown in fig 7(e) and 7(f) (karakuş, 2016). fig 7(a) doha tower,qatar fig 7(b) grc mashrabiah like pattern fig 7(c) grc screen fig 7(d) the traditional shap of mashrabiah in four different scales fig 7(d) the screen façade effect from the last floor fig 7(e) the screen façade effect on the interior 1.1.3. kafd men & women portal spas proposal building name : portal spas proposal (fig 8(a)) hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 7 location : king abdullah financial district, riyadh, ksa designer : worksbureau year of opening : under construction study element: kinetic titanium screen façade the facade’s screen pattern consists of kinetic titanium sheets, as shown in fig 8(b), which operates like a camera lens, opening and closing to regulate light as shown in fig 8(c). the screen is powered by small motors. the middle layers move back and forth creating both shades. the design is protected by glass on both sides of the metal parts. this design is created to ensure privacy of the users, to control sunlight and create a relaxing environment from within as shown in fig 8(d) and fig 8(e) (furuto, 2013). fig 8(a) kafd portal spas proposal fig 8(c) kinetic titanium screening sheets fig 8(d) the mock-up titanium screening façade opening and closing like a camera lens due to light fig 8(d) kinetic screening system regulating sun light fig 8(e) kinetic screening system providing privacy 1.2. worldwide case studies two worldwide case studies will be presented to reflect the influence of our arab and traditional architecture on foreign architects’ designs and on presenting new applications and interpretations for mashrabiah and screening facades. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 8 1.2.1. lotus haus building name : lotus haus. (fig 9(a)) location : daegu, south korea designer : local studio smart architecture year of opening : 2015 study element : simple fixed metal screen façade the screening façade simply is made of one layer of punched steel covering the upper stories of the house as shown in fig 9(b). the pattern chosen for the screening system looks like a simple mashrabiah pattern used, particulary, in egypt based on the lotus flower as in fig 9(c). the screening system was used to control sunlight and to give some kind of privacy for residential floors. it also gives a unique pattern of light and shadow in the rooms and staircases as shown in fig 9(d) and fig 9(e) (griffiths, 2015). fig 9(a) screening façade of lotus haus fig 9(b) screening covering residential floors fig 9(c) the punched metal screen as a shape of lotus flower [egyptian mashrabiah] fig 9(d) screening on bedroom gives privacy & controls sunlight fig 9(e) screening on the staircase 1.2.2. lund office building extension building name: office building extension (fig 10(a)) location: lund, sweetherland designer: swedish firms johan sundberg arkitektur and blasberg andréasson arkitekter hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 9 year of opening: 2015 study element: simple fixed perforated metal sheets (fig 10(b)) the screening façade is simply made of one layer of punched metal sheets with circular shapes as shown in fig 10(c). this design was mainly used to give a remarkable image to the office building located in the industrial zone of the city but in a very moderate context. the design achieved its goals of creating a distinguished look for the office building through the way it provided light control and a cozy atmosphere for the employees inside as in fig 10(d) and fig 10(e) (mairs, 2015). fig 10(a) lund office building extension fig 10(b) screening of simple punched metal sheet fig 10(c) screening of perforated metal sheet with circular shapes (dezeen.com) fig 10(d) offices interior(dezeen.com) hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 10 fig 10(e) the cozy interior generated from the screening design conclusion mashrabiahs represent a unique element of our architectural legacy and heritage. it could be modified, adjusted and reused in architecture nowadays. the new mashrabiah model could be a very important feature of the arab architectural identity consistently sought.moreover, screening systems come in many kinds. simple fixed screens that are punched or perforated, folding or movable shades, or kinetic facades that respond to light like a camera lens. screening systems represent a new green and smart architectural solution inspired by traditional mashrabiah. in most cases, screening is a new interpretation of mashrabiah. the architectural identity contains all the elements of the built environment such as buildings, spaces, urban fabric, landscape, and special architectural elements that identify a certain regional architecture or the architecture of a certain era.the arab architectural identity could, once more, be achieved by merging traditional arab architectural elements with smart green architecture applications and technologies in order to produce new architectural models that should then become the elements of this new architectural movement. this research has established that there exist several new applications and interpretations for mashrabiah and screening systems, both in arab world and internationally. screening systems’ and mashrabiah’s rebirth are a prevailing trend in the arab world especially within the gulf areas. there are several successful architectural models for this trend such as al bahr towers-abu dhabi, doha tower-doha, and kadf portal spas proposal-riyadh. new mashrabiah and screening systems’ applications in the arab world vary from folding shades, fixed geometrical layered screens to kinetic facades. foreign architects are inspired by traditional mashrabiah in the design of some kinds of screening systems. their trails are still shallow, on the other hand, as in most cases, they are inspired only by the form and not the function as well. however, far eastern architects are more interested in designing screening systems with inspiration from traditional mashrabiahs due to its historical background, shared morals and social beliefs such as an individual’s need for privacy. their trails are more varied and are more aware with the mashrabiah functions. therefore, it is strongly advised to continue studying, evolving and analyzing the mashrabiah and screening systems in order to generate new and distinct models that are still appropriate and suitable for today’s circumstances and demands. references 1. abdelmoez, h. m. (2012). merging traditional arabian architecture and smart architecture between theory and application "electronic windcatcher-malkaf" as a new way to solve identity and energy dilemas. faculty of engineering, cairo university. 2. ajaj. a & pugnaloni, f., (2014), re-thinking traditional arab architecture: a traditional approach to contemporary living, iacsit international journal of engineering and technology, vol. 6, no. 4. 3. al bahar towers responsive facade / aedas. (2012, september 05). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.archdaily.com/270592/albahar-towers-responsive-facade-aedashttp://www.designhome.ae/stylish-al-bahar-towers-amazing-technology-architecture/ 4. czumalo, v., (2012) architecture and identity,autoportret, vol. 1, no.[36], p 46-52. 5. e. (2016, september 17). adaptative mashrabiya: from mashrabiyas to dynamic façades. retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://spatialexperiments.wordpress.com/2016/09/17/adaptative-mashrabiya-from-mashrabiyas-to-dynamic-facades/ 6. fernandez, e., (2016), adaptative mashrabiya: from mashrabiyas to dynamic façades, lecture, lund university, department of architecture and built environment. 7. furuto, a. (2013, january 20). kafd men's and women's portal spas proposal / worksbureau. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.archdaily.com/317832/kafd-mens-and-womens-portal-spas-proposal-worksbureau 8. furuto, a., (2013) kadf men and women portal spas proposal, article, http://www.archdaily.com/317832/kafd-mens-and-womens-portalspas-proposal-worksbureau, 9. griffiths, a. (2015, september 16). smart architecture's lotus haus has a perforated metal facade. retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://www.dezeen.com/2015/09/16/smart-architecture-lotus-haus-perforated-metal-panels-daegu-south-korea/ 10. griffiths, a., (2015), perforated metal panels reveal a staircase in smart architecture's lotus haus,articl, https://www.dezeen.com/2015/09/16/smart-architecture-lotus-haus-perforated-metal-panels-daegu-south-korea. 11. h. fathy, (1986), natural energy and vernacular architecture, the united nations university by the university of chicago press, pp. 94. 12. johnsen, k. & winther f.v., (2015) dynamic facades, the smart way of meeting the energy requirements, energy procedia 78, 1568 – 1573, sciencedirect, 6th international building physics conference, ibpc. 13. karakuş, g. (2016). doha tower 2016 on site review report [pdf].http://www.arch2o.com/doha-tower-jean-nouvel/ 14. mairs, j. (2015, july 20). perforated metal covers the facade of this office extension. retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://www.dezeen.com/2015/07/20/perforated-metal-concertina-facade-office-extension-lund-johan-sundberg-arkitektur-blasbergandreasson-arkitekter/ https://spatialexperiments.wordpress.com/2016/09/17/adaptative-mashrabiya-from-mashrabiyas-to-dynamic-facades/ http://www.archdaily.com/317832/kafd-mens-and-womens-portal-spas-proposal-worksbureau http://www.archdaily.com/317832/kafd-mens-and-womens-portal-spas-proposal-worksbureau http://www.archdaily.com/317832/kafd-mens-and-womens-portal-spas-proposal-worksbureau https://www.dezeen.com/2015/09/16/smart-architecture-lotus-haus-perforated-metal-panels-daegu-south-korea/ https://www.dezeen.com/2015/09/16/smart-architecture-lotus-haus-perforated-metal-panels-daegu-south-korea http://www.arch2o.com/doha-tower-jean-nouvel/ hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 11 15. mohamed, n. a. (2006). a new mashrabiyya for contemporary cairo (integrating traditional latticework from islamic and japanese cultures. graduate school of engineering, hosei university. 16. nooraddin, h., (2012) architectural identity in an era of change, developing country studies www.iiste.org issn 2224-607x (paper) issn 2225-0565 (online)vol 2, no.10. 17. rafat, m. (2009), arabian house between originality and modernism,society of preserving real estate wealth and architectural development. issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 http://www.ierek.com/press touristic virtual environment of tunguragua province o. e. paredes1, melo fiallos, d.f.2, a.r. guaman2, m. g. garcía1, n. armas1 1 systems, electronics and industry faculty, technical university of ambato 2 faculty of human sciences and education, technical university of ambato keywords virtual environment; geolocation; georeferencing; cultural tourism; promotion; management. abstract tourism and the advances that technology has had over the years have turned into useful instruments that are used to develop platforms and virtual touristic environments that can help in its management and positioning promotion-wise. the objective is to design a virtual touristic environment that will promote service providers, cultural activities, routes and touristic attractions that are found in the province of tungurahua, and which include natural resources and historical sites that have not been exploited yet. the virtual environment’s goal is to integrate relevant information for tourists in the area, plus destinations and locations using a map, geolocation and georeferencing functions. the goal is to increase the flow of national and foreign visitors by using audiovisual archives or files. the validation of the goals was based on studies about the characteristics and the behavior of the tourists and information obtained from national public companies that are primarily related to tourism. 1. introduction the province of tungurahua – ecuador, is a touristic point of interest in the country and worldwide due to its geographical location, climate and natural resources (ministerio de turismo, 2016). it is divided into nine counties and each one has its own parishes with many natural attractions and variations of climate. it is easy of access makes the province an ideal destination to visit any time of the year, making this one of its most important economic activities (honorable gobierno provincial de tungurahua, 2016). this region can’t and won’t stay behind in anything regarding the evolution and development of new technology (valles, 2000). the implementation of ict, information and communication technology, in the category has evolved due to the different stages of computerization and informationalization of society. the administration of a touristic destination should authorize the development of an ecosystem that generates income through crafts, gastronomy, cultural and many other products. this activity should be structured as a product that can manage the offer and route the demand. e-tourism is the way that is necessary for the tourist to explore and live a different type of experience (blanco, 2011). this can be done with texts, images, audio, and video and with the help of technology. it is possible to design and integrate a system of internal management and external positioning that will allow geolocation in all the locations that the tourists or users wish to get to know and would like to access. more and more often, it has become frequent for a tourist to prepare his own route or roads that they will take on their trip, with the help of virtual touristic environments or touristic web platforms, which will focus on a personalized route, with places of interest, providers, accommodations, transportation and leisure and pleasure activities. the tourist must also have the comfort to have this virtual environment on their electronic device with internet access. considering that the construction of a touristic destination relies not only on the development of the territory, it must be noted that it also relies on the interaction that the tourist has in this environment. in tungurahua, you can find a great amount of touristic information, providers and establishments that offer specialized services, not centralized but accessible, which means, that the information of interest for the tourists can be shown on a graphic chart online. there is an extensive labor in order to find this information and design the products, with the adequate instructions so it can be useful for visitors. the virtual environment in the management and positioning of tungurahua has a goal that is to carry out the touristic management and positioning in the province, centering all the information about the institutions, agencies, doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.244 o. e. paredes / the academic research community publication pg. 2 natural resources, and routes, in just one platform. it should also offer a system of georeferencing and geolocation. the tourist can access it through a device with an internet connection to search for any information he/she may need. 2. background there are many assignments that are related to touristic platforms, which combine technology with tourism. the advances that there has been in computing programming due to the growing popularity of tourism is an international deal, based on the need for quick communications that are also reliable and secure. this allows the promotion and merchandising of the places of interest for the tourist. in addition, it has been confirmed that the users in the leisure department have a necessity to access tools that demonstrate and promote these places and that are based on images and audiovisual means which nowadays are getting more flexible and attractive (oriol, 2006). nevertheless, all the touristic platforms mentioned, are designed in a particular way for a specific enterprise or place, but there is not a tool that will centralize all the information into a virtual environment, one that tourists or user can access and manage easily. projects that come from ict and are applied to tourism, are being developed based upon many lines of action (valles, 2000), multiple studies and authors who agree with the construction of infrastructures and the consolidation of information systems and reserves, where reserve stations, touristic information systems, multimedia databases and specialized networks meet and communicate in between all of the above components (castellanos, 2013). many studies about the tourist’s behavior suggest that virtual platform users prefer to look for and see all the information about the place and the service providers in one site, (garcia, morales, & díaz, 2011) (sanz, 2007) (gonzáles, sanchez, & sanz, 2010). the design and construction of a virtual environment that groups all of the information about tourism in the province of tungurahua, will let exploit touristic and commercial activities at the same time that the tourists will use a generalized virtual environment. 3. proposed solution ( the virtual environment, in management and touristic positioning in the province of tungurahua, with the name tungurahua turístico, is an online platform that includes all the information about the touristic places and the service providers. it includes a positioning system, a geolocation, and georeferencing system, where the users can visualize the exact location that he/she wants to visit. it can also detect the user’s location and map out the routes that the user can use to get to a specific destination, and referencing all the information that has been collected and centralized. the virtual environment of tungurahua turístico consists of two parts: the first one has interfaces that the user or tourist can observe and the second has to do with the administration of the platform. in figure 1, a fragment of a relational model of tungurahua turístico can be observed. figure 1 exemplar design of data of a virtual environment by means of this virtual environment, all the information about service providers and natural resources in the counties are meant to be centralized. the information is divided into sections that are classified into counties and parishes. the main page in the virtual environment has subsections with general information about the province; a subsection with multimedia where audio-visual files can be enjoyed, based on each county. the user can find information about different places under the tab cantons (counties) where a list of activities is found and it shows what can be done and also one can see some references to natural resources and service providers that can be found in each canton (county). also, the user will be able to find an exact location of every registered establishment into o. e. paredes / the academic research community publication pg. 3 the platform by using a map that shows with marks on the location of the establishments or natural resources that are registered into the platform and can use the geolocation to draw routes and get to the desired destination. the map of the places in each canton contains sections where the user can visualize a description with basic data about each service providers such as accommodation, alimentation, transportation, and others. if any of the places are off the tourist’s interest, he will be able to access more detailed information about the place in a tab. 3.1 resource management for the development of this project, there have been some restrictions and characteristics that the platform must consider. the diagrams are defined as being representations of the management process, the activities that the users can perform according to their designated roles. to obtain information for the platform about the province, cantons, and parishes, there has been a collaboration between many public entities, such as the municipalities (gad) of each canton. for instance, baños de agua santa was taken into consideration for the pilot run of the collection of information that will build and be presented in the virtual environment tungurahua turístico. the information that was requested to the different public establishments was given in diverse formats which had to be processed. in the virtual platform, images can be observed, also, texts, videos, and maps. the maps were created based on the different excel documents that were provided by the public establishments. the list of touristic service providers was obtained thanks to the municipality of baños de agua santa. 3.2 analysis of the evaluation and information process through the study of the lists of service providers in baños de agua santa and its natural attractions that are a part of the touristic attractions, it was established that the missing information and data needed to be included into the platform. it was necessary to keep in mind the characteristics of the tourist. knowing the characteristics of the tourist, we considered it is useful for tourism because this way there can be a better pacification and development of the products and specialized services that can serve and comply with the necessities of the visiting population (centro de estudios superiores en turismo sectur, 2016), as much as the activities that are accomplished and are planned while on a trip. the activities are found in table 1. table 1: service providers establishment classification/type travel agency operators duality accommodation hotels inn hostels residential hostels pensions alimentation restaurants cafeterias soda leisure and recreation bars clubs campsites extreme sports galleries museums crafts churches/temples o. e. paredes / the academic research community publication pg. 4 pools natural attractions transportation touristic transportation urban transportation taxis the paths and streets around and through the city have to be taken into account as much as the information in table 2. table 2: paths and main streets path classification path main secondary street second order service 3.3 geo-localization and geo-referencing the virtual environment tungurahua turistico has a section designated for the placement of a map where the user can visualize with precision the exact location of the destination or establishment just by using a system of reference points. this coordinate system refers to any point on the face of the earth, which uses two angular coordinates, latitude (north or south) and longitude (east or west) (negi.org, 2016). qgis was used in the management and creation of maps. it is a geographical information system with an open code and a gnu (general public license) type license. qgis is an official project from open source geospatial foundation (osgeo) that works with linux, unix, mac osx, windows y android, and supports various formats, vector data functionalities, raster data and databases (qgis.org, 2016). the representation of the maps or layers are carried out by points and lines, the vector data is where the geographic data is described, they can be connected with lines and polygons, the layers used in the project are polygon shaped, lines and dots. table 3 describes the types of layers. table 3: types of layers in the project layer type entertainment establishments point (x,y) accommodations point (x,y) alimentation point (x, y) tour operators point (x, y) transportation line paths line streets line province polygon cantons polygon o. e. paredes / the academic research community publication pg. 5 parishes polygon 3.3.1 coordinate system qgis manages various coordinate systems with the help of coordinate reference systems (crs). any point on earth can be defined by using three numbers called coordinates; in general, crs can be divided into projected coordinates and a geographical coordinate reference system (qgis.org, 2016). the reference coordinate system used in this project corresponds to south america, to ecuador in particular, which means that the coordinate system is sc:wgs84: s17. the reference code belonging to ecuador is epsg4326. 3.3.2 processing of information and creation of layers for the creation of layers in qgis, one must work with shape o .shp o file shape archives and files, which are vector data storage formats from esri used to store locations and the form and attributes of geographical entities. they are saved as a collection of related archives and files that contain an entity (qgis.org, 2016). to be able to generate the layers in the project, a norm was applied to standardize the information collected in the excel sheets, while items such as x and y (latitude and longitude) were augmented. it was classified based on the field type, which stores the type of geometrical shape. in the case that the establishment is of an alimentation sort, the layer needs to be specified with dots; in the case that they are paths and streets, the layer is specified with lines, and for the province´s cantons (counties) and parishes there will be a layer of polygons. to locate this information in the x and y fields, it was necessary to geo-codify each direction with the help of api and google maps. google offers the possibility to use and create function through an enormous set of apis, one of them being google maps geocode, which allows the user to consult the physical coordinates of an address on a map, returning to a latitude and longitude detail (qgis.org, 2016). by using a visual basic function called geocoding, geographic coordinates and addresses of food establishments in baños de agua santa can be obtained. table 4 shows a fragment of the codification function. table 4: fragment of the codification function this function was taken out of the code displayed on lines and created by daniel cedeño urbina. the dots were obtained by applying latitude and longitude analysis of every registered establishment on the list. the excel document was saved with a .cvs extension, in other words, the document was delimited by commas, which were later imported by qgis with a predetermined connection where the tools used generated layers of dots and lines. these layers were exported to a database, enabled with extensions towards geographic data about accommodation. 3.3.3 integration of maps in a virtual environment to integrate the maps in a virtual environment, it is necessary to create a map server and to transform it into layers in an online map service. the architecture and the layout of the project are made up by the layers that build the streets of baños de agua santa (the main and secondary streets) which will be converted into map files while the layers of dots which will be maintained in its original format. mapfile is a file that mapserver configures and it is used to convert geospatial data into images or other vector data. its purpose is mainly to define the layers that can be generated, such as how to obtain the necessary information and how to draw it (qgis.org, 2016). objhttp.open "get", url, false objhttp.setrequestheader "user-agent", "mozilla/4.0 (compatible; msie 6.0; windows nt 5.0)" objhttp.send ("") if instr(objhttp.responsetext, """lat""") = 0 then goto error valortemporal = right(objhttp.responsetext, len(objhttp.responsetext) instr(objhttp.responsetext, """lat"" : ") 7) lat = split(valortemporal, ",")(0) valortemporal = right(objhttp.responsetext, len(objhttp.responsetext) instr(objhttp.responsetext, """lng"" : ") 7) lng = replace(split(valortemporal, "}")(0), " ", "") geocodificar = lat & " ; " & lng exit function o. e. paredes / the academic research community publication pg. 6 for the georeferencing function of the virtual environment, a google maps –apiwas used to incorporate google maps and web pages or virtual environments from external developers by using a javascript interface. it is designed to function on mobile devices and in navigator applications on traditional desktop type computers. the api includes a location and geo-codification. the api google maps clients can access these api http services through a secure connection (https) (excellentias.com, 2016). the maps are images that have been combined with an html code, the virtual environment runs petitions through ajax technology, its api is made up by a set of javascript files that contain the types, methods, and properties that are used to run the functions of these maps while the user navigates through the map section. api sends information about the new coordinates and levels of zoom by utilizing ajax (excellentias.com, 2016). to activate the visualization of the maps in the virtual environment tungurahua turistico, it is necessary to first obtain a google id, identification that is proportioned by google analytics to register petitions made by the user when he consults or navigates through maps virtual environment and then can obtain the statistics of number of visits made to the site. all of the registered data in google analytics, make up part of the administrative section. the insertion code of maps into the virtual environment is developed according to the object placed. for georeferencing the locations of touristic interest, markers were used and can be visualized on the map with the help of apis that locate it on the map when it is being aimed at the cantons (counties) borders. it order to do so, it is necessary to add the google id so that the maps can be seen correctly. for the geolocalization function, a code that can detect and access the virtual environment must be programmed (google maps, 2016). figure 1 shows the location of the dot of the establishments of baños de agua santa with its markers. figure 1 a look of the map with dots to locate the establishments and tour operators of baños de agua santa in the province of tungurahua 3.4 user administration the virtual environment tungurahua turístico has or manages three types of users:  administrator: a user with privileges of the administrator has to access to all the information on the platform and can establish processes such as insertions, selections, editions and the elimination of information.  user / tourist: is a user that can visualize any information of interest through the interphases in the platform.  user / establishment: the user that can visualize and upload information to the profile of the touristic establishment to the platform. the user – establishment register is made by a verification process with simple requirements. first: register the user legally in a list of service providers of public establishments that regulate this type of situations. second: send a formal email to the administrator of the virtual environment tungurahua turístico, asking for the creation of a o. e. paredes / the academic research community publication pg. 7 new user. the administrator must prove the existence of the establishment in the list and that it has all rights up to date in order to proceed with the creation of a user. the activities that can be made by the user establishment are: change the establishment’s picture, run the commentary section, the working hours, and others. 3.5 information about the virtual environment tungurahuaturistico feedback the information uploaded to the platform has been obtained in diverse lists of different municipalities in each canton (county) in the province of tungurahua. for the development of tests, the establishments that were registered on the list of the pilot county of baños of agua santa, an interphase that was able to prove the functionality of the virtual environment was created. it is worth mentioning that the platform is based on the information that has been provided by the users of the type establishment that manages a profile interphase where it is possible to post information about every spot on their property. in figure 2, the different tabs in the user establishment can be viewed. figure 2 a look at the profile of a user and his establishments. 3.6 statistics consultation through the virtual environment, tungurahua turístico, the members under administrator are able to consult the statistics that are available in geolocationing and georeferencing. the statistics are generated by google analytics, a free system created by google that allows the user to see the information about the users and the number of visits he makes on the online site (google analytics, 2016). the administrator can also find out how many visits the site receives and from which part of the world the virtual environment is being accessed. to register the virtual environment tungurahua turístico, it was important to provide basic information about the platform to be able to obtain a code for the platform which will be in charge of monitoring the record of visits and the user’s activities. google analytics is in charge of presenting the information as statistic reports in the administrative part of the virtual environment. in figure 3, a statistic report about the visits that tungurahua turistico has gotten to date can be seen. o. e. paredes / the academic research community publication pg. 8 d figure 3 the visits of tungurahua turístico statistic report. 4. conclusions the development and construction of the virtual environment tungurahua turístico guarantees the management and development and touristic placement in the province of tungurahua through this tool. feedback on the information from the platform happens through the service provider registering process. it also allows evaluating numerically the impact of the touristic flow that gets into the province. the tourist obtains all the information in one site, in other words, all the information that may be of interest to the tourist is centralized, making the consultations about the destinations as user-friendly and easy to use as possible. acknowledgements the investigative results found in the present project have been obtained in an investigative performance stage at an investigative level “design and implementation of a virtual environment for the development and touristic positioning in the province of tungurahua”, which has been financed by department of research at technical university of ambato. references 1. blanco, j. (2011). tecnología y turismo. obtenido de http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/omt_amreports_numero1_tecnologiaturismo_esp.pdf 2. castellanos, l. (2013). el turismo en un ecuador megadiverso. obtenido de http://www.revistagestion.ec/wp content/uploads/2013/10/201_turismo.pdf 3. centro de estudios superiores en turismo sectur. (2016). metedología del estudio del perfil y satisfacción del turista. obtenido de http://ictur.sectur.gob.mx/pdf/estudioseinvestigacion/calidadycompetitividad/pst_formato2.pdf 4. excellentias.com. (2016). geocodificar en excel: cómo obtener las coordenadas de una dirección. obtenido de http://www.excellentias.com/geocodificar-en-excel-obtener-coordenadas/ 5. garcia, r., morales, l., & díaz, y. (2011). la imagen del destino y el comportamiento del turista. obtenido de https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=294911 6. gonzáles, a., sanchez, i., & sanz, s. (2010). la imagen como factor clave del comportamiento del turista. obtenido de https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=2138685 7. google analytics. (2016). google analytics. obtenido de https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/?authuser=1#report/defaultid/a84436700w126412900p130032300/ 8. google maps. (2016). api de google maps para web. obtenido de https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/?hl=es419 9. honorable gobierno provincial de tungurahua. (2016). tungurahua un destino turístico. obtenido de http://www.tungurahua.gob.ec/index.php/informativo-hgpt/principales/1472-un-trabajo-mancomunado-para-ofrecer-espaciosalternativos 10. ministerio de turismo. (2016). ministerio de turismo de tungurahua. obtenido de http://www.ambato.gob.ec/etiqueta/ministerio-deturismo 11. negi.org. (2016). sistemas de coordenadas. obtenido de o. e. paredes / the academic research community publication pg. 9 http://www.inegi.org.mx/inegi/spc/doc/internet/sistema_de_coordenadas.pdf 12. oriol, i. (2006). visión estratégica de las organizaciones virtuales en el turismo. aprovechamiento de las tecnologías de la comunicación y la información en la competitividad de las empresas turísticas. obtenido de http://estadisticas.tourspain.es/img-iet/revistas/ret-142-1999-pag73-84-83560.pdf 13. qgis.org. (2016). qgis the leading open source desktop gis. obtenido de http://www.qgis.org/es/site/about/index.html 14. qgis.org. (2016). trabajando con datos vectoriales. obtenido de http://docs.qgis.org/2.2/es/docs/training_manual/basic_map/vector_data.html 15. sanz, s. (18 de 10 de 2007). imagen global e intenciones futuras de comportamiento del turista de segunda residencia. obtenido de https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=2726969 16. valles, d. (2000). las tecnologías de la información y el turismo. españa: http://estadisticas.tourspain.es/img-iet/revistas/ret-142-1999pag3-24-83551.pdf. issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication http://www.ierek.com/press designing an ontology to describe ecological cycling routes within the province of tungurahua cristina páez quinde1, efrén r. narváez peña2, margarita narváez ríos1, fernanda viteri toro1, francisco torres oñate1, ruth infante paredes1 1facultad de ciencias humanas y de la educación, universidad técnica de ambato. email (mc.paez, mm.narvaez, mf.viteri, cf.torres, rutheinfantep)@uta.edu.ec 1universidad técnica particular de loja – ecuador. email. ernarvaezl@utpl.edu.ec keywords ontology; tourism, tourism routes, rdf, rdfs, owl. abstract tourism, a significant industry worldwide, has allowed for economic, social, and cultural development in rural areas because of all the advantages it offers to tourists. ecuador is a country that presents a wide range of alternatives in the tourist field allowing a massive tourist influx to many of its destinations such as indigenous communities, natural reserves, and tourist, ecological, and volcanic routes. most importantly, ecuador encourages the conservation of the diversity resulting from such influx. the objective of this research is to design an ontology which facilitates a description of the bicycle tourist routes in the province of tungurahua, and specifically in the city of ambato. apart from route descriptions, this ontology gives information about the flora and fauna and places of interest such as inns, hotels, and restaurants that can be found along this route. this ontology was developed based on the application and enforcement of semantic web technologies. that being said, all the described information is attached to an rdf vocabulary and it can be accessed using sparql. therefore, information that is semantically described in an organized and standardized manner is available in order to allow for interoperability with other existing data sources. as for the development of the ontology, the methodology used was an open code software known as “protégé”. the owl (ontology web language) was also used as marked language and rdfs for the description of the employed vocabulary. 1. introduction tourism is a field in constant development. therefore, the appearance of new technologies and specifically that of the semantic web have had a great impact among tourist agents and each and every one of its processes (barta, feilmayr, pro¨ ll, gru¨ n, & werthner, 2009). affected was also the quality of information on the web and giving place to the appearance of the semantic web. this technology gives machines a level of understanding on the web to know what the user needs in an easy and natural way. the huge amount of information that is related to the tourist industry, the decentralization and lack of standardization in this field hinders the labor of the agents or tourist services when offering the users updated information on demand. the technologies of information and communication based on semantic web have had an important and fundamental role in the field, promoting complex products that are able to satisfy the demand of the different types of travelers regardless of their preferences (zhong, zhu, li, & yu, 2002). thus, it is necessary to examine various sources of information before offering the traveler a route proposal, product or tourist destination, and lists of cultural, ancestral or leisure activities (niemann, mochol, & tolksdorf, 2008). seen from this perspective, all the information available in big data stores on the web have increased and have become decentralized, hence making it indispensable to take the challenge of locating, administrating, processing and integrating all that amount of information that is considered relevant in this area (zavarella, tanev, steinberger, doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.250 danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 2 & van der goot, 2015). nevertheless, it is important to consider that this information has been generated without any control or organization. as a result, it has become necessary to develop a kind of technology which allows the processing of all these contents from the semantic point of view for its classification and proper use (flügge & tourtchaninova, 2004). in accordance with all the above, semantic web is defined asan important area in the field of web technologies which gives a very well-defined meaning to information (gontier, 2015), allowing computers to acquire a level of simple understanding of the web (carroll, et al., 2004). at the same time, it performs activities given by the user naturally. this technology provides the capability to integrate all the diverse data sources and get more specific and precise search results as well as minimize time and resources since there is an automation of very complex tasks for human beings (brunner, et al., 2007). 2. state of art a tourist route is characterized by a promotion of new knowledge in the area, with the purpose of gaining tourism attention as the place develops due to the multiple ways that search to venture inside a determined market (araújo & fraiz, 2017). that being said, and as time goes by, different types of tourism arise. despite being pleasant in nature, these types are declared necessary mechanisms. as a result, tourist bicycle routes emerge as an entertaining alternative. moreover, when a tourist takes a tour and analyzes connections and areas of tourist fluxes, cultural interest arises and natural spaces and population increase (fernández, 2015). this creates an attachment between the individual/tourist and the experiences recreational activities provide since they are performed on occasions, during vacations, free time or simply as routine. when taking a bicycle route, the tourist chooses a more sensitive experience and appreciates the environment due to direct contact with it without any vehicular access. in order to be exposed to climate conditions and nature, tourist regions propose, besides maintaing a personal connection and tranquility, that riding a bicycle helps in capturing the rhythm and essence of life when a person goes through stress or tension (gongonçalves, corrêa, da silva carmo, & toro, 2016). serra (2016), states that tourism on a bicycle is thought of or is categorized as inferior. however, in the future, this is expected to change since it does not only invigorate economy, but it is also respectful of the environment. thus, this type of tourism results in a determined sector being compromised in offering high quality services. as the tourist has the opportunity of keeping direct contact with natural and cultural attractions, the visitor on a bicycle is a potential client of tourist places and hotels that takes this activity as a method/ route to a particular objective depending on the researcher and his/her ability to establish connections on different points such as on roads, mountains, paths (with or without vegetation). needless to say, cycling facilitates a coexistence with the population that offers harmony, value, and respect for the place where the activity is being done. the bicycle is a non polluting mean of transport which promotes sustainable tourism with respectful habits towards the natural environment. it offers protection of local communities and its traditions as well as provides socio-economic benefits in the under-developed areas. that being said, cycle-tourism is becoming an important segment for opportunities of diversification and development (moral, 2016). taking tourist cycling routes provides the visitor with bigger access to the natural site due to easy access to places that do not have enough spaces for vehicles (mrnjavac, kovačić, & topolšek, 2014). they also provide a method of organizing tourist servers in an improved way by using better signals, more information, and caring for the environment among other things. saldanha, fraga, & peixoto de sequeira santos (2015) consider that in the paquetá island, in rio de janeiro, known as “the bicycle’s island” has the implementation of cycle lanes with technological applications and mobile internet usage sources such as qr codes so that the tourist has the chance to find strategic locations when lost. as a result, the tourist becomes curious to practice cycle-tourism turning it into a tourist activity and another way of sightseeing. at the same time, it offers support for the tourist in finding a tourist route and other general aspects such as the duration, length, climate conditions, signs and orientation of the place. it makes clear connections with other interesting places and services near to the routes used. on the other hand, a research held in costa rica states that a cycling lane is more accepted by tourists in natural places that are organized by certain tour operators which promote the activity such as the arenal volcano, guanacaste, and the atlantic zone with flora and fauna species which encourage cycling (ledezma, 2016). moreover, cycle-tourism has been taken as an alternative of development in many european countries where it has been taken as an option for people who know and value nature and the benefits that riding a bicycle offers. it is preferred because new ways of fighting consumerism are being found. this, exactly, is what happens in the alicante province where acceptable conditions have been established to make cycle-tourism as its duration, landscape, infrastructure and primary services cover the tourists’expectations. the place has a cyclist tradition which encourages practicing the activity (soler, 2016). according to rodríguez (2016), cycling starts as a territorial sport or practice which is established by the geography or development of the place. relating to a territory, it is a way of interaction with the landscape, sports, flora and danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 3 fauna where the person experiments security with a controlled effort as it depends on the speed and rhythm of the bicycle and the user. the cycling lane is part of an activity that requires will, capability, a good mood and physical state to perform within the grounds of a marked tourist route. with this modality, the tourist appreciates cycling from another point of view where all the aspects are related with the route in a cycle or chain circuit because as the route is taken and completed the environment will be made familiar as normally a cycle tourist practices it to know themselves and nature. in the tourist field, and along the years, it become possible to develop a large number of data catalogues and at the same time taxonomies which facilitate the information processing of all the tourist agents, knowing that its use has been internal and without implementing standards or rules that govern them (berners, 2011). inside the ict, diverse tourist ontologies have been developed, both, public and private. considering that many of these have an advanced maturity level that represent not only generic aspects in the tourist field, but also subdomains that are even more specific than the ones which describe more concrete sceneries as this ontologythat is considered in the local environment (srinivas & akerkar, 2008). 3. methodology 3.1. semantic modeling of ontology gómez and suárez offer methodological guidelines based on scenarios that are used to model and develop ontologies (2009). in their guidelines they describe a series of 9 scenarios in which an ontology can be modeled. in this paper, we select scenario 1, which allows us to specify the requirements to be fulfilled by the ontology and scenario 3 for the reuse of ontological and existing resources. the developed ontology is small in size and punctual within the domain it represents. 3.1.1. domain analysis in the development of ontologies, the first step is to identify the domain of the information to be represented. it is most appropriate to draw on expert knowledge, taking advantage of existing categorizations or classifications. for the description of ecological touristic routes, we use the classifications that the book "manual of hiking" and the web page wikiloc provide. all this is done with the purpose of making a correct definition of the classes and properties that ontology must have in order to describe fully and correctly the selected domain. 3.1.2. requirement definitions the purpose of constructing this ontology is to test a model of consensual knowledge for the description of ecological touristic routes. it can be used by the general public that wishes to know the ecological routes that are there in tungurahua, specifically in ambato. two non-functional requirements are defined by the ontology.  ontology must be modular, which means that it allows the addition of new classes, properties and reuse.  ontology must be developed in english, as this is the language in which the vast majority of ontologies are developed. potential final ontology users:  software developers  government organizations  touristic providers potential uses:  make available to software developers a semantic database with routes and tourist sites that can be used in web or mobile applications.  search for alternative routes with greater diversity of flora and fauna in its path. the markup language selected for the implementation of the ontology is owl which has 3 sublanguages from which owl lite has been selected. danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 4 the selection of ontology vocabularies has been developed following the recommendations made by the w3c as best practices for the vocabularies selection. to find these vocabularies we use an open vocabulary searcher called "linked open vocabularies" lov. the first step is to define a conceptual model of the ontology to be developed using natural language to be able to identify the classes and their relationships between properties or other classes. figure 1 conceptual model on work domain 3.2. definition of ontology vocabulary following the work of piedra, cadme, and chicaiza, when modeling the domain it requires the following activities and tasks (2014). 3.3. ontological resources re-use one of the means to collaborate in the integration of resources within the web is the reuse of existing vocabularies. the vocabularies listed below are those that will be reused.  rdf schema, and owl, to write the vocabulary.  dbpedia ontology: this ontology is generated from the specifications created manually in the dbpedia mappings wiki. each version of this ontology corresponds to a newer version of the dbpedia dataset that contains instance data extracted from different language versions of wikipedia.  bio top: a high-level ontology that provides definitions for key biomedical entities as a basic vocabulary to unambiguously describe the facts in this area.  schema: this vocabulary will reuse the concept to model the place class, as well as data properties and relationships between classes.  geo: a basic rdf vocabulary that offers the semantic web community a namespace to represent latitude, longitude, and other information about things, using wgs84 as reference data.  foaf: vocabulary developed to represent people with their attributes and relationships to other concepts, especially organizations.  npg: a formal vocabulary that provides definitions for key concepts of interest, which helps to publish content in education and science.  uta open vocabulary: created specifically for this work, it makes it possible to describe those attributes, properties and entities that have not been modeled previously in other vocabularies on the web. danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 2 approximation of the conceptual model description and it must be expressed in rdf language, so it can be continued in the linked data cloud. figure 3 shows the model that represents the ecological tourist routes in ambato. for this domino model, classes of vocabularies like scheme, foaf, dbpedia-owl npg, fgeo were used. these languages are described in the classes and relationships. ontology. figure 1 semantic model of data to describe touristic routes in ambato danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 6 table 1. class of ecological tourist routes class description route represents the route that exists from a place of origin to a destination origin represents the starting point or beginning of the route leading to the selected destination. destination represents the end of the route place it represents all places of interest that can be found along a route like parks, reservations or other places of interest for the visitors. living organism it represents all living organisms that live along a route, highlighting the biodiversity in the area where the route is. organism group it represents the group to which the living organisms that inhabit the route belong, whether they are within the flora and fauna of the area. to develop the ontology, we used protégé, which is a tool that allows us to represent our model in an owl and rdf language. it will later provide an rdfs for the conversion of triplets. when using protégé, you create the route, place, origin, destination, living organism, and organism group classes. similarly, data properties have been created to describe properties of classes. object properties have also been created and they represent the relationships between the modeled entities. figure 2 ontological model created on protégé with this first approximation, the ontological model retaining the whole cycle for the semantic description of the tourist routes in the city of ambato is obtained, which will form the basis for the process of publication of tourist information in the linked data cloud. 4. conclusion the research shows the development of an ontology that identifies the tourist routes in the city of ambato by natural and landscape spaces, from the initial phase of identification of the information obtained within the research to the tests of the concept developed in an instance within the ontology. the use of conceptual stability focused on the education sector and the integration of all the information that is possessed of the city of ambato in the tourism sector once reliability and precision of the results are granted. through the development of ontology, one can appreciate the level of maturity of the technologies that are part of the semantic web and the different programming languages that are used for its development through different types of properties. danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 7 for future work, we put a test ontology alongside the introduction 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(2002). conceptual graph matching for semantic search. lecture notes in computer science, 92. http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication spatial analysis of public services (schools) in nablus city using the tool of geographic information system (gis) taher j.t. moghayer1, ali abdelhamid2, wang xingping1 1school of architecture, southeast university, no.2, sipailou road, nanjing, 210096, china 2school of architecture, an-najah national university, nablus, palestine keywords spatial analysis ; gis; schools; palestine; spss abstract this paper basically aims to study the existing public services (schools) in nablus city in terms of their capability, distribution and suitability for the urban expansion and population growth in the city. this paper includes a comprehensive survey of all schools in the city in order to provide a database of this service, in addition to data about the number of students, teachers and architectural characteristics of the building and their services. it also measures the level of satisfaction of such public services was measured through the results of the questionnaire distributed to a random sample of students. the methodology of the study was based mainly on the descriptive and analytical research methods by using the tool of geographic information system (gis) and the statistical package for social sciences (spss) as well as using certain geographic models like nearest neighbor analysis. the results of the study indicated the existence of randomness in the distribution of schools in nablus city due to the absence of proper planning and reference to planning regulations. in addition, the study showed the lack of efficiency and capability of such services. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) peer-reviewed under responsibility of archive's, the academic research community, publication 1. introduction the importance of urban planning is that it’s a comprehensive study of all aspects that affect the formation of the urban environment,(yaakup & sulaiman, 2007) which include urban form, economic, social and administrative. it also helps in providing public services to the population such as education, health and other services, (scholten & stillwell, 2013). furthermore the importance of proper planning of land use and how to distribute the public services in a scientific and systematic manner because it is a priority for developing societies. nowadays there are several softwares that could support decision makers and planners and help them analyze and control the data such as gis (rahaman & salauddin, 2009), which can be used for many different purposes in public services to meet the population’s needs (attfield, tamiru, parolin, & de grauwe, 2002) (abusada & thawaba, 2011). nablus city and other palestinian cities suffer from indiscriminate distribution of public services including educational services as well as failure to observe the planning criteria for these services. this is due to several conditions, (shaheen, 2013) including inadequate government land allocated to these services and lack of financial resources to purchase private land and other political factors such as the lack of control over land as a result of israeli occupation (abdulhadi, 1990). the aims of this study is to help improve the existing public services (schools) in nablus city in terms of capability, distribution and suitability for the urban expansion and population growth in the city, which includes a comprehensive survey of all the schools in the city in order to provide a database for this service. the level of satisfaction of such public services was measured through the results of the questionnaire distributed to a random doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.227 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ taher j.t. moghayer / the academic research community publication pg. 2 sample of students. it also determines the population’s need for the educational service in the future because nablus city has rapid population growth. 2. data and methodology the research methodology is divided into five steps:  general survey and theoretical framework: this stage includes a survey of the study area, concepts, models and theories that are related to the subject of this study.  data collection: this stage includes collecting the descriptive and spatial data depending on the formality statics, reports, interview, observation and questionnaire.  data preparation: this stage includes data processing, coding and data entry, and dropping data collected on digital maps and tables to carry out an analysis this data by using arcgis10.2 software and the program of statistical package for social sciences spss.  spatial and quantitative analysis: in this stage, the current reality of the educational service distribution was analysed and the problems and vulnerabilities faced with developing proposals and appropriate solutions and perceptions of the future were identified.  results and conclusion: this stage evaluates the results and develops recommendations in order to get rid of the problems of the educational services sector. finally, view the study's conclusion and recommendation of this study. 2.1. study area the study consists of educational services (schools) within the boundaries of nablus city except the camps. the study area also was divided into nine sections of each section representing a neighborhood. the sections were separated according to the streets that separated the neighborhood and the other. the field survey was conducted for all the surrounding area as shown in (figure 1). figure 1 study area taher j.t. moghayer / the academic research community publication pg. 3 3. the spatial and statistical analysis 3.1. nearest neighbor analysis it is based on the study of the distribution of educational services (schools) in the neighborhood to understand the pattern of distribution which is clustered, random, or regular, which helps to make a proper future plan and the following equation can be applied in the study of the nearest neighbor analysis: r=(2*d)*n/a r= nearest neighbor analysis d = average distance between points (real distance) and the average is the distance between points and divide it by the number of readings (measurements). n = number of service location points. a = area of the search area. the value of the nearest neighbor analysis ranges from 0-2.15 where the quantitative meaning has a clear and specific meaning distribution mode if the value is nearly zero. this means it is clustered and if the value is nearly 2.15, this means the height of the spread, therefore (appendix 1) shows the pattern of distribution of schools. figure 2 shows the neighborhood affiliation of the schools in the study area and according to the correlation equation, the total distance between the school sites in the study area is equal to (25500)m and the number of schools is (85). the land area of the studied location is equal to (28690932) m2 and is derived from the nearest neighbor analysis equation: (0.0017770) near zero, this means that the pattern of distribution of schools is clustered in the total study area and in the neighborhoods. figure 2 distributions of schools taher j.t. moghayer / the academic research community publication pg. 4 3.2. statistical analysis: nablus city has a population of about (153097) people and (85) schools with (34149) students. about (16903) of them are males and (17246) are females. the percentage of education in nablus city is (0.22305 %) by dividing the total number of students on the population. the statistical analysis will be achieved by dividing the city into deparate neighborhoods. the following (appendix 2) shows the distribution of schools in the study areas, the number of students who are studying in these schools, and the number of students who live outside the neighborhood and who study in nearby schools but are not affiliated with their neighborhood. it is, therefore, good to study the schools that are located within the neighborhood in which the students live in order to facilitate and control the efficiency of distributing the services. aljabal alshamali, albalda alqadema, almakhfeya, almasakin, al-dawar and adahya neighborhood have a large number of students who study there but come from different neighborhoods. ras alain, rafidya and almanteqa alsenaeya neighborhoods are also sought out by a large number of students who live outside of these neighborhoods, which causes overcrowding and lack of control and efficiency of education. appendix 3 indicates the neighborhoods’ area and the population numbers and the density. appendix 4 shows the standards of primary, middle and secondary schools in the palestinian ministry of education. appendix 5-13 show the standards that match with the schools. 3.3. the level of satisfaction in order to obtain results on the level of satisfaction of the educational services provided to the students, a questionnaire was used. about (380) questionnaires were distributed to students in (85) schools. the number of valid questionnaire for analysis is (300). (table 1) shows students satisfaction in the distance between the school’s location and the living place. the data indicates that 53% of the suitables think the schooling is suitable, 34% think schools are acceptable, and 13% think they are not suitable. table 2 shows what the students think of the school building. about 43% of them think that the school building is suitable, 41% feel it’s acceptable, and about 16% believe it’s not suitable. table 3 shows the possibility of leaving the building in case of emergency. 44% said it is suitable, 38.7% of respondents said it’s acceptable while 17% said it’s not suitable. table 1 distance between the school location and the living place frequency percent suitable 159 53 acceptable 102 34 not suitable 39 13 total 300 100 table 2 the view of the students on the school building frequency percent suitable 129 43 acceptable 123 41 not suitable 48 16 total 300 100 table 3 the possibility of leaving building in case of emergency frequency percent suitable 133 44.3 acceptable 116 38.7 not suitable 51 17 total 300 100 taher j.t. moghayer / the academic research community publication pg. 5 4. discussion and result: in rafidya, almakhfeya, ras al-ain, and al-dawar neighborhood, according to the data, the location of the school doesn’t meet the required standards so we recommend that the location is moved to a site that is suitable for the number of students who have study in this school. additionally, the schools in albalda alqadema neighborhood are not meeting the required standards of primary school and the student's proportion of the built up area and the student's proportion of the total area of the site also doesn’t meet the standard. therefore, we suggest that the location should be suitable for the number of students who have study in these schools, moreover the number of students in each class also is not suitable. the same could be said about schools in almanteqa alsenaeya neighborhood, adahya neighborhood, aljabal alshamali neighborhood, and almasakin neighborhood. as for almakhfeya, al-dawar, albalda alqadema, adahya, aljabal alshamali, and almasakin neighborhoods, we recommend that new schools be built in these area including primary, middle and secondary schools because most of the students in those neighborhoods seek schools elsewhere. 5. conclusion and recommendation the study area suffers from poor efficiency in providing educational services. most school sites were not based on prior planning, but according to the availability of the land and the conditions of financial support. the analysis of the neighborhood link method shows that most educational services are clustered. moreover, the lack of administrative management from the ministry of education fails to distribute the students according to the geographical location, which leads to poor services in some areas of the neighborhoods in the city. it’s necessary to identify local planning regulations for public services in nablus city in particular and in other palestinian cities in general. it’s also necessary to establish a spatial planning department at the ministry of education who will be responsible for the distribution and planning of educational services as well as applying the planning regulations according to the population growth and geographic features of the settlements. appendix a1 pattern of distribution of schools location ed n ed/n 2*d a/m 2 n/a r=(2*d)*n/a r rafidya 3750 15 250 500 3683847 0.0000041 0.00205 clustered almakhfeya 2710 7 387.1 774.2 2348267 0.0000290 0.00224 clustered ras al-ain 3890 19 204.7 409.4 2342513 0.0000081 0.00033 clustered al-dawar 100 2 50 100 371322 0.0000053 0.00053 clustered albalda alqadema 815 8 101.8 203.7 379617 0.0000210 0.00427 clustered almanteqa alsenaeya 4600 7 657.1 1314.2 9272829 0.0000007 0.00092 clustered adahya 1100 5 220 440 653070 0.0000076 0.00334 clustered aljabal alshamali 7300 19 384.2 768.4 6023911 0.0000031 0.00238 clustered almasakin 400 3 133.3 266.6 3615556 0.0000008 0.000213 clustered nablus 25500 85 300 600 2869093 2 0.0000029 0.001777 clustered a 2 distribution of schools in the study areas & the number of students taher j.t. moghayer / the academic research community publication pg. 6 location no of schools no of students in neighborhood no of students study in neighborhood schools no of students are going study out neighborhood no of students are outside coming to study in the neighborhood schools rafidya 15 3546 8209 0 4663 almakhfeya 7 3341 2510 831 0 ras al-ain 19 5704 6714 0 1010 al-dawar 2 2381 690 1691 0 albalda alqadema 8 4813 3810 1003 0 almanteqa alsenaeya 7 1063 3726 0 2663 adahya 5 2944 1052 1892 0 aljabal alshamali 19 7576 6239 1337 0 almasakin 3 2778 1261 1517 0 a 3neighborhoods area &no of population & density location area m2 nu of population density p/km2 rafidya 3683847 15897 4310 almakhfesya 2348267 14979 6370 ras al-ain 2342513 25573 10910 al-dawar 371322 10678 28750 albalda alqadema 379617 21582 56850 almanteqa alsenaeya 9272829 4766 520 adahya 653070 13199 2021 aljabal alshamali 6023911 33664 5630 almasakin 3615556 12459 3440 a 4 the standards of schools item primary school middle school secondary school no of students 20-700 440-560 180-540 location area m2 2000-7000 4000-5400 1800-5400 build up area m2 800-3000 1400-2300 800-2300 location area m2/student 10 10 10 build up area m2/student 1.57 1.57 1.57 taher j.t. moghayer / the academic research community publication pg. 7 no of class room 6-18 12-15 6-18 no of students in class room 37 37 30 a 5 rafidya neighborhood schools match withthe standards item primary school middle school secondary school no of schools 2* 8* 5* no of students 192* 3923* 4094* location area m2 1252** 17786** 18070** build up area m2 515* 12798* 13557* location area m2/student 6.5** 4.5** 4.4** build up area m2/student 2.6* 3.3* 3.3* no of class room 9* 114* 114* no of students in class room 22* 35* 36* * relevant standard ** not standard a 6 almakhfeya neighborhood schools match withthe standards item primary school middle school secondary school no of schools 2* 3* 2* no of students 416* 1117* 977* location area m2 2319** 4749** 4937** build up area m2 792* 2501* 4136* location area m2/student 5.5** 4.2** 5** build up area m2/student 2* 2.2* 4.2* no of class room 11* 31* 29* no of students in class room 34* 36* 38* * relevant standard ** not standard a 7 ras al-ain neighborhood schools match withthe standards item primary school middle school secondary school no of schools 9* 3* 7* no of students 2024* 974* 3716* taher j.t. moghayer / the academic research community publication pg. 8 location area m2 8976** 6764** 26874** build up area m2 4951* 5321* 15170* location area m2/student 4.4** 6.9** 7.2** build up area m2/student 2.4* 5.4* 4* no of class room 65* 29* 102* no of students in class room 37* 34* 31* * relevant standard ** not standard a 8 al-dawar neighborhood schools match withthe standards item primary school middle school secondary school no of schools 1* 0 1* no of students 156* 0 534* location area m2 482** 0 3000** build up area m2 325* 0 2800* location area m2/student 3** 0 5.6** build up area m2/student 2* 0 5* no of class room 6* 0 13* no of students in class room 26* 0 41* * relevant standard ** not standard a 9 albalda alqadema neighborhood schools match withthe standards item primary school middle school secondary school no of schools 2* 2* 4* no of students 555* 964* 2291* location area m2 3528** 6664* 9596* build up area m2 742* 2566* 6587* location area m2/student 6.4** 7** 4.2** build up area m2/student 1.4** 2.6* 2.9* no of class room 16* 25* 61* no of students in class room 38** 39* 35* * relevant standard ** not standard taher j.t. moghayer / the academic research community publication pg. 9 a 10 almanteqa alsenaeya neighborhood schools match withthe standards item primary school middle school secondary school no of schools 2* 2* 3* no of students 731* 1073* 1922* location area m2 3509** 5674** 59536* build up area m2 3006* 4230* 8980* location area m2/student 4.8** 5.2** 30.9* build up area m2/student 4.1* 3.9* 4.6* no of class room 21* 30* 50* no of students in class room 35* 36* 39* * relevant standard ** not standard a 11 adahya neighborhood schools match withthe standards item primary school middle school secondary school no of schools 4* 1* 0 no of students 486* 566* 0 location area m2 1570** 1140** 0 build up area m2 832* 1640** 0 location area m2/student 3.2* 2** 0 build up area m2/student 1.7* 2.9* 0 no of class room 23* 16* 0 no of students in class room 22* 36* 0 * relevant standard ** not standard a 12 aljabal alshamali neighborhood schools match withthe standards item primary school middle school secondary school no of schools 10* 4* 5* no of students 1591* 1543* 3105* location area m2 14260** 20324* 16590** taher j.t. moghayer / the academic research community publication pg. 10 build up area m2 6931* 5624* 13359* location area m2/student 9** 13* 5.3** build up area m2/student 4.4* 3.6* 4.3* no of class room 81* 53* 86* no of students in class room 20* 29* 36* * relevant standard ** not standard a 13 almasakin neighborhood schools match withthe standards item primary school middle school secondary school no of schools 1* 1* 1* no of students 70** 695** 559* location area m2 150** 5000** 5700* build up area m2 100* 2400* 1730* location area m2/student 2.1** 7.1** 10.1* build up area m2/student 1.4* 3.4* 3.1* no of class room 2* 20* 15* no of students in class room 35* 35* 37* * relevant standard ** not standard references 1. abdulhadi, r. s. (1990). land use planning in the occupied palestinian territories. journal of palestine studies, 19(4), 46-63. 2. abusada, j., & thawaba, s. (2011). multi criteria analysis for locating sustainable suburban centers: a case study from ramallah governorate, palestine. cities, 28(5), 381-393. 3. attfield, i., tamiru, m., parolin, b., & de grauwe, a. (2002). improving micro-planning in education through a geographical information system: studies on ethiopia and palestine. school mapping and local-level planning: eric. 4. rahaman, k. r., & salauddin, m. (2009). a spatial analysis on the provision of urban public services and their deficiencies: a study of some selected blocks in khulna city, bangladesh. theoretical and empirical researches in urban management, 120. 5. scholten, h. j., & stillwell, j. (2013). geographical information systems for urban and regional planning (vol. 17): springer science & business media. 6. shaheen, l. (2013). rapid urbanization and the challenge of sustainable urban development in palestinian cities. paper presented at the proceedings of world academy of science, engineering and technology. 7. yaakup, a., & sulaiman, s. (2007). gis as new approach and method in preparing and implementing the development plan in malaysian planning system. jurnal alam bina, jilid, 9. http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 what is related to towns’ prospering and decaying in pennsylvania? bianjie ji1, zhiyue xia2 1department of landscape architecture, the pennsylvania state university 2department of ecosystem science and management, the pennsylvania state university athese authors contribute equally keywords rural development; principle component analysis abstract this research aims to compare those degenerate towns and cities with booming ones to find out the strategies for rural and regional developments and help the decision-making through regional planning. different from studies that only focus on decaying towns, this paper does not neglect those prosperous ones but compare the significant differences between them. the methods include 1) principal component analysis (pcv) to create development index (di) for every county subdivision from 2000 to 2015; and 2) spatial and temporal analysis to find whether some spatial patterns exist. development index (di) is the core standard to evaluate some location’s development. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) peer-reviewed under responsibility of archive's, the academic research community, publication 1. introduction nowadays, in terms of sustainability, considerable amounts of urban planners and researchers focus on the physical spaces of cities shirking rural areas and other social factors. however, whether a city is sustainable relies more on environmental, social and economic issues[3]. to achieve that, it is fundamental to analyze it at a bigger regional scale since there’s an intimate relationship between urbanization and environmental sustainability [4]. meanwhile, some factor, for example, economic development, is not only an indispensable part of sustainability but also a motivation to move cities forward. in such a big regional scale, however, when zooming in, a city is too big to dig out to check development status and reasons. usually, researchers use counties, tracts or blocks as boundaries. here, the scale of towns will be used because the initial research purpose to zoom in widely-neglecting townships. all the boroughs, townships, municipalities and cities are studied. for each year, there are 2573 records in the past 15 years (2000 2015). some towns in pennsylvania are decaying resulting from complicated reasons, for example, the shrink of industry and the diminution of the population. in contrast, other pennsylvania towns survive and even boom. to find part of reasons for this phenomenon, thus, a model is built to evaluate a town’s development level in terms of education, medical care, economy and social characteristics. then, different metrics of towns are analyzed to check whether relationships between specific factors and town’s development exist. many researchers blame town’s decay to the decline of the steel industry. that might be true. nonetheless, we care more about recent ‘peaceful’ years without rapid change to find out the exact reasons to pull or push towns’ development. this research aims at comparing those degenerate towns with booming ones to find out the strategies for rural and regional developments and help the decision-making through the regional planning. different from studies that only focus on decaying towns, those prosperous ones will not be neglected but be compared with the significant differences between them. because ‘role models’ can inspire urban planners while decaying towns give them lessons. for example, a town in tallinn experiences decaying. those old buildings made of carbonate doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.230 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ bianjie ji / the academic research community publication pg. 2 stones release air pollution. however, the renovation plan at the town’s scale makes no progress [5]. to renew a town is a big challenge. the problem towns facing is complicated. townships, regions, trade, and environment have complex spatial economy [6]. thus, most statistic data (population, housing units, education percentage, health insurance percentage ……) of pennsylvania are collected from u.s. census[1], which cover various fields in comprehensive developing aspects. data from 2010 to 2015 are highly detailed as well as the year of 2000 while comprehensive data from 2002 to 2009 are not available from united states census bureau. the probable reason is that the bureau gathered and analyzed data every five years before the year of 2010. but we can still draw an approximate conclusion since data of the year of 2000 are accessible. 1. methods 1.1 data this study focuses on the spatial relations and different attributes contributing to the towns’ thriving and shriveling. development of a township, a borough or even a city is correlated with many attributes including population, employment status, local education, public facility, and medical facilities. u.s. census publicized statistical data in county subdivision scale of every state from 2000 to 2015. pennsylvania department of health publicized county healthy profile on their website every year from 1998 to present [2]. 12 representative data are selected from plentiful data sets from 2010 to 2015 and 2000, 8 years’ data in total. 12 representative data include three data sets of population and age groups, two of education and employment, three data sets of economic, two of housing conditions, one migration, and one medical treatment. total population, the percent of population under 18 years old, and the percent of population over 65 years old are used to represent characteristics of population and age groups distribution. the percent of people holding bachelor’s degree or higher represents local educational quality. the ratio of the amount of employment and total labor in force is used to evaluate employment status. household income, percent of poverty households （annual income is less than $25,000）, and values of houses are selected to evaluate local economy. percent of households that have comprehensive plump networks and percent of vacant units among the towns represent housing conditions. moving-in population in a year is also selected because it reflects whether the town attracts people from other places. the amount of hospitals, nursing homes and drug and alcohol treatments in a county is used to evaluate the medical level of county subdivisions. these 12 data are selected to be considered as factors related to the development of sub-counties. 1.2 principal component analysis principal component analysis (pca) is a dimension reduction model to extract most vital information from multiple variables [7]. pca eliminates multiple correlations in the data interior to calculate orthogonal components. principal components are a few of orthogonal components, which explain most of the variances. in this research, through principal component analysis, four factors are extracted from twelve variables, which are explained 71.545% variance (table 2). factor scores of these four principal components are stored for developing a new index to evaluate the overall performance of a township, a borough or a city. table2. total variance explained by orthogonal components bianjie ji / the academic research community publication pg. 3 2.3 development index (di) principal components analysis method to reduce the dimension of data is collected. then we create an index named a developing index for every borough, township, municipality, and city. pca-based indices are effectively used for socio-economic status study. pca-based indices also make it easy to classify all samples to several cluster groups [8]. the developing index represents a relative degree of developing and sustainability of the town. we define a development index using weighted principal factor scores, in which the weight is the percent of variance explained by every factor. in this study, four principal components are extracted, so, four factors are used to calculate di (2.1). di  p1 * fs1  p2 * fs 2  p3 * fs3  p4 * fs 4 (2.1) di: develop index pn: percent of variance explained by factor n fsn: factor score of factor n di reflects a comprehensive performance of a town comparing with others. in order to analyze each factors’ contribution to di, we return back to pca factors and obtain an equation using factor score coefficient matrix. di and original twelve factors equation are shown (2.2). 2.4 spatial analysis using gis to analyze whether those decaying towns or prosperous towns have spatial relations or the reasons behind this. when we get the statistic results of every borough, township, municipality, and city, we plot them on the map of pennsylvania to better show whether spatial relationship exists, in other words, whether there’s some certain pattern with a spatial connection, or whether there are some ‘peculiar’ spots appealing to our eyes. the detailed steps include: a) arranging all the data including the index in micro-soft excel; b) joining this excel table (using geo-id to match the data) to the pennsylvania map with comprehensive administrative units (boroughs, townships, municipalities, and cities); and 3) plotting out the data by five categories based on standard deviation. figure. 1 workflow bianjie ji / the academic research community publication pg. 4 1. results 1.1 statistical analysis table 1 yearly index percentage 2000 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 level1 0.16 0.35 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.27 0.19 level2 2.65 1.44 1.52 1.36 0.89 0.86 1.13 level3 61.85 39.67 36.57 34.45 32.62 30.43 27.72 level4 26.62 42.08 44.46 45.92 47.57 49.24 50.80 level5 6.74 10.66 11.31 12.01 12.43 12.83 13.27 level6 1.56 4.05 3.96 4.16 4.16 4.39 4.87 level7 0.43 1.75 1.87 1.79 2.02 1.98 2.02 every year’s data are divided into several categories (level 1, level 2, level 3, level 4, level 5, level 6, and level7). these categories are relative percentages that mean the number falling into this category divided by the this year’s total record. the range for every category is based on the standard deviation (sd). level 1 is the index below 2.5 sds while level 7 is the index above 2.5 sds. level 2 is the index from -2.5 sds to -1.5 sds, level 3 is from -1.5 sds to 0.5 sd, level 4 is from -0.5 sd to 0.5 sd, level 5 is from 0.5 sd to 1.5 sds, and level 6 is from 1.5 sds to 2.5 sds. from level 1 to level 7, the performance index goes up, which means the overall performance of all 12 factors goes better. for example, level 7 demonstrates the best performance while level 1 is the worst. from 2000 to 2015, moderate performance (level 4) and slightly above moderate one keep ascending. meanwhile, slight below moderate performance (level 3) continues dropping. in general, the overall performance goes up from the year of 2000 to the year of 2010. so, is pennsylvania decaying or developing at the state’s (regional) scale? the answer is positive. 12 factors are analyzed. their normalized values demonstrate how much a particular factor contributes to the overall performance (index). the following factors have positive impacts on development: total population, 65 years above, employment, income, immigration, house value, plumbing, and health. however, the number of kids under 18 years old, poverty and house vacancy have negative effects on the development. education has the most impact on town’s decay or boom, as table 2 shows. table 2 index normalized variables coefficient metrics overall index for whole population 0.119 percent of population under 18 years old -0.0755 percent of population over 65 years old 0.0687 percent of population who own bachelor's degree or higher 0.139 employment/population ratio 0.024 mean income (dollars) 0.116 migration 0.116 percent of poverty -0.054 house value 0.107 house vacancy rate -0.038 plumping 0.120 health facilities 0.122 bianjie ji / the academic research community publication pg. 5 3.2 spatial analysis in this part, spatial pattern is studied to find whether there are some spatial relations between those decaying towns and cities or their counterparts. for the year of 2000, the urban areas, most of which lay in the city of pittsburg and the city of philadelphia, were further developed than rural areas. allentown and erie performed worse than these two cities but better than remaining areas. in addition, the eastern pennsylvania was better than the west, which was better than others where towns were located. for the year of 2010, it differs from the year of 2000. urban areas still performed well. moreover, good performance spread from the cities to towns surrounding them, such as allentown, pittsburg, and philadelphia. philadelphia’s west developed well. towns developed well around pittsburg. moreover, northern pittsburg spread better than the south. some towns started to perform well scattering in the center, north and south of pennsylvania. from 2010 to 2015, most towns continue growing except for few towns that decline during those years. the overall performance of the whole state was better and better from 2000 to 2015. 2a figure 2a development index of 2000 2b figure 2b development index of 2010 2c figure 2c development index of 2011 2d figure 2d development index of 2012 2e figure 2e development index of 2013 2f figure 2f development index of 2014 bianjie ji / the academic research community publication pg. 6 2g figure 2g development index of 2015 3.2 temporal analysis 3a figure 3a index change 2010-2000 3b figure 3b index change 2015-2010 from 2000 to 2010, the philadelphia urban area grew extensively as well as some towns scattering around the whole state. the eastern pennsylvania had the highest intensive growth. inevitably, some towns experienced decay which was far less than the booming ones. meanwhile, from 2010 to 2015, some towns were decaying which was more than those booming ones, although the overall performance went up. generally, changes from the year of 2010 to 2015 are more stable than ones from 2000 to 2010. comparing changes of 2000 – 2010 with ones of 2010 – 2015, the latter one’s decay area is larger than the former. it explains a potential problem that pennsylvania is growing in general. however, this could not cover the fact that some townships and boroughs are increasingly decaying. more and more townships and boroughs experience the population decrease because of people immigrating to other regions. in turn, the socio-economic status is inevitably decreasing with less employment, less median income or increasing slowly, house values decline, and vacant house rate increasing. in future, these towns might disappear merging to other administrative units. so, scholars should pay more attention to townships and boroughs development. bianjie ji / the academic research community publication pg. 7 3.4 typical sample analysis figure 4 index change for 4 towns and cities these four cities and towns typically stand for other ones in pennsylvania. the philadelphia city is always the number 1 performance. high socio-economic status of philadelphia attributes to the big population, high annual income per household, highly educated population, low percentage of poverty households, low percent of vacant house units. philadelphia comprehensive development index increases rapidly from 2000 to 2010, and continuously increase from 2010 to 2015. philadelphia is far better than the second one pittsburg let alone other cities and towns. pittsburg has grown striking but smoother than philadelphia before 2010 and settled to stability after it, even a little decrease. state college borough is a typical town. because the pennsylvania state university sits here attracting students from home and abroad. it results in state college’s higher development index than surrounding towns. the industry of education attains more population, especially those well-educated ones, which promotes its employment rate and the immigration. meanwhile, it elevates the environmental protection, infrastructure construction, property maintenance, housing values etc. thus, the development index is higher. from 3.2 spatial analysis, it’s not hard to find that towns near state college, such as ferguson township, half-moon township, patton township, college township and harris township, owns bigger development index than those remote villages far from it. in 2000, as a tiny borough, state college performed similarly to other average towns. as many boroughs fell behind, state college whose performance was worse than cities but comparatively stable and grew steadily advocated townships around it to development. seven springs borough represents those decaying towns that perform the worst among 2573 records. from 2000 to 2010, it still moved forward while the population was decreasing after 2010. in 2010, only 40 persons resided here while in 2015 only one. the increasingly depressed town is going to disappear. 4. conclusions among all the typical statistic data collected from u.s census and pennsylvania department of health, 8 factors -population, percent of educated population, employment, household income, migration population, house value, physical facilities and health facilities are positively correlated with socio-economic status of a borough, a township or a city, while other 2 factors – percent of poverty and vacant house rate are negatively related to bianjie ji / the academic research community publication pg. 8 development index. surprisingly, other two factors’ contribution to the di is out of expectation. percent of population over 65 is correlated positively with di while the percentage of population under 18 negatively. this demonstrates that cities, townships, boroughs’ development does not show at the age groups distribution. probably, developed may attract to senior citizens who have savings and pensions, which will promote the development. however, the number of teenagers may bring economic burdens for a family. thus, the percent of population under18 is negatively correlated with the development. it is true that some townships boroughs and cities have been decaying. however, talking about the whole pennsylvania state, the overall tendency for both townships boroughs and cities is growing. temporally, it performed better from 2000 to 2010 than from 2010 to 2015, in terms of growth and its intensity. spatially, before 2010, the urban areas performed better and grew faster. after it, the rural area started to grow intensively. overall, the eastern pennsylvania grew faster than the west, both of which grew faster than other areas. towns surrounding cities grow faster than those remote villages.the gap between cities and towns are still very large but has the tendency to narrow down. towns start to differ largely after the year of 2010 in terms of development. most of them grow steadily while some of them decay. the limitation is that data vary from 2000 to 2015. from the year of 2010 to the year of 2015, comprehensive and detailed data are gathered from u.s census bureau, as well as the year of 2000. however, a gap of data from 2001 to 2009 results from data shortage. because data from 2001 to 2009 have more general categories without the comprehensive and detailed records required by the research. if data from 2001 to 2009 were generalized from the county level and applied to town, borough level, the accuracy would be negatively affected. thus, those years without detailed data are skipped. in future, the temporal scale of this study could be extended to get more accurate analysis and outcomes. references 1. bureau, us census. "census.gov." census.gov. n.p., n.d. web. 14 jan 2017. 2. "pa.gov." health statistics home. n.p., n.d. web. 14 jan. 2017. 3. christian fertner, niels boje groth, lise herslund & trine agervig carstensen (2015) small towns resisting urban decay through residential attractiveness. findings from denmark, geografisk tidsskrift-danish journal of geography, 115:2, 119-132, doi: 10.1080/00167223.2015.1060863 4. atukunda, gershom. urbanization and environmental sustainability. bishop university press, mbarara-uganda, 2012. 5. bityukova, l. water air soil pollut (2006) 172: 239. doi:10.1007/s11270-006-9078-1 6. dömötör, e., mátyás, l., & balázsi, l. (2016). a gazdaság térbelisége, városok, régiók, kereskedelem és természeti környezetünk/the spatial economy: towns, regions, trade and environment summary of coeure project studies, part iii. közgazdasági szemle, 63(6), 673-696,724. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.18414/ksz.2016.6.673 7. vyas, seema, and lilani kumaranayake. "constructing socio-economic status indices: how to use principal components analysis." health policy and planning 21.6 (2006): 459-468. 8. abdi, hervé, and lynne j. williams. "principal component analysis." wiley interdisciplinary reviews: computational statistics 2.4 (2010): 433-459. 9. cutter s l, boruff b j, shirley w l. social vulnerability to environmental hazards[j]. social science quarterly, 2003, 84(2): 242-261. 10. schmidtlein, mathew c., et al. "a sensitivity analysis of the social vulnerability index." risk analysis 28.4 (2008): 10991114. 11. clemence, alain, willem doise, and fabio lorenzi-cioldi. the quantitative analysis of social representations. routledge, 2014. 12. yongheng, yang, hu angang, and zhang ning. "an alternative to human development index with principal component analysis [j]." economic research journal 7 (2005): 000. http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.18414/ksz.2016.6.673 http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) vision of vincent van gogh and maurice utrillo in landscape paintings and their impact in establishing the identity of the place doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.133 hala ibrahim mohamed elsaed 1 1painting department -faculty of fine arts keywords painting landscape van gogh maurice utrillo abstract there are varieties of visions, visual solutions and plastic relations for various painting topics, but the landscape painting is still the closest subject to the identity of the place. when the artist translates the realistic features of the place describing it with his special style and touches, this represents a record for characteristics of a certain period related to this place. it might also depict the landscape by his sense, telling us with his painting brush the story of its heritage. the artist links it with the reality experienced -here the memory adds the highest value to the view and translates features of nature of this place in terms of formor feelings and influence through the ages. when van gogh was influenced by a city, like arles in france, he produced the most beautiful of his paintings, which appeared to show his style and colors. actually, we see this city through a creative artist with radiant colors, each panting as a celebration or a poem singing the beauty of this place. and when maurice utrillo was influenced by a city -like paris in france especially montmartre district with its steep winding streets, picturesque windmills, snowfall, and clouds of gray affectedhe created his most important paintings of landscape. the paintings reflected the nature of this place by his simple style which seems like a zap from the internal inventory of the artist about this place. so this research will address: − the relationship between" van gogh and maurice utrillo "and the place. − review their famous works that related to those places. − clarify their vision and style in painting. − the impact of their paintings on those places. introduction most places have huge reserves of photographs that represent a literal embodiment of the place and show its visual details.howecer, the artist embodies the spirit of the place in the landscape paintings, and the artisit implicilty reveal the landscap’s hertage and civilization through his art. the word "landscape" in dutch means an area of the earth, but it got its most common technical meaning when it became the painting which depicting a scene on the ground. in most cases, landscape topics include sky and what lies under it, like valleys, hills, trees, buildings, hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 2 rivers, birds, animals and all the landmarks of the place. each phase experienced by cities left traces in the place and in humans, and it has been never overlooked by the artist’s brush. there is another concept of landscape, meaningly, the cultural landscape. it is a tool to conceptualize the world in a trial to rebuild it. the term does also serve as an idea rich of human values waving a story about the " genius of the place". also, the idea gives the importance of the value of reinterpretation human connections, like the realtionship between " man and nature" or between " nature and culture ". when the artist's imagination and special sensual and emotional experiences penetrate to artistic subjects, it adds a new dimension. not to mention that nature inspires the artist by its richness of elemenets though. figure1 figure 2 the artist was not only conveying nature as a ready to record truth, but he wa also expressing it in his own way and creates new aesthetic realities in his sensory and emotional figurative paintings. each city represents a literary (poetic) unique phenomenon. therefore, it’s difficult to determine general features for cities. nature and shape differ from place to another because it was created by certain historical events and circumstances making it special. sometimes, certain -seemingly insignificantevents become important turning points in the history of some cities. it’s not strange that after travelling and moving from country to another, the human might feel likeness, familiarity or passion towards certain places. moreover, it feels as if the man was born to live there, so he demonstrates his work and art through such places. on another leve, the humanbeing might be a significat feature of the city in which he was born. his expierence in coxisiting or struggling with events is what shapes the trajectoyr. in this paper, i will display both cases through two artists that had the most sensitivity and connectivity to places. i have chosen them because they have perfectly depicted the landscape through their inner vision reflecting pure, unique, and new feelings in harmony with reality rather than emulating it. first: the city of arles and vincent van gogh arles is a city in the provence region of southern france. it is one from the largest cities in france. it has a long history and great importance as it includes many romanian remains, which were included in 1981 in the unesco world heritage centre. moreover, it includes many important tourist attractions, like the church of st. trophimus, arles amphitheatre, arles tower and arles museum of antiquity. even on the enviormnental level it has beautiful and charming parks such as comargue natural regional park arles, with its gates, churches, river, architecture, museums, art, poetry and paintings represent the best example of the place’s beauty. it is an interesting model for an ancient city adapting with the european civilization during the middle centuries. it has amazing roman commemorative monuments. each stone built in the city has a mark from the past. the rhone river forks into two branches, dividing the city into two parts, where the historical bridge -along with its ancient stonesconnects the ancient city with one of the city’s modern slum. in other words, it is the perfect trial connecting the two together in order to unvail the city’s history of arles through present events. roman architecture had a great impact on how the city looks, there are many examples representing the roman civilization in france till the second world war. the french carried out renovations for the roman antiquities, to keep it in its real historical state. there is a beautiful poem written by '' frederic mistral'' (1830-1914), the city poet, in which he flirts the prettiest girl in france, as he sees her in the suburb of the city of arles. the poet describes his lover’s birth place saying that it is a roman history on a french ground, here the rhone river runs, where its summer breath cools the atmosphere and its air in winter touch the rain. each step you make in arles could represent part of a historical story about one of those ancient great people. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pu4br0golwa/vkqd3uuqsqi/aaaaaaaajkg/a41kgni2y0y/s1600/pont_de_l'anglois%d8%ac%d8%b3%d8%b1.jpg hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 3 langlis bridge (figure 1) is a moving bridge owned by arles tourism board. it appears in many paintings of vincent van gogh that he produced in 1888 ( figure 2). it is one of the most beautiful ten moving bridges. now, it is one of the most beautiful landmarks visited by many tourists to see its functionailty and wonderfull enfineering. its common name now is van gogh bridge. this amazing synergy of history and the present -with special atmospherehas influenced many artists. but van gogh left the greatest impact in this place. for example, at the hospital of arles, the library hall is the room in which he slept in when his ear was cut. the slovenian translator laslo jokes said that if anyone complains of intermittent sleep there or nightmares, it’s the ghost of van gogh living here and irritating us in our sleep. figure 3 figure 4 people of the city appreciate those who expressed the beauty of the place using either their words or brushes. there is a statue of the city poet fredric mistral and another for the face of van gogh. the state of pride is noticed in the two statuses (figure 3), (figure 4) vincent willem van gogh (30/3/1853-29/7/1890) was born in netherlands. he was named vincent after his brother who was born dead one year before the birth of gogh. at the age of sixteen, he worked for the hague’s branch of goupil & cie on july8t 30, 1869. goupil& cie was an international print publishing firm and art dealer. he exchanged letters with his brother, theo, throughout his different art stages. these letters served as a way to comprehend gogh’s visions about his life and works. van gogh arrived on 21 february 1888, at the railroad station in arles, crossed place lamartine, and entered the city through the porte de la cavalerie. in arles, van gogh drew a number of his best landscape paintings, he was pleased with what he had produced and felt renovation in his artistic path; life in arles was happier for him. early in may, vincent reserved a room in di la gar coffee shop, he rented four rooms in a yellow house (figure5). he occupied two large ones on the ground floor to serve as an atelier (workshop) and kitchen. in this house, he kept his paintings and he called it the south atelier. we can see the yellow house in his paintings (figure 6). in arles, van gogh gained selfconfidence and he drew wheat fields, large trees, and little flowers trees, that look like the japanese trees. he also drew many paintings for the moving bridge (langlis bridge) (figure 2) from different perspectives. thus, arles shared van gogh in his best landscape paintings. he wrote a letter to his brother theo about the city saying: “here in arles, the country seems flat. i have seen splendid red stretches of soil planted with vines, with a background of mountains of the most delicate lilac. the landscapes in the snow with the white summits against a sky as luminous as the snow were just like the winter landscapes that the japanese have painted “. he started the landscape subject by painting the dutch landscape around him. in 1882, he was painting the sea, dunes, and woods of the netherlands in dark muted earth tones. in these early landscapes of van gogh, he was still developing as an artist and was not yet painting in the style that he would be most known for. van gogh was painting hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 5 figure 6 figure 7 figure 8 these landscapes and yet, he himself wasn’t fully committed to them. he wrote to his brother, theo, “i’m certainly no landscape painter. if i were to make landscapes, there would always be something of the figure about them.” later, gogh moved to paris where he lived with his brother theo in montmartre. the two – year period in paris was fortuitous for van gogh, who was immediately thrust into a milieu of young avantgrade artists experimenting with new styles. he was interested in this period in the japanese art and impressionist artists. his paintings at this period reflected the vivid usage of colors. by 1886, van gogh started painting scenes of paris with brighter colors. the following year, in the spring of 1887, he started resorting to much brighter colors with quick animated brush strokes. in asnières, a suburb of paris, van gogh painted landscapes with new vitality. one of the themes in van gogh’s paintings from asnières was the rise of industrialism and its influence on the rural landscape (figure7). for van gogh, peasant life and that of the agricultural worker were seen as, perhaps, the truest form of living. from the beginnings of his adulthood, when he was exploring vocations in religion, he was always concerned with the workingman. he depicted this subject matter throughout his career, including his landscape paintings. according to van gogh’s perspective, landscapes are more than depicting a natural setting; they are celebrating nature, those that live within it, and those that work it. van gogh painted his first wheat field in 1885, but in 1888 it became a major subject matter for him. from then on, vincent painted wheat fields wherever he was in france. in arles, van gogh painted fields and farmhouses. (figure 8) '' farmhouse in a wheat field '' shows a tree growing in an expansive field of growing wheat, before the harvest. in the distance beyond the field, there is a modest white house with a yellow roof lit by the bright sun. nature was often the subject of his work. it is true that he often incorporated figures in them, which distances them from traditional landscapes, but the overall effect is quite similar. van gogh’s landscapes were directly http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/painting/125/farmhouse-in-a-wheat-field.html http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/painting/119/factories-at-asnieres-seen-from-the-quai-de-clichy.html hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 5 related to his thoughts about life and death. like wheat fields, van gogh visited the subject of cypress and olive trees to show the figure 9 figure 10 figure 11 figure 12 cycles of life, and with the harvesting, death. as someone who struggled with relationships, he still had an acute understanding of people and understood the important relationship people have with nature. his landscapes show that relationship (figure 9) (impact, t. n, (n.d.). he found the south as a spiritual and aesthetic liberation from the increasing claustrophobia of paris. in spite of the heavy snow, he was filled with optimism, seeing the mountains around the plain of arles in terms of the japanese. in his first week, he had already drawn a landscape in the snow. he also explored the two main arles museums. he rapidly discovered that the surrounding country was arrestingly beautiful in its state of spring budding, with some striking man-made additions, notably the langlois bridge (figure 10). in this unfamiliar landscape, he found in the bridge a reassuring echo of the structure of the old dutch looms. this landscape is a complete expression of his new art of colour, with complementaries, particularly blue and orange, offsetting each other with dazzling. van gogh was anxious not to miss any of nature's moods and phenomena, correspondingly, the views of orchards in blossom which he painted shortly after arriving in arles, have a cheerful springtime atmosphere. but they are more than merely the product of seasonal mood. as if he and the region had colluded on it, he found a world of motifs which could not have been more japanese. he did not need the japanese prints anymore as he had done in paris. the orchards were his utopia, there it was, before his eyes, true, this was also the sum total of oriental character that arles had to offer, but this series of paintings, completed within the next few weeks, at any rate, confirmed that he had taken the right decision. (figure 11) and (figure 12). hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 6 the railway made an occasionasl appearance in his landscape paintings. in ''avenue of plane trees near arles station'' (the blue train) ( figure 13), mentioned in a litter written by his brother, '' the movement of the train is restricted by the bare tree trunks in the foreground, so that it appears more as a part of the compositional grid than as dynamic entity ''. the train also appears in various paintings and drawings of arles from the surrouning wheat fields, where it functions as the dividing line between town and country. van gogh had been living in guest houses ever since he arrived in arles. he rented a store for the pile of paintings that got accumulated soon. this store was to go down in art history as the ( yellow house). every morning he would leave his lodgings heavily laden and roam the area in tireless quest of motifs to satisfy his creative urge. he set off to work figure 13 figure 14 figure 15 day after day, into the blossoming hilly landscape. he kept producing one masterpiece after another '' it is the excitement, the honesty of a response to natur, that guides our hand, and if this excitement is often so strong that one works without noticing that one is working, if brushstrokes sometimes come thick and fast like words in conversation or letter, then one ought not to forget that it has not always been like that and that there will be many a depressing day barren of inspiration in the futur '' these words (from letter 504). second: montmartre and maurice utrillo from the city of arles, we move to one of paris districts, montmartre. it is considered one of the most important and special french places which deeply affect artists, like other french places which fascinate artists and writers. paris, about whom the quote says: “only who dies in paris has lived a life”, and which intellectual taha hussein hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 7 (18891973) described as “the capital of ghosts and angels” is the city of life. it is unique in its charm that combines the ancient and the new. paris is divided into twenty districts, and montmartre is a special district in paris. it is a large hill in paris. it is 130 meters (430 feet) high, it is the high point of paris (pessard, 1970). it has narrow lanes forming a charming mosaic in its ups and downs. its small colorful houses add to the charm of the place and reflect a special attraction. thus, the quarter appears as a painting with its expressive colors. thus, the quarter was known as the visual artists’ quarter. throughout the years, montmartre, along with other ancient french quarters became a tourist attraction at which tourists must stop either to buy a painting or to enjoy watching artists painting at ( place de la latre). historically speaking, the most famous artists lived and painted there. they chanted throughout the world for that sweet spirit inhibiting the place throughout years. artists such as amedeo modigliani, claude monet, henri de toulouse-lautrec, piet mondrian, pablo picasso, camille pissarro, vincent van gogh and salvador dali whose late atelier was there, later it became a museum. and the whole arena later became a meeting point for artists painting tourists and exhibiting their works at the open air. there are many paintings expressing the spirit of the place and the beauty of its ancient nature. however, i will focus in this paper on the french artist who belongs to montmartre. maurice utrillo (1883-1955), was one of the few famous painters of montmartre who was born there. during his stay in paris at that time, egyptian writer twfeek al hakeem ( 1898/1987 ) admired his art. al hakeem was known for his love and taste for arts. he wrote about utrillo saying “ he was simple in a spiritual, captivating sensitivity. he depicts what he likes, and what i like. such ancient frightening aspects of montmartre, rarely visited by people, through which i used to wander helplessly during those days of bankruptcy. utrillo in his paintings perpetuated the old abandoned montmartre. and if most painters worked on painting human faces, utrillo was the illustrator of only one face, the face of montmartre with its wrinkles, using the simplest colors and least clamor. however, he loaded it with feelings, provoking the deepest memories ''. montmartre is characterized by its zigzag roads and stairs (figure 14) as well as the religious churches such as basilique du sacre coeur, which is a splendid church made of white marble (figure 15). its internal halls are decorated with golden mosaic. there is also saint pierre de montmartre and the colored elevated windows (figure 16) which still has the ancient french nature. it includes several restaurants, coffee shops, and stores, famous montmartre mills (figure 17) and narow streets (figure 18) painted by many artists. the city features are not only depicted in paintings, but also many famous international movies were produced in the city. there is a statue for the egyptian actress dalida in front of the building were she lived (figure 19) and there are other famous artists and writers. so montmartre cemetery is the final resting place of many famous artists who lived and worked in the montmartre area. utrillo was the son of the artist suzanne valadon (1865-1938), she was a french painter and artists' model. valadon grew up in poverty with her mother and didn’t know her father. she was known to be quite independent and rebellious. figure 16 figure 17 she attended primary school until the age of 11 when she began to work. in 1883, valadon gave birth to her illegimate son, maurice utrillo, at the age of 18. valadon's mother cared for maurice while she returned to modelling. valadon's friend miguel utrillo signed papers recognizing maurice as his son. however, maurice soon showed a troubling inclination toward truancy and alcoholism. when a mental illness devastated the 21-year-old, utrillo in 1904, his mother encouraged him to alleviate his pain through painting. he soon showed real artistic talent. with no training beyond what his mother taught him, he drew and painted what he saw in montmartre. after 1910 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/paris https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/amedeo_modigliani https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/claude_monet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/claude_monet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/piet_mondrian https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/pablo_picasso https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/camille_pissarro https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/vincent_van_gogh http://www.frenchpedia.com/sacre_coeur.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/saint_pierre_de_montmartre https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/suzanne_valadon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/truancy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/alcoholism hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 8 his work attracted critical attention, and by 1920, he was internationally acclaimed. in 1928, the french government awarded him the cross of the ( légion d'honneur) (pregelj, 2012). throughout his life; however, he was interned in mental asylums (werner,1953). in his paintings, utrillo was interested in the streets of paris. montmartre was his favorite, with its sloping streets and amazing wind mills (figure 20). most of utrillo’s paintings were gloomy and had that touch of sadness. similarily, the streets in his paintings seem empty except for the isolated shapes. falling snow and grey clouds leaves a gloomy and depressing effect. moreover, what adds to the gloominess of his paintings was his use of the perspective technique. it reveals things as in reality (figure 21) without adding any romantic aspects, like those revealings in most of the paintings by other artists who drew paris districts. from 1908 till 1914, utrillo used white colored mixed with soft and different colors. thus, his works of art went through three stages. during the first stage, he was concerned with the influential tendency led by pissarro, which is the most important one. the third was the blossoming stage in which he used shining and loud colors. at this stage, he had less control in his brush due to his mental disease. utrillo used to paint the church of saint-pierre de montmartre, built in the 12th century. cœur one of the many versions of this subject, this painting in the musée de l’orangerie shows the facade of saintpierre de montmartre behind the entrance gate. it is possible that utrillo took a postcard as his model, for the compositionis is very symmetrical. ( figure 22) here the artist is keen to express the elements in the composition through different styles of brushwork. the pavement and road are painted with delicate horizontal strokes with alternating light and dark tones as a medium to convey the uneven surface. he uses a thicker impasto, his characteristic white, for the facades of the houses and saint peter’s church, the domes and the bell tower of sacré cœur. as for the sky, it has more compact brushwork reducing the depth. figure 18 figure 19 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/l%c3%a9gion_d%27honneur https://uploads8.wikiart.org/images/maurice-utrillo/moulin-de-la-galette-6.jpg https://uploads1.wikiart.org/images/maurice-utrillo/the-passage-the-dead-end.jpg hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 9 fgure 20 figure 21 the windows and openings in the buildings are closed or opaque. only the leaves on the trees, rendered in small green and yellow brushstrokes, bring some life to this scene. despite addiction and other psychological problems he went through, ultrillo continued for many years to produce and draw many landscapes. he is considered more fortunate than other artists in montmartre as he lived until the age of 72. he continued to draw till his death. his mother and wife played important role in saving him from destroying himself. he was the only one of his three companions who escaped from street life. the companios who died at a younger age are amedeo modigliani (1884-1920), chaim soutine (1893-1943) and jules pascin (1885-1930). the church at clignancourt was one of ultrillo’s special paintings ( figure 23). utrillo has also painted notre dame de clignancourt which is built in montmartre from 1859 to 1863. montmartre remained an independent commune for many years, and only became part of the city of paris in 1860, along with several other villages on the outskirts of the capital. utrillo had a strong sentimental attachment to this church. in fact, one day he confided : " i was born in paris on 25 december 1883, on christmas night, at 3, rue du poteau, next to the church of notredame de clignancourt. this is not a very beautiful church and not very old, and there it is all on its own, but i like it all the same and i have painted it for my mother who looks after it." we can, therefore, assume that utrillo did this for his mother, suzanne valadon, who was also a painter. it was produced in the studio. the lines were drawn out with a ruler and some are visible on the walls of the church. the perspective here is very accomplished. the church, with its very pale walls, takes up most of the surface characterised by very steady lines. a few silhouetted figures give it a little life. it is an autumn scene as there is a grey sky lowering above the church and a tree with leaves that are already turning red. figure 22 figure 23 sacrecoeur de montmartre (figure 24). painting offers a glimpse of the famous church of sacre-coeur (sacred heart), identified by the immense white dome at the end of the narrow street. the church is the most familiar building of montmartre, the artistic quarter on the north side of paris that utrillo frequented. the loose brushwork and bright color scheme suggest the influence of the impressionist painters, though utrillo was more than a generation younger than monet and pissarro. this young, halfmad alcoholic of montmartre, maurice utrillo, presented strange landscapes which delighted the man in the street and astonished the connoisseur. these pictures inspired many artists to re-examine their world trying to recreate reality instead of turning it into abstraction. utrillo stands at the borderline that separates the ''naïve'' from the ''professional'' artist. ultimately he was somehwat relevant to both. maurice was shy, weak, and above all neglected boy. a feeling of being abandoned, shut off from the world, augmented his hereditary propensity. maurice drank and painted, he became the portraitist of montmartre. in keeping with his background, he began with impressionism under the tutelage of his mother, whom degas had taught to paint, but utrillo had a heavy hand. his division of colors was not methodical, and his art, at least in the early years, lacked all perfectionistic fluency. artistic problems did not interest him much. utrillo simply wished to realistically paint the environs in which he lived, not to create art. impressionism struck him as the best way of approaching reality apart from the fact that he knew no other ways. but reality includes the feelings and moods of the person who perceives it. utrillo projected such sensations into his pictures. this is the source of their melancholy, occasionally somewhat sentimental poetry, and of the mellowness of their color, especially in the ''white period '' with its subtle gradation between white and grey. ''white and silence are what one must paint, utrillo told florent fels,'' the color of the barraks, the hospitals, and prisons. my life has run its course in these houses of the lost, in the midst of the white of misery. http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox2/public/thumbnails/image/utrillo_oeuvrewg_eglise_clignancourt_rf196399.jpg?itok=uyvwnxab https://uploads0.wikiart.org/images/maurice-utrillo/st-pierre-de-montmartre.jpg hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 10 in middle age, maurice utrillo became fervently religious and, in 1935, he married artist lucie valore. she is a friend of his mother, who was very supportive of the marriage. lucie was very devoted to her husband and she encouraged him to work constantly and remain sober.the pair moved outside paris, to le vésinet. by that time, utrillo’s afflictions had taken their toll. too ill to work in the open air, he painted landscapes from the window, as well as scenes from memory and from postcards. he died in 1955 of a lung disease. in 1963, lucie valore founded the “ association maurice utrillo,” which houses extensive documentation on the couple’s work and that of suzanne valadon and andré utter, as well as an impressive art history library. above all, utrillo has an eye for montmartre, the old, picturesque, and relatively quiet artists' quarter as it existed before the first world war. he was fascinated by the sad little streets and miserable bistros of the industrial suburbs. it is true that he also painted some of the great cathedrals of france and panoramas of of brittany and corsica, as well as a few flower pieces. he will be known forever as the painter of the unheralded sights of the french capital. figure 24 conclusions landscape painting occupied a position of privilege in reflecting the nature of the place and links withing its civilization heritage. the artist expresses it in his own way and creates new aesthetic realities in his landscape paintings. his memory adds the highest value to the view and translates features of nature of this place in terms of form, feeling and influence through the ages. probably, the fact that vincent van gogh ( figure 25) and maurice utrillo ( figure 26) were deeply attached to the place could be attributed to the psychological states they went through which made them prefer isolation and loneliness. however, our main concern here is the deep attachment to the place ,which produced works of art that history can never forget. their art productions are considered among the most important landmarks of these cities. thus, tourists must see the place through their paintings as if it represents that unseen depth of these places, that depth in which abstract beauty is concealed. it is the beauty which is related to the spirit of the place. the spirit that we cannot see but feel. hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 11 figure 25 figure 26 references 1. foyle, j. (2015, may 22). is it time to rethink our ideas about preserving world heritage? retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://www.ft.com/content/545458d4-fae9-11e4-9aed-00144feab7de 2. impact, t. n. (n.d.). vincent van gogh gallery. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.vangoghgallery.com/ 3. kennedy, j& treuherz, j, ''the railway – art in the age of steam, walker art gallery, national museums liverpool, the nelsonatkins museum of art, kansas city, missouri, yale university press, new york. 4. pessard, g. (1970, january 01). nouveau dictionnaire historique de paris, avec une préf. de charles normand : pessard, gustave : free download & streaming. retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://archive.org/details/nouveaudictionna00pessuoft 5. piper, d. (1984). the illustrated dictionary of art & artists. random house, new york. 6. pregelj, z. (2012, october 07). surviving transition. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://pensionerblog.blogspot.com.eg/2012/10/maurice-utrillo-sacre-coeur-de.html 7. s, d. m., lvova, i., & fateyev, v. (1996). french painting. parkstone ; st. petersburg: : bournemouth. 8. the importance of cultural heritage. (2017, april 24). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.cultivatingculture.com/2013/04/05/the-importance-of-cultural-heritage/ 9. treble, r. '' van gogh and his art '', hamlyn.london, new york, toronto. 10. what is cultural heritage? (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-historybasics/beginners-art-history/a/what-is-cultural-heritage 11. werner, a. (1953). utrillo. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.rosings.com/cover.html 12. wilson, j (2014) '' sun rise '', natural living, p81, world peace communications. 13. ruhrberg, k., honnef, k., schneckenburger, m., & fricke, c. (n.d.). art of the 20th century. https://www.ft.com/content/545458d4-fae9-11e4-9aed-00144feab7de http://www.vangoghgallery.com/ https://archive.org/details/nouveaudictionna00pessuoft http://pensionerblog.blogspot.com.eg/2012/10/maurice-utrillo-sacre-coeur-de.html http://www.cultivatingculture.com/2013/04/05/the-importance-of-cultural-heritage/ https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history-basics/beginners-art-history/a/what-is-cultural-heritage https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history-basics/beginners-art-history/a/what-is-cultural-heritage http://www.rosings.com/cover.html hala ibrahim / the academic research community publication pg. 12 table of figures figure data 1 langlios bridge , arles, france 2 van gogh,(langlios bridge at arles ) may,1888, oil on canvas ,49.5 × 64.0 cm. arles ,.cologne , wallra f.richartz – museum 3 statue of frederic mistral in arles. 4 statue of van gogh face in arles. 5 the place where 'the yellow house' used to be, arles, france. 6 van gogh, ( the yellow house) 1888 oil on canvas 72.0 91.5 cm . arles, september , montmartre, paris, france. 7 van gogh,(wheat field with sheaves), june, 1888, honolulu, honolulu museum of art. 8 van gogh, (farmhouse in a wheat field), may, 1888, amsterdam, van gogh museum 9 van gogh, (view from the wheat fields) , 1888 , oil on canvas 73.0 54.0 cm .arles, june,paris,musee rodin 10 van gogh, (langlios bridge at arles with women washing) ,march 1888 ,oil on canvas 54.0 × 65.0 cm, arles. 11 van gogh,(orchad in blossom) april 1888, oil on canvas,72.5×92.0 cm .arles, amsterdam,van gogh museum . 12 van gogh,(orchard in blossom), 1888,oil on canvas 72.4 × 53.5 cm. arles , march – april, new york , the metropolitan museum 13 van gogh, avenue of plane tree near arles station(the blue train),1888 oil on canvas 46×49.5cm,musee rodin, paris. 14 the district of montmartre ,paris . 15 the basilica of sacred heart of paris, commonly known as ''sacre -coeur'' 16 the church of saint peter of montmartre –one of the oldest surviving churches in paris. 17 le moulin de la galette, a windmill and associated businesses in montmartre , paris 18 the district of montmartre ,paris. 19 statue of dalida , montmartre, paris, france. 20 maurice utrillo ,( moulin de la galette) ,1930 , oil on canvas 21 maurice utrillo,(impssse cottin cul-de-sac in paris. 22 maurice utrillo saint, peter’s church,oil on canvas , montmartre ,1914, paris,muse de l' orangerie cottin , oil on cardboard 1910. 23 mauriceutrillo,(church at clignancourt), oil on canvas ,montmartre ,1913-1915, paris, musee de l' orangerie 24 maurice utrillo, (sacre-coeur de montmartre and the rue saint-rustique), gouache on paper mounted on canvas 27 x 21 in. maurice utrillo, 1937 . 25 photo of vincent van gogh 26 photo of maurice utrillo. http://www.vggallery.com/painting/p_0561.htm http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/painting/125/farmhouse-in-a-wheat-field.html http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en/artist/maurice-utrillo http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en/artist/maurice-utrillo http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en/artist/maurice-utrillo http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en/artist/maurice-utrillo http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en/artist/maurice-utrillo issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 http://www.ierek.com/press the iconographic method applied in the design of products with cultural demostration in the creation of the tourist destination daniel marcelo acurio m.1, santiago alejandro acurio m.1, cristina páez quinde2, daniel sánchez guerrero3, ruth infante paredes2, marcelo núñez espinoza2 1pontificia universidad católica del ecuador sede ambato. 2facultad de ciencias humanas y de la educación, universidad técnica de ambato. email (mc.paez, ruthinfantep, marcelownuneze) 3universidad estatal amazónica – puyo. keywords iconography; culture; popular festivities, corpus christi, touristic destination; abstract the popular festivity known as corpus cristi is a clear manifestation of culture in ecuador. it is considered a crosscultural expression of the cosmovision and iconographic symbolism of religious fusion making an evident imaginary connotation of the population. where evident, catholics are of a vernacular world and end up being a praise in honor of the favors received from the body of christ and the indigenous roots of spirituality. it represents gratitude for the successful harvests obtained in the year by the pachamama and taita inti. the present study aims to provide furnishings with designs of this festival, the park 13 de abril in pujilí, which is also commonly known by locals as the danzante park. the methodology used was an analysis of the artistic projects developed by panofsky where the work is reinterpreted from a designer perspective. this method is used to propose a method of extracting the iconographic and iconological elements of cultural demonstrations resulting in the innovation of the canton. taking advantage of the values and cultural heritage of the nation and showcasing its aesthetics, a greater flow of visitors to the area is ensured as well as the dynamics of the local economy. 1. introduction iconography has been considered, both, from a scientific point of view (porebski, 1969) and an artistic one (panofsky e. , 1987) as a technique of description and classification of images understood as a visual representation. for panofsky, there is a connection between an iconic work of art and a morphological and semantic component. in mieczyslaw porqbski’s study of polish art, images contain informative elements that bring meaning. the panofsky method, although widely applied, runs the risk of finding un-coded content or unintended meanings within the images (bialostocki, 1973). an icon is commonly defined as a sign that maintains a relation of resemblance to the represented drae (mitchell, 2015). however, and although this definition intrinsically includes the semiotic sing significance as an element that brings meaning to the represented form (zhang & sheng, 2017), it still gives greater prominence to its form in the relational sense with the represented object. in other words, meaning of the represented object is the only given thing. thus, to represent a real object, such as a cup, an icon must resemble the shape of that cup. that, nonetheless, excludes meanings associated with the icon of that cup that could mean the proximity of a coffee place; a geographical area traditionally associated with its production or a place of recreation in which you can chat and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere even though coffee or another beverage that is served in a cup is not consumed. the cognitive processes studied by olson & bialystok (2014) show that a new observed image is contrasted with a set of previously acquired concepts that activate mental processes of assimilation and interpretation that associates concepts acquired with the image. doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.245 daniel marcelo acurio m. / the academic research community publication pg. 2 for this reason, and for the purposes of the present work, the broad definition of icon is adopted as a “discursive unit, spatially delimited (by a real or virtual framework) within the appearance of the signals, which may indicate one or several referents (colle, 1999). understood as a discursive unit, the icon gives rise to a form of "codified" visual language with an ease of comprehension that allows the expression of a variety of emotions through the intentional inclusion of aesthetically pleasing "indicators". considering the level of meaning associated, levels of iconicity have been proposed. in addition to their own description, they are associated with their pragmatic functions (villafañe, 1985). the eleven levels are shown in table 1 as follows: table 1. eleven levels of iconicity degree level description function 11 natural image restores all properties of the object. is perceived directly in the natural state recognition 10 scale three dimensional model restores all properties of the object. is perceived directly but not in the natural state description 9 stereoscopic record images restores form, color and position of the object. is indirectly perceived artificially description 8 color photography highly restores the positional relationship and color in a two dimensional plane description / artistic 7 black and white photography resets the relationships between form and position in a two-dimensional plane description / artistic 6 realistic painting reasonably resets relationships between form and position in a twodimensional plane artistic 5 nonrealistic figurative representation does not reestablish relationships on a two-dimensional plane but identification still occurs artistic 4 pictograms only the shape and not the other relations or sensitive characteristics are restored information 3 motivated schemes the sensitive features are removed and only organic relationships are represented information 2 arbitrary schemes there are no sensitive characteristics or organic relationships generally indicative information 1 nonfigurative representation their sensitive properties and relationships are abstracted, their meaning is not evident artistic latin america and ecuador have great cultural diversity (kent, 2016). since pre-hispanic times, there has been an adaptation of elements of the people with whom they relate that required achieving a unique symbolic language in which great importance is given to the natural motifs from the vision of divinity and a symbiotic relationship. we find common motifs of birds, mountains, flowers, rivers, and more that adorn their clothing and personal objects (leon, 2014). over time, these elements and their “icons” have been losing their presence and meaning, becoming a commodity that often devalues cultural identity reuslting in a misconception of underdevelopment or social marginalization. it is of social, touristic and economic interest to take advantage of these elements by giving them an air of modernity (johnston, 2013). assuming the permanent construction and reinterpretation of our cultural identity is not only understood as the reservation of ancestral elements representative of an indigenous nationality, but also as daniel marcelo acurio m. / the academic research community publication pg. 3 inputs for the construction of the future tradition (larraín, 1994). at a graphic level in product design, in latin america, (restrepo, 2013 & newman, 2015) a road that has been transported in ecuador, where industrial production prefers to leave aside cultural contribution, has been left at an artisan level. since it does not have resources, little chances of innovation are left in the creation of products and relating them to cultural aspects, with an exception to the field of costume design. from this perspective, incorporating a broad theoretical reference of iconographic studies developed in the field of plastic arts will allow a methodological reference that will help professionals in determining aesthetic elements from this broad cultural background. it should also give them an opportunity to take advantage when it comes to the design of products that promote local development based on its own iconic elements, finally, strengthening the identity itself. although it is true that the study of artistic works has profound methodological proposals such as the case of bilderatlas mnemosyne raised for the iconological study by abraham moritz warburg, better known by aby warburg, that considers a heuristic analysis of works of art and their relationship with religion, poetry, worship, and more. in his analysis, he investigates a variety of documents by constructing 82 panels which form part of his plan and provide a detailed meaning of the work in his own words: "der liebe gott steckt im detail" (tartás & guridi, 2013). it is no less true that the method developed by his follower, erwin panofsky, provides more methodological rigor in a time that appropriately separates the scope of iconography as a study with a purely descriptive scope that regards iconology as an interpretative study. for this reason, it serves as a firm base that allows the development of a method that focuses on the design and constitutes innovation. 2. methods and materials as per the previous discussion, it is imperative to feature the method proposed by panofsky, which is summed up with a simple example that is mentioned such as a person greeting another by taking off his or her hat. in this simple action some levels, as follows, can be found: primary or natural meaning in which only basic forms can be determined. in the example there are forms that shape the person greeting (factual significance) and their basic postural relationships that indicate their mood of greeting (expressive meaning). secondary or conventional meaning: at this level, the conventional meaning that is socially accepted is at stake. therefore, it is of unequivocal interpretation. in other words, the conscious recognition of taking off the hat implies a salutation. it is derived from the medieval custom of taking off the helmet in a sign of confidence, thus, it demonstrate the knight’s peaceful intentions. intrinsic meaning or content: while the previous levels are purely phenomenological, ie perceived by direct inspection. this level involves an inner knowledge, a description about the personality of the individual who greets as well as the underlying motivations and interests in the act of greeting. this would only be possible by investigating the individual from different points of view and in different environments. it becomes a synthesis of these individual attributes (panofsky e. , 1987). thus, it clearly distinguishes levels of analysis: pre-iconographic; corresponding to primary meaning and it is based on practical experience, familiarity with objects and events. it can be corrected by a study of the way, in which in different historical conditions, objects were expressed by forms (style history). iconographic; corresponding to the secondary meaning and which is based on a knowledge and familiarity with specific themes and concepts. it is corrected by a study on how, in different historical conditions, the themes and concepts were expressed through objects and events (history of types). iconological; corresponding to intrinsic significance. it is based on familiarity with the essential tendencies of the human mind, which can be improved by a study of how, in different historical conditions, the essential tendencies of the mind were expressed through themes and concepts specific (history of symbols). (panofsky, studies on iconology, 1998) 3. results and discussion in recognizing the stages of this method, it is reasonable to see that, in of product design where the basic outlook is commercial in nature, the required level is the first because what is being conveyed to the consumer is an image of aesthetics that encloses a factual and expressive meaning of the product that generates familiarity and attractiveness. that also includes a social meaning according to the environment where the product is introduced (secondary meaning). however, its results, unlike arts, are difficult to apply and have little commercial value when trying to capture an inner, symbolic, non-factual image and translate it into an object of consumption. however, this is not impossible given that there are certainly a few consumer products that have marked not only identity and daniel marcelo acurio m. / the academic research community publication pg. 4 social acceptance, but have become cultural referents as well. for methodological purposes, it refers to the levels of sensitive perception. in accordance with panofsky's model, the levels of interpretation (table 2) can be presetentative for elements of the cultural symbolic language, taking into consideration that this aesthetic interpretation aims at its application in a consumer product without being completely artistic or informative. according to the level of iconicity proposed by villafañe, the product of the analysis must be located according to its complexity between a nonrealistic figurative representation and a pictogram. thus, the levels are addressed as shown below: table 2. levels of interpretation level purpose technique correction method pre iconographic recognize the basic sections that make up the object of study and its position (expressive meaning) according to its visual weight. simplify its basic forms. observation anecdotic register photographic collection form simplification (geometrization, abstraction) iconographic recognize its socially accepted meaning, it is a question of determining the meaning of the cultural manifestations by the consensus of the experts introduce in the basic geometries morphological and chromatic elements that contribute the level of secondary or conventional significance. interview survey principles of design (repetition, radiation, gradation, etc.) as indicated, the aesthetic elements obtained must be of a basic level of complexity as to make their introduction into the product design feasible. it does not have to affect the functional performance and, at the same time, the cultural contribution has to be appreciated by its aesthetic component. a first approximation was presented when the park and garden were equiped for the re-evaluation of the iconic identity of corpus christi (montenegro, 2014). the basic elements of the dancers of corpus christi, a festival of pujilí in cotopaxi by agreement no. 647 of the ministry of education, culture, sports and recreation of ecuador, were constituted as an intangible good belonging to the cultural heritage of the nation. in order to get a broader view of the origin and evolution of the feast of corpus christi, some authors with important information are quoted: corpus christi comes from latin "corpus" which means "body" and "christi" which is translated as "of christ". therefore, "corpus christi" means "the body of christ". this feast came from the end of the thirteenth century in liege, belgium. it was created by a eucharistic movement whose center was the abbey of cornillon founded in 1124 by bishop albero de liege. among the various eucharistic customs that this movement began there are: the exposition and blessing of the most holy sacrament, the use of the bells during the elevation at mass and the feast of corpus christi (herrera & monge, corpus christi, intangible heritage of ecuador, 2012). on the other hand, a series of events occurred and they contributed to the establishment of the feast of corpus christi. one of them was the eucharistic revelations of st. julian of retine, prioress of a monastery near liege. another event was the miracle of the bolsena forms, as well as the miracle of the corporal of daroca (the hosts had become real flesh and could not be separated from the corporal or liturgical cloth that enveloped them due to the coagulated blood). the liturgical cloths were taken (to the pope) urban iv, who stimulated by this and aware of daniel marcelo acurio m. / the academic research community publication pg. 5 the necessity to fight heresy of berengario, established in 1264 the celebration of corpus christi in all the church. (pope) clement v confirmed it in 1311 and since then it spread throughout the catholic world (valiente, 2011) in the case of ecuador, this celebration of religious and cultural origin came to our territory with the spanish conquerors who checked that the indigenous peoples had several festivities. one of them was inti raymi that includes important characters like performers who dance in honor of the sun in june (figure 1). this month coincides with the religious celebration called corpus christi. this fact produced that the priests decided to incorporate the indigenous dancers in the catholic celebration. in the colony, the indigenous feasts were gradually integrated into the catholic holidays since, for the natives, it was not so easy to accept the imposition of the precepts of the catholic church. according to luis moreno, the current popular feasts of corpus christi are survivors of the inti raymi, heliolatric ceremony of the ancient kingdom of quito. corpus christi is a festival of important national significance that originally was a purely indigenous celebration. over time, it was combined with the catholic religious festival integrating elements and characteristics that were highlighting the popular manifestations of ecuador that remain alive in the country (herrera, corpus christi, intangible heritage of ecuador, 2011) with the above, the knowledge of the feast of corpus christi is amplified and the proposed method is applied. figure 1. corpus christi dancer from which the proposed method is applied as follows (tables 3-4): table 3. pre iconographic level basic sections register simplification daniel marcelo acurio m. / the academic research community publication pg. 6 table 4. iconographic level basic sections socially accepted significance morphological elements chromatic elements sunlight. the four most important or representative festivals of the indigenous world inti raymi pawkar raymi coya raymi cápac raymi daniel marcelo acurio m. / the academic research community publication pg. 7 it represents the flora and the fauna, the anthropomorphs and zoomorfos that live in the area. decorative element. it represents the flora, fauna, and the richness of the place. the rainbow. based on this simplification, the design of the product is applied. the product is urban furniture (figures 2-6): figure 2. bench figure 3. garbage container daniel marcelo acurio m. / the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure 4. fence figure 5. lamp figure 6. bench, garbage container, fence and lamp daniel marcelo acurio m. / the academic research community publication pg. 9 4. conclusion cultural manifestations are perceptible elements of a wide spectrum of a social, religious, intellectual, and effective group. they are expressed through their music, dance and other elements that are feasible to collect in order to decorate the design of environments, clothing and other products. the method of iconographic description, applied as a description of visual components of a cultural manifestation, allows the extraction of representative elements that can be reinterpreted for application in the setting of parks. the chromatic and morphological application in the design of products cannot fully absorb the richness of the cultural manifestations nor, in the aesthetic aspect, the depth of its meaning. therefore, the simplification proposed to the iconographic iconological method of panofsky is suitable to extract a basic meaning that endows the product with identity and revalues the under study cultural manifestation. the aesthetic contribution of the park makes it possible to boost tourism in the sector, thus allowing a cultural and innovative contribution to local production that translates into economic benefits due to being a place of interest in the locality. finally, this methodological proposal is an academic contribution that allows the designer to take advantage of the variety of cultural manifestations of ecuador and latin america as a source of aesthetic construction. references 1. bialostocki, j. (1973). estilo e iconografía: contribución a una ciencia de las artes. barral. 2. colle, r. (1999). el contenido de los mensajes icónicos. revista latina de comunicación social, 2-72. 3. herrera, s. &. (2011). corpus christi, intangible heritage of ecuador. ab initio n. 3, 45-57. 4. herrera, s. &. (2012). corpus christi, patrimonio intangible del ecuador. ricit n. 4, 71-86. 5. johnston, a. (2013). is the sacred for sale?: tourism and indigenous peoples. london: earthscan. 6. kent, r. (2016). latin america, second edition: regions and people. new york: guilford publications. 7. larraín, j. (1994). la identidad latinoamericana teoría e historia. estudios públicos, 31-64. 8. leon, e. (2014). andes: prehistoric art. in encyclopedia of global archaeology (pp. 234-238). new york, ny: springer new york. 9. mitchell, w. (2015). image science: iconology, visual culture, and media aesthetics. chicago: university of chicago press. 10. montenegro, p. (2014). equipamiento de parques y jardines para la revalorización de identidad icónica del corus cristi. ambato: pucesa. 11. newman, r. (2015). primitivism and identity in latin america: the appropriation of indigenous cultures in 20th-century latin american art. art history honors paper, 1-103. retrieved from http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=arthisthp 12. olson, d., & bialystok, e. (2014). spatial cognition: the structure and development of mental representations of spatial relations. new york: psychology press. 13. panofsky, e. (1987). meaning in the visual arts. new york: doubleday anchor books. 14. panofsky, e. (1998). estudios sobre iconología. madrid: alianza editorial. 15. porebski, m. (1969). about iconographic problems of cubism. the contens of a work art, 289. 16. restrepo, l. (2013). intermix: traditional pre-columbian art meets contemporary design. louisiana: graduate faculty of louisiana state university and agricultural and mechanical college. retrieved from http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11182013-154902/ 17. tartás, c., & guridi, r. (2013). cartografías de la memoria. aby warburg y el altas mnemosyne. ega: revista de expresión gráfica arquitectónica, 226-235. 18. valiente, s. (2011). the feast of corpus crhisti in the kingdom of castille during de modern age. ricit n. 4, 71-86. 19. villafañe, j. (1985). introducción a la teoría de la imagen. madrid: ediciones pirámide. 20. zhang, x., & sheng, j. (2017). a peircean semiotic interpretation of a social sign. annals of tourism research, 163-173. http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) heritage resources as a method to reviving the identity of contemporary interior designs a comparative analysis of users' preferences of interior space doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.109 hala barakat elnaggar 1 1 arab academy for science, technology & maritime transport, cairo, egypt keywords elements, heritage, identity, culture. abstract egyptian heritage is known to be a result of many great civilizations. with various traditional elements and special features that add prominence to its cultural aspects, it carries magnificent aesthetic values and visual forms. nonetheless, and due to the different nature of the cities and provinces in egypt, styles and features in each region have taken different paths. for instance, some areas were influenced by ancient egyptians while others were more affected by islamic or coptic civilizations. some regions were preserved in nubian folk art heritage form. in the past, the country had a clear and unique identity that reflected its characteristics, environmental benefits and socio-cultural attributes. however, today the identity is faded and is nearly completely wiped by western notions erasing our ideas, identities, and thoughts. this study focuses on the elements of heritage, their impact on people and the way these elements inspire interior architecture, form and psychology. this study aims to discern the elements of heritage and identify the character and special criteria of each civilization such as the ancient egyptian, islamic and nubian folk art heritage with special references and clarifications as to the criteria of reviving the traditional identity in contemporary interior design. this study will also include an anlaysis of user preferences in relation to discussed features. 1. introduction the egyptian society suffered since the beginning of the renaissance period and until the end of the last century from multi-cultural fluctuations that imposed different cultural realities and caused changes in its culture. consequently, there emerged a series of architectural identities that has experienced changes over time. interior design is a field that does not deviate from the traditional in a time the contemporary is known to have quickly achieved uniqueness and creativity. however, the interior designer attempts to express historical dimensions, heritage and cultural privacy distinctively, especially when cultural boundaries seem to no longer exist. thus, a need to stick to heritage and one’s original identity has become essential. therefore, the designer must understand the philosophical dimensions and concepts of sustainability sustaining our heritage. here, one we must refer to the importance of emphasizing to the designer the need to remain consistent with features of the traditional in the formation of design solutions and to create a balance between heritage and modernity. the designer must also h. b. elnaggar / the academic research community publication pg. 2 focus on reshaping the traditional to cope with the contemporary’s functional needs as to create forms and designs suitable to our present time. 1-1 research problem although the identity and use of traditional elements, both, possess significance, some negligence in considering these items and their characteristics, selecting appropriate concepts and architectural principles, and working on the formulation to achieve a proper balance between the heritage and the contemporary has been noted. there is a need to rearticulating and recreating an understanding of heritage to meet such functional needs and an emphasis on the intellectual identity. the expected result then would be a production of a kind of architecture that parallels the spirit of the age and its cultural identity within residential areas. 1-2 goal and approach the research aims to focus on the importance of preserving the identity and heritage through elements of the internal environment to: 1. find the standards and objectives that affect the identity of contemporary egyptian interior architecture. 2. emphasize the importance of identity within the interior design of a house. 3. link contemporary and the traditional identity by locating contemporary interior architecture in interior design. 4. reveal the identity and artistic value that accompanies heritage. 1.3 research methodology the research starts with a theoretical study to identify the semantic, intellectual and artistic work standards as well as elements that facilitate the formation of an identity. the study discusses the fundamental concepts of ancient egyptian designs such the islamic and the nubian. it also highlights the designing processes which are inspired from and filled with the mentioned elements. henceforth, explanations, ideas and solutions are formed about the possibility of retaining, or rather re-using, these elements and architectural characteristics. furthermore, a questionnaire about the local traditional style preferences and modern european-styles will be analyzed. following would be a design questionnaire in which the contemporary elements and the principles are engaged using modern techniques. 2. literature review housing preferences have been studied from different theoretical perspectives. these studies can be classified to the following topics: the impact of sustainability trends in housing design and the identity of arab cities (rihan, 2012), the identity and cultural impact on the individual’s behavior within architectural spaces (azouz,2014), the sustainable application of interior spaces in traditional houses of the united arab emirates (alkhalidi, 2012), the revival of the islamic architectural vocabulary in jordan: a case study on the use of courtyards in residential and public buildings (abo-ghanima, 2015), place identity of residential environment in iraqi contemporary architectural trends and its impact on the academic architectural product (mumtaz, 2010), and interior design of egyptian residences between originality and modernity (mashhour, 2011). methods 3.1 the study sample in the following analytical case study, a sample consisting of different age categories, 50, 40, 30, and 20, was selected and composed of almost a number of twenty people from each age group and various fields. the subjects consisted of both sexes, males and females, who are highly-qualified and have similar economic and social circumstances. the program’s implementation lasted a week. in the following questionnaire, the design process, aesthetic heritage elements, and different patterns of contemporary furniture and interior design were all taken into account. h. b. elnaggar / the academic research community publication pg. 3 figure.1 a display of the number of males and females of each age group. 3.2 general questionnaire results the first questionnaire is a focused study of people’s preferences with regards to traditional and modern european styles in interior spaces. the survey indicates that the different age groups preferred different styles. the fifty year old category preferred the local, or the traditional, with a percentage of 65 while 15% preferred to use modern european styles. the forty year old category equally enjoyed both styles. the thirty year old category had a preference for local traditional patterns by 45% as the modern european patterns ratio exceeded 35%. as for the twenty year old category, the preference for local tradition patterns went down to 40% while their preference for the modern reached 55%. figure.2 comparative analysis of users' preference of interior spaces (european style – traditional egyptian style) moreover, when asked about the reason for the absence of the traditional local models in home designing, the main reason was the absence of the appropriate traditional designs, high costs, and lack of quality and contemporary products that are suitable for the current internal space requirements. in the second phase, the questionnaire was presented in the form of images of designs with a modern style and a traditional cultural identity (ancient egyptian islamic nubian) using relevant elements in the design of the walls, furniture, accessories, lighting and openings. the questionnaire focused on the design, the process of organizing the visual elements including the methods, heritage expressions, and the impact or significance on the basis of design, vacuum form, color, surface textures, proportions, repetition, rhythm and elements of decoration. the design was simple, of quality and identity in an appealing manner and did not cause disruptions to the elements of design. the questionnaire has started out by presenting a range of images for each civilization including the ancient egyptian, islamic, nubian. respondents were asked about the measure of their approval, as presented in an image below, of the aforementioned elements of heritage such as color, proportion, identity, decorative elements and repetition. after clarifying and analyzing the images that were shown to the participants, as shown in the figure above, a proportion of the respondents tended to answer with “very good”, others with “good”, and a few with “i don’t know”. 3.3 first questionnaire: the identity of heritage ancient egypt 0 5 10 15 20 30 40 50 male female h. b. elnaggar / the academic research community publication pg. 4 fig.3 hieroglyph & symbolic art (left), hieroglyph & symbolic art (center), symbolic patterns (right). it has been clear from the questionnaire, as shown on the left of figure 3 (left), that designs of ancient egyptian style with a hint of modernism were seen by an average of 74% of the participants as very well-designed and appropriate in terms of use of elements and colors, proportion, rhythm, identity, the decorative elements and repetition. it was noted to satisfy their functional needs and provides them with beauty and identity in the design. some believed it made them feel comfortable while 20% saw it as appropriately designed. six percent were neutral and 70% of the participants were influenced and thought of changing spaces within their homes with similar designs. fig.4 average of ancient egyptian design preferences (left) it has been clear from the questionnaire, as shown in fig 3 (center), that designs of ancient egyptian style with a hint of modernism were seen by an average of 78% of the participants as very well-designed and appropriate in terms of use of elements and colors, proportion, rhythm, identity, the decorative elements and repetition. it was noted to satisfy their functional needs and provides them with beauty and identity in the design. some believed it made them feel comfortable while 18% saw it was appropriately designed. four percent were neutral and 75% of the participants were influenced and thought of changing spaces within their homes with similar designs. fig.5 average of ancient egyptian design preferences (center) it has been clear from the questionnaire, as shown in fig 3 (right), that designs of ancient egyptian style with a hint of modernism were seen by an average of 79% of the participants as very well-designed and appropriate in terms of use of elements and colors, proportion, rhythm, identity, the decorative elements and repetition. it was noted to satisfy their functional needs and provides them with beauty and identity in the design. some believed it made them feel comfortable while 16% saw it was appropriately designed. five percent were neutral and 70% of the participants were influenced and thought of changing spaces within their homes with similar designs. h. b. elnaggar / the academic research community publication pg. 5 fig.6 average of ancient egyptian design preferences (right) 3.4 second questionnaire: the identity of heritage– the islamic civilization fig.7 used of calligraphy (left & center) and symbolic patterns (right). it has been clear from the questionnaire, as shown in figure 7 (right), that designs islamic styles with a hint of modernism were seen by an average of 69% of the participants as very well-designed and appropriate in terms of use of elements and colors, proportion, rhythm, identity, the decorative elements and repetition. it was noted to satisfy their functional needs and provides them with beauty and identity in the design. some believed it made them feel comfortable while 23% saw it was appropriately designed. eight percent were neutral and 69% of the participants were influenced and thought of changing spaces within their homes with similar designs. fig.8 average of islamic design preferences (left) it has been clear from the questionnaire, as shown in figure 7 (center), that designs of islamic styles with a hint of modernism were seen by an average of 80% of the participants as very well-designed and appropriate in terms of use of elements and colors, proportion, rhythm, identity, the decorative elements and repetition. it was noted to satisfy their functional needs and provides them with beauty and identity in the design. some believed it made them feel comfortable. seven percent were neutral and 73% of the participants were influenced and thought of changing spaces within their homes with similar designs. fig.9 average of islamic design preferences (center) h. b. elnaggar / the academic research community publication pg. 6 it has been clear from the questionnaire, as shown in fig 7 (right), that designs of islamic styles with a hint of modernism were seen by an average of 82% of the participants as very well-designed and appropriate in terms of use of elements and colors, proportion, rhythm, identity, the decorative elements and repetition. it was noted to satisfy their functional needs and provides them with beauty and identity in the design. some believed it made them feel comfortable while 14% saw it was appropriately designed. four percent were neutral and 80% of the participants were influenced and thought of changing spaces within their homes with similar designs. fig.10 average of islamic design preferences (right) 3.5 third questionnaire: the identity of heritage nubian heritage. fig.11 the lotiform flower (left), symbolic folk arts (center & right) it has been clear from the questionnaire, as shown in figure 11 (left), that designs of nubian styles with a hint of modernism were seen by an average of 70% of the participants as very well-designed and appropriate in terms of use of elements and colors, proportion, rhythm, identity, the decorative elements and repetition. it was noted to satisfy their functional needs and provides them with beauty and identity in the design. some believed it made them feel comfortable while 25% saw it was appropriately designed. five percent were neutral and 60% of the participants were influenced and thought of changing spaces within their homes with similar designs. fig.12 average of nubian design preferences (left) it has been clear from the questionnaire, as shown in figure 11 (center), that designs of nubian styles with a hint of modernism were seen by an average of 69% of the participants as very well-designed and appropriate in terms of use of elements and colors, proportion, rhythm, identity, the decorative elements and repetition. it was noted to satisfy their functional needs and provides them with beauty and identity in the design. some believed it made h. b. elnaggar / the academic research community publication pg. 7 them feel comfortable while 27% saw it was appropriately designed. four percent were neutral and 60% of the participants were influenced and thought of changing spaces within their homes with similar designs. fig.13 average of nubian design preferences (center) it has been clear from the questionnaire, as shown in figure 11 (right), that designs of nubian styles with a hint of modernism were seen by an average of 81% of the participants as very well-designed and appropriate in terms of use of elements and colors, proportion, rhythm, identity, the decorative elements and repetition. it was noted to satisfy their functional needs and provides them with beauty and identity in the design. some believed it made them feel comfortable while 14% saw it was appropriately designed. five percent were neutral and 65% of the participants were influenced and thought of changing spaces within their homes with similar designs. fig.14 average of nubian design preferences (right) the results of the study in employing the definition of heritage within a space showed the inclination of the participants to simplicity and a combination of heritage values and contemporary design. the aims of the research included expressing the participants’ identity through their design preferences inside their homes. moreover, it showed how they were influenced by the ideas offered to them through the questionnaire. results the research study aims at identifying heritage concepts and achieving the relationship between tradition and modernity. the results of this study are as follows dictated that the materials and new technologies helped show local interior architecture with new solutions free from constraints. heritage, as well, was identified with stability and continuity, thus, expressing a dire need of taking advantage of it in various ways and using it in today’s designs. dealing with heritage, especially the environmental aspects associated with it, and learning from past experiences in creating solutions to the current problems build a link between interior architectural heritage and contemporary designs. moreover, dealing with heritage and integrating it with contemporary architecture leads to an understanding of heritage and an evaluation of requirements that match and reflect current times. recommendations the research study is concluded to provide recommendations that should strengthen the vision the future vision of integrating heritage and contemporary interior architecture. these recommendations can be summarized as follows: 1. working on strengthening the cultural awareness among members of the society as well as the importance of the local architectural heritage. avoiding the blind imitation of the western thought and sticking to one’s own. h. b. elnaggar / the academic research community publication pg. 8 2. engineers and architects are encouraged to develop the traditional elements to match current times after undertaking proper studies. 3. confirming the inspiring use of patterns stemming from our heritage and its integration with design aspects that increase innovation revives the identity within the interior design elements. 4. paying attention to the analysis of the patterns, traditions and cultures as a way of enriching design ideas. references 1. ali, w. (1999). the arab contribution to islamic art: from the seventh to the fifteenth centuries. cairo, egypt, jordan, royal society of fine arts. 2. alrashed, f., asif, m., & burek, s. (2017). the role of vernacular construction techniques and materials for developing zero-energy homes in various desert climates. buildings, 7(1), 17. doi:10.3390/buildings7010017 3. attia, m. (2014). sustainability in saudi vernacular built environment: the case of al-ahsa. in vernacular architecture: towards a sustainable future (vols. 1–0, pp. 87–92). crc press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17393-18 4. bloom, j., blair, s. (eds.) (2009). the grove encyclopedia of islamic art and architecture. oxford university press. retrieved 30 aug. 2017, from http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195309911.001.0001/acref-9780195309911. 5. ettinghausen, r., grabar, o., & jenkins, m. (2001). islamic art and architecture 650-1250(2nd ed.). new haven, ct: yale university press. 6. flood, f. b. (2000). the great mosque of damascus: studies on the makings of an ummayad visual culture. boston: brill. 7. kana'an, r. (2001). islamic art and architecture: world of art series by robert hillenbrand. london: thames and hudson, 1999. pp. 288. price pb 8.95. 0-500-20305-9. journal of islamic studies, 12(2), 235-238. doi:10.1093/jis/12.2.235 8. mahdy, k. (n.d.). problems facing the application of islamic wooden artifacts ornaments in contemporary islamic style interiors. interna onal design journal, 4(1), pp 83-98. retrieved from http://www.journal.faadesign.com/pdf/4-1-hayam-abs.pdf 9. petersen, a. (2002). dictionary of islamic architecture routledge. http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication cultural influence on evaluation system of social sustainability in turkish housing projects salah haj ismail1, hatice kalfaoglu hatipoglu2 1 assist.prof.dr.ankara yildirim beyazit university, ankaraturkey 2assist.prof. dr. ankara yildirim beyazit university, ankaraturkey keywords social sustainability housing-cultureturkeysyria; abstract architects have always been keen on providing efficient and ideal housing while considering multiple factors because it is one of the essential needs of human beings. sustainability has become a core topic in housing design and several studies have tried to define the important factors that should be considered in order to realize sustainable design. lately, architects and urban planners managed to take steps forward towards social sustainability in design to define the socio-natural relationship allowing lasting environmental quality. many studies in the us and europe were conducted to analyze this complex mission. since different communities have developed different cultures, traditions, and attitudes dealing with housing projects, this paper aims to investigate the different factors and criteria to analyze and evaluate social sustainability in housing projects for culturally different societies. this investigation provides an understanding of the diverse needs of those different communities in terms of socially sustainable design. different case studies from similar cultures in turkey and syria have been analyzed towards the establishment of clear and solid scientific evaluation system suitable for those communities in order to discuss the factors needed to achieve social sustainability of housing on an architectural and urban scale. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) peer-review under responsibility of archive's the academic research community publication 1. introduction since architecture has always dealt with the problems of people in terms of spatial quality, the buildings and the built environment should contribute to providing a livable space for people. social quality and sustainability ensure this liveability by improving nature-human-society relationships on the long term. especially design of residential areas with social quality has a great significance because we spend most of our lives in our houses. to provide this social quality in residential areas, it is important to respond to needs and requirements of people and enhance the relationship between nature and humans. this allows for the building of a better society and improves quality of life for everyone because a better design of the built environment can contribute to better interactions and liveability of people. doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.228 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ salah haj ismail / the academic research community publication pg. 2 this social quality is related to functional quality, which is one of the core aspects of architecture. functionality is described in oxford dictionary as “the purpose that something is designed or expected to fulfill.” (“functionality”, n.d.) a functional framework should be ensured to allow people to carry out activities efficiently and comfortably. physical and psychological needs should be fulfilled such as privacy, social contact, freedom etc. adaptation to the changing needs and circumstances is also a factor that makes the building functional (voordt and wegen, 2005). social-functional quality of residential projects is the determinant of the value of social sustainability of these housing areas. it is difficult to assess this quality but it is important to describe the indicators. this study first determines the criteria needed to evaluate social sustainability and seeks to define the current position of housing regarding social sustainability in two similar but different cultures in order to determine the cultural influence on this evaluation. nomenclature shq sustainable housing quality 2. related work there are some important indicators in housing that enhance the quality of life with a better housing design. social sustainability is one of these main indicators. sustainability is not only concerned with global warming and recycling, but it ensures a meaningful, better and a happy life for all (chapman and gant, 2007). social sustainability is one of the three main pillars of sustainability and is a factor that is related to the satisfaction of the user and human-centered planning. polese and stren describe social sustainability as “development (and/or growth) that is compatible with harmonious evolution of civil society, fostering an environment conducive to the compatible cohabitation of culturally and socially diverse groups while at the same time encouraging social integration with improvements in the quality of life for all segments of the population” (polese and stren, 2000). in syria, (kandakjy, 2011) social sustainability is not evaluated or analyzed in any housing project constructed by public institutes. (haj ismail, 2012) says that the syrian design norms give the base for good social sustainability but it lacks many social activities and spaces. in turkey, social sustainability has not been a real consideration in design and has not been evaluated in housing projects (kalfaoglu hatipoglu, 2016; tereci, 2017). the notion of sustainability has remained on an economical level. 3. methodology the study compares the european standards and norms for design to achieve social sustainability with the standards and designs in two case studies in two different countries. it then examines the reaction/interaction of users from those different cultures to these standards in order to understand if those norms are required in those cultures or rejected for different needs. ultimately, we are suggesting the best practices and applications to achieve social sustainability in a different cultural atmosphere. the case study from turkey is from the city of konya, which is located in the city center and has three housing blocks. the second case study is a mass public housing for youth in the city of aleppo, the biggest city of syria. 4. evaluations system for social sustainability to evaluate the social sustainability of housing, indicators of the social functional quality analysis of shq (sustainable housing quality) evaluation system have been used (kalfaoglu hatipoglu, 2016). shq evaluation system includes three main criteria to evaluate housing projects, these are social-functional quality analysis, aesthetic-visual quality analysis, and energy-construction quality analysis. social-functional quality analysis of this evaluation system has eleven sub-indicators, which include several questions and qualitative analyses using spatial and structural data and observations for the evaluation. the major interest according to the community in these two countries was forwarded to these three indicators.  accessibility and circulation  flexibility  children´s playground salah haj ismail / the academic research community publication pg. 3 4.1. case study in konya/turkey mavisehir housing complex is a 120 flat estate housing with three blocks, each of which has two entrances. the construction of the project was completed in 2012. it consists of 10 storybuildings around a garden. the site includes children´s playground, open car parking, and greenery with sitting possibilities for people. the surrounded site is guided by security guards to control the entrance of the foreigners. the site is close to the city center. accessibility and circulation: one side of the housing is autobahn, which causes a lot of traffic congestion and the rush of everyday life around the site. after the entrance to the site, finding a way to the building entrances is clear and easy. roads are not well defined and the pedestrian and car distinction is provided neither at the entrance of the housing nor in the garden and there is not a traffic calming measure to control vehicle speed. there are children playing in the way of the cars and parking places. figure 2: the general image of the buildings figure 3: parking place in front of the buildings figure 1: site plan and typical floor plan of mavisehir housing figure 4: the entrance of the buildings (left) and circulation routes (middle and right) salah haj ismail / the academic research community publication pg. 4 at the entrance of the buildings, there is a steep ramp, which exceeds the slope of 6%. inside the building, there is another ramp without handrails. in the buildings, there isn’t a clear distinction between materials and these materials do not support a secure circulation (slip-resistant finishes, spatial orientation, recognizable etc.). the stair enclosure does not benefit from daylight, which causes the loss of the attractiveness and social/physical adversities. public transport is provided mostly from the autobahn mentioned above but the nearest transport possibility is the “dolmus”, which goes to the center and does not provide the possibility to be used with buggies because of the size of the vehicle (smaller and higher than the bus) and the crowd. a lot of residents have two cars. flexibility: the interior walls of the flats are not load-bearing but the material cannot easily be demolished without intrusive interventions. a change in the design of the flats has not been foreseen in the planning phase. the rooms are arranged in a corridor. changing of the flat sizes (smaller/bigger/divided to) is not possible because of the restricted size of the entrances of the flats. any construction changes in the flats have not been made until 2017. children´s playground: there is a small playground with some equipment, which is located at the edge of the site near the autobahn. the lack of a sandpit seemed to be an important deficiency by the residents which is typical in the playgrounds of turkey. the playground equipment and floor are made of plastic and have a standard design, which can be seen in any housing estate. there are also a lot of children playing and cycling in the whole housing site. however, the lack of distinction between pedestrians and cars is a potential danger to the safety of the children as stated before. an indoor playground for too hot/cold days lacks in the project. there is not any other playground close to the site in the surrounding. 4.2. case study in aleppo/syria: youth public housing in maasaraniyeh is a new city quarter of many similar projects in aleppo. it is composed of 132 blocks of five-floor buildings with a total of 3960 flats divided into different zones including all services and infrastructures. it was planned to be constructed in five phases starting from 2007 and finishing in 2015. figure 6: site plan of maasaraniyef and typical floor plan accessibility and circulation: the complex is separated from the airport highway with a wide green belt surrounding it. it is well connected to the city center around 5 km with public transportation and easy to access by private cars, it is clear to reach buildings entrances and for each block, there is an open parking lot. the streets have traffic calming pumps located on the outer edge of the building where the area in between is for pedestrians only. the entrances have 3 to 5 steps stairs. figure 5: the lack of distinction pedestrians/cars (left), playground (middle), playing children in the site (right) salah haj ismail / the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 7: building height of five floors(left) and separation of vehicles from pedestrian (right) flexibility: the reinforced concrete structures and the light divisions materials enabled the easy modification of the interior spaces mainly adding new rooms or widening the kitchen, closing the balcony were the main modification asked by the users, in some cases joining two flats to form one bigger for a big family also was noticed especially with the family growth in years even the project was designated to newly married young couples. also, they prefer to remove the eating room and add it either to the kitchen or living room since in the tradition there is no eating space needed. three different models of the design are found according to the size, using corridors or central hall, which was not always satisfactory for some users who prefer the central salon style. figure 8: modification done by users: closing balconies(left) removing the wall between two rooms(right) 5children´s playground: the plaza in between buildings designed as a green area was used as playgrounds by children and football camps even though it has no equipment. this is because of the high temperature which needs a shaded area for playing and all playgrounds were collected in the central part of the quarter which has a higher level of vegetation and trees providing suitable shadow level. also with the clear separation between the cars and pedestrians, many children are riding their bicycles in the alleys. 5. discussion and results: according to users’ interviews in konya, they think it would be better with a distinction between pedestrians and vehicles in the garden and an underground parking would be a better solution to achieve this distinction, while in aleppo (touma g.2010), they find the parking area is too large and should be decreased and added to play areas for the children. in addition to that, the possibility of using daylight in the staircases would be an added value of the design. in both cases, the accessibility of disabled and infants wheeled equipment should be enhanced/ added to the entrances. for the flexibility in konya, they prefer that the design should be 5 rooms instead of 4 rooms since it does not allow easy modification after construction, while in aleppo, even easy modification can be conducted but they prefer to take into consideration in early stages the possibility of expansion when the family grows since it is designed for newly married couples. moreover, they prefer to have a lift in the building because the design allows this addition. salah haj ismail / the academic research community publication pg. 6 the playground design in konya should consider using more natural adequate materials for children and should be overseen from all the building blocks. in the other case, they asked to have more trees in playgrounds to achieve higher shading and more noise insulation. 6. conclusion after the application of the sfqa on two case studies, we found that the culture of these communities has strongly affected their decision in using, modifying and future intervention needed. as architects, our responsibility is to understand the needs and requirements of the residents and solve any short comes in the design. thus we can enhance the social quality of residential projects and decrease the need for future interventions. design of an underground parking area, indoor playgrounds for too hot/cold days, bigger lifts, daylight reaching circulation routes, more qualified playgrounds and definition of pedestrian/car circulation should be ensured in konya. moreover, the location of children´s playground in mavisehir, which is next to the autobahn, was also a wrong decision decreasing the quality. compared to western cultures, we found some differences such as the minimum need of parking because of the minor use of cars in aleppo and the need for less open playgrounds and more indoor-shared facilities/spaces due to the different user behaviors in those different cultures. the social evaluation sfqa should take into consideration the cultural differences between communities and it is essential to understand the real requirements of the community in order to respond to these needs correctly both in planning and design. references: 1. chapman j., gant, n.(ed).(2007). designers, visionaries and other stories: a collection of sustainable design essays.london: earthscan. 2. van der voordt, t. j.m., van wegen h.b.r. (2005). architecture in use: an introduction to the programming, design and evaluation of buildings. oxford: architectural press of elsevier. 3. kalfaoglu hatipoglu, h. (2016). improving turkish housing quality through holistic architecture: assessment framework, guidelines, lessons from vienna (doctoral dissertation). tecnical university of vienna,vienna. 4. tereci, a. (2017). importance of social sustainability at the mass housing projects. international conference on new trends in architecture and interior design, volume 3. 5. polese m and stren r. (2000). the social sustainability of cities: diversity and management of change. toronto: university of toronto press,pp 15-16. 6. kandakjy l. (2011).factors affecting design transformation of public housing in aleppo. university of aleppo journal 13-14. 7. haj ismail s.(2012). reviewing aleppo public spaces in terms of creativity and co-living. cairo: joint urban design workshop. 8. “functionality”. (n.d.). oxford dictionary. retrieved may 15 2017, from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/functionality 9. touma g.(2010). planning strategy for activating the axes of urban development. ascwa conference about improvement of living conditions through sustainable development, cairo. 8.acknowledgement the interviews of the mavisehir case in konya are made with the residents: müserref kalfaoglu and emine buhurlu. 9.resumee hatice kalfaoglu hatipoglu works at ankara yildirim beyazit university, department of architecture, as an asst. prof. she got her b. sc. and msc (as dipl. ing) degrees at faculty of architecture and planning at vienna https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/functionality salah haj ismail / the academic research community publication pg. 7 university of technology, vienna, austria in 2008. she also obtained her phd degree in architecture and planning from vienna university of technology. she worked as an intern in architecture offices coop himmelblau in vienna and mimarlar in turkey. she worked as an architect and a designer in bg4 architects, zauhenberger architecture office and espace design & visualisation company in austria. her current research interests are housing design quality and sustainability. salah haj ismail is an associate professor of architecture. he obtained a b.s of architectural engineering from aleppo university which is followed by postgraduate degrees in building sciences, archeology and an m.s. in construction management. then he has completed his phd in architecture at politecnico di torino, italy. he has worked in several universities in syria, italy, and spain as an academician. also he was establisher of mimar architectural group in syria 2002 and worked in different offices in italy, (maat architettura),saudi arabia(bunian) and spain(torrearch). he is pursuing his studies at the civil engineering department of ankara yıldırım beyazıt university. he is fluent in spanish, italian, english, in addition to his native language, arabic. his current research is sustainable development of rural architecture as solution for refugees housing. issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication http://www.ierek.com/press the impact of tourism on the cultural environment in turkey: the case of antalya şeyda şen1 yıldız salman2 1i̇stanbul kültür university 1i̇stanbul technical university keywords tourism, turkey, cultural tourism abstract tourism has begun to develop with the development of the socio-economic structures of the countries after the second world war and has become one of the fastest growing and expanding sectors in the world economy since this period. when tourism is rapidly growing, developing countries that have limited resources such as turkey have to make rational investment decisions for the economic future of the country. turkey’s tourism policies that focus on coastal tourism began to be applied through development plans in the 1960s. in the five-year development plans that started in 1963, tourism was selected as the priority sector in the economic development of turkey and the main principle of tourism sector was defined as mass tourism until the 1980s. in this period when tourism investments were increasing, for the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage, it was aimed to give priority to the regions which were seen as most convenient for tourism investments. in the 1960s, antalya was one of the selected priority regions according to the directions of the development plans to concentrate on the regions with high ability to attract tourists and to get short-term results. after the 1980s, although the concept of individual tourism has been mentioned in the development plans, mass tourism investments in antalya have increased rapidly with the tourism incentive law no. 2634 issued in 1982. from the 1980s, accommodation facilities in various categories have filled the city, thus the negative impacts of tourism on the natural, cultural heritage and social structure have begun to become evident. the tourism sector contributes greatly to the economic, cultural and social development of both developed and developing countries. however, the rapid and unplanned development of the tourism sector and focusing just on the economic impact of tourism for a long time has caused negative natural and socio-cultural influences. in antalya, overpopulation caused by the rapid development of tourism has caused deteriorations on the cultural and natural environment. particularly, kaleiçi which is the historic center of antalya has been through cultural and social transformations and lost its original character. the aim of this study which is based on the ongoing doctoral thesis is to discuss the role of tourism developments shaped by national policies and legal regulations with reference to the transformation process of cultural values in the case of antalya kaleiçi. in the first part of this study, national tourism policies and investments in turkey and the interaction between them and the protection of the historic environment are explained. in the second part, the cultural, spatial and social impact of national tourism policies and investments in the case of antalya are determined. doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.242 şeyda şen / the academic research community publication pg. 2 in the third part, the spatial and social impacts of tourism investments in the case of kaleiçi are questioned. 1. national tourism policies and investments in turkey after the second world war along with the improvement of the socio-economic structures of the countries, the demand for tourism increased rapidly and mass tourism became widespread. due to widespread mass tourism and the economic achievements of the countries through tourism, tourism has begun to be seen as a tool for economic development. since this period, tourism has become one of the fastest growing and expanding sectors in the world economy. in this period when tourism was rapidly developing, developing countries such as turkey which had limited resources had to make investment decisions rationally for the economic future of the country. the rapid development of the country's economy and the efficient use of limited resources had been attributed to determinate and plan of sectors that will provide the fastest and most revenue-generating growth (dpt, first development plan, 1963). for this purpose, since the early 1960s, the governments in turkey has been prepared for development plans to determinate the priority sectors and its incentives. in the five-year development plans that started in 1963, tourism was identified as the priority sector in the economic development of turkey and the main principle of tourism policy was defined as mass tourism until the 1980s. even though individual tourism investments were mentioned in the development plans since the 1980s, mass tourism investments were continued. especially after the tourism incentive law no. 2634, which was enacted in 1982, mass tourism investments were increased in the mediterranean and aegean coastal regions, which were accepted as the most convenient regions for tourism. in this period when tourism investments were increasing, for the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage, it was aimed to give priority to the regions which were seen most convenient for tourism investments. it was also clarified that conservation of national parks and restoration of historical monuments will take place in complementary investments (dpt, second development plan, 1968). right after the acceptance of tourism incentive law no. 2634 which includes the principles for the development of the tourism sector, the regulations to determine and plan tourism areas was accepted. within this scope, from 1982 to nowadays, plans were made to target more than one million capacity of bed in tourist areas in the mediterranean and aegean coastal regions and nearly five hundred thousand capacity of the bed was accomplished (doğmuş, 2010). although this rapid and intense tourism development’s negative impacts on the natural and cultural heritage values have been felt since the 1990s, the situation is defined as a problem in the development plans since the 2000s. in the ninth development plan prepared in 2007, the negative impacts on the natural and cultural environment and urbanization pressure on tourism areas due to the tourism investments was defined as an important problem. (dpt, ninth development plan, 2007). as a result, national tourism policies, legal regulations and the tourism plans in turkey have focused only on the economic benefits of tourism, especially the increase of the bed capacity in the coastal areas. in these coastal areas where natural and cultural heritage values are intense, instead of evaluating tourism and economic benefit of it as a tool for preserving these heritage values, these heritage values have been seen as a tool for the economic benefit that tourism can provide. to summarize, the preservation of these values has been highly connected to tourism and the motivation for preservation has been considered only because of the economic benefit it provides. the economic concerns over tourism planning stages have caused negative impacts on natural and cultural heritage. the tourism sector which is supported by multiple laws and incentives has transformed natural and cultural heritage into products that can be consumed for tourism purposes. 2. the impacts of national tourism policies and investments in antalya until 1950s antalya was a typical seaside city with a population of around 50.000 and had mainly agricultural and service sectors. the city consisted of the pier where today's yacht harbor is located, kaleiçi and several quarters next to kaleiçi (esengil, 2002). the city has entered into a rapid transformation process with the tourism policies that started to apply since 1960's. turkey’s national tourism policies that focus on coastal tourism began to be applied through development plans in the 1960s. in this period, antalya was one of the selected priority regions according to the first development plan decisions to concentrate on the regions with high ability to attract tourists and to get short-term results. at the end of the 1960s, tourism planning studies were started in antalya. in 1969 the coastal band between antalya and çanakkale was declared as tourism development zone by council of ministers and it was decided to plan the şeyda şen / the academic research community publication pg. 3 coastal band with its 3 km inland from the coast. in this plan, antalya came into prominence and became an important center within this band because of its well-conserved natural and cultural heritage values. in the 1970s, in development plans, it was announced that construction of infrastructure, airport, marina, and highways will be carried out in the priority tourism areas (dpt, third development planı, 1973). to achieve this goal, in 1973, the ministry of tourism was invited scandinavian planning and development organization (spda) to prepare antalya's master plans. in the same period, antalya region tourism master plan was prepared. thus this period has been the beginning of tourism-oriented urbanization in antalya. in 1975, three important projects were started in antalya: the southern antalya project, which foresees 70.000 accommodation capacity in the west of antalya, the historical city of side project, which foresees 12.000 accommodation capacity in the east of antalya and the historical site conservation project of kaleiçi. after the 1980s, mass tourism investments in antalya have increased rapidly with the tourism incentive law no. 2634 issued in 1982 and the incentives provided by the state. 30 tourism areas of a total of 270 tourism areas which declared up to today from 1982, were located in antalya. antalya had the largest share of tourism investments in turkey (doğmuş, 2010). in this period, when certified accommodation capacity is about 10 times higher in turkey, the accommodation capacity in antalya had been % of turkey's total. the number of tourist in turkey in 1980 was 1.3 million and in 2015 the number of tourists was increased 27 times and became 36 million. between 1980 and 2015, antalya's percent from the total tourist number was increased parallel to the investments. in the same period, a number of tourist in antalya in 1980 was 4.903 and in 2015 it became 11 million. tourist percent of antalya from the total number of tourists in turkey was %0,4 in 1980, %2,5 in 1985 and %31 in 2015 (esengil, 2002). table 1. number of tourists coming to turkey and antalya by years 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2015 antalya 4.903 65.915 826.027 1.939.477 3.230.837 11.331.840 turkey 1.288.060 2.614.924 5.389.308 7.726.886 10.428.153 36.244.632 although antalya has strong cultural tourism potential, which was the reason of the city was selected as a priority area in the 1960s, tourism investments have developed along the coastal tourism. from the 1980s, accommodation facilities in various categories have filled the city, thus the negative impacts of tourism on the natural, cultural heritage and social structure have begun to become evident. accommodation facilities located side by side and even in some cases attached with the site areas in the region have threatened to preserve these areas. in antalya, tourism investments have created new types of services. thus local people choose to work in the tourism sector, they abandoned their traditional crafts which is an important element of cultural tourism. the job opportunities have also caused immigration and overpopulation. and the social structure of city has been changed. 3. the impacts of national tourism policies and investments in the case of kaleiçi kaleiçi historical site is antalya’s historic city center which urban life constantly continuous since the 2nd century. archaeological values from the hellenistic and roman ages that overlap with the historic city core; monumental values such as mosque, madrasa, hamam, church from the seljuk and ottoman periods; traditional urban values such as houses, shops, workshops, squares and gardens that show a section of the ottoman urban life before the republic are the elements of the historical environment of the area. the traditional civil architecture of kaleiçi which are dated the second half of the 19th century and the first half of 20th century is designed due to the local climate, topography, and landscape (tankut, 1972). until 1950s antalya was a typical seaside city with a population of around 50.000 and kaleiçi was one of the several quarters in the city. in the 1950s due to immigration and urbanization, the population of antalya has increased. since the 1960’s the city has entered into a rapid transformation process with the national tourism policies. since the 1950s every development that occurred in antalya has also affected the kaleiçi site, because of its location in the city center. at the end of the 1970s, the ministry of tourism decided the necessity of integrated tourism and conservation plan of kaleiçi historical site because of the complex problems of it. then the ministry gave the responsibility to prepare an integrated plan to middle east technical university’s applied research unit (tankut, 1972). şeyda şen / the academic research community publication pg. 4 within the context of this plan, kaleiçi was surveyed, analyzed and evaluated. following the conservation and rehabilitation proposal plans developed for the study area in general scale, restoration and reuse projects were prepared. as a result of the analyzes, it was stated that the economic structure of the area was weak and the environmental standards were low. in the survey studies that was done during this period, it was also determined that %22 of the commercial units were vacant and %66 of the houses and %79 of the commercial units were used by tenants (tankut, 1972). therefore, it is established that the increasing number of tenants and shortened duration of the tenancy, tend to turn the historical site into a transition zone. and the social erosion that can be a rise in the area, is highly relevant to the intense physical environment erosion. despite the threats on the area, kaleiçi has the following the opportunities: • the location close to the city center creates a great attraction. • natural and cultural heritage values of the site are very attractive. • the environmental qualities such as the gardens can rarely find in the areas which are very close to the city center. • the site has a very positive environmental balance for a city that has a tendency of rapid development and intense like antalya. • it has many vista points. in kaleiçi historical site conservation project, it was decided that tourism planning must not be a primary goal, but it can be a secondary goal of the project. the aim of the project was, • to reduce the contradiction between the present situation of the historical environment and the contemporary life requirements. • to repair the social structure • to repair the economic structure • to do a rehabilitation project • to do a conservation project for the natural and cultural values • to add touristic functions. the main challenge of the project was whether or not the local people will continue to live in the same area again after the conservation project. the success of conservation plan was seen due to the facts that, • to provide a healthy environmental structure for the local people. • to create a healthy, functional and alive area for the city of antalya (tankut, 1972). this plan, created by middle east technical university’s applied research unit, was converted into a zoning plan and accepted in 1982. the zoning plan divided the area into five such as kaleiçi historical site, archaeological sites, trade zone, accommodation zone, residential areas, green areas. in the plan, the ways of intervention in the registered buildings was determined. accordingly, many buildings were restored and reused with functions related to the tourism sector (yazar, 2010). during the process of the plan, in the reuse projects, many registered buildings have lost their original plan scheme. due to the increased value of the buildings and the new commercial functions brought to the area, the original users of the buildings have changed and the social structure has not been preserved. in the 1980s, tourism investments that developed along the coastline of antalya have also affected the kaleiçi site. in 1992, the zoning plan was revised considering the tourism development that took place very close to the site. in the revised plan, it was declared as a necessity to function the new buildings as houses in order to sustain the integrity of the social structure. for preserve social structure, it was suggested to reuse some traditional houses as hostels and others as tourism function (yazar, 2010). later on, the plan has been divided to prepare detailed projects by antalya metropolitan municipality. in this context, restoration studies were carried out on the historic walls and registered houses of the site and landscape arrangements were made (yazar, 2010). in 2004, the kaleiçi historical site was declared a “cultural and tourism conservation and development zone” along with other historical sites in the city center. later on, pedestrian and vehicle transports were arranged, infrastructure works and road covers were made, lighting elements were renovated and urban furniture was added. şeyda şen / the academic research community publication pg. 5 recent studies in kaleiçi historical site verified that tourism functions in the area have caused many problems that affect natural, cultural heritage and social structure. first of all, new buildings that are mostly incompatible with the environment has been increased. increasing incompatible buildings can be a major problem that could cause to lose original characteristic of the area. secondly, there has been a lack of maintenance for the monumental buildings. in the third place, as a result of the reuse projects that were focused on tourism functions, the original features (original plans and facades) of the registered buildings has been changed. in the fourth place, during the restorations, modern techniques and materials have been used instead of traditional materials and techniques. but the main problem in the site is, tourism-focused development of the city and the new tourism functions of the site, changes the social structure. while the local residents leave the site, the new people from other cities choose this site to live and work. nowadays, more than %50 of the inhabitants are from the other cities. 4. conclusion the tourism sector contributes greatly to the economic, cultural and social development of both developed and developing countries. however, the rapid and unplanned development of the tourism sector and focusing just on the economic impact of tourism for a long time has caused negative natural and socio-cultural influences. in the 1990s in addition to discussions on the negative effects of mass tourism on the cultural heritage, but also international tourist attractions have changed and tourists preferences have changed from coastal tourism to cultural tourism and alternative tourism types. according to the united nations world tourism organization, the main features of cultural tourism are; "cultural tourism is also about experiencing and enjoying everything that makes the region, the life of local residents and the characteristics that make both of them.” (unwto, 2004). integrated conservation, also pointed out by current conservation concepts, underscores that today's intangible cultural heritage such as daily life, traditional life, and modes of production must include as well as the physical structure to the protection planning studies of preservation areas. particular attention should be paid to the fact that not to lose the spirit of the place, especially where tourism is economically beneficial. until 1950s antalya was a typical seaside city with a population of around 50.000 and kaleiçi was one of the several quarters in the city. in the 1950s due to immigration and urbanization, the population of antalya has increased. since the 1960’s the city has entered into a rapid transformation process with the national tourism policies. although antalya has strong cultural tourism potential, which was the reason of the city was selected as a priority area in the 1960s, tourism investments have developed along the coastal tourism. from the 1980s, accommodation facilities in various categories have filled the city, thus the negative impacts of tourism on the natural, cultural heritage and social structure have begun to become evident. since the 1950s every development that occurred in antalya has also affected the kaleiçi site, because of its location in the city center. although kaleiçi historical site conservation project, which was created by middle east technical university’s applied research unit in the 1970s was aimed to local residents stay in the site, recent studies were showed that nearly %50 of the local residents left the site. references 1. dpt, first development plan, 1963. 2. dpt, second development plan, 1968. 3. dpt, ninth development plan, 2007. 4. doğmuş eylem o., antalya örneğinde ulusal turizm politikalarinin sorgulanmasi, doctoral thesis, dokuz eylül university, izmir, 2010. 5. esengil, r., antalya 20 yılda neden bu kadar bozuldu?, journal of mimarlık, istanbul, 2002. issue:305, p. 60-62 6. tankut, g., antalya kaleiçi sit planlaması, journal of mimarlık, istanbul, 1979. issue:159, p. 47-48. 7. yazar, b., turizmin tarihsel dokulara etkileri: antalya örneği, master thesis, dokuz eylül university, izmir, 2010. http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the role of identity of an animated character in the story line doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.130 soraia mohamed sobeih 1 1associate professor in the animation and book arts section graphic department, faculty of fine arts, helwan university keywords identity, identity crises, animation, animated characters, story line. abstract the identity of an animated character means who he really is, or what are the characteristics that would never change? how the character sees himself and how others see him? it includes shape, color, race, beliefs, and choices in life. the more the storyteller gives identity to his animated character, the more it is sound and convincing. in that sense, it touches the audiences’ hearts as they feel its pain or happiness. in other words, they are involved in the story and united with the character. as the story begins, characters and settings are presented before the audience to get an overview of the characters’ identity. then, more elements are to show up, like the conflict, the problem that needs to be solved and the rising actions, which are series of events that lead to the high main point or the climax. it is considered as a turning point of the story after which the falling actions come. the falling actions are events and complications that start to loosen the plot. gradually, the solution shows up as the story ends either happily or tragically. throughout the story line, these groups of events that form the story sometimes account for the appearance of an identity crisis that impacts the character. it means that he is uncertain of his feelings about himself; he gets confused about what type of person he is or what is the true purpose of his life. it always takes making an existential that plays a big role in the story line. the identity crises appear in toy story 1995 to buzz light-year when he discovers the truth of himself; that he is a toy, not a space ranger as he thought before. this made him give up hope of returning anywhere. it took him sometime to accept the fact of himself after seeing how woody struggles to return them both to andy. he tries his best to save his friend and return home safely, as being dictated by the role’s vision. in toy story 2 1999, the identity crises appear to woody when buzz strikes him with the fact that he is not a collector’s item. he is a child’s play thing, he is a toy. then, a decision has to be made to return to andy, and the struggles start with the prospector. in toy story 3, 2010, the identity crises appear to woody at the end of the story. he was suffering to be away from all his toy family that will be left in the attic, so he wrote on the box to be donated and he attached himself in, with them hoping that andy gives him a very warm goodbye and leaves him with the rest of the toys in good hands. soraia sobeih / the academic research community publication pg. 2 in finding nemo 2003, the identity crises for nemo is when he chooses to touch the boat, even though it is a dangerous thing, just to prove to his father and his friends that he is brave. it led him to fall in the capture and to meet other fish gill in the tank which gave him confidence in himself and made his personality and identity clear. in ponyo 2008, the identity crisis appears when granny asked ponyo if she was ready to give up all her super powers in order to be a human living with sosuke on earth. the answer was “yes”, and then she fulfilled her dream even if it seemed strange and felt happy ever after. in astroboy 2009, the identity crises for astro is when he discovers that he is not a real boy, so he runs away and tries to discover his true identity as a robot. he took his great decision when he refuses to fight other robots especially zog, which led at the end, to rescue him from the same positive power he had given to zog before. he finds his true identity as a hero that fears nothing and protects humans. in big hero 2014, the identity crises for baymax takes place when he decides to give up his own life and existence in order to save two humans, hiro and the astro girl. he raised his hand to provide them with power that could navigate them to the gate. sooner, we were surprised to find the chip lift in his hand, so hiro could restructure him, and this plot twist is what gives the story cohesion and enchantment. identity finding our identity and place in the world is something we will, inevitably, have to face in our lives. identity is whatever makes an entity definable and recognizable; it is the person’s self-affiliation (or categorization by others) as a member of a group. others defined it as the feeling of belonging to a group. identity holds that nature of being part of a person's self-conception and self-perception, and it is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture.1 an identity is the set of meanings that define who a person is when it is an occupant of a particular role in society, a member of a particular group, or claims particular characteristics that identify him or her as a unique person2. for example, identity is the way we perceive and express ourselves. factors and conditions that an individual is born with often play a role in defining the one’s identity; however, many aspects of a person’s identity change throughout his or her life. people’s experiences can alter how they see themselves or how others perceive them. conversely, their identities influence the decisions they make, like individuals choose their friends, adopt certain fashions, and align themselves with political beliefs. accordingly, many artists found solace in using their work to express, explore, and question ideas about identity.3 the identity of an animated character is defined as a building block of the personality of a character in a way that connects it with the surroundings. it lets the audience feel the character’s characteristics, his motives, and his fears which are derived from himthat gives him credibility and trust. when a great decision is to be taken by the animated character, this causes what is called an identity crisis, and in most of the cases, it is at the peak of the story line. it takes time and thoughts to be shaped. then, the character makes up his mind and takes the decision, which will change his course in life, fulfill his dream and brings happiness to his life. sometimes, he chooses to sacrifice himself to save others. the story line it is the series of events that happen in the story. having unique plot is what allows the story to shine and rule. a plot is the sequences of the story’s events. it begins with the exposure as a start to introduce the characters, then the ascending actions that lead to the climax, which has one or more problems making a high point of the story. the descending actions are when the tension decreases and everything begin to settle down. after that comes the resolution, which makes the ending and gets the conflict solved. pixar explores the thematic concern of identity throughout many of their films; it demonstrates how its characters struggle to find their identity. it is the idea of an identity crisis of the main character that is torn between the demands of his group identity and his own aspirations, ambitions, and dreams. 1 www.wikipedia.com 2 identity theory by peter j. burke; jan e. stets, oxford press 3 www.moma.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/identity_(philosophy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nationality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ethnicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/religion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/generation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/locality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/culture https://moma.org/learn/moma_learning/glossary#identity soraia sobeih / the academic research community publication pg. 3 toy story 1995: woody has been andy’s favorite toy for a long time, an andy has played with woody the most. he wears a hat like him and decorates his room like the old west drove from the american culture. woody is the leader of andy’s room, for he has good leadership skills. he knows how to plan and motivate other toys and he can put himself at risk to for a greater cause, like risking buzz and himself from their most fear of being lost. in addition, he tries to reclaim their owner “andy”, and he would never give up on andy. buzz believes he is a real space ranger, his mission is to save the galaxy from the evil of zorg. he even does not believe woody when he tells him that he has no laser! he cannot really fly! in addition, he is not a real space ranger; he is a child’s plaything! he is just a toy (fig.1). when buzz sees the toy commercial and discovers that his inability to fly, he suffers a severe identity crisis. for once, buzz does not know who or how to think about himself (fig.2). at this point, we feel connected to the suffering and disappointment of buzz not knowing who he really is. we tend to feel lost and unsure about our identities. he surrenders to despair to the extent that he asked sid to blow him with a rocket. fortunately, woody convinced him that he has a big role in life as andy’s toy. he must fight to go back to him, so after his identity crisis culminates in a resolve to “be” andy’s toy, buzz must think of ways to fulfill this new identity. he also tries to help woody to escape from sid and go back to andy4. accepting buzz for his identity, believing in his purpose of life as a toy was a high point in the rising actions just before the climax of the story. in other words, they were trapped, sid woke up going to launch the rocket, and the van was moving and andy was leaving. it led to the solution as woody has planned to liberate buzz. woody and buzz manage to return to andy's car, and then to reconcile afterward. luckily, woody was re-accepted among the other toys, and he was sharing the same status favorited by andy and buzz. toy story 2 pixar, 1999: as we see woody's journey, and the challenges he faces with his identity, he comes across some new characters, jessie and prospector; who are part of the set of television tie-in merchandise, which woody originally belonged to. 5 they offer him a very hard choice between immortality and love. that is, he can live forever in a museum in perfect condition with his "natural" toy family. alternatively, to accept his own mortality as the price of andy's love, yhis becomes a real dilemma for woody as he struggles with his own identity and his true purpose in this world. “woody, you're not a collector's item. you are a child's play thing. you are a toy!”, that’s what buzz light-year told him6, and this matter of identity was the same thing that woody was trying to explain to buzz in the first part to make him understand that he is andy's toy and should act like a family member. woody tries to decide what is more important to him; his immortal and natural destiny of being with his family of toys; or, to re-join the family he grew up with to serve as andy's toy. he, of course, choses to return to his beloved andy and see him growing even if that was leading to neglecting him or not being played with after andy grows up and gets older. this was the identity crises for woody. the big decision that he made and that explains who he really is, he is andy’s toy that is the main and the most important thing in his life and he would not give it up for any reason or anything in the world. he must always be there for andy as long as it takes. this big decision led the audience into more unity and sympathy with woody, we find ourselves connected with him in his struggle with the prospector to go back home (fig.3), even jessi changes her mind and determines to go with woody to be part of the toy family with andy’s sister. taking big decisions, rethinking, changing our minds are all human characteristics that when we put them in our animated characters we feel connected to them and we tend to believe them. toy story 3, pixar, 2010: andy is a teenager heading to the college, and woody faces the same identity crises once again, he has to choose which is better: to stay in the attic as long as it takes or to go away to a nursery to have other kids to play with. in fact, all the toys face the same identity crises they choose the nursery, but woody does not as his true self is a friend of andy and he never let go of him. 4 http://dramatica.com/analysis/toy-story#os 5 www. pixar animation weedly.com 6 robert velarde; the wisdom of pixar, an animated look at virtue, ivp book soraia sobeih / the academic research community publication pg. 4 he stands for andy and makes his friends, jessie and others, see that they have to stay andy’s toys for as long as it takes. he wanted to show them that it is his decision to keep them in the attic or to be donated to someone. it took part in the ascending actions of the story. therefore, first, woody decides to stay in the attic and not to run away as the rest of the toys did. moreover, he made it his duty to convince them to return back with him. as the second identity crisis emerge, he decides to stay with his toy family and not to be separated from them (fig.4). when he got into the box with them, woody helps andy to see that bonnie that it is a good choice to donate his toys. surprisingly, we were shocked to find woody with them in the box after they all faced death in the junk big fireplace, as he sees himself as part of andy’s toys family and decides to stay with them. it has been so hard for both woody and andy to be separated, but that’s life. he keeps all his love for andy, but with after reconsideration, it was really better for him and for the rest of the toys to stay with someone young and gentle, like bonnie. we felt his suffering and thinking when the toys were saying goodbye to him before getting into the box at the falling actions of the story. it was a sad moment. such scene creates solid bonds between the audience and the character. another sentimental scene occurred when andy was giving the toys to bonnie, describing the characteristics of every one of them especially woody, saying that he will always stand for her as she did for him. practically speaking, we sometimes find ourselves forced to be away from someone who is very special, like when a dear one travels to study or work. we feel sorry but we continue our lives carrying all the love and good memories we had and looking forward to the future and the good that it brings to us. another case is remy in ratatouille; he felt, dreamt and knew he would be something more than just a rat eating garbage but he would be a chef, so he pretended to be a rat for his father. teamed with linguini, he can fulfill his dream of cooking. he had to pretend that gusteau existed to have someone to talk to. ultimately, we realized his identity to be a chef doing what he dreamt of and still is a part of his beloved family. finding nemo, pixar, 2003: the identity matter derived from nemo’s will of learning, exploring and discovering is formed not only because his father marlin prevented him. the most important aspect is how nemo struggles to gain knowledge and adventure. the identity crises for nemo appears just as the beginning of the ascending actions of the story when he chooses to touch the boat (fig.5) his crusade was to prove his father and others that he is brave and he is capable of doing more things than it seems. it led him to fall in the capture captured of bullies, and a fish (gill), who gave him confidence and trusted his abilities unlike his father, also led to the finding process that is the core message of the film. nemo had to go through a tedious process of discovering himself and understanding his abilities in the ocean. a true manifestation of that happened when he put a rock in the fan to make it stop. this understanding of one’s abilities makes him understand himself. he succeeded to prove everyone and himself he could swim to the boat, but he discovered that his father was right and it is a dangerous thing to do. such action led the audience to sympathize with the little fish. we understand his desire to improve himself as he has a disability in his small fin, so we feel more connected to him. after marlin met dory, he learnt to trust others even if they lacked some abilities. if dory keeps on forgetting, but she can read, speak whale, she still has good instinct and good manners. she helped marlin all through his journey and never gave up on him. through the journey, marlin faces all his fears, sharks, crabs, and birds. he even became courageous, trusty and more confident. the ocean is the setting for this little fish tale, it is not safe, but it is also a magnificent world of colors, beauty, and life. there are different kinds and schools of fish swimming together7. it is a magical place where love and friendship could be found in the darkest places. the climactic scene occurred in the dentist's office. nemo was playing dead to escape the place when marlin was about to arrive. we know that nemo was faking it, but his dad was not (fig 6). we understand the stakes in this scene, but marlin and nemo do not have the full picture yet. with gill’s help, he puts nemo into the water to catch his dad who swam hundreds of miles looking for him to be finally reunited again. the journey changed both the son and the father. marlin learnt to trust his son and make him try things and decide for himself. in addition, nemo learnt that it is fine that his father loves him and cares about him, but this care should never prevent him from discovering the world and living his own life. 7 http://www.shmoop.com/finding-nemo/ocean-symbol.html soraia sobeih / the academic research community publication pg. 5 ponyo, ghibli, 2008: ponyo is a mesmerizing goldfish, who lives with her sisters in the undersea kingdom (fig.7). her dream is to explore the human world; she does and falls in love with sosuke, a nice human child, whom she determines to spend her life with, regardless of any events that would ensue her decision. the identity crisis appears when ponyo was asked by granny if she is ready to give up all her super powers in order to be a human and live with sosuke on earth or not. her transformation into a human upsets the balance of nature 8 and causes tsunami. her answer was yes, so granny puts ponyo in a bubble and gives her to sosuke to complete her transformation by kissing the bubble. she kisses him back and then she got transformed into a real human girl (fig.8). she can always visit her sisters in the ocean, but as a human not as a fish. she fulfilled her own dream even if it seemed strange and unique. most importantly, she felt happy by this change. the decision made by ponyo was a crucial one that affects essential changes in her lives on different levels. she will continue her life as a magic fish girl with magical powers in the ocean with her sisters, or she will lose her magical powers to become a human girl living on the shore with her friend souske. there were other concerns of the environment that were affected by ponyo’s switch that made a tsunami, but it calmed down after she took her decision and gave up her magic powers. there was no reason presented before to understand this change except her will for that, and after she made up her mind, she felt happy. this identity matter or big change /decision made the audience feel her opinion and believe her childish desire to be with her friend. she tried the life of humans before and enjoyed it, but as a magic fish through the beginning and middle of the film, yet the big decision came at the descending actions before the end to pave the way for a solution to appear. both the ocean and the land are the settings for this magic fish tale, but it differs than nemo’s as its made in a 2d form, and water colors are used in the backgrounds. also, the anime style in drawing the characters and the small actions reminded us of the humanity of myazaki’s characters and the magnificent world of color and beauty. also, the relationship between man and nature9 that forms a main concept in the anime movies. we can say it is the true love and friendship between ponyo and sosuke. usually, the japanese animation uses a cinematic fabric more similar to a live action film in the united states. as for adults, the action-oriented narratives, and true character development are over a well-paced time frame. all of the aforementioned details are not typically found in a typical american animated feature. everything that is created has a visible spirit, which could be traced back to some aspect of its creator who is in return exemplifies some unit of a culture. astroboy, summit, 2009: the head of the ministry of science, dr. tenma, creates a powerful android to replace his son tobi (astro boy) who was killed. unfortunately, his creator rejects him, and that led tobi to go off in order to find his own identity in an adventure that would make him his time's greatest hero10. the first identity crises for astro happened when he discovered that he is not a real boy, and that caused him grievances. the feelings of being lost and not knowing the one’s place in the world made connections between astro and the audience who felt he suffer and loss. it united them with the character in his search for his own identity. similarly, in real life, we sometimes search for our roles in life. he managed to be a part of the human race, and along with his friend, they fix zog, a big robot. astro takes his big decision when he refuses to fight other robots especially: zog, the one he had helped before, showing that they are not just made from metal but they also have feelings. the second identity crises is when he decided to sacrifice himself (fig.9) to face the negative red energy with his own positive blue one just after the climax of the story reveled when the red bad energy was out of control and threatening all the city, as this was the only way to confront it and save the city. this action led to several things in the story; 8 blaster. com 9 www. apjjf. org/2014/12/39/ hiranmoylahiri /4191/article.html 10 www.imdb. com http://www.imdb/ soraia sobeih / the academic research community publication pg. 6 1the negative powers vanished, and the villain disappeared. 2all the people in the city were saved, and the saw how heroic the astro boy is, and how much the cares for humans (fig.10). zog the big robot helped him. 3his father, dr. tenma, realized that he should treat robots better and he should accept his new tobby (astro boy) as he is; a robot with the heart of a lion and a hero ready to face fears and defeat all kinds of enemies. 4astro boy himself discovered his destiny and identity: to love his father and his friends, and to accept being a different robot, one of a kind with big heart born to be he big hero 6 disney 2014 the special bond that developed between robot baymax, and hiro hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.11 we can recognize the identity of east asia, which is represented in the anime style, which disney borrowed. when the big hero was under production, the original story was done after the nuclear bombing of nagasaki and hiroshima12, but disney added some tweaks to the story to fit also the american society. hiro loses his brother, and the unlikely friendship between a boy and his robot the film borrows from japan’s culture. it runs in a country called san fransokyo, a mix between tokyo and san francisco. a busy crowded city full of inventions and it has under cover super heroes. the city has scenes, like the twisted roofs of houses, the very tall skyscrapers, the flying kites, and the high tec. the design of the characters made a combination between the american and japanese cultures in a modern look. the identity crises in big hero happens when hiro faces the villain, who killed his brother tadashi and decides not to harm him as he was willing to do in the first time, but instead of delivering him to the police to take what he deserves by low. although it was hard for him not to take revenge for his brother, it showed what he truly is, a good kid that cannot harm anyone, and that is his true identity. he is an inventor that delivers goodness for the humanity and cannot harm any of them even if he is an evil. the scene that led to that was when hiro saw the records of his brother in baymax. he was very anxious to save and heal tge people by checking and stabilizing their health. the other identity crises for baymax himself is when he decided to sacrifice himself, his own existence in life, to save two humans; hiro and the astro girl. he waved his hand to give them both power to return to the gate and to be rescued. in this moment, the audience felt baymax’s love and sacrifice. they got connected with him and felt hiro’s fear of losing his friend, the one he loves after he had lost his brother before. all these emotions drive the audience to be connected with the characters in order to believe them. this identity decision is driven by baymax’s belief that his very special role in life is to help people become in a good condition. his revolutionary decision came after the climax of the story as they confronted the danger, the scientist who stole the robotics and destroyed everything. so, it was in the descending actions driving to a dramatic ending except for the happy surprise to find the chip in the hand. hiro built another baymax and that was a happy ending. 11 imdb.com 12 http://www.theverge.com/ soraia sobeih / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure 1. woody shows that buzz is a toy figure 2. buzz discovers his true identity as a toy figure 3.woody decides to go back to andy figure 4.woody is thinking to stay with his friends figure 5. nemo decides to touch the boat figure 6. nemo is playing dead at the dentist’s figure 7. ponyo swims dreaming to live on earth figure 8. ponyo transforming into a human girl figure 9. astro going to save humans defeat the evil robot figure 10. astro with friends after reveling his identity figure 11. hiro trying to grab baymax to save all figure 12. baymax sacrificing himself to save his friends conclusions: we give our animated characters human characteristics, we design their identities and personalities to express feelings and make the audience united with them. like humans, the animated character can come to a point in the story where he is not sure what to do or which option to settle on. in doing so, it will have a big impact on his life and on the story line after that decision, and that we can call identity crises. soraia sobeih / the academic research community publication pg. 8 unregular decisions taken by the animated character could take some courage and think but always lead to pleasure and satisfaction of the character at the end because he discovers his true identity through his believes and dreams. in toy story, accepting buzz for his identity, believing in his purpose in life as a toy was a high point in the rising actions just before the climax of the story that is woody’s plan to free buzz and reaching the van in nemo, when he chooses to touch the boat even though it’s a dangerous thing, to prove that he is brave and he is capable of doing more things than it seems, led to the missing process that made marlin took the journey to find him, i think this was the first main point in the rising actions. in ponyo, she began testing human life till she took the decision of completely transforming into a human that was just before the conclusion, or the solution of the story as she made up her mind and felt happy ever after. in astro boy, two important identity decisions were made, the first minor one not to fight robots, the second to conflict big negative power with his own to save humans this was one point after the climax of the story as a beginning of solving the problem how to face this bad negative power and that led to astro knowing his true identity as a hero who fears nothing and cares for humans. in big hero 6, when baymax decided to sacrifice himself to save hiro and the astro girl this was after the climax of the story as they defeated the big danger, the scientist who stole the robotics and was destroying everything, but then remained one thing to be done that was saving the girl and returning back safe so this was in the falling actions driving to a dramatic ending except there was one big twist that led to a happy ending. references 1. peter j. burke (2009), jan e. stets, identity theory, oxford university press, 2. harris williams (2013), animation, globalization and cultural identity, master, sva, usa 3. robert velarde; the wisdom of pixar, an animated look at virtue, ivp book 4. lim, t. w. (2017).50 years of singapore–japan relations. world scientific publisher. 5. miller, g. e. (2014, november 01). how anime inspired disney’s ‘big hero 6’. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://nypost.com/2014/11/01/will-disneys-japanese-anime-big-hero-6-get-lost-in-translation/ http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) geometric patterns in egyptian architecture & interior design doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.140 heba-talla hamdy mahmoud 1 1lecturer of interior architecture decor department faculty of fine arts mansoura university keywords geomertric; pattern ; sample; aincent egyptian; coptic; ;christian; islamic; project ; contemporary; craft. abstract this study will examine the role of geometric patterns in selected examples of egyptian architecture, interior architecture and art. ancient egyptian, coptic, and islamic periods are the selected historical ages from egyptian heritage due to the abundance of different works and styles with geometric pattern characteristics during their periods. in addition to the historical periods, the study will demonstrate some selected models from egyptian contemporary architecture and arts. these models include architectural projects, traditional craft products and artistic works with geometrical characteristics. the study aims, through the extracted information, to increase the awareness about the effective role of geometric patterns as an architectural and artistic capability and to clarify the degree of freedom, flexibility and functionality as an inherent feature through demonstrating the different practices, styles and materials. 1. introduction geometric patterns are employed by architects, interior architects and fine art artists to create a wide range of designs including textiles, ceramics, metalwork, architectural elements, and manuscripts. it considers one of the main matching points between architecture and arts through providing a variety of shapes, forms, models and formulas. "the simple forms of the circle, square, and straight line are the basis of the patterns. these elements are combined, duplicated, interlaced, and arranged in intricate combinations. most patterns are typically based on one of two types of grid, one composed of equilateral triangles, the other of squares. a third type of grid composed of hexagons in which one regular polygon is repeated to tile the plane" (fukushima c, 2004). "geometric proportions in architectural patterns represent a design language, as words do in a spoken language. they determine the frameworks within which elements are arranged into a pattern, a relation between one element and another, and a proportional relation within one element. they address and reflect the natural laws that govern the basic harmonies of nature, being describable by means of mathematics and geometry" (loai m, 2012). history indicates that the real origins of geometric patterns were found in ancient egyptian, chinese, indian and greek architecture and arts. geometric patterns are a common factor in the majority of historical and contemporary architectural and artistic works. remarkable features showing that in spite of the religious variations between islam and christianity, there are many common features in egyptian society with the same realization and taste in the areas which geometrical patterns work. 2. research methodology the methodology of this research mainly used a qualitative method based on descriptive approaches including primary surveys and historical tracing of the existence and usage of geometric patterns' works in egyptian architecture, interior architecture and arts. the research classified the information into two categories, the first classification is based on the chronological series of time for the egyptian historical selected periods. the second heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 2 classification is based on the usage of geometric patterns within each period and how these architectural heritages applied through the time of each period. data and information collected through multiple refereed sources include books, journals, conferences, and specific official internet sites. more than one source for each element was used to confirm the integrity and consistency of the research. 3. geometric patterns in anicent egyptian architecture and arts the great pyramid of khufu with its sloping façade and other similar geometrical designs of ancient egyptian artifacts such as sakkara pyramid are explicit works of ancient egyptian geometrical skills that demonstrate their proficiency in applying this field. there are many examples of geometrical designs that still exist until today in ancient egyptian temples, walls, columns, ceilings and many other tools and objects refer to the extensive usage of geometric patterns during ancient egyptian periods. these ancient patterns gave birth to many historical and recent geometrical decorations, motifs and illustrations. "we can see a source for most of our familiar elements of design in the decoration which was used in egypt long before any example that is known to us outside of that land. we are logically bound to look at the origin of these motives. if, then, we seek the source of most of the various elements of the decoration which covers our walls, our floors, our dishes, our book-covers, and even our railway stations, we must begin by studying egypt. as our object is the history and evolution of the various elements of decoration, we may classify these elements. there is the simplest geometrical ornament of lines, spirals and curves, and of surfaces divided squares and circles" (petrie wm, 1920). these patterns were applied using several materials like wood, marble, rugs, and clay with different styles such as zigzag, chess and other orders and formations. these major geometrical pattern types are found in furniture, ceilings, walls, and pottery. "in the furniture of ancient egyptians, cubism and geometric shapes were the most distinctive characteristics. for the design of the cocktail cupboard, which was fashionable during this period, geometric and cubic lines were dominant. besides the rectangular, linear, circular or triangular motifs, zigzag and stylized flowers, lines were expanding from the center as the sunlight that constitutes the main features of the designs and they carry influences from the egyptian art. cubic volumes and geometrical appearances are the primary outstanding characteristics in armchairs" (sadikoglu p, 2007). 4. samples from ancient egyptian geometric patterns  clay geometric patterns works during the early times of the predynastic period in egyptian history and along the ancient egyptian dynasties, egyptians used geometric patterns on their works especially in clay works like potteries, vases and bowls, figure 4-1, figure 4-2 present these styles of work that appear with clear, simple lines, and shapes and are very easy to recognize. "the systematic clearing of the eighteenth dynasty funerary pits and ramesside tombs has brought to light some objects of exceptional quality and historical interest. these include pottery with geometric designs, for example prince baki's vase" (corzo m, 1993). figure 4-1: pottery, predynastic period figure 4-2: pottery, predynastic period  gaming boards with geometric patterns design gaming boards with geometrical designs were found in both the predynastic period and the first dynasty with different features according to the rules of gaming with several illustrations and colors. figure 4-3 shows a gaming disk found in the tomb of chancellor hemaka at saqqara during the predynastic period (2935-2975 b.c), figure heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 3 4-4 board game, new kingdom (1550-1077 b.c) "more than 5,000 years ago, the ancient egyptians invented a board game almost as elaborate as anything from parker brothers today. beginning simply as a form of recreation, this game was to evolve into a profound ritual, a drama for ultimate stakes. called senet or "passing," the game was based on the movement of draughtsman across a board consisting of 30 squares arranged into three parallel rows of ten squares". (peter a, 1980). figure 4-3 gaming disk, predynastic period. figure 4-4 board game, new kingdom  kha's protractor, rose of direction and coffin a unique style of geometric patterns employment at the time of king amenhotep is the protractor of the architect kha1, which was discovered in his tomb in 1906, at deir el-medina in egypt near the valley of the kings. "note that the modern tool has the same shape as the object found in the kha’s tomb. to conclude this discussion, let me propose a comparison of the decoration of this egyptian item with that of a compass rose of directions. we can go back from the compass rose to the kha’s rose, with small adjustments. perhaps the origin of the design of the compass rose is in the ancient egyptian tools" (slyke v, 1991). figure 4-5 introduces a comparison between contemporary compass rose of directions and kha’s rose of direction. this protractor is considered one of the pioneer devices for angles measurement. figure 4-6, demonstrates this device as it is in torino egyptian museum. other examples that belong to kha with geometric patterns designs are kha’s rose of direction figure 47 and kha’s coffin figure 4-8. figure4-5 comparison between contemporary compass and kha's protractor. figure4-6 kha's protractor, 18th dynasty. 1 kha: one of the most important supervisor and architect, responsible for some projects completed during the periods of three kings, amenhotep ii, thutmose iv and amenhotep iii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/new_kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/new_kingdom heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure4-7 kha’s rose of direction figure4-8 kha's coffin  ceiling paintings at amenhotep iii palace "neferhotep, who lived during the reign of haremhab, had the pattern above in his tomb chapel. the pattern incorporates his name and title with geometric and vegetal forms, like the spiral and blue lotus. below, this pattern, which no longer exists, was copied from a neighboring tomb in thebes. the pattern uses the winged scarab with a sun disc, symbolizing rebirth after death. during the new kingdom, in the reign of amenophis iii. thick cushions, covered with fabric in geometrical patterns, were placed on the chairs and footstools" (olaf ek, 2000). several geometrical patterns found in different room ceilings at the site palace of amenhotep at malqata, the west bank of the nile at thebes, upper egypt, in the desert south of habu. figure 4-9, figure 4-10 and figure 4-11 are three samples of geometric patterns of room ceilings at amenhotep palace. figure4-9 ceiling room l5, amenhotep iii palace. figure 4-10 ceiling, room n5 amenhotep iii palace. figure 4-11 ceiling, room b5 amenhotep iii palace. 5. geometric patterns in egyptian coptic architecture and arts in spite of the various designs of coptic architecture and art with geometric patterns, the design that depends on the cross as a focal element in the center of the work surrounded with fine ordered geometric shapes is the most common design. geometric patterns are common between coptic and islamic art "it was not surprising to find-out that these came from the church despite their islamic appearance. the idea of mixing crosses with eight pointed stars was very common and it reflected how artists saw the two religions as being strongly connected. this particular design appeared quite often and is still used today in egypt to express the unity of religions. it’s seen on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nile_river https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/thebes,_egypt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/upper_egypt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/medinet_habu_%28temple%29 http://www.egyptpro.sci.waseda.ac.jp/image/mprml5l.jpg http://www.egyptpro.sci.waseda.ac.jp/image/mprml5l.jpg heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 5 public buildings in egypt like on the doors of the main entrance to the palace of arts in cairo" (el-akkad t, 2013). one of twenty panels with geometrical decorations that was discovered by archaeologists belongs to the period within the 6th century ad and the 7th century ad which was presented at coptic museum in cairo, figure 6-1. the coptic marble works are distinguished with their high level of accuracy and professionalism, figure 6-2 shows a marble water fountain in the coptic museum. many bookbinding covers are decorated with historical geometric patterns such as gospels from the monastery of holy mary mother of god at perkethoout in fayum during the period within 7th century and 7th century ad which was purchased by pierpont morgan in 1911, located now in the museum of morgan library in new york, figure 6-3. the stained glass with geometric pattern decorations in attractive colors is a demonstrative type of coptic geometric patterns, figure 6-4 shows a glass window in the hanging church in cairo. the woodworks of the hanging church in cairo are known for the accurate geometric pattern works, figure 6-5, figure 6-6. coptic textiles are distinguished with their antique shape, figure 6-7 is an example of this type of art in the coptic museum in cairo. 6. samples from egyptian coptic geometric patterns figure 6-1 panels, coptic museum figure 6-2 water fountain, marble work, coptic museum figure 6-3 bookbinding of holy mary figure 6-4 stained glass, hanging church http://www.flickr.com/photos/seyerce/332075800/ heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 6-5 woodworks, hanging church. figure 6-6 woodworks hanging church. figure6-7 coptic museum 7. geometric patterns in egyptian islamic architecture and arts a quick survey of egyptian islamic construction with its entire mosques, mausoleums, domes, minarets, minbars, walls, floors, ceilings, doors, windows, pots, lamps, book covers or textiles makes it easy to discover the impact of geometric patterns in different styles and shapes. "original stucco panels with vegetal motifs and window screens with geometric designs are surviving in al-azhar mosque. stuccoworks above the windows and over the walls with abstract 6-point geometrical design added during caliph alhafiz. there is another mihrab with significant geometrical decorations. the most significant surviving element of al-juyushi mosque is the lavish carved stucco of its mihrab with floral and geometrical patterns. there are abstract six-point geometrical patterns over the spandrel of the mihrab. the interior apex of the dome is also designed with a six-point star with arabic inscriptions. one of the earliest types of islamic geometrical patterns is the six-point geometrical pattern, which has been used in square and can be found in ibn-tulun mosque in cairo” (embi mr, 2012). these patterns are characterized with remarkable spaces of freedom and variety and also have the capability of growth and extension with repetition and complexity. egyptian islamic geometric patterns have the ability to accommodate and be incorporated within other types of ornamentation. calligraphic, arabesque, and nature element patterns are clear forms of that interaction. "geometric ornamentation in islamic art suggests that complex arrangements and combinations of elements are infinitely expandable; the frame surrounding a pattern appears to be arbitrary and the basic arrangement sometimes provides a unit from which the rest of the design can be both predicted and projected" (fukushima c, 2004). this evolution of egyptian geometric patterns is due to the egyptian worker's cleverness, skills, and innovation besides the role of social and cultural characteristics of egyptian crafts. "the large window in the middle of the sultan qalawun complex has incomplete large geometric-rosettes emanating from eight-pointed stars. the two smaller windows on either side have stucco grilles of four stacked large geometric-rosettes emanating from six-pointed stars filling the whole window" (el-akkad t, 2013). islamic geometric patterns styles of egyptian works are produced using various materials. the most famous products are designed in wood, specially inlaid woodwork of doors, minbars and mashrabeya, figure 8-1, figure 8-2 are two samples of woodwork. stonework with large scale and simple forms are clearly presented in islamic building fronts, minarets, domes, and entrances, figure 8-3, figure 8-4, and figure 8-5. metal works are known to be proficient and accurate, figure7-7, figure7-8. marble geometric designs with their rich color spectrum take remarkable proportion especially in floor surfaces, figure 8-9 figure 8-10. egyptian islamic geometric patterns exist in several other materials such as stained glass, colored glazed brickwork, ceramic mosaic, stucco works and book illumination. 8. samples from egyptian islamic geometric patterns  islamic geometric patterns, woodwork http://www.flickr.com/photos/seyerce/332075800/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/seyerce/332075800/ heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure 8-1 ibn tulun mosque; minbar, woodwork figure 8-2 al-nasir mosque minbar, woodwork  islamic geometric patterns stonework figure 8-3 madrasa umm al-sultan sha'ban. figure 8-4 madrasa umm al-sultan sha'ban figure 8-5 ibn tulun mosque  islamic geometric patterns metal sample figure 8-7 bronze door, sultan hassan mosque. figure 8-8 bronze door, al-mu'ayyad mosque  islamic geometric patterns marbel sample figure 8-9 al-maridani mosque marbel work figure8-10 al-maridani mosque marbel work https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bronze https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mosque-madrassa_of_sultan_hassan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bronze http://patterninislamicart.com/archive/browse/monuments/42/al-maridani-mosque http://patterninislamicart.com/archive/browse/monuments/42/al-maridani-mosque heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 8 9. geometric patterns in egyptian traditional architecture the traditional residential construction of mamluk and ottoman periods with their architectural and interior features provide additional confirmations about the proficient and extensive use of geometrical patterns in egyptian culture. bayt el suhaymi is a remarkable example of egyptian residential traditional buildings with geometrical decorations, the geometrically carved wooden dome with its graceful lantern displays traditional arabesque patterns, figure 9-1. there are also the smaller domes with geometrically cut colored glass that appear like jewel, figure 9-2, windows on the upper floors besides those in the halls and rooms covered with colored glass, figure 9-3, and the ceiling is decorated with many shapes of geometric patterns, figure 9-4, these are some explicit examples from bayt el suhaymi. al sinnari house presents other clear examples of these traditional sites that have many geometric patterns works. "the entrance block façade consists of two intertwining arches. the frame of the outer arch etched in zigzag shapes and geometrical decorations, surrounded by with hexagonal decoration, above which there is a circular ornament at the center of the arch. the doorframe is surrounded with geometrical decorations on stone. both sides of the door and the entrance façade are decorated with geometrical decorations in round square and rectangular shapes, figure 9-5. the ceiling has been decorated with wooden boards made of squareand rectangular-shaped geometrical forms and rosettes" (mahmoud, 2014). khan el-khalili district, alsayeda zeinab district, al moezz street, ghouriyya complex are examples of egyptian zones and buildings that have wide varieties of geometric pattern designs. figure 9-1 wooden dome of bayt el suhaymi figure 9-2 colored glass dome of bayt el suhaymi figure 9-3 windows of bayt el suhaymi figure 9-4 ceiling of bayt el suhaymi figure 9-5 the front of al sinnari house heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 9 10. geometric pattern in egyptian contemporary projects although the fundmental elements of historical islamic architecture were designed and built to respond effectively and dynamically to people’s physical, environmental, social, physiological and religious requirements in the past, it can also be successfully implemented in current and future architectural and interior designs. islamic goemetric patterns is one of the practical usage of this concept. there are many evidences in egyption contemporary architecture projects specially in the domain of interior architecture and decoration. the design of both the national cultural center (cairo opera house) figure 10-1 and the american university in cairo (new campus) figure 10-2, are two examples for the successful usage of islamic architecture with modern methodologies. figure 10-1 cairo opera house figure 10-2 auc new campus 11. geometric patterns in egyptian traditional crafts one of the main reasons that made geometric patterns widely spread in the egyptian artistic and architectural domain is its major usage in most egyptian traditional crafts. gifts, pottery, textiles, copper works, handmade jewelry, wood works and ceramics are some famous examples that are designed using geometric shapes. egyptian traditional crafts markets such as khan el-khalili and al fustat zones consider open exhibitions with numerous variety of traditional crafts and gifts based on geometric pattern designs. al fustat traditional crafts and ceramics produce many products that are based on geometric patterns design. figure 11-1, figure 11-2. are two examples of that. figure 11-1 traditional geometric patterns figure 11-2 traditional geometric patterns 12. geometric patterns in egyptian artists works  ahmed mostafa’s works ahmed mustafa is an egyptian artist who specializes in arabic arts. he created rich visual art works through his innovative mixture of painting and calligraphy. many of his art works include geometrical patterns. "ahmed moustafa (1943–) is a perfect example. many of moustafa’s works present koranic verses in threedimensional forms, and at times he juxtaposes two different traditional scripts—in still life of quranic solids, he uses geometric kufic for the background and cursive thuluth for the threedimensional shapes" ( shabout n, 2010). figure 12-1, figure 12-2 are samples of ahmed mustafa’s painting with geometric patterns. heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 10 figure 12-1ahmed mustafa’s painting figure 12-1ahmed mustafa’s painting  abdel rahman el nashar’s works abdel rahman el nachar, born in 1923 and died in 1999, obtained his phd in 1978 from the budapest art academy. he participated in numerous exhibitions and was awarded the 1st prize in painting at the cairo salon, and later the 1st prize of the 4th biennale in 1992. in the early stages of his artistic career, most of his art works style were a combination of both expressionism and surrealism. during the last 10 years of his artistic life, most of his works were subjected to geometric pattern abstraction art, figure 12-3, figure12-4 are samples of el nashar’s painting with geometric patterns. figure 12-3 el nashar painting figure 12-4 el nashar painting 13. conclusion egyptian architecture, interior architecture and arts give geometric patterns a great deal of importance and respect. the employment of geometrical patterns in the egyptian environment that are designed in various materials such as, wood, marble, clay, glass, stone, metal and textile. it has many different sizes, volumes and scales, scales from tiny and precise works such as handmade jewelry to the huge surface of great pyramid and massive domes of main mosques. egyptian geometrical patterns are spread all over the country in most cities and districts. the existence of geometrical pattern works is a continuous and essential portion of egyptian architecture, interior architecture and arts across the history of egypt from the ancient egyptian era up to contemporary time. the heritage of previous historical periods, in particular the coptic and islamic periods, are filled with architectural and art works with pure geometrical pattern designs or in coordination and consistency with other styles of ornamentations using calligraphic, arabesque and the nature element. the role of egyptian workers and craftsman skills has an impact on the proficiency of egyptian geometrical patterns. the usage of egyptian geometrical patterns engages with the people’s religious, residential and cultural features. references 1. petrie, w. m. flinders 1853-1942. (1920). egyptian decorative art. 2d ed. london: methuen & co. 2. hopkins, h. p. (1886 1959). henry powell hopkins papers. 3. museum of fine arts, boston & smith, william stevenson (1960). ancient egypt as represented in the museum of fine arts, boston (6th ed., fully rev). the museum, boston. 4. david wd., (1976), pattern in islamic art. 1st.ed. vista: overlook press and studio. 5. strunk jr w, white eb. (1976), the elements of style. 3rd ed. new york: macmillan. 6. corzo, m. a., & afshar, m. (1986 1992). art and entertainment[pdf]. the getty conservation institute. 7. killen, g. (1994). egyptian woodv\torking and furniture[pdf]. british library cataloguing in publication data. 8. bard, k. a. (2005). encyclopedia of the archaeology of ancient egypt. routledge, taylor & francis group. heba-talla hamdy mahmoud / the academic research community publication pg. 11 9. d’avennes , e. p. (2007). islamic art in cairo. 10. pottmann, h., & bentley, d. (2007). architectural geometry (1st ed.). exton, pa: bentley institute press. 11. fukushima c, hens m, turchinsky m. (2004), islamic art and geometric design. 1st ed. new york: metropolitan museum of art. 12. sarfraz m. geometric modeling techniques, application, system and tools. 1st ed. norwell: kluwer publisher; 2004 13. sadikoglu p. (2007), ancient egyptian art. 1st.ed. istanbul. boyut yavin grubu. 14. broug, e. (2008). islamic geometric patterns. london: thames & hudson. 15. hessian m. (2010) islamic ceramics in egypt. 1st ed. cairo: dar ghareeb for printing pup. &dist. 16. el-akkad t. (2013), the aesthetics of islamic architecture & the exuberance of mamluk design. 1st ed barcelona. university of catalonia 17. mahmoud aa. (2014), al sinnari houses. 1st ed. alexandria: bibliotheca alexandria. 18. piccione, p. a. (1980). in search of the meaning of senet [pdf]. 19. hoskins, n. a. (1986). the tapestries of coptic egypt[pdf]. ars textrina. 20. sehnaz cs, cagdas g. (2007), a shape grammar study:form generation with geometric islamic patterns [pdf]. istanbul: 10th generative art conference ga. 21. pottman, h., asperl, a., hofer, m., kilian, a., & bentley, d. (2007). architectural geometry (vol. 724). exton: bentley institute press. 22. shabout, n. m. (2010). the arabic connection in articulating north african modernity in art. south atlantic quarterly, 109(3), 529-543. 2 24. embi mr, abdullahi y. (2012), evolution of islamic geometrical patterns. gjat global journal al-thaqafah. 25. loai m. geometric proportions: (2012), the underlying structure of design process for islamic geometric patterns. frontiers of architectural research: 1:p381. 26. ramzy n. (2012), the impact of local environment aspects on coptic architecture in egypt. alexandria university engineering journal: 51; 325–341. 27. behnam g, atefeh f, ali t. (2013), symbols and signs in islamic architecture. european review of artistic studies: 4: 73. 28. sidawi b. (2013), understanding the vocabulary of the islamic architectural heritage. gber global built environment review 8:26 – 39. 29. doris b. (1989), islamic architecture of cairo . 1st ed. leiden: brill publishers. 30. slyke v. (1991), tools and applications. 1st ed. new york: the free press. 31. touny g. (1992), hand book of islamic ornament. 1st ed. bern: egyptian documentation &information center. 32. olaf ek. (2000), atlas of egyptian art. 2d ed. cairo: the american university in cairo press http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2012.07.009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2012.07.009 figure 8-1 ibn tulun mosque; minbar, woodwork figure 8-2 al-nasir mosque minbar, woodwork 1. petrie, w. m. flinders 1853-1942. (1920). egyptian decorative art. 2d ed. london: methuen & co. 2. hopkins, h. p. (1886 1959). henry powell hopkins papers. 3. museum of fine arts, boston & smith, william stevenson (1960). ancient egypt as represented in the museum of fine arts, boston (6th ed., fully rev). the museum, boston. 4. david wd., (1976), pattern in islamic art. 1st.ed. vista: overlook press and studio. 5. strunk jr w, white eb. (1976), the elements of style. 3rd ed. new york: macmillan. 6. corzo, m. a., & afshar, m. (1986 1992). art and entertainment[pdf]. the getty conservation institute. 7. killen, g. (1994). egyptian woodv\torking and furniture[pdf]. british library cataloguing in publication data. 8. bard, k. a. (2005). encyclopedia of the archaeology of ancient egypt. routledge, taylor & francis group. 9. d’avennes , e. p. (2007). islamic art in cairo. 12. sarfraz m. geometric modeling techniques, application, system and tools. 1st ed. norwell: kluwer publisher; 2004 13. sadikoglu p. (2007), ancient egyptian art. 1st.ed. istanbul. boyut yavin grubu. 16. el-akkad t. (2013), the aesthetics of islamic architecture & the exuberance of mamluk design. 1st ed barcelona. university of catalonia 17. mahmoud aa. (2014), al sinnari houses. 1st ed. alexandria: bibliotheca alexandria. 18. piccione, p. a. (1980). in search of the meaning of senet [pdf]. 19. hoskins, n. a. (1986). the tapestries of coptic egypt[pdf]. ars textrina. 20. sehnaz cs, cagdas g. (2007), a shape grammar study:form generation with geometric islamic patterns [pdf]. istanbul: 10th generative art conference ga. 21. pottman, h., asperl, a., hofer, m., kilian, a., & bentley, d. (2007). architectural geometry (vol. 724). exton: bentley institute press. 24. embi mr, abdullahi y. (2012), evolution of islamic geometrical patterns. gjat global journal al-thaqafah. 25. loai m. geometric proportions: (2012), the underlying structure of design process for islamic geometric patterns. frontiers of architectural research: 1:p381. 26. ramzy n. (2012), the impact of local environment aspects on coptic architecture in egypt. alexandria university engineering journal: 51; 325–341. 27. behnam g, atefeh f, ali t. (2013), symbols and signs in islamic architecture. european review of artistic studies: 4: 73. 28. sidawi b. (2013), understanding the vocabulary of the islamic architectural heritage. gber global built environment review 8:26 – 39. 29. doris b. (1989), islamic architecture of cairo . 1st ed. leiden: brill publishers. 30. 86tslyke v. (1991), 38t86ttools38t86t and 38t86tapplications38t86t.86t 1st ed.86t 38t86tnew york38t86t: the free press86t. 32. olaf ek. (2000), atlas of egyptian art. 2d ed. cairo: the american university in cairo press http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication development of urban transportation system based on bus rapid transit (study case : kendari city, south east sulawesi province, indonesia) adris ade putra1 1dr.,st.mt ,. transportation engineering, department of civil engineering university of haluoleo kendari, indonesia muammar makmur2, muh arsyad3 2st.m,eng ,. structural engineering, department of civil engineering university of haluoleo, kendari, indonesia 3st.m,si,. urban planning engineering, department of architecture engineering university of haluoleo, kendari, indonesia keywords keywords: transportation, services, bus rapid transit, routes, bus stops abstract urban transport systems in indonesia have been influenced by kinds of traffic problems such as congestion, high accident rates and traffic violations and uncomfortable, safe, and orderly levels of public transport services. to develop urban transportation systems, a policy implementation is needed in public transportation such as special lanes for bus rapid transit (brt) as one of the alternative solutions to give better services for the public transport user. the purpose of this study is to count the demand of bus rapid transit, determine number of corriors and halte for the brt as well as know the types of brt which should be operated in kendari city in accordance with the needs of public transport users. the method used in this study is the quantitative method by collecting primary and secondary data which includes od matrix of destination of the population travel, number of passengers up and down on each route, load factor in each route, travel time and road inventory data. other data include road length, road width, road type, width of trotoar, width of median, and road pavement type. the results of this research is that the number of demand for public transportation in kendari city are 28 buses with 8 units in the first corridor, 6 units in the second corridor, 8 units in the third corridor, and 6 units in the fourth corridor. indeed, the total number of corridors needed to operated of brt in kendari requires 174 shelters. the potential population in kendari city is categorized on the modest development and the existing conditions of the road, which is not too large for the brt line planned. therefore, the possibility of increasing the number of passengers then the type of bus which may be used as a fleet of brt at the beginning of the operation is large floor buses total capacity of 79 people consisting of 49 seated passengers and 30 passengers standing © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) peer-reviewed under responsibility of archive's, the academic research community, publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.238 adris ade putra / the academic research community publication pg. 2 1. introduction urban transport systems in indonesia have been influenced by kinds of traffic problems such as congestion, rising of trip demands, lack of traffic discipline, dominance of private vehicles, inconsistency to develop land-use system, use of roads that are not fit to their function, the public transport service is not good, low accessibility, long trip time, discomfort and lack of safety in public transport, and the cost is high. urban areas in kendari city have promlematic transportation systems like the other urban areas in indonesia. the quick changes of land-use system have not been anticipated through the arrangement of good transport system; the operation of public transport services is still focused on certain roads causing some roads to be congested. public transportation is very limited and does not have a fixed schedule or fixed bus tops causing the accumulation of vehicles at one point in the road during certain hours. besides that, the dominance of small capacity public transport (pete-pete) causes many problems, especially its impact on traffic smoothness such as service levels are low, uncomfortable, and low accessibility and lack of good public transport services (pete-pete). this is indicated by the increased congestion and reduced levels of service roads (v / c ratio) of 0.36 to 0.78 or traffic conditions that could potentially delay to congestion (putra, 2006). urban transport system requires a planning policy implementation in the urban public transport system. the development of mass transportation such as bus rapid transit (brt) is very important to be prepared by the city government as one of the alternative solutions to problems of transportion to reduce the dependence of urban communities on private vehicles or small capacity of public transportation. the development of mass public transportion is an effort to give service priority to users of public transport so that public transportation would be more appealing. by reducing the use of private transport, congestion and traffic on highways will be reduced. small cappacity public transportation in kendari city (pete-pete) is regarded as one of the causes of the problems of transportation systems. development of bus rapid transit (brt) can improve the quality of public transportation services. this is in accordance with the mandate of law number 22 of 2009 about traffic and transportation in article 158 paragraph (1) stating that the government guarantees the availability of mass transitbased ways to fullfil the needs of people by providing common motor vehicles in urban areas. given the problems and the current condition of public transport systems as mentioned above, it is necessary to develop urban transport systems based on bus rapid transit (brt) in kendari city. 2. literature review 2.1. urban transportation system urban transportation systems have an important role in enhancing the economic development of society toward the development of an area (murray, 2001). the transportation system is a system to perform a movement from one place to another place. we need a transport system in the implementation of planning techniques to develop an optimal strategy in the provision of facilities and infrastructure of urban transportation systems (moriok, 1991). urban transportation systems have consequences for the social dimension such as welfare and justice for the people (ahmed et al., 2008; kenyon et al., 2002). good function of transportation system properly is a factor that pushed for the development of community activities. transportation provides movement access to the center of trade, education and housing. inappropriate strategy and program to develop the transportation system can damage the land use, environment and the capacity of the public space. ineffective network services will not be able to fullfil the expectations of users of public transportation (world bank, 1996). the transportation system in urban areas is related to the concentration of people and socio-economic activities of the population (loo and chow, 2006). urban transportation systems of developing countries emphasized on the development of a sustainable transportation system. unfpa (1999), 95% of formation of human activities in the period 2000 to 2030 will occur in urban areas in developing countries. iea (2008), the growth of in urban areas forms a pattern of global energy use and impact on the urban transportatin system. urban areas need infrastructure of transportation for the movement of the population. hall and pfeiffer (2000), the cities of developing countries will face a lot of problems of transportation system that impact traffic congestion and accidents (death and injury). urban transportation systems have various problems such as the low level of service, discomfort and unsafety (pucher et al., 2005). urban transportation systems have challenges in making policies based on the potential of the region by prioritize to the economic growth, environmental preservation and prosperity of the present generation and the generations in the future (zietsman and rilett, 2001). the main priority is revamping the urban transportation system emphasized on the issue of the effectiveness of public transportation services as it will have an impact on the urban environment and the opportunity for the community to improve its quality of life (holden and norland, 2005). planning of urban transportation systems requires the integration of environmental and the social economics of the population and it also needs the right strategy to improve the transportation system, particularly the aspects of security, comfort and arranging the land use (schileer et al., 2010). yao (2007) in his research explained that the adris ade putra / the academic research community publication pg. 3 demand for public transport system based on a potential area by using characteristic variables of urban areas as well as land-use system. 2.2. mass transportation development mass transportation systems can provide quality service and the main factor of mass transportation concept includes high quality infrastructure, efficient operations, effective and transparent institutional systems, advanced technology, and excellent marketing and customer service. mass transportation systems such as brt have been developed in several cities such as bogota (colombia) and curitiba (brazil). the brt system that is also applied in developing countries includes guayaquil (ecuador), jakarta (indonesia), pereira (colombia), brisbane (australia), ottawa (canada) and rouen (france). mass transportation systems in about 40 cities on six continents have implemented brt system, one of the cities that successfully implemented the brt system is transmileno. the success of transmileno influenced by the government's capacity in the planning and design the transportation modes use very good technology, good corporate management, well-planned investments in infrastructure, and well-defined ticketing systems (wright and fjellstrom, 2003). the development of urban mass transportation needs policies that consider many aspects such as planning, financing, ownership of vehicles and so on. one important aspect needed to develop an interesting mass transportation system is the analysis of the loss/profit of mass transportation, whether the system will improve or worsen the urban transportation system. the development of a mass transportation system is seen as an effective way to improve the quality of public transportation services in urban areas. market competition will require service providers to provide products with an efficient transportation system oriented towards the public (echeverry et al., 2005). the development of mass transportation leads to higher investments and greater revenues into the market. the income can replace government subsidies, but the investments in mass transportation is difficult to make a profit (mees and paul, 2005). different demands of various groups participated influence policy-making, the development of mass transportation in urban areas have forced by particular group, so that the development of mass transportation is not efficient (bianco and martha, 1999). the central government is too focused on paying attention to cost reduction rather than improve services in the public transportaion service system (white, 1997). the ability to improve public transportation services is a challenge for all stakeholders involved in the policy making of the transportation systems. the government becomes an effective tool to organize mass transportation. some transportation systems have emerged such as the bus system transmileneo in bogota that is controlled by the public sector yet operated by the private sector. even though some problems with these systems have been observed, the public/private form has been used in many developing countries (echeverry et al., 2005). 3. methods 3.1 data collection and compilation 1) secondary data secondary data is data obtained from several government agencies with regard to the data needed in transportation planning. government agencies include: department of transportation in kendari regional planning agency police general research department statistics agency 2) primary data primary data is data obtained directly with the aim to determine the existing conditions to formulate proposals the point of bus stop. primary data needed include: data of the number up and down the passenger data of household interviews (home interview) data of willingness to change from private transportation to public transportation data of road inventory 3.2 data collection methods to get the data as mentioned previously, the data collection was carried out in various ways including secondary data: get the contact to the related institutions to request the required data; primary data is conducted using surveys such us dynamic survey, passengers interview survey, household interview survey, road inventory survey 3.3 data collection to clarify the primary data collection techniques, they will be explained below: 1) dynamic survey adris ade putra / the academic research community publication pg. 4 dynamic survey is a survey in public transportation vehicles to determine the number of passengers up and down on the route which is divided into several segments. the methods used in this survey include: record number of passengers up and down record time of trip in each segment a dynamic survey was carried out in two days on duty (not on holidays). there were a number of observations carried out on at least six (6) round trips during the morning rush, six (6) round trips during hours that are not considered busy time and 6 (six) round tripd in the afternoon during rush hours for each route observed. 2) household interview survey household interview survey is a survey to interview the residents of kendari city with a predetermined number of samples. the sample is determined based on the amount of each different zone in accordance with the existing population in the zone. 3) roads inventory survey this survey was conducted by recording the dimensions of the road. the collected data includes: length of the road width of the road road type width of sidewalk width of median pavement of the road the survey was carried out across the street in kendari city, this data supports bus rapid transit in kendari. with this data, we can determine which path is suitable for the bus rapid transit and the width of the sidewalk data is also necessary to plan the construction of the bus stop. 3.4 compilation and analysis of data compilation of data is data collection of primary and secondary data obtained from the surveys that have been conducted. compilation and analysis of data are used to facilitate the process of analysis to be carried out in the bus rapid transit plan. data compilation includes: 1. od matrix in kendari city 2. od matrix in kendari city to community who use public transport; 3. number up and down passengers on each route; 4. load dynamic factor in each route; 5. trip time; 6. road inventory data; information from the data analysis includes: route of bus rapid transit; type of brt bus; number of bus stops on route/corridor of bus rapid transit; 4. results and discussion 4.1. physical condition of kendari city 1) geographic conditions kendari city has a land area of 295.89 km2, or 0.70 percent of the land area of southeast sulawesi province. the total area of each district is very diverse. district of abeli is the most extensive district region (16.77%), followed by the district of baruga (16.76%), district of poasia (14.71%), district of puuwatu (14.43%), district of mandonga (7.89% ), district of kambu (7.82%), district of west kendari (7,77%), district of kendari (6.61%), district of wua-wua (4.17%), and the district of kadia (3.08%) kendari is the capital city of southeast sulawesi province astronomically located in the south of the equator among 3˚ 54` 11`` 30``4˚ 3` south latitude and stretches from west to east between 39` 23`122˚ 122˚ east longitude. adris ade putra / the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 1. map of adiministration of kendari city 2) population condition in 2016, the population of the city of kendari ± 295.732 people spread in 10 districts and 64 sub-districts. the overall population each year has increased 1.99% (according to the civil registry). size of kendari is 295.89 km2, and the population density is 999.466 inhabitants per-km2. the population density each year has increased together with population growth. 3) transportation conditions a. road network condition good road conditions will facilitate the mobility of people and facilitate transportation to move goods to other economic and social activities. conversely, when road conditions are less good, people will have difficulty in relationships of economic activity and other activities. in 2016, for the length of streets in kendari city, there are 38 percent in good condition, 30 percent moderate condition, 25 percent in a damaged condition, and 7 percent in severely damaged condition figure 2. state road surface condition by surface in kendari b. public transportation the public transportation service in kendari city consists of city transportation has 9 already existing routes and 3 routes that are in the planning phase but are approved by the mayor of kendari but are not functioning optimally yet. the type of vehicle used is a type of public passenger car which has a capacity of 12 people. c. public transportation infrastructure good public transport infrastructure supports the performance of public transportation in a city. the right public transportation facilities will increase public transportation services such as right location of bus stops and strategic location of terminals. other facilities such as departure information board are very important for passengers in using public transportation. 4.2. data collection results 1) determination of traffic zone the determination of traffic zones in kendari city is based on land use maps in kendari city. the area has been divided into internal zones and external zones. kendari city is divided into 33 internal zones, 3 special zones and 5 external zones. the following map of kendari city road network and zone map is determined based on the terms zoning: adris ade putra / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 3. distribution zone map 2) data collection a. land use survey land use is a condition of land use in the study area. in the study area there are a variety of land uses such as tourist areas, educational areas, residential areas, office areas, plantations, agriculture, and others. for residential areas in kendari, the largest population is living in the kendari barat district. in the book of kendari, 2016 recorded that the largest land user in kendari which amounted to 23.52% or 6959 hectares of 29859 hectares of land in kendari used as the building, then the second largest used as a garden which is equal to 16.86% or 4990 hectares. land use conditions in kendari city influece the transportation system in the city, because land-use influences the accessibility or convenience of the public to reach places that provide their needs. the following is a map of kendari land use: figure 4. map of land use kendari it can be seen from the land use maps above that kendari city is mostly covered in scattered housing. for areas that are farther to the center of town, the distance between one house to another house is relatively far such as the sub-district bungokotoko, abeli, mata and others. adris ade putra / the academic research community publication pg. 7 b. household interview survey (home interview) household interview surveys were conducted in each and every zone with a predetermined number of samples. surveyors collect the information based on a list of questions that had been prepared about the state of the family and its occupants trips in a certain period. all the residents of the house were directly questioned. the data collected should include: 1. households data 2. data on household members 3. data of the regular trips by occupants household data and household members are data that associated with the address, number of occupants, the number of vehicles owned, family income, age, gender, location of work, the location of schools / education. data of trips that was collected is data of trip for each member of the family, schedule of trip, trip destination, and mode of transportation used. 4.3 result of data analysis 1) generation and atraction of trip (base on result of home interview) the generation of the trip is the number of trips of each zone in the area of research, which is the journey by each member of the family in any internal zone. table 1. table matrix origin destination person/day (population) source: results of analysis total of the trip resulting from the matrix of origin-destination in the form of the trip amount of 382 398 population trip person/day table 1. from table matrix origin-destination we can get information about the distribution of the trip in each zone and the largest trip distribution was obtained from zone 2 to zone 1 with the number of trips being 3,776 persons per day because the first zone is cbd (central business district) area with the characteristics of trade, services, and government so giving rise to the journey towards the zone 1 or commonly called the attraction of the trip. from the table above it can be concluded that: a) the number of the largest generation of trip contained in zone 1 was 40.210 trips person per day, because the zone 1 is the area of trade, services, government and residential areas. b) smallest generation of the trip is in zone 9 of 5.101 trip person per day which is a residential area that is far from the center of the city. c) the number of the largest attraction trip contained in zone 1 of 35.838 trips person per day. this is because of the zone 1 as center central business district (cbd). d) the smallest attraction of the trip is in the zone 31 of 3.252 trips person per day because the area is a residential area that is predominantly fishermen that is located relatively far from the city center. besides that, land use of zone 31 is mostly empty land. od 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 oi 1 2832 3706 3147 1818 3322 804 1818 3392 1503 979 2028 909 385 1678 559 839 839 245 804 1364 315 455 1538 944 280 105 1364 140 70 455 245 70 455 40210 2 3776 2308 1503 140 804 594 944 1818 245 769 839 979 734 1469 350 105 280 280 210 140 280 280 175 140 70 140 280 210 175 420 105 210 140 21538 3 2972 1434 1189 70 769 455 490 2797 490 140 420 839 944 490 70 70 210 455 769 210 210 175 280 70 70 455 734 35 70 455 105 35 245 18392 4 1608 140 105 1014 524 175 455 420 245 455 455 210 210 70 175 35 35 70 105 35 35 70 35 70 385 105 105 35 35 594 105 70 105 8462 5 3112 874 734 455 1643 350 524 769 944 350 1469 455 769 350 175 105 315 420 594 559 140 70 245 245 70 35 1853 105 70 699 35 280 490 20000 6 490 420 175 280 245 315 1888 1364 245 70 140 1678 1224 559 70 140 70 245 629 420 105 105 105 559 140 105 70 140 70 70 70 70 105 12622 7 1783 804 664 245 420 2028 5944 1608 140 245 280 594 2552 210 210 105 35 385 1434 1224 455 105 35 350 245 1084 175 105 140 35 70 105 70 25070 8 3357 2063 2727 315 769 1364 2028 2972 909 350 524 1608 3007 2203 105 140 105 350 1399 1993 769 175 280 664 455 559 664 140 105 70 70 35 35 32762 9 715 109 218 93 404 109 62 404 809 62 47 62 233 31 93 47 62 156 16 124 31 342 47 31 62 78 62 31 16 47 47 31 16 5101 10 171 140 47 93 62 16 31 16 16 264 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 31 16 31 47 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 31 16 16 1322 11 2552 804 385 420 1608 140 245 280 70 35 2517 210 245 455 140 140 664 105 105 70 140 70 140 245 70 105 35 140 35 140 70 105 350 13217 12 1049 979 734 210 420 1783 839 1503 140 105 210 734 1084 385 140 105 280 804 1154 594 210 245 559 664 490 140 210 210 70 210 140 175 175 17517 13 327 327 358 156 249 560 1120 1089 280 93 124 700 747 404 327 47 78 218 886 404 420 47 140 389 124 233 62 218 47 47 62 62 109 10809 14 1573 1469 524 210 245 524 455 2308 70 105 734 490 769 2168 385 245 140 490 315 1084 140 385 210 140 420 105 70 70 70 140 105 70 105 16993 15 295 171 31 109 78 78 62 78 109 31 62 62 295 187 840 47 31 109 62 249 31 622 31 109 109 124 16 47 31 31 31 47 47 4479 16 373 31 47 62 62 62 47 62 47 124 62 47 47 140 16 840 16 16 16 31 16 16 31 62 31 31 16 31 16 47 31 16 16 2675 17 594 175 175 140 210 70 70 175 140 70 524 315 175 175 70 35 140 105 70 140 70 70 420 70 70 105 140 105 35 280 35 70 210 5699 18 420 210 350 105 385 210 315 420 385 175 105 909 490 490 245 35 35 1329 699 385 420 35 35 1154 804 245 70 70 35 105 280 105 35 11643 19 451 78 311 31 187 171 575 607 31 31 47 498 964 140 78 16 31 249 249 513 93 47 31 171 109 109 31 47 31 93 62 16 16 6221 20 1399 140 210 70 594 420 1259 1538 350 70 140 559 874 1294 664 35 105 420 1399 1364 944 70 594 140 70 2203 140 105 70 105 35 70 35 17867 21 280 124 78 16 47 47 187 233 47 62 31 62 404 156 62 16 31 171 93 389 886 124 31 31 124 404 16 16 16 16 16 16 31 4370 22 607 560 389 124 156 187 156 62 311 78 124 140 202 140 591 124 78 124 140 140 156 1493 47 31 31 109 109 62 31 31 47 16 31 7061 23 1049 350 140 70 315 105 105 350 105 105 105 559 350 140 175 70 524 140 105 490 70 70 1189 210 70 70 385 105 70 35 35 70 210 8566 24 467 78 62 62 62 280 124 264 31 47 78 358 358 31 140 47 16 560 124 47 16 16 16 1306 264 47 47 467 124 31 218 404 16 6407 25 249 62 16 47 47 93 62 47 47 16 47 62 156 218 93 16 31 358 93 31 93 31 47 404 513 47 62 311 62 62 109 233 31 4121 26 455 210 315 70 140 210 839 420 210 70 140 140 594 280 280 35 105 280 420 2308 944 105 70 35 35 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9696 6401 9110 10132 5453 4151 6031 3252 5169 7637 382398 adris ade putra / the academic research community publication pg. 8 from the analysis of generation and attraction of trip in each zone, the obtained map of kendari desire line in the image below. the desire line shows the black bars indicating the number of trips taken, the thick line shows that the higher rate of trip. base on kendari desire line can be seen trip from zone 2 and zone 1 has a high rate of trip. meaning of trip generated by the zone 2 and zone 1 has a high level of generation of trip to another zone. figure 5. map of desire line 4.4 corridor of brt in city kendari 1) corridor i city central market jl. moh.hatta jl. p.diponegoro jl.sultan hasanuddin jl. mayjend sutoyo jl. mayjend s. parman jl. dr. sam ratulangi jl. drs. hj. abdulah silondae jl. jend. ahmad yani jl. mayjend d. pandjaitan jl. christina martha jl. capt. piere tendean jl. robert wolter monginsidi airport haluoleo: the total length of the path taken is ± 30251 m. the figure below shows the brt corridor i (purple color line) 2) corridor ii city central market jl. pembangunan jl. dr. sutomo jl. ir. hj. alala jl. edi sabara jl. brigjend soegiarto jl. malaka jl. bunggasi jl. haji banawula terminal lapulu. the path taken is ± 16706.81 m. figure below shows brt corridor ii (green color line) 3) corridor iii port bungkutoko jl. haji banawula police abeli jl. imam bonjol faculty itk police sultra jl. haluoleo jl. boulevard jl. capt. p. tendean jl. robert w. monginsidi airport haluoleo. the length of the path taken is ± 34 627 m. the figure below shows brt corridor iii (blue color line) 4) corridor iv terminal puuwatu jl. moh. yamin jl. chairil anwar jl. mayjend donal panjaitan jl. christina martha jl. capt. piere tendean jl. robert wolter monginsidi airport haluoleo. the length of the path taken is ± 25 139 m. the figure below shows brt corridor iv (black color line) 5) corridor intersection picture map below shows the intersection of the corridor i, corridor ii, corridor iii and corridor iv of brt kendari. the following location of four corridors intersection: 1. intersection of corridor i (purple line) and corridor iv (black bars) is at the office of state electricity company on jl. mayjend d. pandjaitan; 2. intersection of corridor i (purple line), corridor iii (blue line) and corridor iv (black bars) is at the junction round of baruga; 3. intersection of corridor ii (green line) and corridor iii (blue line) is at the traditional market of lapulu. picture below is a picture of the intersection of the four corridors. adris ade putra / the academic research community publication pg. 9 figure 6. map of the intersection of corridor i, ii, iii and iv 4.5 location of bus stop bus stops are public transportation stops building for lowering and/or raising the passengers. 1) corridor i from the results of the study with regard landmarks around the road to be traversed brt in kendari corridor i ± 30.251 m, number of bus stop location as many as 39 (thirty-nine) are placed on the right and left of the road for the total amount to 78 (seven twenty-eight) bus stop on corridori. 2) corridor ii corridor ii ± 16706.81 m, number of bus stop location as many as 20 (twenty) are placed on the right side and left of the road for the total amount to 40 (forty) bus stop on corridor ii. 3) corridor iii corridor iii ± 34 627 m, number of bus stop location as many as 15 (fifteen) were placed on the right and left of the road for the total amount to 30 (thirty) bus stop on corridor iii. 4) corridor iv corridor iv ± 25 139 m, number of bus stop location 13 (thirteen) were placed on the right and left of the road for the total amounted to 26 (twenty-six) bus stop on corridor iv. 5. conclusions based on the results of the discussion, it can be concluded as follows: 1) the number of public transportation requires in kendari city is as much as 28 bus. 8 units bus for corridor i, 6 units bus for corridor ii, 8 units bus for corridor iii and 6 units bus for corridor iv. 2) this bus operation is divided into four corridors,: a. city central market jl. moh.hatta jl. p.diponegoro jl.sultan hasanuddin jl. mayjend sutoyo jl. mayjend s. parman jl. dr. sam ratulangi jl. drs. hj. abdulah silondae jl. jend. ahmad yani jl. mayjend d. pandjaitan jl. christina martha jl. capt. piere tendean jl. robert wolter monginsidi airport haluoleo: the total length is ± 30251 m b. city central market jl. pembangunan jl. dr. sutomo jl. ir. hj. alala jl. edi sabara jl. brigjend soegiarto jl. malaka jl. bunggasi jl. haji banawula – terminal lapulu. total length is ± 16706.81 m. c. port bungkutoko jl. haji banawula police abeli jl. imam bonjol faculty itk police sultra jl. haluoleo jl. boulevard jl. capt. p. tendean jl. robert w. monginsidi airport haluoleo. total length is ± 34 627 m. d. terminal puuwatu jl. moh. yamin jl. chairil anwar jl. mayjend donal panjaitan jl. christina martha jl. capt. piere tendean jl. robert wolter monginsidi airport haluoleo. 3) the potential population in kendari city is categorized on the modest development and the existing conditions of the road is not too large for the brt line planed. so, the possibility of increasing the number of passengers then the type of bus which may be used as a fleet of brt at the beginning of the operation is large floor buses total capacity of 79 people consisting of 49 seated passengers and 30 passengers standing. 4) number of the bus stop for bus rapid transit in kendari: corridor i= 78 units, corridor ii = 40 units, corridor iii = 30 units, corridor iv = 26 units. adris ade putra / the academic research community publication pg. 10 references 1. ahmed, q.i., huapu, l., and shi, y, 2008, urban transportation and equity: a case study of beijing and karachi, transportation research part a: policy and practice, vol. 42, pp. 125–139. 2. bianco.,and martha j., 1999, technological innovation and the rise and fall of urban mass transit, journal of 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cultural tourism: modeling alsace and bali prihartomo andimarjoko1 1laboratoire humanis, em strasbourg business school, université de strasbourg, france keywords sustainable; dynamics; perceived authenticity; cultural tourism ; abstract cultural tourism roughly contributes to 40% of the international tourism arrivals. however, marketing for it is a dilemma between maximizing the economic return and nurturing the culture’s social functions because, in cultural tourism, a culture is a “product” to be “consumed”. marketers need to attract the “correct” segments of cultural tourism, which have cultural motives as opposed to those of mass tourism. research shows that attracting such segments can be done through a differentiation based on authenticity. however, in cultural tourism, authenticity is a relative and negotiable term. perceived authenticity is more applicable than the traditional, objective authenticity. previous research has been done to understand how authenticity is perceived by tourists but how it changes over a time remains elusive to researchers. this research focuses on the dynamics of perceived authenticity; how it changes over a time. a temporary, hypothetical model is proposed that is subject to a further seeking of variables and their relationships. the research is conducted in two stages: qualitative for building the model and quantitative for confirming it. two cases will be built i.e. alsace in france and bali in indonesia. the two regions will represent two different points on a spectrum. this research is a work in progress. 1. introduction 1.1. marketing of cultural sustainable tourism in its recent annual report, world travel & tourism council (wttc) reported the contribution of tourism to the world gdp reached 9.8% (us$ 7.2 trillion) in 2015. the sector provides 284 million jobs worldwide or equally 1 in 11 jobs on the planet. the report also predicts the tourism sector to grow by 4% annually for the next ten years (world travel & tourism council, 2016). meanwhile, richards (2014) states that cultural tourism has now been accounted for roughly 40% of the international tourist arrivals, which grew from 37% in 1997 (oecd, 2009). back in the 1970s, an early awareness of the importance of cultural tourism was quoted by wirth and freestone (2003) from mccannell (1975): “tourism is not just an aggregate of merely commercial activities; it is also an ideological framing of history, nature, and tradition; a framing that has the power to reshape culture and nature to its own needs (maccannell, 1975: 1).” meanwhile, richards (ed.) in 2005 mentioned that in most european countries, subsidies to the arts and culture have grown considerably in the post-war period so that government was a major provider of financial support for culture. however, the trend has reversed. failure to show clear benefits from subsidies, together with increasing pressure to reduce public expenditure seriously threatened the level of government support for arts and culture in europe in the 1980s (richards, ed., 2005). pressures to earn more income and to reduce reliance on subsidies have been evident at many heritage attractions in recent years. meanwhile, despite the growing demand (chhabra, 2010), the trend of increasing competition enters the scene. (timothy and boyd, 2003, in chhabra, 2010). doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.246 prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 2 this competition forces tourism destinations to develop offers that are different from their peers. the importance of differentiation as a business strategy has been recognized since 1980 when michael e. porter mentioned it as one of the three generic strategies: (a) overall cost leadership; (b) differentiation – building customer perceptions of superior product quality, design, or service; (c) focus – avoiding direct confrontation with major competitors by focusing on a narrow market niche (porter, 1980). from the marketing perspective, in cultural tourism, a destination place is a brand and the culture itself is a “product” to be “consumed”. being consumed, a product is subject to commoditization (maccarrone-eaglen, 2009) (wirth and freestone, 2003). for that reason, tourism has often been condemned for spoiling the authenticity of heritage. profit-driven objectives of organizers and promoters of heritage tourism activities are responsible for this cultural degradation to some extent (chhabra, 2001). “it has been observed all around the world: massive tourism and an authentic and living indigenous culture simply cannot coexist.” (lietaer and demeulenaere, 2003). the growing demand will continue to impose a drain on heritage resources and living cultures (chhabra, 2010). as an example from europe, by a qualitative research in austria, paschinger’s (2007) observation on authenticity in cultural heritage found the problem of the overwhelming impact of mass tourism. this problem does not allow a guide to continue focusing fully on the group. it also restricts the possibility of having different types of visits by different kinds of target groups (e.g. pupils, adults). there is not enough space or time to deal with all of them in full (paschinger, 2007). the discussion above has brought cultural tourism into its dilemma: shall we maximize the economic return or preserve the indigenous culture for its social function? 1.2. perceived authenticity in cultural tourism the brand (i.e., destination) and its product (i.e., the culture) must offer a differentiation in order to achieve the highest satisfaction of the visitors. “whereas once the ‘heritage tourism product’ has been considered rather selfsufficient, today, no such product can stay on the market nor remain competitive without implementing strategies that focus attention on the customer” (paschinger, 2007). the options are limitless, however, this research is carried out with sustainability as a core foundation. thus, the best approach is the one that ensures sustainability since it will give the highest lifecycle value. this is confirmed by the “triple bottom line” concept, which can be visualized as the following figure 1. figure 1. triple bottom line (planeta, 2005, in böhm, 2009) in the tourism industry, the “people: social performance” part translates to social and cultural sustainability. the industry also pioneered the initiative of saving the planet by developing eco-tourism, which then expanded into sustainable tourism (welford and ytterhus, 1998). therefore, the goal is not to have as many tourists as possible. the goal is to attract the “correct” segment and create a satisfaction for them. correct segment means the segment with the “correct” motive, i.e. the cultural motive (kolar and zabkar, 2010) proposed authenticity as the differentiation. chhabra (2010) also posits the trend of growing demand for authenticity. consumer decisions today are “based on how real they perceive the product/service offering to be” (yeoman et al 2007, in chhabra, 2010). the above discussion brings forward a crucial element for a place branding, particularly in the context of cultural tourism marketing: authenticity as the sustainable differentiation. meanwhile, authenticity is by no means a static term. in cultural tourism, authenticity is relative and negotiable, a concept pioneered by cohen in 1988, detailed by wang (1999) and elaborated by steiner and reisinger (2005). prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 3 research has been done to explore perceived authenticity and how authenticity could be negotiated by cultural tourists in different parts of the world. jones (2010) discussed the process of negotiating the authenticity by emphasizing the importance of networks connecting things, place, and people. paschinger (2007) and kuon (2011) observed this phenomenon in the fields. wang and wu (2013) measured the significant relationship between objective and existential authenticity. afterward, lin (2015) measured the positive effects of perceived authenticity to the willingness to pay (wtp). some others tried to reveal a number of practical applications for enhancing the perception of authenticity. the works done by chhabra et al (2003), koontz (2010), brida et al (2011), xie (2011) and rickly-boyd (2012) can be considered to be this type. 1.3. the dynamics of perceived authenticity previously, waitt (2000) found that the clientele itself (for example age, residence, gender) makes a significant difference in seeing the authenticity among tourists. rickly-boyd (2012) further raised a question about what has been missing: the understanding of the dynamics of perceived authenticity. in particular, work must be done to understand how tourists’ perceptions of authenticity are formed and changed over time. for example, how did tourists’ perceptions of authenticity change from the time they entered the destination to when they exited, as well as with repeat visits over time. nevertheless, more research aims to examine the complexity and dynamics of this concept as it is used in a variety of contexts. while it is agreed perceived authenticity changes over time, little is understood about how that happens. ironically, the key to a sustainable perceived authenticity is to understand its dynamics. the dynamics of perceived authenticity remains elusive to tourism researchers (rickly-boyd, 2012). therefore, it is the focus of this research: to understand the dynamics of perceived authenticity. at the time of the writing of this paper, the research is a work in progress. therefore, this paper covers the work partially. 2. research problem and questions concluding previous discussions, the research was triggered by a problem: although it is agreed that perceived authenticity may change over a time, little is understood about how that takes place. meanwhile, understanding such dynamics is the key to a sustainable perceived authenticity. the dynamics of perceived authenticity remains elusive to tourism researchers. therefore, this research is trying to answer the following questions: a. what are the variables that affect the change of perceived authenticity over a time? b. having known all variables, what is the general mechanism of the change process of perceived authenticity? c. how do the changes in culture affect the perception of authenticity? d. how do the cases in alsace and bali contribute to building a better understanding of the dynamics? e. having built a comprehensive model, what is the relative significance of each variable? how can the significances contribute to building a better model? 3. methodology to achieve its objectives in answering research questions, the research is divided into two stages: a. stage one: qualitative research b. stage two: quantitative research. therefore, it employs two consecutive approaches, i.e. qualitative and quantitative. both approaches are applied to the scope of fields of this research, alsace, and bali. 3.1. epistemological paradigm the qualitative part (stage one) of this research plays a crucial role in the overall directions of the research. and consequently, its validity must be ensured, by an adherence to a clear epistemological framework. to determine a proper approach, the author refers to the summary provided by avenier and thomas (2013). considering the goal of this research is to generate knowledge by conceptualizing the understanding of the flux of experiences for thinking and acting, whose form is a pragmatic conception of the knowledge and actionable propositions, it was concluded pragmatic constructivism the most suitable paradigm for this research. in this paradigm, internal validity is approached by an abductive upward conceptual generalization of the flux of experiences. meanwhile, external validity is justified by a pragmatic testing of knowledge’s functional fit (von glaserfeld, 1984, 2001; le moigne, 1995, 2001, in avenier and thomas, 2013). prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 4 3.2. research strategy 3.2.1 stage one (qualitative) the objective of the qualitative stage is to build a model that explains the dynamics of perceived authenticity. at this stage, based on the sources of collection, data consists of two different categories: a. primary data: obtained from direct observations in the fields by the researcher, focus group discussions (fgd) and in-depth interviews with the informants; b. secondary data: obtained from indirect observations, i.e. from library search, records by the authorities (both published and unpublished), relevant books and publications (including tourist brochures), folklore and online observations by netnography (kozinets, 1997, in ginga, 2013). to identify the categories of informants for the in-depth interviews, the research refers to the four stakeholders of cultural tourism, for example from xie (2011): (1) government; (2) tourism business; (3) visitors; (4) ethnic groups. direct observations are conducted by the researcher, by being present in the researched destinations, observing, participating, having informal talks with several parties (e.g., tourism offices, restaurant owners, other tourists) and taking relevant photographs. fgd is conducted for collecting data from tourists, by encouraging them to reveal their perceptions of authenticity. the main part of the research strategy, because the ultimate objective of this research is to construct a working model as a new theory. in this case, grounded theory has the capability to produce a new theory based on qualitative data (richards and munsters, 2010). in the analysis, data is reduced by grouping them into first-order categories. the categories are then grouped further as second-order themes and eventually extracted as theoretical dimensions (glaser, 2004)(charmaz, 2006). nvivo® (version 11) software is used for helping the content analyses (kaefer et al, 2015). 3.2.2 stage two (quantitative) the objective of this stage is to confirm the model and reveal the relative significance of each variable. convenience sampling is used to determine the recipients of questionnaires. for field officers and tourism operators, questionnaires are handed to the respondents. while for visitors, field intercepts are done at tourism attractions. questions are designed based on the results of qualitative research, aiming to verify the significance of the variables and their relationships. special care is given to segregate between one-time and repeat visitors. when a visitor is identified as a repeat visitor, he/she is asked to answer more questions. in the analysis, such visitors are gathered as a separate population group. a special treatment is also given to tourists who have previously been respondents because their change in perceived authenticity will be recorded. considering relationships among multiple constructs need to be regressed simultaneously, with a relatively small sample size (less than 200), a variance-based structured equation model (sem) approach will be taken (hair et al, 2006, haenlein and kaplan, 2004, in andimarjoko and wiharto, 2014). the statistical computation uses smartpls® software. only relationships that are statistically significant will be retained in the model. the overall workflow of the research is displayed in the following figure 2. figure 2. overall research workflow prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 5 4. literature reviews and preliminary observations this chapter mainly summarizes the literature reviews and preliminary observations that had been done up to the date this paper was written. 4.1. constructivism approach to authenticity a dictionary in philosophy (mautner, ed., 1997) defines constructivism as the theory that knowledge is not something that we acquire but something that we produce. it posits that the objects in an area of inquiry are not there to be discovered, but are invented or constructed. being a foundation of knowledge building, constructivism has been embraced by education in classrooms since the mid-1980s (applefield et al, 2001). a more philosophical approach has also been discussed by scholars, for example by lenman and shemmer. they suggested a link of the constructivist approach with the moral philosophy, tracing back to the writings of hobbes and rousseau, influenced by kant's moral philosophy (lenman and shemmer, ed., 2012). the constructivism's practical interpretation in the authenticity of hospitality industry was exposed for example by jang and park (2012) and jang and namkung (2011), which elaborate the negotiable nature in the perception of authenticity as suggested by a classic paper by cohen (1988, in jang and park, 2012). they suggest that authenticity from constructivist approach is a product of social interactions. this reference to social interactions is also supported by ebster and guist (2004, in jang and park, 2012) wang (1999) and wood and munoz (2007). in 2015, lin tested the concepts of authenticity suggested by wang (1999) by measuring their effects to the tourists’ willingness to pay (wtp). the different concepts suggested by wang (1999, in lin, 2015) can be summarized in below paragraphs. object-related authenticity focuses mainly on tourists’ opinions of toured objects, which can include local art, handicrafts, cultural relics, souvenirs, historical events, and cultural activities (lin, 2015). this can be subdivided into objective authenticity and constructive authenticity. the first subdivision, objective authenticity, requires objective views that are object-based (wang, 1999), this is in agreement with the ‘objective’ or ‘material definitions’ of authenticity. by deciding whether these activities conform to stipulated criteria, one can determine whether they are authentic (lin, 2015). on the other hand, constructive authenticity is the result of social constructs. the authenticity of an object does not pertain to its nature or essence per se but derives from people’s beliefs and opinions. tourists define authenticity in their own ways (oh, 2005, in lin, 2015). existential authenticity is a form of constructive authenticity in cultural tourism. it is constructed by activities. thus, a tourist’s experience of existential authenticity is stimulated by participating in tourism activities. correspondingly, authentic experiences in tourism are to achieve this activated existential state of being within the liminal process of tourism. the concept was introduced by wang (1999) and elaborated further by steiner and reisinger in 2005. it is a sense of enjoyment and escape, the experience of true self in the context of foreign place, time, and culture (kolar and zabkar, 2010). existential authenticity encompasses intra-personal and inter-personal authenticity (wang, 1999)(lin, 2015). intra-personal authenticity is constructed by the individuals. when people feel freer and more real than usual, it is not solely due to the authenticity of the toured object. instead, this state of mind is achieved by escaping the restrictions of daily life (brown, 1996, p. 37, in lin, 2015). finally, inter-personal authenticity is constructed within a group. during touring and tourism activities, the environment may be just a medium through which a group of tourists comes together to experience inter-personal authenticity (wang, 1999). just as the family becomes the main private sphere in which individuals experience their true selves (berger, 1973, in lin, 2015), when tourists travel with their families, close emotional ties allow them to reveal their true selves more freely (wang, 1999). perceived authenticity is complex by nature because tourists define their authenticity in various ways (jones, 2010)(cohen, 1988)(wang, 1999). waitt (2000) also observed that important differences in the level of perceived authenticity exist within the clientele, for example, according to gender, place of residence, and stage of the lifecycle. from a heritage destination of the rocks in australia, female overseas tourists are significantly more highly motivated to experience history and have a far greater propensity to critique the historical authenticity. in contrast, male domestic tourists with previous visitations to the rocks uncritically accepted what they saw as being historically authentic (waitt, 2000). prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 6 4.2. constructing perceived authenticity a number of research has tried to reveal how authenticity be constructed by heritage tourists. from a case study of a heritage excavation at hilton of cadboll, scotland, jones (2010) used the term negotiating the authenticity. she posits that objective authenticity keeps playing a key role. then tourists negotiate their perceptions on authenticity, knowing that not everything can be objectively authentic. figure 3. relationship network of constructing the authenticity (author’s elaboration from jones, 2010) jones accepted the distinction between objective and constructive authenticities but criticized the dichotomy of the two perspectives. “neither explains why people find the issue of authenticity so compelling, nor how it is experienced and negotiated in practice.” the conclusion was the networks of relationships between people, places and things (objects) that appeared to be central in constructing the authenticity, not the things (objects) in themselves (jones, 2010). jones’ (2010) result can be put on a diagram as above. figure 4. conceptual model of perceived authenticity (source: wang and wu, 2013) afterward, wang and wu in 2013 explored further the process of perceiving authenticity in cultural heritage tourism, in yangzhou, china. to examine the relationships between objective authenticity and existential authenticity, they added performative authenticity as a mediating construct between the two. performative authenticity refers to the perception of the body at play, at risk, etc., and especially focuses on the relationship between body and place, which is vitalized through performative practices and mediations on and off places (knudsen and waade, 2010, in wang and wu, 2013). above was the model they examined. wang and wu (2013) proposed h1, h2, and h3 as the hypotheses, with all having positive relationships. the results supported all hypotheses accordingly, with h2 obtaining the highest standardized path coefficient of 0.54. hypothesis h3 follows with 0.37, and h1 with 0.36. the model enables an empirical examination of the relationship of three types of authentic experiences. it especially indicates the inner and outer interaction through the whole perception process (wang and wu, 2013). two years later, lin (2015) took a step further by assessing the economic impacts. the research measured the relationships between the tourists’ willingness to pay (wtp) and different concepts of authenticity suggested by wang (1999): object-related, intra-personal and inter-personal. the quantitative survey was done in pingxi, taiwan. although it found the three concepts were significantly related to wtp, intra-personal authenticity shows the strongest impact on the economic value. inter-personal comes the second and object-related the third, prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 7 respectively. it shows that the desire to escape from everyday life (wang, 1999) is more important in perceiving the authenticity than the object itself. exploring a phenomenon of staged authenticity, rickly-boyd in 2012 studied a case on the reproduction of spring mill pioneer village in indiana, the united states. the village sits on the original location of the former village; however, as a heritage landscape, it is composed of restorations, reproductions, and replicas of nineteenth-century structures. the village provides a spectrum of objective and constructive authenticities, from the natural landscape and log structures to live actors and objects of everyday life from a bygone era, that trigger the imaginative. in the village, the most common question asked by the tourists was “did they really live like this?” (rickly-boyd, 2012). although authenticity as originality received 83% agreement from the tourist population, there exist certain degrees of “negotiating” the authenticity. for example, “genuineness”, defined as reconstruction using historically accurate methods, received 87% agreement. as delyser (1999, in rickly-boyd, 2012) argues, “the concept of authenticity enables visitors to experience the past as they imagine it” (p. 624), findings at spring mill pioneer village support this claim. while authenticity and originality do correlate in the minds of tourists, what matters is their imagination of what the “original” village may have been like (rickly-boyd, 2012). because they believe the village to be authentic, they can take the next steps, which include “insightfulness” toward engaging with its heritage narrative. the defines as “unique psychological outcomes or benefits gained from visitors’ subjective experiences of the heritage context provided and resulting from their actions, or ‘mindful’ questioning of the environment, with the visitors’ own personal meanings and perceptions imbued” (mcintosh, p. 58, in rickly-boyd, 2012). thus, “insightfulness” is an effective, reflective, and cognitive process (rickly-boyd, 2012). however, rickly-boyd (2012) admits the research does raise further questions. in particular, work must be done to understand how tourists’ perceptions of authenticity are formed and change over time. for example, how did tourists’ perceptions of authenticity change from the time they entered the village to when they exited, as well as with repeat visits over time? nevertheless, more research aimed at examining the complexity and dynamics of this concept, as it is used in a variety of contexts, is necessary. the dynamics of authenticity remain elusive to tourism researchers (rickly-boyd, 2012). 4.3. cultural exchange between tourists and hosts wang (1999) already suggested inter-personal authenticity as a component of existential authenticity. this concept implies the construction of perceived authenticity through the interactions among tourists. on the other hand, one should never neglect the interaction between tourists and the host, for example as reported by robinson and picard (2006) and böhm (2009). due to the nature of tourism, they are continuously in contact. while böhm (2009) focuses on assessing the social and cultural impacts of tourism, robinson and picard point out that today’s contact can be indirect. the role of other media in the cultural changes can be inevitable (robinson and picard, 2006). among other forms of cultural changes such as diffusion and assimilation, the interaction between visitors and host is similar to acculturation or "culture contact" as described by anthropologists. the anthropological studies of acculturations started to be popular in 1910 1920 (koentjaraningrat, 2016). further, it also states that before 1920, anthropology exposed only customs/behaviors that were already effectively in place in a certain society. the anomalies shown by certain individuals were not subjects of interest to anthropologists. this approach changed in 1920. anthropologists realized these "outliers" sometimes become a root of changes in a culture. upon such anomaly, the society will first "punish" it through its control mechanism. but when the anomaly persists, it is subject to happen again (recurrence). after several recurrences, the society finally must give its concession (koentjaraningrat, 2016, pp. 250-251). robinson and picard (2006) further emphasize the role of media in the indirect interactions. with the advent of new media such as the internet, the impact can become even more severe. these exchanges have long been realized and many governments have applied policies to "protect" the culture (robinson and picard, 2006). however, such cultural exchange is not always negative. in fact, it can enrich and strengthen the culture, while maintaining the perceived authenticity. for example, in the case of balinese paintings, which used to be simple ones. through the interactions with visitors and foreign artists, sophistication process took place. and the result is the sophisticated paintings seen today, while they are still strongly perceived as authentic balinese (picard, 2010). therefore, it just confirms that we need to understand how this change in perceived authenticity works over a time. prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 8 to model the above cultural exchange, böhm (2009) elaborates the cultural interactions in tourism by incorporating some findings by bodley (1997, in böhm, 2009). the model is explained in figure 5. figure 5. intercultural exchange between host and visitors (source: böhm, 2009) it describes the exchange as happening in the three forms of a culture system: material, behavioral and ideological or value system. the elaboration can be visualized as the above diagram. changes and adaptations are most frequent at the outer level (1), as local people are willing to modify their offers to satisfy the tourists’ needs. exchange occurring at this level is based on economics (böhm, 2009). changes in behavior, language and other issues in the behavioral culture (2) occur less easily and requires more time. and the modifications on the ideological level only occur over long periods. constant and long-lasting influences of tourism lead to a longer term, gradual change in a society’s values, beliefs and cultural practices (3) (boyne, 2003, in hall, 2003, in böhm, 2009). if interactions between visitors and the host culture result in changes in any of the five fundamental factors of cultural value in table 2.2 (kluckhohn and kluckhohn, 1962, in koentjaraningrat, 2016), a penetration to the value system has taken place. in many cases, tourism is an unbalance process of intercultural exchange. in general, the greater the cultural difference between the host and the visitor, the more severe the socio-cultural impacts will be. on the other hand, the bigger the contrast, the more exotic and attractive the host culture is perceived by the potential visitors (böhm, 2009). the study above by böhm (2009) was done in an exploration of the social and cultural impacts of tourism, without an explicit focus on perceived authenticity. however, it is worth to bring the model across to study authenticity, to understand how it evolves over a time. most importantly, it is useful to know in which forms of the cultural authenticity is impacted and how. 4.4. initial observations in alsace observations in alsace (in progress) are conducted by participation, netnography and unstructured interviews with informants representing different stakeholders. the focus of this research is on the route des vins or wine route of alsace, a 170-kilometer route of wine estates, starting from thann in the south to marlenheim in the north. the region has a unique subculture because, in a significant part of its history, alsace was a part of german imperium. in order to reveal some aspects of the perception of authenticity in alsace, the researcher conducted unstructured interviews with tourists and local tourism authorities. samples ware based on convenience, and further interviews are yet to take place. the following three elements in material culture are the most frequently appeared as “authentic alsace”: semi-timbered houses (often decorated with flowers); vineyards and wineries; and white wines contained in slender-shaped bottles. an illustration of the alsace semi-timbered house is given in figure 6. prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 9 figure 6. a semi-timbered house with flower decorations in barr, northern alsace (courtesy of alsace-wine-tour.com) although the route des vins d’alsace was officially inaugurated in 1953, the wine tradition in alsace has started since the gallo-roman era (alsace wine tour, 2017). from several visits to wine estates around colmar so far, the family ranges from the 8th generation families (for instance domaine françois baur in turckheim) to the 14th generations (such as emile beyer in eguisheim). alsace has seven types of grape varieties: pinot blanc, pinot gris, pinot noir, riesling, muscat, gewurtztraminer and sylvaner (alsace-wine-tour, 2017). among the seven, a number of informants in eguisheim mentioned the darkest variety, pinot noir, has a unique situation in alsace. alsace wines have been widely perceived as “white” than “red”, causing red wine contained in a slender-shaped alsace bottle has a low visibility to the customers. because of this reason, a number of domaines have started to change the bottles of their pinot noir from alsace to bourgogne (figure 7). because bourgogne wines are perceived as “red”, bourgogne-shaped bottles enable alsace pinot noir to gain more visibility this is an example change in the material culture due to economic relations. figure 7. the shapes of a traditional wine bottle from alsace (left) and bourgogne (right) mass tourism seems to have created some impacts to alsace. according to some informants in eguisheim, there had been some changes since the village was awarded “the most preferred village in france” in 2013 (alsacewine-tour.com, 2017). the number of tourists increased significantly since then, and most visitors to the wineries preferred to buy low-priced, low-quality wines, instead of the higher graded wines produced from grand cru or premier cru terroirs. this has driven wine producers to focus on low-class wines, gaining profit from higher volumes, or shifting the strategy from differentiation to cost leadership. although this phenomenon needs to be verified by a wider group of informants, it implies a deeper change in the host’s culture, touching the behavioral culture. in 2017, kaysersberg, another village of alsace, won the “the most preferred village in france 2017” (buron, 2017). it is worth to observe the impacts of this award to the village. 4.5. initial observations in bali observations in bali (in progress) is also conducted by participation, netnography and unstructured interviews with informants representing different stakeholders. initial interviews with conveniently chosen informants resulted in the top three elements of material culture perceived as “authentic bali”: statues, building ornaments and religious ceremonies. the buildings cover pura or a balinese hindu temple in the villages, and traditional balinese houses. prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 10 figure 8. a typical village pura in selumbung village, eastern bali (courtesy of selumbung.com) some interviews to host informants have also revealed some changes in material culture. this was to find if there have been similar phenomena to the sophistication process of balinese paintings due to the interactions with foreigners (picard, 2010). a wood carving artist from selumbung village, karangasem regency, explained the influence from french wood carvings to a traditional patra punggel pattern of bali. the difference between a native patra punggel and the one with a french influence is displayed as a sketch in figure 9. figure 9. an artist’s sketch of a native patra punggel carving (left) and with the french influence (right) the impact of mass tourism in bali has long been recognized and warned by many researchers. an alarm has been raised by picard since 2003, as cited by hitchcock (ed., 2008). it questioned whether the recent trend to develop mega-projects can be reversed and that with the indonesian law on regional autonomy implemented in 2001, “district heads are more than ever eager to attract big-scale investments to their region” (hitchcock, ed., 2008:56). however, it has also been observed that balinese have certain kind of resilience to protect their culture from mass tourism: “the balinese have found a perfect way to blend culture with tourism and their ability to keep their culture alive is often underestimated by many anthropologists” (siadis, 2014). the researcher has observed mass tourism has been happening mostly in the south of the island. the second most dense is the north, while the western and eastern parts of the island have a relatively low density of tourists. but some informants from the east have mentioned the number of tourists in their areas is increasing. 5. proposed models 5.1. a hypothetical model for the dynamics of perceived authenticity research has been conducted to understand to measure perceived authenticity and its effects, and how perceived authenticity is constructed, for instance, a concept of the network among place-things-people emphasized by jones (2010). for this research, the studied references are summarized to propose a temporary, hypothetical model that tries to describe the dynamics of perceived authenticity, shown in figure 10. prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 11 figure 10. a hypothetical model for the dynamics of authenticity the concept being studied is the dynamics of perceived authenticity. in the diagram, it is shown as a final, dependent, construct. based on the description from rickly-boyd (2012), the dynamics can be measured as becoming higher or lower. an existential authenticity is proposed to be a mediating construct that explains the effects of two independent constructs: timeframe (for example: enter vs. exit, visiting once vs. repeat, etc.) and the variation in clientele itself (differences in residence, stage in the lifecycle, gender, etc.) (waitt, 2000). the intrapersonal and inter-personal authenticities are represented by existential authenticity (wang, 1999). the upper left part, shaded grey, tries to explain how the changes in culture affect the dynamics of perceived authenticity. the cultural change is proposed to be a mediating construct, which explains how the intercultural exchange between the host and tourists (böhm, 2009; koentjaraningrat, 2016) and other media (robinson and picard, 2006) affect the dynamics of perceived authenticity. the intercultural exchange may be measured by the depth of the interaction, while the construct of other media may be measured by the levels of exposure. the model on figure 10 is a hypothetical, temporary model. the primary objective of this research is to rebuild the model by means of a qualitative research. 5.2. an elaborated model for the cultural change the second model is a more detailed view of the grey-shaded area in figure 10. it takes a form as a process diagram (cause and effects) of the intercultural exchange process, which normally starts from a change by an individual (koentjaraningrat, 2016; robinson and picard, 2006), shown in figure 11. figure 11. process diagram of cultural change (author’s elaboration from koentjaraningrat, 2016, robinson and picard, 2006 and böhm, 2009) prihartomo andimarjoko / the academic research community publication pg. 12 an individual exposure will induce an individual change, which has to endure the resistance from the culture's control mechanism. when it fails, the change will stop and die. otherwise, recurrence of changes will happen, forcing the society in general to accept change. when the societal change occurs, it induces a change in culture in general. intercultural exchange mostly takes place on the outer layer of the culture due to economic relations but can affect the deeper layers if extensive exchange occurs over a long time (böhm, 2009). 6. conclusions and recommendations this research is a work in progress, and therefore a number of temporary conclusions can be drawn: a. the dynamics of perceived authenticity remains elusive to tourism researchers; b. a temporary, hypothetical, model has been proposed to try explaining the dynamics of perceived authenticity; c. a process model has been elaborated from references to describe the change process in host’s culture; d. the initial observations have revealed a 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publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) modern mashrabiyas with high-tech daylight responsive systems doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.113 yasmin m. el semary 1 1 faculty of fine arts, helwan university, cairo, egypt hany attalla 1, iman gawad 2 1 professor of architecture and urban design 2 associate professor of architecture keywords mashrabiya, kinetic façade, intelligent building skin, responsive envelope, daylight systems. abstract the environmental and social role of closed oriental balconies (mashrabiyas) remains a significant vernacular aspect of middle eastern architecture. however, nowadays this traditional islamic window element with its characteristic latticework is used to cover entire buildings as an oriental ornament, providing local identity and a sun-shading device for cooling. in fact, designers have reinvented this vernacular islamic wooden structure into high-tech responsive daylight systems – often on a massive scale and using computer technology – not only to cover tall buildings as an oriental ornament, but also as a major responsive daylight system. it is possible to use the traditional architectural islamic elements of the middle east for problem-solving design solutions in present-day architecture. the potential for achieving these solutions lies in the effective combination of the design concepts of the traditional elements with new smart materials and technologies. hence, modern mashrabiyas could be a major responsive daylight system. contextual information drawn from relevant theory, ethnography and practice is used to form a methodological framework for the modern mashrabiyas with high-tech responsive daylight systems. the main results set boundaries for the viability of computer technology to produce mashrabiyas and promote a sustainable way of reviving their use within middle eastern buildings. 1. introduction building facades tend to be more adaptive and responsive with the climate, indoor environments, space functions and occupants as the modern mashrabiyas with high-tech responsive systems. within the scope of this paper, the type of building facades with high-tech modern mashrabiya is defined by three characteristics as follows: (wang and beltrán, 2012) − to strengthen the relationship between the climate and environment with its connotation of indoor environmental conditions and energy efficiency. − to integrate the physical motion or behaviors with the architectural aesthetics. − to imply biological metaphors with the idea of optimal performance and access to the surrounding natural resources. yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 2 the main objective of this paper is using mashrabiya as a responsive daylight system by combining the design concepts of the traditional mashrabiya with new smart materials and technologies. hence, modern mashrabiya with high technology will be a major responsive daylight system. 2. mashrabiya concept the mashrabiya is a wooden lattice screen which is composed of very small wooden balusters round in section. the name mashrabiya is derived from the word “drink” in arabic language. the mashrabiya was originally a “drinking place” as the shade and open lattice of a mashrabiya provided a constant current of air which, as the sweating surfaces of porous clay pots evapo rated, cooled the water inside. the mashrabiya has numerous different functions among including controlling the passage of light, regulating air flow, reducing the temperature of the air current, increasing the humidity of the air current and guaranteeing a great amount of privacy, as shown in figure 1. figure 1. example of a mashrabiya in exterior shot (on the left) and in interior shot (on the right) egypt’s climate is classified as hot desert arid climate according to köppen‟s climate classification system (peel et al., 2007). it is characterized by high direct solar radiation and a clear sky which demands specific façade treatments to reduce heat gain while providing suitable daylighting. double-skin façades (like mashrabiyas) are one of the building’s facade treatments that can improve the indoor environment while minimizing the use of energy if designed properly (poirazis, 2006). the traditional double façade types of buffer, twin face and extractair, where the exterior layer is glazed, have been evolved for hot arid climate resulted in a hybrid approach which employs a shading screen as the exterior face coupled with a high performance curtain wall system as the interior layer of the façade (boake, 2014), as shown in figure 2. figure 2. examples of double façade types of buffer, twin face and extract-air, source: author daylighting in architecture is a design generation strategy that exploits natural sunlight in indoor spaces, reducing reliance on electric light, maintaining human health and a productive work environment during daytime. the mashrabiya has a major effect on the daylight performance inside the building. yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 3 3. concepts and uses of mashrabiya throughout the ages it is very important to understand the concept of this traditional window screen throughout the ages. hence, uses of mashrabiya will be discussed through its past as well as the current and future possible contexts of a possible mashrabiya revival using current manufacturing technologies as follows: 3.1 uses of mashrabiya in the islamic era: the name of the ‘mashrabiya’ is related to its function as a passively cooled space for storing clay water pots. therefore, the name is derived from the arabic verb “yeshrab” that means “drink”. from a structural view, mashrabiya is a wooden lattice screen like a closed balcony, that element is outside the window for around 35cm, as shown in figure 3. this shading element plays a crucial role in absorbing daytime humidity and releasing it at night. the mashrabiya has also an important islamic cultural and social value of privacy as it functions as an architectural veil (madeo and schnabel, 2014). the small openings in the mashrabiya, which is made of fine-turned wood or shading louvers, allow females to view the exterior world from inside without being revealed to the gaze of outside men. gender segregation and veiling is a core value of the islamic religion that made the use of mashrabiya quite popular throughout history. mashrabiyas are known under different names such as shanashel in iraq, mushabak in iran, roshan in saudi arabia and aggasi in bahrain, as noted by almurahhem (2009) and ben-hamoush (2004). (ragette, 2006) figure 3. details of mashrabiya in elevation and section view (ragette 2006) 3.2 uses of mashrabiya in current era: 3.2.1 mashrabiya in modern architectural projects: mashrabiya, in modern architectural projects, has been used to achieve many things as follows: (figure 4) mashrabiya as an adaptive skin: in architecture, the environmental value of mashrabiyas was a defining concept in a lot of applications around the world. producing an architectural envelope that can respond to sun exposure and changing incidence angles during the different days of the year were the aims of the al bahar towers project by aedas (2012) and the oxygen villa (2012) designed by egyptian studio house. an earlier pioneering invention in the field was jean novoul’s arab cultural institute design in france (1987). the modern smart adaptive skin of the al bahar towers project wins the contest between intelligent technology and the heritage value, as mashrabiyas uses specialized programming methods and thermal actuators that open up the mashrabiya like an origami fold. mashrabiya as a structural pattern the verity of opening to provide sun shade was transformed as a structural membrane by 109 architects in saint joseph university (2011) in lebanon and king abdulla university for science and technology (2012). the local brick made pattern house in iran (2012) represents the combination of mashrabiya-like structure made of local available materials and craftsman skills. mashrabiya as a cultural value yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 4 the third interpretation of mashrabiya in the architectural context relies on its shape, which recalls islamic identity and cultural values. excellent applications can be seen in the masdar sustainable city in abu dhabi, uae (2010) and the mashrabiya house of palestine (2011). 3.2.2 mashrabiya within interior design: interior design spaces have also been influenced by mashrabiyas. figure 4 displays the different interior effects of the researched element. the basic passive cooling function of the shading device is integrated with the beauty of the play of shade and shadows of its openings. different new manufacturing techniques are being utilized, as seen in the cnc project recap 2 screen (2009) or the clay screen, entitled e-cooler (2010), that utilises water to perform a passive cooling effect like an old clay water jar. a distinguishing feature is the incorporation of writing, as introduced by suzan hefuna (1997), on artistic mashrabiyas; this promotes dialogue between languages (madeo and schnabel, 2014). figure 4. mashrabiya context within exterior and interior design, source: author 4. daylighting throughout history, natural daylight has been a primary source of lighting in buildings. as we entered the mid20th-century, electric light replaced natural daylight in buildings in many cases. fortunately, during the last quarter of the 20th-century and early years of this century, architects and designers have recognized the importance and value of introducing natural light into buildings. hence, modern mashrabiyas with high-tech daylight responsive systems is a design strategy to get as much natural light as possible deep into the building while controlling heat and surface brightness within the users’ fields of vision. 4.1 intelligent mashrabiya and daylighting performance yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 5 the intelligent modern mashrabiya behavior enables adaptation to the surrounding environment by allowing the human body to overcome the changing environmental conditions. buildings are exposed to a wide range of undesirable and varying environmental conditions, which requires the envelope to possess intelligent capabilities like kinetic and dynamic facade which automatically respond to environmental changes and user demands (elsheikh, 2011). 5. daylighting simulation various software packages were used for generating modern mashrabiyas with high technology daylight responsive systems. hence, design generation and application is divided into three phases as follows: 5.1 input the input data that is required for the daylight simulation can be concluded into three main points as follows: the climate data which depends on the building location, information about the location surrounding environment, and the illuminance level demanded for each type of buildings. that input data is very important during early design stages. 5.2 process digital design tools in a façade configuration simulation process is used to identify the optimal opening and closing patterns for a specific period in a specific location on a specific luminous level. daylight simulation is a commonly used strategy for predicting the quality of luminous environments, as a set of results generated through executing numerous simulation runs for different facades configurations. rhino, grasshopper and the diva plugin are the most common software tools for daylight simulation which were designed to work together to make the simulation clean, quick, and reliable, as shown in figure 5. figure 5. explains the process of these simulations to find the optimal facades configuration. the variables were represented by sliders with set minimum and maximum values depending on designers‟ requirements (cheung, 2013) 5.3 output the output will be a design feature which responds to the input and gets applied to the façade to moderate solar heat and lighting gains. the façade will essentially modify itself based on the input from light sensors within the interior and get transformed into usable responsive data (cheung, 2013). yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 6 6. daylight autonomy one of the key aspects of building rating systems such as leadership in energy and environmental design system (leed) is daylighting design. leed uses metrics such as daylight autonomy (da), which is the percentage of annual daytime work hours that a given point in a space is above a specified illumination level. there are two metrics in leed v4 for rating daylight autonomy design: spatial daylight autonomy (sda) and annual sun exposure (ase) metrics, which can help architects make good design decisions by forming together a clear picture of daylight performance. sda has no maximum limit on luminance levels, therefore, ase in leed v4 is used to describe how much of space receives 1000 lux or more of direct sunlight for at least 250 occupied hours per year, which can cause glare and thermal stress. within the design framework, the daylighting simulation depends not only on the simulation tool and its numerous calculation capabilities, but also on the pre-defined parameters, based on the demanded daylight performance. the algorithmic components incorporated into the set of parameters force data to flow in certain directions for evaluation purposes. the design processing system ends when there’s an optimal facade configuration, as shown in figure 6. figure 6. system logic – the path of data exchange between the proposed algorithm and the daylighting simulation tool. (el-sheikh, 2011) yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 7 7. modern mashrabiyas with high-tech daylight responsive systems applications within contemporary architecture, there is a growing interest in modern mashrabiyas with high-tech responsive systems. hence, there are a lot of applications of modern mashrabiyas in the 21st century. some of those applications will be displayed below in chronological order as follows: 7.1 institut monde arabe kinetic façade institut monde arabe in paris is designed by jean nouvel and was completed in 1987. the huge 30 by 80 meter south façade acts as a giant “mushrabiya” which perfectly combined high-tech modernity with traditional arabian architecture form. these façades change continuously each day, each hour, showing a new "face" which adapts to the changing conditions and needs, as shown in figures (7) (el-semary, 2014). the institute features radical high-tech walls emblazoned with mechanical apertures that respond to sunlight by narrowing to reduce solar exposure or dilating to allow daylight to fill the interior, as shown in figures 7 and 8. figure 7: main concept of institut du monde arabe façade “mushrabiya”, (el-semary, 2013) figure 7. interior shots of institut monde arabe shows the sensitive diaphragms which regulate the amount of daylight entering the building figure 8. the daylight and thermal energy controlling through the responsive kinetic façade (el-semary, 2013) 7.2 kinetic shading system of q1 building: q1 kinetic shading system in thyssenkrupp quarter designed by jswd architekten is located in cologne, germany and was completed in 2010. an innovative, highly efficient sun shading system was developed for large parts of the q1 façade, as shown in figure 9. the highly efficient sun protection system has a key role in the overall appearance of q1. the circa 400,000 stainless steel lamellas are oriented in response to the location of the sun and enable light redirection without blocking the view, as shown in figure 10 and 11 (el-semary, 2014). yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure 9. photo of the south and east facades of the q1 building figure 10. different states of the sun-shading kinetic system figure 11. sunshade diagram which response to the location of the sun 7.3 al bahar towers kinetic facades: al bahar towers have been designed by aedas architects in abu dhabi, uae, they were completed in june 2012. al bahar towers took inspiration from a traditional islamic motif to design an innovative and visually interesting external automated shading system for the building. the kinetic façade has been conceived as a contemporary interpretation of the traditional islamic “mashrabiya”; a popular form of wooden lattice screen found in vernacular islamic architecture and used as a device for achieving privacy while reducing glare and solar gain, as shown in figures 12 and 13 (el-semary, 2014). figure 12. al bahar towers external automated shading system, abu dhabi, uae (el-semary,2014) yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 9 figure 13. the kinetic process of the shading system which track the sun location 7.4 sdu kolding campus sdu kolding campus is a new central plaza by the kolding river and will have an interaction with other educational institutions in denmark. it is designed by henning larsen architects and was completed in 2014. the daylight changes and varies during the course of the day and year. thus, the kolding campus is fitted with dynamic solar shading, which adjusts to the specific climate conditions and user patterns and provides optimal daylight and comfortable indoor climate spaces along the façade. because the location of the university is in denmark, the sun will be on a low angle throughout most of the year. the choice of a vertical kinetic facade is therefore a good one because a horizontal shading system wouldn’t figure 14. exterior shot of sdu kolding campus yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 10 figure 15. interior shot of sdu kolding campus shows the amount of daylight entering the building block as much sun, as shown in figure 14, 15 figure 16. sdu kolding campus kinetic façade detail 7.5 heliotrace facade system heliotrace façade system can trace the path of the sun over the course of a day and a year to significantly reduce solar heat gain while maximizing daylight and views for building users, this system is under construction (elsemary, 2014). in heliotrace, a high-performance glass curtain wall is shadedusing two exterior devices: opaque panels that project from the mullions, perpendicular to the façade; and 50-percent perforated panels deployed parallel to the building envelope. both can be programmed to respond to solar movement and interior occupancy. energy savings are enhanced by integrated interior systems: chilled ceilings and beams, and an underfloor dedicated outside air system, as shown in figure 17. figure 17. showroom dynamic façade system with unlimited faces, (el-semary, 2013) 8. conclusion this paper presents the mashrabyia as an intelligent building skin and as the flexible adaptability of building façades to respond by motion to changing environmental conditions, taking into account human interaction and behavior. the paper demonstrates, from the perspective of the mentioned modern mashrabiya with high-tech, that it can help mitigate various environmental problems and decrease the need for mechanical systems such as hvac systems and artificial lighting, add to the occupants’ comfort, and potentially could be used to generate electricity. through this paper and our discussion of modern mashrabiya, some recommendations have been deduced as follows: − modern mashrabiya is a valuable tool for architects, engineers, surveyors and designers, so by proper design of interactive mashrabiya the size of the energy consumption system can be reduced bringing down the initial investment. − modern mashrabiya with high-tech daylight responsive systems represent a smart solution for various environmental & aesthetic considerations. − future researchers have to start focusing on the modern mashrabiya as it is time to shape future directions of the developing “facades” in a sustainable manner. − mashrabiya wants some guidance outlines in the design phase to make it more useful to the environment and human needs with no omission for the aesthetic element. 9. references 1. boake. t. 2014. hot climate double facades: avoiding solar gain. 14. 2. cheung. j. march 2013. a responsive façade system: http://fishtnk.com/responsivearc hitecture/bibliography-for-a-responsive-facadesystem/. 3. el-semary. y. march 2014. kinetic architecture as a tool for sustainability, m.sc. in architecture, cairo, egypt: faculty of fine arts, helwan university. yasmin m. elsemary / the academic research community publication pg. 11 4. el-sheikh. m. may 2011. intelligent building skins: parametric-based algorithm for kinetic facades design and daylighting performance integration, m.sc. in building science, california, usa: faculty of the usc school of architecture, university of southern california. 5. madeo. f. & schnabel. m. 2014. from vernacular to personalised and sustainable, architectural research through to practice: 48th international conference of the architectural science association 2014, pp. 479–490, the architectural science association & genova university press. 6. peel, m. c., finlayson, b. l., & mcmahon, t. a. 2007. updated world map of the köppengeiger climate classification. hydrology and earth system sciences, 1633-1644. 7. poirazis. h. 2006. double skin facades,a literature review. 8. ragette. f. 2006. tradtiotnal domestic architecture of the arab region, second edition. 9. wang. j. & beltrán. l. 2012. from static to kinetic: a review of acclimated kinetic building envelopes, ases conference, baltimore, maryland, us. 10. f. madeo & m. a. schnabel (eds.). 2014. from vernacular to personalised and sustainable, architectural research through to practice: 48th international conference of the architectural science association 2014, the architectural science association & genova university press, pp. 479–490 issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication http://www.ierek.com/press a study on cultural sustainable tourism in context of painted scrolls kanak lata singh 1 assistant curator, painting national museum, new delhi, india keywords art, heritage, tourism. abstract india is known for its reach in art and culture. cultural tourism provides a major contribution to the development of the country from different aspects. apart from supporting the indian economy, cultural tourism also helps in preserving and developing unique art traditions which are slowly dying out due to negligence. patachitra, the painted scroll of bengal is one of them. the patachitra tradition is an essential part of intangible heritage based on tour practices. patuas, as they are known as a community, chiefly represent a group of artists wandering with their painted scrolls and narrating the stories from place to place to earn their livelihood. the patachitra is a platform where several mediums of communication are united such as visual messages, oral traditions and music during process of storytelling. these painted scrolls represent narration of hindu mythologies as well as folklore. in this regard, considering business as one of the purposes of tour, this research about patua artists working for patachitra in west bengal is an attempt to reveal the fact that artifacts, as a part of culture, and tourism are two sides of the same coin. the existence of one is essential for the survival of the other. 1. introduction in the context of cultural sustainable tourism and the painted scrolls of the west bengal, this article attempts to present a study that reveals how cultural sustainable tourism helps in preserving and developing unique and traditional art forms that are slowly dying due to negligence. it also highlights that local art forms of the country that strongly attract tourists and play a significant role in cultural tourism and developing the tourism market in india. culture is a combination of different activities and ideas of a group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and reinforced by members of the group. new research reveal that “culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving” . during this era of globalization in the industry of tourism, a new section of cultural tourism emerged in the 20th century. cultural tourism not only pushed the market of tourism and the economic condition of country forward, but also created a curiosity on a global level towards gathering knowledge about art and culture of different parts of the world. cultural tourism can be defined as “that activity which enables people to experience the different ways of life of other people, thereby gaining a firsthand an understanding of their customs, traditions, the physical environment, the intellectual ideas and those places of architectural, historic, archaeological or other cultural significance which remain from earlier times. cultural tourism differs from recreational tourism in that it seeks to gain an understanding or appreciation of the nature of the place being visited. ” correlation between cultural tourism, art and culture: doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.248 kanak lata singh / the academic research community publication incorporating arts and culture into the tourism product helps to create a distinct image and identity of the visited place, which is important for a country to project itself. considering culture and the arts as an integral part of the tourism product helps to preserve local identities and protect cultural experiences. in many instances, it encourages the realization and recovery of local cultural resources that we either forgot about or do not even know existed. cultural tourism provides an opportunity to make smaller communities more attractive. it creates vibrant spaces in small neighborhoods, expand business opportunities and improve the quality of life. an analysis of the extent of tourist involvement in the cultural tourism industry and their level of involvement in culture are art is presented in the following table. table 1: type of cultural tourism and level of involvement of tourists type of cultural tourist level of involvement of tourist the purposeful cultural tourist cultural tourism is the primary motivation for visiting a destination and the tourist has a very deep and elaborate cultural experience the sightseeing cultural tourist cultural tourism is a primary reason for visiting a destination, but the experience is less deep and elaborated the serendipitous cultural tourist a tourist who does not travel for cultural reasons, but who, after participating, endsup having a deep cultural tourism experience the casual cultural tourist cultural tourism is a weak motive for travel and the resulting experience is shallow the incidental cultural tourist this tourist does not travel for cultural reasons, but nonetheless participates in some activities and has shallow experiences as per the aforementioned chart, the first two groups of tourists show that they are intentionally involved in cultural tourism and thus are deeply influenced by it. the third group of tourists reveals that even if a tourist does not travel for cultural reasons, he or she may be deeply influenced by the art and culture of the visited area. the last two groups are such tourists who are only casually and incidentally involved in art and culture of the visited area. the presented study shows that, directly or indirectly, partially or fully, the tourist is always influenced by the art and culture of the visited area. this way, local art and culture contribute a lot to development of tourist footfalls in the visited area. not only do tourists get influenced by the visited area, but the area itself is is definitely influenced by the tourists. these influences can be positive or negative and they are presented in the following table. table 2: positive and negative effects/impacts of cultural tourism positive effects negative effects the development of the regional culture culture become commercialized protection of the natural habitat destruction of the environment the accentuation of tourism regions investments in tourism that act against the state of the environment strengthening of the local traditions and culture architecture not characteristic to the local customs less seasonal, can extend the tourism season carrying capacity problems can be an important form of sustainable tourism cultural tourism has only a dependent role (need for package) conflict source the table above shows that cultural tourism has a greater positive effect on art, culture and life of common people. it spreads more awareness of the place’s values, languages, lifestyle, and customs. by maintaining kanak lata singh / the academic research community publication awareness about the importance of cultural tourism and the everlasting positive effects it has, a country can create a balance between the society, environment, and tourism for improving the economic condition of the country. in this regard, a detailed study about painted scroll of the west bengal (kalighal pata painting) and role of tourism in preserving and developing this folk art form is being presented here. it is also important to discuss the contribution of this painted scroll to the development of cultural tourism as well. any static data of tourist flow in west bengal has not been used for analyzing the contribution of cultural tourism in the existence and development of the tradition of painted scroll as it is not available because the school of painted scroll was originated in the early 19th century and at that time, study about tourism in india had not started. painted scrolls of the west bengal: west bengal is a state situated in the eastern part of india, which shares its international border with bangladesh, nepal and bhutan. some of the important tourist centers are calcutta, tarakeswar (pilgrim centre), shantiniketan (work place of rabindranath tagore), bakreshwar (pilgrim centre) at birbhum district, durgapur (industrial city) and dakhineshwar kali temple, kalighat. painted scroll is one of the major tourist attractions in terms of artifacts and its famously known as kalighat pata painting. this article states that because of the increasing number of tourists in colonial india, this folk art form of painted scrolls has taken a new turn and reached its fully developed form. the tradition of painted scroll was originated by the hereditary painters of the eastern indian region of bengal. initially, the artists were wandering in one place and the other with painted scroll but in early 19th century, they settled down in kalighat. kalighat pata painting is considered as a folk art tradition. ajit ghose said “the word ‘pata’ is a sansakrit word of considerable antiquity which has posed into the bengalee language. it has a double denotation (i) a beautiful cloth and (ii) a picture painted on cloth ….” . the scroll painters illustrate narration of stories in a chronological way on handmade paper coated on cloth. artists use mineral and organic colors. the width of scroll painting can go from 4 to 14 inches and their length can be 3 to 15 feet. a piece of bamboo is placed on each end of the scroll and it is used to roll the painted scroll. the artists use these painted scrolls for presenting stories through visual depiction by evoking responses from their audience. the performance of patua songs assisted by scenes displayed from their scrolls. the songs consist of rhymed couplets, one or more corresponding to each register of the pata. as a song unfolds, the patua unwinds the scroll to the appropriate scene displaying the relevant pata skillfully with the help of bamboo handles at either end of the long scroll. this gives these scrolls their name, jorano pata (rolled scroll), to distinguish them from square ones depicting single scenes. these itinerant entertainers travel from village to village performing stories in public spaces such as the bazaar or the courtyards of schools, temples, or large homes. it is not uncommon to run into a crowd gathered under the shade of a banyan tree, mesmerized by the patua's performance. the scroll painting of kalighat originated as a tool of entertainment for common people. in return for their services, they were paid in cash. these painted scrolls are a source of livelihood of patuas, thus, they worship it before starting performances and on special occasions at their homes. figure 1 ramayana pata west bengal, 20th century, cloth national museum, new delhi kanak lata singh / the academic research community publication the initial major subject of these scroll paintings were narration of mythological stories as ramayana, mahabharata, some stories from bhagawat purana. a beautiful example of scroll painting titled as ‘ramayana pata’ (figure1) illustrated with scene from ramayana series, made in late twentieth century is in collection of the national museum, new delhi. the top most panel shows the scene of balli and sugriv’s combat followed by other scenes depicting (figure 2) hanumana and wife of legendary hero prince rama sita’s plight as a captive in ravana’s ashok vatika . figure 2, close up of the ramayana pata, national museum, new delhi before kalighat, chitpur near the temple of chitteshwari founded in 1610 ce was a major centre for religious purposes and of tradition of painted scroll. chitpur was infested with dacoits area therefore after the establishment of kalighat temple in 1809 ce a number of artists migrated from chitpur, nabadwip, krishnanagar, mituri and shantipur to kalighat. in the early 19th century, kalighat became a popular pilgrimage centre. due to the name of temple kali the painting tradition which was developed around this temple has been called kalighat painting. here it’s clear that due to the increasing number of domestic tourists coming for religious purposes, art of painted scroll shifted to kalighat, west bengal. in time, several new themes like historical stories, folklore and contemporary scenes of social issues became popular subjects of the painted scrolls. the reason behind this change was the migrating interest of the public for which these paintings were made. early 19th century was a period when the indian freedom struggle was in its peak and in order to achieve political freedom from the british rule, everyday new movements were run by the indian political leaders. these political movements were strongly influenced by the life of common people such as under swadeshi movement (1905 ce) based on the request of indian political leaders’ common public to completely boycott goods imported into the indian market from england. the patua artists played a significant role to make people aware of these kinds of facts related to the national freedom struggle through the painted scrolls. even the common public was taking more interest in hearing stories of freedom movements than old mythological stories. it was the first major change in the art of painted scroll which emerged due to political issues. one of the examples of kalighat scroll painting is related to the freedom struggle movement of ‘saheb pat’ (figure 3). in the present pat painting the whole story is chronologically narrated into small sections and each part is divided by lines. in one section, british officers are seen making a plan of war with freedom fighters and in another one, they are shown fighting with freedom strugglers. (figure 4) human figures are made with puppet kanak lata singh / the academic research community publication type eyes and tubular body limbs as we find in painted terracotta of kalighat because many clay figure modelers or potters were working as patua painters in kalighat as well as at other centers of kolkata. figure 4, close up of the saheb pata, national museum, new delhi. due to increasing mediums of entertainment like movies, dance and drama, the tradition of telling stories by pata (scroll) paintings started decreasing rapidly in the middle of the 19th century. at present in villages of west bengal this tradition is rarely being performed by the patua artist. as this painting tradition was a medium of earning livelihood for the pauta painters they adopted new elements to keep it in demand of tourists and art appreciators. the embracing of european expressive forms in the region’s cultural life in the late nineteenth century affected the traditional artistic practice of kalighat painting in a variety of ways. artists used opaque water color style from the british for the kalighat painting. unique handling of the pictorial form and adaptation of the dramatic costumes such as boots, hats, props and instruments like violin for hindu deities were major elements that emerged in this indian paintings school. it was considered a depiction of westernization in indian art. as a result, new themes, stylistic features, and even the paper was also introduced as a new surface of painting at the place of scroll. after that, along with painting of company schools, the tourists and british officers as well started to carry out kalighat paper paintings as souvenirs for their homes. as a result, a new genre of kalighat paper painting emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century from the resourceful adaptation of traditional scroll paintings of kalighat. in the paintings made on paper, the artists left the background blank but in the scroll paintings background are full of trees, ponds, rivers and vases according to the requirement of the theme. it again reveals that due to presence of a number of tourist and the presence of indians and british officers and their relatives, folk painting trend of kalighat school was highly influenced and it took a new turn. the kalighat painting school was an outcome of new lifestyle and aesthetic norms with shifting standard of morality. as jyotindra jain said that “the story of kalighat painting is the story of the transformation of folk art form into a popular genre of robust encounter of rural artists who migrated to the city of calcutta ” some important artists of kalighat painting school were nirban chandra ghose, kali charan ghose, nilmani das, balram das prabin chandra, inanendra patidar, khandu, dhiren and paritosh and gopal das. ajit mukherjee said that later kalighat paintings reveal influence of british water color but according to w.g. archer, there is no evidence that any painter received training from british tutors. the kalighat paintings are both time-and-space-bound. thus, they reflected the time and place in which they were created. the kalighat paintings were the first true caricature and satirical artists of india. around 1920 ce, kalighat painting trend had spread to paharpur, tollyguna in kolkata, mahesh ballavapura and panrojtala in hawrah and 24 paragana. role of cultural tourism in existence and development of painted scroll in the west bengal: the art of painted scroll known as kalighat pata painting or patachitra is an essential part of intangible heritage based on tour practices of the patuas or the artists who make patachitras. patuas are known as a community made up of a group of artists wandering with their painted scrolls from place to place to earn their livelihood through storytelling. therefore, tour practice is considered as one of the major causes of the origination of the art form in west bengal. kanak lata singh / the academic research community publication when the centre of the traditional art school shifted from chitpur to surrounding areas of the kalighat kali temple, the increasing number of indian pilgrims’ demand for these painted scrolls reached its peak. here again it seems that due to the increasing number of domestic tourists the art of painted scrolls matured in west bengal. in this regard, jyotindra jain said that calcutta was a major trade centre of india in colonial period thus ‘between 1854 to1877 howrah station of kolkata was connected with the national railway network. it was linked to main cities of india like varanasi, allahabad, patna, mumbai and agra etc. therefore, a large number of visitors have been coming here every year. these visitors desired to carry home typical and easily portable souvenirs such scroll paintings. indian foreign tourists also prefer to carry out painted scrolls as souvenirs to their homes. thus the folk painting of kalighat became the center of attraction for foreign people. based on the aforementioned, it’s proven that cultural tourism protected and strengthened the local tradition of painted scrolls. role of painted scroll and other art forms in existence and development of cultural tourism in the west bengal: it has already been discussed under the title of correlation between art, culture and tourism that directly or indirectly tourists are always influenced by the art and culture of the visited area. the culture tourism extends more consciousness about a place’s values, languages, lifestyle, and customs into the visitors. this is how it plays a significant role in the development of tourist footfalls in the visited area. regarding the contribution of art and culture in cultural tourism, h.l. hughes said that growth in travel opportunities and improved communication systems has contributed to an increased awareness of global culture. consumers are now familiar with the art and music of many other countries besides their own. it is natural that they would want to visit cultural organizations to experience these art forms when they travel. heritage sites and museums, along with theatres and other performing arts venues, are a significant reason why tourists visit the major urban areas. in the above lines hughes discussed about contribution of tourism that how it make aware people of the other country about art and culture of the one nation which develop interest of people to visit that country and know more about art and culture. similarly in colonial india the british officer had come initially for trading and later for ruling then they desired to know more about indian life and culture. as a result they attracted towards art and culture and given their contribution in preserving it. the same had happened in the case of painted scroll of the kalighal, west bengal. the tradition of painted scroll was originated as tool of entertainment for the common people of west bengal and as medium of livelihood for the patua community. the school of painted scroll reached on its peak in kalighat due to increasing number of pilgrim or domestic and british tourists in west bengal during colonial period. the indian people contributed in stylistic and theme based changes in this art form whereas reasons for suddenly increasing demand of the kalighat paintings were the british officers who chosen kalighat paintings to carry out as souvenir to their homes. the tradition of this art form is still contributing a lot in attracting eyes of international and domestic tourists as an important tourist product. for tracing tourist flow in colonial india static data is not available but for analyzing contribution of art and culture in increasing number of tourist flow and contribution of tourisn in indian economics in present era a static data is presented herewith. through statics data about increasing footfalls in west bengal state tourism minister bratya basu said west bengal in 2014 saw around 89% growth in tourist footfall as compared to the previous year 2013, 5.04 crore tourists visited bengal last year compared to 2.67 crore in 2013. apart from the overall growth, number of foreign tourists also went up to 14 lakh from 12.45 lakh in 2013. in 2011-12 the allocation was rs 44 crore which has gone up to rs 317 crore in 2015-16. table 3: year-wise growth of tourist footfall in bengal kanak lata singh / the academic research community publication west bengal improved its position among the states, moving up to fifth, with 1.49 million foreign tourists visiting the state in 2015. indian tourism industry has gone to new height in recent times. both tourist arrival as well as revenue earned thereof are showing a steep hike. as per the world travel and tourism council estimate, this sector now generate more than 4% of the country's gdp and more than 20 crore jobs . the tourism ministry has also played an important role in the development of the industry, initiating advertising campaigns such as the 'incredible india' campaign, which promoted india’s culture and tourist attractions in a fresh and memorable way. the campaign helped create a colorful image of india in the minds of consumers all over the world, and has directly led to an increase in the interest among tourists. p 240 the present study reveals that painted scroll in kalighat has been playing an essential role in the tourism flow in the west bengal since colonial period. conclusion india is known for its rich art and culture thus a number of foreign tourists come here for cultural tourism. summarizing this article, it is submitted that the cultural tourism product like art, heritage etc. and cultural tourism itself is a very important part of the indian culture and economy. in order to enhance the indian economic condition, the government also supports tourism in india. through the present study about cultural sustainable tourism and the painted scrolls of the west bengal, the following facts came to light: 1. existence of cultural tourism is dependent on the availability of art and culture of the country as art and culture are two important tourism products. 2. the art of painted scroll of kalighat is one of the major tourist attractions of india. 3. culture tourism protected and strengthened the local tradition of painted scrolls in west bengal as domestic and foreign tourists in colonial india were responsible for the stylistic changes considered as development in this art of painted scroll. it’s now proven that the existence of cultural tourism depends on the existence of folk art and vice versa. references: 1. g. hofstede, cultures and organizations: software of the mind, (mcgraw, new york: 1997), 279. 2. international scientific committee on cultural tourism, charter for cultural tourism (1997, http://www.icomos.org/tourism) 3. pika ghose, unrolling a narrative scroll: artistic practice and identity in late-nineteenth-century bengal (the journal of asian studies, vol. 62, no. 3 , 2003), 840 ibid: p. 844 4. jyotindra jain, kalighat painting images from changing world (mapin publishing ltd. ahmadabad:1999) 40 ibid, 5: p. 9 5. w.g. archer, bazar paintings of calcutta : the style of kalighat (her majesty’s stationery office, london :1953) 8 ibid 5: p.13 6. h.l. hughes ,“urban tourism and the performing arts” quality management in urban tourism, wiley ( source: http://aitcofficial.org/aitc/west-bengal-registers-positive-growth-in-tourism-says-national-report/ new york, 1997) 7. anonymous, bengal tourism flourishes – tourist footfall doubles in 2014 (may 22, 2015, http://aitcofficial.org/aitc/bengal-tourism-flourishes-tourist-footfall-doubles-in-2014/). ibdi 9. 8. 1 sherap bhutia, growth & development of tourism sector in west bengal: issues & concerns (american international journal of research in humanities, arts and social sciences available online at http://www.iasir.net) http://www.icomos.org/tourism http://aitcofficial.org/aitc/west-bengal-registers-positive-growth-in-tourism-says-national-report/ http://aitcofficial.org/aitc/bengal-tourism-flourishes-tourist-footfall-doubles-in-2014/ http://www.iasir.net/ http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) identity of the industrial cities doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.110 haitham aamer mahmoud hussein 1 1 lecturer at sculpture department, faculty of fine arts, university of mansoura keywords identity-the industrial citiestwentieth centuryglobalizationcivilizationdevelopment contemporary arts historical economic political religious – scientificmachinemakers symbol -belonging – motherland abstract it is clear how the techonological developments along with globalization depleted the identity of civilizations and peoples, so it is necessary for the intellectuals and the artists to work hard in order to assure the identity of the cities. such sacred goal could be achieved via increasing the people’s awareness. the identity of the cities will, directly, help in achieving the elevation and excellence of cities in order to maintain the uniqueness of their personalities and artwroks. in doing so, sublime values and morals, like the spirit of nationalism and patriotism of their people will be cultivated and harnessed. however, neglecting that may result in the dismantling of their identity accompanied by other sideaffects, like losing the cities’ historical, economic, political, social, religious or scientific identity. this study is analysing and comparing the models for a distinct identity of the industrial cities ranging from egypt, europe to america in the twentieth century until now. it also investigates if the contemporary arts have a role to assert a distinct identity of the industrial cities in this period of time or not. art is the language of the place and the revealer of its identity. statues in squares are a pulpit. urban spaces help cultivating such language emphasizing of the culture of its residents and the policy of the responsible administrations. technical works in the industrial cities represents the identity of the city, which is totally different than other cities. the identity of the industrial states is affected by several factors. firstly, the cultural factorswhere the establishments of culture and identity occur through arts, the awareness and understanding of the audience, and their tastes of the arts. secondly, the economic factors which cost and enrich the attraction of investors and manufacturers. thirdly, the political factors assist the governments in seeking the elimination of the socisl problems concerning the political success. it is majorly perpetuauted by providing factories and living needs in these cities; leading to the negligience of the artsitic, social and moral factors. there should be a relationship between these borderlines and the used machinery to achieve compatibility between life circumstances and the beauty of the artwork. drafting fine artwork, and its impact on manufacturers' motivation and encouragement, by expression or symbolism or movement within the artwork, and the emphasis on the moral value of the work in gaining respect and dignity. spatial limits : egypt, europe, america, and limiting the study to on one city from each. time limits: from the twentieth century until now. haitham aamer mahmoud hussein / the academic research community publication pg. 2 introduction this paper deals with the identity of industrial cities and the role of arts to show the identity of these cities and their importance to express the identity of places and communities that practice industrial activities and expressing their inner psychological, social motives and peoples' and communities' innermost thoughts , "identity is a composite of standards, which allows the definition of an internal issue or feeling. the sense of identity involves a range of different emotions, such as feelings of loneliness, integration, and belonging, value, and independence, and a sense of confidence on the basis of the will of existence " 1and its important role in the recording of real life and its impact on the origination of values and raising the peoples' spirit of nationalism. arts are the main and major influence in the lives of peoples and a main influence in the community and its cultural, intellectual convictions, to get to know their identity and heritage and beliefs and their cultural legacy. the problem of the study is stated as follows: what is the impact of art asserting identity on the industrial cities? did art perform its role to record the heritage or the reality of the industrial cities? did it influence the community members or they way they express their identity? is art considered as the language of place, the revealing podium of the squares and urban spaces? research hypotheses: there is a positive influence by arts on the social, cultural and national content of the industrial cities’ members and arts communities the artist is attached to his artistic senses in realistic and symbolic recordings of the identity in the industrial cities. delimitations of the study: time delimitations: it deals with the identity of the industrial cities in the twentieth century. spatial delimitations: it studies analyses and compares models concerning the identity of the industrial cities such as egypt, europe and america. study axioms: artworks bear cultural legacy of the countries and societies’ personality, and they highlight the identity. arts are a means to record events, date heritage, and express the identity and nationalism of nations and tribes. arts influence the communal, cultural, intellectual, and convictions of the peoples in order to get to know and keep their heritage and beliefs. research methodology: analytical-investigative field research. significance of the study: it states the importance of the role of arts in highlighting the identity of the industrial cities to influence the members of these communities. it reveal the ability of artists to express the reality of life and the heritage of their peoples in the form of technical work, in the squares of cities the goals of the study: it investigates the importance of modern artworks as expressive and graphical elements in highlighting the identity of the industrial cities. it investigates the effectiveness of the arts’ role to emphasize the privacy of the place and it shows the most important symbols associated to the identity of the place. an overview about the labour day: it is a way of appreciating workers by assigning a day to commemorate the anniversary of the workers’ clashes in the united states that resulted in a number of casualtie. they demanded their rights on the first of may 1886, and in 1904, the international socialist conference was held in amsterdam, 1 alex mekchelly, "identity" , translation by dr. ali watfah 1st issue, p.15, dar elwaseem, damascus, 1993 haitham aamer mahmoud hussein / the academic research community publication pg. 3 and asked the trade unions and organizations to consider the first of may as a workers' celebration day. the socialist organizations tried to make it a holiday, which was already admitted by the catholic church in 1954, but the us government had refused their request until, under pressure, the socialist labour organizations succeeded in imposing the admission of that day to commemorate the anniversary in america, canada, australia and many countries, including egypt egypt has taken the first of may as a holiday for workers with the establishment of the labour movement in egypt, and the protests organized by the federation of workers to alexandria in 1964 when president gamal abdul nasser acknowledged this day as a holiday for workers. the identity of the industrial cities in america: important and vital industries are grounded in america as the iron and steel industry. it is one of the oldest industries, which is found near the iron and coal mines, chemical industry, mechanical industry, including the automotive industry. it was the second largest industry after japan, and it produced hardware rails and shipbuilding around mining centers. the shipbuilding industry was found on the coasts. the textile industry was another important one occupied by the u.s. as the first producer in the world by the vitrue of the complicated electronic industry. some artworks were held in several american countries and dealt with the identity of some industrial cities to stress on the role of art in determining the industrial identity. it shed the light on the role of the manufacturers and the city businesses by highlighting the value of the place and appreciating the role of the manufacturers in all fields of life. for example, some works present the industrial activity of the workers and craftsmen, in the coal field and the oil drilling and mining ores, appear in a number of countries which has a great social, economical and political impact on all members of the industrial systems. in (figure 1), workers move actively and strongly giving enthusiasm to those who see them and appreciate their dedication in work. it also demonstrates the activity of this town and shows its identity in drilling and processing oil. it is considered as one of the most important fields of oil production in the 2world, and the statues of the two roughnecks during oil processing is carried out by carlos terres circa in 2014, in santa fe springs. the statue highlights the oil industry in this small town3 . in (fig. 2), we find another model for the roughneck bronze sculpture " "man made energy," made by the seth vandable. it is located in the east of casper, wyoming -america. the statue is a symbol of the dedication and hard work required to drill oil and gas from the ground, for the energy industry in this city represents the basis of its past and future4 (figure 3). fig. 1 a sculpture two bronze roughnecks, by the artist cindy jackson, signal hill, california, usa fig 2 oil fields workers, by the artist carlos terres circa, santa fe springs, la, california, usa 2 https://translate.google.com.eg/translate?hl=ar&sl=en&u=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/signal_hill,_california&prev=sear ch 3 https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-5676593-stock-footage-santa-fe-springs-ca-february-the-oilfield-workerssculptureby-carlos-terres-circa.html 4 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/487585097127142718/ haitham aamer mahmoud hussein / the academic research community publication pg. 4 (fig. 3) roughneck bronze sculpture "man made energy" by the artist seth vandable statues of bronze, casper, america the bronze statue in michigan, us, commemorates the makers of the mackinac bridge)) (figure 4) . in another model to show industrial activity, in one of the cities appreciating the workers, is the statue of the worker in rail-bolivia, south america (fig 5). asserting the role of art in providing motivation urge and appreciate working and showing toughness, persistence and dedication of the craftsmen is shown in the monument of "mechanics" by douglas tilden san francisco, ca america5 (fig. 6) fig. 4 the bronze statue of the ironworker, michigan, us, appreciating the makers of mackinac bridge 1950 fig 5 a rail-worker statue, bolivia, south america fig 6 the mechanics monument, by the artist douglas tilden, san francisco, usa in another spot, we find an artwork that is a tribute to the dedication and hard work of all those who built the city of omaha. in nebraska, a tribute to the workers in labour unions is also present. omaha is the second largest memorial of work in the country, unveiled in 2003. it includes four men and a woman toiling in their work, a design by the matthew placzek (fig. 7). iowa is the thirty-eighth state to create a memorial to its workers. the creators of the idea strongly felt that it would give iowa workers a strong code of ethics that grants iowa the prestige for work and living. this square balanced construction is eleven feet in length and its width is four arms interlocked, thorough a scene symbolizing the energy and integrity of iowa workers. the arms support each other ,and at the same time, and show varying shades of people from different backgrounds. they come together to form a cultural and laboural basis to iowa, built of an ornamented bronze strips held by an internal shield of stainless steel structure in a twisted woven form that resemble muscles, nerves., function of the movement and sensation. the vast interwoven features of the building allow sunlight to shine and dance through spaces of the construction, with a constant contrast between 5 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:mechanics_monument_by_douglas_tilden_-_san_francisco,_ca_-_dsc03542.jpg haitham aamer mahmoud hussein / the academic research community publication pg. 5 the splendor of the outer and inner building. it has a reflective depth of bronze followed by warm tunes of eart and old rust that reveals richer texture and extraordinary splendor (fig. 8). fig. 8, a monument standing for the energy and integration of iwa workers fig. 9, blacksmith, a memorial for the dedication in work, omaha, usa identity of the industrial cities in europe: the geographical terrain has had a major role in the distribution of industries in egypt. it was the social conditions that caused manufacturers to have a connection with their residents, and this made it difficult to move to places other than their hometowns. the economic conditions played a prominent role in the movement of craftsmen concerning the industrial cities in search of a better income and standards of living. the government tried to create new industrial cities by providing them with some livelihoods to attract workers, artisans and businessmen. it tried to emphasize the identity of these cities by building special features and artwork models to give a special model of distinction and uniqueness. some models of the industrial cities in egypt include mahalla al-kubra, tenth of ramadan, the nag hammadi and marsa alam. the study revealed tha some of the models showing the identity of the industrial cities and the role of arts show the identity of these cities and their importance in the expression of the identity, the places and communities that practice industrial activities. it was as if it is a menfistation of presenteting their inner core; the psychological dynamics, social motives and the secret policy of the society. a mutual influence towards the identity of the industrial hometown has appread to expound on the communal, cultural, intellectual policies of the people in order to get to know their identity, heritage and beliefs. the cultural legacy in that sense serves as an essential part in confirming the industrial cities’ identity. it is the finest way to record the hertiage and document the reality of the events. urban spaces in the industrial cities are the means of spreding the cultural of its residentis and the policy of the responsible administration. also, it shows to what extent the artist's senses are connected to the realistic and symbolic recording of the place’ identity. marsa alam city: it is one of the citiesin the red sea governorate which was, during pharaonic era and the roman era, famous for gold mines, and the effects of that period still exist in the form of some of the pharaonic inscriptions carved in the rocks. it is one of egypt's rich reserves of gold ore areas, which lies in alsukari mine in the eastern desert, which is one of the top 10 producing gold mines in the world. in may 2005 a company was established to continue the exploration in the region under the name of "alsokary gold mines company" fig.9, worker and kolkhoz woman monument in moscow, russia. it was made from stainless steel by vera mukhina for the 1937 world's fair in paris fig. 10, a statue of two oil industry workers in the almetyevsk republic of tatarstan russia fig. 11, statue of workers, commemorating the international labour organisation in geneva, switzerland 6 6http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-statue-of-workers-commemorating-the-international-labour-organisation35793495.html http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-statue-of-workers-commemorating-the-international-labour-organisation-35793495.html http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-statue-of-workers-commemorating-the-international-labour-organisation-35793495.html http://www.publicartomaha.org/media/art/83/827-full.jpg http://www.publicartomaha.org/media/art/83/826-full.jpg http://www.publicartomaha.org/media/art/83/827-full.jpg� http://www.publicartomaha.org/media/art/83/826-full.jpg� haitham aamer mahmoud hussein / the academic research community publication pg. 6 a model for a monument in gdansk, poland. it is a memorial of the fallen shipyard workers in front of solidarity square. the former president of poland has considered that monument as of the victims of the communist regime 7(fig. 12). it was held to commemorate the victims of the workers' revolution in poland in december 1970, and it is known to be for the victims of the harboralso called 'three crosses' commemorating the victims of the december of 1970 a 8(fig. 13) fig. 12, memorial for the victims of the communist regime, poland, august 2012 solidarity square in front of gdansk's shipyard. former president of poland fig. 13, memorial for the victims of the communist regime, poland, august 2012 solidarity square in front of gdansk's shipyard. former president of poland * a statue representing one of the american oil workers who worked with the british in 1943. he holds one of his tools powerfully and enthusiastically as the economy depends on this area on transformative industries and mining . the statue was carried out by the artist "jay o'melia" in "nottinghamshire" england, uk ( figure 14). it was done according to the german interest as an industrial power in europe. they opened the german museum of technology which highlights the industrial revolution in europe by showing some of the equipment of the first factories in the country and some of the machines of railways. the museum referred to aviation and the associated development of the motor industry as a large model of a plane that was put above the museum (figure 15) fig. 14, an oil worker who worked with the british in 1934. the oil patch warrior, a statue by jay o'melia , nottinghamshire, england, uk. fig. 15, a plane model above the german museum of technology, germany identity of the industrial cities in egypt: the geographical terrain has had a major role in the distribution of industries in egypt. it was the social conditions that caused manufacturers to have a connection with their residents, and this made it difficult to move to places other than their hometowns. the economic conditions played a prominent role in the movement of craftsmen concerning the industrial cities in search of a better income and standards of living. the government tried to create new industrial cities by providing them with some livelihoods to attract workers, artisans and businessmen. it tried to emphasize the identity of these cities by building special features and artwork models to give a special model of distinction and uniqueness. some models of the industrial cities in egypt include mahalla al-kubra, tenth of ramadan, the nag hammadi and marsa alam. the study revealed tha some of the models showing the identity of the industrial cities and the role of arts show the identity of these cities and their importance in the expression of the identity, the places and communities that 7 https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gdansk-poland-monument-fallen-shipyard-workers332636903?src=2i9posr8n9azyhd6pcy9ma-1-66 8 https://www.poland.travel/en-gb/other/three-crosses-monument-in-gdansk https://www.poland.travel/en-gb/other/three-crosses-monument-in-gdansk haitham aamer mahmoud hussein / the academic research community publication pg. 7 practice industrial activities. it was as if it is a menfistation of presenteting their inner core; the psychological dynamics, social motives and the secret policy of the society. a mutual influence towards the identity of the industrial hometown has appread to expound on the communal, cultural, intellectual policies of the people in order to get to know their identity, heritage and beliefs. the cultural legacy in that sense serves as an essential part in confirming the industrial cities’ identity. it is the finest way to record the hertiage and document the reality of the events. urban spaces in the industrial cities are the means of spreding the cultural of its residentis and the policy of the responsible administration. also, it shows to what extent the artist's senses are connected to the realistic and symbolic recording of the place’ identity. marsa alam city: it is one of the red sea governorate’ cities which was, during pharaonic era and the roman era, famous for gold mines. the aftereffects of that period still exist in the form of some of the pharaonic inscriptions carved on rocks. it is one of the egypt's rich reserves of gold ore areas, and it lies in alsukari mine in the eastern desert. alsukari is one of the top 10 producing gold mines in the world. in may 2005, a company was established to continue the exploration in the region under the name of "alsokary gold mines company". fig.16, a structure showing the mining process in the alsokary mine in marsa alam, egypt. fig 16 shows some elements related to the activity through the search for minerals, especially gold. it emphasizes the economic activity which assures the identity of the city and how this structure socially raises the spirit of the workers in this field. it is a three-dimensional huge structure that highlights the strenuous effort they are doing in research, exploration and connection of workers and artisans to the place and the company. the company's appreciation for that and the appreciation of the government are meant to provide an opportunity to create that structure on the land of this city. it is a form of political support from the government to the important economic terms. it promotes the place by showing the workers’ arts and skills.the monumen (in fig 16) is consisted of a lift of concrete which overhangs a piece of iron pipe clutching a gold bar. the city is famous for mining and quarrying the present mines of ore quartz, feldspar, talc, granite, gypsum, and limonite. the city has got a port for exporting mineral ores and laboratories to inspect the samples. on a social level, it is residential, and there are already residence and inns for workers, schools and a field for games and tourist villages. based on thess activities, the city's population awareness of mining methods and extraction to preserve their identity, to find significance of the artwork and to express the identity of the place have influenced everyone. it is a result of the on-site activity embodied in a structure expressing the value and appreciation of the city’s identity. nag hammadi: is one of the cities of qena governorate that has got the largest plant for the production of aluminium in the arab middle east world. it has other significant plants to produce sugar cane and wood. the latter employs more than ten thousand workers, the vast majority of whom live in the residential city that is attached to the plant. the city in special in the sense of having the essential services, like schools, a hospital, a sports club . we find out the role of that art in highlighting the identity of the city by the statue of "civilization"done by haitham amer (fig. 17). the artist used the egyptian woman as a symbol of the human being acting as the base of agriculture and industry. the statue pose is a in a motion-posture moving its left foot forward in a way that gives a sense of vigor and motivation to develop agriculture and industry. symbols of the industry –a gearand agriculture -branchesshow the government's political efforts to bring beauty over the city with an artwork linked to the economic life of agriculture and industry. it is clear how the social factors spread the sense of connection to add a sense of pride. which shows its impact on of values and raising the spirit of nationalism and patriotism which influence the community, cultural, intellectual policy of the peoples to get to know their identity and heritage and beliefs their cultural legacy. haitham aamer mahmoud hussein / the academic research community publication pg. 8 fig. 17, "civilization" statue, nag hammadi, egypt. mahalla city: it is one of the cities of the gharbeya governorate, egypt, and "it has the biggest factory for spinning and weaving in the middle east. [5] it is " misr spinning and weaving factory", which employs almost 27 thousand workers and employees, and the city's economy depends mostly on spinning, weaving, and other textile based services. a large number of the industrial and commercial activities are present as well such as oils, soap, electronics, carpets and adobe bricks and food industries. one of the artwork models which shows the identity of this industrial city is located at the entrance of the city of mahalla (figure 18). the designer adopted the gear to symbolize the identity of the industrial city, which is famous for its textile industry. spinning and weaving industry are of the oldest industries known to for the ancient egyptians; however, they developed the using of materials and machinery and trainings. accordingly, the various government over history have played a vital role in appreciaitng and valuing the city’s activities. incorporating such symbols from the industrial environment contributes to increase craftsmen and worker’s motivation and spreads the spirit of belonging to the city. it also assists in boosting the economic status implicitly in an exponential way. fig. 18, artwork structures (gears), mahalla, egypt conclusion: art has a positive role in assuring the identity of the industrial cities. there is a positive mutual influence between the social and cultural content of the members of the national industrial cities and arts. identity is associated with social presence and it is a reflection of the values and communities seeking uniqueness, and distinction. by searching for the identity using art, communities and industrial cities urge their members to keep their heritage and preserve their values and work to establish affiliation to their home countries. haitham aamer mahmoud hussein / the academic research community publication pg. 9 references 1. michel, a. 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'trawlermen' sculpture, napier. retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/6277/trawlermen-sculpture-napier 5. gdansk, poland monument of the fallen shipyard workers is in front of the center of solidarnosc, on 24 september, 2015 gdansk, poland. it is memorial of workers victims of communist regime. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gdansk-poland-monument-fallen-shipyard-workers332636903?src=2i9posr8n9azyhd6pcy9ma-1-66 6. 12 top-rated museums and art galleries in berlin | planetware. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.planetware.com/germany/top-rated-museums-and-art-galleries-in-berlin-d-zzz-11.htm "فتحي محمد مصیلحي، ماجدة محمد جمعة، .7 دار صفحة، 491، 2004التنمیة السیاحیة في مصر: من منظور جغرافي وتخطیطي"، طبعة لتوزیع .الماجد للنشر وا 8. monument to labor. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.publicartomaha.org/art/info/83/monument to labor 9. walls of honor. (n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.passion-for-san-pedro.com/walls-of-honor.html https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-5676593-stock-footage-santa-fe-springs-ca-february-the-oilfield-workers-sculpture-by-carlos-terres-circa.html https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-5676593-stock-footage-santa-fe-springs-ca-february-the-oilfield-workers-sculpture-by-carlos-terres-circa.html http://www.thelighthousehunters.com/nautical.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/richard_overy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/international_standard_book_number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/special:booksources/0-393-02030-4 https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/6277/trawlermen-sculpture-napier https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gdansk-poland-monument-fallen-shipyard-workers-332636903?src=2i9posr8n9azyhd6pcy9ma-1-66 https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gdansk-poland-monument-fallen-shipyard-workers-332636903?src=2i9posr8n9azyhd6pcy9ma-1-66 http://www.planetware.com/germany/top-rated-museums-and-art-galleries-in-berlin-d-zzz-11.htm http://www.passion-for-san-pedro.com/walls-of-honor.html http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) city as a palimpsest: a preface to the hidden geometry of cairo ahmed el-gemayi 1 1 cairo, egypt keywords cairo, historic cities, metamorphosis of urban morphology, urban archeology, landscape archeology. abstract in the center of cairo, there remains a street named “baab el-bahr”or “a gateway to the sea”. this street once led to the shore of a wide sub-canal from the nile river. today, it only leads to the famous “ramses square”, which still holds the name of the ancient statue of “ramses the 2nd” that has been relocated to cairo-alexandria desert road in august 2006. the city witnessed major changes in its urban morphology across the 19th and 20th centuries as it lost its role as a platform for social interchange and instead turned out to be an everyday scene for controversy and dispute. through an investigation of the key principals which generated the city’s morphology and its massive transformation, this study aims to support future urban regeneration methodologies, urban development policies and city expansion visions. 1. introduction this preface attempts to establish an understanding of the city as a palimpsest. in order to read into the complexity of its layers, first, we have to trace the key influences leading to the growth of the city. however, this study assumes that the key influences which directed the genesis of cairo and led to the city’s growth for over 2,000 years were deliberately eliminated from the city’s fabric during the 19th and 20th centuries. the study is concerned with identifying the key influences that enforced the metamorphosis of the city of cairo during the 19th and 20th centuries. 2. identity through urban geography 2.1 natural geography the desert, the nile and the birth of vernacular urbanism the natural morphology of the city of cairo is a micro model that resembles the natural morphology of the land of egypt as a whole. in older times, the “sahara desert” extended over all across egypt and north africa, until the nile first appeared in the miocene age where its inflow at that time was in the city of cairo. 2.2 the nile birth of vernacular urbanism the city was first founded in the south of historic cairo, babylon fortress 2nd century a.d., and after the arab invasion during the 7th century a.d, it started to grow to the northeast until it merged, in the 20th century, with the old egyptian city of heliopolis 2500 b.c. it is well observed on the map of cairo of the year 1798 a.d that the most dominant element influencing the morphology of cairo was the water canal, which held many names including el-khalig el-massry, khalig amir el-momineen, trajan canal, etc. prior to any of those names, however, it originally held the name of the ancient egyptian king, senusret iii of 1850 b.c, justifying the reason the canal was also doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.103 ahmed el-gemayi / the academic research community publication pg. 2 known as the “canal of the pharaohs”. it was known to have been the first implementation for creating a connection from the nile to the red sea in the east. on all the city maps produced by the french commission of science and arts in egypt during 1798 a.d, the canal was still running in the center of the city, from its very beginning in the south and heading northeast, where it passed by the shores of the ancient city of heliopolis and continued its way to suez old port. when looking into pre-existent maps, the city of old cairo seems as if had been divided into two parts. in reality, the city had been growing for 2,000 years to form this specific morphology. moreover, cairo witnessed several stages of city growth under several consecutive dynasties. during all eras, the city always maintained the dynamic and integrated relation between its lakes and canals. being the source of water supply and a transportation network that connected the city internally, the city remained intelligently connected to the surrounding world through the red and the mediterranean sea. figure 1: canal passing through the center of cairo heading northeast to suez. 1829, description de l'égypte atlas géographique, france. figure 2: chamouin et dandeleux vol.i. pl.15, 1829, description de l'égypte état moderne, france. ahmed el-gemayi / the academic research community publication pg. 3 figure 3: main course of nile river deviating towards west. hemdan g.,1980, shakhsiat masr, cairo figure 4: cairo’s central canal (el-khalig el-massry) at its origin (fom el-khaleeg) couche pere, e.m. vol.i. pl.19., 1829, description de l'égypte état moderne, france. 3. city metamorphosis 3.1 transnational urbanism ultra vision for the city the morphology of the city in the 19th century under the rule of mohamed ali’s family led to a new phase. one significant form of development of the city made by mohamed ali during the beginning of the 19th century was connecting the “bulak port” to the central canal via a new canal project. this development plan is described as a very important national project. however, and during the rule of ismail, an early model of transnational urbanism had been implemented. the city center was designed by french architects. new designs replaced the small streets with new and broad avenues, the lakes all over cairo were transformed into big squares and gardens such as the ahmed el-gemayi / the academic research community publication pg. 4 abdeen palace, the official residence for ismail during his rule constructed over berket el-faraeen (the pharaohs lake) and the great famous azbakeyya lake was altered into a large garden and opera house. the new french planning for the city was influenced by military a movement that imposed political rule into the streets of the city. on the other hand, a fear of an epidemic rather threatened the decision of filling lakes distributed all over the city. in the 1850s, the city introduced the railway network which connected cairo, alexandria and some suez important ports. thereon after, the railway network substituted the nile and canal networks’ role of transportation. moreover, the khedive ismail, in 1865, commissioned jean-antoine cordier to establish the first water company in cairo. although considered a magnificent step towards a modern city, it had a major impact on the conventional nature of the canals in supplying water. in 1899, the central canal was filled and used as an infrastructure for tramway. figure 5: french design of new ismailia development in the center of cairo. ismail, m.h., 2014, wagh madinat al-qahira, cairo. 3.2 formal vs. informal urbanism 3.2.1 informal urbanism urban improvisation from below the second half of the 20th century witnessed a new stage of urban metamorphosis. it could also be known as improvised urban morphology as the cultivated lands inside and on the edges of the city transformed into extremely dense informal communities. informal communities in cairo reused the irrigation network of canals and turned them into a network of streets. main and secondary irrigation canals were transformed into main and secondary streets while blocks were built over narrow streets old irrigation sub canalsin over than ten floors. 3.2.2 formal state strategies for the city growth through the desert during the beginning of the 20th century, the city of cairo expanded towards the eastern desert bnd eyond the natural barrier of the el-mokattam plateau. as a result, a new extension for cairo later called new heliopolis was formed. it was the first time in history that the city expands towards the desert without any connection to the nile river or its canals. however, the newly established city remained connected to the center of cairo through tramways. the model of expansion towards the desert was then continued creating the establishment of new heliopoli, nasr city, 10th of ramadan, 15th of may, new cairo, badr, elshorouk, madinaty and a new administrative capital (current state vision expansion). ahmed el-gemayi / the academic research community publication pg. 5 cairo expanded, similarly, to the west facilitating the establishment of areas such as the 6th of october, sheikh zayed, and elsadat city. none of the new city’s expansion models was connected through railroads or tramways with an exception of heliopolis and nasr city. however, recent governments have decided to rid of all the old tramways in 2015. figure 6: cairo’s expansion across the desert. satellite image 2017, cairo. 4. conclusion the current urban morphology of cairo is no longer integrated with lakes or river canals. previously existing water features were filled and reused as infrastructure for railways and street networks and disappeared from the city scene. modern, formal and informal urban approaches failed to maintain the integrated historic relation between the city and its context (lakes and canals). modern approaches, however, created an absurd urban morphology for such a historic city. the city of cairo is in a critical need of special regeneration projects and urgent urban preservation policies. such projects and policies should especially focus on the historic relation between the city and the nile river. ongoing development projects in cairo include the maspero triangle development project. the project’s location is one the state believes should undertake a real estate development. however, the historic bulak area must be reconsidered as an “urban archeology site” and should be preserved for further site studies. the recent discovery of an ancient egyptian statue near old heliopolis during march of 2017 was found within an informal settlement built over the traces of cairo’s old central canal. this discovery feeds the argument that the city needs more policies to support the preservation of old canals and that these sites should act as grounds for investigation for landscape and urban archeology. ahmed el-gemayi / the academic research community publication pg. 6 references 1. al-jabarti, a. al-rahman. (1825). al-jabarti’s history of egypt. markus wiener publishers. retrieved from http://www.loohpress.com/product_info.php/products_id/1758 2. al-maqrizi t.a., 1441, al-mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi zikr al-khitat wa al-'athar [description topographique et historique de l'égypte], bulak, cairo. 3. hemdan g.,1993, al-qahira [cairo], cairo, dar al-hilal. 4. hemdan g.,1980, shakhsiat masr [the character of egypt], cairo, alam al-kotob 5. ismail m.h., 2014, wagh madinat al-qahira [the face of the city of cairo], cairo, general egyptian book organization. 6. lane e.w., 1829, description de l'égypte atlas géographique, france, the royal edition. 7. lane e.w., 1829, description de l'égypte état moderne, france, the royal edition. http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the governmental efforts in emphasising identity through art projects “siwa oasis studios as a case study” doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.134 reem assem saleh 1 1faculty of fine arts, helwan university, cairo , egypt.american university in cairo (auc) , egypt keywords siwa oasis ; siwa studios grant ; art grants ; culture identity; emphasize identity abstract within each culture, the multi-source origins play an essential role to form its distinct moral and aesthetic values which emphasize the cultural identity. these values were accumulated through ages. that’s why, every single cultural tributary should be traced, to demonstrate the extent of its impact on specific city identity formation. the egyptian government pays due attention to siwa oasis because of its special historical and cultural characteristics. it happens in co-operation with one of the culture ministry sectors "the general organization for cultural palaces", that adopted the idea of reviving the project of city studios. such initiave has been established before at the city of luxor. for example, a financial and logistic support was provided for the initiave in a similar context. from this standingpoint, this paper provides a historical study about siwa oasis since its inception at the ancient egyptian era and through the greco-roman, thhheee coptic-islamic era, and the arab influences till now. also, i will review the siwa studios grant: procedures, different sessions and the most interesting aspect of it which is the exhibitions. the historical and cultural overview will include: the significant monuments in the city, location and environment, population and their language, traditions, and custom, and finally, the siwa oasis features nowadays. reviewing the project stages will include: how to apply? on what bases the participants was chosen? also, information about the time schedule, the site-visits, etc. finally, i will analyze some artworks from 2009 till now in order to emphasize the importance of such activity on the cultural map. 1. introduction what is the significance of the siwa studios grant, as stated in the word of mohammed saber arab, former minister of culture, in the exhibition catalog of session 2014? he stated that "it is in moment, like this, where people fighting against time to survive the heritage from the fever of redrawing the geography and re-writing the history."1(exhibition catalouge:2014) the only way to counter the downsides of globalization and the dominance of oriented cultural invasion is to adhere to identity and to preserve the heritage generally, whether morally or physically. thus, the ministry of culture, represented in the general organizations for the cultural palaces / exhibition and studios department affiliated with the general department of fine arts and reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 2 environmental crafts. the ministry initiated its events by launching the activities of siwa studios in 2008 after the demolition of luxor studios, it relocated the activity to marsa matrouh governorate. that is considered as one of the most important activities of the ministry which emphasizes on preserving the egyptian cultural heritage with its local diversified characteristics. most importaaanlty, all of which is united in one historical origin since ancient egyptian, pre-dynastic era. western sahara depressions in general and siwa oasis, in particular, are characterized by its various cultural features where ancient egyptian culture, the culture of central africa and the arabian culture with their multi tributaries are melted. the choice of siwa oasis as permanent headquarters for the continuation of such events stem out from several reasons reflected in the importance of the oasis and its history and charm nature that represent constant inspiration source in all areas of the arts. for example, it’s "the sunset oasis" as named by the great novelist bahaa taher in his novel that was awarded the international prize for arabic novels 20082(taher:2008). to the north and near marsa matrouh city on the border between egypt and libya, "sidi barrani" is a city that was chosen by the writer mohamed salah al-azab to be the place where events of his novel in 2010 revolve around. the reality in the novel is blended with fiction, myth with history and the city with the sahara. the novel has the same name of the city " sidi barani "3(al-azab:2010). the desert environment, or rather the extreme local environmentsm has been always an inspiration for fine artists over history. this paper addresses, first; life in and around the oasis and similar environments in terms of history, and the most important impacts throughout the ages, the customs and traditions of its inhabitants, and their daily life aspects. second; it is to monitor their impact on the participating artists in the grant as a source of inspiration and creativity in fine arts. however, the participation in the grant provides an opportunity for the artists of different fields to have such unique experience. this is considered as a promising opportunity for plastic artists to enrich their visual memories with its topographical, architectural and botanical characters as well as its diverse relationship. for example, the contrast of bright sunlight reflected on the silver sand surface and the gloomy darkness of the desert in contradiction with the lunar nights. artists will experience different scenes of the oasis during the visit, and their memory will be enriched by the details of its sophisticated aspects, which constitute a selective memory to transmit and translate those scenes to color relationships, spaces and lines in a various artistic works. each of which carries aesthetic values derived from the rich nature of the oasis to produce differentiation in artistic works according to artists differences. 2. research problem: 1. have the government efforts, represented in the ministry of culture projects (studios), managed to preserve the cultural heritage and emphasize the egyptian identity? 2. was it successful choice to designate siwa city as the headquarters of the event? 3. are the artistic works in the consecutive project sessions since 2008 contributing to providing a comprehensive picture of the oasis and helping in emphasizing its identity? 4. is there any integration between the different roles of the governmental agencies to preserve the heritage of the oasis and its identity? research objectives: 1. introduce siwa oasis through the various cultural stages and its moral and physical heritage. 2. monitor the steps of applying to siwa studios grant, its procedures, and classification of artistic works in various sessions. 3. analyze samples of artistic works in different sessions. 4. conclude new recommendations to develop the idea of the project and ensure better achievement of desired goals. research hypotheses: 1. the success of governmental efforts to emphasize identity in the egyptian cities, siwa oasis as a case study. 2. the sufficiency of all steps of the project procedure and its role in the success of the idea of the project. research methodology: the historical method / descriptive and analytical approach. the first point: siwa oasis over different cultural stages and its moral and material heritage reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 3 1. location siwa oasis located in egypt's western sahara, fig.1, 300 km south from marsa matrouh city and to which is affiliated administratively, it's considered the western gateway of egypt. the importance of the location is stemmed out from its proximity to the egyptian-libyan border. approximately, it is 65 kilometers away and it is considered as a natural extension of the oasis jaghbub, 820 kilometers far from the southwest of cairo. "in 2002 a governmental decree was issued to transfer 7800 kilometers of lands inside the oasis and its surrounding lands into a natural reserve."4 (nofal:2014) a lower surface level in the oasis is up to 18 meters below the sea level in some places and the height of the highest level in the surrounding plateau is 240 meters above the sea level. it has been stated among the most 9 isolated places on earth in some studies. in the ancient history, the location has been always a strategic and important site in the old trade routes across the sahara. some small oases and depressions located at different distances from siwa oasis and the affiliated areas wtith it, for example fig.2 : "gerbet","shayata","um ayisha","al malfi","al grag","bahrain","noamesah","setra" and depressions like : "tamirh","tabaghbagh" and "al jarah"5(aldumery:2016) . fig.1, siwa oasis map illustration of small oases and depressions affiliated to siwa oasis 2. origin of the name-etymology siwa was given many names such as pnta or tha, this name was found in written texts in edfu temple, "a famous text of the seven oases"6(fakhry:1993) that demonstrate delegates from north and south oases offering sacrifices and gifts for pharaoh kings. later, the oasis has been named after the oasis of amon or country of alamounian as stated by herodotus 450 bc. that was the case until the reign of the ptolemies and during the roman rule, who named it the oasis of jupiter amon. yacoubi "the historian" has referred to it as a tribe of barbarians "suh" or "zuo" in his book (countries), and idrisi, the geographical, referred to it as "centraih" in his book (nozhat el-moshtaqe fi ekhteraqe el-aafaq). the same name was mentioned in maqrizi plans, which he called in other places "al aqsa oasis" means far away, and even ibn-khaldun referred to it as "tesoh", a name of a branch of the zenata tribes inhabiting north africa. 3. population and language there are several archaeological evidence for the existence of human communities in prehistoric times, especially the old stone age, and the primitive ages. they were always trying to reach the valley to stabilize it, but the people of this remote region from the nile valley remained outside the boundaries of any territorial or central government until the fifteen century. bc ; " the era of new kingdom" (aldumery:2016). the origin of those people were a mixture of thnw tribes (often of african descent) and the tribes of tmhw (often indoeuropean descent). both were tribes that inhabited the western delta and western sahara in the ancient history. they have been mixed with berber tribes "amazigh" and the libyans of the same origin of the mediterranean people of the nile valley. the current population is considered as the natural extent to the population of the western sahara through egypt, libya, tunisia, algeria and morocco and mauritania down to the shores of the atlantic ocean in the west and sometimes mixing it with the tribes of central africa. at the mean time, the number of the oasis’s inhabitants is 25 thousand people who are always boasting about their arab roots as they were a mixture of several tribes that settled in the oasis and branched out into several tribes. after that, they bear similar names with arab tribes across the western sahara of north africa. the people also speak the amazigh language with the local accent, it's the language of berbers in north africa, which is divided into several accents for each region, and among which there is the language of siwa people known as the "siwa" or "tesiout". it is a verbal-unwritten\ oral language although there are some pictorial signs of it in the archaeological evidence. reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 4 4. oasis history in different ages historical evidences indicate the existence of organized communities in the oasis since the primitive ages. in a published report in archeology researches in western sahara magazine, about three main territory (siwaal jaraalarj), wahat bahria, the line of west delta desert, there were evidences of archeological remains from prehistoric imes, especially the modern stone age including a remaining of a semi-circular architecture structure in “shayatt” oasis (tassie:2009) for example, the first dynasty antiquities and the tombs of the kings of oasis rulers of the sixth dynasty were discovered. yet, there were no conclusive evidences that the oasis was under control of ancient egyptian rulers until the twenty-sixth family where king ahmus ii "ip ra" or "amazis" built the inspiration temple on aghurmi rock that made the siwa oasis famous as one of the five major depressions in the egyptian western sahara throughout history. thanks to its temple which is known by its prophecies in the ancient world as one of the most important inspirational centers1, especially after the realization of the prophecy about the end of the persian army and it defeat.the persians had invaded egypt before and their rule was ended the twenty-sixth family. in the year 331 bc, alexander the great visited the temple of amun as siwa oasis was the center for its worship (zeus-amun) who sent messengers to alexander the great to peacefully guide him on the road to the temple "oracle temple". that story happened when alexander lost his way in the desert, according to several sources. alexander was welcomed by amon priests who took him to the holy of holies as he was revealed to be the son of "zeus-amun", and he was crowned as the king of egypt and greece and he was given the title of "alexander of two horns", a metaphor for the (amon, who took the ram horn as a sign). there are no proofs to believe that he was buried symbolically for temporary period in a cemetery in siwa. perhaps a commitment by the first ptolemy to implement alexander's will in terms of his relationship with the god zeus-amun in siwa"9(darwish:2009). the god amun took several names and forms in western sahara and libya throughout history. sometimes he's confused with the "baal hammon" 10(aldumery2016) the libyan god, he is "amun ra the god of thebes " in some sources or amon zeus in the trinity "amunbaramunlibyan hera" in other sources, as his worship has spread untill building the temple in the reign of the twenty-sixth family bc. therefore, the interest in the oasis increased in the era of the ptolemy and romans, the successors of alexander the great, and even some of them had carved their own tombs there at (mountain of the dead) or (gebel al mawta). the interest in the oasis temple and its prophecies throughout ages decreased, and there is no events worth mentioning till the sixth century, when constantine ordered the closure of all (pagan) temples in egypt. thus, siwa and its temple disappeared from history except some references to it in the era of the islamic rule of musa bin nusayr in the eighth century, in the eleventh century in the writings of arab geographer idrisi and in the maqrizi og the fifteenth century, who mentioned that the inhabitants of the oasis were 600 persons2 . that brings us to siwa manuscript. it stated that "forty men from seven families built the city of shali -that means (the city) in siwan languagein 1203 on a fortified site on the mountain. they surrounded it with a wall and one gate, and no buildings were allowed outside the wall. later throughout ages, several gates were opened and they have built their homes on the cliff. the manuscript didn't mention any differences in the origin between these families, descents. by the time, they have splitted into two main tribes; eastern and western. they are mostly concentrated in the current siwa city, which represents the oasis centre, and they formed a closed group working in agriculture, trade and receiving commercial convoys and pilgrims convoys. they do not mingle with the outside world except for a little and they form with each other semi-centralized government under the leadership of "elders" (leaders of families) as mentioned in the records of european adventurers who visited the oasis. the oasis has been conquered by mohamed ali soldiers in 1820, and its people were forced to pay taxes. they were subjected to the authority of the basha as a strange appointed governor with his security forces to maintain order. history mentioned several wars and disturbances between tribes in the east and the west. disciplinary delegates were sent to the oasis by khedive abbas, khedive saeed and khedive ismail till the visit of khedive abbas ii to the oasis, who completed some land reclamation works and restored water springs in addition to providing help to the people of the town. all restoration works were stopped by the beginning of the first world war and by that time the western sahara, and the siwa oasis in particular, became the scene of conflicts and activities of el-sanusi religious order,11(fakhry:1993). it was established by al-sayyid muhammad bin ali alsanusi, the founder and owner of the most important islamic advocacy centers in the western sahara and libya. western tribes on the oasis converted to sufism (senussi); however, the eastern tribes embraced sufi (al 1 many researchers believe that, the cult of amon were scattered since the twenty-one dynasty and a temple dedicated to amun was there. 2 a manuscript about the origin and history of the families of siwa and some of its old rituals, and their history through ages, kept with one senior family there reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 5 madenia). both had made an alliance with the turks against england and italy till the end of the first world war. thereafter, the oasis had a period of tranquility and peace as a result of interest in it again, as well as reconstruction done by king fouad. then, things were back to deterioration during world war ii. the italians and germans troops conquered the oasis, where they have settled for several months, that forced people of the city to hide in the (gebel al mawta).the economic situation was worsen until the war ended and once again the oasis restored calmness during the reign of king farouk. political and economical stability continued till july revolution 1952 and the oasis became affiliated dministratively to marsa matrouh governorate till now. 5. customs and traditions for decades, siwa oaisi remains an isolated place from the outside world. it is the fact that made its people strongly attached to each other and proud of their family affiliations. customs and traditions of the oasis people are much like all bedouin communities habits. it's a significant conservative community, especially with regard to dealing with strangers. the oasis was an important point in the trade routes across the desert (forty path), therefore, its people, mainly the menm have necessary negotiation skills in buying and selling, and –thussome flexibility, especially at the mean time. however, that flexibility vanishes when it comes to women. until recently, it was forbidden to the siwan women to go out of the house, and if allowed in emergency situation, this must be in the company of her father or her brother or her husband. "if a women is glimpsed by a visitor; it is usually as a black shadow slipping from house to house; there is little opportunity to observe the true beauty of the traditional costume of the oasis"12(bilancetti:2012). women cloths in siwa are rharacterized by rich chromatography resulting from knitting and needle works and various motifs and symbols on black (gelbab) fig.3. in addition to that, silver jewelry inlaid with precious stones such as (al-adrim and al-aghro) and big bracelets such as (al-damlag and al-dablag)13(moanes:2006) where clothes model and ornaments are expressing their marital status.fig.4. men cloths, land owners, are characterized by robes, pants and belt, while labors wear shirts with wide sleeves up to the knee, a coat and turban. oasis people is subjected to customary system based on islamic law (sharia) with a tribal background. accordingly, society is split into a tribal sheikh , al-awaql (delegate for each family), members of the tribe and "alzaqalh" (labors or servants who gained stature in the siwi community over time). they have their own festivals and celebrations beside the traditional islamic ones. the famous one what is known as "al-seiaha" and it takes place in october. ig.3, example of embroidery women clothes and silver jewelry. wan women wearing the trafottet. photo taken by author 6. the distinctive environmental elements in siwa oasis distinctive site of the oasis and its history had a great impact on the formation of the daily life elements. topography of the place, the nature of the plant and the animal life. the nature of the soil had affected the urban planning of the oasis in different aspects. architecture style, construction methods, activities of the population, the used tools and instruments led to change in the styles of furniture, clothing, jewelry, etc. it oucurred because the different nature of the oasis vary completely from the nile valley. "its general outlook. the architecture of the houses, the clothes, the features of its inhabitants, their language, their attitude toward strangers and their way of life inside and outside their housesall reminded us that we are no longer in nile valley"14(bilancetti:2012). among the most important elements: natural springs: there are approximately 220 springs, water temperature in some of them reaches 50 °c. circular springs are often surrounded by constructed short wall of stones. its real beauty appears in the reflection of sunlight on the surface of the blue oblique greenish waters due to the accumulation of algae on its walls as reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 6 well as a reflection of the tall palm trunks around it. the successive air bubbles continuously flow out of the warm water. the most famous one is (juba) or " ain el shams" as described by herodotus. fig.5 salty lakes: there are five salty lakes which were formed as a result of agricultural drainage and lower surface of the land. it's characterized by a high degree of salinity that does not allow the existence of sea life. its sole economic value is limited in withdrawaling the agricultural drainage water and the extraction of high-quality types of salts. lakes are located in the middle of the vast desert, surrounded by hills and carved tombs on the top of mountains. all of them formed an exquisite multi-colored scene during the daylight hours, as a result of sunlight reflections on a full of minerals water surface. the most famous one is "shayatah". fig.6 fig.5a&b. ein wahid natural springs, siwa oasis, photo taken by author fig.6a&b. salty lake, siwa oasis, shayata, photo taken by author hills and sand dune: they are surrounding the oasis from all direction, and they are characterized by the wildlife plants and animals. antelope and some local birds exist in large numbers as well as migratory. dunes have varied forms due to the wind, while small rocky hills were induced due to the erosion and the type of soil that is affected by its proximity to groundwater. the great sand sea in south of siwa which was an ocean in ancient times is considered one of the most important and most beautiful places in siwa. there are scattered remnants of fossils, plants ,snails, fossilized coral reefs,15(castellani:2009) fig.7 sediments of gravel and rocks as well as calcified salts. palm and olive groves : siwa known by its palm cultivation to produce dates of the finest types, dry and moisture, a special festival is held for the main crop on october each year. olive trees are classified into three distinct types and the finest olive oil is extracted from them. also, there is an archaeological hand juicer that exists since 1920. the two crops are considered as basic income resources for the inhabitant of the oasis. belgrave said "one can imagine the magnificent ceremonies and the awe-inspiring rites which were solemnized among the shady vistas of the tall palm trees” .fig.8 reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 7 fig.7, scattered remnants of fossils, great sand sea. fig.8, date palm groves. 7. important archaeological and modern sites shali castle: shali means the city in siwan language. it is located on a high plateau that include the remains of the old castle, some greek and romanian cemeteries, the ancient city gate and antique mosque that were constructed in the thirteenth century. they have used an environmental substance called "il-karsheef", fig.9a, which is a mixture of saturated salt,fig.9b, mud and soft sand, that when drys, it becomes similar to cement in its firmness,16(centurini:2008). moreover, they use palm trunks as columns and architraves. people had to abandons the city after heavy rains in 1926 which rarely occurs – because it caused considerable damage and cracked the buildingsvprompting the residents to flee the low surface of the plateau to build the new city. the one we see nowadays. it worthy of mentioning that the restoration process is ongoing to maintain many of them in collaboration with various cultural foreign organizations.fig.10 the oracle temple (inspirations) : according to the written texts in the sanctum, the history of the current existing building since the rule of amasis ii (amaris twenty-sixth dynasty) is dedicated to the worship of amun, as stated before. although some modifications and additions were made in later times17(darwish:2009) , "amasis ii knew the importance of securing the western borders and built temples in siwa, baharia and kharga where the persian king cambyses who sent an army to destroy it "18( fakhri:2007)fig.11. fig.9a,(il-karsheef) b,( natural salt) photo taken by author. fig.10, shali castle remains. umm obeida temple (aghurmi) : was built during the reign of (nkhtanbo ii) from the thirty dynasty who dedicated it to the worship of amun and a cartouche of his name on the archaeological remains exists. temple is located south to the inspiration temple, the main gate on the same axis. it had been subjected to an earthquake in 1811 and then bombing in 1897 by mahmoud azmi commander of the border guards in siwa in order to use its stones for other modern buildings, which worsened its very bad condition now.fig.12 reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 8 mountain of the dead (gebel el mawta) : archaeological location back to the twenty-sixth dynasty and possibly earlier, encompasses the ancient tombs of old egyptian-style over the higher hill of its conical shape that lie outside siwa city. it has been restored and opened to visit in the current era and includes the tombs of ancient egyptian and greeks and ptolemy, romans and was used by the people of the city to bury their dead until near times. among the most important tombs (niperpathot, crocodile, mesu-isis, si amun)19(castellani:2009).fig.13 heritage documentation center and siwan house: the governorate in collaboration with senior families in siwa cooperated with the project "siwa and tangier:toward a better life"20(aldumery:2012) where a model of siwi house was built by its old method and materials and includes models of furniture, clothing, jewelry for different occasions and ornaments, it's considered as one of the most important projects that documenting the siwi heritage. also, it include the art studio.fig14. fig.11,temple of the oracle of amun. fig.12, last standing ruins at umm obeida temple. fig.13, gebel el mawta. fig.14, heritage documentation center and siwan house. photo taken by author. second point : grant of siwa studios and its procedure 1. choosing siwa as the headquarters of the grant "siwa oasis" had been chosen as a headquarters for a new ministry of culture grant for fine artists in 2008. it resembles paris studios " (hassan fathy). it represents an extension or alternative to luxor studio project which was demolished. luxor studio has been established in 1942 by the ministry of education to provide an opportunity for plastic artists, fine art school students and the talented and amature students (liberal studies department) for two years full-time study grant with a monthly bonus in order to help them practicing artworking. also, experiencing the archaeological sites, visits and cohabitate the local environment with it's rich and special vocabularies inspires the artists' visions during the stay there. it also nourish the visual memory with new vocabulary carrying different aesthetic values in themselves and in a harmony with the rest of the elements. reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 9 furthermore, it will induce his feelings and imagination that he can use later whether directly or indirectly in his artwork. two apartments affiliated to matrouh governorate were allocated and furnished to be the residency of the artists during the grant which lasts for a week in the present, (the grant was 10 days in the first two years). a nearby place have been chosen to be used as a studio within "heritage documentation center and siwan house " for those artists who wish to complete their work during the grant. the landscape of the oasis as well as the archaeological sites dominate and impose all senses of both residents and visitors. the grant is intended to emphasize the affiliation of these unique sites in egypt with artists, to develop the awareness and aesthetic sense of the recipient who attend these exhibitions and to promote the community and developing its ideas in general. supervisors of the grant, officials of culture ministry and commissaries of exhibitions always stress on the role of artistic works of siwa studio. it attempts to invest and market our cultural heritage locally and internationally in addition to its role in promoting tourism and supporting the external relationships. and, definitely, it highlights siwa as a unique tourist destination.fig.15fig.16. , distinctive scenes from siwa oasis old town ruins. fig.16, siwa oasis night scene 2.applyed procedures since inception the officials of the activity in the general department of fine arts and environmental crafts of specialists nominate the names of those artists who have participated in the art movement, through their tours in various exhibitions. then, they communicate with them to introduce the idea of the grant and its conditions. they also request samples of their artworks to be presented to a specialized committee. this committee is annually formed by the department, combining officials from the ministry of culture who have artistic expertise to choose the participants taking into consideration some selection criteria in all sessions. the critera cover the following: to have candidates from different ages. to have candidates from different governorates. to have naive artists who did not receive an academic art education. if the selection committee has chosen the ten male artists and ten female artists, the department starts to coordinate with them to determine an appropriate date for all participants. these procedures had been followed in the previous six years with the exception of 2016 session when the department added another procedure; establishing a page on face book to advertise the grant. 3. groups division the groups are divided in two phases; one for female artists and the other one is for males. it takes place at a time between august and march of the next year, the period of a moderate weather at the oasis. 4.terms of the grant the ministry of culture bear all accommodation, subsistence and travel costs. artists pledge to hand over, a minimum og one large size artwork or two of a small size, 60 * 60 cm at least, in a period not exceeding one month after the return. 5. year of session, number of participants, gender and venues of exhibitions3 fig.17 3 session of year 2011: exhibition was postponed and then held in 2012 and session of year 2012 grant was cancelled due to instable security situation in egypt after january revolution. reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 10 fig.17 year of session gender number of exhibition place of exhibition male female 2009 9 9 2 the exhibition was held twice, marsa matrouh culture palace / salah taher hall in the egyptian opera house. 2010 10 10 1 nahdet misr-isis hall in mahmoud mukhtar museum. 2011/12 10 10 1 nahdet misr-isis hall in mahmoud mokhtar museum. 2013 10 10 1 mahmoud mokhtar cultural center. 2014 10 10 1 mahmoud mokhtar cultural center. 2015 10 10 1 hanager center for arts. 2016 10 10 1 hanager center for arts. 6. the prizes the ministry of culture present a prize in the name of "cleopatra award" for siwa studio only since 2013, it can be split equally awarded to two artists. sometimes, the ministry awards an honorary prize as well as a prize from private entities such as banks. 7. grant program visiting the tourist and archaeological sites in oasis accompanied by a tour guide in coordination with one of the officials of culture ministry office there. there is no specific program as it goes with sole discretion of the participants4. third analysis of artistic work samples in various sessions this paper proposes to describe and analyze some artistic works produced through the grant (two artworks from each session) and selected by the author. it also presebts some introductory words of the artists in the selected exhibition catalog which reflects the extent of interaction between the artists and siwa oasis. it unveils such experience, the impact and vulnerability that have occurred between the artists and the surrounding environment, artistically and morally. ahmed abdel karim 2009 "mountain of the dead is symbolic and have signs of particular connotations in topology letters written by the time itself across ages. these symbols and signs are living organisms, that did not stand solid, but it had been new forms by wind and rain. they have nothing but to obey the companionship in its loneliness in day and night, which in very quiet way, calling from far and near "inspiration temple " ... we had moved through the soft sleepy sands, high in the cosmic vacuum horizon like beautiful women and dunes of desert, as a strong challenge to artists " are you able to talk and paint me" ? -zainab salem 2011/2012 "artist live among us but not like other human beings, he is capable to pause the time, recall the place, depicting the fantasy, touch the thoughts, raise emotions and takes us with him in the world of art ". -reda abdelrahman in 2013, "we have been keen as one group, 90% of which belongs to the contemporary egyptian art movement to perform unconventional artworks and to transfer the siwa current reality via its present features with its variables blending between past and present, i acknowledge that this journey is one of the most important artistic ones i've made in egypt and abroad. " -heba saleh in 2016 "based on the international writer naguib mahfouz, globality is dumping in locality ... siwa grant represents a resources investment of our beloved egypt, rediscover and marketing attempt domestically and internationally." -artworks analysis: figure (18) the artist presented a snapshot of the traditional internal architecture scene in the oasis, which is characterized by simplicity. she tried to imply the textures of different surfaces of natural building materials and eco 4 an interview with artist badawi mabrouk, director of studios and exhibitions department at general organizations for cultural palaces. reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 11 architecture. it's an abstract scene where the usual dust colors of walls are turned into hot colors, like the hottest desert. the relationship between shadow and light is turned into gradualness and harmony instead of contrast. it is the same contrast between wall's material and the wood trunks. figure (19) ahmed presented a surrealistic scene where he blends the natural environmental elements inspired by olive groves, palms and human body (women). he drew her lower torso only, without intimation to any sensuality as she was sitting on a seat of palm fronds of a local model. it is seen as a tree in an inspiration and wonderful mix of mother goddess, isis the donor of life, and an ordinary siwan conservative woman who hides her face. he used hot colors in painting the interlocking plant branches that added warm and vivid sense in opposition to the static dimension of the atmosphere caused by stably seated woman. fig.18,rania el helw, oil painting, 2009. fig.19,ahmed abdelkareem, oil painting, 2009. figure (20) the artist depicted a natural landscape scene of oasis houses are which located on top of the hill in an abstract form. its color is depicted into two opposites; warm and cold. it is figurative of the barren and fertile land. the scene was free from natural elements, except a little girl carrying a traditional pot of the oasis. she stares at the ponderer in innocence and amazement, and the artist stressed the outline of the forms by using black lines (gestural line) in a sense of being expressive and close to the fauvism movement. colors were not employed in descriptive way as well as drawing elements were flat and decorative. figure (21) artist portrayed natural landscape inspired by the remains of the ancient city of shali with external gestural lines, which are dancing in haromny with music and cool color fading into the background. i do not find expression truer than those words describing the inhabitants of the desert and their architecture: “the man of this age had played architectural melodies on the strings of the surrounding nature, his architecture embedded in the desert itself and frequent or congruence continuously... the environment with its natural condition is constant, or almost ... yes, societies had been changed, civilizations were rolled ...architecture has transformed but, the desert remained .. the man remained and approach remained”22(wali:1996). reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 12 fig.20, khaled serour, oil painting, detailed, 2010. fig.21, nermin el-masri, pastel on paper, detailed, 2010 figure (22) the artist portrayed a group of oasis-inhabitants who abstractly perform various gestures in a complex composition inspired by desert, whether on raw material or in clothes style. the figures have been portrayed as hieroglyphic characters pictorial in ancient egyptian temples. they stand monolithically in horizontal strips as if they are offerings carriers. she also used cool colors such as blue in multiple degrees, and this yellowcolored spot mediates the work like the sundown light. figure (23) in this abstract symbolic artwork, the artist drew some signs inspired by the prehistoric caves graffiti on a walls which are decaying through ages. he used natural colors and elements, like dried plant leaves on streaky surfaces. they are confronting us with hidden forces, like (talisman) intriguing our imagination to reveal and decrypt its code. other elements give an impression of mass architecture dorned with local decoration, resembling fence. it is colored gradually to deeply suggest the mysterious architectural space. fig.22,shaima mahmoud, sand painting,2011/12 fig.23, ayman hilal, painting on mixed media, 2011/12. fig.24, ashraf ruslan, oil painting, 2013. fig.25, sally elzeiny, drawing with ink and watercolor, 2013. reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 13 figure(24) artist presented bilateral, green and dry, male and female, earth and sky, in extended horizontal spaces, and two figures stand vertically in contrast with them. they dressed in local clothes, colored with verdant and water hues. the background landscape is free of any natural details. they are staring at the ponderer with stupor suggesting that the time has stopped in a fleeting moment. it is as if we hear the sound of silence. as ahmad fakhri says, that desert in other's opinion is not only the scene of a gram stories which the arabic writings of literature are filled with. figure (25) the artist depicted a wide scene rich with different items of local environment in i.e. clothes, jewelry, plants. she presented richness in inspiration. here are the minaret of the old mosque that covered by ceremonial marriage outfit veil. as if it announce "as in the past" happiness and joy. flowers, fishes and the songbird were represented in their own symbolic meaning in the imagination of the artist and taking part in the event. two children have reached the top of the staircase overlooking the spacious and open extent which reflects their pure souls all elements filled the place with lovely clatter. fig.26, walid ebaid, oil painting, 2014. fig.27, sahar al-amir, draw on paper, 2014. figure (26) between the sound of silence and the silence of pure nature, the artist presented an artwork inspired by the spirit of the place, he is not portraying the place itself despite the realistic style that he adopted, but he express his feelings about this arid land where wild grass sparsely grew on the banks of the salty lake. parts of it has dried up, burned by the heat of the sun. the horizon is dominant and overshadowed the desert scene, it eliminates any hope for the existence of life there. figure (27) in an area between the conscious and the unconscious. the artist travels with her imagination between the natural elements of valleys, hills, lakes and springs on one side, and between anecdotes and various legends on the other side. she woven into patchwork painting that express her inner feelings toward this unknown world, full of detail, who lives in the desert. it leaves you as the first time you met it, puzzled. reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 14 fig.28, ali el-ruby, oil painting, 201 fig.29, asmaa elnawawy, drawing with pastel colors, 2015. figure (28) between reality and fantasy, the artist present the landscape of the oasis. the ancient remains of buildings stand on the edge of sand dunes at the background of the scene. water streams, desert trails and roads had extended there. the elements have been transformed into an ancient egyptian symbols. the artist maintained the spontaneous spirit in dealing with natural vocabulary with a tendency to depict flat space in order to border it with lines. figure (29) as usual, the artist addressed a feminine model by an academic study that has the features of an egyptian women while she pulls up her distinctive local siwi scarf in an attempt to hide her face from strangers. the girl stands in the foreground and occupies most of the large painting space, facing the viewer in a strong presence while in background, there are remains of the old city; shali. the light rays of the dawn moves on the outskirts of the buildings to add mystery and majesty to the scene. fig.30,weaam omar, ink drawing on paper, 2016 fig.31, ahmed saber, pen and watercolor drawing on paper, 2016. figure(30) three women stand alone in a balanced abstract composition. in the conflict between white and black, shadow and light. in the texts of ancient tales, gravestones and water springs in the middle of the desert. they stand as signs or memorials implying that maybe there was a life here before !! they look to the unknown and they have a dialogue between the wide outside and the limited inside. reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 15 figure(31) oasis lifestyle had embodied here in the tales of grandmothers at the edge of the hill surrounded by palm trees. girls dressed with bedouin bright colorful outfit, full of embroidery and silver jewelry, playing here and there. among the rocks, they make up a part of the story is not yet complete. as the artist painted figures and elements by academic way, he left other parts and details swag in colored plots in dusty tones. conclusion after presentation and analysis of that quantum of artworks and the studio grant procedures, it is clear now how successful the project to emphasize the identity of siwa oasis culture and nature, where the artworks reflected the impact of its unique environment, as well as the customs and traditions of its people by an expressive and symbolic manner. also how far the governmental efforts achieved its goal to retain the notable cultural and natural resources, exceptional historical monuments and the outstanding diversity of environment of the oasis. despite the fact that the grant is a successful art activity in general, yet there are some cons that must be addressed in its next sessions as follows : announcement: the announcement of the grant is limited in social network and there is a lack of information about its procedures . participants: an analysis of the data reflects that: significant number of painting artists always participate and a few number in other arts areas, such as sculpture, photography and applied arts...etc. fig.32. -the term of the grant: grant's term is limited in one week which is not long enough to unleash the imagination of artists and allow them to touch the oasis mood deeply and communicate with its inhabitants. thus, it presents an artwork inspired from the nature or lifestyle in the oasis. -venue and exhibition date: only one exhibition is held as a result of the grant and likely in the ministry of culture halls, in cairo (any available one) that's why it doesn't exist permanently on exhibitions schedule. thus, it devaluate the exhibition, and it also deprives the siwi residents to watch the beauty of their habitat in artists's eyes, which strengthens the affiliation relationship to the oasis and encourages them to maintain it. -ownership of artworks: all artworks are owned to the general organization of culture palaces which dedicate some of them gradually to others government organization as gifts but there is no specific rule for dedications or for determine the recipient organization, it works case by case. -responsible for the grant: officially, ministry of culture is the only organization who run the activity and there is no integration between various organizations that could benefit from such these grant. fig.32,the percentage of participants in different art fields since inception. recommendations announcing for the grant should be in all exhibitions halls and all organizations affiliated with the ministry of culture as well as universities and youth centers. it should encourage a large number of artists and talented individuals in various fields of art to participate, as well as to ensure the continuous presence of the grant on the cultural map. percentage of participants painting graphic and drawing photography sculpture naïve artist interior design applied art reem assem saleh / the academic research community publication pg. 16 selecting a number of artists in different artistic areas in a balanced with each session and included other areas such as applied arts, architecture, photography, handicrafts and jewelry design and other art areas . extend the duration of the event to allow artists to produce their artworks there. determining of a fixed date and specific hall to hold the exhibition bi-annually, first in siwa's palace culture and the second in cairo in order to establish the existence and important of that activity on the cultural map and to ensure a large number of viewers. dedicating the grant's produced artworks periodically and orderly to different organizations such as, ministries as well as egyptian embassies abroad for optimization of such activities. determine fixed date and venue to hold the exhibition bi-annually, first in siwa and second in cairo or other governorate consecutively in order to emphasize the important of such activity on the cultural map involve other organization in the responsibility of holding the grant, such as the ministry of tourism ,marsa matrouh governorate, cultural development fund and the ministry of foreign affairs in order to ensure integration between roles in addition to the provision of necessary material support with the possibility of developing the idea to include abroad artists to enrich the experience with artists from different environments. all of these will assist in the development of the oasis on different ways and helping to emphasize its identity. references 1. al-azab, mohammed salah. sidi barrani novel, dar el shorouk publishing house,2010. 2. aldumery, abdul aziz abdul rahman , siwa and coast / past and present, alexandria-yasuo press, second edition, 2016 . 3. aldumrey,abdul aziz and henrik dalvilt, siwa oasis, heritage tracks , published via manuals siwa tangier project: heritage for a better life, organization cospe, 2012. 4. bilancetti, llaria. searching for siwan embroidery,published via”siwa& tangier project”cospe organization, 2012. 5. castellani,silvia.and others, discovering siwa, shali project publication, ricerca e cooperazione and cospe,2009 . 6. centurini,paola.and others, shaly restaurare lkarsheef manuale patico, ricerca e cooperazion, associazione giovanni secco suardo, shali project, 2008. 7. darwish,mohab. alexander the great monuments in egypt, bibliotheca alexandrina, egyptology page,2009. 8. fakhri ,ahmad. pharaonic egypt, a brief history of egypt since ancient times up to the year 332 bc, anglo-egyptian library,2007. 9. fakhry,ahmed. the oases of egypt, volume i, siwa oasis, translated by: jaballah ali jaballah, revised by mohammed jamal al-din mokhtar, the ministry of culture, the egyptian antiquities authority, 100 books project(20), 1993. 10. malim,fathi. oasis siwa from the inside traditions, customs & magic, published by al katan ,2001. 11. moenes,shermeen mohamed. the unity and variety in forming the ornamental elements in the folk jewelry, field, historical and analytical study, master thesis, helwan university,2006. 12. nofal, eslam mahmod hassan hussein. towards management and preservation of egyptiancultural landscape sitescase study:siwa oasis, academia.edu. platform. 13. siwa studios exhibition catalog, fifth session, ministry of culture, the general organization of cultural palaces, 2014. 14. siwa studios exhibition catalog, first session, ministry of culture, the general organization of cultural palaces, 2009. 15. siwa studios exhibition catalog, fourth session, ministry of culture, the general organization of cultural palaces, 2013. 16. siwa studios exhibition catalog, second session, ministry of culture, the general organization of cultural palaces, 2010. 17. siwa studios exhibition catalog, seventh session, ministry of culture, the general organization of cultural palaces, 2016. 18. siwa studios exhibition catalog, sixth session, ministry of culture, the general organization of cultural palaces, 2015. 19. siwa studios exhibition catalog, third session, ministry of culture, the general organization of cultural palaces, 2012. 20. taher,bahaa.sunset oasis novel, dar el shorouk publishing house,2008. 21. tassis,geoffrey and others. repatriating prehistoric artefacts to egypt: fekry hassan’s naqada and siwa study collections,archaeology international journal, 112,2009. 22. vivian,cassandra.the western desert of egypt,the american university in cairo press, an explorer’s handbook. new revised edition 2000. 23. wali,tareq. architectural hymns, stay in the desert architecture approach, the arab association for printing and publishingel bahrain,first edition,1996. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication abstract being the main user of any architectural product, the user’s role in the designing process should be significant, especially in complex spatial spaces such as hospitals, museums, offices, and public-use buildings. this gives the users meta-roles such as communicators, performers, and interpreters. user-centered design (ucd) tries to optimize the fit of the spaces with how users can, want to, and need to use in these spaces, rather than forcing the users to change their behavior to accommodate the architectural spaces or designing dysfunctional spaces. such spaces were designed neglecting the human factor and only using building regulations. the visitor’s parameters, profiles, spatial experiences, and the architectural configuration are what can affect the experience in architectural spaces. this paper explores a different ucd (user-centered design) approach in the evaluation of the built environment which is the parametric spatial analysis approach. the approach studies the spatial pattern of human behavior of a random selection of users, so it could represent any potential users in the buildings. aiming to intensively engage users in the design process, the approach uses parametric spatial design in analyzing the visitor’s behavior and deducing some design patterns and configurations that focus on different ways of user’s engagement. this approach compares the definition of users, their roles, and the type of space envisioned and produced as well. this paper describes an approach that attempts to bridge the gap between parametric geometry modeling and methods for measuring the spatial properties of this geometry. in exhibition spaces with their different spatiality, visitors tend to have some indicators which can be measured. accordingly, designers create functional spaces that suit the different types of visitors using parametric components that study the collective human behavior (organizational behavior). these functional spaces are designed through observation, user surveys, and interviews to simplify the complexity of decisions regarding the design process and visitor’s parameters, and to embed them into an algorithm that can solve the complexity of the visitor’s parameters. analyzing visitors’ behavior and the spatial morphology improves the visiting experience and provides better interpretations. the analysis makes the designers aware of visitors’ circulation, visiting styles, behavior, patterns, tendencies, and trends within a wide diversity of spaces. moreover, this analysis can be combined into an evolutionary algorithm to help solve problems. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords visitor’s parameters; parametric spatial analysis; optimization pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.341 a user-centric approach to optimize visitor’s experience in exhibition spaces using parametric spatial analysis nourhan el-halawany1, hazem el-daly2, sherif abdelmohsen2 1 msc. student, department of architecture, ain shams university 2 associate professor, architectural department, ain shams university. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ el-halawany / the academic research community publication 1. introduction human aspects help define the perfect space for each individual, that explores and captures the immaterial, human needs of a space, like personality, values, experiences, ritual and time. visitor studies explore human experiences within any architectural spaces such as museums, cultural heritage sites and other informal learning settings to inform decisions is greatly affected by the spatiality and decisions made in the spaces. spatial layout planning, especially designing exhibition spaces and patterns of circulation for a planned efficient navigation and orientation and for a better experience for the visitors who are the main user of the architectural product, is one of the most complicated problem in architectural design as it has many parameters that should be tested and figured out. by examining the extent to which spatial structures can be optimized using the concept of evolutionary strategies, which search for solutions for spaces by systematically varying the parameters and choosing a certain goal (fitness function). parametric modelling combined with optimization algorithms has emerged as one of the most widely used computational methodologies for spatial and experiences design allowing designers to script complex generative algorithms for design space exploration. 1.1. architectural space in architecture, design begins by generating ideas and continues by transforming them to concrete spatial formations and spaces that are functional and fits the users. architects learn about the design problem by creating alternatives and testing them in order to gain desired spatial formations. a comprehensive architectural knowledge helps architects in this process. this knowledge is a synthesis of practice and theory, experience and research. architects must proceed in to bring all parameters together in a creative way. 1.2. design complexity utilizing a large repertoire of organizational patterns and design precedent knowledge together with the precise criteria of spatial evaluation can present design challenges to make sure of using the human factor and creating functional spatial formations so it needs theories and applications of implementation of a parametric design process. there is an opportunity to supplement the designer’s knowledge with computational decision support that provides real-time spatial feedback during conceptual design. this paper presents an approach based on a generative multiperformance framework, to configure and optimize architectural designs based on a precedent design. 2. parametric modelling the introduction of parametric design has turned up a new flexibility in discovering solution space, setting up the way for geometry customization and the form optimization system. it helps in creating and exploring the parameters to evaluate the designs and help the designer from the beginning of the design process to get the best design outcome among a large number of opportunities and easily tested and modelled and evaluated to achieve a performance oriented design. generative algorithms have also been used to define the optimal user accessibility and visibility in architectural design and so analyzing user movement, the behavioral patterns and spatial accessibility of visitors. the whole optimization process can be developed as a rhino grasshopper script. grasshopper is an advanced parametric modelling tool which is working with rhinoceros interface. it is an influential design tool which allows exploring a new affiant way of design. the geometry in the grasshopper is defined pg. 2 el-halawany / the academic research community publication by using graphical interface without having any knowledge about scripting language. the geometry will be created by dragging and dropping available components, in which these components represent data, function in the working. 2.1. the parametric models grasshopper consists of two main types of objects which are “parameters” and “components”. parameters are used for to input variables and feed them into components that transform them and output the results. in which the inputs may be geometry or a single data using rhino/grasshopper in this research is to create geometry or building which is able to change its elements parametrically. a parametric or generative model is an essential feature in the optimization process. 2.2. optimization process using evolutionary algorithms – design variables: the mathematical expression or any quantity that controls the shape of design and its configuration such as height, width and height. these variables are controlled by designer or some geometrical equation. – design objectives: are that designers try to achieve, such as those functions which designers try to maximize or optimise. – parameters: are quantities that affect the design objective but are considered fixed, so they cannot be changed by the designers – constrains: the limitations of the design space in which characteristically happen by reason of finiteness of source or technologically limitation that the designer set to their targeted designs. 2.3. there are two types of optimization: – single-objective optimization: when the design problem optimizes a single objective, which mostly maximize or minimize. therefore the optimization model is scalar. – multi-objective optimization: when the problem has more than one objective to optimize, the optimization model will have vector objective instead of scalar. optimization is an iterative process which starts with defined geometry, then the geometry will be simulated using a parametric simulation software with a simulation process, after that based base on the obtained feedback for the simulation engine, the geometry has to capable to change its parameters to get better simulation results in the next generation of a configuration according to observations or knowing the visitors behaviour and pattern to accommodate better visiting experiences and behaviors among the exhibition spaces or any architectural space. 3. spatial analysis 3.1. space syntax configuration is defined not simply as connections, but as ‘relations that take into account other relations syntax techniques can simply be turned round and used in design as they are tools to think with and experiment with, as well as tools of analysis. architecture is about the exploration of possibility and so are space syntax techniques. given the working spatio-functional understanding provided by the analytic phase, the syntax model can be turned into design mode and simulate the configurational effects of different design ideas. space syntax is based on configurational theory of space and attempts to decode spatial formations and their pg. 3 el-halawany / the academic research community publication impacts on human activity. by the development of new techniques for representing and analyzing space, space syntax appears as a tool for architects to explore their design ideas and understand possible effects of their proposals by illustrating a link between research and design. parametric analysis can be used in the implementation of optimizing spaces and enhance the visitor’s experience. 3.2. accessibility accessibility analyses help in understanding socio-economic potentials of a place. and how visitors move along different spaces or see certain exhibit if they are accessible or there is a certain route that should be followed. 3.3. visibility people experience their environment mainly by vision. what they see influences their experience and behavior. our advanced visual analysis methods help to: – identify visual attractors and visually prominent places – create navigation-friendly environments – estimate the visual impact of new developments 4. simulation simulation can be able to predict the environmental and structural performances of the building. the power of simulation techniques and software depends on the performance of system to the modification that been done by designers. however, the main disadvantage of simulation programs is that they work under trial and error process. it means that designer has to have solution in order to get feedback for the simulation engine. therefore, the design process involves recurrent possibilities, evaluations and adjustments to attain the desired results. simulations are considered a significant tool in the digital design process, particularly in the performance-based design. in which simulations feed the design process by helping designers to find, explain, and confirm through representations the achievement of desired solution. yet the success of this process depends on the designer skills in the defining of design problem correctly, formulation of valuable hypothesis and most importantly to interpreter the alternative outcomes. the link between parametric design tools and simulations-based designs are still indirect and needs more research that what we are discussing in this paper to find the linkage between parametric analysis and the evolutionary optimization for better results through the spatial design or the evaluation of spaces existed. 4.1. spatial analysis on different configurations studying an existing configuration and how the visitor’s spatial analysis can change according to the spatial formations and accordingly the whole visibility and behavioral patterns, we can manage to reach the solid and reliable parameters that should be used in the design and evaluation process. 4.2. existing models for spatial analysis spatial configurations have been largely studied in architecture, usually utilizing computational methods for spatial analyses at building or urban scales. creating diverse representations of the components of the space and their relationships. these allow the user to script complex generative algorithms without prior programming knowledge and can help pg. 4 el-halawany / the academic research community publication steering design space exploration. exploring different solutions can be done in a timely manner as the parametric design process. complex environments constitute a compelling common ground for architects. however, galapagos for grasshopper for example yielding a single near optimal solution. as a result, parametric modeling as implemented in existing environments lacks of guidance features and design space exploration, usually remaining limited to manual manipulation of sliders and initiation of generations helping to solve the architectural process. the manual observation by pen-and-paper direct observation methods are the most widely used for data collection of human behavior such as movement, occupancy, and interaction among persons and their visiting styles and behaviors . researches have demonstrated strong correlation of building layouts and general human occupancy, movements and interaction among them helping to model their behaviour and reach norms of patterns. this paper reviews two components in grasshopper as parametric components, and they are: – smart space analyzer – decoding spaces 4.3. smartspace analyzer plugin is an intuitive tool to perform spatial analytics on a building or urban scale. it performs distance mapping, visibility analysis and connectivity analysis in seconds. as a grasshopper plug-in for rhino, smartspaceanalyser provides real-time interaction in the modeling environment to quickly test a range of scenarios with instant visual feedback. it can come up with: – distance to: how far away is everything from one or more locations? – average distance: what is the average distance to all locations from all locations? – visibility: what can be seen from my current location and any location the users may be in? – field of view: what is directly visible from my current location? what is in my peripheral vision? – walkability: where can be walked in and how long and it is mainly used in urban spaces? the following is the smart space analyzer component and it can change to any of the previously mentioned results. figure 1. field of view component (smart space analyzer) pg. 5 el-halawany / the academic research community publication by studying the existing configuration of picasso exhibition in cairo, egypt and its plan and applying these parametric components it made it possible to analyze different spatial parameters that affect the user experience in spaces and what can affect the course of their visit to design a genetic component using generative tools to optimize the spatial complexity in exhibition spaces. figure 2. plan of picasso exhibition in cairo figure 3. the parametric visibility analysis of a certain visitor in the exhibition using smart space analyzer plug in pg. 6 el-halawany / the academic research community publication figure 4. visibility to component (smart space analyzer) figure 5. visibility analysis using smart space analyzer pg. 7 el-halawany / the academic research community publication 4.4. decoding spaces: this component is able to interpret segment maps from parametric line drawings for evaluating axial maps and visibility the analysis graphs can be related the directly visualization to the component parametric model, will be which extended opens up by new displaying ways of thinking here are images of visitor’s (cones of vision). isovisits from two different visitors in the space and the grey is their visual intersection to test the crowd visibility and the human behavior within a group or affected by other visitors. figure 6. the intersection of two different visitors from decoding spaces component in another position figure 7. the location of the two different visitors from different locations from decoding spaces component designers can deduce the visibility intersection and the hot and cold zones in the exhibition environment. many other spatial parametric components can be used by designers in the optimization process. 5. connecting interactive evolutionary optimization and parametric design this paper develops an approach that seeks to explore the different parameters that should be included in the evolutionary process that can enhance the visitor’s experience in complex spatial spaces by connecting interactive evolutionary optimization to parametric design in such a way that all the features offered by parametric design in terms of geometry generation can be used to explore innovative structural systems. consequently, interactive evolutionary optimization must not be limited to a set of structural typologies or design problems. interactive evolutionary optimization must thus be connected to parametric design in the most lightweight way possible and should only know about the geometry, the performance index, and the design variables of a given problem, allowing the designer to explore any design problem easily and interactively. connecting evolutionary optimization and parametric design inherently extends the designer’s input by not limiting it to the modification of predefined parametric formulations of design problems. analyzing and visualizing these data in order to gain deeper insights into the effects of spatial variables. these can then be used to support decision making and participatory designing process to analyze the needs of people. merging the parameters found in the route of the visitors in order to find solutions to the architectural complexity design. pg. 8 el-halawany / the academic research community publication 5.1. design optimization this paper highlights approaches that seeks to connect interactive evolutionary optimization to parametric design which is offered by parametric design in terms of geometry generation can be used to explore innovative design systems. using a parametric modelling environment enabling the capture designs, extraction of spatial analytics, and demonstration of how populations can be used to drive the generation and optimization of alternate spatial solutions towards creative exploration, are theoretically applicable to any design problem and are well-suited to make illdefined criteria meet quantifiable objectives in architectural design. building these parametric modeling environments can be used in combination with analysis and optimization components to constitute integrated design environments. the user and parametric models are optimized galapagos for grasshopper for example giving a single nearoptimal solution. as a result, parametric modeling as implemented in existing environments lacks of guidance features and design space exploration. 5.2. fitness value selection the fitness function that evaluates every algorithmic solution from the various generations during optimization process is categorized by the designers themselves according to the design plan and the needs of the different exhibition spaces and behaviors deduced from the observation and simulation by one fitness function or many according to the optimization type. 6. conclusion this paper showed the feasibility of the combination of spatial analysis, space configuration and visitor’s behaviors with parametric software to come with an optimized result. this provides planners and designers with a powerful tool to analyze their existing project for revitalization or new design to design more functional spaces to meet the needs of the users according to the usercentric approach. these outcomes are used to evaluate their final design which helps the designer produce a more accurate result in line with the purpose of the project. this paper shows the feasibility of this process through a case study with some parametric analysis components tested and clarifies the existing opportunities and weaknesses as well. the next step is to make the parametric design approach to master layout opportunities to fit more the visitor’s needs from accessibility and visibility and clearer for designers to tackle the weaknesses and obstacles in the process. this approach can enhance the spatial design and maximize views and vistas and identify obstacles which might restrict these. helps in analyzing the spaces to avoid the creation of “dead space” which is rarely visited by visitors in the exhibition spaces and can become a location of vandalism or negligence. third the identification of hot spots where visitors visit most can be the best location for some exhibits according to the curator or the designer’s plan. 7. references 1. alexis danhaive, renaud & mueller, caitlin. (2015). combining parametric modeling and interactive optimization for high-performance and creative structural design. 2. benedikt, m. l. (1979). to take hold of space: isovists and isovist fields. environment and planning b: planning and design, 6(1), 47-65. doi:10.1068/b060047 3. el-halawany, n. b. (2017). a frame work for enhancing user experience in existing exhibit spaces using evolutionary algorithms (master’s thesis). ain shams. 4. hillier, b., & hanson, j. (1984). the social logic of space. cambridge: cambridge university press. pg. 9 el-halawany / the academic research community publication doi:10.1017/cbo9780511597237 pg. 10 introduction architectural space design complexity parametric modelling the parametric models optimization process using evolutionary algorithms there are two types of optimization: spatial analysis space syntax accessibility visibility simulation spatial analysis on different configurations existing models for spatial analysis smartspace analyzer plugin decoding spaces: connecting interactive evolutionary optimization and parametric design design optimization fitness value selection conclusion references issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication http://www.ierek.com/press destination studies – an institution sayak ghosh 1 1 dip tt(mgt) montreal. keywords maps, destination studies , the institute of destination studies, education and tourism, cultural tourism and employment abstract first of all, we must understand that there are various aspects of tourism with respect to its beauty, aesthetics, technical parameters, trade & commerce, training & education, innovation etc. if anyone wants to find the bondage between education and tourism, there can be various topics, concepts, factors, and parameters to portray the entity. again, if education is an aspect of tourism, then we can formulate a tourism course subject to beauty, aesthetics, technical parameters, trade & commerce, innovation and, last but not the least, the destinations – the prime capital for tourism; as a tourist has a destination whereas a traveler does not. so, pertaining to education and tourism, i shall focus on destination studies. it would be better to admit that tourism is the most special segment of human geography. this subject leads us to understand our planet and the culture of the world better than any other subject. so, we must also find a scientific way of studying tourism to understand the human race better. to start with, we must focus on the different destinations of the world, their geography – how to reach there, their culture, their heritage, their history, their socio-economy, interesting places to visit there etc. once we grab it we have almost grabbed the major portion of the subject named tourism. so, let’s proceed. maps a map is the most important tool not only for destination studies but also for studying tourism and geography. right now let us focus on the importance of map in a destination study. i remember the very first class of my tourism course. that day the director of our institute stated very clearly, “if you know maps, you know more than 60% of your course! and if you don’t know then please leave the course !!”. that’s how the map is the fundamental tool for tourism course and so very important for any destination study. ideally, an individual studying different destinations should passionately love maps. at the very first note, he or she invariably should get a hang of the world map irrespective of any trainer/ teacher/mentor. let the world map be his or her mentor. once this phenomenon is through to any individual or student, he or she can proceed very fast for any sort of destination studies. then automatically the student will have the culture to sit with any map e.g. a world map, any continent map, any country map, any city map etc.. after that slowly the student will gather interest to browse different books of different destinations apart from his or her curriculum books subject to an official course of tourism. certainly mentoring will be required not only to complete the course successfully but also to have a strong grip on doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.243 sayak ghosh / the academic research community publication pg. 4 the technical as well as the aesthetic parameters of the subject. destination studies geography at the very first shot, a student studying different regions should first scan the world map (as discussed before) in his or her retina in such a way that any destination of the world is just in his or her finger-tips. the student should be able to explain the geography of the particular destination without a second thought and without an iota of doubt. then only he or she can proceed further. for convenience, the students should study the map continent wise and then country wise. then he or she should know all the capitals along with the other important cities pertaining commercial hubs and international airports. if possible the students also need to memorize the currencies of different nations, their three-letter codes along with their country, city as well as the airport three-letter codes; this study can help them to define a few things technically better in the near future. transportation & accommodation once a person thoroughly examines the geography of a particular destination, then he or she has to know how to reach there (by air, water, rail, road etc.), what sort of amenities are there to stay (hotel, motel, inn, guest house, homestay etc.) and what are the amenities of transfers in that particular region like local cab, auto-rickshaw, tuktuk, bus, local train, cable car etc.. infrastructure & socio-economy nowadays one has to be aware of the infrastructure of a particular destination i.e. how are the roads of that region, are there any sort of link roads, how are the condition of the bridges, do they have flyovers and bypasses in the busy cities etc.. one also has to be updated about the socio-economy of the destination e.g. what is the per capita income, what’s the common occupation of the local people, what’s the regional cum national psyche etc.. polity polity is a crucial factor not only in a particular region or nation but also it is a major issue for the international relationship. if the political environment is sound of a particular destination then it is by default a suitable place to roam as there will be less possibility of civil unrest subject to the polity. social good being can also be expected out of it. thereby the economy might not face any crucial challenge. so, the socio-economy along with polity and the national infrastructure slightly portrays the overall environment of a particular region. culture then comes culture; the people of a particular region. one has to know about the language the people speak, what food & beverages they prefer along with their staple food, their common dress, the common design of their houses and last but not the least the co-curricular activities associated with the mass e.g. music, painting, literature, cinema, dances etc.. there can also be any other unique kind of activities that the people are interested in. history the culture of a particular region evolves from the history. so, the student should have a brief idea about that regional history and also the philosophy that is being portrayed through the ages over there. similarly, heritage should be cultivated simultaneously. a place may not have pyramid but a small village can easily have an ancient shrine that coveys not only the heritage but also a saga, history, school of thought, architecture, sculptor and many more concepts if we want to cultivate. climate climatic conditions of a particular region is very important to know as that’s a prime information that the tourists have to know beforehand in order to pack their luggage for the entire trip subject to the destination i.e. what sort of dresses they have to carry; if it’s hot then light clothes should be taken, if it’s cold then winter-wears and if it’s a place of monsoon or it may rain in the travel dates then the tourists have to keep an umbrella in reserve etc.. sayak ghosh / the academic research community publication pg. 5 natural calamities are inevitable. we can’t fight with nature. but we can at least have the knowledge from the weather forecasts whether there will be landslides, heavy rain, snowfall etc. so that we can at least take some measures beforehand to avoid negativities subject to the planning. but definitely, we can’t get rid of an earthquake or tsunami or a sudden flood etc.! flora and fauna flora refers to plant life and fauna refers to animal life. one should also have an idea of flora and fauna of a particular region as many tourists are also interested in the same. one should know if there is any forest nearby or if there are any unique plants, flowers or even interesting animals in the vicinity or else any presence of any zoological or botanical garden. flora and fauna also denote the eco-tourism or the green tourism of a particular destination. places of interest the most interesting point of all is the entity of places of interest. this is the most important point for which the tourism happens for a particular destination. there are various places of interest like the shrines, gardens, lakes, museums, parks, waterfalls etc.. in a macro traditional perspective, most people classify to choose destination either by sea-side or by hilly / mountain area, valleys, rift valleys, canyons, plateau, deserts, grasslands etc.. a tourist before planning the destination for his or her trips first checks this very entity and then plans accordingly subject to his or her, the family’s or the group’s taste. activities the latest trend in tourism is the activities that a region can provide to its tourists. so a person who is doing the destination study should be aware of all the activities that can be availed in the particular destination. if it’s a seaside then the tourists can avail water-sport activities. if it’s a mountain area then people can go for paragliding, water rafting etc.. the theme park activities are there if the tourists visit a theme park. daily many activities are also getting innovated; the students should be aware of it. shows related to theatre, opera & other musical items, traditional dances are always there subject to the local culture of a place. the institute of destination studies transparently i have tried to explain destination studies through its various modules. again it has to be seen that the concepts portrayed so far is with respect to the entity -education and tourism. so, let’s see whether the concepts can have a formal structure in the institution of tourism. yes, it can have an elaborate structure in the institution. so, let’s define the structure as the institute of destination studies. the institute will conduct courses subject to destination studies with respect to the upcoming trends of tourism. the faculty of the institute needs to have a profound knowledge of the following subjects as portrayed before:  geography  transportation & accommodation  infrastructure & socio-economy  polity  culture  history  climate  flora and fauna  places of interest  activities apart from the above subjects, the students should also be trained in the technical aspects of travel & tourism industry like:  ticketing (air, rail, cruise, bus)  hotel booking  itinerary building – formulating a tour package sayak ghosh / the academic research community publication pg. 6  visa, documentation and other travel related formalities  forex services  international sim cards thus, if such an institute can be built, it will usher a new wave in the tourism world and can really elevate the value of human geography to its optimum extent! education and tourism for a region, the education is very much needed for its inbound tourism as well as a player sitting in that particular region and selling outbound tour packages. this is all about the mainstream and conventional formal education being imparted to the mass. unlike the introduction, let us see where we can map tourism in the realm of education. today it’s the high time to introduce tourism in the mainstream school curriculum throughout the world. as conveyed earlier about the institute of destination studies, the concept can also be tied up with the schools, colleges, universities and other institutes to impart the formal study of tourism. the institute would definitely have its own captive students to whom the faculty would teach or preach with its entire autonomy. so, it will also act as a society to preach tourism by destination studies, make awareness campaigns and mentor both the aesthetic and technical aspects of the travel & tourism world. the most beautiful and crucial factor that this very institute should be ideally doing is to formulate a non-profit approach for the aspect of travel and tourism for the mass i.e. the people who are having the dream to roam the planet can do so without the constraint of their so-called economic incapability. the institute has to make a mandatory drive to do so in order to promote the wellness and happiness factor of the society thereby of the whole world! raja ram mohan roy who is referred as “the father of the indian renaissance” by the nobel laureate (a great poet) rabindranath tagore (literature / 1913 / india) was very much popular in the united kingdom and rest of europe. while in europe he discussed many international sociological points in the first half of the nineteenth century in different forums. among them, he raised an argument that why a civilized person has to procure a passport, get the visa and pass through all the immigration formalities subject to the nations traveling from and visiting. this particular thought was adored by the diplomats, creative thinkers and many other eminent personalities of europe as well. he also emphasized on education and its holy light to ignite the blind faith from any sociological system. till date, we are still following those strict external affair policies subject to multiple nations throughout the world. the contemporary terrorism throughout the globe is also conveying that the flame of education is still not been able to illuminate and show the mass the huge mountain of the vice of blind faith inside the global demography. unlike raja ram mohan roy, netaji subhas chandra bose the great revolutionary for the indian struggle for independence also formed multiple non-profit societies with different european nations while he was in europe in the early 1940s. his insight was to develop deep cultural exchanges and important dialogues between india and europe. but his activities remained unfinished as he was not traceable after a few years or died due to an air-crash; the incident is still a controversy cum mystery! what an irony? here the institute of destination studies can really act as a vital aspect for the institution of tourism; to educate, to make people visit different nations and ideally the entire planet and in turn, the mass by themselves can go for building a system and develop an intense culture that deals with peace, harmony, and prosperity !! once an individual and subsequently a mass travels and gradually gathers knowledge of different regions of the world, slowly acquaints with their culture, exchange dialogues and try to feel the oneness among all, really there will be no negativities left with the entire human race. cultural tourism and employment since the institution – destination studies is a special aspect of travel & tourism and thereby of the human geography, so it is not only a utility factor of the industry but also an integral part of the global culture as well. sayak ghosh / the academic research community publication pg. 7 it has been already portrayed that culture – local as well as global is a module in order to define tourism. it is also certain that today’s industry is not only running on commercial tour packages but also there is a huge demand rather space for niche or special interest tourism. this realm is huge with different offbeat forms. cultural tourism is one of the forms and is an upcoming trend that will very shortly be very popular yet niche. destination studies will mainly cultivate the ground or local culture subject to a particular destination. numerous cultivations of different regional cultures will add a new dimension to the global culture; this is the aesthetic part of the form. once this trend comes into the functionality, it will not only deal with the beauty and aesthetics but it is also going to usher the technical parameters of the trade i.e. right away generate employment. what a beautiful idea! there are some forms that are already existing like music concert, opera, film festival, theatre festival etc.. these are already treated as activities pertaining tourism in a few regions of the world like mozart concert in austria, opera events in sydney opera house in australia etc. that have already become popular as people visiting these regions do conventionally attend the programmes. apart from austria and australia all the other countries of the world have their own form of music both regionally as well as nationally. but they have not been cultivated yet for the persons visiting the region to be catered to. if it is done then the local music professionals can get involved in the matter and earn surplus revenue not only to oneself but adding a source to his or her national income. the same phenomenon also holds true for other art workers as well. similarly, few film festivals as in cannes have gained bit tourist popularity but there are many other film festivals that are not that marketed from a tourism perspective. theatre festivals are still a very niche segment. there are also many other segments like food festivals, cultural fairs, handicraft workshops, workshops related to regional occupation etc.; though they have a bit of local presence they are not that marketed to gain the inbound tourism. so, it is very much transparent that lot of work has to be done to nurture the huge untouched cultural sustainable space. cultivating any specific regional culture not only promotes a specific cultural event but also attracts people to come to the particular region to also speculate the place along with the cultural activity. so, cultural tourism is not only bound to a particular cultural event, programme or activity but also develops a culture to know a place where the event takes place and usher the local employment simultaneously. thus, it integrates all the local cultures of different regions of the world to escalate the quality of the global culture. hence it is so evident that how tourism adds on to a new dimension of culture and thereby generating employment throughout the world just by cultivating one’s own culture. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication kinetic architecture & renewable energy azza gamal haggag1 1modern academy for engineering and technology abstract today, architecture is one of the finest products of the creative human mind that god has given us. its existence is a necessity which makes the aspects of human life and way of thinking balanced between endless desires and needs. this confirms the strong relationship between the architectural product and humans. this relationship is based on providing humans with their needs and it aims to find appropriate solutions to the problems facing them. additions that can be added to the architectural product such as motion help in activating the interaction in this relationship. the movement is added to the architectural output to express a new relationship between the environment and the human who was affected by the existence of motors and its utilitarian, technical, and aesthetic issues. the research focuses on how these effects can be exploited to solve problems like energy consumption that is a main problem in the construction process. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords energy consumption; energy saving; design considerations; kinetic building 1. introduction according to the design considerations necessary for the implementation of any kinetic building efficiently and successfully, considerations can be classified into: architectural considerations technical considerations and considerations of implementation. the main idea of this paper based on trying to prove that if these bases or considerations meet the goal of energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly alternative sources, the principle of saving energy for kinetic buildings will be achieved, and it is no longer limited to the kinetic interfaces that contribute to climate adaptation and energy saving. the following is an account of these considerations and how they can be channeled to energy saving and know which considerations have a prominent role in achieving this goal. 2. kinetic architecture design considerations design considerations are the main factors for getting a successful kinetic building, some of these considerations have a direct impact on energy consumption rate and other have an indirect effect. this consideration including the following, figure1. pg. 75 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.347 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ haggag / the academic research community publication figure 1. kinetic architecture design considerations. 2.1. architectural considerations successful architectural work requires many of the basic architectural considerations to meet the human different needs by achieving functional, aesthetic, psychological and social comfort, which can be expressed as follows: first: functional considerations: including the followings: studying the ability of the building to achieve its purpose in terms of choosing the appropriate motor system for different architectural needs, and the compatibility of the design solution of the kinetic system with the requirements of internal spaces (study the purpose of movement) studying the purpose of movement by tracking and studying many kinetic buildings, the purpose of applying motion can be classified into the followings, table 1: 1providing design flexibility to fit with the natural variables or to make the building multi-use. 2 providing design flexibility in accordance with the functional requirements, such as the movement of doors and windows that perform specific function 3achieving maximum benefits from the surrounding environmental conditions. 4 attracting the attention of the recipient and achieving luxury. this category includes restaurants, revolving exhibitions and residential units. table 1. kinatic building examples for different purpose of movement. 1providing design flexibility to fit with the natural variables or to make the building multi use. swedbank stadium located just north of stockholm, and designed to be a truly multi-purpose facility. the arena seats 50,000 guests for international football matches and other sporting events, and can be configured to hold an additional 15,000 guests for concerts and other shows by controlling the roof design that can protect guests from inclement weather, while still retaining the advantages of an open-air stadium when the weather is favorable (project gallery). see figure 2. sharifi-ha house designed by tehran studio next office, consists of three rooms that can be rotated 90 degrees to open up views and terraces during iran’s hot summers, and turned back to a horizontal position to keep the house warmer during the cold, snowy winters (taghaboni, 2014). see figure 3. 2 providing design flexibility in accordance with the functional requirements. continued on next page pg. 76 haggag / the academic research community publication table 1 continued american airlines by unidock uni-systems has designed the uni-dock as a way to perform needed safety inspections, maintenance and repairs in less time with more accuracy. the uni-dock allows maintenance staff fast, easy access to an entire aircraft for all repair and inspection activities, dramatically shortening the stay of each aircraft and optimizes productivity and air time of each aircraft (en-fold® retractable awning by uni-systems). see figure 4. 3achieving maximum benefits from the surrounding environmental conditions. the dynamic solar shading of kiefer technic showroom the kiefer technic showroom is a hybrid exhibition space and office building in bad gleichenberg, austria that moves according to the general weather conditions. the façade expands and contracts to regulate the amount of sunlight permitted to the interior. this responsive design minimizes the necessity of air conditioning by maintaining a constantly moving shield against external heat (uys, 2016). see figure 5. penumbra providing shading across a building facade for both low evening sun and high afternoon sun conditions. our solution was a series of vertical shading louvers, that can independently pivot to maximize solar protection, and when the sun reaches an altitude in which vertical louvers would be ineffective, completely rotate upwards to act as a horizontal shading element and light shelf (short, 2014). see figure 6. 4 attracting the attention of the recipient and achieving luxury. shanghai theater designed by foster, partners and heatherwick studio, inspired by traditional chinese theatres, the three-story building features a curtain-like facade of bronze tubes. these tubes hang in three layers, moving in a vertical direction creating semi-transparent movable screens in front of windows and balconies (frearson, 2017). see figure 7. figure 2. swedbank stadium pg. 77 haggag / the academic research community publication figure 3. sharifi-ha house figure 4. american airlines by uni-dock pg. 78 haggag / the academic research community publication figure 5. the dynamic solar shading of kiefer technic showroom figure 6. penumbra figure 7. shanghai theater pg. 79 haggag / the academic research community publication studying the relationship between fixed and moving parts and the impact of each other, while maintaining the stability of each part of them separately. studying the horizontal and vertical communication elements like stairs and corridors, their relationship to the movement and directions of escape to achieve safety for users (ishii, 2000). studying services location and facilities taking into account the absence of overlapping service paths and facilities especially in the revolving projects. studying the percentage of used spaces for mechanical and operating systems, including studying the effect of moving elements on the fixed parts. studying the compatibility of architectural design with laws, legislations and regulations, respecting laws and regulations of the surrounding. second: environmental considerations environmental considerations are necessary by: providing thermal and optical comfort to the user of the architectural space, without affecting the environment and the energy conservation rates. using some environmental design strategies like green architecture and sustainable buildings increases the performance of the building in the field of environmental conservation. -providing thermal comfort gained by using natural ventilation and shades, studying ratios of openings, finishing materials , efficiency of joints for moving parts. -achieving acoustic efficiency gained by studying the effect of the internal structure of the moving part on the acoustic efficiency of the space, as well as the effect of materials used and the great effect of motors and joints saving energy, including thermal and optical considerations and the energy type required for the operation of the building and the operation of motors. third: considerations of geometric form determination of the geometric form must be integrated with the purpose of the building and the nature of the movement, whether functional or environmental, which requires the following: determining the basic form of the kinetic building by studying the style and nature of the movement. taking into consideration the structural and mechanical aspects of the structure as a whole, moving parts and joints. the design of kinetic blocks, which sometimes produce the whole structure by moving them all separately at the same time (hoberman associates, 2007). studying the form and behavior of the building in motion, by making real or digital initial models of the movement style. -taking into consideration the achievement of movement safety especially for buildings that move with a transformation of the structural skeleton, and check stability during movement. taking into account the ease of use of the facility by achieving flexibility in responding to various functional and environmental requirements. fourth: aesthetic considerations although elements of kinetic buildings are mechanical component, it requires some aesthetic considerations through: studying the esthetics of the form of movement in the case of stability and in case of movement. studying the compatibility of the final form taking into account the relationship between the movement parts and fixed parts. study the compatibility of the building with the environment. pg. 80 haggag / the academic research community publication 2.2. technical considerations technical considerations are the most important considerations necessary for the implementation of the kinetic buildings for the continuation of its work efficiently, including the following: operation, maintenance and safety environmental loads material selection economic considerations first: operation, maintenance and safety kinetic buildings are exposed to collapse and failure by breaking parts of them over time or affect the efficiency of the movement or response to exogenous stimuli, so specialists must follow some steps to reduce the size of risk and reduce the costs of periodic maintenance and safety for users in the framework of (asefi, 2009): taking into account achieving good detailed design for all operation and maintenance programs. providing the complete specifications of all components of the kinetic system. taking into account the integration of the roles of the architectural and structural designer with the manufacturer and continuity of the relationship between them. preparing the equipment for periodic and surprise maintenance. second: considerations of environmental loads it is one of the most important challenges facing the process of design of kinetic buildings includes the process of assessment and identification of all internal and external environmental loads that can affect the movement of moving components. environmental loads can cause the collapse of the joints before or during the motion, which requires study of the following: -the external environmental loads are divided into expected loads such as wind loads, and unpredictable loads such as earthquakes. therefore, the structure must be designed with a degree of flexibility that resist the horizontal forces of the earthquakes, or sets up special systems such as those that causes closing the building shell when the wind speed rises. -internal loads: such as internal heat transfer to the structural components or resulting from the motion of the building. third: material selection considerations these include structural materials and covering materials, and there are many criteria and considerations that can be classified into environmental, structural and mechanical, aesthetic considerations. and some computer database programs help in comparing between different materials such as cambridge selector cambridge (ashby, 2005). material selection considerations include: environmental considerations: environmental impact is one of the most important considerations for material selection (asefi, 2009), it includes: choosing materials that have little effect on the environment which is also less energy consuming during manufacturing and operation. choosing materials that are most resistant to environmental conditions, like the lighter and more fire-resistant or recycled materials. choosing the easy cleaning materials which are small enough to reduce the possibility of plankton, microbes and dust existing, thus reducing the cost of maintenance and cleaning, such as self-cleaning materials and antiadhesive materials (lehman, 2008). selection of materials which are available at the surrounding environment to reduce costs and adapt to the surroundings. structural and mechanical considerations: the study of the mechanical properties of materials is a basic requirement for the structural design of the kinetic structures, including the study of some factors like the factor of decreasing material efficiency over time, the pg. 81 haggag / the academic research community publication thermal and sound behavior of the materials in terms of insulation, the material lifetime and durability, resistant material to buckling (asefi, 2009). the aesthetic considerations: it means the consideration that concern of the aesthetic properties of materials such as color, patterns, appearance and compatibility with the visual perception of the structure. fourth: economic considerations (cost and value) kinetic buildings are characterized by the high initial cost, making them sometimes be excluded as a design alternative. cost elements include (ashby, 2005): -the cost of the initial design including the various researches and studies of the method of movement and behavior of the building as a whole and the costs of making study models. manufacturing cost including the methods of manufacturing different parts of the kinetic structure and the cost of covering materials. operating and controlling cost including the energy used to move the building, especially large-scale installations that need high-capacity engines. as well as the necessary energy for monitoring, sensing and computer control. the cost of periodic and sudden maintenance. it includes the cost of maintenance materials and all spare parts for the system covering materials. 2.3. implementation considerations these include coordination between the different design teamwork which include the architect, the structural, electro-mechanical engineers, the engine & control systems exper.., etc., who have to fully integrate the work under the previous considerations, in addition to understanding the movement system which can be simplified in the following (fox & kemp, 2009): the kinetic systems components. the kinetic systems generally consist of: structure skeleton, actuators, input systems and controller. the input can be presented by the sensors and the different input methods which give different information about the surrounding environment. the control systems are in the computer that is responsible for making the decision to carry out the movement by receiving the information from the input systems and giving the orders to the animation systems that move the structure. not all previous items are required because: -if the system consists of motors and structural skeleton, it is a simple kinetic building, easy to control. if the system consists of sensors without engines, they will be sensitive building, such as monitoring and safety systems used in fixed buildings. if there are sensors and motors together, this system is responsive/ smart building. if the system simulates neural networks systems, this is a smart intelligent self-learning has many characteristics that facilitate the response to the surrounding environment and achieve the desired needs efficiently (sheriden, 2000). the movement occurring in the parts of the kinetic building requires an engine to generate this movement and a controlling system to achieve its purpose in the best possible way, which is known as the control system. there are many techniques to control this movement ranging from simple manual systems to complex technical and mechanical systems, and the more complex the control systems the more energy consumed in the operation of the building. parts of control systems include: mechanical motors that are extended by a source of energy usually electrical energy or pressure of liquids (hydraulic) or pneumatic pressure and pneumatically turning it pg. 82 haggag / the academic research community publication into motion. sensors that respond to stimuli physical chemical stimuli (such as motion, temperature or chemical concentration) and send signals or impulses, including light sensors, sound sensors, heat sensors, humidity sensors, touch sensitive sensors, positioning sensors, motion sensors, chemical and magnetic sensors, as well as environmental sensors used in studying temperature, air pressure, humidity and others. transducers, a device that converts energy from one image to another, such as converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. detectors, devices consisting of sensors, in addition to other electronic components , used for conversion of signals from the sensors and converted into a understandable and usable formula. actuators, which convert the incoming energy which are in the form of signals to mechanical movement. 3. design considerations analysis the relation between the building and energy is an old and prominent relationship which nowadays constitutes one of the most important scientific studying trends to maintain the correct environmental balance. this is the mathematical equation in which the architect and the work team compare the different design solutions for each of the above mentioned consideration elements with different grades to assess the energy consumption rates that can be classified into: maximum consumption, medium consumption and low. thus all elements can be balanced to reach the energy consumption rates of the building as a whole to make the necessary design decisions. according to the rate of consumption, one of the risk management strategies can be used. these policies provide three solutions according to the risk assessment in terms of probability and impact and these policies are: prevention or avoidance policy, reduction policy and acceptance policy (airmic & irm, 2002; lough, stone & tumer, 2006). 4. conclusions there are some design considerations that mainly affect the energy consumed, the most prominent one is the consideration of studying the purpose of movement and environmental basics of the design and materials used. therefore, the decision to apply kinetic buildings or moving parts or elements must be carefully evaluated since the efforts of different institutions in many countries going into limit and control the rates of energy needed for construction, operation and maintenance. however, some architectural projects may gain international fame in terms of idea and implementation because they are kinetic buildings, and thus attract many visitors and users who are financially capable, despite consuming a lot of energy to attract the attention of passers-by. and it is difficult in these cases to assess the consumption of energy in order to choose the appropriate risk management policy, but choosing the policy of reduction will be the best solution. the functional reasons for applying kinetic buildings placed in a strong confrontation with the analysis of the pg. 83 haggag / the academic research community publication necessity of movement because they provide solutions to many problems of architectural design, so in the case of energy consumption remains, the option of reduction policy will be the ideal alternative rather than prevention. estimate the ratio between the average energy consumption and the rate of saving are difficult to determine precisely in many cases because they influenced by the performance of users of architectural spaces and their understanding of the concepts of environmentally friendly buildings and problems of depletion of energy sources and other topics. the necessity of cooperation of the various parties involved in the design, implementation and formation of kinetic buildings ,so that it will be easy to complete all the necessary data for architectural, technical and operational design considerations. 5. acknowledgments the author would like to acknowledge modern academy for engineering and technology in egypt for the financial and moral support for carrying out various academic researches. 6. references 1. airmic, a., & irm, a. (2002). a risk management standard. airmic, alarm, irm. 2. asefi, m. (2009). design management model for transformable architectural structure, valencia: proceedings of international association for shell and spatial structures (iass). 3. ashby, m. f. (2005). materials selection in mechanical design. mrs bull, 30(12), 995. 4. en-fold® retractable awning by uni-systems. (n.d.). retrieved from https://www.uni-systems.com/ 5. fox, m., & kemp, m. (2009). interactive architecture. new york: princeton architectural press. 6. frearson, a. (2017, june 9). foster and heatherwick complete shanghai theatre with curtain-like facade. retrieved from https://www.dezeen.com/2017/06/09/foster-heatherwick-complete-shanghai-arts-centre-curtain-likefacade-fosun-foundation-theatre-architecture/ 7. hoberman associates. (2007, january). changeable form: transformable architecture. lecture presented at smart geometry winter conference. 8. ishii, k. (2000). structural design of retractable roof structures. computational mechanics. 9. lehman, m. l. (2008). bringing architecture to the next level. sensing architecture. 10. lough, k. g., stone, r. b., & tumer, i. (2006, january). the risk in early design (red) method: likelihood and consequence formulations. in asme 2006 international design engineering technical conferences and computers and information in engineering conference. american society of mechanical engineers. 11. project gallery. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.uni-systems.com/en/projects/featured-projects/swedbank-s tadium 12. sheriden, j. (2000). the engineering of style, naval architecture,current thinking on smart products and materials(doctoral dissertation) [abstract]. retrieved from http://www.designpartners.co.uk/smart.html 13. short, t. (director). (2014). penumbra a kinetic daylighting and shading system [video file]. retrieved from https://vimeo.com/88143073. 14. taghaboni, a. (2014, july 7). harifi-ha house / nextoffice alireza taghaboni. retrieved from https://www. archdaily.com/522344/sharifi-ha-house-nextoffice 15. uys, e. (2016, august 30). the dynamic solar shading of kiefer technic showroom. retrieved from http://w ww.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/dynamic-solar-shading-kiefer-technic-showroom pg. 84 introduction kinetic architecture design considerations architectural considerations technical considerations implementation considerations design considerations analysis conclusions acknowledgments references issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication http://www.ierek.com/press geographical conditions and cultural tradition as determinants in sustaining tourism village program case study tourism villages in yogyakarta vincentia reni vitasurya1,3 , gagoek hardiman2 , suzanna ratih sari2 1doctoral program at universitas diponegoro, 2lecture at universitas diponegoro, , 3lecture at universitas atma jaya yogyakarta keywords ecotourism; geographical condition; cultural tradition; tourism village; sustainable tourism; community participation abstract ecotourism, as a part of sustainable tourism, has been growing rapidly in indonesia in many rural areas in yogyakarta. this is because mass tourism changed the emphasis onto nature and cultural tourism so that rural tourism became interesting to tourists. this paper aims to study the development of rural tourism in yogyakarta in terms of mileage, geographical conditions, period of growth and tourist attractions. descriptive analysis is used to identify the influence factors based on distribution of location, historical factors, and cultural and geographical conditions in tourism villages in yogyakarta. rural tourism in yogyakarta has been growing since the year 2000. the dominant attraction is related to cultural tourism based on community participation. research results show that geographic condition and local cultural tradition, which support the traditional daily income of the local community, became the determinant factors in sustaining the touristic village of yogyakarta. 1. introduction yogyakarta as a tourist destination has a uniqueness that attract tourists both domestic and foreign. along with the development of the tourism industry, tourist interest began to change from a mass tourism destination to a tourist destination with a small group that prioritizes experience. ecotourism and special interest is a "trend" that need to be observed. (fandeli, 2000). an open country that prioritizes sustainable tourism is interesting for today’s trevelers. (itb, 2016). ecotourism is a relatively new tourism trend in indonesia, although internationally since october 1999 the world tourism organization has actually issued “global code of ethics for tourism” as encouragement to the countries of the world to develop sustainable tourism. (unwto, global code of ethics for tourism, 2001) as an extension of alternative tourism, ecotourism has evolved as a consequence of dissatisfaction with conventional forms of tourism in general, ignoring social and ecological elements, which favor anthropocentricity, as well as making a more centralized profit approach to offering tourist products. (fennell, 2008). form of ecotourism-based tourism and cultural activities began to appear in yogyakarta. currently, there are 81 tourism villages in yogyakarta province have been developed. (disparbud-sleman, 2012 ); (disparbud-bantul, 2013 ); (disparbud-gunungkidul., 2014); (disparbud-kulonprogo, 2014). village tourism program launched by the indonesian government through the tourism department in 2005 which was followed up by government regulations through the implementation of national program for community empowerment (called “pnpm mandiri) in 2008, has significantly increased the number of tourism villages in indonesia. (hadiwijoyo, 2012). the development of agrarian-based village into a tourism village is an interesting phenomenon that needs to be studied continuously. theoretically this "trend" is a positive phenomenon as a feature of sustainable environment. this paper aims to examine the potential tourist attractions of tourism villages sustainability in doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.240 vincentia reni vitasurya / the academic research community publication pg. 2 yogyakarta. this identification is beneficial for future development established by the government to determine the direction of regional-based development policies. 2. method research conducted to get the study of the distribution of this tourist village use explorative paradigm by using relationship analysis between the factors supporting the sustainability of the tourist village with existing condition in yogyakarta province. generally, this research attempts to clarify the relationship pattern between 2 or more variables with reality condition. (groat & wang, 2013). the analysis process is done by using secondary data archive analysis to know what, who and how many. (yin, 2003). this method is chosen because it focuses on the contextual context of the present. the supporting factors of the sustainability of the tourist village are taken based on the requirements of the tourism village, i.e : accessibility, attractions, community, security, accommodation, climate and networking. (diparta-diy, 2014 ); (priasukmana & mulyadin, 2001). measurement of distribution to take aspect of time of establishment of tourist village which is associated with the declaration of village tourism programs by the government, so this study can examine what influences the sustainability of tourist villages in 4 districts based on the time of its establishment. schematically, the flow of discussion of this paper can be seen through the chart in figure 1 below. figure 1. research schematic (author, 2017) 3. overview of tourism village in yogyakarta village tourism program in yogyakarta emerged as a response to the establishment of the community based tourism program proclaimed by the indonesian government, but the concept of rural tourism has begun to be developed since 1998 by sri sultan hamengku buwono x as the governor of yogyakarta who also domiciled as the king of the sultan's palace. yogyakarta as a special region has unique characteristics that distinguish with other provinces in indonesia. the customary position of the king can affect daily life of local community in yogyakarta. king as the traditional leader as well as the governor as the administrative leader of the government cause relationship the leaders and people of yogyakarta become intimately. given the long history of the yogyakarta palace which was founded in 1755, the existence of kraton yogyakarta can not be separated from buffer zone in the form of rural area which holds many roles such as agricultural production centers and crops, security of the region to the spread of religion. (abimanyu, 2015). the village became the backbone of the yogyakarta's agrarian tradition. kraton yogyakarta attention to rural development cause rural tourism become an alternative income society as well as a means of preserving the natural environment of rural areas, both physically and non-physically in the form of daily tradition. the condition behind the emergence of the concept of rural tourism in yogyakarta cause priority of the development of tourism villages in yogyakarta more directed to the tradition-based tourist village, both daily and cultural artifacts. ecotourism rests on rural tourism, nature tourism and cultural tourism. (nugroho, 2011). theoretically this "trend" is a positive phenomenon if seen as a feature of a sustainable environment. villages are being treated to remain a beautiful village to reduce the villagers' willingness to sell land that gradually becomes new settlement land and reduce fertile land. one of the efforts that can be done to protect rice fields in the suburbs is by developing creative industries, namely sustainable tourism. in line with this, world tourism organization defines sustainable tourism development as a development that meets the needs of today's travelers, while protecting and encouraging opportunities for the foreseeable future. (unwto, global code of ethics for tourism, 2001) vincentia reni vitasurya / the academic research community publication pg. 3 rural sustainable tourism means developing rural areas into tourism villages based on the sustainability of the natural environment, which rely on agrarian lifestyles, and authenticity of nature as one of the tourist attractions, but has a greater economic value than before. based on data of tourism villages in yogyakarta, distribution of tourism villages are more dominant in sleman and bantul districts as agricultural production centers as shown in the map in figure 2 below. figure 2. map of tourism villages distribution in yogyakarta (author, 2017) based on the tourism potentials found in the province of yogyakarta, a growing tourism village relies on attractions of local cultural traditions, uniqueness of the landscape, a blend of the uniqueness of the landscape with cultural traditions and creative craft industry attractions. (diparta-diy, 2014 ). in line with what has been determined in the study of the development of tourism village in yogyakarta province, development of rural tourism emphasized on exploiting village with all community entities, nature, and culture that exists in it as the power of tourist attraction. the typology of a tourism village defined as follows: tourism village based on the uniqueness of local cultural resources (customs, traditions of community life and cultural artifacts) as main tourist attraction. this tourism village has a rural region with a unique variety of elements of traditional customs and peculiarities inherent community daily life as a cultural form of rural society, both related to livelihood activities, religion and other forms of activity. tourism village based on the uniqueness of natural resources as the main attraction (mountains, plantations and agriculture, coastal areas). this tourism village has a rural area with unique locations in the mountains, valleys, beaches, rivers, lakes and various other unique landscape forms, so that the village has the attraction of the beauty of the view and landscape to attract tourist visits. the tourism village is based on the uniqueness of cultural and natural resources as the main attraction. this tourism village that has a rural area with a fascination that is a blend of the uniqueness of cultural traditions (customs, tradition and pattern of community life) and natural tourism resources (the beauty of landscape). tourism village based on the uniqueness of creative economic activities (traditional craft industry). this tourism village has a rural area with a fascination as a tourist destination through the uniqueness of creative economic activities that grow and develop from local community industry activities, as well as a distinctive artistic activity. these four typologies are the basis of identification of tourist attractions for the development of tourism villages in yogyakarta. 4. development of a tourism village in yogyakarta vincentia reni vitasurya / the academic research community publication pg. 4 the development of tourism village in yogyakarta can’t be separated from rural development in general. rural development is an effort to improve and equalize the economy, especially in rural areas. rural areas are transformed as a result of village development. the transformation can’t be directed to the evolution of agricultural villages into industrial villages and then into trade villages, but every type of village development can build together. (agusta, 2014). connected with the development of the tourism sector, in particular the transformation can lead to cultural transition such as the transition of society and agrarian culture to industrial culture (tourism) and transition of a closed society into an open society with a global culture. (setyadi, 2007). two forms of transition are more dominant in the villages that become tourist destinations. the development of traditional and cultural-based tourist villages is an effort to prevent the change of local values in rural communities in yogyakarta. in line with that opinion, locations that are supported by physical potential with local culture can be a driver and controller of the development of tourist villages. (pudianti, 2012). tourism development attraction i.e. cultural tradition attraction, nature, a blend of cultural and natural traditions and local crafts in line with period of the establishment of tourist village. they can be supporting factor for the development of tourism villages which can identify the sustainability of tourist villages in yogyakarta. identification of the distribution of the number of tourism villages in yogyakarta according to tourist attractions in each district can be described by the graph in figure 3 below. figure 3. graph of distribution number of tourist villages based on the potential tourist attraction in 4 districts of diy province (author, 2017) based on the data it can be seen that the year of declaration of the village tourism program as part of the central government program of the republic of indonesia in 2005 increased the number of tourist villages sharply (see table 1). based on these data, bantul and sleman become the districts with the most tourism villages. the tourist attraction is dominated by traditional and natural attractions for sleman district. while the attractions of handicrafts and the combination of nature and tradition dominate the tourism village in bantul district (see figure 3 on bantul and sleman graph). the growing attractions in sleman district are in line with local livelihood conditions which is in the agricultural sector. the geographical condition of sleman district located on the slopes of merapi volcano makes its area fertile for agriculture since the era of mataram kingdom. (bps-kab.sleman, 2016). the dominance of livelihoods makes agricultural traditions a distinctive cultural feature developed for tourist villages. bantul district, located in the southern part of yogyakarta province, is dominated by livelihood community from trading and handicraft industry. (bps-kab.bantul, 2016). character of coastal communities in accordance with the landscape approaching the southern coastal region resulted in craft and trade can grow well. the role of geographical physical condition and cultural tradition as an attraction that dominates the development of tourist village can be seen through the identification table of the growth of tourist villages based on the year of establishment and tourist attraction in yogyakarta in table 1 below. table 1.identification of tourism village growth in yogyakarta base on year of establishment year of establishment tradition nature nature and tradition local handicraft summary before 2005 3 8 1 2 14 after 2005 16 26 12 13 67 summary 19 34 13 15 81 source : author, 2017 the identification of dominant tourist attractions shows that the tourist attractions that drive the tourism village are the geographical physical conditions that are visible through the natural attractions (see table 1 column 3). geographical physical condition in the form of natural tourism attractions consistently become the trigger of the vincentia reni vitasurya / the academic research community publication pg. 5 development of tourism villages. both before the era of declaration of programs in 2005 and after the era of declaration program after 2005. while the cultural tradition as a tourist attraction to be a second driver (see table 1 column 2). further seen in column 4, the physical geographic mix in the form of natural attractions and cultural attractions can be a potential for tourism village development. so it can be concluded that the two things are decisive in the development of programs that can affect the sustainability of tourism villages in yogyakarta until today. 5. geographical physical condition and cultural tradition in sustaining tourism village program geographical physical condition and cultural tradition is a tourist attraction that becomes attraction for tourists to visit. the uniqueness of the geographical physical condition and cultural traditions of a village become important in the development of tourism villages, especially in the province of yogyakarta. sustainability of tourist villages, both as a concept of community empowerment to develop the village as well as the response of rural tourism program, can be identified by looking at the potential of tourist attraction. 5.1. development of tourism village in yogyakarta before the declaration of village tourism program in the era before the declaration of village tourism program, tourism villages grow by rely on natural attraction as happened in ketingan tourism village in sleman district and nglinggo tourism village in kulonprogo district. both of these tourism villages rely on natural attractions such as bird watching in ketingan and tea plantations in nglinggo. ketingan tourist village was inaugurated in 2000. bird watching becomes a tourist attraction because of its location is one of the stopover location of the heron bird, especially in the rainy season to breed. geographical conditions of beautiful ketingan village, with farms and shady trees are suitable for breeding habitat. the uniqueness of this nature becomes the attraction for tourists, especially bird lovers to observe the natural habitats of birds that blend with rural atmosphere. (see figure 4a). while nglinggo tourism village which was inaugurated in 2004 rely on tourist attractions in the form of tea plantations managed by pt pagilaran. its geographical location at an altitude of 900 1000 m asl make this location suitable for tea plantations. (see figure 5b). its history as one of former place used by prince diponegoro in the fight against dutch colonial is value-added to the tourist attraction of this village. a. b. figure 4(a) tourist attraction in ketingan (kurniawan, 2012) figure 5(b) tourist attraction in nglinggo (bernadi, 2015) beside tourist attractions that rely on geographical physical condition, tourism villages in yogyakarta also rely on tradition and culture as a tourist attraction. the existence of cultural tradition became the forerunner of the concept of rural tourism-based village development initiated by sri sultan hamengku buwono x in 1999 at the east asian tourism forum (eatof) program in brayut village. (utomo, 2017). the concept of rural tourism is emerging because the village as a buffer zone of the city needs an alternative way to improve its development. authenticity agrarian-based cultural traditions by rely on the physical conditions of geographic become an attraction offered to tourists. villages that have a homogeneous character cause the influence of modernization does not affect the daily lives of citizens. brayut tourism village and tembi tourism village emerged as model of cultural-based tourist village. brayut tourism village in sleman district was inaugurated in 1999, has the attractiveness of a variety of traditional javanese dwelling architecture that shows the high level of socio-economic level of this villagers in the past. traditional javanese house located in brayut still occupied by the owner and his descendants to this day, so the condition is well maintained (see figure 6c). entering the tourist village brayut, like entering the laboratory architecture of a traditional living house. this uniqueness becomes an attraction for tourists. meanwhile, tembi tourism village in bantul regency was inaugurated in 1997, rely on the tourist attraction of java rural atmosphere. the beautiful atmosphere supported by the tradition of mendong crafts (made of pandanus plants) combined with the agriculture cause tembi became one of the destinations of foreign tourists who come to yogyakarta. (see figure 7d). vincentia reni vitasurya / the academic research community publication pg. 6 c. d. figure 6(c) tourist attraction in brayut (author, 2017) figure 7(d) tourist attraction in tembi (author, 2017) 5.2. development of a tourism village in yogyakarta after the declaration of a village tourism program distance not being considered as long as the tourist landscape is unique in attracting tourists as in the example of pentingsari village in sleman established in 2007 (see figure 8a). this village relies on the authenticity of mountain village atmosphere although located approximately 25 km from downtown yogyakarta. similarly, some special interest tourism villages such as nglanggeran tourism village in gunungkidul which was inaugurated in 2006. this village relies on tourist attraction of ancient volcanoes (see figure 10c), is 26 km from downtown yogyakarta. as well as kalibiru tourism village in kulonprogo which was established in 2008. this village relies on the attraction of protected forests and views of the reservoir sermo. (see figure 9b) within 35 km from yogyakarta city center. a. b. figure 8(a) rural atmosphere in pentingsari (author, 2017) figure 9(b) landscape in kalibiru (author, 2017) c. figure 10(c) landscape in nglanggeran (projsct02, 2013) village tours that rely on special interest tourism in the form of landscape objects are able to attract tourists in large numbers but if not managed well in the long term, it can experience depreciation both the physical environment and the interests of tourists. sustainable management is important for tourism village managers. innovation and creativity are supporting factors for the sustainability of tourist villages based on geographical physical condition. responses can be creating a variety of attractions that involve tourists actively such as the development of outbound activities and educational tours. the example of the village pentingsari, natural atmosphere combined with village tourism activities by involving tourists to plow the fields, fishing, and stringing janur (decoration made from young coconut leaf) as a decoration for traditional ceremonies. (see figure 11a and 12b). vincentia reni vitasurya / the academic research community publication pg. 7 a. b. figure 11(a) fishing attraction in pentingsari (author, 2017) figure 12(b) “menjanur” attraction in pentingsari (author, 2017) while in the tourist village of kalibiru and nglinggo, the manager developed a tour package spot panoramic photo and educational tour of tea plantation. (see figure 13c and 14d). c. b. figure 13c. photospot in kalibiru (author, 2016) figure 14d. teawalk in nglinggo (bernadi, 2015) villagers's daily cultural traditions including crafts and cultural artifacts become an interesting tourist attraction, considering yogyakarta is known as a cultural city. tradition is more potential to invite tourists back to visit because of the emotional involvement with the local community in the tourist village. a. b. figure 15(a) traditional house in brayut (author, 2017) figure 16b. mendong handicraft in tembi (author, 2017) for example in bantul district, developing tourist villages rely on traditional handicrafts such as woven mendong (from pandan leaf) in tembi tourist village (see figure16b), traditional cuisine in lopati tourism village (see figure 17c), and pottery handicrafts in kasongan tourism village (see figure 18d). tourists can interact with villagers in the craft industry. traditional craftsmanship using local raw materials is an attraction for tourists. cultural artifacts as a product of the traditional built environment in the tourism village is also an attraction for tourists such as a rural environment with traditional house architecture in the tourist village of brayut district of sleman. (see figure15a). c. d. figure 17c. bamboo basket in lopati (ipank, 2012) figure 18d. pottery handicraft in kasongan (farhan, 2012) vincentia reni vitasurya / the academic research community publication pg. 8 the trend of the development of tourist interest is behind the development of village tourism program so that leads to nature tourism that blends with cultural traditions. in table 1, can be seen that typology of rural tourism that relies on the combination of nature and tradition become more developed after declaration of the program. in other words, geographical physical conditions, cultural traditions and the combination of the two became the determinant of the sustainability of the tourist village in yogyakarta. to maintain the sustainability, tourism villages need human resources as a driving attraction. good management by rural communities can result in sustained improvements in the economy. 6. community participation as a driver in the development of tourism village the development of tourist villages to improve the welfare of rural communities needs to be accompanied by efforts to empower the village community mainly related to the knowledge of sustainable tourism. communitybased sustainable cultural tourism involves tangible utilization and intangible cultural resources to support the cultural, social and economic vitality of local communities, creating understanding among stakeholders, making it easier to provide authentic and interesting experiences for visitors. (unwto, tourism and culture partnership in peru – models for collaboration, 2016). the empowerment process undertaken by the community is expected to be the responsibility of the community themself. local community can have the ability to make decisions and carry out all decisions individually or in groups, in utilizing local resources to improve their welfare. (sutawa, 2012). the key to the development of tourist villages is the participation of villagers in the village. community participation in rural areas of yogyakarta is quite good considering the tradition of “gotong royong” a mutual cooperation that is still attached to the daily lives of citizens. javanese culture of mutual respect and “tepa selira” (understanding each other) resulted in reliable community participation. on the other hand the typical character of the village community such as the desire to move forward, competing and achieving success can be a motivation for the community to develop their village as happened in pentingsari tourism village district of sleman. despite being located in an isolated access area, but the strong desire of pentingsari villagers can prove to be the best tourism village. (vitasurya, 2016). 7. conclusions the sustainability of the tourist village in yogyakarta is dominated by the factors that become the determinants : geographical physical condition, the beauty and authenticity of the preserved landscape becomes an attraction if it has a unique uniqueness like pentingsari, kalibiru, nglanggeran but need to be added with the uniqueness that touches the emotions of visitors to return. in the era after the declaration of village tourism program, geographical physical condition with the natural tourist attraction develops when there is activity to attract visitors. tradition of local culture, the uniqueness of tradition in the daily life of the community is an attraction for tourists. the uniqueness that touches the emotions will bring longing to return. geographical and local physical conditions become dominant in the sustainability of tourist villages in yogyakarta. but it can move with the support of community participation. based on the above analysis can be concluded that the two factors are mutually influence to maintain the sustainability of tourist villages in yogyakarta. acknowledgements appreciation are given to the managers of brayut, tembi, pentingsari, kalibiru and lopati tourism villages for the information used in this paper. apreciation also for the research team from enterpreneurship research center (puswira) universitas atma jaya yogyakarta and laboratory of build environment (pplk lab) architecture department of universitas atma jaya yogyakarta for the opportunity given to engage in some research on tourism villages. references 1. abimanyu, s. 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(2003). case study research : design and method (3 ed.). california: sage publication. http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the spatial identity of historic cairo. part one: typology, geometry, and geographic distribution doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.131 sadek a. s. saad 1 1 prof. of architectural and urban design, dept. of architectural engineering, college of engineering, shoubra, benha university keywords city identity, place identity, urban form, urban spaces, historic cairo abstract it is fundamental to maintain the local places’ identity, chartacter and trajectory of evolution in order to create a sustainable process of urbanization. this study introduces a quantitative inventory of urban spaces in cairo, in the early 19th century, extracted from historic maps and indexes. urban spaces are classified in terms of geometric typology (linear and central), geometric regularity of their footprints, sizes and geographical distribution. the extracted information highlighted the quantitative domination of linear spaces and of irregularity in space footprint. it also showed a noticeable insignificant value of central spaces. however, the insignificant value of central spaces presented spatial identity of power demonstration in historic cairo; irregularity and linearity presented sociocultural and economic identities. 1. introduction oktay (2001) emphasized the importance of creating a sustainable urbanization process, and one way to achieve this is through maintaining the unique identity, character, and evolution of local places. identity is an important issue ‘because it involves the self-identity has consequences for cognition, affect, and behaviour’ (devine-wright & clayton, 2010, p. 267). place identity could exist at different scales, like in a home, a city, or a country. moreover, it could include other categories, like outdoor spaces (bonaiuto & alves 2012). place identity could also be seen as a component of personal and social identity. thus, through interaction with places, people describe themselves in terms of the belonging to a specific place (hernandez et al. 2007). empirical studies showed a ‘significant and positive correlation between place identity and neighborhood satisfaction. …[such] correlation was also found between place identity and perception of the quality of one's own neighborhood’ (bernardo & palma-oliveira 2016, p. 247). it is proven that ‘autobiographical memory in relation to place, … facilitates attachment, or perceptions of an environment as a “place of mine”, rather than simply a place recognized through general knowledge’ (ratcliffe & korpela 2016, p. 120). 2. urban spaces and geometry: moughtin & mertens (2006) considered urban spaces and buildings to be the cardinal elements creating the city identity. while ‘urban open space is a term used to define regions of “vacant lots,” “natural landscapes” and “public green spaces” in cities’ (kim 2011, p. 2), urban spaces require physical elements to be defined (krier 2005) and aesthetic values to be recognized (sitte 1909). space is a three-dimensional element that should be described in terms of width, length, and height. in spite of the argument that space is ‘not just the “physical structure”’ (fuchs 2011, p. 25), the fact that physical structure is its primary generating parameter remains valid, for the quality of sadek a. s. saad / the academic research community publication pg. 2 the space-vertical-surrounding elements and its footprint are the ‘defining physical structure’ of creating an urban space (städtebauliches institut, 1972). meanwhile, the mere physical existence of a central space, for example, does not guarantee its use as a public square. since there is no guarantee ‘that the microclimatic conditions would be favourableso, the people would be comfortable interacting with it’ (giddings et al. 2011, p. 205) and no guarantee it will be considered as an effective urban space in terms of sociocultural activities and aesthetics conditions. sitte (1909). considered the minimum dimension of a ‘platz’ to roughly be equal to the height of its vertical defining elements, and while he presented the largest public place in ancient cities to measure: 58x143m, moughtin & mertens (2006, p. 101) considered the upper limit of a public place dimension to be 135m. furthermore, the list of city squares (around the world) by size published by wikipedia (n.d.), presented the tallinn city square, estonia to be the smallest and measuring: 75x75m. urban spaces are classified according to different perspectives, such as accessibility (nardo 2009, p. 24), form and function (lynch 1972), geometry (saad 1994), contextual location (alhusban 2012) and typology (krier 2005). whereas kirjakka (2010) remarked that open places could be categorized according to their function, zuker (1959) considered function-based categorization as a seldom relevant in morphological research because it does not automatically produce a spatial form. sitte’s (1909) classification of urban spaces is categorized into two types, street, and square, greatly inspired krier (2005), moughtin & mertens (2006). while nardo (2009) and alhusban (2012), for example, neglected street space in their classifications, soto (2012, p. 10) considered street space to embody ‘movement, access, and public life, for liveable streets enhance the quality of life’. meanwhile, krier (2005) suggested that the primary difference between each type of urban space is basically geometric and the common distinctive factor in zuker (1959) classification could also be regarded as a geometric one too. whyte (1980) empirically proved that geometry is a major element in determining space quality, and key (2012, p. 8) argued that space physical delimitations, footprint, and type: ‘linear or central -all these factors tell us what kind of activities these spaces afford’. according the premise that ‘specific forms of built environment afford specific forms of sensory experience’ (degen & rose 2012, p. 3283), faye & le fur (2012, pp. 3086–3090) discussed a set of variables generating the symbolic dimensions of a square space, which include its size and form. such arguments imply that activity can be a final product of space geometry. as for the european urbanization, ‘squares are the most representative of the values of the societies that created them’ (giddings et al. 2011, p. 203), saad (2000b) proved that local non-physical determinants in historic cairo, have driven the friday mosque’s inner courtyard to play a role similar to that of european public square by offering opportunities for sociocultural activities to take place. the notion that the square shape is inherently static and non-directional (wagner 1981; ching 2007) can be seen as a motivation for considering public squares more suitable for static activities and streets more suitable for dynamic ones (mcculskey 1992; frederick 2007). meanwhile, el-husseiny’s observational study on historic cairo streets proved that they accommodate both dynamic and static activities. although the mosques’ courts ‘are not the only static spaces in the urban fabric, they would be categorized as the top of spacious stasis in the organism. because of their uniform squaring shape, wall stones, and tight enclosure. silence, birds’ voices and planting may lead stasis to perfection’ (el-husseiny & el-husseiny 2012, p. 689). different terms are interchangeably used to describe streets and squares according to aesthetic treatments and cultural values. accordingly, to avoid any confusion in using different descriptions and simultaneously generalize the terms used, this study adopts a geometric approach. the length-to-width proportion of a ‘street’ should exceed 3:1 (saad 1994), and because of the geometric proportions of its footprint, ‘street’ will be considered as a ‘linear urban space’ (hereinafter, ls). on the other hand, footprints of urban spaces varying between 1:1 and 1:2 (städtebauliches institut, 1972) will be classified as ‘central urban spaces’ (i.e. the public square will be considered geometrically as ‘central spaces’ (hereinafter, cs)). 3. inventory method and process: ding & ziyu (2010) suggested moving the researchers’ knowledge toward the operational level by quantitatively analysing urban forms. moreover, krier (2005) geometric classification was criticized by murthy (2010, p. 5) as being ‘oriented towards an experiential account rather than a descriptive one’. hence this study produces a descriptive and quantitative inventory of urban spaces in terms of space typology, geometric quality, size and geographical distribution, such inventory should help in identifying some aspects of the spatial identity of historic cairo. the author argues that urban spaces in contemporary cairo have lost their genuin local identity. koch & latham (2013, p. 13) discussed the notion presented by zukin (2010), considering historic spaces to be ‘wild’ compared with the ‘tamed’ contemporary spaces. they concluded that this may be due to the ‘natural order [created by the] collective negotiation of multiple claims’. fuchs (2011, p. 25) questions how ‘people construct their urban environment, both cognitively and physically’, which can be answered by studying historic unplanned cities, since they should contain more ‘wild’ than ‘tamed’ spaces. in order to study ‘wild’ spaces rather than ‘tamed’, this study targeted the historic urban fabric. cairo before the beginning of the 19th century is considered to be an informal sadek a. s. saad / the academic research community publication pg. 3 (unplanned) city (raymond 2001). the time frame for this research was chosen primarily because of the availability of cartographic materialaround the beginning of the 19th century cairo (henceforth: historic cairo). historic cairo could be considered in terms of two urban spheres: public and private. the first of which, containing roads network (in the total length of 36,620 m), is divided into the following: the city centre major arterial road (el-aazam street), three other major arterial roads (1, 2 and 3) and the network of minor arterial roads (see fig. 1). cairo city centre occupied the central major arterial road; however, the sub-centres created several major and minor arterial roads (raymond 2002). the private sphere, on the other hand, represented the residential areas of the city, which took the form of closed introverted urban entities (saad & eysa 2004). the roads within the residential areas produced a network comprising 128,170 m. it should be noted that, in this study, the distinction between public and private emphasizes territorialities, rather than ownership. this study adopted the following steps during the inventory process: 1. every urban space on the cairo map, 1:5000 (known and henceforth: the ‘napoleon map’) (egyptian authority for surveying 1910), was isolated and identified in terms of its typology: linear or central (see fig. 2 presents examples for linear and central spaces in historic cairo). 2. isolated urban spaces were categorized according to the research objectives and their geographical distribution within the city public and private spheres. 3. urban spaces in each group and subgroup were counted to create a quantitative inventory. 4. results and discussion: the inventory of the napoleon map (egyptian authority for surveying 1910) produced a total of 3922 urban spaces. in term of space typology, 3377 are labled as linear, and 545 are labled as central spaces. lss accounted for 86% of the total urban spaces in historic cairo; the percentage increased to 91% within the private sphere and dropped to 74% within the public sphere. where 28% (out of 545) css exist in the public sphere, 72% exist in the private sphere. such results should be seen in the light of the total length of each sphere road network (36,620 m and 128,170 respectively). in terms of the spatial quality, 92% of all urban spaces demonstrated geometric irregularity of footprints on the global (macro) level. where 94% of lss and 91% of css presented irregularity, on the global level, this percentage drooped to 81% and 88% within the public sphere and incresed to 96% and 93% for lss and css respectively within the private sphere. concerning sizes and distribution, the biggest open area in historic cairo is located in the city citadel area, an open area coded in this study as 7/1/1, measuring approximately 81,200 m2 (see fig. 3). this area is the most regular urban open area in historic cairo, and its regularity degree and size successfully competes against friday mosques’ inner courtyards. although this inventory proved the quantitative domination of geometric irregularity among urban spaces in historic cairo, open area 7/1/1 is in total contrast with such phenomenon. furthermore, open area 7/1/1 presents a very low degree of enclosur which hinders it from being physically considered as an urban space. css in historic cairo were classified into four main size groups: very small (≤39 m2), small (40 300 m2), medium (400 2000 m2) and big-size (≥4000 m2) spaces. the investigation of the napoleon map provided the following findings: 77.5% out of 545 were found to be very small, 19.5% small, 11 medium spaces, and five big css. both medium and big spaces presented 3% only of all css in historic cairo (see fig. 4 for an example of a relative scale comparison). the smallest cs in historic cairo measured approximately 15m2, cs 9/1/1 represents the biggest footprint of a real cs in term of its physical structure, measuring around 22,400 m2 and located between the biggest two monuments in cairo: the sultan hassan mosque and cairo citadel (see fig. 3). spatial cluster 8/1/1 presented four big css with areas varying between 4,400 m2 and 7,475m2 (the biggest space dimension of approximately 115x65m), and three medium css measuring between 500m2 and 1,125m2.] furthermore, the investigation revealed a cs-size-function-geographic relationship: 94.5% of very small css existed within the city private sphere (in a scattered form), and 86.5% of small css were distributed within the public sphere, especially major commercial roads (in linear form). the city major arterial roads occupted the first rank in the density level (density in this context reflects the number of css divided by the road length) of small css in linear distribution and city-citadel-area, six out of eleven medium css and all big css (in a centralized form). the citadel area presented the biggest urban open area (7/1/1), the biggest cs (9/1/1) and the biggest spatial cluster (8/1/1)). from all central spaces found in historic cairo only 16 css (3%) presenting potential identity of public squares pertaining the size, geometry, and geographic distribution. such potentiality must be further investigated since their mere physical existence does not guarantee their use (francis et al. 2012, p. 402). small and very small css on the other hand, is not appropriate in terms of size to function as public squares (since their dimension is too sadek a. s. saad / the academic research community publication pg. 4 small to afford sociocultural activities). meanwhile, the spatial identity of historic cairo could be discussed (in the light of this study objectives) in two major aspects: spatial unity/diversity and visual clarity/orientation. unity and diversity of urban spaces in historic cairo: this study results reinforced the argument that historic cairo followed a ‘darwinist’ rule of evolution to create such typological and spatial identity, through which certain types of urban spaces prevailed, and others became recessive. generally, diversity might reflect one of two possible meanings; it either reflects urban disorder or it reflects intention. if randomness is the case, the quantitative inventory must imply randomness. in fact, it implies domination of certain spatial characters and recession of others. while dominant spatial elements create visual unity, recessive elements create the visual diversity. such diversity is presented in its strongest form in the citadel area. hakim (2001) argued that there are two types of rules-operating simultaneously-contributing ‘to the phenomenon of the diversity of settlements within specific sub-regions of the islamic world. yet, it is unified by the general concepts and attitudes that all regions shared’.for a deeper understanding of the impact of such diversity in urban spaces on the spatial identity of historic cairo, the issues of visual clarity and orientation should be addressed. visual clarity and orientation in historic cairo: geometric irregularity was (and still is) a ground for many misconception and historic cairo is no exception. cruceru (2011, p. 96) argued that the spatial configuration is regarded as ‘providing clarity of the spatial layout, orientation, and accessibility’; thus, simple shapes of space footprint and geometric regularity create a clear visual orientation which promotes accessibility since it can decrease ‘negative feelings of stress and anxiety’ (alhusban 2012, p. 39). though providing visual clarity or confusion in the urban orientation are two symbolic meanings, we should consider emphasizing on clarity not only as culturally understandable but also as insufficient for the design parameter. the public sphere in historic cairo demonstrated a clearer visual orientation due to the domination of ls, higher degree of geometric regularity and higher density of css. furthermore, the city centre major arterial road, as the city civic centre, presented the highest degree of geometric regularity and the highest density in css. thus in the public sphere, the city presented a clearest degree of visual orientation to promote accessibility. on the other hand, historic cairo’s private sphere, in which social life is highly valued, strangers are not welcomed by the domination of irregular lss. the highest degree of geometric irregularity and the low density in css resulted in creating a visual confusion and disorientation to complicate its accessibility. such visual confusion led to an intended increase in stress or anxiety among strangers accessing the residential private sphere. but does such diversity in visual clarity, orientation and spatial quality between both cairo public and private spheres contributed to placing identities by strengthening the social, cultural and/or the political symbolic quality of spaces in historic cairo? environmental and place identities in historic cairo: the city is a powerful source of expressive symbols and signs, ‘people know their location in space and differentiate themselves from others through a… reading of the elements that make up places’ (nojima 2000, p. 2/59). different scales of governance networks create a diversity of identities such as ‘environmental identity’ and ‘place identity’ (pflieger & rozenblat, 2010, p. 2725). however, since the two types of rule systems presented by hakim (2001, p. 89) are ‘proscriptive, [they have] the liberty to generate solutions to specific local problems in response to the site and the conditions around it’. the clear diversity in space typology and spatial quality -between the public and private spherescontribute to creating different identities for each sphere. on the global level, a certain degree of visual unity is established through the general impression of geometric irregularity and the domination of lss over css and the intention for adapting small and very small css for creating an urban intimacy. the citadel area presents a clear spatial contrast to its public sphere context with its vast open space, the concentration of medium and big css and their spatial quality. on the global level, three different spatial identities could be crystalized. the first local identity is presented within the public sphere. the public sphere demonstrates a tendency for creating more regular spaces and introducing small css along its major arterial roads. the citadel area presents the second spatial local identity by adapting the most regular spaces, the biggest regular open area in the city and the concentration of most of the medium and all big css in the city. such spatial form created a very strong visual celebrative and/or monumental identity. al-maqrizi (1441) and raymond (2002) gave historical evidence that the citadel area (during the mamluk (1250–1517) and ottoman (1517–1798) eras) exhibited a residential area for the ruling military-political elites and their related urban services. thus, this area was strongly influenced by the political and military powers resulting in creating regular and monumental spaces (kostof 1991, p. 230). such concentration of css could be comprehended within the military-elites power demonstration of ‘governing network level’ (pflieger & rozenblat, 2010, p. 2725). the highest degree of geometric irregularity, the quantitative domination of lss, and the existence of very small central spaces presented the third local identity for historic cairo private sphere. the high degree of sadek a. s. saad / the academic research community publication pg. 5 visual disorientation in the private sphere, which is produced from its spatial characters, may be regarded as an added value to its place identity, associated with the concept of affordance inviting or demanding self-identification with the place. where ‘individuals who strongly identify themselves with a particular place may take action on behalf of that place, either to try to remedy problems that already exist there or to prevent forms of negatively interpreted change from occurring’ (devine-wright & clayton, 2010, p. 269). thus, due to the high social control practised by its residents, it is unsurprising that residential areas in historic cairo enjoyed a high degree of safety and security (raymond 2002). conclusion: mills (2012, p. 379) considered the examination of space to be ‘broader than an effort to map the physical landscape’. this inventory has presented neither random nor homogeneous distributions for its findings. while a random distribution for space typology and/or quality might indicate randomness in their creation, homogenous distribution can reflect the non-existence of any favourite spatial elements and quality in historic cairo. the study quantitative results showed a clear bulking in favour of certain spatial elements and quality as well as very small volumetric existence for others. the quantitative domination of lss (86%-91%) and the domination of irregularity in the geometric form (90%-96%) have created clear bulking existences. the unity of historic cairo’s spatial identity could be described within the following parameters: the quantitative domination of lss, the geometric irregularity of space footprints, and the quantitative recession in css. its place identity was presented by its spatial diversity in terms of footprint shapes and geometric irregularity. in terms of sizes, the medium and big urban spaces, as well as vast open spaces, demonstrated a very recessive phenomenon which could draw to a political and military visual celebrity impact of the elite classes. diversity is produced by creating three different place identities for the public and private spheres as well as the citadel area, which can be seen as a clear and conscious intension. on the local levels, the public sphere showed following spatial characterises: the highest degree of quantitative domination of lss, the average level of geometric irregularity in space footprint and a strong recession in css. the city centre major arterial road (el-aazam street) revealed the quantitative domination of lss, a higher density in css and the highest degree of geometric regularity in space footprint (relatively to the public sphere itself). the public sphere revealed the highest degree of accessibility and the clearest visual orientation. on the other hand, the private sphere identity can be characterized by a very high quantitative domination of lss (91%), very clear domination of geometric irregularity (96%) and a very low density in css among which very small css quantitatively prevailed. the private sphere revealed the highest degree of visual disorientation or confusion. this inventory proved the existence of central spaces in historic cairo, in terms of geometry and physical structure, but their marginal existence in the city proves their insignificant value in the daily life of the city residents. furthermore, the facts that css presented a very recessive phenomenon among which very small css were dominant, and 72% of which existed in the private sphere of historic cairo, leave a very marginal volume of css (3%) to be potentially considered as public squares in terms of geometry. with accordance to the aformentioned observation, public squares cannot be recommended to be adapted as a typical spatial identity for cairo. further studies should be conducted in order to check the real urban value of those central spaces. their geometric shape and size, their visual and aesthetic values, and their urban functions should be investigated in order to identify them as public squares or traffic nodes. sadek a. s. saad / the academic research community publication pg. 6 fig. 1. the city major arterial roads, on the napoleon map, the author. fig. 2. typology of urban spaces in historic cairo: linear and central spaces, examples fig.3. cairo citadel area, a concentration of central urban spaces’, the napoleon map fig. 4. a relative scale comparison between different sizes of central urban spaces; big, medium, small, and very small spaces, and the biggest open area in historic cairo coded as 7/1/1 references: 1. alhusban, 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esraa osama salem1, miran essam monir 2 1lecturer, architectural department, faculty of fine arts, helwan university, 2lecturer assistant, architectural department, october high institute for engineering &technology keywords policies, strategies, mechanisms, new cities, development. abstract the need to establish new cities emerged in the seventies of the last century in egypt. the necessity emerged because of different reasons such as decreasing te pressure on greater cities and their infrastructure, creating new investments and job opportunities. furthermore, it aimed to the rarefaction of the concentration of inhabitants around the narrow side of the nile valley and its delta. it even moved towards the vast desert in order to redraw the urban map of egypt. so, the success of these new cities is measured by how much people they attract to settle and their input to local income according to general policies and goals which could be achieved through several strategies and mechanisms. therefore, this research tries to discuss different policies in order to develop new cites, in particular, in addition to the efficient strategies and mechanisms which are necessary to decrease the consumption of resources and to achieve maximum benefits out of the available potentials. 1. introduction egypt is affected by the accelerated urban growth of its great cities caused by the centralization of main activities and developments in these cities. it has led to the rapid increase of the population density and the increase of the demand to inhabit major cities. thus, the idea of establishing new cities emerged accordingly, and it was initially referred to in law no. 59/ 1979, and in the economic and social development plan 1987/86-1983/82. in the latter, it identified the main objectives of their establishment, which have decreased the high population density and have easen the burden on existing areas or current cities. the solution was manily about heading to the egyptian desert and coasts in order to establish new cities that absorb a portion of the overpopulation in different cities. within the framework of a regional urban planning, emerging from general national planning, the entire process occured. and this was an indicator of a new phase in the state's commitment to reconstruct and formulate the development policies for new cities pertaining their strategies and mechanisms. in the context of development efforts, undertaken by egypt, the main research question is set, by the two researchers, who are going to seek its answer. the research question is: what are the most important followed policies in the development of new cities, of different types, and what are the proposed strategies and implementation mechanisms to achieve the aim of these policies so as to ensure the achievement of the real development of the new cities in egypt? esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 2 2. development: development is considered as the first aim sought by all countries to improve the conditions of their new cities, thus, it is considered both, the aim and the means at the same time (human development report, 2005). development includes, implicitly, the concepts of growth and change, which should be implemented by the means of quality and quantity simultaneously, in the social, cultural and economic aspects, as no development can exist without growth. however, development refers to the resulting changes in the growth process (hart environmental data, 1998). there are two standards, considered as the base in measuring and assessing development (mohammed abd elmoniam, 2008). 2.1.1.demographic standard (population study): expressed by the direct relation between the population numbers and the development inside a new city; as the population increases in this city, it refers to the abundance of the services and job opportunities referring to the increase of the developmental rates in it.1 2.1.2.economic standard (economic study): it includes investments, economic base, and employment. the increase of the investments refers to the high developmental rates, where the economic base is the most important economic factor because a diversified economic base means diversity of economic activities in the city. it attracts the largest number of inhabitants and thus resulting in its development. in addition to a group of other factors represented in the urban, administrative and service standards (quality of life).2 3. classification of development: development is classified according to its 4 main dimensions; economic, social, political and urban development. it is also classified according to its main types into a comprehensive and a sectoral development. 3.1according to its main types: development is classified into two main types, which are comprehensive and sectoral development, as follows: 3.1.1 comprehensive development: it is a development that has a general comprehensive main aim, which occurs in society. its aspects are clear in the structural and functional changes that occur in the society aiming to achieve the desired social and economic welfare for all its individuals.3 3.1.2 sectoral development: it is a development that deals with every and each developmental aspect as an individual entity. this type of development focuses on a developmental aspect or a single issue, and it is concerned with its related policies. it may focus on the housing or the urban sector as an example.4 3.2.according to the main dimensions: it is classified according to the main dimensions concerning the economic, social, political and urban development. figure 1: shows the classification of development in accordance with the main dimensions and the main types. source: (heba saif al-islam, 2012) 1 eng. mohammed nabil abdel moneim, development of new urban communities, "the egyptian state and international experiences," master thesis (faculty of engineering: cairo university, 2008) 2 pid 3 eng. heba saif el-islam abdel fattah, development and growth of new cities, "the state of new cities of the arab republic of egypt case," master thesis (faculty of engineering: cairo university, 2009) p. 12 4 pid development classification economic dimension social dimension political dimension urban dimension esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 3 3.2.1. economic dimension: this sector is concerned with the physical dimensions of the development process. it is sometimes called development economics. it seeks to confine the material resources of the community and to establish a list of priorities and alternatives raises in order to reach a particular purpose. that is shown through the traditional economic variables such as income, consumption, and investment. 3.2.2. social dimension: this dimension is concerned with the in-human elemens, like education, training and acquiring experience to become an assistant element that supports the development programs, not apposing them. 3.2.3. political dimension: this dimension is concerned with the development of the political system to be more effective in the development process, like taking developmental decisions stemmed from a realistic understanding of the economic potential of the community and a detailed analysis of its social structure. 3.2.4. urban dimension: this dimension is concerned with the spatial dimension for the achievement of social and economic development according to a comprehensive developmental plan. for the success of the development process, it must be carried out in the context of a plan based on the integration of the main development aspects (wakil, 2006): economic development: including investments and exploitation of resources, social development: including education, health, recreation and culture, political development: including development decisions. the integration between the previous three elements directly affects the urban development, which includes areas of investment and services, as it is the inclusive vessel for development. 4. new cities: the establishment of new cities in egypt was carried out in successive phases leading to the emergence of three generations of the new cities as follows: first generation: 6th october city, tenth of ramadan, sadat city,15 may city, new borg el arab, new salehia, new damietta and touristic villages, second generation: sheikh zayed city, oubour city, badr city, new noubarya, new beni suef and new minya ,and third generation: rehab, el sherouk , new cairo, new assuit, tiba, new sohag, new aswan, new qena, new fayoum and new akhmim.5 the basic considerations behind the creation of new cities vary according to the various systems and social, economic and environmental conditions. at the same time, these cities are considered as a reflection of certain concepts. 1.1. distribution of new cities in egypt: distributing of new cities in egypt as follows: eight cities surrounding or nearby greater cairo region, they are: (tenth of ramadan, may 15, 6th of october, badr, oubour city, sheikh zayed, el sherouk and new cairo), six new cities in lower egypt: (sadat city, arab tower , salehia, new damietta , noubarya), four cities in upper egypt : (new beni suef ,new minya , new assiut , new tiba , and three new cities under construction in upper egypt : (new sohag , new aswan , toshka)6 5 dr. ahmed mohammed abdel aal. a book of new cities and regional development in egypt, magazine of the faculty of arts, minya university, 1992. 6 eng. mohammed nabil abdel moneim, development of new urban communities, "the egyptian state and international experiences," master thesis (faculty of engineering: cairo university, 2008) esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 2: an illustrative map for the distribution of new cities in egypt, according to three generations. source: the two researchers 4.2. classification of new cities in egypt: numerous classifications of the new cities exist, sometimes according to the construction site, function or selfsufficiency, or according to the role of the new city in the development, etc. these could be summarized into 3 classifications: the first is according to the construction site and function: satellite towns, self supported and twins towns. the second is classified according to self-sufficiency: town with self-sufficient economy and towns without a self-sufficient economy and the third is according to its role in development: growth centerpoles, relief poles, national projects cities and towns multiple targets. 4.2.1. classification according to the construction site and function: new cities can be classified in terms of function and construction site into 3 main types: satellite towns, self supported, and twins town (abdel moneim, 2008), as follows: 4.2.1.1. satellite towns: they are located around the mother town or near it, and sometimes it aims to both the short and midterm to lessen the population densities for this city. it also takes advantage of the existing infrastructure if they are available. these cities do not have an economic base, and its location near the mother town has encouraged urban sprawl to reach them. 4.2.1.2. twin cities: they are located adjacent to existing urban cities, sometimes considered as natural extension for these cities and they are nothing more than residential areas that have no economic base or pillar. 4.2.1.3. selfsupported cities: they are far away from the existing cities by a distance that requires self-support, and they have an economic base that aims in the long term to the creation of economic growth poles from independent economic entities. 4.2.2. classification according to self-sufficiency into 2 main types (abdel el qader, 2005): 4.2.2.1. towns with the self-sufficient economy: they are based on the presence of an economic base, so the residents can satisfy all their daily needs within the cities’ borders, in addition to the produced services and goods, which can be exported to neighboring provinces.7 4.2.2.2. towns without self-sufficient economy: they are the familiar cities, or the most prevalent, as they are the cities close to the main city and have economic and urban growth linked to an existing urban center. it represents an integral part of its economic aspect. they are close to the mother city to guarantee daily visits (are independent organically and economically dependent).8 7 eng. lamya ahmed abdel-qader. an analytical study of the problems of development in the new cities in egypt, master thesis (cairo university: faculty of engineering, 2005). 8 pid esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 5 4.2.3. classification according to its role in development/construction aim: the role of the city in development means its functional role that contributes to solving the problem of population and regional development, thus we can classify new cities according to their role in the development / the objective of the construction, into three main types, as follows (abdul aal, 1992):9 4.2.3.1. growth center – poles: it aims to select a limited number of areas which have the potential of social and economic growth to intensify the development elements in order to turn these areas into growth poles for the surrounding areas. they grow themselves first, and then through the development diffusion, spread, development crawls through these areas as well. 4.2.3.2. relief poles: these cities aim to lessen the population and the economic pressure on all major satellite cities, in addition to the development of the suburbs. 4.2.3.3. national projects cities and multi-purpose cities: all cities of national projects are located in desert areas with an economic potential valid for establishing an economic project. 5. policy: the broader definition of policy is: "a framework for action in order to achieve a particular goal with supervision and interest." the policy is characterized by diversity, inclusion, and penetration that affects all aspects of life in a society. in addition, the implementation of this policy is set in accordance with specific strategies and mechanisms that allow them to exploit resources and facilities available for achieving the target of planned policy.10 1.2. main policies for the development of new cities: new cities development policies in egypt are summarized in the three main types, as follows: figure 3: illustrates development policies in new cities in egypt. source: eng. lamya ahmed abdel-qader. an analytical study of the problems of development in the new cities in egypt, master thesis (cairo university: faculty of engineering, 2005). 5.1.2 urban development policy for new cities in egypt: the state set an inclusive urban development plan aiming to reshape the demographic map of egypt in order to achieve the requested balance between the growing population numbers and available areas of land, while ensuring the optimization of the use of natural and economic potentials that are available on three main axes simultaneously in terms of the planning concept, even if they vary in terms of the time zone implementation, as follows: table 1. illustrates the basic axes of the main policy of urban development in egypt. source: dr. ahmed mohammed abdel aal. a book of new cities and regional development in egypt, magazine of the faculty of arts, minya university, 1992. main axes for urban development policy in egypt 1 creating a set of new cities in desert areas (three generations of cities) 9 dr. ahmed mohammed abdel aal. a book of new cities and regional development in egypt, magazine of the faculty of arts, minya university, 1992. 10 dr. sodfa mohamed mahmoud and nagwan farouk shiha. the international conference on public opinion polls and decision-making". published paper entitled: the role of public opinion polls in policy-making, 2007. the policies of the development of new cities in egypt economic policy administrative policy urban development policy esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 6 2 development and urbanization of some of the areas of the republic that have not received sufficient amount of attention before 3 re-planning of the major cities and important urban centers 5.1.2. administrative policy for new cities in egypt: the current method of urban management in new egyptian cities is considered as an executive management meaning a centralized management, which is used at all the levels of the state. it intends to implement plans in the framework of the proposed financing from the state’s budget and in a time-bound framework. it should allow for the transition of the execution of other projects; however, the interactive administration is characterized by flexibility and independence in decision-making. the implementation of its goals in a convenient method with the circumstances and variables affect new cities. the most important objective of the interactive management is to achieve balance between human settlements, settlement services and industrial settlements.11 5.1.3. policy (economic trends) for the development of new cities in egypt: the economic trends for the development of new cities in egypt are summarized into three main themes, as follows: 5.1.3.1. the full responsibility of the state for development, with a limited role for the private sector: the responsibility of a single side for an integrated and coordinated development, along with carrying out some of the contributions that could be carried out by supporting sides such as the private sector, thus, this side should have access to a huge amount of technical and financial resources that can only be provided by the state, leading to in the development budget for new cities.12 5.1.3.2. presentation new cities as open areas for investment: new cities are open to specialized investors in the fields of urban development fields, to be administered by the private sector in all its forms, in addition to the presence of governmental agencies in the form of planning systems, whose role is limited to the control and supervision of urban development systems in new cities.13 5.1.3.3. the disciplined partnership between the private sector and government: through independent sides that carry out development in the new cities in accordance with a declared previous planning so that these actors perform their role in development as a catalyst for development. it requires providing the required power for its own development process in accordance to its economic vision seen in light of a general plan for the state.14 figure 4: illustrates the economic trends for the development of new cities in egypt. source: eng. mahmoud amin. the functional roles of cities and new communities within the framework of national and regional policies comprehensive urban development. published paper entitled: the international congress of the policies of the new urban communities development, alexandria library in 2009. 6. strategies and mechanisms of the development of new city: the development strategies and mechanisms are considered two essential engines to achieve the goal of planned policy, defining the detailed working method to its achievement. there is no policy without a strategy that allows 11eng. mahmoud amin. the functional roles of cities and new communities within the framework of national and regional policies comprehensive urban development. published paper entitled: the international congress of the policies of the new urban communities development, alexandria library in 2009. 12 pid 13 eng. mahmoud amin. the functional roles of cities and new communities within the framework of national and regional policies comprehensive urban development. published paper entitled: the international congress of the policies of the new urban communities development, alexandria library in 2009. 14 pid economic trends for the development of new cities in egypt disciplined partnership between the private sector and government display of new cities to open areas for investment the full responsibility of the state for development, with a limited role for the private sector. esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 7 its implementation through benefiting from the available resources and potentials available as much as possible (9th international engineering conference – al azhar, 2007) as follows: 1.3. development strategies: the strategy is defined as “the art of exploitation of available potentials and possibilities for the implementation of certain policy, and it is a thinking pattern to pave the way toward a very specific aim of the strategy”. a strategy for establishing new cities aims to the distribution of the inhabitants and various activities. there are seven strategies for the development of new cities: water strategy, a strategy for agricultural development, industrial development strategy, the strategy of tourism development, and the social development strategy, a strategy for attracting the population and a strategy for urban development, as follows:15 6.1.1. water strategy: one of the most fundamental strategies included in developmental plans, and those plans cannot be achieved without the search for a source of water through the development of irrigation systems. it workds through using groundwater, re-using agricultural drainage water and re-using sewage water. 6.1.2. agricultural development strategy: it is ranked first in the strategies after the water strategy due to the vital and major role of agriculture in the developmental processes through the selection of appropriate crops for the type of soil, climate and water shortage, choose crops with large profits and the best seed strains of seed to maximize the investment process, in addition to use of modern equipment in agriculture, establishing areas of open grazing, accurately employing the crop typed to serve industries that can be established in the region. 6.1.3. industrial development strategy: it is one of the most important strategies that support the economic activities through establishing factories in sites with available materials to reduce transportation. it depends on exporting, in addition to upgrading the technological level of the community and the expansion of the participation of the private sector in the industry’s development. 6.1.4. tourism development strategy: one of the most important strategies that support economic activities, and one of the national alternatives for agricultural and industrial development. it varies according to the available type of tourism, and it is concerned with establishing places of relaxation such as hotels and campsites for those who seek tranquility or enjoying unique natural areas. 6.1.5. social development strategy: one of the most important strategies that support the development, and aims primarily at the individual development. this strategy is concerned with driving the populations to new communities, convincing and encouraging them to settle there and create the conditions that ensure their stay in these new places. 6.1.6. population attraction strategy: it is the main axe of the development process through economic attraction factors, such as job opportunities and rewarding salaries. in addition to the social attraction factors such as providing adequate housing for young married people and those seeking marriage, especially for those who can't afford adequate housing in their original city, in addition to providing means of security, safety, education, health and entertainment for new residents. 6.1.7. urban development strategy: it could be achieved by avoiding the establishment of urban communities in arable areas, or those containing mineral resources, or in sand dunes, storm water drains, or protectorates. the design of buildings must consider harsh climate conditions of heat and humidity through selecting convenient building materials and a suitable design concept for the environment. 1.4. development frameworks: the development mechanism in the new cities is represented in the form of kinetic mechanism, combined to form a single developmental system. thus, it is defined as "an integrated and detailed working method through goals, policies, and strategies". there are 14 mechanisms used and stated bellow: 15 eng. ali m. abbas, azhar ninth international engineering conference. published paper entitled: the development of cities and regions random, 2007 esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 8 the mechanism of the basic pillars, the mechanism of exploitation, the mechanism of employment of natural resources, the mechanism of diversity, the mechanism of convergence, the mechanism of belonging, the mechanism of participation, the mechanism of sustainability, the mechanism of activating the movement of population, the mechanism of decentralization, the mechanism to maximize the consistency of the interaction, the mechanism civil and social aspects, the mechanism of industrial & technological aspects, the mechanism of legislation and management.16 table 2.table 2: shows the development mechanisms for new cities. source: by the two researchers from eng. ali m. abbas, azhar ninth international engineering conference. published paper entitled: the development of cities and regions random, 2007. mechanism how to get the mechanism ( description ) 6.2.1. basicsupports the mechanism of the basic supports depends on the following: diagnosis of the current situation socially, culturally economically, and urban-wise and identifying buildings’ conditions and occupancy rates and extent of the need for additional elements of the infrastructure. to study the organic relationship between each city and its surrounding design and planning regions, in terms of productive activities and relationships to form an economic, social and cultural unity with the surrounding environment. training and rehabilitation of the citizens and organizing institutions and civil organizations with developmental or social objectives or specific productivity that forms the hidden dimension of management, follow-up, planning and public control, with no conflict, but rather supports and integrates with government systems responsible for the central development. developing activities and functions that maximize the ability of new cities to attract residents and increase the public city income. 6.2.2. coloniation the exploitation of arable land through classification according to the type of soil and selecting suitable plants for the conditions of each type. exploitation of mineral wealth that is found in most of the egyptian desert adjacent to new cities, through the creation of many industries, such as limestone suitable for the manufacture of cement, pure lime and the desert argil that is used in manufacturing clay brick, refractories and ceramics, in addition to white sand, which is suitable for the manufacture of glass, basalt rocks suitable for the manufacture of rock bricks and road pavements, and phosphate, used for the manufacture of fertilizers. 6.2.3.resoures occupation the mechanism of resources employment is focused on : thorough understanding of the potential of the resources and putting them in the right place. for example establishing factories on arable lands are forbidden, and areas rich in historical elements should not be used for agricultural. following accurate scales to measure the inputs and outputs to achieve minimum losses against biggest gains. 16 pid esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 9 6.2.4. diversification including: diversifying of activity areas as depending on single elements is deplorable and doesn’t achieve inclusiveness and communication. diversifying the economic base allows for releasing the working energies in a better way. opening continuous development areas depending on agriculture, industry, tourism, and others, according to the circumstances of each city. 6.2.5. diversification through: developing the means of transportation and reducing the distances between new cities to eliminate the isolation between them and the old valley, through some main axes, including: major road axes: represented in strengthening the wild axes, connecting new cities with the old valley and connecting these cities together, in addition to providing links and additional ways to enhance the connection. air transportation hubs: represented in developing the existing airports and establishing new ones. telecommunications hubs: depends on the establishment of a network of modern communication lines. 6.2.6. attribution through: promoting the sense of human belonging and participating in reclamation, construction, construction management of different projects in the new cities. as human is the main element in the establishment of new cities, preferably young elements with different skills, whose engagement with their new communities can be a new beginning to perform through a real sense of belonging. the researcher believes that the mechanism of belonging is not realized unless there is stability (social and economic) in the same place, in addition to participation to promote the sense of belonging. 6.2.7. participation the mechanism of participation is achieved through: the involvement of the private sector and different organizations, even individuals in the development process. the participation process is done through 2 levels, a material one, through participation with capital, and a moral one, by participation in the management and operational matters which requires activation of the principle of direct free election of competencies, that are capable of managing the affairs of investing institutions, thus, restructuring many administrative units that form the administrative body system, leading to facilitation of the voluntary involvement process for individuals to achieve the change they aspire. 6.2.8. sustainability through: the pursuit and follow up of the development process, as the concept of sustainability means communication and continuity. thus, it is not enough to carry out the development process without being able to maintain its continuity, as sustainability is based on a foundation of non-crumbling resources, where the vast majority of these resources can be recycled indefinitely. esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 10 6.2.9. population movement the population movement is activated and residents are encouraged to move towards new communities, through: providing strong attraction elements (economic, social and services), providing uniqueness of jobs, efficient performance, and abundance of salary. providing job opportunities and rewarding salaries, is fundamental for activating the attraction towards new cities, as the individual must prefer this place to others. the submission of the process of attraction to the election of the working elements is preferable, as young people are preferred due to their ability to benefit the community and settle, forming families, with a sense of belonging to the place, as no community or development can be found, without its inhabitants. 6.2.10. decentralizatio n means the transmission and distribution of functions from a central authority, or in other words, distributing and directing national potentials from the central government and its systems to the local authorities, through: providing fundamental foundation points as sub-capitals for new cities to be a substitute for the mother capital, so that decision making and its consequences can be performed through them. building administrative cadres capable of taking responsibility. taking into consideration that the new communities and cities are located in desert regions that are distant from the central authority, the process of liberation from the central constraints will push the development process forward where the decision making process will be faster to face any problems or emergent obstacles. freedom from centralized decision-making doesn’t mean secession from the general plans of the state, but rather, it performs according to the pre-set system. 6.2.11. interaction amplification it means the mechanisms used to take advantage of modern and cutting-edge ideas, whether in the field of technology or management and organization, for the success of development projects in new cities. this is done through: clean energy technologies: where access to clean energy can be expanded, such as solar energy, due to the presence of sun light around the year in the areas of new cities, in addition to the abundance of wind energy in the desert. it should be noted that solar energy can be exploited during the day in the sunrise, while, wind energy decreases during the day, and is more active at night, leading to the idea of integration between the two systems. thus, they can be harnessed to provide cities with a clean energy supply that causes no environmental pollution. supporting projects, through providing technologically and organizationally advanced services, so that all the means of initiating and embracing projects could be provided in an integrated work system, to overcome the problems that lead to their failure. esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 11 6.2.12. civil and social aspects this includes: • co-ordination of work between the civil organizations, interested in the development of new cities and their classification into groups according to the interest such as health, society, and small projects. • enhancing the role of ngos and civil society organizations in spreading the concepts of preserving the natural resources such as water, air, soil, and energy sources. • establishing regional systems of certain environmental services, such as health burial of solid waste or safe disposal of wastes of all kinds. • directing on supporting projects and research, which aims for the development of new cities. • focus on the role of women in urban environmental protection as a source of awareness within the family. • focus on development programs that provide direct services to help people settle in new cities, especially young ones. coordinating efforts between the associations and organizations involved in urban development. 6.2.13. industrial & technological through: • restructuring industrial production regionally, allowing the industrial excellence of each new city, according to its regional resources, whether they are human or natural resources. • encouraging small and medium industries in new cities. • using the means of economic stimulation, such as technical support, tax exemptions and facilitated funding systems. 6.2.14. legislation & management through: liberalization of financing methods of the developmental projects in new cities. liberalization of labor heads of the central leaders and centralized decision making processes. legalization of certain activities and uses of new cities and activating laws related to the prohibition of establishing structures and industrial activities inside or near urban communities. the provision of the required land for various activities, in addition to the provision of facilities, incentives, and exemptions to speed up the development process. 1.5. the relation between development strategies and mechanisms: the relationship between development strategies and mechanisms is clarified through the following table: table 3.shows the relation between the strategies and mechanisms of new cities development, by the two researchers strategy sources and possibilities the required mechanism work style for achieving the mechanism, is done through: water strategy • • the development of irrigation systems and the use of groundwater. • re-use of agricultural drainage water, residential and industrial wastewater, to irrigate forests and wooden fruitless trees and that does not harm public health. sustainability mechanism • continuity and follow up of the development process, as the concept of sustainability means communication and continuity. thus, it is not enough to carry out the development process without being able to maintain its continuity, as sustainability is based on a foundation of non-crumbling resources, where the vast majority of these resources can be recycled indefinitely. esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 12 agricultural development strategy • selection of appropriate crops for the type of soil, climate and water shortage, choose crops with large profits and the best seed strains of seed • to maximize the investment process. • use of modern equipment in agriculture, establishing areas of open grazing, accurately employing the crop typed to serve industries that can be established in the region. colonization mechanism • the exploitation of arable land through classification according to the type of soil and selecting suitable plants for the conditions of each type. sustainability mechanism • continuity and follow up of the development process, as the concept of sustainability means communication and continuity. • thus, it is not enough to carry out the development process without being able to maintain its continuity, as sustainability is based on a foundation of non-crumbling resources, where the vast majority of these resources can be recycled indefinitely. mechanism of maximizing the consistency of interaction • clean energy technologies: where access to clean energy can be expanded, such as solar energy, due to the presence of sun light around the year in the areas of new cities, in addition to the abundance of wind energy in the desert. it should be noted that solar energy can be exploited during the day in the sunrise, while, wind energy decreases during the day, and is more active at night, leading to the idea of integration between the two systems. thus, they can be harnessed to provide cities with a clean energy supply that causes no environmental pollution. • supporting projects, through providing technologically and organizationally advanced services, so that all the means of initiating and embracing projects could be provided in an integrated work system, to overcome the problems that lead to their failure. industrial development strategy establishing factories in sites with available materials to reduce transportation and depend on exports. upgrading the technological level of the community. expansion of participation of the private sector in the industry development. colonization mechanism • exploitation of mineral wealth that is found in most of the egyptian desert adjacent to new cities, through the creation of many industries, such as limestone suitable for the manufacture of cement, pure lime and the desert argil that is used in manufacturing clay brick, refractories and ceramics, in addition to white sand, which is suitable for the manufacture of glass, basalt rocks suitable for the manufacture of rock bricks and road pavements, and phosphate, used for the manufacture of fertilizers. esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 13 diversificatio n • diversifying of activity areas as depending on single elements is deplorable and doesn’t achieve inclusiveness and communication. • diversifying the economic base allows for releasing the working energies in a better way. • opening continuous development areas depending on agriculture, industry, tourism, and others, according to the circumstances of each city. sustainability mechanism • the pursuit and follow up of the development process, as the concept of sustainability means communication and continuity. thus, it is not enough to carry out the development process without being able to maintain its continuity, as sustainability is based on a foundation of non-crumbling resources, where the vast majority of these resources can be recycled indefinitely. mechani sm of maximiz ing the consiste ncy of interacti on • clean energy technologies: where access to clean energy can be expanded, such as solar energy, due to the presence of sun light around the year in the areas of new cities, in addition to the abundance of wind energy in the desert. it should be noted that solar energy could be exploited during the day in the sunrise, while wind energy decreases during the day, it is more active at night leading to the idea of integration between the two systems. thus, they can be harnessed to provide cities with a clean energy supply that causes no environmental pollution. • supporting projects, through providing technologically and organizationally advanced services, so that all the means of initiating and embracing projects could be provided in an integrated work system, to overcome the problems that lead to their failure. the mechanism of industrial & technologic al aspect restructuring industrial production regionally, allowing the industrial excellence of each new city, according to its regional resources, whether they are human or natural resources. esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 14 tourism development strategy establishing places of relaxation, such as hotels and campsites for those who seek tranquility and enjoying unique natural areas activating conferences tourism and youth activities. approximat ion mechanism • developing the means of transportation and reducing the distances between new cities to eliminate the isolation between them and the old valley, through some main axes, including: • major road axes: represented in strengthening the wild axes, connecting new cities with the old valley and connecting these cities together, in addition to providing links and additional ways to enhance the connection. • air transportation hubs: represented in developing the existing airports and establishing new ones. • telecommunications hubs: depends on the establishment of a network of modern communication lines. social development strategy concerned with driving the populations to new communities, convincing and encouraging them to settle there and create the conditions that ensure their stay in these new places. basic supports mechanism • training and rehabilitation of the citizens and organizing institutions and civil organizations with developmental or social objectives or specific productivity that forms the hidden dimension of management, follow-up, planning and public control, with no conflict, but rather supports and integrates with government systems responsible for the central development. • putting forward programs that aim to increase humanitarian and social activity in new cities, taking into consideration the negative impacts of the growth of an activity, while others fade, be it commercial, industrial or population activity. attribution mechanism • promoting the sense of human belonging and participating in reclamation, construction, construction management of different projects in the new cities. as human is the main element in the establishment of new cities, preferably young elements with different skills, whose engagement with their new communities can be a new beginning to perform through a real sense of belonging. participation mechanism • the involvement of the private sector and different organizations, even individuals in the development process. esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 15 civil & social aspects mechanism • co-ordination of work between the civil organizations, interested in the development of new cities and their classification into groups according to the interest such as health, society, and small projects. • enhancing the role of ngos and civil society organizations in spreading the concepts of preserving the natural resources such as water, air, soil, and energy sources. • establishing regional systems of certain environmental services, such as health burial of solid waste or safe disposal of wastes of all kinds. • directing on supporting projects and research, which aims for the development of new cities. • focus on the role of women in urban environmental protection as a source of awareness within the family. • focus on development programs that provide direct services to help people settle in new cities, especially young ones. • coordinating efforts between the associations and organizations involved in urban development. population attraction strategy • providing economic attraction factors such as job opportunities and rewarding salaries. in addition to the social attraction factors such as providing adequate housing for young married people and those seeking marriage, especially for those who can't afford adequate housing in their original city. providing means of security, safety, education, health and entertainment for new residents. basic supports mechanism • developing activities and functions that maximize the ability of new cities to attract residents and increase the public city income. approximation mechanism • developing the means of transportation and reducing the distances between new cities to eliminate the isolation between them and the old valley, through some main axes, including: • major road axes: represented in strengthening the wild axes, connecting new cities with the old valley and connecting these cities together, in addition to providing links and additional ways to enhance the connection. • air transportation hubs: represented in developing the existing airports and establishing new ones. • telecommunications hubs: depends on the establishment of a network of modern communication lines. esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 16 population movement mechanism • providing strong attraction elements (economic, social and services), providing uniqueness of jobs, efficient performance, and abundance of salary. • providing job opportunities and rewarding salaries, is fundamental for activating the attraction towards new cities, as the individual must prefer this place to others. urban development strategy • can be achieved by avoiding the establishment of urban communities in arable areas, or those containing mineral resources, or in sand dunes, storm water drains, or protectorates. • the design of buildings must consider harsh climate conditions of heat and humidity, through selecting convenient building m a t e r i a l s and a suitable design concept for the environment. population movement mechanism • providing strong attraction elements (economic, social and services), providing uniqueness of jobs, efficient performance, and abundance of salary. • providing job opportunities and rewarding salaries, is fundamental for activating the attraction towards new cities, as the individual must prefer this place to others. basic supports mechanism • diagnosis of the current situation socially, culturally economically, and urban-wise and identifying buildings’ conditions and occupancy rates and extent of the need for additional elements of the infrastructure. resource occupation legislation & administration mechanism • thorough understanding of the potential of the resources and putting them in the right place. for example, establishing factories on arable lands are forbidden, and the areas rich in historical elements should not be used for agricultural. • following accurate scales to measure the inputs and outputs to achieve minimum losses against biggest gains. • liberalization of financing methods development projects in new cities. • liberalization of labor heads of the central leaders and centralized decision making. • legalization of certain activities and uses of new cities and activating laws related to the prohibition of establishing structures and industrial activities inside or near urban communities. • the provision of the required land for various activities, in addition to the provision of facilities, incentives, and exemptions to speed up the development process. esraa salem , miran monir / the academic research community publication pg. 17 7. conclusion: the success of the new cities is dependent on its own development’s policy. in addition, the implementation of this policy is set in accordance with specific strategies and mechanisms that allow them to exploit resources and facilities available for achieving the target of the planned policy. references: 1. abdel moneim, m. n. (2008). development of new urban communities, "the egyptian state and international experiences"(unpublished doctoral dissertation, 2008). faculty of engineering, cairo university. 2. abdel fattah, h. s. (2009). the state of new cities of the arab republic of egypt case(unpublished doctoral dissertation, 2009). faculty of engineering: cairo university, 2009. 3. abdel-qader, l. a. (2005). an analytical study of the problems of development in the new cities in egypt(unpublished doctoral dissertation, 2005). faculty of engineering, cairo university. 4. abdel aal, a.m. (1992), ahmed mohammed. a book of new cities and regional development in egypt, magazine of the faculty of arts, minya university 5. abbas, a.m., (2007) the development of cities and regions random, azhar ninth international engineering conference. 6. amin, m. (2009). the functional roles of cities and new communities within the framework of national and regional policies comprehensive urban development. the international congress of the policies of the new urban communities development. 7. barakat, s. a. (2007). evaluation of urban development techniques for new rallies in egypt, with special mention of the cities: (tenth of ramadan sadat – 6th of october 6)(unpublished doctoral dissertation, 2007). ), faculty of engineering: cairo university. 8. shiha, s.m., (2007), the role of public opinion polls in policy-making. the international conference on public opinion polls and decision-making. 9. el wakeel, s. (2006), urban planning "principles basics applications ", the first edition http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) art and cultural identity (visual arts and egyptian cultural identity after the revolution of 2011) doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.104 reem lotfy mahmoud saad 1 1lecturer at faculty of arts &design/ pharos university keywords the egyptian cultural identity / the revolution of 2011/ visual arts/ technology / /multimedia/education abstract this paper analyzes aspects of egyptian history, including unique qualities that influenced the egyptian culture and gave it its identity that has developed throughout the years until today. it will also discuss egyptian visual arts and its critical role throughout history, including how arts have appeared and developed over egypt’s lifetime and influenced the egyptian citizen. furthermore, this research sheds light on the effects of every political change that took place in egypt, and how that could be a mirror of the egyptian civilization, its development and its decline while considering the role of visual arts throughout and after the revolution of 2011. analyzing egyptian culture, education, technology, internet and multimedia after the revolution can be imperative to understand the cultural identity and the role of visual arts in egypt. thus the mutual relationship between arts and the egyptian cultural identity will be questioned, along with the way that they impact each other, and finally, how both of them could play a key role in developing egypt after the 25th of january, 2011 revolution. 1. introduction cultural identity can be defined as a set of moral and aesthetic values, along with common language that binds a society’s members, enabling the same community to build its real character through education, culture and employment, which in turn affects the world, our role and image in it. culture and arts (visual arts included) embody our values, and define the basis of the good mental health of a society. these practices build an individual and collective sense of identity and citizenship. it is a kind of thinking/making which enables people to form and develop their identity1 (el-kassas) nomenclature reasons behind conducting this research political, economic, and social changes that led to the 2011 revolution caused instability in the egyptian cultural identity. the changes in the religious ideas that appeared in society since the 80’s, which have also continued post 2011, have also affected the egyptian identity. 1 el-kassas, (14-16/03/ 2005) reem lotfy / the academic research community publication pg. 2 there are different elements in determining cultural identity, including visual arts asit is a mirror that reflects the rise and fall of the egyptian society. visual arts also play a role in defining cultural identity while taking advantage of all the significant advancements in technology and visual media. research aims the research aims to determine the relationship between the egyptian cultural identity and visual arts after the revolution of january 2011 and the challenges of that relationship. research methodology this paper utilizes a descriptive research methodology, specifically the theoretical documentary, based on collecting information from different sources of references including books or through the internet, with the development of evidence and proof. egypt’s history: egyptian cultural identity is affected by its long and rich history along with other elements including its unique geographic location and the nile river2 (geopedia expert). for almost three millenniums, the pharaonic civilization was one of the brightest in the world. the egyptian cultural identity thereafter remained distinctively egyptian in it came to religion, arts, language and customs, despite imperialism and the introduction of new religions introduced over several decades since the 6th century bc, when persians conquered egypt, then the ptolemaic and roman eras (332 bc–641 ad)3 (the polemaic and roman rule to the arab conquest). christianity was introduced to egypt in the 1st century and islam arrived in 639–42 ad after a series of conquests. egypt also suffered from the british invasion. egypt was occupied by the french briefly between 1798 and 1801. after that in the year 1805, muhammad ali 4(méhémet ali) established a rich dynasty in egypt until the revolution of gamal abdelnasser in 1952 5(nasser renverse la monarchie en égypte), which is the real beginning of processes to establish the egyptian republic. the republic of egypt was founded in 1953, after that, egypt passed through a series of political changes and wars including the 1948 arab–israeli war, the 1967 war, the death of gamal abdelnasser in 1970, the war of october 1973 led by anwer sadat, the peace treaty in 1979, and sadat’s assassination in 1981 by muslim brotherhood. with the appointment of hosni mubarak in 1981, egypt’s history was dominated by events for nearly thirty years until the 2000’s. in the 1990’s terrorist attacks in egypt became numerous and severe, especially by the muslim brotherhood 6 (egypt’s muslim brother hood), which took a toll on the economy given that the tourism sector was severely damaged. the beginning of the egyptian economic breakdown led to major changes in the form of society, culture, and identity. the aforementioned events led to the revolution of 2011 that ousted mubarak and resulted in the first democratically elected president in egyptian history, mohamed morsi. however, morsi’s ideaology caused unrest in 2013 due to his ideology, adapted from muslim brotherhood’s ideology, which tried to change the egyptian cultural identity. after his arrest and total turmoil of the country, the military regime re-emerged with the military president abdel fattah el-sisi in 2013 to continue the military domination over egypt. the egyptian cultural identity before the revolution identity in its basic sense, is a person’s psychological awareness of who he/she is 7( el-kassas). that simple concept expanded as it interacted with a range of social sciences to give rise to social and cultural identity. all of these terms imply a belonging of the individual to a particular social status, cultural heritage or ethnic group. from here we move beyond the individual to the group or a sense of collective identity shared by the members of a particular group. based on the aforementioned, we can find that the egyptian cultural identity is formed based on some factors such as history, economy, and politics. another important factor that has shaped the egyptian identity early on is egypt’s geographic nature 8(hieroglyphs) that ultimately led to colonization. arguably, egypt still struggles with its own identity given globalization and the economic and cultural domination of the united states of america. another factor is that egypt’s relatively homogeneous population consists of over 90% of arabic-speaking sunni muslims; about 6% of orthodox christians and other minority groups including catholic christians, 2 geopedia expert, (06/2016) 3 the polemaic and roman rule to the arab conquest (332 dc/ 646 ad), retrieved 15/09/2016 4 méhémet ali (1769 1849) le maître du nil, (17/11/2015) 5 nasser renverse la monarchie en égypte, (20/11/ 2016) 6 egypt’s muslim brother hood, (2512/2013) 7 el-kassas, (14-16/03/ 2005) 8 hieroglyphs, retrieved 13/10/2016 reem lotfy / the academic research community publication pg. 3 nubians, armenians, greeks, italians, and jews 9( countries and their cultures-egypt). the minorities groups were more abundant before the middle of the 20th century. this population is divided between rural and urban areas, but they mostlyh choose to live in urban areas because of economic reasons and work opportunities, mostly in cairo, alexandria, and followed by the cities of the delta. there are some differences in culture and architectural characteristics between the city and the village. the urban character of the national culture is most apparent in cairo and alexandria. the architecture of cairo reflects its culture and various epochs of its history, such as the islamic and coptic eras. the modern city center was built and modeled after paris in the 19th century, but has degraded since the 1990s. after the large immigration to oilrich countries with the era of infitah, the money earned by migrants was mainly used in villages to build urban model houses. the egyptian intellectual middle-class generally criticized this transformation of the village-scape as a blind emulation of urban lifestyles, while the traditional village is seen as the locus of authenticity and reservoir of a tradition of the egyptian nation. ethnic relations are also the main issue when defining the egyptian cultural identity. people debate whether being egyptians with pharaonic roots or being arab is more important. the arab world shares language and partially culture, including islamic values and practices, and a sense of shared political problems, even when countries and people take different positions, they focus on the same problems. in conclusion, over the centuries, egypt and its people formed a unique egyptian cultural identity adapted pharaonic, nasserist nationalist, mediterranean, christian, islamic, african and arab characteristics. the constitutional architects defined identity in terms of geographical, historical and cultural spheres. egypt’s cultural identity resides in the fact that it is “egypt”: the oldest and longest lasting state in human history. egypt has always been a discrete and complex entity that emerged in phases producing civilizational layers that accumulated one on top of the other. therefore, to reduce or ridicule its identity is a futile endeavor. the history of egyptian visual arts egyptian art, visual arts included, is influenced by the nature of life in egypt and all the political, economic, cultural, and social changes. meanwhile, they were and still are the mirror that reflects that nature of those changes, as well as being a way of documenting the history of egypt since ancient times, until now. egyptian pharaonic art is probably the bestknown form of ancient arts in the mediterranean basin, with its architecture, its style of painting and stone carving. egyptian arts and crafts were developed largely over many centuries, unhindered by external invasions or internal shocks 10( ancient egyptian art). the egyptian civilization was highly religious, so pharaonic art was meant to glorify the gods and the pharaoh and secondly, to assert and preserve the values of life. during the ptolemaic hellenistic era, egyptian art was influenced by greek art that encouraged the naturalistic representation of individuals, which, for example, was shown in the fayoum portraits 11(agrippa). coptic art originally displayed a mix of native egyptian and hellenistic influences. it is the art of egypt produced in the early christian era or for the art produced by the coptic christians themselves. it’s famous for its paintings, textiles and other artistic mediums. subjects and symbols were taken from both greek and egyptian mythology, sometimes altered to fit christian beliefs. coptic icons are more concerned with religious truth and beauty than realism. the arabic conquest of egypt allowed the coptic art to influence the islamic art and architecture with many features that are now integrated into the islamic art 12(art of ancient egypt). islamic art includes many mediums as painting, architecture, calligraphy and others. it frequently includes secular and frowned upon elements, if not forbidden. islamic art developed from many sources as roman, christian, byzantine arts 13(macaulay-lewis). modern art in egypt, including visual arts, developed mainly in cairo and alexandria, which is why modern artists were emerging in these two cities; they were developing fast with the emergence of artistic spaces, and some support from the public and from abroad. egyptian modern art has always strongly focused on national, political, and social aspects throughout history, taking into consideration traditions and the national culture (figure n°1). the period between 1920 and 1956 was the establishing stage of modern art in egypt. most of the artists in the first part of the 20th century were going to foreign schools located in egypt or abroad (mostly in 9 countries and their cultures-egypt, retrieved 17/10/2016 10 ancient egyptian art, retrieved 12/12/2016 11 agrippa, (05/02/2014) 12 art of ancient egypt, (10/02/2013) 13 macaulay-lewis, retrieved 18/09/2016 https://arsartisticadventureofmankind.wordpress.com/published%20in%2010/02/2013/ reem lotfy / the academic research community publication pg. 4 europe), and pioneers were influenced by european artistic traditions (figure n°2). however, these traditions changed later on, mainly because of the islamic ban on pictorial art (figure n°3) 14(mikdadi). it is during those decades that egyptian modern art became institutionalized. the institutionalization of art began in 1908 with the creation of the fine arts school by prince youssef kamal 15(prince youssef kamal), after that came the shift towards a more modern component, which gave birth to egyptian modern art and the development of a real modern identity. nasser’s era played an important role in defining the egyptian cultural identity and egyptian art, including all visual arts, given that the whole period was characterized by several events such as the creation of the state of israel in 1948 supported by the west, followed by the war. the first consequence was that egyptian artists dissociated themselves from the west for many reasons. modern art therefore became greatly influenced by the the rising palestinian cause. modern egyptian artists also started expressing pan-arabism through their artwork16 (egyptian art and architecture). the main theme of this era was arab unity, not only after the palestinian cause but also by the expansion of art throughout the arab world. during this period, art has shifted from western influence to common being influenced by the arab culture (figure n°4), especially after establishing the academy of arts in egypt in 1959, which contributed to the preparation of many egyptian visual artists in cinema, theater, ballet and other artistic fields. nasser’s government also established and developed the egyptian visual arts institutions, especially in cinema and theater, such as the egyptian company for film production, which has helped egyptian artists to express their identity in many of their productions. (figure n°5). anwar sadat became president in 1970, and in order to counteract the nasserist’s left wing regime, he allowed the coming back of islamism 17(anwar sadat president of egypt). during the same period, modern art has seen the emergence of islamic characteristics in the works, sometimes even stronger than social and political aspects. the war of 1973 played a vital role in decelerating that influence for a while; egyptian nationalism and patriotism were the most important loyalties at the time (figure n°6). that influence of islamism was accentuated since 1981 with the beginning of mubarak’s era, especially from year 2000 to 2010. the transformation of the political and economic scene in egypt led many intellectuals to emigrate ro the arab gulf (rather than foreign countries) with their islamic concepts 18(mubarak era) that sometimes contrast with moderate islam practiced in egypt. the consequence of the aforementioned is a change in the egyptian cultural identity, egyptian arts, including all visual arts, in addition to the fact that the arts faced, and are still facing, censorship from the government, a lack of funding from official sources, and the influence of foreign curators. egyptian visual arts before the revolution at the dawn of the 20th century, egyptians, after a long time of foreign occupation, were united in their aspiration for a modern nation and were also searching for their national identity. art, visual arts included, was an essential way to express this identity and to express freedom from foreign domination. it was a manifestation of the intellectual discourse led by material male and female liberals, with writers, poets, plastic and visual artists among them. the arts changed and developed, the local cinema industry was established and it flourished to the point that egypt led the arab world in these fields 19(mikdadi). the first generation of modern egyptian artists was driven by a renewed appreciation of the national patrimony and the return to ancient pharaonic art detached from any african, arab, or religious references. this neo-pharaonic style, based on a revival of egyptian classical art, used modern techniques and influences in all aspects and branches in plastic and visual arts (figure n°7). after the 1952 revolution, artists lost substantial government earnings, as well as elite patronage; artists’ groups were disbanded along with political parties even though egyptian artists were considered the best in the arab region and on a global scale especially in visual arts and cinema (figure n°8). in the second half of the century, artists suffered from the absence of venues, excluding nasserist artistic institutions. in the wake of the arabs’ crushing defeat in the 1967 war, artists searched for an aesthetic language drawn from younger artists working outside the mainstream, exploring controversial subjects or using unconventional techniques(figure n°9). they found themselves isolated, and many emigrated to the west, returning to egypt almost annually to participate in artistic manifestations 20( mikdadi). these artists continue to have a significant impact on local trends. this order continued during sadat and mubarak’s era, especially in the years leading up to the revolution of 2011, many artists in all branches of plastic and visual arts camouflaged their opposition behind symbolic works (figure n°10). 14 mikdadi, (10/2004) 15 prince youssef kamal: the art lover, (23/07/ 2008) 16 egyptian art and architecture, retrieved 17/09/2016 17 anwar sadat president of egypt, ( 7/02/2015) 18 mubarak era, retrieved 10/11/2016 19 mikdadi, (10/2004) 20 ibid, (10/2004) reem lotfy / the academic research community publication pg. 5 some years before the revolution, the contemporary art scene became limited, aimless and superficial, due to the regime's pressure to keep social issues away from the front image. despite this system, a lot of artistic fluxes appeared, including the independent cinema (figure n°11) and independent galleries encouraging revolting artists such as the town house gallery in cairo and finally, new mediums of art emerging, such as video or installations. this marks the beginning of a new era in egyptian contemporary art towards the will to democratize art and make it available for all audiences 21( elsirgany), but because of the chaotic cultural and social situation related to other political and economic reasons, egypt almost lost its leadership and respectable status between the arab countries. reasons behind the revolution: the main reasons were socio-economic and political factors along with high population growth, which led to two-thirds of the egyptian community who are under 30 years old to be jobless. the poor educational system, the lack of health services and economic privatization are also key factors that led to bad living conditions, poverty, inflation, low income and rising inequality 22( mason). another factor is the fact that egypt’s foreign policy is not in any way influenced by public opinion, along with the overzealous security forces and the implementation of a permanent state of emergency empowered the president and his ministers and gave them control over the citizens’ liberty. all aspects of public life were controlled, including the censorship of cultural and media production. discrimination and corruption became the common enemy. all that bounded protesters together across classes was technology and social media, which caused the revolution to be undertaken by ordinary people who triggered the process 23(green). egypt after the revolution: the real egyptian cultural identity was revealed after protesters shattered all expectations and stood united against an authoritarian regime with incredible courage. egyptians back then dared to imagine a completely new political, social and economic system, but that system did not hold up until todday. instead, egypt has been through social and economic turmoil over the past six years. egypt’s political has went back to being a military one led by general abdelfattah el sisi. the political system and uncertain security have caused people to doubt egypt’s stability 24( reibman), especially because of all the austerity measures that egyptians are forced to endure along with the lack of freedom of speech. activists, journalists, and ordinary people are arrested, while the remaining media houses are heavily censored by authorities 25(the egyptian military empire); the security situation has grown dramatically worse, especially with recent terrorist attacks. regarding egypt's economic sectors, the value of the egyptian pound (le) has fallen from le5.5 per us dollar in january 2010 to over le19.8 in early 2017 (still uprising daily), after liberating the exchange rate. egypt’s economy is capable of producing growth; the challenge is to find a way to produce inclusive growth that benefits all sectors of the population. the government also needs to strengthen egypt’s new investments and large infrastructure projects and find a solution to stop corruption. the key economic challenge for egypt is in fact a political one. the government has to forge a new social contract in egypt based on an inclusive model that promotes job creation, reduces poverty and creates a realistic social safety net. on the other hand, the army has to stop playing a substantial role in politics and the economy and be confined to military activities. the government should also consider education and health insurance systems which are deteriorating in egypt. there is a significant decline in social principles in egypt when it comes to behavior, morals, and ethical fundamentals. the society's values have declined along with the spread of the terrorism, religious extremism, lack of women's rights and oppression, violence, kidnapping, rape and sexual harassment, organ trafficking and other social problems. all of these problems are heavily reflected on the level of culture and art in general, with visual arts being the most prevalent 26( nathan). egyptian cultural identity after the revolution: since the 2011 revolution, egyptians have continued to battle for their cultural identity, but historyproves that tradition and folklore remains a superior influence on identity. salafists and members of the muslim brotherhood imagined that egyptians had voted for their islamist project and religious-ideological vision in which “cultural identity” takes a central place, but they were wrong 27( mohamed morsi). 21 elsirgany, ( 25/ 06/2015) 22 mason, ( 05/02/2011) 23 green, (17/02/2011) 24 reibman, ( 01/02/2016) 25 the egyptian military empire, (09/07/2014) 26 nathan, and others, (11/01/2016) 27 mohamed morsi, retrieved 03/11/2016 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20140709-the-egyptian-military-empire,(09/07/2014) reem lotfy / the academic research community publication pg. 6 before the revolution, egypt‘s cultural identity has always been a discrete and complex entity that emerged in phases producing civilizational layers that accumulated one on top of the other. the egyptian folk heritage that extends across athat entire time period retains lasting and unshakable values, words and meanings, rites and rituals. the egyptian identity evolved for the longest period under the influence of the native egyptian culture, religion and identity. egyptians do not identify first and foremost as arabs, they are arabic-speaking muslims and christians, but the egyptian identity comes first and the arab one comes as a consequence of past events. egyptians are more in favor of territorialism, nationalism and are distant from the pan-arab ideology. although the majority of egyptians today continue to self-identify as arabs in a cultural sense, the intellectual minority rejects this and even a number of modest cultural egyptians consider themselves different from arabs. egyptians see themselves, their history, culture and language as egyptian and not arab, their main interests are still domestic. being descendents of the pharaohs is still deeply rooted in their spirits 28( pharaonism) questions on identity were silenced under the pressure of politics and the confusion of the transitional period. that silence was deepened after the revolution because of many social aspects, economic and political circumstances that egypt faced. one of the benefits of a democratic transformation is that it evokes dormant questions in society, particularly with regards to identity 29(telhami). cultural conflict will have to take a long time to produce satisfactory or useful answers and determine the margin of action for the different cultural groups forming the society, it is best resolved after principles on the transfer and separation of powers and other democratic principles are laid out. cultural conflict and questions on identity are needed for societies to reach political, social and economic stability. the problem is not in cultural conflict in itself, but rather how it is managed, because failing to manage it will threaten the entire process of a democratic transformation. egyptian visual arts after the revolution: art played a significant role in the revolution given that visual artists documented the essence of an uprising. likewise, new genres of arts emerged, such as street art. the most powerful form of art during the revolution was graffiti, which during the era of mubarak was illegal and was classified as a violation. during the days of the uprising, graffiti (figure n°12) became the strong tool for artists to express and protest peacefully in the streets around tahrir square, along with video and photographic documentaries that helped to register each moment 30(martinez). after that, many artistic manifestations appeared across galleries, cinemas, and theaters. even though the art scene is still unstable given that it is experiencing a kind of chaotic freedom along with the downfall of the economy, the revolution has given artists greater courage to express themselves. a few new independent art galleries have opened up in cairo, the number of independent theatrical groups has grown with their theater plays that express the opinions of youth and the egyptian street, and cinema production continues(figure n°13). artists are currently investing in hopes of making egyptian art reach the global community so that it could regain its past glory 31( magdy amal). for artists to be able to express themselves in the way that they did is an advantage of the 2011 revolution that also blurred the divide between fine arts and the people, as it was previously considered a field for elite artists and intellectuals ony. in general, after the revolution, the people’s perception of visual arts and its status is no longer the same; the revolution moved it to the streets. multimedia technology and social networks were a window to freedom of expression and these also helped artists reach their audience in a more interactive way 32(el-sirgany). the revolution could still yield more powerful egyptian art which can easily be a window to the egyptian cultural identity especially that the revolution has accelerated the evaluation of egypt’s youth culture and its independent artists. these artists are committed to freely expressing themselves, engaging in a civic dialog with the society, in the way that was previously forbidden by mubarak’s regime. that culture is able to indicate a high incidence of national and gender related imagery which highlight the political and social themes that engage different communities within the egyptian society. that culture is also capable of reconstructing national codes, principles, and identity 33(el-sirgany). technology and multimedia‘s role in egyptian cultural identity and visual arts both technology and multimedia play an important role in the egyptian cultural identity especially after the 2011 revolution. new technology is also important to develop visual arts by using new softwares and applications which facilitate achieving art products. similarly, as mentioned before, multimedia and social networks are fort 28 pharaonism, retrieved 03/11/2016 29 telhami, (16/08/ 2013) 30 martinez, (29/04/ 2013) 31 magdy amal, (08/05/ 2016) 32 el-sirgany, ( 25/ 06/2015) 33 ibid ( 25/ 06/2015) reem lotfy / the academic research community publication pg. 7 factors that help artists to freely express their opinions and reach their audience in an interactive way. as a result, traditional art is no longer the most common type; interactive arts preferred among youth 34(el-sirgany). when it comes to cultural identity, the interactive and visual arts along hand with technology and multimedia, play an important role in re-sculpting the egyptian cultural identity with its principles. the new generation was born in the time of technology, multimedia and its social networks, which obviously reflects on their relationship with the visual arts, and definitely on their cultural identity. that identity is influenced by vast international sources of knowledge that discuss all subjects without taboos and restrictions. people can easily access all kinds of information through technology, given the existence of the internet. using this knowledge, the new generation can construct its own national and cultural identity in an openminded way. however, as much as technology opens doors to new tools and knowledge, it introduces some downsides. being open to the universal society can erase the local cultural identity. it is therefore important to respect the particularity of being egyptian when expressing culture and opinions and also when introducing visual arts that reflect the egyptian cultural identity and society 35( el-sirgany). visual arts, cultural identity and education in egypt universally, nowadays, one of the most important usages of visual arts is in the educational process in general, and in the education of arts in particular, whether visual or not, in both traditional study places such as universities and schools, or through distance education which has spread in recent years through the use of computers and multimedia. there are many advantages of using multimedia visual arts in education, such as enabling the learner to understand and gain practical skills according to his or her personal competencies, skills and needs. it also facilitates access to information collection by raising the largest number of human visual and auditory senses and it provides the recipient with enough time to work on his or her rhythm without feeling pressured 36(unesco world report). for the time being, the educational process in egypt is not exactly applying this universal system even in art schools and institutes because most of them apply the traditional ways of learning. given that the world is changing, egypt's educational system might be enhanced in order to fit in the global community. the current egyptian educational system works against improving the egyptian culture and its identity, creating ignorant generations. so to promote the egyptian cultural identity, we have to change and enhance the educational system which is actually a product of the political, social and economic crises. how to emphasize cultural identity using visual arts similar to all arts, visual arts play a role in bringing up an individual who is able to develop objectives, achieve goals, be a well-rounded member of society, and think positively and creatively. arts, visual arts included, are part of the egyptian cultural heritage and civilization. arts play a prominent role in confirming social values, organizing the surrounding environment, developming communities on the social and economic level, and showing the level of social and economic progress within a society. visual arts also play an important role in improving the cultural identity of the society by helping people express themselves and point out societal issues that should be addressed. artists also use visual arts to protest against systems, and to link between cultural groups, which also enhances the society’s cultural identity. learning visual arts helps people to understand multiculturalism and integration 37( clyne, jupp). that’s why an artist is usually more mature and sensitive compared to an ordinary person. visual artists should be given more space to express themselves given that they contribute to the evolution of society and they emphasize on and enhance its cultural identity. conclusion egypt’s history and its particularity always reflects on its cultural identity. cultural identity is a result of the economic, political and socials aspects. the special characteristics of egypt, such as technology and multimedia, also influence egyptian visual arts. this is all somehow related to the level of education in egypt and the fact that visual arts can emphasize cultural identity. in conclusion, there are a combination of relations between elements and aspects of society that cannot be separated and work together to guarantee its continuity. 34 ibid, ( 25/ 06/2015) 35 ibid, ( 25/ 06/2015) 36 unesco world report investing in cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, (07/ 2009) 37 clyne, jupp, (2011) reem lotfy / the academic research community publication pg. 8 illustrations figures fig.03 dervishes, 1927, oil on canvas; 97 x 68.5 cm, mahmud said (egyptian, 1897–1964), collection of dr. mohamed saiid farsy fig.02 untitled, 1943, oil on canvas; 60 x 85 cm, ramsis yunan (egyptian, 1914–1966), collection institut du monde arabe, paris fig.01 awakening, granite; mahmud mukhtar (egyptian, 1891–1934) public monument cairo, egypt) fig.06 6 films, drama, between 1973& 1975, (about the wars of 67/73 ) fig.05 the second wife, film, drama, 1967, directed by salah abousaif (about the peasants’life and feudalism ) fig.04peasant family, 1959, oil on canvas, 99.5 x 80, hamed ewais, egyptian modern art fig.09 the horse, 1971, scrap iron and motorcycle parts, salah abd alkarim (egyptian, 1925–1988) collection institut du monde arabe, paris fig.08 nasser& the nationalization, 1957, oil on canvas, 134.5 x 109.5, hamed ewais, christie’s site fig.07 head of nil’s bride, granite; mahmud mukhtar (egyptian, 1891–1934) public monument cairo, egypt) reem lotfy / the academic research community publication pg. 9 fig.12 graffiti, 2011, unknown artist tahreer square, cairo, egypt fig.11 microphone, film, drama, 2010, independent cinema directed by ahmed elsayed (about egyptians’social problems ) fig.10 yaqoubyan building, film, drama, 2006, directed by marwan hamed (about egyptians’social problems ) fig.13 the other land, film, drama, 2016, independent cinema directed by aly edrees (about egyptians’illeagle immigrations’ problems ) references clyne, m., & jupp, j. 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(n.d.). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.everyculture.com/cr-ga/egypt.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/paulmason/2011/02/twenty_reasons_why_its_kicking.html https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20140709-the-egyptian-military-empire/ https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20140709-the-egyptian-military-empire/ http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/ancient_egypt http://www.everyculture.com/cr-ga/egypt.html http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication supporting mobility across european cities through physically active-friendly urban environments rosina u. ndukwe cesie, european cooperation department, via roma 94 90133 palermo, italy keywords action plan; active transport; physical activity; policy intervention; uactive; urban active environments. abstract active transport i.e. cycling or walking as well as using public transport for everyday journeys is an effective approach with multiple social and environmental benefits for transforming urban environments into active urban environments. although cycling and walking often remain on the margins of transport planning and infrastructure, there are new approaches emerging along with policies relevant to the creation of urban environments conducive to active travel. interventions and policies for developing physically active-friendly environments across towns and cities in europe are central to facilitating the promotion of physical activity and sustainable transport among the local population. a 3-year erasmus+ project called space (supporting policy and action for active environments) involves local government partners and an ngo developing policies and interventions to promote physically active-friendly environments in five european towns/cities: latvia [tukums], italy [palermo], romania [brasov], spain [toledo] and greece [trikala]. the project has focused on cities with recorded low physical activity levels. 5 working groups across these towns/cities have started co-production to develop urban active environments (uactive) action plans aimed at influencing policy and practice for active transport programmes promoting the use of cycling and walking. action plans are based on international guidance for healthy urban planning as remaining project partners include universities and an ngo who have provided support, advice and mentoring. cooperation and co-production with public health professionals, local government officers, education authorities and transport agencies is a key approach to the project. creating sustainable active urban environments is a key to healthier, cleaner, and economically successful cities. this goal can be reached by increased carbon-free forms of transportation such as walking and cycling. the space project aims to capture both the challenges and solutions for the development of active transport in urban spaces translating evidence into policy and practice and ensuring innovation at the policy level. supporting policy and action for active environments urban environments are central to facilitating physical activity for public health and promoting multiple social and environmental benefits. in supporting the development of urban environments and the integration of active transport programmes incorporating walking and cycling into public policy across europe, the 3-year erasmus+ project space has brought together a diverse mix of local government, non-profit and academic partners to develop and test approaches to increase the physical activity level of diverse communities (physical and social environments), and to support and encourage social inclusion through more active participation, policy intervention, and dialogue. doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.236 rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 2 launched in january 2015, space aims to develop policies and interventions across five european cities in the form of an action plan (an urban environment action plan [uactive]) to promote physical activity-friendly environments and to learn from policy and best practice implemented across the different european cities. in redesigning urban environments for active transport, project partners have adopted the following definition of ‘active environments’: “physical or social environments that provide positive encouragement in helping people to be physically active, and to make the active choice.” the 5 specific sites led by the local government and nonprofit organizations include tukums (latvia), palermo (italy), brasov (romania), castilla-la mancha (spain) and trikala (greece). the remaining project partners include higher education institutions (gloucestershire, oxford, zurich, thessaly) and non-profit government-funded organization (fit for life national physical activity promotion program finland) who each provide specialist support and advice in the development of the uactive action plan incorporating current evidence, healthy urban planning and mentoring. to summarise, 10 institutions from 8 european countries make up the space consortium which is comprised of: university of gloucestershire (uk – coordinator), university of oxford (uk), university of thessaly (greece), university of zurich (switzerland), fit for life program, likes foundation for sport and health science (finland), castilla la mancha regional government of education (spain), tukums municipality (latvia), brasov metropolitan agency (romania), cesie (italy), the municipality of trikala (greece). they are in line with numerous other world health organisation (who), eu and national policy documents that support the use of an integrated approach to intervention design, development and implementation such as the eu white paper: a strategy for europe on nutrition, overweight and obesity; eu white paper; promoting healthy diets and physical activity; eu workplan for sport 2011-2014. the project also exchanges with relevant who activities and networks, hepa europe, and national and regional governments of the partner countries in order to support the activities across the partner countries and to support the sustainability of the methodology and key findings into policy across europe to encourage local communities to take part in physical activity as part of their everyday life. this paper will present the methodology and the main results achieved during the space project to support the facilitation of physical activity-friendly urban environments through the development of uactive. it will review the effective multi-layered approaches in combining research and practice from challenges and solutions sought to develop and integrate policy and intervention into action at a local level in order to transform urban environments. the 5 uactive action plans presented, each one diverse in specific goals and intervention priorities will demonstrate the different strategies, tools and policy approach to promote active transport in european cities and towns. the complexities of the different environments presented and planning through co-production and collaboration at different levels of public policy and community participation, reviewing both physical and social environments will be discussed. conclusions will be drawn from the lessons learned from the final results and through the tested model for creating sustainable urban active environments. furthermore, future directions for collaborative research and practice in the field of uactive will be presented. the uactive concept in promoting physical activity in social and built environments uactive has been designed to help organizations and the local population increase physical activity of the involved communities and support and encourage social inclusion through more active participation in their local environment. evidence-based local policy intervention strategies have been brought to the forefront in new approaches relevant to the diversity of the cities involved and stimulated enhanced participation in physical activity through the promotion across local communities and at the policy level of the concept of uactive. the rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 3 methodology adopted for developing and implementing uactive can help to develop a change in culture across the population where physical activity and an active lifestyle becomes both the easier and the preferred choice. the concept of uactive has been defined in the following characteristics: uactive action plan which is defined as a model for developing an urban active environment is a co-produced comprehensive plan which includes a vision for the future. the plan aims to achieve that vision. it details actions and specific goals for a specific setting and/or population groups, for example, children/schools, urban town center/community. the review of both the built environment and social environment is central to the action plan and its implementation. built environments can include a town center with reduced car access, cycling/pedestrian infrastructure, parks and green spaces, free outdoor exercise equipment, school playgrounds, etc. social environments can include policies at local or national government level that actively prioritize physical activity including walking and cycling campaigns, social media that actively promotes physical activity. co-production approach for the development of uactive co-production is one of the main parts of the project's methodology and it has been central to the development of the uactive action plan. firstly through the collaboration among 10 organizations across 8 different countries, the project has brought together partners in implementation sites who have identified their own community needs and aim to have a more active urban environment. through the diverse activities of the project, all partners have worked together to implement action plans in the five sites and develop tangible outputs as a result. partners not identified as intervention sites are however either experienced in policy development and implementation, have a relevant specific academic subject specialism, and/or have a practical application of such projects, and have ensured the co-production within the project. the project adopts the diffusion of innovation (doi) theory (rogers, 1962) whereby knowledge, expertise, drive, determination, and place are shared and contribute collectively to the development of the finished product. in detail, a multi-agency and transnational approach has formed the development of the uactive action plans in tukums led by tukums municipality (latvia), palermo by cesie (italy), brasov led by brasov metropolitan agency (romania), castilla-la mancha led by castilla la mancha regional government of education (spain), and trikala led by the municipality of trikala (greece). these 5 partners have been supported in their action plan development by experienced academics, policymakers, and practitioners of the partner countries. the university of gloucestershire and university of oxford (uk), university of zurich (switzerland) fit for life program (finland) and university of rosina u. ndukwe/ the academic research community publication thessaly (greece) have each provide specific support to each site. support has offered expert input and review of the plans development process and finalization and importantly in assessing their economic value and impact to the environments in focus. during this process, partners have raised awareness across key representatives and stakeholders of the importance of health-enhancing physical activity through promoting active transport programmes within the urban environment. it is import to review how the uactive action plans have been developed across the 5 cities. their development took between 12 and 18 months and a specific six-step process was adopted which included: evidence review: sharing of current good (evidenced-based) practice of the implementation and promotion of an urban active environment (uactive) to increase population level (community) physical activity levels; consultation and co-production: establishment of stakeholder working groups in the five eu member states to co-develop the uactive action plans with a focus on creating environments to support physical activity to foster a more physically active environment; example action plans and template for uactive plan: to support the member states to develop and embed the uactive action plan into policy/practice in each designated city/town; expert input and review: to support member states in developing competencies in the assessment of the value of the uactive action plan through training in the use of the health economic assessment tool (heat). endorsement: adoption by local government or municipalities and ensuring support from elected members of the communities involved in the plans development. implementation and evaluation: co-implementation with stakeholder groups, evaluation of progress and implementation, together with ensuring visibility of results rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 4 3.1 environments for physical activity in europe: a review of evidence and examples of practice the development of tangible outputs which are central to support the development and sustainability of the action plans have ensured a review of research, practice, and lessons learned from the plans development. the aim of the summary of evidence and good practice report was to provide an explanation of how an active environment action plan can be developed, drawing on the good practice and learning from the space project. it includes an explanation of how to develop an action plan, what it needs to include and summary examples of five action plans from the space implementation sites. in the development of uactive, the partnership has carried out an extensive scoping exercise of evidence and good practices across all partner countries. firstly through research carried out in their respective countries on different case studies which demonstrate examples of urban active environments and specific challenges that have been overcome. scientific evidence on the influence of the environment on physical activity was identified as relevant and realistic good practice examples. three examples per partner were characterized in detail to serve as knowledge pool for the development of the individual uactive action plans. secondly through a large scale event learning and sharing of good practice symposium and workshop took place in palermo (italy) in october 2015 to facilitate the sharing of practice, experience and knowledge across partners and workshop on uactive action plans and case studies selected. as a result of the evidence collected, the partnership produced the eu uactive summary of evidence and good practice document led by the university of oxford. 3.2 collaborative working to develop uactive working groups have been established in each of the 5 sites which were made of key professionals in the field of policy, regional government, transport planning and development, sustainable mobility, health officials and local community beneficiaries. working groups led the process of the plans development together with partners to ensure their relevance to policy and community needs. collaboration with the working groups took place through meetings, action planning events, and community consultation. it is worth noting that the strategic partners and organizations which formed the working groups have been crucial in ensuring the action plans relevance and sustainability. uactive action plans across european cities and towns the main results have been the development of the 5 uactive action plans with specific visions, goals, and outcomes: 4.1 tukums the town of tukums in western latvia has around 19,000 inhabitants in the central area and 10 rural municipalities. the town has good infrastructure for sport and activity:9 sports grounds; 9 sports gymnasiums; 11.3km of bicycle lanes; and 2 parks. in 2014. tukums municipality became a member of latvian healthy cities network. it gave a lot of possibilities to communicate more with inhabitants about healthy lifestyle, to promote preventive measures, to support healthy aging, to cooperate with other municipalities in this field, to get political support for solving public health problems in the municipality. rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 5 table 1 – summary of the uactive action plan realized in tukums, latvia action plan case study vision characteristics tukums, latvia in motion in tukums! goal 1: develop the infrastructure for safe pedestrian flow in the town identifying the pedestrian flow in the town, 2017 develop the plan of infrastructure for safe pedestrian flow, 2017 create the infrastructure for safe pedestrian flow, 2018. goal 2: develop the infrastructure for safe cycling in the town pupils’ involvement in designing of the bicycle routes, 2017 route development in line with the designed ideas and existing bicycle lines plan and using a heat tool, 2017 create the bicycle infrastructure in line with the designed plan, 2020 design the standardized bicycle parking spot, 2018 location of safe bicycle parking spots, 2020 involvement of enterprises in the location of safe bicycle parking spots, 2020 goal 3: development of recreation areas inhabitants involvement in designing of the recreation areas and recreation and sports routes, 2017 development of routes to link the recreation territories (for walking, nordic walking, running, bicycling))2018 marking of the developed route map, 2018 organizing joint work sessions to facilitate the lakes involving entrepreneurs, associations, and population, 2017 goal 4: improvement of the information available on sports and recreational infrastructure improve the access to the information on sports infrastructure, 2017 locating the stands for runners and nordic walkers with information on proper warming-up, the performance of exercises and warming-down in the identified recreation areas, 2018 goal 5: promotion of health contributing activities the announcement of initiatives for proactive people.(2018) addressing the state-level competition organizers on organizing certain stages of competitions in tukums. (2018) development of routes to link the recreation territories (for walking, nordic walking, running, bicycling)(2018) promotion and development of traditional events in the municipality like family day, heath and sports festival, mobility week (2018) to include different pupil-attractive sports activities in sports lessons, including swimming, skating, etc. (2017) organising activity promoting day camps for children.(2017) rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 1 tukums town map with reduced speed areas, bicycle path, and location of sports infrastructure. 5.2 palermo palermo is the capital of the sicilian region of italy and the province of palermo. it is located in the northwest of the island of sicily, and is the 5th most populated city in italy, with an urban area of 855,285 inhabitants. although palermo has many beautiful tourist attractions, it also has problems. the development and facilitation of active environments are hindered due to lack of green spaces and parks. 60% of palermitans are dissatisfied with the lack of green spaces. the action plan and its development have been facilitated by cesie. table 2 – summary of the uactive action plan realized in palermo, italy action plan case study vision characteristics palermo, italy palermo – home of active and healthy school communities goal 1: urban trails urban trekking from home to school school children as a group walk from home to school led by school leaders (teachers, educators, and youth workers) who would be “urban trail guides”. children collaborate with their teachers in planning the walking bus using historical routes. 4 routes identified & designed and classroom activities to be developed for the identified routes 12 schools signed up to the urban trails programme at least 1000 school children with support from parents to participate in the walking activities goal 2: active school districts increase in the number of school sports facilities made available for use after school hours for school children to facilitate physical activity. develop partnerships between schools, agencies and local associations to develop specific activities activities. with parents, families and wider school community to raise awareness about the potential use of shared school facilities. at least 10 schools signed up to take part in the active school districts from 4 main areas in palermo. set up of after-school activity programmes in which at least 1000 school children with support from parents access to school sports facilities after school hours rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure 2 – palermo’s urban trekking route “ from home to school”. 5.3 brasov the city of brasov, is a medium-sized city in the center of romania, with around 290,000 inhabitants. it is in a mountainous area, but the city itself is relatively flat, allowing for easy cycling in most areas of the city. cycling is increasing in the city, especially among the young, despite the significant barrier of the cold weather during the 3-5 winter months each year. the municipality is investing in cycle lanes across the city: there are approx. 30 km of cycling lanes in the city of brasov, both dedicated as well as shared space. there are also plans to include cycle lanes as part of any new road construction or maintenance. brasov’s first sustainable urban mobility plan includes a focus on active mobility (walking & cycling) and will include distinct measures to switch from car use to walking and/or cycling. the action plan and its development have been facilitated by brasov municipality agency. table 3 – summary of the uactive action plan realized in brasov, romania action plan case study vision characteristics brasov, romania brasov the city where cycling is a way of life goal 1: the creation of the urban planning of the setting of cycle lanes and related facilities. the evaluation of the current cycle lanes network and related facilities (lengths, areas, safety degree offered, quality of infrastructure, parking, rental centers etc.) the development of a study on cyclists’ number the financial and technical analysis possibilities regarding the extension of the cycle lanes network and related facilities; using heat for selecting investments with the greatest impact the selection of the projects for the extension and improvement of the cycle lanes network (prioritization and identification of the funding sources) goal 2: the extension of the bike paths network (and related infrastructure) by 2023 goal 3: the creation of recreational facilities for bicycle users. elaborating the design themes to carry out the technical and economic documentation (feasibility studies) the launch of the tenders documentation (including the application form if the investment is based on the structural funds) receiving the technical and economic documentation and the submission of the application form (if the investment is made through structural funds) contracting the necessary funds for the investment (if the investment is made through structural funds) the launch of the tender for the investment projects implementation rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 8 receiving the technical and economic documentation and the submission of the application form (if the investment is made through structural funds) contracting the necessary funds for the investment (if the investment is made through structural funds) the launch of the tender for the investment projects implementation goal 4: promoting the bicycle for transportation and recreational purposes among residents. raising awareness of the public authorities on the importance/need for cycle lanes by involving the citizens policy on bicycle family on bicycle day competition of ideas for urban projects, bike trails and related facilities "brasov the bike-friendly city” information and communication activities information/awareness materials oriented towards the population communication through classical media: press conferences, press releases, appearances and interviews, print, radio/tv outdoor communication online communication: web, social media, blog civic participation activities public consultations through online questionnaires organising critical mass organizing regular information actions with the traffic police on the traffic laws and rules for cyclists annual intra-school competition "biking safely" women bikers parade brasov cultural cycling establishing partnerships with different horeca stakeholders in brasov to offer bike parking infrastructure figure 3 – brasov’s bike lane network. 5.4 castilla-la mancha toledo is a municipality and a city in spain. toledo is the capital of the castilla-la mancha autonomic community. it has 83226 citizens and it is the second most populated municipality in the province, and the forth of the autonomic community. the old town is the center of the city and the area most touristic. however, in this rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 9 area resides only less than 14% of the total population. santa maría de benquerencia neighborhood is the most populated area of the municipality and, it is located 8 km away from the old town. it is characterized by a duality of an industrial and residential area, and it has grown a lot during the last years. the action plan and its development have been facilitated by castilla la mancha regional government of education. table 4 – summary of the uactive action plan realized in castilla la mancha, spain action plan case study vision characteristics castilla la mancha, spain active mobility will become an easy, sustainable and popular alternative in toledo, for an efficient, safe and healthy daily transportation. goal 1: to improve roads and equipment needed for a better connection, on foot or by bike, from santa mª de benquerencia to the old town. to improve pedestrian routes to create a cyclist route from santa mª de benquerencia to the old town to install bicycle parking in all the different activity centers to design a specific mobility plan for the industrial polygon goal 2: to implement projects of active mobility – walking to school programmes in the schools from both neighborhoods. dynamisation and economic support to schools which implement active mobility programmes – a safe way to school security in opening and closing school times (municipal police) signposting of routes and center environment goal 3: to promote participatory and social dynamics that support and encourage active mobility. to revise the actual plan to develop workshops with sports clubs within the neighborhood to develop workshops with neighboring associations goal 4: increase awareness and educate the population and social agents. communication campaign basic courses for active mobility to disseminate the project within the autonomic community. figure 4 – cyclist routes from toledo to santa maría de benquerencia neighborhood. 5.5 trikala the city of trikala is located in central greece. it is one of the oldest cities in greece. trikala lies at the very same location of the ancient city of trikky or trikkai, home of the legendary founder of the modern medical practice, asclepius. the city of trikala is the capital of the prefecture of trikala, which is one of the four prefectures of the rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 10 region of thessaly. the municipality of trikala consists of the city of trikala and another 39 small settlements. it covers a total area of 608.48 square kilometers. the city of trikala constitutes the urban center of a predominantly agricultural and stockbreeding area. the main financial, cultural, leisure, sport and other activities of the of the prefecture are concentrated here. the action plan and its development have been facilitated by the municipality of trikala with support from the university of thessaly. table 5 – summary of the uactive action plan realized in trikala, greece action plan case study vision characteristics trikala, greece eliminate all car-use from the extended city center converting all current roads to pedestrian and introducing cycling lanes. goal 1: improvement and extension of the current cycling paths network. survey on cyclists to include heat related data. the launch of the ring cycle lane in the city center. recording on use of current cycle lanes (no of cyclists/per week). production and distribution of a city map marking cycling and walking paths. digital application for cycling and walking. promotional campaign for cycling targeting women. study on cyclist’s perceptions and recording a cycling lanes use. launch event of the action plan & results of 2 heat studies in the context of space. technical study for the improvement and extension of current cycling lanes based on current space document. public consultation and review of the technical study. implementation: the improvement and extension of current cycling lanes. goal 2: improvement and extension of the current pedestrian streets network. technical study for the development of school footpath for student’s walking technical study for the improvement and extension of current pedestrian streets based on current space document. public consultation and review of the technical study. projects implementation. figure 5 – bike lanes in trikala center. rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 11 a review of the effective approaches for transforming urban environments into active urban environments informed by evidence (good practice document), there is a clear argument to show that aspects of the environment that can promote physical activity such as walking and cycling should be emphasized. alongside this, results show there is justification for supportive policies that influence a supportive environment. the examples of practice and the methodology adopted by space, have demonstrated that across europe there is a great effort being put into developing and implementing policies that help to shift the emphasis in towns and cities away from the private car and towards walking and cycling and public transport. the diversity of policy approaches from the case studies demonstrates that there is no ‘one size fits all’ and that local priorities need to be uppermost when deciding on the range of interventions to be applied at local level. the results from uactive following a 6 step process has demonstrated how the environment (built and social) through different mobility approaches can promote the development of physical active-friendly urban environments across european cities and towns. multi-agency, transnational collaboration has produced real-life uactive action plans within five countries in europe, based on published evidence, real-life experience, consultation and collaborative working with other organizations and communities across the eu. in following the recommendations from the eu guidelines for pa and also in the gapa document (2008), space demonstrates effective shared learning and co-production in action plan development to promote and develop urban active environments. evidently, the various approaches, goals, and characteristics presented through each action plan adopted to ensure its relevance at the local level. conclusions a clear need for active transport to facilitate physical activity in urban environments has been identified developing the space project. there is already policy and practice in the area of creating active urban environments (see, for example, who developing national action plans on transport, health and environment, 2014, and some excellent examples of good practice of infrastructure projects (more detail provided in e.3)), but much of the implementation is not consistent. although some good practice exists, the reality is that many towns and cities across the eu do not have the resources to implement many of the suggested policies and practices or access to the required expertise. the space project addresses this economic challenge by combining academic, policy and practice experienced partners with partners who have identified their own need to develop a more enhanced active urban environment. the project focuses on transferring eu and national policies into local action plans and implementation, resulting in guidance documents and a media resource to support the sustainability of ‘how to do it’ beyond the lifetime of the project. the examples of practice document which was a catalyst for the action plans development, show vast diversity in approaches to promoting physical activity through modifications to different social, natural and built environments. while some cities choose to tackle the challenge of road transport, others promoted physical activity through sport and recreation. however, the examples of practice also demonstrate some of the problems and challenges that need to be overcome to create active environments. the action plans are a reflection of the different environments and approaches which although have similar overall objectives, show the needs in their own local environments for change and have successfully translated these needs to key goals that can be implemented within policy and intervention strategies. for enhancing, promoting and redesigning active travel programmes in urban environments, these plans can be used as key examples of how co-production can support the transformation of cities for e.g. mobility infrastructure to develop bike and pedestrian paths for residents, facilitating physical activity within the school environment to address childhood overweight and obesity. importantly, results have provided some lessons learned from the process of the uactive action plan development in order to support other cities and regions to develop a uactive. lessons learned from results include: the process of critical review of the draft plans was helpful in developing the plan. convening a working group of local stakeholders to develop the uactivee action plan and where possible, co-produced the plan. whilst this process of consultation and engagement was familiar to most of the case study sites, the development of a detailed action plan focussing on the active environment was a new experience. the constitution of the steering group was critical: in many sites, it was easy to find interested parties (e.g. cycling groups) but harder to convince influential politicians or decision-makers to become involved. money is a critical barrier: while some sites produced ambitious plans, they worry they may not be funded. rosina u. ndukwe / the academic research community publication pg. 12 cycling seemed to be a more prominent focus compared to walking, perhaps because the infrastructure is more distinct and the advocacy groups more visible. next steps will include the review of the action plans priorities, dialogue for policy intervention and advocacy in assessing the economic value of the plans in reference to the health economic assessment tool (heat). expert input and review which have been supporting partners to developing competencies in the assessment of value of the uactive action plan through training in the use of heat and at the end of the project inform policy through specific key messages and evidence-based results to demonstrate the potential economic value of each action plan and its impact on the urban environment. further outputs will include a guidance document ‘how to create and evaluate an uactive’ including case studies from project partners and: ‘how to’ guidance on measuring value of an uactive to ensure practice and lessons learnt from the plans development will be available at eu level to a wide range of interested stakeholders informing policy and action. how can we collaborate further to address challenges and develop solutions in promoting physical activity through active transport? acknowledgments the project space – supporting policy and action for active environments is co-founded by the erasmus+ programme of the european union (sport: collaborative partnerships). the european commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. references 1. cavill, n. (2016). environments for physical activity in europe a review of evidence and examples of good practice. space eu project. retrieved from http://activeenvironments.eu/media/space-review-evidence-examples-practice.pdf 2. european white paper on sport (2007). retrieved from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/en/txt/?uri=celex%3a52007dc039 3. eu white paper (2011-2014). a strategy for europe on nutrition, overweight and obesity; eu white paper; promoting healthy diets and physical activity; eu workplan for sport 4. eu working group "sport & health" (2008). eu physical activity guidelines (2008); recommended policy actions in support of healthenhancing physical activity rogers, e. (1962). diffusion of innovations (1st ed.). new york: free press. rogers, e. (2003) 5. global advocacy for physical activity (gapa) the advocacy council of the international society for physical activity and health (ispah). 6. ncd prevention: investments that work for physical activity. february 2011. available from: www.globalpa.org.uk/investmentsthatwork standard eurobarometer 74 autumn (2010). public opinion in the european union http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm 7. world health organisation (who) http://www.who.int/en 8. who/europe health economic assessment tool (heat). available at http://www.heatwalkingcycling.org 9. who. (2016). interventions on diet and physical activity: what works (summary report). (2009). geneva: world health organisation. retrieved from http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/summary-report-09.pdf 10. schweizer, c. racioppi, f and nemer, l (2014) who. developing national action plans on transport, health and environment. a step-by-step manual for policy-makers and planners http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication design criteria for pervasive games in historical sites ahmed hassan emara1, adham m. hany abulnour1, mohammed moustafa ayoub1 1architectural engineering and environmental design department, arab academy for science and technology and maritime transport abstract video games can be considered a strong asset in the tourism industry. it is a form of media that allows for interactive experiences. it also allows the virtual reconstruction of historical sites and cities that are difficult or impossible to reconstruct physically, thus, introducing historical sites to a new generation. pervasive gaming (playing on site) can help augment the tourist’s experience by using 21st-century technologies, such as augmented reality, to reconstruct the site virtually and to let the player experience the history of the sites in a more engaging way. this paper aims to provide stakeholders (decision makers, preservation professionals, and game designers) with a guide on how to start the development process of a pervasive game in historical sites for the purpose of promoting the egyptian architectural heritage to the next generation according to their understanding capacity and expectations. this paper presents pervasive gaming as a platform for the virtual restoration of historical monuments as well as the revival of the intangible aspects of these sites, particularly the historical stories associated with them. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords gamfication; interactive storytelling; augmented reality; pervasive gaming; location based games 1. introduction the preservation of historical sites in egypt faces some issues, on the physical preservation front there are issues like inaccessibility, lack of funding, infeasibility, and so on. attempt to preserve the historical sites by means of 3d scanning and photogrammetry leaves the issue of how to present these data to the public in a proper way largely unresolved, resulting in a large amount of raw data waiting to be presented to the public. on the other hand, the declining public concern for historical building and the feeling of alienation from the building and the individuals who erected it, and ignorance of the historic value of the monuments, led to a feeling of disinterest which resulted into actions like littering and vandalism. (moustafa, 2011)thus it is important to revive the history of historic places through innovative means. in the last decades, there has been a trend towards the active participation of people visiting historical locations. this trend has been partially sustained by a discernible shift from historical monument to heritage product that has resulted in encouraging the visitors request for more involvement. (malcolm-davies, 2004). gamification can be the answer for the providing of such involvement. while the designing a game is a creative process and can be subject to intuition and creativity, it’s important for the historical sites to be gamified in a way consistent with their physical and historical attributes. this is considered a common ground for the stakeholders to start the gamification process. the methodology of this research comprises of the following: -analyzing the most successful pervasive games in the market and breaking down their game mechanics from their pg. 63 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.346 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ emara / the academic research community publication game description and gameplay using the mda framework. -reviewing the physical and historical attributes of the historical sites and assign proper game mechanics to each attribute. -testing the results against the analyzed games to verify. 2. background the use of games in the tourism industry is increasingly establishing itself as a futuristic way for marketing touristic attractions. tourism is an industry that is based on creating personalized experiences and services, new technologies such as social media, smartphones, and gaming provide technological tools for developing such experiences. (buhalis, weber, & zhang, 2015) according to the world travel market report (2011) gamification is a major trend for the future of tourism, which is expected to draw in visitors from all ages. the current use of games by the tourism industry can be categorized into two types: -promotion games (play off location) mainly used for brand awareness, to attract potential customers, and to build up a destination or a company image. examples are thailand’s (smile land game, 2012), cape town, south africa (the real time report, 2012), ireland (tourism ireland, 2011), and nanjing, china (people, 2013). these games were developed by destination management organizations (dmos) for destination marketing purposes. many airlines like klm, british airways, and virgin atlantic have also developed games to advertise their brand to consumers. -pervasive games (play on location) are mainly used for more on-site engagement, to enhance tourists onsite experiences at the destination in entertaining and informative way. most of the existing tourism destination games are based on the game mechanics of the classic treasure hunt. for example, rexplorer aims to make on-site tourists to explore and enjoy the history of the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) world heritage city of regensburg, germany. pervasive games are a type of games that mixes the virtual game world with the physical world, this type of games advances through gameplay by tracking the player’s location (normally via mobile gps) and guides him to the game’s goals and objectives. popular examples of these games are ingress and pokémon go. the popularity of pervasive games has increased thanks to games like pokémon go. these games are playful activities where location matters and where collaboration or competition between the players is an important trait. they are played in specific locations using networked mobile devices and result in the merging of digital and physical space. in these games learning about the physical and urban spaces is established on a new grounds and the interaction with the context of the surroundings is enriched and supported by the following characteristics: mobility, location awareness, interaction between the players and various ways of interaction with real-world objects. these characteristics render mobile games useful for situating playful learning activities in real contexts and as such they have been used in recent years to situate play in the relevant physical environment, employing this new relationship to space to support social, experiential and situated learning. the underlying idea is that with these games the players associate information with physical activities in the real world, experiencing immersion in a physical and social space, augmented with digital media. learning through location-based mobile games needs not to be an explicit goal. pervasive games usually have some associated learning objectives, so questions are raised about how to design these games and how to achieve the learning objectives. many location based city games have been inspired by traditional board or party games. however translation from physical to digital is not straightforward, especially when learning is involved. characteristics such as story-telling, role playing and game play strategies need to be employed. various design support tools have been proposed that provide an orientation to designers pg. 64 emara / the academic research community publication 3. classification of pervasive games for the purposes of this study, a classification by activity (gameplay) type will be made. this is by analyzing the games available in the market in the time of this study: treasure hunt (search and find): the player has to find a virtual or physical object in a certain geographical location. finding the location can involve searching roughly the given location. however, the player can also be guided to the place by the game using a navigation system provided by the game. the concept behind the searchand-find games is that the player has to reach a destination. this destination is always a fixed point in the game world that does not change. if no specific location is given, the player has then to choose from a range of locations which are fixed. territory defense and claiming: in this type of games, players find a certain location which might contain a certain object and aid each other in claiming said location, while the opposing team(s) tries to do the same. this requires the coordination of timing and movement between players. if more players are present at the location capturing it is done faster. the players are also required to defend said territories from other teams. scavenger hunt: a scavenger hunt game is a party game where the organizers make a list of specific items and/or objectives which the participants aim to collect or complete. participants may be individuals and/or small teams. the goal is to be the first to complete the list or to complete the most items on the list. players can take photographs of listed items as proof or be challenged to complete the tasks on the list in the most creative manner. a scavenger hunt differs from a treasure hunt game, in that the latter involves the collection of one or several items in sequence, while a scavenger hunt primarily collects items in random order. this type of games is created and moderated by the users of the game. role playing game (rpg): players impersonate or take control of digital characters in a literary setting. players act out the of these characters roles within a narrative, either through linear story or through a process of branching storylines and/or character evolution. actions taken in-game succeed or fail according to a system of rules and guidelines. there are several types of rpg. a tabletop rpg is carried out through discussion, live action role-playing game is carried out by players physically performing their characters actions. in both types, an arranger called a game master (gm) decides on the rules and setting to be used, acting as moderator, while each player plays the role of a single character. narrative in rpgs are usually branching, allowing for freedom of movement and exploration and gives a more real life feel to the game. 4. the mda framework the difference between video games and other entertainment products (such as books, music, movies, etc. . . ) is that their consumption is relatively unpredictable (hunicke, leblanc, & zubek , 2004). the events that happen during gameplay and the outcome of those events are difficult to predict at the time the product is finished. the mda framework breaks games into their components: figure 1. the mda framework pg. 65 emara / the academic research community publication 1. mechanics: are the rules of the game. these rules define how the game is carried out, what actions the players can take, the victory conditions, the mechanisms for enforcing the rules, etc. 2. dynamics: describe how the rules are carried out over time, responding to player input and working along other rules. in programming terms, the “run-time” behavior of the game. 3. aesthetics: describe the player’s experience of the game; their enjoyment, frustration, discovery, fellowship, etc. in other terms, the factors that makes the game enjoyable. there are eight type of aesthetics, including but is not limited to: sensation (game as sense-pleasure): player experiencing something completely unfamiliar. fantasy (game as make-believe): player experiencing imaginary worlds. narrative (game as drama): a story that drives and guides the player. challenge (game as obstacle course): creating a challenge or series of challenges that can be mastered. contributes to the game’s replayability. fellowship (game as social framework): creating a community where the player is a part of. dominant in multiplayer games. discovery (game as uncharted territory): encourages players to explore and discover the game world. expression (game as self-discovery): encourages players to be creative. for example, creating avatars, customizing scenery, etc. . . submission (game as pastime): connection to the game, as a whole, despite constraints. 5. determining the most successful pervasive games for breaking down using the mda framework by extracting the statistics of pervasive games currently in the market, the most dominant games can be identified. the selection criteria is as following 1. the study will focus on android users as they are the most common platform in egypt (39.86% android users vs 5.49% ios users by august 2017) (stat counter global stats, 2017) 2. the study will list games with rating of 3.0 and above according to google play store as game below that rating is considered unsuccessful and unapproved by its user’s base. 3. the study will omit clones (games using the exact same gameplay) and will list game with more variations. table 1. list of pervasive games on google playstore no# game type downloads rating (google playstore) 1 pokémon go treasure hunt 100-500 m 4.1 2 ingress territory defense 10-50 m 4.3 3 landlord real estate tycoon rpg 1-5 m 4.4 4 zombies, run rpg 1-5 m 4.3 5 geocaching treasure hunt 1-5 m 4.0 6 spectrek light treasure hunt 100-500 k 4.1 continued on next page pg. 66 emara / the academic research community publication table 1 continued no# game type downloads rating (google playstore) 7 resources gps mmo game treasure hunt 100-500 k 4.1 8 goosechase scavenger hunt 100-500 k 3.5 9 turf wars – location based mafia territory defense 50-100 k 3.6 10 munzee scavenger hunt scavenger hunt 50-100 k 3.9 11 geoglyph territory defense 1-5 k 3.4 12 clue hunt scavenger hunt 1-5 k 4.1 13 trail of treasures treasure hunt 500-1k 4.1 14 cats go: offline treasure hunt 1-5 m 3.8 15 color planet resources, gps mmo rpg 1-5 k 4.3 16 father.io tactical map territory defense 1-5 m 3.7 17 the magic go rpg 100-500 k 3.5 18 fps invaders go rpg 1-5 k 4.1 19 piste et trésor treasure hunt 10-50 k 3.9 5.1. breaking down the games using the mda framework the mechanics of each game is determined by describing the various actions, behaviors and control mechanisms offered to the player in game. along with the game’s content (levels, assets and so on) the mechanics support overall gameplay dynamics. this step develops the game concept. the dynamics of the game describes the players experience with the games and the actions that emerged during gameplay using the games mechanics. the aesthetics of the games describe the feelings and experiences of the players during and after gameplay. a game can be comprised of several aesthetics from the eight defined aesthetics. since the game dynamics are a byproduct of the game mechanics and aesthetics, the study will focus on breaking down the mechanics and aesthetics as game dynamics cannot be designed directly and are influenced by changes in game mechanics and aesthetics table 2. breakdown for treasure hunt games pokémon go geocaching spectrek light resources gps mmo game trail of treasures cats go: offline piste et trésor mechanicssingle player x x x x x x x multiplayer x x x x search x x x x x x x capture x x x x x x x evolve x continued on next page pg. 67 emara / the academic research community publication table 2 continued resource management x x eliminate x x auction or bidding x aesthetics sensation x x fantasy narrative x x x challenge fellowship x x x x discovery x x x x x x x expression submission x x x x x x x for treasure hunt games, they are mostly single player oriented, with multiplayer activities on the side. their core mechanics are search and capture for virtual artifacts. they promote discovery and usually have little to no narrative behind the gameplay. table 3. breakdown for territory defense games ingress turf wars geoglyh father.io mechanics single player multiplayer x x x x search x x x x capture x x x x defend x x x x ranking x eliminate x x aesthetics sensation x x fantasy x x narrative x x challenge x x x x fellowship x x x x discovery x x x x expression x x submission x x territory defense games are multiplayer games usually divided in teams. they require players to coordinate among themselves for the best outcome thus leaving little time for individual actions. territory defense games are about social interactions and focused game play. table 4. breakdown for rpg games landlord real estate tycoon zombies’ run colorplanet resource the magic go fps invaders go mechanics single player x x x x x multiplayer x x continued on next page pg. 68 emara / the academic research community publication table 4 continued role playing x x x x x search x x x x capture x x x x x ranking x x eliminate x x x auction or bidding x x x aesthetics sensation x x x x fantasy x x x x narrative x x x x x challenge x x x fellowship x x x x discovery x x x x x expression submission x x x x rpg games are usually single player games; they are driven by a cohesive narrative that sometimes branches into multiple paths. they incorporate multiplayer activities which can serve as a diversion from the main game, individual appearance and customization is heavily featured in these games. table 5. breakdown for scavenger hunt games goosechase clue hunt munzee mechanics single player multiplayer x x x search x x x capture x x x time limit x x x eliminate aesthetics sensation fantasy narrative challenge x x x fellowship x x x discovery x x x expression submission x x scavenger hunt is similar to treasure hunt games with some differences; they are focused on team play and have no narrative at all. they are about team coordination and cooperation. 6. designing process for historical sites games to design a pervasive game in a historical site, the site is broken down to their tangible (physical features) and intangible (narrative) components. in the case of egyptian sites, they are required to be promoted as both architecture and historical narrative. to this end, the historical site will be classified as following: 1site classification by fragmentation and the rate of builtin area: the following types of area can be grouped if they do not consider the activities (boz´any, 2007): pg. 69 emara / the academic research community publication a. single building. b. multiple buildings near each other (e.g. with a common garden), c. multiple buildings far from each other’s (e.g. in different cities), d. building or buildings near to each other’s with a surrounding outer area, e. one or more outer area(s) with no buildings. f. multiple outer areas with buildings. 2site classification by history a. person: a person of importance to political, economic, social or cultural development and building has a role in his/her life. b. event: an event important to political, economic, social or cultural development and the building has a role in the event. c. theme: an important theme (e.g. the seal fishery) to political, economic, social and cultural development and the building(s) has a relationship to this theme. 3site classification by function a. military b. civilian c. religious 6.1. criteria for assigning the suitable game mechanics the study will create criteria to which the stakeholders can assign suitable game type to a selected historical site by analyzing its spatial properties and narrative nature. 6.1.1. the spatial requirements the search and capture mechanics dominant in treasure hunt and scavenger hunt games requires the tokens to be placed within a minimum distance of 160 m apart from each other to allow for gps markers error margin (geocaching, 2016), this rule may not apply if using physical markers as the case of the scavenger hunt game munzee, which uses qr codes to be scanned by players as the searchable tokens. the spatial requirements for territory defense games is much larger than treasure and scavenger hunt games due to the territories being planned to accommodate many players in the same spot at one time and having multiple territories to be the subject of the game. rpg games require large area to house multiple activities and minigames. in terms of site complexity, territory defense games require the least amount of complexity as the game play requires rapid movement which can be hindered if a lot of objects are in the way of players, but complexity is perfect for search and find mechanics as they provide the opportunity to discover and explore at an easy pace. therefore, the core mechanics of the games can be mapped to the first classification like this: figure 2. mapping of game mechanics to site configurations pg. 70 emara / the academic research community publication 6.1.2. the narrative interactive storytelling in video games differs from traditional storytelling in books and movies that it can utilize branching storyline, which has one or more starts and multiple or open ended endings. to simplify the categorization of the narrative inside historical sites the research will focus only on the sequence of events and activities without looking at them chronologically or spatially (azaryahu & foote, 2008). so the narratives can be categorized as the following: 1. linear narrative 2. branching or complex narrative 3. emergent narrative (story of the visitor) linear narratives, while can be told to groups, still experienced individually and social effect has little to no effect on the listener. on the far end, social interactions are essential for the formation of emergent stories. this study argues that the simpler the narrative, the less social interactions are required. so narratives can be mapped to the eight items of game aesthetics like so: figure 3. mapping of game aesthetics to site narrative 7. application of game design criteria: the karnak complex 7.1. overview the karnak temple complex, consists of a combination of temples, chapels, pylons, and other structures. construction of the complex began during the rule of senusret i in the middle kingdom and continued into the ptolemaic period, although most of the existing buildings date from the new kingdom. the area around karnak was the ancient egyptian ipet-isut (”the most selected of places”) and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty theban triad with the god amun as its head. it is part of the monumental city of thebes. the karnak complex gives its name to the nearby, and partly surrounded, modern village of el-karnak, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) north of luxor. figure 4. map of karnak, showing major temple complexes and sacred crescent lake of mut it consists of four main parts, largest part is the only one currently open to the public. the term “karnak” is usually associated to the precinct of amun-ra, because this is the part most visitors see. the three other parts, the precinct pg. 71 emara / the academic research community publication of mut, the precinct of montu, and the dismantled temple of amenhotep iv, are closed to the public. there also are a few smaller temples and sanctuaries connecting the precinct of mut, the precinct of amun-re, and the luxor temple. 7.2. gamification proposal for the karnak complex due to the precinct of amun-ra being the only part accessible to the public, the gamification process should take place in it. this part of the covers nearly 250, 000 m2 and contains many structures and monuments. the main temple itself, temple of amun, covers roughly 61 acres. this puts this part of the complex at classification no# 4 of figure 5: figure 5. map of karnak, showing major temple complexes and sacred crescent lake of mut the history of the karnack complex is a layered one, spanning from the middle kingdom to the late period. the figures featured in the temple consist of many deities and kings overlaid and intertwined with each other. this complex narrative gives the karnack complex the 2nd designation in figure 2: table 6. assigning game mechanics and aesthetics to the karnak temple the karnak complex mechanics single player x multiplayer x role playing x search x capture ranking eliminate auction or bidding aesthetics sensation y fantasy narrative y challenge fellowship discovery y expression y submission pg. 72 emara / the academic research community publication now comparing table 6 to table 4 this scenario has an 80% match to the colorplanet resources rpg game, which contains single and multiplayer game modes, and revolves around the search for locations and artifacts and deploying virtual workers to harvest resources. 8. conclusion and future research the researches that inspired this paper mention the importance gamification as a novel way of recreating the touristic experiences and provided a starting point for this research to advance further and analyze the pervasive games available in the market by the time of this study. while the proposals presented by this study are by no means rigid, it presents a viable framework built on the understanding and data from apps market sources and careful analysis of their working components, it is the point of view of this paper that gamification of historical sites is essential to create memorable experiences and to reinvent the visitor experience in accordance with the 21st century expectations in order to invite recurring visitors to these sites. a more refined study should include the prototyping and testing of the proposed games on site to test their performance and their perception. 9. references 1. adams, e., & rollings, a. (2007). fundamentals of game design. pearson prentice hall. 2. azaryahu, m., & e. foote, k. (2008). historical space as narrative medium: on the configuration of spatial narratives of time at historical sites. springerlink. 3. boz´any, a. (2007). heritage site area type classification for facility management purposes. 4. buhalis, d., weber, j., & zhang, h. (2015). tourists as mobile gamers: gamification for tourism marketing. journal of travel & tourism marketing. pg. 73 emara / the academic research community publication 5. geocaching. (2016). geocaching guidelines. retrieved from https://www.geocaching.com/play/guidelines 6. hunicke, r., leblanc, m., & zubek , r. (2004). mda: a formal approach to game design and game research. international journal of heritage studies, 277-293. 7. malcolm-davies. (2004). borrowed robes: the educational value of costumed interpretation at historic sites. 8. moustafa, s. l. (2011). historic cairo causes of deterioration and suggestions for preservation. in old cultures in new worlds (pp. 762-767). washington: 8th icomos general assembly and international symposium. 9. munir, a. (2014, september 10). app monetization: 6 bankable business models that help mobile apps make money. retrieved september 12, 2017, from http://info.localytics.com: http://info.localytics.com/blo g/app-monetization-6bankable-business-models-that-help-mobile-apps-make-money 10. museum, t. b. (2016). fieldnotes storytelling. 11. operating system market share egypt. (n.d.). retrieved september 22, 2017, from http://gs.statcounter.co m/os-market-share/all/egypt 12. sintoris, c., yiannoutsou, n., demetriou, s., & avouris, n. (2013). discovering the invisible city: locationbased games for learning in smart cities. interaction design and architecture(s) journal, 47-64. pg. 74 introduction background classification of pervasive games the mda framework determining the most successful pervasive games for breaking down using the mda framework breaking down the games using the mda framework designing process for historical sites games criteria for assigning the suitable game mechanics the spatial requirements the narrative application of game design criteria: the karnak complex overview gamification proposal for the karnak complex conclusion and future research references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication biomimetics as an approach to sustainability of architectural designs ahmed el-kattan1 1architecture section, faculty of engineering, azhar university, egypt abstract the universe around us stands as a proof of the greatness of god. everything around us, small or huge, tiny or great, all confirms the fact that this universe has a creator who initiated it and keeps running and maintaining it. no one can ignore such a fact. all aspects of beauty and perfection have been created by allah. despite the vast technological and scientific development that humanity witnesses these days, we still discover new indications of god’s creativity and miraculous formations every day. this was a source of inspiration for architectural designers that made them come up with new inventions and creations that help regeneration and natural environmental sustainability. many architects try to copy nature in their designs as they believe that the biomimetic approach is considered the design approach that best preserves the environment and sustains buildings. the absence of a clear definition of different approaches of biomimetic designs of various architectural works is one of the stumbling blocks that face many developers of architectural trends and architectural designers in particular. the research problem is summarized by highlighting various biomimetic approaches of architectural designs through reviewing all previous theories and researches and also studying biomimetic technologies that lead to different results as an introduction to sustainability. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords bio mimicry; sustainability; bio mimetic design; built environment; natural environment 1. introduction the approach of copying nature in architectural design which includes an understanding of environmental systems might be the tool to create an environmental building that could go further more than just simply being a preserver of the natural environment, but a way of environment regeneration as the building is a vital component in complementing with natural ecological systems. ”from my designer’s perspective, i ask: why can’t i design a building like a tee/ a building that makes oxygen, fixes nitrogen, sequesters carbon, distils water, builds soil, accrues solar energy as fuel, makes complex sugars and food, creates microclimates, changes colors with the seasons and self-replicates. this is using nature as a model and a mentor, not as an inconvenience. it’s a delightful prospect . . . ” (mcharg, 1965). although different forms of bio mimetic designs or designs inspired from alive elements have been the subject of discussion and interest of researchers and professionals in the field of sustained architect, yet practical application of such a trend in architectural design has not been materialized as a common concept. this is obvious from the rarity of built case studies. examples of successful designs that copy nature which went beyond the stage pg. 19 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.343 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ el-kattan / the academic research community publication of concept and development are mainly limited to products and materials and do not concern the building gas a whole or a building system but tend to copy nature from one aspect of a certain organism. vincent et al and vogel studied many historic and contemporary examples. an international research organization interested in biomimecry defined several obstacles that hinder the utilization of this method. the absence of a clear defined approach of bio mimetic designs is one of the barriers that architectural designers have to tackle. by reviewing and comparing published materials and by studying current technologies of bio mimetic work it was found that bio mimetic design approaches do exist. each of such approaches has its positive as well as negative points. different approaches have different results as far as sustainability is concerned. while some designers and scientists use the method of copying nature as a method to increase the sustainability of what they design yet bio mimetic design method could also be used, in some cases, as a source of new innovations. reap et al indicated that bio mimetic design approach does not necessarily mean coming up with a product or a material that outlasts traditional product or material if the analysis is done from a life cycle perspective (waddington & whyte, 1968). 2. terms and general concepts 2.1. bio mimicry bio mimicry is copying of models, system and nature elements for the purpose of solving complicated human problems. biomineralized structures have been used inspired from nature. from studying the morphology of living organisms many applications have been developed through multidisciplinary cooperation among biologists, chemists, bioengineers and metallurgists for solving human problems and creating balance between natural environment and manmade build environment (zari & storey, 2007). 2.2. bio mimetic design it is the creation of balance and attraction between natural environment and the built mass within a natural harmony either in the shape of the building, building material or the building colors, as if they are all melodies within the same symphony, the earth with its sky, topography, mountains, trees and its living organisms. we are all invited to look and examine such aspects deeply and try to live through it. nature is a proof of being creative. a singly idea may give numerous solutions and forms. from the idea of forming a tree, a birth a human all types of tress, birds and people where there is no identical pair despite that they all follow the same plan and system. with the same concept of nature and its method to present solutions, the designer extracts numerous designs from a certain idea. the designer does not neglect the role of nature in enriching his creative ideas. nature to such a designer is and open display or show in all times and places. this could be fulfilled through: -minimizing internal partitions which might obstruct the flow of air and light through the whole building. -creating harmony between the building and external environment e.g. emphasizing roof surfaces and domes. -giving logical ratios for internal and external openings dimensions all over the building. -avoiding mixing of varied materials and maximizing the utilization of natural materials which express its function in the building. from here we can interpret the building as being a part of the natural environment through its inspired idea out from natural elements. the following is an example of that: 2.2.1. spiral shape main characteristics continued on next page pg. 20 el-kattan / the academic research community publication table 1 continued a indirect and goes around itself in a repeated manner and can infinitely fill all two dimensional space. b it is a bend that starts from the point of origin and gradually diminishes to larger bends as if trying to get away of this point. c spiral growth occurs by enlarging longer outer surfaces that turns around internal shorter surfaces and covers it. difference in growth speed creates spiral growth. d spirals are a doubling image, i.e. each image reflects another. 2.2.2. spiral form in living organisms: figure. 1 figure 1. spiral form in living organisms starting from ram horns to human palm print source: (waddington & whyte, 1968) snails grow by enlarging the outer surfaces faster away from rotation axis. difference in growing speed creates the form of spire without using any other method (feuerstein, 2002). 2.2.3. utilizing the spiral idea of seashells in building spiral stairs: figure. 2. figure 2. showing the utilization of spire idea of seashells in making spiral stair case. source: (waddington & whyte, 1968). pg. 21 el-kattan / the academic research community publication 2.3. the natural environment the definition of scientific concept of environment was first used by scientists working in the field of biology and physics. some see that environment has two concepts each complements the other. the first is ”biological environment” which relates not only to man life and his reproduction and genetics, but also the relationship between man and other living organisms, (fauna and flora) which exist together. the second is ”physical environment” and this includes water resources, earth and air whether pure or polluted and other natural characteristics of the medium. some others see that environment means the medium that the living organism lives in. it forms the total conditions and elements that keep the organism alive. another trend concentrates on man as one of the active components of environment, so they go to define environment as being all the components of the medium with which man is reacting affecting or being affected by. or it is the framework where man lives and from which he gets all that supports his life whether it is food, clothing, shelter or medicine, and in the same time exercises relationship with fellow man. it seems that it is closer to a scientific fact to state that environment is the group of physical elements, nature, and social, cultural and economic factors that harmoniously exist side by side in a unique balance affecting the life of man and other living organisms in direct or indirect way. this definition shows that environment is a complex term: as there is the natural environment with its components placed by god, including water, air, soil, sun rays and also what lives on such elements and components i.e. man together with fauna and flora. and there is the built environment which includes all that results from man’s interference and dealings with natural environmental components such as towns, factories, human and social relations that run such establishments (biomimicry guild, 2007). in general environment refers to all surroundings of an object. this object might be a human, an animal or a computer program. in the present time scientists agree that the concept of environment includes all conditions and external factors where living organisms exist and affect in its operations. environment for humans is: ”the framework where he lives and hosts soil, water and air and any inanimate or any living organism that is included in each of these three elements. it also includes what wraps this framework of different manifestations such as weather, climate, winds, rains gravity, magnetic field . . . etc., and also the mutual relations between these elements. 2.4. built environment it is the collection of creations, achievements and changes performed by man to change the natural environment, i.e. changing the basic conditions and reforming it to suit his needs. included in such changes, not only by building (architect, houses . . . etc.) but also include agricultural products and so on. built environment, e.g. buildings and infra structures from urban areas to rural or natural places that crosses (such as highways, railways, etc.) in desert and through mountain ranges. 2.5. sustainability the concept of sustainability goes back to the beginning of the seventies of last century. that is when numerous nomenclatures for increased sustainability design such as green design, environmental design and ecological design started to appear. all such names were mainly aiming to emphasize that, when designing any building, a considerable consideration should be given to the effect of this building on the natural environment. the word sustainability comes from latin which means (to hold up) support from below. society holds from below by its dwellers, nowadays and in the future, according to greek concept. the site has certain physical, cultural, and spiritual characteristics to deal with sustainability, which means sustainability of reaction between society and ecological system (mcharg, 1965). sustainability means integration of ecological systems with human behavior patterns to give sustainability and uniqueness of making up the place. sustainability might indicate that various natural resources are being utilized in a way that does not deplete them or reduces their renewable value for coming generations by protecting stored consumable natural resources like cooling, water and living organisms. pg. 22 el-kattan / the academic research community publication sustainability includes self-relying development operations and depends on potentials generated from within. it uses resources in a way that does not deplete them. it represents rational investment of natural resources. this puts sustainability in its right position and secures maximization of its returns. the main aim of sustainability depends on ecology, which is the science that studies the relationship between living organisms and the environment and social cultural effects. achieving sustainability requires minimization of resources consumption. environmental researcher david w. orr has classified sustainability into two groups: environmental sustainability and technological sustainability. although both have the same aim, yet the way to fulfill such targets may differ. environmental sustainability means maintaining and protecting natural assets, which include environmental systems and its services together with waste treatment, regulating climate, producing nutrition, forming soil and consuming resources at a minimum level. technological sustainability deals with the technologies that achieve sustainability by of the methods of modulating resources to useful products together with combining sciences and designs from human perspective with innovations and creations of designers to come up with futuristic designs (graham, 2003). 3. the approach of bio mimicry the bio mimetic approach as a design procedure could be categorized into two procedures: a design inspired by looking at nature trying to define specification, behavior or function in an organism or ecological system and then translate that into architectural designs influenced by nature. the other approach is nature’s effect on a design which means that if there is a problem we examine and measure the way nature went through to get it solved. this could be shown in figure. 3.below figure 3. a diagram shows bio mimetic approach categorized in two categories: design by looking at nature and nature influence on design. source: the writer. 3.1. design by looking at nature the approach of designers looking for solutions with the world of living organisms requires information about the way nature solved certain problems. biologists can help in this area. this approach leads designers to identify prime aims of the design and its parameters. an example of this approach is the prototype bionic car of daimler chrysler. the aim here was to reach a large pg. 23 el-kattan / the academic research community publication volume with a small wheel base. the design was inspired by the shape of boxfish (ostracion meleagris). this fish looks like a box but in the same time it is still aerodynamic. the chassis and structure of the car is a typical case of bio mimetic. it was designed using modelling computer software method and based on the way trees grow by making as little as possible of stress concentration. the resulting design gave a structure that looked very similar to a skeleton where material was added exactly where it needed most. no enough studies have been directed to the implications of architectural design and bio mimetic trends with the identification of humans to design problems which are the basis of the approach to solve certain problem and the way buildings are related to each other, also the relation between buildings and ecological systems. this approach does not necessarily eliminate the underlined causes of destroying environment or damaging it (faludi, 2005). figure. 4. shows a car designed by using the concept of copying nature. it is more efficient and the aerodynamic shape taken from the boxfish makes it more economic in fuel consumption. there is also high efficiency in using materials as mimicking tree growth patterns led to using minimum amount of materials in the car structure. although the car itself is not a new trend in transport but simple improvements were made possible over current technologies without restudying the idea of the car itself as a means of transportation. figure 4. daimler crysler car design inspired by the shape of a fish and the way trees grow. source: (kibert, 2006) designers can look for the possibility to reach solutions to design problems through the bio mimic approach without going so deeply in understanding the scientific aspects and even without cooperating with biologists or environmentalists if they can take the trouble to watch and examine living organisms and ecological systems and go through available biological researches. with the limitations of scientific understanding the translation of biological knowledge to a man-made design is likely to remain superficial. for example it is easy to copy mechanical aspects of creatures, yet it is still rather difficult to copy other sides such chemical reactions without suitable collaboration with scientists. despite such drawbacks, this approach could very well be the way to convert existing built environment from unsustainable environment into a more efficient environment. pioneer thinkers like william reed and ray cole reckon that a shift from a built environment that ultimately is degenerating ecological systems to a built environment that regenerates capacity for ecosystems to thrive and restore local environments. this will not be a gradual process but will require a fundamental rethinking of the way architectural design is dealt with (faludi, 2005). 3.2. influence of biology on design biological knowledge acquired by human designer, and backed up by familiarity with ecological research i.e. designer’s knowledge is the way to reach the required design rather than the determination to solve a certain design problem. the example given in this case is the scientific analysis of the lotus flower emerging clean from dirty swampy waters. this analysis led to many innovative designs. this was detailed by baumeister (2007), including sto’s lotusan paint which enables buildings to be self-cleaning. figure. 5. pg. 24 el-kattan / the academic research community publication figure 5. human designer copying nature using the idea of the lotus flower cleaning itself despite being in a swamp. source: (feuerstein, 2002). hawken (2007) points out that humans as a species of man, has been on earth long before the oldest living forest and since then humans are learning to adapt to their environment. the similarity between solutions that are designed by humans and the adaptability shown by other species is not all that great despite the fact that such organisms (species) live in the same environment with the same available resources. the advantage of this approach is that biology influences humans in ways that could be considered different from predetermined design problem, resulting in previously unthought-of technologies or systems or even approaches to design solutions. possibilities of a true change in human designs and what is concentrated on as a solution to a problem exists with such an approach to bio mimetic design. from the designer’s perspective this approach has the disadvantage that biological studies must be extensively carried out followed by recognizing the relevance of the design workout. ecologists and biologists should be able to identify the potential of their study in creating innovative application. 4. application of bio mimicry on different architectural work as far as the previously mentioned two approaches, it is possible to apply three different level of mimicry in the design. those three levels are form, process and ecological system. when looking at a living organism, the aspects that could be copied are the form and the design process. in ecological system, it should be searched looking for aspects that could be copied. in this paper a framework is suggested to understand the application of bio mimicry in architectural design where the different levels are recognized. there is also an attempt to show the way of using bio mimicry as a method for increasing the ability to regenerate environment. deciding about the developed type of bio mimicry, this framework paves the way for designers who like to use bio mimicry as a method for improving environmental sustainability. it also allows them to identify the efficiency of the approach they are about to head for. the framework that is described here could be applied in both approaches i.e. design looking at nature and the influence of nature on design. by going through available bio mimic technologies, three different levels of mimicry could be recognized. these three levels are: the organism, behavior and the ecological system. the level of the organism points at a certain organism such as a plan or an animal. the mimicry could by for the whole organism or just a part of. the second level is copying the behavior and this could include a translation of one side or more of the organism’s behavior towards the ecological system around it. the third level is about mimicking the whole ecological system and the main mutual principals that provide successful functioning (zari & storey, 2007). within these levels five other dimensions mimicry could be seen, so a bio mimetic design could, for example, be a matter of copying the (form), i.e. the design looks like the mimicked organism or it could be made out of a similar (material). the imitation could be of the way it is made, this is the (function) or how it works (process), or may be what it is able to do (function). achieving the aim function of a building means that the building is having a successful function suitable for the environment and the ecological system. so it enjoys the environmental balance through sustainability and the main building function which helps to reduce material consumption and adaptation pg. 25 el-kattan / the academic research community publication with external environment. figure. 6. below shows the methodological framework followed in bio mimicry of architectural design. figure 6. shows the bio mimic methodology framework in architectural design. source: the writer the paper discusses the three level of architectural design through the form. design process and the environmental balance with comparative analytical examples. 4.1. first level: the level of organism bio mimetic in architectural form example: the project of east gate building in harare, zimbabwe (elkholy, 2001). figure 7. to show the extent that designer applied mimicry of termite mounds pg. 26 el-kattan / the academic research community publication figure 8. to show a termite colony and the ventilation idea from inside to outside and discarding refuses underneath table 2. bio mimetic of architectural form at organism level source: collated by the writer bio mimetic methodology framework in architectural design organism level project description: it is possible to copy the relation between organisms or species in a similar way. it is possible to show the bio mimicry of process and function at the behavior level by the east gate building in harare, zimbabwe. the building is partially based on negative ventilation technology and heat regulation that could be seen in ant hills to create fixed heat inside. water is extracted and purified from drainage under the building. this is a mimicry of what is done by some types of termites near ground water as a cooling mechanism by evaporation. figure 7 figure 8 bio mimetic methodology framework in architectural design (continued) form the building looks like a termite mound material the building is constructed using a material similar to that used to build termite mound, a material inspired by nature and mimics conical structure or skin. construction the building is constructed in the same way termites use, i.e. building gin stages. continued on next page pg. 27 el-kattan / the academic research community publication table 2 continued analysis mimicking on behavior level requires making some decisions about the suitability of mimicry to the human contest. not all organisms have the kind of behavior that is suitable to mimic by humans. there is always the risk that a consumption pattern could be interpreted on bases of other species behavior. for example copying of behavior of a building to termites could be suitable to create a building with a comfortable temperature that is negatively controlled. mimicking the social structure of termite colonies does not coincide with the evaluation of international human rights. it could be more suitable to use behavior mimicry for a certain building in a way to increase sustainability and capacity for environmental regeneration rather than applying mimicry in social and economic fields without careful studies. it might be better mimicking full system rather than mimicking individual organisms in this matter 4.2. second level: level of behavior level in architectural design process example: the project of tsui house residence for florence & william tsui (elkholy, 2001). figure 9. figure 10. pg. 28 el-kattan / the academic research community publication figure 11. figure 12. table 3. bio mimetic of architectural form at behavior level source: collated by the writer bio mimetic methodology framework in architectural design behavior level of mimicry in architectural design continued on next page pg. 29 el-kattan / the academic research community publication table 3 continued project description: basically the building is a reinforced concrete structure constructed on a chain of perforated drain pipes that dissipate the building water and water resulting from cases of flash floods, water is pushed directly outwards through large drain pipes of the house partially buried in the soil at about 1.50 m underground. walls are made out of insulating materials that have been recycled and added to cement blocks. the resultant product is called restra block. such walls are impervious to water, fire and termites. they also reduce noise. from the economic point of view, they are less expensive (by about 10 %) of the cost of traditional structure. upper structure consists of a chain of arches in the shape of a parabola connected together with timber posts tied and covered with a spray of cement connected to a system of blocks. this leads to the formation of a united, continuous structure. walls are at an angle of 4◦ towards the inside which creates compression towards the center of gravity of the structure. resulting side forces also help against earthquakes. side walls are designed in the form of curves and arches so winds accelerate around surfaces. external surfaces also have depressions which enhance aerodynamic efficiency by reducing air friction with surfaces. materials used in this building are timber, plywood, concrete (cement blocks+ insulating materials) and structure adhesives, gypsum, water resistance acrylic, fiberglass and steel wires. figure 9, figure 10, figure 11, figure 12 tilted walls towards the inside with a 4◦ angle forming structural compression toward center of gravity also generated side forces help to resist earthquakes function the designer was inspired by an organism which is the water spider with its elliptical form which withstands natural disasters. analysis the main project idea is inspired by the morphology of one of the most widespread organisms in nature, the water spider with its elliptical shape. the designer followed the same principle natural structure 4.3. third level: the level of mimicry of ecological systems with balance between building and nature. example: ”venterra project” greg & diane kaumann residence (elkholy, 2001). table 4. showing mimicry of ecological system in balancing the building with nature. source: collated by the writer. bio mimetic methodology framework in architectural design ecological system level of mimicry in architectural design continued on next page pg. 30 el-kattan / the academic research community publication table 4 continued project description: it is a project of designing a residence in usa. a large part of the residence is buried under ground with a corrugated roof above the ground floor, made out of golden colored bright metal. the roof corrugations help in dispelling the strength of hurricane winds and in the same time providing a multi drainage system as it forms a funnel shape to collect rain water in outdoor and indoor reservoirs for recycling water. the roof also forms a chain of a random system that has random minor bumps which alleviate the strength of hurricane winds and allow those winds to pass at the top of the house with least effect. the plan of the house is in the form of a horseshoe. this shape allows for maximum exposure to sun rays over the year. it is the only design that provides that. the shape also forms a wind barrier for north west and south west winds which are considered as the main source of hurricanes. the house has three car garages. it also has an upper work area and a tunnel from the house to the garage, partially buried under ground. figure 13, figure 14, figure 15, figure 16 venterra, greg & diane kaumann residence, the designer was inspired by the ecological system to solve ventilation and heating problems creating balance and functional sustainability inside the house to meet dwellers’ needs. function the designer was inspired by system function through form treatment in the building. sustainability the building is designed in a way that makes it meet requirement of its dwellers and withstanding weather and function conditions with minimum cost and effort analysis the construction of the house utilizes styrofoam as an insulating material and corrugated steel plates. walls and floors have a network of hot water pipes that warms the place. the pipes go through the fireplace in living area helping to heat the water. the designer was inspired by the ecological system to solve the ventilation and heating problems inside the house to create balance and functional sustainability to meet requirements of the house users. after studying and understanding analytical examples of architectural works designed on basis of bio mimicry and the development of living organisms across millions of years, where such organisms survived on earth because they possess survival mechanisms and continually developed across the years. this is a wealth of knowledge and examples for humans to inspire them to come up with problem solutions copying what such organisms did to handle aspects such as energy and resources. it was also possible to understand the consequences of negative environmental impact of human activities on ecological system of the globe (doughty & hammond, 2004). pg. 31 el-kattan / the academic research community publication figure 13. figure 14. figure 15. figure 16. pg. 32 el-kattan / the academic research community publication 5. results and recommendations 1. to make nature the right course to go through for constructing an environmentally reactive and balanced building, there is a methodological framework that is followed through three level of nature, organism, behavior and ecological system, as formation has dimensions which are: form, material and construction. design process has method of operation while environmental balance, without function and sustainability it is difficult to reduce revenues consumption and adaptation with external environment. 2. the main advantage of bio mimic design is that it would have an overall positive effect on environmental performance. it would also be applicable on a groups of spatial and time ranges and this is considered to be a good start point for a building design that is actually sustainable and regenerative of a certain place. 3. the research emphasizes that bio mimetic designs can withstand natural conditions such as heavy rain, hurricanes, floods, fires, earthquakes and soil compression. studies showed that when designing a sustained building, nature must be looked at as a source of inspiration and mimicry providing the designer with the course of work leading to the ideal situation which means that buildings should multiply their systems, treating their wastes, generating their energy and reaching comprehensive aesthetic formations over time. this means that the designer can take natural or previous forms or copy them allowing nature to show itself in the design and come out to the surface through appearing in its different forms such as the form of flowers and birds and the touch of materials or even the characteristic that accompany natural light and ventilation and reflects into buildings. 6. references 1. al-homoud, m. (2000). sustainable urban planning of historical jawa. analysis the physical and social pattern, jordan engineers association, 1 (1), 127. 2. american institute of architects. (n.d.). retrieved from www.aia.org 3. berkebile, b., & mclennan, j. (2004). the living building: biomimicry in architecture, integrating technology with nature. bioinspire magazine, 18. 4. biomimicry guild (2007). innovation inspired by nature work book, biomimicry guild. 5. doughty, m. r., & hammond, g. p. (2004). sustainability and the built environment at and beyond the city scale. building and environment, 39(10), 1223-1233. 6. elkholy, m. (2001). ł ł . . . . al bayan. 7. eugene tsui tdr inc. home. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.eugenetsui.com/ 8. faludi, j. (2005). biomimicry for green design (a how to). retrieved from worldchanging. 9. feuerstein, g. (2002). biomorphic architecture. menges. 10. graham, p. (2003). building ecology – first principles for a sustainable built environment, oxford, black well. 11. hastrich, c. (2006). the biomimicry design spiral. biomimicry newsletter, 4(1), 5-6. 12. kibert, c. j. (2006, march). revisiting and reorienting ecological design. in construction ecology symposium, massachusetts institute of technology, cambridge, ma (vol. 20). 13. mcharg, jan, l. (1965). ”architecture, ecology and form”, university of pennsylvania. pg. 33 el-kattan / the academic research community publication 14. russell, j. a. (2004). evaluating the sustainability of an ecomimetic energy system: an energy flow assessment of south carolina (doctoral dissertation, university of south carolina). 15. sustainable building. (2001). independent journal on building and the environment issue. 16. waddington, c. h., & whyte, l. l. (1968). aspects of form. 17. zari, m. p., & storey, j. b. (2007). an ecosystem based biomimetic theory for a regenerative built environment. in sustainable building conference (vol. 7). pg. 34 introduction terms and general concepts bio mimicry bio mimetic design spiral shape spiral form in living organisms: figure. 1 utilizing the spiral idea of seashells in building spiral stairs: figure. 2. the natural environment built environment sustainability the approach of bio mimicry design by looking at nature influence of biology on design application of bio mimicry on different architectural work first level: the level of organism bio mimetic in architectural form second level: level of behavior level in architectural design process third level: the level of mimicry of ecological systems with balance between building and nature. results and recommendations references the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) http://www.ierek.com/press archive-online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the influence of the changes in urban design on contemporary egyptian painting reham sherbiny 1 1painting, fine arts faculty, helwan university keywords city; architecture; form; contemporary; painters; change; impact; mass; space; crowdedness; vision abstract the great cities in egypt have been exposed to radical changes in its form and design since the second half of the twentieth century. the study discusses these changes and their effect on the artistic production of the contemporary egyptian painters. the positive and the negative aspects of this continuous relationship between the artist and the surrounding environment feature are presented, prominently, here. did the changes in the urban design reflect in the paintings of these artists? how did the egyptian artists receive and respond to these major urban changes in their paintings? the study deals with the most important changes in the design of the great cities in egypt. this is coupled with a comparative study of the selected examples from the works of the contemporary painters, with the real image of the urban designs revealing interesting insights about the dynamics of this process. 1. introduction the city evolves through different eras and so its design, including shape, layout, and style of buildings and streets. this transformation is determined according to multiple factors stemmed from the culture and needs of the society as well as the social, economic and political conditions of every era. the scientific progress, which followed the industrial renaissance, in the middle of the 20th century, has contributed to the rapid growth of the city. it has also led to the sprawling increase of the population due to immigration from the countryside for several reasons. accordingly, the cities expanded, and its main distinguished characteristics have transformed. the egyptian cities were established about forty centuries ago. however, egypt’s current capital –cairois one of the largest cities as it hosts the country’s administrative and political authorities. cairo’s importance is followed by alexandria, which is the largest egyptian seaport in the mediterranean. as both cities are ancient and have passed through several historical periods, they have had radical changes, which were reflected in the works of the contemporary painters. 2. the most significant changes taking place in egypt’s large cities the occurring changes in egypt’s large cities included all the elements of design, namely, the general planning, the shape of buildings, open spaces, streets and the distribution of main areas as well as the movement systems inside them. 2.1. urban planning the foundation of cairo goes back to the fatimid's conquest of egypt. that is why we find that its design (fig. 1) followed the pattern of a square with a mosque at its center having a social and cultural activity as well as a religious role. the planning also shows an associated market and government buildings at the heart of the doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.129 reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 2 figure 1 figure 2 cairo’s old planning cairo’s modern planning old city with roads on the sides of the housing units and fences to protect them (yehia, 2000, p.206),(kenany,2006,p.3). over different historical stages, the city then expanded to the east and the west in a way that exceeded the fences. its square-shaped design has also changed (fig. 2) and has been dominated by irregularity (hemdan, 1996,p. 95) due to the wars that egypt faced in the second half of the 20th century. at that time, cairo received myriads of displaced people from the suez canal cities (lao, 1994.p.29). also, egypt was subjected to a widespread immigration from the countryside people for the purpose of education and work (alphonse, 1960. p.30-35). in the 1980s and the 1990s, industrial progress emerged. accordingly, the waves of immigration increased while large tracts of the agricultural lands surrounding cairo were ploughed by the urban expansion. so, the city expanded to the north and the west destroying a lot of green spaces. otherwise, the state had contributed to such changes by building roads and allowing construction on the agricultural lands in order to accommodate the growing number of immigrants from the countryside. (hemdan, 1996,p .191-192). away from the control of the state, individuals completed construction works on agricultural lands. every individual used to buy a plot or a parcel of land in order to establish a building. fortunately, the process of construction, or we can say destroying the green land, was halted due to lack of the financial capabilities. it has paved the way for urban expansion at the expense of agricultural lands as well as the defamation of the view; beautiful greenery had gradually disappeared with incomplete, ugly buildings replacing it (fig. 3). that did not happen in alexandria because of its sea-governed design. the coastal strip of the mediterranean and alexandria's large space controlled its design. that has protected the coastal city from design problems ensuing from urban expansion as can be seen in cairo. the sea -controlling the growth of alexandriamakes its extension linear, so that alexandria has not expanded on the agricultural lands, but it has rather resorted to the desert-areas (denis, 1997, p. 174). industrially speaking, major changes in alexandria included the establishment of several factories. alexandria is an industrial city, and its industrial production represents about 40 percent of egypt's total production (chaichian, 1988, p. 34). until the middle of the 20th century, factories remained separated from the city; however, it gradually extended to industrial areas (fig. 4) due to the growing population (ibrahim, 1962.p.7). the industrial progress and development, especially in the techniques of shipbuilding, have also led to a transformation in the shape of the seaport. moreover, it increased the used equipment as well as harbors relying on modern machines (fig.5) reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 3 figure 3 incomplete buildings at agricultural lands distorting their image figure 4 cement factory in alexandria figure 5 part of alexandria port 2.2 building form with the scientific progress and the 19th century industrial revolution, major changes took place in the building pattern. in the middle of the 20th century, new concepts emerged and the principle of "form follows function" gained traction. the building pattern in the egyptian city was changed and affected by the growing population. in addition to the old cairo's traditional islamic buildings, which had housing units with internal spaces and decorated windows, some buildings emerged in an abiding trend following a new pattern. simple architectural lines, containing no decorations or inscriptions, started to dominate the design of buildings. the buildings became like cubes with small windows or small-sized balconies and concrete high-rise buildings tower using reflective glass to limit the sunrays, which is contradicting to the egyptian climate’s nature (fig. 6). so, many contradictions had emerged, including the spread of high-rise buildings not only in the city’s main areas but also in old districts and narrow streets (fig. 7). figure 6 photo of nile corniche late in the 20th century figure 7 the photo shows high-rise towers amid old houses horizontal extension and unified height of the residential buildings were the major characteristics of the traditional buildings disappeared that have disappeared (kenany, 2011, p.5). in the past, the buildings extended horizontally (fig.8) contrary to the existing ones (fig.9), where the buildings extend vertically, and there are different heights of them. that phenomenon had increased the lack of harmony in the general view. reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 8 alexandria’s beach in the past figure 9 alexandria’s beach now century thfatimid cairo in the 20figure 11 century thfatimid cairo in the 19figure 10 the existence of modern buildings in the old districts amid landmarks made a view of unique and exotic architectural models that have accordingly become unfamiliar to the place. the photos (fig.10), (fig. 11) show fatimid cairo in the 19th century and -the same placein the 20th century after demolishing the old buildings and replacing them with modern style buildings that caused a remarkable contradiction in the visual scene and a changing of the place’s identity. 2.3 open spaces and streets in major egyptian cities, the buildings’ crowdedness has come to dominate the general view because of the rapidly growing population and the absence of the appropriate civil planning. that has led to the narrowness of streets and the disappearance of empty spaces in many areas whose existence was fulfilling balance and visual comfort. randomness was clearly manifested in residential districts, which represented the city’s urban expansion. in modern history, the planning of the egyptian city was controlled by the private property and the financial capabilities of the individuals without stringent laws governing the random, spontaneous, or individualized building process, which doubled the crowdedness and its irregularity (fig.12). engineer dr. abdull baqi ibrahim said: the egyptian community of the city did not evolve according to a studied policy or a clear plan through which we can determine its characteristics or expect its future; however, the egyptian cities grew randomly according to individual desires and available opportunities. (ibrahim, 1962.p.9) they also appeared without a clear social or natural structure. the phenomenon of markets spreading in residential districts emerged as well. the principle of the main center, which divides the city into a market area, a residential area and a service area, vanished. thus the markets, shops, and street vendors were merged in the residential area (fig. 13). blocks condensed, spaces disappeared and humans and buildings caused crowdedness simultaneously. reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 12 the cowdedness of modern buildingsin cairo figure 13 entrance of mouski market in cairo now 2.4 roof scape significant changes occurred in the appearance of the rooftop, which is a key, or an effective factor in determining the relationship between mass and spaces. the good design of the rooftop determines the shape of the building and contributes to drawing the skyline, which strengthens and highlights the identity of the city. the rooftop of the modern buildings flattened in conjunction with crowdedness and poor planning which had a significant impact on the morphology of the egyptian city. the technological progress of the communicational means and the control of capitalism have played a major role in changing the shape of the buildings’ rooftops. satellite dishes and colorful advertisement billboards had irregularly settled on the rooftops of the houses (fig. 14) to form unflatten building shapes. figure 14 satellite dishes and advertisement billboards situated on the rooftops of residential houses 2.5 transport system all the means of transportation, including bicycles, cars, and trains, are an important factor in determining the shape of the city. the good city utilizes all the means of transportation and limits the use of cars, but in the egyptian cities, the use of cars on a large scale had put new burdens on the city in terms of its crowdedness. the photo (fig. 15) shows one of cairo’s streets in the early 20th century and features the line of the tram with the low number of cars in contrast to the current photo of the same place (fig.16). cairo and alexandria are two of the largest egyptian cities pertaining the number of cars due to the high living standards and the centralization of authorities there. the development that occurred in the means of transportation and the entry of cars and trains in the urban fabric of the city required the establishment of roads in the old city, the digging of tunnels and the building of a network of modern style hanged bridges (fig. 17), (fig.18) with straight and curved lines to connect the parts of the city with one another. reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 15 one of cairo’s streets in the early 20th century figure 16 one of cairo’s streets now the network of bridges in alexandria figure 17 figure 18 the network of bridges in cairo 3. influence of the changes in the city design on contemporary egyptian painters we explore echoes of the city’s real images in the paintings of some contemporary painters. their styles vary according to the existing image of cairo and alexandria. 3.1. the impact of change of cairo on its contemporary painters painter mohamed abla's set of paintings titled “towers of cairo” (fig. 19), (fig. 20) reveals an impact in the field. through the paintings, abla criticized the phenomenon of change in architectural style and high-rise buildings, which are inconsistent with the old city’s landscape. he has expressed his own vision for the city’s existing scene containing crowdedness of city buildings that have different architectural patterns. the patterns carry all the contradictions such as reflective glass, homemade of non-painted red brick, the incomplete concrete buildings with concrete pillars and advertisement banners, in addition to the rooftop objects, including water tanks and satellite dishes. on the other hand, the old buildings’ wooden oriental doors which the artist has mixed with each other to form high-rise tower of different sizes and colors, were introduced in an artistic formula, taking into account the aesthetic values of the artwork. the artist also used some elements to express random shapes and colors that dominate the current scene of cairo. he has chosen the view angle of the upper part of the building without ground appearance and has reduced the sky space to become a mere gray cloudy background. the artist also used the contrast of the cold and hot colors and integrated them in certain ways, like blue glass reflection against the yellow color of the old-fashioned door with a gray sky as a background. in addition to that, he used the red color in the unfinished buildings against blue and green degrees of the sky. abla reflected upon these works: ''in my new paintings in downtown cairo, i have seen the city through windows; spacious streets and buildings. every day, i choose one of the buildings to live with it and imagine how it has witnessed great events and dramatic changes reflecting the time effect on it and the reaction of people through permanent additions of colors and shapes. i have become obsessed with that, but it leads me to wonder about our fate destined by this city. where are we taking it? is there a way to save it? are they cairo towers? and we have to accept them as they are, or is it the tower of babel? (awad,"towers from the window", 2011, url). this reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 7 question summarizes the artist's vision, which is reflected in his works and is affected by watching the city's current image. the artist had deprived the city of its ugliness and introduced its elements in an expressive artistic image, showcasing how the artist is influenced by it. figure 19 mohamed abla , towers of cairo, acrylic figure 20 mohamed abla , towers of cairo, acrylic on canvas,180 x 160 cm ,2010 on canvas,180 x 160 cm ,2010 figure 21 figure 22 mohamed abla, the square of ibrahim pasha, ahmed farid, beyond closed door, acrylic on canvas, 100x80 cm ,2004 acrylic on canvas, 2016 as abla has introduced contradictions of the architectural style in the city, he highlights the phenomenon of crowded cars and people on the streets in his painting (fig. 21). in that painting, abla features one of downtown cairo’s squares, which are full of cars. people occupy three-quarters of the painting. the artist showed a perspective vision relying on the multiple levels of the ground demonstrating the interdependence between the elements under conditions that did not conform to the laws of the spatial dimension of the passers-by and their relationship with the cars. the artist used multipletransparent colors’ technique and contrast of red colors at the bottom of the painting against the green statue at the top. it highly reflects the congestion and traffic chaos that appear in the real image of the city (fig. 16). a different style was used by the painter ahmad farid covering the street of the city in his painting (fig. 22). the painting is divided into several horizontal levels where the ground level does not appear. each of the other levels has its own color and demonstrates its integration through various linear relations that were interacted to paint forms of multiple elements for buildings and characters in a way that made it look distinctive. the painter utilizes small tracts of colors in all spaces to achieve balance, unity and to confirm the congestion of the place. in another style, painter, mohammed banawy, handles the mass-space relationship in his painting on a different ground (fig. 23). he shows such a relationship amid crowdedness of buildings in a cube-shaped modern style with straight lines. the painter depicted the scene of the crowded buildings in his paintings through not leaving any empty space in the painting, which is filled with geometric shapes stacked. it was also overlapped in the relations between the relief and the intaglio by having multiple sizes of geometric forms in a beautiful manner that reminds us of the crowded buildings in the city (fig. 12). the vertical and horizontal directions control the reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 8 shapes and reflect the spirit of the prevailing architectural style in the city where mechanization and industrial movements prevail. however, the artist presents it in an original and classical way as if he depicts an ancient egyptian temple. he has chosen the colors of the earth and their tones with the yellow, red, gray colors that he has made from natural materials by using mosaic made from aswan mud, natural stones, ceramics, and porcelain. the artist is influenced by the images of square-shaped urban charts of the old city (fig. 1). he makes this group of paintings as square-shaped, which does not reflect any rejection or criticism of the reality of the city, but being affected by this reality and getting integrated with it by seeing its aesthetics as well as showcasing and expressing them. artist samir tadros has introduced the same idea in a different and more realistic manner in his painting (fig. 24). buildings control the whole space, and the artist also creates the spatial dimensions through the accurate distribution of the one-color tones in the painting. figure 23 figure 24 mohammed banawy, stone mosaic,96x96 cm,2010 samir tadrus-view 301, oil on hardboard,91x60.5 cm figure 25 figure 26 salma abdel aziz, rythms,oil mohammed banawy, aerial 5, mosaic on canvas,120x120 cm,1991 glass,wood,cement,118x170cm,2015 artists salma abdul aziz also drew the scene of architectural jams controlling the city of cairo (fig. 25), by the same idea, based on the absence of empty spaces in the painting. by showing a lack of horizontal lines, relying on diagonal lines as levels to establish the space of painting in oscillatory lines, she expressed her vision about the movement and the instability of the place. dr. amani fahmi explains the artist’s style, saying: she creates an artistic world parallel to the reality suggesting the essential features in the scene that convey -in detailsthe extended lines smoothly. then, it is intertwined thorough intersections highlighting the crowdedness of houses that fade until they get integrated together with the horizon. (fahmi, 2008.p.10). artists were also inspired by the phenomenon of change in the rooftop appearance and its fullness of satellite dishes (fig. 14). mohammed banawy presented this idea in his painting (fig. 26) where the dish acts as the main focus associated with the wires and the net shapes. the artist repeated these shapes as a background to his work, using silhouette technique and geometrically divided the painting into spaces with different sizes, overwhelmed by red color, punctuated by small round circles of blue sky color. by doing so, the painter presented a new handling inspired by the rooftop’s shape and the building’s architecture in the contemporary cairo city. a lot of contemporary painters did like their predecessors and painted old fatimid cairo with its old buildings, which were famous for distinctive heritage. (abaza, 2011). reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 9 however, they did so in a different way than before, reflecting how the contemporary painters were influenced by the contemporary urban design even if they used the same old items. this appears in the artwork of artist imad rizk (fig. 27) when he drew fatimid cairo in the 21st century compared to the painting of artist shaaban zaki (fig. 28) that was drawn in the first half of the 20th century portraying the same area. we have noticed in the first painting the hot pure colors, with its contrasts that overwhelmed the artwork. the painter used the colors with multi-directional brush touches to give the bustle feeling and the sense of continuous movement as well as to reflect the dynamic nature of the crowded city. at the same time, the painting merges the elements of the area including buildings, characters, and animals to prove the feeling of crowdedness that has characterized the current city. this goes in contradiction with the painting of shaaban zaki, which is dominated, by neutral colors and their gradations in wide spaces. aside from representing the ground as an independent entity away from the architecture of buildings, it reflects the quietness and placidity of old city. figure 27 figure 28 emad rizk , street from fatimid cairo, acrylic shaaban zaky, al-khayamiya , oil on canvas ,100 x80 cm, 2016 on wood , 39 x 59 cm,1934 figure 29 figure 30 amany fahmy, borqash in giza, oil on wood ibrahim el-desoki, view, charcoal & pastel on paper 90x60cm,1996 , 140×95 cm , 2015 on the other hand, some of the painters preferred to be away from city’s bustle to create a calmer and harmonic life. they reacted to the crowdedness of modern urban communities and drew desert and empty areas with a wide range of empty spaces and horizontal lines. they represented empty flat places in an exaggerated way like the paintings of amany fahmy (fig. 29), which was dominated by lightgradient colors and the pure white color of the sky. following the same methodology, ibrahim el-desoki presented a painting (fig. 30) in which the neutral colors dominated a large space along with the horizontal lines that strongly affirmed the horizontal extension. it is the image of what we miss in the current image of the city. 3.2. the impact of the change of alexandria on its painters: the changes that happened in alexandria were a little bit different than what happened in cairo. the main design of alexandria has changed over the time because of the presence of the sea and its geographic location. therefore, we have not found in the paintings the absence of empty spaces or crowdedness as to what appeared in the paintings of cairo painters. on the contrary, alexandria’s painters have used a wide range of spaces in their artworks with a balance between masses and spaces because they were affected by the nature of alexandria. meanwhile, they criticized the new alexandria, with the domination of industrial machines and the modern designs as painter howaida sebaee demonstrated in her painting (fig. 31). she depicted the scene of reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 10 factories spreading in the city and near the port through straight lines. she, however, put a large block in the middle section reminiscent of smoke ensuing from the factory as a contradictory form in its lines with the straight lines to cut all the lines and shapes of the painting giving a sense of continuity. there is no shape in the painting we can see its end. even the yellow color in the space, it was not completed in order to attract the sight to the top of the painting. in general, all of the paintings are affected by the geometric formations and straight lines that are influenced by the city design, with its long streets and outstanding flyovers on the sea. in another painting (fig. 32) the artist has divided spaces into areas controlled by grays because it is the color of the factories’ smoke and raw materials used for modern construction. also, the accumulated mass of houses in the front of the painting creates a critical contradiction like what exists in the city amid crowded architectural structures, debris and the wide space of the sea. so, these artworks reflect the new character of the city in a critical way that evokes the feelings and the thoughts. figure 31 figure 32 howaida sebaee, acrylic on canvas, 120x100cm ,2007 howida sebaee, acrylic on canvas, 60x40cm, 2014 figure 33 figure 34 gihan soliman, acrylic on canvas,60x80 cm,2009 gihan soliman, acrylic on canvas,180x200 cm,2012 on the same critical point of view regarding the changes that occurred, artist jihan soliman made a series of works that depends on modern construction in its formations. it criticizes the spread of the satellite dishes on the rooftops. sometimes, she portrays it in an abstract way that covers only the buildings (fig. 33), and other times, she portrays people themselves like buildings with their heads taking the form of a dish (fig. 34). in another style, the painting of artist nevin rifaee (fig. 35) reflects the spirit of the contemporary or modern city. she expressed that by drawing a realistic picture of the flyover amidst alexandria corniche recently (fig. 18). also, she used her artistic sense in a way that relied on contradictions of pure colors. she mixed the ground hot red with yellow touches as an expression of the uproar of the street; opposed to the shades of the blue cool sea, splashed with sporadic and trembling touches on the two parallel directions, to convey the movement and the tension of the sea. it was emphasized by selecting the birds' eye as a perspective angle of her painting, influenced by the style of high-rise buildings and the vertical extension of the modern city. its major purpose is to deepen reham sherbiny / the academic research community publication pg. 11 the vision. fishes are scattered on parallel lines to convey its tumbling from the top to the bottom by the waterfall. it animates the movement of the sea and completes the white-black colored circular composition on the front of the painting to match the colors of the asphalt-made pavement. in addition to that, the two towers of the flyover outlined with a white color appeared as if they were covered with a transparent glass containing the water of the sea inside it. such a contemporary artistic image was in contradiction to the paintings of the same area portrayed by alexandria, an artist in the 1950s. for example, painting of adham wanli (fig. 36) shaped wide spaces with close-shaded neutral colors to reflect the calmness and spaciousness by using a much lower angle of vision than that of painter nevin who painted other works to emphasize the horizontal extension of the place, free from any bridges. the black asphalt paved road, which made his painting comparable with the shape of the city at that time was also another constraint left by the artist in a liberal way. . figure35 figure 36 nevin rifaee, the spirit of alexandria, adham wanly, view from alexanderia, acrylic on canvas, 2011 oil on wood, 64x38 cm,1950 4-conclusion the current view of big cities in egypt, such as cairo and alexandria, including the intrinsic changes in shape and design were represented in the paintings that were made by contemporary egyptian painters who witnessed the dynamics of the changes, each on his own style. the representation of the contemporary alternation in the cities depended on using the elements of the visual language, like color, line, size, and space. the city’s contemporary artistry image has been changed once the real image changed automatically. on the other hand, there was a clear variety of artistic visions that even impacted the way the elements of artwork are used by painters. some of them criticized the reality of the city, the current life, while others found the passion and inspiration within it. eve others went deep in harmony with this life to produce paintings emulating it in an artistic way. another group of painters escaped from this reality to present a wholly different view in order to create a better world. all of those visions are different, but they have one mutual concept; that each one of them has been affected by the city he or she lives in. their artistic work reflects the visual life within the framework of the dynamic relationship between the painter and the environment he inhabits. 5. references 1. abaza, m. (2011). twentieth century egyptian art. cairo: american university. 2. alphonse, m. (1960). growth and development of urbanization in egypt. cairo: american university. 3. awad, m. (2011). "towers from the window" . http://finearts-show.blogspot.com/2011/02/blog-post.html 4. chaichian , m.( 1988). the effects of world capitalist economy on urbanization in egypt. 23, 23-43. ijmes. usa: cambridge university. 5. denis, é.( 1997). alexandrie: deuxième ville d'egypte ou métropole méditerranéenne ?. 37( 2), 163-188. revue géographique de l'est. france: association des géographes de l’est. 6. fahmi , a.( 2008). landscape and a century of artists' creations. i ccfa. cairo: helwan university. 7. hemdan, g.( 1996). cairo. egypt : al-masria llketab . 8. ibrahim, a.( 1962). analytical study to the egyptian city design. aec viii. alexandria : center of planning and architectural studies. 9. kenany, k.( 2006). the planning of arabic city.15,3-16. jpd. baghdad: higher institute of urban planning. 10. lao, m.( 1994). urban planning: environmental and humanitarian dimensions. translated by effat. cairo: el-dar kawmia . 11. yahia, sawsan. (2000). our islamic monuments: architecture from early islamic period until abbasid caliphate . cairo: dar elshark. http://finearts-show.blogspot.com/2011/02/blog-post.html microsoft word identity through caricature art in egypt (1).docm http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) identity through caricature art in egypt doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.135 mona abdulmoniem ahmed alwaraky 1 1instructor at the faculty of fine arts, helwan university keywords the identification & the environment, the identity of egypt, the characteristics of the personal identity, caricature art, architectural identity through caricature art. abstract can a normal individual learn more about a country’s identity through art and rather a type as simple as caricature art? how do identity and caricature art relate to one another? exhibited art often faces similar questions. the term ‘identity’ mainly refers to a first impression formulated in relation to a nation and is often linked to a piece of land. a complete picture of a nation’s identity cannot be simply formed as involved are components, complexities, and even contradictions. no specific concept is involved or implemented in the process but rather an integrated system of data with physical, psychological, moral, and social aspects along its lines. this system and induced spirit is embodied in the interiors of a place to give a sense of continuity and distinction. in other words, identity separates the physical from the psychological. the concept of identity encompasses a set of symbolic meanings, spiritual and cultural, that is accumulated over time to give a sense of belonging to the individuals living in a certain place. as a result, a sense of loyalty and pride is passed on to the people making them aware of their social environments and cultural rights which could be expressed through caricature art to reflect their experienced identities. caricature art is a simplified language, usually embodying a scene from public and everyday life, used by a ‘watani’ (patriotic) individual to express his or her identity within the framework of sarcastic comedy. the identity of the egyptian is the product of civilized movements by egyptians through the ages. 1. introduction can a normal individual learn more about a country’s identity through art and rather a type as simple as caricature art? how do identity and caricature art relate to one another? exhibited art often faces similar questions. the term ‘identity’ mainly refers to a first impression formulated in relation to a nation and is often linked to a piece of land. a complete picture of a nation’s identity cannot be simply formed as involved are components, complexities, and even contradictions. no specific concept is involved or implemented in the process but rather an integrated system of data with physical, psychological, moral, and social aspects along its lines. this system and induced spirit is embodied in the interiors of a place to give a sense of continuity and distinction. in other words, identity seperates the physical from the psychological. the concept of identity encompasses a set of symbolic meanings, spiritual and cultural, that is accumulated over time to give a sense of belonging to the individuals living in a certain place. as a result, a sense of loyalty and pride is passed on to the people making them aware of their social environments and cultural rights which could be expressed through caricature art to reflect their experienced identities. caricature art is a simplified language, usually embodying a scene from public and everyday life, used by a ‘watani’ (patriotic) individual to express his or her identity within the framework of sarcastic comedy. the identity of the egyptian is the product of civilized movements by egyptians through the ages. the goal of this research: mona abdulmoniem / the academic research community publication pg. 2 this paper aims to shed light on caricature art as one of the most important expressive arts and the identity of the society through a group of fine lines with simple intellectual depth. this forms the identity of a society as a whole through the presentation of some of the models and analyses. this approach of this research: this research follows the historic analytical approach inspired by the works of egyptian artists. through their work, we can identify the extent by which they are influenced by their identity and the extent by which this is evident in their work. the limits of the search: this research is determined to study the models of the work of egyptian artists during the twentieth century to review the historic and artistic in stages in egypt throughout this century. defining identity: the concept of identity is a western concept that our arabic language has only recently known, and the spread of the concept of identity dates back to modern arab thought by the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the twentieth century. identity is a term used to describe the concept of singularity and its expression of individuality and its relationship with groups (such as national identity or cultural identity). identity is also a feature that distinguishes something from others or groups from others. the elements of identity are dynamic and one of those elements can bring out another at one stage or the other. identity is an integrated system of physical, psychological, moral and social data that involves a process of cognitive integration and is characterized by its unity that is embodied in the inner spirit that involves the sense of identity and feeling. identity is a unit of inner feelings that includes a sense of continuity differentiation, permanence and central effort. this means that identity is a unit of integrated physical and psychological elements that makes a person different from others and makes him or her recognize his or her own uniqueness. therefore, they involve primarily symbolic, spiritual and cultural meanings that give the individual a sense of belonging to a larger body and create loyalty and pride in this larger body. however, some scholars differed in defining the concept of identity. this is because the term "identity" is said to mean several meanings. it is also linked to several complex subjects. identities are acquired through social upbringing and they are produced and re-produced through interaction. hence, the concept of identity is not considered a final, complete picture or a specific concept. identity and the environment: when we talk about identity, we look for the roots and origins that carry the characteristics of a people. these characteristics influence people’s character and behavior throughout generations even though some of them are borrowed standards, values and principles emerging in an environment other than their own. identity is linked to the environment, including history and geography, and it develops with the development of the ages, but does not lose its roots. the identity of egypt: the identity of egypt is the product of a civilized movement by the egyptians through the ages, which is the result of interaction between continuity and change. in all cases, egypt absorbed and digested all these differences and re-produced them again, both on the material or moral level through the arts, architecture and literature, etc. egypt’s history includes several different civilizations with their own unique cultures and religions. the identity of egypt includes some aspects of all these historical civilizations, cultures, and religions. characteristics of personal identity: one cannot have a distinctive character without a single identity. a person’s appearance shows a great deal of his or her essence, but their identity and lifestyles give them their distinctive characteristics. the private identity becomes the individual’s, whether it’s the personal or a group identity, that reflects on the identity of society as a whole. when we discuss identity through art, we look for the tangible ways that highlighted the concept of identity and was also a result of it. in this paper, the researcher attempts to shed light on the concept of individual identity through discussing the art of caricatures. caricature art: mona abdulmoniem / the academic research community publication pg. 3 egyptian archeologists confirm that the art of caricature dates back to the pharaonic times and that it is old in the ancient egyptian civilization. the comics that ridicule and criticize the political and social situations lead back to thousands of years. in modern times, it has witnessed a more positive and interactive role between art and civilization and more profoundly since the seventeenth century until the twentieth century ad. it has emerged from the movement of history and it was the most modern and diverse at all levels of intellectual scientific, literary, philosophical, religious, political and other, which led to the reflection of these variations in turn on art and philosophy and the value of aesthetics. despite the evolution of caricature art ever since the modernization age up until the twentieth century, caricature art took its current postmodernist form after a period of rapid development occurred in parallel to the time that necessitated the development of photography. even though the both occurred in the same period, they were not only a qualitative transfer. the process of spreading them was slow and was fought by classical and other artists quickly and this did not only affect the content, but it was not easily accepted by the viewers, which extended to postmodernity. many schools, trends and tendencies that expressed the spirit of this modern stage have been well expressed with the industrial revolution and the changes that accompanied it.9 caricature art entered the modern age and has also achieved a strong presence and has influenced many artists as it depicts human sensations. in order for it to become a universal language, as it can also be considered a language that expresses what is on people’s minds, caricature art became relatable to everyone regardless of their language or origin. caricature is a clear drawing that expresses a certain meaning without words, and if it contains words, then they are part of the drawing and not parts of a commentary on it. it is an art that relies on visuals and it shouldn’t rely on tools that are not involved in fine arts, like words, as the meaning does not really reach the audience. caricature is an art made up of two elements, they are formations represented in drawings and drama presented in a comedic form and despite its simple portrayal, and it is one of the most difficult arts. this type of art carries many meanings of high value to the community with many indirect benefits by providing a critical image of negative situations, but in a simple and smooth way. the word "caricature" represents the characteristics of a person or a subject in order to deliver the idea deliberately using a cynical, exaggerated style. the word caricature means the representation of special characteristics of something aiming to portray a certain meaning in a sarcastic manner. it’s a latin word that means a drawing that brings out flaws and that word is also in the arabic language meaning sarcastic drawings. it also appears in the english language meaning people, because this art greatly depends on the people that are drawn by the artist, and the meaning or message revolves around that drawn person. in many cases artists deliberately overdraw the lines and exaggerate the character’s features in order to portray a certain message. egypt is considered to be the first arab country in which the art of caricature has been published. this is due to the press aspect that helped spread this popularity in addition to the nature of the egyptian people and their inclination. the art of caricature came to express the egyptian environment and its events through daily appearances. which led to the divergence into many different directions to cover the aspects of society such as the political aspect of religious social, etc. architectural identity through caricature art: each country in the world has historical cities and buildings that express the culture of the surrounding people, which gives each country its own character. it is its own identity and the architectural mark is very important in diagnosing the identity of the city. it is not just buildings but the main pillar in the formation of any city as the identity of a place is not limited to mere architectural forms, but the features of people vary from one country to another to form a formative unit that shapes the identity of the country. the researcher reviews a number of models to illustrate the idea of identity through the art of caricature, which explains how the artist was able to express his or her identity through caricature art illustrated showing the elements of the egyptian environment using architecture. 10 if someone were to analyze the study of arts from a number of artists, artists will find a general and accurate framework for whatever event takes place in the country because he or she will find that the cartoons analyze and embody this event in all its aspects. figure (1) notes in this work that the artist was able to show the identity of the place through the features of this figure in addition to the background of the work, including manifestations that suggest the architectural atmosphere of the egyptian village. mona abdulmoniem / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 1 one of the work of the artist ali tuygan figure (2) there is no doubt when you see this cartoon work of the artist, tuygan, one can sense the atmosphere of the egyptian village by the artist’s drawing of the background of rural architecture, which reveals the features of the atmosphere of the egyptian countryside. this, in turn, makes use of the expressive features of the simple architectural form of the egyptian village. figure 2 one of the work of the artist ali tuygan figure (3) the artist portrayed the egyptian january 25th revolution of 2011 by putting in elements that symbolize the iconic architectural buildings that make it distinct. the artist also used a background full of architectural features that confirm that the revolution was in tahrir square. figure 3 a caricature shows the revolution of 25 january the artist ibrahim hnetar figure (4) in this work, the artist was able to achieve the difficult equation that brought down the barrier between creativity and public taste. this is an art through his own style in dealing with his subjects from daily life. the cultural features in the artistic work became the homogeneous features. through the successful selection of mona abdulmoniem / the academic research community publication pg. 5 architectural symbols of the ancient egyptian civilization confirm the identity of the egyptian free zones through successful chosen symbols of distinctive architectural lane old egyptian. figure 4 the artist salah anaani in 1988 figure (5) the artist presented a picture inspired by social life in egypt, dealing with aspects of daily life, but with a quick caricature, and note that he showed the architectural identity of the place by drawing the women and the mosque and the houses that express the personality of the place. figure 5 one of the work of the artist mohsen abu abuser from the tales of gebelawi figure (6) the artist in this work can show the egyptian identity through the use of architectural symbols that represent a mental map of the city to be a key sign and thus reflect the personality of the place. mona abdulmoniem / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 6 one of the caricature artist two missiles figure (7) through which the artist expressed his interest in the conditions of his homeland through his art and he did this using a single color and simple lines in the background of the work to illustrate the egyptian architectural identity by choosing elements of the distinctive architectural environment. formal construction as a whole to focus on the expressive value of spaces and blocks and lines. figure 7 the work of the artist mostafa hussein summary: the identity of egypt is the product of a civilized movement by the egyptians through the ages. it is the result of an interaction between continuity and change. many cultures have passed through it and in any case managed to assimilate all these different cultures to produce a special character that we see in different types of arts. the researcher tried to find a relationship between identity and the art of caricature and how this art was able through its simple tools to express the identity of the place through the artist's use of the architectural background in the work to be an expression of the culture of the people, it is not just buildings but the main pillar in the formation of a mental map of the place technician that distinguish it from the other. mona abdulmoniem / the academic research community publication pg. 7 recommendations: 1the art of caricature is an introduction to the various historical stages that the country is undergoing 2this art could be a universal language understood by people everywhere 3identity is a term used to describe a person's concept and expression of his or her individuality and relationship to another 4all kinds of arts are a way to enhance identity so that the artist can produce a distinctive work of art with its own character references: 200ص 2000جیھان سلیمة : تنمیة وتجسید الھویة العربیة .بیروت لبنان م120م ص1997محمد عابد الجابري:قضایا في الفكر المعاصر ,مركز درسات الوحدة العربیة ,بیروت , م1998لثقافة مجدي عبد الحافظ: الھویة مفھوم في طور التشكیل في العولمة والھویة الثقافیة من سلسلة ابحاث المجلس االعلي ل ) 282علي أسعد وطفھ: اشكالیة الھویة واالنتماء في المجتمعات العربیة المعاصرة مجلة المستقبل العربي مركز درسات الوحدة العربیة العدد( م2000اغسطس ,بیروت 30ص 2005شوقیة ھجرس : فن الكاریكاتیر .الدار المصریة البنانیة. الطبعة االولي. 15م.ص1971كاتیر الھویة المصریة العامة للتألیف و النشر المطبعة الثقافیة .القاھرةمني جبر: فن الكاری ابراھیم حنطیر : الكاریكاتیر المصري شاھد علي العصر ,دراسة منشورة , بموسوعة الفن التشكیلي المصري المعاصر ,ھیئة قصور الثقافة 2009 350ص 13الدار القومیة للطباعة و النشر, القاھرة صجمال الدین الرمدي, صحافة الفكاھة و صانعوھا , 25م . الھیئة العامة لمطابع الشئون االمیریة ص2008عادل كامل : الكاریكاتیر في مصر المصري http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the far morocco idrisid arts and their role in enriching the plaster wall processing in the southwest saudi arabian kingdom in the century (14th ah/ 20th ad) doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.137 eman ahmed aref lecturer in art history department – faculty of fine arts – helwan university keywords idrīsid dynasty, idriss palace, jizan area, mulay idris abstract studying the methods of plaster wall decorations is considered one of the complementary elements of the architectural vocabulary that reflects the cultural and ideological heritage identy of the time period. wall decoration has broken the barrier of time and place, and the political and doctrinal differences, expressing in an abstract way the truth about the beilefs of both the far morocco idrisid and sebia idrisid in kingdom of saudi arabia, where they did not use any symbol or sign that demonstrates their belonging to shi'i muslims, so-most probablythey belong to sunni muslims. this study aims to track the foundation phases of idrisid state in far morocco during the century (2-4tha.h/8-10th a.d) and its extension to the east in the tihama asir region during the century (14thah/20thad). the research problem lies in trying to detect the link and the nature of the relationship between the two states despite their differences in time and place through studying the natural strategic crossings, as well as the political circumstances that contributed in the transfer of the influences of far morocco arts to sebia region in the southwest of the kingdom of saudi arabia, which contributed in enriching the plaster decorative arts of the facades of the idriss ashraaf's palaces, and their merging with the local artistic nature of najd, yemen. this study has revealedthrough following the analytical descriptive methodthe emergence of some influnces coming from the countries of east asia and india and the countries of the african continent due to sebia's geographical location as a port on the red sea and its presence on both the coastal trade way and caravans. 1. introduction: the kingdom of saudi arabia has gained a religious sanctity for having the two holy mosques, as it is one of the first center of the initial planning of the islamic civilization architecture in asia and the world. it has influenced by previous arts, and civilizations; some of which are local whereas others are foreign. arts were not important in the beginning in order to abide by the teachings of islam, rejecting all aspects of worldly life as worldly life is nothing but a place to work. and thus art has become nothing but a secondary functional element. and the passage of historical epochs and the expansion of islamic conquests across the earth to spread the true religion of god, the arts of these countries have mingled with the islamic values resulting in new arts with a distinguished character. thus we find a similarity between the decoration units of the facades of najd clay architecture with its traditional features prevailing in all parts of the kingdom of saudi arabia and which are emotionally associated with yemeni heritage – mingled with the spirit of the royal court's arts of the ummayad and abbasiyah caliphates embodied in the palaces, mosques and asbestos of the state of aldarsa in morocco, also the reign of the state of adresse gazzano has mingled with the art of decoration of moroccan architecture, andalusian and indian architecture which resulted in new shapes of deep and hollow decorative units on the walls of some of the wealthy class houses in the late reign of the ottoman empire in farasan islands located in the red sea southwest saudi arabia. eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 2 statement of the research problem:an attempt to reveal the link and the fact that the relationship between the two countries belong to the idrisid period in origin and supervision in both morocco and jizan in the kingdom of saudi arabia, despite their differences in time and place and the scarcity of dealing with this topic. the role of the natural strategic pathways, as well as the political circumstances that contributed in the transfer of the influences of far morocco arts to sebia region in the southwest saudi arabia, which contributed in enriching the plaster decorative arts of the facades of the idriss ashraf's palaces, and their merging with the local artistic nature of najd,yemen. research objectives: follow the stages of establishing the idrisi state in far morocco during the century (24thah/8-10thad) and the extension of its ashraf eastward in the region of tihama asir during the century (14thah/20thad) to find the relationship that links them despite their differences in place and time as they are separated by nearly a thousand years. deducing and analysis artistic influences coming from far morocco, and its mingling with the local najdi style that is reflected on the plaster wall processing in the remains of the jizan idrisid period in sebia. research delimitations: -place delimitations: far morocco fez city, jizan in al-makhlaf sulaimani region that is located between southwest saudi arabia and northwest yemen. -time delimitations: the idrisid dynasty period in the late abbasiya state reign (5th ah/10th ad) extending to the second half of the ottoman empire reign (13-14th ah/19-20th ad) research assumptions:the remains of plaster decorations in the facades of the idrisid dynasty palaces in jizan region are characterized by a special arty nature distinguished from the rest of saudi arabian parts, where the common local najdi artistic styles embraced the yemeni and african styles producing art is a special character. research hypothesis:the geographic location of sebia in tihama asir region was one of the elements of the plaster wall arts development in the kingdom of saudi arabia, they met and met traditional local najdian arts, and foreign art, and reflected on the facades of what remained from the ruins of some palaces and buildings of idriss rulers in jizan. the political circumstances also helped in the formation of the plaster decorations style which made it different and special in comparison to its counterparts in the same era. research methodology:this study follows the comparative analytical method which depends on some special repetitive elements on the walls of some of the remains of the idrisid of far morocco and sebia in kingdom of saudi arabia. 2background history: the arabian peninsula and north africa are linked through a long history, however research should extend to the depth of the historical idrisid beginnings, especially that we are trying through this study to deduce the reasons for their relocation from the south of the arabian peninsula towards far morocco, and the return of their ashraf a thousand years later to the place of their origin, which contributed in enriching the plastic decoration processing in the period of jizan idrisid dynasty in tuhammet ‘‘asir reigon. 2.1the beginning of the alawites' rebellion in the arabic peninsula: al-'alwain have suffered from the persecution of their cousins the abbasiya caliphate, where they believed that they had the right to rule the islamic state, and so their rebillions reiterated to throw the abbbasid state, beginning from muhammed bin abd allah bin alhasan who was called the "the pure soul" and his brother ibrahim, but abu ga'far al mansour had confronted them in (145 ah/762 ad), and in the year (169 ah/786 ad) the caliph moses al-hadi bin al mahdi put down another alawites' rebellion in the famous battle alfakkh (the trap) near mekkah (169 ah/786 ad), but yahya and his brother idriss were able to flee to egypt disguised among the piligrim caravans, heading toward morocco that included the two states of kharijites (tiaret and sijilmasa) that were hostile to the abassid state. 2.2the foundation of the first top state by the arab morocco idriss 5th a.h./10th a.d: al'alwain idriss were contemporary to both the saffarid state in sijilmasa city in far morocco, and the rustamid state in the east, and it also became allies with the ibadi state. the rustamid state had supported the first establishment of the idrisid state in respect to their muhammed descendants, and it stood against the abbasid attempts to eliminate them in a political manner in spite of " the abassids present in kairouan and their hatred and enmity to idriss i and his family, and despite their multiple armies that were so big for idriss i to figureht in his beginning… but they could not attack him for the fear of the rustamid rebellion against them in support to the big idriss"1 ( muhammed ali daboz: 2010)1. 2.3idriss i (788-793ah): by the arrival of idriss bin abdullah al kamel at volubilis city which is related to tangier according to the roman administrative division, in the year (170ah/ 787ad) during yazid bin hatem reign in eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 3 africa. idriss i was able to address the berber tribes beginning with awraba tribe through their sheikh isaac bin abdul hamid the awraban and mawla rashed,and to attract them with his ancestry back to the hashimi prophet household , and to convince them with the independence from the abassid state using their tribalism tendency, the berber tribes continued to pledge allegiance to him such as awraba, zenata, zwawa and others in the year (172 ah/790 ad ) declaring the separation of far morocco from africa after the separation of andalus, and thus he was could spread the islamic religion. he tried to unite them under the umbrella of the first moroccan state forming a strong army and taking advantage of the berber tribes' marshal and war skills, unifying their populations languages into arabic the holy quran language, and trying to keep the fabric of the society by eliminating tribalism. the islamic conquests succeeded in all parts of the arab morocco dominating tamasna2 westward and tlemcen eastward (173 ah), their expansion westward worried the khalif harun al rasheed and made him decide to get rid of the idrissid leader by his assassination in the year (177 ah/793 ad). 2.4idriss ii (177313 ah/ 793828 ad): by the death of idriss i, his servant rashed took over, and then one of the berber tribes leaders had taken care of idriss ii (177-313 ah/793-828 ad) until he grew and took rule. fez city during his reign had become the lighthouse of knowledge and science of the andalus region through al quaraouiyine and andalus mosques which were built by workers from andalus and tunisia. so the andalusian axillary rustumid, and aghlabid taste mixed with the moroccan taste had dominated, especially at the time of andalusian emigration during the century (7th ah/13th ad) fleeing from the christianization violence due to the weakness of the almohad (the monotheists) under the reign of both the hafsid and slavery states. the rise of the idrisid state in far morocco (172 ah/788 ad) coincided with the axillary rustumid state in middle morocco (164 ah/781 ad), and the aghlabid state in africa (184 ah/800 ad), and thus the period of the governors that follow the abassid state ended, (hussein moanis: 2000 ad)3. the islamic conquests in morocco were easy due to the likeness of the berber's social nature to the arabs' including tribal life and sheikh. 2.5the struggle of the ummayyad caliphate and the fatimid caliphate in the arab morocco: the figureht between the ummayyad caliphate in andalus and the fatimid caliphate in morocco continued on ideological bases between shiite and sunnite, until the center of caliphate had moved to egypt, as the fatimid caliphate headed to open it, the umayyad caliphate took the chance to dominate all parts of morocco. this struggle had resulted in rich civilized and cultural contact that reflected on all faces of social, scientific and cultural life. the ummayyad caliphate reign in morocco and andalus continued and ended in (422 ah/ 1030 ad). the fatimid caliphate tried to spread shi'ism in morocco in the year (296 ah/908 ad), however the maliki imams rejected this, which exposed them to tyranny and torture, and they had to flee to andalus and tried to consolidate the maliki sunii doctrine, however shi'ism had spreaded in morocco and andalus in the fatimid era in a limited way on the hands of the sufi philosopher and jurist abuabdullah muhammed bin abdullah bin mssara bin nagiih al gabaly (269 ah/319 ad), and as the fatimi's dream of spreading shi'ism in morocco and andalus didn not come true because of their people's adherence to the maliki sunni doctrine, the fatimid caliphate headed toward egypt hoping to spread their doctrine. 2.6the end of the idrisid state in the arab morocco: when idriss ii began to divide the idrisid state among his brothers as an inheritance, they fought over the reign which led to the weakness of the state, and also helped the meroite andalusian and fatimid invasions to take over. sometimes they invited the idrisid imams to the fatimid caliphate in the time of al qasem bin al hassan reign (337 ah/948 ad) to avoid their assault, and other times they invited the sunni andalusian ummayyad to avoid their invasions, until this confusion and political weakness had ended in their complete elimination, and the umayyad control (985 ad) over most of their cities and the fatimid got rid of the last of their rulers. 3. the expansion of idrisid ashraaf: the ashraaf descendants continued supplementary in morocco without being rulers; the most famous geography scientist appeared in (5th ah/11th ad) century, and al safadi called him idris in his book alwafi bel wafeyat,( the extensive book of the dead), according to his great grandfather, mohamed ben mohamed mohamed ben abdullah ben idris ben yahia ben ali, up to the sixteenth grandfather reaching abu talib. he was born in the moroccan sabta city in (493 ah/1100 ad) and died in (560 ah/1165 ad) his residence on the mediterranean coast facilitated his movement among neighboring countries and asia, recording their geography. ibn khaldon called him alhamoudi, in reference to his granddad hamoud, the founder of beni hamoud state, one of the descendants of idrisis in malga, andalus in (407 ah). “their ruling quickly extended to algeciras, the green island, in (431 ah), and their rule was known as the taifa kings, idriss i rule”3 (abdulghani, m. h., p. 7 & 8)4. they were known as taifa kings due to the conflicts that were among the umayyad and the hammudid branch over the caliphate of andalus, as seditions spread during this period of time, which led to the breakdown of the umayyad dynasty and the foundation of taifa kingdoms in (417 ah) under the leadership of al-mu’tali, the ruler of malga kingdom, and mohamed bin qasem al-mahdi, the ruler of algeciras in (427 ah). eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 4 the name of idriss, accompanied by an adjective, passed around the ancestry of idrisid ashraaf as in morocco ( idriss al-mutta’eyd, idriss al-aali, idriss al-sami), and their ancestery ramified among the algerian ashraaf, such as al sharif abdelqader bin mohi aldin, the founder of the modern algerian state resistant to the french colonialism (1808-1883 ad), and the senussi ashraaf in libya and al jebel akhdar (the green mountain) (1950-1969 ad), and al sharif ali bin mohamed in jizan (1830-1943 ad). 4.1. the geographical location and its civilizational effect on jizan region: it is difficult to determine the beginning of the history of jizan region due to the lack of previous studies and archaeological excavations despite the importance of its geographical location that links it to yemen, passing through hijaz and extending east and northward. however, some historians maintain that its history goes back to pre-islam as it was one of the destinations of prophet of god solomon to look for precious metals. they most probably reached this conclusion due to its proximity to the then contemporary civilizations of moin and sheba kingdoms. this region was also a contemporary of the reign of the kings of humyar in yemen and kings of hijaz and yamama, concurring with the era of old arab kingdoms. jizan region is characterized by the abundance of water and fertile agricultural land as well as its distinguished geographical location as it overlooks the red sea from the west, and it is close to the navigational road of the bab el mandab strait, which is linked to the arabian sea. it shares borders with yemen from the east and south and with ‘asir from the north. in addition, jizan region lies on the two roads of commerce, pilgrimage, immigration, and wars, which are called tihamah coastal road and jadah al sultaneyah al wosta that lead to yemen, makkah al mokarama, al madina al monawara, iraq, bilad al sham, and egypt. these two roads have enriched the civilizational relations and cultural ties among these countries and cities, transferring the treasures of their deep-rooted arts, such as the ancient egyptian, assyrian, babylonian, canaanite, and hadramout arts, leaving their traces on the styles of plaster wall processors on the surfaces of architectural walls. the geographical location has also aided in activating the sea and land trade and in enhancing the artistic mixture in the crucible of the previous ancient civilizations, especially after the arab islamic conquest, which led to the production of a new kind of plaster decorative arts with a special character that distinguishes the south western region of the kingdom of saudi arabia during the second half of the (13th ah/19th ad) century. 4.2.the beginning of the idrisid ashraaf era in jizan: prepare al-sharif ali bin mohamed bin ahmed bin idriss (1172-1253 ah/1758-1837 ad) is considered the grandfather of idrisids in tihamet ‘asir region as he is of husseini origin, from the roots of the idrisid ashraaf in the arab morocco, and he is of the descendants of bin idriss, called al-asghar; bin idriss, called al-akbar; bin abdullah, called al-mahd al-kamel; bin al-hassan al-mathni; bin alhassan al-sebt (prophet muhamad grandson; bin imam ali ibn abi-talib. and ahmedhis grandfather, called abi al-abass al-arachi, in the village of maysoor in (1163 ah), and he learned the religious and juristic sciences in kairouan mosque, then moved to both libya and egypt, where there al-azhar al shareef, sudan, and then to makkah in (1213 ah), where he stayed about thirty years. he learned at the hands of senior religion and jurisprudence scholars and kept guiding people to allah, trying to spread his sunni sufi method that emphasizes the oneness of allah, taking it from his mentor sheikh mohammed bin abdul wahhab (1115-1206 ah) najd preacher who belongs to the doctrine of imam ahmed ibn hanbal. therefore, the followers of imam abdulaziz bin mohamed bin masoud called it wahabi as they entered makka, but they ruled makkah for seven years only, and then mohamed ali, the governor of egypt conquered makkah in (1228 ah), and imam ahmed idrissi moved to yemen, settling in the city of sebya where he passed away in (1253 ah/1837 ad) 4.3. the end of the idrisid ashraaf era in jizan: jizan region suffered from resisting the ottoman occupation, and in the mid (13th ah /19th ad) century, imam mohamed bin ali alidrissi (1293 ah/1876 ad) born in sebya, tihamat ‘asirsucceeded in regaining control over most parts of mikhlaf sulaymani along with its coastal ports till serat and tihamat yemen. imam mohamed is considered the first azhar graduate to establish a state south the kingdom of saudi arabia as he learned the religious and juristic sciences at the hands of great sheikhs and scholars from al azhar al shareef, upper egypt, and libya where imam al senusi was. a lot of tribal chiefs of mekhlaf sulaimani region, yemen, makkah, and madina were attracted to him, and through whom he managed to confront the army of imam yahia, the governor of yemen. he designated sebya region as the capital of his state for about fourteen years, being assisted with the english and the italians and their desire to eliminate the ottoman empire, which was at that time dominating most parts of the world. after the death of imam mohamed bin ali al-idrissi (1341 ah/1926 ad), some weak rulers took over, which invited yahiaimam of yemento conquer them. therefore, the idrisids appealed for the help of king abdul aziz, and makkah treaty was concluded in (1345 ah/1926 ad) with imam al hassan bin ali bin mohamed. however, al hassan, jizan governor, did not continue his commitment to the treaty for several reasons, among which is the tension in the tribal internal political relationships, especially with bani aa'id tribe and the cupidities of makkah governor, al shareef eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 5 hussein, from the northern side under the approval of king abdul aziz, and imam yahia from the southern side in tihama region. this led to his breaching the treaty with king abduaziz and his joining yemen imam, hoping in finding a way out of his state, which led the first saudi state to confront the yemeni invasion. this ended with concluding al ta'ef treaty in (1353 ah/1934 hd) and keeping jizan region as a part of the kingdom of saudi arabia and giving up most of tihama lands that were under the control of yemeni idrisids. 5the transition factors of the andalusian and moroccan arts towards jizan in the islamic era: established the umayyad state (41-132 ah/660-750 ad) laid the first bases of plaster art and wall sculpting, this art had developed in the abbasid caliphate (132447 ha/750-1519 ad) where it was outstanding with its three stages in samarra region, the islamic art in the abbasid period had special features that distinguished it from the arts of the previous cultures, the most famous plaster building then was hwayselat palace or plaster palace in the western side of tigris valley, it was built by al mu'tasem. plastering wall art had witnessed a more developed stage in the sassanid persian era, where it covered most of the walls, both internal as in the linings of arches the mihrab( the prayer chamber), the ceilings and the inner walls, and external as in the facades of the entries, the minarets, and the door and window openings, then the seljuk turks developed and enriched it with more plant branches. the umayyad caliphate in andalus was characterized by the plaster art, using some organic materials in its preparation such as egg yolk to be more resistant to climatic factors. the umayyad caliph was keen on” separating the antiabbasid political matters in the east from the intellectual cultural matters”4 (eman mahmmoud hamadi&lateef khalaf muhammed: 2016 )5, aware that science is the basis of nations' progress, so scientists in all fields had been sent to baghdad to learn more, and thus cordoba had become the intellectual and cultural capital in the islamic west as a result of the mutual delegations' exchange among eastern and western scientists and therefore reflected on the artistic taste in andauls where the splendor and the beauty of the plaster wall decorations of its palaces had matched those of abassid palaces,and in this pattern the andalusian taste transfered to fez city the capital of the idrisid state in far morocco, mingling with the arts of the berber tribes whose ancestors extended in the african desert, mingling with the people of the nile basin; especially nubia and sudan, and through them the andalusian moroccan artistic taste had moved across the red sea extending to the southern and western parts of the arabian peninsula. it is worth mentioning that in the far morocco idrisid era, science was taken care of schools universities and libraries were established, the number of scientists increased and they became more keen to receive knowledge from different countries, in the east and west. thus the moroccan artistic character had crystallized and gained special features that distinguished it as a result of the social and intellectual contact. the abassid plaster decorative arts also moved to far morocco through egypt, where ahmad bin tulun mosque had copied the samarra style in wall decorations, gowns, plant and quranic streaks extending on the frames of the arches and the pillars' crowns. this decorative style had particularly moved to al quaraouiyine mosque in fez and to andalusia. it is worth mentioning that far moroccan arts in their beginnings were loyal to the ummayyad eastern arts and also their cultural and civilization heritage prior to the islamic conquest to the old egyptian, aramean, phoenician and yemeni cultures, it should be mentioned that "mawla idriss the great, the founder of the first islamic arabic state in morocco and his entourage had written with the eastern pen"5 (ismail ottoman:1992)6. 6the plaster wall inscription technique: craft engraving tools have evolved on plaster, using stone engraving and hollowing by knife and some pointed tools, and sometimes using casting models and fixing them on the walls. a community of skilled manifacturers and labourers did this artistic work each with a specific role to do, some were specialized in plaster preparing by mixing and purifying it from debris, while others spread it on the walls, and others drew motifs using some geometric tools and a sac containing ground for lining the motifs, and the decorator who the drawings using the engraving tools, succedded by someone who retraced the borders, the angles and the lines of the high relief and low relief shapes, and sometimes a painter was used in painting the plaster shapes with light and dark colors and sometimes gilding them with specific oxides. the plaster treatments differed from one region to another according to the raw material availability and the financial potentials, however, it was proven that plaster material was used as an isolating and adhesive material in building bases throughout the world through history, also as a stucco to cover and isolate the wall in hot and cold atmospheres in summer and winter. 7the characteristics of plaster decoration art in far morocco: it seems that this art was influenced by the arts of the egyptian culture in the constructional method of engineering, we can also notice the usage of the curved romanian arches that looked like the triumphal arches at the romanian and the ancient greece city gates which were built with bricks or stone blocks as in (figure.1) they were characterized with their curvature and binding taking the shape of a horseshoe, sometimes the key stone extended in a tapered shape (figure.4), the broken arches were also used, with its sides stabilizing on stone stanchions, those arches were surrounded by plastic geometric plant plaster motifs mostly eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 6 containing asterisk plates that were transmitted from the berber arts. the kufic and thuluth calligraphy streaks were used, as in mawlay idriss iizaywya (small mosque) (figure.4) as a new type of wall decoration which gave the wall a creative and distinctive character. (figure. 1) mawalay idriss iizawya, the arches are horseshoe shape, fez city, (5th ah/10th ad) century the amazigh heritage of art is mixed (figs.1& 4) had mingled with the byzantine and romanic art, due to the proximity of morocco to constantinople, the plaster artist had replaced the mural engravings that were scattered in royal palaces and temples with the hollow plaster, he also utilized the minute plaster motifs through colouring it as it was a piece of mosaic. the plaster decorations had varied between low relief and high relief, and between grooved and hollow, mixed with various textures and materials, like the colored ceramic tiles, and the engraved wood, which added to the plaster material a unique special character in color and processing, which led to the aesthetic unity between repetition, harmony and solidarity between the decoration units, the various materials and the architectural wall. the decoration of mosques and palaces was not a priority for the muslim artist as it was in the previous artistic civilizations, applying arabic language (the language of qura'n) as the main language, enforced islamic people unity and ended the tribalism and the tribal differences, which reflected on the unity of the islamic arts and the domination of the true religious teachings, thus producing artistic styles in all parts of the islamic world. this is applicable to the far moroccan idrisid dynasty that established the islamic belief in the berber tribes' spirits, and involving them in the islamic conquests in the east and west. the artist had created genuine plaster decoration elements, inspired by the artistic amazighs heritage units (figs.2&3) which were spreading on the clay houses' walls in this period, mixing them with the artistic experience that he carried with him since he moved from the south of the kingdom of saudi arabia to far morocco, and thus appeared the high relief and low relief lines, and decoration units coming from both heritages mingled with the ummayyad and abbasid styles and the inherited arts in this region. this image cannot currently be displayed. (figure.3) some of the wall decorations in one of the facades of the berber towns. (figure.2) some of the amazing’s decorations in the farm houses that where common since ancient times eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 7 (figure. 4) a detailed plaster decoration in mawlay idriss ii zawya, fez city, (5th ah/ 10th ad) the muslim artist was skilled in at geometric and arithmetic sciences, inspiring from the asterisk plates in the barbaric heritage arts, many innovative polygonal forms of asterisk plates (fig. 4) as in mawlay idriss ii zawya in fez city. the plaster artist also dealt with the units of the wall decoration elements such as those used in the window openings (sunshades) which became similar to the solid wall windows, decorated with curved broken arches with stalactites, pillars and calligraphic streaks, showing his creative art meticulously through his skilled evacuation of the decorative units, and painting some of them with bright red, blue and golden colors. the plaster artist in the idrisi era was inspired by some of the barbaric art features which were characterized by the higher relief elements, and he filled them with plastic geometric decorations,thus his plaster motifs looked like an extending mesh on the surface of the wall, stressing on the light and dark reflection, using different colors on the white plaster surface. 8the characteristics of the plaster decorative art in sebia city: imam muhammad bin ali al-idrisi founded sebia city in the year (1338 ah) as it was located on the north-eastern part of jizan city. it was divided into two partitions, the old city and the new city near the red sea coast. (figure. 5) ahmed bin idriss mosque in jizan 14th a.h/ 20th ad the architecture of the idrisid palaces in jizan belonged to the buildings of the second half of the century (14th ah), and despite of the wars that took place during this period, it was characterized by flat constructions that did not exceed one floor in the private houses, and stressing on the decorations of the facades and the low narrow and wide windows, and it was surrounded by walls and high castles with high gates (fig. 5) in the form of horseshoe arches decorated with plant and geometric decorations and heritage asterisk plates. the plaster decorations on the facades of the idrisi buildings in morocco were distinguished from their counterparts in yemen, where they were closer to the ummayyad era's decorations, and specially samarra's arts in the abbasid era, in the hollowing style and taking care of the facades and covering them with modified plant decorations. those new approaching influences were mingled with the najdi heritage arts that were spreading around all parts of the arabic peninsula, thus the elements of this heritage parts appeared in a regular and embellished way, following the occupation of the royal class artists, mingled with the persian, asian, and african spirits (figs.6, 11& 12) the decorated friezes included a collection of geometric decorated hollow elements made of clay and plaster, where they topped up the facades of the palaces and houses, especially the main gate that was specified for the visitors' entry and the two side windows located on the facade. eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 8 the plaster artist had selected his elements among the najdi decorations, he didn't transfer them in their common usual outline that depended on the decorations of balconies, window openings and doors with plaster material, but he handled them in a method that was consistent with his ideological goal, through abstraction and refinement while keeping his special character. for example, he used “the triangular shape which was known as the louhuj” 6 (abdullah bin ibrahim al ameer:2007)7. known as the name of glaucoma or the hollow opening penetrating the wall, in the form of triangles that were used as louvers and light slots in the windows of the najdi buildings. the plaster artist in the idrisi period used them as a kind of engraved decorations on the wall surface without penetrating it.(figs.6,7&8), he also used the najdi decorative elements inspired by the palm leaves, and flower petals that were used in the decoration of the inner and outer balconies and which were known as zaranik decorations and hollow balconies. (figs.8,9,12,13&14) the plaster adorned artist had used the artificial hollow engraving without penetration while showing the elements on the same level of the wall. the artist kept the visual and architectural modelling as in (figs.6&7) through keeping the horizontal and vertical lines of the plaster friezes with the straightness of the constructive architectural modeling, while keeping the harmony and the diversity through breaking the repetition of the broken interlacing and curved lines harmoniously and finding solid solutions for the wall surface in a balanced way. the jizan idrisi processing of plaster decorations were not as sharp and hard as those of far morocco, as it was concordant with the wall, more gradient and low relief (figs.7,8,9,10,11,12,13&14) rather than being high relief and obtrusive on wall surfaces as in far morocco (figs.1,2,3&4) this was probably due to the proximity of sebia from the sea coast that had the features of the red sea arts which were characterized by frescos more than high relief plaster wall decorations, except in some african regions such as kenya and nigeria. however the najdi character had dominated this region, and the najdi artist kept the nature of wall paint that resembled the paint of the desert and natural rocks. (figure. 8) decorated plaster in the najdi style, idrisid ad th02ah/ th14era (figure. 9) a plaster decorated unit common in the heritage architecture using the najdi style the artist kept in the idrisi state period had kept the heritage character that distinguished jizan region and despite being influenced by previous arts, he was able to incorporate between the different artistic styles, and thus appeared the asterisk plates with the high relief hexagonal and pentagonal petaled ornaments that were shaped inside low relief circular ( figure.7) a palace from the idrisid period in the late ottoman era in jizan. 14th a.h/ 20th ad (figure.6) najdi style decorated plaster, the idrisid period 14th a.h/ 20th ad eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 9 figureures (figs.7,8&9) and sometimes surrounded by frameworks of various hollow triangles in geometric regularity (fig. 9) (figure. 10) a detailed palace multi-level broken arch (14th ah/20th ad) (figure. 11) a multi-level broken arch at an idrisid idrisid palace (14th ah/20th ad) (figure. 12) a façade of an idrisid house in jizan (14th ah/20th ad) the architect was not approved at that stageon using the architectural arches as much as shaping the wall decorations in hollow and decorated arches, keeping the simplicity of the primary lines of architecture as in (figs..7,8,10,11&12) thus the arches looked solid suggesting door and window slots on the full length of the facades and its greatness. the facades of the idrisi palaces were designed as a main door located at the front of the building front characterized by its height, and located in the middle between two narrow windows that nearly the same height and were located on both sides, and it is thought to be the influence of a turkish design, it spread in different parts of the arabic peninsula such as al riyadh, jeddah and medina where a frontal area was added to it to sit in during summer. as the wall processing of the idrisi palace facades developed, the decorations with the straight frames developed into curvatures and also broken arches with asian persian character were added to it, on the summit of the entries and the windows of these palaces. (figs.10,11&12) as many and multiple of these contracts and differed in their layers, thus achieving a creative aesthetic value that was not common in this region. the plaster wall decorations took the spirit of the broken arches design and dropped down on its sides, which enriched the visual wall processing through the diversity of high relief and low relief in an alternate way, with breaking the barrier of the straight constructive and building lines that made up the building, we notice in (figs.10,11&12) the similarity between the broken arches in sebia's palaces by those of mawlay idris ii particularly at the top of the keystone (fig. 4). (figure. 13) a najdi style decorated plaster, idrisid era 14th ah/20th ad (figure. 14) details from the gate at sebya, idrisid era 14th ah/20th ad (figure. 15) a city gate at sebya, idrisid era 14th ah/20th ad the plaster artist used the heritage plant units as the palm leaves decorations which were common on the facades of the heritage building (fig.13) as plastic units for the ornamentation of the arch summits which were ornamented in a simple and symmetrical form, he modified this decorative unit using curved and abstract lines which were thin and simple.the facades' decorations of the building entries had evolved and were taken care of, influenced by the style of the triumphal gates of the romanian and ancient greece buildings,consequently it looked higher and more refined, he also created in the decorative arts where he took care of the arches modeling resulting in the disappearance of the quadrilateral slots which were common in the very beginnings of the idrisi architecture, thus the arch slots widened, he also took care of the wall plane motifs which were ornamented with vermicular decorative streaks, influenced by the andalusian decorative style (fig.14) in its duality and arches duplication, also the sasanian and indian influences appeared in the wall decoration style , thus it appeared as dropdown curtains like the indian and persian rugs that were used in the formal celebrations. eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 10 those decorations extended from the building summit and ended in plant motifs that looked like rattles, mostly inspired by the ottoman and barbaric heritage plant motifs. (figure. 16) a granite slab from the byzantine era, engraved with decorative units (11-12 ah) christian and byzantine museum the plaster decoration elements had mixed between the local style, which relied on the geometric abstract figureures, and the plant units with their interlacing branches with the artistic methods coming from india, persia and arab morocco through bringing the skilled manufacturers. the plaster attractive elements of the ruins of idrisid palaces and buildings were similar to those of the umayyad's in the plaster engraving and hollowing method after drying and the motifs protrusion from the background with twisting and interlacing plant lines to cover most of the wall surface. however, the idrisid motifs in this stage were formed of a group of plant stripes hollow in the insides and all around, also the decorative design was formed of wide and hollow plant stems surrounded by a frame formed of a part of this foliate heads,it also showed a multi-petaled flower that appeared in the fatimid and abbasid motifs and moved to the heritage architectonic style in najd region, it is worth mentioning that in the primary stage some motifs of the sasanian and byzantine art methods overwhelmed (fig.16). (figure. 17) inner wall closets with broken arches, an idrisid palace 14th ah/20th ad the idrisi buildings contained a collection of solid wall closets known " as al faregha"(abdullah bin ibrahim al omair 2007)8 that looked like small window engraved in the wall, and which was used in keeping the household, lanterns, books and other things. the indian and sessenian architectural arts reflected especially on the pointed arches that ornamented the inner and outer walls of the idrisi architecture, and appeared on the top of the entrances' summits and the wall closets (fig.17), the decorations of some facades in tihama asir during the idrisi era were sometimes characterized by their similarity with the nubian decorations,where the solar asterisk plates and the straight streaks that lined the edges of the building facade and above the slots, which were formed of the hollow rhombus shape (figs..6,7,8&9). a comparison between the artistic method of plaster processing in both far morocco (fez) and jizan (sebia): both abdel rahman bin mu'awiya bin hisham (113-172 ah/731-788 ad), and mawla abdulla al idrissi were able to seize parts of far morocco and spain, during the peak of the abbassid caliphate stability, taking advantage of their preoccupation in wars, their eastern expansions and their bonds consolidation in all parts of the islamic states, which gave mawla abdullah al idrissi a chance to found his state in far morocco through the polarization of some countries, such as egypt, libia, and algeria, through his confidential messages based on his ancestry back to the prophet household, thus deserving the islamic caliphate more. on the same pattern, jizan idrisid ashraf were able to find their emirate during the preoccupation of the abbasid caliphate in their dispatches to consolidate their control over the trade and pilgrimage routes. eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 11 (figure.17) a comparison between the idrisi emirate in both far morocco and jizan in the kingdom of saudi arabia the results: the spirit of the idrisis’ beginning headed from the south of the arabian peninsula towards far morocco, bearing its culture and its najdi heritage arts with it, and established its basis in far morocco. the plaster decorations of jizan idrisid the plaster decorarations of far moroccan idrisid point of comparison (14th ah/20th ad) (5th ah/10th ad) the period caliper, rope and knife caliper and ruler slitting and discharging tools austerity and simplicity luxury and accuracy the dominating feature the african and najdi arts the berber arts, especially the old amazighs arts the heritage artistic influences were influenced by the hellenistic and sasanian arts. -were affected by the hellenistic, byzantine and sasanian arts that melted with the umayyad arts the romanes, byzantine and gothic the preislam newcoming artistic influences -were influenced by the abbassid arts,where sammara arts were. zaidyyah arts, asian, indian and turkish arts through pilgrimage,trading and wars -were influenced by ummayyad damascus through the polarization of the labourers and manifacturers from the east. the andalusian and aghlabids arts, and the indian arts through pilgrimage,trading and wars. the contemporary artistic influences the plaster artist depended on the interlacing straight geometrical lines, and also on the abstract plant units, and he didn’t intentionally covered most of the wall, thus his shapes looked simple. he kept the decorative elements in the same height with the wall. the abstract plant units with their twisting branches were used, and the shapes were fragmented and abstracted into geometrical elements and they were reshaped producing a replicated shape that gave the continuity to the visual modeling. the decoration elements protruded from the wall. decorative ments the circular shapes with the different and varied rossettes were used as straight frames. he took from the barbaric art the asterisk plates modeling,and added to it. the asterisk plates the rarety of quran calligraphy in this period the kufi and thulus calligraphy spreaded the calligraphic streaks the facades specially the entries and the guests sittings. the building façade and most of the inner and outer parts of the wall the place of decorations in architecture the shapes were not coloured, keeping the main colour of the raw material the plaster elements were coloured to show the decoration units plaster colouring the arches' frames were decorated in broken method. different architectonic elements were decorated with plaster such as, the minarets, the domes and the arches, and it was mixed with other materials as wood and mosaics the plaster architectonic elements they took the shape of horseshoe arches, and najdi pointed arches, and broken arches they took the shape of horseshoe arches, and pointed arches with dropping stalactites, and also broken arches the arches eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 12 there was a relationship that connected both the eastern and western idrisid states despite their difference in place and time, as about a century separates them. however, the land and sea crossings played a role in extending the idrisi’s supervision through trade and cultural exchange as their beliefs and their religious and political ideologies mingled with the tribal, heritage, cultural legacies. this was reflected in the way they handled the facades of their palaces, which were characterized by simplicity, abstraction, and avoiding the drawing of living creatures, even if they were abstract wall decorations. they were also known for their austerity, and their buildings seemed plain, without exaggeration in spaces or wall decoration, as illustrated in details in the previous table (fig. 17). discussion: the second century ah witnessed many political movements in arab morocco; there was the idrisid state in far morocco in the 5th hg/ 11th ah century, the ibadi state in tunisia, the rustamids in (144 ah) in middle morocco, and the aghlabids state in (188 ah), which was politically subordinate to the abbasids but selfgoverning as a state for the tulunids in egypt. then, the fatimids succeeded in establishing their state in the fourth hijri century, and then headed towards cairo. during this period of time, while the abbasid caliphate was collapsing, the ottoman empire expanded eastward, keen on dominating hijaz and al sham states (levant states) and the land and sea trade routes. conclusion: the study traced the factors of the formation of far morocco idrissids in the arab morocco in the (5th ah/ 11th ad) century and the emirate of ashraaf idrisids of tihama ‘asir in sebya during the (14th ah/20th ad) century, showing the struggle of the two states for staying independent of the caliphate, such as the idrisid state of fez that resisted the domination of the abbasid caliphate, the aghlabids of tunisia, the fatimids, the umayyads, and the andalusians as well as the emirate of ashraaf idrisids in sebya that resisted the ottoman caliphate, the first saudi state, and the zaidis in yemen. the goal of the idrisids was to restore the islamic caliphate as they are descendants of the hashemi house. we have concluded through research and analysis that there may be a connection between the two eastern and western states, through immigration and the expansion of the ashraaf descendants despite the difference in time and place, by studying the natural strategic crossings and the political circumstances that contributed in transmitting the influences of far moroccan arts to sebya region, south west kingdom of saudi arabia, which in turn contributed in enriching the arts of plaster decorations for the facades of ashraaf al'adarisih palaces and their mingling with the najdi yemeni artistic local character as they shared almost similar and close features in that the decorations of both regions were devoid of animalistic and humanistic elements, even modified ones. although both were influenced by persian and byzantine art styles, the elements of their decorations depended on geometric and plant abstraction and sometimes symbols of warding off magic. recommendation:interest in the study of islamic decorative arts and development in line with the modern era, especially after it is located after the status of the architectural arts in the arab islamic civilization, reached its peak in the seventh and eighth centuries east and west, but in the middle of the thirteenth century was neglected and neglected and the focus was on quotations from the arts west. -studying the relationship between the architecture of the arts of morocco and the south of saudi arabia, where it weakens the references that deal with the historical, political and artistic relationship between them, the researcher adopted through reading the writings of the arab travelers to connect them. previous studies. books: 1. ismail, osman osman: 1992, history of islamic architecture and applied arts in the far east, islamic civilization series, first edition. 2. al-tha'albi, abd al-'azzi: 1990, north african history from the islamic conquest to the end of the majority state, second edition, beirut-lebanon, dar al-gharb al-islami. 3. al-aqili, mohammed bin ahmed, 1982, al-makhlaf sulaimani, dar al-yamamah publications, riyadh, i, c. 4. al-omari: shahab al-din ahmed bin fadl, 1972, pathways of sight in the kingdoms of amasar, investigation: ayman fouad sayed, dar al-aitasam, cairo. kunl, ernst: 1966, islamic art, translated by dr. ahmed issa, second edition. 6. al-maddah, amira ali, 2007, al-makhlaf sulaimani under the rule of al-adarsa and king abdul aziz's efforts to annex the makhlaf to the kingdom of saudi arabia (jazan region), cairo, i. 7. marzouk, ali abdulla: 2010, book (art of decoration of traditional architecture in aseer, art and aesthetic study), series of archaeological studies, no. 8, the saudi commission for tourism and archeology (archeology and museums), saudi arabia. eman ahmed aref / the academic research community publication pg. 13 articles, periodicals and encyclopedias: 1. adrissi: muhammad ibn muhammad ibn 'abd allah, without history, nazah al-mushtaq in mentioning the places, countries and countries (d.m.t). 2. baldari, john, 1980, foreign powers and privileges in the emirate of idrissi, center for gulf studies, i. 3. hassan, mohamed abdel ghani: 1971, sherif idrisi (the most famous geographical arabs and islam), the series of arab flags, number 97, the general authority for publishing and publishing. 4. khalid abdul aziz al-dayel, "the historical report on the excavations of domat al-jandal in the season 1405-1985". pp. 80-81. 5. abdullah bin mesfer, 1978, al-siraj al-munir in the biography of amara asir, 1, al-resala foundation, syria. 6. abdullah saad al-rashed and dr. mohammed al-thunayan et al., (1421/2001)"an initial report on the survey of the old commercial road: the high yemeni pilgrimage road al-najdi season two", an article in the yearbook of ruins, saudi arabian antiquities yearbook, general department of antiquities and museums, ministry of education, saudi arabia. , sixth issue, tenth, riyadh: pp. 106. 7. ali ali hassan al-amayra (research entitled: elements of composition and visual evaluation in architecture) in tishreen university journal for studies and scientific research (engineering sciences series) vol. (16) no. (2) for 1994, page / 111 – 73. 8. massoud al-maeed, article at the conclusion of the hilla al-omran project in a broad international and local presence, "ancient asir homes inspires photographers and designers", al watan online, asir printing and publishing, saudi arabia, 22/2/2012. 9. malkawi, hanan sulaiman: 1977, relations between the principals of adarsa in asir and the supervision of mecca, 1908-1925, publications of the committee of the history of jordan, edition 1. foreign references: 1. ebin saleh. mohammed abdullah, 2001. the decline vs the rise of architectural and urban forms in the vernacular villages of southwest saudi arabia, college of architecture and planning, king saud university, riyadh, saudi arabia, journal, building and environment. n.36. pp. 89-107 2. fletcher, b., cruickshank, d., 1996. history of architecture, 20th ed. architectural press. 3. hogarth, david geory. 1921. a history of arabia, oxford university press, london. 4. malkawi, hannan s. 2011, abd al-azeez of the addaressah in tuhama other (1920-1934), jordan journal of social sciences (jjss), n. 38, ed.1 5. old, clive leather. 1983. the britain of saudi a 1925-1939, first edition. references: 1-dabouz, mohamed ali: (2010), history of the maghreb, part i, printed by the foundation of tawa latt, algeria, first edition, p. 361. 2-tamsneh: located in morocco, the area between the bourgraq and um el rabie rivers. 3-mawns, hussein: (2000 ad), landmarks of the history of morocco and andalusia, cairo, al-rashed, i, volume 5, p. 65. 4-hassan, mohamed abdel ghani, sherif idrisi (the most famous geographic arabs and islam), the series of arab flags, number 97, cairo: the general authority for publishing and publishing, 5-al-obeidi, iman mahmoud hammadi; and dulaimi, latif khalaf muhammad, (april 2016), the cultural data exchanged between iraq and andalusia, journal of the arts, literature, humanities and sociology, issue 5, published research, emirates college of educational sciences, united arab emirates, dubai. 6-ismail, osman osman, history of islamic architecture and applied arts in morocco, al-aqsa, first edition, morocco: series of islamic civilization of the west, 1992, p. 366. 7-abdullah bin ibrahim al omair, traditional architecture in najd, archaeological studies, issue 4, riyadh: issued by the saudi society for archaeological studies, 2007, p. 152:153. 8-abdullah bin ibrahim al-omair, 2007, op. cit., p. 154:155. the plaster artist had selected his elements among the najdi decorations, he didn't transfer them in their common usual outline that depended on the decorations of balconies, window openings and doors with plaster material, but he handled them in a ... the artist kept the visual and architectural modelling as in (figs.6&7) through keeping the horizontal and vertical lines of the plaster friezes with the straightness of the constructive architectural modeling, while keeping the harmony and the divers... the artist kept in the idrisi state period had kept the heritage character that distinguished jizan region and despite being influenced by previous arts, he was able to incorporate between the different artistic styles, and thus appeared the asterisk... the plaster artist used the heritage plant units as the palm leaves decorations which were common on the facades of the heritage building (fig.13) as plastic units for the ornamentation of the arch summits which were ornamented in a simple and symme... http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) recycling agricultural waste as a part of interior design and architectural history in egypt doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.116 ayah eldeeb 1 1interior designer, masters degree, alexandria university, alexandria, egypt keywords agricultural waste recycling –sustainability –interior design. abstract egypt is defined as an agricultural country where its people put all produced crops to use, whether as food or clothing. agricultural wastes like straw, palm fronds, leaves and others are used in building and interior designing; they’re part of an individual’s lifestyle and culture. as time passed, all of this changed given that local agricultural materials were replaced with technology and new building materials. farmers became uninterested in what happened to this waste that was burned as a means of disposal, this process has direct effects on public health and the environment. this research examines the problem of palm fronds (agricultural materials) as a wasted renewable source in egypt. it will attempt to find methods to link these materials with egyptian handicrafts using new treatments in manufacturing with the cradle to cradle idea to produce compressed panels, wallpapers and other objects used in interior design. this research is important because it aims to find sustainable envi-ronmental materials with modern designs using agricultural waste. 1. introduction while egypt is ranked third in the middle east when it comes to the availability of agriculture waste that amounts to 71.5 million tons (dried weight in the oven), only 10% of it is reused in traditional works like cages and traditional furniture, while 90% of palm fronds are burned every year in egypt. this causes environmental pollution and is a waste of sustainable construction materials that include highly recyclable contents, rapidly renewable and biodegradable products, and local resources. fronds are wastes from the date palm, which have already considerably attracted the attention of architects, engineers, and researchers in egypt as a recycled sustainable material that is highly recyclable, rapidly renewable and biodegradable, and can reduce carbon emission and energy consumption. environmentally friendly materials need to be carefully selected and applied to the proposed design to “satisfy the present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (brundtland, 1987). for that, we should know characteristics of these materials and how they were used in the past and nowadays in egypt. 1.1 palm fronds (phoenix dactylifera) phoenix dactylifera, or the date palm tree, is perhaps best known for its sweet fruit but, as growers in the middle east have known for thousands of years, its height typically reaches about 21–23 meters (69–75 ft). it grows as eiher a single stem or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system, its leaves can also be used in construction. the middle east has 90% of the world’s palm. ayah eldeeb / the academic research community publication pg. 2 the frond is a branch axis after the leaves of the plant are cut. the amount wasted was 965 thousand tons per year with an annual formation of 10 to 26 new leaves. these leaves vary in both length and weight. the length of fronds is typically 3 to 6m (4m average) and have a normal life expectency of 3 to 7 years, while the length of one gazette is about eight meters in the type of pass entering the new valley governorate, almost falling or trim. the color of a frond varies between the shades of green. fronds are so strong, tough and crooked. figure(1) figure1. photographs and caption of the form of palm fronds 1.2 history of palm fronds (gireed) “look under your foot and build,” hassan fathy said. egyptian farmers have followed his words throughout the ages. the date palm was one of the pivots of economic, social and cultural life in this region from ancient times. in ancient egypt, the heads of pillars in temples were resembled the growing top of the date palm. the date palm appeared frequently on walls of temples in different contexts revealing its significance in life in egypt. according to nubian (south egypt) traditions, when a child is born, they plant a date palm for him or her. in upper egypt, each village had a number of palms grown along side it as it was believed that these trees provided a good base for the future economic life of the village. there hasn’t been a big change in building materials in egypt throughout the ages, locally available design and construction materials have always been used. farmers built walls using mud, bricks and palm trunks, and the ceiling using palm fronds, leaves, and straw. furniture was also made at home using the same materials. this way of building encouraged cooperation between people as even though each farmer built his own house (figure 2), he got help from the rest of the community and this became part of tradition. palm fronds have also been commonly used in developing fishing materials and as fuel in rural ovens. nowadays, gireed is mostly used for making wooden cages for birds. however, egyptian farmers no longer care about building with old and natural materials as they have been replaced with concrete and metal. figure 2. photographs of palm fronds and leaves house manually made in egypt 2. palm frond using 2.1 palm fronds/gireed architecture (arish building) lifestyle, climate and available building materials are major influences in the architectural style of traditional houses anywhere. arish architecture is an old arab form of architecture founded in the arabian peninsula given the abundance of palm trees. even though the concept of arish building is very simple, its design is sophisticated and is strong enough to resist the extreme desert climate in the arabian peninsula for thousands of years. ayah eldeeb / the academic research community publication pg. 3 nowadays, bedouins, who are nomadic by nature, still live in animal hide tents during the winter, and arish shelters during the hot summer months. these palm frond shelters were airy in the summer, as they allowed for ventilation and were either square or rectangular with flat roofs or triangular tent-like structures. barasti or arish houses were built by the first construction wooden frames of split-palm trunks or any other wood that was available. the palm fronds were then used in two different ways: as straight poles with the leaves stripped off for creating screens, and with the leaves still on as a roof thatch. they collected some of the palm leaves together vertically and trimmed them well, they would then tie them together using ropes of palm fiber and support them using palm trunks, and finally covered the rood withpalm leaves, (figure 3). figure 3. caption of old arish from a palm fronds and leaves. 2.2 gireed furniture: cages furniture in the same way cages were produced in a way that preserves the identity of egyptian raw material, palm fronds were used to make furniture. this was done by carpenters in the cottage industry who manufacture products using palm fronds and sell them to the local market i.e. local dumyat families such as areas of abu nomros and shabramant giza governorate. this reflects the element of post-production in any design or artistic process today. using the midribs of the preferred varietiesof palm fronds, because there are quality differences, the edges, where the pinnae were attached, are firstly removed by a stripping knife, after which they are cut into pieces of standard lengths and, since they are tapered, assembled in groups with equal diameters. the smaller diameters are further smoothed and rounded for their intended use. the thicker lengths that are to be perforated are leveled in order to at least have two flat surfaces. after having marked them, the holes are perforated by a punch (driven in by a mallet) an operation in which both the operator's hands and feet actively and efficiently participate. in assembling the crate, the thinner rods are knocked down the holes making use of a flat thick piece of iron, after which superfluous material is cut and trimmed using a knife and collected together. with the new design, studio meem product line “off the gireed” furniture included seating, tables, and shelving units, which are chemically treated to extend its life cycle. off the gireed furniture explore possibilities of material, process, place and cultural context that are embedded in an everyday work and re-contextualized in innovative ways to create fresh meanings and uses. off the gireed furniture is used to reinvigorate the traditional craft of palm cage making, using a renewable material source and drawing appreciation to these crafts. this product line was awarded red dot and good design awards. fig (4), figure 4. (a) photographs of traditional palm leaves furniture (b) studio meem furniture designs. (a) (b) http://www.studiomeem.me/index.php/productdesign/off-the-gireed/ http://www.studiomeem.me/index.php/productdesign/off-the-gireed/� ayah eldeeb / the academic research community publication pg. 4 3. palm frond/(dplm) board 3.1 palm frond board/(dplm) production (in egypt) the cradle to cradle idea is one of the sustainable design benefits that invlves economic decisions in life-cycle functionality. its design depends on making product parts that are easy to separate after use, they are not only efficient, but also essentially waste free. handicrafts and local materials make this easy. in an effort to revive traditional egyptian handicrafts to compete with the globalized market, the egyptian society for endogenous development of local communities has started producing local handicrafts furniture and carpentry, which are made of palm fronds that were grown in one of the lowest-income villages in upper egypt, called al-zayat village. the process of turning the fronds into products comes in two stages. first, the fronds are turned into wood fig (5). the second stage is shaping the wood into different kinds of products such international-standard wooden tables, mirror frames, parquet flooring, and wall cladding. figure 5. (a) samples cut out from dplm board , (b) dplm board after treated (c) dplm double board as a sandwich panel. (a)(c)source:[egyptian association for self-development of local communities, egypt, researcher photo] hamed el-mously, an engineering professor at ain shams university, developed innovative technologies to transform midrib, the strong central spine in the middle of palm leaves, from a soft living material into hardened wooden strips. the research included testing different species of date palm, and developing eco-friendly techniques for solar drying and gluing together midribs to wooden blocks. gireed is bent and its shape is not straight, so workers change this shape into a more uniform one so it can be compressed and produce wooden blocks. the production technique is simple, but the quality assurance process designed for palm fronds/gireed involves a cooling system that controls the level of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen inside a storage room. palm fronds/gireed mats and strips are further developed to produce a number of decorative board sizes with different patterns. it is carried out by craftsmen with machines manufactured locally, which cut gireed into three pieces and stored in preparation for the cutting operation (altsudaib). this process converts all the pieces of the three to a group of small pieces by cutting it lengthwise. this is followed by the aggregation stage, where all the pieces are collected together in a small rectangular shape going through a pressing process. then starts the trimming process in which carpenter carefully shapes a piece of wood with equal dimensions to obtain the required sizes accurately, and collected pieces together to produce a large wooden board that’s ready for use in many product industries. gireed produces high-quality alternative wood from palm midribs, that aim to replace commercially imported wood with eco-friendly, locally made jereed alternative wood. fig. (6). figure 6. photographs of (a) cutting process, (b) trimming process (c) collect and compress process. 3.2 palm frond board/ (dplm) experimental the first step in this methodology involved the conduction of tests to determine the physical and mechanical properties of palm midribs and their comparison with the corresponding properties of wood. the research findings, (a) (b) (c) (a) (b) (c) ayah eldeeb / the academic research community publication pg. 5 (figure 7), have shown that palm midribs enjoy physical and mechanical properties falling within values pertinent to known wood species as spruce and beech. hence the date palm wood is a good candidate for the development of efficient and safe insulating materials. palmwood properties were tested in a lab at munich university in germany to verify its suitability as a substitute for hardwood. results proved that palm wood is very competitive with standard wood. figure 7. comparison between the mechanical properties of dplm and several wood specics: 1. moe, moe and cmax. 2. nail with drawal test. 3. hardness test [19]. [this research has been awarded the euromat-97 conference prize for the best poster, 21-23 april 1997, maastricht (appendix 3)] the research was conducted to determine the tensile strength of the outer 1.25-mm layer of the midrib. the research results (see table 1) clearly indicate that the outer layer of the midrib enjoys a tensile strength (~ 25 kg/mm2) comparable with that of commercial steel. as far as the specific strength is concerned, i.e. tensile strength per unit weight, the outer layer is 4 times higher than steel. this indicates that the palm midrib’s outer layer is a super strong material that could find wide applications in industrial composites. table(1) table 1.the values of tensile strength and specific tensile strength for palm midrib outer layer, compared with several wood species and steel. material tensile strength specific tensile strength (n/mm2) (n/mm2) (g/cm3) outer layer 248 196 inner layer 70 86 european read pine 78 142 beech 97 140 steel 37 367 46 3.3 palm frond board example(dplm) 3.3.1 palm frond board arabesque the arabesque (mashrabiah مشربیة ) handicrafts are a part of our cultural heritage. the arabesque items are being used in furniture, windows, and partitions (figure 8). the drastic increase in the price of imported beech wood, usually used for arabesque, has led to the shrinkage of demand on arabesque handicrafts. therefore, it was thought that the replacement of beech wood by the cheap locally available palm midribs may open the way for the revival of arabesque handicrafts, especially in rural areas. the center for the development of small-scale industries launched, in july 1995, a project in the dakhla oases in the new valley governorate to disseminate arabesque handicrafts using palm midribs as a raw material. a training center was established to train the beneficiaries (figure 8), who obtain their lathes on a loan basis and produce at home. the project has shown great success turning the poor, especially women, to autonomous producers and entrepreneurs and transforming the idea of the use of trees pruning products as a substitute for imported wood into reality. the project shows great potential in disseminating a new culture of sustainable use of renewable material resources in rural and desert communities in the whole arab region. ayah eldeeb / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 8. photographs of (a) apartition of the arabesque (b)training beneficiaries on arabesquehandicrafts. [source: el-mously, h.i.centre for development of small-scale industries] 3.3.2 palm frond board furniture (dplm) a number of egyptian designers and craftsmen in alqayat village used modern designs to develop a series of handmade furniture pieces from palm fronds boards. egyptians furniture designers like mohamed saeed designed many of the tables and chairs, rania salah designed many of the lighting units and trays, and designer aklijo designed desk units. lighting indicated the extent of the exploitation of the potential of the raw material, which relates to nature by developing these items by hand and mastering the technique, this allowed the team to test new dimensions in artisan capability (figure 9). these furniture pieces are characterized by their design simplicity, lightness of the philosophy of weight, it’s cost-effective. they are used in interior spaces, which confirms that an environmentally friendly product does not adversely affect the environment and furniture should generally be in line with the nature of the place in which it resides. figure 9. photographs of tables and chairs, lighting units and desk units 3.3.3 palm frond parquet flooring palm frond boards are used, in cooperation with the egyptian association for self development of local communities where the panels are manually cut into rectangles. these panels serve as a "building block" in the parquet board manufacturing and they are covered with a layer of beech wood, or any other desired material and painted according to the desired color. the floors of the most important domestic blank selectors are the ones with the most friction, and thus the most ones that physically and visually affect the user. palm frond parquet tiles in the flooring industry is a great victory for this raw material that is manufactured from plant residue (figure 10). they compete with natural wood and surpass wood in terms of their texture that helps prevent slipping. figure 10. photographs of (a) palm frond parquet flooring (b) room with palm frond parquet flooring covered with a layer of beech wood source:[egyptian association for self-development of local communities, egypt, researcher photo] (a) (a) (a) (b) (a) (b) ayah eldeeb / the academic research community publication pg. 7 4. conclusion this paper presents the history of the use of palm fronds in egypt since ancient times and the extent of deterioration and neglect. this research urges manufacturers to reconsider the use of this wasted raw materials and try to save it for the provision of local building materials, preserving the environment and reducing the consumption of natural resources. palm fronds passed aboard several tests successfully and proved its superiority over the types of non-available wood locally in egypt, where it already has great potential for use in sustainable designs, and the evolution of the industry from the traditional manual methods, like the cage industry, to technologically advanced methods that allow for the production process to be completed using palm fronds. references 1. agoudjila,b.j.,benchabaneb,a.,boudennec,a.,ibosc,l.,foisc,m, 2010. renewable materials to reduce building heat loss: characterization of date palm wood. february–march 2011, elsevier. 2. agricultural production, fao, 1995. 3. awru (2005) agricultural waste in egypt, agricultural waste recycling unit (awru), ministry of state for environmental affairs (msea), egyptian environmental affairs agency (eeaa). cairo, egypt 4. crops for sustainable enterprise, 2000. design for sustainable development. the european foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions, dublin, ireland. 5. el-deeb hm, lashin sm, arab ya (2007) distribution and pathogenesis of date palm fungi in egypt. acta hort 736:421–429 6. el-mously, h.i. 2005. the palm fibres for the reinforcement of polymer composites: prospects and challenges, a paper presented to the first ain shams international conference on environmental engineering, egypt. 7. el-mously, h.i., 2001. the industrial use of the date palm residues: an eloquent example of sustainable development. 2nd inter. conf. on date palms, al-ain, united arab emirates univ., pp. 872-879. 8. el-mously, h.i., 2003. the date palm as a basis for environment-friendly industries beginning from the rural areas. the international palm conference, held in the king saud university (el-quaseem branch). 9. el-mously, h.i.,1996 achievements-to-date and future prospects of research on use of date palm leaves’ midribs as a substitute for sawn wood. conf., challenges of sustainable dev. organized by ines, amsterdam. 10. ghosh s. k. ; nag d. ; nayak l. k., 2009. composite particle boards from date-palm leaves a viable substitute of wood/plywood products, journal of the indian chemical society a. vol. 86, n° 8, pp. 857-862 . 11. schwab. a.,2008. – sustainability in commercial building, building materials &technology congress, kuwait. 12. taha,i., steuernagel,l., ziegmann.g., 2007. optimization of the alkali treatment process of date palm fibres for polymeric composites compos interf, germany, pp. 669–684. 13. the egyptian association for self-development of the communities for local.2004. palm as a source of industrial raw materials and construction materials, egypt. p. 7. 14. vogtländer. j.g., hendriks. ch. f., brezet. j.c., 2001. allocation in recycle systems: an integrated model for the analyses of environmental impact and economic value. p 344–355. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s037877881000366x http://www.refdoc.fr/rechercheannee?issn=0019-4522 http://www.springerlink.com/content/r7248g565215804t/ http://www.springerlink.com/content/r7248g565215804t/ issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication http://www.ierek.com/press education and tourism: the inclusion of ancestral knowledge in the university degree curricula danny rivera flores1, juan carlos pazán1, corina núñez1, yolanda pérez1 1universidad técnica de ambato keywords ancestral towns, interculturality, curricula, consmovision, integration abstract being able to recognize your own individual rights in vulnerable situations is a good way to live. a new curriculum developed under ecuador’s higher education board brings together the inter-cultural concept. in ancient cultures, segregation existed among latin american people in higher education. in this way, the new proposal for education makes it vital for future professionals to develop in the domain of methods and proceeds about ancient acknowledge, traditions, and cultural. to achieve the purpose of having inclusive curricula, it was needed to analyze ancient thoughts focused in the salasaka community consmovision (descendant from bolivia settled in ecuador) and chibuleos community who formulated the methodology that promotes cultural consciousness and is focused on the development and potentiation of habits and customs that generate different ways of living and thinking in the new educational environments. the obtained results are in function of statistics settings that show inclusive methodologies that link up the university professorship with ancient knowledge and culture. the use of this investigation is the implementation of methodologies in curricula in ecuadorian universities in higher education. it’s about transforming the ideological challenges on the academic formation of the ancestral towns. 1. introduction when we talk about knowledge, we make reference to the socio-constructivist learning theory. ausubel (1968) establishes that there will only be significant learning when the content is relatable in a substantive and not arbitrary way with what the learner already knows, that is, with relevant and preexisting aspects of their cognitive structure (p13). it considers students as non-knowing beings, without light, but based on their previous knowledge of their school experiences and everyday life, they can build new and significant acquaintance and be the main actors of their own learning. therefore, robinson (1969) indicates that ancestral, traditional and popular knowledge, cognizance, and technologies will be integral axes of public management and will have an intercultural approach to their practices for the exercise of the plurinational state (p.5). this is similar to those who depend on the joint participation of possessing people’s ancestral knowledge and succeed in eradicating discrimination and promoting equality, inclusion and gender equality. education constitutes an indispensable tool so that mankind can progress towards the ideals of peace, freedom and social justice. hewitt ramírez & barrero rivera, (2011) state that its essential function is the development of people and societies as a means for human development that is more harmonic and genuine that allows for a decrease in poverty, exclusion, misunderstandings, oppressions, and wars among others. higher education is essential to create the intellectual capacity to produce and use knowledge and lifelong learning required by people to update their knowledge and skills (world bank, 2003; delors 1996). higher education is considered the biggest challenge given the demands of today’s global society with the characteristics of the twenty-first century along with globalization as an emerging concept, and the efficiency and the transition from a technological society to a knowledge society. (palomares ruiz, 2004; bozu & canto, 2009). doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.249 danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 2 according to unesco, cultural diversity is a source of creativity and innovation and its recognition fosters social inclusion and participation. the term wise knowledge refers to the methodical processes of production of new knowledge, traditionally known as scientific research, but there’s also another knowledge where the method is called style, and also generates new knowledge. that’s the case of art, another type of knowledge. both science and the art have their respective technical and technological manifestations (álvarez, 2009). wise knowledge makes its own discourse that’s usually communicated in a scientific or aesthetic language. they are called ancestral and traditional knowledge and traditions to all the knowledge that owns the indigenous peoples and communities, and that have been transmitted from generation to generation for centuries (palomares ruiz, 2014). the university plans a determinant role in the integral formation of individuals, that’s why they have the obligation to include sustainability on their curricula so that future professionals develop their work from a sustainable perspective leading them to act responsibly and commit to their most direct environment (azcárate, navarrete, & garcía, 2012). the university sustainability proceeds are not easy and they have the potential to transform the educative model. the challenge is to find out the best way to be affective, a path that every single university should build. given the current context of european convergence, which advocates competency-based training, it seems like a good time to start the journey (ull, martínez, piñero, & aznar, 2010). the applied methodology was comparative at performing an analysis between the various strategies for imparting ancestral knowledge. the conclusions reveal which methodology is the most suitable to be able to insert the knowledge in the university. 1.1 retrospective evolution colonization of knowledge the history of knowledge is marked geo-historically and it has a value and a place of origin (castro-gómez & guardiola rivera, 2011). knowledge is not abstract and unfocused, it’s quite the opposite (lander, 2013). the missionaries had noticed that aztecs or incas had no writing, therefore, they had no knowledge in the sense that the renaissance university conceived the knowledge (lander, 2011). when it was time for the french and english missonaries, en xix century, the observations were similar. only this time the knowledge was measured on the basis of the kantiana-humboldtian university and not renaissance anymore (shari´ati, 2009; walsh, 2011; schiwy & ennis, 2012). therefore, human knowledge that does not occur in a region of the globe from greece to france or to the north of the mediterranean. knowledge is produced in many places but, for example, knowledge produced in africa, asia or latin america may not be sustainable (dussel, 2014). this power relation marked by colonial differences and colonial statutes of power that’s to say, the discourse that justifies the colonial difference is the one that reveals knowledge, it is organized through power centers and subaltern regions (ramón, 2012). the trap is that the discourse of modernity has created the illusion that knowledge is de-incorporated and de-localized and that it is necessary, from all regions of the planet, to rise to the epistemology of modernity (andrade palma, 2015). in this way, research is worthy whether it’s produced in the right, the left or the center of the world. there are three great narratives, macro-narratives that are characterized as the histories of knowledge that are located from greece to france to the north of the mediterranean (marín díaz, 2017). the christian macro-story generated the liberal macro-story and this generated the macro-macro marxist account (sosa elízaga, 2011). as it’s known, the secularization of knowledge apparently opposed and distanced itself from christianity (fachin, 2013). however, in a complementary gesture, christianity was kept close since the christian religion was necessary to the philosophers of illustration to ensure that all other religions were inferior to christianity (caldas & rodríguez, 2014). likewise, we know that secularization developed liberalism then liberalism generated its counterpart, marxism (hessen, 2016). so that christianity, liberalism and marxism with their corresponding "neo’s" are not two sides of the same coin, but three sides of one side of the coin (hume, 2013). on the other side of the coin is colonialism and finally, colonialism opens the doors of all of those fields knowledge that were marginalized in the name of christianity, liberalism and marxism. (locke, 2013). ancestral knowledge ancestral knowledge is part of the heritage of a country and its value is not limited to original communities, but that knowledge is an important resource for all mankind as it enriches mutual knowledge through dialogue and danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 3 allows the preservation of the broad spectrum of cultural diversity in a given territory (bozú & canto, 2009). according to unesco, cultural diversity is a source of creativity and innovation and its recognition fosters social inclusion and participation. therefore, ancestral knowledge must be protected and promoted, recognized and consolidated for the benefit of all mankind by the current generations and future ones (cerda-gutiérrez, 2016). it also ensures that cultural diversity broadens the possibilities of choice offered to all and is a source of development, understood not only in terms of economic growth, but also as a means of access to an intellectual, effective, moral existence and satisfactory spirituality (delors, 2000). the international organism gives the necessary recognition to all cultural expressions that exist and that have existed on the planet (gomez, 2014). in this ambit, the struggle in ecuador has shaped the framework of the historical project of sumak kawsay. it encourages the the rescue, preservation and divulgation of ancient knowledge (gonzales, galindo,& gold, 2014). it’s denominated knowledge and ancestral knowing and traditions to all of those knowledge that ancient peoples own, and that have been transmitted from generation to generation by centuries. (palomares ruiz, 2014) this knowledge, knowing and practices had been conserved through long time mainly by using oral tradition from original peoples and also by practices and customs that have been transmitted from fathers to children in the framework in the context of the dynamics of community coexistence that characterize our indigenous peoples (jaramillo, 2005, pág. 77). it is not easy that a half-blood world tries to understand what the ancestral knowledge is really about because we should first carry out an exercise in "mental decolonization", so to speak (chevellard, 2011). we should first understand that ancestral knowledge is the expression of a deep and complex worldview that is far from the conception of the western world. we should know that the understanding of this knowledge cannot be given fully through a process of description, analysis, and categorization because the true understanding of ancestral knowledge arises from the experience of that worldview in which intuition and feeling intertwine with thought to generate knowledge of the world (gonzález agudelo & díaz hernández, 2008). having pointed this out, and without being able to detach completely from the need to describe and categorize, it could be said that ancestral knowledge encompasses a wide variety of aspects of knowledge and technique ranging from language to gastronomy, from mathematics to crafts, passing through medicine, construction, forestry, environmental conservation techniques and microclimates, production and food, agriculture and irrigation, transport and communication, etc. (gonzález acosta, 2015, p.15) each town has its own thoughts, practices and customs that configure out the particularity of its various identities (agosto, 2014). we can see this reflected in the difference between a craft of wild seeds of the cofan, for example, and the well-known woven handicrafts of the otavalo that belongs to the kichwa nationality. it’s also reflected in the difference between gastronomy, music and dance of the amazonian shuar people and gastronomy, dance and music of other nationalities and peoples of the sierra or the coast (secretaría nacional de planificación y desarrollo, 2014). in spite of these differences, there are common elements, points of encounter that are central axes within their worldviews twinned their ways of conceiving, interpreting and relating to the world. spirituality seems to stand out as the essential part that shapes collective identity from indigenous peoples determining its harmonic link with the pacha mama with the mother earth (quintana, 2012). these are the central axes of ancestral knowledge, perhaps, the ones which should wake up more interest not only in the half-blood population, but worldwide given that they constitute elements that could give answers to some of the global needs of the present time. production and consumption models respectful with nature, intuitive approximation and sensitive to reality are wise enough to understand that they are a part of something much bigger than oneself, these are all components of an ancestral wisdom that has already started to call the attention to the world. in front of the actual ecological crisis as a product of the model of development at the global level, it could assume an important role in the construction of new models which permit a harmonic relation with the beings that conform to the environment and sustain our existence (castro, 2011; conaie, 1989; tarapues & rico, 2012). inter-culturalism to sum up, the concept of inter-culturalism is defined from the perspective of indigenous social and intellectual movements,and accounts for the importance of geopolitics of knowledge (quijano, 2016). that is, to take seriously that knowledge is not one and universal for whoever wants to gain it but is marked and marked by the colonial danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 4 difference (césaire, 2016). in this sense, the authors agree that inter-culturalism is thus defined as a way of overcoming internal colonialism, having the opportunity to form citizens aware of the differences and able to work together in the development of the country and in the construction of a fair society that is equitable, egalitarian and plural. less than two decades ago, south america began officially recognizing its ethnic and cultural diversity (tubino, 2015). a historical diversity rooted in policies of extermination, enslavement, dehumanization, inferiority and also in the supposed overcoming of the indigenous and black. in this regard, (trigo, 2008) indicates that this latter part of the mestization and, in countries like brazil, dominican republic and the colombian and venezuelan caribbean, the so-called racial democracy. in this way, there is a growing need to promote positive relationships between different cultural groups to confront discrimination, racism, and exclusion. it is important to emphasize that inter-cultural as an epistemic, ethical and political project from the indigenous perspective is a unique manifestation of what is happening in other parts of the world (walsh, garcía, & mignolo, 2016). on the other hand, it is a good example of the epistemic potential of border epistemology (mignolo, 2013). an epistemology that works at the limit of indigenous knowledge subordinated by the colonialism of power (maldonado, 2017). they are also marginalized by the colonial difference and western knowledge translated into the indigenous perspective of knowledge and their political needs and ethical conception (walsh, 2014). ecuador shares several ethnic groups and nationalities that share typical characteristics. there are usually a variety of manifestations found in myths, rites, games, legends, dances, food, costumes, etc. collective expressions that reaffirm the cultural richness of our country (jácome, 2013). in spite of everything, our country is great in different aspects: its culture: it has a great variety of ethnic groups settled in the costa, sierra and amazonía of the country, and they maintain their customs and traditions from a long time (diario el tiempo, 2015). the republic of ecuador has a significant percentage of the indigenous population estimated to be between 35% and 40% of the national population, grouped into 14 nationalities and 18 ethnic groups (sidenpe, 2017). the ecuadorian constitution of 1998 was a significant step to address the indigenous issue by consecrating ethnic pluralism (constitution of the republic of ecuador, 2008). ecuador proclaims its will to consolidate the unity of the ecuadorian nation in recognizing the diversity of its regions, peoples, ethnicities and cultures, defining ecuador as a unitary, democratic, multicultural and multiethnic state (codempe, 2017). currently 14 nationalities and 18 ethnic groups are recognized, these are: table 1: ethnic groups source: (conaie, 2017) made by: researchers ethnics of the cost ethnics of the mountain rage ethnics of the amazon  awá  chachis  épera  negrosafro ecuatorianos de esmeraldas  montubio  cholopescador  tsachila  saraguro  natabuela  quilotoa  quisapinchas  salasacas  chibuleos  cañaris  quitu cara  panzaleo  otavalos  shuar  achuar  huaorani  siona  secoya  zápara  shiwiar  cofán towns the salasaka approximately 12,000 inhabitants organized in about 24 communities. the organizational base is the commune (loyola & surita, 2013). the highest authority is the assembly and then the cabildo. being mayor gives status in the community. work for the community is done in minga and decisions are taken democratically in the assemblies. the salasaka are a people with an economy in transition, from a subsistence economy to a market economy. its form of economic reproduction is differentiated by ecological floor, as follows (valenzuela, 2013). crops in this area are corn, wheat, barley, beans, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, beet, cauliflower, apple, pear, peach and capuli. they sell cakes, vegetables, capulí to complement their food and clothes. the most common animals danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 5 are sheep and cattle. milk production is minimal; it’s given to the mestizos of the area. good irrigation yields good quality pastures and excellent alfalfa crops oriented for the provincial market (gonzález terreros, 2015, pp. 7595). they make tapestries using their own weaving techniques and traditional designs of the area. for a part of the population, this activity constitutes the main occupation oriented to the national and international market. there are some artisans who have turned their workshops into micro enterprises (sánchez parga, 2010). on the other hand, women, in addition to their housework, feed cattle and smaller animals such as guinea pigs and rabbits. it is important to say that a part of the sangay national park is located in spaces of the territoriality of the salasaka people and in its interior are communities (la hora, 2016). the chibuleo the town chibuleo is located in the central mountain range to the south-west of the province of tungurahua in the canton ambato, parish juan benigno vela, 18 km from the city of ambato, via guaranda. they are bilingual, their mother tongue is kichwa and spanish as a second language. it is estimated that the population is approximately 12,000 inhabitants and are organized in 7 communities: san francisco, san luis, san alfonso, san pedro, chacapungo, san miguel and pataló alto. we must note that part of the territories of this town are in the chimborazo faunist reserve (campion m., 2015, pp. 243-262). the political structure of the chibuleo people is composed of the community assembly, as the highest authority, then the people's government council, the cabildo comunitario, the coordination council, and finally the associations and cooperatives directives. all decisions and resolutions in community law are taken democratically in ordinary or extraordinary assemblies called through the community councils. in this town, it is organized in the indigenous movement of tungurahua, mit (pinos montenegro, 2016, pp. 31-43) the chibuleo people, whose productive axis is the agricultural activity, takes advantage of its geographical location to plant a variety of products at the same time as they are dedicated to livestock. with regard to agriculture, they sow in small plots called blocks: potatoes, mellocos, barley, vegetables and maize, production that is destined mostly to own consumption (nieves loja, 2015). in relation to livestock, they are dedicated to the breeding of cattle and horses and to a lesser extent the raising of domestic animals such as lambs, pigs, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits. livestock activities are oriented for individual consumption and to the provincial market (trujillo, 2012, pp. 304-314). the chibuelos make handicrafts such as embroidered blouses, shigras, and rebozos of white color with bands of two colors, ponchos and on a smaller scale, ceramic. production is directed to self-consumption and the provincial market, national and even international. they maintain their ancestral celebrations combining the traditional with the religious, music, ethnic dance, dancers and the use of own ancestral instruments. knowledge in this village is transmitted orally (bastidas jiménez, 2015, pp. 180-189). inter-culturalism seeks to develop an interaction between culturally different people, knowledge and practices. an interaction that is social, economic and political where the power of institutional conditions limit the possibility that the "other" can be considered as subject with identity, difference and agency the capacity to act (salomon, 2013). inter-culturalism, during the course of time, has been strengthened to overcome this rejection that is necessarily a prolonged work of education. in the interaction between individuals and groups with different cultural identities, ideas and actions of one person or cultural group are not allowed to stand above each other so that people could become more interested in this subject (fuenzalida, 2009). it is important to clarify that inter-culturalism refers not only to the interaction that occurs at the geographical level, but also to take into account situations in which differences occur. in educational institutions, there are different ways in which the institution is strengthened by the practice of values, traditions, which each and every one of the managers manage, contributing and promoting values so as to strengthen work and positivity (suárez rosas & barrios osuna, 2006). the pedagogical methodology to be used in the curriculum will be based on the theories of learning of the technical university of ambato that is the partner constructivism, and connectivity. each paradigm has its processes, activities and methods of action. the national plan for good living and inter-culturalism. the zonal agenda for good living (2013) mentions that "multi-culturalism and intercultural bilingual education in indigenous cultures have been denied meaning and validity in the universal context, this is because the idea of historical progress is considered inherent only to the western culture" (p.11). however, it is not a question of ignoring the scientific, technological, economic and political progress of western culture since in intercultural relations there must be a balance so that no culture becomes an instrument of hegemony and repression (almeida, 2008). these affirmations were consolidated with the approval of the constitution (2008), since article 257 gives danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 6 them the legal framework to be constituted as indigenous or afro-ecuadorian territorial districts that may exercise the powers of a decentralized autonomous government. article 380 also states that one of the responsibilities of the state will be to ensure, through permanent policies, the set of values and manifestations that shape the plurinational, multicultural and multiethnic identity of ecuador. in this context, culture is now indigenous people’s proof of belonging, the verification of identity and the means of self-knowledge. this positioning before their own culture has forced them to take responsibility for the direction of it. the active participation of organizations has begun by making decisions in bilingual education, in the application of appropriate technologies, in the conscious support of the transition from oral to written and literary languages (almeida, 2008). speaking of socio-constructivist learning, ausubel (1968) states that "there will only be meaningful learning when what is being learned is able to relate in a substantive rather than arbitrary way with what the learner already knows, that is, with relevant aspects and pre-existing cognitive structure "(p.13). it considers the students not as beings without knowledge, without light, but from the previous knowledge that they possess of their school experiences and of the daily life, they manage to construct new and significant knowledge, being they the main actors of their own learning. accordingly, robinson (1969) states that "ancestral, traditional and popular knowledge and technologies will be integral axes of public management and will have an intercultural approach to their practices for the exercise of multi-national status" (p.5). this is similar to those who depend on the joint participation of the people possessing the ancestral knowledge and succeed in eradicating discrimination and promoting equality, inclusion and gender equality. the technical university of ambato and the career of psycho-pedagogy will base its methodology on four axes of gender equality, of peoples, nationalities and inter-culturalism, axis of equality in the disability, axis of environment and finally the axis of gender equality, established by the national secretariat for higher education, science and technology and innovation and unesco (2013), in the document building equality in higher education, fundamentals and guidelines to mainstream the axes of equality and environment. it is necessary for higher education to construct learning scenarios that allow the development of gender and intercultural approaches that allow the exercise of a democratic, inclusive and diverse education. this allows access to all the services offered by members of the university community, especially to vulnerable or socially or culturally vulnerable population groups. this will be at the same time that it carries out activities in and out of the campus with various activities linked to the community (naranjo, 2015). it will also diligently emphasize the admission to a person with disabilities, special abilities, catastrophic illnesses, single parents or students, who for their admission must show them. it will also guarantee the permanence of students with low resources, special abilities, economic level, ethnicity, etc., in parallel with the laws and regulations in force (campion, 2014). national curriculum reform when we speak of a global world, we emphasize the interconnection that exists today among the most remote parts of the globe thanks to modern media such as cell phones, television and the internet, but we also allude to the fact that the whole world is making a single market in which financial capital is freely displaced and economic actors, each against all, are faced with generalized, globalized competition (gasché, 2005, pp. 177-200). the last curricular reform in the university, initiated in 1998, has promulgated several agreements oriented to the implementation of processes that deal with approaches, principles, characteristics and guidelines in correspondence with the pei (1996-2010) and with the development plan 1996) to harmonize the academic actions that the institution has within its social function (forero, 2008). some provisions contemplate the need to evaluate the development of the reform, primarily pointing to aspects of the administrative nature of the curriculum but they leave out the components of vital importance for the academic future of the university (gómez, 2003; lópez, 1989 & universidad de caldas, 1998). accordingly, magendzo (1991) points out that the curricular reform proposals have been, with the best intention, fruit of the analyses carried out by expert groups and other gummies who have worried about the subject but have not developed in a process that could well be research-action for example: the proposals of carr and kemmis (1988), mckernan (1999), forero (1983) and quintero (2001) in their idea of reflexive spiral in action to elaborate and to evaluate a proposal of curricular intervention that includes theories, models, approaches and finally specific designs of research development of the curriculum (torres, 2004). we have been attending a curricular reform implemented with the inverted spiral scheme, that is, instead of being teachers and students who study, analyze and discuss proposals, calculating their scope, limitations, costs and effects, it was a group of experts that decided and led management bodies to produce standards that are only being debated in the so-called university-based communities (vera-noriega, 2007). the best example of legitimacy must danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 7 go far beyond legality: wide and deliberate participation, whether it is leisurely and meticulous, of each and every one of the actors in the process so that the final result is an approximation to the consensus and an incorporation assimilation-respect for the created norm (schmelkes, 2004). in this way, curricular design in every university career starts from the fact that every community has a history, a social history, and that the social genesis of every community is always pluri traditional; in the very heart of its heritage shares many elements with other cultures. as demonstrated by the cosmovision (non-fragmented original knowledge that responds to a holistic purpose but does not have a history of institutionalization) of several peoples and cultures of the mexican southeast and that is maintained through orality. for example, the myth of origin that depends on the culture is changing but elements are shared through them (gay, 2004, pp. 30-49). the lack of continuous monitoring and control of academic activities allowed for the indiscriminate proliferation of undergraduate degrees and postgraduate programs in a large number of heis in ecuador that responded more to clients’ demands and not to social need (rojas, 2011). thus, it seems that the non-fulfillment of their social responsibility was the trigger that caused the questioning of university work by various social sectors and that somehow justified the intervention of the constituent assembly and the national assembly when they approved the constitution of the republic and the organic law of higher education loes respectively, showing that for the ecuadorian case the university reform does not originate from its sine but, rather, arises from the social claim and the governmental concern (conesup, 2007). the transition period, which initially lasts five years, forces heis to overcome the process of evaluation and accreditation under penalty of being outside the system (loes, 2010). in this way, higher education happens to obtain curricular components, units of curricular analysis and levels that solve a problem for each semester. in addition, an opening is given to directly start the experience through the pre professional practices. finally, the integrating knowledge project merges the transversal nature of the subjects through the integrative chair in order to obtain qualitative results that the students can support at the end of each level (consejo de educación superior, 2014). the diversification of the new curriculum of higher education proposes the integration of the knowledge and cultures of indigenous peoples and nationalities. through inter-culturalism, we must answer the questions: what are the pedagogical methodologies of the curriculum that will achieve the incorporation of the dialogue of ancestral, every day and traditional knowledge of inclusion and diversity? what are the theoretical, methodological and attitudinal skills and skills that the curriculum will contemplate in order to achieve the incorporation of the dialogue of ancestral, daily and traditional knowledge of inclusion, diversity and gender approach? the construction of the new intercultural curriculum will allow the creation of an intercultural subject in its relations of communication, production and consumption of perceptions, knowledge, identity, transcendence, language development, thinking, socio-cultural interaction, ancestral knowledge and cultural "(larrea, 2015, p.24). 2. methodology. the new ecuadorian curriculum allows integrating the ancestral knowledge. in order to achieve intercultural incorporation, it is necessary to establish methodologies that allow the adequate integration of knowledge. in the new curricular designs, methodologies are proposed, however, it is not known which ones are the right ones to be able to incorporate them. educational methodologies are proposed, such as: • tutorials. • evaluation. • individual work • conferences. • study of cases. • proactive tutoring. • team work. the research is carried out with a sample of 482 students corresponding to the career of psychopedagogy and educational psychology of the technical university of ambato aged between 19 and 25 years. danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 8 the techniques were applied to differentiated groups applying the different methodologies proposed in the curriculum to determine which one is suitable for implementing in classrooms: for the students of the career of educational psychology, the following methodologies were applied: tutorials, evaluation, individual works and conferences, while for the psychopedagogy career methodologies were applied: case study, problem solving, proactive tutoring and cooperative work. it should be noted in both samples that the principles of "practicum" and "action research" were used to achieve the inclusion of ancestral knowledge. the application of observational fact sheets, which contain parameters of knowledge: education, languages and science, as an essential device for the ecology of knowledge and bio-knowledge as a crucial point of the future of knowledge. these two parameters of of knowledge were put into play through: patrimonialism, education and science, biodiversity, territoriality and governance (crespo & vila, 2012). the observational form was applied to the two groups to know the degree of knowledge reached according to the application of the different methodologies. the degree of achievement was defined as 1 to 5, where q is not attained and 5 are fully achieved. observational records were used for 5 days to obtain their average. 3. results. we measure the knowledge gained in patrimonialism, education and science, biodiversity, territoriality and governance through the observation tab: applied methodologies patrimoniality education and science biodiversity territoriality governance tutorials 3,3 2,3 3,4 2,1 3,4 evaluation 2,4 1,2 2,5 3,3 2,2 individual works 3,2 2,3 4,5 3,2 2,1 conferences 3,4 2,3 3,5 3,6 3,1 study of cases 4,1 4,2 3,9 4,3 4,1 proactive tutoring 4,6 4,6 4,4 4,5 4,8 team work 4,5 4,8 4,8 4,6 4,2 table 2. methodologies applied vs methodologies. prepared by: researchers figure 1. high and low degrees in knowledge of ancestral knowledge prepared by: researchers 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 patrimoniality education and science biodiversity territoriality governance danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 9 the highest and lowest degrees obtained for patrimonialism, education and science, biodiversity, territoriality and governance, are: table 3. means of applied methodologies. prepared by: researchers applied methodologies measure tutorials 2,9 evaluation 2,32 individual works 3,06 conferences 3,18 study of cases 4,12 proactive tutoring 4,58 team work 4,58 . in that way, we can determine that the methodologies that serve most effectively for the capture of ancestral knowledge are: case study, proactive tutoring and cooperative work. the results were analyzed: the group that received the knowledge with the methodologies: tutorials, evaluation, individual works and conferences; versus the group that received the knowledge with the methodologies: case study, proactive tutoring and cooperative work. we apply the pearson correlation coefficient to the means: table 3. pearson's correlation prepared by: researchers. pearson correlation (r.) -0,72829874 determination (r*r) 0,53041906 y = -0,09x + 4,69 figure 2. dispersion diagram prepared by: researchers. there is a correlation between the knowledge of ancestral knowledge between the two groups. it is a negative but not perfect correlation; this means that the difference between the methodologies applied to the two groups is too diverse to capture the ancestral knowledge. the value r ≠ 0: r> 0; therefore, the methodologies used by the teacher has a correlational influence on the student's learning in order to capture the knowledge of the ancestral knowledge and in accordance with what is established in the decision rule, it can be affirmed that the methodologies: case studies, proactive tutoring and cooperative work, are the ideal ones to be able to impart the knowledge of the ancestral knowledge. it should be noted that in a macro way practice and research should be considered. danny rivera flores / the academic research community publication pg. 10 4. conclusions it is difficult to the half-caste population to understand the knowledge and ancient practices of the indigenous peoples, because it is not possible to speak about inter-culturalism. there must be constructed scenes of learning that they facilitate interculturalidad across the currícula and allow the exercise of a democratic education, enclosing and diverse, guaranteeing a community conviviality by means of the practice of positive relations between several ethnic groups. it is important to identify which are the most suitable methodologies that allow to integrate in an effective way the knowledge raised in the curriculum developments to obtain an education of general type where they all and all have the same opportunities without any type of discrimination across the interaction between the different cultures and the cooperative learning, obtaining a mutual enrichment that ensues from the exchange, the reciprocity and the interdependence. it is possible to affirm that the methodologies: case study, proactive tutoring and cooperative work, are the ideal ones to be able to impart the knowledge of the ancestral knowledge. the tutoring starts from the conception of the subject to guarantee its cognitive autonomy; that is to say, that the process of practicum with its principles, of understanding the teaching practice as a space that generates learning, the profile of tutor, non-segmented practice, observation reflection and the process itself of the investigation through the monitoring and control . these principles are applicable in a better way if we apply the methodologies applied. 5. references 1. agosto, p. 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(2016). “interculturalidad y colonialidad delpoder: un pensamiento y posicionamiento otro desde la diferencia colonial”, en interculturalidad, descoloniza��ndel estado y del conocimiento. buenos aires: signo. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.369 the correlation of deconstruction architecture to arab architectural identity framework for application of deconstruction in arab architectural projects-exploratory and practical study emad h. rabboh1*, ali a. elmansory1 1canadian international college, al azhar university in cairo, egypt. abstract the arab architectural identity is characterized by the originality of the various arab cultures. islamic culture is what makes arab societies unique and it is what inspired arab architecture. consequently, the arab architecture encounters contemporary challenges. if modern architectural trends influenced arab civilization, it could then obliterate its identity over the years. moreover, positively interacting with modern architectural trends must take place rather than negative interactions. the aforementioned reasons leave this phenomenon the subject of discussion and research and thus the lack of update and development of the vocabulary of arab architecture. the proposed study discusses the problem of the correlation of deconstructive architecture with the architectural and arabic identity through the end of the 20th century until 2017. in order to arrive at the definition of the philosophy of deconstruction architecture and the appropriate relationship between it and the arab architectural identity, the study utilizes a qualitative descriptive methodology that tries to give a generic image of philosophy and characteristics. deconstruction architecture attempts to link the positive aspects of architecture and arab identity through the analysis of the frameworks of this philosophy of particular architectural works of various architects who adopt this philosophy of architecture. responding to the above, the current study shows that it is better to strip the modern trends and take what suits the arab culture. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords deconstruction architecture; arab architectural identity; jacques derrida 1. introduction the deconstruction movement emerged in the end of the last century. deconstruction was presented as a part of architecture theory. obviously, the deconstruction is not merely an architectural movement or trend. the deconstruction is a philosophy of thought that has cast its shadow on art, culture and architecture. initially, it was conceived by the french-algerian philosopher jacques derrida. deconstruction architecture expressed a bidirectional eradication state; the first is the complete separation from the classical euclidean geometry, secondly, is the complete estrangement of interior and exterior elements of buildings. generally, undermine the mutual *corresponding author: emad h. rabboh pg. 290 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rabboh / the academic research community publication correlations between the parties of the architectural work. in addition, this trend undermines the harmony between the external and internal environment. in view of this trend and its relation to civilization and arab identity, samuel huntington stated in his book clash of civilizations: (civilizations are comprehensive, meaning that every part of its components cannot be fully understood without reference to the civilization it contains. based on the aforementioned concept, the research adopts the analytical approach. arab culture and civilization must be studied in their parts and vocabulary, consequently, examines the relationship of arab identity is studied with deconstruction thought and philosophy. this paper aims at reaching the above by understanding this philosophy and deconstruction architecture and exploring its relationship with arab civilization. 2. methodology the deductive methodology will be used in the current paper, through direct observations and analysis of the architectural trends used in the deconstruction architecture. therefore, the results and trends suitable for arab architecture will be reached through the analytical overall perspective of this trend. the research sample used in the current paper is a study of various noted projects of the architects of this trend. a general framework will be developed for the deconstruction, thereby, dismantling and fragmenting these frameworks for the original elements. which entails reading the language between these original elements, and the choice of the appropriate for them to identify with arab architecture, which represents a methodology for work in projects for arab architects who are going to adopt the deconstruction in their projects. eventually, presented models and discussion of what was reached, likewise, final recommendations of the paper. 3. background 3.1. arabic cultural identity ”arab cultural identity” as a language and culture existed before the existence of the islamic call, was confined to arab tribes and specific geographical locations. while arabism as a cultural identity of cultural affiliation began with the emergence of islam, with the link of the arabic language to the holy quran call by arab pioneers. thus, arab civilization became the arab culture with a cultural content that brought the arab culture out of the two ethnic and geographical circles to the broad cultural horizon that was co-sponsored by arab christians and non-arab muslims. consequently, the arab cultural identity emerged from the tribal or ethnic component. the limitation of the geographical area (the arabian peninsula) to a circle that expands in its definition of «arab», to include everyone who integrates into arab culture regardless of ethnic origins. most arabs are now included in this definition, even if they do not come from arab origins in terms of blood or race. this confirms the history of the ancient arabs in terms of the religious minorities in the arab region itself as part of the islamic civilization, and in terms of the interaction of ethnic minorities (islamic and christian) with the arab culture as an incubator culture of multi-religious and ethnic. arab culture is now the only remaining arab collective. the danger is not only the result of what is happening now in various arab countries, and this danger did not start only with the european occupation of the region at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, it began with the fall of arab leadership of the islamic world. hence, the beginning of the deterioration of the state of arab culture, regardless of what this culture (after the end of the state of the caliphs) of the concepts of some contrary to the inherent content of islamic values. the identity of man, culture or civilization is its essence and truth. in addition, in everything humanism, culture or civilization the constants and variables. the identity of the object is its constancy, which is renewed and never amended, manifest itself and reveal itself, without giving up its place for its opposite as long as the self remains alive. the identity of any nation is a characteristic that distinguishes it from other nations to express its civilized pg. 291 rabboh / the academic research community publication personality. identity always has three components: a faith that provides a vision of existence, the tongue in which it is expressed, and long-term cultural heritage. religion is the key issue characteristic of the cultures of peoples, afterward, language is the one that follows religion, as a distinct factor of the people of a culture from the people of another culture. then come the history and elements of diverse culture in the forming of identity. in recent continental philosophy of religion there has been significant attention paid to the abrahamic doctrines of creation ex nihilo and divine omnipotence, especially by deconstructive thinkers such as derrida, caputo, and keller. the identity is extremely essential, including the interests where people cannot reason or act rationally in the pursuit of their own interests unless they know themselves, the politics of interests assume the existence of identity. if this is the identity and this importance to each one, the identity of muslims is further significant, and islam in its religion, religion, history, civilization and language is a common identity of each muslim, and the language that speaks is not only a tool of expression and means of communication, but is: thought and self and address, holy holiness, which became the language after the revelation of the islamic religion. the faith is not just an ideology, but is: the right balance, the infallible right, the system of values that represent our reference to behavior, it is not relative or transitional. 3.2. deconstruction architecture: origin and philosophy there has always been a significant interaction between architecture and the human sciences, such as sociology, psychology, and philosophy. deconstruction is a method of critical analysis of philosophical and literary language which emphasizes the internal workings of language and conceptual systems, the relational quality of meaning, and the assumptions implicit in forms of expression. the term deconstruction was one of the flash points in critical and cultural debates of the last quarter of the twentieth century. the star of the deconstruction movement rose at the end of the twentieth century. the deconstruction trend in architecture is largely based on the principle of the destruction of conventional euclidean geometry. the vision of the building leads to a visual surprise, repeatedly shocking the viewer from the initial moment of the building. this philosophical school began at the end of the sixties of the last century in france by the french philosopher jacques derrida (1930-2004). derrida is the most widely translated french philosopher in the world. his philosophical treatises and ideas represented the beginning of deconstructionism. the philosophy of jacques derrida is to end the western metaphysical tradition, a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality and the relationship between mind and post-structural material. deconstruction represents a complex response to a variety of theoretical and philosophical movements of the 20th century, notably french structuralism, freud and psychoanalysis. derrida’s theory of deconstruction must be brought into the discussion at this point. deconstruction, which can be considered a method to seek the new and question the existing (the current), includes a functioning logic similar to the concept of creativity. the strategy of deconstruction that can be applied to the problems of meaning and the possibility of meaning can be expressed via derrida’s concepts. the dates of derrida’s work notwithstanding, deconstruction—in other words, the questioning of conventional ideas and meanings—is an old model of behavior within the evolution of architecture, having arisen throughout history. the key arguments of today’s major architectural philosophers and gurus was discussed. architecture and philosophy cannot be separated and their influences can never be separated. the interaction between philosophy and architecture is evident not only in derrida’s writings, but also in collaboration with architects bernard chomé and peter eisenmann at parc de la villette in paris. jacques derrida’s deconstructing ideas can effortlessly be applied to architecture and have been accomplished by many contemporary architects. deconstruction architecture a contemporary architectural style, in addition to, a modern school of thought in architecture, philosophical bases were built from literary deconstructionism. this philosophical movement derives its name from the russian construction movement (1920 ad), which is fundamentally incompatible with the pg. 292 rabboh / the academic research community publication order of rationality in modern architecture. deconstructionist thought raises traditional questions concerning the recognition of form and space. the architecture that appears to be fragmentary, nonlinear, disjointed, uneven lines and incomplete forms indicates this theory. the final appearance of the buildings in this pattern is characterized by unpredictability, and chaotic-controlled. deconstruction buildings are unimaginable without the influence of contemporary architecture as well as the art of russian constructivism. in 1985 the architect bernard tschumi called jacques derrida with an invitation. architecture call on philosophy. for what? philosophy? not simply. the philosopher was asked if he would be interested in collaboration with an architect on the design of a section of the parc de la villette in paris. the philosopher accepted the invitation and soon wrote an essay about the project. deconstruction architecture received its first international recognition through the exhibition ”deconstruction architecture”. this exhibition was organized at the museum of modern art in 1988 and has been organized by philip johnson and mark wigley. the works of frank gehry, in addition to, the buildings and projects of peter eisenman, furthermore, coop himmelblau, and bernard chomi were shown. in this exhibition, the beginning of the movement of deconstruction architecture was launched all over the world. philosophical treatises on deconstruction are concerned in critique of metaphors, as well as metaphor for all forms of contemporary european consciousness. according to the views of the french philosopher, the consciousness was limited to glorifying the saying that ”being or existence in the presence” is the maxim that the european philosophical approaches brought to the forefront, moreover reached it up to absolute and perfection. according to derrida, the emergence of this metaphysical problem, which found itself philosophical thought and specifically european, is in an attempt to reveal its historical references by analyzing the texts of different literary culture. in other words, ”disjointed” in order to uncover the basic meanings and layers of metaphor, which was the consolidation of the works of later eras. in this sense he uses his own style to read literary product, when consciously a clash or disagreement arises between the ”meaning” of the text and the possibility of ”interpreting” that text. derrida employs his theory in many other fields such as plastic arts and architecture. the term ”deconstructionism” was dedicated at the end of the 1980s, as both a symbolic and a theoretical expression, illustrating the totality of design experiments that were entrenched in global architectural practice at the time. based on the descriptive approach for deconstruction theorist the latter is not an architectural ”style”, but rather a ”means” for the designers, in which the elements of the building can be built, approaching architecture as a kind of art. derrida adds that deconstruction does not necessarily undermine the built-up buildings but rather creates a ”conflict” between what is normal and familiar to one in understanding the language and meaning, and between what he sees. the deconstruction movement, which fathered many of the proponents of this new school was grounded firmly in what greg lynn refers to as the “contradictory logic” of jacques derrida. the topological, or deform movement represents a deliberate shift from derrida’s discourse to that of deleuze. its intention is to incorporate, rather than exaggerate difference. this involves a policy of “gratification” rather than conflict and seeks to develop systems to incorporate various elements in an architecture intended to be inclusive and organic. the requirement is thus for a geometry which is elastic in its ability to contort and deform in a process of continual transformation. 3.3. characteristics of deconstruction architecture one of the major developments in architecture in the past twenty years is the liberation of formal expression and organization in architecture to reflect the heterogeneous nature of our current cultures and contexts. the significant characteristics of this trend is to breakdown the differences between sketching and sculpture, consequently, re-mix them in an architectural crucible, thereby, it can touch the direction of the functionalism, nonetheless limited to the expressive value of construction. the architectural value of the building was limited by the formal relations of the sizes, forms and spaces as indicated by the structural elements. new raw materials such as metal, glass and plastics were utilized to follow the idea of life as the body of science. worth mentioning that some pieces were taken from cubism. pg. 293 rabboh / the academic research community publication the characteristics of deconstruction architecture are as follows: 1. refuse the ornamentation. 2. calls for the demolition of all euclidean engineering foundations. 3. the aesthetic value of the building was limited by the illustrated correlation of the volumes, masses and spaces. 4. the deconstruction is the architecture of breaking, non-symmetry and non-consistency. 5. structural masses highlighted by the utilization of new raw materials such as metal, glass and plastics to follow the idea of expressing life in the body formed by science. 6. calls for the deconstructing of buildings into parts. 7. calls for a reconsideration of relations, whether human or urban. 8. architecture of deconstruction can be understood from the basic instincts of joy to man. 9. the deconstruction is architecture full of unpredicted surprises. 10. the vocabulary of classical architecture is utilized in reverse or distorted form. 11. deconstruction and postmodernism, despite the obvious differences between them, they agreed on something intrinsic: difference, dimension, criticism of all that is traditional and familiar. 4. the analytical study 4.1. trends in deconstruction architecture currently, specific architecture designers are now applying the concept of deconstruction architecture, creating a new architecture that is not approximating the usual architecture and does not rely on its familiar references. it is a special architectural product that enriches the global architectural discourse with new frameworks and different concepts. peter eisenman (1932), p. bernard eisenberg (1944), bernard de tschumi (1944), c. de portzamparc, zaha hadid (1950), rem koolhaas (1944), hiromi fujii (1935). furthermore, architects in different geographical areas are now among the greatest important architects working within the approach of deconstruction architecture. 4.1.1. the fragmentation & discontinuity this trend is based on the idea of independence in the building and its elements. the building, so that it indications how creative and progressive it must be independent, is not limited by other buildings that spoil its aesthetics, besides this is influenced by the idea of estates and palaces in the middle ages. this trend is based on the separation of elements of the building each element itself with the interdependence and attraction between them in ease and skill as shown in figure (1, 2, 3, 4). frank gehry is the guru of the fragmentation & discontinuity. frank owen gehry is one of the most inventive and pioneering architects working today. frank gehry is that rare kind of architect who has garnered both critical acclaim and popular fame. his designs dramatically blur the line between art and architecture, yet the strong appeal of his sculptural designs does not obscure the role of function. pg. 294 rabboh / the academic research community publication figure 1. the guggenheim museum. architect: gehry parteners. figure 2. peter b. lewis building. architect: gehry parteners. figure 3. waltdisney concert hall. architect: gehry partners. figure 4. vitra museum. architect: gehry partners. 4.1.2. neo constructivism one of the most important pioneers of this trend is rem koolhass zaha hadid. this trend is based on the use of engineering vocabulary such as square, rectangle, triangle, circle, etc., in addition to the use of bold colors with the pg. 295 rabboh / the academic research community publication obvious artistic abstraction in the works are the elements of the building (elements of the formation of crustacean structure, communication elements, nets, cortical tiles). this trend is the most attractive trend because it moves man from the real world to the world of aerospace buildings or space as shown in (figure 5, 6, 7). zaha’s hadid techniques discussed investigating the underlying cause for her works distinctiveness from her other colleagues in architecture. figure 5. seattle central library. architect: oma, lmn. figure 6. beko building. architect: zaha hadid figure 7. chaoyangmen soho building. architect: zaha hadid. 4.1.3. the follies bernard tschumi is one of the pioneers of this trend. michele costanzo interviews bernard tschumi about his work and his vision of the changing field of contemporary design research. while, this trend is a combination of pg. 296 rabboh / the academic research community publication two schools: deconstruction and late construction. this trend strongly influenced by the projects of kandinsky, chemi, one of the pioneers of the construction late school, as well as the projects of derrida from the deconstruction school, and thought this trend, accordingly to one of its pioneers (coop himmelblau) is a study of the future and a serious look at what will be the buildings of the future, consequently, the elements of sculpture that are the focus of work for us is the basis of future projects, the most important elements of this the trend is the sculptural materials are also entirely dependent on iron and glass as shown in (figure 8). figure 8. anima cultural center. architect: bernard tschumi. 4.1.4. positive-nihilism the prime guru of this school is peter eisenman, this trend advocates of complete intellectual liberation and does not connect itself to specific school/trend, or specific particular term under which the building is located as shown in (figure 9). therefore, liberalism in design and methods of construction and buildings of this trend does not adhere to the form or the intellectual trend or the element itself, it calls for independence and separation from reality. peter eisenmann believes that “the show” is the key object of architecture; its architecture is characterized by extreme abstraction, despite the introduction of some traditional elements. one of his most famous works was the visual arts center, which was characterized by: 1. required a catalog to understand architecture ideas. 2. the spontaneous understanding of the public. 3. his project required to be read about before watching. 5. discussion and analysis obviously, from the analysis of trends and frameworks of deconstruction and analysis to the main elements of these different trends and contrast, while the first trend (the fragmentation & discontinuity) represents the direction of total separation between the inside and outside. this trend does not fit the arab architectural identity resulting from the analysis of arab and islamic identity. the second trend (neo constructivism) is the use of explicit geometric shapes. it is possible to analyze some of its vocabulary and use it to suit arab architecture. the third trend (the follies) that takes the sculptural forms is the basis of his designs with twisting these forms and this architectural principle can be taken and adapted to suit the arab architecture the last trend (positive-nihilism), which is completely liberated and does not link itself to any school, is not suitable for arab architecture. pg. 297 rabboh / the academic research community publication figure 9. the city of culture. architect: peter eisenman table 1. a summary of the proposedmethodology for classifying deconstruction trends in terms of their relevanceto arab architecture ser. the trend the properties the gurus architects the noted projects rating 1 the fragmentation & discontinuity this trend is based on the idea of independence in the building and its elements. the building of this trend indicates how creative and progressive it must be independent, is not limited by other buildings that spoil its aesthetics. frank gehry project: the guggenheim museum. architect: gehry parteners. location: bilbo, bizkaia, spain. * 2 neo constructivism this trend is based on the use of engineering vocabulary (square, rectangle, triangle, and circle). using of bold colors with the obvious artistic abstraction in the works are the elements of the building. rem koolhass. zaha hadid. project: seattle central library. architect: oma, lmn. location: seattle, wa, united states. **** continued on next page pg. 298 rabboh / the academic research community publication table 1 continued ser. the trend the properties the gurus architects the noted projects rating 3 the follies-follies. a study of the future and a serious look at what will be the buildings of the future. the most important elements of this the trend is the sculptural materials and entirely dependent on iron and glass. bernard tschumi project: anima cultural center. location: grottammare, italy. architect: bernardtachum architects *** 4 positive-nihilism. advocates of complete intellectual liberation. does not connect itself to specific school/trend peter eisenman project: the city of culture location: spain. architect: eisenmanarchitects ** table 1 summarizes the methodology of the research, which shows the trends of deconstruction, as well as the characteristics of this trend, then the most noticeable projects of trend and well-known architects, the research proposed a scale based on the proposed approach, consisting of a quadratic scale, (*) completely inappropriate (**) not inappropriate, (***) appropriate (****) appropriate. distinctly, from this table the proposed approach to applying the deconstruction architecture in particular projects, whether for the adoption by the architect in certain projects, furthermore, for the projects in which the client requests to adopt this trend, likewise, projects that require the of the site conditions or the appropriate architectural approach to adopt and utilizing this trend. based on the above, the research indicates that one of the best architects who adopted and succeeded in applying this trend, while respecting the arab identity and architecture is dr. abdal-haleem ibrahim. plainly, from his project that he has respected the arab and islamic architectural identity through his using a noticed arab architectural elements (arches, domes, vaults), not only used as they are used in historical times, but also utilized in the context of modernity and deconstruction by stripping the abstracts of its architectural assets and then the utilizing of modern architectural lines, on the level of floor plans and internal and external facades. in addition, the use of modern architectural materials, the children’s garden and, the palace of arts project opera house cairo, egypt, the american university in new cairo. 6. conclusions and recommendations – the most prominent architects of this school are zaha hadid, frank gehry, peter eisenman, bernard tschumi, and rem koolhass. – the strong criticism directed to the fragmentation & discontinuity trend, because of its extreme disregard for heritage. – a few of trends of deconstruction architecture can be adapted to arab heritage architecture. – arab culture must contain the architectural vocabulary, which reflect the culture of arab countries, without which does not distinguish this architecture of each country. pg. 299 rabboh / the academic research community publication – it is possible to analyze some frameworks related to the second trend (neo constructivism) and adopting it with elements of arab islamic architecture. the principles of the third trend (the follies) can be adapted to fit the arab architecture through the utilizing of arab architectural elements and abstract it. this is evidenced via the utilizing of the principle of abstract sculpting for modern construction materials, which gives a modern conception of islamic and arabic architecture without loss of islamic heritage and arab rich vocabulary and islamic and arabic culture. 7. references 1. abdullah, a., said, i., & ossen, d. (2013). zaha hadid’s techniques of architectural form-making. open journal of architectural design, 1(1), 1-9. 2. cauchi, m. (2009). deconstruction and creation: an augustinian deconstruction of derrida. international journal for philosophy of religion, 66(1), 15-32. 3. costanzo, m. (2009). twenty years after (deconstructivism): an interview with bernard tschumi. architectural design, 79(1), 24-29. 4. danielle rago (2004) deconstructive architecture and daniel libeskind:”a discourse on deconstruction, its relation to architecture, and its influence on daniel libeskind’s architecture”. 5. deconstruction. (2013). in oxford dictionaries. retrieved august 24, 2017, from https://en.oxforddictiona ries.com/definition/deconstruction 6. di cristina, g. (2002). architecture and science. nexus network journal, 4(2), 133. 7. durmus, s., & gur, s. o. (2011). methodology of deconstruction in architectural education. procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 15, 1586-1594. 8. hoteit, a. (2015). deconstructivism: translation from philosophy to architecture. canadian social science, 11(7), 117-129. 9. huntington, s. p. (1997). the clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. penguin books india. 10. jencks, c., & kropf, k. (1997). theories and manifestoes of contemporary architecture. wiley. 11. khalil h. ”determinants of confirming arab cultural identity in architectural design through the modern structuralism method”, an analytical study of the style of zaha hadid. (faculty of fine engineering, university of damascus), 1-15. 12. mallgrave, h. f., & goodman, d. j. (2011). an introduction to architectural theory: 1968 to the present. john wiley & sons. 13. parvin (ed.). (2012, feburary 25). vitra design museum and factory — frank gehry. retrieved august 24, 2017, from http://www.arch2o.com/vitra-design-museum-factory-frank-gehry/ 14. peeters, b. (2013). derrida: a biography. john wiley & sons. 15. pollack, s. (2006). sketches of frank gehry. sony pictures home. 16. salingaros, n. a. (2004). anti-architecture and deconstruction. umbau-verlag harald püschel. 17. wigley, m. (1995). the architecture of deconstruction: derrida’s haunt. mit press. 18. wong, j. f. (2010). the text of free-form architecture: qualitative study of the discourse of four architects. design studies, 31(3), 237-267. pg. 300 rabboh / the academic research community publication 19. sullivan, m. a. (2005, october 12). peter b. lewis building. retrieved from https://www.bluffton.edu/ho mepages/facstaff/sullivanm/ohio/cleveland/gehry/lewis.html 20. ghandour, s. (2007, november 1). ł ł ł . retrieved august 24, 2017, from http://www.voltairenet.org/arti cle152659.html 21. seattle central library / oma lmn. (2009, february 10). retrieved august 24, 2017, from https://www.a rchdaily.com/11651/seattle-central-library-oma-lmn 22. frearson, a. (2012, november 15). galaxy soho by zaha hadid architects photographed by hufton crow. retrieved august 24, 2017, from https://www.dezeen.com/2012/11/15/galaxy-soho-by-zaha-hadid-architec ts-photographed-by-hufton-crow/ 23. furuto, a. (2013, march 16). anima cultural center proposal / bernard tschumi architects. retrieved august 24, 2017, from http://www.archdaily.com/341890/anima-cultural-center-proposal-bernard-tschumiarchitects 24. pagnotta, b. (2013, september 1). ad classics: the guggenheim museum bilbao / gehry partners. retrieved august 24, 2017, from https://www.archdaily.com/422470/ad-classics-the-guggenheim-museum-bil bao-frank-gehry 25. jones, r. (2013, october 14). ad classics: walt disney concert hall / frank gehry. retrieved august 24, 2017, from https://www.archdaily.com/441358/ad-classics-walt-disney-concert-hall-frank-gehry 26. beko masterplan. (2012, december 1). retrieved august 24, 2017, from http://www.zaha-hadid.com/mast erplans/beko-masterplan/ 27. city of culture. (n.d.). retrieved august 24, 2017, from http://www.eisenmanarchitects.com/city-of-cultur e.html pg. 301 introduction methodology background arabic cultural identity deconstruction architecture: origin and philosophy characteristics of deconstruction architecture the analytical study trends in deconstruction architecture the fragmentation & discontinuity neo constructivism the follies positive-nihilism discussion and analysis conclusions and recommendations references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.425 roof planting as a tool for sustainable development in residential buildings in egypt vitta abdel rehim ibrahim1 1ass. prof., architecture department, p.h.i. abstract roof has direct influence on thermal ease and energy preservation in and around buildings. roof planting is a strategy that can be a beneficial solution in diverse climates to decrease energy utilization in buildings, proposes enriching the aesthetic potentials and architecture presentation of buildings and for enhancing the built environment and increasing investment opportunity. it helps to tackle the shortage of green space in numerous areas and delivers the city with open spaces that aids ease heat effect and offers human population with a correlation to the outside. the research problem presented in the demonstrations of the confronts presented by quick urbanization and expansion, many environmental problems as pollution, dense urbanization and heat effect that creates a negative impact on the environment. the fast growing population in cities undergo from vanishing of green areas which lead to dispossession of open space. the paper assumes that by applying roof planting to the case studies in residential buildings in egypt can improve quality of life, as an effective tool for sustainable development goals represented in social, economic and environmental factors. the paper methodology focuses on the analysis of some international examples and the lessons learned and applicability in residential buildings in egypt. the research aims to present the potentials of roof planting in abiding electricity utilization and decreasing co2 releases in hot environments. the paper studies the impact of roof planting on the performance of buildings. the results demonstrate the sustainable development goals of using roof planting under diverse design conditions and postulate assistance for design of roof planting in alike climates. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords roof planting; sustainable development; residential buildings; egypt 1. introduction combining plants with architecture and formed landscapes have been assimilated into the urban fabric and considered elevated greenspaces have lasted prolonged time ago with architecture (velazquez, 2005). they are as an easy and efficient approach for enhancing the built environment and rising investment prospect, have several environmental benefits such as to decrease flood risk, develop rainwater runoff quality, lessen urban heat island, building energy saving and keep urban wildlife habitat. (sheng et al., 2011). the need to apply green roof is significant for the well being of succeeding generation (ismail et al. 2009). green roofs are becoming popular for sustainable development.(sheng et al., 2011). the usage of vegetated roofs is a solution, which heat energy consumed by evapo-transpiration. it provides to pg. 496 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ibrahim / the academic research community publication vertical mingling of air, so the temperature above them inclines than the surrounding areas built. warm air increases above the hard surfaces and is altered by the renewed air and decreasing the heat island consequence. (sheweka, 2012) the building sector has an essential responsibility in the international energy and environmental developments as it occupies almost 40 % of the energy. it is facing a speedy progress in countries throughout the world due to issues like population increase, infrastructure expansion, upgrading and urbanization (alnaser, 2008). to challenge the fronting of energy and environmental complications, the world is directing to encourage sustainable improvement as is revealed by the current global agreement on climate difference. (paris agreement. http://www.cop21.gouv.fr /en/195-countries-adopt-the-first-universalclimate-agreement/ (2017). the usual roof type in residential buildings in egypt is the flat roof (fig 1.). in rural areas, roof tops are used for numerous purposes; pigeon houses, drying washed clothes and in some buildings extra rooms are built from light material and used for living. some buildings rooftops have been abandoned and become housings for storing litter, a place for satellite receivers and unnecessary old household properties. (zacharia & dabaieh, 2016) figure 1. poultry room with red brick; neglected rooftops in downtown cairo. source: https://webpages.uidaho.edu/larc380/n ew380/pages/greenroof.html the paper will show the existing state of the rooftops of the field study and will conclude with a recommendation for evaluation and monitoring in addition to the environmental impact. the above parameters have been explored for residential building blocks situates in cairo, egypt. 1.1. research problem air quality amounts in cairo (fig. 2.) have demonstrated hazardous concentrations of lead, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, gathered particulate matter levels due to periods of unregulated car releases and urban settlements that devastate ecosystems. green roof technology encompasses growing plants on rooftops interchanging green spaces that was damaged when the building was created. figure 2. co2 emissions from egypt, carbondioxide information analysis center pg. 497 ibrahim / the academic research community publication 1.2. research aim and objectives the research aims to explore the potential of green roofs on saving energy when invested on residential building in egypt, reductions of co2 and sustainable development in residential buildings in egypt. 1.3. methodology (fig. 3.) figure 3. research methodology (the researcher) 2. literature review 2.1. green roofs green roofs used to cover impermeable roof surfaces with living plant material, considered a sustainable design element in the ecological design that can assist keep the environment by shrinking developmental influences on our societies (velazquez, 2005). they are envisioned one of the typical methods used in sustainable development principles. (gedge et al., 2004). 2.2. types of green roofs table 1,2&3(fig. 4-5 &6) intensive green roofs table 1. (http://www.greenrooftechnology.com/intensive-green-roof) extensive green roofs table 2. (http://www.greenrooftechnology.com/extensive-green-roof) pg. 498 ibrahim / the academic research community publication semi intensive green roofs table 3. (http://www.greenrooftechnology.com/semi-intensive-green-roof) intensive green roofs have richer soil and extra diversities of vegetation, but are expensive to build and uphold. extensive green roofs are inexpensive and easier to build and maintain. it encompasses shallow soil, have less collections of vegetation and rarely reachable contrasting its counterpart. (zahir et al., 2014). table 4. summarizes the types of green roofs. pg. 499 ibrahim / the academic research community publication 2.3. example of green roofs types the follwing table showing types of green roofs used in some buildings in malaysia (table 5.) 2.4. components of green roofs 3. benefits and challenges of green roof there are many benefits for implementing green roofs (table 7.) and factors considered when applying green roofs (table 7.) pg. 500 ibrahim / the academic research community publication (https://www.gsa.gov/portal/mediaid/158783/filename/the benefits and challenges of green roofs on public and commercial buildings.action) pg. 501 ibrahim / the academic research community publication 4. sustainable development application in architecture figure 4. sustaianble development components sustaianable development is a arrangement of progress in which reserve usage commitments to meet human needs while maintaining the environement, these requirements can be met only in the present and for generations to come (fig. 4). (obiefuna) to achieve sustainable development, buildings must be designed inclusive of the concepts of development. such buildings will have a positive impact on the environmental health at communities and the quality of life. the concept of sustainability challengees architects to think and act in terms of long-term consequencesof their decisions on the diminshing resources of the world. (dunnett & kingsbury, 2008) 4.1. green roof’s role in sustainable development (sheng et al., 2011). table 9. pg. 502 ibrahim / the academic research community publication 4.2. international case study: table 10. shows some examples of case studies 5. roof planting implentation in egypt as a result of the steady increase in population, required an increase in the number of buildings, resulted in a sharp decline in green areas, followed by many problems. air pollution arises with increased use of environmentally harmful materials. this has negative impact which affect the city’s climate and deterioration in the mental healthiness of the body due to the overcrowding, shortage of oxygen and the lack of green areas. there are several local initiatives that have worked on the idea of rooftop container gardens for producing food for domestic use. the first rooftop gardens in urban areas in egypt started in the year 2000 under the leadership of the research unit for agriculture land and ain shams university, in collaboration with several local ngos (bekheit & latif, 2013). the (fao) food and agriculture organization and malr established the project titled “green food from green roofs in urban and pre-urban environments” to develop and demonstrate simple rooftop micro-green systems for vegetable production in two pilot sites: alexandria and cairo (bekheit & latif, 2013). numerous case studies characterize successful projects applied by diverse non-governmental organizations (ngo), public institutions and private civil proposals. for example ibn kassir foundation, in al-zawya al-hamra, cairo, formed a roof farm from wooden containers (barrels) with plastic layers occupied with peat moss or perlite used as substrates drainage is compelled through small plastic hoses to buckets. the producing leafy crops as parsley, pg. 503 ibrahim / the academic research community publication radish, and carrots. (attia et al., 2009) in several arab cities, many problems endure including environmental, social and economic. the methods for application are modest and feasible and cost effective. the utmost essential issues affecting are the climate, the constructional and economic aspects, and providing support and sustainability to resolve various complications of diverse background and characteristics, and stipulate to abounding the quality of life of the condensed arab cities. (attia et al., 2009) in egypt, soil-less cultivation is used to nurture plants atop the roofs of buildings. plants are produced on wooden tables, delivering a healthy and fresh source of food in addition with no pesticides. vegetebles and fruits can be produced as self production for building occupants (fig. 5), furthermore several projects are organized in schools as an overview to this technology. ( a. monem, 2005) figure 5. source: central laboratory for agricultural climate (2006) there are many positive effects of surface cultivation on the environment: 1. leads to a reduction in the amount of pollutants present in the air. 2. increases the oxygen ratio and reduces carbon dioxide by urban air. 3. leads to the cleaning of roofs of different buildings and facilities and the disposal of waste and fouling stored on surfaces and adversely affect the public health of the occupants of these buildings in the long run. 4. reduce the effect of the warm heat island, which is clearly evident during the summer months in large cities where a clear change in weather is the most important sign of the city’s warming up to 5 ◦ c. figure 6. figure 6. studies have shown worldwide that the phenomenon of (urban heat islands)different negative effects, including the following: pg. 504 ibrahim / the academic research community publication 5. reduces the harmful effects of mobile stations where plants are found to absorb electromagnetic waves emitted from industrial plants. 6. reduce the noise ratio and the proximity of the nearby areas of the airports and trains which leads to absorption of a large part of the sound and reduces the reflected waves. 7. is a small project that can be carried out by many groups of society such as youth housewives special needs students in leisure and vacations, which makes their leisure time useful. 5.1. analyzing residential building example case study: project brief, table 11. pg. 505 ibrahim / the academic research community publication 6. field study a field study showing the current use situation of roof planting on residential blocks of flats table 12. & figure 7.a. to 7.j.. the results shown according to screening questionnaire. table 13. 6.1. questionnaire survey results using questionnaire survey (quantitative methodology) in order to better understanding of residents preference of function of rooftop garden.(table .13 )resident’s preference of function of roof top garden. these tables show the number of 350 respondents, residents particpated in this survey questionnaire are 300. pg. 506 ibrahim / the academic research community publication figure 7. (from a to j): the field study for roof planting application to convience the residential users who have faced problems (health, pollution,..) pg. 507 ibrahim / the academic research community publication 7. discussion applicability of green roofs in egypt in residential buildings: encouraging interaction among industry professional, public policy making, need public awarness of green roofs, the cost can be twice as much to install, there are other benefits to owners of buildings as saving energy. added benefits include: stormwater managmnet, ecological, economic, aesthetic and psychological issues. there is a lack of the awarness to the community, building owners and occupants about benefits provided by roof planting. lack of technical information on how to build them, standards and building codes to green roof design and constrcution.the economic costs of installing green roofs including the maintainace: lower energy costs due to the cooling effect. the barriers in green roof implementation: architects are not convinced of the benefits. moreover, the lack of policies and guidelines, the government has not enforced it in the building by-law. application restrictions from the client and the problems to persuade them. this technology is considered new and the nonexistence of resource has upraised the rate of installation and maintenance. absence of knowledge in roof planting technology. nonexistence of need in the construction industry market. 8. conclusion and recommendation roof planting is one possible technique to reduce the devastation of natural habitats, while foster the built environment. roofs represent 21% to 26% residential and nonresidential of urban areas (wong, 2005) they stipulate an exceptional chance. these unused areas may develop an approach to regain habitat that was lost as a consequence of construction whereas furthermore assisting in the securing the environment throughout additional sustainable performs. roof planting has a positive impact on social, economic and environemental issues. this research illustrates pg. 508 ibrahim / the academic research community publication the majority of filed study residents who particpate in the survey questionnaire, they need awarness concerning advantages and benefits of roof planting towards sustainable development. this study help residents to receive better environement on their living areas. recommendations the necessity to decide the kind of plants and system of planting is crucial in constructing green roof. depending on particular climate and surrounding, the appropriateness of plant species for roof planting in certain countries should be determined. the correct plant selection assists preserving the sustainability of roof planting. the principal apprehension of modifying diverse kind of plants are utmost essentially amongst soil and kind of plants involved in diverse climate such as temperate, tropical, dry, polar and highland climates. furthermore, should be considered are the maintenance, financial, and life cycle analysis of the roof to be planted. appendix a. roof planting application (screening questionnaire) september, 2017 – cairo – egypt pg. 509 ibrahim / the academic research community publication 9. references 1. nigel dunnett, noël kingsbury. planting green roofs and living walls. timber press; 2008 2. nigel dunnett, dusty gedge, john little, edmund c. snodgrass. small green roofs: low-tech options for greener living. timber press, portlandlondon; 2011 3. carl smith, nigel dunnett, andy clayden. residential landscape sustainability: a checklist tool. blackwell publishing, usa; 2008 4. samar mohamed sheweka, nourhan magdy mohamed. green facades as a new sustainable approach towards climate change. sciverse science direct. energy procedia 18(2012) 507 – 520, elsevier 5. architectural services department, study on green roof application in hong kong, final report, urbis limited; 2007. https://www.archsd.gov.hk/media/11630/green roof study final report.pdf 6. ahmed el-sayed abdel salam. the future of greenroofs in egypt: the economical and environmental benefits when installing gree-roof on a residential building in cairo. master thesis, cairo university; 2012 7. monica zacharia, marwa dabaieh. container rooftop gardens from recyclying and up-cycling municipal wastes; sustainable vital technologies in engineering & informatics. bue ace1.; 2016 8. attia, s., mahmoud, a. green roofs in cairo: a holistic approach for healthy productive cities, conference proceeding on greening rooftops for sustainable communities, june, atlanta, usa. http://orbi.uig.ac .be/handle/2268/166604 9. kristin l. getter and d. bradley rowe. the role of extensive green roofs in sustainable development. hort science 41(5): 1276-1285; 2006. 10. lee xia sheng, ati rosemary binti mohd ariffin, hazreena binti hussein. assessing the green roof technology in green building rating systems. international building & infrastricture technology conference. malaysia; 2011. 11. hassan saeed khan and muhammad asif. impact of green roof and orienation on the energy performance of buildings: acasefrom saudi arabia. sustainabilty 2017, 9, 640, basel, switzerland, www.mdpi.com/jou rnal/sustainability pg. 510 ibrahim / the academic research community publication 12. linda s. velazquez. organic greenroof architecture: sustainable design for the new millennium ‘ making the most of your building’s “fifth façade”. environmental quality management/summer 2005. wiley periodicals, inc. 13. muhammad ashraf fauzi, nurhayati abdul malek, and jamilah othman. evaluation of green roof system for green building projects in malaysia. world academy of science, engineering and technology. international journal of environmental, chemical, ecological, geological and geophysical engineering vol:7, no:2; 2013. 14. m.h. md. zahir, s.n. raman, m.f. mohamed, m. jamiland, z.m. nopiah. the perception of malaysian architects towards the implementation of green roofs: a review of practices, methodologies and future research. e3s web of conferences 3, 01022 (2014); edp sciences; 2014. 15. umeora chukwunonso obiefuna, the role of the architect in sustainable development in nigeria. 16. neda jafari, mohd yunos, osman tahir. residents’ preference towards rooftop garden: acase of the heritage condominium, selangor. aensi journals, advances in environmental biology. issn – 1995 -0756. advances in environemental bilolgy, 9(4) march 2015, pages: 79-81 17. ismail, w. z. w., lsmaill, f., hashim, a.z., irfan, a., ramele,r. (2009). potentiality of ecological friendly effect on human behavior of green building design. 1st national conference on environmentbehaviour studies, faculty of architecture, planning and surveying (fspu), universititeknologi mara (uitm), shall alam. 18. alnaser, w.; flanagan, r. model for calculating the sustainable building index (sbi) in the kingdom of bahrain. energy build 2008, 40, 2037–2043. 19. paris agreement. available online: http://www.cop21.gouv.fr/en/195-countries-adopt-the-first-universalclimate-agreement/ ( 2017). 20. d’souza, u. the thermal performance of green roofs in a hot, humid microclimate. iwit trans. ecol. environ. 2013, 173, 475–486 21. gedge, d., & frith, m. 2004. green roofs: benefits and cost implications. livingroof.org & ecology consultancy ltd. 84. 22. denardo et al., 2005; liescke, 1998; moran et al., 2004; rowe et al., 2003; vanwoert et al., 2005a. 23. https://webpages.uidaho.edu/larc380/new380/pages/greenroof.html pg. 511 introduction research problem research aim and objectives methodology (fig. 3.) literature review green roofs types of green roofs table 1,2&3(fig. 4-5 &6) example of green roofs types components of green roofs benefits and challenges of green roof sustainable development application in architecture green roof's role in sustainable development (sheng et al., 2011). table 9. international case study: table 10. shows some examples of case studies roof planting implentation in egypt analyzing residential building example field study questionnaire survey results discussion conclusion and recommendation references http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) interior architectural elements that affect human psychology and behavior doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.112 heba-talla hamdy mahmoud 1 1 lecturer of interior architecture decor department faculty of fine arts mansoura university keywords awareness; identity; privacy; functionality; flexibility safety; health concern; accessibility; open space; aesthetic; abstract this research will inspect factors with higher impact that are predicted to be more influential in the relation between architecture, interior architectural design and the psychological status of residents and users. the level of awareness about the importance of this relation is the basic introductory factor. identity, privacy and safety impacts, health concerns, accessibility degree, open spaces feature, aesthetic sense are the main parts of the research. most parts consist of two divisions. the first identifies the nature of each factor. the second recognizes the important architectural consideration needed to realize the psychological condition of residents and users. the research aims to increase the concern about the importance of the interaction between interior architectural design and human psychological behavior. an introduction of a group of important consideration can be used to help designers choose and apply a suitable interior architectural design that match psychological needs through sound relations between architecture, interior architecture and the psychological status of residents and users. 1. introduction the psychological attitude of a human is affected by the design of interior architecture through various aspects. every person receives, perceives and responds in different way, this is due to physical and psychological differences in addition to the differences in personal experience. culture, physical status, age, education level, gender, socioeconomic class and ambitions are factors with special concerns that shaping occupants’ needs. the interaction between interior architecture and the psychological condition is engaged with both humanitarian characteristics and the interior architecture approach of design. "architecture leans towards programming i.e. determining needs and proposing a draft and finally suggesting a suitable location in accordance with needs and building of the site. behavioral sciences on the other hand are concerned with how environment is used in terms of consistency with needs of society" (razjoyan, 1996)."the mental and psychological effects of architectural frames on human beings have been considered from the early shelters to today ́s modern structure. since the human behavior is performed in defined spaces, it is necessary to design the physical space based on people’s behavioral characteristics". (tabaeian, 2011). the focal point of the architectural side is the background and capability of the designer to create a comprehensive vision with respect to the psychological intervention of all parameters involved in his design and to identify the considerations must be taken into account. "one of the essential roles of architecture is to provide built environments that sustain the occupants’ psychological well-being. this role is made even more important because, in modern society, more than 70% of a person’s lifespan is spent indoors" (kim, 1998). 2. research methodology the methodology of this research is generally based on a descriptive and interpretive approach. an initial survey to investgate the relation between architecture, interior architectural design and the psychological status of residents and https://gemreportunesco.wordpress.com/2015/12/08/education-increases-awareness-and-concern-for-the-environment/ heba-talla hamdy mahmoud/ interior architecture elements affect human psychology and behavior pg. 2 users was conducted. questions included the following: what is the backgrounds and scopes of architecture, interior architecture designer needed for the designe to recognize in order to create a right vision? what are the most effective parameters that impact this relationship? this research selects the most effective factors (identity, privacy, functionality and felexability, safety and health concern, accessibility, open space, aesthetic) that interact with the relation between architecture, interior architectural design and the psychological status of residents and users. other questions include: what are the main distinctive considerations that should be taken in to account to handle these factors? many data sources included books, journals, conferences, and specific official internet sites. 3. interior architecture design psycological awareness the achievement of interior architectural design, with awareness of the psychological impacts on residents, needs a wide scope of knowledge about the different dimensions and circumstances that should be taken into account figure 3-1. "as practitioners, we solve the design problems for humans who use and inhabit the space by considering their needs, whether functional, social, psychological or environmental by understanding how to use research to help identify and clarify the relationship between human behavior and the built environment" (perolini, 2006). different methods of investigating and different approaches were used to recognize and shape the complex network of relations between architecture, interior architecture design and the psychological status of residents and users. "a useful model for seeing the scope of available environment –behavior information figure3-2m first proposed by the architectural psychologist irwin altman1 includes three main components: environment-behavior phenomena, user groups, and settings" (burris, 2014). a different approach to identify the wide scope of comfort in homes through a multi-dimensional survey was composed of three main proposed dimensions (meaning of comfort at home, home environment, and comfort), figure3-3. figure 3-1: factors impacts human psychology (moore 1979). 1 the former dean of social and behavioral science college, utah university authored 20 books and over 130 professional journal articles and book chapters heba-talla hamdy mahmoud/ interior architecture elements affect human psychology and behavior pg. 3 figure 3-2: the scope of environment –behavior information. (snyder jc 1797) figure 3-3: dimensions and sub-dimensions of home comfort (burris 2014) 4. the psychological impact of identity human perceptions of the space they live in, work, or spend time in are directly impacted by the reflection of personal, socil, and cultural identities on these places. it is convenient that places remind us of the main features of our identity, "there is a complex interaction between a person and a space. the person defines the space, the space defines the person; the person gives meaning to the space, the space gives meaning to the person. in other words, there is a complex and bilateral interaction between the person and the space in its cultural, psychological, economic and physical dimensions" (ayalp, 2012). the sense of psychological identity about the architecture of space grows when we start to identify ourselves with places. "the field of psychology and the social sciences of architecture, emphasizing the influence of the physical environment on identity and self-perception" (hauge, 2007). the psychological identity sense and its interaction with interior architecture occurs in both larger scale domains such as culture, religion, nation, city, gender, social roles or social class and in smaller domains such as neighborhood, family, homes and rooms. generally, we can say that humans have always showed their dedication to their roots. it can be said that every civilization or ethnic group offers a specific architectural identity in accordance with their cultures and traditions at different times. the psychological identity about space is affected by the international architectural trends due to globalization and its nature as a standardizing force in economics, politics, culture, and consequently in architecture. the architucture of hassan fathy is considered a remarkable style of the interaction between authenticity in the orientation of identity and contemporary architecture. "the invaluable legacy of hassan fathy constitutes inspiration for younger architects whose prime concerns are to preserve cultural identity in architecture while providing appropriate and affordable shelters for the disinherited of this world" (richards, 1985). it essential to recognize that identity does not depend on the composition and form of physical space only, but it is linked to the concept of meaning and sense. there are numerous factors that shape identity and selfexpression such as the structure of family and relatives, and child-raising methods. interior architecture consideration for identity architecture and interior architecture designers should maintain the identity of peoples and communities and respect their daily routine of life. the appropriate implementation of design aims to achieve the present needs of users and make it suitable for future generations."people feel comfortable in the places that are concurrent with their place identities. moreover, with reflecting true cultural identities, designer can take part in sustainability of cultural value. the typical features that are creating the image are the basic elements in designing new images" (ayalp, 2012). figure 4-1 is an interior space in japan that reflects japanese interior architectural concepts and their identity. figure 4-2 is a facade of building in yemen, it represents the character of yemeni architecture as a remarkable identity. the following are examples of architecture and interior architectural considerations with psychological impacts related to identity: • the design should demonstrate the background and motives of residents. • the design should demonstrate the structure of religions, cites, families and neighborhoods. • usage of local materials and technique such as plaster, stone and marble. • architectural treatments of openings, windows and doors, especially in the main entrance framing and decoration. • the diversity and richness of arts and architectural treatments that belong to the local and national tradition. • social and special niches, signs and icons. • "the level of modern influence by western and international style concepts in comparison to the accustomed norm of the traditional architecture of the region can be categorized as follows: − copying the traditional architecture of the region without any modifications with no change. heba-talla hamdy mahmoud/ interior architecture elements affect human psychology and behavior pg. 4 − minor changes: partial change of system elements − adaptations: mixing the source with new elements − major changes: changing the system relation − total changes: altering the system rules and regulations" (baper, 2010). figure 4-1: interior space pattern in japan figure 4-2: building's façade in yemen 5. the psychological impact of privacy privacy in general is the right of individuals, groups, organization, and institutions to determine for themselves when, how and to what extent information about them is communicated to others. in a public space, there is no restriction of communication, while isolated spaces completely constrain all types of communication. in between there are intermediate levels of privacy. space privacy is considered one of the most important types of overall privacy. people deal with the concept of space privacy with special concerns, they feel discomfort, anger and anxiety when their space privacy is exposed beyond their desires. "according to environmental psychology, each person is realized and perceived through an invisible shelter or a series of shelters surrounding his body, figure 5-1. these personal protective spheres, by which privacy is controlled, vary from person to person and from culture to culture. they also differ from period to period as society and social bonds are continually transformed and reconstructed. hall defines accordingly four such spheres; intimate, personal, private and public. when the most intimate of these private areas is intruded by other individuals, the person starts to act defensively or to say at least extraordinarily. a typical example of the above fact is indicated by the abnormal behavior of people when standing in an elevator" (hall, 1969). figure 5-1: the main four categories of space, the hidden dimension 1990 interior architectural considerations for privacy the central aspect of achieving privacy is how to find a balance between privacy and social relationships. accessibility, visibility, proximity, vocals and olfactory are the main parameters of privacy interaction with the human psychology. each parameter requires numerous suggestions of considerations, nevertheless the general guidance can be performed through using space sizing and organizing with vertical, horizontal boundaries, partitions and conversation shields. the degree of light and illumination distribution with direct and indirect lighting needs to be controlled. using appropriate types of sound-blocking , soundproofing, curtains, floor walls, furniture, and equipment. "the careful design of enclosed space enhances privacy through auditory isolation, dimmed lighting, and a semi-transparent divider between penitent and priest, stimulates a moment of reflection, serenity, and honesty" (petermans. a, 2014)."according to the degrees of proximity, there are four categories of privacy with specific consideration for each…intimate distance of eighteen inches or less, the presence of another person is unmistakable and may at times be overwhelming because of the greatly steppedup sensory inputs. in its close phase (6 inches or less) intimate distance lends itself primarily to nonverbal communication. this is distance is usually reserved for very close friends and family. personal distance from 11⁄2 to 4 feet can be thought http://amzn.to/2e5ehfk http://www.hometips.com/diy-how-to/soundproofing-insulation-walls-ceilings.html heba-talla hamdy mahmoud/ interior architecture elements affect human psychology and behavior pg. 5 of as a small protective sphere or bubble that an organism maintains between itself and others. social distance ranges from 4 to 12 feet, it’s a psychological distance, one at which the animal apparently begins to feel anxious when he exceeds its limits. we can think of it as a hidden band that contains the group. public distance is the largest of the zones and it exists only in human relationships. at the close phase (12 to 25 feet), a more formal style of language and a louder voice is required" (hall, 1969). the following are examples of architecture and interior architectural considerations with psychological impacts related to privacy: • public and private spaces should be clearly defined by means of applicable well-defined boundaries, • the degree of interrelationship and connectivity with adjacent spaces. • the type of mass zone and courtyard which is surrounding the space. • the difference between the street level and the ground floor level. • number of entrances, is there one entrance or more. • the implementation of privacy practices through a monitoring service. • the type of transitional space behind each access and the degree of exposure to inside spaces. • the existence of a part of, or an entire floor below ground level (basement). • type of walls and insulation partition. • the type of main movement system, even if it’s radial, is linked to one axis or another • the style, size and direction of openness (windows, doors) regarding the overall size and orientation. • kitchen design and type (closed or open plan kitchen). • the orientation of private rooms' doors and openings toward the open and living spaces. • roof type, degree of exposure to inside spaces. 6. the psychological impact of functionality and flexability the satisfaction and psychological status of users and residents is directly linked to a well-planned and designed feature that makes spaces more usable and beneficial. functionality consideration encourages people to live and work effectively. the psychological and physical comfort of residents is linked to the degree of feasibility and flexibility of the design. the possibilities of flexible design to change the shape and size of internal space (figure 6-1), and the impact of feasible functions of interior design in addition to the using of the space as integrated environment make our interior more livable. "interior architecture can have to function as a platform for happiness and human flourishing, as a combination of positive feelings and optimal human functioning. it is clear that design can function as a direct source of pleasure or facilitate pleasurable activities. such a vision incorporates a view on interior architecture as an activating and dynamic platform that facilitates the occurring of meaningful activities for its inhabitants" (petermans, 2014). "user flexibility is an important design objective of modern dwelling units. the provision of various possible spatial configurations of interior space sub-division. created within defined dwelling space, is a natural necessity resulting from altering dwelling needs over life span, change in living standards, use of modern household appliances and variation in life style and fashion. the majority of dwellers face the necessity of enlarging their dwelling space as a result of familial growth. conducting work from home and enjoying hobby activity. this process could later be reversed when grown up children leave home and the need for space is decreased. the possibility to move to another dwelling unit is not always attainable as a result of financial situation. social factors and children education. user flexibility is. therefore, called for to provide dwellers with a variety of possibilities to sub-divide given dwelling space and use it in the best possible manner" (karni, 2000). figure 6-1: the flexibility of furniture design and space usage interior architectural considerations for functionality and flexability maximizing the functionality and flexibility of space requires that some important questions be answered by the designer. who will be there? what is their lifestyle throughout the course of time? what features and facilities are most important to them? the differentiation between the multiple building types, whatever residences, workplaces, healthcare facilities, learning environments, and retail spaces is a vital element of functionality and flexibility considerations. from the financial point of view, smart functional characteristics are considered an effective way for reducing expenditure heba-talla hamdy mahmoud/ interior architecture elements affect human psychology and behavior pg. 6 consuming less products, space and energy. subsequently, this will be reflected on the psychological state of peoples. "maximum & optimum utilization of the interior space requires flexible design of furniture in the space. many furniture pieces are designed using folding patterns or drawers included with mechanical or electrical features and this furniture can the interior space very efficient through ergonomic and human fitness" (emamgholi, 2011). the following are examples of architecture and interior architectural considerations with psychological impacts related to functionality and flexibility: • apply appropriate design for windows and doors to adopt all diverse physical abilities. • adopt the concept of one space that can reflect different social functions. • chose appropriate colors for switches and sockets that contrast with its background to be reached easily. • equipment such as fans, air conditioning or the fuse box are easy to locate and operate. • design the living room to accommodate various functions and sizes of group activities. • sufficient lighting in the kitchen, over bathroom, hand-basin and work areas. • select a wall system that offers a complete range of options from private space to open plans • in public buildings, the lobby should be broken down into smaller areas, where groups can gather. • make multiple furniture configurations available. • ensure that the design provides contemporary technology requirements. • select durable floors, ceilings and walls finishing materials. • select durable furniture designs and materials. • ensure adequate cable interfaces with precise placements to offers appropriate degrees of flexibility. • the kitchen design should incorporate work surfaces for both standing and seated use. • increase the size of desk tops surfaces and maximize vertical space. 7. the psychological impact of safety and health concerns one of the main psychological concern of users and residents depends on having homes and settings that are safe and free from physical hazards. "the quality of housing conditions plays a decisive role in the health status of the residents. many health problems are either directly or indirectly related to the building itself, because of the construction materials that were used and the equipment installed, or the size or design of the individual dwellings. representing the spatial point of reference for each individual, the home also has a broad influence on the psychosocial and mental well-being by providing the basis for place attachment and identity as well as a last refuge from daily life. however, especially, for this mental dimension of housing satisfaction and the meaning of home to the resident, not much data on the relation between health and well-being, and subjective satisfaction, and housing perception are available" (bonnefoy, 2007). architects and interior architects share the responsibility with both occupants and administrative authorities with regards to safety and health considerations of occupants and users according to rules and instructions. the psychological effect of safety and health care increased when related to children, elder people and people with disabilities. most injuries such as fall burns, and poisonings usually occur at home due to improper architectural design. "there are two common strategies in building design that are employed to deal with the indoor environmental quality (iaq). the first one is to improve the indoor air quality by increasing the ventilation rate, which in turn reduces air pollutant. the second is by reducing the source of pollution within and outside the building in order to reduce the introduction of pollutants in the indoor air" (alhorr, 2016). "a home perceived as safe and intimate provides major psychosocial benefits. it represents a protected refuge from the outside world, enables the development of a sense of identity and attachment – as an individual or as a part of a family, and provides a space to be oneself. any intrusion of external factors or stressors strongly limits this feeling of safety, intimacy, and control, thereby reducing the mental and social function of the home" (kearns, 2000)."there are many indoor stressors (e.g. thermal factors, lighting aspects, moisture, mould, noise and vibration, radiation, chemical compounds, particulates) that can cause their effects additively or through complex interactions (synergistic or antagonistic). it has been shown that exposure to these stressors can cause both short-term and long-term effects" (bluyssen, 2013). interior architectural considerations for safety and health concerns architects and interior architects have a wide range of options to apply safety and health concerns considerations by adapting their design to utilize the features of climate environmental conditions through controlling the degree of sun exposure, temperature, wind, humidity and veneration. they should be aware of the materials they choose for their design, such as glass, paints, fabric types. the strength of friction as slip resistance. they need to be careful about the causes of toxicity and pollution that affect indoor air quality for preventing any chemical contamination especially with all types of paints, fabric and wall floor coverings. they are responsible for applying codes, rules and standards. the following are examples of architecture and interior architectural considerations with psychological impacts related to health concerns: • ensure safety fence with secured access to the interior space. • signs should be useful with adequate size with right orientation and clear text and figures. • avoid sudden changes of level which could trip people, if they are present, it must be made clearly visible with contrasting colors. • convenient entrances, people should be able to safely enter and exit without obstruction. heba-talla hamdy mahmoud/ interior architecture elements affect human psychology and behavior pg. 7 • make the floor slip-resistant, non-reflective light, glare-free and easy to clean. • solid core construction for interior spaces doors. • enhance the levels of lighting where it’s needed, it should also be easy to control and adjust. • enhance the implementation of safety practices with technical equipment such as intercom system and security cameras with monitoring response service. • stairs should be in appropriate width, right steps dimension, strong handrails and adequate lighting. (figure 7-1) • the appropriate distribution of appliances in accurate positions such as stoves and air conditioners. • install automatic smoke detector system. • choose comfortable and safe furniture with healthy design. • maximize the daylight availability through opening (windows doors) dimensions, materials and design. figure 7-1: stairs safety consideration. 8. the psychological impact of accessibility and circulation architecture circulation and interior architecture movement and accessibility is a continuous process that we exercise in our daily life. this process may be as easy as moving from one room to another or as difficult as trying to escape a building on fire. efficient navigation through the exteriors and interiors of any space saves physical efforts, enhancing emotional status and introduce a primary impressions about the overall quality of the architectural design. circulation difficulties may cause problems such as loss of time, decreased safety, or causes stress and discomfort. accessibility and circulation tasks are affected by two major factors, the architecture and interior architectural design of the space and the degree of information clearness and accuracy. the impact of accessibility on physical and psychological conditions take further importance when related to public buildings, particularly public buildings with large complex facilities such as shopping centers, airports and hospitals. spaces and buildings must be accessible to all people with special concern to children, old people and persons with disabilities. interior architectural considerations for accessibility and circulation the designs of interior architectural accessibility and circulation vary according to space type, size, layout and user requirements. the design of these processes need wide scopes more than putting up signs or just design an entrance. all routes of both horizontal circulation elements and vertical circulation elements within any space or building should be as free as possiple of obstacles and they should be easy to distinguish. the following are examples of architecture and interior architectural considerations with psychological impacts related to accessibility and circulation: • approaches from streets toward a building or space should be leveled, clearly identified, and slip resistant. figure8-1 • entrances should be clearly defined and furnished with adequate light • use signs to identify the paths of horizontal and vertical circulation systems. • lobbies should accommodate visitors with waiting areas and privide information about the space. • halls and corridors should provide safe and adequate circulation between space units. • stairs to the upper level should be suitable for people with disabilities. • elevator should have adequate space in comparison with the volume of use. • elevator should be visible with wide-angle from entrance. • lighting plan should illuminate all space parts with suitable and adequate light. • let room's space design allow access to furniture, storage, windows and appliances. heba-talla hamdy mahmoud/ interior architecture elements affect human psychology and behavior pg. 8 figure 8-1: approaches should be leveled, clearly identified, slip resistant 9. the psychological impact of outdoor and open spaces the physiological studies about the outdoors and open spaces indicate that the natural environment can contribute to reducing anger, anxiety, and helps in relaxation management and improves the overall health outcome. both visual access and being actually within a green space helps to improve the ability to focus and increase the level of alertness. outdoors and green spaces encourage social contact, leisure and cultural activities by sharing activities with others and enhance the desire of knowledge. outdoors and open spaces provide the availability of physical activity like walk and exercise. "over the past several decades, research in a variety of fields such as workplaces, hospitals, urban environments, and experimental laboratories shows that contact with nature generates emotional, physiological, social, and cognitive benefits. furthermore, the findings point consistently to the value of particular natural features such as large trees, flowers, gardens, and water. studies also show that benefits of nature occur in many ways -through direct contact (sitting in an outdoor garden), indirect contact (through a window view), and from simulations using nature decor such as posters or paintings" (heerwagen, 2006). interior architectural considerations for outdoors and open spaces outdoor and open spaces are a broad term covering a wide range of residential and areas. it’s important to recognize that the psychological consideration of inhabitant's usage of outdoor and open spaces in private spaces like houses and homes vary from those in public spaces. the designer needs to understand and evaluate the opportunities available for his or her space to utilize every positive option of environmental conditions and nature like sun, air, and greening. • create visual harmony between the indoor spaces and outdoors spaces. • appropriate fence design, with regards to form, height, and the degree of transparency with exterior spaces • ensure that entrances, openness and pathways enable people to move freely, figure 9-1. • ground surfaces should be a mix of hard and soft surfaces according to the nature of use. • electrical and network interfaces should be available with easy to use potential technology. • design should be planned to minimize negative factors like exterior noise and smoke. • sufficient night-time lighting to enhance safety, security and ensure efficient usage of space. • design should be planned to enhance the visibility degree. • vegetation with colored flowers and leaves provide an attractive view. • design should provide multiple sitting areas and cooking facilities, figure 9-2. • the selection of outdoor furniture should depend on their strength, durability, beauty and appropriate formation. figure 9-1: pathways enable peoples move freely figure9-2: multiple sitting areas and cooking facilities heba-talla hamdy mahmoud/ interior architecture elements affect human psychology and behavior pg. 9 10.the psychological impact of the aesthetic aspect aesthetics play an essential role in the emotional satisfaction of users and residents when it comes to the architecture and interior architectural design. it’s directly associated with human pleasure and spirit. the success of interior architecture designers to reach the aesthetics of a space depends on the degree by which he or she understands human sensitivity to beauty and expression perception. "settings and traditional towns are examples of pleasant atmospheres often arising from aesthetically rather uninteresting units. such urban atmospheres are most often created by specific materiality, scale, rhythm, color or formal theme with variations"( pallasmaa, 2014). aesthetics are defined by each individual, each family, each group and each society. as a result, the aesthetical status of space will function properly when we investigate inhabitant's definitions of beauty and consider their vision. this investigation should include the foundation of local traditions, the present community and aspirations for future. "aesthetic appreciation is both expressed in and influenced by the environment. to define aesthetic qualities, the designer needs to understand that the concept of beauty differs with time and place, purpose and context. values captured under the label "aesthetic" can best be understood at a universally comprehensible level. these aspects of a design go beyond the functional and constructional concerns, and are associated with the specific way the design presents itself to the human senses" (cheung, 1997). interior architectural considerations for the aesthetic aspect interior architectural designers express the aesthetics and beauty of a certain space through using the main factors that influence the implementation of aesthetics and beauty (form texture color light). "forms are constructed from points, lines, planes, surfaces and volumes that are made richer by texture, color and material. in combination, these elements of form create a design, and similarly all of these elements contribute to our perception of its meaning. the designer could be cast in the role of a communicator whose messages to the user concern the symbolic qualities of products. just as a journalist creates informative messages from a vocabulary of terms, so could a designer be thought of as having a collection of forms at his disposal with which he creates arrangements that can be understood as a whole in their essential parts and that are usable by a receiver because of this communicated understanding" (mothersill, 2014). every surface has its texture which can be smooth or rough, glossy or unpolished, bumpy or flat. textural contrast sensibility has its direct impact on the mind based on our memory of touching similar surfaces. the impression of color is categorized within the maximum impact of space factors that interact with the psychological mood. light can be used to achieve emotional responses. we can produce certain moods such as restfulness, activity, warmth, and coolness through using lighting patterns of varying levels of illumination. the following are examples of architecture and interior architecture considerations with psychological impacts related to the aesthetic aspect: • create forms that express the user's meanings and preference. • maximize the use of natural lights in compatible balance with artificial light. • feasible utilization of modern materials that display a flowing and multilayered curves construction. • estimate the appropriate contrast between floor, walls and ceilings. • consider the flexibility and level of illumination for specific tasks. • understand the impact of each color on the human psychological mood. • choose color plans based on the analysis of color preferences of users and residents. • appropriate geometric lines and ornamental decorations. • display interesting artworks, photos and other personal items. • ensure convenient relations between the major pieces of furniture, walls, and floors regarding the size and balance. • find a balance between unity and variety, too much unity without variety is boring and too much variation without unity is confusing. conclusion the scope of the mutual relation between interior architecture and human psychology is so wide, that is due to the multiple interaction with social, cultural, physical and environmental factors. most studies about the interaction between interior architectural design and the psychological status of people are comparatively a contemporary approach, a detailed understanding still needs to be refined. the successful design for achieving welfare and happiness of interior architecture depends on how the designer finds a balance between the most dominant factors such as identity, privacy, safety, accessibility, functionality, flexibility, community interaction, and the provision of adequate space, should be given due weight. ultimately the success of setting up interior architectural design with active psychological conception judged by how the design fulfills values, needs, preferences and satisfactions of users. the main question is, what are the designers' experience, qualifications and imagination about the various factors of interior architecture that affect human psychology and behavior. heba-talla hamdy mahmoud/ interior architecture elements affect human psychology and behavior pg. 10 refrences: adler, d. 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(snyder jc 1797) figure 3-3: dimensions and sub-dimensions of home comfort (burris 2014) figure 4-1: interior space pattern in japan figure 4-2: building's façade in yemen the scope of the mutual relation between interior architecture and human psychology is so wide, that is due to the multiple interaction with social, cultural, physical and environmental factors. most studies about the interaction between interior arch... http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.393 properties of pmma bone cement modified with nano-hydroxyapatite and acetone amin zaza1, mohamed habib1, nabil fatahalla1 1mechanical department, faculty of engineering, al azhar university abstract fracture in the adjacent levels is one of the consequences to the use of commercial poly methylmethacrylate (pmma) bone cement. modified pmma with a reduced young’s modulus was found to be safer for cancellous bone augmentation procedures. the aim of this research was to study the effect of adding hydroxyapatite (ha) nano-particles and acetone on different properties of pmma cement. a commercial pmma cement was used as a model for bone cement. three groups of modified pmma/nano-ha were investigated by adding 2, 4 and 6 wt. % of ha. acetone as a porogen mixed with distilled water in different amounts (a/w: 1:1, 2:1.5 and 2:1g) was used to produce porous pmma cement. the residual monomer, polymerization and mechanical properties under tension and compression tests were investigated. young’s modulus detected from compression test decreased from 826.5±10 to 728±66 mpa by adding 6wt.% ha. adding acetone to pmma with 2:1.5g (a/w) has decreased the compressive young’s modulus to 753±38 mpa. high performance liquid chromatography (hplc) measurements were carried out with intervals of 2 hours, 6 hours and 24 hours to evaluate the residual monomer for all groups. the amount of residual monomer has decreased after 24 hours of curing by adding acetone and nano-ha. modifying pmma by ha and acetone have inconsistent effect on the polymerization temperature. it was concluded that ha and acetone can be used to reduce the stiffness and residual monomer with enhanced biocompatibility of the commercial pmma bone cement. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords poly methylmethacrylate ; acetone; hydroxyapatite; adjacent fracture; residual monomer; stiffness. 1. introduction osteoporotic vertebral fracture is one of the major health problems that can cause a lot of pain, kyphotic deformity and decreased life quality. recently, there is an increase of using vertebroplasty to treat these fractures. vertebroplasty is a minimally invasive technique that involves percutaneous injection of pmma bone cement into a weakened or fractured vertebra in order to strengthen and stabilize it [1]. the mechanical objective of vertebroplasty is to restore the structural properties of the weakened vertebrae to its normal values, so that the weight-bearing kinetics during regular daily activities is sufficiently supported [2]. the commercially available pmma bone cement has a young’s modulus (stiffness) in the range of (2–3 gpa) [3]. these values are 4–40 times higher than that of cancellous bone (50–800 mpa) which is the main constituent of the vertebral body. an increased fracture risk has been demonstrated for the adjacent vertebral bodies after augmentation. the inherent high stiffness of the pmma pg. 440 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ zaza / the academic research community publication is hypothesized to be the main reason for these adjacent fractures [4]. moreover, pmma has other disadvantages such thermal necrosis due to the exothermic polymerization reaction. the pmma polymerization temperature may increase up to 70 oc during setting inside the vertebral body which can result in heat damage of the neighboring healthy tissues [4, 5]. chemical necrosis due to the monomer release is one of the pmma disadvantages as well. researchers have tried to hinder these limitations by using different additives [6-10]. adding biocompatible synthetic bone substitutes such as hydroxyapatite (ha) and α-tcp powders has shown enhanced mechanical properties and biocompatibility of the pmma bone cement [6-9]. introducing internal porosity is another approach to modify pmma bone cements [11-13]. internal porosity can decrease the injurious high stiffness of pmma bone cement and enhance its biocompatibility as it allows bone tissue ingrowth [13]. the aim of this research work is to study the effect of adding nano-ha powder and acetone to the pmma bone cement in order to hinder its limitations. the effect of adding nano-ha and a biocompatible porous agent (porogen), namely acetone, on the mechanical properties, polymerization temperature and monomer release will be addressed. acetone is the main precursor in the manufacturing of mma. it is a colorless liquid with a distinct odor that mixes readily with water. the supersaturated gas created by mixing water/acetone and the instant polymerization of pmma can result in a porous structure [14]. low levels of acetone normally exist in the human body from the breakdown of fat and is use in normal processes that make sugar and fat inside the body [15]. there is no strong evidence of chronic health effects on using acetone. several studies show that there is no evidence of serious neurotoxic, neurobehavioral, or other pathological effects of acetone. moreover, acetone was proven to be effective against some neurological disorders such as kindled focal seizures [16]. 2. materials and methods materials effect of adding nano-ha powder: [(c5o2h8) n] pmma; vertex; (oldenbarneveltln, netherlands), mma; vertex; (oldenbarneveltln, netherlands) was used as a model for bone cement. nano-ha with average 200 nm was synthesized in home-laboratory as explained in previous research work (biomedical engineering laboratory, mechanical engineering department, al-azhar university) [17]. effect of acetone/water amounts (a/w): acetone [c3h6o] (a0038111, edwic, egypt), and distilled water (conductivity approx. 2.5 µs/cm) were used as a biocompatible porogen. preparation method effect of adding nano-ha powder: ha-nano powder was added by various weight ratios 2%, 4% and 6% to the pmma powder and hand mixed in a plastic cup with spatula. after powder mixing, the mma was added to pmma/nano-ha with a ratio equal to 2:3 and hand mixed for one minute. the mixture was cast in different sample molds for tension, compression, residual monomer and polymerization tmperature to characterize the different compositions. effect of acetone/water amounts (a/w): acetone and water were blended with the following amounts: 1:1, 2:1 and 2:1.5 g (a/w). then mma and pmma were blended with a ratio equal to 2:3 for one minute. the acetone/water blends were added to the pmma and mixed for two minutes. all samples in this research work were prepared in biomedical engineering laboratory; mechanical engineering department; al azhar university. a factorial design 2 × 3 of two factors with three levels [a (nano-ha): 2, 4, 6 % and b (a/w): 1:1, 2:1 and 2:1.5 g] was applied with three repeats for each level in tension and compression testing. one repeat is used for thermal, polymerization and morphology testing characterization pg. 441 zaza / the academic research community publication mechanical testing tensile strength, compression strength, and modulus of elasticity of the modified pmma model cement were determined by using universal testing machine (zwick/roell, z010, germany). test procedure and dimensions of the specimens were according to astm 638 standard. compression specimens were tested under the following parameters: load cell: 10 kn, pre-load: 5 n, pre-load speed: 10 mm/min, and test speed: 5 mm/min. tension specimens were tested by using 10 kn load cell and screw grip for specimen grips [18]. maximum and setting temperature the thermal properties of pmma cement modified by the different additives was studied according to european standard en iso 573-2:1996. a temperature sensor (jenway 3510, england) was used. the temperature probe was placed in the mold cavity, approximately half way between the outer ring and the plunger [19]. the temperature of the pmma cement increased with time due to the exothermic polymerization reaction. the temperature raising stops after polymerization process completed. the temperature of pmma cement decreased with time until it reached room temperature. the temperature readings of the pmma cement were recorded immediately after the placement of pmma cement in the mold until it reached the room temperature every 60 seconds. monomer release high pressure liquid chromatography (hplc) (lc-2000 plus hplc system, jasco, japan) was used to identify the residual mma content according to the method described by rca r b et.al [20]. the analysis used a jasco uv detector at 230 nm, an ace 5 c18 column, a binary pump, and manual injector system. flow rate of the distilled water was 1 ml/min. figure (1) shows the calibration curve constructed with an mma concentration of 100 to 3000 ppm in acetonitrile. all of the specimens were stored in a glass flask, which was sealed with a leak-proof cap and tightly wrapped parafilm to avoid leakage. as an extraction solvent, 20 ml of methanol was added to the solution to precipitate the polymer. the specimens were maintained at 37 oc during the experiments (fig. 1). to determine the release of the mma over time, 20 µl of the extract samples solution were injected and analyzed by the hplc at regular intervals. the time intervals were 2, 6 and 24 hours. the extracted solutions were evaluated to determine the rate of residual monomer release by comparing the area under the peak on the graph with that of standard mma. figure 1. the calibration curve of standard mma and samples of toxicity for vertexmaterials 3. results mechanical testing effect of nano-ha table 1 shows the mechanical properties of the modified pmma/nano-ha cements that results from compression and tension testing. increasing the amount of nano-ha affect the compressive stiffness and strength adversely. pg. 442 zaza / the academic research community publication the pmma/6% nano-ha cement has the smallest compressive stiffness (728±66 mpa) and compressive strength (50.6±5.6 mpa). the nano-ha has a significant adverse effect on the elongation behaviour under tension. the lowest elongation (1.76 ±0.47 mm) was obtained for the pmma/4% nano-ha cement. the same composition shows the lowest tensile stiffness and strength (504 ±88 and 16.9 ±7 mpa respectively) (table 1). table 1. mechanical properties of pmma/nano-ha compositions control 2% nano-ha 4% nano-ha 6% nano-ha tensile strength (mpa) 38.8 ±3 30.8 ±2 16.9 ±7 24.6 ±2.6 tensile young’s modulus (mpa) 582 ±28 615 ±6 504 ±88 512 ±47 elongation (mm) 3.5 ±0.26 2.67 ±0.09 1.76 ±0.47 2.46 ±0.11 compressive strength (mpa) 66.8 ±2 72 ±7.5 62 ±1.8 50.6 ±5.6 compressive young’s modulus (mpa) 826.5 ± 10 971 ± 94 868 ±47 728 ±66 effect of acetone/water (a/w) various amounts of acetone and water were mixed with three levels and added to the pmma model bone cement. specifically, 1:1g, 2:1g and 2:1.5g (a/w) were added to 30g pmma and 20g mma (table 2). adding different amounts of a/w has decreased the strength, elongation and the young’s modulus under tension. the smallest tensile strength and tensile young’s modulus were 23.7±4.5 mpa and 529 ±57 mpa for the 2:1g (a/w) composition. however, the addition of a/w has increased the compressive young’s modulus except for the 2:1.5g (a/w) composition (753 ±38 mpa). the compressive strength has decreased with adding (a/w). the smallest compressive strength was recorded for the 2:1.5g (a/w) composition with 47.8 ±4.7 mpa (table 2). table 2. mechanical properties of pmma-acetone/water (a/w) compositions control 1:1g (a/w) 1 2:1g (a/w) 2:1.5g (a/w) tensile strength (mpa) 38.8 ± 3 38.7 ±1.9 23.7 ±4.5 26 ±0.9 tensile young’s modulus (mpa) 582 ± 28 603 ±33 529 ±57 529 ±61 elongation (mm) 3.5 ± 0.26 3.16 ±0.18 2.38 ±0.26 2.65 ±0.34 compressive strength (mpa) 66.8 ± 2 64.8 ±3.3 65.9 ±1.4 47.8 ±4.7 compressive young’s modulus (mpa) 826.5± 10 902 ±49 933 ±47 753 ±38 setting and maximum polymerization temperature effect of nano-ha figure (2) shows representative measurements of the cement polymerization temperature as a function of time after mixing of all pmma/nano-ha compositions. nano-ha has increased the polymerization temperature for all the composition. the maximum polymerization temperature was observed for pmma-4% nano-ha with 41.4 oc and a setting temperature of 31.1 oc. the addition of 4% nano-ha has increased the setting time to 31 min. figure 2. representative polymerization temperature measurements for pmma/nano-ha compositions as a function of time after start of mixing pg. 443 zaza / the academic research community publication effect of acetone/water (a/w) figure (3) represents the measurements of the cement temperature during polymerization as a function of time after start of mixing of different pmma-(a/w) compositions. the addition of (a/w) amounts has decreased the setting time and increased the polymerization temperature. the maximum polymerization temperature was noticed for the 2:1 g (a/w) composition with 59.4 oc. the minimum setting time was observed for the 1:1 g (a/w) composition with 14 minutes after start of mixing (fig. 3). monomer release the percentage of residual monomer by mass of all combinations after three different time intervals are represented in table (3). according to the hplc measurements, the residual monomer ranged from 0.027% to 0.45%. the (a/w) combinations shows a lower monomer release than that of the ha combinations after all time intervals. for all combinations and control group, the residual monomer started to decrease at 24h except for 2%nano-ha combination. figure 3. representative polymerizationtemperature measurements for pmma-(a/w) compositions as a function of timeafter start of mixing table 3. table 1.residual monomer content calculated as percentage of mma by mass of thespecimens of all compositions after different time intervals 2h 6h 24h control 0.094 0.214 0.095 2% nano-ha 0.095 0.180 0.450 4% nano-ha 0.093 0.225 0.186 6% nano-ha 0.086 0.226 0.218 1/1 g (a/w) 0.036 0.083 0.078 2/1.5 g (a/w) 0.028 0.061 0.053 2/1 g (a/w) 0.027 0.049 0.120 4. discussion to hinder the limitations of the pmma bone cements, two approaches have been followed in this study. nano-ha is added to pmma to form a biocompatible composite. mechanical properties are of the crucial characteristics of pmma bone cement in the different biomedical applications. mechanical characteristics under compression are dominant in specific applications such as vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty and vertebral augmentations. while, the mechanical properties under tension are dominant in other applications such as dental and arthroplasty. pmma bone cement is a brittle material and therefore, it is weak in tension but quite strong under compression (fig. 4). the inherent excessive stiffness (young’s modulus) under compression is hypothesised to contribute to adjacent fracpg. 444 zaza / the academic research community publication tures in vertebral body augmentation. therefore, the measurements of compression strength values of the prepared cements are very important in this research. adding nano-ha to the pmma can be considered as a dispersion reinforcement composites. the nano-ha size allows particle–matrix interactions to occur at the atomic or molecular level. whereas the pmma matrix bears the major portion of an applied load, the small dispersed nano-ha particles hinder the motion of dislocations. thus, plastic deformation is restricted such that the compressive strength and stiffness increase as can be noticed in the 2% nano-ha combination (table 1). the reinforcement effect depends on the uniformity of nano-ha distribution and its amount inside the matrix. the dispersion of nano-ha inside the pmma matrix was quite a challenge and becomes a restraint with higher nano-ha percentage. therefore, the reinforcement effect decreased to 728 ±66 mpa for the 6% nano-ha combination (table 1). moreover, the poor adherence between the nano-ha particles and surrounding matrix could have a weakening effect that decrease strength and stiffness in tension and compression, with increasing the nano-ha percentage. figure 4. represents the tensile [a, c] and compression [b, d] curves for nano-haand (a/w) combinations respectively the second approach is to introduce porosity inside the pmma cement by using acetone. internal pores increase the opportunity of stress concentration and therefore decreases the maximum tensile strength. different amounts of acetone and water were used as porogen when added to pmma. acetone has a lower polarity than water and a higher solubility than non-polar gases such as oxygen and nitrogen. when water and acetone are mixed together, gas solubility of the mixture decreased, thus allowing supersaturated oxygen and nitrogen gases to come out of the solution in the form of nanobubbles until the concentration is at the saturation level. these nanobubbles will produce porosity inside the pmma and lead to reduction in weight and mechanical properties. surprisingly, introducing porosity inside the pmma matrix did not decrease the mechanical properties as accomplished by adding nano-ha (tables 1 and 2). this could be correlated with polymerization temperature measurements [figs 2 and 3]. adding acetone contributes to high polymerization temperature. as the polymerization temperature increases, molecular mobility speeds up, leading to more complete polymerization. this increase in the polymerization temperature is found to be in the favor of enhanced mechanical properties but on the other hand it may increase the possibility of thermal necrosis. despite of this thermal limitation of adding acetone, the complete polymerizapg. 445 zaza / the academic research community publication tion allows lower residual monomer percentage for all (a/w) combinations than that of nano-ha ones (table 3). therefore, the increase of residual monomer in the nano-ha combinations is deleterious to its mechanical properties. 5. conclusions nano-ha as a ceramic bioactive phase can be used to reduce the stiffness, residual monomer and enhance the biocompatibility of the commercial pmma bone cement. yet, the nano-ha agglomerated and produced nonadherence points inside the pmma matrix. acetone is a volatile biocompatible substance that can be used as an effective porogen to increase the porosity of the pmma augmentation and consequently reduces the compressive stiffness and the residual monomer. the increase in polymerization temperature is associated with the reduction in residual monomer. the residual monomer has an adverse effect on the mechanical properties. the additive percentage and its correlation with both residual monomer percentage and polymerization temperature should be considered to design pmma combinations that are suitable for a specific mechanical loading conditions. 6. references 1. jin luo, daniel m. skrzypiec, phillip pollintine, michael a. adams, deborah j.williams, patricia dolan. mechanical efficacy of vertebroplasty influence of cement type, bmd, fracture severity, and disc degeneration. bone 2007;40:1110-1119. 2. kay sun, michael a. k. liebschner. evolution of vertebroplasty: a biomechanical perspective. annals of biomedical engineering 2004;1:77-91. 3. amos racea, kenneth a. manna, avram a. edidinb. mechanics of bone/pmma composite structures: an invitro study of human vertebrae. journal of biomechanics 2007;40:1002-1010. 4. andreas boger, kurtis wheeler, andrea montali, elliot gruskin. nmp-modified pmma bone cement with adapted mechanical and hardening properties for the use in cancellous bone augmentation. appl biomater 2009; 90b:60-766. 5. bryan t. h. koh, j.h. tan, amit kumarsing ramruttun,wilson wang. effect of storage temperature and equilibration time on polymethyl methacrylate (pmma) bone cement polymerization in joint replacement surgery. j orthop surg res. 2015;10:178-184. 6. r.f. vargas coronado,l.h. chan-chan,j.m. cervantes-uc, j.v. cauich-rodrı́guez, m.c. piña barba. characterization of bone cements prepared with either hydroxyapatite, α-tcp or bovine bone. articulo de investigation 2013;34: 89-96. 7. seok bong kim, young jick kim, taek lim yoon, su a. park, in hee choa. the characteristics of a hydroxyapatite–chitosan–pmma bone cement. biomaterials 2004;25:5715-5723. 8. changyun quan, yong tang, zhenzhen liu, minyu rao, wei zhang, peiqing liang, nan wu, chao zhang, huiyong shen, qing jiang. effect of modification degree of nanohydroxyapatite on biocompatibility and mechanical property of injectable poly (methyl methacrylate)-based bone cement. society for biomaterials wiley online library 2015. 9. seyed mojtaba zebarjad, seyed abdolkarim sajjadi, tahere ebrahimi sdrabadi, amir yaghmaei, behrooz naderi. a study on mechanical properties of pmma/hydroxyapatite nanocomposite. engineering 2011; 3:795801. 10. s.m.kurtz, m.l.villarraga, k.zhao, a.a.edidin. static and fatigue mechanical behavior of bone cement with elevated barium sulfate content for treatment of vertebral compression fractures. biomaterials 2005; 26:3699-3712. 11. m.a. lopez heredia, y. saa, p. salmon, j.r. de wijn, j.g.c. wolke, j.a. jansen. bulk properties and bioactivity assessment of porous polymethylmethacrylate cement loaded with calcium phosphates under simulated physipg. 446 zaza / the academic research community publication ological conditions. acta biomaterialia 2012;8: 3120-3127. 12. dario t. berutoa, rodolfo bottera, milena fini. the effect of water in inorganic microsponges of calcium phosphates on the porosity and permeability of composites made with polymethylmethacrylate. biomaterials 2002;23:2509-2517. 13. jing han, guiping ma, jun nie. a facile fabrication of porous pmma as a potential bone substitute. materials science and engineering 2011;c 31:1278-1284. 14. takeshi matsubayashi, bin ding, mizuki tenjimbayashi, kengo manabe, kyu-hong kyung, and seimei shiratori. a facile method of synthesizing size-controlled hollow cyanoacrylate nanoparticles for transparent superhydrophobic/oleophobic surfaces. the royal society of chemistry rsc adv. 2016;6,15877-15883. 15. sids initial assessment report (siar) for the 9th siam paris, france.1999:29-30. 16. sergei s. likhodii, irina serbanescu, o. carter snead iii, patricia murphy miguel a. cortez, and w. mcintyre burnham. anticonvulsant properties of acetone, a brain ketone elevated by the ketogenic diet. annals of neurology 2003; 54(2), 219-226. 17. habib m, hussein k, baroud g, fatahalla n. correlation between stoichiometry and ph in the wet-chemical synthesis of calcium orthophosphates. book of proceedings, no 23/ e cells and materials j. 25th interdisciplinary research conference on injectable osteoarticular biomaterials and bone augmentation procedures griboi, toronto, ontario, canada, 2015; may 18th-20th. 18. sebastian baloš1, mladomir milutinović, michal potran , jelena vuletić ,tatjana puškar, tomaž pepelnjak. the mechanical properties of moulded and thermoformed denture resins. journal of mechanical engineering 2015;61:138-145. 19. iso 8641 (1997): implants for surgery-acrylic resin cements [mhd 2: orthopaedic instruments, implants and accessories]. 20. r betul ica, fırat ozturk; burhan ates; meral arslan malkoc; unzile kelestemur. level of residual monomer released from orthodontic acrylic materials. the eh angle education and research foundation, inc 2014; vol 84, no 5:862-867. pg. 447 introduction materials and methods results discussion conclusions references http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the formulation of the cultural identity of interior architecture students through the educational globalization doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.126 noha essam el din mohamed ali khamis 1, hassan abdel moniem metwalli 2 1assistant lecturer of interior architecture, interior design department, faculty of arts and design/ msa university ph.d.’s candidate of interior architecture, décor department, faculty of fine arts/ helwan university 2head of décor department, faculty of fine arts/ helwan university professor of interior architecture, décor department, faculty of fine arts/ helwan university keywords cultural identity; educational globalization; interior architecture. abstract educational globalization debilitates the identities, the origins and cultural, religious, etymological, racial, and ethnic foundations— challenge a country's feeling of solidarity and cohesion. the incorporation of cultural beliefs and the ensuing generations’ patterns into the society is an essential test of globalization. neglecting to do so; however, will have long haul social ramification. the capacity to define a character that permits agreeable development between universes will be at the very heart of accomplishing a really "worldwide soul". this research provides insights into a critical question: how are identity and agency implicated in educational processes and outcomes? thus, the paper discusses the role of educational institutions, led by the fine arts and applied arts, with its leading role in facing the educational globalization and the dominance of foreign countries on arab societies in the way of clothing, food and even individual behaviors. certainly, the young designers -in the university student ageare infulenced by the wave of westernization they face day and night. 1. introduction: educational globalization is the dominance of the strongest cultures on the weaker ones. the manifestation of that would echo with changing the curricula and other educational systems to remove differences and particularities that control behavior and lead to weakness of the value system. educational globalization has many definitions in the context of higher education. although the main target of many educational associations and institutions –now is to prepare "globally competent graduates”. globalization is still viewed as selling or exporting an institution's educational product in which it can serve the institution rather than it can be beneficial for the students. in formulating cultural identity, youth try to create a self-identity the way they think it will have a consistent pattern with how others view them. they also consider the identity model, which enables them to achieve their goals. the ongoing confrontation between the youth and the various social surroundings, like home, school or the neighborhood, makes the identity formulation is less challenging. since the interior designer is the main axis of the design process, the magnitude of the variables of his accumulative mental perception keeps morals, traditions and values inherited, as well as the accumulation of knowledge in his areas of specialization. it all leads to the formulation of the final output of the internal environment to those noha khamis & hassan metwalli / the academic research community publication pg. 2 variables, but it does not mean ignoring or evading the identity of the user, the laws of social determinants, controls and other historical and cultural beliefs associated with that community. who is an interior designer? it is the one possessing intellectual abilities and multiple stylistic skills in the field of competence and experience, as well as the standards which is often associated with the idea of ideological heritage of civilization. such expertise leads to a result that affects the design act. the interior designer could create spaces that reflect the identity of the general concept within the framework of the society, which belongs to a larger social entity/identity that is called the nation or the home. on the other hand, the espoused goals by the designers are the functionally suitable forms; the aesthetic values. it could be achieved as a response to many complicated and multi-rational factors that are associated with the cultural and social content. it also requires the designer to deduce objectivity in the design process through the real environment and surroundings. according to the abovementioned information, we find that there is a relationship between cultural identity, as a system of thoughts, and the mechanisms and forms of design that are adopted by the interior designer. first point: literature review at the most basic level, the ethnic label an individual chooses signifies his chosen identity (maestes 2000). sociological research has used the self-selected label as a way of examining identity. the sense of belongong to and alienation from various groups do also have important implications (devos and suárez-orozco 1990). achieved identity is the extent to which an individual achieves a sense of belonging—“i am a member of this group.” an ascribed identity is imposed either by co-ethnics—“you are a member of our group” or by members of the dominant culture—“you are a member of that group.” (suárez-orozco and suárez-orozco 2001) the values of the global culture are not dogmatic: they are not exclusionary, they do not condone suppression of people or groups who have a point of view or a way of life that is different from the majority.” (arnett 2002, p. 279). a critical difference between boys and girls occurs in the realm of social relationships. research with nonimmigrant youth has consistently found that teacher/student support, as well as student/student support, is critical for the academic achievement of both boys and girls (roeser, eccles et al. 1998). relationships within schools provide several forms of support critical to academic outcomes including access to knowledge concerning academic subjects, college, the labor market, and how bureaucracies operate; as well as advocacy; role modeling; and advice (stanton-salazar 2001). second point: research problem the lack of awareness of the concept of identity among the vast majority of the age group of students at universities who are easily influenced by western cultures that reflect their effects on self-intellectual young designers, as a result. third point: signifinance of the research it sheds the light on the potential challenges that could happen due to the outbreak of the educational gbalization without control. plus, it supports the process of blending different cultures and civilizations in the designer's memory. fourth point: objectives building a theoretical framework to formulate the cultural identity of the new generation of interior designers through the following points: • clarifying the definition of cultural identity among interior designers and enhancing their sense of belongingness. • balancing between cultural identity and objectivity in the design process. • paying attention to the content of the theoretical and applied curricula of interior design. fifth point: methodology -this preliminary study took place in cairo, egypt, and a variety of methods were used to collect data in the field including, open-ended interviews, observation of participants of professors, former lecturers, and students. however, the methodology of the research was developed within the sequence of the following stages: noha khamis & hassan metwalli / the academic research community publication pg. 3 the theoretical study includes: a database theory that is based on the fundamental axes to analyse previous studies in the areas of setting the cruccilas of interior design to match the cultural identity of learners and to control the process of importing programs of study in the private universities. addressing the research problem will achieve the aims of the research and proves the hypothies of the research. an empirical study includes: identifying realistic responses that have been applied as live models of research in the heritage and history of the taught curriculaas ways to consolidate the cultural identity of the students and reaching conclusions accordingly. observational studies: faculty of fine arts (décor department-interior architecture section/helwan university) faculty of arts and design (interior design department -october university for arts and science –msa university). formulating cultural identity through globalization: discussion: the paper discusses building a theoretical framework to formulate the cultural identity of the new generation of interior designers through, firstly, clarifying the definition of cultural identity among interior designers and enhancing their sense of belongingness. secondly, balancing between cultural identity and objectivity in the design process. thirdly, blending different cultures and civilizations in the designer's memory. culture provides people with shared understandings and it explains the process of making the one’s experiences. cultural beliefs and social behaviors offer a soothing sense of social safety and values stability. a constant productive contact is required when it comes to maintaining a sense of compatibility with the one’s culture of origin. as parents are responsible for the most of the cultural lessons to teach their children, educational associations are a critical source of information in the quest to form a sense of identity as well. globalization creates the world that is increasingly multicultural; however, diversification presents real challenges to individuals. it unifies people from different cultures regardless of any existing differences. moreover, it supports human experiences in order to cultivate the sense of unity. on the other hand, it could be a reason to increase dramatized violence that people may experience due to cultural values and belief-clashes. global culture penetrates many cultural and national boundaries; it unifies people and develops the sense of belonging. global culture emphasizes and allows tolerating and even celebrating differences. the improvement of multicultural mindfulness from an early age may coordinate belief systems sourced from different social orders. cross-cultural educational collaboration between global institutions may rise above the academic frames to professional organizations in which the globally educated ones would retain advantageous-skill-sets produced through intercultural correspondence encounters. this gets to be distinctly important inside multinational companies that require worldwide exchanges to maintain overall exchanging partnership. methods of building a framework that formulates the cultural identity of young designers through faculties of fine arts and faculties of arts and designs require engaging in activities such as: • create and support a forum to connect researchers, data technologists, decision makers, and specialists with the end goal of re-examining training in the period of globalization. • support components for trading thoughts and encountering the utilization of educational development. • support investigations and experimentation to push the wildernesses of the capability of data advancements and interchanges for a more effective education. • engage in educational communities that expand the time and space dimensions of education. • energize, and participate in, shared plans for the improvement of the related educational modules that could be utilized internationally to accomplish economies of scale and skill. cases studies (observational studies): faculty of fine arts (décor department-interior architecture section/helwan university): heritage theoretical curricula: noha khamis & hassan metwalli / the academic research community publication pg. 4 it has been applied on each academic level as a unit/ subject through the five academic years of interior architecture, undergraduate studies. heritage projects: a thorough explanation of the ethnic and heritage forms and styles, which focuses on the decorative patterns and symbols of nubian styles and the egyptian folklore. such methodology leads the student to dig deeper into different styles, historical stories, and legends behind those forms and patterns under the supervision of prof. ahmed hosni (professor of interior architecture, décor department, faculty of fine arts/ helwan university). figure (1): example of prof. ahmed hosni folklore artwork. source: prof. ahmed hosni photos album library. figure (2): example of décor department prep. year students artwork at the faculty of fine arts. source: photographed by the authors from the kept projects of décor department library. figure (3): examples given to students that reflect heritage factors on interior architecture. source: https://www.google.com.eg/webhp=hotelinterior%20design https://www.google.com.eg/webhp=hotelinterior%20design noha khamis & hassan metwalli / the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure (4): example of décor department level 2 students cities gate design that is inspired by city heritage and historical background at the faculty of fine arts. source: photographed by the authors from the kept projects of décor department library. figure (5): example of décor department level 2 students tv. channel program design that is inspired by islamic patterns at the faculty of fine arts. source: photographed by the authors from the kept projects of décor department library. figure (6): live samples of student’s studio work with prof. ahmed hosni on folklore projects. source: prof. ahmed hosni photos album. statistics on studies numbers’ increase on historical palaces and heritage themes in egypt: the egyptian monuments and heritage have always been in risk. they have never been properly valued, preserved, or marketed. the situation has gotten worse in the aftermath of january revolution. they have continued to fall a victim to the political chaos and lack of security in the country. the threats are ongoing because the security remains insufficient, and the attention of the public is generally directed to political news and recent events. the egyptian center for economic and social rights (ecesr) along with egypt’s heritage task force, organized a press conference on thursday 19 september 2013 titled save egypt’s heritage for its future. the main target of this event was developing a plan to preserve egyptian monuments, historical places, and heritage themes correctly as a possible important source of the national revenue. this also encouraged young designers to search deeply in the field of renovation-methods of historical palaces, and it utilizes these materials in their educational studies. it could be a reason to explain the increase in masters’ thesis numbers that reflect the students’ interest to focus on historical palaces and heritage themes in the past few years. noha khamis & hassan metwalli / the academic research community publication pg. 6 (x) (y) figure (7): statistics on master’s thesis numbers increase issued by the faculty of fine arts-cairo through the last twenty years that focuses on historical palaces and heritage themes in egypt. (x): scale of masters’ thesis numbers (y): scale of years) source: done by the authors. data has been collected through the documented statistics of masters’ thesis library of the faculty of fine arts. figure (8): said halim pasha palace (also known as champollion house), cairo, egypt. source: https://www.google.com.eg/webh/ said halim pasha palace. faculty of arts and design (interior design department -october university for arts and science –msa university): heritage theoretical curricula: it is divided into two units that are taught to students through level 2 and level 3 of academic years, undergraduate studies. heritage of interior design: this unit provides students with a deep historical study of interior architecture and furnishings in the period from ancient times until the nineteenth century. the study enables students to identify the main period styles and design movements; to recognize the development in interior design, furniture themes, and architecture, as a reflection of changing influences and cultural contextual factors. contemporary design in housing and interiors: this unit provides students with a deep historical study of interior architecture and furnishings in the period from the mid-nineteenth century until the end of the twentieth century. the topics are focused on the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century in europe through the aesthetic movements until the post modern. the study enables the student to identify movements, and styles that were explored in europe, and america, then the interior design and architecture in contemporary egypt and arab world (xix and xx) centuries. historical places field trips: those trips provide students with information about their culture and history and it gives them a live model of what they study theoretically to support their understanding of the units they learn. 0 5 10 15 2000 2005 2010 2015 https://www.google.com.eg/webhp=hotelinterior%20design noha khamis & hassan metwalli / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure (9): live model of bait el suhimey field trip supervised by prof. aleya abdel hadi (head of interior design departmentfaculty of arts and designmsa university) source: photos library of msa university. graduation projects theme and purpose: the recent direction was guiding grad. students to design projects that provide their society with real services through their living reality inspired by egyptian heritage patterns and themes, and this was actually achieved with grad. students of the academic year 2006 at the faculty of arts and designmsa university under the supervision of: prof. aleya abdel hadi (head of department and prof. of interior architecture/ faculty of arts and design/ msa university). prof. hassan metwalli (head of décor department, faculty of fine arts/ helwan university). associate prof. diaa tantawy (professor of interior and furniture design, faculty of applied arts). al. noha essam (assistant lecturer of interior architecture/ faculty of arts and design/ msa university). figure (10): nazlet el semman equestrian club grad. project: the student has studied the area of nazlet el semman and its problems and decided to design a project inspired by pyramids and triangle shapes patterns of arabian horse movement analysis. source: interior design department digital archive library of grad. projects. noha khamis & hassan metwalli / the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure (11): iqraa centre for adults literacy in fayoum: the student has studied the location, citizens needs and designed a project that provides them with an educational and training services inspired by arabic calligraphy patterns. source: interior design department digital archive library of grad. projects. figure (12): different shots of arts and crafts centre in el fostatmasr el adima inspired by the islamic geometrical shapes including workshops to get the best use of marble wasted pieces to reform and recycle them into decorative and functional furniture pieces. source: interior design department digital archive library of grad. projects. questionnaire format: it has been designed and submitted to students of interior design in msa students level 2, 3 and 4 who answered the questions and has been analyzed by the authors. noha khamis & hassan metwalli / the academic research community publication pg. 9 questionnaire model questions: 1courses procedures and assignments support egyptian historical and cultural identity: (1) strongly agree – (2) agree – (3) neutral – (4) disagree – (5) strongly disagree 2historical and heritage units/ courses are clear (1) strongly agree – (2) agree – (3) neutral – (4) disagree – (5) strongly disagree 3-textbook, materials, field trips provide students with sufficient data on egyptian themes and folklore culture: (1) strongly agree – (2) agree – (3) neutral – (4) disagree – (5) strongly disagree 4courses contents threaten or have conflicts with identities, the origins and cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds of students. (1) strongly agree – (2) agree – (3) neutral – (4) disagree – (5) strongly disagree 5courses provide students with information of eastern and western culture as well. (1) strongly agree – (2) agree – (3) neutral – (4) disagree – (5) strongly disagree 6courses support the process of formulating a culture identity of students. (1) strongly agree – (2) agree – (3) neutral – (4) disagree – (5) strongly disagree figure (13): questionnaire model source: done by the authors. questionnaire analyzing results: results show that 51 % of students who answered the questionnaire assume that the academic courses they study support egyptian historical and cultural identity. -1% of students claimed that historical and heritage courses are neutral clear to them while 21% of them disagreed. 27% of students claimed that textbook and materials are neutral in providing them with sufficient data on egyptian themes while 24% disagreed. 29% thought that academic courses do not threaten or have conflicts with their cultural background while 25% assumed that they do threaten them. 33% of students assumed that the courses provide them with information of eastern and western culture as well. question no. format no. answers no. 1st choice 2nd choice 3rd choice 4th choice 5th choice 6th choice no. % no. % no. % no. % no. % no. % no. % 1 75 75 100 20 26 38 51 17 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 75 75 100 13 17 23 31 11 15 16 21 12 16 0 0 3 75 75 100 5 7 14 19 20 27 17 24 11 15 8 11 4 75 75 100 0 0 2 3 19 25 19 25 13 17 22 29 5 75 75 100 25 33 11 15 10 13 18 24 8 11 3 4 6 75 55 73 7 16 13 24 10 18 16 29 5 9 4 7 noha khamis & hassan metwalli / the academic research community publication pg. 10 29% of students claimed that the academic courses do not support the process of formulating a culture identity of them while 24% thought it supports the process, but what is observed that about 30% of students did not answer this question; maybe this refers to the lack of knowledge of the culture identity definition. table (1): questionnaire model answers results source: done by the authors. conclusion: the study has concluded that globalization has had an impact on education reform in egypt in several ways. identity formulation is not a simple process that one passes through a variety of stages on the way to achieving a stable identity. rather, it is a process that is fluid and contextually driven. young interior designers are challenged to navigate between achieved identities and imposed ones. achieved identity explains a sense of belonging. however, identities and methods of adaptation are highly context dependent. also, the social paths of youth for the ones who are able to actively maintain positive expectations for the future are very promising; whether they look resistant to the reflections in the social mirror or not. utilizing advanced data and technology, another arrangement of information, instruction and learning ought to apply an extensive variety of synchronous and offbeat exercises, help students in breaking the limits of space and time. faculties of arts and design in egypt focuses on preparing "globally competent graduates” through following methods of teaching that support the sense of belonging to the egyptian heritage and encourages new techniques throughout various disciplines that blend global and individual ways of thought. acknowledgment: this research is supported by the faculty of fine arts (décor department)/ helwan university and faculty of arts and design (interior design department) /msa university. the data presented, the statement made, and the views expressed are solely the responsible of the authors. references: 1. arnett, j. j. 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(2001). understanding the adaptation and identity formation of chinese immigrant adolescent girls: a critical review of the literature. cambridge, ma, harvard graduate school of education. 8. tsuda, t. (2003). strangers in the ethnic homeland., new york, columbia university press. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.388 on the natural frequency of oscillations of induction motors d. a. abdel-moamen1, m. abdel-rhman1, r. a. swief1, m. abdel-lattif badr1 1ain shams university, faculty of engineering, department of electrical power and machines abstract for transient stability analysis, the rotor dynamics of the induction motor have to be included. these dynamics affect the system stability when severe disturbances hit it and cause frequency deviations. for large systems, frequency deviations are small. however, it may cause loss of synchronism and break the system into smaller areas. motor loads are sensitive to system frequency deviations. any change in the grid frequency, changes extremely the slip. this follows by changes of the motor torque and the motor speed. the demanded active and reactive powers change as well. natural frequencies of induction motors is considered a unique property has a great effect on its behavior during different operation conditions. this work presents the performance of the induction motors through different power systems. based on time domain simulation models study the natural frequency of induction motors, their response in normal and abnormal operation is analyzed to illustrate the dynamics associated. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords natural frequency; induction motor loads; and power system stability 1. introduction more than 60% of the consumption of the generated electrical power is engorged by the asynchronous motors [1]. in transient stability analysis, the dynamic of the stator are completely ignored [2]. this is the main reason that during the following analysis the rotor speed of all types of machines is considered the dominate feature to study the power system performance. besides, instead of using hard long method, during this work simulated models of different systems are presented in time domain simulation. these simulated models represent fast transients during impacts and after reaching stability again. this work illustrates the behavior of induction motor in the natural frequency point of view, electrically and mechanically. this paper consists of 10 sections including the introductory section to discuss the concept of the natural frequency for an induction motor. pg. 398 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication 2. induction motor in power grid: figure (1) shows an induction motor supplied by the power grid. figure 1. induction motor connected to grid. this figure shows an induction motor connected to a power network with terminal voltage e with a deviation ϑ from a stationery vector called steady state voltage vector. when the induction motor rotor glides against the rotating flux, an electrical power is going to be developed. this produced power is taken from the power system and is given by, [3]: p = p0 σ σa (1) where, p0 is the motor rated electrical power, σ is the rapid slip given by the change of the rotor electrical angle and its flux and σa is the asynchronous normal slip which is usually assumed to be 0.5 to 5 to 10 per cent. due to the motor leakage flux, the effective flux of the rotor has a phase displacement against the terminal voltage of the stator. this leakage flux is associated with leakage angleϑ1 and instantaneous leakage voltagee1 . this deviation between the rotor flux and the terminal voltage is represented by: ϑ1 = e1 e = v1 p p0 (2) where, ν1 is the leakage voltage and for most of the induction motors is assumed to be 20 to 30 per cent. the energy law illustrates the relationship of the deviation of the electrical power due to the exchanged power between the motor and the grid to be: p+σata d p dt + v1ta ω d2 p dt2 =−tap0 ω d2ϑ dt2 (3) this shows that if the angle of the network ϑ changes, the induction motor oscillates. even in the case of a steady state grid, it may suffers transient oscillations according to its natural frequency given when the right hand side of (3) equals zero. the resulted power transferred between the grid and the rotor due to these oscillations is given by: p“ = pe − p 2 t cos µt (4) where, p is the free oscillations amplitude, ρis the damping factor and µ is the motor natural frequency. pg. 399 d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication 3. natural frequency of an induction motor: if there is an induction motor with rated slip σaequals 1 per cent, an accelerating time constant ta equals 2.5 second and leakage voltage v1 equals 29 per cent. this induction motor is connected to an infinite network as shown in figure (1). the damping factor is given by: ρ 2 = ωσα 2ν1 then, ρ 2 = 377×0.01 2×0.29 = 6.5 (5) the natural frequency of an induction motor is given by: µ = √ ω ν1ta − ( ρ 2 )2 then, µ = √ 377 0.29×2.5 − (6.5)2 = 3.3 cps. (6) by using simulink tool in the matlab software to simulate such a system, the resulted oscillations of this motor while plugging it with the network is given in figure (2), where the rotor speed is plotted against time, as: figure 2. oscillations of im connected to grid. by comparing the results from the formula of [3] and the one shown in figure (2), they are almost identical. for each speed change of an induction motor, it produces free oscillations. these oscillations are sliding aperiodically in the case of large rated slip. in the start, the induction motor may overshoot the synchronous speed. free transient oscillations are resulted and then they have to be completely damped to guarantee stable operation. the exchanged power between the grid and the motor increases greatly if the motor operates within the range of its resonance zone [3]. the induction motor performs oscillations with its natural frequency when connected to the grid. this frequency is going to be different if connected together with other machines. 4. oscillations between synchronous generators and induction motors: for transient behavior analysis of a synchronous generator, each single generator behavior has to be studied individually. in contrast, the analysis of induction motors is considered all of them jointly. figure (3) illustrates an equivalent diagram to this analysis, where there are number ”g” of synchronous generators feed a bus bar. all the induction motors ”n” are supplied from this bus bar and drawn jointly together with total kinetic energyσgn . for interconnected power systems, the rotating masses of all the connected induction motors are affect the oscillations of the feeding synchronous generators. for an interconnected system, that consists of two synchronous generators connected in parallel to feed two induction motors as shown in figure (4), each machine oscillates depending on its natural frequency. pg. 400 d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication figure 3. power system equivalent diagram figure 4. two sg connected to two im after the oscillations are damped, the natural frequencies of these machines never intersect together. they remain parallel [3]. according to [3], when a power system is disturbed by any perturbation, the masses of all the interconnected machines oscillate trying to reach a balanced state of operation. the power balance described this behavior is expressed as: g1 v2 1 v2 1 − v2 +g2 v2 2 v2 2 − v2 +g3 v2 3 v2 3 − v2 + · · ·=−∑gn (7) where, g1, g2, g3, ... are the kinetic energy of the synchronous generators and v1, v2, v3 are the natural frequency of each synchronous generator. v is the natural frequency of the whole system. (7) is presented graphically in figure (5). in this figure, σgnis the total kinetic energy of the connected induction machines and σggis the total kinetic energy of the connected synchronous machines. this system shown in figure (4) is simulated using simulation tool in matlab. the simulated model represents the start of applying the two induction motors to be fed by the two synchronous generators and lasts for 10 seconds. the system performance is analyzed by studying the speeds of all machines rotors, as shown in figure pg. 401 d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication (6). the upper two lines represent the rotors speeds of the two synchronous generators. each one oscillates according to its natural frequency. then settle together with the same natural frequency. while the lower two lines represent the rotors speeds of two induction motors. as shown the lines are never intersect. this simulated system shows that not only the induction motors natural frequencies are not intersect with these of the synchronous generators, but the natural frequencies of the induction generators are not intersect with them as well. if a huge power impact hits this system, the induction motor with a large time constant may suffer an overloading condition compared to its rated power [3]. according to [3], all the interconnected parallel synchronous generators oscillate in perfect harmony. they oscillate together against all the supplied induction motors, which is proved by the previous simulated model. this system has the maximum possible stable performance. it is hard to lose synchronism among its generators. due to the slip effect, which is slow comparing to the synchronous generators [1], the initial distribution of an impact among synchronous generators and induction motors is different. synchronous generators respond instanfigure 5. graphical representation of all machines natural frequencies figure 6. oscillations of the system pg. 402 d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication taneously as shown in figure (7), [3]: figure 7. different response of sg and im 5. case study: if there is a power system consists of two synchronous generators with 4.125 mva and 3.125 mva as their rated powers. as for their inertia constants, they are 4.07 second and 1.07 second, respectively. they are supplying three induction motors with different parameters such as their inertia coefficients and leakage voltages. a doubly fed induction generator in a wind farm is also connected to this system. figure (8) represents a single line diagram for this system. figure 8. the power system single line diagram according to [3], the synchronous generators oscillate against the induction motors. through this model, which is done using simulik tool in matlab, this is actually happened. besides, they are oscillating against the induction generators. figure (9), illustrates all the machines rotors speeds as an indication for their performance during a simulated model lasts for 10 seconds. the upper line represents the rotor speed of the induction generator. the middle lines consists of two lines representing the rotors speeds of the two synchronous generators. while the lower line is actually consists of two lines of the rotors speeds of two induction motors. this model proves that the natural frequency of these different types of machines, connected together in a power system, is never intersect together [3]. this guarantees stability for this power system. pg. 403 d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication figure 9. rotors speeds of all machines in the system 6. factors affecting natural frequency for induction motors: there are many factors can affect the natural frequency of the induction motor. the inertia of the rotor, and the armature resistance have a remarkable effect in the damping of the transient oscillations during any perturbation affects the motor operation [4]. figure (10) represents a power system consists of two induction motor connected in parallel to an infinite network: figure 10. two im connected to infinite bus for the first induction motor (im 1), the rated power is 3000 hp, its stator resistance is 0.029 ohm and its inertia is 100.87kg.m2. as for the second one (im 2), its rated power is 150 hp, its stator resistance is 0.01117 ohm and its inertia is 30.87 kg.m2. the system is analyzed during connecting both of these induction motors to the grid which is called direct on-line starting. the resulted free oscillations during connecting the motor to the system are illustrated in figure (11). the blue line represents the oscillations of the rotor of the first motor, while the red line represents the oscillations of the rotor of the second motor. according to [3], an induction motor with great slip has increased damping to the free oscillations during its transient period. the slip effect is neglected in (6). for the induction motor mentioned earlier with natural frequency equals 3.3 cps, would completely lose its oscillations with this frequency if it has a slip equals: s0 ≥ √ 4v1 wta (8) which equals 3.5 per cent. pg. 404 d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication figure 11. rotors speeds of two im connected to grid. 7. induction motor under sudden changes: for more analysis of the induction motor dynamics, the following system is considered. the same system at figure (9) is restudied while disconnecting (im 2) for 0.1 second. this sudden disconnection of (im 2) causes a transient behavior by this motor trying to reach the steady state again. the rotors speeds during this sudden change is presented in figure (12). this simulation lasts for 10 seconds describing the motor behavior during the start, disconnection and reconnection to the power system again. figure 12. rotors speeds during fault the rotor speed of the second induction motor decreases suddenly then recovered again after successful damping of the resulted oscillations [5]. during this switching transient, the air gap torque increases. besides, high inrush current flows in the second induction motor causes a voltage dip across its terminals. this causes the instantaneous slow down of the rotor speeds. it affects the voltage across the terminals of the healthy motor. figures (13) and (14) show the voltage dips across the two machines: 8. estimation of the induction motor natural frequency: the dynamic analysis and testing of a three phase induction motor helps to estimate the main parameters of the motor such as the natural frequencies, damping ratios and the motor masses [6]. to determine the natural frequency pg. 405 d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication of the induction motor, a mechanical test is widely used and it is called ” the hammer impact method”. in this test, three different parts are tested, the motor frame, the stator and its rotor. the response of each part is monitored and analyzed. the responses of the three parts are completely different. the results in time domain are recorded. this helps in avoidance of coincidence of the natural frequency of the motor with magnetomotive forces frequencies. this coincidence may generate electromagnetic noise which affects the motor behavior during sudden vibrations. the main target of this analysis is reaching for a quite operated steady motor. the measuring test system is shown in figure (15) the vibration response is measured in this test by using this impulse hummer to hit the illustrated system in a radial position. the errors of calculated results of the natural frequencies have to be within 2% of the experimental results [7]. these results must be useful during design phase to minimize noise and vibrations of induction motors. 9. induction motor speed control: many applications for induction motors require an adjustable wide range of speeds. this leads to a huge development in ac adjustable speed motors. there are two ways to change the synchronous speed of the induction motor: figure 13. voltage dip across im2 figure 14. voltage dip across im1. pg. 406 d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication figure 15. parameters measurement system for im (i) to vary the poles numbers, and (ii) to change the line frequency. as for the first method, the stator windings are designed to allow changes in the connections of the coil construction to change the poles number. in most cases, the rotor is going to be of a squirrel cage type. the main idea of the cage winding design, is to produce a rotor field with the same poles numbers of the inducing stator field. however, for the wound rotor design, it is more complex. as it is not only the stator windings are rearranged, the rotor windings have to be rearranged as well to change the pole number. for the second method, controlling the speed of the motor is done through changing of the line frequency. the line voltage is directly changes with the line frequency to keep constant flux density. the main factor affects this method, is to provide an effective source to have adjustable frequency. nowadays, an induction motor with a wound rotor is used as a frequency changer or using ” solid-state” frequency converters [8]. 10. conclusion: this work discusses with many models the transient performance of induction motors in power systems. through simple simulation of different induction motors models, an accurate prediction of its behavior and calculation of its natural frequency can be obtained. the response in these models is close to the mathematical formulas and theories about this dynamic performance. these models can cope with different conditions to provide an accurate simulation for induction motor in a power system. according to the given formulae and the simulation models, the natural frequency of the induction motor is higher compared with the synchronous generator. as a result, the damping of the transient oscillations has to be taken into consideration. 11. references 1. mircea eremia and mohammed shahidehpour, ”handbook of electrical power system dynamics”, ieee press editorial board 2013. 2. xiaokang xu, ”application of singular perturbation models to long term dynamic stability studies”,the university of western ontario, london, ontatio, march, 1999. 3. r. rudeubenburg, ”transient performance of electrical power system”, the m.i.t. press, 1969. 4. jorge elizondo, james l. kirtley, ”effect of dg and induction motor load power rating on microgrid transient behavior”, massachusetts institute of technology, cambridge, ma, usa pg. 407 d. a. abdel-moamen / the academic research community publication 5. marija mirošević, ”the dynamics of induction motor fed directly from the isolated electrical grid”, university of dubrovnik, department of electrical engineering and computing, croatia. 6. ioan calin rosca, melania filip, transilvania ,university of brasov, mircea cristea high school,brasov, romania, ”damping ratio estimation of three-phase induction motor” 7. fuminori ishibashi, member, ieee, makoto matsushita, shinichi noda, and kenzo tonoki, ”change of mechanical natural frequencies of induction motor”, 2010. 8. a. e. fitzgerald, charles kingsley, stephen d. umans, ”electrical machinery”, mcgraw-hill book company. 9. allan greenwood, ” electrical transients in power systems”, a wiley-interscience publication, john wiley and sons, inc. 10. e.w.kimbark, ”power system stability”, volume i, ieee press, 1995. 11. p. kundur, ” power system stability and control”, mcgraw-hill education, 1994. 12. olle i.elgerd, ” elecrical energy systems theory”, an introduction, mcgraw hill, inc. 1971. 13. p.m.anderson and a.a.fouad, ”power system control and stability”, iowa state university press, 1977. pg. 408 introduction induction motor in power grid: natural frequency of an induction motor: oscillations between synchronous generators and induction motors: case study: factors affecting natural frequency for induction motors: induction motor under sudden changes: estimation of the induction motor natural frequency: induction motor speed control: conclusion: references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.441 a simplified model for the estimation of solar cell efficiency based on the air mass effect hussein al-taani1, mohammad al-addous2, zakariya dalalah2, aiman albatayneh2, nabil ayoub3 1school of basic sciences and humanities, german jordanian university, amman jordan. 2energy engineering department, german jordanian university, amman jordan. 3president, american university of madaba (aum),faculty of science, department of basic sciences and humanities, amman 11821 jordan abstract in this manuscript, a model for approximating the electrical power efficiency of the solar cells in relation with the air mass effect has been presented based on simple physical assumptions and in accordance with the solar radiation distribution. the model has been developed in correspondence with the air mass effect on the radiation intensity and wavelength and taking into account the energy gap effect of the silicon material. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords air mass effect; solar radiation; solar effeciences;pv moldel. 1. introduction in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuels renewable energy sources (such as solar radiation, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat) have been studied intensively for many years [1]. as solar energy, one major source of renewable energies, depends on the fluctuating solar radiation, prediction methods are important for the design of solar energy systems. theoretical formulae are adequate to predict the range of solar radiation to be expected but do not take into account specific local characteristics and weather conditions. several methods have been described during the last years to use artificial intelligence as well as statistical approaches to improve solar radiation prediction [2-5]. a solar cell is a device that converts the energy stored in the light to electrical power in a process based on photovoltaic effect [6]. the operation of solar cell correspond to three basic features such generating electron-hole pairs by light absorption, charge carriers separation of opposite type, and separate extraction of those carriers to an external circuit. when the photon of light hit the solar cell and absorbed by material such silicon, electrons are excited and the energy of the electrons can either dissipated as heat inside the material or travel through the cell to reach the conduction band, following this process a current flows through the material to cancel the potential and this electricity is captured [7]. the generated current is direct current (dc) where an inverter can be used to convert the electric power into alternating current (ac). either the solar cell manufactured for commercial used or research purpose; the solar cell can be classified into three generations. first, second, and third generation are pg. 199 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ al-taani / the academic research community publication crystalline silicon (polysilicon and monocrystalline silicon), thin film solar cells (silicon, cdte and cigs cells) and organic materials thin film technology, respectively [8, 9]. the efficiency of solar cells differs according to the kind of manufactured materials, irradiance, and the environmental circumstances [10]. the efficiencies of the manufactured solar cell generally belong to the standard testing conditions of radiation 1000 w/m2, temperature 25o, and air mass 1.5 (am 1.5) with normal incidence [11]. however, in the real circumstances, the environmental parameters can affect the efficiency of the solar cell based on the amount of radiation, temperature, humidity, dust, and wind speed [11]. beside the environmental parameters the atmospheric conditions (such as ground level, water vapor and the zenith angle) can also have an effect on the solar radiation such as intensity and spectrum [10]. it is known that, the solar spectrum is the main factor that can influence the performance of the solar cell which depends on the elevation and inclination of the sun [12]. because of the environmental and atmospheric effect, sunlight will be reduced by scattering, reflection and absorption; nevertheless, no major reduction can influence the sun radiation in the space between the sun and upper level of the atmosphere. air mass is the amount of the air above the ground level throughout the earth atmosphere and the air mass coefficient (am) is the direct sunray path through the atmosphere of the earth and it is suitable to study the reduction effect on solar spectrum through the earth’s atmosphere, a simple air mass diagram is showin in figure 1 [13]. figure 1. airmass changes with the zenith angle [13]. 2. model and results a semiconductor such as silicon has a valence band and a conduction band. when visible light falls on a thin slab of silicon of thickness “t” the long wavelengths will not have enough photon energy to produce electron-hole pair. wavelength (λ ) that has photon energy equal to the energy gap (eg) between the valence and conduction bands will produce electron-hole pair such that the electron will not have kinetic energy in the conduction band and so will not dissipate heat in the silicon slab. however short wavelengths that have photon energies larger than the energy gap will produce electron-hole pairs with the electron having kinetic energy which will dissipate heat in the silicon slab. in this model we assume the energy band gap of silicon in the range of 1.1 ev [14]. and the data [15] of the solar spectral intensity has been plotted in more simplified manner as shown in figure 2. figure 2 shows the spectral intensity distribution, sλ i(λ ) of the extraterrestrial radiation (am0) and of the terrestrial radiations (am1, am2, and am3). pg. 200 al-taani / the academic research community publication figure 2. schematic diagram of the spectral distribution of solar radiation as we know the spectral distribution coming from the sun is governed by planck spectral distribution. to simplify matters we assume that the spectral distribution is triangular and as shown in figure 2. such simplification makes it possible to analytically calculate the solar cell efficiency. the spectral irradiances at the surface of the earth (am1, am2, and am3) are reduced compared to the extraterrestrial radiation (am0) due to scattering and absorption of the radiation (light) in the earth’s atmosphere. in order to calculate the solar constants we shall use the values of the parameters (solar radiation and wavelength) for different air masses that mentioned in figure 2 and listed in table 1 for am0, am1, am2, and am3. the equation for the variation of sλ i(λ ) is obtained from figure 2 as follows: sλ i(λ ) = sλmi(λ −λoi) (λmi−λoi) ;λoi < λ < λmi (1a) sλ i(λ ) = sλmi(λdi−λ ) (λdi−λmi) ;λmi < λ < λdi (1b) where sλ i is the spectral intensity as a function of wavelength λ corresponds to air mass i, sλ mi is the maximum solar radiation at wavelength λ and air mass i, λ 0i and λ di are the wavelength of air mass i. to calculate the solar constants gsci corresponding to i = 0, 1, 2, and 3 we find the area of the various triangles using the formula: gsci = sλmi(λdi−λoi) 2 (2) the values of gsci for ami (i = 0, 1, 2, 3) as calculated from eq. 2 are listed in table 1. table 1. the solar intensities, wavelength, and solar constant correspond to different air masses i (wm-2µm-1) (µm) (µm) (wm-2) 0 2100 0.3 1.6 1365 1 1600 0.35 1.5 920 2 1100 0.4 1.4 550 3 600 0.45 1.3 255 the losses in solar radiation are of two types. type 1 is due to photons with energy, e, lesser than the energy gap (eg) and will not produce any conduction electrons and so will not be absorbed by the material. type 2 losses are due to photons with energy, e, greater than the gap energy, eg, where each photon produces a conduction electron, and the excess energy (e – eg), goes to increase the kinetic energy of the conduction electron which heats up the material. pg. 201 al-taani / the academic research community publication type 1 loss can be calculated from the triangle in figure 2. the area under the curve between λ di and λ 0i represents type 1 loss and it is given by: 4s1i = sλgi(λdi−λoi) 2 (3) and due to similarity of trian1gles we have: sλmi sλgi = λdi−λmi λdi−λgi (4) therefore, eq. (3) becomes 4s1i = sλmi(λdi−λoi) 2 2(λdi−λmi) as for type 2 losses4s2ithese are calculated as follows. the excess energy (e – eg)/e for e>eg can be calculated from the relation: ( 1−eg e )sλ i = ( 1−λ λg )sλ i = s/ λ i;λoi < λ < λg (6) where we have used the relation that relates the photon energy given in µm.ev to its wavelength: e = 1.24/λ (7) therefore, from eq. (6) we notice that for λ = λg , s/λ i = 0. also for λ = λ 0i we know that sλ i(λ 0i) is zero from eq.(1a) above, and therefore s/λ i(λ 0i) = 0 from eq. (6). for λ = λ mi, s/λ acquires the value s/λ m = sλ mi(1λ mi/ λ g). substituting sλ i from eq.(1a & 1b) into eq. (6) will lead to a quadratic dependence of s λ i’ on λ . plotting eq. (6) in conjunction with eqs.(1a & 1b) will give us a curve that has a negative curvature with a maximum for the interval, λ 0i<λ<λ mi, and a positive curvature with a minimum for the interval, λ mi<λ<λ g. this situation can be exploited to approximate eq. (6) with a triangle that starts at λ=λ 0i and rises to the peak at λ=λ mi and descends and terminates at λ=λ g. this approximation has ignored the area between the straight line and the positive curvature parabola in the interval, λ 0i<λ< λ mi, and has added an approximately compensating area in the interval, λ mi<λ<λ g. the area of this triangle which is the loss due to excess energy, ∆s2i, is given by: 4s2i = sλmi(1−λmi/λg)(λg−λoi) 2 (8) of course the energy delivered to an electron is not eg rather it is of the order of evmax where vmax is the maximum voltage at the operating point at which the photovoltaic cell is functioning. experimentally the ratio of evmax/eg = 0.45/1.1 and the solar cell efficiency (hi) is defined to be the ratio of the useful electric power (pel) to the available optical power (pop), that is: ηi(ami) = pel pop (9) for the values given and calculated for ami we find: ηi(ami) = (evmax/eg)gsci(1− (4s1i +4s2i)/gsci) gsci (10) inserting the appropriate values obtained from table 1, into eq. (10) we get the values for the efficiencies listed in table 2. we notice that efficiency of the solar cell is on the average around 20%. of course improving the intrinsic efficiency of the pv cell will improve its overall efficiency. pg. 202 al-taani / the academic research community publication table 2. the values of the efficiencies obtained from eq. (10) based on the suggested model. ami sλ mi (wm−2µm−1) λ 0 (µm) λ d (µm) gsci (wm−2) ∆s1i (wm−2) ∆s2i (wm−2) η i 0 2100 0.3 1.6 1365 17.5 33.6 20.00 1 1600 0.35 1.5 920 13.9 35.6 20.66 2 1100 0.4 1.4 550 10 38 21.19 3 600 0.45 1.3 225 5.9 41.7 21.44 3. conclusion in this work, a model to present the solar cell efficiency in relation with air mass effect has been developed. the final efficiencies have been derived from the relation based on global solar radiation and the type of losses in solar radiation inside the solar cell that correspond to the type of air mass. based on the presented model, the results showed that the efficiency of the solar cell in the average of 20%. 4. acknowledgments the authors acknowledge the financial support of the deanship of scientific research at the german jordanian university for the presented work in this paper. 5. references 1. ellabban o, abu-rub h, blaabjerg f. renewable energy resources: current status, future prospects and their enabling technology. renewable and sustainable energy reviews 2014; 39: 748–764. 2. zhang n and behera p k. solar radiation prediction based on recurrent neural networks trained by levenbergmarquerdt backpropagation learning algorithm. in ieee innovative smart grid technologies (isgt), 2012. 3. martı́n l, zarzalejo l, polo j, navarro a, marchante r and cony m. prediction of global solar irradiance based on time series analysis: application to solar thermal power plants energy production planning. solar energy 2010; 84: 1772-1781. 4. kratzenberg m, colle s and beyer h. solar radiation prediction based on the combination of a numerical weather prediction model and a time series prediction model. in eurosun 2008: 1st international congress on heating, cooling, and buildings, portugal, 2008. 5. wang j, xie x, zhu c and xu x. daily solar radiation prediction based on genetic algorithm optimization of wavelet neural network. in international conference on electrical and control engineering (icece), 2011. 6. shockley w, queisser hj. detailed balance limit of efficiency of p-n junction solar cells.journal of applied physics 1961. 32: 510. 7. chapin d, fuller c, pearson g. a new silicon p-n junction photocell for converting solar radiation into electrical power. journal of applied physics 25, pp. 676–677, 1954 8. green ma. thin-film solar cells: review of materials, technologies and commercial status. journal of materials science: materials in electronics 2007; 18: 15-19. 9. wöhrle d, & meissner d. organic solar cells. advanced materials 1991; 3: 129-138. 10. chegaar m, mialhe p. effect of atmospheric parameters on the silicon solar cells performance. j electron devices 2008; 6: 173-176. 11. guechi a, chegaar m, aillerie m. air mass effect on the performance of organic solar cells. energy procedia 2013; 36: 714-721. 12. zdanowicz t, rodziewicz t, waclawek m. effect of air mass factor on the performance of pg. 203 al-taani / the academic research community publication different type of pv modules. 3rd world conferenceon photovoltaic energy conversion, may 11-18, 2003, osaka, japan. 13. introduction to solar radiation newport corporation. retrieved from https://www.newport.com/t/introducti on-to-solar-radiation 14. kittel c. introduction to solid state physics. 6th ed. new york:john wiley; 1986. 15. mecherikunne a, richmond j. spectral distribution of solar radiation. (nasa-tm-82021); september 1980. available on https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19810016493.pdf pg. 204 introduction model and results conclusion acknowledgments references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication towards enhancing building information modeling implementation in the egyptian aec industry nouran elabd1, laila khodeir1 1faculty of engineering, ain shams university, cairo, egypt abstract since the expression ”building information modeling” bim was initially presented in the engineering and construction aec industry in the most recent decade; it has changed numerous parts of the design, construction, and operation of a building. bim is a middle ware connector that represents the advancement and utilization of pc. bim has various frameworks which have been conducted by the pioneers in the bim industry to enhance the bim process. there is a study of the reflection of those frameworks on the egyptian aec industry to overcome the threats that prevent egypt from applying bim technology more broadly. in addition, a comparison is conducted between the successful countries which implemented bim in their projects and managed to enhance their adoption by examining the local challenges and targets. the countries then made strategies and standards to overcome the aforementioned obstacles. furthermore, successful actions were applied that can match with the egyptian industrial requirements. this paper is expected to define the challenges which are facing the egyptian industry to apply bim and the potential capabilities of solving those problems. to acquire the vital information to carry on this paper, a questionnaire was created and distributed in the aec community. the reason for the study was to see how experts consider bim as a device in the fields of design and construction in general and in the egyptian industry particularly. the aim of this paper is to propose a framework through several case studies which are discussed, analyzed and compared. the purpose of the analysis is to explore the importance of using bim. additionally, exploring the effect of different parameters on implementing bim helped significantly during the process. it starts with proposing its framework with evaluating matrix that contains attributes to measure its success, moreover, it serves as a great help to the egyptian companies that make real business decisions about enhancing bim implementation through this framework. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords aec; architecture; engineering; construction; industry; building information modeling; bim standards; egyptian firms; bim frameworks; return on investment; swot analysis; man hours 1. introduction building information modeling (bim) is one of the most promising recent developments in the architecture, engineering, and construction (aec) industry. with bim technology, an accurate virtual model of a building is digitally constructed. this model, known as a building information model, can be used for planning, design, conpg. 209 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.360 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ elabd / the academic research community publication struction, and operation of the facility. it helps architects, engineers, and constructors visualize what is to be built in a simulated environment to identify any potential design, construction, or operational issues. bim represents a new paradigm within aec, one that encourages integration of the roles of all stakeholders on a project.1 aec firms have understood the advantage of utilizing bim as a part of project, which was an inspiration for leaving the prior computer aided design framework and use bim (hardin & mccool, 2009), as shown in figure 1. figure 1. building information modeling characteristics 2. building information modeling benefits the bim process’s mainly benefits are lessening of project risks. most of the different construction project delivery techniques that have been developed over the past years have more capable of moving risks from one project team member to another, rather than managed much toward lessening that risk (azhar, hein & sketo, 2011). other related benefits are that bim is a faster procedure, better design; controls whole-life costs and environmental information, better production quality, and better customer service, proposals are better understood through visualization (azhar, hein & sketo, 2011). 3. building information modeling risks: the most legal risks are to determine the ownership of the bim information and how to maintain it through copyright and other laws (azhar, khalfan & maqsood, 2012). the rest of the bim risks are categorized into groups as shown in table 1: table 1. building information modeling risks categories category type of risk team members who will manage the entry of data to the bim model and be responsible for any mistakes in it. the idea of bim blurs the level of obligation so much that risk will probably be upgraded (azhar, khalfan & maqsood, 2012). the draftsman, engineers of bim look to each other with an end goal to figure out who obligation regarding the matter had raised (azhar, khalfan & maqsood, 2012). continued on next page pg. 210 elabd / the academic research community publication table 1 continued owner there is no easy answer to the problem of data ownership; it needs answer to every project. before bim innovation can be completely used, the dangers of its utilization must be distinguished and dispensed, as well as the expense of its execution must be paid for too (smith, d. k. & tardif, 2009) contractors in situations where the information is incomplete or is submitted in a variety of scheduling and costing programs, a team member for the most part a general contractor must re-enter and update an expert planning and costing program, that program might be a bim module or another system that will be incorporated with the 3-d model (smith, d. k. & tardif, 2009). responsibility for the precision and coordination of expense must be contractually addressed. 4. frameworks for building information modeling the bim frame work useful for standardizing the utilization of bim to help the aec industry share the project data, and then make projection of that successful lesson learned on the egyptian aec industry (scheuer, keoleian & reppe, 2003). each frame work will be categorized into three sections as follow: conception, advantages and disadvantages. in order to benefits from the strong points in each framework and be able to make use of it in the egyptian framework, which will be suggested (scheuer, keoleian & reppe, 2003). 4.1. succar bim framework a prototypical framework and an investigative methodology to identify, capture and represent bim interactions. the framework is composed of three interlocking knowledge nodes and their push-pull interactions (succar, 2013). framework conception; this framework consists of three fields (policy node-process node –technology node), as shown in figure 2.1. they have sub nodes and these nodes have two relations, the bim policy, process and technology nodes: the first node is the field of interaction generating research frameworks, standards and best practices for minimizing conflict between bim stakeholders, and the second one is the field of interaction between construction requirements, construction deliverables, organizational structures and operational communications for maintaining bim, and the third node is the field of interaction between software, hardware and networking systems to generate bim (succar, 2013). advantages: the advantage of this framework is that the three nodes not only covering different bim fields, but also each circle include a specific set of players (succar, 2009). as an example of bim nodes and sub-nodes interact with each other, designers interact with fire authorities and other regulatory bodies to insure conformity with respective standards and codes, this is an external interaction between process and policy nodes. also bim nodes and sub-nodes not only interact but they also overlap, overlapping occurs when players or groups work together to form a joint industry deliverable (succar, 2009). as an example, policy and technology circles overlap when their players work together to generate interoperability standards (ifcs are a striking example). so really the importance of bim nodes lies in identifying interactions and overlaps between industry players, as shown in figure 2. pg. 211 elabd / the academic research community publication figure 2. overlapping between the three nodes, bilal succar, building information modeling framework, 2009 4.2. bim performance assessment framework (bimpa) gu and london framework explains the bim unit which is a special unit that handles bim technology implementation. its characteristics are that it has a specific business function, has a manager, and exists within the organization. it is directly impacted by the bim technology deployed, and in turn creates bim value in the form of tangible and intellectual (intangible) capital. bim value is the value added due to bim use in an entity (sher & williams, 2009). it is conceptualized as the part of the gap between the firm’s value and the market value of the same industry that is a result of the bim implementation. to realize these impacts figure 3 shows the proposed framework attempts to measure the bim value (sher & williams, 2009). figure 3. visualizedbim implementation at the corporate level, measuring bim performance: fivemetrics,2012 framework conception: the bim perception model assists top management in the adoption of bim. the management must evaluate the benefits against the costs and risks involved in implementing the technology (gu & london, 2010). a cost-benefit analysis (cba) is used to estimate the value of a bim investment. the return on investment (roi) is limited to tangible costs and benefits, whereas the risk & cost-benefit analysis (rcba) technique is a more comprehensive method because both tangible and intangible costs and benefits are considered, concerning the bim adoption model it aims to define the critical success factors (csfs) that decision makers use to decide whether to implement bim technology, but the bim performance model aims to and use kpis for bim performance measurement (gu & london, 2010). there are no kpi measures among existing frameworks. therefore, bim adopters may choose a single or mixed framework based on their own needs (gu & london, 2010). advantages: assists top management in deciding on the adoption of bim technology through bim perception model, allow cost benefit analysis, define the critical success factors (csfs) that decision makers use to decide pg. 212 elabd / the academic research community publication whether to implement bim technology, efforts to assess and measure bim performance (gu & london, 2010). 4.3. comparison between different frameworks finally, there is a need for a holistic framework addressing the consolidation of fragmented concepts and to assess bim impacts on performance in the aec industry, which proposes a bim performance assessment framework, which attempts to identify and improve the critical factors that affect construction performance (succar, 2013). table 2. comparison between different bim frameworks succar (2009) bim framework jung and joo (2011) gu and london (2010) conception succar (2009) introduced a bim framework for the aec industry that covers the areas of technology (deliver/develop tools, systems), process (who procure design, construct, manage and maintain facilities), and policy (who educate practitioners and conduct research). they proposed a bim framework that covers bim technology, construction business functions, and bim perspectives. analyzed the readiness of the aec industry with respect to products, processes, and people, and then proposed a collaborative bim decision framework in an attempt to position bim adoption in the industry. disadvantages the framework lacks any measure for assessing performance. despite the efforts to assess bim performance, the framework still targets industry stakeholders. it was limited to identifying promising areas and driving factors for bim in practice (mom & hsieh, 2012). this analysis discussed only the mapping process and not performance measurement, clear process to manage bim performance has not been provided (liu, 2017). advantages bim nodes and sub-nodes interact with each other as an example, designers interact with builders to generate facilities; this is an internal interaction. also designers interact with fire authorities, this is an external interaction between process and policy nodes (succar, 2013). overlapping occurs when players or groups work together to form a joint industry or generate a joint industry deliverable. variables attempt to be fully independent of each other in order to facilitate further analysis and applications (jung & joo, 2011). figure 4 have developed bim guidelines (agc, 2006), bim protocols (ohio das, 2010; aia, 2008), and integrated project delivery methods (aiacc, 2007) to describe the needs, requirements, and obstacles for bim implementation. from the previous frameworks, it has been analyzed that each company has to have a framework that measure the bim performance and facilitate the implementation, so it has been concluded that the framework should include three main parameters which are the stakeholder involvement, the technology issue and the regulation or standards pg. 213 elabd / the academic research community publication figure 4. to make roles for adopting the bim process, as shown in figure 5. as a result, frameworks can generate a tool to compare the performance of bim through (kpis) -which lacks in the previous analyzed frameworks-to be able to evaluate the success of any framework by a list of attributes: efficiency with cost per project/man hours spent per project: comparing the time spent on project using bim engineer with the man-hours spent by a drafts man using cad, to record the effectiveness of actions. speed of development (clash detection): the time spent to detect the clashes is important and needs to be handled in a proper way, in order to reduce additional work and costs and maximize the client satisfaction. measuring the quality of projects: visualization will improve the coordination and enhance the quality. measuring the skills of employee and the development of knowledge weighting should be carried out once data is gathered to measure the performance. figure 5. analyses of bim framework and standards components 5. analysis of bim implementation case studies the selected case studies aim to show that bim helps in improving the aec industry, and that bim can be used as a sustainable tool through energy analysis, also seeks to explore if bim implementation helps in enhancing the coordination to reduce the wastes factors. the methodology will be through several case studies which will be discussed, analyzed and compared, to explore the importance of using and implementing bim through fixing the company parameter and measuring the different aspects and challenges. conclusions were found from large scale projects of a company that has been successfully using bim practice, also with the help of interviewing professionals in the aec industry. three case studies of large scale projects were selected, which have different function to show how bim affected the industry, the project delivery time, cost and quality. pg. 214 elabd / the academic research community publication 5.1. criteria of the case studies selection approach the case studies had bim data exchange with more than one other, and the selection was based on: recent projects; to explore the latest state of practical technology implementation. international firm that executes projects in egypt and other countries to make a successful comparison. project types as multifunction projects to cover the different functions of projects that implement bim. project size; not choosing small or medium projects scale to make it easier, but study and analyze mega projects to maximize the benefits and to cover more problems and coordination benefits. project location: one of the case studies is in egypt to serve the scope of the paper and the rest are in the middle east due to the similar position and challenges and they also have egyptian workers and engineers. 5.2. case studies attributes there have been some major points that were taken into consideration through selecting the three case studies; (case study 1: midfield terminal building of the abu dhabi airport, case study2: riyadh metro project, case study3: the nile corniche project in cairo). the points are related to the scope of the paper to manage useful comparative analysis, the point to be studied in each case study will be as shown in figure 6. figure 6. the case study attributes according to previous data mentioned, the case studies can be analytically compared to find if bim implementation can enhance the aec industry for better results. weights are given based on interviews made with team members in the three projects, and from studying the attributes of the three projects. the weight is 1-5 points where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best weight. na refers that this point is not applicable. final evaluation will be determined as follows: full implementation 80-100 % intermediate implementation 50-80 % low implementation 0-50 % table 3. comparison between the previous three case studies point of comparison p1(abu dhabi airport) figure 7 p2(riyadh metro) figure 8 p3(nile corniche) figure 9 plot area built up area 700. 000 m2 178km-long built up area 197.227 m2 continued on next page pg. 215 elabd / the academic research community publication table 3 continued average number of architects in the team 40 na 5 software used bentley bentley bentley attribute 5 (challenges faced) design challenges 2 2 4 technical challenges 4 3 1 social and cultural challenges 4 3 1 bim manager 5 5 5 visualization 5 5 3 attribute 6 (bim im leme tatio ) coordination and collaboration 4 3 2 simulation 5 2 4 bim standards 5 client standards adac 5 cad standards(aia) 5 vicon standards (consultant) time saved (through implementing bim) 5 4 2 social challenges affected the time cost saved (through implementing bim) 5 na na attribute 7 ( roject manageme t) bim client demand 5 5 5 planned delivery date with scheduled 5 5 1 some political reasons ipd 5 4 1 lod (100-200-..500) 5 lod 500 5 lod 500 3 lod 350 attribute 8 (bem) sustainability 4 1 1 evaluation 66 / 75 51 / 75 38 / 75 bim implementation %(fullintermediate-none) 88% consider as full implementation 68% intermediate implementation 51% between low and intermediate implementation continued on next page pg. 216 elabd / the academic research community publication table 6 continued evaluation 66 / 75 51 / 75 38 / 75 bim implementation major benefit for construction and fm coordination between 6 lines for construction coordination and mep figure 7. figure 8. figure 9. findings from the final evaluation as shown in table 3 which are generated by the researcher: project p1 (88%) had fully implemented bim in a successful practice; bim was used in a unique and creative way to improve the current process practice. project p2 (68%) —project p3 (51%) this table is a summary of the major learning points of the three case studies, which illustrate: in the first case study when the full implementation of bim process occurred there were benefits in all areas (time-cost-coordination-visualization-client satisfaction) and those benefits were the highest between the three projects. in the second one the bim implementation was less than the first project, in spite of applying standards but the existence of social challenges affected the process, the benefits were less than the first project. in the third pg. 217 elabd / the academic research community publication case study the bim implementation was the least between the three projects and this is due to the major challenges in many aspects such as social and political changes between egypt and qatar. so it is not the matter of applying bim or not that would enhance the aec industry, and we cannot predict that even if we facilitate all the points that could enhance the bim process such as it departments, bim managers, standards the bim will be a solution for all the aec projects. this is because every project has its unique challenges and aspects. figure 10. the revolutionary phases of model 6. the proposed framework the main conclusion of the paper is summarized in figure 11, showing the cycle relationship between government, process, technology, business, execution and bim performance measurements represented in terms of inputs and outputs resulting in: establishing metrics to evaluate the success of the proposed bim framework. testing the metrics with the attributes of the case studies, specifically projects that are non-bim versus bim in the same organization. providing limitation of the framework from the data. validating the resultant framework model established to evaluate the net benefit or lack thereof from bim. 6.1. generation process of the framework the procedure of generating the framework has been illustrated, as shown in figure 7, and mentioned below in detail: figure 11. generationprocess of the framework first: the frame work benefits from the literature reviews: from the different analyzed frameworks that were developed by successful pioneers in the bim field which have advantages that have been used such as introducing a bim framework for the aec industry that covers the areas of technology, process, and policy, and disadvantages that we tried to avoid and search for solutions to them such as lacking any measure for assessing performance by designing a performance node. this means that we need to design performance node. also from the world wide bim standards which achieved success and gained reputation in applying bim which helped in the framework to learn how those countries succeeded in making development of bim to benefit from them in the egyptian firms. this means that we need to design policy node represented in government. second: the frame work benefits from the interviews: from the findings after the interviews the result is that we should provide trainings/education for bim technology in companies and providing education communities to advise the client about the importance and benefits of using bim for him the project. this means that we need to design process node. third: the frame work benefits from the case study: the framework benefits from the case study by facing the practical advantages such as saving cost/time and maximizing coordination through applying standards ,the develpg. 218 elabd / the academic research community publication opment of it department, increasing the awareness of stakeholders, existence of bim specialist, also by avoiding the different challenges that could face any company/country such as the political and social challenges which could affect enhancing the bim implementation, so the experience could be generalized to the whole egyptian aec industry. this means that we need to design business node. 6.2. elements of the framework 1. the nodes: represent the phases or the process of the framework to maintain the bim implementation; also it varies in the size when it comes to government and performance node. the government node is at the beginning of the process with the largest size, because without its role and power the whole framework will not exist in a proper way. concerning the performance node it is the end of the framework to monitor the performance and enhance it as shown in figure 8, it also plays a huge role because it gives repetitive feedback. the nodes will be discussed as follows: figure 12. the three different sizes ofthe nodes that represent the framework government node: indicates to the policy node and it is the first and biggest node because from this node the enhancement process could begin, it includes standards and universities that could educate the students and conduct researches. the government could develop a new ministry to be specialized in implementing, monitoring and enhancing the bim process which will reflect on the hall aec industry that represent huge part of the egyptian economy, this ministry should make plan with certain duration and the role/characteristics of the ministry should be establishing a programme for the collection and analysis of bim data to capture lessons and share best practice, committing to an egyptian bim organization as a vehicle to allow it to achieve fully integrated bim, also it should seek global partners in developing international bim standards to enable software to work together more effectively, and it should invest in future cities to create a demonstrator that launched in certain date. process node: represented in clients and project managers who make decisions concerning the implementation of bim, and could affect the team members of the project, when the awareness of the stakeholders increase the output will be the demand of the client for such a service. business node: if the stakeholders became satisfied with the process, it will encourage the companies which are represented in the business node to change the perception of bim, which will make the firms gain more than already receive, this node represented in senior technical officers, managers and executives of an organization. technology node: this node represents the software, hardware, networks, specialized equipment and bim database. to identify technical requirements of bim and the levels of interoperability execution node: this is an ongoing node and there might be future enhancement and refinements after the execution of the framework. performance node: in order to evaluate skills, performance and capabilities after the monitoring process to maximize the benefits and avoid the problems occurring after completing the loop of the framework. 2. inputs and outputs: each input affects the node which leads to outputs that will be inputs for the next node and so on in a closed loop, as shown in figure 13. pg. 219 elabd / the academic research community publication figure 13. inputs and outputs of the framework 3. arrows: the measurements and lesson learned are represented in a closed loop from the performance node back to the government to assess and evaluate the process and benefit from the successful and in successful lessons, as shown in figure 14. figure 14. the arrow represents the loop from the performance node back again to the government 6.3. evaluation of bim framework implementation by the user group evaluation matrix of bim framework is necessary because without such metrics, teams and organizations are unable to consistently measure their own successes and/or failures. performance metrics enable teams and companies to assess their own competencies and to benchmark their progress against that of other practitioners. accordingly, each node has its measurable attributes with certain weight, which are 1-5 points where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best weight as shown in table 4, and the final evaluation will be determined after calculating the total weight of the bim implementation of the organization to be as follows: full implementation 80-100 % intermediate implementation 50-80 % low implementation 0-50 % table 7. evaluation matrix of bim framework implementation by the user group nodes measurements attributes scale government is the ministry achieving their role? 1 2 3 4 5 standardizing information and measurement process process node is the client involved in the process? availability of bim skills and trainings for the employee business node compare the man-hours spent using bim process with using a traditional way continued on next page pg. 220 elabd / the academic research community publication table 7 continued nodes measurements attributes scale speed of development (clash detection) better quality through visualization better product through coordination (simulation) the cost reduction the time saved technology node availability of strong it department is there enough cost to apply bim process? execution node existence of ongoing enhancement availability of quality measurements total performance node full bim implementation (80%-100%) intermediate bim implementation (50-80%) low bim implementation (0%50%) 6.4. limitation of the framework this framework could be applied only in certain conditions, because there is no successful frame work that could be applied for all the companies/countries, every company has its conditions and this frame work could work only in the organization that has those criteria: high income company, because low income company would not be able to afford the cost of bim. companies that execute large projects, because using bim application in small projects will not achieve the targeted returns which have to be on the same level and cost of bim. companies that will apply bim framework should be under the supervision of the government, even if it is a private company it has to be monitored in order to maintain the bim process in its best way and not to become the traditional way that exists now which represents the process as a tool or only revit software. every company should have its own hierarchy and a bim specialist/ department. there are also many limitations but it will be more obvious with the practical implementation and testing the framework, because it is not the matter of applying bim or not to enhance the aec industry, and we couldn’t tell that if we facilitate all the points that could enhance the bim process such as it departments, bim managers, standards and raise the knowledge the bim will be a solution for all the aec projects, because every project has its challenges and aspects. pg. 221 elabd / the academic research community publication 7. conclusion remarks from the frameworks analyzed previously, and from the three case studies which have been studied, analyzed and compared, the following key findings were observed. regarding bim implementation in egypt, there are reasons that limit the enhancement of bim application in egypt, which are the fear and resistance of change, lack of training on bim software, lack of standards that regulate the bim implementation in egypt, also the contract issue, lack of knowledge about bim in the egyptian firms. also, working hour’s appropriation among design stages relies upon the used design too. in the traditional workflow, most of the time is consumed while making the development documents. but when bim is used, most of the working hours are required amid schematic and developing stage wiping out wastes in later construction, maintenance stages and through the entire life cycle. regarding the stakeholders: the main director for using the bim process in the egyptian firms is the client. this accordingly will increase the percentage of bim implementation in case of developing the awareness of the stakeholders. also the clients become satisfied from the bim process, because of the complete insight to the project in the whole phases. it enhances the visualization, time control, cost estimating. figure 15. the proposed bim framework for enhancing theimplementation of bim in egypt, generated by the researcher 8. references 1. about bimtech. (n.d.). retrieved june, 2015, from https://www.bimtech-eng.com/about/ pg. 222 elabd / the academic research community publication 2. azhar, s., hein, m., & sketo, b. (2011). building information modeling (bim): benefits, risks and challenges. azhar, s., khalfan, m., & maqsood, t. (2012). building information modelling (bim): now and beyond. construction economics and building, 12(4), 15-28. 3. gu, n., & london, k. (2010). understanding and facilitating bim adoption in the aec industry. automation in construction, 19(8), 988-999. 4. hardin, b., & mccool, d. (2009). bim and construction management: proven tools, methods, and workflows (pp. 8-15). john wiley & sons. 5. jung, y., & joo, m. (2011). building information modelling (bim) framework for practical implementation. automation in construction, 20(2), 126-133. 6. liu, x. (2017). developing interactive connections between bim and facilities information systems for end user functionalities. 7. mom, m., & hsieh, s. h. (2012, june). toward performance assessment of bim technology implementation. in 14th international conference on computing in civil and building engineering (pp. 27-29). moscow: publishing house asv. 8. scheuer, c., keoleian, g. a., & reppe, p. (2003). life cycle energy and environmental performance of a new university building: modeling challenges and design implications. energy and buildings, 35(10), 1049-1064. 9. smith, d. k., & tardif, m. (2009). building information modeling: a strategic implementation guide for architects, engineers, constructors, and real estate asset managers. john wiley & sons. 10. succar, b. (2009). building information modelling framework: a research and delivery foundation for industry stakeholders. automation in construction, 18(3), 357-375. 11. succar, b. (2013). building information modelling: conceptual constructs and performance improvement tools. school of architecture and built environment faculty of engineering and built environment, university of newcastle: newcastle. 12. succar, b., sher, w., & williams, a. (2009). measuring bim performance: five metrics. architectural engineering and design management, 8(2), 120-142. pg. 223 introduction building information modeling benefits building information modeling risks: frameworks for building information modeling succar bim framework bim performance assessment framework (bimpa) comparison between different frameworks analysis of bim implementation case studies criteria of the case studies selection approach case studies attributes the proposed framework generation process of the framework elements of the framework evaluation of bim framework implementation by the user group limitation of the framework conclusion remarks references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication abstract the construction of any river obstruction has some morphological impacts on the river bed and flow as it implies some disturbance to the river water flow. this disturbance causes local scour to occur due to bridge construction. for many reasons, there exists a need to protect these assets by continuous monitoring and maintenance. for this research, 6th october bridge was considered as a case study for bridges constructed on caissons along the river nile. a field data (contour maps for the bed of the river nile at year 1982and 2008) and computer model fdot (developed by florida department of transportation), was used to evaluate the depth of scour at the caissons of 6th october bridge. conclusions and recommendations were highlighted. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords caissons; scour; river nile bridges; bearing capacity 1. introduction bridge scour is a removal of soil by erosion due to flowing water around bridge piers. it is depended on the following: bed material properties, bed configuration, flow properties, and the type of bridge foundation. the foundation type is the main factor to identify the possibility of scour.deep foundations such as piles, piers or caissons are considered to have a high capacity to resist the scour damage. while shallow foundations such as isolated footings, raft or combined footings are considered to have a low capacity to resist the scour damage, so the shallow foundations are recommended to be considered high risk. as shown in figure (1) the total scour around bridge foundation comprises three components: 1. general scour and long-term aggradations 2. contraction scour 3. local scour at bridge supports or abutments (fhwa, 2010). figure 1. the scour around bridge supports (fhwa, 2010) structural and geotechnical engineers must take into account the effect of scour on bridge foundations especially pg. 247 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.365 evaluation of bearing capacity of caissons subject to scour moamen e. abd elraof1 1lecture, civil engineering department, faculty of engineering, al azhar university, egypt https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abd elraof / the academic research community publication friction piles. the effect of scour on bridge foundations may be summarised as follows: 1changes in soil stress around the bridge foundations, 2reduced embedment depth and therefore reduced in bearing capacity of foundations, 3possible changes in the structures response and the resulting foundation force effects (loading). the coordination is required between hydraulic, geotechnical, and structural engineers to avoid the effect of scour on the bridge foundations. as shown in figure (2) the state of effective stress corresponding to the scour conditions at any depth along the shaft can be estimated as follows. at the top of the embedded length of the shaft (point c), the vertical stress is equal to zero. at a depth of embedment equal to 1.5 ys or greater, assume the vertical stress is controlled by the streambed elevation b. assume a linear variation in vertical stress over the depth 1.5 ys. in other words, the effect of local scour on stress diminishes linearly over a depth equal to 1.5 times the scour hole depth, ys. the change in effective stress and the embedded length of the deep foundation effects on the bearing capacity of the bridge foundations, so the effect of scour must be taken into consideration (aashto lrfd bridge design specifications, 2007). figure 2. the effect of scour on bridge foundations (aashto lrfd bridge designspecifications, 2007). caissons are selected as the most practical method of founding long span bridges with heavy loads, in deep water environments. the caissons types are open caissons, box caissons, and pneumatic caissons. open caisson is a watertight box made of steel or reinforced concrete and opened at both top and bottom. it can be constructed to depths of 20 m or more depending on the soil conditions. box caisson is similar to open caisson but closed at the bottom and opened at the top. pneumatic caissons have been installed to depths well in excess of 100 m in some projects. the bearing capacity of caissons depending on the end resistance only, while the skin friction resistance is ignored in river bridges because the bed soil is liable to be scoured. the designer must estimate the maximum depth of scour when applicable, which should be conservatively established from recognized analytical methods or from computer models. figure (3) shows the failure of a bridge in south africa constructed in the period from about 1930 until 1960, which were supported on caisson sunk to inadequate depths and founded in alluvial deposits well above bedrock (frankipile, 2008). bridge foundations should be taken to a safe depth well below the anticipated scour level to protect it from any movement due to the force of the stream and other external forces. figure (4) shows the components of bridge constructed on caissons. pg. 248 abd elraof / the academic research community publication figure 3. caissons failure dueto bed erosion (frankipile, 2008) figure 4. the various components of caissons 2. 6th october bridge the 6th october bridge is an elevated highway in central cairo, egypt. with total length ramps, it is approximately 20 km. the bridge crosses the nile river twice. it connects west bank suburbs, east through gezira island to downtown cairo, and on to connect the city to the cairo international airport to the east. the flyover was constructed in 10 main phases between 1969 and 2002. bridge crossing the nile in the east branch with width 34 m and ramps on saraya el gezira with width 8 m, the work in this in part started in january 1973 and finished in october 1976.it founded on four pneumatic caissons under the base of the nile. caissons were pulled on ship lift to the nile then floated and pulled to its specified places to erect piers under the bottom of the nile. the abutments are founded on 260 fibro piles. the bridge width is 26.5 m and capacity 70 ton as shown in figure (5) & (6). pg. 249 abd elraof / the academic research community publication the soil characteristic for the bed at the bridge is shown in table (1) figure 5. 6thoctober bridge east branch (handbook of international bridge engineering, 2000) figure 6. bridge crossing thenile table 1. the soilcharacterized to the bed at 6th october bridge location d50 mm. d mean mm. %gravel %sand %silt soil type coarse medium fine total east 0.14 0.13 0.00 0.00 13.19 80.36 100 0.00 fine sand middle 0.14 0.13 0.00 0.00 11.93 79.92 100 0.00 fine sand west 0.14 0.12 0.00 0.00 8.76 82.93 100 0.00 fine sand average 0.14 0.13 0.00 0.00 11.29 81.07 100 0.00 3. compute scour depth from field data the field data used for this research are as follows. pg. 250 abd elraof / the academic research community publication 3.1. contour maps of the river nile bed in study area at the year 1982 and 2008 contour maps with scale 1:5000 were produced by kenting earth sciences ltd. ottawa, canada, 1981-1982 from a hydrographic survey and aerial photography at 1978. these contain the river bed contour lines for the study area (6th october bridge) with interval 0.5m. and a set of maps produced at 2008 from a hydrographic survey and aerial photography. these contain the river bed contour lines for the study area (6th october bridge) with interval 0.5m as shown in figures (7) & (8). figure 7. a contour map for river nile bed at the year 1982 figure 8. a contour map for river nile bed at the year 2008 3.2. data processing and analysis five sections every 50 m of river nile in downstream of 6th october bridge (at years of 1982 and 2008) can be drawn using the contour maps. figure (9) shows the places of the cross sections. after drawing the sections of the river nile using auto cad program, a comparison between the sections is doing to evaluate the changes in river nile bed where the bridge was constructed as shown in figures from 10 to 14. pg. 251 abd elraof / the academic research community publication figure 9. the places of the cross sections figure 10. cross section no.1 figure 11. cross section no.2 figure 12. cross section no.3 figure 13. cross section no.4 pg. 252 abd elraof / the academic research community publication figure 14. cross section no.5 from the river nile cross sections the data of the river nile bed downstream 6th october bridge can be obtained as shown in table (2). table 2. the data of the river nile cross sections down stream 6th october bridge cross sections width of river nile (1982) width of river nile (2008) change in width max. scour depth(m) 1 320.25 282.7 -37.55 0.5 2 329.2 287.6 -41.6 1.7 3 321.9 290 -31.9 1.1 4 316 286 -30 0.5 5 311.25 284.33 -26.92 0.65 from the previous figures and table (2) the following can be observed: 1. sedimentations were occurred especially on the western side of river nile to distance 140 m and 2.5 m depths. it may be affected negatively on navigation. 2. the river nile width was decreased to distance 38 m. 3. the elevation of the lowest point at 6th october bridge downstream is (+5.0). 4. no scour hole at the downstream of the bridge 5. the maximum scour depth is 1.7 m at the cross section no.2 (in the area situated between the two caissons), so a comparison between the river nile bed at years 2004 and 2008 done to evaluate the changes of river nile bed at this cross section, as shown in figure (15). the results were as follows: erosion was occurred on the western side of river nile to distance 65.0 m and with depth ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 m. at the middle of the river nile cross section, the maximum depth of scour is 1.1 m (this scour occurred in four years only). in the eastern side of the river, the scour depth between 1982 and 2004 was 0.4 m and it’s become 1.2m in four years (between 2004 and 2008), so the slope of the east bank at cross section no.2 is less safe. figure 15. cross section no.2 at years 2004 and 2008 6. due to the sedimentations in the eastern side bank, the slope of the east bank becomes safer except the slope of the east bank at cross section no. 2. 4. computer model a program (fdot) was developed by florida department of transportation bridge scour evaluation and remediation. the purpose of the program is to evaluate bridges over tidal and non-tidal waterways with scour able beds pg. 253 abd elraof / the academic research community publication to determine the risk of failure from scour. a team of engineers was assembled in each district of the florida department of transportation to ensure proper evaluation. experts in bridge hydraulics/hydrology, structures and geotechnical worked together to come to a consensus on potential bridge scour-related problems and possible corrective actions (florida department of transportation, 2010). the computer program fdot scour calculator was used during this analysis to evaluate local scour around 6th october bridge caissons. 4.1. input data the data that are provided to the program is as follows: 1. bed material properties, table (1). 2. the properties of flow in river nile. 3. bridge geometry which includes caisson dimensions and shape. 4.2. computer model results figure (16) shows the input data and local scour depth occurred around 6th october bridge caissons. the maximum scour depth according to fdot-scour calculator program is 2.87 m. figure 16. scour depth calculation using fdot program. 5. conclusion and recommendations 1. the field measurements from the contour maps show a scour depth of about 1.7 m since the bridge construction up till now. 2. the fdot –scour calculator program results show a scour of a depth 2.87 m. that means the difference between the measured scour and calculated scour about 1.17 m. 3. since the maximum scour depth was found 1.70 m the bridge foundations can tolerate this scour. 4. caissons are most suitable foundations for the bridges constructed on river nile since it affected by scour less than the piles due to the following: the bearing capacity of caisson is not affected by scour due to the bearing capacity of caissons depending on the end resistance only, while the bearing capacity of piles decreased by scour especially friction piles a bending moment due to current drag forces and wave action on the piles can be neglected in the case of a massive structure like caissons. caissons non-buckling in the case of scour. while piles are exposed to the buckling in the case of scour. 5. periodic examination every two years must be done to avoid any damages that may occur. pg. 254 abd elraof / the academic research community publication 6. references 1. american association of state highway and transportation officials. (2007). aashto lrfd bridge design specifications: customary u.s. units. washington, d.c: american association of state highway and transportation officials. 2. chen, w., & duan, l. (2014). bridge engineering handbook. boca raton: crc press, taylor & francis group. 3. aswani, m. g., vazirani, v. n., & ratwani, m. m. (2004). design of concrete bridges:. nai sarak, delhi: khanna. 4. vesić, a. s. (1975). lecture series on deep foundations, march-april 1975. boston: boston society of civil engineers section, american society of civil engineers. 5. brown, d. a., turner, j. p., & castelli, r. j. (2010). drilled shafts: construction procedures and lrfd design methods. mclean, va: u.s. dept. of transportation, federal highway administration. 6. florida department of transportation. (2010). bridge scour manual (pp. 1-129). tallahassee, florida. 7. joseph e. bowles (1988). foundation analysis and design (4th ed). new york mcgraw-hill 8. franki (2008). a guide to practical geotechnical engineering in southern africa. saice. 9. hydraulics research institute. (2000). local scour of the river nile bridges (rep.). 10. saad, m. b. (2002). nile river morphology changes due totheconstruction of high aswan dam in egypt. retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/294683954/high-dam-pdf 11. tomlinson, m. j., & woodward, j. (2015). pile design and construction practice. boca raton: crc press, taylor & francis group, crc press is an imprint of the taylor & francis group, an informa business. 12. terzaghi, k., peck, r. b., & mesri, g. (1996). soil mechanics in engineering practice. new york, ny: j. wiley and sons. pg. 255 introduction 6th october bridge compute scour depth from field data contour maps of the river nile bed in study area at the year 1982 and 2008 data processing and analysis computer model input data computer model results conclusion and recommendations references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.394 a feasibility study evaluating the efficiency of fine coal washing using gravity separation methods agnes modiga1, ndabenhle sosibo1, nirdesh singh1, getrude marape1 1mintek, 200 malibongwe drive, randburg, south africa abstract coal mining and washing activities in south africa often lead to the generation of fine and ultra-fine coal which is in most cases discarded due to high handling and transportation costs. studies conducted revealed that a large quantity of these fines have market acceptable calorific values and lower ash contents. in order to reduce fines discarded, processes have been developed to re-mine and process the fine coal discards with the aim of improving the calorific value, adding them to coarse washed coal to increase the yield as well as pelletizing the fines so as to meet the market specifications in terms of size. the goal of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of fine coal washing using gravity separation methods and comparing the products thereof to the market specifications with regards to the calorific value and the ash content. coal fines from the no.4 lower seam of the witbank coalfield in south africa resulting from a dry coal sorting plant were subjected to a double-stage spiral test work, heavy liquid separation and reflux classifier test work respectively. the reflux classifier achieved products with low ash content and an increased calorific value, at high mass yields. at higher fluidization water flowrate, the reflux classifier performance was superior to that of the spirals with products of lower ash content and higher calorific value. at low cut point densities, heavy liquid separation yielded the cleanest products with very low ash content but at much lower mass yields. as the density increased, the mass yields increased with the ash content while the calorific value decreased. most of the products from the different processes met most of the local industries’ specifications but none of them met the export market as well as the gold and uranium industry specifications due to the high ash content. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords fine coal processing; beneficiation; gravity separation; spirals; reflux classifier 1. introduction coal, just like other minerals is mined and processed in order to meet different market specifications. due to the fact that it is relatively friable, generation of fine and ultrafine fractions during these value chain processes is expected. in most cases these fractions are not favoured by the user, consequently they are discarded. their moisture content is in most cases high, resulting in low calorific values and difficulty to handle. moreover most collieries find it unprofitable to process and handle these fines and ultra-fine slurries due to the high handling and pg. 448 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ modiga / the academic research community publication transportation costs as well as environmental concerns subsequently leading to the majority having to discard them (coaltech, 2014). the south african department of energy (doe) assessed the generation of coal discards to be 60 million tons per annum, which is estimated to have already accumulated to more than 1 billion tons (doe, 2016). technologies have been evolving to process these fines effectively and efficiently to a saleable product. their recovery not only would increase the overall yield, and hence the mine revenue, but would also lessen the environmental concerns and the diminishing vacant land for mine waste disposal. moreover, such treatment would lead to better utilization of wastes. this paper serves to report on test work conducted on the -6mm coal sample that was sourced from a flagship project at a south african mine where dry coal from the no.4 lower seam of the witbank coalfield is sorted and the fines generated are discarded. different gravity separation processes were compared to see which one will produce a cleaner product at high mass yields. 1.1. characteristics of coal discards run-of-mine (rom) coal contains varying amounts of fine and ultra-fine coal, which seems to increase with an increase of mechanised mining usage. fine coal is generally less than 0.5 mm and greater than 150 microns, whereas ultra-fine coal is less than 150 microns, normally in the form of a slurry, (hand, 2000). around 21-24% of the 312 mtpa of the rom coal in south africa in 2007 was reported as coal discards of which 4-6% was in the form of ultra-fine slurry (coaltech, 2011). typical characteristics of rom coal, coal discards and ultra-fine slurry (coaltech, 2011; dmr, 2001) are presented in table 1 below. table 1. table 1.typical characteristics of rom coal, coal discards andultra-fine slurry (source: (a) coaltech, 2011; (b) & (c) dmr, 2001) rom coal (a) discards (b) ultra-fine slurry (c) calorific value (mj/kg) 16-21 11 20 20 27 ash % 20-40 30 60 10 50 the characteristics of the major discard dumps were in the ranges of of 11-20 mj/kg calorific value (cv) and 30-60% ash content respectively. the ultra-fine slurry were found to be of the same quality as the rom coal and can be beneficiated with effective processes to generate an extra income. other studies also alluded to the fact that the quality of ultra-fine coal is generally equivalent to that of the rom coal, and at some mines the quality is even higher, (reddick et al., 2007). 2. fine coal processing/ beneficiation various methods for fine coal beneficiation have been employed but dense media separation and spirals have been the most commonly used technologies whereas flotation has mostly been used for the ultra-fine coal (coaltech, 2011). 2.1. dense media separation horsfall et al, 1986 mentioned that dense-medium cyclones were found to be a highly efficient method for the processing of coal between 0.5mm and 150 µm. even fines down to 75 µm can be treated, but separation from magnetite medium in ultrafine sizes is difficult. however, the process does have a high degree of selectivity and enables low-ash coal to be produced from fines at economic recoveries (horsfall et al, 1986). dense-medium cyclone cleaning of fine coal was used in south africa at greenside colliery to produce a low-ash coal containing 7% ash and a middling fraction containing 16% ash (de korte, 2002). the process was found to be more expensive compared to spiral separation or other techniques for fine coal beneficiation though it has the possibility of cleaning fine coal from the no. 4 seam of the witbank coalfield , which is generally of poor quality pg. 449 modiga / the academic research community publication due to the higher ash and inertinite contents (bergh, 2011). 2.2. spirals coal fines in the ranges of <1mm and 0.1 mm in south africa are normally treated in spiral concentrators (coaltech, 2011). at these ranges, spirals are said to offer a simple, cost efficient and reasonably efficient separation, and the lower size at which beneficiation can be conducted is about 100 µm (coaltech,2011; horsfall et al, 1986). though spirals are normally capable of yielding products of export grade quality, especially with fine coal fraction from the no. 2 seam of the witbank coalfield which contains some of the best quality coal, they were found to be incapable of yielding a fine coal product of a sufficiently high quality from the no. 4 seam of the same coalfield which is of lower quality having predominantly dull to dull lustrous coal ( de korte, 2002; jeffrey, 2005). 2.3. froth flotation coal flotability and surface properties strongly depend on the coal rank. very hydrophobic bituminous coals float well using only a simple frother such as methyl isobutyl carbinol (mibc) or different frothers. in their paper, horsfall et al, 1986 mentioned that coals with a high percentage of near density material (material of a relative density within 0.1 unit of the separation density) proved difficult to treat since the flotation process finds the near density material difficult to accept or reject precisely as float products. original flotation testwork around the 1980s revealed the imense difficulty to float witbank coal fines because of the type of the surface properties. mibc was utilized as a frother and power paraffin as a collector at the time and the testwork was unsuccessful commonly yielding low products. consequently ultra-fine coal by flotation process was deemed not economically reasonable (n. opperman et al, 2002). later studies proved that changing of the reagents improved the process by increasing the recoveries. in their study opperman et al indicated that testwork at goedehoop colliery showed that froth flotation can be successfully employed to wash –150 microns fine coal. the process is the viable beneficiation process for ultra-fine coal though it is expensive since the product market value is negatively affected by its relatively high moisture content. 2.4. reflux classifier production of the higher grade coal required processing of poor quality coal fines (-0.5+0.15 mm) at finer cuts of 1.30-1.50 relative density (rd). this was not easily attainable with spiral concentrators but was accomplished with a reflux classifier (bergh et al, 2013). two product streams (−210 + 100 µm), coking coal with vitrinite concentration between 28–84% and 20–75% for the thermal coal were attained by changing the fluidizing water flow rate. light products high in the vitrinite and lower in the ash contents were achieved (tran et al, 2016). water-only density fractionation of south african coal fines could also be achieved with the reflux classifier and the results were similar to the results from the zncl2 float-sink data for narrow size ranges between -850+500 µm, (k.e rakgase, 2012). in other studies, it was confirmed that higher density cuts could be achieved, and any number of density intervals could be prepared. it was also confirmed that separation in the reflux classifier was partially independent of particle size but it operated well for narrow size distributions above 355 µm, (campbell et al, 2015) . 3. experimental procedures 3.1. material the -6mm coal sample was crushed and screened to produce the -1.7mm+212µm which was then blended and split into various subsamples for head chemical analysis, washability test or heavy liquid separation (hls), spiral pg. 450 modiga / the academic research community publication concentration and reflux classifier testwork. the testwork on the fines was undertaken according to the diagrams given in figure 1 below. figure 1. flowsheetfor work conducted a head sample was analyzed for proximate and cv analysis. the cv was found to be 22.18 mj/kg and an ash content of 25.93%. these were in the ranges stated in table 1 for ultra-fine slurry. the relative density of the sample was found to be 1.60 as measured using a pycnometer. 3.2. rougher spiral testwork on -1.7mm+212µm material the screened -1.7mm+212µm material was subjected to spiral testwork with the aim of reducing the ash content and increasing the calorific value. separation in this instance is based on the specific gravity of the particles. heavier particles progress to the inner profile while the lighter ones progress to the outer profile of the channel along with most of the water and the slimes. different product streams are collected at the bottom of the spiral through their set outlets. table 2 shows the conditions for the test work. table 2. rougherspiral test conditions specific gravity of the solids 1.60 mass of the sample (kg) 30.00 % solids 30.00 solids feedrate (t/h) 1.50 slurry feedrate (t/h) 5.00 as soon as the steady state was reached, timed samples of seven streams which comprised of three concentrate streams, a middling stream and three tailing streams were collected. the timed samples were weighed wet, sundried and then sub-sampled for chemical analysis for proximate analysis as well as calorific value. 3.3. cleaner spiral test work on rougher spiral concentrates upon review of the analysis results of the rougher spiral products, it was decided that the three concentrate streams be subjected on a cleaner spiral to upgrade the product further. the aim of the cleaner spiral was to check if a product of a better quality can be achieved at high recoveries. table 3 shows the conditions for the test work. table 3. cleanerspiral test conditions specific gravity of the solids 1.60 mass of the sample (kg) 17.70 % solids 20.00 solids feedrate (t/h) 1.90 slurry feedrate (t/h) 9.70 pg. 451 modiga / the academic research community publication as soon as the steady state was reached, same process as in the rougher spiral for collection, preparation and sub-sampling for analysis was conducted. 3.4. heavy liquid separation (hls) testwork on the -1.7mm+212µm material a representative 2kg subsample of -1.7mm+212µm was subjected to heavy liquid separation testwork to obtain a washability curve and to also assess presence of any near density material. hls is a laboratory scale density fractionation method, using heavy liquid to separate heavies (sinks) from lights (floats) in order to determine the cutpoint density at which effective separation can occur. tests were done sequentially at densities of 1.30 g/cm3 to 2.10 g/cm3 and increments of 0.10 to characterize the coal sample at different densities. proximate and calorific value analysis was conducted on nine product streams. 3.5. reflux classifier testwork on -1.7mm+212µm material a 75kg screened sample of -1.7mm+212µm was subjected to five reflux classifier testworks at varying conditions. separation of particles in the reflux classifier is based on their size and density. the refluxtm classifier (rc) is an innovative device offering advantages in both gravity separation and particle size classification (amarieri et al., 2014; nguyentranlum and galvin, 2004). according to amarieri et al (2014), the device combines a conventional fluidized bed with sets of parallel inclined plates, as shown in figure 2. feed slurry enters below the plates while fluidization water is introduced through a distribution plate in the base. the slurry feed moves downwards into the vessel, forming a bed of particles that is fluidized from below. high density particles settle into the lower portion of the bed, and light and fine particles are transported upward, with the majority flow towards the lamellae. the high hydraulic load carries the suspension up into the parallel inclined lamella plates. here slower settling particles, which are unable to settle against the fluidization water, emerge through the plates and report to the overflow. faster settling particles drop out of suspension and onto the plates before sliding back to the zone below. when the density of the fluidized bed exceeds the set-point value, a valve opens near the base of the unit and discharges some of the denser particles as an underflow stream. figure 2. schematic diagram of a reflux classifier (amarieri et al., 2014). to understand the effect fluidising water flowrate on the final product, four tests were conducted at 30% solids slurry, dry solids feedrate of 61 kg/hr and a bed density of 1350 kg/m3. the fluidising water flowrate was varied between 250 l/hr and 300 l/hr at increaments of 50 l/hr. a separate test was conducted at bed density of 1200 kg/m3 pg. 452 modiga / the academic research community publication and fluidization water of 400l/hr. the objective of the test was to assess whether lower bed density and increased fluidization water can improve product grade. 4. results and discussions three cleaner product streams with a 77% cumulative mass yield, 20.25% cumulative ash content and an average calorific value of 25.52 mj/kg were achieved on a rougher spiral (table 4). table 4. rougher spiral test results stream names cumm mass % cumm ash grade % cv (mj/kg) conc 1 45.70 19.40 25.34 conc 2 64.21 19.23 25.11 conc 3 77.00 20.25 24.52 midds 84.23 21.41 23.84 tails 1 96.61 24.17 22.70 tails 2 100.00 24.17 22.26 they were then further upgraded on the cleaner spiral to yield three cleaner product streams with 75.2% cumulative mass yield, 19.77% cumulative ash content and a calorific value of 24.22 mj/kg (table 5). in both the rougher and the cleaner spiral, the ash content increased as the cumulative mass increased. however the cleaner spiral had low ash and high cv streams as compared to the rougher spiral. table 5. cleaner spiral test results stream names cumm mass % cumm ash grade % cv (mj/kg) conc 1 18.05 17.40 25.90 conc 2 52.95 18.78 24.52 conc 3 75.21 19.77 24.22 midds 85.88 20.23 24.04 tails 1 96.77 21.03 23.71 tails 2 100.00 21.33 23.60 coal is a low density mineral, consequently when it is subjected to gravity separation,the cleaner product is collected as the lighter fraction at low cutpoint densities. hls showed to be capable of achieving low ash content products though at very low mass yields. a product with a 3.10% mass yield, an ash content and a calorific value of 2.90% and 30.59 mj/kg respectively was obtained at a cutpoint density of -1.2+1.3 g/cm3 where more than 99% ash was rejected. as the cutpoint densities increased due to the increased separating liquid density, the product mass yield increased along with the ash content (table 6). a 57.61% cumulative mass yield was achieved at cutpoint density of -1.5+1.6 g/cm3 with a product having an 11.84% ash content and a cv of 26.11 mj/kg. more than 70% of the ash was rejected in this density range. the reflux classifier seemed to be the best option as compared to the rougher and cleaner spiral . at a maximum mass yield of 73%, the ash content of the product was 15.86% at a calorific value of 24.63 mj/kg (table 7). most ash was rejected at a 250l/hr flowrate, though the product yield was very low at 39.70% but the cv was at a maximum 24.88 mj/kg with a 15.15% ash content. table 6. hls test results cut point density cumm mass % cumm ash grade % cv (mj/kg) -1.2+1.3 3.10 2.90 30.59 -1.3+1.4 13.69 5.75 29.19 continued on next page pg. 453 modiga / the academic research community publication table 6 continued -1.4+1.5 29.34 8.23 27.79 -1.5+1.6 57.61 11.84 26.11 -1.6+1.7 72.91 14.37 24.95 -1.7+1.8 77.79 15.44 24.53 -1.8+1.9 85.76 17.62 23.65 -1.9+2.0 89.37 18.91 23.14 -2.0+2.1 99.96 23.80 21.34 as the water flow rates increased, the ash content increased while the cv decreased. this is attributed to the fact that high water flow rates resulted in the undesired high density material rising together with the low density coal as overflow material to be collected as the desired product. table 7. reflux classiffier test results bed density fluidising water flowrate (l/h) cumm mass % cumm ash grade % cv (mj/kg) 1350 kg/m3 250 39.70 15.15 24.88 300 47.00 15.47 24.73 350 73.00 15.86 24.63 400 80.00 17.86 23.88 1200 kg/m3 300 21.90 12.96 26.36 the product quality is also affected by the bed density. when the density is set in the reflux classifier, any material that is lighter than the set density will be carried over as the overflow stream, while the heavy material will report in the underflow stream. in terms of coal, the lower the density, the cleaner the coal product. proving the aforementioned statement to be true, reducing the bed density to 1200 kg/m3 resulted into the cleanest product of the reflux classifier, with a 12.96% ash content, 26.36 mj/kg cv at 88.65% ash rejections and a 21.90% mass yield (table 7). comparing all the processes employed (figure 3), very clean coal can be achieved by hls, though the mass yields are very low. factors like mass yield, the cost of the separating media, other process running costs and the customer coal specifications are the ones that give guidance on whether to employ hls to clean the coal. however, the reflux classifier which uses water as the separating media, achieved the cleaner coal than the two spirals and at mass yields between 70 80%, it achieved coal of almost the same ash content with the hls ranging between 15-18%. figure 3. cumulative ash % vs cumulative mass % curve for the methods used pg. 454 modiga / the academic research community publication 5. comparability of products to the market specifications appendix a.1.1 shows the comparability of the product streams from different processes to the market specifications. none of the product streams met the export as well as gold and uranium industry’s specifications. with regards to eskom’s and the transport industry’s specifications, all the product streams from all the processes, had higher cv’s and lower ash contents than the specified requirements. the -1.7+1mm feed sample employed in the project was already at 25% ash and 21 mj/kg cv which is a coal specification required by eskom. however the amount of fines in the fraction may not be feasible for eskom power stations. product streams from cutpoint densities, -1.5+1.6 to -1.6+1.7 of the hls were the only product streams meeting the mining industry specifications. conc 1 stream of the cleaner spiral was also within the range of specifications required by the cement and lime industry. 6. conclusions from the gravitational separation methods tested, the reflux classifier proved to achieve products with low ash contents, at high mass yields. still at higher fluidization water flowrate, reflux classifier performance was superior to that of the spirals in terms of the ash rejections achieved. at low cut point densities, the hls yielded cleanest products with very low ash content but at much lower mass yields. as the density increased, the mass yield increased with the ash content while the cv decreased. this is attributed to the fact that coal being the low density material will be suitable to be processed through low density methods, unwanted material will be recovered with the coal as soon as the density is increased. the products streams from the different processes met more than 60% of the local industries specifications, though none of them met the export market specifications due to the high ash content. 7. references 1. amariei, a., michaud, d., paquet, g. 2014. the use of a reflux classifier for iron ores: assessment of fine particles recovery at pilot scale. minerals engineering, vol. 62, pp. 66-73. 2.anton eberhard. the future of south african coal: market, investment, and policy challenges. working paper no. 100. programme on energy and sustainable development; 2011. 3. j.p. bergh et al. trace element concentration reduction by beneficiation of witbank coalfield no. 4 seam. fuel processing technology, vol 92, issue 4, 2011, p. 812-816 4.j.p. bergh et al. techno-economic impact of optimized low-grade thermal coal export production through beneficiation modelling. the journal of the south african institute of mining and metallurgy, vol 13, issue no 11, 2013, p. 817-824. 5. coaltech. the south african coal roadmap:overview of the south african coal value chain. coaltech research association; 2011. 6. coaltech. annual report. coaltech research association; 2014. 7.department of energy. national inventorydiscard and duff coal-summary report. department of energy, pretoria; 2001. 8. department of energy. coal resources -discards. department of energy, pretoria; 2017. 9. d.w. horsfall et al, (1986). the treatment of ultrafine coal, especially by froth flotation. the journal of the south african institute of mining and metallurgy, vol 6, issue no 10, 1986, p. 401-407. 10. gj de korte, (2002). dense-medium beneficiation of fine coal revisited. the journal of the south african institute of mining and metallurgy, vol 102, issue no 07, 2002. p. 393-396. 11. j. f reddick et al. a cleaner production assessment of the ultra-fine coal waste generated in south africa. the pg. 455 modiga / the academic research community publication journal of the south african institute of mining and metallurgy, vol 107, 2007, p. 811-816. 12. k.e rakgase. applications of the reflux classifier on sa coals. coaltech research association annual colloquium, 2012. 13. l. jeffrey. characterization of the coal resources of south africa. the journal of the south african institute of mining and metallurgy, vol 105, issue no 12, 2005, p. 95-102. 14 nguyentranlum, g., galvin, k.p. 2004. applications of the reflux classifier in solid-liquid separation. international journal of mineral processing, vol. 73, pp. 83-89. 15. n. opperman et al. flotation at goedehoop colliery. the journal of the south african institute of mining and metallurgy, vol 102, issue no 7, 2002, p. 405 – 409. 16. p.e. hand. dewatering and drying of fine coal to a saleable product. coaltech 2020, task 4.8.1 ; 2000. 17. q.p. campbell et al. water-only laboratory coal fractionation using the reflux classifier. minerals engineering, vol 83, elsevier, 2015, p. 59-63. 18. quang anh tran et al. maceral separation from coal by the reflux classifier. fuel processing technology, vol 143, elsevier, 2016, p. 43-50. appendix a. a.1.1. comparability of products to the market specifications pg. 456 introduction characteristics of coal discards fine coal processing/ beneficiation dense media separation spirals froth flotation reflux classifier experimental procedures material rougher spiral testwork on -1.7mm+212m material cleaner spiral test work on rougher spiral concentrates heavy liquid separation (hls) testwork on the -1.7mm+212m material reflux classifier testwork on -1.7mm+212m material results and discussions comparability of products to the market specifications conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication reducing energy consumption strategies in university buildings in egypt iman osama abd el gwad1, ayman alsayed altaher mahmoud2 1associate professor of architecture department, faculty of fine arts, helwan university. 2teaching assistant, architecture department, giza higher institute for engineering abstract recent times have seen academic buildings face challenges when it comes to high energy consumption in comparison to relatively low performance, which affects the interior of the building by reducing the comfort level of the area. reduced comfort level holds the risk of preventing students from having an optimal space in which studying or attending scientific classes to achieve high grades. as a result, we must critically evaluate the principles in place that regulate planning policies intended to ensure a space that uses low energy consumption but has a high performance. in particular, we must analyze building design strategies, low energy design plans, along with their systems and integration methodologies. by focusing on the evaluation system crietria for international and locality system in comaprtive and for four study cases in a comparative methodology of building energy efficiency will help identify the most viable strategy for creating a leading green design for university campuses in egypt with an integrated low-cost energy consumption methdologies. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords university building; energy consumption; criteria; strategy; universities; egypt 1. introduction university’s has an essential role in sustainable development; though the motivation is not solely linked to the potential for financial prosperity, instead, the more prominent benefit is a carefully created setting that will, as mentioned before, directly influence the quality of life, comfort, security, and health factors for students and staff. achieving sustainability in design and construction is the emphasized goal currently. there were several theoretical basics evaluated; however, a number of them do not appear to be sensible. the vernacular design has several sustainability aspects. however, historical data reveals substantial challenges that compromise the feasibility of the model as a reliable strategy. the technology and its achievements have typically taken a space from being ”part of an environment” to create a separate setting. as such, the design disrupts the existing set-up profoundly, making it non-economic as a solution. in response to these findings, new solutions need to seek not just to implement new technology but to find a sound way to interact with the existing environment in place. in this regard, sustinabillty approaches conferred and outlined in the building and design sector boosting these challenges. inadequate studies of lighting and thermal comfort that failed to measure how much space is needed for facilities to run optimally have resulted in insecure building envelopes, leading to faults in energy consumption and pg. 112 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.351 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abdou / the academic research community publication environmental sustainability (meaning, the building is more susceptible to failures due to the surrounding climate conditions, etc.). the main issue that continues to need to be addressed is the low efficiency where bio-life aspects (environmental and human factors) are concerned. pérez, l., ortiz, j., maestre, r. & coronel, j.f.,2012) 2. universities and sustainable architecture characteristics policy a “fully mature” approach to university sustainability may be summarized as “one in which the activities of a university are ecologically sound, socially and culturally just and economically viable”. how the transition towards sustainability is expressed in a particular university must inevitably reflect the social, cultural, economic and be expressed in different ways, there are well-defined foundational principles which characterize university sustainability .in general terms, a university consciously choosing the path of sustainable development would exemplify the following principles: a. seeks to minimize its consumption of resources by putting in place measures to conserve water, energy and paper, etc. b. cuts waste output through a process of reducing consumption and reusing materials via recycling where possible makes purchasing decisions based on knowledge of the environmental and social impacts of the product, e.g. paper manufactured from sustainably managed forests. c. encourages environmentally preferred transport options such as carpooling, bicycle facilities, public transport facilities and staff incentives to discourage car based on : • engages staff and students and supports them to continually improve environmental practices and reduce their negative environmental impacts. • ensures that any maintenance and construction is carried out to minimize environmental impacts and constantly improves the environmental performance of the university facilities; and makes decisions about financial investments and research with consideration given to the social and environmental implications of those decisions. d. ensure that any strategies will be taken in low energy consumption must have two basic principles attention: • human comfort: students and stuff needs and requirements. • saving environmental: by using strategy that made sustainable environment and dis-effecting to bio-environmental liv in those (material using in construction, technologies using, renewable or nonrenewable energy, co2 emission) there are many factors that make a university green in terms of operations. the examples given above are by no means an exhaustive list. examples given above are by no means an exhaustive list. 3. university buildings and energy consumption through sustainable architecture operations to get the full diagrammatic policy for low energy consumption, we must define the whole policy and principles for its implementation. the implementing solution principles will be located throughout the university sustainable to ensure that, in the future, we might need to adjust the solution principles, and we may easily refer to the existing system. (r. j. cole, 2012). the following steps will be an outline the problematic solution; architecture whole strategy and methodology principles policy and integrated principles will be (unep,2014) : a. whole systems design integration : all systems and entities are accounted for and incorporated into the system design, to achieve whole system design we must be had an integration method that have more to improve the complex of all relatively in that method (new project ) (human , culture ,ecology). 1) human factor : have a main step done the sociological steps to know what the usersneeds. 2) culture factor: build to enclose open space to have the total privacy conservation enviromnt. 3) community factor : experience of place project location as verncular architecture processing. b. bold ecology: a biological pattern of functioning.whiv.ch means save environment and compatibility between building, environment and human comfrtable. pg. 113 abdou / the academic research community publication according to (nina, stefan, alexander, michaela, henrique and arnold.2016), energy consumption reduction had an ecology approach in the conceptual frame work for social-ecological systems integration, reduction energy affected in 80% percent in this frame because reduction energy will be have an effecting regulation process in ( reduction co2 andco1 , increasing estimated green power ,environmental benefit through green strategies that reduction energy consumption ( green areas , green wall ,green roofs , organic material ,etc. ) ) .so achieving increasing in inductive quantity evaluate system criteria will be increased bold ecology main whole strategy. c. intelligent construction : which means have applied crietria (closed building energy cycle, low cost energy strategy, low cost energy , smart design, high energy efficiency, waste water, utilization, high energy yield, contaminant, recycle material, conservation, resource conservation, energy conservation , inner air,smart grid,renewble energy powered in university ). d. intelligent limits :wich means there were limits in using smart programs or materials that will be chosen in design process for implemminting porcedures 1) local material: we could be used the local material from the local site for the new university projects because it’s had compatible with the local environment and climate zone , local material have also low cost and easily in manufactured and setup. 2) integration to landscape: land scape in or out door play a main role and make better option in establish new project example: • waste water treatment. • air quality improvement. • more satisfying and feeling comfortable. • save environment sociality and civilized. 4. university and sustainble environmental international assessment methods focusing energy consumption meusring comparison the widely used schemes measurement accreditation leadership in energy and environmental field (leed), building analysis environmental assessment technique (breeam) and star green australian, ui green metric . leed was created and developed by the u.s. inexperienced building council (usgbc) and has worldwide acceptanc as a benchmark for inexperienced building practices. breeam was created by the u.k. building analysis establishment (bre) and is adopted by the u.k., universitas indonesia (ui) initiated a world university ranking in 2010, later known as ui greenmetric world university ranking, to measure campus sustainability efforts. all four schemes unit of measurement affordable scoring system of aggregation credits that applies to an honest vary of every new building types and existing buildings. all aspects of an expansion of environmental issues like materials, energy, water, pollution, indoor environmental quality and heap. one in every of necessary credits throughout all the three schemes that is additionally the essential consider the final effort to realise sustainable development, is that the consumption of energy or succeeding carbon emissions in buildings, see general comparative three main assessments ways table 1. (ya roderick, david, carlos, 2010). pg. 114 abdou / the academic research community publication pg. 115 abdou / the academic research community publication 4.1. result of comparison every assessment method have a step in management system for energy consumption as main criteria, leed’s has an optimum defined criteria (energy efficiency best management practices), green star has divided in to 2 focusing indictor (energy sub-metering, peak energy demand reduction), breeam has explained in 2 indictor (low and zero carbon technologies, energy monitoring) but them have not measured considering campus issued. ui green metric has a main indictor will be a great chance in optimized measuring indictor, that was (smart building implementation), ui offered to enhance campus building to do more effort for all principles that control this criteria (management system, smart materials, smart equipment’s and smart design), it can be developed as global demand for any new measured indictor and affected in decreasing energy consumption ratios. 4.2. local asessment method of egypt: green pyramids rating system the green pyramid rating system is a national environmental rating system for buildings. it provides definitive criteria by which the environmental credentials of buildings can be evaluated, and the buildings themselves can be rated. the rating can be used to assess individual new buildings at either or both of the following stages: 1.at design stage, 2.at post-construction stage. ), projects will be rated, based on credit points accumulated, pg. 116 abdou / the academic research community publication according to the following rating system (gprs certified: 40–49 credits, silver pyramid: 50–59 credits, gold pyramid: 60–79 credits and green pyramid: 80 credits and above) 4.3. g.p.r.s. energy performance evaluation criteria for design stage so according to research scope we must be studied the criteria that related to energy performance and that will be: i. mandatory minimum requirements (m.1 minimum energy performance levelm.2 energy monitoring & reportingm.3 ozone depletion avoidance) ii. energy efficiency improvement:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. (10 points) iii. passive external heat gain reduction:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .( 7 points ) iv. energy efficient appliances :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..( 3 points) v. vertical transportation systems: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(3 points) vi. peak load reduction:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 6 points) vii. renewable energy sources:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..( 12 points) viii. environmental impact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 4 points) ix. operation and maintenance:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 1 points) x. optimized balance of energy and performance:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .( 4 points) xi. energy and carbon inventories:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 2 points) 5. chosen case studies check list benchmark rating tool will be depended on merging the sociological part, bold ecology, low-cost energy consumption criteria in questioner methodology to find the way to apply standards and low-cost design strategy in integration between them. depending on the analysis, principles for all strategies will show how to improve efficiency and quality for the indoor and outdoor environment of the university, see table (6). the three study cases were chosen by same climatic zone aspects, also have the full benefits of the applied energy criteria to, indeed, have the accreditation. the case studies had chosen because the high accreditation assessment certification for them , case study one had an environmental assessment certification (6 green star certification) australian programing equal to platinum leed certificate, second case study had leed platinum certificated and arabian relativity. third case study has a main role because it had placed in egypt , auc university fifth settlement had a new university campus construction occupied in 2009 for first year , it had been chosen for its traditional design mixing with modern design style ( called postmodern art ) , traditional building element had constructed to have a good regulation with environment aspects, that’s will be guided in final analysis what traditional style needed to be regulated in the recent age, auc university had ranked 104 overall world according to green metric campuses, case studies will be explained the main issued for found the best sustainable indictors practice focusing energy consumption. pg. 117 abdou / the academic research community publication pg. 118 abdou / the academic research community publication pg. 119 abdou / the academic research community publication pg. 120 abdou / the academic research community publication pg. 121 abdou / the academic research community publication pg. 122 abdou / the academic research community publication 6. check list tool results the comparison discussed the final analysis done in step before to get the best practice in implementing a decreasing energy consumption strategically without human distribution needing and conservation of environmental aspects. the case studies will be measured affection using for implemented chosen strategy in every case study and have whole comparison feedback result from basic information that showed that have high grade and it will be masdar institute because masdar has developed a methodology to calculate carbon reduction by applying energy efficiency measures and/or fuel switching in new building units (residential, commercial, and/or institutional units). examples include efficient appliances; efficient thermal envelope; efficient lighting systems; efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (hvac) systems; passive solar design; optimal shading; building energy management systems (bems); and intelligent energy metering. this methodology was submitted and finally approved by the united nations framework convention on climate change (unfccc) in june 2011 (am0091: energy efficiency technologies and fuel switching). this is the first methodology that looks into the emission-reduction calculation of new buildings under the unfccc scheme. it is also the first time that a methodology has been approved that applies a set of measures to buildings without directly quantifying a specific emission reduction to a specific measure. in case studies analysis (first question) answer’s had gotten: specially insurance applying spaces connected to number of users and satisfaction according to assessment methods every case study design according fixed user number ’s (stuff and student’s ) , satisfaction comes from the design style that had chosen computable with surrounding environment . in case studies analysis (second question) answer’s had gotten: that efforts had done in decreasing energy consumption , the most of case studies had built on enhancing building envelope by using measurement programming of sun radiation on facades , every case study have been a first thinking on how to be more efficiency, decreasing thermal conductivity from outside to indoor space’s to achieve high comfortable level for users , most of case studies makes tradition element in modern style as ( mashrabia (arabian universities) , arcades ( for all case studies) , local material with high resistance and low thermal conductivity, using system insulation according to climatic zone aspects , glazing material which could be decreased heat gain by 40% and affected in reducing hvac energy consumption directly ( depend on the effectiveness of insulation of certain envelope elements can be assessed using their u-value (which represents the amount of heat radiation (w) that can enter the building per meter square of area and at a temperature deferential of one degree), fixed shading for sun radiation ( depended on sun radiation degree ( winter and summer)),facades color painted material have been great impact on reduction thermal from sun pg. 123 abdou / the academic research community publication radiation , colors have been development to can be reflecting and diffusing sun radiation as showed in case studies other issued in decreasing energy ,that have used led artificial lights integration with daylight hours , that can be reduced energy consumption by 30 % of total energy consumption . using recycle material have been affecting whole life cost ,most of recycle material had a greening design acceptation and conservation environmental aspect’s ( eco-life ) .specified , using recycle material have appositive life cycle cost and also could avoid negative reflectance with developed material in recycling procedures . certificate design principles in hot areas as building from open to close as vernacular architecture elements ( separated entrances , courts ( open ,semi shaded , shaded) ,arcades, ”mashrabia” in modern style ,thickness of building envelop ,cross ventilated areas , wind passive towers , landscape had decreased heat gain specification environmental quality computable with location environment ) all of those can be called passive cooling and heating elements ,as showed in case studies -expected . this main elements can improve environment indoor quality ,certificated system in assessments methods with high rated accreditation and affecting directly on decreasing energy consumption because those elements will affecting in thermal heat resistance and ventilation ,both affecting on hvac energy consuming through day. in case studies analysis (third question) answer’s had gotten: uses of renewable energy ( solar pv panels , wind turbines ) will provide green and sustainble power ,this will be great development in decreasing cost of energy consumption through life cost ,computable with other decreasing energy consumption aspects , campuses could be produced energy, this will decreas co2 emmission and will be meet the green houh gas emmision scope 1&2.auc must be applied renewable energy to be ”green campus” helping community to be a sustainable campus leadership in egypt. in case studies analysis (fourth question) answers had gotten: using certificated environment assessment had showed that case studies have high regulated in some issued and some to be repaired as (landscaping and decreasing heat gain) to improve environment quality and energy consumption rates a certification had also provided us a clear information for current statues for each of case study to be gotten full procedure’s knowledge (as research scope )for methodologies of decreasing energy consumption. 7. conclusion through research anlaysis had appeared scientfice cosider solutions for decreasing energy consumption through inductive analysis and comparison methdologies that explained before and there were: 1. in new unversity project must be applied specified sustainble policy that will be the guid lines that controled the implemenation of the design strategy. 2. nontalking in any mrthdologies will be used to decrease energy consumption before ensuring user’s ( staff and students) experince for sociaglical satsfing (human factor). 3. new unversities and exetencemust be have a planed planning for decreasing energy consumption and created adepartment that controled and developed energy consumption and performance. 4. universities must be applied passive cooling and heating strategies that had effected dierctley enhancing for eco-enviromental aspects and tring achieving zero carbon emmision. 5. using material suitable with local project climate as regualated with climatic cosedration ( thermal coductivity condition , ventalited per hours condition and erasion aspects), that will be amain rule in design strategy and impleminting proccesing to decresing energy consumption relation ,because this princible through analysis have dierect related method ( low mterial condictivety in thermal condition = low using hvac = low energy power consumption) in sample state. 6. reneweble energy power must be included in any university building , that will great benifite to decrease whole life energy cost ,universities had researcher’s that developed clean and green energy to achive zero pg. 124 abdou / the academic research community publication energy consumption , that will be according to university rule community an affected on whole commuinty decreasing non-renewble energy, this will had coserved enviroment. 7. smart building programes ( management system , sensors analysis , room data control , smart material used(envelop building)), through analysis has been showing that a chance to have asmart reducing energy consumption in universities consiedring decreased energy consumption through delaying time ( non occubied useres ) in education spaces by management and sensors through creating a smart room data and implementing samrt gride, smart matrial defiened that developed araw material to regulated with local climate condition and users need ,that will be enhanced education space function and performance ,also raised high grading also decreased energy consumption ( hvaclighting ). 8. recommendation for g.p.r.s. as comparison result for evaluation systems, we would be suggested the following table to be guide line in applied energy performance evolution criteria to be considered with (any climatic zoning, best curriculum criteria and best weighted accreditation points), that’s will be from gprs system and the other systems that explained before. 9. references 1. ahmadi, f. (2003). sustainable architecture. journal of architecture and urbanism. 2. osmond, p. (2013). greening universities toolkit: transforming universities into green and sustainable campuses. united nations environment programme. 3. jacob, a. (2009). littman, regenerative architecture: a pathway beyond sustainability, (master’s thesis, university of massachusetts, amherst). 4. jowdat, m. (2002). education of climatic architecture. journal of iranian architectural studies. 5. hardy, m. (2010). the 12 principles of traditional building, oxford university. 6. pérez-lombard, l., ortiz, j., maestre, r. & coronel, j.f. (2012), constructing hvac energy efficiency indicators, energy and buildings magazine. 7. cole, r. j. (2012). transitioning from green to regenerative design. building research & information, 40(1). 8. stavropoulos, t, tsioliaridoul. a., koutitas. g, vrakas, d., & vlahos, i. (2013) school of science and technology, international hellenic university, thessaloniki, greec . 9. 2016 list of zero net energy buildings [pdf]. (2016). new building institute. 10. roderick, y., mcewan, d., wheatley, c., & alonso, c. (2009, july). comparison of energy performance assessment between leed, breeam and green star. in eleventh international ibpsa conference. 11. masdar campuses. (n.d.). retrieved november 10, 2017, from https://www.masdar.ac.ae/campus 12. university projects. (n.d.). retrieved november 11, 2017, from https://www.usgbc.org/projects 13. green metric report. (n.d.). retrieved november 12, 2017, from http://greenmetric.ui.ac.id/ pg. 125 introduction universities and sustainable architecture characteristics policy university buildings and energy consumption through sustainable architecture operations university and sustainble environmental international assessment methods focusing energy consumption meusring comparison result of comparison local asessment method of egypt: green pyramids rating system g.p.r.s. energy performance evaluation criteria for design stage chosen case studies check list check list tool results conclusion recommendation for g.p.r.s. references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.395 approach to accurate octane number calculation for gasoline blending manal mahmoud metwally1 1chemical engineering department, cairo university, egypt abstract the octane number of gasoline is one of the most important measures of gasoline quality to predict accurately the octane ratings of blending gasolines. this measured on a scale that ranges from that equivalent to isooctane (octane number of 100) to that of n-heptane (octane number of zero) octane no is effected by the saturates, aromatics, and olefins contents of gasoline. we take it as a standard and measure octane number by comparison with this standard. the accurate octane blending method will optimize the blending of gasoline components, when gasoline components are blended together, we will calculate the octane number of the blend with different octane number of the component or if the four components are of equal octane number. the blend octane number may be greater than, equal to or less than that calculated from the volumetric average of the octane numbers of the blend components, which indicates nonlinear blending. blending would be linear if octane number of a blend was equal to that predicted by summing the octane numbers of the components in proportion to their concentrations. in practices, the discrepancies between the octane numbers of blends and the linearly predicted values have been correlated by specific empirical equations and these have been used to correct the linear predictions. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 1. introduction in (1955) schoen and mrstik developed a graphical correlation for predicting octane numbers of blends as a series of binary systems based on the octane rating and volumetric olefin contents of the two components being blended. stewart (1959) refined this method to be applicable to multicomponent blends yielding more self-consistent results. stewart’s correlation also required the octane rating and volume percent olefins of the components being blended. auckland and charnock (1969) developed a blending index to blend octane number linearly. the blending is obtaining blend values by blending indices linearly which obtain the molar property of a real solution by a linear combination of the partial molar properties of its components. this method can only be used to find the blending value of a component at a particular composition and cannot be used to predict its blending values in other mixtures. in (1981) rusin et al. presented a method consists of three steps: (a) transformation of component properties (b) linear blending of these transformed properties, and (c) inverse transformation of the results. this method is similar to the blending index method. due to the back and forth transformation, this method may also cause inconsistency in data transformation between these three steps. in (1959) healy et al. correlated gasoline component blending with differences in octane level and hydrocarbon type among components. sometimes this method gives unreasonable blending values especially if the hydrocarbon pg. 457 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ metwally / the academic research community publication type or octane number of the new component is outside the range of the component previously tested (morris, 1975). an interesting equation was proposed by morris et al. (1975) for describing nonlinear gasoline blending behavior as follows: oc tane number = x1a1 + x2a2 + b12 x1 x2 (1) where ai and xi are the octane number and the volume fraction of component i, respectively and b12 is the interaction coefficient for components 1 and 2. this equation (1), is effective in correlating the octane numbers of gasoline blends. therefore, an additional blending study with the new component and other components must be carried out to determine the additional interaction terms. with n components, n(n-1)/2 interaction parameters are required. if two components are blended so k = 2(2-1)/2 = 1 ∴the equation will be octane no. on)2 = a1x1+a2x2+b12x1x2 ((b12) one binary interaction parameter). if three components are blended together so k = 3(3-1)/2 = 3 ∴ the equation on)3 = a1x1 + a2x2 + a3x3 + b12x1x2 + b13x1x3 + b23x2x3 ((b12), (b13), (b23) are the binary interaction parameters) if four new components are added to an eight-component gasoline pool, k = 4(4-1)/2 = 6 ∴ the equation on)4 = a1x1 + a2x2 + a3x3 + a4x4 + b12x1x2 + b13x1x3 + b14x1x4 + b23x2x3 + b24x2x4 + b34x3x4 ((b12), (b13), (b14), (b23), (b24), (b34) are the binary interaction parameters) the number of interaction parameters increases drastically from 28 to 66. this means that the thirty-eight blending studies with the new components and the other components must be carried out to determine these additional 38 interaction parameters. in (1993) zahed et al. proposed a model with five independent variables for predicting the octane number of gasoline blends. the octane numbers predicted from this equation are no longer even close to the original octane numbers of the gasoline components. the octane number of n-heptane predicted from this model is 108.77 versus the defined value of zero. similarly, the octane number of iso-octane predicted from this model is -108.95 versus the defined value of 100. the usefulness of this kind of approach is very limited. using this model to predict the octane number of blend at other conditions will be very unreliable. 2. materials: table 1 represents a typical industrial blending process employed to produce a quality gasoline from various product streams. four blending data (table 1) for gasoline produced from four different blend cuts: straight run gasoline (srg), straight run naphtha (srn), reformate (ref) and fluidized catalytically cracked gasoline (fccg). the raw gasoline cut qualities (ron, rvp and sg) were determined by the quality control department prior to blending using standard astm analytical methods. we used four kinds of additives from methanol and originate, such as xxx, xxy and xxyy. we noticed the effect of each one of them on at least four blends to determine the results for each of them to reach maximum octane number. and we determined the objective function table 1. shows gasoline (ron 95) specification: eurograde gasoline (ron 95) product specifications test unit method limits min max density 15oc kg/m3 astm d 4052 775 appearance visual clear&bright colour undyed continued on next page pg. 458 metwally / the academic research community publication table 1 continued research octane number, ron astm d2699 95 motor octane number, mon astm d2700 85 distillation astm d86 initial boiling point oc to be reported 10% oc 70 50% oc 120 90% oc 180 final boiling point oc 210◦c evaporated at 150 oc %vol 75 vapor pressure summer (1st may till 30th september) bar astm d5191 0.4 0.6 winter (1st october till 30th april) bar astm d5191 0.4 0.7 copper corrosion (3hrs at 50 oc) astm d130 1a induction period min. astm d525 360 existent gum mg/100ml astm d381 5 total sulphur mg/kg astm d 5453 10 benzene content %vol uop 744 1 olefins %vol astm d 1319/ astm d 5134 18 aromatics %vol uop 744 42 oxygenates %wt astm d4815 nil doctor test astm d4952 negative lead mg pb/ l i p 224 5 table 2. blend data sample reformate isomerate mtbe blend a blend b blend c blend dtest method units ron astm d2699 101.2 87.3 115 95.1 95.2 95.2 95.2 mon astm d2700 90 77 99 84.2 84.2 84 84 aromatic uop 870 %vol 75.6 0 0 41.7 38.9 34.4 31.5 density 15ºc astm d4052 kg/m3 826.1 663.2 740.5 754.3 744.9 742.0 734.9 vapor pressure astm d5191 bar 0.2 0.89 0.25 0.50 0.522 0.57 0.559 exhaust emission uop 539 co %mol 2.6 2.65 2.7 2.7 co2 %mol 12.3 12.36 11.9 11.8 h2 %mol 1.2 1.22 1.2 1.2 n2 %mol 83.9 83.8 84.3 84.2 pg. 459 metwally / the academic research community publication 3. results and discussion 3.1. statistical model for prediction of octane number (on) in a previous work by the author, a third order statistical model was elaborated to predict the value of on upon adding naphta to gasoline (manal, 2012). it was found that a third degree model was adequate for describing the required correlation. in the present work, a more ambitious aim was set to predict the effect of four additions in different percentages on the on of gasoline. the masses of different additives are represented by the following symbols: x1 = mass of . . . (g) x2 = mass of . . . (g) x3 = mass of . . . (g) x4 = mass of . . . (g) as a first trial, a factorial 24 first order model was suggested. 3.2. first order (linear) model the center of design and the normalixed values of the four variables as well as the minimum and maximum value of each are shown in table 3. 1. table 3. levels of design in 24 factorial experiment variable coded value x = – 1 center x = 0 coded value x = + 1 ∆x x1 71 76.5 82 5.5 x2 7 9.5 12 2.5 x3 1 2.5 4 1.5 x4 5 10 15 5 20 mixes were prepared including 16 with different combinations of x values and 4 at the center of design. percentages in table 1 were normalixed to add up to 100% each time. the coded first order design equation for 4 variables takes the form: on = a0+a1x1 +a2x2 +a3x3+a4x4 +a12x1x2 +a13x1x3 +a14x1x4 +a23x2x3 +a24x2x4 +a34x3x4 +a123x1x2x3 +a124x1x2x4 +a134x1x3x4 +a234x2x3x4 +a1234x1x2x3x4 (4.1) where xi is the coded value of xi defined as: xi = xi−xo 4x (4.2) where: x0 is the central value of xi. a first regression using design expert® software was obtained neglecting three order and four order interaction terms because of the negligible interaction between light and heavy naphta and methanol. the following coded equation was obtained: on = 97.70 − 0.62 x1 + 0.39 x2 + 2.75 x3 + 1.37 x4 + 0.068 x1x2 − 0.075 x1x3 − 0.069 x1x4 − 0.12 x2x3 + 0.4 x2x4 − 1.4 x3x4 (4.3) pg. 460 metwally / the academic research community publication this equation can be transformed in terms of actual variables using equation (4.2) to get on = 77.857 + 0.1129 x1 − 0.4586 x2 + 4.713 x3 + 2.351 x4 + 0.0049 x1x2 − 0.0091 x1x3 − 0.025 x1x4 − 0.033 x2x3 + 0.032 x2x4 − 0.1866 x3x4 (4.4) this equation yielded a determination coefficient r2 = 0.951. on performing the anova and calculating the f – values the software was able to eliminate all interaction terms to obtain a simpler equation in the form: on = 99.4−0.156 x1 + 0.315 x2 + 1.834 x3 + 0.2656 x4 (4.5) however, the value of r2 in that case decreased to 0.847 which suggests that the original equation (3.1) was more suitable in interpreting experimental data. to further emphasixe that result, a plot of predicted values against actual values of on is shown in figure (3.2) showing a reasonable match between the two values. also figure (3.3) illustrates a three dimensional plot of on against x3 and x4 indicating an increase in on with increasing values of the two variables, which is in accordance with their positive coefficients in equation (3.4). also, fig (3.6) shows contour lines corresponding to that figure. the point (5) shown in figure corresponds to the calculated value of on corresponding to values of x3 and x4 = 2.5 and 9.8 respectively. 3.2.1. second order (quadratic) model whereas first order models require performing experiments at the upper and lower ends of the design (x = ±1) with replicate runs at the center of design (x = 0), quadratic models also require performing more experiments at selected coded levels (x = ± α). the value of α depends on the number of independent variables.in case of 4 variables, α = 1.68. consequently, besides the 16 runs, 8 more runs were performed at levels ±1.68 besides 2 replicates at center of design, a total of 26 runs. generally, a coded second order model shows as: on = a0 + a1x1 + a2x2 + a3x3 + a4x4 + a12x1x2 + a13x1x3 + a14x1x4 + a23x2x3 + a24x2x4 + a34x3x4 + a112 1 + a222 2 + a33z2 3 + a44z2 4 (4.6) the following coded regression equation was obtained using design expert® software: on = 98.55−0.62 z1 +0.39 z2 +2.75 z3 +1.37 z4 +0.068 z1z2 −0.075 z1z3 −0.69 z1z4−0.12 z2z3+0.4 z2z4 −1.4 z3z4 −0.15 2 1−0.29 2 2−0.682 3−0.22 4 (4.7) this equation transforms to the following form on using actual variables through equation (4.3): on = 42.935+0.868 x1 +0.4218 x2 +6.223 x3 +2.5128 x4 +0.0049 x1x2−0.0091 x1x3−0.025x1x4−0.033 x2x3 +0.032 x2x4−0.1866 x3x4−0.0.00493 2 1−0.0465 2 2 −0.302 2 3−0.0081 2 4 (4.8) all coefficients were significant on applying the f – test except the coefficients of x 1x2, x1x3 and x2 x3. the value of r2 was exceptionally high = 0.9987 proving that the regression equation models perfectly the experimental data. pg. 461 metwally / the academic research community publication to confirm these findings, figure (3.1) was drawn to compare experimental and calculated on values showing a perfect alignment of points along the 45o line. also, figure (3.2) shows a three-dimensional plot of on against x3 and x4 indicating an increase in on with increasing values of the two variables, which is in accordance with their positive coefficients in equation (3.3). contour lines were drawn in fig (3.4) displaying calculated values of on as function of x3 and x4 revealing an increase in on as both variables increase. point (5) indicates a predicted value of on = 98.4 for x3 = 2.5 and x4 = 9.8. to conclude, the quadratic model obtained for factorial 24experiments has been successfully used to predict exactly the octane number values as function of the 4 addition levels. figure 1. comparisonbetween actual and calculated values of on from linear model figure 2. onvariation as function of variables x3 and x4 for linear model figure 3. contourlines for dependence of on on variables x3 and x4 for linear model pg. 462 metwally / the academic research community publication figure 4. comparison between actual andcalculated values of on from quadratic model figure 5. onvariation as function of variables x3 and x4 for quadratic model figure 6. contourlines for dependence of on on variables x3 and x4 for quadratic model pg. 463 metwally / the academic research community publication 4. references 1. schoen, w.f. and mrstik, a.v (1955). “calculating gasoline blend octane ratings”, ind. and engr. chem., 47(9), 1740-1742 (1955). 2. auckland .m.h.t and charnock. d.j, the development of linear blending indices for petroleum properties, j. inst. of petroleum, 55(545), 322329, 1969. 3. rusin .m.h, chung .h.s, and marshall. j.f., a transformation method for calculating the research and motor octane numbers of gasoline blends, ind. eng. chem. fundam., 20(3), pp. 195-204, 1981. 4. morris, w.e (1975). “interaction approach to gasoline blending”, npra paper am75-30, national petroleum refiners association annual meeting 5. healy .jr. w.c, maassen. c.w, and peterson. r.t. (1959). a new approach to blending octanes, api division of refining, 24th midyear meeting, new york. 6. zahed .a. h, mullah .s. a, and bashir .m. d. (n.d.) predict octane number for gasoline blends. hydroc proc, 72(5), 1993, 85-87. 7. manal .m. m,environmental modeling and experimentation of gasoline blending in refineries, m.sc thesis, university of cairo, 2011. pg. 464 introduction materials: results and discussion statistical model for prediction of octane number (on) first order (linear) model second order (quadratic) model references http://www.ierek.com/press issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication european road safety policy 2016-2020: a forecast on topics and activities armin kaltenegger, birgit salamon, gerald furian1 1kfv – austrian road safety board keywords european union, road safety policies, political agenda abstract objective 25,500 people were killed on european roads in 2016. thus, despite the achievements of the past, there is still need for action in order to reduce the number of people killed or injured in road traffic. road safety will therefore certainly continue to be a part of the political agenda of the eu and its member states. however, the topics and activities of road safety policy that will determine the next few years are less apparent. official programmes usually provide an insight on a very general level only. for this reason, the austrian road safety board (kfv) has asked the erfurt university of applied sciences to carry out a policy analysis in order to clearly forecast the actions of the eu 2016-2020 in terms of road safety policy. the forecast aims at supporting the work programmes of public and private institutions as well as decision makers. method the study was based on an evaluation of programmes and legal acts of the past years as well as on expert opinions. from the results, conclusions were drawn on the activities and actions to be expected till 2020. results the results were structured according to the seven objectives defined by the european commission in its policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020. among others, the following developments can be expected in the near future:  the eu commission is revising several directives, most importantly the directive on initial qualification and periodic training for professional drivers (a proposal has already been published), the infrastructure directive (with a possible inclusion of all highways and a focus on motorcycles and its), and the tunnel safety directive.  other directives have been or are currently being evaluated and will most likely be revised in the future. this includes the driving license directive and the cross-border enforcement directive. apart from that, in the field of enforcement, only recommendations on the exchange of good-practice are expected.  technical vehicle safety and the promotion of the use of modern technology will gain more importance. a report on advanced vehicle safety features was published in december 2016, a proposal can be expected in 2017. in 2018, new directives on technical vehicle inspection are going to be applied in the member states. a “road package” has been published in may 2017, targeting electronic road toll systems, competition in commercial road transport as well as social conditions of professional drivers. c-its (cooperative its) are becoming a priority: based on a strategy published 2016, networked vehicles should be introduced by 2019. a review of the its action plan and doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i1.237 armin kaltenegger / the academic research community publication pg. 2 directive is pending.  driver distraction and the safety of senior road users are a subject of eu-funded research projects. results will be published within the next years. however, no legislative proposals are expected.  reducing the number of seriously injured will be a core objective in the future: a reduction goal of 50% has been set by the council of the european union for the period 2020-2030. the results show that the developments of the last years point towards a full and active agenda till 2020 and beyond. this roadmap will support all stakeholders in road safety in their contribution. 1. introduction 25,671 people were killed in road traffic accidents in the european union in 2016. therefore, despite all achievements of the past, there is still need for action in order to further reduce the number of road traffic injuries and fatalities. thus, road safety will still continue to be a part of the political agenda of the eu and its member states. however, the topics and activities of road safety policy that will determine the next few years are less obvious. official programmes usually provide an insight on a very general level only. in order to gain a clear and detailed picture of future eu actions in relation to road safety, the kfv (austrian road safety board) commissioned prof. mathias gather (gather, et al., 2016) of the erfurt university of applied sciences to conduct an analysis of the eu policies of recent years. the result of this analysis was a forecast predicting which topics and measures will be part of eu policy until 2020 and beyond. the objective was to make the forecast as clear as possible so that public and private institutions, as well as important decision-makers, can use it as a basis for their working programmes, budgets, and research focus. at the center of the policy analysis is the policy of the eu itself. in addition, a few selected european countries with a high level of road safety (sweden, norway, united kingdom and germany) were also considered. however, the present article focuses only on european policy. as a basis for the analysis, documents issued by the government and non-government stakeholders were evaluated systematically, focussing on the years 2010 – 2015. at the center of attention were core programmes defining the framework for road safety, particularly the eu’s road safety programme “towards a european road safety area: policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020” (european commission, 2011) and its interim evaluation (european commission, 2015b). directives and regulations, including proposals by the commission, were also systematically assessed. they often contain concrete instructions for the commission for further steps including a date for a mandatory report on the implementation of the legal act. these reports often form the basis for amendments to a legal act and include valuable information on possible topics and activities. the third type of documents included in the analysis were position statements of selected institutions operating on a european level, for instance, etsc (european transport safety council), fersi (forum of european road safety research institutes) and cieca (international commission for driver testing). in addition to this document analysis, interviews were conducted with experts who possess detailed insights into current and future policies. on a european level, those experts included members of the eu commission and eu parliament. the interviews were conducted with szabolcs schmidt (head of the road safety unit of dg move), susanne lindahl (road safety unit of dg move), michael cramer (mep), dr. dieter-lebrecht koch (mep). the document analysis and the expert interviews made it possible to draw conclusions on the developments in the second half of the current decade and to identify working fields and activities that are to be expected with high probability over the next few years. 2. outlook on the european road traffic policies the key document on a european level is “towards a european road safety area: policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020”, which specifies seven fields of action. these fields of action were used as a basis for the structure of the results of this study. over the next few years, the following developments can be expected in each of the target fields. 2.1. education and training of road users in the area of road safety education and driver training, the eu driving license directive (2006/126/ec) is currently being evaluated (move/c4/2016-100). the evaluation is conducted by imob (hasselt university, belgium) armin kaltenegger / the academic research community publication pg. 3 together with kfv (austria), the national technical university of athens (greece), etsc and the austrian state printing house. the study includes, among others, an evaluation of the driving license model, the category system, the regulations for driving examiners and the eu driving license network resper. the results are expected by the beginning of 2018; amendments based on the evaluation are likely. proposals for eu-wide standards on driver training and driving instructors (currently not regulated by the driving license directive) have been presented by cieca (cieca, 2015). furthermore, a study financed by the european commission on the topic of driver education (including the requirements for driving instructors), driver testing and fitness to drive has recently been published (trl, swov, bast, loughborough university, & monash university, 2017). the results provide a basis for the commission to assess in what respect initiatives by the eu would be useful. the directive for the initial and periodic training of professional drivers (2003/59/ec) has already been evaluated (panteia, research & mobility leuven, 2014) and a proposal for amendment has been published in february 2017 (com(2017) 47 final). the planned changes to the directive target several problematic areas that were identified. among others, the proposal includes an adaption of the contents of the training, measures for improved mutual recognition of the training and adaptions aiming at reducing interpretation difficulties. 2.2. increased enforcement of road rules important topics in the area of enforcing traffic regulations are the cross-border enforcement as well as onboard vehicle equipment to ensure compliance with regulations. the activities of the eu on these matters will rather be in the form of recommendations and the exchange of good-practice cases; legal acts are not to be expected. an evaluation of the directive facilitating the cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offenses ((eu) 2015/413), commissioned by the eu commission, was completed in the first half of 2016 (grimaldi studio legale, 2016). this evaluation not only confirmed the directive’s contribution to a better enforcement of road safety related traffic regulations and its economic benefit but also showed that the revenues surpass the costs. the recommendations of this study are particularly aimed at an improved application in the member states as well as more efficient procedures. furthermore, legislative amendments are also proposed, in particular, an assessment whether an eu-wide regulation could force vehicle owners of all member states to reveal the identity of the driver when required. in 2013 two important studies in the area of automotive technology were made public: an evaluation (transport & mobility leuven, tno, ce delft, trt, 2013) in relation to the directive on the installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor vehicles in the community (92/6/eec) contains recommendations for the expansion of the directive, namely the extension of its scope to light commercial vehicles as well as the equipment of all commercial utility vehicles with an isa-system (intelligent speed adoption). the study (ecorys, cowi, 2014) about the implementation of alcohol interlocks came to the conclusion that, among others, the exchange of experiences between all member states should be encouraged and the focus should be placed on harmonizing technical as well as cross-border aspects. in the meantime, significant progress has been made through the introduction of the eu-wide driving license code “69” for alcohol interlocks (directive (eu) 2015/653). furthermore, the study suggests the drafting of guidelines for the implementation of alcohol interlocks for drivers who have committed alcohol-related offenses and the observation of further technological developments. 2.3. safer road infrastructure the core legal act in the area of road traffic infrastructure is the directive on road safety management (2008/96/ec). it specifies coherent procedures in relation to road infrastructure safety management and applies to all roads in the trans-european road network that are being planned, built or already operational. the evaluation (transport & mobility leuven, trt, prospex, 2014) of the directive from 2014 is encouraging an extension of the scope to all motorways. an even higher benefit could be achieved through the extension to all roads, however, such an extension would lead to an increase in costs for the member states. the evaluation further recommends to increase the focus on motorcycles and to provide support for the distribution of its (intelligent transport systems) applications. the commission is also conducting an impact assessment of possible amendments with corresponding recommendations being expected in 2017. the directive on minimum safety requirements for tunnels in the trans-european road network (2004/54/ec) was also evaluated (icf consulting services, trt, 2015). depending on the outcome of the impact assessment, whose results should be available by the end of 2017, suggestions for amendments could be expected in 2018. 2.4. safer vehicles in the area of motor vehicle type approval, falling under the competence of the dg grow (directorate-general for internal market, industry entrepreneurship and smes), a report on the regulation concerning type-approval armin kaltenegger / the academic research community publication pg. 4 requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles ((ec) 661/2009) and the regulation on the protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users ((ec) 78/2009) was published in december 2016 (european commission, 2016a). the report focusses on advanced vehicle safety features and outlines key issues to be addressed in the review and possible update of the regulations. it presents 19 specific vehicle safety measures that appear to be feasible and cost-effective. based on the report, an impact assessment is carried out that will most likely lead to a proposal for amending both regulations, to be expected by mid-2017. the directives from the “roadworthiness package” dealing with the periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers (2014/45/eu), the vehicle registration documents (2014/46/eu) as well as the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles (2014/47/eu) have to be applied on a national level from 2018. 2.5. use of modern technologies to increase road safety the use of modern technologies will become one of the most important fields of action of the eu in the next few years. at the center of attention are c-its (cooperative intelligent transport systems), which allow vehicles to interact between themselves and with the road infrastructure. a “c-its platform” was brought to life in 2014. at the beginning of 2016, the platform presented a report (c-its platform, 2016) that served as a basis for the development of an eu strategy for the implementation of c-its. the strategy was published at the end of 2016 (european commission, 2016b). it identifies issues to be addressed at european level and proposes actions to ensure coordinated deployment of c-its services in 2019. in addition, the european transport ministers endorsed the declaration of amsterdam on cooperation in the field of connected and automated driving in april 2016. the declaration identifies actions for the member states, the european commission, and the industry to support the introduction of connected and automated driving. it aims at ensuring more coordinated approach between the member states and at european level to remove barriers and promote, among others, a consistent legal framework. the its directive (2010/40/eu), which sets a framework for the deployment of intelligent transport systems in the field of road transport, will also be further developed. regarding most of the its applications ranked as priority measures in the directive, uniform specifications have already been adopted in delegated regulations. this concerns, among others, the interoperable eu-wide ecall (see chapter 2.6), safe and secure truck parking lots and eu-wide real-time traffic information systems. the progress was analyzed in a report (european commission, 2014a) on the implementation of the its directive as well as in a progress report (european commission, 2014b) on the its action plan (european commission, 2008). based on these reports, the commission came to the conclusion that after the implementation of the designated measures, it will be necessary for a second step to reassess the directive and the action plan. a roadmap (european commission, 2017b) was published in march 2017, setting march 2018 as a completion date for the evaluation. as a first step, the period to adopt delegated legal acts, currently expiring on 26 august 2017, will be extended: the commission will be able to exert this power for another five years, with an automatic tacit extension after that (com(2017) 136 final). regarding the systems covered by the directive, longterm trends such as using crowdsourcing for traffic data, automated driving and the deployment of cooperative services are to be considered. next to the currently prioritized measures,, it could be necessary to determine new priorities. 2.6. emergency and post-injuries services a key measure in the area of emergency services is the eu-wide introduction of the onboard emergency call system ecall, which automatically dials the europe-wide emergency number 112 in the event of an accident and communicates the position of the vehicle. several legal acts have already been published: a regulation on type approval ((eu) 2015/758) regulating the mandatory installation of the system in passenger cars and light trucks starting 2018, a decision of the deployment of the interoperable eu-wide ecall service (585/2014/eu), a regulation ((eu) 305/2013) based on the its directive containing specifications for the psap (public safety answering points) infrastructure required for the proper receipt and handling of ecalls and recently two regulations specifying additional details concerning data protection and technical requirements and test procedures ((eu) 2017/78 and (eu) 2017/79). based on article 12 of the regulation on type approval, the commission should present an evaluation report by 31/3/2021 on the achievements and the penetration rate of the ecall system and assess whether the scope of the regulation should be extended to other vehicles as well. while the focus of road safety politics has so far been primarily on road traffic fatalities, seriously injured road users will be more at the center of attention in the near future. in this regard, a common european definition of serious injuries was agreed upon in 2013 (european commission, 2013). figures for seriously injured users of european roads were published for the first time for the year 2014: 135.000 (european commission, 2016c). a study on serious road traffic injuries in the eu has been financed by the commission and finalized in late 2016 (aarts, et al., 2016). after repeated requests both from ngos (etsc, 2016a) and the eu parliament (european parliament, 2016), the armin kaltenegger / the academic research community publication pg. 5 eu finally set a target of 50% reduction for the period 2020-2030 in june 2017 (council of the european union, 2017). 2.7. protection of vulnerable road users in july 2017, the council of the european union endorsed conclusions on road safety where it is stated that the safety of vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists – is of special concern as accident rates are particularly high (council of the european union, 2017). the commission is asked to enhance the protection of vulnerable road users by ensuring the deployment of new safety features for vehicles. similarly, etsc published a position statement (etsc, 2016b) in 2016 which demands a revision of the regulation on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to the protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users ((ec) 78/2009). at the moment, an impact assessment is carried as a preparation for a possible amendment of the regulation and changes are expected (see chapter 2.4). the safety of older road users has become a central activity field in light of the current demographic trends. this was recognized by the eu commission in its policy orientations (european commission, 2011). a recent study (imob, ntua, lab, erf, 2015) recommends measures in the areas of infrastructure, awareness-raising, driving license and medical fitness as well as vehicle technology, particularly driver assistance systems. the eu commission could become active in the area of vehicle technology and promote the exchange of experience. legal measures in relation to driver licensing, such as medical tests and a restricted validity of the driving license, would be possible. however, there is currently no consensus on this topic between the member states, so no regulation is to be expected. 2.8. further topics a road traffic package called “europe on the move” (european commission, 2017a) was presented by the commission in may 2017. it aims at promoting clean, competitive and connected mobility and comprises a wideranging set of initiatives in different areas of road transport. the package includes, among others, legislative proposals regarding the interoperability of electronic road toll systems as well as regarding competitive conditions in commercial road transport and social conditions of professional drivers. over the next years, activities outside of the seven goals already set in the policy orientations can also be expected. for instance, studies on the topic of distraction are being financed (european commission, 2015a). additionally, gender aspects (higher risk of male road users) could gain importance over the next few years (european commission, 2015b). 3. summary until recently, there has been a steady and promising downwards trend of road traffic fatalities. meeting the common target in the eu of halving the number of road deaths seemed realistic. however, the reduction has come to a halt during the last three years. the reduction target may therefore not be met unless further efforts are made. in march 2017 (valetta declaration, 2017) and again in june 2017 (council of the european union, 2017) the transport ministers of the eu member states took action and stressed the continuing importance of joint and determined efforts to improve road safety. they listed several topics that require particular attention in the coming years, including vulnerable road users, connected and automated driving, post-collision care, influencing the behavior of road users and developing a europe-wide road safety culture. these latest developments and the results of the study point towards a full and active agenda till 2020 and beyond. 4. list of cited documents commission delegated regulation (eu) 2017/79 of 12 september 2016 establishing detailed technical requirements and test procedures for the ec type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to their 112-based ecall in-vehicle systems, of 112-based ecall in-vehicle separate technical units and components and supplementing and amending regulation (eu) 2015/758 of the european parliament and of the council with regard to the exemptions and applicable standards commission delegated regulation (eu) no 305/2013 of 26 november 2012 supplementing directive 2010/40/eu of the european parliament and of the council with regard to the harmonized provision for an interoperable euwide ecall commission directive (eu) 2015/653 of 24 april 2015 amending directive 2006/126/ec of the european parliament and of the council on driving licenses commission implementing regulation (eu) 2017/78 of 15 july 2016 establishing administrative provisions for the ec type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to their 112-based ecall in-vehicle systems and uniform armin kaltenegger / the academic research community publication pg. 6 conditions for the implementation of regulation (eu) 2015/758 of the european parliament and of the council with regard to the privacy and data protection of users of such systems council directive 92/6/eec of 10 february 1992 on the installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor vehicles in the community decision no 585/2014/eu of the european parliament and of the council of 15 may 2014 on the deployment of the interoperable eu-wide ecall service directive (eu) 2015/413 of the european parliament and of the council of 11 march 2015 facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offenses directive (eu) 2015/719 of the european parliament and of the council of 29 april 2015 amending council directive 96/53/ec laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the community the maximum authorized dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorized weights in international traffic directive 2003/59/ec of the european parliament and of the council of 15 july 2003 on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, amending council regulation (eec) no 3820/85 and council directive 91/439/eec and repealing council directive 76/914/eec directive 2004/54/ec of the european parliament and of the council of 29 april 2004 on minimum safety requirements for tunnels in the trans-european road network directive 2006/126/ec of the european parliament and of the council of 20 december 2006 on driving licenses (recast) (text with eea relevance) directive 2008/96/ec of the european parliament and of the council of 19 november 2008 on road infrastructure safety management directive 2010/40/eu of the european parliament and of the council of 7 july 2010 on the framework for the deployment of intelligent transport systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other modes of transport directive 2014/45/eu of the european parliament and of the council of 3 april 2014 on periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers and repealing directive 2009/40/ec directive 2014/46/eu of the european parliament and of the council of 3 april 2014 amending council directive 1999/37/ec on the registration documents for vehicles directive 2014/47/eu of the european parliament and of the council of 3 april 2014 on the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the union and repealing directive 2000/30/ec proposal for a decision of the european parliament and of the council amending directive 2010/40/eu as regards the period for adopting delegated acts, com(2017) 136 final proposal for a directive of the european parliament and of the council amending directive 2003/59/ec on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers and directive 2006/126/ec on driving licenses, com(2017) 47 final proposal for a directive of the european parliament and of the council amending directive 2003/59/ec on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers and directive 2006/126/ec on driving licenses, com/2017/047 final regulation (ec) no 78/2009 of the european parliament and of the council of 14 january 2009 on the typeapproval of motor vehicles with regard to the protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, amending directive 2007/46/ec and repealing directives 2003/102/ec and 2005/66/ec regulation (ec) no 661/2009 of the european parliament and of the council of 13 july 2009 concerning typeapproval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles, their trailers and systems, components and separate technical units intended therefor regulation (eu) 2015/758 of the european parliament and of the council of 29 april 2015 concerning typeapproval requirements for the deployment of the ecall in-vehicle system based on the 112 service and amending directive 2007/46/ec tender move/c4/2016-100 for a contract regarding a study on the implementation of directive 2006/126/ec on driving licenses armin kaltenegger / the academic research community publication pg. 7 5. references 1. aarts, l., commandeur, j., welsh, r., niesen, s., lerner, m., thomas, p., . . . davidse, r. 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(2017). study on driver training, testing and medical fitness. retrieved july 6, 2017, from https://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/sites/roadsafety/files/dl_study_on_training_testing_med_fitness.pdf 30. valetta declaration. (2017). valletta declaration on road safety. retrieved july 6, 2017, from https://www.eu2017.mt/en/documents/valletta_declaration_on_improving_road_safety.pdf http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.385 utilization of saline water on the mechanical properties for unbounded granular materials sherif adel el sharkawy1 1lecturer of highway engineering, dept. of civil engineering, faculty of engineering, canadian international college, cairo, egypt abstract it is well-known that three quarters of the world contain saline water. the saline water contains amounts of salt dissolved in water to a concentration of parts in per millions (ppm) includes sodium chloride, sodium sulfate and magnesium sulfate. compaction of base coarse layer is usually done by water which is considered tap water. cites near shores often need coastal roads to act as service roads parallel to shore lines. for this matter, the use of saline water in compaction is considered a main objective in this situation due to the decrease in transportation cost of tap water used in hauling and compaction of base coarse layer. this research studies the effect of saline water on the mechanical properties of the unbounded granular material used in base coarse layer. the study compares the results between the use of saline water and standard tap water by subjecting both samples to different lab tests such as california baring ratio (cbr) and modified proctor. the results showed that saline water could be used successfully in the operation of constructing base coarse layer with good results concerning the amount of absorbed water content and maximum dry density of the base coarse layer which will result in good compaction. in addition, the cbr test results showed high evaluation of strength for samples contained saline water. the study used dolomite material for base coarse layer from jabal ataqa as one of the most used aggregate types in egypt through construction. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords saline water; cbr test; modified proctor test; base coarse layer; water content; maximum dry density. 1. introduction the main function of a base coarse layer in a flexible pavement is to provide sufficient cover over the subgrade, to decrease the stresses and strains induced by traffic loading so that subgrade shear failure does not occur and does not densify significantly, in addition, to a loss of shape for the pavement surface. to perform sufficiently, the base coarse must have a number of physical and mechanical properties such as stability, durability, impermeability and workability to ensure adequate strength and stiffness under the applied traffic loads and the strength is maintained during its designed service life. to be suitable for use as base coarse material, gravel must be capable of developing an adequate bond between the bituminous surfacing and the base course, which is enhanced by a degree of penetration of the first bituminous application into the base course surface. on the other hand, it is well known that saline water affect the road infra-structure negatively. the addition of salt pg. 369 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ adel el sharkawy / the academic research community publication in water with high levels of moisture is considered one of the main causes of pavement distress. salt damage is mostly common in warm coastal regions. the damage caused to pavements by saline water had been the subject of a number of studies. this negative affect from saline water was due to the powdering phenomenon to base course. it is considered a common form of distress. it is revealed as loss of all cohesion beneath the surfacing. the result is a lack of bond between the surface treated and the base. this could easily result in failure under traffic (pirlea and burlacu, 2008) 2. background a number of laboratory tests were conducted with mixtures of different soils containing gravel with clay adding rock salt. the lab tests done were compaction, atterberg limits, cbr, unconfined compression strength, and indirect tensile strength. salt content was differentiated from 0.5 to 2.5% by dry weight. the 0.5% salt content was found to have no influence on the liquid or plastic limit. in addition, slight decrease in the liquid limit and a slight increase in the plastic limit were observed with increasing salt content. through using the modified compaction test the dry unit weight was found to increase with salt content and the optimum water content was reduced by salt treatment. the cbr test showed significant greater cbr values for salt treated samples (singh and das,1999). in another study, high saline water utilization was discussed through a number of lab tests, it was found that the presence of natural salts was found to have a positive effect on granular pavements but a negative impact on bituminous mixtures. in some cases, salts were found to have a very small positive effect on the tensile strength of the pavement material, which was likely related to clay chemistry interactions. in other cases regarding crystallization, salt mixtures were observed to form bonds with the pavement material, which led to a significant increase in tensile strength and some increase in shear strength (de carteret et al., 2010) and (liu et al., 2015). further studies on the effect of water in embankment of pavement were conducted, the study illustrated that water had played a primary impact role on embankment of pavement. it showed that water or moisture was one of the most important and partly unsolved parameters related to the deterioration of roads. it had an influence on the modulus of pavement layers and on the resistance against permanent deformation. in addition, knowledge of moisture conditions in unbound pavement layers and subgrade soils were essential to predict the mechanical behavior of these materials in pavements, and to improve the design of pavements and their drainage systems. the main objective of the research was is to increase the knowledge required for improving the highway performance and minimize the leaching of contaminants from roads and traffic. finally, the research concluded that the improvement of pavement performance will lead to less road closures, better use of the road network, longer service life and more effective transportation of goods and people (boman and gustafson, 2001). another study, focused on sodium material presented in salt. it was for stabilization in clay soil, and desired compaction was obtained with less effort. it resulted in weak bond between soil particles. it was concluded that a increase in the strength and stability in the layer, it was shown that salt had considerable use in stabilizing the surface of dirt roads with low traffic volume. when the mixture of salt, soil, and water are compacted, the mixture dries as a result of recrystallized salt that makes the resulting surface dense and hard. the salt strengthens the smaller soil particles together with the large particles. in addition, when adding salt to the mixture, water should be added to obtain a moisture content within one to two percent of optimum. the salt crystals should be completely dissolved and the mixture should barely stick to equipment tires. in field, the mixture should be well graded and rolled with a pneumatic-tired roller. the road surface should have a glazed appearance and no moisture should arise on the surface. it was concluded that the effect of water type on compaction properties of soil is relatively small. optimum moisture content and maximum dry density increases respectively with increase in salinity of water. the reasons suggested were that soil is not saturated and particles weren’t soaked in water. in this condition the soil particles cannot interact freely with salts in water (alamdar, 1999). further studies of effects for high salinity water on soil compaction had been done by applying tests on both pg. 370 adel el sharkawy / the academic research community publication natural soils and soils manufactured in the lab by combining a natural clayey soil with coarse grained sand. the study applied modified proctor on selected samples. it was concluded that the use of high salinity water generally increased the maximum unit weight and decreased the optimum water content. the study performed california bearing ratio (cbr) tests on manufactured sand-clay mixtures used in compaction testing. the cbr test results showed a significant increase in cbr values for samples compacted with highly saline water (azadi et al., 2008). in addition, a research studied the use of saline water versus fresh water. the use of salt water resulted in increasing the maximum dry unit weight and decreased the optimum water content. the study also drew the attention there could be a major drawback from using high salinity water in compaction of soils. the reason was the increased corrosiveness of soil due to the ions present in the water. it was concluded that the use of saline water during compaction had a significant effect on several soil characteristics (waller and kitch, 2014). finally, from all studies mentioned above, using saline water should be considered a matter of study and should be put under several lab tests especially when source of tap water tanks isn’t available or far away from site. this study puts the light on this area of research through a number of tests to be able to understand its effect on granular unbounded materials used in base coarse layer. 3. problem statement the use of saline water has been a main concern to all countries that are located beside seas and oceans especially for road works. one of the main boundaries from using it, is the high concentration of salt dissolved in the water that could affect the workability and properties of materials due to the powdering of salt on the base coarse layer. the salt weakens the bond between aggregates which lead to failure due to load repetition under high traffic. 4. research methodology and objective 4.1. material sampling and testing in this research, the materials were sampled from actual aggregates collected from actual base coarse layer contains aggragates type dolomite gained from jabal ataqa. this kind of dolomite is considered one of the most used aggregate types in egypt through construction. preparation of samples followed closely cbr testing and modified proctor testing procedure in accordance with egyptian specifications which is followed american society for testing and materials (astm) d1883 and astm d1557. the study aims at utilizing saline water gathered from the mediterranean sea in alexandria to be used for compaction regarding unbounded materials used for construction in base coarse layer. the study focuses on making a comparison between using tap water and saline water on unbounded materials used in base coarse layer. the comparison was made using a number of lab tests such as cbr and modified proctor testing. to achieve this aim an experimental program using a sample from a stock pile in field contained crushed dolomite type 6 resulted from crushers. the source of materials were from jabal ataqa. the mixture contained a variety of materials such as coarse aggregates, fine aggregates and crushed sand. the mixture was subjected to a number of lab tests such as eligibility tests for materials, cbr and modified proctor test. through these tests, saline water was used to evaluate the effect of salinity on the mixture of base coarse layer and the results are compared with the results from using standard tap water. 5. experimental work 5.1. eligibility tests applied on materials the tests done in order to were sieve analysis, resistance to abrasion of small size coarse aggregate by use of los angles machine, aggregate specific gravity & absorption and elastic and plastic plasticity test. pg. 371 adel el sharkawy / the academic research community publication 5.1.1. sieve analysis test sieve analysis test was performed on aggregate components to satisfy specifications according to egyptian specifications and astm. the samples were taken from a stock pile in field contained crushed dolomite type 6 resulted from crushers taken from jabal ataqa. the results are summarized in table (1). table 1. accepted percentage of passing forstandard mix due to sieve analysis for aggregates used in base course mixture sieve number weight retained (gm) cumulative weight (gm) ratio of retained (%) ratio of passing (design curve) (%) specifications for base coarse layer according to egyptian code % passing sieve 2” ——— ——— ——— 100 100 % passing sieve 1.5” 7300 7300 11.6 88.4 70 100 % passing sieve 1” 5900 13200 21 79 55 85 % passing sieve 3/4” 8800 22000 34.9 65.1 50 80 % passing sieve 1/2” 6950 28950 46 54 ——— % passing sieve no. 3/8” 5100 34050 54 46 40 70 % passing sieve no. 4 8150 42200 67 33 30 60 % passing sieve no. 10 4800 47000 74.6 25.4 20 50 % passing sieve no. 40 6000 53000 84.1 15.9 10 30 % passing sieve no. 200 4450 57450 91.2 8.8 5 15 the other tests done for eligibility testing were resistance to abrasion (los angles test), aggregate specific gravity, absorption, liquid limit and plastic limit. total weight of specimen used was 63000 gm. the results are summarized in table (2). table 2. eligibility testing results for aggregate materials regarding base coarse mixture crushing test water type tap water saline water egyptian specifications specimens dolomitic aggregates dolomitic aggregates crushing ratio (%) 0.7 0.7 not more than 5 % absorption and specific gravity for dolomitic aggregates material continued on next page pg. 372 adel el sharkawy / the academic research community publication table 2 continued specimens tap water saline water egyptian specifications % absorption 2.30 2.46 not more than 10 % total unit weight 2.503 2.496 ——— dry unit weight 2.561 2.558 ——— apparent unit weight 2.656 2.659 ——— los angeles (l.a.) abrasion loss test specimens dolomitic aggregates egyptian specifications egyptian specifications abrasion ratio after 500 rounds 28.5 not more than 50 % not more than 50 % liquid limit and plastic limit (atterberg limit test) (passing from sieve 40) test type result of test (eye inspection) egyptian specifications liquid limit none plastic not more than 30 % plastic limit not more than 6 % the results for eligibility testing indicated that the materials used in the research were in permissible ranges according to egyptian specifications. after testing the physical properties of the materials, the following step is to test the materials mechanical properties through modified proctor test and cbr test. 5.2. modified proctor test laboratory compaction tests provide the basis for determining the percent of compaction and water content needed to achieve the required maximum dry density need for sufficient engineering properties, and for controlling construction to assure that the required compaction and water contents are reached. in the proctor test, the soil is first air dried and separated into 4 samples which are placed in 10.16 cm in diameter soil mold. the water content of each sample is adjusted by adding water from 2 to 10% to reach maximum dry density. the mixture is then placed and compacted in the proctor compactor mold in three different layers where each layer receives 25 blows of the standard hammer. after compaction for each layer, the surface is scratched in order to ensure distribution uniformity for the compaction effects. at the end of the test, after drying the sample, the dry density and the water content of the sample is determined. based on the results, a relation is plotted for the dry unit weight and the water content. in this relation, the maximum dry density regarding the optimum water content can be obtained. the results for base coarse sample using saline water and tap water are illustrated in table (3) and plotted in figure (1). table 3. modified pro ctor test results for base mixture using saline water and tap water pg. 373 adel el sharkawy / the academic research community publication figure 1. relation between dry density and water content (modified proctor test) 5.3. cbr testing the cbr test was developed as a method of evaluating the strength of the base course layer. it is a measurement of resistance to penetration for a standard plunger under specific density and moisture conditions. cbr test had been used to determine the material properties for pavement design and to evaluate the soil strength. the test used a standard piston with a diameter of 50 mm for penetration of the soil at a rate of 1.25 mm/minute. cbr value is calculated as a percentage of the actual load causing the penetrations of 2.5 mm or 5.0 mm to standard loads which are 1370 kg and 2055 kg due to standard crushed stones at 2.5 mm and 5.0 mm penetrations respectively. the samples are divided in two groups as similar to the proctor test. the apparatus consists of a mould 150 mm pg. 374 adel el sharkawy / the academic research community publication diameter with a base plate and a collar, loading frame and dial gauges for measuring the penetration values and the expansion when soaking as shown in figure (2). figure 2. cbr test apparatus the duration of soaking in water was for approximately four days and both the swelling and water absorption values were noted. the surcharge weight was placed on top of the specimen in the mould and the assembly was placed under the plunger of the loading frame. finally, a relation between load and penetration was plotted and two value of cbr were obtained using equation (1). cbr = load due to penetration o f sample load due to s tandard specimen × 100 (1) the higher value between 2.5 mm and 5.0 mm penetration is selected. both results from using saline water and tap water are summarized in table (4) and the relation between load and penetration is shown in figure (3). table 4. cbr test results for samples containing saline water and tap water swelling test water type tap water saline water a=initial reading of micrometer 1 1 b=final reading of micrometer 1 1 swelling ratio= (a-b/(container height))*100 0 0 result no swelling detected cbr test penetration in cm 0.0635 339.75 317.1 continued on next page pg. 375 adel el sharkawy / the academic research community publication table 3 continued 0.127 588.9 634.2 0.1905 906 906 0.254 1177.8 1132.5 0.381 1449.6 1472.25 0.508 1812 1766.7 load at 2.5mm (kg) 1177.8 1133 cbr at 2.5 mm (%) 86.7 83.3 load at 5 mm(kg) 1812 1767 cbr at 5 mm(%) 88.9 86.7 figure 3. obtained stress from relationbetween load and penetration 6. analysis of results: from results summarized in table (3) and figure (1), it is shown that maximum dry density from using saline water is slightly lower than of using tap water. in addition, the water content in samples containing saline water is higher than the ones from tap water. this is due to effect of saline water which increased the moisture ratio in the samples from 6.4% to 7.3%. this action decreased the maximum dry density from 2.2 to 2.18 gm/cm3. in order to check these results, the ratio of saline in water content is quite variable from a sea to another but if the ratio of saline concentration in water was assumed to be 35% percent mostly, then this ratio can be calculated as in equation (2). ratio o f moisture content in saline water = (7.3 ∗ (35%) \ 100) = 0.025% (2) the previous mentioned ratio is quite small and could be neglected. besides, the results from samples containing saline water remained within permissible ranges regarding egyptian specification. other considerable aspect is the type of aggregates used in this study which is the dolomitic aggregates. it is considered a dense graded aggregate material which contains minimum voids that increases the weight of sample in compaction process. furthermore, from results summarized in table (4) and figure (3), it showed that cbr values from samples added saline water are also slightly lower from samples used tap water but also still in permissible ranges. this is also due to the decreased maximum dry density which affected the stress to which the sample can endure during cbr testing. pg. 376 adel el sharkawy / the academic research community publication 7. conclusions and recommendations – in the process of road construction, the use of saline water is a major concern especially when tap water isn’t available or even far from site to decrease costs. – dolomitic aggregates were slightly affected by saline water due to the density of these aggregates which minimized voids between the aggregate particles which increased the weight of sample in compaction process. – maximum dry density in samples containing saline water was slightly deceased from samples using tap water from 2.2 to 2.18 gm/cm3. – the water content in samples containing saline water increased from the ones containing tap water from 6.4% to 7.3%. – results from the modified proctor test regarding saline water remained within the permissible ranges according to egyptian specifications. – results from cbr testing regarding saline water samples also remained within the permissible ranges according to egyptian specifications. – the concentration of saline in sea water is considered part per million and this doesn’t affect the base mixture mechanical properties if used with dense graded unbounded materials due to minimum air voids. – saline water didn’t affect the bond between the aggregates in the whole base mixture considering compaction. – further studies should be done on other types of aggregates with saline water used in egypt such as limestone. 8. references 1. astm d1883.”standard test method for cbr (california bearing ratio) of laboratory-compacted soils”, american society for testing and materials, usa 2. astm d1557. “standard test methods for laboratory compaction characteristics of soil using modified effort”, american society for testing and materials, usa. 3. alamdar ss (1999). “long term effect of saline water on clay”. m.sc thesis, faculty of engineering, tarbiat modares university, iran. 4. azadi m.r. e, sadein m., jafari k. and jajani., (2008). “the effects of salt wateron the cbr test results of gscw and gsbw soil samples”. electronic, journal of geotechnical engineering, usa, 13, 1-17. 5. boman b. and gustafson k. (2001). “water movement in road pavements and embankments”. european cooperation in the field of science and technical research, p02 2001, sweden. 6. de carteret r., buzzi o. p., fityus s. g. and liu x. f., (2010). “effect of naturally occurring salts on tensile and shear strength of sealed granular road pavements”, journal of materials in civil engineering, american society of civil engineering (asce), usa. 7. liu x. f., de carteret r., buzzi o. p. and fityus s. g. (2015).” microstructural effects of environmental salinity on unbound granular road pavement material upon drying, journal of acta geotechnic, springerverlag berlin heidelberg. doi 10.1007/s11440-015-0393-9. pg. 377 adel el sharkawy / the academic research community publication 8. pirelea o., burlacu a., (2008). “the influence of sea water on promenade pavement”. journal of recent advances in civil and mining engineering, department of roads, railways and construction materials technical university of civil engineering bucharest, romania. 9. singh g. and das b. m. (1999). “soil stabilization with sodium chloride”, transportation research record. 1673, p 46-54, washington, usa. 10. waller j d. and kitch w a., (2014). “use of saline water in compaction of engineered fills”. conference paper in geotechnical special publication, geo-congress 2014 technical papers, gsp 234, american society of civil engineering (asce), usa. pg. 378 introduction background problem statement research methodology and objective material sampling and testing experimental work eligibility tests applied on materials sieve analysis test modified proctor test cbr testing analysis of results: conclusions and recommendations references http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) reflections of feminism in contemporary mural painting between occidental and oriental societies doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.117 zeinab nour 1 1 associate professor, painting department, mural painting specialty. faculty of fine arts, helwan university, cairo, egypt. keywords feminism; public art; mural painting; graffiti; street art; women rights; girls; social traditions; identity; culture; east; west; occident; oriental; egypt; usa; europe. abstract feminism as a global movement was and is still working on achieving women rights & liberation in different ways and by using different tools. art in general and mural painting as a public art in specific, are very eloquent tools to help present feminist causes to different societies. these societies vary from a nation to another, from a culture to another, depending on the extent of suffering that women endure and also depending on how strong the feminist movement is in that particular society. despite the fact that feminism is a global movement, each society's identity is reflected differently in such kinds of arts, especially when looking at occidental and oriental worlds where ethics and traditions are distinctly different. these differences shall be normally reflected in contemporary public art, like in subjects, messages, styles, and even concerning the amount of the architectural or structural available areas for such kind of arts. this is what the researcher will try to clarify through a kind of analytical comparison between occidental and oriental societies concerning the feminist movement. this includes its murals as a public art, especially in egypt where feminist public art can be considered limited, the matter that may lead to some significant conclusions about the importance of such art, its role and its effect on the society. 1. introduction feminism is a group of different social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, driven by motives related to women's causes and rights in the aim of reinforcing developed, stable and strong societies. in general, feminism doesn't, in any way, mean to stand against men as much as it means standing by oppressed women worldwide until they get their rights, equally to men, especially in education and employment. it is worth mentioning here that there is no unified global version of feminism to represent all feminists, thus, feminist causes can vary from a nation to another, from a culture to another, depending on the level of suffering and social ethics and beliefs. of course, what some activists are seeking for in one society may be rejected by other activists in another society and it also depends on how strong feminism itself is as an active movement in this society. in general and logically, global feminism has a number of common goals like stopping all kinds of violence against women, demanding for equality in voting, education and employment. there is no need any more to talk about the importance of women as communities members or as pillars in society, they represent one half of a society and talking about axioms in this research may be considered a loss of time. on the other hand and despite these mentioned axioms, it is common in the eastern societies to think that feminism as a movement is against men, religion and ethics, which is not right. this misinformation may be diffused on the hand of anti-feminist groups or freedom 's enemies to frighten societies from the feminist idea as if it's pure danger zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 2 to life. therefore, more transparency, awareness and knowledge are needed to enlighten people in these countries and to facilitate the efforts of feminist activists and art as visual arts especially can play a very eloquent and important role in doing this job. it is also necessarily to mention here that this research should be considered as just a minor spotlight on feminist arts in oriental societies ,especially egypt, because the subject is full of details and worth more studies to cover the whole story for a better understanding and to ensure its continuity. 2. feminism history 2.1. brief western feminism history they say art is the mirror of societies, they also say that art can be the inspiration for a society. between this and that, one cannot imagine talking about a certain trend of art without talking about the political, economical and social circumstances that were beyond this art, especially when it's an activist art. from now on, this research will delve deeper into historical details that represent the start of feminist art, which is a form of activist art. charles fourier, a utopian socialist and french philosopher, is credited with having coined the word "féminisme" in 1837, as an expression (goldstein, leslie f.,1982). it was first known in france in 1872 and later in other european countries and the united states of america. three waves were historically known about modern western feminist movements, the first was during the 19th century and early twentieth century. its focus was on giving women rights to vote and one of the most important productions that came after this wave was the remarkable book ‘the second sex’ of the french philosopher simone de beauvoir who gave within it a marxist solution and a wide view on many of the questions of feminism in 1949. the second wave was during the late 1960s and it was known by the "women's liberation movement" in the united states, united kingdom, and other developed countries. the wave continued to fight for voting rights, the reform of family laws which gave husbands control over their wives, and to abolish marital exemption in rape laws which precluded the prosecution of husbands for the rape of their wives. as a wave, it is considered the most significant one among the three feminist waves concerning its impact on women’s rights achievements, as well as on art. thus, this wave had another significant phenomenon called ‘the feminist art’, through which a different type of art was rising on the hands of female artists to highlight a woman’s life, art and achievements away from patriarchal art that failed to represent women’s causes or express their suffering worldwide. the researcher intends to delve deeper into this matter given the direct relation it has with the topic of this research. as for the third wave, it began in the early 1990’s in the united states of america, and despite the fact that this recent wave is closer to our contemporary time, it was demanding a higher ceiling for women rights especially concerning sexual issues, as well as stopping ‘glass ceiling’ practices that impede women's advancement in developed economies. even though it was mainly raised to perceive failures of the second wave and to avoid its mistakes, the third wave was widely open to internal debates between different feminists. there were arguments about equal treatment for women compared to men, in addition to what was called post-feminism. all together are not considered as significant points to highlight in this research which only focuses on the art side without delving deeper in the feminism debates nor its theory in general, the fear of feminism in conservative societies, especially closed religious ones, has acquired its magnitude from the focus on the difference of opinions regarding specific points like issues concerning sexuality for instance, while feminism is much more than these issues. basically, feminism is a human call for stopping all kinds of violence against women, demanding for equality in voting, education and employment and such basic social rights, and these basic human calls can't be a threat to any society, but on the contrary, it's a reinforcement for a better society. the feminist concept may have found difficulties on its way into the eastern part of the world, especially in the middle east where misunderstood or misinterpreted religious concepts and old traditions still represent an unwritten constitutions. thus, and as previously mentioned, this misinformation about feminism may have been diffused on the hand of freedom 's enemies to frighten societies from the feminist idea as a whole. therefore, more transparency, awareness and knowledge are needed to enlighten people in these countries. so, what is probably more powerful than arts to do this mission? that is what this research tries to explore and therefore, in the following parts, the researcher will highlight feminism in the middle east, where egypt is to be our example for its important location as a gate between the north and the south, the east and the west. egypt also has a cultural influence on the whole area and its currently living an ongoing feminist experiment, even though the movement started very early in the history of global feminism. feminism in egypt as an artist, one has a number of friends from the east where the arab gulf extends, and to the west where the moroccan countries exist. it is widely known that when one arab from one of those sides meets another from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/marxist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/family_law zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 3 latter side, they speak in the egyptian dialect in order to understand one another. from this, the impact of the egyptian culture appears on what is called "the arab world", which is not really arabic in its different roots nor parts, but it is usually referred to as such because of the common used language after the rise of islam. its worth mentioning here that each country in the arab world speaks arabic in its own way that may differ widely from one country to another depending on its historical, cultural and ethnic roots. however, the egyptian dialect is very well known to all the eastern countries due to the modern historical influence of the egyptian cinema and music industries since the beginnings of the 20th century. this is why egypt was chosen as a model for the feminist movement in this research, noticing that this choice doesn't necessarily mean that this model was applicable in other countries of this part of the world where women might be suffering from different kinds of problems, thus different aspects of activism from here to there are also available. in comparison to the western feminist movement with regards to its date and demands, egypt was almost on a parallel track with this global movement especially during the first two waves. in the year 1805, egypt started to get rid of the dark age of the ottoman occupation and its oppressive feudal system on the hand of muhammad ali pasha, the albanian commander who is considered the founder of modern egypt due to the enormous military, economic and cultural reforms that he was responsible for. this resulted in more social movements, more opened windows to the western world, especially concerning education and scholarships for egyptian students to europe in almost all fields. after that, egypt has fallen under the british occupation with its capitalist system in 1882, which in spite of its brutality and barbaric exploitation to the country, it has more or less continued to put egypt on the map. it’s worth mentioning that although the occupation was british, the cultural tendencies of the ruling class in egypt by this time has always been french. this was evident in the life of the elites, elegant men and women french "etiquette", language, fashion and of course in their french schools in all egypt's big cities. this all had an effect on the feminist activity in egypt due to the aspiration of this ruling class to make egypt similar to europe, especially france. given the aforementioned reasons, egypt was on the track of modernity where the feminist movement was a necessity to establish this modernizing goal. it was not easy for egyptian women to transition from one era called the "harem" established by the ottoman culture, where women were not allowed to leave their homes except under certain conditions and after the permission of their "men" (fathers, brothers, husbands or even sons) to the era of education, science, art, employment and enlightenment. however, this change was inevitable and convictional, not only by patriot women, but also and more importantly by the help and support of the enlightened regime as well as progressive egyptian men who were aiming to get back a strong advanced egypt after too many years of darkness, colonization and occupation. on the internet, there is false infromation that claims that the modern feminist movement in egypt started between (1923–1939), as the egyptian feminist union (efu) was founded by the former leader of the women's committee in the wafd party, hoda shaarawi. this was after her participation in an international feminist conference in rome in 1923 along with nabawiyya moussa and ceza nabarwi (jayawardena, kumari, 1981). however, one can say that the feminist movement has seen the light in egypt long before that date. going back to the year 1873 when jeshem afet hanimefendi, khedive ismail pasha's wife has inaugurated the first girl public school in egypt using her own money, this school could be considered the first light of feminism in egypt because before that time, girls were not allowed to get educated, except maybe some girls who were home schooled. it is worth mentioning that jeshem was a slave one day before being liberated then married to khedive ismail, which might explain where her determination was been born. this initiative has encouraged other numerous elites to send their girls to schools, and later to sponsor and support education for girls. the school was inaugurated after the publication of the book of refaa el-tahtawy, the well known egyptian writer, teacher, translator, egyptologist and renaissance intellectual who has spoken about this concept in his book "al-murshid al-amin lil banat wa al-banin" (the faithful guide for girls and boys) published in 1873 (labib rizk, younan. 2002). it is now clear that feminism in egypt rose far before the famous revolutionary books of kassem amin, the well known egyptian intellectual writer, "liberation of the woman" in 1899 and "the new woman" in 1901. these famous books were considered by some historians as the first action of feminism in egypt while they were actually preceded by the enlightened perception of refaa el-tahtawy in 1873, who was himself one of the first scholarship beneficiaries to paris. the egyptian feminist union (efu) was founded after 1923 in an environment that was previously groomed and prepared for major feminist changes since the end of the 19th century. even though these changes were not fast nor accurate, it was obvious that a new era was about to begin for the egyptian woman much before other women in the arab region. these changes spread in almost all kinds of fields, from literature, cinema, theatre, visual arts, journalism, universities, law, sports and eventually to politics. however, after considering egypt’ feminist history and now looking at the present situation, it seems like something is unbecoming. how could there be such a powerful modern start but still a large number of women https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rome zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 4 who suffer in egypt and the arab region in general? by egypt or the arab region, this research refers to women and girls in low, poor and uneducated levels in the social pyramid of these countries. the answer has to be in the time period between these two ages, there was an interruption in the rhythm of feminism in egypt and that might have started during the sixties and seventies of the 20th century. in general, the feminist activity in egypt deteriorated after 1952 when the army seized power in egypt as "the ruling revolution command council" ordered the dissolution of all political parties including all independent women's movements. despite that, and despite the fact that gamal abdel nasser initiated "state feminism", more rights were gained by women during his regime, like the right of voting and running for elections in the 1956 constitution for the first time. it seems that at this time, there were remaining strong solid activists like dorria shafik who were the reason why such gains were obtained. however, with the obstruction of the feminist activity itself, things were not continuing on the same previous track. in time, there were no longer enough groups, parties or coherent entities of activist voices to stand in the face of deterioration that appeared later, there was always some individual voices here or there, but there weren’t any strong built feminist movements. during the seventies, a stringent islamic trend started to invade egypt due to a lot of reasons and circumstances. in general, it started to happen when egyptian presidents reconciled with islamists, especially the muslim brotherhood. gamal abdel nasser was the first to do it, but then he disagreed with them and began to arrest a large number of their leaders especially after their attempt to assassin him in 1954. after that, president al-sadat, who opened the prison doors, allowed the brotherhood to move in streets and villages and rural areas where they could gain control on the majority of the simple poor people across the religious and political platforms. during this time, some egyptians emigrated to the arab gulf land for oil business and big money and later returned with severe religious ideas and life concepts. their return was also within the new political circumstance provided by al-sadat’s reconciliation with islamists. all of these events, situations and more have come together to put the egyptian woman under a kind of focus, "oppressive focus" if the expression could be used. thus, the woman in the eyes of severe islamists is a kind of probable danger, which means she has to be pulled back to her home one way or another; it's one of the most patriarchal communities in the history of humans. earlier on there was an article in the feminist journal "l'egyptienne" published by the efu, written in french by ceza nebarawi where the journal editor stated in 1927: "we the egyptian feminists have a great respect for our religion and we aim to see it practiced in its true spirit" (jayawardena, kumari, 1981). however, things have been different in the seventies and upcoming years. in the absence of this enlightened vision of ceza and her colleagues as a strong structure supported by the regime itself, the ruling class of egypt and the elite, which is the main idea in here, the beginning of the 20th century with the radical islamic culture in the seventies of the same century, feminism in egypt as a movement has lost a lot even in terms of "islamic feminism.” there were different attempts from different individual voices or civilian associations or national councils to reverse this, not to mention the efforts of the presidents al-sadat and mubarak’s wives, gehan al-sadat and suzanne mubarak who despite the corruption that was running during their regimes, have offered some privileges to egyptian women especially on the personal status code and social developing levels. if there wasn't the continual economic crisis, the invasion of the radical islamic culture, selfishness of the "new rich" class, the rising age of marriage, the depression of youth etc, one can say that egyptian woman could definitely have had more rights by our time. women could have definitely suffered from less depression or domestic violence, female genital mutilation or street harassment. in spite of the aforementioned, egyptian women could start over because they didn’t lose all of the rights they managed t acquire in earlier times. in european, and other advanced societies, women still suffer from inequality in salaries, while in egypt, most of women, especially in governmental jobs, have the same salary as men in the same job post. in comparison to some arab world countries, the egyptian woman doesn't have to get her husband’s permission nor her father’s to have her own passport or to leave the country. similarly, wearing a veil is not obligatory along with the existence of other kinds of social and civil rights. the egyptian woman is in almost every field of work, employed or managing, not to mention the presence of a lot of active feminism militants and associations. this gives hope for a better continuation, on both levels, regional and global, a better appropriate continuation for the ancient history of egypt where the woman was a respectable and enabled society member in all living aspects. 3. feminist art 2.2. the feminist art movement in the occident it has to be clear first that the idea of drawing or painting or sculpturing female figures by male or female artists is not necessarily a feminist trend or activity; there is sometimes a kind of confusion about this. so many artists have been inspired by the woman's world and its visual beauty, her body, her hair, and this is not necessarily feminist art, actually, it could be sometimes considered as an anti-feminist art especially when it tends to show the woman as an object for sexual pleasure. on the other hand, any art created by a female is sometimes considered feminist art because it helpsreinforcing women in the field of art. the researcher, however, tends to think that a zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 5 female artist who is presenting marvelous pieces of still-life paintings for instance can't be considered a feminist artist; thus, in this research a feminist female artist or a pro-feminist male artist is the one who is presenting a feminist cause through his or her art. this is true even if it is in an indirect symbolic and unseen way; in this research, there will be a kind of focus on female feminist art. the most important change produced by the war, however, had less to do with the jobs women held and more to do with the identity of the women who went to work (chafe, william, n.d.). in the 20th century, when men came back home after war, whether in world war i (1914-1918) or world war ii (1939 -1945), but especially after the world war ii, they found out that their women have taken a new road of life. many of them had jobs, they were left alone for the whole life’s responsibility and it must have been hard of course, but one way or another, every independent woman started to rediscover herself and her own identity as a society member. some women have also become artists and were recognized in the field. thus, before this time, almost everything about women in art was expressed and presented by men. sometimes in men's art, women were represented as evil being who were the reasons behind any troubles and even satan's allies, but in women's art, things were different; a female artist shall treat her own story, memories, life difficulties as a woman as well as a mother with an eye of her own self. she shall also present her causes and announce her demands in the name of other women in her society. in the ancient or middles ages, even when women created their own arts, they were probably anonymous, meaning that their art productions were not signed. for instance, the studies about the paleolithic cave paintings which often have human hand prints, 75% of which are identifiable as women's (national geographic tv, 2013). the postwar periods witnessed the brilliance of female artists, like the feminist german dada artist hannah höch (1889-1978) as an example of post world war i. she was one of the group's pioneering photomontage artists. höch critiqued the role of women, beauty standards, marriage, the politics of her home country, germany, and the misogynist dada group itself (nastasi, 2014). another artist of the time is the american visual artist, nancy spero (1926-2009) as an example for the post world war ii feminist female artists who chronicled wars and its apocalyptic violence. thus, women were living wars, maybe in the second line after men as warriors, but their experience was never less horrible or bloody. as a human experience, it shall always be a motif for an artist to express hard times and misery. this transaction phase for female feminist visual artists was not easy nor too fast, but one can say that the whole circumstance had created the convenient atmosphere for feminism art movements to grow and develop all around the whole world. therefore, during the seventies of the twentieth century, and as mentioned within the second western feminist wave, there was a flourishing real feminist art movement, not only in the visual arts, but also in different fields especially in music and fortunately in the music industry. this was a real jump in the world of feminism because of its ability to support feminist music to cross borders and reach people, especially women who were hopeful, encouraged and enthusiastic about the movements. these feminist art movements aimed to connect feminism activists globally due to their compassion and understanding spirit and of course the effects of art itself as a common human language. there are too many female artists to mention on this occasion, but one cannot drop names like the mexican painter frida kahlo (19071954) whom her work at her time wouldn't be considered feminist, but was later seen as one of the most important images of feminist art in this time and this spot of the world. later with the feminist art history's beginnings in the late 1960s, one should mention names like the yugoslavian-born performance artist marina abramović, the french multi-media artist niki de saint phalle, the american female artists barbara kruger, sherrie levine and judy chicago and others. these artists did not not only special in traditional visual arts, but also in different new art medias like video, performance and installation arts. in brief, women artists, motivated by feminist theory and the feminist movement, demanded for equality in representation which was codified in the art workers' coalition's (awc) statement of demands, which was developed in 1969 and published in a definitive form in march 1970. the awc was set up to defend the rights of artists and force museums and galleries to reform their practices and encourage female artists to overcome centuries of damage done to the image of the female as an artist by establishing equal representation of the sexes in exhibitions, museum purchases and on selection committees (harrison, 2000). feminism has shared some interest with postmodern art philosophy which could be seen in speech acts, and this has probably helped the diffusion of the feminist art movement, not only on the hand of female activists, but also with the help of profeminist artists. this took place especially in the contemporary art era, as we can see in the words of jeremy strick, director of the museum of contemporary art in los angeles, who described the feminist art movement as "the most influential international movement of any during the postwar period” (blake, 2007). 2.3. feminism in occidental contemporary mural painting visual arts in general may be the most expressive arts about human life since the primitive era when man started to create different forms using mud under his feet to create symbols and magical protection totems in the wild environment. the start was also marked when man created drawings or mural paintings on the walls of caves to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/socialist_federal_republic_of_yugoslavia zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 6 reflect the various creatures and the wildlife around them. this was long before humans started to read and write, which shows the importance of visual arts and the relationship between humanityand their need for expression. visual communication helped, in one way or another, to establish different languages around the world. mural painting is one of these communication tools through time and space, through which an artist can bring his or her idea or their group's ideas to the whole world around. mural painting, especially in public areas or as a street art, has doubled the effects on people and societies. thus, it's not to be imprisoned in galleries nor museums where too many people have no access; therefore, mural painting as a public art can play a great role to bring the feminist cause to the street and to the whole society. it can awaken minds, release freedom and inspire women around the world to revolt and to demand their rights as well as remind the whole society about the women's rights as humans. feminism shall find a new way to people through murals, mural painting, graffiti, street or public arts, whatever is the name of this art, it shall be an eloquent medium to express all women’s demands around the world after too many years of ignorance and injustice. not too far from the previously talked about history of the feminist art movement, actually, within the 2nd feminist wave, in the late 1970s, sandra fabara or as known lady pink or "first lady of graffiti" originally from ecuador, has been known as one of the first graffiti and mural female artist based in new york city, (figure1). figure1. lady pink, graffiti artist. (false prophet blog) despite the fact that graffiti's beginning as an art history has nothing to do with the "hip-hop" music that appeared in the united states in the 1970s , so many historians, especially music historians have considered graffiti as one of 'the four elements of hip-hop: rapping, break-dancing, graffiti art, and deejaying (brown, kwakye, lang, n.d.) . it’s worth mentioning that lady pink herself says: "i don’t think graffiti is hip-hop. frankly i grew up with disco music, she was saying that as an objection to what was said, that graffiti is understood as a visual expression of rap or hip-hop music. as a researcher, i think that hip-hop is too young to be considered as graffiti's source; in fact, graffiti has always been there since the dawn of human activity especially when we notice that the "graffiti" meaning as a word is just scratching or random drawing or painting on any unprepared surface with any coloring or writing technique and with the permission of no one especially in streets and on walls. this makes it an act of vandalism, but one can conclude that with the new era of hip-hop music that grew fast and worldwide, graffiti has become more known in all societies as a street art practiced by people who were longing for change and interaction in their societies, especially youth. graffiti as a street art has more or less flourished, and with the widespread of this type of arts, a graffiti association was established in1972 in new york on the hands of hugo martinez, and even though it was ans still is considered as vandalism, it has helped to diffuse a lot of common causes among societies (nour, 2008). graffiti gave marginzalized people a voice to be heard by politicians and other in power. feminism was among the most important causes that graffiti has helped, and despite the fact that the identity of the artist is usually kept secret in graffiti works, some names have seen the light as icons in their field and to become legal muralists who have their own mural company. slowly, with the worldwide contemporary art concepts especially the freedom of expression, some ideas had to change and people were more ready to see more arts on their streets. the “act of vandalism’ represented by graffiti has sometimes become considerable pieces of art, especially in the contemporary arts when mural painting with all its techniques has become a legal form of graffiti. urban galleries, governments and authorities started themselves to hire street artists for legal and technically prepared murals in public or chosen areas or to open more spaces, events, competitions for such kind of arts and activities. feminism in graffiti it has grown faster and even reached the level of organizing some female street art events as it is the way in the annual event "femme fierce" in london, on the occasion of the international woman day. some graffiti female artists even have their works featured in exhibits in galleries and museums, and even though it was and still is known as a man's corner due to the hard circumstances artists should work under, zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 7 many women have found themselves in this field. they were and still often subjected to all kinds of harassment, but they continued to prove themselves. women in the field were called female writers, like male writers were called, because they were usually using tags and words as brief messages and letters in their paintings. these were usually applied by aerosol can paints which is faster and easier in such moments when avoiding the police. one can mention other female subway writers after lady pink and her continuation during the1980s, such as lady heart, abby, chic. ss, dawn, anna and bambi, and lady bug in the usa (the cyber bench, n.d.). as for europe, while hip-hop was closely linked with graffiti culture, punk also adopted the idea of graffiti to help spread messages. uk anarcho-punk band crass regularly had stencil-like images on their releases and undertook a graffiti stencil campaign on the london underground system in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, with anti-war, anarchist, feminist and anti-consumerist messages being popular (graffiti & punk, n.d.). in another spot of europe, the german street art scene with its overwhelming numbers of experimental, highly innovative and perfectionist artists, has always been keeping up with those of new york, paris and london. the city of berlin, with its rich graffiti history (just think of the 1980s graffiti decorated berlin wall with its politically engaged murals and bubbly lettered slogans), is one of the most ‘bombed’ cities in germany or even in europe (10 german artists whose street art will leave you breathless, n.d.). therefore, berlin was once called "graffiti mecca of the urban art world" by the art critic emilie trice (arms, 2011). even france that seems sometimes less interested in graffiti, some graffiti artists had their names shining such as miss.tic with a thirty-year long career as a female street artist (figure2) (pursley, 2012). figure2. (the man is the past of the woman). figure3. a "stick up girlz" mural, australia 2010 lucy r. lippard (writer, art critic, activist and curator from the united states) argued in 1980 that feminist art was “neither a style nor a movement but instead a value system, a revolutionary strategy, a way of life.” this quote supports the fact that feminist art affected all aspects of life. by time, more feminist female artists have joined this cause. new contemporary groups have gathered themselves, especially through the internet, which made connections easier from the east to the west. one can mention the "stick up girlz" feminist muralists group (figure3). actually, in occidental societies and in latin america as well, feminism and feminist art, including mural paintings, public and street arts, has rapidly excalated after the nineties of the twentieth century. it is difficult for this research paper to present all categories and styles concerning feminist mural painting in the occidental world, but one can say that, in their works, females used many traditional feminine symbols including hearts, red lipsticks, and other known visual female symbols (figure4). they also used unconventional symbols or imaginary themes (figure5), like poems and literature texts especially from some iconic works like the "the second sex" book of the french philosopher simone de beauvoir's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_second_sex zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure4. traditional symbol of feminism, latin america figure5. untraditional graffiti, unknown artist female graffiti writers have knocked every closed door behind which lays a problem in silence, almost all occidental women sufferings have been treated through female muralists, especially sexuality issues which took a lot of attention by european and american feminist activists. sometimes, some of their works were bold and hard to accept by ordinary people or conservative families, and this is a point that the research would come back to later especially in the feminist mural painting in egypt, but it must be considered that art isn't always about soothing and calming, sometimes it has to be disturbing in an aesthetic way that could awaken people and push them to think and react in a certain way. however, this doesn't mean that art, especially public art, should cross the line and become an offense or a cause of hurt to anyone on any level, otherwise, it's psychological vandalism. lady pink once said: “public work has a responsibility… it has to be family friendly, you have to take the community into consideration” (false prophet blog, n.d.). maybe this difference between ultimate freedom of expression and calculated aesthetic visions can be seen in two kinds of murals: the first as a night fast graffiti with the permission of no one, and the second as a prepared mural painting design under the permission of any authority. the second would not probably allow a message that could potentially cross a moral line. in general, it is understandable that what could be accepted by occidental societies could be hard to accept or even left in peace in oriental societies. even when it comes to some graffiti works executed by lady pink herself despite of her quote, direct;y depicting the woman’s intimate body parts or sexuality (figure 6), these works cannot find a place in the orient streets. even if a graffiti writer is corageous enough to do it, it shall be erased instantly the day after. sexuality issues in feminist art in the occident are not too far from similar issues in the orient, but it is the way of looking at these issues that matters. religions and traditions in the east are still so strong and dominating that we can consider them as an unwritten constitution. if a painter has a nude piece of work in a private gallery, he couldn’t and wouldn't paint a similar one on any of the street walls. thus, oriental graffiti writers should always use indirect and smart ways to handle sensitive subjects in their street arts, and that's what we are going to talk about in the next part. figure6. christina angelina, a venice-based multi-media artist (nastasijevic, n.d.) 2.4. feminism in modern and contemporary art in the orient (egypt as a model) if anyone types "egyptian feminist art" on google search browser, one shall find so many results for a specific period which almost has began in the year 2011 with the january 25th public revolution. it’s almost all about street art including public mural paintings and graffiti, which we will talk about later, but before doing so, we must pose a few questions: what about the years before this date? were there any kinds of feminist art movements in egypt since the decline of feminism activity in 1952, as previously explained in section 2.2? if yes, what kind of arts? when it comes to feminism in modern visual arts in egypt, one can say that there was a kind of trend of feminism, not so clear or conspicuous and not as strong as the occidental case, but it did exist. for instance, those egyptian artists who were depicting women as a mother, as a muse or as a lover and of course as a symbol for any abstract positive or good ideas like fertility or generosity or tenderness, may be considered feminist artists too. this is because they aimed to present the woman as a source of power or inspiration or even as a national symbol by depicting egypt as a female figure, starting for example with the famous sculpture of mahmoud mokhtar "renaissance of egypt" "nahdit misr" in 1928, in which he imagined egypt as a local woman who stands up while leaning against a sphinx as a symbol of a rising nation while being based on a great history. in the researcher's opinion, such visual treatments don’t handle feminism in a direct way like we can see in the occidental societies, especially concerning the direct depiction of shapes or forms of female and male sexual organs. these egyptian artists don’t seem to be artivists or feminist artists for some critics especially occidental ones, but they may be, especially in the opinion of the researcher, militants for the woman's rights movement. this is because they were standing by the woman’s side until she gets rid of any kind of oppression, negative discrimination or injustice but only in an indirect way that may be more appropriate in an oriental society, which http://www.widewalls.ch/author/asja-n/ zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 9 is known for its love of symbols and indirect expressive arts. this is a society that may alienate any explicit visual messages which can lead to a reversed result against the feminist cause itself, as if feminism would be the reason of any social degradation; it’s a society that has a special respect and sacredness for religions and traditions. thus, to talk about feminism in egyptian contemporary mural painting, one must go deeper into modern art history. briefly, there was a big feminism trend in the modern history of egypt, starting with mohamed ali's successors and declined with gamal abdel nasser's regime. between this time and that, there was a lot of reflections of feminism in many living sides, but visual arts were not really this engaged in the idea of fighting for women rights. this situation has continued within and after gamal abdel nasser's time, except maybe in some individual artists works, such as the well known egyptian painter inji aflatoun (1924–1989) who was a female egyptian painter and activist in the women's movement. she was a “leading spokesman for the marxist-progressive-nationalistfeminist spokeswoman in the late 1940s and 1950s”, as well as a “pioneer of modern egyptian art” and “one of the important egyptian visual artists.” she was arrested and secretly imprisoned during nasser's roundup of communists in 1959. besides her passion for nature and her concerns that appeared in her paintings about women in the egyptian society, her paintings in prison were the most captivating and the portraits of women inside the prison have the most expressive faces with eyes full of horror (taher, 2011). in a fast review of the history of egyptian female painters starting in the 1st half of the twentieth century, and apart from the work of the feminist inji aflatoun, there were a lot of female brilliant artists that maybe the man's history hasn’t been fair to. among them and concerning our subject "feminism art", we can mention: tahia halim, zeinab abdel hamid, gazibiah serry and zeinab al-seguiny, they were all very important and remarkable female artists in their ages. however, as a researcher in their arts, one couldn’t feel them as clear feminist artists, except maybe for zeinab al-seguiny whom in her paintings we could see and feel the inner psychological struggle of women on their unique faces, between tenderness, women concerns and emotions, she could possibly be considered on the track of feminism. one can also mention the originally bulgarian female artist "visella farid" who lived in egypt and was a fan of the egyptian woman with all her concerns and hard life, especially in the countryside (el-saadi, 2007). later in contemporary egyptian arts and within the nowadays open space thanks to the internet and the different calls of freedom there was a return of independent civil associations, the appearance of individual militants in the domain of feminism, politics and literature such as the activity of someone like nawal al-saadawy since the 2nd half of the twentieth century. art academies in egypt also started looking forward to contemporary arts concepts and other global political and economic factors. we can say that there is a new era for egyptian feminism in many life sides: literature, theatre, politics, arts etc. between male and female visual artists, but especially among female artists from different art specializations. concerning male artists, one can mention ebrahim el-dessouky and walid ebeid, the first is using the world of the woman and her body as a visual icon, the second is going deeper through her inner space, whether psychologically or physiologically, as well as her relationship with the man and it's a quite interesting vision to focus on, but not in this research which should focus on female artists and mural painting. as for the female contemporary artists, a lot of them are concerned with egyptian women case, whereas, each one of these artists is one of these women, living in a society that has been, for approximately 30 years, under the stress of a severe religious trend and a lack of feminist support, as previously explained in the end of 2.2 section. their concerns are mostly general, meaning that in their art we cannot see them engaged directly with the suffering of the egyptian woman including cases like domestic violence, female genital mutilation, street harassment, prostitution, sexism, etc. despite that, we can say that the idea of militancy in their work exists as there is a kind of compassion with the woman in general, especially the egyptian woman in her total struggling life, sorrows, resistance and hard duties (mentioning here that at least 35% of egyptian families are supported by women). all her problems and causes, through their works, their treatment for the woman's body, eyes-look, positions as a body language, through all of this and that, a viewer can imagine seeing an indirect regard for something like the harassment problem for instance, or for the female genital mutilation or other sexual issues to a woman, who is always bearing burdens and concerns about her body and her life. in this regard, we can mention some of these female artists such as: hend adnan, fayrouz samir, reham al-saadany, asmaa al-nawawy, randa fakhry, mervat al-shazly, shaimaa sobhy, eman osama and hend al-falafly. in their works we can see the woman and sometimes her partly naked body as a visual icon and it's a kind of feminism too, but not in a direct way. it’s worth mentioning that almost all of these male or female artists exhibit their works in egyptian private galleries or enclosed museums, not in public. as for other artists like the egyptian contemporary artist ghada amer, who was born in 1963 in cairo and immigrated from egypt in the age of 11, she is a multimedia artist and her work frequently addresses issues of femininity, sexuality, postcolonial identities, and islamic culture. her work is feminist, subverting the traditionally masculine genre of painting, and its rejection of the norms of female sexuality. one can obviously notice that she could have managed to free her mind from all kinds of censorship to express her ideas boldly and sometimes in a transparent way. whether we agree or not with the artist’s point of view regarding some issues, it would be logic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gamal_abdel_nasser zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 10 to understand her openness of expression in multiple different ways probably because she lived in occidental societies where such total freedom of expression is available and where subjects can be treated "directly" and with no fear nor embarrassment, and most important where people themselves are ready to see, accept and admire her work. 2.5. feminism in oriental contemporary mural painting (egypt as a model) apparently, what modern and contemporary visual art in egypt has presented for and about women wasn't enough for serving the causes of feminism in the orient or specifically in egypt, despite how strong, coherent or passionate it was. this was justwas not good enough for the feminism causes themselves, maybe that was due to the new era with its requirements and challenges facing the woman of the age or maybe because this modern and contemporary art was presented only for the elite, enclosed inside galleries and museums, while there is a burning situation in the streets of egypt. nobody on the streets had the courage to talk about women’s problems or their suffering. in a country like egypt, and as an oriental society, women have a lot of causes to struggle for, like for instance: domestic violence, female genital mutilation, street harassment, prostitution, sexism, marriage before the legal age for girls, especially in rural areas, the general dominance of men and boys on girls' lives especially in low and poor levels where they may be subjected to a huge oppression. therefore, with such kinds of sufferings and causes, egyptian arts need to adapt in order to express the aforementioned. it needs to break the silence and overpass the indirect romantic way of expressing such problems, even if not in a total direct way, but at least with more transparency than what the galleries and museums have presented. briefly, in 2011, with the egyptian revolution, all kinds and sorts of self expression were evident where people, especially youth spent days and nights on the street. it was a great chance for them to present and announce their demands, not only to the ruling regime, but also to the rest of the citizens who probably are not in the knowledge stream, who are living simply and sometimes naively, who were suffering in silence without understanding a lot. this is when the need for for graffiti art and mural expressions appeared with all their tools: figure drawing, colors, stencils, spray cans, quotes, proverbs, literature extracts and caricature as well, all these tools have helped to make messages clear and direct, even if it seems sometimes as an illustration in a story book, all tools were there to answer the call of freedom and knowledge. during the years of the revolution and ever since it began, there was a lot of ebb and flow operations between youth in the streets and the different successive ruling regimes as well as their governments. within these operations, many horrible events happened, some people, especially youth were killed and some girls and women were brutally harassed or assaulted in the crowds of the street manifestations. these events brought to the stage the horror that each girl is living in her life in general, as an oriental girl, she should always keep her virginity and her pure reputation, which has became in these events a weapon against her and as a threat to her for not taking part in the manifestations, because when women take part in manifestations, they become a strong motif for men to do the same. not to mention the problem of street harassment that almost every egyptian woman or girl was and still is living in since about 20 years, with the continual economic crisis that caused a kind of difficulty for youth to get married in a society where marriage is the only legal channel for sexual needs. this is besides the lack of ethics and education concerning such issues. all of these were ready to be expressed in the new street arts especially the mural painting and graffiti as a new possible public, fine and even beautiful outlet through which lost children of the street or ordinary people have taken part in. it was a general enthusiastic and exceptional atmosphere that all egyptians have lived. the most important beneficiary of this situation was the exit of visual arts to the streets in an interactive atmosphere that could never happen through the galleries nor museums. even systematic or official mural painting which was present in the egyptian streets before this revolution and starting in the late seventies of the twentieth century didn’t have this level of interaction, it was only answering the call of street decorating or national calls or heritage recalls. as for graffiti before this revolution, it was almost all about pilgrim trips and religious ceremonies or sermons. in general, mural painting and graffiti before this last revolution, have never been this active especially concerning women and the feminist causes; they were never this frequent or sincere. street arts in this revolution were created based on the ongoing events, day by day, to objection and protest. unfortunately, a lot of these graffiti works, if not all of them, were abolished, but before being erased, they have been documented on the internet on different websites, sometimes with unknown artists’ names. one of the most interesting ripe fruits of this feminism graffiti movement in egypt is the activity of female graffiti writers in a country that has been trying to reject religious extremism, a country where women were on the top of sacred personalities in its ancient history. with the new revolutions events, more feminist projects were created, more feminist associations have announced themselves as supporters and sources of aid for egyptian women and girls. graffiti and mural painting were some of their tools to reach their goals, whether through female artists or pro-feminist male artists and graffiti writers like the well known "el-zeft" (figure7). this was especially true during the muslim brotherhood ruling that lasted for one year and on which fears were burning for the women rights. zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 11 in this regard, we can mention some female graffiti writers: "miss azarita""maliket gamal el-azarita", her real name is aya tarek, a young egyptian female graffiti artist and one of the "artists revolution association" who has announced herself during the january 25th revolution and was one of the most important organizers of visual street arts activities. we also have other famous female graffiti artists: hend kheira, hanaa al-degham, bahia shehab; as for mira shihadeh who depicted the famous mural of "circle of hell" in 2014 depicting the assault incident that happened in 2013, her most recognizable piece is depicting a girl in heels with her hand on her hip and uses a can of spray paint to drown miniaturized figures coming towards her. she has painted multiple versions of this graffiti. sometimes the girl is veiled, other times her hair flows free, sometimes she’s dressed in red, other times in white, and in others she’s just a silhouette. but in every edition, she wrote the words “no to sexual harassment” in arabic beneath the outpouring of paint from her can (figure8) (lindsey, 2016). figure7."nefertiti"by el-zeft cairo, 2012 figure8.graffiti by mira shihadeh many of the murals and street artworks created have been supported by newly formed graffiti and street art organizations determined to foster social change with just paint. artist and activist merna thomas cofounded the community (noon el neswa) in 2012 as a way to combat inequality. the group launched their project “graffiti harimi,” which means "female graffiti", graffiti campaign that created stencils of powerful egyptian women alongside text advocating for women’s equality. what is really remarkable about this diffused group of graffiti in the country is that they showed positive fame of the most iconic female stars in the egyptian movies and singing domains. they were all respected and beloved by the egyptians, all in black and white just like their "belle époque" movies or songs, with a short message below or ahead, the message is usually about empowering girls and women in general. they aimed to remind the whole society how a woman could be strong and great just like a man, raising the value of women in the eyes of the society, not necessarily about a specific incident and that's a good idea, because empowering women doesn't have to wait until a bad incident or a political event takes place (figures 8,9,10&11). figure8. i am the one who opened the sluice figure9 . art is not forbidden zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 12 figure10. long live free egypt figure 11. the girl is equal to the boy one of the most brilliant graffiti of the "noon el neswa" organization is the one on which was written "don’t label me". the secret of its brilliance is that it touches upon a taboo in egypt which caused a kind of negative discrimination between the girl who wears a veil and the girl who doesn't wear it, as if the one who puts it is a decent girl, while the one who doesn't is an indecent one. not to mention that the girl or woman who puts the face burqaa is considered by others as an extremist. this graffiti calls for stopping this kind of pre-judging people especially women based on their costume, which is from the researcher's point of view, very important to talk about visually (figure12). figure12. don’t label me graffiti another influential street art group is the "women on walls" (wow) organization which began in 2013 as women empowerment graffiti initiative in many egyptian cities. prior to painting in mansoura city, the wow artists engaged the local women in a discussion on the issues that concerned them most, so that the walls could be a direct reflection of the community’s needs. this could be one of the most important movement an association can do, because it builds a direct connection between artists and other women. in 2015, the "lady of the wall" project was launched in cooperation with the "d-caf. downtown contemporary art festival", an initiative entitled " decode your chains " to express women's issues through graffiti with the presence of a number of female and male artists from inside and outside egypt (abdel-wehab, 2015). through this project, more advanced mural paintings have been executed aiming to empower egyptian women in the face of all her social, political, economic, sexist and other problems since so long and on the long term. the murals in this project have taken an advanced phase, as there were good technical preparations, designs and enough time to organize among artists, which is to be considered as a mature street art event (figures 13&14). figure 13&14. mural paintings executed within the activity of the "lady of the wall" project. zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 13 despite the diffusion of feminist graffiti in egypt during the last revolution, it has guarded a kind of figurative realistic style as an art in an oriental developing society, meaning that despite the high dose of expression freedom lived by the graffiti artists, they were not using any exaggerated traits or obvious drawings of sexual organs, knowing that the feminism causes they were dealing with were about sexuality in the first place. thus, one can say that they used their imagination as well as their intelligence to tell a story or to discuss a sensitive problem in a smart way, we can't call this smart way "indirect" like we did in our talk about the modern and contemporary egyptian feminism arts of galleries and museums as we previously mention in the section 3.3. we can't say that the graffiti writers way in egypt was “indirect” because the writing, tags and quotes they used, made the message so direct, but we can rather say "smart", smart enough to be accepted by people on the street. thus, it had to be in a non-provocative tone, otherwise the result shall be the opposite of what they wanted, but a smart message to be understood and appreciated as well. their messages have probably helped others to talk about the problem and to call for stopping such kinds of persecution against women and girls. thus graffiti, along with social media, together have created an outlet of expression as well as searching for solutions whether during the manifestations or in the general future. in such occasions, people, especially girls and women learned that hiding the problem is not going to solve it, but discussing it can. 4. conclusion 1. each society has its own way of visually expressing its causes and treating its problems, especially in something like feminist cases which are, for some societies sensitive cases due to traditions and the religious atmosphere. this is not to be considered against the universal language which is much appreciated by artists and art as a human common language. on the other hand, art should also respond to people's needs inside a certain society, it should find the best language to reach them effectively. an example for this is the way a girl or a woman is dressed in oriental graffiti. she's always expected to be more prudish than in occidental figurative graffiti, not necessarily wearing a veil, but at least she should be looking prudish and serious, unless a graffiti artist decides to break the unwritten law and that would be an exception. 2. it has to be clear that the visual comparison in this research was not about deciding which is better: the occidental or the oriental visual treatments in mural painting of feminism causes? actually, this is against what the researcher believes as an artist. briefly, each street artist is talking to the people, he or she is one of the people, unlike some isolated artists who are expressing their own cases, which means that each artist is free to choose the best visual way to deliver his or her message, and as much as he or she understands the people around him/her, as much as he would be successful in his mission. 3. graffiti as a form of mural painting and as a street art, is more active concerning hot subjects and events, unlike the arts of galleries and museums. it's like the news information on media tools, graffiti as a street art is instant and responsive, more engaged with the people and the events in a direct way. 4. feminism in graffiti, whether in oriental or occidental societies, is more active, effective and fast reaching to the highest number of people, especially women who need to feel supported, understood and felt by others. it's also a kind of inspiration for each woman to get over her fears and to demand for her rights. all of this can happen due to a street art, especially when it's creative and eloquent, brief and direct, where there is no need for sophistication or hard philosophy to be understood by simple people, especially in a developing country. 5. based on the previous point, graffiti and street arts in general should have more spaces in oriental societies, despite the numerous works we could find on the internet. graffiti, streets arts and mural painting in the orient are considered limited when compared to similar arts in the occident, this matter has to change. whereas such kinds of arts are important, their role might be very accurate in enlightening people’s perceptions. they must be allowed in an organized way whether by governmental authorities or independent artist associations, the matter that leads to think about opening special areas for this kind of arts which will also minimize the vandalism action of some graffiti writers. thus, governments need to understand that graffiti is not necessarily against regimes, even though it has grown wild in egypt in the atmosphere of the revolution, which is considered as a conclusion in itself, but it could also be used in an organized way to spread culture, visual delights and art appreciation as well as helping in human causes. using street arts in feminism empowers women, and empowering women means empowering the whole state. that's what many occidental governments have understood and started to take advantage of the matter that helped also in the progress and the good quality of the presented art, technically and visually. some critics and graffiti writers would object to such a suggestion claiming that graffiti is only graffiti when it's totally free with no censorship and totally unprepared, but that doesn't prevent the idea of spreading visual arts, meaning that the organized street arts don’t prevent the non-organized ones, just like we saw in some organizations’ activity. 6. art in general and street arts in specific are important tools in the face of extremism and different kinds of intimidation and terrorism. we could see that through some egyptian graffiti with short piercer messages ensuring zeinab nour / the academic research community publication pg. 14 that the meaning isn’t going to be misinterpreted, and this is a very good and important role for graffiti and street arts to serve feminism which is always facing extremism of all kinds of religions. references 1. 10 german artists whose street art will leave you breathless. retrieved http://www.widewalls.ch/10-german-artists/clemens-behr/ visited may,2017. 2. abdel raouf, moustapha. mars4,2015. graffiti in egypt, rebell youth & speaking murals. middle east online. retrieved from http://middle-east-online.com/?id=195262 visited may,2017. 3. abdel-wehab, reham. mars25,2015. " decode your chains " with "lady of the wall" in the greek campus. retrieved from http://www.dotmsr.com/ الیوناني-بالحرم-الحیطة-ست-مع-القیود-فك visited may,2017. 4. arms,simon. july 13th 2011. the heritage of berlin street art and graffiti scene. retrieved from https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/07/the-heritage-of-berlin-street-art-and-graffiti-scene/ visited may,2017. 5. blake, gopnik. sunday, april 22, 2007. what is feminist art? washington post staff writer. 6. brown, ruth nicole, ed.; kwakye, chamara jewel, ed, peter lang. wish to live: the hip-hop feminism pedagogy reader. educational psychology. volume 3. retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed535918 7. el-saadi, hoda. suleiman, mounira. 2007. women pioneers of egyptian art: words and images. women and memory forum. p32. 8. false prophet blog. retrieved from http://falseprophetclothing.com/blogs/news/15816505-lady-pink visited may,2017. 9. false prophet blog. retrieved https://falseprophetclothing.com/blogs/news/15816505-lady-pink visited may,2017. 10. goldstein, leslie f. 1982. early feminist themes in french utopian socialism: the st.-simonians and fourier". journal of the history of ideas. 43 (1). p91–108. 11. graffiti & punk. 20th century graffiti, the rise of graffiti art. retrieved from http://www.widewalls.ch/20th-century-the-rise-of-graffiti/ visited may,2017. 12. h. chafe, william. women in the early to mid-20th century (1900-1960): social and economic conditions. a published essay in the u.s.history in context. retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com/ 13. harrison, charles. 2000. art in theory (repr. ed.). oxford [u.a.]. blackwell. pp. 901–2. 14. http://www.graffiti-blog.org/gallery/montana-stick-up-girlz/ visited may,2017. 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/feminist_art visited may,2017. 16. ibid. 17. jayawardena, kumari. 1981. reformism and women’s rights in egypt’ in feminism and nationalism in the third world. . zed books ltd. p72. 18. jayawardena, kumari. 1981. reformism and women's rights in egypt in 'feminism and nationalism in the third world. zed books ltd. p69. 19. labib rizk, younan. 2002. egyptian women between development and liberation(1873-1923). the egyptian general book authority. intellectual works. p.9. 20. lindsey. jan24,2016. feminist street art sparked by the egyptian revolution. retrieved from http://www.thingsworthdescribing.com/2016/01/24/feminist-street-art-sparked-by-the-egyptian-revolution/ visited may,2017. 21. nastasi, alison. november 1, 2014. 10 female dadaists you should know. retrieved from http://flavorwire.com/485924/10-femaledadaists-you-should-know/ visited may,2017. 22. nastasijevic, asja. girl power – female street artists we admire. http://www.widewalls.ch/10-female-street-artists/ visited may,2017. 23. nour, zeinab. october 19-22/2008. mural painting between nationalism and absolute creative freedom (in arabic) published by the international conference of the faculty of fine arts centennial in egypt – helwan university (cairo – egypt). 24. pursley, rebecca. spring 2012. shake off the law: graffiti and feminism. the mcnair scholarly review truman state university. volume 18. p55. 25. taher,menna. sunday 18 sep 2011. the life of inji aflatoun, an artist and a rebel. ahram online. retrieved from http://english.ahram.org.eg/newscontent/5/25/21577/arts--culture/visual-art/the-life-of-inji-aflatoun,-an-artist-and-a-rebel.aspx 26. the cyber bench. documenting the new york city graffiti. retrieved from http://www.at149st.com/women.html visited may,2017. 27. were the first artists mostly women? october 9, 2013. documentary movie on abu dhabi national geographic tv. http://www.widewalls.ch/10-german-artists/clemens-behr/ http://middle-east-online.com/?id=195262 https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/07/the-heritage-of-berlin-street-art-and-graffiti-scene/ https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed535918 http://falseprophetclothing.com/blogs/news/15816505-lady-pink https://falseprophetclothing.com/blogs/news/15816505-lady-pink http://www.widewalls.ch/20th-century-the-rise-of-graffiti/ http://ic.galegroup.com/ http://www.graffiti-blog.org/gallery/montana-stick-up-girlz/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/feminist_art http://www.thingsworthdescribing.com/2016/01/24/feminist-street-art-sparked-by-the-egyptian-revolution/ http://flavorwire.com/485924/10-female-dadaists-you-should-know/ http://flavorwire.com/485924/10-female-dadaists-you-should-know/ http://www.widewalls.ch/author/asja-n/ http://www.widewalls.ch/10-female-street-artists/ http://english.ahram.org.eg/newscontent/5/25/21577/arts--culture/visual-art/the-life-of-inji-aflatoun,-an-artist-and-a-rebel-.aspx http://english.ahram.org.eg/newscontent/5/25/21577/arts--culture/visual-art/the-life-of-inji-aflatoun,-an-artist-and-a-rebel-.aspx http://www.at149st.com/women.html%20visited%20may,2017 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication the challenge of greening the existing residential buildings in the egyptian market base case amr soliman elgohary1, shereen omar khashaba2 1lecturer at modern academy for engineering and technology, cairo, egypt. 2assistant lecturer at the canadian international college, cairo, egypt. abstract existing buildings are the massive percentage of the building stock, and therefore, are the key to improving efficiency; buildings account for an enormous share of the climate change crisis, and approximately 40% of the world total energy consumption (mcarthur & jofeh, 2015). the egyptian stock of buildings includes about 12 million buildings. 60% of these buildings are residential. the final electricity consumption of the residential buildings in 2010 was 51370 gwh and increased in 2014 to reach 62441 gwh. thus the share of total energy consumption was 18.8% in 2010 and increased to reach 21.55% in 2014 (”technology roadmap energy efficient building envelopes.”, 2013). therefore, the residential sector plays an important role in the mitigation of energy consumption crisis, which is expected to increase. the research field and initiatives in egypt on the green buildings and green buildings retrofits are rare and, if existing, are weakly applied. unlike in developed countries, there is a large research on building retrofits, e.g., the residential property assessed clean energy (r-pace) program and the weatherization assistance program (wap) of the department of energy (doe). both are examples of the incentives to green building initiatives globally. this paper discusses the challenge of greening the existing residential buildings in egypt by demonstrating an analysis of the motives and the barriers to applying green measures in the egyptian market. the research methodology comprises the analytical-comparative method. in the analytical part; the paper identifies the current situation of the residential sector energy consumption in egypt, and the benefits of greening existing buildings for tenants, investors, and owners. in the comparative part, the current situation of egypt’s green market business case is compared with the international one, discussing the challenge of greening the residential buildings. the paper summarizes the opportunities to improve the building energy efficiency, incentives, and policies that are developed to address significant financial and technical awareness to building efficiency. these policies will help enable critical market actors to make decisions to promote energy efficiency in existing buildings. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords existing buildings; residential buildings retrofits; egypt green market; green building barriers; green building motives pg. 136 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.355 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ elgohary / the academic research community publication 1. introduction the current rate of new buildings is considered low compared to the already existing which represent the majority of the building stock, buildings are responsible for a major share of the climate change crisis, and approximately 40% of the world total energy consumption (mcarthur & jofeh, 2015). reducing energy consumption through retrofitting building is considered a low cost method to increase the efficiency of existing buildings. sustainable new construction, no matter how energy efficient can’t by itself changes the environmental impact of the current built environment. thus, the building sector has a basic role in climate change impact reduction efforts and in energy consumption conservation; green building measures can reduce the costs of energy consumption by 30 %, carbon emissions by 35%, water use by 30% to 50%, and reduce waste costs by 50% to 90% (birk, 2007). the real challenge of greening the existing buildings is to reach the desired achievement while still respect budgets, in addition to handling occupant resistance to the change. in egypt, the residential consumption has increased compared to other sectors due to the urban expansion of residential buildings, the excessive use of air conditions in summer, and the use of domestic electrical appliances that is not energy efficient. the overwhelming consumption percentage lies in the existing residential sector, as a result it has the biggest share in energy reduction opportunities, see figure 1. accordingly, motives aroused in the building construction sector to limit the increasing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. figure 1. electricity use by sector in the egyptian market 2015-2016 (“egyptian electricity holding company annual reports.”). the main challenge in retrofitting existing buildings lies in identifying the barriers and obstacles that stands in the way of retrofits, and overcome these barriers through attempts and policies that act as incentives to greening the existing buildings. it also lies in identifying the motives to greening the existing buildings to owners, investors, stakeholders and contractors. 2. motives to greening the existing residential bmuildings in the developing countries like the case of egypt, increased energy cost lately is a major driver to green buildings, especially in the last 10 years. less emphasis on government regulation indicate the maturity of market, as outside incentives become less important than benefits to the building owner. the building and construction industry (bci) australia survey for the green building market report in 2014 found that the main motives to the involvement in green buildings differs from the building owner, contractor or subcontractor as shown in figure 2. these motives can be classified into economic, environmental, cultural/social, and political motives. pg. 137 elgohary / the academic research community publication figure 2. motivesto involvement in green buildings’ market according to (bci) survey. (asia,2014) 2.1. economic motives energy price is of medium concern in the short and medium term. energy costs are the least controllable; thus rising in energy price is a main economic motive to examine energy efficient buildings more closely. utility charges are among the top operating costs for buildings, and previous research shows that the energy savings for the green buildings’ construction average 30% more than the normal buildings’ construction, this is confirmed by a report from mcgrawhill, which finds overall operating costs of the green building construction to be lower by 8-9% (yudelson, 2010). attractive return on investment (roi) is certainly important; a number of case studies of leed-eb (leed for existing buildings – operation and maintenance) projects indicate that the “payback” on incremental investment can be as low as two years (kats & alevantis, 2003). as for the future competitiveness, the removal of subsidies on electricity services in egypt makes many building owners believe there will be less competitive in future years without a certified or a green building. figure 3. left: average residential sector electricity prices in 2012 and projection to 2040 in united states of america (cents per kilowatthour). (“aeo2014 results and status updates for the aeo2015,” 2014). right: energy prices rise (tarrifs piaster/kwh) residential sector in egypt according to 2005-2006 and 2016-2017 annual reports (“egyptian electricity holding company annual reports”). 2.2. environmental motives one of the most important tasks is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as a quick action for tackling climate change. studies performed by the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc), in co-operation with other international firms show that improving the buildings’ performance is one of the cheapest ways to reduce greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions, and results in a net economic benefit (”opportunities and challenges commission for environmental cooperation”, 2008). another study performed by the international energy agency (iea) shows that improving the building performance through energy efficiency measures may lead to reduction in carbon-dioxide emission up to twothirds of the needed reduction globally (langdon, 2007). pg. 138 elgohary / the academic research community publication figure 4. effect of going green on co2 emissions, occupancy rates, and construction costs (langdon, 2007). 2.3. cultural/social motives due to the growth in public awareness of climate change and the need to reduce ghg emissions, there is a rapid level of acceptance of green building practices, there is an increase in the numbers of buildings that registered green building rating systems such as leed; the amount of leed-certified buildings increased by one billion square feet in 2010, up to eight billion, which indicated a rate of growth by 14% , especially for the leed certified existing buildings, according to the u.s. green building council (usgbc), the area of leed-certified existing buildings is more than the area of the leed-certified new construction by 15 million square feet as cumulative (katz & manager, 2011). figure 5 in egypt, there are 15 buildings that acquired leed certifications since (2007-2016) excluding leed-ebom, and 26 buildings registered to different programs, including one building registered for leed v4 o+m eb in new cairo (“green building information gateway.”). figure 5. growth in leed forexisting buildings: operations & maintenance certified space (yudelson, 2016). 2.4. political motives government regulations have an enormous effect in the construction market. regulations are generally created to organize how to save or reduce costs of energy and water, and help improve man’s living conditions through government supported research, development, educational programs, and tax shifting. many governments have pg. 139 elgohary / the academic research community publication developed legislations to limit environmental impacts of buildings. the use of local codes and legislation programs helped to accelerate the application of green practices in the construction market. table 1 summarizes the motives to greening existing buildings from the economic, environmental, cultural/social, and political/governmental aspects according to the international and local market. table 1. motives to greening existing buildings. international motives local motives economic motive commentary motive commentary attractive return on investment (roi) many energy retrofits and leedeb certifications are showing high rates of roi for owners. achieve an increased building value increased marketability. achieve higher sale value attractive roi efficient buildings are considered high quality buildings that achieve an increased value responsible property investing investors and owners committed to corporate social responsibility (csr) are asking for certified green buildings, or applying green strategies and measures achieve higher sale value increased building value achieve higher prices and higher sale/resale value. future competitiveness owners with a longer term perspective are concerned that their properties’ attractiveness might diminish concern about energy prices the energy prices in egypt are increasing and subsidies will be removed in the upcoming years. achieve lower running/operational costs. concern about energy prices and future volatility energy is the largest cost of building operations in addition to that it is the least controllable. environmental tackling climate change reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, and resource conservation. provide a healthier indoor environment higher quality building provide a healthier environment and better quality of life. providing a cleaner and healthier work environment through applying green techniques seeking a better quality of life. cultural/social tenant demand, and stakeholder pressure investors, tenants, and communities want green buildings — — continued on next page pg. 140 elgohary / the academic research community publication table 1 continued corporate sustainability building owners see investing in sustainable measures is an important way to occupy a leadership position occupy a leading position in a new domain concerning retrofits and energy efficiency contractors seek new domains and techniques to assure competitiveness. increase of awareness towards the environment and the climate change; thus seeking solution through green buildings increase of awareness towards energy efficiency and energy use reduction political/ governmental mandatory regulations, and introduction of new green codes and standards politicians worldwide seek strategies to encourage greater energy efficiency and more efficient resource utilization through political measures such as subsidies and tax cuts for renewable energies. increased energy independence will lead to increased national security win more government tenders. economic motive in addition to the political and governmental legislations will help application of energy efficiency retrofit measures to grow in a rapid way mandatory programs new standards and codes if existed do not encourage green retrofits for existing buildings. new standardizations are introduced to some electrical domestic devices that assures efficient energy use. 2.5. the market business case benefits of greening existing residential buildings retrofits of a building has many benefits to the owner, tenants, investors and contractors. a significant energy and water consumption reduction, as well as the increase the productivity of occupants, in addition to the reduction in the amount of negative impacts of buildings on occupants as a result of enhancing the building’s indoor environment quality. table 2 explains the benefits of green retrofits. 2.5.1. benefits directly to the building owner increased economic and financial benefits are the main drivers to change. the most significant benefits to the building owner are classified into two main categories. first, increased income through higher rental rates, higher occupancy growth, and higher rental growth. second is lower costs through lower operating cost in the reduction of energy and water use; direct costs are represented in energy and water consumption, security, cleaning, repairs and maintenance. however, this cost category also includes indirect costs such as property taxes, insurance. owners of green projects reported that; for new constructions, the operating costs was reduced by 13.6%, and for existing constructions, a reduction by 8.5% has been achieved. (“green trends driving growth green outlook 2011”, 2011). see figure 6. in addition, green buildings offer a healthier living environment; increased air ventilation, improved day light space, and low toxicity finishes, as well as the lower operation costs. this makes green buildings more appealing pg. 141 elgohary / the academic research community publication to the public. as a result, it is faster to sell and lease compared to conventional buildings in the same area. figure 6. owner’s green building benefit. 2.5.2. benefits directly to the tenants tenants are placing a higher value on the intangible benefits, which include higher personal productivity, and better indoor environmental quality, in addition the tangible benefits represented in lower operational costs. 2.5.3. benefits directly to the investors green buildings create more desirable living conditions, offer a suitable return on investment. the following opportunities have been identified for investors: capital cost savings: optimization of the building systems can lead to savings in capital cost. for example, using a downsized hvac systems through energy efficient design. enhanced building value: green buildings have an increased ability to rent and sell space based on their enhanced indoor environment quality, lower operating costs and enhanced marketability. for new construction, value increases 10.9%, as for existing buildings the value increases 6.8% (“green trends driving growth green outlook 2011”, 2011). 2.5.4. benefits directly to the contractors contractors involving in the green market will have a unique reputational position based on retrofitting existing buildings, this will increase the market demand for that certain contractor. pg. 142 elgohary / the academic research community publication table 2. benefits of green retrofits. business case benefits of green retrofits tenants potential for reduction in operational costs good indoor environment as a result an increased productivity. improved comfort enhances sustainability goals reputational image owners reduction in operating costs improved efficiency results a longer equipment life due to “right-sizing” .(less need for refurbishment) higher rents greater occupancy lower tenant turnover enhanced marketability investors improved long-term value through reduced performance risk higher resale value contractors/ -reputational position for contractors subcontractors -opportunity to be recognized as the energy efficiency expert in your local community. 3. barriers to greening existing residential buildings green buildings have many benefits to the owners, tenants, investors and contractors. governments and the public realize these benefits as well as the urgent need for more sustainable-conscious building practices. but it isn’t the mainstream due to some barriers. these barriers reduce the growth rate of green building renovations and make them more costly as follows: 3.1. high initial cost the green building construction costs are basically less if performed during the initial design stages, but green retrofits that has to be integrated to an already existing building may have higher costs. in addition, costs of green building technologies, and materials are high and require long payback periods, so traditional applications replace green practices. 3.2. lack of awareness lack of awareness of the benefits that green buildings provide was an important obstacle that discourages green construction. this shows the need for education about both the financial and non-financial benefits of green construction. the regulations and codes of building design are complex and difficult to understand, clients are not able to comply with it. 3.3. split benefits the individual who pays the bill is not always the same who benefits. as a result, the investor may lose his interest in paying for green practices when the tenant or the owner gets all the benefits. on the other hand, tenants may not be willing to pay for retrofits in a resident that is not their own. pg. 143 elgohary / the academic research community publication 3.4. risk and uncertainty the developer may concern about the reliability of green building practices, uncertainty over the costs of developing a green building, over the economic benefits of greening existing buildings, building performance over time, and worry about the payback period. 3.5. lack of experienced workforce in-experienced workforce may increase the risk of inexperienced service providers. lack of applications of green retrofits in projects leads to low practices and may lead to low quality retrofits integration as well. 3.6. lack of product information information available on green building systems, products and their application is not widely spread and need a big research support consuming time and effort. the lack of these information may cause developer to depend on specialized consultant, or use the conventional building products. 3.7. availability of products or technologies some products with special technologies and specifications may not be available to be installed in the desired buildings, in accordance traditional products are installed in projects. imported products and materials require additional prime cost and time. 3.8. lack of coordination in government policies affecting buildings building codes may unintentionally require application of environmentally harmful features, or may ban the use of materials that are not widely used. 3.9. lack of research investments in egypt, there is not a reliable source of information to know the real amount funding for green building practices, and if it existed or not. in the united states, a study shows that from 2002 until 2005, the funding for green construction research reached $193 million a year, which represents only 0.02 % of the estimated annual funding of building construction research budget (baum, 2007). 3.10. organizational dynamics in a multitenant building, it takes participation from nearly all the tenants to achieve a green certification (for example leed-ebom), and that can be very difficult to achieve. even in a single tenant building; getting everyone to provide data, and cooperate during the performance period for the project can often be quite difficult. barriers can be overcome by means of some of the motives either environmental, cultural, economic, or governmental, table 3 summarizes the barriers classified into economic, technical, cultural, and governmental. table 3. barriers to greening existing buildings. barriers to greening existing buildings commentary international barriers local barriers continued on next page pg. 144 elgohary / the academic research community publication table 3 continued economic/financial financial consideration of green buildings some lack of funding or financing difficulties high cost of green systems, materials, and technologies the investor may lose his interest in paying for green practices when the tenant or the owner gets all the benefits relatively low energy prices despite the increase in tariffs. lack of funding or financing difficulties high cost of green systems, materials, and technologies long payback periods the investor have no interest in paying for green practices tenants not willing to pay for retrofits in rented residents. lack of research investments lack of funding programs concerning retrofits in buildings technical technical issues concerning systems, implementation, and maintenance lack of experienced workers risk and uncertainty lack of products information unavailability of green technologies as the majority are imported periodical maintenance is sometimes ignored in projects. lack of experienced workers lack of product information risk and uncertainty cultural/social the country’s culture affects its market and thus accepts certain products and rejects others client knowledge barrier to codes and regulations organizational dynamicslack of collaboration lack of environmental concern and awareness resistance to change lack of awareness of the benefits of green building. client knowledge barrier to codes and regulations organizational dynamicslack of collaboration intangible benefits affects tenants willing to apply retrofits political/ governmental governments play very significant roles in the upgrading /downgrading of green buildings -lack of coordination in government policies affecting buildings lack of coordination in government policies affecting buildings lack of a government policy framework for energy efficiency the absence of an enforcement of regulations corruption and other problems the supervision and monitoring systems are weak the lack of appropriate incentive programs for green buildings systems and technologies pg. 145 elgohary / the academic research community publication 4. procedures and programs/policies to encourage green practices regulations, codes, standards, obligations, certifications, and incentives are considered a main motive to reach the goals for the greenhouse gases reduction. today, the majority of the energy regulations hardly focus on energy efficiency aspects that can achieve low operating costs and short payback periods. these are some of the procedures to encourage green practices shown in (figure 7). figure 7. incentives and procedures to encourage green practices 4.1. financial incentives financial incentive programs are the main motive that encourage stakeholders in the market to apply green practices. the incentives for the implementation of energy efficiency and retrofit measures is based on amount of electricity/water saved. financial incentives may include low interest/long term financing. locally, the introduction of these programs is still ignored and not applied. however, many programs are being applied globally, there are wide financing for energy efficient retrofits options, some of them are: -specialty home energy loans: in u.s.a, programs offer loans at low interest rates to energy efficiency products locally available. power saver loan: a program designed for energy retrofits up to $25,000 with terms up 15 to 20 years. (“energy incentive programs, california — department of energy,” 2015) the kfw bank program: since 2011, in germany, the kfw bank offer loans of 2.9 billion euros for the retrofit of existing residential building, as a result, investments reached 3.9 billion euros (georg, 2011). the return on investment for each one euro was 3 euros received by the german federal government. this programs affected the labor market, as the sales due to the increased demand for retrofit products increased, and increased the employment opportunities. 4.2. tax credit incentives the energy efficient building tax deduction has proved its efficiency to encourage the application of green retrofits. it is widely spread in germany, usa, italy (neuhoff, stelmakh, amecke, novikova, deason, hobbs, & initiative, 2012), and others. but locally it has not been applied yet to any building types. the following are examples of tax credit programs: tax incentives program: italy offers tax credits to houses for installing single retrofit measures, for example: heat insulation in walls, roofs, basements, and windows. tax credits may cover 55% of the energy cost with a limit to the maximum value according to a specified criteria (neuhoff, stelmakh, amecke, novikova, deason, hobbs, & initiative, 2012). residential property assessed clean energy (r-pace) program: building owners can be funded when applying energy efficiency, renewable energy production, and water conservation practices, by means of assessment collected with the property taxes based on the (r-pace) program structure. pg. 146 elgohary / the academic research community publication the energy investment tax credit (itc) program: a 10% tax credits is provided for retrofits in the building envelop, a 30% tax credit is provided for the application of a residential solar systems, or a small wind turbine. the owner can request the tax credits to be added to his personal income taxes. owners have 4.3. develop legislations/programs, standards and building codes the effectiveness building energy legislations varies from country to another. in the developing countries, energy standards are often less effective than expected, mainly due to some difficulties in enforcement to apply these legislation, difficulties in compliance, or due to corruption and other issues. and the monitoring of the implementation of these legislations is poorly documented. the following represent some examples globally and locally. globally: the department of energy’s (doe) weatherization assistance program (wap): the program offers free installation of energy efficiency practices, for houses that meet specified income rate criteria that are approved by (doe) home energy labeling programs: the home performance is assessed using an assessment tool that scores the performance from 1-10 points, (10) is the best score of energy efficiency according to (doe) program. locally: develop an energy specification standards for electrical appliances: home appliances such as electric fans and televisions have new standards for energy efficiency and a monitoring system (“egyptian electricity holding company annual reports.”). egyptian green building council: the egypt green building council has been established in 2009, it developed the green pyramid rating system (gprs). the first edition was published in december 2010 (bassili & emeritus, 2013). the initial response by the construction industry to establishing a rating system was positive for several reasons including the development of logical and incentive system that would encourage compliance and reward efficiency. but unfortunately, no buildings were awarded the gprs, and no buildings are willing to register, instead leed certification is the proper option for buildings that desire green permits. the energy efficiency improvement and greenhouse gas reduction project: executed by the egyptian electricity holding company, and the ministry of electricity, supported by the united nations development program in 1999 (akker, 2010). the project’s main objectives is to reduce the long term greenhouse gas emissions, mainly this will be achieved through higher efficiency of equipment. the ministry of housing utilities and urban communities issued a ministerial ruling -482/2005on 20/12/2005 for the enforcement of energy efficiency code for residential buildings (akker, 2010). 4.4. increase the awareness of energy efficiency according to the egyptian ministry of electricity, there are limited initiatives to encourage the efficient use of energy in residential buildings. lighting is the biggest consumer of energy in almost all sectors. therefor the egyptian electricity holding company has cooperated with the “improving energy efficiency of lighting and building appliances” project to encourage the use of efficient lighting products as a prior choice for residential buildings. efficient lighting initiative: in 2015, a contract to supply (sell or deliver) the residential buildings with 13 million led lamps, achieving an energy saving of 1124 million kwh and fuel saving of 276 ktoe/year (“egyptian electricity holding company annual reports.”). spread awareness through brochures, seminars, different events, campaigns and energy efficiency tips, in all governorates digital campaigns through face book, twitter, youtube and ”waty el watt” slogan. pg. 147 elgohary / the academic research community publication 5. the egyptian green market business case the following table explains the residential egyptian green market current situation compared with the global market. table 4. comparative analysis of egypt’s green market business case current situation. commentary egypt worldwide approaches (initiatives) to green buildings and greening (retrofitting) existing buildings) are the actions taken by government or ngos (nongovernmental organizations) to encourage retrofits of buildings and increase awareness establishment of the egyptian green building council. developing the green pyramid rating system (gprs). arising of ngos i.e. egyptian society for energy in buildings & environmental design research (eeer) ibpsa egypt first conference about building simulation contributions to built environment, cairo2013 go green expo on 25-26 may 2013, first green solution exhibition. energy efficiency improvement and greenhouse gas reduction project develop an energy efficient standards for electrical appliances efficient lighting initiative the kfw incentives (germany) federal legislation (usa) united states green building council (introducing leed program) energy investment tax credit (itc) residential pace programs different funding programs there are many other initiatives and programs that are not mentioned. incentives i.e. tax reductions, funding programs, and loan programs to push the establishment of building retrofits. there is no specific incentive program to mention; thus it needs to be established to refresh the green market in egypt federal legislation (usa) incentive schemes for existing buildings in germany. other incentives around the world codes government legislations and specifications building legislations and codes do not encourage people to follow green architecture. actually in some cases, the legislation discourages people to follow any green concepts. if existed; not efficient enough, or not applied at all. -international green construction code (igcc) -ashrae standard for high-performance green building -other codes all over the world. continued on next page pg. 148 elgohary / the academic research community publication table 4 continued awareness the owners, tenants, investors need to know the benefits of green retrofits in buildings. limited awareness programs exist and public respond to it is not enough. most of the efforts focus only on lighting efficiency, ignoring all other opportunities public awareness needs to focus on green building benefits especially economic benefits through: conferences, seminars and workshops at universities. public media regular magazines and newspapers strong awareness of green buildings and green strategies; thus the number of certified green building in increasing every year. green buildings is gaining a strong reputation among owners and investors due to tenant demand tenants and owners want green, environmental responsible buildings green technologies and strategies green technologies applied to conserve energy and water consumption. or generate energy through renewable resources (i.e. solar panels) almost all the new technologies of green buildings are imported at high value (i.e. photovoltaic panels) high initial cost availability problems passive strategies rarely applied in existing buildings annual exhibitions for green technologies and its application, and implementation-training programs for workforce on the new strategies availability of material with certain specification for green building (i.e. leed specifications) environmental product declarations (epd) are introduced in the european market and spreading worldwide, it shows the products impact on environment so that it is easy to choose the suitable product. leed updated its credits to comply with the epd. application of retrofits application of energy conserving methods in residential buildings -there is a lack of trained and experienced workers -there is not any contractor or construction companies specialized in building retrofits to implement green technologies after auditing the energy consumption of the building. -specialized offices and companies are available. -auditing companies are available to assess the building’s situation and apply the appropriate retrofits (either deep or standard retrofits) pg. 149 elgohary / the academic research community publication 6. conclusion the research field and initiatives in egypt on the green buildings and green buildings retrofit are rare, however, there are initiatives and standards starting to take actions towards green buildings and greenhouse gas reductions. legislation is a must to ensure the enforcement mechanisms to adopt the energy efficiency building codes in egypt. existing building retrofit technologies can be classified into three main categories: demand side management: retrofits that conserve energy i.e. insulation, window retrofits, and cool roof. supply side management: retrofits that involve production of energy in buildings i.e solar systems. energy consumption patterns “human factor”: which is a new factor introduced in the operating phase of the building, requires awareness to the different daily activities that consume energy. codes and specifications in egypt have to be implemented and executed roughly regarding energy efficiency in buildings, because the majority of the opportunities lies in building retrofits. opportunities to improve the existing buildings’ energy efficiency, in developed and developing countries are alike. policies are developed to overcome the barriers to building efficiency either financial, institutional, or technical. these policies can be classified into the following categories: energy efficiency improvement: owners and investors have to set targets for energy consumption reduction in action. policies that increase awareness: like public awareness campaigns. financial incentives: tax reductions, government risk mitigation guarantees, loan funds. technical market development: through developing the green industry, and market by setting a medium/longstrategic plan to ensure that local manufacturers are able to produce appliances that comply with the efficiency standards. human resource development: through workforce training programs and developing the expert skills working in the building sector. develop energy efficiency codes, standards, and labels: develop legislations for monitoring labeling in domestic appliances and equipment. develop a structured program criteria to show the minimum levels of energy efficiency to be applied to existing buildings as well as new construction. figure 8 illustrates a swot analysis (strengthweakness-opportunities and threatens) of the egyptian green market base case, to know where we are and start to take actions to catch up the international trend in green business. figure 8. swot analysis to the egyptian green market base case. pg. 150 elgohary / the academic research community publication 7. acknowledgments we thank god for finishing this manuscript, we are grateful to all who offered assistance, and comments on an earlier versions of the manuscript which greatly improved the final research. 8. references 1. akker, j. van den. (2010). final evaluation energy efficiency improvement and greenhouse gas reduction project. retrieved from https://www.thegef.org/sites/default/files/project documents/267 452 t e ccm egypt.pdf 2. asia, s. e. (2014). building market report. 3. bassili, g., & emeritus, h. (2013). energy efficiency building codes and green pyramid rating system. international journal of science and research (ijsr) issn (online index copernicus value impact factor, 14(5), 2319–7064. retrieved from https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i5/29051501.pdf 4. baum, m. (2007). green building research funding: an assessment of current activity in the united states — u.s. green building council. united states of america. retrieved from https://www.usgbc.org/resource s/green-building-research-funding-assessmentcurrent-activity-united-states 5. birk, c. (2007). building a reputation st. louis business journal. st. louis business journal. retrieved from http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/07/30/focus1.html 6. egyptian electricity holding company annual reports. (n.d.). retrieved july 4, 2017, from http://www.moee .gov.eg/english new/report.aspx 7. freeman, r. (2016). 5 green building tax incentives for 2016 — poplar network. poplar. retrieved from https://www.poplarnetwork.com/news/5-green-building-tax-incentives-2015 8. georg, k. (2011). example of incentive programmes for retrofits: the kfw in germany. retrieved from http s://passipedia.org/planning/refurbishment with passive house 9. components/example of incentive programmes the kfw in germ any 10. green building information gateway. (n.d.). retrieved july 4, 2017, from http://www.gbig.org/ 11. green trends driving growth green outlook 2011. (2011). mcgraw-hill contruction. retrieved from htt p://aiacc.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/06/greenoutlook2011.pdf 12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.08.550 13. kats, g., & alevantis, l. (2003). the costs and financial benefits of green buildings. retrieved from http ://evanmills.lbl.gov/pubs/pdf/green buildings.pdf 14. katz, a., & manager, c. (2011). square footage of leed-certified existing buildings surpasses new construction. retrieved from https://www.usgbc.org/docs/archive/general/docs10712.pdf 15. langdon, d. (2007). the cost & benefit of achieving green buildings data report, innovative thinking in property and construction. 16. mcarthur, j. j., & jofeh, c. g. h. (2015). strategic retrofit investment from the portfolio to the building scale: a framework for identification and evaluation of potential retrofits. procedia engineering, 118, 1068–1076. 17. neuhoff, k., stelmakh, k., amecke, h., novikova, a., deason, j., hobbs, a., & initiative, c. p. (2012). financial incentives for energy efficiency retrofits in buildings italy, 236–248. pg. 151 elgohary / the academic research community publication 18. opportunities and challenges commission for environmental cooperation. (2008). retrieved from http://w ww.cec.org/our-work/green-economy/improving-conditions-green -building-construction-north-america retrieved from http://www.davislangdon.com/upload/staticfiles/au snz publications/info data/infodata green buildings.pdf 19. technology roadmap energy efficient building envelopes. [pdf]. (2013). international energy agency. 20. yudelson, j. (2010). greening existing buildings (first). united states of america: mcgraw-hill books. 21. yudelson, j. (2016). reinventing green building : why certification systems aren’t working and what we can do about it. new society publisher. pg. 152 introduction motives to greening the existing residential bmuildings economic motives environmental motives cultural/social motives political motives the market business case benefits of greening existing residential buildings benefits directly to the building owner benefits directly to the tenants benefits directly to the investors benefits directly to the contractors barriers to greening existing residential buildings high initial cost lack of awareness split benefits risk and uncertainty lack of experienced workforce lack of product information availability of products or technologies lack of coordination in government policies affecting buildings lack of research investments organizational dynamics procedures and programs/policies to encourage green practices financial incentives tax credit incentives develop legislations/programs, standards and building codes increase the awareness of energy efficiency the egyptian green market business case conclusion acknowledgments references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication creativity in sustainable redesign for existing buildings by using green architecture as a contemporary trend faysal mahmoud abu alazm1, asmaa soliman mansour el-khalidi1 1department of architecture and urban planning suez canal university faculty of engineering, ismailia, egypt abstract with rapid climate changes in recent years, it has become important as it is necessary to think about a new concept of architecture that respects and considers the environment. to counter these changes, the concept of environmental and green architecture starters’ theory has appeared as one of the applications of creative solutions in buildings. architects then began turning it from a theoretical study on the method of the design of buildings and making them environment-friendly by reducing the consumption of resources to run the building and reduce damage to the environment due to alanbosat and waste resulting from construction work. environmental and green architecture does not just reduce the impact on the environment but also supports energyefficient buildings, which achieves self-sufficiency within the building. it also provides energy production and exploits the optimal way efficiently and with equanimity. this paper aims to: -highlight the importance of green architecture and sustainability in shape. -reach a methodology to convert existing buildings into green buildings. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords green architecture; redesigns; existing building; architecture contemporary trend; sustainable architecture 1. main text sustainability is a general principle in the eco-design which is one of the main objectives in contemporary design as one of the methods of protection for our environment and protect it from climatic repercussions which causes a non-environmentally friendly and considerate of others have construction and architecture. green architecture trend as one of the sustainability applications in architecture has emerged and is designed to reduce energy consumption both in the stage of implementation or operation of the building later considering the lack of prejudice to the social and functional to needs, and green buildings take into account the full life cycle of the building since design began to implementation, operation and demolition and the mechanism to get rid and recycling of components. green architecture is: an approach to building that minimizes harmful effects on human health and the environment. the ”green” architect or designer attempts to safeguard air, water, and earth by choosing eco-friendly building materials and construction practices structure pg. 50 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.345 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abu alazm / the academic research community publication – first point: green design components – second point: principles of green building design – third point: guideline for sustainable design in existing building – fourth point: green building benefits – five point: ecosystem assessment of green architecture systems – sixth point: case study methodology to reach the desired objective of the research follows the researcher following methodologies: 1. general definition of green building through described as one of the sustainability applications in architecture, as well as clarification of the green design elements. (inductive ”approach to collecting information” theoretical conceptual entrance method) 2. conclusion methods for the application of these items on the already existing buildings. (the analytical method deductive) 3. the application of green solutions on a building already exists and draw conclusions. (applied method) apply the theoretical study on the building’s main administration of suez canal university as a model case study. 1.1. green design components green architecture sensitive a range of basics to protect the environment, be it by applying some new solutions in the design, such as: • ventilation systems designed for efficient heating and cooling • energy-efficient lighting and appliances •water-saving plumbing fixtures • landscapes planned to maximize passive solar energy •minimal harm to the natural habitat • alternate power sources such as solar power or wind power • non-synthetic, non-toxic materials • locally-obtained woods and stone • responsibly-harvested woods • adaptive reuse of older buildings • use of recycled architectural salvage • efficient use of space (leed — usgbc) green buildings do not contain these solutions but the designers trying to consider some of them at least, while the goal. building industry environmentally friendly and considerate her up to the production of energy for the operation to relieve pressure on it. 1.2. principles of green building design – study a detailed analysis of the site in order to benefit the environment and ecosystems site and achieve sustainability. pg. 51 abu alazm / the academic research community publication – water conservation and efficient use without wasting. – energy efficiency without affecting the environment and without extinguished – achieve adequate and sufficiently in the internal environment as one of the sustainable design requirements – the optimum use of materials and resources that used in building. – innovation in design. figure 1. six major elements of green building design 1.3. guideline for sustainable design in existing building to achieve sustainability in existing facilities must achieve a minimum level of environmental solutions to the building’s existing shunt based consumer and harmful to the environment to a building follows the green architecture and environment-friendly: -the use of natural ventilation through the application of the ventilation holes in the ceilings and directing the openings in the direction of the wind granulocytes. -energy savings using natural lighting and the use of alcasrat to achieve the highest benefit. -use water-saving health systems and water recycling exchange ramadi in watering plants in front of the building and then after treatment. -the introduction of green elements to minimize the impact of the rise in temperatures and reduce humidity near the building. -the use of a sustainable energy generation such as solar panels, pipes, generators, and wind power generators powered kinetic energy elements. -reduce the use of synthetic materials and chemical processing direct impact on the environment and the use of environmentally friendly materials as an alternative to it. -reduce the use of wood and address what has been used bdhanat protection to reduce the likelihood of corruption and batalli loss of a significant nature resources. -adapting internally with the surrounding natural environmental factors. -adapting with the surrounding installations and buildings list. -optimal utilization of space so as not to lose the architectural spaces in spaces irrelevant. pg. 52 abu alazm / the academic research community publication -thinking about the recycling of materials and components origin spoil rtoterha to reduce the risk to the environment. 1.4. green building benefits green building is not a simple development trend; it is an approach to building suited to the demands of its time. • environmentally responsible: passive solar homes can significantly cut use of heating fuel and electricity used for lighting. if passive cooling strategies are used in the design, summer air conditioning costs can be reduced as well. (kats, 2006) • comfort: because a well-designed passive solar home or building is highly energy efficient, it is free of drafts. extra sunlight from the south windows makes it more cheerful and pleasant in the winter than a conventional house. (kats, 2003) • aesthetics: passive solar buildings can have a conventional appearance on the outside, and the passive solar features make them bright and pleasant inside. • economy: if addressed at the design stage, passive solar construction doesn’t have to cost more than conventional construction, and it can save money on fuel bills (woolley, 2008). 1.5. ecosystem assessment of green architecture systems buildings went toward environmental approach by achieving sustainability in the site and the human health and environmental protection and the provision of water and materials selection and indoor environmental quality, and social and economic aspects. it was necessary to systems to evaluate the success of environmentally based and grant certification per the standards be updated assessment of aphid to achieve transparency in the evaluation and development in accordance with the requirements that continues to grow. (bauer, schwarz, & mosle, 2010) a) breeam – bre environmental assessment method (1990):building research establishment in 1990 established a system of pre-valuation method to ensure environmentally based and evaluate quality, the primary goal of this system ease the effects on the environment and resulting from the ongoing developments, the professionals wanted to integrate details that therm environment in design (breeam). the evaluation program is available for offices, industry, schools, courts, prisons, multiple purpose dwellings, hospitals, private homes, and neighborhoods. the versions of assessment essentially look at the same broad range of environmental impacts: management, health and well-being, energy, transport, water, material and waste, land use and ecology and pollution (housing standards review). loans granted for the construction of buildings according to performance-based environmentally according to breeam system through the core elements of the system, a management 12%, health & wellbeing 14%, energy 18%, transport 8%, water 6%, material 13%, waste 7%, pollution 12% , land use & ecology 10% (how to obtain a breeam rating). then descent gathered and evaluated per the good and very good and excellent. b) leed – leadership in energy and environmental design (1998): the leed is an evaluation system for green buildings and the basic aim to encourage designers and building owners and workers to convert the real estate domain environment construction of an integrated sustainable environment (leed is green building). green building practices can substantially reduce or eliminate negative environmental impact and improve existing unsustainable design. is an evaluation system for green buildings and the basic aim to encourage designers and building owners and workers to convert the real estate domain environment construction of an integrated sustainable specialists put these standards to try to adjust the negative effects on the environment and to reduce potential liability resulting pg. 53 abu alazm / the academic research community publication from indoor air quality problems. the rating systems developed for the different uses of buildings. the rating is always based on the same method, but the measures differentiate between the uses (building design construction guide). new construction as well as modernization of homes and non-residential buildings are assessed. beyond single and complete buildings, there are assessments for neighborhoods, commercial interiors and core and shell. the rating system is organized into five different environmental categories: sustainable, sites, water efficiency, energy, and atmosphere, material and resources and innovation. it gives the leed four categories to evaluate the building certificated, gold, silver and platinum (leed v4 for building design and construction). c) dgnb – german sustainable building certificate-gesbc-(2007): gesbc system differs from other systems in the sustainability it is based on the structure is divided into basic elements, a study of the economic social, environmental, and cultural. figure 2. breeam system figure 3. leed system pg. 54 abu alazm / the academic research community publication the development of the german real estate market and developed elements of this system was a response to the requirements (german sustainable building council (dgnb)). the german sustainable building council (dgnb) was founded in june 2007 and created the german sustainable building certificate together with the german federal ministry of transport, construction and urban development. the goal is to create living environments that are environmentally compatible, resource-friendly and economical and that safeguard the health, comfort and performance of their users (the dgnb system: global benchmark for sustainability). the certification was introduced to the real estate market in january 2009. it is now possible to certify at three different levels, “bronze”, “silver” and “gold”, site quality will be addressed, but a separate mark will be given for this, since the boundary for the overall assessment is defined as the building itself (german sustainable building council (dgnb) general terms). figure 4. dgnb system 2. case study 2.1. main administration building of the suez canal university: historical background the first step was the establishment of the university by the president mohamed anwar sadat, president of the arab republic of egypt laid the foundation stone for the establishment of the suez canal university, in the october 4 1975, the total land area of 1300 acres within the boundaries of the city of ismailia, then issued law no. 93 of 1976. and in the establishment of 08/14/1976 suez canal university and it is based in ismailia hosted by the suez canal authority in ismailia, the first meeting of the fledgling university, headed by prof. dr. abdul majid othman, building the first president of the university of the suez canal (suez canal university). 2.2. building description it built a two-story mediates based vip lounge topped with major meetings of the university hall, on the ground floor there is the public administration of the university security offices and the office of the main hall vip, while the first floor and agent’s university offices and the main office of the university president and the main meeting pg. 55 abu alazm / the academic research community publication room. building has a main staircase adjoins a special entrance prime university, agents and vip him both sides of the special branch personnel. based hill height of 4 meters from the level of the university buildings and the main entrance to the building is located on the eastern facade and is located university president’s office on the southern facade of the building. figure 5. main entrance south elevations figure 6. main entrance east elevations pg. 56 abu alazm / the academic research community publication figure 7. building description plans pg. 57 abu alazm / the academic research community publication environmentally rating: assessment of the buildings systems on the collection of items that are reviewed to assess environmentally based: table 1: environmental rating pg. 58 abu alazm / the academic research community publication 2.3. proposed amendments add items to achieve environmental requirements in both southern and eastern façades, as well as addressing the inconsistencies of the elements of the building to be more than one architectural direction, as well as adding elements to generate renewable energy to increase the efficiency of operation in the building. figure 8. proposed amendments figure 9. a-south east shot pg. 59 abu alazm / the academic research community publication figure 10. b-south east shot figure 11. c-west south shot figure 12. d-north west shot pg. 60 abu alazm / the academic research community publication 3. conclusion – the need to follow the approach of sustainability in the design, considering the environmental aspect in all phases of the projects. – the need to reduce energy consumption in all cases and stages of projects. – represent existing buildings side toughest in sustainable design where it lies in transforming and re-built to suit the design considerations of sustainability. – re environmentally project design does not affect the formation of the building negatively, but makes it the best in the performance of his job. – economic return that is provided to convert the building into a sustainable be more economical than the survival of the building as it is. 4. recommendation from the above recommends a range of considerations during the re-design of existing buildings to be converted from ¬an ordinary building to building a sustainable: – the need to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings – the need to achieve thermal and optical comfort factors and appropriate guidance in existing buildings. – support integration of sustainability elements in buildings such as solar cells and modules and piping energy and facades cultivated and other support elements of sustainability in buildings – the need to update the list of supporting sustainability in buildings and integrating all that is suitable for buildings per environmental, social, economic, and functional arts and construction factors, as well as elements of technology available. 5. references 1. leed — usgbc. (n.d.). retrieved from https://new.usgbc.org/leed 2. kats, g. (2003). green building costs and financial benefits. boston: massachusetts technology collaborative. 3. woolley, t. (2008). natural building: a guide to materials and techniques. ramsbury: crowood press. 4. bauer, m., schwarz, m., & mosle, p. (2010). green building: guidebook for sustainable architecture. heidelberg: springer. 5. breeam. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.breeam.org/ 6. housing standards review. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.bre.co.uk 7. how to obtain a breeam rating (breeam uk)[pdf]. (n.d.). breeam. 8. leed is green building. (n.d.). retrieved from https://new.usgbc.org 9. building design construction guide. (n.d.). retrieved from https://www.usgbc.org 10. german sustainable building council (dgnb). (n.d.). retrieved from https://www.dgnb.de pg. 61 abu alazm / the academic research community publication 11. the dgnb system: global benchmark for sustainability. (n.d.). retrieved from https://www.dgnb-system .de 12. german sustainable building council (dgnb) general terms [pdf]. (n.d.). dgnb. 13. suez canal university. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.sourwebsite.com/www.scuegypt.edu.eg 14. kats, g. (2006, october 1). greening america’s schools: costs and benefits[pdf]. capital e. 15. leed v4 for building design and construction[pdf]. (2016, april 5). leed. pg. 62 main text green design components principles of green building design guideline for sustainable design in existing building green building benefits ecosystem assessment of green architecture systems case study main administration building of the suez canal university: historical background building description proposed amendments conclusion recommendation references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.430 towards zero-energy housing in egypt phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed1 1lecturer & head of architecture dept. at the higher technological institute 6th of october abstract as the egyptian population is increasing at a huge rate, the yearly housing demand is increasing in an equivalent rate. in addition, the whole world is suffering from an energy crises caused by the rapidly increasing consumption of world’s traditional energy resources, so the obvious solution is to go green, and depend much more on renewable energy resources. according to the statistical data available in egyptian governmental authorities, the accumulated housing demand till 2014 was about 2,400,000 units. on the other hand, the yearly housing supply from private and public sectors is about 150,000 to 200,000 unit, egyptian authorities declared that at summer 2010 air-conditioning devices increased to reach 3.000.000 ( three million) devices all over egypt, mostly working from early mornings till 2 am next day to adjust temperatures that reach up to (45◦c) and more outside buildings to reach (25 ◦c) or less inside. this behavior increased electricity consumption rapidly. consequently, the electricity consumption rate in egypt had increased by 13% more than 2009, which exceeds the maximum capacity power of the high dam by 7% to 8%, ministry of electricity announcements declared that to fill that gab we need 3000 megawatts at peak hours which costs the electricity sector up to 16.000.000.000 l.e. accordingly, a new architectural design concept is proposed (zero-energy housing unit) to rely on the surrounding environmental conditions and new green architecture techniques in order to provide human comfort based on renewable energy sources, provided that the common current governmental energy sources will be a backup system for the meanwhile. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords energy crises ;zero-energy houses;renewable energy. 1. introduction in the late seventies and early eighties appeared some articles containing the phrase ” zero energy house ”, due to the world energy crises, it was the time when the consequences of the oil crises become noticeable, and the issue of the fossil fuels sources and the energy use started to be discussed.(marszal & heiselberg 2012) most articles and papers discused energy efficient technologies and passive solutions implemented in the building, as architects we need to do more, we need to develop housing models adopting green architecture concepts, passive heating and cooling systems, the use of pv cells, water recycling, and energy efficiency controlling methods either generating sustainable energy or storing generated energy; these housing models are what we call ”zero energy house ” or ” near zero energy house ” pg. 52 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication actually zeb in general and specially in housing sector in egypt is a completely new direction , egyptian architects still putting together the strategies and fundamentals of ” zero energy buildings and houses ” in egypt , this paper is an attempt to lay down some design strategies to reach a ” near zero energy house model ” in egypt. nomenclature: zeb zero energy building nzeb nearly zero energy building zeh zero energy house nzeh nearly zero energy house res renewable energy sources 2. energy consumption pattern in egypt in 2014, residential buildings in egypt were the major consumer of energy recording 52% of the total electrical energy produced in egypt that year, fig 1(eehc,2015) . furthermore, electricity consumption of residential buildings is expected to grow every year because of temperature rising due to global warming, and the rapid growth of housing sector in egypt. moreovor, energy consumption of several residential buildings was examined which revealed that cooling energy is the major required load in buildings, achieving 67% of the total energy consumption of the housing unit.(atwa,2016) figure 1. electrical energy cosumption distribution in egypt for 2014/2015 (elec. energy holdingco., 2015) due to the pattern shown above it is obvious that the residential sector is the most important sector for architects to consider to achieve a significant reduction in energy consumption pattern in egypt, that leed us directly to the zeh & nzeh solutions 3. zeb and nzeb definition & literature review there are several definitions of zeb to be considered here is some of them pg. 53 phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication 3.1. esbensen definition: ” with energy conservation arrangements, such as high-insulated constructions, heat-recvery equipments and a solar heating system, the zero energy house is dimensioned to be self-sufficient in space heating and hot water supplies during normal climatic conditions in denmark. energy supply for the electric installations in the house is taken from the municipal mains.”(esbensen,1977) this definition could be applicable for hot aired climate if we changed heating by cooling systems. 3.2. gilijamse definition: ” a zero energy house is defined here as a house in which no fossil fuels are consumed, and the annual electricity consumption equals annual electricity production, the electricity grid acts as a virtual buffer with annually balanced delivers and returns.”(gilijamse,1995) 3.3. iqbal definition: ” zero energy home is the term used for a home that optimally combines commercially available renewable energy technology with the state of the art energy efficiency construction techniques. in a zero energy home no fossil fuels are consumed and its annual electricity consumption equals annual electricity production. a zero energy home may or may not be grid connected.”(iqbal,2003) 3.4. torcellini, et al. definition: ” a net zero energy building (zeb) is a residential or commercial building with greatly reduced energy needs through efficiency gain such that the balance of energy needs can be supplied with renewable technologies.”(torcellini,2006) 3.5. lausten definition: ” zero net energy buildings are buildings that over a year are natural, meaning that they deliver as much energy to the supply grids as they use from the grid. seen in these terms they do not need any fossil fuel for heating, cooling, lighting or other energy uses although they sometimes draw energy from the grid.”(lausten,2008) conclouding from the above definitions that zeb is a building generates energy from renewable resources equal to its needs, so annual energy consumed by the building equals the energy generated by it, it is better to connect the building to the grid so at emergency cases the building could take some energy from the grid, after a while buildings could supply the grid with extra electric energy generated by each building. 4. towards zero energy housing in egypt housing is one of the most rapidly grawing sectors in egypt, and at the same time residential buildings are consuming more than 50% of the electric energy produced in egypt annually and this percentage is increasing every year, so it is time that government and housing ministry must take their role and consider some guidelines and measurerments to achieve a considerable reduction in electric energy consumed by housing sector, that is by using zeh model in all new settlements to be build in egypt in the future. 4.1. general design strategy for zeh in egypt general design strategy for zeh in egypt considers three main targets:generating the building needs of electric energy from renewable sources fig. 2(eecda,2015); reducing the amount of electric energy consumed by the pg. 54 phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication building by using passive heating and cooling systems ( natural ventilation,double walls, shades,double roofs. . . etc) fig. 3(eecda,2015), considering the context around the housing unit using certain design criterias to plan the context also considering mass production of the housing unit to achieve most efficiency of the zeh design. figure 2. generating energy from renewable sources(eecda,2015) figure 3. reducing energy consumption by using passive heating and cooling systems (eecda,2015) 5. zero energy house model design guide we are considering here low rise housing units around 4 floors because lows in most new settlements restrict building hight to 4 floors, there are some recommendations and guide lines to use while designing a zeh model such as: 5.1. natural ventilation natural ventilation could be achieved through more than one method such as: – cross ventilation for single loaded corridor design.fig. 4(st.clair,2009) – courtyards. fig.5(st. clair,2009) – malqaff or wind towers, a proposal of an electronic smart malqaff is shown in fig 6(a), 6(b), 6(c) (mohamed,2012), or simply a traditional wind tower fig.7(a) , 7(b) (catnaps.org) pg. 55 phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 4. cross ventilation for single loaded corridor design (st. clair,2009) figure 5. courtyards(st.clair,2009) pg. 56 phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 6. (a) the electronic smart malqaff(mohamed,2012) (b) the moving sides of theelectronic malqaff (mohamed,2012) (c) section of the electronic malqaff(mohamed,2012) figure 7. (a) traditional wind tower (catnaps.org) (b) air movement through wind tower(catnaps.org) pg. 57 phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication 5.2. double walls double wall is a technique to delay thermal transmission f rom outside the house to inside at daylight, and from inside to outside at night. fig 8 (soundproofingcompany.com) figure 8. doublewall systems (soundproofingcompany.com) the air cavity works as an insulation for both sound and thermal transmission. 5.3. shadings and façade design at hot arid regions using window shades both horizontals or verticals are important due to high levels of solar radiation,fig.9 (payette.com), also façade design takes a good role in the overall energy performance of the building, shade and shadow designed by projecting some parts of the façade,size and placement of windows, it is preferable to use small windows in hot regions.fig.10 (pinterest.ie) figure 9. shadingstypes (payette.com) figure 10. small windows facades (pinterest.ie) pg. 58 phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication 5.4. pv cells merging pv cells in the zeh model design on the rooftop or the facades is a must, so they would work as the electric energy generator which will provide the building with its needs of electric power. there are many types of pv cells, one of them is the flexible pv cells which are very important for architects so they can integrate the pv cells in any form into their building.fig.11(nbamyjo.com) figure 11. flexible pv cells (nbamyjo.com) 5.5. water recycling systems a simple grey water recycling system must be integrated in our zeh model, through this system the water coming from bathroom showers and hand basins is to be recycled and reused in garden,car washing and washing machines; while the water coming from toilets and kitchen basin is directed immediately to sewer, a simple grey water recycling system is shown in fig.12 (pinterest.ie). figure 12. a simple grey water recycling system (pinterest.ie) pg. 59 phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication 6. from zero energy house to zero energy settlement as previously shown housing sector is one of the most growing sectors in egypt, and residential buildings consume more than 50% of the electric energy generated in egypt, so in all new settlements to be built we should obligate architects to stick with zeh models guidelines, and take it more further and design zero energy settelments, the efficiency of zeh units would be much more valueable if we go mass producting for the housing units itself and for our designing concepts for the whole settlement. 6.1. urban strategy to use on a zero energy settlement there are two main concepts to be used on a zero energy settlement: – building orientation : most housing units should be facing north direction to capture the preferable north wind in egypt, and to get most benefit of natural ventilation treatments used in the housing unit design. – spacing between buildings : we must use a compatible urban pattern when designing new settlements specially in hot arid region, to get as much shadow in the settlement as we can to reduce the energy needed to cool residential units to minimum. 6.2. extra useful ideas for zero energy settlement design – animal farms : we could build an animal farm for the whole settlement to produce beef, graze and also methane gas through special treatments for cows manure to be used for cooking and heating. fig.14 (wordpress.com) figure 13. usingcows manure to generate methane gas for cooking and heating (wordpress.com) – wind farm : to generate more electric energy as a reserve for the whole settlement.fig.14(inhabitat.com) pg. 60 phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 14. windfarm (inhabitat.com) 7. conclusion – residential buildings consume annually more than 50% of the total electrical energy produced in egypt. – housing is one of the most growing sectors in egypt, and government is planning to build a lot of new settlements in the near future. – government and housing ministry should obligate architect and designers to follow certain roles and guidelines when designing housing units in the new settlements to create zero energy housing models. – zeb is a building generates energy from renewable resources equal to its needs, so annual energy consumed by the building equals the energy generated by it, it is better to connect the building to the grid so at emergency cases the building could take some energy from the grid, after a while buildings could supply the grid with extra electric energy generated by each building. – general design strategy for zeh in egypt considers three main targets: – generating the building needs of electric energy from renewable sources; reducing the amount of electric energy consumed by the building by using passive heating and cooling systems ( natural ventilation,double walls, shades,double roofs. . . etc), considering the context of the housing unit using certain design criterias to plan the context also considering mass production of the housing unit to achieve most efficiency of the zeh design. – zero energy house model design guide considers: – natural ventilation through different techniques ( cross ventilation,courtyards,and wind towers or malqaf traditional or electronic); double walls; shadings and façade design; pv cells; and water recycling systems. – designers should develop the idea from just a zero energy house to a zero energy settlement. – there are certain urban strategy to deal with while designing a zero energy settlement involving: building orientation; and spacing between buildings. – there are some extra ideas could be useful when designing a zero energy settlement: building an animal farm to produce beef, graze and methane gas from cows manure; and building a wind farm to exaggerate the electrical energy generated from the settlement. 8. references 1. anna joanna marszaland per heiselberg,zero energy building (zeb) definetionsa literature review,technical report of subtask a,iea-shc org.,2012 2. elecric energy holding company,report,egypt,2015 3. mostafa atwa,architectural design with environmental solutionsas as a scope for sustainability, paper,journal of buildings and sustainability,vol.1,issue 2,2016. pg. 61 phd. dr. hala abdelmoez mohamed / the academic research community publication 4. esbensen, t.v. & korsgaard, v, dimensioning of the solar heating system in the zero energy house in denmark. solar energy vol. 19, issue 2, 1977, pp. 195-199 5. gilijamse, w. , zero-energy houses in the netherlands. proceedings of building simulation ‘95. madison, wisconsin, usa, august 14–16; 1995, pp. 276–283. web address: http://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/bs1995/b s95 276 283.pdf 6. iqbal, m.t. , a feasibility study of a zero energy home in newfoundland, renewable energy vol. 29, issue 2 february 2004, pp. 277-289 7. torcellini, p., pless, s. & deru, m. , zero energy buildings: a critical look at the definition, national renewable energy laboratory (nrel), usa , 2006 web address: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy06osti/39833.pdf 8. laustsen, j. , energy efficiency requirements in building codes, energy efficiency policies for new buildings, international energy agency (iea), 2008 web address: http://www.iea.org/g8/2008/building codes.pdf 9. energy efficiency and conservation division agency for natural resources and energy, ministry of economy,trade and industry,japan, definition of zeb and future measures proposed by the zeb roadmap examination committee, technical report, 2015. 10. hala abdelmoez mohamed, merging traditional arabian architecture and smart architecture between theory and application” electronic windcatchermalkaf” as a new way to solve identity and energy dilemma,ph.d thesis, faculty of engineering,cairo university,2012 11. http://www.catnaps.org/islamic/control.html 12. http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing101/triple-leaf-effect 13. http://www.payette.com/conferences/a-sun-shading-performance-retrospective 14. http://www.pinterest.ie/pin/501307002258033787 15. http://www.pinterest.ie/pin/501307002263270325 16. http://www.nbamyjo.com/2015/11/solar-panels-and-top-box.html 17. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/26106872811217522/ 18. https://chemicalengineering185.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/converting-cow-manure-to-energy-2/ 19. http://inhabitat.com/norway-to-double-wind-power-capacity-with-worlds-largest-onshore-wind-farm/norwaywind-energy-farm/ pg. 62 introduction energy consumption pattern in egypt zeb and nzeb definition & literature review esbensen definition: gilijamse definition: iqbal definition: torcellini, et al. definition: lausten definition: towards zero energy housing in egypt general design strategy for zeh in egypt zero energy house model design guide natural ventilation double walls shadings and façade design pv cells water recycling systems from zero energy house to zero energy settlement urban strategy to use on a zero energy settlement extra useful ideas for zero energy settlement design conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication kitoparts: a virtual playground to explore form, space, and order derek a. ham1 1nc state university college of design abstract architecture students use both analog and digital tools throughout their design process. ideally, the affordances of each tool complement each other. our goal with kitoparts is to move beyond two-dimensional screen based computer modeling environments to create a system that feels analog but harnesses all the affordances of digital modeling environments. with the usage of vr and haptic controllers, we hope to provide a rich and flexible methodology for investigating forms and space. in educational settings, kitoparts aims to solve three major problems with traditional beginning design exercises. first, it solves the scaling problem, allowing design students to see their designs visualized at full scale and in real-time. second, it overcomes the combinatorial nature of physical building blocks by allowing 3d shapes to overlap and embed into each other in ways they could not within the physical world. finally, we include the designer’s “hands” in the creative process. virtual hands prove to be much more intuitive to use than the traditional mouse and keyboards commonly utilized in most cad and modeling software. with kitoparts, the computer model is no longer just a tool for representation; it becomes the user interface for design. kitoparts allows both seasoned designers and novices to simply play, build, and explore. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords education; representation; hands on learning; slow computing; shape grammars; real and virtual; play and design 1. introduction how do designers imagine their projects during the design process? do they imagine shrinking themselves to inhabit the physical models they make? or, do they imagine scaling their models into gigantic forms belonging in the real world? do designers inhabit their sketches as the ink touches the paper? some do. designers rely on their imagination throughout their entire process, and when imagination fails technology attempts to lend a helping hand. digital modeling offers the designer the ability to control cameras and walk through spaces in firstperson perspective. as friedberg (2009) points out, the computer model feels scale-less and intangible. oftentimes, computer screens are barriers that can situate the designer something like alice looking through the looking glass, desiring to get in. in our proposed vr design system, kitoparts, computer modeling is no longer a process involving clicking a computer mouse. we have created a new intuitive process that involves using your hands to build and design digital architectural models at various scales (figure 1). with kitoparts the hand-held scaled model becomes the user interface (ui). this is not just a new way to ”experience design” but also a new way ”to design”. the ui pg. 85 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.348 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ham / the academic research community publication and ux are of special interest for any design software because of how it can enable or thwart creativity. recent hci devices that track the body have offered touch-less interaction for computer modeling, but their instability and lack of tactility have left much to be desired. the contemporary vr market’s response to human interaction in virtual spaces has been with wireless controllers that give the user a free domain of movement, haptic feedback, and several programmable analog buttons. figure 1. screenshots of the kitoparts design tool running on oculus rift using oculus touch controllers. figure 2. screenshots of the kitoparts design tool running on oculus rift using oculus touch controllers. virtual hands, provided by the oculus rift, bring back the action of “holding objects” to the design process. manipulating blocks with one’s hands is a design tradition that goes back a long way, even before the bauhaus. this type of object manipulation is what knight (2012) calls “slow computing.” designers can manually carry out geometric transformations by sliding and rotating their pieces around in space. in the virtual environment, designers can now use their hands to scale objects with a simple stretch of the shape primitive. without gravitational pg. 86 ham / the academic research community publication or physical constraints, the pieces can be explored with three-dimensional embedding and form overlap. 2. background 2.1. using vr in the design process the recent usage of vr in architecture and design do not use vr as an actual work environment, the place where designs are conceived. designers often use pen and pencil, cad, digital modeling, and various rendering tools. in the early stages of the design process it is important for the tools of use to be flexible and offer ”0” resistance in the creative process. because of this, pen and pencil has been the tool of choice; they are easy to use, and allow designers to work beyond combinatorial logic. some digital tools claim to offer the same ease of use and fast ideation as pencil and pen. sketchup and rhino offer dimensionality to the design process in ways sketching does not. yet, these ”easy to use” tools still present hurdles and blockage of thought that naturally comes when operating a computer mouse and navigating a software’s ui. several of these popular cad software packages have now begun to implement vr functionality.1 with most, the approach to provide added vr support is only for the endvisualization of constructed projects. architects then use the virtual environment at “stopping points” or moments of reflection. users are not given the opportunity to carry out design and modeling activities within the vr space. 2.2. design representation, scale, and proportions the way architecture responds to scale and proportion is often difficult to grasps for novice designers. this has a lot to do with the reality that scale in relation to the human body is left to the imagination of the designer. much of the design process is spent translating scale through imagination. design students are rarely afforded opportunities to design at a 1:1 scale. as a result the designer may have difficulty considering the spatial ramifications of his/her design, as the design itself is only as good as they can use their imagination to speculate scale (corbusier, 1946). designers do use scaled down models, and often populate them with miniature representations of humans to indicate the relative proportions to the body, but much can be lost in this cognitive translation. in some instances the usage of “full scale” models and/or drawings have been used to explore design ideas (figure 3). this is always an informed experience because we truly do not have a sense of how large or small something is, until we experience it at a 1:1 scale. while full-scale exploration can give the designers affordances to be reflective about their design decisions, the thought process is paused during the time used to model or draw. the lengthy natures of this process can sometimes thwart creativity, and time + cost constraints do not lend these exercises to be frequently repeated. furthermore, all projects do not lend themselves to this type of exploration due to the enormous scale of the end design. figure 3. adesign student using a 1:1 scale drawing to better understand their designdecisions 1 11 v-ray has released several vr plugins for autodesk modeling software including 3ds max and maya. likewise, several vr plugins (including autodesk live) have now come on the market allowing users to import sketchup and revit, bim models to be viewed on oculus rift and htc vive. these tools come with crowded user interfaces, as they are industryfocused tools. pg. 87 ham / the academic research community publication 2.3. design education: kit of parts exercises educational approaches and the tools we use for design education are of important interest to our work. the traditional “kit of parts” exercise was the metaphor this project was designed (and named) from. the “ninesquare” design project is a common exercise using a kit of parts given to students in the beginning-design curriculum. within this exercise, students are forced to work in complete abstractions. love (2003) writes, “by reducing possible design solutions to reductive elements like ‘walls-as planes’ and ‘piers,’ students were encouraged to think about spatial relations” (p. 44). this kit of parts exercise provides students with a scaffold introduction to thinking about form and space (figures 4 & 5). 2.4. shape grammars and computational play shape grammars expand the kit of parts exercise from looking solely on the kit of part pieces to an explicit usage of rules and a vocabulary system to explain the structure and order of a design system. an example of this type of computational approach can be seen in the kindergarten grammars described by stiny (1980). the kindergarten grammars are a formal description for the froebel building gifts made popular by architects, such as frank lloyd wright. within this system, shape grammars work with a kit of parts and their configurations, serving as the vocabulary and a category system that make the language of design. just as it is in all games, the constraints of the system often bring out the elements of play (ham, 2016). in doing so, they produce creativity. while froebel blocks are combinatory in nature, they still demonstrate the ludic offerings of shape grammars. when designs move beyond combinatory systems, we can move beyond 0-dimensional elements to allow for more “play moves” that include embedding and shape emergence. figure 4. design students working on a traditional kit of parts project pg. 88 ham / the academic research community publication figure 5. design students working on a traditional kit of parts project 3. tool creation 3.1. coding process and environment to designing the tool the constructor-programming environment for kitoparts is built in the unity 3d game engine. unity is robust; it allows program designers to create tools and projects that extend well beyond mobile and console games. unity allows designers to code in both javascript and c#, both which were used to construct the kitoparts design tool. kitoparts was built for the oculus rift and the compatible oculus touch hand controllers. the oculus rift and htc vive are both flagship devices that have taken to the unity game development as a platform for content development. these devices represent high quality vr experiences with relatively affordable prices. this has enabled the industry to push the boundaries on the level of immersive experiences. 3.2. description of the kitoparts environment the kitoparts tool situates the designer between the traditional experience of building a scaled model and inhabiting that same model at 1:1 true scale. the virtual experience becomes surreal in that real-scale representation is carried out in real time as the user manipulates the virtual scaled model with their hands (figure 6). in kitoparts, the designer is given instant access to the understanding their design decisions related to scale and proportion. figure 6. kitoparts modeling environment and components pg. 89 ham / the academic research community publication navigational elements are placed on each “virtual hand” that include buttons for easy access to an array of new shape primitives, buttons to toggle visibility of the scaled model and 1:1 model, and buttons to change material properties of building blocks. kitoparts is designed to provide an easy to use creative environment that quickly constructs vr projects with a minimal time investment. the goal of the kitoparts software is to provide a user interface that incorporates features akin to physical design-play experiences. 4. results & discussion 4.1. live demonstration + user test a recent exhibit at the 2017 east coast games conference in raleigh, nc allowed us to gather critical feedback from a user group outside of the architectural and design community (figure 7). the results were overwhelmingly positive. one tester said, kitoparts “returned me to my childhood.” kitoparts takes a familiar activity and moves it beyond 0-dimensionality. each component in the kit of parts exercise is no longer treated as a single discrete element. pieces can fuse together as you hold them in your hands. with these virtual building blocks we find embedding that produces the emergence of new shapes and spaces. this methodology of design is both playful and computational. figure 7. kitoparts testersat the 2017 east coast games conference in raleigh, nc the 0-dimensionality of the traditionally physical kits of parts are combinatorial like legos. that approach to design can be limiting and offers fewer possibilities than designing with pencils and trace paper. kitoparts removes the combinatorial limitations of traditional building blocks, but still allows users to play with combinatorial logic should they choose. ideally, studio design exercises should allow students to play within the upper limits of multidimensional shapes to account for embedding, recursion, and emergence of new shapes. 4.2. formal descriptions of vr gestures tangible learning through manipulatives has a great lasting impact on the learner. kitoparts provides several opportunities to see the relationship between learning with the hand and seeing with the eye. the hand play can be understood as the “kit-of-actions” the players use to perform the game. these actions can be further characterized by the unique hand positions players took in game play. the traditional kit of parts project can be characterized by stiny’s shape grammars so that each shape can be represented by the variable “x” as they go through several transformations, best understood by the schema x→ t (x). shapes are then held by the user’s hand as he/she translates, rotates, and reflects the geometry in space. however, these transformations are combinatorial in the traditional kit of parts exercise because the wooden blocks cannot pass through each other through embedding. in the virtual domain, the user can design without these constraints. designers can move shapes with their hands to generate compositions that include embedded shapes. three dimensional shapes can pass through each other in ways they do not in the physical world. for the designer, this opens up an array of possibilities. pg. 90 ham / the academic research community publication figure 8. kitoparts enable users to explore shape embedding where they could not with physical blocks piaget notes that as the child develops, learning with the hands was essential. the same can be said about adult learners and students of design. the connection a child’s hands have with any toy is a beautiful dance of control and imagination. for users playing with kitoparts, the hands are intuitive tools to carry out calculation. in this teaching approach, design composition is not taught through formal lectures but rather done through doing, making, and play. hands and eyes become the instruments necessary to carry out computations. vr becomes a form of playful calculation that enables the designer to play between the physical and digital. hands-on inquiry can lead to experiential understanding of material and shape qualities of a subject matter. the strength of hands-on inquiry in understanding shape rules is the ability the user has to discover all of the inbetween stages of a transformation. if we apply, for instance, a 90-degree rotation to a shape via a traditional computer-based system, the shape would just snap into its new orientation. what we miss, then, is the opportunity to see all the degrees of rotation that lie between 0 and 90 degrees. if this happens we might lose sight of all of the transformed embedded shapes that evolve during the course of the transformation from 0 to 90 degrees. from hands-on actions and slow computing, we can find so much more. 4.3. future studies with the kitoparts tool complete, future studies of its use in the educational setting of the architecture design studio will look to answer several questions (but not limited to): how does instant access to full-scale visualization impact design education? are concepts better understood? how well does the tool enable the student to think about scale and proportion? how does learning that situates the student between working with scaled models and their designs at 1:1 experiential scale (in real time) impact student learning? how do they (and how often) navigate between model view and full-scale view? -how well does the tool enable the student to bring their design ideas into fruition? limitations? compare risk taking with other cad tools. -how many design iterations do students go through with this vr system? how many iterations/tweaking do they go through with each design? 5. conclusion for a long time, designers have placed a great emphasis on tactile approaches to learning such as hand drawn sketching, diagramming, and model building. in many cases, designers used these techniques to separate themselves from other professions; it was the skill that gave them creative superiority over other professions. while sketching is not being removed from design education, this method of process thinking is in desperate need of a reboot. designers must adopt new methods to reach places where they are not only just “users” of new technology but hackers and creators of new technology themselves. when a scaled model becomes an interface for design, there are opportunities to include intuition and visual calculation. design becomes child’s play. holding a design element in our hand (albeit virtual) helps us to carry out geometric transformations radically different than the experiences we have dragging objects along a computer pg. 91 ham / the academic research community publication screen with a mouse. the tangibility of learning is once again brought to the forefront of design activities. furthermore, this new type of virtual tangibility through the use of haptic controllers allows designers to explore gestures that would ordinarily be impossible to achieve. design elements can be handled in a noncombinatory manner. this is not unique to computing environments, but is definitely a new experience for the “hand-guided” design experience. matter can now pass through matter. embedding can occur with 3d blocks in the same way we slide compositions drawn on tracing paper along a table. the process is tangible, intuitive, and non-combinatorial, all ingredients that deliver a new and novel design experience. 6. references 1. corbusier, l. (1946). towards a new architecture / by le corbusier. london: architectural. 2. friedberg, a. (2009). the virtual window: from alberti to microsoft. cambridge: the mit press. 3. ham, d. (2016). “how designers play: the ludic modalities of the creative process.” design issues 32 (4): 16-28 4. knight, t. (2012). “slow computing: teaching generative design with shape grammars.” in computational design methods and technologies: applications in cad, cam and cae education, edited n. gu and x. wang. hershey, pa: igi global, 34-55. 5. love, t. (2003). “kit-of-parts conceptualism.” harvard design magazine 19: 40-47. 6. stiny, g. (1980). “kindergarten grammars: designing with froebel’s building gifts.” environment and planning b: planning and design 7 (4): 409-462. pg. 92 introduction background using vr in the design process design representation, scale, and proportions design education: kit of parts exercises shape grammars and computational play tool creation coding process and environment to designing the tool description of the kitoparts environment results & discussion live demonstration + user test formal descriptions of vr gestures future studies conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication the construction of economic green buildings in sinai and suez canal zone using compressed stabilized earth technique wael mohamed adel tawfik abdel-latif1 1architect, phd abstract currently, there are several technologies applied in many societies to improve the use of the environmental resources such as the use of soil with some binders in the construction of buildings, and the usage of the stabilized earth architecture technique by new urban communities. one of the advantages of these buildings is that they make good use of the environment and save energy and expenditure. this project deals with the use of the sandy soil which resulted from the excavation of the buildings. it also targets the design and building of whole low energy, ecological, and low-cost green building/villages in the future projects in sinai and suez canal zone, using stabilized earth architecture. the sandy soil under study is that of the sand on the east side of the suez canal in sinai which is a by-product of the dry excavation and wet drilling of the canal. this paper shows that passive and energy efficient techniques incorporated in building designs can reduce the electricity requirements. the most effective parameter is the thermal efficiency of building envelope and blocking sun rays. the available renewable energy systems can meet parts of building loads. thermal bridges are not so common in the bearing wall construction method. herein in this paper, several specimens were collected from different sites in elferdan and serapum in sinai (suez canal zone) along the east side of the suez canal to investigate the suitability of stabilizing this soil for the production of compressed earth blocks for low-cost ecologic building construction. several tests, e.g., sieve analysis and the proctor test, were made of the specimens. the results showed that the ratio of salts, chlorides, and sulfates were low. in addition, the specimens collected sieve analysis ranged from coarse to fine sand. stabilizing the materials resulted from the by-production in the industry can be used for minimizing the coast of compressed stabilized earth buildings with high engineering properties. experiments on the produced compressed stabilized earth bricks (cseb) with different level of stabilizing agent (by-product materials) were made using one of the specimens collected from elferdan zone. the results showed that the 35% ckd ratio of sand weight can be considered as the optimum ckd content; which provides the best properties for the admixture as long as the percentages of cement (opc) and the fiber-reinforced polymer (frp) are 5% and 0.07% of sand weight, respectively. the rest of this research will be completed in the next parts, which includes finding more mechanical, engineering, and thermal properties of the produced cseb. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords green buildings; compressed stabilized earth buildings; sinai; suez canal zone pg. 153 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.356 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abdel-latif / the academic research community publication 1. introduction the construction of sinai and suez canal zone is an important national project. the sand installed on the east side of the suez canal in sinai, and that resulted from the dry excavation and wet drilling of this canal, can have many environmental benefits. the project includes using this installed sand in designing and building whole zero energy, low coast ecological green building/communities using stabilized earth architecture technique especially in sinai on the east side of the suez canal, to take part in the prosperity of the suez canal zone. the proposal scheme appears from figures 1 to figure 6 below, show example of building models that can be constructed using compressed architecture technique. scheme 1: full design proposal for the prototype building the project objects to have internal thermal comfortable day lighted buildings, contributing towards solving the housing and city crowd problem, and the possibility of building in remote desert lands without being connected to any electricity or water or sewage grid, only road & moderate ground water aquifer is needed. the project includes, first the determination of soil and defining its classification and characteristics. the soil is stabilized with a binder depending on soil type, to improve soil properties. the mixture is then compressed into molds to produce compressed stabilized earth blocks (cseb). the engineering and mechanical properties of the cseb are then determined. the architecture design of the building is then made according to green architecture parameters, and cseb design constrains, to provide moderate thermal environment inside the building and take pg. 154 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication advantage of natural lighting and ventilation, and renewable energy sources. the structural design is made according to the egyptian codes including the earthquakes’ construction requirements to assure its efficiency and safety. finally, the execution process begins according to the egyptian rules and specifications to achieve the requirements of safety, operation, and maintenance. part one in this paper tackles with the analysis of energy efficiency buildings and if the sandy soil installed on east side of the suez canal in sinai be used in the construction of these buildings using compressed stabilized earth technique? and what type of stabilizer (by-product material) which can be used to produce low cost ecologic cseb? 2. literature review 2.1. introduction to energy efficiency the rate of electricity consumption is increasing rapidly in egypt. the residential and industrial sectors are considered as the two major end users of electricity in egypt. the average annual growth rate of the residential sector is 7.5% over the last five years. it is increasing rapidly. (mourad, ali, abdel-rahman, & ookawara, 2014) occupant’s need for thermal, biologic and visual comfort can be considered during building design with the reduction of the energy consumption level. energy efficiency and passive technique can be incorporated in building design at the early design stage to minimize loads of the conventional systems such as lighting, ventilation, cooling and heating, and to design energy efficient lighting. the renewable energy systems like solar photovoltaic and solar heating water systems can be used to meet part of building energy loads and reach the comfortable zone, figure 1. a national energy efficiency plan for promoting more efficient use of energy has been prepared. it includes using of renewable energy systems, improving energy efficiency in public buildings and street lighting, and increasing use of light emitted diode lamps (leds). 2.2. compressed stabilized earth many studies have focused on the investigation of alternative low coast construction materials. this is due to the increasing costs of traditional and ordinary building materials. the aim is to develop inexpensive energy efficient construction materials for the construction of low cost sustainable buildings. figure 1. comfortable zone masonry is one of the popular materials for building construction due to its useful properties such as durability, relatively low price, good heat and sound insulation, acceptable fire resistance, appropriate and satisfactory resistance to weathering, and likable appearance. pg. 155 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication adequate erosion resistance and compressive strength are normally required in the materials used for the construction. the direct use of earth soil for building construction without any modification has some disadvantages like low mechanical characteristics and durability, low performance, and dissatisfying resistance to weathering. these disadvantages can be enhanced by stabilizing the soil with a binder, depending on the soil type, for improving chemical and mechanical properties of this soil (fetra, rahman, & zaidi, 2011; deboucha & hashim, 2011). the process of compaction improves the strength of the stabilized soil and leads to high compressive strength and good resistance to erosion. the stabilization and compacting techniques produces compressed stabilized earth blocks(cseb). they are a low cost, strong, and durable blocks for building construction. cseb have some advantages which includes the use of local materials, the production is in site so the transportation coast is reduced. compressed stabilized earth construction method is a fast and easy construction method, and generates local economy. the produced cseb have good strength. the carbon emission and embodied energy in the production phase are low, so a low level of waste is produced which cause no environmental pollution (deboucha & hashim, 2011). the remarkable difference between the conventional bricks and cseb is the energy consumed and carbon emission during the production process. the concrete blocks, common fired clay bricks, and aerated concrete blocks creates during their production 143, 200, 280-375 kg co2/ton respectively, while the cseb creates 22 kg co2/ton (fetra, rahman, & zaidi, 2011). 2.3. stabilizing materials portland cement, lime, fly ash, silica fume, fly ash with cement or lime, and cement kiln dust (ckd) can be used as stabilizing materials added to the soil to enhance its properties. cement is usually used in the stabilization of sandy soil. lime is usually used in stabilization of fine grained soils like clay. the coal combustion in power plants produces fly ash as a by-product. the engineering properties of soil can be improved by the addition of fly ash to lime or cement. silica fume can be used also. the cement manufacturing process produces ckd as a by-product material. the raw material and energy that was wasted to produce ckd are considered as a loss of money for cement industry, as ckd is a disposable material. therefore, using ckd would be much more cost effective than just getting rid of it away as a waste material. the ckd contain higher concentration of sulfates, alkalis, and free lime. the adding of ckd affects the compaction characteristics of the soils. 3. energy efficiency in buildings as one of the aims, is to design a low coast energy efficient buildings at early stage of planning of new societies in egyptian desert, a single and two story house prototypes were introduced. the housing unit is of area 112 m2 and a garden of 90 m2. this suggested prototypes are designed for the habitation of people in egyptian new cities which consider one of the key solution for the crowdedness in the delta and around the river nile. the proposed prototypes are making use of passive and energy efficiency techniques that are incorporated in building design than regular design technique. they also can make use of the available renewable energy resources. although renewable energy systems are expensive now a day, with the fast development in technology, the prices become more manageable. 3.1. the passive and energy efficiency techniques the passive and energy efficiency approach includes different environmental design strategies to avoid heat transfer through the building envelope. sun rays are blocked away from building envelop through tress and external shadings devices, which decreases the solar heat gain, figure 3. the solar heat gain through roof is reduced either pg. 156 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication by shading or insulation. the vertical east and west facades are subjected to the largest solar intensities, the heat gain can be reduced when the smaller facades are on the east and west sides. the building orientation along the east-west axis is the preferred orientation. however in the neighborhood the buildings shades each other, figures 1-3. optimization of building form reduces the building heated volume, decrease the geometric heat bridges and improve daylight.for the one story prototype house the calculated energy demand (electricity required) for cooling the building decreased by about 50% from 25.8 kwh (regular design) to 13.9 kwh (energy efficient design) as the thermal balance decreases from 20.25 kw to 11.1 kw, as shown in equation 1. the co2 emission decreases by 50% from 14 tons/year to 7 tons/year. it worth mention that the thermal resistance (u value) of cseb is assumed to be 1.4 w/m2c (u value of cement mortar). for the two story prototype house the calculated energy demand (electricity required) for cooling the building decreased by about 46% from 47.41 kwh (regular design) to 25.57 kwh (energy efficient design) as the thermal balance decreases from 37.9 kw to 20.6 kw, as shown in equation 1. the co2 emission decreases by 46% from 27.45 tons/year to 14.92 tons/year. q total = q transmission + q ventilation − q internal loads − q solar where q transmission = t hermal transmit tance q ventilation =ventilation loads q internal loads = internal heat loads q solar = solar gain (1) building envelope design (size and window location) provides the minimum required daylight access, minimum heat gain and maximum external reflection. the maximum window wall ratio is 18% of building envelope and the maximum glazed area is 10% for south oriented room, such that daylight should not drop than the intensity needed by our biologic and visual systems. for the one story prototype house, the window wall ratio for north, south, and west facades are 18.8%, 8.7% and 6.22%. while there are no openings in the east façade except the house entrance. for the two story prototype house, the window wall ratio for north, east, south, and west facades are 17.2%, 6.22%, 9% and 12.4%. the best way to daily reset our circadian clocks and stimulate our bodies to produce a healthy dose of vitamin d is 1-2 hours (complete activation duration) of exposure of a minimum of 1000 lux (starting quantity) of natural light each morning (duration of exposure is inversely proportional to quantity of luminance at the eye), figure 2.this exposure should not drop below fifteen minutes under any circumstances. then daylight quantity can be reduced (after 2:00 pm) such that the quantity of daylight enclosed in the space is enough to support vision system. the design of the openings system thus must fulfill the previous considerations (abdel-latif, 2005). light nano-coat paintings are preferred to be used as they are thermal resistance. internal reflected light isn’t affected by the change in window opening shape, within an elevation angle of 50 ˚ from the horizontal. however once the elevation angle is above 50 ˚ from the horizontal, the vertical window configuration is better than the horizontal window configuration (abdel-latif, 2014). q trans. = σ ai ∗ ui ∗ ∆t = a exterior wall × u ext.r wall × ∆t ext. wall + a win× u win× ∆t win + a roo f × u roo f × ∆t roo f (2) where a=area of building element (m2); u=thermal resistance (w/m2c); ∆t=temperature difference between external and internal temperature. thermal insulation of energy efficient building envelop play a great role in energy saving as it reduces the heat transfer to the indoor spaces. the better insulation capacity lowers the thermal transmittance (u value). for the one story prototype house, the thermal transmittance decreases from -8.1 kw (regular design) to -3.7 kw (energy efficient design) as shown in equation 2. for the two stories prototype house, the thermal transmittance decreases from -15.1 kw (regular design) to -5.2 kw (energy efficient design). for the two prototypes, the thermal resistance of walls decreases from 2.46w/m2c (regular design) to 0.66w/m2c (energy efficient design), figure 3.the thermal resistance of the roof is 0.43w/m2c. the internal temperature decreases about 4 ◦c from 26 ◦c to 22 ◦c. it worth mention that the used windows are single glazed window (u= 5.8w/m2c). although, double glazing windows pg. 157 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication (u= 2.8 w/m2c) are more thermal resistance, but they are very expensive (about 1500 l.e/m2). for the one story prototype house, upon installing double glazing windows, the energy demand (electricity required) for cooling the building decreased to 12 kwh (energy efficient design) as the thermal balance decreases to 9.5 kw, and the thermal balance decreases to -2.9 kw. the co2 emission decreases to 6.9 tons/year. for the two story prototype house, upon installing double glazing windows, the energy demand (electricity required) for cooling the building decreased to 21.57 kwh (energy efficient design) as the thermal balancedecreasesto17.25kw,andthethermalbalancedecreasesto5.2kw.theco2 emission decreases to12.49 tons/year. the using of double glazing windows didn’t decrease the energy demand for cooling loads, thermal balance, and co2 emission very much. it is better to use single glazed windows as they are very cheaper than the double glazing windows the construction method is bearing walls such that the thermal bridges are avoided in the building envelope. a thermal bridge is an area within building elements, in which the heat energy is rapidly transported to the inside than in the remainder of these elements. however, thermal bridges are very common in the common construction method which is the reinforced concrete structure (columns, beams and floor slabs) filled in with block work or brick walls (visser & yeretzian, 2013). natural air ventilation uses both wind and temperature difference to cool the building interior. the courtyard and openings placed in the north elevation help in cooling down the air flow before entering the house spaces and is used to release heat and humidity. figure 2. healthy day-lighting system along the day figure 3. isometric of the multi-shell wall for the energy efficient envelope of the residential building. 3.2. integrated renewable energy resources the total electric daily loads of the house lighting and appliances are about 7.6 kwh/d, as shown in table i. the pv size is 2.1 kwp, and this is corresponding to a number of 10 pv modules of 220 watt (total area 16 m2). ). for the one story prototype house, the building applied pv (bapv) are installed on more than one third of the roof of the living area (total area 50m2), as shown in figure 4. for the two story prototype house, the building applied pv (bapv) are installed on more than two third of the roof of the living area (total area 50m2), as shown in figure 5. the solar charger controller and inverter sizes are 100 watt or greater and 1400 watt or greater, respectively, pg. 158 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication per each apartment unit. the number of batteries (600 ah) needed is 10, per each apartment unit. the batteries are divided into two groups connected in series to double the voltage (obtain the 24 v), and each group contain 5 batteries (600ah) connected in parallel. solar heaters are installed on the roof for hot water supply. figure 4. renewable energy resources in the one story prototype house figure 5. renewable energy resources in the two story prototype house table 1. daily load profile of the prototype residential building load quantity power hrs/d power total inside led tube lamps (120 cm) 14 15 8 210 1680 outside led lamps 4 15 8 60 480 fans 4 60 5 240 1200 computer 1 300 5 300 1500 refrigerator 1 175 12 1§75 2100 tv & receiver 1 80 8 80 640 total daily loads (kwh/d)total daily loads (kwh/d) 7.6 peak daily power (wp/d)peak daily power (wp/d) 1065 pg. 159 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication 4. materials and methods 4.1. divisions of suez canal province the suez canal province is divided into three parts; the north zone covers the area from south of port-said in north running south to elferdan. the middle zone covers the area from elferdan running south to serapum, figure 6. the south zone covers the area from serapum running south to elsuez. 4.2. soil specimen location the herein study covers the middle zone where twelve specimens were collected. figure 6, shows the map of the second zone. seven specimens were collected along about 3.5 km of the east bank of the suez canal from 65.1e km running south to 69.1e km in elferdan area (suez canal east side numbering from portsaid in the north). five specimens were collected along about 2.5 km of the east bank of the suez canal from 88.1e km running south to 90.5e km in serapumarea. the characteristics of the soil were conducted through different tests. sieve analysis was conducted using the bs set of sieves. the optimum moisture content and maximum dry density were determined through proctor test. chemical analysis was performed to determine the ratio of salts, chlorides, and sulfates, and the ph value. figure 6. the second zone covers the area from elferdan running south to serapum. 5. result and discussion 5.1. sieve analysis the result of the sieve analysis were illustrated in figures 7-18. the soil classification of specimens from 65.7e km running south to 66.8e km is medium to fine sand. however, the soil classification of specimens at 67.3e km and 67.9e km is medium to coarse sand. the soil classification of specimens at 68.5e km and 69.1e km are medium fine silty sand. the soil classification of specimen at 89e km is coarse to fine sand. the soil classification at 88.1e km, 88.5e km, and 89.6e km are medium to coarse sand. the soil classification of specimen at 90.5e km is medium to fine sand with silt. pg. 160 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication figure 7. the sieve analysis of specimen 1 at 65.7e km at el-ferdan figure 8. the sieve analysis of specimen 2 at 66.2e km at el-ferdan pg. 161 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication figure 9. the sieve analysis of specimen 3 at 66.8e km at el-ferdan figure 10. the sieve analysis of specimen 4 at 67.3e km at el-ferdan pg. 162 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication figure 11. the sieve analysis of specimen 5 at 67.9e km at el-ferdan figure 12. the sieve analysis of specimen 6 at 68.5e km at el-ferdan pg. 163 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication figure 13. the sieve analysis of specimen 7 at 69.1e km at elferdan figure 14. the sieve analysis of specimen 8 at 88.1e km at sarapum pg. 164 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication figure 15. the sieve analysis of specimen 9 at 88.5e km at sarapum figure 16. the sieve analysis of specimen 10 at 89 e km at sarapum pg. 165 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication figure 17. the sieve analysis of specimen 11 at 89.6e km at sarapum figure 18. the sieve analysis of specimen 12 at 90.5e km at sarapum pg. 166 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication 5.2. characteristic properties table ii, and figures. 25-28, show the results of the maximum dry density and ideal moisture distribution of the soil specimens. table show that the maximum dry density of the specimens from 67.3e km to 69.1e km in elferdan is the highest, and the maximum dry density of the specimens from 88.1e km to 89e km in serapum is the lowest. the maximum dry density of specimens from 65.7e km to 67.3e km and from 89e km to 90.5e km is relatively equal. the ideal moisture content of the specimens from 67.3e km to 69.1e km and from 89e km to 90.5e is relatively equal. the ideal moisture content of the specimens from 65.7e km to 67.3e and from 88.1e km to 89e km are relatively equal. table 2. some characteristic properties elferdan in north serapum in south from 65.7e km to 67.3e km from 67.3e km to 69.1e km from 88.1e km to 89e km from 89e km to 90.5e km maximum dry density (gm/cm3) 1.87 1.925 1.776 1.898 ideal moisture content (%) 8.9 9.7 10.4 8 figure 19. modified proctor test for specimens from 65.7e km to 67.3e km at elferdan area figure 20. modified proctor test for specimens from 67.3e km to 69.1e km at elferdan area pg. 167 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication figure 21. modified proctor test for specimens from 88.1e km to 89e km at serapum area figure 22. modified proctor test for specimens from 89e km to 90.5e km at serapum area pg. 168 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication table 3. some chemical properties elferdan in north serapum in south from 65.7e km to 67.3e km from 67.3e km to 69.1e km from 88.1e km to 89e km from 89e km to 90.5e km total salts 0.151% 0.775% 0.227% 0.435% chlorides (cl) 0.06% 0.35% 0.115% 0.14% sulfates (so3) 0.0349% 0.0422% 0.0225% 0.086% the ph values 9.2 8 7.4 6.4 5.3. liquid and plastic limits this test was performed on specimen part passing sieve no. 40 (0.425 mm). all specimens show that the liquid limit is zero and soil is non-plastic. 5.4. chemical characteristics table 3 show the ratio of salts, chlorides, and sulphates, and the ph value of the collected specimens. table 3 revealed that the chlorides ratio does not exceed 1% stipulated in the egyptian code for the construction using stabilized earth (part one; compressed stabilized earth bricks). (housing and building national research center, under publication) 5.5. analysis and discussion the results showed that the soil is mainly sandy soil. the experiment program deals with using ckd as a main stabilizing agent. to study the effect of ckd in sandy mixtures, the following variables were considered in this study: 1. percentage of ckd as a ratio of sand 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, and 45%. 2. percentage of cement (opc) as a ratio of sand is 5%. 3. percentage of fiber-reinforced polymer (frp) as a ratio of sand is 0.07% or 0.9 kg/m 4. curing period of mixtures is 28 days. 5. mixtures were mechanically compressed at 20 kg/cm 6. optimum water content is 20% of sand weight. the experiment results of specimens 6 at 68.5e km at elferdan are illustrated here in, however the results of the other specimens will be illustrated in further research. different mixtures were produced to obtain the optimum ckd content which provides the best properties of the admixture as long as the percentages of cement (opc) and the frp are 5% and 0.07% of sand weight, respectively. the tests include dry compressive strength, dry flexure, dry density, and absorption. the testing takes place using laboratory prepared samples (4x4x15cm). several samples were prepared by adding ckd ratios to the sand according to the testing conditions and, hand or mechanical mixed thoroughly. optimum water content is then added and mechanical mixing continues until a uniform mix is obtained. the admixtures are mechanically compressed. the produced samples are then cured for 28 days using water. the compressive strength is measured by astm d 422-63 test methods. pg. 169 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication figure 23 showed the dry compressive strength of sand-ckd mixtures, the relation can be represented as in equ.3. maximum dry compressive strength was recorded at 35% ckd ratio of sand weight. figure 30 showed that maximum dry flexure was recorded at 35% ckd ratio of sand weight. figure 31 showed that the density of sandckd mixture is relatively constant. figure 32 showed the minimum absorption was recorded at 40% ckd ratio of sand weight. the difference in the absorption measures at 35% and 40% ckd ratio is low. figure 23. dry compressive strength. figure 24. dry flexure figure 25. dry density figure 26. absorption pg. 170 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication q = −0.5891r2 + 42.49r − 682.71 where q = dry compressive strength at 28 days(k/cm2) r =ckd ratio to sand weight (%) (3) 6. conclusion the herein paper represents the first part of the project that deals with the use of the sandy soil in the design and build, ecological, and low coast green building in the future projects that will be held in sinai on the east side of the suez canal, using stabilized earth architecture the sandy soil used is that resulted from excavation of the buildings, sand installed on the east side of the canal in sinai and that resulting from the dry excavation and wet drilling of the suez canal. the herein paper (part one) study the passive and energy efficient design approach in buildings that can reduce energy consumption and the electricity coast. the analyses of the prototype residential buildings were presented, where the passive and energy efficient design approach was considered. the energy and electricity coast were reduced. the paper also study several specimens collected from different sites in elferdan and serapum in sinai along the east side of the suez canal to investigate the suitability of stabilizing the soil for the production of cseb for low-cost ecologic building construction. it showed that passive and energy efficient technique incorporated in building design can reduce the electricity requirements. in the prototype residential buildings, the energy demand (electricity required) for cooling, co2 emission, and thermal balance decreases by about 50%. the internal temperature decreases about 4 ◦c. the most effective parameter is the thermal efficiency of building envelope and blocking sun rays. the available renewable energy systems can meet part of building loads. thermal bridges aren’t so common in the bearing wall construction method. the experiment were made on specimens 6 at 68.5e km at elferdan using different levels of stabilizing agent. the results showed that the 35% ckd ratio of sand weight can be considered as the optimum ckd content which provides the best properties for the admixture as long as the percentages of cement (opc) and the frp are 5% and 0.07% of sand weight, respectively. the results provide an indicator of the potential uses of ckd, cement and frp mixture and sand in producing cseb and in building construction. the rest of this research will be completed in the next parts. part two includes finding more mechanical, engineering and thermal properties for the produced cseb. more experiments can be performed on the other specimens. 7. acknowledgments many thanks to the engineering department and the research center of suez canal authority for their great efforts, without which this research could not have been completed. also special thanks to dr. adel hashim from the housing and building national research center for his advice. 8. references 1. abdel-latif, w. m. (2005). natural lighting as a factor in providing a healthy environment in buildings (master’s thesis). 2. abdel-latif, w. m. (2014). an approach for daylight design in buildings (doctoral dissertation, cairo university). 3. deboucha, s., & hashim, r. (2011). a review on bricks and stabilized compressed earth blocks. scientific research and essays, 6(3), 499-506. pg. 171 abdel-latif / the academic research community publication 4. riza, f. v., rahman, i. a., & zaidi, a. m. a. (2011). preliminary study of compressed stabilized earth brick (cseb). australian journal of basic and applied sciences, 5(9), 6-12. 5. the egyptian code for the construction using stabilized earth. (n.d.). housing and building national research center. 6. mourad, m. m., ali, a., abdel-rahman, a. k., & ookawara, s. (2014). an energy efficient-smart homes for new cities in egypt. wit transactions on ecology on the built environment, 142, 115-126. 7. visser, f., & yeretzian, a. (2013). energy efficient building guidelines for mena region. med-enec. internet; www.med-enec.eu pg. 172 introduction literature review introduction to energy efficiency compressed stabilized earth stabilizing materials energy efficiency in buildings the passive and energy efficiency techniques integrated renewable energy resources materials and methods divisions of suez canal province soil specimen location result and discussion sieve analysis characteristic properties liquid and plastic limits chemical characteristics analysis and discussion conclusion acknowledgments references associate professor, faculty of fine arts http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) smart technical street furniture design: case study of ''new cairo administrative capital'' doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.124 hala hassanein 1 1assistant professor – interior architecture design faculty of fine arts – helwan university keywords futuristic cities; smart street furniture; smart devices; new technology design trends; information communication technology ict technology; information technology service management (itsm), q-methodology abstract street furniture has been redefined by the high pace of technology as smart devices that contribute to build future cities. thus, it is a combination of passion, skills, ideas and tools of information and communication technologies (ict)1 converted into finished products. ict is a catalyst for cities to address these challenges in a ‘smart’ manner that links and strengthens networks of people, businesses, infrastructures, resources, energy and spaces. on the other hand, one of the most important components to be adopted for designing smart cities is the it service management (itsm)2. it refers to the entirety of the activities directed by policies, organized and structured to plan, design, operate and control itsm offered to citizens by adopting a process approach towards management, focusing on their needs and stressing continual improvement. new trends in urban planning are heading to draw a new futurea smart city that is able to link the physical capital with the social one. street furniture, as an important element of smart cities, is a term used to define objects in public spaces. such concept is related to the context of wireless3 infrastructure and house small-cell units. they are considered –visuallyas common and torelabe places to the public. this research will focus on smart street-furniture design as a standard guide for designers and planners of the ''new cairo administrative capital'', which is currently under construction as the first smart city in egypt. 1. introduction: street furniture4 is a collective term for objects and pieces of the installed equipment on streets and roads of various purposes. street-furniture has become a cardinal element of many nations’ identities. in other words, it is what makes the streets serve as an astonishing and national landmark that attracts the visitors. such streetfurniture would be the red telephone boxes of britain; the residential mail boxes of the united states; and the street lights and metro entrances of paris. typical examples of street furniture include billboards, lamp posts, and lit signage, phone booths, kiosks, mailboxes, park benches, bike racks, public art, utility poles, traffic signals, information boards, city maps and other structures that have a nearby power source. in order to make 1 catriona manville, gavin cochrane, & jonathan cave, rand europe, ''mapping smart cities in the eu'', 2014, ipol-itre_et (2014) 507480_en_2.pdf p.9 2 wikipedia, definition of it service management, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/it_service_management 3 donald watson, alan platted & robert shibley, 2003, ''time-saver standards for urban design''. mcgraw-hill companies, p 7.9, 1-7 4 wikipedia, , definition of street furniture, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/street_furniture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/business_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/continual_improvement_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/it_service_management https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/street_furniture hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 2 street furniture suitable for small-cell networks, it must be able to accommodate power, antenna and associated fiber and other cabling equipment. we have considered a number of smart cities in the region, namely, the middle east as well as in the european union (eu-28). the main focus is on street furniture as the core of our research. dubai has been actively pursuing its ambition to become the world’s smartest city by 2017 through the recent launch of a “one-stop shop” mobile app to access government services, and the planned deployment of 100 smart bus stations by early next year is another considered objectives. most countries of the middle east, including bahrain and the united arab emirates -uae, still are in the bottom half of the open-data global rankings because of their limitations pertaining the usage of data via internet. according to the european union (eu) rankings5, luxembourg is a european smart city leader. it ranks the top in the recent ranking mapping smart cities across the eu-28 issued by the european parliament's committee on industry6. in general, the data of these cities and other countries, such as paris, spain and seoul, were obtained amd examined using online sources of information, like local governments and projects’ websites. ''new cairo administration capital'' is not just about implementing technology for the sake of technology, but rather it follows an informed agenda to combat various urban challenges in egypt such as growing populations and issues related to basic service delivery, citizen safety, and social inclusion. 2. the purpose / main emphasis: i explored the public space designs of smart cities in order to focus on analyzing the innovative and technological aspects of smart street furniture. then, i will make an analysis of the situation concerning planning the smart, urban, cities design to improve the elements’ effectiveness of street furniture facilities. following these line, it gives some advices and recommendations which are helpful to improve the public urban design in a way that responds to the unfavorable factors of the smart considerations of the city. it is essential to seek a scientific method of designing to create a comfortable and pleasant public street furniture for the new cairo administration capital. our main emphasizing will depend on analyzing various technological trends and techniques in designing smart street furniture. in other words, an overview on different new devices technologies will be conducted. the desired result of that is to have an enhancement for designing new ideas or trends to be utilized in the manufacture of the materials used in street furniture. the ideal criteria for the designers as a general guide for making a scientific curriculum is to keep track of what's new in the hi-tec communications. 3. methodology and structure: we have taken a conventional approach in the study with a strong emphasis on integrate technical aspects of technology for street furniture with the goal of creating smart and connected public spaces. we followed that with in-depth analysis to provide an accurate and objective picture of current available patterns with its related new trends. based on these insights, we identify examples of good applications and formulate recommendations for future interventions that could influence developments of "new cairo city" and its contribution to the objectives of egypt 20202030. ''new cairo administration capital'' is planned to having meaningful objectives aligned with its economic vision and its expected tangible outcomes. price waterhouse cooper – pwc as an international financial organization, published, "the world in 2050” stating that egypt will achieve the 19th global rank in 2030. the expected gdp will have a total of us$ 2049bn. as for 2050, 15th place is the expected rank for egypt with an expected gdp with a total of us$ 4333bn compared to its current rank. in 2016, egypt occupied the 21th rank with a total gdp of us$ 1105bn. one of the contemporary approaches in urban planning that has never been applied before in our region is qmethodology7. it is widely accepted as a scientific research method used in various types of businesses. also, it's a well-structured and increasingly-used research method of measuring different perspectives, attitudes or subjective opinions for developing new ideaswith an emphasis on the human practice and their field of experience. 5 european union, ''eu rankings'', http://smart-cities.eu/ranking.html 6 dr. marco annunizata, ''designing the smart cities of the middle east''. general electric – ge look ahead. the economist; 2016, http://gelookahead.economist.com/smart-cities-middle-east-2/\ 7 dr. joon sik kim, xi'an jiaotong liverpool university, ''mapping conflicts in the development of smart cities: the experience of using q methodology for smart'', gusu project, suzhou, china, 2016, corp2016_13.pdf, p. 2 http://smart-cities.eu/ranking.html hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 3 we will conduct number of a questions (i.e. factual statements) to selected number of authorized governmental officials and others working at non-governmental companies to answer our inquiries in a scientific method to support our findings. the methodology depends on searchable implementations, questions (q-statements) through a brief review of the previous experiences of designing new ideas and trends. definitely, the trends or ideas are used in street furniture and were obtained from various models of smart cities around the world. the methodology and structure will include the following: 3.1 definitions and concepts section: provides functioning definitions of smart cities, street furniture, environment, related characteristics and describing design factors. 3.2 street furniture elements, materials & analysis of the new trends section: elements of street furniture, materials and analyses of success design factors with intensive focus on the relationship between technology-factors and the types of designing the construction process to prepare a conceptual planning model. 3.3 the new cairo administration capital’ planning section: provides an analysis of the successful factors of planning the city, main aspects, and implementation of the q-methodology. design of conceptual planning model cpm as criteria or guide for street furniture planners. 3.4 conclusion section: findings, conclusions and recommendations, 3.1 definitions and concepts section: definition of technology8: it is "the collection of techniques, skills, methods and processes used in the production of goods, services or in the accomplishment of objectives such as scientific investigation, or the purposeful application of information in the design, production, utilization of goods, services, and in the organization of human activities". thus, the street furniture technology design is the collection of purposeful application of information in the design, utilization of public services in a good manner for the organization of, and the benefits of human activities. this section will include smart cities (3.1.1) and street furniture (3.1.2) respectively. 3.1.1 smart cities: from an international perspective, united nations in its report of the world commission on environment and development, “our common future9” identified smart city as “a city that strategically utilizes many smart factors. as in figure 1, three main pillars should be considered in the definition, namely, planning and management, infrastructure and people. 8 wikipedia, ''definition of technology'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/technology 9 united nations un “our common future” chapter 1: a threatened future, clause 49, http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-01.htm#1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/techniques https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/skill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/methods https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/processes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/good_(economics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/service_(economics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/scientific_investigation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/technology hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 1 –elements of smart cities in figure 1: these pillars are the joint elements for many features of smart cities such as government and agency administration; city planning and operations; buildings; energy; water; transportation10; education; smarter care; social programs; and last but not least, the public safety. the concept of smart cities around the world has three characteristics to solve its terminological confusion about its identity and nature of the city as identified in united nations – un "mapping conflicts in the development of smart cities"11 as summarized in the following table: smart characteristics definitions & implementations concept of smart cities as "engineering" emphasizing the degree of communication, interaction, sensor networking necessary to achieve level of smartness nature including but not limited to: wired and wireless connectivity to the highest standards of bandwidth. operation center to operate, maintain, and control all activities. air pollution counter-measures, and monitoring systems. smart water utility pipe leak, irrigation, and waste management. stimulating green behavior, smart buildings, running track, and elderly care systems. public parking availability prediction, smart car parking and interactive street sensing. concept of smart cities as "science" giving special importance to innovative technologies with deep involvement of science to improve the way people live, and work including: information systems should conform to the best available current standards for interoperability between information technologies (it) systems in general; and for interoperability in the built environment, and physical infrastructures. the model of city information includes: commuter information model, mobile payment, and smart fit navigation, etc. smart characteristics definitions & implementations (continue) concept of smart cities as "studies" third view is to investigate what smart cities mean for the economy and society. the complexity of smart cities is inseparable from the economic, social, environmental, and culture. new patters of technology integration have encouraged the society to be “more” interconnected and interactive, not only to share information, but also to allow a novel form of transactional relationship between different actors in the society. nowadays, ''new cairo administration capital'' is under construction (i.e. build-in progress) as a smart city based on the aggregation of these characteristics: engineering, science and studies. since culture and 10 new jersey department of transportation, 2008, usa, pennsylvania department of transportation 11 dr. joon sik kim, xi'an jiaotong liverpool university, mapping conflicts in the development of smart cities: the experience of using q methodology for smart, gusu project, suzhou, china, 2016, corp2016_13.pdf, p. 1-2 hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 5 technology may influence street furniture design with the addition of new requirements for the egyptians needs, all –togethershould be synchronized and interacted. a smart city12 is one with at least one initiative or more of the following six smart characteristics, guidelines13 of urban smartness, design, and its related applications as follows: smart mobility: e.g. emission free transport, advanced parking , and accessibility smart economy: e.g. high-tech industry, ease of doing business, and innovation culture smart living,: e.g. e-heath, public safety, and intermodal transport smart governance: e.g. e-government services, open data and transparency smart people: e.g. agile civil society, social inclusion, and e-learning smart environment: e.g. green environment, sustainable building, and water management smart environment: as one of above main characteristics, smart environment definition and its different types, is listed within “50 sensor applications for a smarter world”– by libelium14 that includes fire detection by monitoring of combustion gases and fire conditions to define alert zones (public housing & governmental bodies). one of the hi-tec devices used in this regard, is a synthetic tree in boston, usa as follows: figure 2 a synthetic urban tree – boston usa figure 2a a synthetic urban tree “humidity swing” as shown in (figs 2-2a-2b), the above example was design in boston, usa, as one of the most effective and efficient method to solve the issue of air pollution which provides controlling the co2 emissions, pollution emitted by cars. during late october of 2010, the shift boston15 recruited mario caceres and christian canonico from paris, to develop a synthetic urban tree that could benefit the city of boston. figure 2b construction modules of synthetic urban tree it’s an urban intervention which contains a system that is capable of removing carbon dioxide from the air and releasing oxygen using a carbon dioxide removal process called “humidity swing”. in addition to cleaning the air, it will also generate energy with solar energy panels while harvesting kinetic energy through an interactive seesaw that visitors can play with at the treepod's base. 12 un commission on science and technology for development, ''issues research on smart cities and infrastructure'', 2016, p. 11, http://unctad.org/meetings/en/sessionaldocuments/cstd_2015_issuespaper_theme1_smartcitiesandinfra_en.pdf 13 china development bank capital, 2015, "six smart guidelines, cdbc's green and smart urban development guidelines", green & smart, six-smart guidelines_2.pdf, p 14-18 14 libelium, ''50 sensor applications for a smarter world'', smart environment, http://www.libelium.com/resources/top_50_iot_sensor_applications_ranking/ 15 shift boston, usa, ''boston treepods 2011'', 2011, http://shiftboston.org/competitions/2011_treepods.html http://shiftboston.org/competitions/2011_treepods.html hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 6 the other means by which those above six characteristics of "urban smartness" are achieved include a range of components: technologies; material, organizational and knowledge inputs; processes; and norms or standards. our study over ''new cairo administration capital'' is to conclude whether the majority of these six characteristics are properly applied and accounted for within the planning phase and eventually in the implementation process or not. 3.1.2 smart street furniture: as shown in figure 3, the designs of the smart street furniture has become a symbol for the concept of smart cities and public places that use technology to enhance services, reduce costs and resource consumption to enable residents to engage them effectively and actively with each other (fig 3). street public areas (landscape) technology design urban planning circulation street furniture, lighting transit facilities civil engineering smartphone apps wifi networking ict / itsm, real time data collection data process software public art media content furniture design architecture figure 3 – concepts of smart street furniture as cities look for economical ways (i.e. smart economy) to enhance street furniture, it offers unique technology solutions by leveraging their existing assets such as streetlights and outmoded phone booths. cities are creating next generation infrastructure by linking them to public carrier or city networks. these connections facilitate new services and benefits the citizens and visitors in the form of wi-fi, mobile charging, interactive city maps, and real-time city information and alerts. in addition, cities can gather air quality, traffic, and noise data from sensors on the smart street furniture to better manage the city dynamics which will boost the neighborhood's safety. categories of technology systems: a. tools of ict technologies16: it service management, itsm is a general term that describes a strategic approach for designing, managing and improving the way information technology (it) is used. the goal of every it service management framework is to ensure that the right processes, people and technology are in place so that the smart city can meet its business and social goals. the common tools include: cellular network: it is a communication network where the last link is wireless. the network is distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, known as a cell. it basically refers to having many small interconnected transmitters as opposed to a master one. digital: it is a type of transfer that involves breaking a message or form of communication between two machines down into binary code. binary code consists of all ones and zeros, and it could be reassembled upon being read by another piece of equipment that utilizes the digital technology. mechanical: it is the application of engineering principles and technological developments to the creation of useful machinery or products. 16 sara bartolini, 2009, “smart sensors for interoperable smart environment“phd, università di bologna, p. 80 (table 5.3) http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/23d360a0-8fec-4637-a7fc-bd4c2afa9319/finaldownload/downloadid337a21bdd2e613292efbc428a1d24ad5/23d360a0-8fec-4637-a7fc-bd4c2afa9319/2576/1/bartolini_sara_tesi.pdf street public areas technology design hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 7 optical: it refers to anything that relates to light or vision, whether it is visible light or infrared lightthat performs a specific function. virtual: in computing, virtualization refers to the act of creating a virtual version of something, including virtual computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and computer network resources. vision: it is an integrated engineering system providing world-class solutions and services in electronics, land systems and provides a wide array of high-value products to blue-chip customers. the first four technologies are used widely in designing, planning, implementing new approaches and applications for smart cities as well as street furniture, whereas the last two points are less used due to different reasons. b. tools of energy technologies17 : it is an interdisciplinary engineering science having to do with the efficient, safe, environmentally friendly and economical extraction, conversion, transportation, storage and use of energy. it is targeted towards yielding high efficiency while skirting side effects on humans, nature and the environment. design principles18: as shown in figure 4, the premise of street furniture design is that it should be people-oriented. it is the core idea of street furniture design as located in the center. based on this premise, three main principles are developed as: functional, unity, and identity. the three principles are in balanced positions and linked in the model. it implies that the principles are equally important, coordinated and interflowed with each other as follows: figure 4 – design principles of street furniture functional: it must be designed according to certain standards from the perspective measurements, architectural, in unique form, usage, comfort, quantity accessibility, functional suitability, and suitability of material as in figure 5. a real example exists in dubai as air-conditioned smart shelters offering multiple services, like free wi-fim, and it comes in different types of kiosks. figure 5 – dubai, smart shelters 17 wikipedia, definition of ''energy technology', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/energy_technology 18 ghorab, 2014 , istanbul, turkey, ''evaluation of street furniture according to basic design principles'', design principles materials, p.6 people symbolic, consent , understandable functional standards measurements, suitability, identity modern, historical, unique, attractive unity location, maintainance, social https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/interdisciplinary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/engineering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/environmentally_friendly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/energy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/adverse_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/energy_technology hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 8 people oriented: the criteria that affect to what extent street furniture design makes a difference or how much it is liked by users. it should indicate to what extent it is understandable, meaningful, symbolic and creating visual richness. unity: should be compatibility between different types of street furniture, compatibility with surrounding, environment and climate must be evaluated carefully; be in color harmony, shape, easily maintained and complying with the social considerations. identity: it should be in modern form, having historical qualities referring to history, culture, tradition life style & behavior, geographic environment, different, attractive, original/ unique, and in a good location. the most famous two examples for applying design identity within the outlook of street furniture are in the middle east; (dubai) as smart palm, and european union – eu (denmark) as tulpi seating units, (figs 6, 6a,6b): figure 6 – dubai, smart palm figure 6a – denmark, tulpi seating units dubai: figure 6 smart palm is a green multifunctional device and info-point with wi-fi access. it made from a combination of fiber-reinforced plastic and concrete topped with nine leaf-shaped photovoltaic modules. a six-meter-tall palm can generate around 7.2 kilowatt hours, a touch-screen panel giving local details on weather and transportation. over the next 12 months, dubai plans to install 103 smart palms across the city. denmark: figure 6a tulpi-design is a typical dutch design. marco manders achieved recognition with his tulpiseats, which is based on the dutch national flower, the tulip. it allows people to orient seats to meet specific social needs; the tulpi19-seat is made from plastics that fall into the category of lldpe (linear lowdensity polyethylene) and stainless steel. no toxic chemicals are used to treat the tulpi-seat. polyethylene is an essential biologically inert solid and considered as non-toxic. cairo: the identity aspects of ''new cairo administration capital''20" as the unique designing approach reflecting its islamic identity such as street seating which are designed based on the islamic patterns as shown herewith – figure 6b figure 6b – cairo, islamic pattern of street seating units 19 marco manders, ''tulpi-design'' http://www.tulpi.nl/tulpi-seat/ 20 official governmental presentation provided from new capital company website, http://thecapitalcairo.com/ http://www.tulpi.nl/tulpi-seat/ http://thecapitalcairo.com/ https://www.google.com.eg/imgres?imgurl=http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/07/16/07/2a9324b900000578-3162761-image-m-26_1437029814260.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3162761/power-palm-smart-trees-installed-dubai-offer-wifi-phone-charging-beach.html&docid=s3gmtm0fr0cufm&tbnid=faybnddqjpwn9m:&vet=1&w=634&h=449&bih=754&biw=1440&q=dubai%20smart%20city%20smart%20tree&ved=0ahukewjtzc-fl-nrahwnhrokhrd0cpkqmwhpkc4wlg&iact=mrc&uact=8 hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 9 3.2 street furniture elements & materials and analysis of new trends: a) elements: street furniture includes numerous elements not limited to billboards, lamp posts, lit signage, phone booths, mailboxes, park seating benches, bike racks, public art, utility poles, traffic signals, information boards, and city maps. some of these mentioned elements are equipped with cloud-connected devices to make citizens and residents’ lives more comfortable. b) materials21: the characteristics of material use, stability of the product and the psychological effects it creates are important, for the best design relies on strong, simple and natural shapes and materials. the list of the used material in smart street furniture covers the following: steel: it is the most preferred material because it's durable and resistant to rust. it requires little maintenance and relatively cheap compared to other materials. wood: it is one of the most preferable materials for its natural features, but it had a major disadvantage as well. it takes longer to dry after rain and needs more maintenance. concrete: it is durable, difficult to dry after rain and expensive to use. stone: same as durable and difficult to dry after rain but has only limited designs possibilities. plastic: it is in the smooth surface side, good appearance, more durable, and needs less maintenance. in new cairo administration capita,' proper considerations have been concluded that steel will has the priority among other materials but wood and concrete will also be used based on the location, the nature of placement and its purposes. the priority of steel is for being a high quality material and its processing technique that will ensure robust street furniture ready to face all seasons because its appropriateness for its function, fitting in with environmental constrains and suitability for giving any form. street furniture design guidelines: general placement considerations: street trees should be the primary organizing element of the streetscape, while street furniture should be placed where it can accommodate the majority of the people. yet, the designer should be mindful of other specific elements; and within the overall pattern of plantings and furnishing. the city’s design and general placement considerations should be flexible enough to be able to tailor the size and type of street furniture to suit the specific needs of the individual communities. specific location guidelines for each element are detailed by element on individual street furniture and it’s not limited to the following examples: general considerations22: i. within the local & site specific context of streets and parks: avoid placing furniture in front of significant buildings where possible and practical, minimize the impact by placing items to the sides or edges of the building, use benches instead of seats, use bike brackets fixed to existing posts instead of stainless steel bike hoops, clear glass panel bus shelters instead of solid panels. ii. within the broader context of streetscape areas and parks: keep the quantity of furniture to the minimum standard required to provide the appropriate level of service, and reduce clutter by rationalizing furniture with new works and consolidating furniture together in clusters. specific consideration23 per item: street lighting: should be located alternately with street trees. park seating benches: should be placed according to design intent; be situated parallel to the pedestrian clear way. for example, when located at a transit stop, they should face the street for functionality, and when intended for rest and people watching, they can be placed so that the pedestrian is encouraged to feel a sense of privacy while still connecting with the public square. it can be placed near popular restaurants to accommodate people waiting to be seated. seating incorporated into building forms, such as seat-walls, may be used as an alternative to free-standing benches. bike racks: should be located in the buffer zone with a 3 foot minimum clearance between bicycles parked at racks and other street furniture. all newspapers racks are located in the buffer zone, yet open toward the pedestrian through a way. 21 ghorab, 2014 , istanbul, turkey, ''evaluation of street furniture according to basic design principles'', design principles p.6 22 city of ballarat, urban design manual, ''part a: street and park furniture guidelines", 2013, street_and-park_furniture_3.pdf – p 9 23 donlad watson, alan plattes, robert shibley, 2003, ''time-saver standards for urban design'', mcgraw-hill companies. p 6.5 4 hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 10 chairs, tables: are typically located close to the buildings. recycling bins: placed in a manner which allows clear sight lines for pedestrians, cyclist, and drivers. other furnishings: should be placed between these organizing elements, clustered at predictable, high-use locations such as transit stops or corners. c) analysis of new trends samples: we have summarized most of applications of new trends in six trends aiming to be last updated trends; eco-friendly and more comfortable so that urban environment could integrate technology with the communal living. thus, it gets more tech-oriented and somewhat futuristic as being mentioned in the following sections. 1. trend of multifunctional ict devices (feature & usages): smart stations24 for buses: it is to incorporate with 4g technology, wi-fi connectivity and to support transport providers with an additional source of revenue in terms of digital advertisements by outdoor media companies. figure 7 – smart bus station as shown in figure 7: the bus station as a cloud device, include screens that display real-time information about bus movements and touch-screens that provide access to interactive maps, local news, tourist information as well as a usb charging port for mobile devices and advertising. 2. trend of responsive street furniture devices25: responsive street furniture uses digital technology to make streets work better for people who find moving around difficult for the different types of reasons. it brings the adaptability of digital devices, like ipad, allowing it to be changed to the best that suits the needs of the individuals. these changes include brighter street lighting, audio information, extra places to use and more time to cross the road. figure 8 – diagram of responsive street device figure 8a live responsive street device as shown in figure 8 & 8a: in contrast, accessibility in the digital world of smartphone, tablets and websites is all about adaptability. when a device or application can adapt, it can meet the needs of an individual much more completely, rather than trying to be the best compromise between everyone. prototypes of street furniture try to 24 ericsson, in ''uitp world congress'', 2015, https://www.ericsson.com/spotlight/services/connected-bus-stop-for-a-better-commuterexperience 25 ross atkin associates, ''research, design and development'', http://www.rossatkin.com/wp/?portfolio=responsive-street-furniture https://www.ericsson.com/spotlight/services/connected-bus-stop-for-a-better-commuter-experience https://www.ericsson.com/spotlight/services/connected-bus-stop-for-a-better-commuter-experience http://www.rossatkin.com/wp/?portfolio=responsive-street-furniture hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 11 adapt to disabled people’s mobility and offer them a customized experience in real time. after registering with their smartphone, users can specify their needs while walking on the streets. trend of pop-up26 (hydraulic power units) furniture: as shown in figure 9, it portrays a new kind of outdoor furniture that can be pumped out of the pavement by the users. hydraulic system allows the furniture to be fixed at any height. figure 9 – example of hydraulic power street units this means that you can decide whether you want to create a bench or a picnic table. this furniture folds and disappears into the sidewalk. it is fabulous for public spaces and it creates a great urban design, as (fig 9). trend of sustainable technology: optical technology: energy solar led street lamps: with the increasing energy crisis, countries are seeking to solve the crisis via establishing , for example, a road to seek new and renewable energy use; solar panel reducing energy consumption, or increasing energy efficiency. the led street lighting is an integrated light-emitting diode (led) light fixture that is used for street lighting, which can be used for major roads, sub-major roads, and highways. it is highly efficient, long lasting environmentally, friendly and also inherently controllable, (figs 10-10a) figure 10 – diagram of solar led street lamps figure 10a – live solar led street lamps a central control monitoring system that detects whether when they are working or not in order to alarm the responsible technician as shown in the above diagram. benefits of solar led lights: improved community, safer society, and more colorful. reduced energy and light pollution. an even distribution of light to concentrate the light onto the pavement, road and minimize the back spill. a central control monitoring system that detects whether they are working or not in order to alarm the responsible technician. digital technology: informative digital signage27: the first smart street solution in the middle east region has been installed at a high-tech park of dubai, offering wi 26 popsop ltd, ''learn 7 trends in urban living for 2014'',http://popsop.com/2013/12/what-a-smart-city-of-the-future-will-look-like-learn-7trends-in-urban-living-for-2014/ 27 emirates 24 news, july 2016, ''region's first smart street unveiled in dubai'', http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/region-s-firstsmart-street-unveiled-in-dubai-click-for-where-2016-07-03-1.634798 https://www.zano.pl/en/street-furniture/catalogue/street-lamps http://www.pvsolarchina.com/ http://popsop.com/2013/12/what-a-smart-city-of-the-future-will-look-like-learn-7-trends-in-urban-living-for-2014/ http://popsop.com/2013/12/what-a-smart-city-of-the-future-will-look-like-learn-7-trends-in-urban-living-for-2014/ http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/region-s-first-smart-street-unveiled-in-dubai-click-for-where-2016-07-03-1.634798 http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/region-s-first-smart-street-unveiled-in-dubai-click-for-where-2016-07-03-1.634798 hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 12 fi access and real-time news display besides incorporating sensors monitoring temperature, humidity and air quality installed by huawei. figure 11 – dubai, informative digital signage it allows real-time display of news and information, while the integrated wi-fi transmitter offers internet access within a 300 meter radius, as shown in figure 11 trend of virtual technologies: the era of global digitalization, information and big data, is making food shopping better, smarter, more convenient and more interesting. it will enhance public boards at streets as instant displays with products relavent to the customers' interest. these boards are installed in bus stations. customers scan products codes with their phone, and the groceries are delivered to their homes. figure 12 – virtual shopping channel as shown in figure 12, it is an innovative shopping channel for shoppers to virtually interact with their chosen stores or products. that will offer customers an immersive purchasing experience, allowing endusers to digitally interact with stores and explore products in an innovative 3d enabled format. trend of modular street furniture28: the core aim is to empower landscape architects and specifies it with the freedom to create something unique for each and every project. it is also to match the palette of the surrounding environment without the associated costs of any off bespoke products. figure 13 – modular street furniture 28 rachel pownall, ''modular street furniture'', 2008, http://www.coroflot.com/rachel_pownall/modular-street-furniture http://www.toxel.com/nspiration/2010/08/04/weird-and-creative-food-products/ http://www.toxel.com/tech/2011/07/07/12-cool-apple-iphone-concepts/ http://www.coroflot.com/rachel_pownall/modular-street-furniture hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 13 as shown in figure 13, the benches29 are a mixture of internal and external curves to create different configurations, either allowing people to sit alone or togetherencouraging social interaction. conceptual planning model (cpm) for street furniture: conceptual modeling30 in general is the activity of formally describing some aspects of the physical and social world around us for the purposes of understanding and communication. a conceptual model's primary objective is to convey the fundamental principles and basic functionality of the system which it represents. also, a conceptual model must be developed in such a way as to provide an easily understood system interpretation for the users. a conceptual planning model, when implemented properly, should satisfy four fundamental objectives: 1. enhance the individual's understanding of the representative system. 2. facilitate efficient conveyance of system details between all parties involved. 3. provide a point of reference for system designers to extract system specifications. 4. document the system for future reference and provide a means for collaboration. proposed conceptual planning model – cpm for smart city and street furniture as direct implementation of smart city's identity to be applied within our case study of ''new cairo administration capital'' plays an important role in the overall planning and designing process. it is clear that if the conceptual model is not fully developed, the execution of fundamental system properties may not be implemented properly, giving way to future problems or system shortfalls. these failures do occur in the industry and have been linked to; the lack of user input, the incomplete or unclear requirements, and the changing requirements. the expected outcome is to have an overall enhancement for designing new ideas and trends to be used in the designing and manufacturing of the street furniture's materials. it is an ideal criterion for designers as a general guide for making a scientific curriculum to be updated with what's new using hi-tec communications, worldwide. 29 andrew h. dent & leslie, ''material innovation architecture'', 2014, uk in thames & hudson ltd. p 104-105 30 wikipedia, 'conceptual model'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/conceptual_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/conceptual_model hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 14 conceptual planning model -cpm: information database definitions, concepts, principles as well as internal & external information of previous implementation experience within the region and the world smart mobility smart cities smart urban landscape smart economy smart living engineering science studies urban planning, circulation street furniture lighting, transit facility civil engineering smart governance smart people interaction communication information systems value added to economy basic concepts design principles technology trends of applications smart environment wired & wireless connectivity smart navigation value added to society operation center guidelines & best practice functional smart apps multifunctional devices measurement systems elements of street furniture people oriented wi-fi, cellular networks responsive devices materials of street furniture unity digital, ict / itsm pop-up, hydraulic devices placement & positioning identity data collection sustainable devices data process software virtual devices modular devices q-methodology to measure attitudes and differences in the development of “''new cairo administration capital''” identify concourse q-statements implementation of qsorting factor analysis interpretatio n of factors ''new cairo administration capital'' street furniture results of q-tables hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 15 findings, conclusion and recommendations figure 14 conceptual planning model -cpm as indicated above – in figure 14, we will start implementing the above planned processes for each topic individually. first, for the ''new cairo administration capital'' as a smart city, then last but not least, our core topic of street furniture: 3.3 ''new cairo administration capital'': “new cairo administration capital”31 is a large-scale project announced by the housing ministermustafa madbouly on the 13th of march 2015. as a smart city located in 45 kilometers east and just outside the second greater cairo ring road, it would become the new administrative capital, housing the main government departments, ministries, as well as foreign embassies. on 700 square kilometers total area, a population of 5-7 million people is expected to live and grow, figure 15. city of knowledge 435.4 feddans smart ci t y 282 .9 feddan s figure 15 map ''new cairo administration capital'' is planned to be consisted of 21 residential districts and 25 "dedicated districts". its downtown is to have skyscrapers, figure 15a. the city will also have a central park, artificial lakes, about 2,000 educational institutions, a technology and innovation park, 663 hospitals and clinics, 40,000 hotel rooms, 90 square kilometers of solar energy farms, an electric railway and a new international airport. the city is designed in 282.9 feddans (figure 15a) and the city of knowledge is to be in the size of 435.4 feddans, (figure 15b) as follows: smart city, downtown, skycrapers & central park: figure 15a – layout of downtown, skyscrapers & part city of knowledge – plan for land use of 417 feddans: 31 wikipedia, ''proposed new capital'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/proposed_new_capital_of_egypt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/smart_city https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ring_road_(cairo) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ring_road_(cairo) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/international_airport https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/proposed_new_capital_of_egypt hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 16 figure 15b detail plan for city of knowledge 3.3.1 success factors for planning new cairo city: initially, cairo capital company is the in charge company establishing, constructing, and manageing the new city talked to municipal economic development officials under the authority of cairo governate. it is to explain the opportunities, requirements, and benefits associated with wireless street furniture and seek support from the ministry of communication and information technology, mcit, as well as information technology industry development agency, itida for most updated common practice technology within the region. this process has been finalized in less time than what was planned for. secondly, the company identifies all special local considerations of historic districts, architectural and requirements that may increase costs /or extend the timeline of the deployment process. it has been concluded to have the design based on islamic pattern to create a great impact on its identity. the following planning and live-pictures (i.e. under construction) as figure 16, showing implementation of the islamic identity in all residential buildings: figure 16 – constructions in progress & general layouts then, coordinating legal franchising and other permitting governmental requirements to identify timing and other expectations from both municipal bodies and infrastructure provider perspectives (i.e. subcontracting companies such as arab contractors co., orascom constructions industries – oci, etc..) to plan for the whole execution project plan which concludes that its first phase is subject to finalization within 2018. third, realistically discuss estimate costs for the access in relation to any published municipal schedule or point of view. the nature of the project seeks interpretations as needed for the project's economic viability including commercial and economic feasibility studies. finally, prepared to respond promptly to standard code of construction and safe infrastructure based on best common practice used within similar smart cities in the region. 3.3.2 main aspects of planning32: the vision of technology elements33 and its priority as best practices in design are as follows: 32 the capital cairo, http://thecapitalcairo.com/smart-city.html 33 tnt news, india, 2016, ''tag archives: smart city'', tnt, thenortheasttoday, http://thenortheasttoday.com/tag/smart-city/ hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 17 figure 17 – features elements of smart cities as shown above figure 17: technology elements: urban automation, connected devices and intelligent or senor-based infrastructure which present the highest priority in the planning phase. smart city elements: contains open data & internet, smart agriculture, smart home & retail, smart health & education, smart grid & energy, smart e-government, and smart mobility having all together priority in planning. innovation approaches to transportation elements34: urban analytics; userurban delivery and logistics; strategic business models, roadway electrification, and electric vehicles, that are connected and involved citizens having high priority. there are three core factors that will properly be considered in ''new cairo administration capital” as following: a. from technology perspectives: physical infrastructure; smart; mobile; virtual technologies, and digital networks: protected and organic waste recycled in order to grow. well-connected locally, regionally and internationally. make use of the sustainable technologies of today. infrastructure will be able to make, reuse and conserve water and waste. 90 square kilometers of solar energy farms. b. from human perspectives: human infrastructure; social capital: variety of medium and high-density districts to address the issues of land constraints and population density. exceptional quality of life with compact walkable urban neighborhoods, lush green gardens (i.e. green river) and shaded walkways to ensure a sense of community. electric railway and new international airport focus will be on promoting pedestrian-friendly choices throughout the city. c. from institutional perspectives: policy; regulations and directives as follows: all governmental bodies and ministries will be re-located in "new cairo administration capital'' educational institutions, a technology & innovation park "i.e. city of knowledge", hospitals, clinics, and international hotels, etc.. 3.3.3 q-methodology approach in planning & designing ''new cairo administration capital'': q-methodology35 was originally invented by psychologist, stephenson, in 1935 in order to examine individuals' subjectivity systematically and scientifically, and then this research method has been developed further based on factor analytic theory. this methodology is recognized as an evaluation tool combining both qualitative and quantitative research techniques. the research uses this method to measure attitudes and different in the development of ''new cairo administration capital'' based on the particular standing point of the observed participations. this subjective landscape on smart cities and street furniture can be valuable to understand the exiting debates in practice and 34 new jersey department of transportation, 2008, usa, pennsylvania department of transportation 35 dr. joon sik kim, xi'an jiaotong liverpool university, mapping conflicts in the development of smart cities: the experience of using q methodology for smart, gusu project, suzhou, china, 2016, corp2016_13.pdf, pages. 1-10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/international_airport hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 18 implement projects more efficiently by mapping possible conflicts in advance. this method employs quantitative tool of factor analysis in the following five main stages: 1. identification of the "concourse": at this stage, it is to develop a wide range of discussion, and questions in order to collect the concourse. 2. definition of q-statements: the discourse collected from the above stage needs to be summarized and reduced to a manageable number of the concourse, which is often referred to as q-statements. 3. implementation of q-sorting: this stage involves the interview process with selected participants to ask rank all q-statements on a scale from "disagree level (-4)" to "agree level (+4)". the range, such as down (-4) to high (+4) will be used to sort the statements in the later stages. 4. factor analysis: when q-sorting is completed, the correlations between q-sorts are calculated by using the factor analysis method. this statistical analysis is to identify and classify a distinctive group of q-sorts that shares a similar subjective opinion or position received from the participants. 5. interpretation of the factors: final stage is to interpret the results of the factor analysis based on the findings. implementation of q-methodology & work done: 1. "concourse": we have selected number of key governmental officials as well as from non-government companies based on their background, work and experience that can provide assurance to our findings, enhancing particular support to answering our questions. firstly, open discussions have been implemented to acquire basic information and current issues of “new capital” from media such as newspapers, websites, government documents, etc. secondly, meetings and phone conversations have been concluded with five key professional experts, of three from government officials; and two operational and scientific officials whom working at non-government sector. 2. "q-statements": the typical number of q-statements to be in 30 and 60. drawn from initial tests and pilot q-sorting, the research has found 50 statements / questions as factual-statements covering smart city and its related street furniture which will be considering during planning, designing and implementation processes of “''new cairo administration capital''” and are suitable for this study. 3. "q-sorting": all q-statements were given one by one randomly to the participant, then to split them up into categories: disagree; agree and neutral based on their own perspectives. then, the participant is required to place all statements into the q-table in a ranked-order according to the forced distribution. at the last stage of q-sorting, the participants are required to complete a questionnaire for their personal details. participants were asked to use an inverted pyramidal table (figs 18 & 19) in order to rank the 50 qstatements in a nine-relative (9) nine scale (-4,-3,-2,-1,0,+1,+2,+3,+4) based on how strongly they agree or disagree with or against each particular q-statement. 4. "factor analysis": we have two main segments for the questionnaire, first for smart cities surveyed in 23 q-statements; and secondly, street furniture surveyed in 27 q-statements (total of 50). unified factors of 0.33 and 0.22 is unfind for both of the governmental for the non-government that have been calculated to measure the level of acceptance. q-methodology approach: there are many designing approaches, types of elements, materials to use, placement principles, functionality and appearance features for smart city and street furniture that differs from city/or region to another. all these q-statements were submitted, or discussed, and interviewed with 3 key government perspectives; and 2 nongovernment perspectives. the following inquires; questions and factual statements have been prepared and answered by selective key professional experts (i.e. participants) as listed herewith: key government perspectives: a mr. wael mousa assistant to ministry of housing, utilities and urban development, b dr. ahmed farouk ministry advisor for national projects – ministry of investment, c eng. mohamed arab advisor to the national regulatory authority telecommunications non-government perspectives: d eng. safwat sobhy ceo, orascom for construction industries, oci e dr. ayman ashour dean of faculty of engineering, ein shams university hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 19 i. ''new cairo administration capital'' as a smart city: the interview participants to ask are ranking all q-statements on a scale from "disagree (-4)" to "agree (+4)" participants topic of statement no. q-statements a b c d e aspects of planning & design 1 planning process is based on best practices in design, ecology and culture, common smart city components and innovation approaches for whole city and especially for urban pillars of ease accessibility for transportation and circulation movements are properly considered. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 2 a smart city is one with at least one initiative of the following six characteristics: smart governance, people, living, mobility, economy and smart environment. ''new cairo administration capital'' is planned base on implementing most of these main characteristics as smartness feature. +4 3 +4 3 -3 topic of statement no. q-statements a b c d e aspects of planning & design 3 a smart city around the world have three different views, first is smart cities as "engineering", secondly, is mart cities as "science" and last but not least is smart cities as "studies", all these views are properly considered. +4 3 +4 +4 3 technical consideration 4 infrastructure designed is able to make, reuse and conserve water efficiently, protected and organic waste recycled, as well as effective-connected and open data, internet, gsm technologies (i.e. g-4) for communication with deep involvement of solar energy as prime source for power and as green environment main requirement. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 5 for the image of smart capital will use as much as information communication technologies – ict as well as multi-users devices that save time, efforts in an effective and efficient manner as well. +4 3 +4 +4 3 people & public services 6 information sharing between governments and enterprises would be an asset in building the information system via e-government that will provide citizen-centric services with efficient administrative procedures. +4 +4 +4 3 3 public & private buildings 7 government is in need for modern building management systems to organize effective repairs works, maintenance more effectively and efficiency for sustainability proposes. +4 +4 3 +4 +4 8 all residents building will have sort of intelligent systems and smart services to improve living environments 2 3 3 3 2 economy & positive value added 9 green energy solutions (i.e. solar) are becoming basic goal for the development of ''new cairo administration capital'' that will saving cost and achieving green environment as planned. +4 -3 +4 +4 +4 10 ''new cairo administration capital'' is not just about implementing technology for the sake of technology but rather, follow an informed agenda to combat various urban challenges in egypt, such as growing populations and issues relating to basic service delivery, and social inclusion. so, all these constrains have been accounted for within the planning. +4 +4 +4 +4 3 characteristics of smart cities 11 the following prioritized characteristics for planning smart cities have been considered in the case study: wired and wireless connectivity +4 3 +4 3 3 12 effective information systems 3 3 +4 3 +4 hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 20 13 commuter information model, mobile payment, +4 +4 3 3 +4 14 operation center to operate, maintain, and control all activities within the capital 3 2 2 3 2 15 air pollution counter-measures, +4 3 3 2 3 16 smart water utility pipe leak, irrigation, waste systems +4 3 +4 3 -3 17 real time 3d maps, 3 2 -3 2 -3 18 efficient public transport, stimulating green behavior, smart buildings 3 3 +4 3 3 20 smart running, bikes tracks and elderly care systems 2 3 2 3 2 21 public parking space availability prediction and interactive street sensing. +4 +4 3 3 3 22 managing household waste, improving cycling safety 3 3 -2 3 3 23 smart evacuation management in case of nature risks and sudden emergencies. +4 3 3 +4 +4 interpretation of the factors q-table for ''new cairo administration capital'' as a smart city: results based on calculated factors revealed the following findings: totally agree / or full consent statements (i.e. +4) for the two segments are 43%. the agreed opinions (i.e. +3 & +2) are 47%. last but not least, perspectives less than agreeing (-3& -2 ranks) is of 5% as shown in the below inverted pyramidal q-table: full disagree sound & less disagree sound & less agreee full agree segments / scale -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 total factor government perspectives 0 2 1 0 0 0 6 23 34 69 0.33 non-government perspectives 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 20 15 46 0.22 pyramidal q-table (fig 18) as shown in figure 18, using the excel statistical as simple sample tool analysis, the data for ''new cairo administration capital'' segment were analyzed using the relevant basic statistical processes (i.e. concluded factors of 0.33 & 0.22 for segments of governmental and non-governmental officers respectively), all relationships between the data were also analyzed; and with the information obtained from the questionnaires built based on q-statements conclude that concept, factors, elements of ''new cairo administration capital'' is been considered within the planning phase and our field visits that all what have been planned for is being implementing during current stage of constructions that schedule phase-1 will be concluded by midyear of 2018. analysis of smart cities results: total q-statements for smart cities segment are based on 23 statements delivered, discussed and obtained its perspectives from the participants, having a total of 207 ranges of expected responds (9 ranks). responds received from key government perspectives were more positive than those from non-government due to their more access possibilities to planning and designs of ''new cairo administration capital'' data and information, whilst others may not be able to have the same amount of detailed data and in-depth information especially during the planning phase. thus, positive consents and agreed upon opinions were aggregated and concluded major topics related to the following: implementation of e-government. building management systems designed based on last technology. application of information communication technology – ict. solid combat various challenges (i.e. growing population, service delivery, safety). green energy solutions more efficient in operation, maintenance and saving costs. hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 21 whilst other answers far / away from full consent and agreement opinions concluded major topics related the follows: residents building will not fully intelligent for all smart services, but that will based on type of location providing this requirement of hi-tec systems for intended usages. all effective information, digital smart systems will be placed in specific areas of interest based on the planning design not deployed over all locations (i.e. main smart city, city of knoweldge). managing household waste, improving cycling safety are assessed but not in a defiant manner (i.e. not yet planned for). public parking space availability prediction, smart car parking and interactive street sensing are not concluded and planned for yet, but are within the overall consideration list of interests. ii. street furniture in ''new cairo administration capital'': the interview participants to ask are ranking all q-statements on a scale from "disagree (-4)" to "agree (+4)" participants topic of statement no. q-statements a b c d e identity 1 street furniture has planned in the modern nature, shape, form in islamic historical from identity point of view referring to history of egypt aiming to enhance its identity in form of attractive, unity, and unique in nature +4 +4 3 +4 3 designing & planning 2 street furniture is designed, planned and equipped based on last updated technology in the field (i.e. smart kiosks, multiuse's devices, etc.) to comply with the smartness. +4 +4 +4 3 3 topic of statement no. q-statements a b c d e designing & planning 3 the planning will integrate technology into street furniture to provide both phone-charging stations and tools for gathering valuable data as a basic example. +4 +4 3 3 3 3 the planning will integrate technology into street furniture to provide both phone-charging stations and tools for gathering valuable data as a basic example. +4 +4 3 3 3 4 street furniture elements will uses ict technology, connected to wi-fi, hi-tec devices, exchange of data and information, all of these are properly considered for availability of backhaul and power, location of sites to improving coverage, suitable equipment with available recently frequency bands of 4g applied in egypt. +4 +4 +4 3 3 5 technical trends of designing street furniture worldwide are as following, kindly indicate which one or more will be applicable and which will not applicable in implementation of ''new cairo administration capital'' as a smart: trend of multifunctional street units. +4 +4 +4 3 3 6 trend of responsive street furniture devices. -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 7 trend of sustainable applications such as: energy solar led; and digital technology such as informative digital signage. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 8 trend of modular street furniture. -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 functional & technical features 9 street will be planned and designed among a wide width of at least 90 and max of 125 meters as standard norms +4 +4 +4 3 +4 10 the common lists of material used in street furniture are steel, wood, concrete, stone and plastic. the planning is focusing mainly on steel, for its sustainability durable, resistant to rust as well as others (i.e. wood & concrete). +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 11 for traffic systems in all streets are equipped by +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 22 multifunctional digital display as last technology used. 12 are there are many green parks, spaces and landscape were accounted for within the planning to allows a variety of seating furniture for visitors and pedestrians. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 13 for best practice for street furniture to perform its functions, considerations have been taken to be visible and with suitably chosen colors. each item has, in contrast to its environment and in bright colors as well. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 14 hi-tec senores will be installed among street furniture as units for measurement and monitoring air quality, pedestrian traffic, in cases of emergencies, and pollution. +4 +4 +4 3 3 15 functions of street lights will have the ability to increase/decrease the lighting levels by control management system via hi-tec digital tool. +4 +4 +4 3 3 functional & technical features 16 one of the most uses of digital technology comes in the form of the popular cell phone market and smart phone booths. these types of digital technology are included within the city planning for street furniture. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 17 the last updated information boards, maps and posts will be installed in "the new city" to enable getting data and information via intelligent street furniture +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 18 all considerations for the ideal placement of street furniture based on the best practice are considered during the design phase. +4 +4 +4 3 3 power, energy & lighting 19 the planning will use integrated light-emitting diode (led) light fixture in the new city’s streets. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 topic of statement no. q-statements a b c d e power, energy & lighting 20 all advertising boards, signs and billboards designed as devices using (led) digital furniture for advertising. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 21 with the massive demand and subsequent explosion of data usage, more wireless network infrastructure companies (i.e. orange-vodafone-etisalat) and others to come, they are using the last technology of 4g in the region. the proper coordination has been made and arranged among them to collaborate in the data-sharing for efficient communication protocols serving street furniture. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 22 solar energy, as the best system in operation, maintenance and saving costs, is deployed with utmost activities. +4 +4 +4 3 3 unity 23 the planning of the city considered all aspects of the unity of the streets, by placing it in good locations based on the norms or the standards. the climate also must be evaluated carefully, should be in color harmony, easily maintained and social environments and other considerations that of these have direct impact on the unity of street furniture and have periodic maintenance work done on it. +4 +4 3 3 3 24 there is an importance of having a number of international companies, advertising agencies provides its design experience to submit their proposed intelligent furniture as one of the planning elements that will incur revenue for the city. +4 +4 +4 3 3 people 25 responsive street furniture could make streets more +4 +4 3 3 3 hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 23 oriented usable for everyone providing assurance for its benefits. 26 street furniture will be designed to be easily recognized and understood the users. +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 27 people would find street furniture more modern, pleasant. it will be in good shapes, colors, fine texturesurfaces, and smooth surfaces designed to ensure their consent, easy usage, ease of maintenance and in a suitability manners. +4 +4 +4 3 3 interpretation of the factors q-table for street furniture: results based on calculated factors revealed the following: totally agree / or full consent (i.e. +4 ranks) for the two segments is 70% where the perspectives that agreed (i.e. +3 & +2) are 22%. last but not least, other perspectives less than agreeing (-4&-3&-2 ranks) are of 7% as shown in the below inverted pyramidal, q-table: full disagree sound & less disagree sound & less agreee full agree segment / scale -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 total factor government perspectives 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 71 81 0.33 non-government perspectives 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 26 24 54 0.22 pyramidal q-table fig 19 as shown in figure 19, using the excel statistical as simple sample tool analysis program, the data for street furniture were analyzed using the relevant basic statistical processes (i.e. concluded factors of 0.33 & 0.22 for governmental and non-governmental officers respectively) all relationships between the data were also analyzed; and with the information obtained from the questionnaires built based on q-statements conclude that concept, factors, elements of street furniture are being considered and properly accounted for within the phase of planning but will not be in phase 1 of the project but within late phases as originally planned for. analysis of street furniture results: total q-statements for segment of street furniture are based on 27 statements delivered, discussed and obtained its perspectives from the participants, having a total of 243 ranges of expected responds (9 ranks). responds received are summarized as follows: thus, positive consents and agreed upon opinions were aggregated and concluded major topics related to the following: best, updated and last technology will be used during designing most of street furniture. implement, focusing on application of ict technologies and multiuser devices. steel material will be used due to its sustainability durable, resistant to rust and requires minor maintenance. traffic systems in all streets will be equipped by multifunctional digital display. green parks, landscape, seating benches and public art were accounted for in the planning. hi-tec senores considered among street furniture as unit for measurement, control and monitoring air quality, pedestrian traffic, in cases of emergencies, and pollution. led lighting systems are applied and functioning in street lights posts having the ability for increase/decrease the lighting levels by control management system via hi-tec digital tool. the last technology of 4g, proper coordination have been made and arranged among them to collaborate and data-sharing for efficient communication protocols serving the streets. whilst other answers away from consent and agreement opinions due to planning have not being completed and agreed upon by the authorities, as follows: components of fully responsive street furniture may not by applying in all areas, since that involves high cost and manufacturing features to be built-in and installed. international companies and advertising agencies may have less chance to win applying their hi-tec advertisements over street furniture in ''new cairo administration capital'' compared to egyptian companies in the market. some constrains may exist, when placing the street furniture in certain areas. responsibility tasks for street furniture maintenance is not yet concluded and agree upon within the city administrators. good maintenance plan equal valid and sound sustainablilty. hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 24 3.4 conclusions section: 3.4.1 research findings: for ''new cairo administration capital'' as a smart city: we found out that the overall planning is achieved in suitable aesthetic concerns in designing ''new cairo administration capital'', throughout islamic history manner as base for futuristic planning done in all residences buildings. this creates a meaningful output of egyptian identity serving the overall objectives aligned with egypt 2020-2030 taking as a whole, and its tangible outcomes that expected to achieve. the basic six characteristics of smart city have been properly applied. we have assured that each initiative has been implemented properly as planned as well as accompanying with the international rules and guidelines of the smart city. so, we focused on three of these characteristics that are having great impact and valid concerns to all of the planners. the three characteristics cover the following: smart economy: this conceptual characteristic has been applied, utilized to synchronize, optimize city’s investments in green and broadband economies. the investigation of critical city’s resources that will contribute to its readiness to smart vision is a crucial preliminary planning step being done and concluded. smart governance: all requirements for smart governance have been implemented, like including the decision making participation, public and social services, transparency, democratic processes, interconnection between the governmental organization and administrations, and improving community access to services as well as close involvement, monitoring and following up procedures taken by the highest level of the authority in egypt. smart environment: the new capital is well-designed to install, operate and monitor pollution and all related sustainable technologies in order to reach lower levels of energy consumption having the edge of green environment. for street furniture in ''new cairo administration capital'': the obtained results have pointed out a strong relationship between the street furniture layouts and the technical fixtures. the related materials counted and highlighted the need to pay attention to studies of new designs concerning the smart furniture in egypt. street furniture is designed in unity, and this gives it an identity and connection to the location. the function of the street furniture is not just an object of use, art, or communication. items of street furniture are the designed elements not only for beautification purposes, but to provide comfort, transportation, relaxation, entertainment and protection from the outside effects. 3.4.2 conclusions: this conceptual planning model (cpm) could be the founding documentation for a smart city master plan as a map depicting some concepts that might be applied to smart innovation, broadband economy, and innovative urban ecosystems. it examines, respectively, all aspects of designing street furniture within a city addressing a mixture of planning priorities in a reference model. it is a combination of various basic elements and factors for crucial considerations that could be used to evaluate egypt or any other country within the regionits innovative capacity in identifying complements and inconsistencies in street furniture’ master planning. therefore, the city master planning should contain the innovative characteristics that contribute to a green, sustainable smart city growth, which was the focal point of the reference model. smart city planners working in field of street furniture could use the reference planning model as provided from the study to: define the conceptual layout of the street furniture planning procedures and describe innovative characteristics and elements of urbanism. as street furniture come in different shapes and sizes, this reference model for planning should be tailored to local / national urban innovative characters integrating all layers of the model. smart city planners could formulate a six-layer planning agenda based on the local features. utilize the synchronization and optimization of egypt’s investments in the green and broadband economies. investigation of critical cairo’s resources that will contribute to its readiness to the smart vision. prevent unsustainable investments to build upon the socio-technical compliance in the street furniture course of action. 3.4.3 recommendations: based on our findings, we are suggesting a number of recommendations to be considered within the next planning and designing future smart cities in egypt, based on what have been studied, concluded and implemented: hala hassanein / the academic research community publication pg. 25 a. future research steps should be considered towards the refinement of the smart innovation model into a “system in systems” model that will mirror -in detailsthe smart city processes. following a systemic approach, the model should be adaptive as far as inputs, outputs, and processing’s to the local context of a smart city. b. key performance indicators should be explored for sustainability, competitiveness, and employment generation. c. a process-oriented evaluation model could be developed based on the systemic smart city performance that will contest the existing smart city benchmarking schemas in order to enhance the planning process and to overcome any faced constrains during the implementation of the new cairo administration capitals. acknowledgements: the conducted q survey in this research is done by the valuable participation of the following key governmental and non-governmental officials based on their appreciated contribution to the brainstorming and meetings sessions through the preparation phase as well as when submitting its final results and conclusions: mr. wael mousa assistant to ministry of housing, utilities and urban development, dr. ahmed farouk ministry advisor for national projects – ministry of investment, eng. mohamed arab advisor to the national regulatory authority telecommunications eng. safwat sobhy ceo, orascom for construction industries, oci dr. ayman ashour dean of faculty of engineering, list of abbreviations: ict information and communication technologies it information techology itsm it service management uk united kingdom uae united arab emirates gdp gross domestic product led light emitting diode cpm conceptual planning model lldpe linear low-density polyethylene references: 1. 50 sensor applications for a smarter world. 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(2015, june 10). retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://gelookahead.economist.com/smart-city-lighting/ 29. tulpi.nl, t. (n.d.). seat. retrieved august 30, 2017, from http://www.tulpi.nl/tulpi-seat/ 30. un commission on science and technology for development, ''issues research on smart cities and infrastructure'', 2016, p. 11, http://unctad.org/meetings/en/sessionaldocuments/cstd_2015_issuespaper_theme1_smartcitiesandinfra_en.pdf 31. united nations un “our common future” chapter 1: a threatened future, clause 49, 32. watson, plattes, shibley, (2003) ''time-saver standards for urban design'', mcgraw-hill companies. p 6.5 – 4 & p 7.9, 1-7 a. media & newspapers: the following contacts have serval announcemets via press, media and newspapers that were considered within the study for thier value technical and operational information given to the press from key officials in various fields of businesses as follows: eng. ismaiel saeid head of planning & excution sector at egyptian telecom. co. dr. mohamed mostafa international business director at shaker co. mr. mohamed nasseim representaive general manager at urban communities authority eng. mahmoud elshenawy head of construction division of egyptian espanish co. mr. mohamed fouda administration manager at new capital company http://www.coroflot.com/rachel_pownall/modular-street-furniture http://www.rossatkin.com/wp/?portfolio=responsive-street-furniture http://www.rossatkin.com/wp/?portfolio=responsive-street-furniture http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/region-s-first-smart-street-unveiled-in-dubai-click-for-where-2016-07-03-1.634798 http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/23d360a0-8fec-4637-a7fc-bd4c2afa9319/finaldownload/downloadid-337a21bdd2e613292efbc428a1d24ad5/23d360a0-8fec-4637-a7fc-bd4c2afa9319/2576/1/bartolini_sara_tesi.pdf http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/23d360a0-8fec-4637-a7fc-bd4c2afa9319/finaldownload/downloadid-337a21bdd2e613292efbc428a1d24ad5/23d360a0-8fec-4637-a7fc-bd4c2afa9319/2576/1/bartolini_sara_tesi.pdf https://thenortheasttoday.com/tag/smart-city/ https://thenortheasttoday.com/tag/smart-city/ http://gelookahead.economist.com/smart-city-lighting/ http://www.tulpi.nl/tulpi-seat/ http://unctad.org/meetings/en/sessionaldocuments/cstd_2015_issuespaper_theme1_smartcitiesandinfra_en.pdf 3.1.2 smart street furniture: as shown in figure 3, the designs of the smart street furniture has become a symbol for the concept of smart cities and public places that use technology to enhance services, reduce costs and resource consumption to enable residents to engage them ef... the first four technologies are used widely in designing, planning, implementing new approaches and applications for smart cities as well as street furniture, whereas the last two points are less used due to different reasons. b. tools of energy technologiesp16f p : it is an interdisciplinary engineering science having to do with the efficient, safe, environmentally friendly and economical extraction, conversion, transportation, storage and use of energy. it is targeted towards yielding high efficiency while skir... cairo: the identity aspects of ''new cairo administration capital''p19f p" as the unique designing approach reflecting its islamic identity such as street seating which are designed based on the islamic patterns as shown herewith – figure 6b figure 6b – cairo, islamic pattern of street seating units a) elements: street furniture includes numerous elements not limited to billboards, lamp posts, lit signage, phone booths, mailboxes, park seating benches, bike racks, public art, utility poles, traffic signals, information boards, and city maps. som... b) materialsp20f p: the characteristics of material use, stability of the product and the psychological effects it creates are important, for the best design relies on strong, simple and natural shapes and materials. the list of the used material in ... street furniture design guidelines: benefits of solar led lights: figure 14 conceptual planning model -cpm as indicated above – in figure 14, we will start implementing the above planned processes for each topic individually. first, for the ''new cairo administration capital'' as a smart city, then last but not least, our core topic of street furniture: 3.3 ''new cairo administration capital'': “new cairo administration capital”p30f p is a large-scale project announced by the housing ministermustafa madbouly1t 1ton the 13pthp of march 2015. as a smart city located in 45 kilometers east and just outside the second greater cairo ring road, ... ''new cairo administration capital'' is planned to be consisted of 21 residential districts and 25 "dedicated districts". its downtown is to have skyscrapers, figure 15a. the city will also have a central park, artificial lakes, about 2,000 educationa... http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication sustainable architectural design education: a pilot study in a 3rd year studio kamal eldin mohamed1, soofia tahira elias özkan2 1department of architecture, izmir institute of technology 2department of architecture, middle east technical university abstract a design studio is the heart and soul of the architectural education curricula where students learn to make repetitive design decisions that result in design strategies for resource use in order to create an environmental system that reacts to the human needs and requirements or solves existing problems. integrating sustainability principles into the undergraduate design studio is an urgent need in order to teach young architects sustainable design principles that can stop the continued environmental degradation of the planet. this study proposed a new design studio pedagogy for integrating sustainability principles with a method to test the new pedagogy and the students’ final products. this paper presents the tests results of the pilot study and provides recommendations for the experimental design studio of the following semesters. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords architectural education; design studio pedagogy; sustainability 1. introduction architectural education intends to teach students a combination of design skills and professional knowledge. the architecture profession is an interdisciplinary science model that involves engineering, arts, environmental science, computer science, sociology, geography, culture, information technology, political science, and law disciplines. architectural curriculum education has a unique set up which is distinct from other university education disciplines. it has special privilege of a core subject, which is the design. the philosophy of architectural education defines architecture as a conceptual problem-solving discipline; its goal produces conceptual thinkers who are well versed in the skills, science, theory, and history of their field. the success of the education program depends on the quality of the faculty members and students connected with their commitment and passion (cornell, 2015). design is a strategic tactic or a roadmap of someone to accomplish a unique expectation (bakarman, 2003). design studio is a special and major element in the architectural education not only as course materials but also as a place where the students practice design. successful architecture studio courses are those that integrate the practice of design activity with all other coursework and educational experiences (kurt, 2012). contemporary design pedagogy contains design methods, the impact of technology, preparing students for globalization, future directions, knowledge economies, sociology, and thought processes (hall & barker, 2010). if the architectural design professions are to remain pertinent, architectural design education must completely pg. 126 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.354 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mohamed / the academic research community publication integrate sustainability into curriculum’s pedagogy to tackle the current and emerging issues facing our society in order to ensure an education that embrace responsible design solutions (walker & seymour, 2008). the complex area of building sustainability has been included in the architectural education curriculum in many architectural schools in order to prepare the architecture students for sustainable design practice. on the other hand, there has not been clear consensus on teaching methods nor on curriculum design (dib & adamo-villani, 2014). some of the teaching methods in architectural education can be cited as follows: -the three principles of ecole education: freedom, competition, and variety (carlhian, 1979). the bauhaus prime education objectives depended on integrating theory and application. constructivist design studio concepts (kurt, 2012). -integrated public interest design studio concept (anderson, 2012). charrette design studio technique (pernice, 2013). embracing deep learning approach for principles and practices of sustainability (sarhan & rutherford, 2014). learning pyramid principles that supported deep leaning not service learning. therefore, the questions were started with; explain, compare, and construct not describe (wood, 2004). over the last two decades, the integration of sustainability in the architectural education has been an active debate. the major consent is that the reform to address the notion of sustainability is unavoidable and every school would be expected to bring a relevant contribution and progress in achieving this goal. on the other hand, the adaptation of content and ideas of sustainability will vary according to each architectural school due to circumstantial forces setting up its direction, pedagogical approaches, diversification of its philosophy, and the flexibility and ability of innovation adaptation (ibrahim, 2008). it is essential to consider major restructure of both the traditional studio culture and modules for integrating sustainability issues. teachers and students should force the commitment to new studio culture and give it the priorities. existing teaching methods, approaches, and techniques which focus on lectures and assignments providing students with theoretical knowledge is not applicable for integrating sustainability in design studio (nikolic, messner, lee, & anumba, 2010; sarhan & rutherford, 2014). sustainability education is an emanate imperative that requires a paradigm shift in academic and professional training. on the other hand, issues that impede this concern can be listed as follows: -outdated pedagogy that focuses mainly on the form and aesthetics. -education program has two parallel axes technical-theoretical and design. -knowledge concerning environment, technology, and materials is lacking. -most schools use digital technology as a computer aided drafting (cad) tool. while digital technology should be fully integrated into the whole design process. -an ambiguous definition of sustainable architectural education exists. the pilot study was conducted with the belief that integrating sustainability principles in the design studio would result in producing a sustainable design solution for the student’s architecture project. the aim of the experimental design studio was to integrate sustainability principles into design studio project as a one of main project design concept. while the objective of the pilot study was to: -create an integration method -test the method. -test the method’s impact on the students’ learning ability and the finished product. pg. 127 mohamed / the academic research community publication 2. methodology the study took place at the architecture department in izmir institute of technology, in turkey. the research was conducted in the third year design studio (ar 301 architectural design iv) in the spring term in 2015, with 22 students. two instructors conducted the design studio as a team supervising all students with the help of one teaching assistant. the class had twelve working hours per week in the studio. the proposed design studio class focused on practicing rather than just acquiring theoretical information, which would help in integrating sustainability in the design project. the fourteen weeks of in the semester were divided into time modules system that allowed students to focus on the design process and not only on the final design/product. the design process was divided into four periods; four weeks for conceptual idea, four weeks for project development, four weeks for materials and testing, and two weeks for finishing and presentation. each period ended with an open jury. the teaching methods mentioned above were incorporated into the design studio in the following manner: -one case study was presented by each student (24 case studies) – learning by teaching others. students were required to write the project program individually then in a small group of three then in a group of eight – practice by doing and group discussion. students were required to construct study models during the project design development process (4 models) – practice by doing weekly panel reviews were conducted (6 panel reviews) in two formats: – deep learning (compare, contrast, and explain): a. group discussion of the design process and project development were conducted – group discussion. b. students criticized each other’s project by asking each student to present his/her project to the group – learning by demonstration. technical trips to: a. the project site and surrounding area – practice by doing. b. existing exemplary projects – learning by demonstration -instructors conducted charrette design assignments during the design process (4 assignments) – practice by doing. various digital technologies were used throughout the design process – practice by doing. a. conceptual design period; climate consultant and sketchup. b. design development period; revit, auto cad, and sketchup. c. design evaluation period; rivet, designbuilder, and sketchup. d. final drawing and presentation; rivet, auto cad, 3d max, designbuilder, and sketchup. -project owner(s)/user(s) were invited to discuss the project (2 visits) – pubic interest/immediate use practice. outside expert(s) were invited for workshop (4 workshops) – learning by demonstration. a . instructors assigned homework related assignment ahead of each workshop studio – practice by doing. -instructors conducted individual desk critics (10 desk critics) – learning by demonstration. class instructors offered lectures about the project topics that included visuals and audios materials (6 lectures) learning by visual, audio, and lecture. juries a. instructors conducted midterm juries (3 midterm juries) – learning by demonstration. b. instructors hosted a final jury – learning by teaching others pg. 128 mohamed / the academic research community publication 3. experimental design studio model all steps of the research method that were explained earlier were included in the class syllabus, studio calendar, project program, grading system, and jury’s evaluations. the environmental issues aspect of the sustainability principles was the only concern for the first pilot semester. the other two, i.e. social and economic aspects of sustainability were not considered. the entire evaluation of the students’ work was divided into two parts. first part was design process evaluation, embracing the sustainability integration (40% of total grade). second was finished project evaluation (60% of total grade); of which is 60% was dedicated purely to the design aspect and 40% for the degree of integration of the sustainability principles in the project. figures 1 4, illustrate four different students’ projects. 4. evaluating the results this section presents the results of two types of evaluations carried out with regard to the pilot studio for sustainable architectural design class. the first is an evaluation by the design studio instructors of the students’ work, based on the design process they followed and the final product; i.e. their design project; as well as the degree to which the sustainability principles were integrated into their final design. the second evaluation was done by the students themselves for the way the studio was conducted and what their own journey was like. 4.1. evaluation by the instructors the environmental sustainability principles checklist evaluation (karslı, 2013) were presented to the students during the design process. instructors explained all elements in the checklist to the students, showed them how to integrate each element in the design project throughout the design process. at the end of the semester, each project was evaluated against the sustainability checklist as a measurement tool of project success (40% of the final project evaluation grades). figure 9 illustrates the checklist elements, and figure 9 illustrates the correlation between the number of sustainable elements each student used in his/her project and the final studio grade. the trend between design process grades representing the new studio pedagogy structure and final project grade of the students show a positive result as shown in figure 9. naturally, the same positive trend result between design process grades and final studio grades. pg. 129 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 1. the designed architecture department project incorporate the use of; natural light, natural ventilation, sustainable materials (totally constructed out of wood), double skin façade,shading elements, green elements, collecting rain water, reuse of grey water, and solar panels. the proposed design had %56 reduction in annual energy consumption. figure 2. the designed architecture school incorporate the use of; long ramps floors to convert kinetic energy to electricity, natural light, shading elements, natural ventilation, solar panels, green roof, rain water collection. pg. 130 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 3. the designed architecture department project in corporate the use of; natural light, green roof, natural ventilation, shading elements, collecting rain water, and solar panels. figure 4. the designed architecture department project incorporate the use of; natural light, natural ventilation with wind catchers, sustainable materials (constructed out of wood and steel), double skin façade, shading elements, green roofs, collecting rain water, reuse of grey water, and solar panels. the proposed design had %32 reduction in annual energy consumption pg. 131 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 5. sustainable principles checklist figure 6. the correlation between the number of sustainable elements each student used in his/her project and the final studio grade figure 7. positive trend result between design process grades and final studio grades pg. 132 mohamed / the academic research community publication 4.2. evaluation by the students one week after the final jury, the grades (95% of the class grade) were announced. instructors invited the students for an open colloquium. at the beginning of the colloquium, students were handed out a questionnaire form that had various questions about the studio structure and format, sustainability issues, jury style and format, and their own comments about the studio from all aspects. before attending the studio, 80% of the students had no knowledge about sustainable design. 95% of the students confirmed practice sustainable design in their professional life and will chose it as their graduate education study subject. figure 8. the case studies scored the highest points among the studio tasks figure 9. the natural light scored the highest points among the sustainable design elements generally, students stated that the difficulties of the sustainable design studio were due to the fact that they had to learn many issues before coming up with a creative sustainable design solution. however, as can be expected, students who had taken a sustainable design elective class faced less difficulties. additionally, they pointed out that energy simulations consumed a lot of time to learn and apply. -general personal students’ comments regarding the class were: -appreciation of attending the sustainable studio and joy of learning the subject. -request for the continuation of the studio in their fourth year. -class is hard but we learn a lot. technical trip schedule time during the semester and case studies finishing time need to be rearranged. pg. 133 mohamed / the academic research community publication appreciation of class instructors’ knowledge of the topics and their care. 5. conclusions and recommendations the use of three different energy simulation programs; sketchup, designbuilder, and revit created a confusion among the students. the conversion among the three program was difficult and in some cases was impossible. some building forms were difficult to draw in designbuilder software as that required higher expertise level. importing drawings from sketchup to designbuilder in some cases were unsuccessful. revit achieved the most successful energy simulation result considering; learning time, other various work achievements, and reasonable measured results. students design process grades showed parallel trend with final project grade. moreover, all students managed to include many of the sustainable design elements in their design. furthermore, there were parallel trend between sustainable checklist elements used in each student project and final project grades. the standard deviation of studio pedagogy structure elements, shown in figure 9, was 1.97. that showed separation between the top and bottom elements. furthermore, the standard deviation of sustainable design elements, shown in figure 9, was 1.78. also, that showed separation between the top and bottom elements. students claimed that case studies presented by them were big help to achieve their project. however, cases studies presentation need to be finished during the first step of the design process. technical trip schedule after the first midterm review minimize the benefit of it. there was lack of applying sustainable design principles on the project landscape. the following recommendations were applied to the following ar 301 architectural design studio in fall of 2015 (second experimental studio) revit software was used for energy simulation work as the only energy simulation program. design process grade distribution was kept the same the 40 points of sustainability checklist elements and energy simulation grades distribution were modified according to the work load, and energy saving effort. more attention given to the basic elements scores of studio pedagogy structure and sustainable design by providing more lectures and inviting external experts. same strategies were applied to sustainable landscape design. technical trip was arranged at the third week of the design process followed by the first midterm review with one week gap between them. all cases studies were presented by the students within the first six weeks of the design process. 6. acknowledgments the author would like to thank instructor dr. zeynep durmus arsan at izmir institute of technology for her contribution to the studio. the author would like to thank the students of sustainable design studio class of spring 2015 at izmir institute of technology. 7. references 1. anderson, n. m. (2012). public interest design: a vehicle for change in architectural education and practice. paper presented at the 2012 acsa international conference, barcelona, spain. 2. bakarman, a. a. (2003). quality evaluation tool for the design studio practice. pg. 134 mohamed / the academic research community publication 3. carlhian, j. p. (1979). the ecole des beaux-arts: modes and manners, 7. 4. cornell, u. (2015). bachelor of architecture (b.arch.), cornell university. retrieved from http://courses.co rnell.edu/preview program.php?catoid=22&poid=10782#barchcurriculumforstudentsmatriculatinginfall 2014 5. dib, h., & adamo-villani, n. (2014). serious sustainability challenge game to promote teaching and learning of building sustainability. journal of computing in civil engineering (5). 6. hall, a., & barker, t. (2010). design collectives in education: evaluating the atelier format and the use of teaching narrative for collective cultural and creative learning, and the subsequent impact on professional practice alternative practices in design: past present and future. 1 (1), 1-11. 7. ibrahim, n. (2008). sustainability and the architectural education: are we there yet. senvar+ isesee. 8. karslı, u. t. (2013). integrating sustainability in interior design studio. procedia social and behavioral sciences, 106, 1532-1539. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.173 9. kurt, s. (2012). applying constructivist instruction method to the basic design course. international journal of arts and sciences, 05(05), 253-262. 10. nikolic, d., messner, j. i., lee, s., & anumba, c. (2010). the virtual construction simulator-development of an educational simulation game. paper presented at the proceedings of the international conference on computing in civil and building engineering. 11. pernice, k. (2013). charrettes (design sketching): half inspiration, half buy-in. retrieved from http://ww w.nngroup.com/articles/design-charrettes/ 12. sarhan, a., & rutherford, p. (2014). integrating sustainability in the architectural design education processtaxonomy of challenges and guidelines. paper presented at the fusion-proceedings of the 32nd ecaade conference. 13. walker, j. b., & seymour, m. w. (2008). utilizing the design charrette for teaching sustainability. international journal of sustainability in higher education, 9(2), 157-169. 14. wood, e. j. (2004). problem-based learning: exploiting knowledge of how people learn to promote effective learning. bioscience education e-journal, 3. pg. 135 introduction methodology experimental design studio model evaluating the results evaluation by the instructors evaluation by the students conclusions and recommendations acknowledgments references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication naturalism in architecture creating a culture of resilience houssameldeen bahgat el refeie1 1assistant professor, al shrouk academy, cairo, egypt abstract naturalism is the philosophy that adopted the theory of evolution and the domination of natural properties. the popularity of naturalism was due to the rise of the extensive biological researches and the evolution of natural sciences by the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. the emergence and the rise of these scientific theories were the contributing factors to the domination of naturalistic trends. it had an ample impact on urban and architectural schemes. environmental catastrophes and the climate change that followed the second world war that reached its peak in the last two decades of the twentieth century were the major factors in attracting the attention to the importance of preserving nature. naturalism was inspired by biological theories using a biological metaphor. the philosophy brought to mind techno-scientific images which drew out the concept of genetic architecture. these images tried to synchronize with the natural variables in order to achieve the concept of sustainable development. this paper aims to examine the concept of sustainable architecture by studying the architectural movements that are influenced by nature and biological theories, such as terms, models, projects, and buildings. for a deep understanding of the current discourse, this paper searches for the impact of the philosophy of naturalism on the history of sustainable architecture. the paper focuses on the notion of resilience while picturing the transformation of economic, political, social and physical structures into resilient urban spaces and organizational patterns which have the potential to grow and change—a subject mostly presented in a historical review. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords naturalism; sustainable; resilience 1. introduction “sustainable architecture,” has become an excessively used term in recent decades as a response to environmental catastrophe, and climate change. this notion has a broad applicability but usually used in partial application. the term is always used to point out to recent environmental building solutions, focusing in using new materials which capable to recycle or reuse, and ecolabeling, and with a little concern to social and cultural issues. sustainable architecture is scarcely discussed as a decisive key driver has a potential to make a greater systemic shift, which would have to foster a radical rethinking of conventional economics, consumption manners, and sustainable life styles. this paper traces the impact of the naturalism’s philosophy on architecture with concentrating on the case of metabolism architectural movement in japan which emerged in the 1960s and drew the attention to its revolutionary and visionary urban planning and architectural schemes. metabolism’s prime manifesto, addressed a huge concern to cultural resilience as an expression of national identity. this vision had been seen from a contemporary point of view. pg. 93 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.349 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ el refeie / the academic research community publication the movement of the metabolism had influenced with the new political and environmental changes and directly responded to the human and environmental catastrophe after the atomic bombing of japan in the second world war. its architecture came out as a complete and radical transformation of japan as a political system, social, and physical structures into resilient spatial and organizational patterns capable to change to respond to changing activities. metabolism is the belief that design and technology should express the vitality of the living organisms. the basis of the ideas adopted by metabolism architects results from the idea that everything in life changes and is altered by rapid technological developments. as a result of the changing human needs, buildings must adapt their spaces to the new activities. this requires them to be able to change and grow as a living organism. metabolists employed biological metaphors, retrieved technoscientific images, and triggered the conception of a genetic architecture in vernacular forms. they struggled to link between their visionary urbanism, institutional infrastructures, and the individual capability in customizing cells and adaptable temporary order of dwellings, which could expand, shrink or substitute according to the functions need. rem koolhaas and hans ulrich obrist have one of the latest correlations with metabolism is, project japan: metabolism talk (2009). it is an extensive synopsis of interviews with the proponents of the movement, in the seventies and eighties of the twentieth century, previously unknown archive material, and photographs documenting the making of the book and revisiting the metabolism’s architecture. the authors tried to explore the movement’s revolutionary agenda, projects schemes, and the reasons behind the success of metabolism vision and ideas in the 1960s, and its disappearance twenty five years later “in the bonfire of neoliberalism” (koolhaas, obrist, ota, westcott, & daniell, 2009). 2. resilient urbanism by the 1980s, as a result of great technological and industrial development, the interest in the natural environment increased. architecture started seeking for compatibility with the surrounding environment without harming the natural environment and climate. there have also been persistent attempts to develop architecture and accommodate it with the requirements of the times and needs of users. due to the consciousness of the environmental catastrophe the world is passing by, the concept of environmental resilience has become mainstream .the notion of resilience first emerged in the 1970s related to ecological systems. recently, it has become one of the major concepts in contemporary urbanism in the context of environmental, economic, and social crisis. it has usually been defined as the capability to response to, and recover from various threats with minimum harm to public safety and health, that is besides focusing on developing the economy of a particular urban area. however, the term of resilience is mostly addressed in environmental and technical contexts and often disregards social and cultural implications (goldstein, 2011). resilience gives systems the ability to adapt according to change; thus, it always be capable to rethink assumptions and build new systems (folke, carpenter, walker, scheffer, chapin, & rockström, 2010). when metabolism was presented to the international design community at the world design conference in tokyo, (wdc) 1960, the term was not in use yet. metabolists impeded the notion of resilient urbanism in technical, socio-ecological, and cultural terms. a resilient architect’s society presents here its systematic spatial reorganization in order to achieve a balance between change and preservation as expressed in the design of different life cycles of infrastructures and individual dwelling unit, and of permanent and changeable parts of the urban system which give the ability to add, subtract or substitute different urban elements according to change in functions or needs. metabolism left its influences on the japanese architectural community, beside it had a decisive impact on western architectural and urban discourse (folke, carpenter, walker, scheffer, chapin, & rockström, 2010). the wdc in tokyo was the first international event japan ever held, it presented new urban discourse and turned the wdc into a forum where discus differences between japanese and western culture. metabolists were searching for japanese cultural identity differ from western models, however, metabolism took a new approach. dealing with new models, terms, and images that could be applied more generally, and reflected a broader shift, not only in japanese architecture but also to the contemporary architecture. metabolists connected traditional pg. 94 el refeie / the academic research community publication models with a historic, universally applicable, and structuralist spatial conceptions with biological metaphor. all of these underline the strong influence of organic theory and expressed by cutting edge technology. metabolists created their conceptual movement focusing on nature and organic schemes accomplished an accepted stereotype of japanese architecture. 3. envisioning reorganization the architectural historian ryuichi hamaguchi divides post-war modernism in japan into two separate decades. after the second world war, all the main cities in japan were destructed, particularly hiroshima and nagasaki. the guiding theories as early rationalism and functionalism were taken up again. hamaguchi claims that around the middle of the 1950s, an architectural discourse shifted from functionalism to ‘aesthetic consciousnesses. in japan, around 1960 architects started to engage in a broader discourse on cities planning and urbanities. architects launched numerous conceptual proposals for urban redevelopment. kenzo tange‘s metabolist proposal for tokyo bay was one of the first examples of this both theoretical and utopian approach to urbanism in japan (hamaguchi, 1966). figure 1. tokyo bay (1960) kenzotange, with kisho kurokawa and arata isozaki. by the end of the 1950s japan was still fighting for achieving the task of housing millions of people left homeless in affected cities. the consciousness of having lost the war, brought with it a deep concern of losing the japanese national identity with having a disconnection with one’s own culture. this is created the desire to retrieve the national heritage of japan. the japanese architects tried to unite a new japanese alliance to participate in creating a utopian city planning. it was a wonderful chance for the japanese architects and urban designers to communicate directly with their foreign colleagues during the wdc in tokyo in 1960. this event plays not only as a catalyst for a generation shift in general especially in the design community in an asian context, but also as a marker for a growing selfconsciousness of a nonwestern architecture. in similar way, metabolists defined japanese culture vis-a-vis a western audience. they used the term ”japanese” as opposite to western modernism, which they considered it as an essentially uniform condition. the spokesman of the metabolists, noboru kawazoe, claimed that in japanese architecture there are a strong relation between functional and symbolic values. in opposition, he emphasized that west modernism which for him was purely functionalist. pg. 95 el refeie / the academic research community publication the metabolism’s manifesto prepared for the conference (kawazoe, 1960), was contained essays and visionary projects and schemes, but the most visible was the drawings of kikutake (wendelken, 2000). the projects presented were theoretical designs and visionary schemes‘ discussing cities and urbanities dealing with the issue of accommodating a population growing into the millions, drawing the attention to sites that had not been considered before like the ocean or the sky. the publication also included an essay by noboru kawazoe, where he point out to the nuclear catastrophe and promotes ‘the unity of man and nature and the evolution of human society into a peaceful state of unity, like a single living organism.’ he ends his essay with: ‘our constructive age . . . will be the age of high metabolism. order is born from chaos, and chaos from order. extinction is the same as creation . . . . we hope to create something which, even in destruction will cause subsequent new creation. this something must be found in the form of the cities we were going to make—cities constantly undergoing the process of metabolism’ (kawazoe, 1960). the metabolist manifesto at the wdc presented the concept of megastructure as a unique japanese contribution to modern architecture, and according to reyner banham its marking the maturity of japanese architecture and its independence of other cultures,’ and of “‘neo-colonialist” views of what it ought to be,’ (banham, 1976) . the term of ‘megastructure’ appeared for the first time in a paper by fumihiko maki’s collective form (maki, 1964). the idea of megastructure is like the natural evolution of the organic idea with respect to growth and development. different parts of the same organism work in the same mechanism as flowers, leaves, and fruits that grow from one tree. as a response to actual issues, the metabolists developed their organic schemes of network cities. one of the major problems was recognized as the lack of comprehensive infrastructure in japan, which was the main obstacle to urban development and economic growth. progress of means of transportation increased mobility which was promoted as a matter of individual freedom. the urban design proposals which presented by different members of the metabolism movement dealt with topological questions (the following). they did not take a traditional way envision infill of streets and new public transportation systems to solve this problem, but they took a radical approach dealing with new forms of total organizations that went beyond the conventional urban planning for the existing city. the mission they decided to go through was set on unifying all urban aspects into one big organism, which held as a containers for various functional units of different life-cycles. these megastructures branched in a hierarchy from large traffic arteries and transportation lanes down to streets on the pedestrian level. they linked all the public and commercial facilities with housing, which was being organized to become self-contained community. 4. metabolism in architecture the urban sociologist ernest burgess’ created a biological term” metabolism” in his article ‘the growth of cities’, first published in 1925 in the book” the city metabolism” which inspired from the anabolic and katabolic processes of a living body. burgess used the term ‘social metabolism’ to identify the process of growth and transformation of cities. the most revolutionary concept in burgess’ at this time was the stating the cities’ growth as ‘normal’ and not as the reason for social demise, as in the rhetoric of the garden city proponents (the foremost). because a city behaves in its formation and extension like a living organism it grows and changes, and thus endure naturally cycles of disintegration and reintegration. beside metabolism’s biological implication, the term was often showed up in the context of buddhist values, especially by western writers, focusing on the model of death and rebirth. günter nitschke in a special japan number of ad in 1964, edited an essay claiming that ‘metabolism’ can be translated to the japanese expression ”shinchintaisha”, which means renewal or regeneration. cherie wendelken has pointed out to the buddhist concepts of transmogrification and reincarnation (wendelken, 2000). in this way, we find out that the notion of ‘metabolism’ carries both a universal scientific connotation as well as a japanese spiritual values and beliefs. metabolism as a biological metaphor focused on the reorganization of the relationship between society and the pg. 96 el refeie / the academic research community publication individual adopting the comprehensive planning which would make people free (lin, 2010). the disintegration of the city into ‘cells’ corresponded to the breaking away from conventional family structures especially in the modern western societies and the strengthening of the situation of the individual in japanese society. as a native japanese model for the impermanence of architecture and a boost for metabolist principles served the national monument of the ise shrine, reconstructed every 20 years since the 7th century in the shinto tradition. another example, the historical model of the 16th century katsura detached palace, which was extended twice over 150 years into an asymmetrical plan, as representing a japanese tradition of metabolic and ideas of growth (koolhaas, obrist, ota, westcott, & daniell, 2009). metabolism created an organic stand for visualizing the regeneration of japanese culture after the destructions of fire bombings and two atomic blasts and severe environmental catastrophe. it granted the acceptance of japan as ground zero a site of rebirth where culture would be regenerated from an underlying spirit of japanese traditional values and beliefs and give it a new dimension as a modern nation. for that reason the metabolists proposed an organic connection between the individual and a fundamental cultural pattern (wendelken, 2000). 5. structural and symbolic reorganization the sky house which was owned by kiyonori kikutake1958 presents as the prototype for the ‘cell’, staging metabolist principles. the sky house consists of one square room, floating above ground on piers containing plumbing compartments attached on two sides of the building representing expandability. it proposed possible expansions extending from the main cell by what kikutake called ‘move-nets’, which would be plugged in beneath the floor to provide bathrooms, storage space, and removable children’s rooms for an expanding and contracting family. in otterlo in 1959 kikutake, presented at the last ciam meeting his metabolist project, ideas for the reorganization of tokyo city that was through kenzo tange. due to the lack of space and the high land prices in tokyo, kikutake proposed here a group of towers on the edge of tokyo bay, carrying exchangeable capsules of domestic units. kikutake’s highrise projects for a tower city and a marine city (literally ‘city on the sea’), previously published in the journal kokusai kenchiku (international architecture), were he presented it once again as parts of a comprehensive project entitled ocean city at the world design conference in 1960, and were included in the publication metabolism 1960: a proposal for a new urbanism. young japanese architects, kisho kurokawa and arata isozaki collaborated on the project with kenzo tange, among others who were not originally part of the inner metabolist circle (watanabe, 1961). tange’s organized the masses in a linear spine eighteen kilometers across tokyo bay, the masses’ organization like an element made of layered systems of intersecting infrastructural cycles on different scales, which extended from tokyo center, forming a ‘civic axis’. tange emphasize on reflecting metabolism thoughts on the nature of urban structures that would allow growth and change. this meant that the organization of the new civic axis was a significant challenge. they would become the most central mobility element contributing in a growing metropolis, where mobility was one of the basic necessities in city growth. biological metaphor of the growth process of organic bodies now managing the new development concept, inspiring the development strategy from the city core into a spine as a new growth phase from vertebrates, where the spine is essential for the transmission of information through the nervous system from the brain to the spine. figure 2. kiyonorikikutake’s ocean and marina projects, (1972). pg. 97 el refeie / the academic research community publication tange’s plan addressed a units of two square kilometers would stand a high-rise building complex symbolizing entrance and exit, or interchange with a three level of terrific, graded due to speed to facilitate the transportation of up to 2.5 million inhabitant along the city axes plus providing a city with a communication network and underground parking. these axes would be bounded with housing for five million people on man-made islands, each high rise building considered as amegastructure or a little city or community of its own. tange presenting his three dimensional megastructure as a superstructure, consisting of terraces on which the inhabitants could erect private houses according to their own tastes while the artificial land stayed in public hand. ‘private space where man lives and works in the air, and common space on the ground level where modern society unfolds freely its own interactions are separated’ (nitschke, 1964). the plan rejected the traditional form of the static master plan and envisioned an ‘organic’, more dynamic system stretch out across the water of tokyo bay. this dynamic was able to absorb programmatic changes and to respond to economic and social needs. tange developed his schemes to give an expandable urban forms that could grow and change. 6. megastructure versus group form fumihiko maki in the publication ”investigations in collective form” in 1964, published his research on ‘group form’ with masato othaka. this was a new spatial concept differs from the concept megastructure. maki distinguished in his research three different ‘collective forms’, the compositional (the modernist space), the megastructure (tange’s tokyo bay project, for example), and the group form. the group form differed from the compositional in its way of connecting the separate elements to the totality. elements can be added and taken away from the cluster without destroying the balance of the whole composition as in a modernist ensemble. this consisted of a fixed number of certain elements according to the master plan principle, where the design process was clearly divided into two phases, first is a functional planning phase followed by the second phase of creating individual buildings. the megastructure, on the other hand, was an open structure without a fixed concept of composition or a specific form, it was denominating the infrastructure, a man-made landscape, upon which all functions and elements of society grew and flourish. from his point of view a ‘master system’ replaced the master plan. maki saw the task of the master system in its capability to change to swing into place ‘in ever new stages of formal and structural equilibrium,’ preserving at the same time ‘visual integrity’. group form was rather based on a ‘group program’ than on a determined plan, resulting in non-hierarchical collective forms, in contrast to the master plan and the master system. the layout of a group form always stayed dynamic and open-ended. maki described its cluster-like arrangements with the words ‘it is not necessary to limit composition to inorganic, geometrical, structural, or mechanical patterns. rather group form is an intuitive, visual expression of the energy and sweat of millions of people in our cities, of the breath of live and the poetry of living (the research).’ koolhaas, in his recent publication, has compared group form to a social process instead of a technological proposal, whereby group form ‘surrenders to change rather than imposing mastery, and that asserts interdependence among disparate, even unfinished elements, rather than hierarchy and isolation’ (maki, 2005). banham claims that, the concept of megastructure is often derived from existing ‘accidental structures,’ architecture and urbanism at the beginning of the 1960s, promising ‘to resolve the conflicts between design and spontaneity, the large and the small, the permanent and the transient (koolhaas, obrist, ota, westcott, & daniell, 2009). in banham, it presents the culmination and the end of the modern movement, which continues to announce in the modern era its capability to control ‘the design of the whole human environment,’ while now admitting the importance of the individual desires for self-expression, a contradiction that the megastructures were finally unable to resolve. spontaneous processes of self-building could happen but ‘within a framework created by professional architects’ and still ‘reflecting the monumental and aesthetic values of professional architecture’ (koolhaas, obrist, ota, westcott, & daniell, 2009). pg. 98 el refeie / the academic research community publication 7. the image and the reproduction of metabolism metabolism has generated a radical visionary approach dealing with architecture. we can discuss the different aspects of the metabolist image: first the early visionary proposals and schemes, second the projects that was actually executed. kyonori kikutake’s theoretical projects differ quite heavily in language and scale from his executed projects. his visionary proposal for an experimental houses aiming to dwell hundred thousands of inhabitants are represented in a sketchy way, often in charcoal with a dreamy style and always containing some domestic-romantic implications, such as using the reflection of the rising sun on the surface of the ocean or fuji mountain as a background. kikutake’s early built architecture has a traditional forms and styles, although he was using contemporary materials and advanced construction methods. most of his buildings are of a moderate scale and well integrated into their surroundings. in 1960-62 arata isozaki presents his project. ‘future city’, using in ironic way images can be found in the photomontage he called it ‘incubation process’. in this drawing from isozaki’s city in the air, for tokyo’s shinjuku district, isozaki introduced his proposal for a new kind of housing featuring a dwelling units plugged to a huge cylindrical cores are built in a specific empty lots. isozaki situates a megastructure which built above the existing city within a field of classical ruins. the image pictures the city as the place capable to contain many life cycles and could allow to various cultures to live and thrive, overlap, and decline. isozaki claims that future cities would be built over the ruins, the city has its role in recurring cycle of life growth and death. in this synchronization of the already declined (western classical architecture) with the visionary (japanese metabolist architecture), we still could not imagine if it was a revolution or it was a paradigm shift. 8. conclusions naturalism has influenced architecture and urban design in many ways. the large impact of naturalism shows in metabolism. metabolists develop their organic schemes to respond to changing activities. metabolism is the belief that design and technology should express the vitality of living organisms. the basis of the ideas adopted by metabolists architects results from the idea that everything in life changes and is altered by rapid technological developments. as a result of changing human needs, building must adapt their spaces to the new activities. this requires them to be able to change and grow as a living organism. the movement of the metabolism regenerated a new relation with japanese traditional culture and a gave their architecture a new identity differs from western architecture trends. the metabolist schemes earned a large appreciation of visionary projects on huge scales, especially in the west. one of the major objectives of the metabolists to find a new approach capable to solve the new urban problems that came out with the rapid growth of megacities. they focused on of land scarcity, housing shortage, and unplanned sprawl. they also addressed fundamental social considerations, philosophical metaphor, political reflections on the structure and architecture features, and national identity and culture. metabolists created a radically different conception of the city, conceived that the strict separation of public and private realms, making one part of the megacity an infrastructure at large and disintegrated the other part into a micro landscape of cells. it shows that a population are moving freely associate and dissociate according to personal needs. this society was not related to place; it integrated through the availability of the megastructure and group form, metaphoric images such as cycle and tree, and the idea of an underlying cultural heritage. the metabolist visions of a resilience reveals various contemporary urban problems. the current discourse now is discussing how to design sustainable cities which have similar challenges such as, land scarcity, housing shortage, insufficiency of infrastructures, and a lack of transportation means. sustainable architecture have not led to the emergence of more resilient cities. koolhaas and obricht, point out to the retreat of the state’s organizations and the prominence of the private market in driving development. they show the network of relations behind the movement. they demonstrate the movement of metabolism’s proponents and their ability to collaborate and build alliances to represent a wide range of other disciplines in order to fulfill their concept of a resilient culture which pg. 99 el refeie / the academic research community publication left its impact on urban planning and design theories. 9. references 1. banham, r. (1976). megastructure urban futures of the recent past (p. 45). london: thames and hudson. 2. folke, c., carpenter, s. r., walker, b., scheffer, m., chapin, t., & rockström, j. (2010). resilience thinking: integrating resilience, adaptability and transformability. ecology and society,15(4). doi:10.5751/es03610-150420 3. goldhagen, s. w., & legault, r. (2000). anxious modernisms: experimentation in postwar architectural culture (pp. 279-285). cambridge, massachusetts/ london: mit press. 4. goldstein, b. e. (2011). collaborative resilience: moving through crisis to opportunity. cambridge, ma: mit press. 5. hamaguchi, r. (1966). a view of modern japanese architecture – 20 years after the war (p. 19). the japan architect. 6. kawazoe, n. (ed.). (1960). metabolism: the proposals for a new urbanism (pp. 48-49). bitjutu syuppan sha. 7. koolhaas, r., obrist, h., ota, k., westcott, j., & daniell, t. (2009). project japan: metabolism talks...köln: taschen. 8. lin, z. (2010). kenzo tange and the metabolist movement urban utopias of modern japan (p. 95). 9. maki, f. (1964). investigations in collective form (p. 132). st. louis: school of architecture, washington university. 10. maki, m. (2005). toward group form, in ockman, j. architecture culture, 1943-1968: a documentary anthology (p. 324). new york, ny: rizzoli. 11. nitschke, g. (1964). die metabolisten japans. bauwelt, 512. 12. watanabe, s., kamiya, k., koh, h., & hamaguchi, r. (1961). conductors of city planning? (p. 39), the japan architect. 13. wendelken, c. (2000). putting metabolism back in place. the making of a radically decontextualized architecture in japan. anxious modernisms. experimentation in postwar architectural culture. eds.: goldhagen, s.w., legault, r., mit press, cambridge, massachusetts/ london pg. 100 introduction resilient urbanism envisioning reorganization metabolism in architecture structural and symbolic reorganization megastructure versus group form the image and the reproduction of metabolism conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.426 parametric approach for multi-objective optimization for daylighting and energy consumption in early stage design of office tower in new administrative capital city of egypt ahmed mohamed yousef toutou1 1master student in alexandria university, b.sc. mansoura university abstract in the last few years, great improvements have been achieved in building optimization methods. mustapha sadeghipour roudasri and others found new tools ” ladybug, honeybee and butterfly” which could gather many simulation engines and visualization tools ” energyplus, openstudio, radiance, daysim, cfd, openfoam, etc ”. consequently, these simulation engines will integrate with parametric modeling in grasshopper and multiobjective optimization through octopus plug-in to form an early stage parametric optimization framework in one canvas. this paper aims at finding the suitable plane shape and building configurations for multi-objective optimization to the daylighting levels and energy consumption of office tower building in the new administrative capital city in egypt through parametric based optimization method. one of the most commonly used plan shapes of these types of buildings was studied. this shape and many building configurations ”wwr, window material, wall material and shading devices” were parametrically modeled. these parameters will form many tradeoffs which will be simulated and optimized by the previous framework. spatial daylight autonomy ”sda300/50%” is examined to optimize daylighting while energy use intensity ” eui” is used for energy consumption optimization. multi-objective optimization was performed by genetic algorithms via octopus plug-in. the near optimum design for plan shape and building configuration to balance between daylighting and energy consumption is achieved and will be a reference model for office tower buildings in this zone in egypt which is under rapid development. the framework used in this study will guide designers to find effective solutions for early-stage design of office building in one canvas without any conflict between several engines and scripts. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords parametric optimization; genetic algorithm; daylighting; energy simulation; early stage design 1. introduction the new administrative capital of egypt is planned to situate 45 km east of cairo city on 700 total area to relive congestion in cairo and to help to strengthen and diversify the country’s economic potential by creating new places to live, work and visit. (sis, 2017) because of the huge numbers of office buildings which will be constructed in administration and business district in addition to the energy crisis in egypt, a reference office building model will be designed to be a guideline for deigning this type of buildings and the whole building optimization framework will be valuable steps to follow in another different types. a parametric multi objectives’ optimization framework pg. 1 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mohamed / the academic research community publication will be held using genetic algorithms to the rectangular office building shape to find the optimum design. parametric modeling helped to automatic change in shape parameters to form various alternatives which will be the domain for solutions. daylighting and energy will be the objectives of optimizations process while sda and eui will be the metrics. many shape parameters in addition to wwr, a glass material, wall construction and shading devices will control the early stage design of this building. nomenclature a. sda : spatial daylight autonomy b. eui : energy use intensity c. ga : genetic algorithms d. moo: multi-objective optimization 2. literature review optimization always pointing to find the best case of something ”design or system” whether in function or efficiency as possible. (nguyen et al., 2014) optimization on performance objectives assists designers to automate a large pool of design trade-offs and direct the design to perform efficiently. (østergård et al., 2016). parametric modeling was integrated with optimization techniques to introduce an intelligent searching method for efficient feedback. (lin & gerber, 2014)this approach can be used to enhance the performance of buildings as building parameters are varied to see its influence on the objectives of design. the computer building model is usually solved by construct infinite sequence of progressively better approximations. the optimum solution will be found in the search space. (nguyen et al., 2014) however parametric analysis is an old idea, the availability of automation and software has facilitated it to be pursued. (konis et al., 2016) building optimization started many years ago. building performance simulation contributed to significant progress in building optimization in early-stage design especially when there is an integration with parametric design and genetic algorithms. (roudsari et al., 2013) paved the way for this integration when they had designed a new grasshopper toolkit ”ladybug, honeybee, butterfly, and dragonfly”. this toolkit is using grasshopper canvas while introducing daylighting, energy and wind simulation. radiance and daysim are used for daylighting simulation and energy-plus and openstudioare are used for energy simulation while openfoam and cfd are used for wind simulation. octopus plugin accomplished the missing ring of optimization framework in which parametric design, building performance simulation, and genetic algorithms are integrated to perform multi-objective optimization. (konis et al., 2016) proposed this framework before and called it passive performance optimization framework ”ppof”. this research achieved significant results in daylighting and energy performance while spatial useful daylighting illumination ”sudi” has a dramatic increase ranging from 27% to 65%in the best cases and energy use intensity ”eui” has a considerable decrease ranging from 4% to 7% depending on the local site and climatic conditions. (konis et al., 2016) this framework and many others which depend on the same idea of exploiting the integration of parametric modeling, building performance simulation and genetic algorithms to design the whole building or specific parts. some researchers designed shading louvers such as (wagdy & fathy, 2015) which used grasshopper and diva plugin to find the optimum daylighting performance shading device combination for classroom in cairo desert while some others designed skylights, such as (turrin, et al., 2012) which used paragen in parametric modeling and used genetic algorithms in large roof structure optimization. in addition, some researchers optimized the building massing such as (suyoto, et al., 2015) which utilized grasshopper to find the most shaded and comfortable outdoor area while others optimized fenestrations and windows designs like (el daly, 2014) which employs grasshopper to generate different fenestrations systems and (qingsong & fukuda, 2016) who find the most suitable wwr in an office building using grasshopper in parametric modeling, ladybug and honeybee in bps and galapagos as genetic algorithms operator. as well, facade design was optimized by many researchers like (elghazi, et al., 2014) who used kaleido cycle design technique in the residential facade to promote daylighting requirements utilizing grasshopper and diva for parametric modeling and daylighting simulation respectively. pg. 2 mohamed / the academic research community publication 3. methodology the multi-objectives framework used in this research consists of three main parts: parametric modeling, building performance simulation, and genetic algorithms. these three parts are forming closed loop cycle which begins with modeling the building parametrically, then evaluate the building performance resulting from specific parameters. in turn, the genetic algorithms guide design parameters to satisfy optimization objectives through ” survival of the fittest ” role. after that, the new alternative is formed and the cycle is repeated again and again. the pareto front which represents all alternatives in one single chart will be studied and the optimum solutions will be found through objective function. the closed-loop cycle is applied in grasshopper software canvas which will be responsible for parametric modeling of the building. in turn, the responsibility for building performance simulation part is for ladybug and honeybee plugins. these are free and open source environmental plugin for grasshopper3d which provide energy and daylighting modeling by using validated simulation engines such as energyplus, openstudio, radiance, and daysim. (roudsari et al., 2013) finally, the genetic algorithms part is performed via octopus which is a grasshopper plugin for applying evolutionary principles to parametric design and problem-solving. it allows the search for many goals at once, producing a range of optimized trade-off solutions between the extremes of each goal.(vierlinger, et al., 2013) assume that, a twelve levels office building is supposed to be designed in the new administrative capital of egypt. the common shape of a rectangular office building with the inner core is used. the building core is a 36 m2 area stairs and elevators are set while the outer zone is an open office space. the length and width of this tower building are supposed to be varied between 40 m and 50 m while this rectangular plan shape is subjected to some parametric variations to find more energy and daylighting efficient plan design. 3.1. parametric modeling in this subsection, the parametric modeling of floor shape design, window creation, exterior shading devices and surrounding context will be clarified. a. floor shape the building floor shape is supposed to be designed as rectangle shape which has parametric length and width (x and y). these two parameters are supposed to be an integer number between (40m and 50m). the four sides of the rectangle are divided from the center to form 4 points which will be the center s of four squares. the side length of this square is set to be a parametric integer value from (2m to 10m). the rotation angle of this square is set to be valued from (0° to 75° with 15° increment). these four squares are subtracted from the original rectangle floor shape as seen in figure 1. at the center of the original rectangle floor shape, there is square shaped core with 36 m2 area. the floor layout shape could be more complex by editing more subtractions or additions to it which will be applied in another research. figure 1. conceptual idea of plan shape optimization. b. windows the windows are created parametrically based on the window to wall ratio ”wwr”. every facade has a specific wwr varied from 0.1 to 0.9 with 0.1 increments.wwr is an important factor which will affect significantly on the balance between daylighting and energy performance. so, wwr values of the four facades are isolated to pg. 3 mohamed / the academic research community publication reach the optimum value for everyone. c. exterior shading devices the system of shading devices is set to be simple shading louvers which will be vertically in the south facade and horizontal in the east and west ones. as there is no direct sun exposure in the north, there aren’t any shading louvers in the north facade. louvers count, depth and rotation will be three factors which will control the parametric form of shading devices. louvers count will vary between 2 and 10 with 2 increments while louvers depth will vary between 0.05m and 0.5m with 0.05 increment. as well, rotation angle will be from -75° to 75° with 15° increment. d. surrounding context a virtual surrounding context is set to depend on the urban planning of the new city. essential note should be remarked that the results may be varied significantly when the surrounding context differs. table 1. building parameters adjusted during optimization process. (by researcher) building parameters attributes values geometry building length (x) (40-50m with an increment of 1m) 11 building width (y) (40-50m with an increment of 1m) 11 subtract square side (a) (2-8m with an increment of 1m) 7 subtract square angle (α) (0°-75° with an increment of 15°) 6 wwr north (wwrn) (0.1-0.9 with an increment of 0.1) 9 south (wwrs) (0.1-0.9 with an increment of 0.1) 9 east (wwre ) (0.1-0.9 with an increment of 0.1) 9 west (wwrw ) (0.1-0.9 with an increment of 0.1) 9 materials wall construction (wc) 5 varied wall constructions mentioned in 00000000 5 glass materials (gm) 10 varied glass materials mentioned in 00000000 10 shading devices count south (cs) (2-10 with an increment of 2) 5 east&west(cew ) (2-10 with an increment of 2) 5 rotation angle south (θs) (-75°-75° with an increment of 15°) 11 east&west ( θew ) (-75°-75° with an increment of 15°) 11 depth south (ds) (0.05-0.5m with an increment of .05m) 10 east&west ( dew ) (0.05-0.5m with an increment of .05m) 10 3.2. building performance simulation a. weather data file the used weather data file in this research is at cairo international airport which locates approximately in the same latitude 30°. this is because there is not a specified weather data file for the new administrative capital of egypt. figure 2. drybulb temperature of 6th of october city. (by researcher using ladybug) pg. 4 mohamed / the academic research community publication b. energy simulation the main purpose of energy simulation is finding energy use intensity ”eui” metric which represents the energy consumed during the year per unit area which need to be minimized through optimization framework. ”eui” is measured by j/m2. the energy simulation in ladybug and honeybeerun through several steps in which many factors should be specified. cooling and heating set point which controls the running of hvac system is set to be 24° and 20° respectively. the hvac system is set to be vav w/pep boxes. the number of people per floor area, lighting density per floor area and equipment load per floor area are designed as 0.0538 ppl/m2, 8.8264 w/m2 and 8.07 w/m2 respectively these values are referenced from ashrae base case model for a medium office building in phoenix region 2013. for energyplus materials, there are two main elements which affect dramatically on the energy performance of the building. first, wall construction material which will be five materials compositions from the egyptian local market. these materials have different compositions which lead to different conductivity and u value as seen in table 2. second, glass materials which have the most effective impact on both daylighting and energy performance. ten glass compositions shown in table 3 were set to find the most suitable the performance balance. these glass compositions were constructed in window 7.5 software which designed by lawrance barkely national lab, then they were exported to ladybug and honeybee. table 2. used building construction materials composition. single red brick double red brick egypt cement hollow brick egypt cement bulk brick double red brick wall air gap double red brick wall with isolation layer 1 egyptian plaster (5mm) egyptian plaster (5mm) egyptian plaster (5mm) egyptian plaster (5mm) egyptian plaster (5 mm) egyptian plaster (5 mm) layer 2 portland cement mortar (25mm) portland cement mortar (25mm) portland cement mortar (25mm) portland cement mortar (25mm) portland cement mortar (25 mm) portland cement mortar (25 mm) layer 3 egyptian red brick (100mm) egyptian red brick (200mm) cement hollow brick (200mm) cement bulk brick (200mm) egyptian red brick (100 mm) egyptian red brick (100 mm) layer 4 portland cement mortar (25 mm) portland cement mortar (25mm) portland cement mortar (25mm) portland cement mortar (25mm) air gap egyptian glass wool (5 mm) layer 5 egyptian plaster (5 mm) egyptian plaster (5 mm) egyptian plaster (5 mm) egyptian plaster (5 mm) egyptian red brick (100 mm) egyptian red brick (100 mm) layer 6 portland cement mortar (25 mm) portland cement mortar (25 mm) layer 7 egyptian plaster egyptian plaster (5 mm) c. daylighting simulation spatial daylighting illumination ”sda300/50%” is a daylighting metric which represent s the percentage of floor area having 300 lux of illumination for at least 50% of the occupied hours from (8 am-6 pm) throughout the pg. 5 mohamed / the academic research community publication year.(wagdy & fathy, 2015) the preferred value for sda is 75% based on previous publications for illuminating engineering society ”ies”. according to (usgbc, 2013), the analysis grid of daylighting illumination is set to 0.76m above the floor finishing while grid has 3 square meter size. for radiance materials, the same optical, transmittance and reflectance properties of energyplus glass materials were converted to radiance materials and set to daylighting model. walls, roof, and ground materials are set to off-white plaster, white paint and gray tiles (30cm * 30cm) respectively which dealt as neutral materials for all daylighting simulation alternatives. table 3. the layers of used glas materials. layer 1 th layer 2 th layer3 layer4 th layer5 th single clear clear glass 3.05 double clear argon clear glass 3.05 argon 12.7 clear glass 3.05 double low-e air comfort select r42 3.18 air 12.7 clear glass 3.05 double clear air clear glass 5.72 air 12.0 clear glass 5.72 double low-e vacuum lowe 270 4.0 vacuum 0.1 clear glass 3.96 saga blue sageglass 9 blue 40clr 8.8 air 12.7 clear glass 3.0 saga blue sageglass 9 green 49clr 8.7 air 12.7 clear glass 3.0 triple clear clear glass 5.72 air 12.7 clear glass 5.72 air 12.7 clear glass 5.72 trible-lowe-air loe270-4 4.0 air 12.7 clear glass 5.72 air 12.7 clear glass 5.72 trible-lowe-argon loe270-6 6.0 argon 12.7 clear glass 5.72 argon 12.7 clear glass 5.72 3.3. genetic algorithms genetic algorithms (gas) or evolutionary algorithms simulate the natural selection and the survival of the fittest which exist in nature to find the optimum solution to the problem. the genetic algorithms begin with calculating random solutions and then addressing all these solutions to the genetic operators. subsequently, by using the genetic operator’s new solutions are generated from the first solution. the fitness value which mentions how much it fits the solution will index all solutions. this process is used to make the solutions with higher fitness and using the genetic operators to produce new generations. then, recombination and mutations should be utilized to produce the best solutions generated or chose from the existing potential solutions. this process carries on forever until a convenient solution is found.(musleh, 2012) octopus plugin will perform this operation to find the optimum design. the production of following generations and finding the optimum solution depends on several setting which will be clarified in table 4. table 4. genetic settings in octopus. (by researcher) elitism mutation probability mutation rate crossover rate population size max generation max eval. time 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.8 50 50 none pg. 6 mohamed / the academic research community publication 4. results and discussion 4.1. objective function the following fitness function was used before by (konis et al., 2016) to accurately find the optimum solution in pareto front while eui and sudi were the objectives of this study: y = (sudii − sudimin)c1 +−1(euii −euimin)c2 where: i= result of iteration, min= minimum value of optimization set and max= maximum value of optimization set c1 = 100 sudimax−sudimin , c2 = 100 euimax−euimin the values of fitness function were calculated for some solutions of the optimal pareto front curve which represent varied cases of the performance of day lighting and energy. 4.2. pareto front ”pareto ranking refers to a solution surface in a multi-dimensional solution space formed by multiple criteria representing the objectives”. the pareto front is often used to explain the optimization results. (konis et al., 2016) to reach to the pareto front which is qualified to be analyzed, there are many generations of genomes (solutions) should be generated. during this research, seven generations were produced, every generation contains 50 genomes. however, the pareto front chart depends on the values of sda and eui, there are many solutions in the elder generations had been vanished as they couldn’t develop properly. figure 3. genomes generations produced in octopus. (by researcher) as seen in figure 3, there is a great improvement in every generation compared to the previous ones. this improvement could be in the objective in the objective function value of the optimum solution as its value is 36.1 in the first generation while it is about 75.4 in the last generation. the objective function values for the optimum solution for the seven generations are 36.1, 41.3, 41.8, 66.8, 72.4, 73.6 respectively. while investigating these results, there are two remarkable improvements in these results. firstly, the gained achievement in the second generation by 14.4% compared to the first one. secondly, the dramatic improvement in the fourth generation by nearly 60% compared to the third one. the improvement did not occur only for the objective function value but also for the values of sda and eui. the maximum value of sda in the first generation was 92 and it remained stable till the pg. 7 mohamed / the academic research community publication fourth generation, while it risen significantly to 98 in the fifth one. as well, in the sixth generation sda value increased to hit the highest point by 100. for the min value of eui, the first generation was 76.89 kwh/m2 and it remained static in the second one. however, it increased slightly during the third generation while it reached to 75.29 kwh/m2, all of the following generations stayed constant at this value. figure 4. pareto front. pareto front seen in figure 4 shows many solutions ”genomes” which are results for different configurations of building parameters. the solutions are referred by dots. every dot had special color and transparency. opaque cubes indicate the non-dominated pareto-front, transparent cubes are dominated solutions still belonging to the elite. transparent yellow cubes are elite-solutions from previous generations [history], the more transparent the older. transparent purple sphere indicates the optimum solution while transparent green and red spheres indicate optimum daylighting and energy solutions respectively. the blue curve represents pareto optimal front which contains the best solutions for objective function in addition to pareto optimal solution. the pareto-optimal solution is, by definition, the best that could be achieved for one objective without disadvantaging at least one other objective.(baumgartner et al., 2004) the objective function of all solutions of pareto optimal front is calculated to find pareto optimal solution. all of these solutions are listed below in table 5 with all parameters and simulation results. table 5. parameters and fitness function values of pareto optimum front solutions. solution 1 solution 2 solution 3 solution 4 solution 5 solution 6 y 73.54 72.35 75.33 72.98 69.91 65.83 sda (%) 100 98 95 93 91 88 eui (kwh/m2) 108.91 106.79 97.59 96.95 97.22 96.59 length (m) 43 46 43 42 40 43 width (m) 41 41 49 49 50 49 subtraction diameter 10 10 10 10 9 10 subtraction angle 15° 15° 75° 75° 75° 75° wwr north 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.7 wwr west 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.8 wwr south 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 wwr east 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.9 continued on next page pg. 8 mohamed / the academic research community publication table 5 continued glass material double clear (argon) double clear (argon) double low-e (air) double low-e (air) double low-e (air) double lowe (air) wall construction double red brick with isolation double red brick with isolation hollow cement wall hollow cement wall 0.2 m red brick wall 0.2 m red brick wall ver-sh.depth (m) 0.4 0.1 0.05 0.2 0.35 0.2 ver-sh.count 4 12 10 4 2 4 ver-sh.angle -60° -60° 45° 0° -15° 45° hor-sh.depth (m) 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.15 0.25 hor-sh. count 6 8 4 4 4 4 hor-sh. angle 60° 60° -30° -30° -30° -30° from information listed in table 5, it is noticed that all subtraction diameters are large and vary between 9m and 10m to allow sun rays penetrating the inner area of an office building and maintain daylighting. as well, wwr of all facades is wide while there is in any facade lower than 0.7. this helped in providing satisfying sda results in all solutions. the used vertical and horizontal shading devices in east, west, and south encouraged to make wwr larger and larger. glass material is diverse between double clear glass with argon separation and triple clear glass with air separation while wall construction material varies among double red brick wall with isolation, hollow cement wall, and 0.2m red brick wall. of course, if the optimization process has much time for simulation, the pareto optimal front will have a great improvement. figure 5. comparision between the solutions of pareto optimum curve. 4.3. the pareto front optimal solution: the pareto front optimal solution is characterized by the balance in the performance of daylighting and energy consumption. so, it achieved the best value of fitness function by 75.33. this genome was produced during the last ”seventh” generation which means that there is an improvement from the previous generation and if there is additional time there will be more optimized solutions in the following generations. as seen in figure 6, energy pg. 9 mohamed / the academic research community publication use intensity achieved 97.59 kwh/m2 which is higher than the most optimum value for eui by 22.29 kwh/m2 (29.6%). sda value has a higher value with 95 which is lower than the optimum daylighting solution by only 5%. this means that the daylighting performance for office space is very suitable. figure 6. optimumsolution model and parameters. daylighting and energy simulation are analyzed in figure 7. from these analyses, it is noticed that the day lighting has a uniform distribution allover office zone space which affects significantly on work performance. also, the outer spaces have a full value of sda where the office’s desktops may be located while sda value of the deeper spaces decreased slightly. these deep spaces may be exploited as circulation and services spaces which don’t need for high values of daylighting illumination. figure 7. daylighting and energy simulation results of optimum paretofront solution. as seen in figure 7, the distribution of eui through the year months showed that the most energy consuming months all over the year are august, july and january which achieve a value of eui equal 9.38kwh/m2, 9.00 kwh/m2 and 8.90kwh/m2 respectively. energy consumption increased in august and july because of the hightemperature degrees which need to be maintained by cooling while eui value risen in january because of the need for excessive heating loads as this month showed lower temperature degrees in figure 2. the most energy consuming category is electric equipment loads as there are many electric types of equipment in office buildings 4.4. the daylighting optimum solution: the optimum solution in daylighting performance was produced during the sixth generation in which the daylighting performance has hit the highest point and achieved a full value of sda by 100. in this generation, the pareto front optimal solution was the same one which achieved the best daylighting performance. but the high value of eui compared to the optimal solution, the fitness function value for this genome fall slightly to 73.54 which is lower than the optimal genome fitness by 1.79 (2.4%). this high value of sda gained because there are large wwrs in east, west, north and south elevations by 0.9, 0.8, 0.7 and 0.8 respectively. as well, shading count has a medium number of vertical and horizontal shading devices by 4 and 6 respectively. in addition, the used glass material is double clear glass with air separation which allows more daylighting to penetrate deeper in the office pg. 10 mohamed / the academic research community publication spaces. figure 8. daylighting energy simulation results of the daylighting optimum solution. figure 9. daylighting and energy simulation results of the daylighting optimum solution. daylighting simulation seen in figure 9 showed a high quality daylighting distribution through case study spaces. the large wwr in the southern facade in addition to the single clear glass material assisted the daylighting to perform higher the than base case by a 117% and by 3.13% more than the absolute optimum genome in pareto front. on the other hand, this genome achieved a relatively high value of eui by 108.9 kwh/m2 because of the same previous reasons especially which maintained the daylighting performance especially the clear glass material which has a high u value that allows excessive heat gain essentially in high wwr elevations. as noticed in figure 9, the heating loads are relatively low compared to the optimal pareto front solution as the clear glass material allowed the building to gain more heat. 5. conclusion this paper focused on representing the details of parametric-based optimization using genetic algorithms in grasshopper canvas. an office building tower case study in the new administrative capital city in egypt was introduced to find the suitable plane shape and building configurations for multi-objective optimization to the daylighting levels and energy consumption of office tower building in the new administrative capital city in egypt through parametric based optimization method. the used metrics for daylighting and energy performance were (sda300/50%) and eui respectively. there were many parameters to find the optimum design such as wwr, a glass material, construction material and shading devices in addition to shape parameters. nearly 350 solutions were produced in 7 generations. each generation is considered as more optimized from the previous ones. all of these solutions have formed the pareto front which contains the optimal pareto front curve where the optimum solution locates on. all of the solutions which are laying on this curve were analyzed to find the optimum solution. while illustrating the optimum solution, it’s found that the objective function scored a value of 75.33 as there is a balance between daylighting and energy performance. sda value was 100 with nearly with a full distribution of daylighting illumipg. 11 mohamed / the academic research community publication nation while eui was 97.6 kwh/m2. the best solutions in daylighting performance as was also investigated. this solution achieved an objective function value of 73.54 as it scored a high value of sda equal to 100% while the eui value was 108.9 kwh/m2. the most suitable parameters of office building tower in the new administrative capital city were investigated to be a reference for designers who will be responsible for similar building with the same size and in similar climate and location circumstances. also, the framework was illustrated to be a guide for environmental and energy modelers. 6. references 1. baumgartner, u., baumgartner, u., magele, c., magele, c., renhart, w., & renhart, w. 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(2016). parametric office building for daylight and energy analysis in the early design stages. procedia social and behavioral sciences, 216, 818–828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.s bspro.2015.12.079 10. roudsari, m. s., pak, m., smith, a., & gordon gill architecture. (2013). ladybug: a parametric environmental plugin for grasshopper to help designers create an environmentally-conscious design. 13th conference of international building performance simulation association, 3129–3135. retrieved from http ://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/bs2013/p 2499.pdf 11. sis. (2017). new administrative capital. retrieved august 20, 2017, from http://www.sis.gov.eg/section/3 52/5238?lang=en-us 12. suyoto, w., indraprastha, a., & purbo, h. w. (2015). parametric approach as a tool for decision-making in planning and design process. case study: office tower in kebayoran lama. procedia social and behavioral sciences, 184(august 2014), 328–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.05.098 pg. 12 mohamed / the academic research community publication 13. turrin, m., von buelow, p., kilian, a., & stouffs, r. (2012). performative skins for passive climatic comfort: a parametric design process. automation in construction, 22(may), 36–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autco n.2011.08.001 14. usgbc, l. (2013). us green building council. retrieved august 28, 2017, from https://www.usgbc.org/l eed 15. vierlinger, r., zimmel, c., & schneider, g. (2013). octopus, version 0.1. retrieved may 1, 2013, from w ww.grasshopper3d.com/group/octopu 16. wagdy, a., & fathy, f. (2015). a parametric approach for achieving optimum daylighting performance through solar screens in desert climates. journal of building engineering, 3, 155–170. https://doi.org/10.10 16/j.jobe.2015.07.007 pg. 13 introduction literature review methodology parametric modeling building performance simulation genetic algorithms results and discussion objective function pareto front the pareto front optimal solution: the daylighting optimum solution: conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication ‘omani burqa’ vs. decorated façade of modern omani house; the case of salalah, dhofar region, oman balkiz yapicioglu1, liudmila cazacova2 1girne american university, girne, cyprus 2liudmila cazacova abstract visiting oman, one firstly encounters wide roads and exaggerated decorations of house façades—situated behind high walls. these broad roads and decorated dwellings are unlike traditional omani architecture which can be identified as very sensitive to scale and climate. omani architecture can also be visualized from the narrow streets and low height buildings across many well-preserved villages; built using humble mud or stone structures. another encounter one might have is the traditional ‘omani burqa.’ it is worn by some omani women, originally designed for protection from dust and sand, which mimics the features of a falcon. lately, the ‘omani burqa’ has developed into a true fashion-item and is used as a ‘face mask’ with different colors and shapes. fashionable burqas are often decorated with shimmering crystals or diamonds which differs from the traditional design. what is visible behind the ‘burqa’, the ‘eye’, and the ‘burqa’ itself, become quite embellished, subsiding the importance of the other parts of the face. the façade design of a modern omani house and its walls are like the modern ‘burqa’ and the ‘eye’. even though the house is separated from the street by high walls, the importance of visual access from the street to façade can be perceived from the highly decorated house façades, and decorated walls at the same time. this study—using visual analysis of house façades in salalah, oman—attempts to identify the architectural elements used in architectural design. these elements are repeated all over oman, to accentuate visibility from the street to the façade. eventually, the study concludes that the importance of the visuality from the street to the façade, in a changing ‘closed’ society, is the leading factor for the embellishment of the wall and the façades, rendering the overall design behind the wall insignificant. © 2018 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords omani burqa; façade; decoration; wall; street 1. introduction change in the built-environment is an evolutionary process. what causes this change is tied to the obvious; industrialization, development of the economy, technology, increased population and movement of people, urbanization, and etc. there is also the element of culture that brings change in architecture. as bavin (1989) states “cultural meanings provide the bases by which society organizes and shapes its material world. . . material culture, then, has the potential to reveal the shared understandings of society and groups within it”. this also posits the hidden element of continuity within the changed material culture where the continuity is rendered by the material culture that cannot be observed by the eye of a distance beholder. culture and traditions are part of this continuity, even pg. 101 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.350 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ yapicioglu / the academic research community publication though they might take different forms and functionality over the course of time. continuity might involve repetition of patterns (i.e. patterns of thinking and behavior) and may also involve social trends developed over time, which is also about awareness of a society’s past. on the other hand, continuity embodies the notion of adaptation and transformation. however, continuity and adaptation (or transformation) do not necessarily happen in unity. for example, certain traditions might continue without major change over the years (i.e. behaviour), whereas the location or the space these traditions take place might change and adapt to the present time, i.e. material culture. as pocock (1962) states, “societies are organized to ensure their own continuity and thereby serve the function of preserving something from the past”. therefore, we can understand change, within the context of this study, as how material culture has developed and modified over time continuing the past within the shelter of the present to preserve privacy. considering that the notion of continuity of certain cultural tradition is embodied with the material culture, this study, therefore, attempts to connect how material culture change, i.e. decorated facades -hidden behind the decorated wallsof architecture versus the burqa1 is an attempt to hide what is considered private in a closed society, therefore to protect the past within the present. architecture is used as part of material culture and is presented as an artifact (yapicioglu & cazacova, 2016) and burqa is also represented as part of the material culture of a closed society, in this case dhofari region of oman. the study initially will discuss our approach to our research followed by the tradition and history of omani burqa and its evolvement throughout the past and the present. our study then will be followed by our evaluation of the façade elements of the traditional and contemporary housing of dhofar region in oman, where comparison of the past and the present will be presented. the study will conclude by our discussion and the conclusion 2. methodology this paper, as was stated in the introductory section mainly focuses on the cultural reflections on modern architecture in dhofar region, oman and more specifically on how material culture, burqa and architecture façade, manifests itself visually/symbolically as a medium between the past and the future continuing the culture of privacy in a closed society. most importantly the study attempts to identify the false and/or decorated façade elements used in modern architectural design, which are repeated all over dhofar, to accentuate visibility from the street to the façade to disguise the privacy behind the façade almost like the burqa and the decorated eye. moreover, architecture practices as a didactic statement of ‘how a given society ought to live, think, and/or feel. . . ’ (robinson, 1990). therefore, by analysing the mythical culture of burqa and its visual cues on modern architecture and the traditional housing façade elements in dhofar, it is the purpose of this case study to analyze and interpret the juxtaposition of the modern and the traditional in their attempt to continue the tradition of privacy in dhofar region, oman. the research is based on, an anthropological approach, i.e., a qualitative approach, using observation as the primary mode of study, where raw data in the field is abstracted out as a meaningful understanding. as denzin and lincoln (2000) put it, qualitative researcher study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, and phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. it consists of a set of interpretive, material practices that makes the world visible, including photographs among other documentations like, recordings, field notes, interviews and etc. this methodology, like a designer approaching a project, virtually assures that common cultural understandings will be identified for the research interest at hand. furthermore, it does not impose a theory, but let the understanding derive from the investigation. in order to achieve the aim of this study how material culture, burqa and architecture façade, manifests itself visually as a medium between the past and the future continuing the culture of privacy in a closed societythis research, initially, reviewed the originality, functionality and the evolution of burqa via literature review and documented the emergence of modern style trends in burqa design. furthermore, the raw data for the research, following the research methodology aforementioned, collected through ‘in situ’ documentation, via photographs of different 1burqa is a face mask or a veil worn by girls/women from puberty onwards or from the age of about 18 (mubarak, 2012) to cover their faces. pg. 102 yapicioglu / the academic research community publication residential buildings, in dhofar region, i.e. modern residential. the modern residential buildings documented are spread out in the region of dhofar and mainly in the suburbs of salalah. it is also important to mention here that, the traditional housing in dhofar region was previously documented (cazacova, 2014) and studied in detail that this study uses as a reference of omani traditional housing in dhofar region. 3. burqa (female’s face mask) – originality, functionality and evolution according to the description given by balfour-paul (1997) there are two distinctive types of face masks worn by omani women: the bedouin burqa and saif malik burqa. the description of omani ancient bedouin burqa, which is displayed in figure 1a, is found in quite a few travelers’ manuscripts such as wellsted (1838) “travels to arabia”, pfeiffer (1850) “a woman’s journey round the world”, oppenheim (1900) “vom mittelmeer zum perzischen golf”, ruete (1907) “momoirs of an arabian princess”, and balfour-paul (1997) “indigo in the arab world”. according to the travelers reports omani ancient bedouin burqa is a veil of rectangular shape made of blue satin2 embroidered in red, blue, gold or silver color trimmed with a gold border and a vertical (right over the nose) whalebone stiffener in the middle with two openings on either side, which are large just enough for the women to see the passing objects (wellsted & raymond, 1838; pfeiffer, 1850 & oppenheim, 1900). the upper part of the mask was fastened to the head with silk strings interwoven with gold or silver chains and kept the hair cover in place. the lower part fully hides the nose and partially the cheeks, thus, the eyes and the lower part of the face remains free (ruete, 1907; balfour-paul, 1997). saif malik ancient burqa face mask wore by omani women is more provocative than bedouin burqa model and provides minimal covering of the face (fig. 1b). it is rectangular of butterfly shaped mask framing women’s eyes with a vertical inflexible string in the middle (on the nose). the mask was embroidered and beautifully patterned with coloured silk, gold and silver threads and tightened to the head by four strings on both sides on the ears. figure 1. omaniancient bedouin burqa (a) embroidered with silver filament and decorated withsilver sequins; omani ancient saif malik burqa face mask embroidered withsilver (b). drawings by osman l, 2017. an article named “behind the bars!” published in new york times magazine published in march 9th, 1916 states that “every woman in muscat is her own jailer for modesty’s sake”. nevertheless, according to the reports found in travelers’ manuscripts e.g. wellsted (1838), pfeiffer (1850), omani women generally do not hide their faces, but in muscat women wear burqas along with a blue or red colored abaya dress when they leave their houses. it is interesting that a century later traveler balfour-paul (1997) states the opposite most of the omani women wear face masks, except those from muscat, its surroundings and certain settled parts of the interior who do not wear masks at all. furthermore, susan mubarak in her article for muscat daily (mubarak, 2012) writes that the black veil or burqa is exclusively dhofari that whenever you see women in muscat shopping malls wearing a fashionable abaya and black face veil with a slit for eyes, that is a distinguishing sign that she is from the south of oman (dhofar). 2ancient omani bedouin burqa was made of shiny local indigo-dyed fabric (balfour-paul, 1997). pg. 103 yapicioglu / the academic research community publication burqa, which usually symbolize bedouin heritage, mimics the features of a falcon and is light, breathable and protects women’s face from sun, dust and sand (elazzaoui, 2015 & the ”burqa” as seen in oman: the veil of the bedu woman, 2017). nevertheless, ruete (1907) defines the function of burqa as veil hiding women/girl’s face from male observers. she also states that an arab woman was not permitted to show her face. the face should be covered with burqa frequently at home and always at outings. though is obligatory to wear burqa in the presence of an unmarried man, is used also on the other occasions, depending on the age and wishes of the women/girl and her husband or father. figure 2. omani modern bedouinburqa worn by dhofari women (c); omani modern saif malik burqa face mask wornby women/girls as fashion, decoration (batoola) (b). drawings by the osman l,2017. in 2005 the government of sultanate of oman announced burqa ban in all institutions of higher education. female students stopped wearing it (since was not allowed) and with their faces uncovered they became distinctive. the things are changing and the number of young females with uncovered faces can be seen now at the colleges, offices and in the city. despite the progressive changes in the country, the general attitude of dhofari is that woman’s reputation and identity should be concealed and ’protected’ whenever possible. therefore, the burqa is considered a symbol of dhofar that reflects the population mentality (mubarak, 2012). nevertheless, there are still bedouin women in the country that wear burqa and do not consider it as an oppression, but rather a tradition (fig.2c). this tradition originates from pre-islamic period, it is passed down from one generation to another and still ongoing (elazzaoui, 2015). however, the burqa in modern oman, which was originally designed as a functional garment, turned into a fashion item. the women all over the country (even non-bedouin) wear decorative burqas3 on different festive occasions e.g. weddings and the like (fig. 2d) (elazzaoui, 2015). 4. traditional omani dwelling façade vs. contemporary façade originally, omani and particularly dhofari, similarly to the rest of the arabic peninsula lived in traditional houses made of local materials that was found in abundance in the region. majority of the houses were made of stone, rocks, lime and etc. where the harsh conditions of the desert and the traditional life style embodied both in the form, design and the materials of the traditional housing (tab. 1). as table 1 depicts, one of the very striking elements of the traditional house in dhofar is its accessibility from the street. the visual from the street to the façade was a direct access where the façade elements were modestly arranged; the front door, the door to the majlees4 and the scattered windows over the façade. even though ornamentations were used, mostly on the doors and on the screens of the windows, they were on a modest scale and weaker in reference. most importantly, the reference on decoration was a representation of the local craftsmanship in wood-carving (damluji, 1998). the 3modern decorative burqa, which became a fashion in oman, is called batoola. batoola is custom designed and made in different colors, materials and of different shapes (elazzaoui, 2015). 4majlees is a reception hall of a residence for male visitors only, which is used on different festive occasions. usually is easily accessible from the street and has a segregated entrance and bathroom. pg. 104 yapicioglu / the academic research community publication openings on the façade were simple in shape and weaker in reference. moreover, the openings on the façade were almost indicative of the plan behind the façade and emphasized the overall form of the building. another important element that supports this argument is that the builder’s modest, almost naive, approach to the arrangements of the façade elements which does not accent symmetry focusing on the functionality of the architectural elements on the façade. traditional dwelling facades (salalah and mirbat cities) study’s results. figure 3. façade’s photograph building location figure 4. façade’s photograph building location figure 5. façade’s photograph building location figure 6. façade’s photograph building location notes: facades common attributes asymmetry; natural construction material (sandstone, limestone, limestone plaster, e.g., which give the appearance of sandy colour5); minimal features and no any pure decorative features; functional + decorative features (wooden carved windows and doors, roof crenelated parapet, etc.); the facade attributes reflect the interior spaces layout; accented entrance to the majlees; direct access to the house from the street; inner courtyard. 5according to the dhofar municipality building regulation (1996) the buildings should be of sandy color matching the surrounding environment. pg. 105 yapicioglu / the academic research community publication figure 7. façade’s photograph building location figure 8. façade’s photograph building location figure 9. façade’s photograph building location figure 10. façade’s photograph building location figure 11. façade’s photograph building location figure 12. façade’s photograph building location pg. 106 yapicioglu / the academic research community publication when we evaluate the façade of the contemporary housing in oman, dhofar region, the decorated high walls immediately meet us with decorated (gilded) metal gates encircling the residents where the access from the street is interrupted (tab. 2), unlike the traditional house, and the main entrance is merged with the entrance to the majlees. this perhaps, initially, evokes the feeling of a continuity of the closed society tradition for the eye of a distance beholder, however, the continuity of the tradition and adaptation to new is nevertheless in contradiction. for example, the decorative porch/portico, with no obvious function, is usually built elaborately in the middle of the façade, declares openness like you will see in a public building but not necessarily on the façade of a residential building in a closed society. one other feature on the façade presenting the dichotomy between open and closed is the vast amount of large, i.e. out of scale, openings on the façade with other decorative accents. unlike the traditional house of dhofar, these openings are situated in a way that they emphasize a very strong symmetry giving the wrong sense of what is behind the façade, but again quite inviting. moreover, they are tinted in different colors for privacy almost defeating the purpose of the openings. our further analysis of the façade surfaces one more conflict between culture and architecture. as table 2 depicts, the extremely rendered façade with eaves, pediment, moldings, pilasters, arches, columns, balconies, quoins, colour, etc., almost declares anything else of the building insignificant, i.e. function, form and plan and most importantly islamic culture. according to the cazacova (cazacova & al kathiri, 2014), only 12% of the decorative elements used on facades in dhofar region are islamic in origin. contemporary house facades (salalah and mirbat cities) study’s results. figure 13. façade’s photograph building location figure 14. façade’s photograph building location figure 15. façade’s photograph building location pg. 107 yapicioglu / the academic research community publication figure 16. façade’s photograph building location figure 17. façade’s photograph building location figure 18. façade’s photograph building location figure 19. façade’s photograph building location figure 20. façade’s photograph building location pg. 108 yapicioglu / the academic research community publication figure 21. façade’s photograph building location figure 22. façade’s photograph building location figure 23. façade’s photograph building location figure 24. façade’s photograph building location note: facades’ common attributes surrounding wall; ornamented gate; symmetry; sandy color; excessive ornamentation (eaves, pediment, moldings, pilasters, arches; columns, balconies, quoins, etc.); tinted colorful windows; porch and decorative (false) porch/portico; outer courtyard; islamic design features6 and other than islamic design features; the façade attributes do not reflect the interior spaces layout; main entrance merged with the entrance to the majlees; access to the house via gate and outer courtyard. our comparison of the traditional versus the modern house in oman, dhofar region, clearly states the conflicts between continuity and adaptation, and how certain traditions transforms under the pressure of time. in arab gulf countries, like almost everywhere else, traditional houses are built to adapt to the local natural habitat and to satisfy societal and cultural values. as mentioned by eldemery (2009) the arab city is trying to catch up with the modernity, started losing its local image, uniqueness, and ability to meet its particular needs. as income and population continue to climb steadily in the gulf countries, modern styled housing design, which values aesthetics, construction cost and modern technologies over cultural values, has become increasingly preferred over traditional architecture. 6according to the dhofar municipality building regulation (1996) buildings’ facades should be of local islamic design style. pg. 109 yapicioglu / the academic research community publication 5. discussions and conclusions golari rightfully argues that the introduction of wealth and modernity into the gulf region, a traditional society, has been very rapid and is based on a marginal economy, the oil. golari further remarks; “unlike europe and north america, there has been no philosophical ‘enlightenment’, trial-and-error development of civil institutions, and no cultural or political evolution in parallel with the growth of an industrial consumer society”. sultanate of oman in persian gulf, regardless of its latest efforts of oil independent economies, is not immune to golari’s remark. the undeclared history of modernity is obvious both in oman’s built and social environment, where the present modern material culture conflicts with the past traditions. nevertheless, the field of architecture, as a material culture, is also striving to catch up with these developments to meet the demands of this rapid everchanging environment, consequently finding itself squeezed between to the tension of the past and the future. today’s physical environment in oman, regardless of the extreme climatic conditions, is not similar what it was less than fifty years ago. with increased urbanism and developed transportation systems, an omani city does not reflect continuity of traditional identity and can be considered as transformed. how this transformation, however, changed the traditions of omani culture in its spatial environment is an interesting phenomena. the private culture of oman still persists, or continues, regardless of the changes in the material culture and one of the most striking examples of this continuity is the omani burqa worn by the women that connects the past and the traditions to the present. the study here presented that the architecture (material culture) in dhofar, oman, has developed and modified over time continuing the past within the shelter of the present by studying the changes and evolution of burqa, facades of traditional and the modern house. it is shown that, even though the house is separated from the street by high walls for privacy, the importance of visual access from the street to façade can be perceived from the highly decorated house façades, and the decorated walls at the same time. essentially, all these elements are quite inviting from the street regardless of the high walls around the house, which is in conflict with the intention of the wall, privacy and closeness. today, their veiled faces distinguish dhofari women. originally, however, the dhofari women used burqa for its functionality, for protection from the sun and the dust, and not for hiding what is behind the burqa. this is almost like the façade of the traditional building that was built very modestly using local materials where functionality was of the foremost importance. there was no surrounding walls or elaborated decorations but a simple façade with minimum openings and roof parapets, which clearly emphasized the form and the layout of the building. traditionally, dhofari women did not use the burqa to cover their faces and burqa, over time, is transformed from a garment of function into a decorative accessory to hide the face, like the façade of the traditional house. the façade and the wall of modern dhofari house are almost like the painted eye of the dhofari women wearing burqa; a decorated mask that conceals what is real by accentuating what can be seen outside of the wall from the street to preserve privacy. 6. acknowledgments the authors of the article thank their institutions – girne american university and dhofar university for the support of this research and presentation of the article at the conference. cazacova l. acknowledges her daughter liubna osman for burqas’ drawings production. 7. references 1. pocock, jg. (1962). the origins of study of the past: a comparative approach. comparative studies in society and history; 4(2):209-246. 16. robinson, jw. (1990). architectural research: incorporating myth and science. journal of architectural education; 44(1):20-32. 2. ruete, e. (1907). memoirs of an arabian princess (pp. 85-92). new york: doubleday page & company. pg. 110 yapicioglu / the academic research community publication 3. the ”burqa” as seen in oman: the veil of the bedu woman. (2017). retrieved july 18, 2017, from http://h owtolivelikeanomaniprincess.blogspot.com.cy/2012/02/burqa-as-seen-in-oman-veil-of-beduoin.html 4. wellsted, l. & raymond, j. (1838). travels in arabia (pp. 350-351). london: murray. 5. yapicioglu, b., & cazacova, l. (2016). the building as a statement of an artefact: the mijmara. international journal of ecology & developmenttm, 31(3), 99-116. 6. eldemery, i. m. (2009). globalization challenges in architecture. journal of architectural and planning research, 343-354. 7. assali, i. (2017). a challenge of cultural identity in the context of modernity. iosr journal of environmental science, toxicology and food technology,11(3), ii, 98-107. 8. balfour-paul, j. (1997). indigo in the arab world (pp. 139-141). s.l.: routledge. 9. bavin, l. (1989). behind the façade: the expression of status and class in material culture. the australian journal of historical archaeology,16-22. 10. cazacova, l. & al kathiri, m. (2014). islamic architecture features and modern housing: case study north awqad, salalah. the international journal of the constructed environment, 4(3), 1-18. 11. cazacova, l. (2014). traditional housing features shaped by the defensive city, case study mirbat (phd thesis, european university of lefke). lefke, north cyprus. 12. damluji, s. (1998). the architecture of oman (pp. 425-436). uk: garnet publishing. 13. denzin, nk. (2000). lincoln y. qualitative research (p. 3). thousand oaks: sage publications 14. dhofar municipality. (1996). building regulation for dhofar province. dhofar, sultanate of oman. office of minister of state & governor of dhofar: local order no. 2/96. issued on sixth rabial 11.1417 h; 20 august. 15. elazzaoui, h. (2015, may 5). from function to fashion: the omani burqa. culture & art, fashion, women. http://mvslim.com/from-functionto-fashion-the-omani-burqa/. retrieved: 18.07.2017. 16. golzari, n. (2016). architecture and globalization in the persian gulf region. london: routledge. 17. kenzari, b. & elsheshtawy, y. (2003). the ambiguous veil: on transparency, the mashrabiy’ya, and architecture. journal of architectural education; (4):17-25. 18. mubarak, s. (2012, december 18). burqa a dying tradition, muscatdaily.com. http://www.muscatda ily.com/archive/storiesfiles/burqa-a-dying-tradition-1wx0. retrieved: 18.07.2017. 19. oppenheim, m. (1990). vom mittelmeer zum persischen golf (pp. 327-328). hansebooks. 20. pfeiffer, il. (1850). a woman’s journey round the world. london. pg. 111 introduction methodology burqa (female's face mask) – originality, functionality and evolution traditional omani dwelling façade vs. contemporary façade discussions and conclusions acknowledgments references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.368 the architecture of mevlevi buildings, one of the dervish houses in the ottoman geography hasan şehmuz haştemoğlu1, engin kepenek2 1suleyman demirel university, architecture faculty, architecture department, turkey 2suleyman demirel university, architecture faculty, city and regional planning department, turkey abstract the mevlevism order was established in the seljuk period in anatolia in the thirteenth century. after the death of mevlana celaleddin-i rumi, his son sultan veled systemized his father’s thoughts and created his own rules and brought the rituals to a ceremony in the form of sema ceremonies. sultan veled gave the name “mevlevism” to his sect and was called “mevlevihan” to his dervish houses. nearly 140 mevlevihane building was established in a wide geography which its east is in tabriz (iran), west is in pecu (hungary), north is in gözleve (ukraine), south is in cairo (egypt) and mecca in saudi arabia. nearly 80 of these dervish houses remained in the republic of turkey. after the declaration of turkish republic, these dervish houses were closed in 1925 by the law of “closure tekkes and zaviyes”, no. 677. there are two kinds of mevlevihan, which are “asitane” and “zaviye”. mevlevihan called asitane are the main dergahs which are full-fledged and has removing “ordeal” possibilities. the number of asitane constructions is around 15 in all mevlevihan buildings. another mevlevihan building is zaviye. zaviye were ruled by mevlevi, who has the title of “şeyh” and “dede”. many of the mevlevihan become a historical monument because of their architectural style and construction date. however, most of these structures have been ruined over the years. apart from a small number of mevlevihan, which was established as ”külliye”, ”semahane” parts of these mevlevihan were used as mosques and remained up to date. when the architectural programs of the mevlevihans are examined, it is seen that the mevlevihans, which were settled down in 13th century have an architectural program after the 16th century and they take konya mevlana dergah as an example. however, it is not possible to mention about same sized and specified spaces in all the mevlevihans. there are similar sections only in the largescale mevlevihans which are “asitane” status. in this study, an evaluation and classification study was carried out on the architectural formation of the mevlevihans one of the dervish constructions in islamic architecture which attracted attention with its wide geography. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords mevlevism; dervish houses; mevlevihane architecture 1. introduction the mevlevihan of konya, the other name “âsitâne-i aliyye” is the first place that comes to mind when mevlevihan is called. this is the place where hazrat-i mevlana and other dergah leaders who came after him were buried after pg. 278 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ şehmuz / the academic research community publication their death. and the other function of this place is administrative center. the person who wants to be a mevlevi, has to spend 1001 painful days in asithane to be a dervish. then with the decision of dede’s, he becomes a dervish and can be assigned to the other zaviyes. the influence of the mevlevihans which have integrated music and science together for centuries, has also been great on turkish culture. many people gathered in the mevlevihans have studied in many branches of fine arts and have made scientific field reputation. mevlevism, which started in anatolia during the seljuk period, spread all over the empire geography in the ottoman period. figure 1. mevlevibuildings in ottoman geography 2. mevlevihans in balkans and crimea in the course of the demolition of the ottoman empire, the balkan states made special efforts to evacuate the settlements of turkish and other muslim communities in their countries after autonomy and full independence. in this context, as a continuation of the politics of ”purification from the ottoman empire”, the liberation movement of the ottoman architectural works was seen. this process was carried out by direct destruction of architectural works, abandonment without decisive action, or conversion of the structure into another structure (sancaktar, 2012). as a result of this, a major architectural work has been lost. among these works, there are many mevlevihans and tekkes which spread in the balkans. with the help of documents in the konya mevlana dervish house central archives and the lists prepared by prof. dr. klaus kreiser and alexandre popovic, the mevlevihans that are found in the balkan geography and crimea are; in the former yugoslavia; belgrade, sarajevo, silk, kriva palanka, mostar, nis, pristina and skopje, in greece; larissa, chania, lesbos, thessaloniki, serez, tatar and vadina, in albania; elbasan and tirana, in bulgaria; plovdiv and vidin, in hungary; pecs and peştu, in ukraine (crimea); gözleve mevlevihans (önder, 1994). it is possible to obtain limited information about the belgrade mevlevihan which is in the former yugoslavia but there is no architectural information on the structure (göre, 2002). the zaviye of isa bey (uz, 1996), founded in 1462 in sarajevo, was destroyed during the ottoman-austrian war between 1683-1699, then rebuilt in 1781 and added a mosque. the mevlevihan was destroyed in 1957 and rebuilt in 2013 (ti̇ka, 2003). the skopje mevlevihan was converted to mevlevihan while it was using as a pasha mound in city center in 1650. there are still some pictures left behind the structure that was destroyed over time (karpuz, 2009). it is understood that the ipek mevlevihan in the city of ipek in kosovo was active in 1911 from the existing records (karpuz, 2010). however, the mevlevihan was destroyed by the montenegrins who occupied the city in 1912. on the other side, the other mevlevihans in the former yugoslavia; kriva palanko, mostar, nis, pristina mevlevihans have also failed pg. 279 şehmuz / the academic research community publication to survive. besides, architectural information about these mevlevihans could not be achieved in the reseaerches carried out (küçük, 2000). greece region has the highest number of mevlevihans in the balkans after the former yugoslavia. the yenişehir-i fenar mevlevihan in larissa is one of the fifteen asitane in the ottoman empire and the only asitane in the balkans (gölpınarlı, 1983). with the different available information, it is thought that the date of construction is the middle of the 17th century. it is understood from the documents dated 1891 that the dervishes returned to bursa after the city was taken by greek and the leader at the head of mevlevihan was told that “the dervish house will be demolished and they ought to leave the city” (demirci ve ösen, 2012). in addition, hanya mevlevihan, still used as an orphanage in crete island (kara, 1997) and athens mevlevihan mustafa aga mosque which is in the city center (karpuz, 2010) are few mevlevihans which have survived in greece. thessaloniki and serez mevlevihans were abandoned and destroyed. just a little information about serez mevlevihan and some photographs of thessaloniki mevlevihan have reached the present day (bakırcı and turkan, 2013). no available information was reached about mytilene, mastic and tatar mevlevihans. the name of the mevlevihan in elbasan (a city in albania) is in the section of “mevlevihans in southern europe” in a.popovic’s work ”les derviches balkaniques hier et aujourd’hui” and the mevlevihan is mentioned in the encyclopedia of islam of the turkish religious foundation, a document dated 1742 but detailed information about the building is not available. no information was obtained about tirana mevlevihan. the filibe mevlevihan which is one of the two mevlevihans in bulgaria, only selamlık and semahane parts are the standing parts of the mevlevihan today. the mevlevihan, used as a mosque and school in the past, has been used as a restaurant since 1974 (karpuz, 2010). the mevlevihan, located in the pec city of hungary, was built in the 16th century and only semahane part of the mosque was reached today (molnar, 1993). in the examinations that have been made, no information was available on pest mevlevihan the other mevlevihan in hungary. it is known that the mevlevihan, which is estimated to have been built in the 16th century in the city of gözde, was bombed by russian planes during the 1944 exile. just a ruined mosque and a semahane left to present day from mevlevihan. semahane was restored in 1996 and used for educational purposes. the mosque is ruined (kuş, 2011). 3. mevlevihans in middle east and north africa in the ottoman empire, one of the remarkable features of the mevlevihans in the arab states is to have a cultural bridge function. so that ottoman religious scholars generally know persian but there are very few araps who speak persian. the arabic mevlevi and muhips could only learn iranian sufi literature through the turkish language (glassen, 1996). however, after the ottomans, the interest in mevlevism was weakened and as a result of this most of the mevlevihans in the middle east and north africa were destroyed or became unusable. by the documents in the dergah of konya mevlana dervish house central archive and the lists prepared by prof. dr. klaus kreiser and alexandre popovic, the mevlevihans in middle east and north africa geography are in syria are; sham, aleppo, hama, humus and lazkiye, tripoli in lebanon, in iraq; baghdad, kirkuk (shahrizor) and mosul (mavshil), in saudi arabia; mecca and medina, tabriz in iran, benghazi in libya, cairo in egypt, jerusalem in palestine (önder, 1994). the most popular country of mevlevism in the middle east is syria. however, some of the mevlevihans in the country were completely destroyed and some of the outbuildings besides the mosque parts have survived at the devastated format. for example, although it is not known that there is a mevlevihan in hama, there are no artifacts reached the day (kuş, 2011). another completely destroyed mevlevihan is lazkiye. there is no information about mevlevihan structure today. humus mevlevihan, one of the remaining mevlevihan, only the mosque and some building walls have remained today (karpuz, 2007). şam mevlevihan built in 1585, is a mosque with the mevlevi tombs and sections that have turned into ruins which is still in use. aleppo mevlevihan, which was established as an asitane, has reached today with transformed semahane into a mosque (ürün, 2010). tarblusşam city, in the past syria, now located on the lebanese border is one of the cities with many ottoman works (akkaya, 2011). a large part of the trablusşam mevlevihan established in 1619 was destroyed during the lebanon civil pg. 280 şehmuz / the academic research community publication war in 1985 (glassen, 1996). it is understood from the historical sources that after the syria, the region where mevlevihans is most in the middle east is iraq. however, information about baghdad mevlevihan is very limited. in evliya çelebi’s travelogue, he mentioned the existence of mevlevihans in baghdad but he did not give any information (özçelik, 2012). in addition, the mevlevihans known presence in iraq are named şehrizor (kerkuk) and mavşil (musul) in the historical sources. however, there is no information related to the buildings (karpuz, 2010a). beyond the syria and iraq in the middle east and north africa, the known mevlevihans are mecca, medina, jerusalem, tabriz, cairo and benghazi mevlevihans. however, the information about the mevlevihans except cairo and jerusalem is extremely limited (özçelik, 2012). it is not known exactly when the mevlevihan of jerusalem was established, but it is understood from the historical records that it was active in 1539. cairo mevlevihan was founded in the 16th century. it is important because it is on the way of pilgrimage and it is a asitane. it was built on the ruined sungur sadi madrasah. the excavation and restoration work was carried out by the delegation headed by the prof. dr. g. fanfoni in 1979 (karpuz et al., 2007). 4. mevlevihans in anatolia mevlevism, which started in anatolia during the seljuk period, spread throughout the country geography during the ottoman period. later, after the declaration of the republic, in 1925 mevlevism was ended with the law of closure of tekkes and zaviyes. in this process, apart from the mevlevihans which’s semahane parts were built as mosque in anatolia, a few tekke and some mevlevihan which was built as kulliye have survived. in other words, while the mevlevihans in the form of mosque-tekke can be used as mosques in large proportions, the mevlevihans which were built in the form of house-tekke have been lost their function after the closure of the tekkes and zaviyes. most of them have been demolished and only a few house-tekke mevlevihan structures have been re-functioned to museums, art galleries and similar cultural structures. the mevlevihans used as mosques today are; afyon, konya cemel ali dede, pı̂rı̂ mehmet paşa ve şems-i tebrizı̂, çorum, karaman, kütahya, muğla, tire, edirne, eskişehir, kilis, ankara, gaziantep, tokat, i̇stanbul bahariye, yozgat, urfa. the constructions that continue their function as the quran course are the nigde and ermenek mevlevihans. we can list the mevlevihans which re-functioned and in use are konya mevlâna dervish house, i̇stanbul yenikapı and galata mevlevihans, antalya, manisa ve gelibolu mevlevihans (seçkin, 2010). 5. architecture and classification of mevlevihans the words such as külliye, asitane, dergâh, hankah, zaviye and tekke, which are used incorrectly many times together or replace with each other in turkish, generally carry other concepts that they take in the process apart from their purely word meaning. as word meanings often cause conceptual complexity, it is also very difficult to determine the classification and general characteristics of these buildings and building groups. for example, “kulliye”, the meaning is a group of buildings consisting of two or more units with different functions derived from the arabic word ”külli”, which begins to be seen in seljuk period in anatolia, became widespread in the period of beyliks and one of the main institutions of the ottoman culture. however, this definition does not match exactly with the term of the kulliye. many building groups such as the topkapı palace, which houses various buildings in its own right, can not be called as külliye. the main functions of the kulliye and the basic structures that fulfill these functions are; (ahunbay, 2012). religion function: mosque, tomb order function: hankah, zaviye, dervish houses education-teaching function: medrese, darülhadis, darülkurra, school health function: hospital while nutrition-shelter function: mess hall, banquet hall, orphanage, guesthouse, caravanserai, fountain cleaning function: hammam, bathroom on the other side, the term used as ”tekke” in turkish is actually derived from persian word ”tekke” meaning pg. 281 şehmuz / the academic research community publication ”to stay, to repose”. it is a common name used for all organizations related to religious sects. tekke is the name given to the place that the dervishes of a sect are gathering, performing ceremonies and rituals, as well as it is a general space used for all religious organizations related sects. it is necessary to draw attention to a point before the general architectural features of the tekkes are explained. doğan (1977), explains this situation as follows in his study “ottoman architecture, sectical constructions, tekkes, zaviyes and futuvvet buildings”. the characteristics of the tekkes, which are the centers of organization and action of the sects, can be very different from each other according to the shapes of the customs, traditions, rituals and dhikr of the sect. for this reason, it is impossible to determine the common features that are valid for all the tekkes (doğan, 1977). however, tanman (2005) made a typology experiment in his work ”sect structures in ottoman architecture / dervish lodges” according to the settlement layout for the ottoman period dervish lodges. according to tanman, dervish lodges can be examined in 4 main groups. table 1. classification of the dervish lodges according to the settlement layout (tanman, 2005) dervish houses by settlement layout group 1. the buildings; which have open courtyards, arcaded ottoman medresses, their derivatives common courtyards and a group of building with mosques and medresses in the form of kulliye, harem section designed independently group 2. the buildings that sect ceremony place is separated from other tekke units and located in the direction of qibla of the courtyard, the sections outside the the harem are distributed to the other side of the courtyard and are designed as scattered small kulliyes group 3. buildings that its sections which reserved for worship or visit are in the same building with all or some sections which reserved for daily life, designed to be placed in the form of a function diagram group 4. cumulative and organic structures that have been formed over centuries by adding many units in the period of seljuk, beylik and ottoman group 1.a. sect ceremony place is a mosque open to everyone’s use, can be called as mosquetekke group 2.a. buildings designed to be used as mosques at the same time group 1.b. sect ceremony place devoted for dervishes, muhrips and züvvaras who lives in a tekke group 2.b. the buildings that tombs are closed to the sect ceremony places, for this reason the buildings is not similar to mosque architecture and have the sect structure characteristic mevlevihan is the name given to the tekkes in the mevlevi order. there are two kinds of mevlevihane, which are “asitane” and “zaviye”. asitane is derived from the word ”âsitân” which dictionary meanings are dergah and sill. asitane are the main dergahs that develop “grandfather” with 1001 painful days of training. konya mevlana is the most important and the main dergah and the other main dergahs named as the asitanes are afyonkarahisar, manisa, kütahya, halep, i̇stanbul’da bulunan galata, yenikapı, beşiktaş, kasımpaşa, bursa, kastamonu, eskişehir, kahire, gallipoli ve rumeli yenişehir. in the structural sense, asithanes are groups of complex buildings which contain many functions together, whereas zaviyes are smaller ones (özçelik,2012). compared to the other sect dervish houses, mevlevihans are more important and distinctive in terms of their architecture and art history depending on their socio-cultural structures. a classification study similar to tanman’s work for mevlevihans was carried out in tanrıkorur’s ph.d. thesis titled ”architectural characteristics of turkey mevlevihans”. tanrıkorur (2005), in his work which he classifies mevlevihans in terms of settlement order in three chapters, namely “home-dervish house”, “dervish house-mosque” and “tomb-semahane linked”. pg. 282 şehmuz / the academic research community publication table 2. classification of the mevlevihanes accordingto the settlement layout (tanrıkorur, 2005) mevlevihans by the semahane forms square and rectangular planned polygon planned round planned rectangle octagonal domed circle smooth rectangle inside-outside the octagon independent irregular rectangle inside octagon outside rectangle tomb connected square nonagon non-domed trapezoid circle domed square hexadecimal non-domed square corners rounded square rounded square chopped square mevlevihans group 1. home-tekkeler, all or some parts of the sections related to the worship and daily life are in the same structure, structures that resemble civil architecture group 2. the mosque-tekke, most of them are double-functioned, equipped with a minaret and the last congregation place, the worship department is separated from the other sections and usually a courtyard located in the direction of qibla group 3. tomb-semahane connected, worship part connected to the tomb part and independent from the other parts of the tekke, other parts are usually arranged around a courtyard group 1.a. built in 14th century during the rule of beyliks, middle asian origin, have closed central courtyard, derived from four-eyvan schemes and reminiscent of the first ”house-hankah” type sects in the horasan region group 2.a. built in the 15th century, made of stone or brick, independent, have minaret and the last congregation place group 2.b. the buildings; common in 16-18 century, independent, made of stone or brick, single-domed, have minaret and the last congregation place, usually a courtyard with tekke sections located in the direction of qibla group 1.b. constructed in 19th century, most of them are wooden, similar to the traditional ottoman civilian architecture of the region in terms of facade layouts and architectur and ornament details. group 2.c. constructed in 1618th century in southeast anatolia, singledomed, made of stone or brick, do not have orginally the last congregation place and minaret continued on next page pg. 283 şehmuz / the academic research community publication table 3 continued group 2.d. buildings built in the 19th century, wooden, independent, and have mukebbire and maksure or without mineret and pulpit figure 2. sarajevo,the i̇sabey zaviye/ example of home tekke (tika, 2003) figure 3. mevlevihan of afyonkarahisar/example of mosque tekke (ilgar, 2012) figure 4. mevlevihanof gelibolu / example of tomb semahane (yazici, 2009) pg. 284 şehmuz / the academic research community publication when the architectural programs of the mevlevihans are examined, it is seen that the mevlevihans starting from the 13th century have an architectural program after the 16th century and they take konya mevlana dervish house as an example. however, in the course of about three centuries, it is seen that many different constructions are used as mevlevihan. for example, the mevlevihan of jerusalem, which its semahane part was built in 1586, it has a very complicated architecture due to the fact that; it is built on an old church structure, the construction site is an intensive settlement, inside of the walls of jerusalem is sloping and used for different purposes in over time, when the church was converted into mosque, the main entrance gate on the direction of qibla was canceled and the altar was placed here. after mevlevihan was captured by mevlevi people, semahane was built to the upper floor of the mosque and a minaret was built to the eastern part of the mevlevihan (tütüncü, 2006). in another example, the mustafa aga mosque, built in 1759, which was used as mevlevihan of athens in the city center of rome agora, was preserved as its minaret demolished. it is interesting that semahane section of the mevlevihan, was built as an antique wind tower at the first half of the 1st century by the astronomer andronikos from macedonia-kyrhos. it is understood from the old engravings that the other parts of the mevlevihan were built adjacent to the tower (karpuz, 2010). figure 5. .mevlevihan of athens (kuş, 2011) figure 6. mevlevihanof jerusalem (karpuz et al., 2007) as a result, it is not possible to mention about the same size and features of spaces for all mevlevihans. there are similar parts in the large-scale mevlevihans which are only in the asitane status. these are; dervish cells, meydan-i şerif room; matbah-ı şerif room, tilavet room, semahane, mosque, library, çelebi guesthouse (sepg. 285 şehmuz / the academic research community publication lamlık), hamuşan-graveyard-tomb, water facilities such as bath, sebil, cistern-well. it can be found in different sections such as muvakkithane, ayin-i cem chamber, chat room in some mevlevihans. in the small scale type of mevlevihans like zaviye, the main places are the semahane-mosque, the tomb and the hamuşan (dervish tombs) (kuş et al., 2006). the main sections, which usually form the mevlevihan, are located around a courtyard. the focal point of the mevlevihan is the semahane-tomb-mosque triple. the mosque may have been included in the semahane or as a separate structure. death in the mevlevi lifestyle is accepted as a wedding, so there is a cemetery called ”hamuşan” which surrounds the semahane and the tomb. matbah-i şerif, meydan-ı şerif and dervish cells could be located on the other side of the courtyard, either separately or as a whole. in the center of the courtyard there are water facilities such as fountains, wells and cisterns. when we examined the asitanes, it is seen that konya mevlana dervish house was taken as an example in the context of space, and some changes were made according to the position of the mevlevihans. in these structures, while the tomb-semahane-mosque triple is considered together, the matbah, dervish cells, harem-selamlık are placed in a separate place. such anxiety is not a concern in zaviye structures. the room of mevlevihan leader and grandfathers are outside of the the harim section and hazire wall which surrounds the courtyard. likewise some mevlevihans also have selamlık-guesthouse sections. the main sections of the mevlevihan, which have mentioned the names above and the structures in special sections such as haremlik-selamlık reflect the architectural and ornamental styles of their era. among the constructions that composes mevlevihan, the most extroverted structure is semahane. after the 18th century, due to the increase of the guests and travelers, more attention was paid to semahane. semahanemausoleum duo or only semahane is considered as a separate structure. in this period, the sema area is designed in octagonal and circular form and the side galleries and the dome are decorated with great care, wood carving and pencil work (bird et al., 2006). when the decisions of the location selection criteria of mevlevihans are examined, it is seen that they are usually built at the outside of the city, in secluded, airy and scenic locations. however, mevlevihans which are interested in love of allah and nature, are preferred to be built outside of the city in order to stay away from the material life, gossip and mevlevi people say “avam” the people who do not understand the sect life, afterwards some of the mevlevihans have remained in the city because of the growth of the city. in addition, while most of the mevlevihans are located in residential areas, the mevlevihans in the southeastern region, ayıntap (gaziantep) and urfa mevlevihans are surrounded by the shops and are located in the busiest commercial areas of the city. on the other side, some of the mevlevihans that were established in the neighborhoods where the muslim population lived in over time remained in the areas where non-muslims lived (tanrıkorur, 2000). factors affecting to mevlevihan architecture can be grouped in the following subheadings. – function diagram; just as in all the buildings, the necessary functions and their connections with each other determine the architectural programs and the outline of the settlement layout in the mevlevihans. the most important distinction in mevlevihans at this point is that the mevlevihan is a mosque-tekke or a house-tekke. in the mosque-tekke mevlevihans, the place of worship has another function besides the sect ceremonies that, the people of the neighborhood pray in it as a mosque. for this reason, the place of worship must be designed independently of the other departments, so that it should be separated from the tekke life which is in need of privacy. in the house-tekke, the various sections of the mevlevihans (harem, selamlik, dedegan cells etc.) are close to the place of worship and can even take place in the same part. on the other hand, there are some common points in the function diagrams of mevlevihans, which arise from the daily necessities, comfort and usability requirements or from the declaration principles of the day. for example, while the connections of these sections become important because of the intense and complicated human traffic between the harem section where the leader of the dergah’s family live, the selamlık and the place of worship, pg. 286 şehmuz / the academic research community publication it is preferred that the selamlık, dedegan cells, matbah, pantry, somathane, hammam sections are close to each other because of the close relationship between the functions of housing, subsistence and sanitation. also, it was expected that sections such as water reservoir and cistern would be close to wet volumes; the stables and the cars would be close to the entrances and the structures such as stables and hencoop would be away from the other parts (tanrıkorur, 2000). – traditions of the sect; another important issue that shapes the relationship between spaces in tekkes is islamic teachings and the traditions that they originate from the sects. for example, in mevlevihans, connections between the tombs and worship sections are provided with doors, windows or wide arched openings. even in some cases these sections are merged in the same space. so in the eyes of dervishes the image of the rituals being made personally in the ”presence” of grandfathers and presiding the rituals by the enamoured dervishes under the chests with their spiritual presence is provided (tanrıkorur, 2000). – land and land data; the topography of the land on which mevlevihans are located, the relation with the surrounding buildings, the direction of view, the dimensions of the land can also affect the layout of the settlement. for example, on the less sloping land the parts forming the mevlevihan could be in the same structure, this structure is placed according to the slope, if the slope is increasing, the land is separated by vertical retaining walls and land sets, and mevlevihan sections are placed on these sets as independent buildings. on the other hand, some of the mevlevihan’s semahane part have a sea view, some of mevlevihan’s plans were shaped according to the situation of the roads and buildings which surrounds the land (tanrıkorur, 2000). – economic factors; the financial resources of mevlevihans directly affected the architectural programs, their dimensions and the quality of the construction and decoration. the mevlevihans, which are supported by rich foundations, are usually consist of small sections scattered over a wide area, and the ones with modest resources are consist of small buildings (tanrıkorur, 2000). 6. conclusion mevlevi culture, which started in the 13th century, has reached the present day. however, the mevlevihan architecture, which reached its true identity in the 16th century, was almost completely lost in the balkans and the middle east after the end of the ottoman empire because of the wars, ethnic identity debates and the influence of time. in anatolia, the house-tekke type mevlevihans in the form of a zaviye has disappeared. mevlevihans which are mosque -tekke type have survived due to its mosque function and mevlevihans shaped like a külliye has reached today due to its size. as a result, all of the mevlevihans were built centuries ago and have gained the feature of ancient monuments due to their architectural style. keeping the mevlevihans alive, which succeeded to stand today and are not in use, by refunctioning them in terms of current conditions deals major significance regarding to respect to the mevlevi culture and continuation of social memory. 7. references 1. ahunbay, z., et al., osmanlı külliyelerinde yerleşme düzeni: bir tipoloji denemesi, selçuklular’dan cumhuriyet’e türkiye’de mimarlık, ed. çiğdem kafesçioğlu et al., i̇stanbul: türkiye i̇ş bankası kültür yayınları, 2012, p.500-501 pg. 287 şehmuz / the academic research community publication 2. akkaya, s., i̇pekyolu medeniyetleri dergisi, türkiye mühendisler ve mimarlar birliği bülteni, sayı 2, ankara, 2011, p.50-53 3. bakirci, n., türkan h.k., tekke ve zaviyelerin balkanlar’daki rolü ve önemi, dil, edebiyat ve halkbilimi araştırmaları dergisi, yıl:1, sayı:1, 2013, p.145-160 4. demirci, s., ösen, s., osmanlı devleti’nin balkanlardan çekilmesi sürecinde mevlevihanelerin durumu: yenişehir (larissa) mevlevihanesi örneği, sdü fen edebiyat fakültesi sosyal bilimler dergisi, sayı:26, 2012, p.1-6. 5. doğan, a.i., osmanlı mimarisinde tarikat yapıları, tekkeler, zaviyeler ve benzeri fütüvvet yapıları, i̇tü müh-mim. fakültesi matbaası, i̇stanbul, 1977, p.59-99. 6. glassen, e., tarblusşam mevlevihanesi, selçuk üniversitesi türkiyat araştırmaları dergisi, sayı 2, konya, 1996, p.27-29 7. gölpinarli, a., mevlana’dan sonra mevlevilik, i̇nkilab kitapevi, i̇stanbul, 1983, p.334 8. göre , z., belgrad mevlevı̂hânesi şeyhi adnı̂ receb dede ve nahl-i tecellı̂’si, birinci uluslararası mevlânâ, mesnevı̂ ve mevlevı̂hâneler sempozyumu bildirileri, 19-21 aralık 2001-manisa mevlevı̂hânesi, t.c. celâl bayar üniversitesi, manisa yöresi türk tarihi ve kültürünü araştırma ve uygulama merkezi, manisa, 2002, p. 317-323. 9. ilgar y., karahisar-ı sabib sultan divani mevlevihanesi ve mevlevi meşhurları, afyonkarahisar belediyesi yayın no:14, afyonkarahisar, 2012, p.40 10. kara, i̇., hanya mevlevihanesi: şeyh ailesi-müştemilatı-vakfiyesi, i̇slam araştırmaları dergisi, sayı 1, 1997, p.115-173 11. karpuz h., şimşek f., kuş a., dıvarcı i̇., kahire mevlevihanesi, dünya mevlevihaneleri, konya valiliği i̇l kültür ve turizm müdürlüğü yayını, konya, 2007, p.141 12. karpuz h., türkiye dışındaki osmanlı mevlevihanelerine toplu bakış, dünya mevlevihaneleri, konya valiliği i̇l kültür ve turizm müdürlüğü yayını, konya, 2007, p.70 13. karpuz h., balkan mevlevihaneleri, kıbrıs yakın doğu rûmi enstitüsü mevlana sempozyumu, 2009, lefkoşa 14. karpuz h., kerkük mevlevihanelerinden günümüze kalanlar, merhaba akademik sayfalar dergisi, cilt 10, sayı 13, 2010, p.196-197 15. karpuz h., balkanlar’daki mevlevı̂hânelerden günümüze kalanlar, sümam yayınları: 5, bildiriler serisi: 2, dünyada mevlana i̇zleri, 2010, p.427-445 16. kuş a., vd., türkiye mevlevihaneleri, konya: i̇l kültür ve turizm müdürlüğü yayın no:107, 2006, p.18-23 17. kuş a., dünya mevlevihanelerine yolculuk, karatay akademi yayınları, konya, 2011, p.40, 212-213 18. küçük s., xix. asırda mevlevilik ve mevleviler, yayınlanmamış doktora tezi, marmara üniversitesi sosyal bilimler enstitüsü, i̇stanbul, 2000, p. 274 19. molnar j., macaristan’daki türk anıtları, ankara, 1993 20. önder m., konya’da mevlana dergahı merkez arşivi ve mevlevihaneler, isam the journal of ottoman studıes xiv, sayı 14, 1994, p.137-142 21. özçelik m., evliya çelebi seyahatnamesinde mevlana, mevlevilik ve mevlevihaneler, rumi yayınları, yayın no:69, konya, 2012, p.127 pg. 288 şehmuz / the academic research community publication 22. popović a., “les derviches balkaniques hier et aujourd’hui”, les mevlevihane dans le sud-est europeen, ed. isis, i̇stanbul, 1994, p.264 23. sancaktar c., osmanlı i̇mparatorluğu’nun balkanlar’daki kültürel ve demografik mirası, yakın doğu üniversitesi sosyal bilimler dergisi, cilt 5, sayı 2, 2012, p.53-93 24. seçkin a., türkiye’deki önemli mevlevı̂hâneler ve mevlevı̂hânelerin yaşatılmasında vakıflar genel müdürlüğünün rolü, sümam yayınları: 5, bildiriler serisi: 2, dünyada mevlana i̇zleri, 2010, p.1-45 25. tanman, b., 2005, osmanlı mimarisinde tarikat yapıları/tekkeler, osmanlı toplumunda tasavvuf ve sufiler, ed. a.yaşar ocak, ankara: türk tarih kurumu yayınları, p.315 26. tanrikorur, b., türkiye mevlevı̂hanelerinin mimarı̂ özellikleri, c.1-metin, konya: selçuk üniversitesi sosyal bilimler enstitüsü basılmamış doktora tezi, 2000, p.117-124 27. ti̇ka, http://www.tika.gov.tr/haber/tarihi-saraybosna-mevlevihanesi-yeniden-insaedildi/596, 2013 28. tütüncü m., kudüs mevlevihanesi tarihi ve mimarisi, uluslararası düşünce sanatta mevlana sempozyumu, çanakkale onsekiz mart üniversitesi i̇lahiyat fakültesi, 25-28 mayıs, 2006, p. 700-703 29. uz a., saraybosna’da i̇sa bey mevlevihanesi, selçuk üniversitesi türkiyat araştırmaları dergisi, sayı 2, konya, 1996, p.103-106 30. ürün a.k., ortadoğu’da mevlana ve mevlevihaneler, sümam yayınları:5, bildiriler serisi:2, dünyada mevlana i̇zleri, 2010, p.447–454 31. yazici g.e., gelibolu mevlevihanesi ve gelibolu’da mevlevilik, çanakkale: çanakkale kitaplığı akademi yayını, 2009, p.13-17 pg. 289 introduction mevlevihans in balkans and crimea mevlevihans in middle east and north africa mevlevihans in anatolia architecture and classification of mevlevihans conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.437 sustainable neighborhoods in arab world; a path towards sustainability the case of the sustainable city in dubai samah m. el-khateeb1 11ain shams university, faculty of engineering effat university, college of architecture& design abstract in the last years, the world has jumped rapidly towards more urbanisation, and for the first time in the history in 2008 urban population exceeded the rural population. by 2050, it is expected that two-thirds of the world population will live in urban areas. as a result of this rapid urbanisation worldwide, sustainable neighbourhoods sn emerged as a significant formation of cities that help in achieving sustainable development. the 2030 agenda for sustainable development included this sustainability aim through the sustainable development goal 11. this goal aims to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”the sustainable city in dubai is located in the united arab emirates, the development and construction started in 2014, and 95% of the site was completed in mid of 2016. the development of the sustainable city shows that the occupation residents will have many incentives to buy a villa and live in the city such as free rooftop solar systems, open landscaped gardens, free green star rated home appliances, zero net maintenance fees, and zero net service charges. additionally, the sustainable city in dubai is an educational hub for sustainable design. it sponsored many students through its agreements with different universities and research labs. this research aims to understand the case of the sustainable city in dubai as an example of sn in the arab world. the research will start with a literature review that identifies all related terminologies to sn, besides a comprehensive analysis of some fundamental principles of sn design. a case study analysis will be done including; site visit, and applying one of the principles of sn on the sustainable city in dubai to understand and explore the sustainability principles in it. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords sustainability; sustainable neighbourhood; arab world 1. introduction neighborhoods are considered residential areas with distinct identity with visible barriers or transition areas. these barriers or transition areas can be railway lines, highways, parks, and the age or character of buildings. the typical size of neighbourhoods is 4,000–5,000 that include a primary school and local shops. in meaning, sustainability means how to sustain, maintain, support, or endure. in the 1980s, the concept became concerned with how human being can sustain on earth. this concept became the basis of the concept sustainable development (kuhlman and farrington, 2010). according to tom kuhlman and john, farrington development can be considered as a pg. 153 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ el-khateeb / the academic research community publication multidimensional approach that seeks to achieve for all people a higher quality of life. in 1987, brundtland commission report presented the concept of sustainable development. sustainable development is: ”development which meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” the primary goal of sustainable development is the long-term stability of the economy and environment, which can achieve through the integration of the three principles of sustainability, throughout the process of decision-making (emas, 2015). 2. paper methodology: the research methodology is a case study research method that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques. the qualitative approach, by a site visit, site observation and data collection about the site. the quantitative approach through applying one of the sn principles that adopt qualitative and quantitative measurements in it. the research will start with the literature review that illustrates the concept of sustainability, neighbourhoods and sustainable neighbourhoods development principles. followed by case study analysis and ended with conclusion and results. 3. literature review 3.1. sustainability and sustainable development the world has changed, and many people moved from rural areas to cities as well as transferred from one country to other, depending on the fast economic growth which is connected with the extendable of industrial and commercial regions around the world. this conditions, excessive consumption of material and energy resources, instability in social and cultural values and social separation on a global level. consequently, these processes of development have directly affected by environmental & economic qualities, and social values, as well as the risks of global environmental and human health conditions, is being increased (weiland 2006). traditionally, the preliminary focus of sustainable development has been on the issue of environmental humiliation. therefore,; environmental concerns have the foundation of sustainable development. while, during the twenty century, the concept of sustainable development has developed and its interconnection to economic and social elements of development increased. correspondingly, sustainable development is an interaction between environment, economic, and social sustainability. however, there is a reality that if sustainable development wants to have future must be able to attract people and appearance in their feelings and behaviours as well as adjusted their values (packalén 2010; nurse 2006; duxbury 2001).apparently, fast economic growth and social migration and immigration are combined with lacking housing, and these threaten the concept of sustainable development and raise the needs for future sustainable cities and neighborhoods. 3.2. neighborhoods and sustainable neighborhoods: neighborhoods are the place for connections of social, economic, physical and environmental factors. the term neighborhood defined from the different point of views; psychological, social, mental, perceiving, architectural (physical) and political aspects. therefore, there are various methodologies to apply sustainable development to neighborhoods. thus, from the perspective of sustainable neighborhood design, an overall understanding of the implication of sustainable development is to make a balance between social, economic and environmental requirements and link them with urban development procedures (blum and grant, 2006; al-hagla, 2008). environmental, economic, and social are the key principles of sustainable neighborhoods development (emas, 2015). environmental sustainability is to maintain a stable resource base to avoid over-use of renewable resource systems. pg. 154 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication 3.3. sustainable neighborhood principles and approaches many approaches have been adopted internationally and locally to achieve sustainable neighborhood design; the next part will illustrate some of these approaches. 3.3.1. leed for neighborhood development the concept of designing sustainable neighborhoods as a practice is relatively new. the initial rating system to pursue the concept of sustainable neighborhood development is leed for neighborhood development in 2009. leadership in energy and environmental design (leed )for neighborhoods development, presented by u.s green building council, is considered the first official and internationally spread design approach of sustainable neighborhoods. this rating system is considered a pilot one as its aims to reduce human impacts on the environment by promoting smart growth principles (fitani, 2016). leed-nd adapted the principle of clarence perry of neighborhood unit and the new urbanism design principles with the consideration of jane jacobs’s milestone opposition (congress for the new urbanism et al., 2009). in brief, leed for neighborhood development concludes its most essential principles as:” leed for neighborhood development highlights the importance of creating a sustainable city which is, compact, walkable, vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with a reliable connection to nearby communities.(loser, 2009). in addition to neighborhood morphology, pedestrian scale, and a mix of uses, the rating system also emphasises the location of the neighborhood and the performance of the infrastructure and buildings within it. (leed-nb, 2009). leed rating systems have faced criticism from experts in the field. one professional opinion on leed rating systems is the well-known architect frank gehry. frank ghery found that leed rating systems are complicated in the eyes of people, and they just don’t need it. further, he claims that each area or country should set its provisions and rules that suites them. leed-nd rating system believes that: ”the rating system should therefore not be considered a one-size-fits-all policy tool” (leed-nd, 2009). also, leed rating systems were accused of being more environmentally oriented abbreviating socio-cultural aspects of designed neighbourhoods. ”however, most of the current assessment tools focus on environmental aspects such as energy, landscape, resources, emissions and the indoor environment quality” ”(banani, 2011) (fitani, 2016). 3.3.2. regional rating systems recently, responding to the accusations facing leed rating systems; many attempts to create rating systems and evaluation assessments targeting sustainability have appeared. two conventional regional approaches are qsas – qatar sustainability assessment system developed by the university of pennsylvania in collaboration with the gulf organization for research and development gord, as well as, estidama pearl rating system by abu dhabi urban planning council (estidama, 2010). both qatar sustainability assessment system and estidama pearl rating system are aiming to address sustainability for their countries. qsas implemented credits targeting local environment and culture of qatar (qsas, 2010). pearl rating system has added a new principle to sustainability principles which are culture (estidama, 2010). both of the regional rating systems have combined the two diminutions culture and climate. in egypt, the green pyramids rating system initiated last year but till now it is not applied to real projects, and leed is the rating system that is applied in many arab countries (fitani, 2016). addition to the two mentioned rating system, another rating system which is the egyptian green building rating system which was initiated in 2009 in egypt. this rating system was completed by the end of 2011 but not yet implemented. 3.3.3. circles of sustainability one approach emerged officially in 2014 as a response to the issues of abbreviating socio-cultural aspects in sustainable neighbourhood development and continues change of socio-cultural elements is, circles of sustainability. pg. 155 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication this approach contains both qualitative and quantitative indicators to achieve sustainability and resilience along different contexts of an organisation, community or city. it investigates community’s problems by providing a conceptual, technological framework and guideline tool. this framework and guideline tool is a learning acting device to guide incorporating social aspects in the development process. circles of sustainability laid four most important principles of sustainability which are; ecological, economic, political and cultural. (james et al., 2015) figure 1. principles of circles ofsustainability adopted by (james et al., 2015) 3.3.4. a new strategy of sustainable neighborhood planning by un-habitat: the five principles un-habitat established a new approach that enhances current sustainable urban planning theories to help develop a viable interrelationship between urban dwellers and urban space and to increase the value of the land. this approach built on five principles that support the three key features of sustainable neighborhoods and cities: compact, integrated, connected. the five principles are; principle one is; create adequate space for streets and an efficient street network. the street network should occupy at least 30 percent of the land and at least 18 km of street length per km2. the aim of the principle one is to; develop an adequate level of the street network that works for vehicles and public transport and also seeks to attract pedestrians and cyclists. it includes a street hierarchy, arterial routes and local streets serving the different traffic speed. the street network shapes the urban structure which, in turn, sets the pattern of development blocks, roads, buildings, open spaces, and landscape. principle 1 presents the material basis for sustainable urban development principle two is; high density; at least 15,000 people per km2, that is 150 people/ha or 61 people/acre. the aim of the principle two is; principle 2 presents the growth of population and response directly to the explosion of global population and rapid urbanisation to avoid urban sprawl and promote sustainable urban extension, it is necessary to reach high density, which is the base of a sustainable neighborhood. high density means a people and their activities concentration. principle three is; mixed land-use, at least 40 percent of floor space should be allocated for economical use in any neighborhood. the aim of the principle three is; principle 3 aimed to develop a compatible activities range, and land uses close together in proper locations and more flexible to adapt changing market over the time. the purpose of mixed land-use is to provide local jobs, encourage the local economy, minimise car dependency, encourage pedestrian and cyclist traffic, decrease landscape fragmentation, and provide closer public services and support mixed communities. mixed land-use could be applied at various spatial levels: city, neighborhoods, blocks, and buildings. principle 3 focuses on the neighborhood and block level. principle four is; social mix; provide houses in a different range of prices to accommodate various levels of income. almost 20% to 50% of the total residential floor area should be low-cost housing. additionally, each tenure type should not exceed 50% of the total. the aim of the principle four is; principle 4 seeks to promote the cohesion of an interaction between a variety of social classes in the same community and to ensure accessibility to the fair urban opportunities by providing various types of housing. the social mix provides the basis for social pg. 156 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication networks to be healthy, which, in turn, is the driving force of city life. principle five is; limited land-use specialisation, the aim is to limit the single use of blocks or neighbourhoods, this single blocks should not exceed 10% of any neighbourhood. the aim of the principle five is; principle 5 seeks to adjust/limit the use of functional zoning to implement the policies of mixed land-use. zoning is a land use planning appliance used by governments and urban planners in several countries. zoning may be use-based (regulating the uses to which land may be used), or it may adjust building height, lot coverage and similar property or a combination of these. this principle focuses on the land-use aspect. (un-habitat –, 2014) areas of application: fast-growing cities: this principle can be applied to cities that are suffering from fast-growing and it cn helps it in providing infrastructure, lands and public services. this fast growth in population can be due to natural growth, rural immigration seeking for a job or other reasons. new urban settlements and urban extensions: the five principles can be applied in new urban areas to avoid repeating past mistakes. urban renewal and renaissance: declining cities can implement the five principles for revitalisation and urban transformation initiatives. urban densification: growing cities that have no land for further extension can use the five principles to achieve a smoother densification process (un-habitat, 2014). objectives of the five principles; in supporting sustainable neighbourhoods, the five principles aim to: • promote high-density urban growth, mitigate urban sprawl and increase land efficiency. • promote sustainable, differentiated, socially equal and thriving communities in economically viable ways. • encourage walkable/cycling neighbourhoods and minimise car dependency. • efficiency use of land and provide an interconnected network of streets which facilitate safe, efficient and pleasant walking, and cycling and driving. • encourage local employment, local production, and domestic consumption. • provide a diversity of lot sizes and housing types to cater for the diverse housing needs of the community, at densities which can ultimately support the provision of local services. this principle is presenting a set of quantitative measurements which can be used to analyse a neighbourhood. the following figure represents those measurements in green. neighbourhood data can be illustrated on this chart, so the sustainable development of it can be measured and visualised. (un-habitat –, 2014). chart 1: sustainability analysis of neighborhood based on un habitat five principles: (un-habitat –, 2014) pg. 157 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication 3.4. comparison between the four principles for sustainable neighborhoods leed is the first rating system for sn, and it is considered the first principle that many other sn principle initiated after it. qsas, estidama and green pyramid rating system are a regional rating system that initiated by countries to customise the leed sn to the context of their countries regarding social aspect and arid climate as well. the following table is a comparison between previous sustainable neighbourhoods principles. table 1. comparison between sustainable neighbourhoods principles (author,2017) leed for neighborhood development regional rating systems circles of sustainability sustainable neighbourhood planning by un-habitat: the five principles description leed for neighborhood development concludes its most important principles as:” leed for neighborhood development highlights the importance of creating a sustainable city which is, compact, walkable, vibrant, mixed-use neighbourhood with a solid connection to nearby communities. both qatar sustainability assessment system and estidama pearl rating system are aiming to address sustainability for their countries. qsas implemented credits targeting local environment and culture of qatar (qsas, 2010). pearl rating system has added a new principle to sustainability principles which are culture (estidama, 2010). both of the regional rating systems have added the two aspects; culture and climate. the green pyramid rating system is the rating system related to egyptian environment and also focused on socio-cultural and microclimate aspects in egypt. circles of sustainability laid four most important principles of sustainability which are; ecological, economic, political and cultural. this approach contains both qualitative and quantitative indicators to achieve sustainability and resilience along different contexts of an organisation, community or city. un-habitat established a new approach that enhances current sustainable urban planning theories to help establish a sustainable interrelationship between urban dwellers and urban space and to increase the value of the land. this approach built on five principles that support the three key features of sustainable neighbourhoods and cities: compact, integrated, connected. principle one is; create adequate space for streets and an efficient street network. principle two is; high density principle three is; mixed land-use principle four is; social mix; principle five is; limited land-use specialisation. continued on next page pg. 158 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication table 1 continued focus more environmental oriented added sociocultural aspect to the environmental approach, besides customise it to fit the arid climate in qatar, egypt and abu dhabi. more emphasis on political & economic approaches focus on urban design (city should be compact, integrated, connected) year the first rating system and sn principle in the world, initiated in 2009 created based on leed and another rating system initiated in 2014 initiated in 2014 level issued initially in the usa, and can be implemented worldwide local in certain country international international 4. sustainability in the arab world: since rio de janeiro summit, sustainable development in the arab countries has been made some formal in the arab region towards achieving sustainable development, particularly in the areas of education, health and improving standards of living. arab countries have several legal foundations for sd-initiatives: declaration of the un summit on human environment (1971). the arab declaration on environment and development (tunisia, 1986). the arab statement on environment and development and the future outlook (1991). the barbados declaration on sustainable development of small island developing states (1994). the jeddah declaration concerning the islamic perspective on the environment (2000). the tehran declaration concerning religions, cultures and environment (2001). the abu dhabi declaration: perspective of arab environmental action (2001). 4.1. sustainable cities in the arab world: since rio de janeiro summit, the concept of sustainability started to be a hot issue in arab architecture and urban design; it also became a significant part of architectural education. lately the sustainable compounds, gated communities and neighbourhood started to emerge in the arab world. many attempts happened to design and create a real sustainable neighbourhood, although this considered a late response to rio de janeiro summit, the last ten days witnessed lots of development in the clean energy sector, recycling, and environmental materials .etc. one of the most famous examples of sustainable neighbourhoods is the new sustainable city in dubai which established in 2014 to implement the concept of sustainability in real residential compounds. this research paper will focus on this example as a pioneering example in sustainable cities in the arab world. 5. case study analysis: sustainable city in dubai is the first sustainable city in dubai and uae as well; it is designed to be the first net-zero services and maintenance fees city in dubai. the design aims to meet the international sustainability standards, besides applying dubai municipality green building code, dubai road and transport authority and dubai electricity and water authority. the objective of the city is to become an international model of the sustainable neighbourhood, pg. 159 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication regarding sustainable living, work, entertainment and education. the residents in this city are not only owners, but they are partners in financial returns of the community centre. the sustainable city represents a unique example in green transportation in the arab world; it features horse track, bicycle track, electric cars and car-free neighbourhood. additionally, the city is integrating urban agriculture locally to produce organic food. the production of electricity in the city is done through on-site photovoltaic generation, on the top of houses and parking shades. additionally, the wastewater is recycled and classified into grey water and black water, to be used in the landscape and urban farm. (diamond, 2017) figure 2. facts about the city (diamond, 2017) 5.1. the master plan of the sustainable city in dubai: the master plan as shown in figure (3) designed to accommodate five different residential clusters with the main pedestrian spin in the middle of the city. this spine considering the urban lunge of the city, as it contains urban farms and biodome to produce organic food for the residents. this spine also includes the open space; swimming pools recycled water lakes. the master plan is surrounded as well by a buffer zone which acts as an environmental belt that reduces pollutants from entering the city. the following are the major components of the master plan; residential area: 500 townhouse and courtyard villas designed in five residential clusters divided by the urban farm in the middle of the neighbourhood. the design of the villa is inspired from old ‘bastakyia’ district. buffer zone: the city is surrounded by a buffer zone of 1000 tree in different layers to act as a natural buffer zone from air pollutants. education & research: the city pays great attention to research & innovation; it has a sustainable engineering and research institute and training centre for sustainable practices, and nature-inspired ‘green school’ from kindergarten to grade 12. this research centre has many partnerships with universities, and it is sponsoring research and phd students. urban farm: the city is planned to have five clusters divided by an urban farm in the middle, and in this vital heart, the biodomes are located s well. this urban farm and biodomes, besides the local gardens, are the source of organic food in the city. services & facilities: there are a variety of sport and leisure facilities such as community centres, bikes trail, shaded pedestrian walkways and equestrian club. in addition to, essential services like; clinics, banks, juma mosque and traditional souq. solar car park: pg. 160 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication the sustainable city provides shade car parks throughout the city. each villa has two parking spaces shaded with solar panels plus additional areas for communal electric buggies. the distance between the car parking to the villas range from 10 meters to 85 meters, which is the maximum walking. the sustainable plaza: the plaza is a 15000 square meter mixed-use located near the entrance of the sustainable city. it comprised of five low-rises (ground plus three floors) blocks with shops, restaurants, cafes and offices. figure 3. master plan of the sustainablecity in dubai (diamond, 2017) 5.2. case study analysis: the site visit aimed to gather as much as qualitative (interview and observation) from residents, employees and engineers that are working in the city. the tour happened in one day, and organised by diamond the developer of the sustainable city; the tour included visiting two types of villas and townhouses with a specialised from the company who gave a comprehensive brief about the two villas, the design, the sustainable approach and techniques. attending a seminar with the head designer of the city, where he presented vital facts about the city and explained its design and its sustainable approach. 5.3. observations from the site visit: – many recycling stations located in each cluster to assure sorting and recycling of the solid waste. – there is an encouraging user to apply waste segregation method, in keeping with dubai’s eco-friendly the of waste management policies. – the courtyard villas are being reached on foot or by electric buggies – through narrow, and shaded streets which connect the city; as clusters are car-free zones. – the design of open spaces in public & private garden significantly reduces noise, pollution, public hazards and provides a whimsical environment for safely play for children. – in dealing with the sustainable city’s ethos of a family-friendly environment, each residential cluster includes four amenity plazas addition to one central plaza housing a cooling tower to increase the outdoor space. – other clusters offer shaded communal gardens with seating and playgrounds for children. – all villas are close and accessible walking distance of the central green spine, further supporting a dynamic, vibrant and cohesive community atmosphere. – the biodomes are working, and many organic fruits and vegetables already planned inside. pg. 161 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication – the sustainable city is a car-free city, a group parking is located near to residential clusters, and electric vehicles are available all the day. pg. 162 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication 5.4. sustainable approach in the sustainable city in dubai: the sustainable approach in the sustainable city in dubai built on three main pillars; social, environment and economy as illustrated in below figure. the city is following same pillars of sustainable development which also are sociocultural, environmental and economic aspects. for the economic pillar, the city is focusing on being the first net-zero maintenance city in dubai, which means achieving green growth, sustainability saving on the long run cost and supply number of employment to people. for the environment pillar, the focus was on different items starting from generating organic food in urban farms, producing energy and reducing energy consumption as well, recycling of water and wastes, green mobility and controlling emissions. from the social pillar, the city is focusing on creating a high-quality living environment for the residents by supplying different open spaces. in addition to supplying sports areas, art and culture activities, besides paying particular attention to safety and security of the residents and create a vibrant and active society by providing open spaces and plazas, public market and mosque plaza to encourage socialization among residents. the city was designed to be the first sustainable city in dubai and first net-zero maintenance city, from the website of the city and the site visit as well, the city is not following the leed or estidama guidelines. it is a unique design that aims to achieve the concept of sustainability through all its building, services, amenities and infrastructure. figure 4. sustainable principles in thesustainable city in dubai (diamond, 2017) 5.5. applying the un-habitat five principles of sustainability on the case study as this principle is a combined qualitative and qualitative method, besides it can be implemented on new cities and existing cities as well, the research will apply the un-habitat five principles of sustainability on this case study as below; principle one is; create adequate space for streets and an efficient street network. the street network occupies 45 percent of the land. principle two is; low density; at least 6000 people per km2. which is not achieving the aim of principle two to have a high density, but the city aims to create many open spaces for public and private use, and this impacted on the population density to be less than the principle states. principle three is; mixed land-use, 45 percent of floor space is allocated for economical use in the sustainable. this pg. 163 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication includes offices, shopping mall, hospital, school and the ecolodge and hotel. principle four is; social mix; provide houses in a different range of prices to accommodate various levels of income. almost 10% of the total residential floor area should be low-cost housing. additionally, residential tenure type is 50% of the total. the design of the city support a social mix but covering only three different types of residential units (private villas, attached villas and studios) principle five is; limited land-use specialisation, the aim is to limit the single use of blocks or neighbourhoods, the single blocks are about 40 %of any neighbourhood. by implementing the un habitat five principles on the sustainable city of dubai, the following chart is the result. chart 2: application of the un five principles on the sustainable city in dubai (author, 2017) 6. conclusion: this research paper aimed to understand the concept of sustainable neighborhoods and the different principles of designing and evaluating a sustainable neighborhood. the sustainable neighborhood is a neighborhood that achieves the idea of sustainable development regarding social, environmental and economic aspects. one of the latest principles in the sustainable neighborhood design is the un habitat five principles; this principle can be used while designing the sustainable neighborhood and to evaluating existing cities and neighborhood as well. although the concept of sustainability and sustainable cities emerged in the arab world in last decade, the number of the sustainable neighborhoods in it is still so limited. this paper discussed one of the most famous sustainable cities in pg. 164 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication the arab world, the sustainable city in dubai. it is an example of a real attempt to create net zero maintenance city. the city is designed to accommodate 6000 people in the area of 5000000 square feet. the site visit proved that this newly emerged city would change the future of sustainable neighborhood in the arab world. the city adopted many sustainable approaches regarding mobility, clean transportation, waste recycling, water recycling, and clean energy, the passive design of the villas, sustainable materials, an urban farm and mixed-use neighborhood. the on-site experience gave different image from the theoretical application, as after applying the un-habitat five principles on the sustainable nneighborhood it did not meet the target in some of the principles. however, the unhabitat five principles targeted a mixed high-density sustainable city, which is not the case in the sustainable city in dubai, where the density is very low comparing to the un-habitat five principles. additionally, the sustainable city in dubai didn’t achieve the expected social mix as in the un-habitat five principles, but the location of the city outside the midtown of the city, and the public transportation network made the expected residents from a social standard that own private car. additionally, the cost of renting a house there is more expensive 20% than renting in other compounds, but the longtime saving is happened from zero maintenance and saving from producing electricity inside. however, the sustainable city of dubai can be considered a new approach in the sustainable neighborhood in the arab world, that opens the door for future sustainable neighborhoods that produce, recycle and present an active, healthy community. additionally, following one principle in sn is not the only success key, but creating a sustainable neighborhood that taking into consideration the three pillars of sustainable development economic, socio-culture and environmental pillar is the success key. 7. acknowledgments: the researcher would like to acknowledge effat university, college of architecture and design, architecture department for preparing an educational trip for more than 55 students from architecture department to visit the sustainable city in dubai and attend a valuable lecture there in summer 2016. 8. references 1. al hagla, k. (2008), towards a sustainable neighborhood: the role of open spaces. international journal of architectural research 2. banani, r., (2011), a sustainable assessment method for non-residential buildings in saudi arabia: development of criteria, phd the school of construction, management and engineering, university of reading. 3. blum, a. and grant, m., (2006), sustainable neighbourhoods: assessment tools for renovation and development, journal of international research publications, present online, issue ecology, vol 1, p3552 isbn/issn: 1311-8978. 4. congress for the new urbanism, (2014), natural resources defense council, and the u.s. green building council, leed 2009 for neighborhood development, green building council, usa 5. diamond, (2017), [online], retrieved from; http://www.thesustainablecity.ae/assets/pdf/factsheet.pdf 6. duxbury, n. (2001), exploring the role of arts and culture in sustainable urban development, [online], table d’hôte on building sustainable communities: culture and social cohesion, retrieved from; http://www.cu ltureandcommunities.ca/downloads/duxbury-urban-sustainability-2001.pdf 7. emas, r. (2015), the concept of sustainable development: definition and defining principles, global sustainable development report, edition advance unedited version. 8. fitani, k., (2016), sustainable socio-cultural guidelines for neighborhood design in jeddah, msc, effat university pg. 165 el-khateeb / the academic research community publication 9. james, p magee. l., scerri, a., and steger, m., (2015), urban sustainability in theory and practice, circles of sustainability, routledge. [online], retrieved from; http://www.circlesofsustainability.org/wp-content/up loads/2014/10/ch-08-circles-questionnaire-2015.pdf 10. kuhlman. t, farrington, j. (2010), what is sustainability?, sustainable future, issue 2, page 2, 3436-3448. 11. leed-nd. (2009), leadership in energy and environmental design for neighbourhood development. u.s. green building council. 12. loser, c. (2013), leadership in environmental and energy design: a true sustainable development model, b.s., university of maryland. 13. packalen, s. (2010), “culture and sustainability, corporate social responsibility and environmental management corp. soc. responsib.environ. mgmt”, vol. 17, pp 118–121. 14. nurse, k. (2006), culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development, [online], commonwealth secretariat malborough house pall mall london, http://www.fao.org/sard/common/ecg/2785/en/cultureas4thpil larsd.pdf 15. qsas. (2010), qatar sustainability assessment system. qatar, gulf organizatio 16. un-habitat. (2014), a new strategy of sustainable neighbourhood planning: five principles, discussion note 3, urban planning. [online], retrieved from; https://unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/5-prin ciples web.pdf 17. weiland, u. (2006), sustainability indicators and sustainable development, global change: urbanization and health pp 241-250, china meteorological press, beijing. pg. 166 introduction paper methodology: literature review sustainability and sustainable development neighborhoods and sustainable neighborhoods: sustainable neighborhood principles and approaches leed for neighborhood development regional rating systems circles of sustainability a new strategy of sustainable neighborhood planning by un-habitat: the five principles comparison between the four principles for sustainable neighborhoods sustainability in the arab world: sustainable cities in the arab world: case study analysis: the master plan of the sustainable city in dubai: case study analysis: observations from the site visit: sustainable approach in the sustainable city in dubai: applying the un-habitat five principles of sustainability on the case study conclusion: acknowledgments: references http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) applying mural paintings to restore the luster of archeological parks in alexandria, egypt doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.107 eman ahmed ramzy elgendy1 1 department of painting (mural painting), faculty of fine arts, alexandria university, alexandria, egypt keywords mural painting; mosaic alexandria; zoo; parks abstract historical, archeological parks such as antoniadis garden, al-shallalat gardens and the zoo are important assets in the city of alexandria, egypt. these parks suffer from severe neglect, damage and encroachments of street vendors. this study aims to find aesthetic solutions to improve these parks as part of alexandria’s cultural heritage on the nationl and global levels. mural paintings could be used to beautify the entrances of these parks along with the seating units, garbage bins, and water tap basins. this mural painting process could be well suited with the architectural styles of these parks to preserve their identity and still fit within the history and civilization of the ancient city of alexandria. this will protect the historical features of these parks and make them touristic destinations instead of being abandoned and neglected over time. 1. introduction during ancient civilizations, humans knew and practiced the art of landscaping gardens. this art was continuously developed and its practice was spread to different countries as a means of entertainment. landscaping was practiced in public spaces, private gardens, botanic museums and specialized gardens. alexandria was the home of successive civilizations due to its unique location on the mediterranean sea. alexander the great founded the city of alexandria in 331 b.c. he commissioned the architect dinokrat for city planning. the city planning process of alexandria was characterized by the extension of its streets in straight lines from east to west and from north to south to intersect in right angles with two main streets in the middle. one of them traverses the city from east to west and is now known as alhoria street. the other one traverses the city from the north to south. some chroniclers believe that this street is the current elnabi daniel street. after the death of alexander the great, his empire was fragmented among three of his army commanders where ptolemy (285-246 bc) and his family ruled egypt for the next three centuries. in this period, the new city of alexandria was born to become the cultural and intellectual capital of the world. the city was divided into several districts, most notably the royal district which was wide with many royal palaces and had a zoo, wisdom house and a library. during that same time, the city was known for its parks and white marble columns during the ptolemaic kingdom period. alexandria currently has a number of important historical parks that are considered part of its cultural heritage, particularly antoniadis garden, aalshallalat garden and the zoo. el-nozha park is considered the most important one in alexandria. it was founded during the ptolemies period (300 bc) but it was later divided into sectors. starting from the period of mohamed ali (1805-1848) the development of this park began. the khedive ismail (1863-1879) paid more attention to broaden this park, and it later became the most famous destination in alexandria that included several gardens: eman ahmed ramzy elgendy / the academic research community publication pg. 2 1. antoniadis garden: in 1860, the greek tycoon john antoniadis who lived in alexandria commissioned the french artist paul richard to create a garden around his palace similar to the gardens of versailles in paris on approximately 45 acres of land. after the death of antoniadis (1918), his son gave the palace and the gardens to the mayor of alexandria, according to his father’s will. this place is currently known as "antoniadis gardens", one of the most important botanical gardens in egypt. 2. the zoo: it was established in 1921 on part of el-nozha park. 3. the rose: this garden was established in 1928 on 5 acres of land. it contains a varieties of roses, trees and rare plants. the zoo of alexandria is one of the parks that are considered part of alexandria’s cultural heritage. it has an artificial lake for water birds, a tower to see all the landmarks of the park, and a museum. it is a semi-natural environment for zoo animals. this garden contains many rare animals, birds and reptiles. this zoo has suffered from demolition, neglect and abuse by visitors and vendors. there are many countries that have established organizations to rehabilitate and develop historic places and develop specifications for maintaining the roots and ancient history of the place. this is done until officials have implemented strategies to regain the identity of most places and make sure it coincides with the city’s urban planning. 2. aim of the work this research aims to shed light on potential ways to restore the neglected historical parks and gardens in alexandria which are considered as iconic national treasures. the recreation of these parks will attract native visitors and tourists visiting alexandria. this will improve the community’s behavior, way of thinking and artistic sense. this research will deal with the zoo as an example. it aims to find aesthetic solutions to improve these parks as part of alexandria’s cultural heritage on the nationl and global levels. mural paintings could be used to beautify the entrances of these parks along with the seating units, garbage bins, and water tap basins. 3. methods several photographs were taken of the different architectural units of the zoo including the entrances, seats, the shade, water basins as well as dustbins. data about the mosaic from the graeco-roman period were collected. the adobe photoshop cs5 computer program was used to apply the mural painting treatment on the selected photos. the mural painting designs which depend on the botanic component and geometric units were inspired from the graeco-roman period in accordance with the surrounding environment and in proportion to the history and civilization of ancient alexandria without changing any architectural characteristics. this will emphasize the vision emanating from the city's cultural heritage. there was also a conideration to use colors in proportion to natural elements in order to achieve consistency, chromatic harmony, unity and coherence between all elements of the garden. 4. results after applying the mural treatment on the selected architectural elements, the following results were obtained: figure (1a): shows one of the current entrances of the park. it consists of the stairs that lead to the swan lake. these stairs are composed of a horizontal surface of the step (tread), the vertical surface of the step (riser), and a protection side barrier (hand rail). there are mezzanines of various dimensions on either side of these barriers. figure (1b): shows the same entrance after applying the suggested mural treatment. the design was inspired by the roman mosaics acanthus spiral which wrapped spirally covering the front surface of the mezzanines. these flowers were repeated in smaller sizes in proportion with the surface area of the steps of the treated stairs and in reciprocal directions corresponding and developed with the motion of the steps. the side barriers (hand rail) and the mezzanines were covered with monochromic mosaic depending on the dynamic motion of the applied mosaic pieces. figures: (2a), (2b), (3a), (3b) show the footpath containing taps and basins. the suggested mural design was inspired by the mosaic floor found in zeugma city (turkey). this city was founded by the army of alexander the great. it is one of the cities of the roman empire that sank under the waters of the flood waters of a series of dams on the euphrates. the design depended on circular geometric shapes of repeated rings surrounding the water basin, each ring was outlined with decorative braids and corresponding to the circular footpath under the water basin. the water basins were treated using various mural painting designs including decorative braids corresponding to the framework of the circular footbath or with incomplete decorative stars reflecting the star in the center of the circular footbath in a simplified manner. eman ahmed ramzy elgendy / the academic research community publication pg. 3 figure: (4) shows a view of a park seat facing the bird house before (fig. 4a) and after the suggested mural treatment (fig. 4b). the seats have an important function for the park visitors either to rest, to eat or to enjoy sightseeing of the garden while sitting. therefore, the functional significance was taken into account from the beginning. the design was derived from the views of birds at one of romanian palaces which had birds covering the sides of the seat with botanic units of spiral and interlacing plant leaves and grapes to give a complete vision. the seating bench was covered with simple geometric elements in the form of complex circuits which resulted in other geometric shapes to be in harmony with the curves of the branches of plants on the side of the seat. figure (5a): shows a scene of one of the current sunshades of the garden associated with seating units. these sunshades with associated seats are widely spread all over the park. figure (5b): the same previous sunshade with associated seast after applying the suggested mural treatment. the design was inspired from the roman ceiling and arches mosaic in the form of climbing grape plant branches which wrapped and covered the inner surface of the sunshade. this design is in harmony with the external design of the sunshades which were inspired by the shape of the trees. figure (6a): shows the shape of a current dustbin hanging on an iron fence surrounding the plants in the garden. figure (6b): shows a proposal for a dustbin in the park in the form of a simple geometric shaped box containing the trash basket inside it for easy cleaning and emptying regularly. the front surface of the box is covered with a mosaic where the design was inspired by a tulip and buds in addition to a strip of decorative braids that outlined the edge and covered the sides of the box. these boxes could be distributed in appropriate distances. figures (6c&d): show two proposals for dustbins inspired by a roman sculpture of a bird covered by mosaic. as these architectural elements are found outdoor, they are subjected to different atmospheres that may affect the murals applied. therefore materials used in the mural treatments should resist the climatic and environmental factors of alexandria to retain its state as long as possible. these materials should be natural and suit the architectural surface and function. pressure-resistant materials as marble, granite, stones or gravel should be used for stairs and floors. in the same time the materials used for the surfaces that permanently exposed to water as basins should be of suitable type. for seats the materials should be suitable for the purpose without disruption of the function of the architectural element. 5. conclusion: restoring the luster of the zoo of alexandria is not only for its environmental and historical importance, but also for its social and touristic importance, as it is the only one for the visitors in alexandria and the neighboring territories. the main result of the study is summarized in maintaining the remainder of these iconic gardens which reflect the history and othe cultural mission of alexandria across the eras to avoid the disappearance or fading of the features and characters of the city. the restored gardens should attract more visitors and became a tourist destination instead of being abandoned and neglected over time. 6. recommendations: monitoring these iconic gardens in egypt that are considered touristic places that may attract local and foreign tourists. preparing developmental and rehabilitation plans for the restoration and maintenance of the archaeological and historic gardens to recover their beauty without affecting their features. this will help to achieve aesthetic foundations of values of poise, rhythm, proportion and unity as well as the relationship between the architectural elements of space and color relationships as a fundamental value to those parks. pay attention to the art of landscaping gardens because of the artistic and architecture value it adds to the place legal and administrative procedures must be implemented to maintain these gardens and regulate their uses. raising awareness and arranging activities that highlight the value of these parks. arrange visits and prepare information brochures about their historic importance and activities. set a code of specifications to beautify alexandria, preserve its cultural pattern and to harmonize between architecture and other arts. combine all governmental and non-governmental organizations, civil society and individuals to preserve the historic buildings and monuments as a memory of the city. improve the behavior of individuals through media to improve public culture. eman ahmed ramzy elgendy / the academic research community publication pg. 4 employment of developmental programs and community service for the protection of the alexandria’s heritage. promote these gardens as a touristic destination to increase national income. eman ahmed ramzy elgendy / the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 1a. showing one of the current entrances of the zoo of alexandria figure 2b. showing the entrances of the zoo after applying mural painting figure 2a. showing one of the current entrances of the zoo of alexandria figure 2b. showing the entrances of the zoo after applying mural painting figure 3a. showing another one of the current water basin in the zoo of alexandria figure 3b. showing the previous water basin after applying mural painting figure 4a. showing two seats before and after applying mural treatment. eman ahmed ramzy elgendy / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 5a. showing one of the current sunshade and its associated seats in the zoo of alexandria figure 5b. showing the previous sunshade after applying mural treatment figure 5a. showing one of the current dustbin the zoo of alexandria figure 5b. showing a suggestion for a dustbin treated with mural painting figure 5c. showing another suggestion for a dustbin treated with mural painting figure 5b. showing a third suggestion for a dustbin treated with mural painting references 1. abdelkafi j. patrimoine culturel et identités de la méditerranée contemporaine, patrimoines partagés de la méditerranée; 2014 2. carvalho,p, silva, s. historic gardens: heritage and tourism cegot university of coimbra “xii world leisure congress”, held in rimini (italy); 2012. 3. elsheikh az. (2015). ( ( م2015عالء زكى الشیخ تصمیم الحدائق ( الفضاءات الخارجیة) جامعة بغداد 4. forster a.m. (2000) ( ( م2000األسكندریة تاریخ ودلیل. المجلس األعلى للثقافة . ترجمة حسن بیومى.. . 5. gidens, a. modernity and self-identity, stanford university press , california; 1991. 6. goodwin em. classic mosaic designs and projects inspired by 6000 years of mosaic art, london; 2000. 7. raafat, a., mediterranean sea a cultural unifier lake in cycles, shared mediterranean heritage; 2014. 8. usery, hm., hafez, bb, mohamed, b. (2010). ( ومعاییر أسس اإلرشادى لالدلیوآخرون. محمد الدین بھاء، حافظ الدین بھاء بكرى، یسرى محمود حسن م ۲۰۱۰ األولى الطبعة لاألو اإلصدار القیمة وذات المتمیزةللمناطق التراثیة للمبانى التنسیقالحضارى .) 9. weeks jm.and de medeiros, j. a research guide to the ancient world, row man &littlefield, london; 2015. 10. http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/park-board-mural-guidelines.pdf 11. https://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/uol//media/user%20defined/ura%20online/guidelines/conservation/cons-guidelines.pdf 12. https://ar.wikipedia.org 13. http://journals.sagepub.com 14. https://www.pinterest.com 15. https://uk.pinterest.com 16. https://www.flickr.com 17. http://www.museumoflondonimages.com 18. http://www.gettyimages.com/ 19. http://www.rahalat.net/ http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.427 the effects of exterior thermal mass (etm) on energy consumption in residential buildings amir ghoreishi1 1phd leed abstract exterior thermal mass (etm) is known to improve building energy and thermal comfort performance. despite its known benefits, studies to date have not thoroughly addressed the effects of etm on building environmental performance by considering a wide range of influential factors and various climatic conditions. this paper addresses such a gap in the body of knowledge by conducting a comprehensive and detailed analysis of etm impacts on residential buildings’ energy performance. using quantitative research and simulation analyses, this study has found various trends of energy reductions and, in a few cases, energy increases depending upon the location of projects. in fact, the cooling energies are shown to increase of up to 4% for the scenario of 20 cm thickness wall in several locations. aiming for better energy and design load scenarios, this research has also established the optimal etm depth to help architects and engineers make informed design decisions with regard to building envelopes, which is particularly important for developing countries with similar climates studied in this paper, where the use of masonry materials is widely common. as for future steps, further exploration of cooling energy increase phenomenon, which was observed for several climates is recommended. also, coupling etm with code-required thermal insulation based upon specific climatic locations and evaluate their integrated performance can be considered © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords thermal mass; thermal insulation; heating and cooling energy; energy efficiency; sustainability 1. introduction given the increasing awareness toward global warming and climate change, the concept of energy efficiency in the built environment is gaining utmost attention worldwide (reilly & kinnane, 2016). as a major energy-consuming sector, the building industry has attempted to incorporate energy-saving measures into building codes and regulations with the primary focus on building thermal resistance and insulation, to the exclusion of thermal mass (bellamy & mackenzie, 2001). thermal mass helps store heating energy in building materials, which can impact energy demands and indoor thermal comfort. thermal mass can reduce energy consumption especially in residential buildings where there are no significant internal gains (ghoreishi & murray, 2017) while maintaining a comfortable internal temperature with no heating or cooling (gregory et al., 2008). to minimize building energy usage and create a more sustainable energy prospect, thermal mass needs to be fully utilized. it is known that thermal mass functions as a transient heat transfer medium as opposed to steady-state conditions, pg. 14 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ghoreishi / the academic research community publication and is primarily occurring within the building structure. this is consistent with dominant thermal mode for the vast majority of buildings around the world (reilly & kinnane, 2016). thermal conductivity and thermal resistance, which are material depth/thickness independent and dependent respectively, do not account for the transient and dynamic nature of heat transfer. however, as a transient heat exchange substance, thermal mass can affect a building’s energy and thermal comfort performance through its envelope and structural elements, indoor air volume and, last but not least, interior walls, slabs, partitions, furniture and so forth. in fact, the thermal effects of furniture on indoor environments have gained more attention from scholars; however, due to its variability, its effects are usually discounted (raftery et al., 2014; hichman & heiselberg, 2017). unlike thermal resistance/transmittance, which has been studied extensively, thermal mass and its effects on building energy and thermal performance is yet to be researched comprehensively. moreover, building codes often lack appropriate acknowledgment of and provisions for thermal mass effects (berghallberg, 1985). furthermore, they mainly restrict its use for cooling demand purposes (not heating), and do not consider interactions between ambient conditions, occupants and thermal mass (department of communities and local government, 2016; department of energy and climate change, 2012; kinnane, et al., 2016). as for simulation and modeling, many studies focus on a detailed analysis of a specific building type/design located in a specific location, which makes it difficult to extrapolate from their analyses an overall conclusion (cetin et al., 2016, gregory et al., 2008). for instance, hoes et al. (2011 & 2016) studied the effects of high thermal mass on the reduction of overheating in a mid-european climate such as in the netherlands, where heating may not be the governing design factor. however, in many parts of the world the amount of energy used for heating greatly surpasses that used for cooling (ghoreishi & ali, 2011), but the research for heating dominant locations remains undeveloped (reilly & kinnane, 2016). parametric studies of thermal mass have proven to cover a broader range of building mass-related parameters (ghoreishi & ali, 2011) although they have had rather limited scopes. aste et al. (2009) studied different thermal mass wall assemblies but the scope of research was limited to milan, italy. other studies have researched the effects of various arrangements of wall assembly layers with respect to different thermal mass and insulation combinations. they have primarily focused on varying wall thickness to discover the effects of different arrangements (kossecka & kosney, 2002, bojic & loveday, 1997, ghoreishi & ali, 2012). while informative , many of these studies have failed to develop a reasonable framework to assess the effects of thermal mass with respect to its transient nature. this is particularly important when modeling multi-layer thermal behaviors, which is a common practice in most modern constructions, unless each layer is treated separately (gori et al., 217; ma & wang, 2012; kircher & max, 2015; underwood, 2014). additionally, existing literature does not either adequately address the impact of thermal mass in cold and temperate climates, or only focuses on detailed analyses, which are hardly generalizable (cetin et al, 2016; van et al., 2016). according to a study that focused on the effects of thermal mass and insulation on intermittent versus continuous heating and cooling, intermittent cooling scenarios resulted in the most energy reductions (bojic & loveday, 1997). however, in the case of continuous cooling, no energy reductions were observed, although cooling loads appeared to have reduced. interestingly, heating demands seemed to have increased because of high thermal mass in the intermittent heating scenarios. despite the importance and benefit of thermal mass, few studies deeply evaluate its effects in a generalizable and quantifiable manner. moreover, many previous studies or published guidelines by the government and industry can be misleading with respect to the benefits of thermal mass (wang & ma, 2016; portland cement association, 2016; american national standards institute, 2009). this paper aims to comprehensively the impact of thermal mass on the energy performance in residential buildings by using modified building envelope parameters, considering both heating and cooling requirements, and more importantly contextualizing the results in eight main us climates. this will help produce outcomes, which are more quantifiable and generalizable. in fact, the results of this study are applicable to similar climates around the world. for instance, in many developing countries from south east asia to middle east and africa, masonry materials with significant thermal mass are widely used. moreover, there are considerable similarities between pg. 15 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication various u.s. climate zones with those in developing countries. as an example, the tropical regions of south and south east asia have similar climactic conditions with those of miami, florida. the countries in the middle east and africa mostly have similar climates to those in phoenix, arizona. therefore, the conclusions of this study concerning thermal mass effects in various u.s. climate zones are applicable to similar locations in most developing countries. 2. energy simulation and analysis to evaluate the effects of thermal mass on building energy performance, the author conducted an investigation on a rectangular-shaped open-spaced building model using quantities research method and simulation analysis. a 10-story building, similar to the u.s. department of energy’s (doe) benchmark commercial building model, was selected as the base case model for the study (doe, 2008). it should be noted that the main focus of this research has been to address the impact of etm on building energy consumptions in various climates, not necessarily the building’s practical design. the wall thickness was chosen to evaluate the impact of etm on energy performance. the annual heating and cooling energy use and the combination of these two parameters were selected as the measurement parameters of the building’s energy consumption. the heating and cooling loads were also measured to determine the extent of etm effects on the size of hvac systems. heating and cooling requirements were represented by the amount of gas and electricity consumption per kilo british thermal unit (kbtu), respectively. also, the unit of kbtu/hour was used to measure the heating and cooling loads. the energy simulation was conducted through the energy plus computer program using design builder as the interface software. in addition, eight different locations in the u.s. representing eight different climate zones were chosen, as follows: – miami, fl: 1a, very hot and humid – phoenix, az: 2b, hot and dry – san francisco, ca: 3c, warm and marine – albuquerque, nm: 4b, mixed-dry – chicago, il: 5a, cool-humid – minneapolis, mn: 6a, cool-marine – duluth, mn: 7, cold-dry – fairbanks, ak: 8, very cold 2.1. base case model table 1 describes the architectural, structural, and mechanical characteristics of the base case model for the residential building, including u-values, set-point temperatures, occupancy and activity schedules, and internal loads. these specifications were determined on the basis of the doe benchmark model and the international energy conservation code as implemented by the design builder and energy plus programs. pg. 16 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication each floor of the building consists of two main thermal zones: (1) the core circulation area, and (2) the open space around the core area. to assess the impact of etm within variable wall constructions, four different wall thicknesses were chosen: 20 cm, 30 cm, 30 cm and 50 cm. however, the concrete slab thickness of 15 cm and the window-to-wall ratio of 30% remain constant for all cases. to ensure that the principal element of the building façade that delays heat transfer is the concrete wall and not the windows, single-pane glass was selected for the windows instead of double-pane. to study the operation of hvac systems (vav with terminal re-heat), an open office space was chosen to represent the primary usage of this building type for hvac operation. to strictly focus on the role of etm in improving building energy performance without any interference from thermal insulation, the code-required thermal insulation was excluded from the wall assembly. it is known that extra layers of materials can lead to greater heat resistance (lesser heat transmittance), which can affect the building’s energy use. to minimize (neutralize) such effects and solely assess the impact of thermal mass property of concrete material while increasing the thermal mass wall thickness, a parallel study was conducted using identical case studies as the control group. the only difference was the type of material used, which is changed from concrete to lightweight metallic cladding. presumably, with little to zero thermal mass properties pg. 17 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication as compared with the concrete material. to ensure similar heat resistance/transmittance between the thermal mass and “non-thermal mass” (control) cases, the thickness of metallic cladding was modified to obtain the similar uvalue as the corresponding concrete wall scenarios. for instance, an 20 cm concrete wall has the u-value of 3.18 (w/m2 k). the thickness of 4.19 cm is chosen for the control wall to achieve the similar u-value. table 2 shows all equivalent wall thicknesses for the lightweight metallic cladding. eventually, by comparing the heating and cooling requirements of cases studies, which are expected to vary, the effects of thermal mass and non-thermal mass walls on building energy use will be determined. in addition, the decrease and/or possible increase of energy use in various climates as the result of modifying wall thicknesses can be explained which, in turn, could lead to discovering the optimal wall thickness for each climate zone. although this building model is based upon the u.s. doe benchmark commercial building, the specifications of the model are applicable to many large scale buildings in most developing countries. in fact, the use of concrete as structure and even curtain wall may be even more common in developing countries that it is in the u.s. ghoreishi and ali (2011) showed that in most developing countries, concrete is the most commonly used structural material, which, in turn, would make its thermal mass characteristics widely available to utilize. therefore, the results of this research can be used by designers and engineers in most developing countries who would like to see the benefits of concrete thermal mass being utilized for energy conservation purposes. 2.2. heating energy demands figure 1 demonstrates the heating energy demands in a residential building given four different wall thicknesses and in eight different climate zones as previously discussed. table 3 demonstrates the percentage reduction of heating energies for four wall thickness scenarios in various locations, comparing each case against the scenario where, presumably, there is no thermal mass. pg. 18 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication figure 1. heating energy use as shown in table 3, there is a direct positive correlation between the presence of etm and the reduction of the building’s heating requirements for all locations. the reductions resulting from etm ranges from 1% to 37% depending upon the climatic conditions. in comparison, the 20 cm thick wall appears to have, on average, the biggest reductions across the board. moreover, hot climates such as miami and phoenix are shown to have the most heating energy reductions. it should be noted that, given the small impact of heating demands on building energy use in these climates, the overall energy savings may not be very tangible. however, san francisco and albuquerque, with significant heating degree days, show a heating energy reduction of up to 15%. pg. 19 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication 2.3. cooling energy demands as shown in figure 2, the cooling energies of residential building scenarios were evaluated in the same u.s. climates given their different etm wall thicknesses and non-thermal mass arrangements representing different degrees of thermal mass in building envelope. figure 2. cooling energy use table 4 demonstrates percentage reduction and/or increase of cooling energy use for all four wall thickness scenarios comparing different thermal and non-thermal mass cases. as shown in table 4, despite a few cases where the presence of the etm is shown to have led to a cooling energy increase, thermal mass has been able to reduce cooling demands ranging from 2% to 40 %. the 30 cm wall thickness shows the best energy reduction performance in almost all locations across the board. in fact, the increase of etm beyond 30 cm shows an energy reduction, which can be attributed to the phenomenon of “diminishing returns,” where added thermal mass may not translate into greater reductions of energy consumption. san francisco and duluth demonstrate the largest energy reduction by up to 40%. pg. 20 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication 2.4. total heating and cooling demands to evaluate the overall energy performance of buildings, total heating and cooling requirements of the different scenarios were studied. figure 3 shows the results of building energy consumption for different climate zones based on wall thickness and etm cases. figure 3. total energy use table 5 indicates the percentage reduction and/or increase of total energy use for all wall thickness scenarios comparing different etm cases. as demonstrated in table 5, the building’s total energy performance significantly improved for most cases in the presence of etm as compared to that of non-etm walls. san francisco and albuquerque show the largest overall energy reductions ranging from 4 to 11%. except for san francisco, the increase of wall thickness from 20 cm to 50 cm does not appear to have considerably changed the trend of energy reductions. pg. 21 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication 2.5. heating and cooling loads heating and cooling loads are used to size and design a building’s primary mechanical systems such as chillers and boilers. in addition to heating and cooling energy demands, this study evaluated the effect of etm and non-etm walls on heating loads as shown in figure 4. figure 4. heating load table 6 demonstrates the effect of thermal mass cases on the heating loads. except for a few cases, heating loads are reduced, ranging from 1% to 44% lower in various locations. on average, hot climates show a larger reduction of heating loads in the presence of etm. the 30 cm wall once again is demonstrating the larger reductions of heating loads in almost all climates as compared to other wall thicknesses. albuquerque and minneapolis show a pg. 22 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication rather consistent increase of heating loads because of etm increase. figure 5 shows the effects on cooling loads in various climate zones with and without etm wall assemblies. figure 5. heating load table 7 indicates the extent of cooling load changes due to etm effects. except for duluth, other locations show considerable cooling load reductions. as a matter of fact, san francisco and fairbanks show a reduction of cooling loads of up to 28%, which is significant especially for large scale projects. the 20 cm wall seems to have the best performance in terms of reducing cooling loads in comparison with other case studies, with the exception of in fairbanks. pg. 23 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication 3. conclusion this paper has studied the influence of etm and non-etm walls with identical heat resistance on residential building energy performance in main u.s. climate zones. findings indicate that the presence of etm, in most cases, will result in a considerable reduction of energy consumption. in terms of heating energies, the etm wall reduces energy consumption across the board. however, this reduction is as high as 37% in hot locations such as miami and as modest as 2% in cold climates such as fairbanks. generally speaking, the increase of wall thickness from 20 cm to 50 cm may not necessarily translate into greater energy reduction. as a matter of fact, on average, the 20 cm wall thickness seems to be an optimal thickness as far as heating energy is concerned. heating loads, on the other hand, do not closely follow the same pattern of energy reductions in all climates, and show signs of increase in locations such as albuquerque. the 30 cm wall thickness appears to be the optimal case to achieve the heating load reductions. as for cooling demands, except for a few cases of energy increase, etm has led to considerable energy reductions of up to 40% in locations such as san francisco. the 30 cm wall thickness can be considered the best energy performing scenario compared to other wall thicknesses. beyond this depth, the increase of etm does not necessarily appear to help further energy reduction. in contrast, it seems to have lessened its effectiveness. cooling loads also are shown to have considerably decreased as a result of etm, and 20 cm appears to be the optimal wall thickness. given the obtained contrary results regarding wall thickness and maximum heating or cooling load reductions, one may want to consider other factors such as the reduced initial cost of smaller hvac systems when making design decisions. total energy consumption is probably the main factor in evaluating the effectiveness of concrete etm in improving building energy performance. overall, etm has had a strong role in reducing building energy use, which can be particularly beneficial for large scale buildings. the optimum wall thickness in terms of energy reduction appears to be strongly dependent upon the location of the project, and it differs from one location to another. however, it is worth noting that the increase of wall thickness does not appear to necessarily translate into greater energy reductions. in fact, the benefits from added thermal mass may be very well outweighed by the extra material and construction costs. 4. future research unlike heating energy use, cooling energy is shown to have increased in the presence of etm for a few cases. further studies are needed to determine other possible causes. to have a better understanding of etm benefits, one may want to evaluate the energy cost savings resulting from wall thickness increases with the additional material, labor and construction costs. in addition to etm, studying the internal thermal mass and its possible effects on building energy performance in conjunction with etm is recommended. given the code-required thermal insulation, coupling of thermal mass with insulation (ghoreishi, a. & murray, s., 2017) needs to be further investigated. additionally, the effects of thermal mass on thermal comfort parameters such as surface and/or air temperature in residential buildings needs to be further studied as it is crucial to the health and well-being of building occupants. 5. references 1. american national standards institute, energy conservation code, 2009. 2. bellamy l.a., mackenzie d.w., thermal performance of buildings with heavy walls. technical report, branz, new zealand; 2001. 3. berg-hallberg e., realistic design outdoor temperatures. batiment international, building research and practice, 1985; 13 (5), 310–317. 4. bojic´m., and loveday d., 1997, “the influence on building thermal behavior of the insulation/masonry pg. 24 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication distribution in a three-layered construction”, energy and buildings, 1997; 26 (2), 153–157. 5. cetin k. s., manuel l., and novoselac a., 2016, effect of technology-enabled time-of-use energy pricing on thermal comfort and energy use in mechanically-conditioned residential buildings in cooling dominated climates, building and environment, 2016; 96, 118–130. 6. department for communities and local government (uk), building regulations, approved document l: conservation of fuel and power, 2016. 7. department of energy and climate change, now department for business, energy & industrial strategy, 2012 edition, revised 2014, the government’s standard assessment procedure for energy rating of dwellings 8. ghoreishi, a. h. and ali, m. m., “parametric study of thermal mass property of concrete buildings in u.s. climate zones”. the journal of architectural science review, 2013; 56 (2) doi:10.1080/00038628.2012.72931. 9. ghoreishi, a. h. and ali, m. m., “contribution of thermal mass to energy performance of buildings: a comparative analysis”, journal of sustainable building technology and urban development, 2011, 2 (3). 245-252. 10. ghoreishi, a., and murray, s., “how can coupled thermal mass with insulation in concrete office buildings improve energy performance?”, submitted, 2017. 11. gori v., marincioni v., biddulph p., elwell c. a., “inferring the thermal resistance and effective thermal mass distribution of a wall from in situ measurements to characterize heat transfer at both the interior and exterior surfaces”, energy and buildings, 2017; 135, 398–409. 12. gregory k., moghtaderi b., sugo h., page a., “effect of thermal mass on the thermal performance of various australian residential constructions systems”, energy and buildings, 2008; 40 (4), 459–465. 13. hoes p., and hensen j.l.m., “the potential of lightweight low-energy houses with hybrid adaptable thermal storage: comparing the performance of promising concepts”, energy and buildings, 2016; 110, 79–93. 14. hoes p, trcka m., hensen j.l.m., and bonnema, b. h., “investigating the potential of a novel low-energy house concept with hybrid adaptable thermal storage”, energy conversation management, 2011; 52 (6), 2442–2447. 9th international conference on sustainable energy technologies (set 2010). 15. johra, h., and heiselberg, p., “influence of internal thermal mass on the indoor thermal dynamics and integration of phase change materials in furniture for building energy storage: a review”, renewable & sustainable energy reviews, 2017; 69, 19–32. 16. kinnane, o., sinnott d., and turner w., 2016, evaluation of passive ventilation provision in domestic housing retrofit, building and environment, 2016; 106, 205–218. 17. portland cement association, <http://www.concretethinker.com/solutions/thermal-mass.aspx.> [accessed 07-24-2017], 2017 18. kircher k. j., and max z. k., “on the lumped capacitance approximation accuracy in rc network building models”, energy and buildings, 2015; 108, 454–462. 19. kossecka e., and kosny j., “influence of insulation configuration on heating and cooling loads in a continuously used building”, energy and buildings, 2002; 34 (4), 321–31. 20. ma p., and wang l., “effective heat capacity of interior planar thermal mass (iptm) subject to periodic heating and cooling”, energy and buildings, 2012; 47, 44–52. pg. 25 ghoreishi / the academic research community publication 21. raftery, p., lee e., webster t., hoyt t., and bauman f., 2014, “effects of furniture and contents on peak cooling load”, energy and building, 2014; 85, 445–457. 22. underwood cp., 2014, “an improved lumped parameter method for building thermal modelling”, energy and buildings, 2014; 79, 191–201. 23. u.s. department of energy, 2008, doe develops benchmark models to improve building energy simulations. https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/commercial-reference-buildings (accessed 02 april 2017) 24. van hooff t., blocken b., timmermans h.j.p., hensen j.l.m., “analysis of the predicted effect of passive climate adaptation measures on energy demand for cooling and heating in a residential building”, energy, 2016; 94, 811–820. 25. wang l., and ma p., “the homeostasis solution – mechanical homeostasis in architecturally homeostatic buildings”, applied energy, 2016; 162, 183–196. pg. 26 introduction energy simulation and analysis base case model heating energy demands cooling energy demands total heating and cooling demands heating and cooling loads conclusion future research references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication towards urban spaces of quality: through the existing urban legislations in egypt haitham el sharnouby1 1higher institute for engineering and technology in behera, egypt. abstract egyptian urban spaces suffer from a chaos that is the result of crowded and disordered pedestrian sidewalks, streets and shop signage. this chaos creates a negative effect on, both, the image of the city and the quality of life within these urban spaces. many legislations and regulations in egypt attempted to deal with these issues. similarly, the egyptian government established many organizations and authorities in order to deal with these issues with little success. the national organization of urban harmony (nouh) is one of those organizations established by the government to take the responsibility of dealing with pedestrian sidewalk and shops’ signage while the municipality deals with road occupations. these organizations should perform their responsibilities through the egyptian legislations. the research at hand aims to find a solution to that particular problem which has influenced the quality of the street and its reflection to the quality of life as result. in order to find a solution, the research attempts to find a mechanism to boost the role of shop signage as an element of urban spaces in order to emphasize street quality. thus, the research well be divided into four parts: part one reviews the quality of urban spaces and the meaning of its terms while part two reviews the concept of the quality of life and the relation between the quality of life and urban spaces. part three demonstrates the urban quality of life through tangible and intangible approaches. finally, part four reviews the egyptian legislations that deal with research issues and attempts to find the difficulties that faced when enforcing laws. finally, the research conclusion illustrates the most important issues in the research and their proposed solutions. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban; municipality; advertisements; sidewalks; quality of life; urban space; urban legislations; road’s occupations; sign boards 1. introduction urban spaces have more than one type, paths and streets are the most type that people daily used. thus, the higher quality of the urban space, the higher influence in the people’s comfort in that urban space. the quality of urban spaces has more than one definition, and it depends on more than one element. the most important element that influence the quality of urban space is the path that link between urban spaces which represented by the pedestrian sidewalk, streets, roads, streets, and walk ways which represent the main elements in the city’s visual components. the importance of the path is based on its influence in different aspects such as culture, perception, cognition, behavioral issues and made environment. in all over the world, the local government or municipalities are the states party that obligated to control the sidewalks and shops’ signage, but in egypt the local government actually pg. 234 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.362 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ el sharnouby / the academic research community publication has no control on these elements. egyptian legislations in terms of road’s occupations and urban harmony discussed the quality of urban spaces and the people’s comfort in implicit manner. nouh obligated to issue several heuristic guides about specific urban element to cover all the urban activities. those specific urban elements are including both ”signboards”, and ”sidewalks”. in another side, the road’s occupations are included in a particular law in order to prevent any violations may make negative influence in the street as an urban space. the main problem that makes the egyptian’s urban spaces suffer that chaos is; that there are many factors prevent enforcement of legislations regarding road’s occupations, sidewalks, and shops’ signage, which make a pore urban quality of life inside the streets for pedestrians and car parking. 1.1. the research problem the problems of the research can be concluded in the following points: – the infringement on the inviolable of sidewalks in order to gain extra showcase spaces, as in figure 1. – the infringement on the inviolable area of the street to prevent car parking, as in figure 2. – sidewalks distortions in terms of widths, paving, regularity, and levels, as in figure 2. – disunification of shops’ signage in terms of pattern, form and its contents as in figure 1. figure 1. infringement of shops on the street and sidewalk (the researcher, 2017) figure 2. infringement on the street to prevent car parking (the researcher, 2017) 1.2. the research aims the research aims to find a mechanism in legislative manner to facilitate the connection between the urban space participants and the competent municipality to enforce the regarding laws to achieve the quality of street as urban space. this mechanism depending on: pg. 235 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication – involving the shops’ owners as responsible of infringement on the inviolable of the street and sidewalk. – involving the real estates occupants as responsible of infringement on the inviolable area of the street. – exploring the legislative reasons of disunifications of shops’ signage in the egyptian streets. – exploring the legislative reasons of sidewalks distortions. 1.3. the research methodology and workflow the research depends on the descriptive approach in reviewing the literature of urban spaces and quality of life in order to define a baseline to be compared with the egyptian existing reality, while the inductive approach used in reviewing the egyptian legislations to explore the reasons of the last two points in the research problems. the research will follow the process that illustrated in figure 3, in order to achieve its aims figure 3. the research outline 1.4. the research limitations this research and most researches that were performed after 25 january 2011 where there were restrictions for security precautions regarding taking a live photograph. thus, some photos may not reflect exactly the problem for the mentioned reason. 2. the quality of urban spaces presence of people in urban spaces, their activities and applications seem more important than good design of physical elements as in figure 4, because urban environments are influencing beyond a collection of buildings which are separated by streets, squares or parks. undoubtedly, urban spaces belong to and are around people and they reflect people’s activities. therefore, the better quality of urban space the better efficiency, variety, and quality of citizenship (tibbalds, 1992). cullen stated that townscape is ”the art of relationship” in urban space (cullen, 1975), this relationship is between three factors providing city’s sensational experience: optics, place and content. among these factors, optics is the most important one and declares us a dynamic experience of walking through urban space. cullen’s also demonstrates how movement can be read as a visual sequence and emphasis that our perceptual sense is a function of the visual and experimental qualities of the urban space we are moving through. a mutual relationship between human and urban space was considered and discussed several times in terms of human and environment. barker suggested that if there is compromisation between human acts and physical and social environment, places will come to conformity. generally, presenting a comprehensive classification of theories pg. 236 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication expressed in appurtenance studies in urban space can help us to identify its qualitative dimensions (barker, 1968). this led us to look for, what is the most suitable definition of the quality of urban spaces, for the research’s point. in fact there are various definitions for the quality of urban spaces and environment, the most suitable definitions for this research’s point when lansing and marans stated that “an environment of high quality conveys a sense of well being and satisfaction to its population through characteristics that may be physical, social or symbolic” (lansing & marans, 1969). in in other words, porteous defined it as “a complex issue involving subjective perceptions, attitudes and values which vary among groups and individuals” (porteous, 1971). while pacione defined it as contention is that “quality is not an attribute inherent in the environment but is a behaviorrelated function of the interaction of environmental characteristics and person characteristics. . . . we must consider both the city on the ground and the city in the mind” (pacione, 1993). hence, we can conclude that the term “quality of urban space” should be divided into two terms the first term is “quality” and the second term is “urban spaces” which discussed in this research in terms of paths. 2.1. quality quality is one of those words which are used unthinkingly by everybody, but which stubbornly evade definition. in general usage and in publicity circles, the word “quality” is frequently used to designate the attractiveness or the excellence of the product (osman, 2004). also, 8402-1986 standard defines the quality as ”the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs” (business dictionary, 2017). 2.2. urban spaces a city is a spiritual and physical system which responds to its residents’ demands, activities and behaviors. social needs and human special behavioral patterns are the basics of spatially human presence in the city. therefore, they shape or may modify the urban spaces (razavizadeh, 2015). this means that urban spaces are strongly related to the way people work and live in the cities (lang, 1994). since the industrial revolution era, people’s approaches to production and lifestyles have further exceeded all aspects of the traditional urban space; thus creating the so called “lost space” (trancik, 1986). these resulted because the urban space has gradually become occupied by motor traffic and urban life has been relegated to the sides of the roads (expert, 2011). since the 1960s, researchers have paid more attention to optimizing urban spaces and promoting outdoor activities (sun, 2013), in order to improve the influence of the most important urban factors on people’s emotions toward their sense of quality of urban space. these important factors may concluded as building façade details, building functions, ground floor usage and what individuals actually see (li, 2016). 2.3. paths lynch classified the contents of the city images into five elements: paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. streets always expressed as paths, and undoubtedly paths are the most important connective element in the city. they are the channels along which the observer occasionally or potentially moves. people observe the city during moving through it, and the other environmental elements are arranged and related along these paths. the observer form an image in his mind sometimes due to a certain activity concentrated on such path, this applies not only to activities but also to certain features and spatial quality. so figure 5 illustrates one of the research problems which reflect the suffering which people faced in the streets during walking, shopping, parking, and their public ownership of the streets. then the free of physical obstacles in paths and streets may create a comfort relationship between human and urban space and make it approximated to be qualitative urban space. pg. 237 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication figure 4. paris, les berges. activities seem more important than physical elements (mackenzie, 2015) figure 5. obstacles in streets and sidewalks create a hostile sense to whom made such obstacles. (the researcher, 2017) 3. the quality of life quality of life is a concept which has generated a great deal of interest in recent few years. it is not only arise in the current and previous century, but it dates back to philosophers like aristotle the philosopher (384–322 bc) who wrote about wellbeing of life and how public policy can provide it. much later, in 1889, seth was used the term quality of life in a statement by: “we must not regard the mere quantity, but also the quality of life which forms the moral end” (marshall & banister, 2007). many studies has been focused the quality of life but till now there is no consensus has been reached to how it should be defined (serag, 2013). it is a complex construct and multidimensional that requires multiple approaches from different theoretical visions. there were many attempts to find a definition to quality of life and find what constitutes it in different disciplines. quality of life have been noted in the literature by more than hundred definitions. quality of life is “the satisfaction in your life that comes from having good health, comfort, good relationship etc., rather than from money” . . . it is “the personal satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with the cultural or intellectual conditions under which he lives” (the free dictionary, 2017). it is also refers to the day living enhanced by healthy food, clean air and water, enjoyment of parks, open spaces and water elements, conservation of wildlife and natural resources, security from crime, and protection from radiation and toxic substances. there are enough elements of quality of life held in common by members of a society for the concept of quality of life to be meaningful. otherwise, the quality of life concept in the community is usually used to explore services and factors of the community, and resources that the people are observed as factors influencing pg. 238 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication their life quality or helping them in coping with each other (sun, 2005). myer stated that a community quality of life is built of the shared characteristics participants experience in places for example, traffic, water and air quality, or recreational opportunities, and the subjective evaluations participants make of these conditions. when the quality of life related to urban spaces it may be a sensory experiment inside the urban space, and by analyzing this experiment in urban space we find that it is possible to identify two approaches in which quality of life is affected: the physical approach and the emotional approach. the physical approach is maybe the simpler of the two to consider because it deals with tangible and material aspects of the built environment; dimensions with substance that are mutable and can be touched, altered, and shaped. on the other hand the emotional approach deals with less tangible, more ethereal aspects of urban spaces that nonetheless demand attention due to the impact they have on the physical approach. it deals with people and their relationships to each other, their rapport with places, their senses of community, and the differences experienced by different people at different times. ultimately the two are entwined and it is with this interconnection between the emotional and physical approaches that urban design should work to create urban spaces in order to contribute to a positive quality of life and wellbeing. 4. urban quality of life quality of urban spaces and quality of life are always the main two targets to be achieved by the designers, which mean that they should not achieve sparely. mixing these two achievements in one expression may make it easy to be achieved together and generate which most called term “urban quality of life”. urban quality of life is not a simple term and has no clear definition. so, till now there is no agreement for its definition but it has complex visions which might be defined by various disciplines. the term urban quality of life is not used to describe some physical features but to describe all the forked relationships that exist between those physical features. thus, the definition of urban quality of life is complicated rather than linear. the need to improve the quality of life in a specific place or for a specific person or group is an important to be taken in consideration by planners. improving the quality of life in urban spaces is no longer a simple matter, but the human satisfaction with different urban characteristics like transportation, recreational opportunities, quality of public areas, population and building densities, land use patterns, and ease of access for all to basic services, goods and public amenities. as well as social characteristics like security, safety, public health, social integration, education, increasing accessibility for disabled persons, promoting equality and respecting diversity of cultural identities, conservation of historic, religious and culturally significant buildings, or districts, emphasis mixed use of housing and services at the local level in order to perform the diversity of needs and expectations. these are in addition to environmental characteristics like respecting local landscapes and treating the local environment. 4.1. activities in urban spaces the relation between people and their city influences the fundamental matters of life like a strong link. in closely view to the city, a neighborhood center and its facilities specify the way of thinking of its residents to improve their environment or even motivate people to move and do something. urban space is a combination of local attributes and human presence which is a part of features related to human perceptual and behavioral aspects. by behaviors and experiences, urban spaces are developing and evolving at moment and its vitality and dynamic space are influences the life inside it. in recent years, discussions regarding environmental design has not been possible without paying attention to human participation (razavizadeh, 2015). environmental and urban design researchers considered that urban space is the best place to evaluate all of social, cultural, artistic and perceptual aspects along time, if one is identify some of the attributes which have helped implementation in survival of pedestrian areas (tiwari, 2013). urban spaces are the best context to emphasis behavioral human interactions. these spaces include all public spaces where people have visual and physical access (madanipour, 1992). in this regard, we can observe the pedestrian activities and human’s behavior in public spaces in order to enhance their quality. there has been a great emphasis on the role and importance of public spaces in different aspects of comfort and health issues in the pg. 239 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication literature of design and planning. there are certain reasons of human presence in urban space, these reasons can be classified into three part as in figure 6 and according to gehl: – necessary activities (e.g. going to school or work, shopping, waiting for a bus) that participants have no choice. – optional activities take place, if time and place allow, and weather and setting invite them (e.g. taking a walking to get a fresh air, stopping for a coffee in a street, people watching) – social activities depend on the presence of others in public space(e.g.communal activities, passive contacts such as simply seeing and hearing other people) figure 6. activities in urban spaces (gail, 1987. adapted by the researcher) figure 7. what makes a great place (pps, 2009) 4.2. sensation in urban spaces pps identifies four key attributes of urban public open spaces based on pps’s years of experience in working with communities, the observations and research of well-known placemakers and recent conversations with folks. these pg. 240 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication key attributes focus on ways to attract people to a street as an urban public space and to tap into its communitybuilding potential. these four attributes also closely parallel to pps’s “what makes a great place” diagram as in figure 7 as follow (soltanian & mohammadi, 2015): – sociability: one of the most important attributes of urban spaces is to create opportunities needed for social interactions. interaction with other people of the society leads to creating a stronger relationship with the place and society. – activity and usage: the most important factors in urban spaces dynamics and their activity in various hours and seasons are social events, different activities and usages inside the urban space and their potential to attract individuals and different groups – access and relation: relation is related to the quality of circulation, space connections and access along with space visibility and accessibility to the space as physical and visual access that affects security and performance of the space. – image and comfort: image is related to the quality of space physical organization and mental comfort of the place. sustainability, distinction and visual pleasure of the space are effective in attracting people to a specific place and their mental comfort. the most important approaches of those attributes which reflect the aims of the research were “the relations which related to the quality of circulation, and image, and related to the quality of mental comfort”. 5. egyptian legislations regarding urban quality of life when we talk about egyptian law regarding urban quality of life, we can conclude from the above literature that we should talk about roads’ occupations, shops’ signage, and pedestrian sidewalks. egyptian regulations regarding roads’ occupations are working through law was issued at 1956 and still working till now. this law called “law no. 140 of year 1956 for road’s occupations“. the executive rule of the road’s occupations law in its article (1) is dividing the public roads into two main types as illustrated. figure 8. the public roads’ main two types (the researcher, 2017) the first type is which paved by asphalt, concrete, stones, or any other tiles, this type considered if it has sidewalk or not, while the second type is that not paved. the executive rule of the road’s occupations law in its article (5) also classifies the ground floor usage and activities which may occupy the roads by violations as; garages, workshops, pg. 241 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication repairing of carpets and clothes, and stores of grocery, slaughter and any food shops. all that mentioned activities are not allowed to obtain any road occupation permissions, this in addition to the commercial refrigerators and balance scales are not allowed to obtain any road occupation permissions as well. also article (6) of the same rule stated that it is not allowed to give permission for occupations which laid at distance less than ten meters from entrances of pedestrians pass tunnel (ministry of municipal and rural affairs, 1956). in another point of view the egyptian building law stated in part two of the law “urban harmony” that nouh should establish heuristic guides for twelve urban elements, these guides are sorted in table 1. five heuristic guides of them was issued till now, these five heuristic guides are; heritage sites and buildings, advertisements and signboards, city centers, open spaces and parks, and quality management. heuristic guide of roads and sidewalks still not issued as shown in table 1. table 1. the twelve heuristic guides that should be issued by nouh. status issued 1 2 3 4 5 heritage sites and buildings advertisements and signboards city centers open spaces and parks quality management heuristic guide not issued so far 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 quality management roads and sidewalks environmental fundamentals cities’ entrances the village nature reserves external lighting so, the sidewalks in the most areas of the city are in critical situation in terms of its width, paving, regularity of level, and height of its curbstone figure 2. the heuristic guide of “advertisements and signboards” is organizing the shops’ signage in one small article which stated that “it’s allowed to commercial and administrative activities shops in ground floor of buildings, putting a signage for their activities and utilizations, and the competent local authorities should arrange with urban harmony responsible party in the province in order to unify the form and pattern of the signage when proceeding the building permissions” (nouh., 2010). this heuristic guide issued while there is another law still working till now, called “law no. 66 of year 1956, for regulating the advertisements”. this law and its executive rule define the criteria of shops’ signage in terms of its height, dimensions related to the width of shop-front, and emerging of the signage, but this law and the competent heuristic guide have not any control to the signage contents. 5.1. difficulties facing prevention of infringement on roads and sidewalks law of roads’ occupations is not like the most of the egyptian laws because it has not a separate part for penalties, but it has only one penalty for all violations instead. this penalty is committing the violators to pay 100 egp up to 300 egp. as forfeit (council of ministers, 1/4/1956). this penalty article was decreed at 1980 when the exchange rate of usd was less than one egyptian pound as in figure 9, which means that this penalty is not suitable for applying now at 2017. in particular view the mentioned penalty of road occupation is not linked to a period of time which the violation occupies the road, in addition, the law stated that the removal of the violations should not be done unless issuing a related adjudication which is mean that there is a delay of time in order to implement the removal of road’s occupations. this is obviously means that the penalty is not deterrent enough to prevent the violations, which is reflecting a bad image of city in terms of roads, urban spaces, pedestrian pass tunnels, . . . etc. figure 10 illustrates an extreme violation in the entrance of pedestrian pass tunnel while this occupation according to the law should be laid at least ten meters from that entrance. one of the most important reasons that made the spread of road’s occupations phenomenon, is the difficulty of involving urban spaces’ participants to prevent this phenomenon. it’s pg. 242 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication possible to prevent violations of roads’ occupations by facilitating the way which the participants can connect the municipality and complaint for these violations. one of the best way to facilitate the connection between urban spaces’ participants and municipalities is that each municipality specify a hot telephone line and make the shops owners committed to demonstrate this hot number in the shop’s signage in obvious manner. this way cannot be applicable now until involving the signage law and the competent heuristic guide in the signage contents. 5.2. difficulties facing unification of shops’ signage and sidewalks harmony as illustrated in table 1; one of the un-issued heuristic guides till now is the heuristic guide of roads and sidewalks, in parallel there is no any obvious working legislations in egypt regulate the sidewalks especially in terms of widths, paving, regularity, and levels. this directly reflected to the physical and mental comfort of the urban spaces participants as in figure 2 and figure 11. regarding shop-front signage; as mentioned before there are two regulations control this article, the first one is the heuristic guide of advertisements and signboards which mentioned this article in one short paragraph with vague criteria, subsequently part two of building law regarding urban harmony did not assign any penalties when violating that intangible criteria, as well as the signage content did not one of that criteria. the second one is law no. 66 of year 1956 for regulating the advertisements, although; this law defines more accurate criteria than the heuristic guide for shops’ signage in terms of its height, dimensions related to the width of shop-front, and emerging of the signage but penalties when violating these criteria does not reasonable to apply now a day at 2017. this law defines a penalty when violating the specific criteria by one egp and does not exceed ten egp (council of ministers, 26/2/1956). the penalty was established at the year that the law issued when the exchange rate was one usd equal 0.35 egp2 . 2the average rate at 1956 is usd = 0.35 egp, while the average rate at 2017 is usd = 17.65 egp (currancy converter, 2017) figure 9. historical exchange rates graph of usd vs. egp1 pg. 243 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication until now there are not any legislations deal with signage on the entrances of residential buildings, although the egyptian building law in part four dealt with the real estate wealth and how to establish the occupants’ federations in these real estates, but those federations did not get committed by the law to use any signage on the building entrance to promote themselves in terms of address, name, or even hot telephone line to connect with municipality if they made any violations. as well as this, the heuristic guide of advertisements and signboards did not mention anything about signage on buildings entrances. hence, municipality cannot control any infringements to the inviolable area of sidewalk and street in front of the building entrance as in figure 2. so, by committing the occupants’ federations to use signage on the building entrance and control its contents, the municipalities may get more control of infringements in front of the building’s entrance on the inviolable area of sidewalk and street. 6. conclusions the research parts illustrated the quality of urban spaces and its relation with the quality of life, then it attempted to link these articles with the egyptian legislations regarding roads, sidewalks, and shops’ signage as key points may influence the upgrade the reality of the egyptian streets. hence, the research achieved the following conclusions; – paths are the most important connective element in the city – quality of urban spaces should consider both the city on the ground and the city in the mind – the interconnection between physical and emotional approaches in urban spaces should emphasize the quality of life. – urban quality of life is the human satisfaction with different urban attributes which include activities in urban spaces and sensation in urban spaces. – egyptian legislations that influence the urban quality of life are the law of public road’s occupations, law of public roads, and part two and four of building law. – the applied penalties to the violations of road’s occupations and signage standards are not deterrent enough to prevent the violations, because they are decreed 61 years ago, as well as the forfeit is not suitable for now a day. figure 10. extreme violation in the entrance of pedestrian pass tunnel (the researcher, 2017) figure 11. sidewalks distortions in terms of widths, paving, regularity, and levels (the researcher, 2017) pg. 244 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication – the legislations of shops’ signage have no control to the signage’s content. and the legislations of the real estate wealth did not obligate the occupants’ federations to put a signage on the real estate’s gate. – there is not any commitments or legislations to the shops’ owners and real estate’s occupants’ federations to include a hot telephone line in obvious font, color, and location in their signage, in order to facilitate the connection between the urban space participants and the competent municipality. – in order to achieve the research aims and solve its problems, the penalties that applied to the violations of roads’ occupations and signage standards should be modified in the regarding laws to be contemporary and related to the existing exchange rate in order to be deterrent enough to prevent those violations. – an article should be added to the laws regarding signage, to obligate the shops’ owners and real estates’ occupants’ federations to include a hot telephone line in obvious font, color, and location in their signage, in order to facilitate the connection between the urban space participants and the competent municipality, and assign a deterrent penalty when violate that. – speed up issuing the heuristic guide of roads and sidewalks and establish a deterrent penalty for any violations to that guide provisions. 7. references 1. banister, d., & marshall, s. 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(1993). the geography of the urban crisis: some evidence from glasgow. scottish geographical magazine, 109(2), 87-95. doi:10.1080/00369229318736883 pg. 245 el sharnouby / the academic research community publication 15. porteous, j. d. (1971). design with people. environment and behavior, 3(2), 155-178. doi:10.1177/001391657100300204 16. quality of life. (n.d.). retrieved from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/quality of life 17. razavizadeh, a. s., majedi, h., & habib, f. (2015). criteria and indicators of presence quality improvement in urban spaces, (case study: historical texture of kashan city). international journal of architecture and urban development., 5(3). 18. soltanian, f., & mohammadi, a. (2015). study of characteristics of urban public open spaces based on social interaction (case study: salavatabad’s 3-kilometer route). european online journal of natural and social sciences, 4(3), pp. 553-564. retrieved from http://european-science.com/eojnss/article/view/2759 19. the national organization for urban harmony. (2010). heuristic guide of foundations and standards of advertisements and signboards. supreme council for planning and urban development. retrieved from http: //www.urbanharmony.org/en/images/t.o.r eng.pdf 20. tibbalds, f. (2015). making people-friendly towns: improving the public environment in towns and cities. london: taylor & francis. 21. tiwari, s. (2013). developing a sense of place by humanizing public pedestrian precincts. international journal of architecture and urban development, 3(3), 21-26. 22. trancik, r. (1986). finding lost space: theories of urban design. new york: van nostrand reinhold. 23. what is quality of life? definition and meaning. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/ definition/quality-of-life.html 24. what makes a successful place? (n.d.). retrieved from https://www.pps.org/article/grplacefeat pg. 246 introduction the research problem the research aims the research methodology and workflow the research limitations the quality of urban spaces quality urban spaces paths the quality of life urban quality of life activities in urban spaces sensation in urban spaces egyptian legislations regarding urban quality of life difficulties facing prevention of infringement on roads and sidewalks difficulties facing unification of shops' signage and sidewalks harmony conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication the impact of societal transformations on the urban spaces during the local festivals rasha a. moussa1 1assistant professor, collage of architecture and design, effat university, jeddah, saudi arabia abstract urban spaces had played an important role in the individuals’ psychological life and in their integration with their environment as it’s considered as the mediator through which the interactions between people with each other and with their natural environment, they can exchange their cultures and spread activities. despite its importance, many communities suffer from the absence of positive communication between individuals and place they belong to or lack of happiness while being in it. the reason for that is the ignorance of some urban designer to the role of the humanity in the process of the design and its impact on the formation of the urban spaces, though through urban design the complexities of the place can be managed and a general framework for change can be created by designing a compatible and sustainable space for users depending on the events and activities located in it that show political, social and economic transformations that occurs to the communities and affect the social development for individuals. although there are social diversity among members of the same community but it was observed that there is a similarity in their behaviors towards certain positions, which expresses their culture. social celebrations (festivals) are considered the most effective patronize for social formats impact on the spatial formation, as it helps in supporting the idea of individuals’ belonging to the place since the human there is the main sponsor for forming the spaces that contain all the activities and events that may be specific or temporary with a time or an event, and thus it was essential to show physical and non-physical components for space formation in order to gain access to identify the reciprocal relationship between the individual and the place and highlight the most important and successful spatial expressions that help boost the spirit of communication between individuals and develop a sense of belonging to the place. the paper examines how the dynamics of social life at the local scale are shaped by the special spatial arrangements created for urban festival events by the observation of the social changes impact on the resulting urban transformations during festival and its role in individuals’ sense of belonging substation. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords festival; enclosure; centrality; axial; urban spaces; social interactions; human behaviors; permeability and connectivity 1. introduction nowadays urban festivals have become an attractive topic to most of the cities and their number had raisen in the recent decades (gursoy, kim, & uysal, 2004), as local authorities and stakeholders are convinced that through pg. 183 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.358 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ moussa / the academic research community publication these events the image of the cities can be improved and make them more vibrant and cosmopolitan in order to generate economic benefits (saayman & saayman, 2006). whereas several cities consider festivals as part of the urban regeneration thrust and place promotion activities, others are trying to raise their profile by organizing or hosting special events and annual festival (herrero, sanz, devesa, bedate & del barrio, 2006). in the past, the aim of the festivals was to transgress boundaries of prevalent social and political order, but nowadays some cities harnessed festivals for more market-oriented purposes. local authorities had found that these events become an economic key itself and make an essential contribution to the urban economy as they raise the value of properties and attract commercial development. the role of the festival does not stand at that only, but they play a significant role in enhancing the local social life and shaping the social experiences in the local spaces, by creating new opportunities for social engagement and innervate this social bond, also festivals in large cities heighten sensation, emotion, and memory by compressing many people and activities into a certain time and place (fig.1). we can consider festivals as part of everyday life that is characterized by the intensities of sensory experience (gardiner, 2004) which is formed by the social behaviors of the participants and their distinctive interactions with themselves and the physical settings of the places (stevens, 2006). figure 1. shows the of festivals and their impact on communities in this research paper, we will concentrate on the public spaces where festivals occupy and how the spatial behaviors of the participants affect the management of the place hosting them. by analyzing the different social practices connected to the festival event, we can highlight the potential festivals can provide for improving and developing pg. 184 moussa / the academic research community publication the everyday life and consequently maintain a good quality of life. the paper will focus on the diversity of actions through which urban spaces are appropriated and inscribed during festivals. the findings will illustrate how local social spaces can be redefined. the research will cover in two main themes that happened in old jeddah (al-balad) during the annual festival that occurs in it, and the study will show: a) the moral of the social needs and their effect on the spatial formation of place. b) the characteristics of space during the festivals. 2. literature review 2.1. urban festivals as a tool of enhancing cities profile urban festivals have become a popular organizational form for creating experience space and for marketing cities. through these events, the meaning of place and social life of users can be redefined and rediscovered and the identity of space will be promoted to a ”distinctive city”. festivals create the brand of a given destination by creating an impression of a memorable journey to the city, generating pleasant experiences and memories connected with it in order to persuade the recipient of the marketing message to choose this destination and not another (cudny, 2014). the experience economy framework has been applied to explore how certain places are arranged and organized (hayes and macleod, 2007-avdikos, 2011), how users’ experience and influences can be measured for developing marketing destination strategies (morgan et al-,2009) for enhancing the attractiveness of place (yeoman et al, 2004 smith and von krogh stand,2011). festivals provide cities with a particular image especially when it is connected to a certain location or a place that has a specific theme. for this reason, several cities consider festivals as a method for solving image problems (quinn,2005). 2.2. urban festivals as a tool of creating social and cultural spaces: festivals have a significant influence on the urban community. they can be considered as a component, which creates a broadly understood social capital, which is formed by interpersonal linkages, norms, and social relationships; as they built relationship between all the participants starting from the organizer till the inhabitants. moreover, they are also in arena for expressing and consolidating opinions and values common to the urban community (cudny & rouba, 2011). this is not the only role for festivals but frey connected festivals to tourism and consider them as attraction way for visitors (frey, 2000). tourists enjoy the art, culture and entertainment offerings and that make them be one of the fastest growing branches of industry. tourists spend money to participate in such festivals and that affect the local economy and raises it, in addition, the city can be distinguished from other cities as a tourist destination (baerenholdt & haldrup, 2006). the economic impact of such urban festivals on the host society goes beyond the organized activity (hiller, 1995). people who do not usually seek out cultural facilities can be introduced to venues they might otherwise have visited (irina and rianne, 2011). festivals do not attract only tourists but also talented performers, as it is a platform for supporting and promoting them. they can have a good opportunity to meet people who are interested in such particular art forms. many festivals organizers of her free concerts and exhibitions, which often take place in easily accessible public space such as street or square. in addition, organizers can mix between popular and talent performers in order to suit all tastes of music and art. altogether, these conditions can turn festivals into a meeting space for creative people and a place of popularizing pg. 185 moussa / the academic research community publication high culture and developing cultural capital which consist of several elements like taste, familiarity with high culture, social and cultural convention , formal education and culture-related property which subsequently helps in renovating the existing cultural infrastructure and growing of other cultural development. 2.3. importance of festivals on places: festivals become a modality for expressing the close relationship between identity and place (quinn, 2005), throughout time, the festival and the host place can become inextricably linked (getz, 2008). furthermore, successful festivals can become by time centered for the host city’s identity (gibson & davidson, 2004), so the location of the festival may have an impact on its content, objectives, and successes. festivals that are linked to particular places (place-bound festivals) are usually are organized to honor certain historical events or show traditions related to the local culture of the host place and demonstrate what a society believes to be its essence. these festivals often offer physical and moral experiences that connect people to place (derret, 2003); as they involve collective celebrations with diverse purposes like building social cohesion by bounding ties within community, learning and celebrating cultural traditions that belong to the place and drawing on shared histories and local practices. this means communicating an attractive atmosphere which come from place-bound activities, events, attractive places and diverse social spaces that make visitors and inhabitant feel inspired and connected to the place (lorentzen, 2009). 2.4. transformation of urban space during festivals, cities are reshaped and transformed either by altering their spatial constitutions or by granting them a special and specific identity. in addition, streets are closed off, unwanted elements are removed, buildings are refurbished, alternative spaces are created and extra-ordinary performances are staged in places usually reserved for more temporal activities. all of these things occur in order to encourage visitors to participate and feel safe inside the space. so festivals provide spaces for redefining the cities and make them live in temporal rhythms of activities and people who look to the urban practices that uphold the city rather than seeing it as unitary phenomena. these cities become an experiencescape and ordinary spaces are transformed to festival spaces with alternative activities that contrast the routine of everyday life (jamieson, 2004). 2.5. festivals and social behaviors festivals generate regulated and liminal spaces through temporary appropriations of local settings as they involve physical modifications of local spaces, which promote some social arrangement. willem braun emphasizes that such events set up unceremonious, intersubjective spaces where a multiplicity of identities can be expressed and deliberated (willems-braun, 1994); while ravenscroft and gilchrist suggest that this physical and temporal bounding facilitates the disciplining of social behavior during festivals. these social behaviors usually have the potential to differentiate and particularize social identity. according to some studies on the satisfaction of visitors during festivals, it was found that it depends on the ability of attendees to adapt with the festival atmosphere as a socially integrative, interactive and emotionally engaging experience. moreover, this can be achieved and facilitated for gaining experience under certain conditions that urban designers and organizers should take it into consideration like: a) permeability, which means the ability of visitors to move freely and comfortably along a diversity of paths between different spaces and creates personal itineraries. b) centrality as the event should be spatially connected. c) the availability of un-programmed public spaces and semi-public (third places) adjacent to formal venues and pg. 186 moussa / the academic research community publication circulation routes, so informed socialization could be formed as it attracts visitors and generates economic benefits (morgan, 2007). figure 2. shows place making elements source: https://www.pps.org/ steven’s also confirms in his broader study of informal activities in public spaces that three-dimensional elements of public spaces identified by lynch (1960) nodes, paths, and boundaries are directly involved by users as they perceive act out the potential behavioral affordances of urban public spaces. festivals can be a tool that cities can use to enhance a place or enrich it as the four main elements that make a successful place can be found in a well-organized event or festival (fig.2). 3. methodology the fieldwork for this research paper had two stages: the first was observing the varieties of social behaviors occurring within the urban spaces during local festivals and the sensory and spatial perceptions available in that context; the second was to analyze the reflection of these behaviors on the transformation of this space. the observation stage focus on showing the social characteristics and behaviors of users and the interactions among them and how the spatial setting and structure of the place hosting the event can have an influence on organizing and controlling these relations. together these aspects illustrate the role that organized festival events can play in informal socialization and in contributing the feeling of belonging to a place. the paper studies one of the poplar events that is held annually in a significant place in jeddah city, lasting for 10 days. this event is known by “historic jeddah festival” and it is the first of its kind in jeddah city that recalls the past of both the place and the people in the past, in a period of time through which jeddah city had passed over more than half a century ago. the festival initiated in 2014, and aims to promote the kingdom as the house of pg. 187 moussa / the academic research community publication culture, literature and arabian and islamic history, while, preserving the heritage and the cultural treasures. it links the glorious past of the kingdom with its prosperous present, allowing the people of jeddah and visitors to touch the episodes of last century, and it introduces new generations to the heritage, culture, traditions and history of the residents of the historic jeddah area. the festival features various events each year, including dozens of programs and activities, in addition to forums and independent performing arts that spread along the historical place (al balad), furthermore, it has a specific theme annually that shows the traditions and link between behaviors and attitudes of people in past and present. the saudi commission for tourism and national heritage (scth) chooses the historical area of jeddah (albalad) to be the place of the festival as it has very particular geographical, cultural, political and financial contexts. it includes a number of monuments and heritage buildings of archeological interest, such as the old jeddah wall and its historical open squairs (e.g. al mazloom, al sham, al yemen, and al bahr haras), and a number of historic mosques (e.g. uthman ibn affan mosque, al shafi’i mosque, al pasha mosque, akash mosque, al memar mosque and al hanafi mosque), in addition to these several historical markets (souks) found there. the study focus on how attendees act within the spaces specially arranged for this festival in order to allow urban designers to sketch out a range of ways in which the spatial arrangements of urban spaces during festivals give shape to informal socialization and the production of meanings, and city brand. the researcher visited the site of the festival before and during the festival event and observed the diversity of formal and informal activities, which were shaped around the event and how the attendees’ reactions to fulfil their needs affected the arrangement of the open spaces and paths inside the site. the field visit depend on site analysis, field notes, live observations of human behavior in public settings and photos, in addition to the archival research of media reports and festival programs from previous years. the observations concentrated on two main aspects that shaped the space, which are: a. social and humanity aspects (behavioral aspects) including diversity of user patterns, activities occurring, interactions between attendees and participants “organizers, sponsors, sellers, talented performers” and involvement of local businesses, institutions and social groups in the festival events b. spatial aspects (urban space settings) including reorganization and transformation of public and private space for the festival, intensive uses of spaces that are usually unoccupied and adding some elements to enrich the open space. through the precise field visits to the place before and during the festival and analyzing, the spatial settings that occur with respect to the attendees’ behaviors, the research figures out the significant role of the four physical and spatial characteristics of the urban (enclosure, centrality, axial and permeability) on the organization of actions and behaviors of occupants. 4. analysis and findings: before we start the analysis of the impact of the social aspects on urban spaces during the historic jeddah festival, it is necessary to concentrate on some social features for the users, which should be taken in consideration due to its importance on succeeding the event. the research divide these features into two main features, which are: a) congestion: during historic jeddah festival, urban spaces are crowded with different users more than any time else. in addition, its level of overcrowding varies through the day, as it is more crowded in nigh than in day light due to the natural of climate (hot and dry climate) (fig.3a-b); moreover, most of the attendees work. the congestion is caused when there is a conflict between activities that are performed at the same time in the same place. (carmona at al., 2010). although there is negative side for congestion, but people in some cases prefers it for social interactions results in a collective behavior. pg. 188 moussa / the academic research community publication figure 3. shows how the space is crowded in night more than in day light b) the diversity of users: historic jeddah festival is characterized by diversity of users in terms of age, gender, social and cultural level. users can be divided into two main types: residents of the district or owners/labors who work in shops there and visitors who come only in festivals to participate if they find attracting elements there. those visitors might be from jeddah citizens who feel that this festival belongs to their culture and traditions and want to share their kids all old habits or foreigners who are excited to transfer knowledge and traditions with other people and enjoy the feeling of place (sense of place) especially that old jeddah has its identity. based on the above, we can consider that the social features is one of the main factors that reshape the urban space and help in the development of physical and behavior of space and users. the following analysis shows that although the site of historic jeddah festival is appropriate for such events and can offer opportunities for social interaction, self-expression and self-realization to develop unless we ignore any of the four key spatial characteristics: enclosure, centrality, axial and permeability and connectivity. 1) enclosure one of the benefits of the site of historic jeddah festival is that the place is totally surrounded by large walls. during normal days, vehicles can move inside and there is no separation between pedestrians’ paths and vehicles’ roads but as festival starts, only people can inside through the huge old gates and it is not allowed for any vehicle to go inside (fig.4). this help in expanding the amount of spaces where users can move safely and extra temporary booths could be added so it gives the chance for more participant to share their stuff and open market for nonprofessional projects (fig.5). furthermore, it helps to reduce air pollution, traffic noise and increases the ability of users to enjoy watching the displayed elements, deal with the merchant without feeling scared of cars, as well as the density of people increase, and their opportunities for social interactions increase. the enclosure of the urban space helps in arranging the movement of people inside and keep it smooth and easily. in addition, people can knew the initial start of the festival and lead them to have a one-way circulation and assure that they will pass through all the activities held there. figure 4. shows the huge gates of the festivals that are open for people only pg. 189 moussa / the academic research community publication figure 5. shows how people can move safely and free during the festival 2) centrality centrality describes the action of a central element in its periphery. it was defined thus as a hierarchical concept between service and attraction. it may cause congestion if it is not well arranged or the distribution of activities is not appropriate. the attractiveness and circulation of this element is based on the efficacy of the central pole and its accessibility. in normal days, the central poles (nodes) in the site are always empty, no theme or activity there and there is not any use for the central pole (nodes) (fig.6). figure 6. shows that some of the nodes are empty and without any theme or activity in normal while during the festival (historic jeddah festival), most of the nodes have a certain use, and they are a lot in order to reduce the congestion. these nodes are divided to three main types, each as its own characteristic: a. nodes near the gates are used as gathering points; people can gather there then start their journey through old jeddah and activities of the festival. these nodes are usually very crowded thus there is no furniture in it (fig7). b. separate nodes are spaced out along the paths providing particular points of crowd concentration. these nodes are for the activities (fig.8 a-b) and the talent performances especially art and talent shows; as it acts as a small exhibitions where talent people can show their work (fig.9), people usually stay inside it and it is not with furniture. c. large nodes at the end used as a meeting space where people can sit, had conversations, and enhance the social interactions between them. these nodes are full of furniture and food booths and temporary tents that increase the opportunity for the occurrence of interactions of different social ties (fig.10). figure 7. shows the gathering node near gates pg. 190 moussa / the academic research community publication figure 8. shows how the nodes can be used for activities or open galleries figure 9. show art exhibition for talented people figure 10. show using end nodes as a social interaction space sometimes stakeholders and organizers add huge temporary structure elements (inflated building) for shows that talk about history, local life and traditions. the organized events of the festival go hand-in-hand with physical planning to develop the public realm as a socio-cultural medium for interaction. 3) axial historic jeddah festival is formed in order to show all things about the history and traditions of this place, as it is the initial core of jeddah. many events happened there and some famous people used it, so stakeholders and organizers consider it as an open exhibition where people should pass through all its parts. in order to facilitate the movement and avoid informal ones, signs are used and sometimes they put barriers to separate between both directions. on the other hand, people can move freely in all paths during the normal days. figure 11. shows how famous places are decorated and the lighting of paths pg. 191 moussa / the academic research community publication figure 12. show how people act with the displayed elements and what slower the movement among the paths there is another benefit from the one-way circulation to the shops’ owners; they will be assured that all people will pass by their shops. in addition to that, organizers used the wall of the famous buildings there as form digital art with different shapes to make the paths livable and people do not feel bored, and the add light above the paths (fig.11 a-b). most of the secondary activities’ rely upon the linear structure established for the organized event. one of the problems found was that thus the movement of people was easily organized, but the congestion lead to slower the movement as some activities attract people and some booths were placed among the paths so people stop suddenly without considering that they should move especially that there are some paths are narrow (fig.12). 4) permeability and connectivity: the idea of permeability and connectivity is to connect and integrate the site with the surrounding community and areas through a network of diverse public spaces including streets, paths and open spaces. connections with existing streets will invite pedestrians into and through the site. permeability can enhance the attractiveness of a neighborhood through the provision of additional usable open space; can increase social interactions by facilitating more activity in the public realm, and can maximize the potential for walking to a range of services. old jeddah (al balad) has good linkages between all its areas through the pedestrian paths. during festival not all the paths are opened. organizers only use part of the neighborhood for the festival, this make people unable to recognize that there are other parts in the site that they did not visit unless local citizen shows them. but on the hand, we can consider the end of the festival as a cul de sac where the opportunities for social interaction increase (fig.13). the site also includes many stalls selling ethnic food, crafts and traditional clothing that attract people especially who do not know a lot about old saudi traditions and customs (fig.14). the festival encourages more intensive and more varied uses of places that already carry memories and meanings for local citizen, and opening up community spaces so that new meanings can be brought to them. also it provides better spatial opportunities for local citizens to act out and develop their own identities, and to communicate with other people from different cultures. finally, we could consider historic jeddah festival as a tool for enhancing social engagement and the discovery of place, making strong connections to local identity and everyday life, and it illustrates tensions between efforts to control place and image, and local citizens’ propensity to continuously create, circulate and debate images and ideas about places and identity. furthermore, such a festival provides an opportunity to develop awareness of identity for local children who participate in it, and develop their skills and confidence in bodily performance as a means through which they can communicate identity and meanings to others. figure 13. show cul de sac as a social place pg. 192 moussa / the academic research community publication figure 14. show the place’s identity while moving through paths 5. conclusion: festivals may be strategically conceived with the purpose of promoting a ‘distinctive city’, which considered as an important feature of the experience economy. moreover, such a use of the festival has also led to considerations of the commoditization and spectacularization of cultural events, where the traditionally perceived benefits for the local community can be questioned. urban open spaces are the support of collective life as they reflect the inhabitant’s culture, develop their everyday activities, and create the image of a place, where architectural structures and sociocultural features are mobilized, framed and re-presented. throughout the study, it was figured out that festivals may be able to influence social inclusion through facilitating social interaction, and stakeholders felt that there festivals were great places to get people together, and occupied a unique place in society. it was shown that urban spaces become dynamic during festival time, and neighborhood spaces are constantly being produced and reproduced with respect to their identity, meaning, rules, and social uses. according to the previous part, it is essential to enhance the urban spatial spaces by increasing their ability to create connections and networks and provide attendees with a celebratory experience, and in order to achieve that, we should take in consideration the effect of the four key spatial characteristics as each of them had a role in facilitating social interaction. the idea of the enclosure for the space makes it safer in use and provides an identity, and centrality shows the ability of the space in attracting people through the arrangement and distributions so it could carry different uses that fits all users. our analysis also considered two other spatial parameters of festival event which were: axial and permeability and connectivity. these characteristics do not imply tight control of space and action. they are more open-ended, and they thus frame good prospects for introducing new uses into local space. the axial paths and movement during the festival emphasizes that the flows of people are free and not restricted to only docile queues of visitors on predetermined itineraries. communication, interaction and movement are constantly occurring two ways at festivals, back and forth across the interface between those on the move and those who are stationary. organizers have to take in consideration that the space for the festival should not be too tightly regulated. in spite of the obvious benefits of enclosure and centralization, there are good reasons to loosen up the physical and managerial frame within which festival occur, so we can consider the four characteristics as important aspects that help in understanding the spatiality of organized festivals. more importantly, they illustrate how the same framework gives insight into unplanned and unexpected local activities. by analyzing the people’s reactions during festival, we could find that they act out the possibilities inherent in the festival spaces and their participations add meaning and value to the space of the festival through the unprogrammed activities, and not only by decorating or renaming them. festival can also reawaken old meanings in spaces, whether festival organizers want it or not. the role of festival organizers in promoting social interaction needs to be unpacked further. they should know what forms of embodied engagement they offer to meet local needs; the ways in which festivals and their spaces are active, tactile, and malleable, given the findings of this study that it is part of the strategies 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(2010). city branding and film festivals: re-evaluating stakeholder’s relations. place branding and public diplomacy, 6(4), 316-332. pg. 195 introduction literature review urban festivals as a tool of enhancing cities profile urban festivals as a tool of creating social and cultural spaces: importance of festivals on places: transformation of urban space festivals and social behaviors methodology analysis and findings: conclusion: references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication abstract recreational waterfront developments can be only superficially pleasant as they lack substantial design qualities needed for their user’s comfort. enhancing the user’s comfort and satisfaction will encourage people to spend more time outdoors, with the potential to improve their physical health, enrich their social cohesion, and enhance the overall quality of life. the objective of this study is to investigate the extent to which the physical characteristics of open spaces can contribute to the user’s satisfaction with space. the study evaluates the user’s perception of satisfaction in the recent development of jeddah north corniche and provides solutions to enhance this issue. the methodologies applied in this study are structured questioner survey, which focuses on understanding the current user’s preference and their level of satisfaction regarding the present condition. this increase the emphasis on representative citizen participation, who are usually not consulted in planning issues. the findings of this research involve the development of urban management principles for the adoption of sustainable waterfronts with the consideration of culture. the outcome should contribute to the saudi 2030 vision by: enhancing livability of saudi cities through improving the landscape and facilities of jeddah urban waterfronts, and to encourage citizens to exercise at least once per week through enhancing the microclimate condition of waterfronts open spaces. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban design; waterfront development; public spaces; jeddah corniche; users’ satisfaction 1. introduction human has been settling near water since ancient times. through the history, many areas of the waterfront served as an essential resource to support their life (faggi et al., 2011). as societies near water have grown and culture was developed, seafronts became a functional and aesthetic element in the design process (hubbard and hubbard, 1971; wright, 1928). today, waterfronts spaces became an essential contribution to citizens’ quality of life (dong, 2004). waterfronts public spaces became the vital component of prosperous coastal cities. they assert the sense of community, civic identity and culture. they lead to an urban environment that is healthy, safe, livable and sustainable. many waterfront cities implant measure to stimulate economic growth, social development, and improve environmental conditions as well as to enhance competitiveness by taking advantage of their unique cultural and historical resources (weijia, 2011). waterfront is known as the centre of the economic activities since the early days. it has improved the interface pg. 90 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.504 users’ satisfaction in city waterfront: the case of jeddah corniche ghadeer alawi1, lobna mostafa2 1master of urban design 2assistant prof., colleage of arch. and design, effat university https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ alawi / the academic research community publication between the city and ports since it promotes business in the market of leisure, tourism, culture-, and urban-oriented business activities (woo, s., omran, a., lee, c., & hanafi, 2016). furthermore, it contributes to the formation of the city image. many cities are known for their waterfront landscape characteristics. some of these are traditional such as london, venice, and paris while others are contemporary such as vancouver, boston, and sydney (weijia, 2011). without a clear strategy, adequate public spaces of the waterfront are challenging to accomplish and sustain. in term of urban design, many factors usually considered in the design process of waterfronts such as identity, social impacts, and accessibility, but design principles related to human comfort are less regarded. it is critical for urban designers to understand this concept and its relationship to outdoor activities and social behaviors. designers and users may have different notions of waterfront qualities. designers may formulate objectives and concepts of waterfront qualities without adequate understanding the user’s needs and preference in term of comfort which encompass aspects deeper than merely visual features. therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the user’s perception and satisfaction with waterfront physical attributes to create more human-oriented waterfronts. human comfort in this context includes non-physical factors such as climate, acoustic, lighting, and visual comfort while physical factors include edges, floors cape, urban furniture, and uses and activities (zaina, et.al, 2015). the link between urban physical setting and human comfort has been evaluated by scholars, planners, and urban designers. 2. objectives and methodology the main objective of this study is to investigate the main impact of urban waterfront design on the user’s satisfaction, taking new jeddah waterfront as a case study. the research also assesses the user’s perception and satisfaction of comfort in the current waterfront public space. the research concludes urban design principles to enhance the user’s comfort with the consideration of climate and culture. the study attempts to answers the following questions: 1) to what extent do the current waterfronts public spaces reposed to user’s needs and comfort? 2) what are the possible passive strategies that could be incorporated to enhance human comfort in these spaces? to achieve the outlined objectives, a quantitative research method is applied where it best fit the research approach. it gathers comprehensive knowledge of contextual data through engaging the participants in surveys and interviews that are conducted in natural settings. this part focuses on understanding the current quality of user’s experience, preference, and their level of satisfaction regarding the present condition. it also provides data needed that is not available from other resources, such as the behaviour, character, opinion, and knowledge of the public. this approach increases the emphasis on representative citizen participation, who are usually not consulted in planning issues (steiner, f. r., & butle, 2007). this approach encourages the creation of community partnership in development projects in ksa. 3. terms and definitions waterfront is defined as lands fronting of any form of water, including lakes, oceans, rivers or streams of all sizes dong, 2004). the management act of 1972 defines the term ”urban waterfront and port as all developed area that is highly populated and is being used for different purposes such as urban residential, commercial, recreational or shipping. they can be specified at the point where land and water meet within 200 – 300 m from the waterline, within 1-2 km of the land site, and within 20 min walking distance. waterfront public space is defined as the publicly accessible outdoor areas designed for human activity, enjoyment, and interaction (francis, 1987; gehl, 1987). they are a sequence of spaces and physical setting that facilitate or support the formal and informal activities (pfeiffer, t., 1980). for this research, the term njw refers to the public spaces of the new jeddah waterfront. comfort is defined as a condition of mind reflect a satisfaction with the surrounded environment. according to pg. 91 alawi / the academic research community publication carr et (1992), comfort is a prerequisite of successful public spaces and an indicator of the length and time people use the place. 4. literature review at the beginning of the 1990s, waterfront planning and development was recognized as a field of interest. it became a central topic for many organizations, publications, and conferences. “waterfront development” became an area of specialization for members of the american planning association (breen & rigby, 1994). in 1984, the architecture organization published a special issue of waterfronts. in 1991, landscape architecture dedicated its issue to “new urban waterfront planning” as a field of specialization. since 1982, waterfront world has published its regular magazine and has held about 18 conferences and workshops on this theme. in the last dedicate, many waterfront conferences have been held around the world and the literature of this field has been growing significantly in past ten years. specialty courses on the urban waterfront are held by many universities such as harvard graduate school of design and new york university graduate school of public service (breen & rigby, 1994). today, urban waterfront development became an interesting focus in professional and academic research from various fields. academically, many scholars have contributed to the field by publishing insights and research. many publications resulted from international conferences. for example, the book titled revitalizing the waterfront: international dimensions of dockland redevelopment (1988) illustrates a collection of seminars discussing theoretical frameworks of waterfront development and the changing relationship between port and cities in term of physical, socio-economic and ecological factors. furthermore, many studies have analyzed features of urban waterfront development. for instance, the book titled urban waterside regeneration: problems and prospects analyses the implication of waterfront regeneration in the urban setting focusing on physical context as well as environmental issues (white et al., 1992). furthermore, waterfront development became a focus of many international organizations since the 1980s. for example, the waterfront center (wfc) founded in 1981 in washington, dc by ann breen and dick rigby as a result of their research on waterfronts since 1975. they have published important man work including the books titled waterfronts: cities reclaim their edge (1993), and the new waterfront: a worldwide urban success story (1996). they focus on analyzing key elements of waterfront developments in a global context highlighting the causes of significant transformations. they discuss waterfront in seven major themes: commercial, historical, recreational, residential, and working waterfronts. nowadays, many research centers focus on improving the quality of life by revitalizing waterfronts. one of many is ”brooklyn waterfront research center” (bwrc) which focus on raising awareness about critical issues facing brooklyn’s waterfront following research, teaching and public programming approaches. ”waterfront research center” in seattle, wa is another example, they focus on solving elliot bay critical issues. waterfront development and redevelopment became a global phenomenon with many areas of interest. many scholars contribute to this knowledge by providing factors, principles, and guidelines. academic and practice conference is held around the world is an evidence of this revolutionary trend. 5. human comfort in waterfront public spaces: public spaces of the waterfronts are characterized by the presence of people who have chosen to use them. users activities in open spaces are divided into necessary activities which occur regardless of the space quality and optional activities which only occur by choice. if these spaces to become peopled, they must fulfil peoples’ needs and preference in an attractive and safe environment. in other words, people need to feel physiologically and physically comfortable to stay. according to carr et (1992), comfort is a prerequisite of successful public spaces and an indicator of the length and time people use the place. it has two main components: physical and pg. 92 alawi / the academic research community publication nonphysical. the physical factors parameters include elements giving every space its character. the nature of every space is embedded in its components that include edges, floorscape, urban furniture, uses and activities, and vehicular circulation (madanipour, 1996). in his study, mahmoudi (2012) collected a questionnaire survey to obtain people’s view of the identified attributes. the overall identified physical factors include the following: seating, paving, shelter and canopy, signs, lighting, planting, proportions of space, fountain and sculpture, harmony between architectural styles of different buildings, accessibility, parking space, facilities for disabled people, traffic management, and maintenance and cleaning. his framework identifies physical problems using both qualitative and quantitative techniques, used as a sophisticated measure to examine the livability and physical quality of the space. furthermore, layne (2009) discussed the effect of landscape setting of an open public space, and environmental variable can prevent issues and support interactions between diverse eras. overall, having a good physical environment is viewed as a central point of a usable open space in urban areas. parameters that influence the physical characteristics of an urban open space are edges, floorscape, and urban furniture. edges are the linear components that define the space which include screen walls, building facades, shrubs, trees, and change in floor level, and shorelines (lynch, 1960). the floorscape consists of the ground surface that covers hard pavement as well as landscape. floor cover must fulfil the function, comfort, and suitability to the user. urban furniture is any three-dimensional elements that enhance the space. some elements are only for decoration while others have a practical function. the urban furniture includes seating, street lighting and water features. the non-physical factors parameters outdoor comfort include thermal, visual, and acoustic aspects. (wissam, 2012). urban planners usually stress the importance of physical characteristics in open spaces, the role of nonphysical factors includes environmental, social, and functional elements. the evaluation of human comfort has attracted growing interest associated with heat stress and climate changes of outdoor areas. these elements need to be considered to enhance the activities and use of the space. an integrated approach aspects related to thermal, acoustic and visual comfort, combined with landscape and functionality, must be considered to obtain comfort of users (federico rossi, 2015). thermal comfort can be enhanced by physical design and management strategies. it is greatly influenced by the microclimate, which is often neglected in urban design. designers have little influence on features affecting the macro scale such as surrounding topographical features including hills and valleys. however, they have an essential influence in modifying the microclimate to make spaces more comfortable and effective (carmona, 2010). to enhance the thermal condition, the parameters (air temperature, mean radiant température, airspeed, metabolic rate, clothing insulation, relative humidity) can be controlled or modified using urban intervention methods such as cool materials, shading, water elements, green covers, and wind movement. 6. case study: jeddah corniche jeddah is a saudi arabian port city on the red sea, is a modern commercial hub and gateway for pilgrimages to the islamic holy cities mecca and medina. it is the economic and tourism capital of the country. it is the second largest city after riyadh; its population estimated around 3.4 million (jeddah municipality, 2016). the foundation of the city of jeddah is dated back to around 3000 years when groups of fishermen used to settle in it after their fishing trips. after that, the tribe of ’quda’ah’ came to jeddah 2500 years ago and settled in it and was known by it. the historical transformation of jeddah was in the era of the third muslim caliph othman bin affan (may allah be pleased with him) in 647 ad when he ordered the city to be transformed into a port to welcome pilgrims (hajjis) coming by sea for the holy pilgrimage in makkah. to this day, jeddah is the central passage for both sea and air pilgrims as well as those travelling by road (mostafa, lobna a., 2017). jeddah has grown during the last decades of the 20th century, which made the city a centre for money and business pg. 93 alawi / the academic research community publication in the kingdom of saudi arabia and a significant and essential port for exporting non-oil related goods as well as importing domestic needs (jeddah municipality, 2016). 6.1. area and population: the site boundary of jeddah city is about 1765 km2. the total municipality area is 5460 km2. its population is approximately 3.4 million, with a growth rate of 3.5% per annum. jeddah is the second largest city in saudi arabia and represents almost 14% of the total population of the kingdom estimated at 25.37 million [2009] (jeddah municipality, 2016). 6.2. geographical location: jeddah is located on the west side of the kingdom (latitude 29.21 north & longitude 39.7 east), on the middle eastern side of the red sea shore. on the east are the plains of tihama, which are considered the low heights of the hijaz region. on the west along the beach, there are parallel chains of coral reefs (jeddah municipality, 2016). 6.3. climate: jeddah is affected by the climate of the geographic location. this represents a high temperature and humidity during the summer. humidity reaches its highest levels in summer due to the high temperature of seawater and humidity is lower in winter due to the impact of the average air mass associated with high pressure. the prevailing winds over jeddah are north west winds due to the city’s coastal location on the shore of the red sea. these winds are usually light-to-moderate winds for much of the year. however, sometimes southern winds blow through winter, spring and fall accompanied by a rise in temperature. these winds get active sometimes, and their speed may cause great sandstorms. thunderstorms and rain convoy them. the most common type of rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, which usually fall during the winter season, spring, and fall because of the pas due to low pressure from the west to the east and their meeting with the zone of sudan’s low-pressure heat in the region (jeddah municipality, 2016). figure 1. climate data of jeddah source: jeddah regional climate center, 2017 7. new jeddah corniche: jeddah waterfront is known as jeddah corniche. it is about 110 km coastal recreational area of the city of jeddah. it extended from north to south along the red sea for about 100 km. the corniche is divided into southern, middle, and north corniche. it contains playground, restaurants, hotels, motels, and beach cabin. the most popular features on the corniche are al rahma mosque located at north corniche, jeddah fountain located at the middle corniche, and the open museum sculptures located in middle corniche. the corniche name was driving from the originally french and italian term for coastal roads (jeddah chamber of commerce). pg. 94 alawi / the academic research community publication figure 2. jeddah and corniche map source: jeddah municipality 7.1. new jeddah waterfront: this development phase is the largest development stage for the jeddah seafront; with an area of 730,000 m2, a capacity of 120 thousand people, and a length of 4,500 km. some services and elements have been added for the first time at jeddah’s façade, equipped with services suitable for all categories and ages. areas include marine walk, bicycle route, sports club, finishing area, open-air gym, playgrounds, water games, chess game, and cafes (jeddah chamber of commerce). there are also facilities available for different hobbies such as hunting are, beach games, and swimming beach. services available are suitable for all members of the community including people disabilities, blindness, and deaf. green spaces suitable for a picnic is about 275 southlands m2, and parking areas of 9.40 km can accommodate 3000 cars. the project also includes open museum and mosque. furthermore, the first interactive fountain in the north corniche is placed along with regular fountains. the long pedestrian bridge in the kingdom, 650m long is linking the corniche road and prince faisal bin fahad street. the project incorporates the use of an advanced system including sound system, control system, wi-fi network, and lighting poles. other services to enhance the user’s comfort includes bathrooms, and sessions powered by the usb ports. it also incorporates a strong infrastructure including drainage systems, water network, and power grid (jeddah chamber of commerce). figure 3. njw map illustrations theme parks locations and names source: jeddah municipality, 2017 pg. 95 alawi / the academic research community publication table 1. the njw seven themeparks. source: authors theme name discretion services and features 1. nawras square is one of the main largest squares in term of space named by this name relative to the body of nawras, one of he most prominent feature of jeddah. seagull, chess game, fountain, and footbridge 2. the shell yard is near the road and easy to reach. it was named for its shell-inspired chicks jeddah model and fountain 3. unification square is distinguished by the presence of a huge object that contains the word monotheism (there is no but allah, muhammed is the messenger of god). it is located in the middle of the square fountain, monotheism, mosque, building games, and emergency games. 4. the sand square is the sand, beach, and swimming area. hence the name of the theme fountain, swimming, and water games 5. pearl square it contains pearl inspired artistic cuisine transportation games, space games, fountain, marina, and open museum 6. the fishermen square the main attraction of this area is the fishing scaffold pier with its magnificent gate, the largest gathering point for fishermen on the corniche. it was named accordingly safari games, sport club, swimming beach, scaffolding for hunting 7. gulf square is the longest interactive fountain in the north corniche. it was name because of its outer shape of the bay beach games and dancing fountains figure 4. different views of njw source: jeddah municipality, 2017 pg. 96 alawi / the academic research community publication 8. research survey this survey took place in december 2017. the media for the survey was electronic participants. the survey was created through kwiksservy.com and distributed electronically. the total number of participants is 102. the survey is consisting of 11 questions surveying the following goals: – the first questions: are participants profile questions to investigate preliminary data such as gender, age, educational background, nationality, and social status. – q no.6: is a multiple choice to measure the frequency of using njw – q no.7: is a multiple choice to identify the preferable time for njw outing – q no.8: is a multiple choice to measure types of community outgoing in njw – q no.9: is a multiple choice to measure people preference of different areas with the njw – q no.10: is a rating for level of satisfaction with current conditions and elements of njw. this part includes 9 rating subductions – q no.11: is a suggestion section to investigate people’s needs and preference to enhance their comfort during their visit. table 2. survey questions and analytical results question result 1. what is your gender? figure 5 2. what is your age range? figure 6 3. what is your academic background? figure 7 4. what is your nationality? figure 8 5. what is your social status? figure 9 6. how frequently do you visit the new jeddah waterfront? figure 10 7. what is your prefer time to visit? figure 11 8. most of your visit to jeddah waterfront is with figure 12 9. where do you prefer to sit? figure 13 10. how much are satisfied with the following: 1 is the lowest 5 is the highest figure 14 11. any suggestion to improve the quality of the new jeddah corniche? figure 15figure 16 figure 5. pg. 97 alawi / the academic research community publication figure 6. figure 7. figure 8. figure 9. pg. 98 alawi / the academic research community publication figure 10. figure 11. figure 12. pg. 99 alawi / the academic research community publication figure 13. figure 14. pg. 100 alawi / the academic research community publication figure 15. figure 16. pg. 101 alawi / the academic research community publication 9. discussion the survey results showed that from all participants almost half (46%) are female while (54%) are male which shows almost equal distribution between the two genders. most of the participants (37%) are in age 18-20, (19%) are 21-30, (13%) are 41-50. from all participants, more than half (53%) holds a bachelor degree while only (11%) and (4%) holds a master and phd respectively; (32%) holds a high school degree, which may represent the age range 18-20 of the participants. most of the sample (93%) are saudi while only (7%) are from other nationalities which mostly represent the feedback of saudi residents in jeddah. almost half of the participants (52%) are single and (49%) are married, which represents feedback of both social status especially in a large city such jeddah. regarding njw: (28%) recorded frequent outgoing in good weather only, (25%) weekly, (27%) rarely, and (21%) monthly, which represent the impact of weather on people social and outgoing behaviour in hot, humid cities such in jeddah. regarding preferable outgoing timing to njw, (28%) prefer outgoing timing based on their free time while (32%) prefer afternoon, (21%) prefer mornings and only (10%) prefer evening and night time. people may prefer the afternoon time because of sunset views or to find comfortable places for seating before the crowd. according to participants, (73%) prefer to go out with their family, (25%) with friends while only (3%) prefer to go out by themselves which represent the social tendency and culture of jeddah society in general. regarding the satisfaction rating with the current condition of the njw, quality and cleanliness of the spaces scored (4.06 /5). although this rating sounds like an average, it should be higher for a new location such as njs which was launched by december 2018, a few days before the conduct of this survey. the number of and quality of seating scored (3.82 /5). this may be an indicator of a shortage of sitting places or crowding of the space. the quality of lighting during the day scored (4.11 /5), and the availability of parking scored lower rating of (3.7 /5). although the space provides a parking area to fit about 3000 cars, shortage of parking may be due to the unexpected crowding. the noise and smell of the area also scored a low rating of (3.4 /5). similarly, the availability of quality services such as foods, cafes, restaurants, and snacks scored (3.17 /5). this indicates a shortage of food and beverage facilities which may affect long-term people behaviour or frequency of visit. safety from crime rating was above average (4.09 /5) while the feeling of comfort within the space was lows (3.93 /5). this may be an indicator of some missing design quality related to user’s comfort within the urban space. it could be due to safety, availability of services and facilities, or other items that scored below average rating. the overall satisfaction with design scored (4.45 /5) which considered an overall good rating for the space. finally, participants, their suggestions and preference in njw can be summarized the following: to provide more parking area, especially for special needs and disabilities; maintain the cleanness of the space and washroom by hiring cleaning company; to provide efficient lighting through day; to provide more comfortable seating than the available concrete one; to use more graphic signs for direction and information; to increase food services; and to provide special area for male singles. 10. conclusion and recommendation based on user’s satisfaction and preference approaches, this study main objective is to understand the relationship between urban physical quality and users satisfaction and comfort. the research investigated data from both qualitative and quantitate approach illustrates indicating results that serve the main objectives of this research – the importance of njw as an outing destination in jeddah city. – users are unsatisfied with the number of parking available. this can be improved by increasing the number pg. 102 alawi / the academic research community publication of parking for disability as well as the use of smart technology such as a sign with parking number available in this lots to enhance cars circulation in the parking area. – users are unsatisfied with the noise and smell within the space. this can be improved by providing covered trashcans instead of the open ones. – the design should provide filtration system and buffers for street noise or fountains. – users are unsatisfied with the cleanness of the spaces and washrooms. this can be enhanced through continues maintenance or hourly basis. – people are unsatisfied with the quality and amount of food and beverage services in jwf. food services should be increased such as restraints, cafes, snacks shops, food trucks, or snack booths. – users prefer seating near water. develop areas that are physically related to the water with jetties, steps, boat clubs, ramp and marinas. – design activities should be organized toward the water view. – need to provide benches positioned with good viewpoints of the sea. – more comfortable seating should be provided and well distributed along the njw. – locate sitting next to the kid’s playgrounds for safety considerations. – effective lighting programs can create a stronger sense of security at dusk or in the evening, particularly at the shore area. provide lights on sidewalks and activity areas to extend opportunities for activity into the evening. – increase signage number and variety: informational, directional, prohibitory. signs in public spaces are often prohibitive or regulatory. while these notices are sometimes required for legal or health and safety reasons, observation showed that prohibitions that appeared to be arbitrary or unreasonable were often ignored. – careful attention to providing more shaded areas especially for the hot afternoon hours to extend the space use during the day and enhance the user’s comfort. – respect the cultural aspects of saudi arabia and the need for privacy especially for women and families. – finally, waterfronts present the unique opportunity for education and raising awareness. increasing the awareness through campaigns can enhance people belonging, community attachment, and caring about the space. 11. references 1. andersson, c. (2016 ). public space and the new urban agenda. the journal of public space,1(1). retrieved august 11, 2017, from https://www.journalpublicspace.org/ 2. armson, d. (2012). the effect of trees and grass on the thermal and hydrological performance of an urban area. the university of manchester, faculty of life sciences. retrieved april 28, 2017. 3. aljawabra, f. (2014). thermal comfort in outdoor urban spaces: the hot arid climate (doctoral dissertation, thesis / dissertation etd, 2014 ). university of bath. retrieved august 13, 2017. 4. bruttomesso, r. (2001). ’comlexity on the urban waterfront’, in r. marshall, (ed.) waterfronts in postindustrial cities, spon press, london. 5. breen, a. (1994). waterfronts: cities reclaim their edge. new york: mcgraw-hill. pg. 103 alawi / the academic research community publication 6. carr, s., 1992. public space. cambridge: new york: cambridge university press. 7. climate center (2017). ministry of defence & avitation, national meteorology & enviroment center, retrived december 2017. 8. dong, l, (2004). waterfront development: a case study of dalian, china. master thesis, university of waterloo, north amercia. 9. emmanuel, m. r. (2005). an urban approach to climate-sensitive design: strategies for the tropics. new york: spon press. print 10. faggie a., breuste j., madanes n., gropper c., perelman p. (2013). water as an appreciated feature in the landscape: a comparison of residents’ and visitors’ preferences in buenos aires. journal of cleaner prodection, 60. 182-187 11. francis, m. (1987). urban open spaces, chapter in book: advances in environment, behavior and designpublisher: plenum editors: err zube, gary moore. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4899-5345-2 4. 12. gehl, j., 2006. life between the buildings : using public space. 6th ed. copenhagen: danish architectural press. 13. giovinazzo, o. & giovinazzi, s., (2008) waterfront planning: a window of opportunities for post-disaster reconstruction. proceedings of the 4th international i-rec conference – building resilience: achieving effective post-disaster reconstruction, rotterdam, pp. 178–193, 2008 14. huang, k., lin, t., & lien, h. (2015). investigating thermal comfort and user behaviors in outdoor spaces: a seasonal and spatial perspective. advances in meteorology, 1-11. doi:10.1155/2015/423508 15. mollaert. (1982). haj terminal of the jeddah international airport. retrieved april 27, 2017, 16. from http://www.tensinet.com/database/viewproject/3859.html 17. jeddah muicilality, retrived in december 2017 from http://www.jeddah.gov.sa/english/jeddahcity/index.p hp . 18. mostafa, l. a., (2017), urban and social impacts of waterfronts development, case study: jeddah corniche, procedia environmental sciences, volume 37, pages 205-221. 19. nicol, f., humphreys, m. a., roaf, s., & ebooks corporation. (2012;2014;). adaptive thermal comfort: principles and practice. new york;london;: routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203123010 20. nishimura, n., nomura, t., iyota, h., & kimoto, s. (1998). novel water facilities for creation of comfortable urban micrometeorology. solar energy,64 (4-6), 197-207. doi:10.1016/s0038-092x(98)00116-9 21. pfeiffer, t. (1980). behaviour and interaction in built space. built environment,6(1), 35-50. retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23286084 22. synnefa, a., dandou, a., santamouris, m., tombrou, m., & soulakellis, n. (2008). on the use of cool materials as a heat island mitigation strategy. journal of applied meteorology and climatology, 47(11), 2846-2856. doi:10.1175/2008jamc1830.1 23. steiner, f. r., & butler, k. s. (2007). planning and urban design standards. hoboken, nj: j. wiley. 24. skulmoski, g.j., hartman, f.t., & krahn, j. (2007). the delphi method for graduate research. journal of information technology education,6, 1-21 25. torre, l. a. (1989). waterfront development. new york: van nostrand reinhold. pg. 104 alawi / the academic research community publication 26. wu, z., kong, f., wang, y., sun, r., & chen, l. (2016). the impact of greenspace on thermal comfort in a residential quarter of beijing, china. international journal of environmental research and public health,13(12), 1217. doi:10.3390/ijerph13121217 27. zaina, s. & zaina, s. & almohannadi, m. & furlan, r. (2015). integrated approach for the improvement of human comfort in the public realm: the case of the corniche, the linear urban link of doha. american journal of sociological research,5(4) 89-100. doi: 10.5923/j.sociology.20150504.01. pg. 105 introduction objectives and methodology terms and definitions literature review human comfort in waterfront public spaces: case study: jeddah corniche area and population: geographical location: climate: new jeddah corniche: new jeddah waterfront: research survey discussion conclusion and recommendation references http://www.ierek.com/press archive online issn: 2537-0162 international journal on: the academic research community publication the international conference : cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) the city of alexandria: its identity and environment in the works of alexandria’s pioneer painters doi: 10.21625/archive.v1i1.136 laila abu el seoud mohamed fadl 1 1lecturer of painting department faculty of fine arts in cairo keywords alexandria city; identity; environment;said wanly; aweys abstract the unique location of alexandria city in the mediterranean basin has attracted several artistic civilizations ever since the time of ptolemy. this has been the case during the roman era, and the subsequent eras throughout which alexandria remained the window of egypt and most of the middle east to the european cultures and arts. as a result, alexandria has witnessed the cultural and artistic renaissance during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, since "muhammad ali" –and his family–permitted the foreign delegations to come and form colonies fused with the human component of alexandria that had a unique character. consequently, the foreign artists’ rooms were widely spread and the alexandrian pioneers of painting art, of the first and second generations, studied under their supervision. despite being trained by foreigners, their sense of belonging to the egyptian identity or their participation in laying a groundwork for a national art project deeply rooted in the heritage of the nation wasn’t affected. however, they were receptive to maturely cope with the modernityof the western schools of arts. mahmoud said, a painter, after completing the art foundation phase, employed his art to portray the modern egyptian man as a national hero. this portrayal was possible through his use of environmetal elements and characters. seif wanli was one of the most receptive egyptian painters to the modern and contemporary western schools of art. he was allegedly known to be unconcerned with the issue of national identity, however, alexandria kept its high rank in his art despite being characterized by global features. adham wanli remained loyal to his impressive and symbolic realism as alexandria, with all its components, was the core of his artistic creativity. hamid aweys left his hometown and went to alexandria and spent most of his age therein. his belonging to the identity and environment of that ancient coastal city was the same as that of the previously-mentioned artists. he was inspired by the city’s environmental and cultural elements in a distinctive way. 1. introduction the city of alexandria was considered one of the ancient capitals of culture in the world. it was known to be a meeting place and a link between the great civilizations of the world. the people of alexandria were knowledgeable in various cultural fields including the ancient egyptian, persian, greek, romanian and islamic civilizations. all these civilizations merged to shape the culture of alexandria, the bride of the mediterranean sea throughout the ages, making it a beacon of culture and art, and a citadel of science and literature. laila abu el seoud / the academic research community publication pg. 2 about this research: this research sheds lights on the pioneers of painting in alexandria, egypt. this paper especially focuses on the artists "mahmoud said", and the brothers "wanli" and "hamid aweys", who built their career on the concept of identity and contributed to building the national identity of modern egyptian painting. the aim of the research: this research aims to highlight the different aspects of the coastal environment of alexandria and their impact on the works of the pioneers of alexandrian painting. it also aims to deduce the successive cultural influences on the city of alexandria and the artists’ impact on the city itself. the importance of this research: the city of alexandria itself is what makes this paper significant. alexandria is where the momentum of art began on a global scale given the multiplicity of ceremonies and foreign artists who have made it a great school of art, which consequently reproduced the pioneers of contemporary egyptian art. the limitations of this research: the spatial boundaries of the city of alexandria were the only limitation. research methodology: the methodology is a unit of research in its entirety and it’s considered as a separate, continuous, analytical study. alexandria, the platform for fine arts the city of alexandria is known for being a leader in the fine arts given the various forms of art dispersed all over the city including paintings, murals, and/or sculptures. a festival that was founded by foreign artists to teach new generations was also held in alexandria. the civilizations embedded in this city undoubtedly influenced the psych of alexandrian artists; the greek and romanian civilizations in particular have inspired artists in their artistic endeavors. the nature of this coastal city, the rainy weather, the atmosphere, and the seas and beaches have all inspired alexandrian artists. the history of fine arts in alexandria there are two different eras in the history of alexandria, the first being the pre july 1952 era, and the other being the times after the revolution. before the revolution, alexandria was occupied by several european communities comprised of business men who had distinct artistic customs. nationalization encouraged these european artists to interact with the egyptian communities and teach them all about fine arts. these european artists also contributed to the beginning of the fine arts movement in alexandria in the beginning of the twentieth century. art galleries of the city walls were opened for the masses and egyptian artists who were deprived of them before the revolution were permitted to attend thereafter. in less than five years after the july 23rd revolution of 1952, the faculty of fine arts was established to fill the gap left by immigrant artists who left the country. a broad base of fine artists appeared, including the artists who effectively contributed to establishing an artistic movement. their role was to enrich the fine arts movement using constructive criticism, commentaries, and constant evaluations, and of course, create a link between artists and the general public. the faculty of fine arts was successful in its mission, and several generations of artists graduated from there and spread out all over alexandria and successfully worked in different fields given that they are distinct in terms of their ideas and artistic senses that are influenced by alexandrian streets. the city of alexandria has produced the geniuses of art, which is the artistic capital of egypt, with all its cultural and social components. during the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, alexandria witnessed an artistic and cultural renaissance. the purpose of this research is to shed light on the environment of alexandria, the origin ad status of various alexandrian artists, and the impact of the artists’ work on the city. the artist "mahmoud said" (1897-1964) he was one of the most important artists in alexandria who studied under the foreign artists’ ceremony in alexandria and studied under a painter named “arto zagniery." his educational background enhanced his talents and taught him influential construction concepts that have made the shapes in his paintings seem more solid and well established. the city of alexandria and its people played a significant role in shaping his work. alexandria is the city of "said"; his paintings and his use of colors, spaces, shadows, and light were inspired by alleys in a popular neighborhood in which a local girl, known as the ‘country girl’ lived; she was his muse. even though the alexandria was known for and symbolized by the lighthouse that guided sailors, the artist “mahmoud said” was able to make the ‘country girl’ a slogan for the city that competed with the lighthouse. mahmoud said’s painting titled "blue robe" (1927) figure (1) featuring an alexandrian woman with an authentic egyptian face, a head scarf, and a simple blue dress that is the color of the sea and it indicates calmness and serenity and is inspired by the pharaohs without being plagiarized . in greek and romanian statues, the sculpted laila abu el seoud / the academic research community publication pg. 3 men had small heads and very muscular bodies which represents violent movements. in this painting, the woman portrayed has a small head yet long relatively muscular arms which strongly suggests that she is a working woman. figure (1) during the 1930’s, said went to an egyptian neighborhood named “anfoushi” where he featured beautiful local women in his paintings. in his painting called "beautiful sea" (1935) figure (2), he featured three beautiful women from anfoushi, resembling the same feminine beauty that flourished during the 1930s, in which women's portraits were made. despite the fact that they were closely associated with the environment, the artist's own vision covered the painting with a kind of magic. the existence of eastern women was closely associated with the emergence of alexandria as the bride of the mediterranean sea figure (2) he was later fascinated by fishermen and discovered the joy of living among them while they set out to catch fish in broad daylight where the sun shines on the blue sea water and makes it sparkle like diamonds. we the see the painting "strange fishing" (1933) figure (3) in which the characters and elements were shaped like rigid stone statues. the sea and the fishing environment gave him a mysterious metaphysical sense that corresponded to the philosophical dimensions of the subject as opposed to the infinite movement of the hunters in the track ring. laila abu el seoud / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure (3) the brothers: seif and adham wanli moving on to the two brothers, "seif wanli" (1906 -1979) and "adham wanli" (1908 1961)," we find that when the city of alexandria was full of foreign artists and their own ateliers and workshops in 1925, the italian artist, "atureanu becky," whom they had already known before, started his own workshop and the two brothers were among the first to join. the brothers were among artists who were the most tolerant and accepting to modern european art and its schools including: cubism, abstraction, brutality, parents, diaries, surrealism and futurism given where they reside overlooking alexandria’s beach toward the other shores of the mediterranean sea. the creativity of the two brothers lied in the experimentation in the language of form and artistic construction through the visualization of reality until the art is an aesthetic value for its own sense of fantasy influenced by their love for music, ballet, opera and performing arts. they were keen on watching foreign performances that came to alexandria on a continuous basis and the expression and they were greatly affected by them. we find the painting of "opera regilito" (1948) figure (4) by the artist, "seif wanli", in which he was concerned with the portrayal of the old european-style play, which is linked to the french novel by victor hugo, entitled "the king is lightening" more than the heroes of the work. it’s as if it depicts one of the historic buildings in the city of alexandria, confirming that it maintains its place within sophisticated and fine arts. figure (4) when the sea is mentioned in modern egyptian paintings, no one is more entitled to talk about his or her work other than the artist “mahmoud said,” except the artist "saif wanli," who not only borrowed the colors, clarity and transparency of alexandria sea, the one who is more deserving of talking about his offerings in this regard after the artist "mahmoud said," one artist who is "seif wanli" who not only that borrows the colors, clarity and transparency of alexandria sea, but his works were also like a lighthouse and its well-established ghadian ships. he deserves the title of "artist of alexandria" and when we do so, we have noticed a fundamental element in his character and understanding of the cause of this renewal and diversity in his productions. laila abu el seoud / the academic research community publication pg. 5 wanli was very interested in nature and was frequently in the outdoors. in his art work, his favorite subjects were the port of alexandria port, containers, workers' movements, boats and boats anchored on the pavement such as manri in the "alexandria port" (1952) were depicted as a realistic painting by the artist. figure (5) seif wanly was known to be a very diverse artist characterized by his creativity and love for innovation as his personality is similar to that of alexandria, he is open and accepting of the civilizations of the world. this enriched alexandria’s heritage during the times of the ptolemies and the romans and also in newer ages when it was the home of many european artists with all their diverse schools of thought. if seif wanly lived in another city in egypt, his art wouldn’t have been portrayed in the way that it is, as the essence of alexandria coincided with wanly’s thought. in the painting "boats in the port" (1957) figure (6) which was created based on a different approach and vision inspired by the techniques of artists (art collage) without resorting to the mechanism of cutting and pasting, and to become consistent with the visions of modern art. he sought to flatten in the treatment of forms, adding a special character that distinguishes his style, which reflects the nature of the city of alexandria. figure (6) the artist, "adham wanli" the artist "adham wanli" has been keen on the subject of popular and spontaneous tendency to record the nature of human feelings and the spirit of fun derived from his proficiency in caricature art, which reflected on the technical handling of the forms of many of the subjects of his paintings. this is especially true in works that reflected the lives of the simple local people as he depicted the way of life in this renowned city and mingled with musicians and clowns that performed on the pavements of the sea in the streets of alexandria. this is evident in his painting “streets clowns of alexandria” (1951) figure (7), where a simple person is shown interacting with people on the street and he seems joyful as he’s drawn using vivid colors that reflect deep meanings. laila abu el seoud / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure (7) adham wanli was one of the most brilliant artists who painted the teams that visited egypt and presented her theatre arts, ballet performances, and circus acts. we see in the painting “ballet de pascoli” (1948) figure (8) and the painting “ballet sparrow blue” (1948) figure (9) where adham wanli depicted ballet and opera scenes as if he was reporting live on the events using his paint brush. his talent makes all the viewers relate to these events as if they are living in them, and his paintings also reflected his own joyful self. given that his paintings also used the caricature art style, was consistent with the method of expressive execution that makes us feel like he drew these paintings while actually these performances. figure (8) figure (9) turning to one of the pioneers of modern egyptian fine art "hamid aweys" (19192011), who is originally from the city of beni suef and later moved to alexandria in 1948 in which he spent most of his years. in this highly creative environment, the artist hamed aweys designed works that are considered to be the most important constructions of his artistic milieu, where the sea and its style with the sky are shown, in this he reflects the views that he missed when living in cairo. he was very loyal to the city of alexandria and was inspired by the characteristics of the city and its environment that depict the struggles of the lower class that consists of farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, and other workers. he is also considered one of the artists that depict the real environment. he was also one of the artists who supported the 1952 revolution and this was very clear in his work. aweys was very concerned with humanitarian issues and he portrayed the everyday lives of people in his work. he set forth his perspective of all the people depicted, as he saw them as warriors that fought their everyday struggles valiantly. he used the beauty of his art to highlight all these humanitarian issues. this is evident in his famous painting “hunter’s dialogue,” (1956) figure (10) that shows three fishermen holding each other closely and discussing an important matter while sitting on the pavement of alexandria’s sea port. the artist outlined their featured in black to show the close relationship between them. laila abu el seoud / the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure (10) as for the image of the woman, it played a very important and diverse role in his artwork. in aweys’ creative journey, his artistic language started to adopt some characteristics of sculpturing within the frame of the painting while still preserving his emptions towards the city of alexandria. this is what is shown in his painting: “country girl” (1967) figure (11) which is focused on depicting the sensuality and formality of young alexandrian feminine girls. the girl in the painting was wearing a modern gown and wearing a bag and carrying a book, which reflect the artist’s belief in the importance of female education. the girl in the painting has two pigeons next to her and several plants. the girl in the spotlight, as opposed to the other two girls behind her, showed her hair and revealed her typical egyptian face to show her keenness to develop herself and become a women of science. figure (11) aweys developed a new straightforward way of depicting the life of the average egyptian worker. farmers or fishermen are shown with big, muscular bodies, which reflect the strength and stature of these men within the community and reflecting the power of social convictions, through his revolution on academic and smashing form and rules of anatomy. an example of his work is the painting titled “fisherman and the fish” (1987) figure (12), in which he demonstrates his accuracy in drawing as he showed the fisherman’s nerve on his right arm. we can also see the ships in the back with their sails accurately drawn, the accuracy of the sky and the color of the sea and the sky, these together actually tell the story of this painting. laila abu el seoud / the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure (12) conclusion the environmental circle surrounding the artist remains the most important force for his creativity, especially if we consider it to be built on several pillars, such as historical, geographic, cultural, political and social heritage, which in its entirety constitutes the autobiography of any nation seeking excellence among its peers. each artist emphasized in his works his loyalty and affiliation with the environment of alexandria and used it to extend to the horizons of the world. aside from their humanitarian characteristics, we find their paintings are greatly influenced by alexandria with all its cultural and social components and its environment with a mixture of unique overlapping cultures and customs of foreign communities and patterns of behavior while still considering the warmth of alexandria’s people towards foreigners. photo index figure no. work name raw material and size collectibles 1 blue robe (1927) oil paints on canvas museum of modern art 2 beautiful sea (1935) oil paints on canvas group mahmoud khalil museum 3 strange fishing (1933) oil paints on canvas group of the egyptian embassy in washington 4 regilito opera (1948) oil paints on paper -size 33 × 46 cm 5 alexandria port (1952) oil paints on silutkssize 50 × 66 cm 6 boats in the port (1957) oil paints on silutks size 58 × 74 cm 7 streets clowns in alexandria (1951) oil paints on silutks size 80 × 62 cm 8 ballet de pascoli (1948) oil paints on paper -size 50 × 35 cm 9 ballet blue bird "(1948) oil paints on paper -size 50 × 35 cm 10 fisherme dialogue "(1956) oil paints on canvas girth size 79 × 98 cm arab museum of modern art 11 country girl "(1967) oil paints on canvas size 134 × 100 cm 12 fisherman and fish (1987) oil paints on canvas size 110 × 91 cm laila abu el seoud / the academic research community publication pg. 9 references abogazi, b.e. (may 1985), pioneers of fine art . najib, i.d. (1985) the dawn of modern egyptian painting. future house. saad el din, m. (2002), between materialism and spirituality. arab renaissance house. daustashi, i. (1997, april 8), ministry of culture. cultural development fund. azar, e. (1961), modern painting in egypt. cairo. cranock, l. (2005), modern egyptian art (1910-2003). the american university in cairo press. qassem, s. (2015), artist mahmoud said. memory of the arts. qassem, s. (2017, january), brothers saif & adham and wanli. memory arts. nawar, a. (2004), hamed aweys egyptian artist. journal of art. al-nasser, m. (2005), journal of half the world. el hawary, h.e. (2011, 29 september), article by artist hamed aweys. nahdet misr newspaper. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.383 research of one-dimensional consolidation of clays considering their rehological properties chen zhuo1, deng jingentgss1, yu baohua1, weng haoyang1, wang jie1, yan xinjiang2 1china university of petroleum(beijing), fuxue road no.27, changping district, beijing, china 2cnooc research institute, sun palace street no.6, chaoyang district, beijing, china abstract the paper concerns the influence of time and strain-rate effects on the clays in one-dimensional consolidation under constant effective stress. an improved creep constitutive model is deduced, by analyzing the stress-strain theory developed by yin and sekiguchi. treating the sample as a single system and applying the boundary conditions at the system level, differential mathematical equations to the consolidation problem of clays are obtained. the proposed differential mathematical equations have advantages in their ability to (i) not clarify the primary consolidation and secondary consolidation deformation. the error in calculating consolidation deformation which is caused by the argument about end of primary consolidation can be avoided. (ii) obtain the model parameters easily. how to achieve parameters by experiment is described in detail in the paper. (iii) be programmed and solved readily for the finite difference description of the problem. results from clays have been used to examine the validity of the model. it is shown that the proposed model can describe the consolidation of clays well. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords consolidation; viscous; time; creep; strain rate. 1. introduction at present, the research on clay consolidation is mainly based on the consolidation theory of terzaghi. after considering the mutual influence of pore pressure and deformation, biot improved the consolidation theory of terzaghi and introduced the effective stress coefficient. such research suggests that the pore pressure gradually dissipates until 0 with the increase of the consolidation degree during the drainage consolidation of saturated clay, and the saturated soil sample is in the elastic state. however, by considering the viscous deformation of the soil skeleton, some researchers argue that the volume change caused by the pore water pressure change in the terzaghi theory is just the initial consolidation of the soil samples. what’s more, due to the deformation of the soil skeleton, under the fixed pressure, the clay will undergo second consolidation. based on the division of first consolidation and second consolidation, the consolidation analysis of clays is divided into two parts: terzaghi theory is adopted in analysis of the consolidation process of pore water pressure dissipation; creep theory is adopted in analysis of the secondary consolidation stage. sun mingqian found that selecting the different end time of first consolidation, the second consolidation settlement calculated over a long period of time would be very different. it turned out that the consolidation analysis depended on the researcher’s experience pg. 346 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ zhuo / the academic research community publication to a certain extent. in order to reduce the dependence on the researcher’s experience, it is considered that during the whole compression process, the deformation and drainage processes affect and adapt to each other in this paper. it means that the gradual removal of pore water in the soil, the pore volume reduction of the soil skeleton particles and gradual transference and adjustment of pore water pressure exist at the same time during the consolidation of clays. then, a one-dimensional consolidation model describing the whole process of consolidation is proposed in this paper. and the first consolidation and the second consolidation are no longer distinguishable in the consolidation analysis of clays. in order to describe the rheological properties during clay consolidation, part of the one-dimensional consolidation model is based on the clay elastoplastic viscous model proposed by predecessors (yin, 2002 and sekiguch, 1976). the results show that the one-dimensional consolidation process of clay can be well described by the proposed consolidation model in this paper. 2. the governing equation of consolidation clay in the one-dimensional drainage consolidation of the clay, the total load applied to the clay remains constant, and the load is shared by the clay skeleton and the pore water. the external load is equal to the sum of the pressure loaded on soil skeleton and pore pressure. the pressure loaded on soil skeleton is called effective stress of clay. compressive stresses and strains are taken as positive. referring to terzaghi’s consolidation theory and biot consolidation theory, the properties of the clay are assumed to be as follows: 1) clay is isotropic. 2) clay deformation is small. 3) the seepage in clay follows darcy law. 4) the clay only undergoes vertical compression and vertical seepage. 5) the solid and liquid phases of the clay are incompressible. 2.1. continuity equation as the deformation of the clay is small, the geometrical equation of deformation can be expressed as: εz = ∂uz ∂ z = εv (1) because the one-dimensional consolidation of clay is in accordance with the principle of material balance, the decrease of clay volume is equal to the outflow of fluid volume. the continuous equation of seepage of clay can be obtained, ∂εz ∂ε = ∂qz ∂ z (2) the seepage in the clay conforms to the darcy law: qz =− k γw ∂u ∂ z (3) substituting equation (3) into equation (2), the continuous equation of clay can be obtained: 2.2. stress-strain relationship in this section, the stress-strain relationship of the clay is mainly determined. according to the above assumptions, the deformation of the clay is mainly composed of two parts, the elastic-plastic deformation and the viscoplastic pg. 347 zhuo / the academic research community publication deformation. the elastic-plastic deformation part can be written as: ε ep v = ε ep v0 + λ v + in ( p ′ m p′m0 ) (5) for the viscoplastic part of clay, there have been various types of viscoplastic models have been proposed, which can be divided into three categories. the first category is the component model, such as: kelvin model, burgers model, etc. these models use different components to simulate the rheological properties of rock and soil, and replacing the original components by new non-linear rheological components to simulate non-linear creep. the second category is the empirical model, whose physical meaning is unclear, but the form is simple, what’s more, easy to understand and apply. for example, the yin model and the sekiguch model, these model generally thought that the relation of viscous deformation and time is logarithmic. the third model is the yield surface model (niemunis1996, chen yuanhong 2002), which is mainly a three-dimensional rheological model. it is different from the first and second types of rheological models (mainly one-dimensional model). the main feature of this model is the yield surface, which is used in transforming the volume stress rheological equation into partial stress rheological equation. in this paper, empirical model and component model are more applicable compared to the yield surface model, because the research focuses on one-dimensional clay consolidation. component model that describes the theory of linear rheology has been relatively perfect. however, the establishment of non-linear components has no uniform standard, which limits the application of component model in nonlinear rheological research. and the nonlinear rheological phenomenon of clay is obvious. therefore, the research that describes the rheological behavior of clay with component model is little and the form is not unified (ma bo ning 2013, qi ya jing 2012, wang zhongwen 2010). compared to the component model, the model which is used to describe the rheology of clay is mainly empirical model, such as yin model and sekiguchi model. in this paper, the clay viscoplastic model is based on the empirical model. yin model creep strains can be described by(yin1999) ε vp v = ψ v in(1+ t t0 ) (6) where ψ v and t0 are two material parameters. at t = 0, the specific volume plots on the normal compression line at vm=vncl . at this time, the clay is in the elastic-plastic stage. after the elastoplastic stage, the clay is in the viscoplastic state, and vm is linearly related to the logarithm of time t. 1. sekiguchi model sekiguchi (1974) has extend the stress-strain-time model proposed by murayama, sekiguchi and ueda (1974) to include the time-dependency of dilatancy of normally consolidated clays and obtained a relation predicting the time-dependent variation of volumetric strain under axi-symmetric conditions of sustained loading. the relation is rewritten here in the form: εv = λ 1+ e0 in ( σ ′ m σ ′ m0 ) +d(η−η0)+ 3 2 h0 { d+ λ (1+ e0)n } xin  ( ∂εv ∂ t ) σ ′ m0, η0 / ( ∂εv ∂ t ) σ ′ m,η  (7) where λ is the compression index, d the coefficient of dilatancy (shibata,1963), h0the relaxion spectrum of a box –type which is normalized by the consolidation pressure, n the extra stress ratio, ( ∂εv ∂ t ) σ ′ m0, η0 the volumetric strain rate after the change of loading, and ( ∂εv ∂ t ) σ ′ m,η the volumetric strain rate after the change of loading. through the analysis of the above two models, it is found that although the assumptions and model parameters proposed by the respective models are different, the relationship between the viscoplastic deformation and the time pg. 348 zhuo / the academic research community publication is generally considered to be logarithmic in the models. in this paper, the viscoplastic deformation and the time were assumed to obey the following relationship: ε vp v = ψ v in(1+αt) (8) if α = 1 t0 , then the model is equivalent to the yin model. in the above equation, if the time approaches infinity, the strain approaches the infinity, which is clearly contradictory to the fact. therefore, it is considered that the parameter ψ is not fixed, but time-related. assume that the ultimate strain of clay is ε vp vm, lim t=∞ ε vp v = lim t=∞ ψ v in(1+αt) = ε vp vm (9) according to the above equation, and referring to clay model proposed by yin (yin,1999), we believe that the parameter ψand time meet the following relationship: ψ v = ψ0 v 1+ ψ0 v ε vp vmin(1+αt) (10) in this paper, it is considered that the elastic strain is produced simultaneously with the viscoplastic strain. thus, the stress and strain in the consolidation process of clay conform to the following relationship: εv = εv0 + λ v in ( pm−u p′m0 ) + ψ v in(1+αt) (11) the partical derivative of the above formula is: ∂εv ∂ t = −λ v (pm−u) ∂u ∂ t + ψ0 v( 1+ ψ0 v ε vp vm in(1+αt) )2 ( α 1+αt ) (12) by substituting equation (12) into equation (4), the consolidation formula can be obtained: ∂εv ∂ t = −λ v (pm−u) ∂u ∂ t + ψ0 v( 1+ ψ0 v ε vp vm in(1+αt) )2 ( α 1+αt ) =− k γw ∂ 2u ∂ z2 (13) the solution of the above equation shows that the pore pressure increases with the increase of time and strain, which is opposite to the fact that the pore pressure of clay dissipates with the increase of time and consolidation degree. so there is a mistake in the consolidation equation and need to be fixed. in the previous research, it is generally considered that rheological behavior does not exist in the main consolidation process, which indicates that when the pore pressure is greater, the rheological phenomenon is not obvious. therefore, for the rheological parameter, we make the following assumption: α = α0 ( 1− u pm ) (14) then, we can get the equation: ∂εv ∂ t = −λ v (pm−u) ∂u ∂ t + ψ0 v α− α0 pm ∂u ∂ t 1+αt  1( 1+ ψ0 v ε vp vm in(1+αt) )2  (15) by substituting equation (15) into equation (4), the consolidation equation can be obtained: ∂u ∂ t  λ v (pm−u) + ψ0 v pm α0 1+αt  1( 1+ ψ0 v ε vp vm in(1+αt) )2  = k γw ∂ 2u ∂ z2 + ψ0 v α 1+αt  1( 1+ ψ0 v ε vp vm in(1+αt) )2  (16) pg. 349 zhuo / the academic research community publication 2.3. the boundary and initial condition it is necessary to increase the boundary condition to solve the consolidation equation. this research assumes that the thickness of the consolidation clay is h, the bottom of clay is impermeable, the top of clay is the drainage layer, and the initial pore pressure is evenly distributed. then, the boundary conditions are: ∂u ∂ z ∣∣∣∣ z=h = 0, u|z=0 = 0 (17) the initial condition is: u|t=0 = u0 (18) the pore pressure and the final settlement in the clay at any consolidation time can be obtained by solving the governing equations 16, 17 and 18. 2.4. the solution of governing equation due to the governing equations presented in the previous section appear too complex to yield an exact solution, so this study decides to use the finite difference method to solve it. the clay thickness is h, the step size of z direction and t direction is4zand4t. for the sake of simplicity, record (k, j) = (zk, t j), u (k, j) = u (zk ,t j). figure 1. finite difference grid in the grid interior point (k, j), use the center difference quotient formula: ∂ 2u ∂ z2 ∣∣∣∣ (k, j) = u(k+1, j)−u(k, j+1)−u(k, j−1)+(k−1, j) 4z2 ∂u ∂ t ∣∣∣∣ (k, j) = u(k, j+1)−u(k, j) 4t (19) by substituting equation 19 into equation16, the formula can be obtained: u(k, j) = u(k, j−1) + k4t ( λ v (pm−u) + m pm α0)γw u(k+1, j−1)−2u(k, j−1) = u(k−a, j−1) 4z2 + mα4t( λ v (pm−u) + mα0 pm ) α = α0 ( 1− u(k, j−1) pm ) m = ψ0 v 1 1+αt  1 1+ ψ0 v ε vp vm in(1+αt)2  (20) the above equation is the differential equation for one-dimensional consolidation equation. pg. 350 zhuo / the academic research community publication in the upper boundary, use the backward difference quotient in replacing partial derivative, obtain the approximate difference of the boundary condition ∂u ∂ z ∣∣∣∣ (h, j) = u(h, j)−u(h−1, j) 4z = 0 (21) 3. determination of parameters in the theory as can be seen from equation 20, the one-dimensional consolidation equation mainly contains the following parameters:λ ,ψ0,α0. this section is mainly about how to obtain the values of these parameters by experiment. 3.1. determination of parameter λ the term λ is similar to that used in modified cam-clay. when the compression experiment is carried out on the normal-consolidated clay, the relationship curve between the compressed volume of clay and the effective stress can be obtained. this relationship is called the normal consolidation line. the normal consolidation line (e-lnp’) in the compression experiment is a straight line whose slope is the parameter λ , and figure 2 shows the reference diagram for this relationship(lu tinghao 2006). thus, the parameter λ can be obtained by the compression experiment of the normal consolidation clay. figure 2. compression experiment 3.2. determination of ψ, α0 the terms ψ, α0 are material constant parameters. the creep experiments show that the strain of clay is linear with the logarithm of time. and the value of the parameters ψ0 and α0 can be obtained by fitting the creep experimental data of normal consolidation clay. figure 3 shows the reference diagram for this relationship (lu tinghao 2006). because of the large amount of pore pressure and its change in the early stage of creep experiment, when fitting the experimental data, the experimental data of latter stage of creep should be used and the creep strain of this moment pg. 351 zhuo / the academic research community publication is dominated by viscoplasticity. figure 3. creep experiment 4. validation on one-dimensional consolidation experiment 4.1. laboratory equipment in this paper, the rheological tests of artificial clay were carried out in the laboratory according to the research demands. compared with the field experiment, the indoor experiment has many advantages: more repeated times, less cost, easy for long-term observation, easy to control environmental factors and test conditions, and easier to highlight the main factors to eliminate the influence of secondary factors. the test device is improved on the basic of original triaxial rock mechanics testing unit. experimental equipment is shown in fig.1, its main parts are followed: 1)pressurization and constant pressure system 2)high pressure sealed system 3)displacement measurement system pressurization and constant pressure system has two passages; a constant axial load is applied to the rock sample by jack through one passage and a constant confining pressure through the other one. by the time the applied pressure is showed in the digital display. the displacement is measured by displacement sensor whose accuracy is 0.01mm. the results are displayed by numbers figure 4. the consolidation testdevice pg. 352 zhuo / the academic research community publication 4.2. experimental samples the artificial cores are used to simulate the one-dimensional consolidation. the research adopt the recipe of 89.5% bentonite + 0.5% na2co3 solution + (10-x)% sand(200 mesh) + x% water to make the samples. the samples were made using conventional steel ring blades (6.18 cm in diameter and 2 cm in height) in a volume of about 60 cm3 and prepared by the compact sample method. before the test, extracting air in the sample and making it saturated. the test conditions of each sample to be consistent. 4.3. consolidation experiment the sample is double-sided drain. single-stage loading method is used for test. the load is 25kpa. the indoor test is limited by the number of samples, time and test equipment. and long test process will make sample disturbance, affecting the test accuracy and other conditions of the constraints. so the test is not suitable for a long test cycle. at the same time, according to the previous research experience, shorter test time can achieve the desired goal, get more meaningful conclusions. so the loading time is 24 hours. the results are as follows: figure 5. the relationship graph between the clay strain value and the time 4.4. numerical calculation and analysis according to the compression experiment and the creep experiment, the parameter values in the consolidation equation can be obtained as follows: table 1. parameters in rheological model λ ψ0 α0 ε vp vm k/γw 0.0126 0.03 0.0283 0.03 1.13*10−3 it should be noted that ε vp vm and k/γw, these two parameter values are difficult to obtain directly from the compression experiment and the creep experiment. therefore, the results of the consolidation experiments need to be fitted to obtain the specific values of these parameters. the results of the consolidation experiment are calculated with the rheological consolidation model and the terzaghi model, and they are shown in fig6. by comparing the results of the rheological consolidation model and the consolidation experiment, it can be found that there is a certain error when the time is short, such as within 1h. the change of permeability should be responsible for the error. when the time is long, the permeability change is small, and then the rheological model can be a wonderful simulation of the experimental results. the terzaghi model is mainly used to describe the main consolidation process of clay. it is difficult to use the terzaghi model to simulate the whole consolidation process pg. 353 zhuo / the academic research community publication figure 6. comparison graph of clay strain value and time of clay, and there is a great error in the simulation process by comparing the results of the terzaghi model and the consolidation experiment. one of the reasons for the error is that the permeability and compressibility are changing with time. and another important reason is the hypothesis in terzaghi model that the clay is in an elastoplastic state. 5. conclusion 1. the clay elastic-plastic viscous model proposed by yin is modified, and the stress-strain relationship in modified model can better describe the consolidation behavior of clay. 2. on the basis of the modified model, a one-dimensional consolidation equation with rheology of the clay is deduced. the equation can describe the consolidation behavior of one-dimensional clay well. 3. the proposed rheological consolidation model overcomes the problem to distinguish the first and second consolidation process, which reduces the dependency on experience for the consolidation analysis calculation. 4. due to the change of the permeability in the consolidation process, the rheological consolidation model has some error in describing the initial consolidation, which should be taken into account in the follow-up study. 6. acknowledgments this work was supported by the national oil and gas major project of china (grant no. 2016zx05028001-01) and national program on key basic research project “973” program (grant no. 2015cb251202). pg. 354 zhuo / the academic research community publication 7. appendix list of symbols εz − axial strain z, uz − displacement, axial displacement εv− volume strain t− time qz− f luid volume k− permeability γw− speci f ic gravity o f water u− pore−water pressure ε ep v − elastic− plastic volume strain ε ep v0 − volume strain at ′ m = ′ m0 λ − slope o f virgin compression line v − speci f ic volume, volume occupied by unit volume o f solids p ′ m−mean e f f ective stress under isotropic stressing p ′ m0−model parameter ε vp v − viscoplastic creep strain ψ,ψ0− creep parameter t0−model parameter α,α0−model parameter ε vp vm−model parameter u0− initial pore−water pressure 8. references 1. terzaghi k, peck r b, mesri g. soil mechanics in engineering practice[m]. john wiley & sons, 1996. 2. biot m a. general theory of three-dimensional consolidation[j]. journal of applied physics, 1941, 12(2): 155-164. 3. liu mingqian. research on rheological and consolidation properties of tianjin coastal soft soil[d]. jilin university of china, 2016. 4. crawford c b. interpretation of consolidation tests [j]. journal of soil mechanics and foundation division, asce, 1964, 90(5): 87-102. 5. casagrande, a. the determination of the preconsolidation load and its practical significance[c]. proc.i st icsmfe, 1936, 3: 60-64. 6. qian jiahuan, application of rheology theory in soil mechanics [c]. selected papers of the fourth national conference on soil mechanics and basic engineering, china construction industry press,1986. 7. qian jiahuan, wang shengyuan, guo zhiping. application of rheology theory in soil mechanics [c]// selected papers of the national conference on soil mechanics and basic engineering, china construction industry press. 1983. 8. liu shiming, zeng guoxi. on the secondary deformation of soft clay[j]. journal of zhejiang university (engineering science), 1990(6):840-848. 9. yin j h, zhu j g, graham j. a new elastic viscoplastic model for time-dependent behaviour of normally and overconsolidated clays: theory and verification[j]. canadian geotechnical journal, 2002, 39(1): 157-173. pg. 355 zhuo / the academic research community publication 10. sekiguchi h, toriihara m. theory of one-dimensional consolidation of clays with consideration of their rheological properties[j]. soils and foundations, 1976, 16(1): 27-44. 11. liu xiliang. principles of soil mechanics [m]. china university of mining and technology press, 2015. 12. ma boning. research on rheological consolidation of soft clayey soils in dual scale[d]. zhejiang university, 2013. 13. qi yajing, jiang qinghui, wang zhijian. 3d creep constitutive equation of modified nishihara model and its parameters identification [j]. chinese journal of rock mechanics and engineering, 2012, 31(2):347-355. 14. wang zhongwen, yuan zhiqiang, li bin. study on creep characteristic of tertiary argillaceous rock in loess area [j]. chinese journal of rock mechanics and engineering, 2010, 29(s2):004008-4015. 15. niemunis a, krieg s. viscous behaviour of soil under oedometric conditions [j]. canadian geotechnical journal, 1996, 33(1): 159-168. 16. chen yuanhong, hong baoning, gong daoyong. modified cambridge visco-elastic-plasticity model considering rheology of soil [j]. journal of hohai university (natural science edition), 2002, 30(5):44-47. 17. bjerrum l. engineering geology of norwegian normally-consolidated marine clays as related to settlements of buildings[j]. geotechnique, 1967, 17(2): 83-118. 18. yin j h, zhu j g. measured and predicted time-dependent stress-strain behaviour of hong kong marine deposits[j]. canadian geotechnical journal, 1999, 36(4): 760-766. 19. li ronghua. partial differential equation numerical solution (second edition) [m]. higher education press, 2010. 20. lu tinghao, liu zude, chen guoxing. advanced soil mechanics [m]. machinery industry press, 2006. pg. 356 introduction the governing equation of consolidation clay continuity equation stress-strain relationship the boundary and initial condition the solution of governing equation determination of parameters in the theory determination of parameter determination of ,0 validation on one-dimensional consolidation experiment laboratory equipment experimental samples consolidation experiment numerical calculation and analysis conclusion acknowledgments appendix references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.445 optimization study of parametric thermal bimetal material module for green building in tropical humid climate case study: kampung juminahan, yogyakarta, indonesia syarifah ismailiyah al athas1 1department of architecture universitas islam indonesia abstract the largest energy consumption that we use is the consumption of electrical energy in terms of meeting the lighting needs and building air conditioning requirements (world energy consumption, 2016). according to the ministry of energy and mineral resources (2017), indonesia’s largest energy use in commercial buildings is for flight systems (63%), lighting systems (20%), vertical transportation (7%) electronic devices (10%). the use of energy in the fulfillment of excessive needs result in worsening conditions on earth. data can be a reflection of how the condition of the earth that we live at this time. energy savings should be made to reduce the damage already occurring on this earth such as electricity usage savings, optimization of use of materials, the use of motor vehicles that cause air pollution, and others. the way that can be used to reduce artificial energy use is to utilize the existing passive building design such as the use of solar energy that can be maximized during the day, so that the use of electrical energy for lamps and artificial air conditioning. reduced. in addition, it can also be considered the optimal use of wind direction and speed that can suppress the use of air conditioner (ac) in excess. building envelope with bimetal thermal material module application is part of kinetic architecture via biomimicry approach. kinetic architecture is a concept where buildings are designed to allow parts of buildings to move without compromising the unity of the structural system. approaches that can be applied in green building design is by optimizing bimetal material module that utilizes the thermal coefficient of a material. with this approach, building envelopes are improvised so that they can adapt to the existing environment. this research take location of case study in kampung juminahan, yogyakarta, indonesia which has characters of comunal housing. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords thermal bimetal; thermal responsive design; green building 1. introduction the way that can be used to reduce the use of artificial energy is by utilizing the existing passive building design such as the use of solar energy that can be maximized its use during the day, so the use of electrical energy for lamps and artificial air conditioning is reduced. in addition, it can be considered also the optimal use of wind direction and speed that can suppress the use of air conditioner (ac) in excess. building envelope with the application of bimetal thermal material module which is part of kinetic architecture. pg. 240 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ al athas / the academic research community publication kinetic architecture is a concept whereby buildings are designed to allow parts of buildings or building structures to move without compromising the unity of the structural system. the approach can be applied in green building design one of them by optimizing the module on bimetal material that utilizes thermal coefficient of a material. with this approach, the building envelope is improvised so that it can adapt to the existing environment. figure 1. world total energy consumption data 2015 which shows that indonesia ranks 10th. with 3% of energy use addition each year. (source: https://yearbook.enerdata.net/) nomenclature a the kinetic architecture is a term used in the early scientific literature of 1962 and is used by materials scientists to define how the process mimics the basic functions of biological forms and systems to produce sustainable solutions. 2. objectives and problem statements based on the above background, the issues discussed that can be formulated that is: − how is the bimetal thermal material module system applicable to green building envelopes in tropical climates. − what parameters affect the bimetal thermal material module system contained in green building envelopes in tropical climates. this research is expected to give benefits that is: − academic benefits this research is very closely related to some substance of lecture about lighting and thermal regulation, so it is expected to expand the insight of lecturers and students of the substance. − benefits in implementation or practice the results of this study can provide alternative green building solutions for the tropical climate through the application of bimetal thermal material module in an effort to save energy. this research will produce the product of variant model of bimetal thermal material module which has been tested with energy-saving software. pg. 241 al athas / the academic research community publication 3. research constraints to obtain data according to the study, some boundaries are defined as follows: 1. the energy saving aspect in this research is focused on the building envelope element only. 2. designed building envelope focuses on building envelope using concept approach of bimetal thermal material module application. 3. simulation using software related thermal testing, lighting and optimization of energy parameters as a whole to study the effect of using building envelope with bimetal thermal material module approach. 4. modeling of building envelope as a tool of illustration and simulation tool. 4. kinetic architecture and applications of bimetal thermal module the kinetic architecture is a term used in the early scientific literature of 1962 and is used by materials scientists to define how the process mimics the basic functions of biological forms and systems to produce sustainable solutions. the kinetic architecture approach adapts to the environment, it supports sustainability in architecture. how to approach the kinetic architecture is by imitating the natural form to understand the natural process of principles in behavior and form. (mohd shahril bin ab sahak, biomimetic in architectural sustainable approach journal) weinstock (2006) has explained in detail that the principle of adaptation in inspired design gives meaning to biological systems that can respond and adapt to environmental stresses with high complexity and produce nonlinear responses. the main principle in adaptation is only minor variations in the design by repeating consistently over time. (mohd shahril bin ab sahak biomimetic in architectural sustainable approach). speaking of green building concept means talking about buildings that apply the principles of environmental responsibility and efficient use of resources throughout the development process. from the planning, design, construction, to the operation phase and utilization, keeping in mind the economic, function, durability, safety and comfort aspects. while energy-saving design is one of the values of the concept of green buildings that are concentrated on the design of a building. ecologically responsible design and careful attention to the efficient use of resources. it can shape the architecture that accommodates the thermal and visual needs of the natural, the selection of materials that support comfort, to the use of smart technology that helps the planned system to save resources. adhering to the principle of eco-friendly and resource-saving makes energy-saving designs constextual according to the location of an architectural work. so the science of energy-saving design does not contain an absolute design list of a building. more like the formulation of the theory and the provisions on which the design decisions are based. there are three main factors that need to be considered in designing energy-efficient buildings, among others: 1. climate this type of local climate affects the thermal and visual conditions of an environment. with regard to temperature, air flow and humidity, as well as solar thermal radiation and light intensity, it is hoped that design decisions will be able to bring a comfortable, healthy and efficient atmosphere in the use of resources. 2. environmental quality the environment around the building would have a major impact on life on a farm. the quality of air, soil and water becomes the thing that will then be in direct contact with the building and its users. so energy-saving design planning should pay attention to this. 3. wind’s direction not enough to review the climatic conditions only, the direction of the wind which then affect the direct direction of heat and air sources is often a thing that escaped attention. causing a suitable building for the region’s climate designation may not be energy efficient when in the wrong direction. the existence of the three factors of influence for each building, resulting in a very diverse design problem for an energy-efficient building context. completion of each climate issue, environmental quality and overall direction of pg. 242 al athas / the academic research community publication the wind can be observed: 1. space orientation and aperture the direction of the building and the room and its openings have a great effect on the amount of light and air. adjusting to the state of the land can help optimize the utilization of natural light and air. that way, the use of lighting systems and artificial air regulator can be reduced. another thing is about the location of the openings themselves. the position at the top and bottom of the building can increase the effect of cross ventilation, which makes the air feel more maximal. the use of openings facing each other or menyiku also will establish good cross ventilation in space. 2. the bulding mass still associated with the thermal conditions, the spatial mass arrangement affects the airflow passing through each chamber. a complex building plan with multiple barriers will block air through the space. look again at the state of the environment, need what kind of space conditions to achieve comfort. 3. materials not only the shapes, materials use will affect the condition of space. color selection is also included. as we know, incoming heat can be through three ways, namely conduction, kenveksi and radiation. materials with low conductivity and light colors will be good insulators. 4. smart technology energy-saving design does not mean it should be a back building like a cave. rely on all natural resources and put aside the needs of modern humans. many misconceptions about the use of technology. a kinetic tool is always evil to the environment, energy required, emissions generated and costs incurred. yet as a result of the use of energy it could be more profitable for energy saving. water conservation machine for example. it takes electrical energy possible to move, but it can be how much water can be used again. which then impacts on how much electricity ultimately saves on the need for no water from the city pump. 5. research method method of data processing is done by literature review. the data that have been obtained in accordance with the group of research substance in the form of precedents and journals that have been there will then be processed to get the essence of the study. the data will be grouped according to the group of research substance in the table which is then reviewed based on substance, method, and conclusion. the method used to analyze the data is by calculation to prove the form of the most effective and efficient module both in terms of shape and use of materials. at this stage, two forms of thermo bimetal module from prototyping research ever undertaken by doris kim sung compared to their effectiveness in the use of materials using software help. the use of the software used in the experimental method of rhinoceros 5.0 is a 3d modeling program based on nurbs (non uniform rational b-spline). with the support of the grasshopper build 0.8 plugin, it can help in applying the actual responsive facial module with the results of the suitability and accuracy of the module model components so there is no need to make actual models real. then the calculation on the model is done related to the surface area of the facade module that must be wasted on its application to the building that has been made. the building is a cubical building with a large surface area and adjustable height. simulation with the plus and ecotect energy software is also done in analyzing data with the model that represents the shape of the building and the building envelope. 6. building sheath the building envelope is a building element that envelops buildings, ie transparent or non-transparent walls and roofs where most of the thermal energy moves through them (regulation of the provincial governor of the special capital province of jakarta no. 38 of 2012 on green building building article 1) pg. 243 al athas / the academic research community publication the building envelope is a complex membrane where energy exchange is affected by the material. it can be designed to operate ”as part of a holistic and morphological building metabolism, and will connect to other parts of the building, including sensors, actuators and command cables from building management systems” (m. wigginton and j. harris .2009). (dewidar, k.m., living skins: a new concept of self active building envelope regulating systems) the main purpose of the building envelope is to protect people from outside the environment. the facade system is usually static, the facade is designed to respond to many scenarios and perform functions that can conflict with each other: lighting vs. energy efficiency, ventilation to views and energy generation. with faculty movers and making them dynamic, they can better adapt to conditions, deliver to improve occupant comfort, and achieve a more sustainable design. the facade can now feel the environment and make their own modifications to achieve the intended purpose. (karen kensek and ryan hansanuwat in his journal entitled environment control systems for sustainable design: a methodology for testing, simulating and comparing kinetic facade systems.) 7. parametric definition of thermal bimetal module the use of bimetal materials is used in building envelopes in order to respond to energy from the surrounding environment. bimetallic materials use two types of metal plates, namely aluminum and steel. both metals have the highest and lowest thermal expansion coefficients, the highest aluminum, and the lowest iron or steel. with the use of bimetal materials, the building envelope can adapt to meet the needs of comfort both thermal and air conditioning for building users. here is a building-inspired envelope of lotus flowers and uses bimetallic materials with two aluminum and steel plates. the module used in the casing is the development of the shape of the hexagon formation. figure 2. parametric module of thermal bimetal there are various basic forms that can be used as a building envelope module approach. modular forms such as triangles, quadrangles, and hexagons, are quite effective modules, because the relationships between modules can meet each other perfectly, without any empty parts including square, triangle, or hexagon. in figure 3 we can see a formula analysis to find out which modules are more effective and efficient. if r = radius or center point distance to angle, then the number of angles determines the cross-sectional area. so the hexagon has the largest cross-sectional area when compared with the quadrilateral and triangle, because it has the most number of radius. analysis of the efficiency of material use on the three module is done by using comparison. suppose there are a number of materials to make a module cover with a circumference of 12 units. thus, the hexagon has the largest area with the same circumference, then it’s considered as the most efficient to optimize the existing ingredients. pg. 244 al athas / the academic research community publication application of biomimetic to respond to environmental energy in the form of sunlight is also applied to buildings. the building element in the form of wall in the artshop section using the approach. it produces a wall with openings corresponding to the intensity of sun exposure on the surface of the wall, so that the openings have different magnitudes. the more surface exposed to the sun the smaller the openings, and vice versa if the intensity of exposure to the sun a little more openings will be. here is the wall scripting. figure 3. parametric optimization on module figure 4. parametric wall scripting to know the airflow on the design which is equipped with biomimetic sheath, then tested with flow design software. here are the results of testing with flow design. wind speed data obtained from bmkg yogyakarta wind speed 18m / s and blow from the east. on the envelope with the open position of the wind can enter into the building, so the air flow more smoothly and the space in the building is cooler. here is a comparison table of the number of lux day lighting that goes into buildings with different shroud conditions. lux minimal used for 300 lux in cloudy sky conditions, and lux maximum of 5000 lux on the condition of the clear sky. scheme 1: comparison of module application pg. 245 al athas / the academic research community publication 8. conclusions the use of building envelope can affect energy consumption in a building. consumption of energy such as lighting, and air conditioning, can be reduced amount of use. the biomimicry approach for designing is a step back to nature, because the nature-inspired adaptation behavior provides a good feed back to nature. shape with rectangular repetition is quite effective as a module, because the cover between the segments can be complementary, without any parts to be wasted. from the addition of biomimicry parametric thermal bimetal module, the building could drop overall thermal transfer value (ottv) as much as 14,19 points, from 38 to 23,81 points, which leads to drop of energy consumption for cooling as much as 19% a year. these will lead to energy efficiency level that is the major requirement for green building. figure 5. overall thermal transfer value (ottv) after application of the module. pg. 246 al athas / the academic research community publication 9. references 1. andy, yanu dan mustika, alvida. desain parametrik konseptual dengan metode generative algorithm dalam eksplorasi geometri di bidang arsitektural dan desai produk, (pdf, 2011). 2. eng-an, pan. exploring sensing-based kinetic design for responsive architecture, (pdf, 2008). 3. daroda, kabiru. climate responsive architecture: creating greater design awareness among architects, (pdf, 2011). 4. dewidar, k.m., living skins: a new concept of self active building envelope regulating systems 5. elkhayat, youssef osama. (2014). interactive movement in kinetic architecture. journal of engineering sciences. 6. hafizs, yasser dan indraprastha, aswin. 2012. embedded computation sebagai alat bantu dalam eksplorasi rancangan responsive architecture. tersedia di: < http://temuilmiah.iplbi.or.id/wp-content/uploads/20 12/10/ti2012-06-p101-104-embedded-computation-sebagai-alat-bantu-dalam-eksplorasi-rancangan-res ponsive-architecture.pdf>. [31 agustus 2015]. 7. karen kensek and ryan hansanuwat dalam jurnalnya yang berjudul environment control systems for sustainable design: a methodology for testing, simulating and comparing kinetic facade systems 8. margarida, rita. generative design: a new stage in design process, (pdf, 2013). 9. mostafa m.s.ahmed, ali k. abel rhman, ahmed hamza h. ali, development of intellegent façade based on outdoor environment and indoor thermal comfort journal 10. mohd shahril bin ab sahak , biomimetic in architectural sustainable approach journaperaturan gubernur provinsi daerah khusus ibukota jakarta nomor 38 tahun 2012 tentang bangunan gedung hijau pasal 1 11. presenti, marco. (2014). kinetic solar skin: a responsive folding technique,(pdf, 2014) sharaidin, kamil. kinetic facades: towards design for enviromental performances, (pdf, 2014). 12. sung, doris kim, prototyping a self-ventilating building skin with smart thermobimetals, (pdf, 2011) 13. https://yearbook.enerdata.net/ retrieved 12 february 2017 10.38 am 14. peraturan gubernur provinsi daerah khusus ibukota jakarta nomor 38 tahun 2012 tentang bangunan gedung hijau pg. 247 introduction objectives and problem statements research constraints kinetic architecture and applications of bimetal thermal module research method building sheath parametric definition of thermal bimetal module conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.381 factors affecting the calculations of return on investment (roi) in public-private partnerships (ppp) projects in egypt ibrahim abdel rashid1, mohamed el-mikawi2, hossam el-din mohamed baha3 1professor, structural engineering department, faculty of engineering, ain shams university. 2assistant professor, structural engineering department, faculty of engineering, ain shams university 3graduate student, structural engineering department, faculty of engineering, ain shams university abstract public authorities and governments in many countries tended to allocate to the private sector the operations management of existing ppp projects and for financing new projects. there are a lot of benefits from following this approach for all parties. these benefits included risk mitigation, cost savings in governmental expendures, service improvement, employment opportunities, and enhancement in economic indices. this approach was called public-private partnership (ppp). this term was defined as “a cooperative venture between the public and private sectors, built on the expertise of each partner that best meets clearly defined public needs through the appropriate allocation of resources, risks and rewards” (world bank, 2016). public-private partnerships (ppp) projects become an important methodology for governments of both developed and developing countries, as a result from crucial role and their worldwide use. the ppp methodology enables public authorities and governments to allocate risks to different parties especially the private sector. according to the world bank report the private financial participation in egypt has accounted $219,229.82 million in the period from 1990 to 2000. this figure has increased to $998,667.36 million in 2015 (world bank, 2016). ppp projects are usually more difficult to implement than other traditional procurement models because of their complexity and that their nature and their long duration. previous research studies on several ppp projects showed that a number of problems exist in the project returns. additionally, these researches show that there is a need for an objective, reliable and practical return assessment model for ppp projects. this required model will help decision makers to assess the profitability of ppp projects at their early stages. to apply ppp projects in egypt successfully, one of the fundamental requirements is to perform and implement a comprehensive analysis of return on investment (roi). to do that analysis, it should include the factors affecting the roi relating the projects’ influences such as ; financial, legal, political, social . . . etc. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords egypt; economy; ppp; roi; factors; affectin; iflation; decision maker; investment pg. 332 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abdel rashid / the academic research community publication 1. introduction public private partnership (ppp) is a procurement system that has emerged as one of the most important approaches for delivering projects in the recent years. ppps are forms of joint endeavor or collaborating between public and private sectors for financing , constructing, developing and operating projects (mof, 2014). there is a need to identify and allocate all factors associated with the calculations of the roi of the ppp projects. there are many public-private partnerships past histories and project experiences to highlight factors critical to the success of future projects. however, there is no comprehensive study that measures the roi of a future ppp project. in the absence of such a study, it is extremely difficult for government agencies, industry personnel, and academics to accurately and effectively analyze ppp projects. furthermore, analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of ppp projects. 2. definition of ppp the definition of ppp projects is “ppp is a long-term contractual relationship between the public sector and the private sector for the purpose of having the private sector deliver a project or service traditionally provided by the public sector. ppp projects do not minimize the public sector’s responsibility to improve public services, only the methodology for its provision and procurement is different” (mof, 2014). the governments are responsible for providing people with the major needs (such as electricity, water sanitation etc.) the governments are also responsible for building the airports, metro stations and provide highways. it was historically assured that the public sector alone without any support, was not capable to provide such projects and services in the required manner (mof, 2014). in contrast, the private sector was involved in areas where there is economic profit such as industry, agriculture and retail operations. the private sector had proven its capabilities to manage resources more effectively than the public sector. due to that fact, the private sector helped the public sector in the reform and the upgrade of to the standards. accordingly, the private sector can afford the following four principal roles: – provide additional finance and capital – secure professional management and skills – added value to the consumer – better identification of needs and requirements – optimal uses of resources the ppp concept is not the only issue that has been argued between researchers and many other parties but also the pros and cons of ppp have undergone extensive debate too. two point of views about this debate: the first believes the positive results will not be achieved without ppp, while the second believes that would happen despite the partnership rather than because of it. the second viewpoint can be proved through the mandatory partnership which sometimes occurs through privatized projects that create new organizations, which find themselves obliged to collaborate with the original organization. (osborne, 2000) also, the debate poses many questions about ppp as an efficient method for public sector reform, such questions include: what are the suitable conditions that make ppp successful and in which areas may ppp fail. the answers to such questions lead us to establish an understanding of the suitable ways and areas of cooperation between the public and private sectors to enhance the successful factors and meanwhile time decrease the failure of ppp is more than obtain project funding or even project management. the government’s role wouldn’t be minimized with ppp existence, in contrary it would provide more creation in governmental roles, as long as the private sector is professional and qualified. thus, ppp methodologies have motivated the government authorities to be able to obtain a suitable position in managing, controlling and evaluating pg. 333 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication ppp projects with private partners by investing in its competitive advantages, such as the massive public sector projects, to fulfill its needs of financial resources and qualified human resources. the ppp process has logical stages in order to build strong structures of new forms of partnerships; this process requires hard work from governments to think in ways which could assist them in developing such partnerships. moreover, it requires the answer to many questions before thinking of any form of partnership such as: with whom may the government share, and how and which of the many partnering options available should be employed. furthermore, assessing both benefits and risks of any form of ppps. 2.1. the principal participants in ppp projects different parties are participated in ppp projects, such as; sponsors, investors, funding institutes, consultants, construction firms, and operators. the ppp contractual structure could vary from other projects to accommodate the difference and the singularity of that project. in ppp projects the funding, design, construction and operation must have a definite time called concession period, which should be acceptable to meet the expected return on investment (roi) to investors. subsequently, ownership of that project returns back to the government or any other public authority without any charges or fees (eghbal shakeri, 2002). the stakeholders that may be a part in the ppp project are the government or public authority, contractors, lenders, sponsor, supplier, investors, grantor, and finally the off-taker. figure 1. typical structure of ppp project (neil cuthbert, 2016) 2.1.1. the public sector the most important player in ppp projects is government or public authority because it requires a particular and special attention in coordination and cooperation with all parties involved to achieve the required service. the government proceeds with the project authorization and secure legislations needed. consequently, arrange a concession agreement with the private sector. the requirements and expectations of both parties the government as well as will the private sector need to be addressed to reach the winwin situation. therefore, ppp projects concept requires an absolute support, because of such projects are large and complex in its nature and need a lot of considerations regarding legal, regulations, and financial aspects especially in developing countries. pg. 334 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication many of investors are mostly hesitant on taking a decision regarding ppp projects unless they obtain the necessary guarantees related to land acquisition, stability in inflation, exchange rates, taxes . . . etc. all of these concerns are applied through the project life cycle. 2.1.2. the sponsor the second important stakeholder in ppp projects is the project developer or project association which certainly consisting of professional organizations in all aspects ; legal, funding, design, construction, operation , insurance and maintenance. all of these associations will be in multiple forms of consortiums or by separately and individual participation. the sponsor who will responsible to handed over the project to the public authority or government. 2.1.3. the supplier the supplier is the company which of supplies all equipment or materials needed for the project. 2.1.4. the investor the investor may exist as a financial institute, construction corporation, vendor, operator or other types of shareholders. the role of the investor is to secure funds for the project. depend on the type of investors, funding channels would be determined if it is direct investment by individual shareholders or provide equities from financing entities. the investor carry a high risk for a long duration projects, therefore must insured the equity lent by an insurance company to secure investment. 2.1.5. the off-taker according to the need of the required service or the project, the off-taker definition party varies from country to another .if the government or public authority responsible and guarantees to pay the fees to the developer; it is believed that this authority is an off-taker. hence, the public authority should have a good credit rating and tariff because they are responsible for the revenues risks of the project. therefore, off-taker agreement must be negotiated properly, well addressed all unforeseen factors and all financial issues that might impact the project. if the private sector or developer intends to secure initial investment from income payments or tariff, that might expose the project to big jeopardy. 2.1.6. the contractor the contractor’s role in ppp project is to execute and implement the project effectively to meet the required degree of quality. the contractor responsibilities start from initial stages of the project. the contractor company might be an individual construction company or a consortium that includes multiple disciplines; design, structural, mep..etc. in most cases, the contractor might be one of the shareholders in project company. 2.1.7. the operator the operator is a professional entity that specialized in providing operation and maintenance to the project. generally the operator earns its revenues according to the off-take agreement as mentioned above. the operator starts its role and involvement from design to handle over the project back to the public authority. the role of the operator is very important and crucial in ppp projects, the project’s success rely on operator‘s performance throughout the project life cycle. pg. 335 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication 2.1.8. the lenders generally, the lender is an either an agency or financial institute that provide the project funds. according to the debt/equity ratio, the lender contributes in the project. minimum equity is the high risk for the lender and investor itself. all ppp projects must have a strong lender to secure the funds needed to the project especially in early stages without any revenues or incomes from credit rating or tariff. 2.1.9. equity provider the equity provider is a funding approach, by which, ppp projects are partially funded in a small percentage 1030% by injecting capital in the project initiation, and the remaining percentage funded by lenders. the equity provider is a private shareholder, operator, contractor, supplier or financial entity that invest in the project and gain profit when project meets its purpose from investment perspective (osborne, 2000). 2.2. ppp in egypt in egypt, a legal framework for ppp projects has been issued called the ppp law (67 for the year 2010). therefore, a new body has been established at the ministry of finance called the ppp central unit. for establishment of standard ppp contracts, standardized procedures as well as verify the procurement documents. it is expected that egypt will assign around 5.5 to 7& of its yearly gdp to finance infrastructure projects’ needs which include new investments for new projects in addition to maintenance of existing projects. the main objective is to across the gap by accelerating the mobilization of the private capital. since 2004, egypt has performed structural reform which necessitates the government to implement infrastructure reform (mof, 2014). in ppp projects and to secure the delivery of the specified level and standard of services, the government retains close control over. in turn, ppps will open up opportunities for the domestic contracting and financing sectors and that are including smaller contractors who are expected to gain considerably profits from this program. 2.2.1. overview in recent years egypt has raised the spending on major projects such as; natural gas distribution, building new homes, water treatment plants and sanitation, maritime ports and airports. there are regulated frameworks that allow ppp projects to take its place in egypt. these regulations are in accordance with the best practice regulations worldwide. bidding and awarding procedures must be in a transparent approach concept. it is mandatory to perform a cost–benefit analysis using a public-sector party called comparator. the 2010 ppp law prohibits the confiscation of project assets by public authorities or the government. in 2012, egypt amended the rules relating to ppp projects to give the option of arbitration procedures instead of using the egyptian courts, which takes place under the un commission on international trade law (unctral) (economist, 2015). the public private partnership central unit (pppcu) is the unit responsible for ppp projects in egypt and one of the ministry of finance subordinates. the pppcu was established in 2006 and based on international practices and models. its role basically is to mandate and manage the full life cycle of ppp projects such as; risk assessment, tendering and procurement process, bid selection, sign contract, project initiation and financial closure. therefore, the pppcu include diverse expertise that provide the needed studies; technical, legal, tendering and contracting. these expertise relevant to line ministers of finance, housing and utilities, economic development, transportation, investment, legal affairs and chaired by the prime minister. due to the tendency of line ministries to conduct the ppp methodology unilaterally, the pppcu has to improve relationships with the different ministries by consolidate efforts to be clear and unified in procedures , training the ministries’ staff and develop them to enhance their capability to manage these types of contracts. by which, eliminating all types of contradictions or unilateralism. pg. 336 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication 2.3. first successful public-private partnership (ppp) project in egypt one of the successful ppp projects is the urban wastewater treatment plant with an average daily flow of up to 250,000 m3 per day. capacity to serve more than 1 million residents, the expected population increase of new cairo at the time the project was designed. a drinking water shortage was identified as a pressing issue in egypt’s environmental sustainability, particularly in very densely populated areas. the existing wastewater treatment infrastructure did not produce water with adequate levels of quality to enable the water to be used to irrigate agricultural and urban green areas, forcing freshwater to be used instead. the government decided to build new infrastructure to reuse urban wastewater for the purposes mentioned, thereby reducing freshwater use. in addition, the project would reduce the water pollutants entering the river nile. awards received by the project: – water deal of the year, awarded by global water intelligence in 2010 – ppp african deal of the year, by euro money/project finance magazine in 2010 – bronze award—middle east and north africa, by emerging partnerships in 2013 location: city of new cairo, egypt (jordi salvador, 2016). 2.4. factors to be considered to ensure success of ppp projects ppp projects have variety of high risks elements that should be addressed, because long duration of the project as well as the capital costs are very high. therefore, when assessing projects, it is necessary to identify and analyze, the different factors affecting its success. ppp projects guidelines in egypt that published by the ppp central unit pppcu, “risk allocation is at the heart of how ppps are structured.” the factors affecting the success of the ppp projects and roi prior to that success are: project finance, design, construction, and operation. 2.4.1. finance – secure funds – infaltion rates – interest rate and tax increases – price escalation in project components – exchange rates 2.4.2. design and development – suitability of the design – development problems – problem testing – variants of design and development – design delivery pg. 337 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication 2.4.3. construction – cost overrun – construction delay and delivery schedule – defective construction – scope change – site accessibility – construction variations and claims – disputes and arbitration 2.4.4. operation – operation productivity – revenue loss – system breakdown – maintenance frequency – prices escalation – comples or non innovation technology – accidents and safety issues 3. return on investment (roi) a performance measure and metric used to evaluate the worthiness of an investment or project comparing with a number of different projects or investments. return on investment (roi) measures the revenues and the outcome of an investment relative to the investment’s cost. the return of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment, and the result is a percentage or a ratio (marty schmidt, 2017). the return on investment formula: roi = (revenues − cost)/cost (1) return on investment is a common evaluation metric because of its simplicity. return on investment (roi) can be used as a primary assessment of an investment’s gains and profitability. if an investor does have a profit and that means positive (roi), then these roi values can direct him as to which investments are preferable among others. (marty schmidt, 2017) return on investment (roi) is an assessment metric among others for speculate and evaluate the financial outcomes and revenues of investments. investors use the return on investment (roi) to compare the magnitude of expected gains with the magnitude of costs, the roi ratio calculates as net investment gains divided by total investment costs. therefore, when comparing two or more projects, and the risks or any other unforeseen circumstances are equal, the project with the higher (roi) is considered the better choice (bailey, 2014). pg. 338 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication 3.1. return on investment (roi) needed information the return on investment (roi) as an evaluating tool or metric is not sufficient basis for selecting an opportunity or project over another. the reason is (roi) compares costs to revenues but says nothing about unforeseen, uncertainty or any other factors that might affect the results such as (design changes, inflation, interest rate, construction delay, etc.). the investors and decision makers must take into account the different (roi) outcomes. therefore, all the factors mentioned above must be considered in calculating return on investment (roi) to obtain an efficient and realistic result or indicators before taking any decision regarding either a new opportunity or comparing two projects. 4. ppp projects and return on investment (roi) in devolping countries , that would be considered not stable and high risk from political perspective, and according to the nature of ppp projects , investors need a practical evaluation metric to assess their revenues against costs . the project with long period is a high risk project . investors with this concept, works on quicker returns based on a shorter period to gain fast profits and could be re-invested and generate more returns and profits than expected from one project with long period. some other investors are risk takers with the concept of ; the higher the risk , the higher the profit . therefore , ppp projects with its long duration and risks , investors and deciosion makers are normally use the return on investment (roi) as a long duration evaluation metrics 4.1. project funding funding ppp projects is a crucial factor that projects’ successes rely on, external funding is needed and required for project’s initiation and that may be either injected from private sector or public sector. the remaining required investments for ppp projects are mostly recover in future from expected revenues. according to the concept of special purpose vehicle (spv), a project company may be established by the investor and may be as a form of consortium that conclude different specialized companies or a single large company. the shareholders will not funding all project requirements, they will secure a proportion as equity and required funds from financial entities that secure the capital required instead. to provide the required funding, investors or financial institutes must study the attractive factors of the ppp projects such as; the well-designed and shorter payback period, the suitable tolls or tariffs which secure the future cash inflow, the transparent regulations to reduce and mitigate market risks (eghbal shakeri, 2002). 4.2. tariff design some of the considerations are needed to design tariffs: – return on investment for private operator – the standards of the services and its costs – end user affordability – cost recovery needed the most commonly used metrics by the investor to evaluate the financial worthiness is the return on investment (roi), and the internal rate of return (irr) is the metrics used by the operator to evaluate the potential revenues of the project against its own cost of equity. the combination of service costs and tariffs determine the commercial feasibility of the project .the operator has the chance to improve the potential financial outcome by being particularly efficient in investment and operations. therefore, the operator will only get involved in a project if there as a chance to make a profit given a determined set of service standards and tariffs (marty schmidt, 2017). pg. 339 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication 5. questionnaires the researcher has quantified all these tangible factors using questionnaire. the aim of this questionnaire is to quantify the factors that affect the roi calculation of the ppp projects. in this questionnaire experts are asked to weigh each one based on its importance and possibility of happening during the life cycle of the ppp project in egypt. 5.1. sample size cochran (1963:75) developed the equation (2) to yield a representative sample for proportions for large populations n0 = z2 pq / e2 (2) n0 = the sample size, z2 = the abscissa of the normal curve that cuts off an area at the tails figure 2 figure 2. cochran sample size illustration e = the desired level of precision. p = 0.5 (maximum variability). the estimated proportion of an attribute that is present in the population. q = 1-p. z = 1 for more than 3000 population; founded in statistical tables and equivalent to the area under the normal curve for 95% confidence level and ±5% precision. the sample size (n0) can be adjusted using equation: n = n0 / [1+ (n0 −1) /n] (3) n = the sample size n = the population size (cochran, 1963:75). 5.2. data collection according to the egyptian federation for construction & building contractors in egypt in 2016, the approximately number of contractors in egypt is 31000 contractors and due to the egyptian syndicate of engineers civil and architectural consultants are approximately 1000 consultants. by interviews and sent questionnaire to many of investors, project management experts, consultants and operators, and according to the following criteria: – the whole population = 32000 – confidence level = 95% – margin of error = 10% pg. 340 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication the size of the sample is determined by using the equations above and the results obtained that it has to be 96 participants. the questionnaire was actually sent to a sample of 200 variety stakeholders in egypt. a total 102 of owners, consultants, project management firms and contractors replied to the questionnaire sent. 5.3. risk rating matrix risk matrix is made of simple table where the risks are grouped based on their likelihood and the extent of damages or the kind of consequences that the risks can result in as shown in figure 3. the risk matrix is a tool to illustrate and evaluate the project’s risks based on the likelihood and its effect. different consequences regarding different factors resulting from using such matrix (dumbravă, 2013). figure 3. risk matrix an example of risk matrix with ranking and probability effect shown in table 1. the high rates indicate a great level of effect. questionnaire survey designed , based on the factors that affecting the calculations of the return on investment (roi) in ppp projects in egypt as shown in table 2. the purpose of the questionnaire is to provide a consistent scale to rate the expected effect for each factor. table 1. risk effect scale rate probability effect very high probable to exist if exists, cause a major cost overrun, schedule delay high will probably occur in most instances if exists, cause substantial cost increasing, schedule delay and major reduction in performance medium might occur it occur , cause noticeable budgeted cost increasing but may be manageable within contingency, slippage to delivery dates, noticeable degradation in performance low in some circumstances might occur cause slight increase in budgeted , minor slippage in delivery dates ,minor reduction in performance but manageable continued on next page pg. 341 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication table 1 continued very low no probability to occur cause no effect on budget , no impact on project millstones , neglected reduction in performance and if happened it would be manageable table 2. factors and explanation no. factor explanation 1 land availability the factors related to consequences that emerge from delay in land acquisition 2 changes in scope the factors related to the change that might be required in the original agreed upon scope with the impact in cost and time 3 changes in design the factors related to the changes of the original design or defectives in the that design which need corrective actions regarding these defectives 4 cost overrun uunexpected extra costs during project life cycle. 5 delay in construction delays in implementing or executing the project due to any circumstances 6 defective construction exists if to facility , system or the equipment cannot meet the construction specification and standards 7 weak operating productivity the productivity of operating system is cannot meet the expected output specifications 8 complex systems related to the incompatible systems or interface with other systems that might not perform as an integrated system 9 accidents issues the unexpected accidents or hazards which occurs in frequent basis and cause unacceptable outputs 10 price escalation changes in the cost or price of specific goods or services in a given economy over a period 11 weak coordination if one party or more in the project cannot perform in coordination and cooperation manner , resulting a great negative impact on the project 12 tax increases increasing in taxes fees that not considered before 13 inflation rate sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time 14 volatility of exchange rate the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. it is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in relation to another currency 15 higher level of interest rate the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited or borrowed 16 drawback economic the probability of losing demand due to any downside or drawback of the economy resulting revenues below expected 17 political issues the political factor is a major factor if exists or occur, especially in an instability ,situation it would reflect negative impacts on other factors continued on next page pg. 342 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication table 2 continued 18 unsuitable regularities the actual regulation cannot meet the investments’ expectations which resulting a large cost and time negative impact on the project 19 delays in approvals delays in necessary approval or legalization either in initiation stage or testing and commissioning of the project 6. results the factors sent to questionnaire participants must have a sum of “1” in their weight to comply with the traditional equation as shown in table 3. it is clear that results obtained of the questionnaire have an influential degree and tangible percentage that might change the (roi) calculated by that equation. table 3. weight of factors the economic factors such as inflation rate, cost overrun and interest rate are extremely influential for the ppp projects due to the long duration of the project which were not considered before in the previous studies. there is no doubt that the political factor has a major effect especially in egypt. administrative factors such as poor coordination with the administrative and governmental agencies and approval delays have a high rate weight that influence the (roi) as shown in figure 4. pg. 343 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication figure 4. weights histogram 7. conclusions as explained earlier, ppp projects have a special nature in terms of study, implementation, and operation. duo to the long life duration of the project, which may extended more than 20 years, this particular nature requires consideration of all factors that may affect the process of calculating the return on investment (roi). these factors, if present at different rates, whether high or low, will certainly affect the decision-maker negatively or positively and thus give results quite different from the traditional equation. therefore, we have done a questionnaire to measure the effect of these factors on the return on investment in egypt. these factors were found to have a very high impact when they occur, and they will certainly occur with great probability. therefore, the results and figures derived from this equation: roi = (revenues − cost) /cost (4) need to take into account the factors discussed previously. according to the results obtained from the questionnaire, we notice that all the factors mentioned are realistic factors, but different in terms of the phase of the project, whether the project at the phase of design, implementation or operation. these factors may also vary according to the other circumstances or influences such as; financial, technical, political, etc. however, in all cases, these factors should be considered as an effective influence to the decision maker. the results of this questionnaire may differ from one industry to another and from one country to another, but it is very impressive and very high. 8. references 1. the world bank ppi database,http://www4.worldbank.org/sprojects. world bank; 2016 2. ministry of finance, public private partnership central unit. national program for public private partnership; 2014 3. https:// www.business-case-analysis.com/return-on-investment.html.boston: marty schmidt; 2017 4. stephen osborne, publicprivate partnership. london: rutledge; 2000 5. broadbent, j. & laughlin. introduction about ppps. accounting, auditing & accountability journal; 2003 6. eghbal shaker. publicprivate partnership (ppp) approach. manchester, united kingdom; 2002 7. neil cuthbert, atif choudhary. the emergence of public-private partnerships (ppps) in the middle east and africa. middle east and africa ppp guide. february; 2016 pg. 344 abdel rashid / the academic research community publication 8. the economist.intelligence unit. evaluating the environment for public–private partnerships in africa. the infrasco; 2015 9. reginald u. bailey. a risk analysis tool for evaluating roi of tra for major defense acquisition programs . proquest llc; 2014 10. vasile dumbravă. impact matrix in analysis and risk assessment projects. journal of knowledge management, economics and information technology, romania; 2013 11. jordi salvador, francesc trillas, joan enric ricart & miquel rodrı́guez planas . new cairo wastewater treatment plant (egypt).iese; 2016 pg. 345 introduction definition of ppp the principal participants in ppp projects the public sector the sponsor the supplier the investor the off-taker the contractor the operator the lenders equity provider ppp in egypt overview first successful public-private partnership (ppp) project in egypt factors to be considered to ensure success of ppp projects finance design and development construction operation return on investment (roi) return on investment (roi) needed information ppp projects and return on investment (roi) project funding tariff design questionnaires sample size data collection risk rating matrix results conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.384 sustainability of construction aggregates in kuwait sharifa al-fadala1 1kuwait institute for scientific research abstract kuwait is facing a current construction boom with projects worth of more than usd188bn. the huge infrastructure spending plan of kuwait is reflected with a growing demand of concrete as concrete is the most commonly used building material in the local construction. at the present, the quarrying of coarse aggregate which is a main concrete constituent material is banned in kuwait since 1997 and construction industry depends on the imported coarse aggregates from neighbouring sources such as united arab emirates and iran. kuwait is also interested in challenging the growing concern of an effective environmental management of water, land and atmosphere to achieve a sustainable civilization. the increasingly environmental pressures coupled with the limited available economical resources are causing the decision making authorities to consider the practice of recycling and waste utilization. this paper presents kuwait institute for scientific research (kisr) efforts to investigate sustainable sources of coarse aggregate for construction industry from waste. the first sustainable source investigated is the production of synthetic lightweight aggregates utilizing combinations of argillaceous indigenous and waste materials, and the second is recycled aggregates from construction and demolition wastes. the potential of the two sustainable sources of construction aggregates are presented and the needed steps for real industrial application are addressed. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords coarse; recycle; waste; synthetic; demolition. 1. introduction the construction industry within the arabian gulf states is continuously blooming. according to bnc project intelligence database, the gulf cooperation countries (gcc) are undergoing approximately 18,885 construction projects with an estimated total cost value of usd 2.3 trillion. the estimated value of construction projects in kuwait makes up around 10% of all construction project values in the gcc (kuwait construction market report, 20161). table 1 detailed the construction industry within the arabian gulf states. table 1. details of current construction projects in the gcc country number of projects total cost ( million usd $) united arab emirates 9125 836 saudi arabia 3424 722 continued on next page pg. 357 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ al-fadala / the academic research community publication table 1 continued qatar 2514 238 oman 2237 183 bahrain 876 93 kuwait 709 230 total 18885 2302 source: bnc project intelligence database the growth of kuwait construction market is reflected with the increased demand of building materials and products. concrete is the most commonly used building material in the local and regional construction. in 2015, the demand for concrete was estimated to reach $49bn across the gcc according to an industry forecast and this will keep escalating according to the construction boom within the gcc countries (construction week online, 2013) kuwait is a dessert country and is facing the challenge of the limited availability of resources and a distinct shortage of raw materials. at the present, coarse aggregate quarrying is banned in kuwait since 1997 (beatona magazine, epa) and construction industry depends on the imported coarse aggregates from neighbouring sources such as united arab emirates and iran. the total amount of aggregate that moves within the arabian gulf is 50 million tons per annum valued at approximately us$ 2.8 billion. the recent developments in the gulf and the related construction projects are reflected on the requirement of aggregates, which is showing a steep increase with bahrain, kuwait and iraq demands requiring an additional 50 million tons a year. (navjot-singh, 2015). kuwait is also interested in challenging the growing concern of an effective environmental management of water, land and atmosphere to achieve a sustainable civilization. the increasingly environmental pressures coupled with the limited available economical resources are causing the decision-making authorities to consider the practice of recycling and waste utilization. the need for sustainable construction is becoming a priority within the asphalt and concrete applications. this trend is necessitated by the high diminishing rate of construction materials, pressing demand on existing landfill sites, rising dumping fees, and reduced emissions into the environment. kisr is an independent national institute of scientific excellence. set up in 1967 with the mission to develop, deploy, and exploit the best science, technology, knowledge, and innovation for the benefit of kuwait. sustainability of building materials is addressed through construction and building material research program under the energy and building research center. this paper presents kisr efforts to investigate sustainable sources of coarse aggregate for construction industry from waste. the first sustainable source investigated is the production of synthetic lightweight aggregates utilizing combinations of argillaceous indigenous and waste materials, and the second is recycled aggregates from construction and demolition wastes. the potential of the two sustainable sources of construction aggregates are presented and the needed steps for real industrial application are addressed. 2. the production of synthetic lightweight aggregates utilizing combinations of argillaceous indigenous and waste materials lightweight aggregates (lwa) are defined by astm c125 (2016) as aggregates having bulk density less than 1120 kg/m3 and this includes pumice, scoria, volcanic cinders, tuff, and diatomite; expanded or sintered clay, or slag; and end products of coal or coke combustion. lwa are used in wide applications of concrete products including insulating screeds to reinforced and prestressed concrete. the most common use of lwa is in the manufacture of precast concrete masonry units. the production of synthetic aggregate from clay is based on rileys study which instructed heating raw material with a proper ratio of fluxing oxides (cao, mgo, feo, fe2o3, na2o and k2o) to silica (sio2) and alumina (al2o3), to sufficiently high temperature to melt to a viscous, pyroplastic mass. the entrapped gases in the viscous mass cause the expansion (bloating) of the mass and subsequently a porous structure with low density is obtained on cooling (riley,1951). kuwait institute for scientific research started investigation of lwa by a preliminary study conducted in 1981(parks, 1981). lab production of lwa using marine siltey clay from sulaibikhat bay indicated that lwa aggregates with a bulk density of 700 800 kg/m3 can be produced by pg. 358 al-fadala / the academic research community publication firing to 1100 oc – 1150 oc. that was a major study, which proven uneconomical at that time. further studies were conducted to characterize the clayey material from bahra (north-east of kuwait) by al-bahar s. and v.t.l. bogahawatta, (2000, 2008). the study developed a promising composition amenable for bloating by incorporating additives such as sawdust and waste oil. in 2012 , the production of synthetic lightweight aggregates (lwa) was investigated by al-bahar s. and etc to explore the suitable indigenous raw materials for the production of lwa, and to ensure that their quality and properties are suitable for use as building in kuwait (al-bahar s and etc,2012). the study also included investigation of sand wash which is a by-product material of sand quarrying in kuwait as another raw material and as a subject of an environmental issue. the following, detailed the raw materials used, the firing, bloatability assesment and the engineering assesment of the produced sythenic light weight aggregates (lwa). 2.1. raw materials preparation and assesment different locally available raw and waste materials were used in the study; details are presented in table 2. raw materials in combination with other additives were used to formulate mixtures into pellets for a set of physical minorological, and chemical tests to investigate the bloating behaviors. plasticity index according to astm d 4318 were checked to determine the clay content and plasticity of the mixture to shape uniform strands. aggregate wash, red clay, and mixture of them have high degree of plasticity which indicates their silt clayey material nature, and suitability of pelletizing. in addition, chemical analysis of representative samples of raw materials and subsequent raw mixtures is carried out by the x-ray fluorescence (xrf) method and results are presented in table 3. the resulting calculated major and fluxing oxides (sio2, al2o3 and cao, fe2o3, mgo, na2o, k2o respectively) were plotted on riley’s diagram as illustarted in figure 1, to locate their position with respect to the tertiary area of successful bloating. this implies the ability of fired materials to change phase into a mass viscous enough to ensure good bloatability. accordingly aw, rc, gc, and 50aw/50rc, all fell in the tertiary area of successful bloating. the minolorlogical testing of rc, gc, and aw showed the presence of fairly good amounts of bloatable clay minerals like, muscovite, albite, and kaolinite. results of xrf and xrd analyze have shown the similarities between the chemical and the mineralogical compositions of the rc and aw. table 2. raw materials investigated for the production of lwa. raw material source red clay natural clay dug and collected from bahra area grey clay natural clay dug and collected from bahra area normal sand normal sand collected from local quarries located in sulaibiah area in kuwait aggregate wash very fine natural material resulting from the washing process of sand. this slurry is basically a mixture of clay and friable materials. fly ash an imported pozzolanic material with mineral composition similar to portland cement. it is a by-product of the coal industry. sewage sludge an industrial waste material resulting from sewage treatment plant located in alregga area oil based mud cutting cuttings an industrial waste material resulting from the oil well drilling operations and collected from kuwait oil company gatch a consolidated material which is a mixture of calcium carbonate and calcium sulphates. it is quarried in several locations in kuwait. lime powder indigenous raw materials quarried from ahmadi and mina abdullah area dolomite indigenous raw materials quarried from ahmadi and mina abdullah area pg. 359 al-fadala / the academic research community publication table 3. xrf analysis of raw materials and raw materials mixtures sample designation sio2 al2o3 cao na2o mgo fe2o3 k2o tio2 p2o5 mno aw 63.1 18.20 3.42 1.09 3.85 3.83 1.52 0.26 0.05 0.03 rc 59.2 20.80 0.50 3.94 5.43 6.895 2.91 0.54 0.28 0.12 gc 65.3 18.70 1.20 2.07 3.30 5.05 2.98 0.47 0.27 0.04 50%aw-50%rc 60.4 20.00 1.69 2.07 4.94 5.75 2.10 0.42 0.21 0.08 ss 8.93 4.34 0.00 1.39 3.68 n-d 0.00 0.00 2.15 0.00 figure 1. raw materials and mixtures positioning in riley’s composition diagram of major oxides furthermore, by the use of the “heating electron microscope”, hem, technique, the bloating of raw materials and mixtures were examined. the hem is simulating the kiln heating environment with heating temperature ranging from 25 to 1600oc. the melting of materials was monitored by a camera, which captures different images of melting of raw materials at different temperatures to its computer. the computer software analyzed the images and identified the different temperature peaks related to the sample. hem can identify different temperatures as explained in table 4. the precise identification of the indicated temperatures will detect the start and end of gas liberation period. hem results showed that rc and the aw samples, have both exhibited maximum bloating at 1260oc. figure 2 illustrates the picture analysis of hem of aggregate wash. table 4. temperature peaks identified by hem temperature peak definition sintering temperature the temperature at which the specimen starts to shrink deformation temperature the temperature at which the specimen starts to soften as indication of the start of gas liberation sphere temperature the temperature at which gas liberation is maximum hemisphere temperature the temperature at which the specimen attains the hemisphere shape as indication of the end of gas liberation flow point temperature the temperature when sign of the mass collapse occur and gas escaping from the melted structure starts. pg. 360 al-fadala / the academic research community publication figure 2. heating microscope melting graphs of the wash.aggregate 2.2. firing and bloatability assessment actual firing trials were conducted on 800 prepared green pellets in a laboratory muffle furnace setting. the bloatability assessment was conducted based on the quality of the finished product. the quality of the finished product was assessed in terms of its bloating ratio, surface texture, specific gravity, and bulk density. the surface texture of the fired specimens was evaluated mainly on the basis of the presence of glass melts on the specimen surface. the presence of excessive glass on the surface is undesirable in industrial production as it causes ring formation within the rotary kiln at high temperatures. the firing assessment indicated that desert clay and clay from natural sources aw are promising raw materials for synthetic aggregate preparation. the effect is more prominent in clay samples containing oil and sewage sludge as bloating additives. nevertheless, due to the difficulty in accessing the clay reserves in the desert, relying on these clays alone would be impractical. therefore, aw waste materials were found to be most suitable, and reliable for production of synthetic aggregate, in different combinations with the natural clays and other additives, such as lube oil and sewage sludge. bloatability and texture assessment of aw is presented in table 5. pg. 361 al-fadala / the academic research community publication table 5. texture and bloatability assessment of fired pellets 2.3. pilot plant production of synthetic aggregate and engineering assessment of lwa for pilot plant production of lwa, green pellets were produced f every selected mixture combination, as optimized in the previous stage. raw materials were stockpiled, dried, crushed, and powdered. then powdered materials were liquefied, screened, press filtered reducing the moisture, extruded into strands, and then pelletized into green pellets. the green pellets then dried and conditioned. two rotary kilns were used for firing the clay pellets, the laboratory rotary kiln and the pilot rotary kiln. firing in both kilns was performed using natural lpg gas cylinders to simulate industrial production environment. firing process was done in two stages, the first, was the calcination stage where the green pellets to be fired at 650 oc for duration of 3 to 6 minutes. the second, was the bloating stage where the calcined pellets to be subjected to a temperature of about 1200 oc for 10 to 20 minutes. so as materials pass through a kiln, the heating stages may be designated in approximate order of temperature rise from mechanical moisture or drying period, to hygroscopic or colloidal water dehydration period, then to chemical or molecular water dehydration period, to oxidation period, to dissociation-reduction period, to vitrification period, which means first glass and melting formation period, then followed by what is called pyroplastic condition, a period of bloating for clays, while all the gases present in the material are completely liberated, sealed and entrapped within the bloated pellet. 10 pilot plant firing trials were attempted with high degree of success after adjusting heat conditions, modification to gas supply set up and fine tuning with better regulation to calcination temperature and holding time and the bloating temperature. kisr pilot plant were able to produce and approve five batches of lwa using 5 different combinations of raw materials and firing trials. the produced lwa was characterized according to astm test methods which include the identification of bulk density, voids, relative density (specific gravity), absorption and percentage of clay lumps and friable particles. the study also evaluated concrete specimens containing lwa intended for use as concrete masonry units. the evaluation included the test for popouts materials and shrinkage of concrete test. the evaluation tests were done according to standard specification for lightweight aggregates for concrete masonry units (astm c331-05). the test pg. 362 al-fadala / the academic research community publication result showed that the lwa samples produced in kisr satisfied the limit of “percentage of clay lumps and friable particles” specidied to be lower than 2%, all lwa samples meet the maximum dry loose bulk density of 880 kg/m3 , lwa samples showed absorption values ranging between 15.1 to 21.8 %. the visual inspection of all tested concrete samples containing lwa showed no sign of popout materials, and none of the samples showed any drying shrinkage that exceed 0.10% . as well, no measurable difference is noticed among the thermal conductivity values of the concrete samples produced using the five types of kisr-lwa (ranging between 0.45 w/m.k to 0.69 w/m.k). the thermal conductivity of kisr-lwa concrete is highly comparable to other conventional insulation materials for building walls and roofs, such as the hollow concrete blocks, concrete blocks, hollow clay tiles, and cement plaster , which makes it an economic competitive alternative insulation material. 3. recycled aggregates from construction and demolition wastes the total c&d waste production in kuwait is around 1.6 million ton/year and there are four main c&d waste dumpsites in kuwait with a total area of about 33 km2 (kartam. n., et al.; 2004). in 2001, the first concrete recycling project was established by the environment protection industrial company (epic). according to epic’s marketing specialist, the construction waste recycling plant set up in 2001 was the first of its kind in the entire middle east region and he plant receives anywhere between 7 to 20 thousand tons on a daily basis(clean middle east magazine). at present, al-dhow for environmental projects, a kuwaiti closed shareholding company established on 2006, manages two construction waste recycling plants by the environment preservation industrial company (epic) and arab international industrial projects company(aiip). the kuwait municipality along with the dumping sites rehabilitation committee coordinates with the recycling plants to facilitate the transfer of construction and demolition waste to the sorting and recycling plants. the waste is reduced in size and fed to the crushing plant. the finished end product that is recycled aggregate gravel is categorized into different sizes, ranging from 5 to 50 mm. no further treatment is applied and the plants do not provide any known information about the parent concrete. 3.1. quality of local recycled aggregates in 2015, kuwait institute for scientific research conducted a study to examine the major properties of recycled aggregates (al-fadala. s; etc. 2015). the study was performed on samples collected from two local construction waste recycling plants and samples size collected were 3/4 in, and 1 2 in, and 3/8 in in size. the characterization was performed according to astm standard methods as detailed in table 6. table 6. characterization program of recycled aggregates test standard test method used material finer than 75 �m astm c117-2013 clay lumps and friable materials astm c142-2010 los angeles abrasion astm c131-2006 soundness astm c88-2013 density and absorption astm c127-2012 unit weight astm c29-2009 the results reported in table 7 showed the inferior quality of ra as highlited with the high absorption values, exceeding 3% which is the maximum absorption limits specified for natural coarse aggregates in gso 1809 (2007). this may be attributed to the residue of attached mortar adhering to the original aggregate. these relatively high values of absorption demanded special care during the preparation of the new concrete since this will affect the workability and other properties of the new concrete mix. in addition, the abrasion loss values ranged between 35 to 44 which is lower than the maximum allowable l.a abrasion loss required in both the local specification for concrete applications gso 1809 (2007) and astm c33 (2013) for all classes of aggregates and all types of pg. 363 al-fadala / the academic research community publication weathering regions. another study of recycled aggregates by (alfadala, s. et al-; 2016) reported the presence of different contamination such as masonry, bituminous materials and glass. the classification performed according to the european standard test method en 933-11 (2009) on recycled batches showed variable compositions between batches and between sizes. unbound aggregate, natural stone, and hydraulically bound aggregate followed by concrete, and concrete products shared the dominant percentages. this study proposed setting up a well-established demolition protocol for the best recovery of demolition waste materials for beneficial reuse and recycling. an example of the variation in the constituents of coarse recycled aggregate is reported in fig. 3. table 7. properties of local recycled aggregates average test result aggregate source 1 2 bulk density (kg/m3) 1335 1357 specific gravity (oven dry) 2.3 2.3 water absorption (%) 6.2 5.2 l.a abrasion loss , % grading b (19 mm to 9.5 mm) 35 37 grading c (9.5mm to 4.75 mm) 44 41 the percentage of clay lumps and friable particles grading b (19.0 9.5) 0.5 0.4 grading c (9.5 4.75) 0.6 0.6 the amount of material finer than 75 microns, % 3 4 in .02 .01 1 2 in .07 .06 3/8 in .06 .07 figure 3. the proportions of constituent materials ofrecycled aggregates. pg. 364 al-fadala / the academic research community publication 3.2. research studies on recycled aggregate from construction and demolition wastes in kuwait several studies were conducted in kuwait to study the potential of recycled aggregates and recycled concrete aggregates (rca) in concrete industry. kuwait institute for scientific research conducted a research study on the use of ra in new concrete and the utilization of grind recycled concrete and masonry in the production of autoclaved lime-silica bricks. the study highlighted the inferior quality of ra compared to new aggregates and the additional use of superplastizer to achieve the same slump. results also reported a reduction in compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength. the study also showed that ground ra may be used in the production of lime-silica bricks and the resulting bricks were found to exceed the specification requirements, illustrating the potential of the proposed procedure in brick production. (el-hawary, m.; etc., 2008). kuwait university researched rca application in concrete by a study of the flexural strength of concrete mixes in which rca was used in beams and slabs. beams made with 100%, 50% and 0% rca as coarse aggregates were tested for flexural strength. results were within the acceptable range when compared with aci code requirements. the permeability tests were conducted on slabs made with 100%, 50% and 0% rca and results showed that the permeability of the concrete was not affected significantly by the introduction of the recycled aggregates. (almutairi, n. and alkhaleefi,2007 ). another study was performed to study some of the mechanical properties of concrete using rca as compared to those of the conventional natural aggregate concrete. the reported results show that the 28-day cube and cylinder compressive strength, and the indirect shear strength of recycled aggregate concrete were on the average 90% of those of natural aggregate concrete with the same mix proportions that of the target strength.(rahal,2005). 3.3. local specifications of recycled aggregate from construction and demolition wastes the first gulf specifications of recycled aggregates from construction waste to be used in construction works is issued in 2015 (gso 2489, 2015). the specification gso 2489 identifies different classes of construction wastes as detailed in table 8. table 8. construction waste classification according to gulf specifications class definition construction waste waste generated from excavation and/or demolition of concrete structures concrete construction waste waste generated from demolition of concrete structures in general. solid concrete construction waste waste generated from demolition of concrete structures including columns, foundations, and mass concrete blocks. excavation waste waste generated from excavation natural earth in construction sites. mixed construction waste waste generated from excavation and demolition of concrete structures mixed recycled aggregates mixture of coarse and fine recycled aggregates the specifications govern the use of recycled aggregates and the percentage of replacement according to class of waste being recycled. gso 2489 limits the use of recycled aggregate for the production of structural concrete having a maximum strength of 30 mpa and for non-structural concrete having a maximum strength of 40 mpa. the specifications governs the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of recycled aggregates with-out any differentiation according to the class of waste. the standard specification considers the use of recycled aggregate as coarse and fine aggregates. the comparison of absorption, l.a abrsison and soundness limits specified for recycled aggregates to be use as coarse aggregate in structural and non-structural concrete with the same specified for natural coarse aggregates to be use in concrete specified in gso 1809 (2007) is presented in table 9. the comparison pg. 365 al-fadala / the academic research community publication showed more stringent limits for recycled aggregates in toughness and soundness and similar absorption limit when used in structural concrete . for soundness limit, the precision of soundness test specified in astm c88 (2013) is poor and it may not be suitable for outright rejection of aggregates without confirmation from other tests more closely related to the specific service intended” as stated in astm c88 (2013), therefore performance records of local recycled aggregates under real servise conditions and under real local environment where freezing and thawing is not a concern must be established rather than relying on astm c88 as a test for rejection an aggregate source. table 9. comparison of ra limits and virgin aggregate limits for concrete use standard limit gso 2489 (2015) gso 1809(2007) water absorption (%) structural concrete 3.0 3.0 non-structural concrete 4.0 3.0 l.a abrasion loss , % 30.0 50.0 soundness (%5 cycles of mgso3) (%) 15.0 18.0 4. conclusions total dependency on import to feed the construction demand for aggregates. in addition, the research was with environmentally focused on recycling waste and preserve the environment. the first sustainable source investigated is the production of synthetic lightweight aggregates utilizing combinations of argillaceous indigenous and waste materials, kisr were able to produce different sizes lwa for lwa concrete specimens that meet the astm requirements of light weigth aggregates for masonry (astm c331-05). the primary raw material used in the production of lwa is aggregate wash which is a waste byproduct resulting from sand washing processes performed at the local sand quarries. kisr registered the process used in the manufacturing of lwa as a patent registered by the united states patent and trademark office (albahar , s and etc,2016). currentley, kisr is marketing this patent by conducting a proof of concept activity to prove the applicability of this work on industrial scale. the second source investigated is recycled aggregates from construction and demolition wastes. the quality assessment of the local recycled aggregates showed the inferior quality of ra as a coarse aggregates when compared to the natural coarse aggregates. the local ra investigated showed higher water absorption, and lower abrasion resistance than virgin coarse aggregates. the local specifications of ra issued under the gulf specification organization gso 2489 (2015) is showing stringent limits on the mechanical, chemical and physical properties of recycled aggregate to be used in concrete and this is causing the concrete industry to decline accepting local ra as a sustainable source of coarse aggregate. the research studies conducted on the local ra judged the strength and the mechanical characteristics of rca concrete but no proven studies are available on durability performance of concrete made with rca. the absence of aggregates quarries in kuwait and the total rely on the imported sources of coarse aggregates, coupled with the growing environmental concerns asking for sustainable concrete industry, the local authorities are urged to consider ra as a sustainable concrete constituent. a national scale initiative must be established to start utilizing the recycled aggregates. the quality of ra must be exposed to long term monitoring to ensure quality consistency of ra produced from each crushing plant. in addition, the current demolition procedures must be investigated and the different type of waste generated from demolition must be identified and classified according to quality. a well-established demolition protocol for the best recovery of demolition waste materials for beneficial reuse and recycling is required. a governmental initiative in cooperation with local industry must encourage the use of ra in precast concrete products low strength, and non-reinforced concrete for use in exposure environment with no risk of corrosion or attack. performance based approach of evaluation of manufactured end products must be established with the national research bodies to address the durability performance of concrete made with ra under real-life conditions. pg. 366 al-fadala / the academic research community publication 5. references 1. kuwait construction market report, 2016, report published by bnc for the big 5 kuwait. publication date: august 2016, /www.bncnetwork.net. 2. gcc concrete demand to reach $49bn over two years, published on sep 25, 2013, http://www.construction weekonline.com/article-24400-gcc-concrete-demand-to-reach-49bn-over-two-years/ access aug 29,2017. 3. beatona magazine, issue 10, environment public authority (epa), kuwait. beatona.net. 4. the business of aggregate and its logistics in the arabian gulf that effects the construction industry. navjot singh, fountainhead consulting dmcc, published on october 25, 2015. 5. astm c 88; 2013; soundness of aggregates by use of sodium sulfate or magnesium sulfate, american society for testing and materials, philadelphia, penn., u.s.a. 6. astm c 125. 2016. standard terminology relating to concrete and concrete aggregates. american society for testing and materials, philadelphia, pennsylvania 7. astm c331-05. 1994. standard specification for lightweight aggregates for concrete masonry units. american society for testing and materials, philadelphia, penn., u.s.a. 8. riley, c.m.,1951. relation of chemical properties to the bloating of clays. journal of the american ceramic society, pp.121-128. 9. parks, l.f. 1981. evaluation of kuwait clay. kuwait institute for scientific research, report no. kisr908a,kuwait. 10. bogahawatta, v. t. l., s. kh. al-bahar, a. m. a. abduljaleel. 2000. mineralogical and chemical characterization of the fine fraction of kuwaiti marine sediments and residual soil for the development of lightweight aggregates. kuwait institute for scientific research, kisr 5926. 11. al-bahar, s.kh; a. al-enezi; s. gh. ali; m. bahbahani; f. kh. al-fahad; m. m. al-elaj. 2007. evaluation of bahra clay for ceramic industry. kuwait institute for scientific research, kisr 9105. 12. al-bahar, s.k.; s. al-otaibi; s. al-fadala; a. abduljaleel; m. taha; f. al-fahad; r. al-foraih; a. arbeid and t.mukherjee. 2012. production and characterization of synthetic ceramic lightweight aggregates utilizing kuwaiti argillaceous materials, final report, kisr 11368, kuwait. 13. suad al-bahar, saud al-otaibi, sharifa al-fadala, ali abduljaleel, mahmoud fawzy taha, fatma al-fahad, amer al-arbeid, and tarun k. mukherjee, “the process using multiple waste streams to manufacture synthetic lightweight aggregate”, united states patent no. 9340456 b2, may,17,2016, united states patent and trademark office. 14. n. kartam, n. al-mutairi, i. al-ghsain, j.al-humoud (2004). environmental management of construction and demolition waste in kuwait, waste management journal ,volume 24 issue 10. 15. clean middle east magazine. 2016. recycling-construction-waste-in-the-middle-east-commercial-operationwithenvironmental-benefits. article dated: 28-09-2009. available at http:www.cleanmiddleeast.ae/articles/ 43/recycling-construction-waste-in-the-middle-east-commercial-operation-withenvironmental-benefits.html , accessed on 19.7.2016. 16. s. al-fadala, a. al-aibani and a. al-arbeed. 2015. sustainable use of reclaimed concrete aggregates in asphalt pavements. eu055g kisr technical report no. 12575. 17. s. al-fadala, t. al-rukhyes (2017). surface enhancement of recycled concrete aggregates by the removal of attached mortar approach, technical report, eu059g , kuwait institute for scientific research, kuwait. pg. 367 al-fadala / the academic research community publication 18. gso 1809; 2007; specifications of aggregates from natural sources for concrete. standardization organization for g.c.c. (gso). gcc standardization organization. riyadh, kingdom of saudi arabia 19. gso 2489; 2015; specifications of recycled aggregates from construction waste to be used in construction works. standardization organization for g.c.c. (gso). gcc standardization organization. riyadh, kingdom of saudi arabia. 20. en 933. 2013. test for geometrical properties of aggregates-part 11classification test for the constituents of coarse recycled aggregate. the british standards institution. united kingdom. 21. astm c33. 2013. standard specification for concrete aggregates . american society for testing and materials, philadelphia, penn., u.s.a. 22. m. el-hawary, s. al-otaibi, etc.; 2008.recycling of concrete and masonry. kuwait institute for scientific research, final report ,kisr9046, kuwait. 23. nayef z. almutairi and abdullateef m. alkhaleefi, 2007.flexural strength and permeability of recycled concrete as coarse aggregates. college of engineering and petroleum, kuwait university, kuwait. proceedings of the aci kc second international conference, march 12-14, 2007, kuwait. 24. khaldoun rahal, 2005. mechanical properties of concrete with recycled coarse aggregate. journal building and environment 42 (2007) 407–415. pg. 368 introduction the production of synthetic lightweight aggregates utilizing combinations of argillaceous indigenous and waste materials raw materials preparation and assesment firing and bloatability assessment pilot plant production of synthetic aggregate and engineering assessment of lwa recycled aggregates from construction and demolition wastes quality of local recycled aggregates research studies on recycled aggregate from construction and demolition wastes in kuwait local specifications of recycled aggregate from construction and demolition wastes conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.387 energy efficient smart wireless sensor network for border monitoring islam w. mahdy1, mohamed m. elkhatib2, mohamed a. refky3 1cairo university 2military technical college 3cairo university, egypt. abstract the main concern of wireless sensor network is the flexibility and the power to execute different control tasks. this paper presents low power flexible controller for an intrusion detection using power gating technique to reduce the static power loss and fuzzy logic controller, the input signals are proceeded from a pir, an acoustic and magnetic sensors, the output is presented as an alarm to define the kind of the intrusion. the system behavior is simulated using matalb-simulink. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords wireless sensor network; intrusion detection; fuzzy logic. 1. introduction wireless sensor network (wsn) is a powerful tool to fill the gap between the physical (pressure, temperature, humidity) and digital worlds[1], as it can gathers information from physical environment such as temperature, pressure, noise even image and communicate these information to logical devices. wsn is considered very essential in several aspects such as medical and military applications especially in border monitoring. in border monitoring[2], the role of wsn focuses on gathering information from several types of sensors such as seismic, camera, pir, magnetic, and motion detectors and then processing these data through programs to give the suitable alarm for each case. wsn has the advantage of low cost and low power, wsn consists of hundreds or may be thousands of wireless sensor nodes, which are distributed in an extended geographical area, so it is hard or impossible to replace or refill the battery of the node, so the effective solution is to equip each node with at least one energy harvesting system and let these nodes to be totally powered from this energy harvesting system, and we have to reduce the power consumption of the node through low power sensor based architecture and reducing the monitoring requirements or monitoring cycle. in this chapter three sensors pir, acoustic, and magnetic sensors are implemented in one node, the consumed power can be reduced by controlling the monitoring cycle that does not make sensors on all the time, and by pg. 387 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mahdy / the academic research community publication using the power gating technique, the data of the three sensors are then processed to the fuzzy logic system to give the suitable warning alarm and decision. 2. the main idea of the proposed system the main idea of the proposed system as shown in figure (1) is based on controlling three different kinds of sensors, pir sensor which is the primary sensor of the system, acoustic sensor, and magnetic sensors using two techniques the monitoring cycle, and the power gating technique every fifty seconds the system deactivates the power gating of the pir sensor and connects it to the energy harvesting source, the pir sensor is on for ten seconds, if the output of the pir sensor is less than vth then pir sensor goes off again for a new monitoring cycle, and if the output of the pir sensor is greater than vth the sensor remains on and the system deactivates the power gating of the other two sensors (acoustic and magnetic) and the output of the three sensors are then connected to the fuzzy system controller, which gives the suitable action for the corresponding output, the system then is being reset by the operator and the cycle is repeated. the main idea of the power gating technique[3] is to prevent the leakage current of the inactive blocks, which is achieved either by cutting the ground connection by nmos transistor or cutting the supply connection by pmos transistor. in this module we are using pmos transistor to isolate inactive parts of the module and ensure that no leakage current from these parts. figure 1. the algorithm of the system. pg. 388 mahdy / the academic research community publication the proposed system simulation using matlab/simulink the matlab/simulink of the proposed system is shown in figure (2) figure 2. the proposed system simulation in matlab simulink. every fifty seconds the pir sensor is on by deactivating the pwr 1, and in case of the output of the pir sensor is less than the vth the pir sensor is on for 10 seconds. the acoustic and the magnetic sensors are remaining off; in this case the total power saved are about 83% compared to the case of remaining the pir sensor on all the time. figure (3) represents the output of scope 1 which represents the duty cycle and the outputs of pir, acoustic, and magnetic sensors respectively in case of the output of pir sensor is less than vth. figure 3. scope1 (duty cycle and the output of pir,acoustic, and magnetic sensors). in case of the output of the pir sensor is greater than the vth, the pir sensor remains on by the switch shown in figure(2), the switches pwr2 and pwr3 of the acoustic and magnetic sensors are then deactivated. figure (4) represents the output of scope 1 which represents the duty cycle and the output of pir, acoustic, and magnetic sensors respectively in case of the output of pir sensor is greater than vth. pg. 389 mahdy / the academic research community publication figure 4. scope1 (duty cycle and the output of pir,acoustic, and magnetic sensors). in this case the pir sensor is on all the time and the outputs of the 3 sensors are then passed to the fuzzy logic controller system. 3. the fuzzy system controller fuzzy logic is usually useful in linearity and time invariance[4], the control of fuzzy system is basically depends on the human knowledge and experience about the system. fuzzy logic system consists of 3 main parts:fuzzification[5]: converts crisp inputs to corresponding linguistic values. rule base[6]: consists of a group of if – then rules which are based on the knowledge. the if part is called conditions, and the then part is called conclusion. defuzzication[7]: when all conditions of the rule base are activated and evaluated, then they are combined into one output signal. in the proposed system the mamdani[8] type fuzzy system with three inputs and four outputs are used. the three inputs are representing the outputs of the three sensors, and combined together with and method. the outputs are calculated with centroid method, as shown in figure (5) figure 5. three inputs and four outputs the fuzzy system controller. pg. 390 mahdy / the academic research community publication every sensor has three symmetric membership functions, figures (6), (7), and (8) represents the value of the output voltage of each sensor in the x axis, and the y axis which represents the membership function degree of each input which varies from (0 to 1). the first and last membership function is trapezoidal and the middle one is triangle, the choice of the membership function depends on application or controlling system, trapezoidal and triangle membership functions are simple and more flexible, and need a small amount of data to define the membership functions. figure 6. pir membership function pg. 391 mahdy / the academic research community publication figure 7. acoustic membership function figure 8. magnetic membership function pg. 392 mahdy / the academic research community publication the following table represents the description of the membership functions of each input. table 1. descriptionof the membership functions of each input. input name values left center right pir sensor low 0(trap) 1.25 2.5 medium 1.25 2.5 3.75 high 2.5 3.75 5.5(trap) acoustic sensor low 0(trap) 1.25 2.5 medium 1.25 2.5 3.75 high 2.5 3.75 5.5(trap) magnetic sensor low 0(trap) 1.25 2.5 medium 1.25 2.5 3.75 high 2.5 3.75 5.5(trap) the output of the fuzzy system consists of four alarms (no danger, animal, human, and vehicle). each output consists of three symmetric membership functions (low, medium, high) as shown in figure (5), the defuzzication method is centroid method because it gives an accurate result based on the weighted values of several membership functions[9]. the following table represents the description of the membership functions of each output. table 2. description of the membership functions of each output. output name values left center right no danger low 0(trap) 25 50 medium 25 50 75 high 50 75 100(trap) animal low 0(trap) 25 50 medium 25 50 75 high 50 75 100(trap) human low 0(trap) 25 50 medium 25 50 75 high 50 75 100(trap) vehicle low 0(trap) 25 50 medium 25 50 75 high 50 75 100(trap) the rule base of the system which depends on the human experience and knowledge consists of 27 if-then rules, which represent all possible inputs of the three sensors and combined together with and method, as shown in figure(9). figure(10) represents the rule view of input and the calculated outputs according to the inputs, for example when the inputs of the three sensors are 2.5v for pir sensor, 1.5v for acoustic sensor, and 1.5v for magnetic sensors the outputs will be 11.5 for no danger, 48.5 for animals, 30 for human, and 30 for vehicle. pg. 393 mahdy / the academic research community publication figure 9. rule editor of input/ output membership functions. figure 10. theinputs and the corresponding outputs pg. 394 mahdy / the academic research community publication in the matlab/simulink of the proposed system as shown in figure (2), scope (2) represents the values of the outputs after proposed in fuzzy logic system. for the input value of pir sensor equal to 5 volt the sensor remains on and activates acoustic and mag. sensors, for the outputs of the sensors equal to (5,5,5) volt respectively the output as shown in figure (11) will be 19.2% for no danger, 50%for animal, 80.8% for human, and 80.8% for vehicle, therefor the final result in this case will be for vehicle intrusion. figure 11. the corresponding outputs of the three inputs(5, 5, and 5) and for the input value of pir sensor equal to 3.5 volt the sensor remains on and activates acoustic and mag. sensors, for the outputs of the sensors equal to (3.5, 2.5 and 1.5) volt respectively the output as shown in figure (12) will be 20.2% for no danger, 56.9% for animal, 74.5% for human, and 43.1%for vehicle, therefor the final result in this case will be for human intrusion. figure 12. the corresponding outputs of the three inputs(3.5, 2.5 and 1.5) and for the input value of pir sensor equal to 2 volt the sensor will be on for 10 seconds and then goes off, the acoustic and mag. sensors will remain off and the output as shown in figure (13) will be 62.9% for no danger, pg. 395 mahdy / the academic research community publication 55.4% for animal, 37.1% for human, and 21.2% for vehicle, therefor the final result in this case will be for no danger or for animal intrusion. figure 13. the corresponding outputs of the three inputs (2, 0, and 0) 4. conclusion saving power is an important goal for wireless sensor network which can be achieved by reducing the monitoring cycle of the system; power gating is one of the most efficient methods to reduce the static and dynamic energy loss. fuzzy logic control is a good solution for non-linear and complicated design that provides robust and reliable control. fuzzy logic control resembles human decisions and has the ability to generate precise solutions from the gathered information. this system can save power by 83% compared to the systems that make sensors on all the time. 5. references 1. molina-pico, cuesta-frau, d. araujo, and a. alejandre, ” forest monitoring and wildland early fire detection by a hierarchical wireless sensor network,” j. sens. 2016, 2016. 2. m. hammoudeh, f. al-fayez, h. lloyd, r. newman, and a. bounceur, ”a wireless sensor network border monitoring system: deployment issues and routing protocols,” ieee sensors, vol. 14, no. 8, october 2016. 3. v. c. kalal, r. k, and v. pawar, ”novel low power logic gates using sleepy techniques” international journal of advanced research in electrical,” electronics and instrumentation engineering, vol. vol. 4, issue 1, january 2015. 4. n. sadati and r. ghadami, ”adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control using multiple models approach,” ieee international conference on engineering of intelligent systems, islamabad,2006 pg. 396 mahdy / the academic research community publication 5. t. ross, ”fuzzy logic with engineering applications,” mcgraw-hill, u.s.a., 1995. 6. r.r yager and d. p.filev, ”essentials of fuzzy modeling and control,” john wiley & sons, 1994. 7. m.sugeno and g.t.kang, ”structure identification of fuzzy model,” fuzzy sets and systems, vol. 28, pp. 15-33, 1988. 8. e. h. mamdani and s.assilian, ”application of fuzzy algorithms for control of simple dynamic planet,” proceeding of.ieee, vol. 12, pp. 1585-1588, 1974. 9. w. pedrycz, ”fuzzy control and fuzzy systems, second edition,” john wiley and sons, new york,, 1993 pg. 397 introduction the main idea of the proposed system the fuzzy system controller conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication socio-economic impact of unsystematic mine closure: a case of kolar gold fields karthikeyan kandasamyhariramguptha1 1assistant professor, sigma college of architecture, moododu-629168, kanyakumari(dt). abstract this paper aims to study the socio-economic impact of unsystematic mine closure on the community and the neighborhood which is completely dependent on the mining. the sudden closure of the mines will affect the community’s entire livelihood and has counter effect on health, employment, environment, population and economy. india as a developing nation with its rich minerals content contributes sufficient towards the economic growth of the mining industry but the livelihood of the mining workers and their family are always kept in high level of risk. the policies and acts to control unplanned mine closure and counter its effects on the community should be made strong by the government. kolar gold fields, karnataka (kgf) which holds a history of 120 years of mining and second deepest mine in the world has been chosen for the study. it is one among of the mines in the country which experienced the unsystematic closure in 2001 and facing its effects due to mill tailings, land contamination and loss of employment till date. these issues and challenges faced by the people of kgf will be addressed and can be improved if the government, mining company and people show their support and interest for reviving the town. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords mining; socio-economic; mine closure; un-employment; economic decline; degradation of land; kgf 1. introduction globally india a country with rich culture and heritage, adding to it nation holds a base of diversified minerals. this diverse base which uphold the mining sector contributes about 2.5% of gdp in overall industrial sector’s gdp of 10%, which is comparatively less but the impact it creates on the environment and people is high. (mining in india, 2012). especially in the case of abandoned mines, which have unplanned/ unsystematic mine closure. this unplanned closure is one among the reason for degradation of land, environment and people’s livelihood. as per united nations convention to combat desertification (unccd) by 2045, globally, 135 million people will be displaced and 12 million hectares (mha) of land will be degraded. (united nations convention on combating desertification, 2001) india, a developing country with world’s 2nd largest population, will get affected in its per capita land holding, which will further affect agriculture and trigger migration. the per capita land holding in india was 1.4 hectares (ha) in 2001 and 1.3 ha in 2011. the desertification or degraded land status in india as per isro it is about 96.40 mha that is about 29.3% of the total geographic area. (isro land degradation atlas, 2016). the reason for land deterioration can be categorized into two, natural and man-made activities. the degradation which happens because of man-made activities are due to mining, industrial activities and waste dumping has more effect in the respective order. the effects which is created by the mining is because of leaving the mining site pg. 26 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.499 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication abandoned. there are about 81 abandoned mining sites in the country which are closed before the amendment of mine closure plan in 2003 (abandoned mines list, 2003). 1.1. mining in india india is a mineral-rich country, with more than 20,000 mineral deposits. the country produces about 90 minerals, which include four fuels, 10 metallic, 50 non-metallic, three atomic and 23 minor minerals (mining in india, 2012). it is the second largest producer of chromite, barytes and talc in the world, and ranks third in production of coal and lignite, and fourth in production of iron ore, kyanite, andalusite and sillimanite (mining in india, 2012). in 2010-2011, india produced mineral value of 2lakh crore. it was more than the previous year value 1.7lakh crore in 2009-2010. the total gdp share from industrial sector is 10 %, from the mining and quarrying industry is 2.25% (2011), which less than the previous year value 2.5% (2010) (mining in india, 2012). 1.2. major issue the stripping ratio, which is the volume of waste generated for per ton ore extraction. in india, we have faced a huge issue because of it. the amount waste generated is 1.15 to 1.5 times more than the ore extracted. for example, to extract one ton of iron ore the waste produced here is 1.15 tones and in australia is 0.13 tones. these generated tailing forms a big pond / heap of dump near the mining site which creates a huge kiosk during the monsoon and heavy winds. these tailing pond/ dumps is always left as it is after the closure of mine and no proper measures are taken to dispose it from the site. 1.3. mining legislation in india figure 1. mining legislation in india. from the fig.1, the rules and acts which have been amended in past years talks more about the resource’s conservation, environmental protection, forest conservation. but, as per hoda and shah commission under ministry of mines says there is no inclusive addressing of social, economic and environmental issues. even after introduction of mine closure plan,2003 it has found 81 mining sites are abandoned in the country and the number is still counting it clearly says that still law should be made much strong and reinforced. this will help to lessen the impact on the community and the land getting abandoned. pg. 27 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication 2. literature study 2.1. abandoned mines abandoned mines are sites where mining activities happened, but considerable mine closure and reclamation did not take place. it contributes to the environmental degradation left by significant mining activities which occurred before mine closure regulations were developed. 2.2. desertification of land as per unccd, desertification is the continual degradation of land under the impact of natural and man-made activity in arid, semi-arid and dry-sub, humid climatic region. it affects two third countries of the world and one third of the earth’s surface. 2.2.1. global scenario as per unccd, it is said that 135 million people may be displaced by 2045, about 12 million ha of land will be decertified and there will be need for more 70% agricultural practices to feed everyone by 2050. 2.2.2. india’s land degradation scenario as per isro 2016 atlas on land degradation, 96.40 mha of land is degraded (29.32%) of total geographic area. in 2011, it was 23.95%. india occupies 2-3% of the total global land area and accommodates 16% of the global population. india comes under very poor category in terms of per capita land holding globally is about 3.7ha/ capita (2011) and in india is about 1.4 ha (2001) and 1.3 ha (2011). we can see decadal decline of about 7%. 2.3. planned and unplanned mine closure planned mine closure is an act when the leased company/ person takes the responsible to recover the lost ecology, treated waste disposal and reuse of the land for the public benefit. this will not harm the surrounding and environment after the time of closure with a prior intimation. this will help to recover/ restore the lost ecology of the place which was disturbed during the course of mining. unplanned closure of mines is when a company closes its mine without any prior intimation and leaves the environment, waste without any consideration to reduce the further effect. this will leave the ecology of the place disturbed and pollutes the surrounding even after shutting down of mine. 2.4. mill tailing/ dump the waste/ slag which is generated from the processing of ore to extract the minerals. the waste generated is usually dumped near the site in a million tons of heap or pond without any treating and it will decay the land, environment surrounding it 2.5. effects of unplanned mine closure the unplanned mine closure majorly affects the community on three parameters likely physical, environmental and socio-economic. each of this parameter have sub-considerations. —physical: health, safety, visual impact and dust problems. —environmental: air, water and land pollution. —socioeconomic: loss of employment and business activity pg. 28 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication mitigations for these issues can be done through reclamation/ restoration for physical and environmental parameter and it’s a lifelong process. to tackle the issues related with socio-economic parameter will be addressed through rehabilitation strategies which bring new land use, employment, character and vibrancy to the place which has been lost. so, it’s more important to consider the socio-economic at top position because the other two parameters come along the cycle of reviving. 3. site and its importance the site chosen for the study is kolar gold fields (kgf), karnataka. the approximate co-ordinates 12.9585◦ n, 78.2710◦ e. it is a mining region and taluk, in the kolar district of karnataka state, india. robertsonpet is the headquarters of kgf. it is about 30 kilometers from kolar and 100 kilometers from bangalore. bharat gold mining limited (bgml) and bharat earth movers limited (beml) are the major two industries set up in kgf. population of the place is 1,62,000 (as per 2011 census); area under kgf municipality is 58.12 square kilometers. the town was known for gold mining for over a century. this place has biblical reference and evidence for availability of gold. it is believed that mining started here in 4000 bc and gold articles from harappa and mohenjodaro were made of gold taken from kgf. formal gold mining started in 1880 by ms. john taylor & co., under the british rule. later it was undertaken by indian government and separate organization bgml was formed. this was the first place in the country to get electricity, rail network, telephone connection, golf course, kgf club and first grade college before independence. robertsonpet the town headquarters was the first planned layout in the nation which was developed by the britishers for people who came from other places to start business and support the mining community will all these developments even before independence this place was called as “little england”. figure 2. india map showing karnataka figure 3. karnataka map showing kolar district pg. 29 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication figure 4. kolar district map figure 5. kgf map 4. methodology the study first understands the difference between systematic and unsystematic mine closure then the major impacts/ issues because of the unplanned mine closure. various parameters which gets affected due to the mine closure is studied. out of identified parameters the study will be focused on the most affected one and literature case studies will be seen on the same lines. sub-parameters identified from the literature case study will be applied on the site chosen for the study. after understanding the site-specific issues related to the identified parameter strategies/ recommendation to overcome such issues will be given at the conclusion. pg. 30 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication 4.1. aim and objective this paper aims to study the severity of mining industry’s socio-economic impact on community and the surroundings. the specific objective of the study is —to understand the importance of systematic mine closure. —to come up with the strategies/ recommendation specific to the site. pg. 31 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication 4.2. study area the area chosen for the study is the mining area in the town which is of about 4327 ha (fig.5) and currently belongs to the bgml and holds a population of 62000 (as per 2011 census) who belongs to the mine workers of the place. the entire mining area is divided into three regions namely ooragumpet, champion reef and marikuppam. this part of the land is left abandoned since 2001. 4.3. data collection and analysis data for the study is taken from both primary and secondary sources. primary data is collected through questionnaire survey in all the three mining areas with a sample count of 20 in each area. interviews with the officials from various department of kgf, bgml and indian bureau of mines are carried out. questionnaire survey with 60 sample counts has been carried out in kgf headquarters robertsonpet also to know the counter effect of mining area. 5. data analysis and inferences the data collected can be analyzed in three parts, that is in i) mining area, ii) nonmining area and iii) common effects/ problem faced by both. 5.1. mining area in this area the major socio-economic status of the community after the closure of mine with various parameters like current employment, income level, period of stay and mine worker from the family is studied. 5.1.1. current employment till the closure of mine these people have been working in the mines in various grade according to the experience and education level. from (fig.6) it is clearly seen that after the closure of mine about 54% of the people started profession as auto drivers and doing small business (like petty shop) with in the community. even the unemployment is more within the women’s in the community. 5.1.2. income level during the operation of the mines even the income level was more are less similar to the current income level but the basic needs like food, stay, services were provided by the company itself for a low price. after the closure these people are mostly employed as daily waged labors in various industries. fig.7 gives us the current income level of the people. the most expenses go for the traveling because people travel daily till bangalore for their work and about 12,000 people commute through train every day. figure 6. occupational structure. pg. 32 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication figure 7. monthly income. 5.1.3. mine worker from the family and period of residence from figs.8 & 9 we can infer that most of the people who reside now are third or fourth generation of the mine worker. most of them was born and brought up in kgf, but they ancestors were not origin of kgf. the quarters allotted to the mine workers were sold back to them for less price after the closure to compensate salary settlement this is one of the main reasons for many people to stay back. from fig.10 we can infer that tamil and telugu is spoke predominantly it is because their ancestors were migrated/ brought from tamilnadu and andhra-pradesh for working in the mines. figure 8. period of residence figure 9. mine worker in the family. figure 10. linguistic composition. pg. 33 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication 5.2. non-mining area people stay in the town headquarters robertsonpet has been interviewed to know the counter effect of mine closure. people live in robertsonpet were also from neighboring state tamilnadu, andhra pradesh. they have started their business in the economic center of kgf. these people still withstand with their business because of the neighboring villages and institutions. fig.11 & 12 says about the period of residence and occupation of the people in robertsonpet. figure 11. period of residence. figure 12. occupational structure 5.3. issues faced by both the community this section talks about the issues faced commonly by both the communities due to mill tailing/dump, water and heath related issues. 5.3.1. issues due to mill tailing/ dump in the past 120 years of mining, the place has generated about 35 million tons of dump/ tailings from the ore processing. out of that 3 tons were utilized between 1980 and 2000 to backfill the shaft. it is said that these dumps have cyanide contain in it, which is used in the processing of ore. but the latest article by national institute of rock mechanics (nirm) says that due to the volatilization of cyanide maximum cyanide has been evaporated (gupta, 2012). these dumps have nearly 56% of silica content in it which can be used as substitute for manufacturing cement and glass. fig. 13 & 14 shows the mill tailing dumped in the center of the town over a century. pg. 34 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication 5.3.2. issues with ground water in general, it is said that contamination of water is seen due to the leaching of dump during the monsoon and post monsoon. but report from the nirm on ground water evaluation says that there is no major traces of cyanide in ground water. the various samples from different location says the groundwater has high turbidity, chlorine concentration and electric conductivity. which can be purified by simple reverse osmosis process or electrodyalysis (gupta, 2012). figure 13. milltailing/ dump and abandoned processing unit. figure 14. panoramicview showing dump and settlement. 5.3.3. health related issues diseases like silicosis, lung cancer are very common near the gold mining area. it was observed in people only during the operation of mines and with employees who worked underground. later years it was not seen among the people and even no medical records from kgf hospital and civil hospital, kgf (bgml, 1990). but still the fear of cyanide in-haling is seen among the people because the settlements are very close to the huge dump, and they face sand erission during summer towards the town. 5.4. inferences from the socio-economic survey we can infer the effects made because of unsystematic mine closure on both the communities. in mining area we can see that about 62,000 people still live on the abandoned mining land, and they travel up to bangalore for daily work which is 100 km from kgf. huge part of their income is spent for traveling if more than one person in the family is working. even the literacy rate is comparatively high the unemployment rate equals it. the workforce participation of female is less. many people have started driving auto and petty shops in kgf itself. many huge industrial building and british bungalows in a derelict condition. one can’t sense the flavor of prosperity the mine had when it was in working condition. the out migration is high with people of 3rd or 4th generation people in the family. the present condition not only making mines abandoned, the entire site has the same texture allthrough. even the mine was closed and huge population was affected people in robertsonpet don’t face much effect on their livelihood because since from the britishers time till now it acts as the major commercial hub for the surrounding villages. the commercial value of the place is not much affected as mining area. many residential development from government and private boost the real estate market of the place. where this can be appropriate location for many from bangalore who are willing to own a property because of high rates in bangalore. when looking in to the common issues faced both the community lack very much in social infrastructure like parks, pg. 35 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication hospitals, theaters. the mining dump in the middle of the town affect the air quality much in the summers. the groundwater is not contaminated with cyanide leaching but it has high turbidity and electro-conductivity due to the location problem. even the place experiences annual rainfall of 800-1000 mm because of no proper catchment areas this place face water scarcity. 6. conclusion and recommendations the impact of mining is seen very visible on the site, this is majorly because the site was not cared/ abandoned for almost 16 years. even the machinaries, british bungalows, industrial buildings are also left abandoned. on the other hand this site has potentials like excellent rail and road connectivity, vast amount of land for new development, the heritage and value of the place shows us that the “little england” can be revived. the strategies for development can be looked at three different levels. the initiative should be taken from government, company and people to redevelop the place which will in return benefits all the stakeholders involving for the redevelopment of the place. the strategies that revive and regenerate the lost economy by promoting this place as one more industrial corridor or as economy hub through the state’s various industrial development policies and initiatives, looking this place as a potential satellite town for bangalore, considering the reviving of mine as per supreme court order on july’ 2010, support from ngo’s to meet people need on basic infrastructure will bring back the vibrancy, financial stability and the lost glory to the place. so, this site says us the need and value of systematic mine closure. if the owning company had come up with various other initiatives considering the potential of the site, available infrastructure and man power during the time of closure this town wouldn’t have faced the consequences which it has been undergoing for last 17 years. 7. acknowledgments this paper was done as a part of my post-graduation thesis from faculty of architecture, mahe, manipal-576104. so i take this opportunity to thank the faculties who guided me in the successful completion of this paper and i extend my gratitude to the people of kolar gold filedsand officials from bgml for their support and guidance. 8. references 1. a.g.n.kitula. (2006). the environmental and socio-economic impacts of mining. journal of cleaner production. 2. (2003). abandoned mines list. indian bureau of mines. 3. authority, u. d. (2011). revised master plan-2031. kgf: uda. 4. bgml. (1990). centenary souvenir. kolar gold fields. 5. gupta, p. (2012). evaluation of spatial and seasonal variations in groundwater quality at kolar gold fields, india. national institute of rock mechanics. kolar gold fileds,india: american journal of environmental engineering. 6. (2016). isro land degradation atlas. isro. 7. karnataka, g. o. (2016). invest karnataka-2016, district profile-kolar. bengaluru. 8. kgf to be developed as new city to de-congest bengaluru. (2017, march 07). the hindu. 9. (2012). mining in india. center for environment and science. pg. 36 kandasamyhariramguptha / the academic research community publication 10. ministry of water resources. (2012). ground water information booklet-kolar district. bangalore: ministry of water resources. 11. ncar. (2003). the soils of kolar district for land use planning. nagpur: national bureau of soil survey & land use planning . 12. overview of mining and its impacts. (n.d.). in guidebook for evaluating mining projects eia’s (pp. 1-16). 13. queensland resource council. (n.d.). retrieved from www.qrc.org.au: https://www.qrc.org.au/rehabilitati on-case-studies/ 14. rajasekaran, d. (2007). environmental pollution by gold mining – a case study of robertsonpet (k.g.f.) urban agglomeration, karnataka. technoscience publications. 15. robertsonpet, p. o. (2018, february saturday). socio economic impact of mine closure. (karthikeyan.k.h, interviewer) 16. sharma, d. (2003). a statistical study in mining exploration as related to the kolar gold fields (india). hyderabad: elsevier. 17. srikumar.s. (2014). kolar gold fieldunfolding the untold. partridge. 18. thengummoothil, g. (n.d.). kolar gold fields-the forgotten era of india. 19. (2001). united nations conventon on combating desertification. united nations. 20. white, b. (2010). kolar gold filds, down memory lane. authorhouse. pg. 37 introduction mining in india major issue mining legislation in india literature study abandoned mines desertification of land global scenario india's land degradation scenario planned and unplanned mine closure mill tailing/ dump effects of unplanned mine closure site and its importance methodology aim and objective study area data collection and analysis data analysis and inferences mining area current employment income level mine worker from the family and period of residence non-mining area issues faced by both the community issues due to mill tailing/ dump issues with ground water health related issues inferences conclusion and recommendations acknowledgments references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.438 sustainable urban regeneration of public realm in historical cities centers arch. yasmine kamal aouf1 1m.sc. senior urban designer abstract sustainable development presents one of the most complex challenges in egypt in particular of keeping up with the global march. according to what egypt possesses of original cultural spatial components, the need has necessitated taking care of the investments, but in a sustainable way in the historical cities centers where its possession of cultural spatial elements with high economic importance. however, egyptian historical centers have suffered from degradation and dissipation of energies and capabilities resulting from the negligence of urban conservation projects, and its incompatibility with the ongoing social changes. the pathway taken by urban development have been considered as incomprehensive methods for all the levels of effect of the historical centers.these levels are the international, national and local levels with the totalitarian goals for the city and the national economy which has been aimed at the methods of conservation of the urban in the domain of the historical area only. that narrow perspective hasn’t achieved an increase in economical and job opportunities, without relying on the attracting the investments and tourism that can achieve a change of the value of the targeted area from the actual value towards the highest probable value. the historic core is considered as an attraction for the tourism activities but in the centers of the egyptian cities, the public realms are the outcomes of the undersigned remaining realms. therefore, they cannot perform their function as public spaces expressing the local character, as they are the center of social relations and cultural product. the research paper has dealt with the urban regeneration of the public realm and analytical applied survey study on the heritage core of the city rashid. the research ends with a number of recommendations related to dealing with the basis of urban regeneration of the public realm which have been applied on the historic core of rasheed city. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban regeneration – public realm – sustainable development – historic core 1. sustainable urban regeneration in historical cities centers the reaserch paper deals with sustainable urban regeneration of historical city centers and focus on the the physical regeneration which is represented in public realm considered as a social interactions nodes and cultural vibrant, pg. 167 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ aouf / the academic research community publication as public realm is a group of spaces which reshaped by local community. the main trend of world heritage organizations such as the english heritage and the aga khan foundation is to develop the urban regeneration strategies for the historic core. urban regeneration of public realm of historical city centers greatly contributes to improving the quality of urban environment, (urban, public and private buildings, services, infrastructure, traffic systems, green areas and open spaces, all urban areas and skylines), as well as the commitment of stakeholders at various levels (local, national, and international), with the strategic objectives of the city and the regional economy, thereby increasing business, economic opportunities . 1 in accordance with the aghakhan development historical cities report 2011 where urban regeneration of historical city centers was defined as a comprehensive, integrated vision and action plan that addresses the urbanization, economic, social, and environmental development of target areas , urban regeneration of historical centers is intended to change the nature of the place by involving the local community and stakeholders by creating an agenda of goals and activities. the main components of urban regeneration as illustrated in figure 1, are (physical regeneration – environmental regeneration – economic regeneration – socail regenration). the dimensions of sustainable development as illustrated in figure 2 that affect the process of urban regeneration are divided into a number of dimensions, namely economic dimensions, human / social dimensions, environmental dimensions and their reflection on urbanization technology. the dimensions of sustainable development are detailed as follows: economic dimensions: the sustainability of developing countries is increasing the use of resources to improve living standards, because there are a direct relation between poverty, environmental degradation and rapid population growth. sustainable development means for all countries: to reduce the growing disparity in income and access to health care, education, social services, natural resources and political rights equally of society human / social dimensions: ”social development” means the human / social dimensions, the population and the community of the target areas, where ”sustainable development” from the social perspective means making significant progress in stabilizing population growth, because the rapid growth of the population places severe pressure on natural resources and the ability of governments to provide services. environmental dimensions and their reflection on urbanization technology: sustainable development in terms of the environmental dimension and the technology of urbanization also means the transition especially industrial countries to cleaner and more efficient technologies, to minimize energy. figure 1. (urban regeneration components) 1 philiip jodidio (2011) historic cities programme strategies for urban regeneration herat area programme, the aga khan ,geneva. pg. 168 aouf / the academic research community publication figure 2. (sustainable development dimensions) 1.1. public realm of historical cities centers public realm is a public-owned areas of streets, squares, green areas, public parks, pedestrian paths, buildings, public facilities, all urban spaces and public uses that meet the needs of all individuals in different segments of the society. attempts to define the attributes of the public realm and according to abu dhabi urban planning council , public realm includes all outdoor areas that are visually accessible regardless of ownership. these elements can include: streets, bicycle paths, pedestrian routes, public squares, nodes, transport axes, garden gates, waterfront, natural landmarks, and facades of buildings. public areas are divided into four categories as illustrated in figure 3. figure 3. (public realm main elements) 1.2. public realm network study the heritage heart is divided into a group of public spaces network: (motorways neywork, pedestrian paths, the squares and the green network. these networks range from the main level to the sub-level in a way that works on the historic interconnection.2 according to urban regeneration strategy of the historical heart of birmingham city, the public spaces network was divided as illustrated in figure 4. 2william penn (2007) sense of place: design guidlines for new construction in historic districts , a publication of the preservation alliance , philadelphia,usa pg. 169 aouf / the academic research community publication figure 4. (public realm network of the historical heart of birmingham city) 1.3. public realm network components of historical city centers: public realm network of historic city centers consists of three networks: vehicles network, pedestrian routes network, public spaces network. each of these networks is divided into several levels as follows3 : a vehicles network: the streets network of vehicles is divided into two main levels: -first level: the main streets: the streets of the movement of vehicles surround the historical heart, and is an entrance to the inner area of the heart of the center, the main public streets and a lane dedicated to public transport buses and super tram. second level: the secondary streets: the network of the streets of the vehicles from the main streets to the secondary streets, serving the heart of the center from the inside, and move the movement from the outside to the center, which does not affect the network of pedestrian traffic. bpedestrian routes network: pedestrian routes is divided into three main levels: first level major routes: it is the main route network for pedestrians, connected to the main street network of cars, and is a major network of historical heritage sites. level 2 connecting routes: it provides an alternative shred routes network, and is a subnetwork of the historical core heritage sites. level 3 minor connecting routes: it is a pedestrian network, a narrow local street that reflects the sense of place, heritage, and a distinctive architectural experience for visitors and residents. as shown in the figure 5. 3 bda landscape architects (2012) heritage squares, conceptual master plans and design guidelines pg. 170 aouf / the academic research community publication figure 5. (minor connecting routes) c public spaces network: public spaces network is divided into several types according to their purpose. there is a space that is intended to be a destination, a goal and another space that is an area for arrival or departure. the network of public spaces is as follows: arrival / departure spaces: arrival / departure spaces have been for temporary presence and not destination or goal, usually called a drop off, pick up, and it must include parking spaces, signs and explanatory signs. meeting points: meeting points are the main public areas and ranges of hiking with its various activities and distinctive tourist attractions as illustrated in figure 5. figure 6. (mayor piazza in madrid) intimate spaces: these spaces are characterized by smaller proportions and sizes than the public squares. they are known as those spaces that are formed between the buildings and are characterized by an intimate character. these spaces are characterized by local activities such as cafes (as shown in figure 6), which shows one of the intimate spaces of the city birmingham. pg. 171 aouf / the academic research community publication figure 7. (intimate spaces of the city birmingham) 2. sustainable urban regeneration of public realm in historic core of rashid city the importance of ”rashid” in its geographical location, and its history. rachid extension of the city, ”paulitin”, was called ”rashit” in the coptic era. moreover, rashid is distinctive in the ottoman era, where it is the second city after cairo in terms of the number of islamic monuments; the city contains 22 houses with a distinctive ottoman architectural style (as shown in figure 7), and 11 historical mosques such as (the northern gate, the castle, the historic bathroom, and the abu shahin mill). the historical core of rashid is the traditional heart of the harmonious urban texture.4 figure 8. (arabkelly house national museum of rachid) 2.1. analytical applied survey study on the physical dimension of the urban regeneration of the historical cor of rashid: by analyzing the current situation of rashid public realm features (corniche, streets , squares, and public parks) in the heritage heart of the city of rashid as follows (10) 5 4 dr. galila gamal al-qadi, d. mohammed taher sadiq, d. mohamed hassan ismail, (1999) rashid emergence of the boom declinearab horizons house. 5yasmine kamal saied aouf (2016) urban regeneration of public realm in historical cities centers in sustainable way (case study research in historic city core of rashid city), m.sc.thesis. faculty of engineering, cairo university, egypt. pg. 172 aouf / the academic research community publication 2.1.1. analysis of the current status of rasheed waterfront: the asphalt collapsing layer, which cause serious future damage to vehicles. the high density of street vendors along waterfront shortfall of recreational activities that are suitable for waterfront. shortfall of furniture streetscape elements. waterfront area has low accessibility from the historic core. 2.1.2. analysis of current roads network of rashid: the historic heart of rashid has a deterioration of roads network, sewage networks, water, electricity, sanitation, pedestrian corridors, lighting and solid waste collection system. rashid historical is divided as a result of the regional road (alexandria rashid) the lack of clarity of the internal streets, and the intervention of pedestrian traffic with vehicles. traffic interfered with daily market area which increase congestion in the local street. changing the features and boundaries of existing historical streets. the lack of historical spaces of the streetscape elements which compatible with the historical character. collecting garbage in narrow streets within the historic urban fabric. 2.1.3. analysis of the current status of parks: there is only one public park within the historical heart, and this park is untapped and uninhabited and cannot be recognized by users. as shown in figures (9 & 10). figure 9. (rashid public parks 1946) pg. 173 aouf / the academic research community publication figure 10. (rashid public parks 2014) figure 11. (analysis of current public realm of rashid) figure 12. (rashid waterfront) pg. 174 aouf / the academic research community publication figure 13. (daily market & local street) 2.1.4. objectives of public realm regeneration of heritage heart of rachid city: the urban regeneration of the historical heart of rasheed is taking into account the two main dimensions of sustainable which are economic and social development6. rehabilitation public and private historical buildings. providing infrastructure upgrading. providing public spaces and a framework of movement that helps to stimulate levels of social activity within roads network. promoting tourism and cultural activities appropriate to the historical value of the ancient city of rachid. improvement & upgrading all elements public realm. design and development pedestrian and cycling paths. providing public transport routes that serve the historic core and pedestrian movement. 3. conclusion the results are divided into two main sectors: the physical dimension of urban reconstruction, and the non-physical dimensions of urban reconstruction,( socio economic and social dimensions), as follows: 3.1. division of historical center for urban sectors: the historical center is divided into urban sectors to determine the basis for the appropriate treatment of each sector. these sectors are as follows: athe heart of the center: it is a pedestrian zone. it is mostly a car free area. streetscape elements must be given attention to the local urban character of the city of rachid, attention to pedestrian signs, promotion of activities commensurate with the heritage value of rachid, and transfer the inappropriate activities outside the historical heart. resettlement of cultural activities, promotion historical craft activities and creating cultural and community activities that increase community ties and artistic activities. as shown in figure 14. b-urban spaces network: a network of urban spaces is gradually being constructed from public spaces to semi-public spaces to intimate spaces. heritage activities are settled by these spaces, reinforced by streetscape elements that encourage pedestrian traffic into the historical heart. urban spaces network and pedestian paths is the association of heritage landmarks such as the development of the local street which link the following heritage mosques (zaghloul mosque mosque of the soldier the local mosque). as shown in the figure 15. cthe river corridor of rashid waterfront providing links for accessibility between the river and the heritage heart by pedestrian tunnels. the pedestrian pathway along the waterfront is optimized to accommodate pedestrian traffic , creating waterfront activities com6yasmine kamal saied aouf (2016) urban regeneration of public realm in historical cities centers in sustainable way (case study research in historic city core of rashid city), m.sc.thesis. faculty of engineering, cairo university, egypt. pg. 175 aouf / the academic research community publication mensurate with the high economic value of the land overlooking the waterfront. as shown in the figure 16. figure 14. the heart of the center figure 15. (urban spaces network) pg. 176 aouf / the academic research community publication figure 16. (urban spaces network) 3.2. urban regeneration of public realm of rashid historic core as follows apedestrian paths network divided into three levels: first level / main pedestrian paths: the main roads network, which are paths to the archaeological buildings of the heart. second level / secondary: these are collecting paths of activities that are commensurate with rashid historical value. -third level / pedestrian paths: they are narrow local streets that reflect the sense of place and heritage of the heritage city, and represent a distinctive architectural experience for visitors and residents, interspersed with a network of intimate spaces bproposed urban spaces: a-spaces of arrival / departure: spaces of temporary presence, not a destination or a target, called the drop of & pick up urban spaces, and must have available parking places and signs, as shown in figure 17. figure 17. (arrival/ departure spaces of rashid historic core) cmeeting points: these are the main public areas in the formation. it is also a group of hiking activities, cafés, special street scape elements, children’s play areas, as well as the availability of various services from fire extinguishing points, public baths, and public transport. as shown in the figure 18. pg. 177 aouf / the academic research community publication figure 18. (meeting points of rashid historic core) dintimate / secondary spaces: spaces that are characterized by smaller proportions and sizes of public realm, which are within the scope of the pedestrian network. as shown in the figure 19. figure 19. (intimate/ secondary spaces of rashid historic core) e-public parks: developing the current rasheed park and link it to the main pedestrian network as shown in the figure 20. figure 20. (rashid public park) fproposed vehicles movement: according to the results of the 2010 strategic master plan of rashid city, the regional road that divide historic core will be reallocate beyond the old rashid core as shown in the figure 21 figure 21. (strategic master plan of rashid city-2010) pg. 178 aouf / the academic research community publication g-recommendations for dealing with rasheed waterfront area: division of waterfront for compatible sectors in terms of proposed activities that meets market needs connecting the river corridor to the heart of the heritage through a series of tunnels for pedestrian crossing. completion of the rasheed river corridor development project and the reinforcement of the pedestrian corridor. use the elements of streetscape, which is compatible with the heritage character of rashid as shown in the figure 22. figure 22. (rasheed waterfront area) pg. 179 aouf / the academic research community publication 3.3. the results of non-physical dimensions (economic / social) of the urban regeneration of rashid historic core: -exploitation of historic houses and mosques as tourist sites and exploitation of the resulting resources in the historical heart development projects of rashid. localization of activities commensurate with the value of the lands overlooking the waterfront such as leisure and tourism activities. -develop strategies to reduce threats to heritage buildings that are degraded both for existing buildings and for the population in the long term. the historical center needs to be re-invested periodically in order to modernize the infrastructure, management of the province, and conservation work so that these places contribute as much as possible to the renewal of economic, cultural and social life of the city centers. the economic value of today should be given to heritage buildings. the empowerment of the population of rashid in urban rehabilitation projects for the public places of the historical heart are not replaced by investors completely because they are part of the historical and cultural fabric of the historical heart. developing the skills of the local administration to form partnerships with the private sector and ngos. -the city council should take into consideration the views of the private sector and citizens in general. -communication should be strengthened not only during the public-private partnership process, but also during the city’s historic development. 4. references 1. abdel-moneim ahmed shoukry (1999) sustainable development between concept and practice comparative analytical study for the periods 1980-1990 1995, phd thesis. faculty of engineering, cairo university, egypt. 2. amira el nokaly , ahmed el seragy (2010) sustainable urban regeneration of historic city centers lessons learnt , lincoln school of architecture , uk 3. bda landscape architects (2012) heritage squares, conceptual master plans and design guidelines. 4. brian doucet (2007) flagship regeneration panacea or urban problem, eura conference the vital city glasgow , scotland. 5. daniel fujiwara and ross campbell (2011) valuation techniques for social cost-benefit analysis: stated preference, revealed preference and subjective well-being approaches a discussion of the current issues, economics journal. 6. dr. amira elnokaly and dr. ahmed elseragy (2013) , sustainable heritage development: learning from urban conservation of heritage projects in non western contexts, european journal of sustainable development , volume 2, 3154 7. dr. galila gamal al-qadi, d. mohammed taher sadiq, d. mohamed hassan ismail, (1999) rashid emergence of the boom declinearab horizons house. 8. global urban ecocnimc dialogue (2013) public-private partnership in housing and urban development, un-habitat 9. guido licciardi, rana amirtahmasebi (2012) the economics of uniqueness, the world bank washington dc. pg. 180 aouf / the academic research community publication 10. ilse friedrich,(2012) urban conservation as a core component of sustainable urban development constance on lake , getty conservation institute. 11. information systems egyptian antiquities eais (2005) historical buildings report in egypt, rasheed part 1 12. lancashire county council (2010) creating civilised streets, policy and design guide lines. 13. main authors: andrea colantonio and tim dixon contributing authors: robin ganser, juliet carpenter and austine ngombe (2009) measuring socially sustainable urban regeneration in europe , oxford institute for sustainable development (oisd) school of the built environment oxford brookes university. 14. marina faetanini (2010) social and human scienceshistoric districts for all india a social and human approach for sustainable revitalization , brochure for local authorities, unhabitat . 15. philiip jodidio (2011) historic cities programme strategies for urban regeneration herat area programme, the aga khan ,geneva. 16. radulescu, ruxandra and florian reschke ( 2012). historic city center.” social and political key terms of the americas: politics, inequalities, and north-south relations, version. 17. santa fe, (2008) towards sustainable strategies for creative tourism discussion , united nations cultural organization, report of the planning meeting for international conference creative cities network , new mexico, u.s.a. 18. the getty conservation institute (2009) historic urban environment conservation challenges and priorities for action experts meeting, historic cities & urban settlements initiative. 19. thilo lang (2005) insights in the british debate about urban decline and urban regeneration. erkner, irs, institut für regionalentwicklung und strukturplanung. 20. tolina loulanski (2006),cultural heritage in socio-economic development: local and global perspectives, environments journal ,volume 34(2) 21. valentino piana ( 2010) , urban regeneration , economics web institute. 22. viviana martini ( 2011) proposals concerning the desirability of a standard-setting . 23. william penn (2007) sense of place: design guidlines for new construction in historic districts , a publication of the preservation alliance , philadelphia,usa 24. yasmine kamal saied aouf (2016) urban regeneration of public realm in historical cities centers in sustainable way (case study research in historic city core of rashid city), m.sc.thesis. faculty of engineering, cairo university, egypt. pg. 181 sustainable urban regeneration in historical cities centers public realm of historical cities centers public realm network study public realm network components of historical city centers: sustainable urban regeneration of public realm in historic core of rashid city analytical applied survey study on the physical dimension of the urban regeneration of the historical cor of rashid: analysis of the current status of rasheed waterfront: analysis of current roads network of rashid: analysis of the current status of parks: objectives of public realm regeneration of heritage heart of rachid city: conclusion division of historical center for urban sectors: urban regeneration of public realm of rashid historic core as follows the results of non-physical dimensions (economic / social) of the urban regeneration of rashid historic core: references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.435 bridging the gap between theory and practice in the urban design process: towards a multi-disciplinary approach moureen asaad1, marwa khalifa2, ahmed s. abd elrahman3 1bsc, urban design and planning department, ain shams university 2professor dr. , urban design and planning department, ain shams university 3associate professor dr. , urban design and planning department, ain shams university abstract the city is a complex living organism mostly affected by decisions taken whether they are political, organizational, or design decisions. such decisions vary in scale starting with planning, urban design, and architectural scales. urban design has been commonly agreed to occupy a hypothetical intersection between planning and architecture. it emerged to bridge the disciplinary gap between architecture and planning. since 1960s urban design literature attempted to define what good urban design and good city form is, and the process to achieve it; yet in practice the endproduct doesn’t always achieve high quality in terms of urban design initial objectives. over the last decades, the gap between disciplinary dreams in theory and real outcomes translated as urban design product of different practices has been growing in the field of urban planning and urban design. since the urban design product does not meet its expected objectives in theory then something must be wrong with it, and a thorough investigation must come in order to perceive such gap. the research aims to answer two main questions regarding urban design through examining the urban design process; the first is whether the urban design process is capable to bridge the multidisciplinary gap? and the second question is with the little knowledge and lack of success criteria for the urban design process; how can the success of urban design be measured? © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban design process; gap; multi-disciplinary; success criteria 1. introduction urban design has been commonly agreed in literature as the bridge between architecture and urban planning (lang, 2005) yet literatures has recently been discussing the many problems faced in practices of urban design, and mentioned the existing gap between theories and practices of urban design and planning that affects the form of the city (un-habitat, 2013; ghonimi, el zamly, khairy, & soliman, 2010; palermo & ponzini, 2012; palermo, 2014). the urban design product in the city has fallen behind the disciplinary theoretical dreams of its own objectives, appearing in disconnected cities, and cities which lack livability. literature is filled with many cases and discussions about low quality of the urban product which leads to questioning the reasons behind this. (steino, pg. 115 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ asaad / the academic research community publication 2003) if urban design is incapable of achieving its own objectives then we cannot blame it on the city, but something must be wrong with it. “if a car cannot drive, we do not blame it on the road. and if urban design cannot design cities we should not blame it on the city” (steino, 2003, p. 2) the paper discusses two main questions; the first is whether the urban design process can bridge the multidisciplinary gap -which was the main purpose for urban design’s emergence-? this question requires a background and theoretical overview on urban design term, its objectives, process and how it is viewed as a bridge to the multidisciplinary gap between various disciplines in literature. the second section of the paper is a practical check and a critique to the theoretical expectations, through a literature review to the expectations and reality of the relationship between urban design status and relationship with other disciplines, and whether literature agrees that urban design in practice has satisfied the purpose of its emergence yet. the final section provides answers to the second question: what can be considered good urban design regardless of the multidisciplinary gap? whether the gap still exists according to some literature, or not, how can we evaluate a city in terms of good urban design; and how can we reach a city able to overcome the multi-disciplinary gap. the following will be done through an examination of literature to extrapolate some considerations that ensure quality urban design in practice; as well as some considerations developed by the un-habitat which ensures high quality urban design, and finally verifying these developed considerations with 2 successful cities in terms of urban design and its relationship with other disciplines of urban development. 2. defining the urban design process: a literature review cities have always been the focus of design theory and practices; the different design practices have been labeled into disciplines according to the scope of design including architecture, landscape design, urban planning, civil engineering and recently urban design as a new discipline. (kreiger, territories of urban design, 2006; meadows, 1980; lang, 2005). the term “urban design” became popularized during the 20th century in 1956 chicago international conference. (kreiger, territories of urban design 2006) urban design is concerned with a few aspects that characterizes towns and cities such as culture, environment, scale of activities, functions, spaces and building types and their privacy; hence it can be theoretically considered the design field with the highest impact on the nature of the cities. (shahreen, 2010) defining and evaluating any process -including the urban design processto evaluate its success factors requires an agreement to some aspects of the process; first is defining the term of the process itself, as in defining urban design as a term. second, to evaluate a process it is required to understand what type of product it should produce, what is the expected end-product of this process. this can be defined through the urban design objectives, which leads to the evaluation of the process according to such objectives. third, is the human factor involved in such a process, in terms of involved actors and stakeholders and finally, defining the process taken to produce any urban product. 2.1. urban design “term” urban design term has originated from the latin word ‘urbs’ meaning ‘city’ (cuthbert, 2006; elshater, 2014). it was first identified in the harvard conference of 1956. urban design was commonly agreed as a discipline that occupies a hypothetical intersection between architecture and planning; thus, bridging any perceived gaps between those two disciplines. however, urban design has held various definitions by theorists and practitioners according to their different backgrounds, contexts, profession, practices and perception. (kreiger, territories of urban design, 2006; lang, 2005; steino, 2003) the first definition agreed upon in the proceedings of chicago international conference urban design as the part of city planning concerned with the physical form of the city. it also described urban design as a wider scope with pg. 116 asaad / the academic research community publication common basis of three professions; architecture, landscape architecture and city planning. (kreiger, territories of urban design, 2006; mumford, 2002). other approaches to defining urban design have been taken afterwards. to mention some names with different approaches: luis sert (cuthbert, 2006), john levy (levy, 2009), michael c. cunningham (cunningham, 1972), and francis tibbalds (tibbalds, 1988) have agreed upon the initial approach of urban design as a bridge between architecture and planning that concerns the physical aspect in the city. richard marshall (marshall, 2009), willo von moltke (kreiger and william, urban design 2009), udg (urban design group, 2011) marion roberts and clara greed (greed & roberts, 2014) defined urban design as an even wider scope process, in terms of a multidisciplinary complex process that confines more than architecture and planning only. others like peter buchanan, detr defined urban design in terms of the relationship between built and unbuilt space; while peter webber, doug paterson, rafael cuesta, cliff moughtini, christine sarris and paola signoretta had a more aesthetic approach to define urban design; they defined it as the art and qualities of the city form and values. another human scale approach was by carmona, heath, o,c and tiesdell, alex krieger, jerry spencer, detr & cabe, jonny mc, and david prichard, who defined urban design as the art of making places for people in the public life. a more generic and ambiguous approach was the definition given by peter batchelor, richard marshall (marshall, 2009) and david lewis who defined it as a way of thinking. others have gone to the approach of defining urban design as only the spaces between buildings. the attempts to define urban design can possibly be as many as the number of urban design writers and practitioners; (frey, 1999; madanipour, 1997; mumford, 2002; levy, 2009; marshall, 2009; carmona m. , 2010; steino, 2003; kreiger, territories of urban design, 2006; bahrainy & bakhtiar, 2016) which makes urban design a very confusing and wide term (lang, 2014; lang, 2005); yet an urban design process’ success should be evaluated through fulfilling its own definition according to each context. 2.2. stakeholders the urban design stakeholders have been categorized in various models; one of which was by (madanipour, 2006) who categorized them into 3 groups by order of the process. the first group are the regulators: those are the bodies involved on much higher levels than urban design itself but are responsible for regulating urban design, all those who are involved within the institutional framework, governmental bodies, economy and planning. they regulate the process in terms of decisions taken that should be put to action. figure 1. stakeholders according to type (madanipour, 2006) the second group are producers; who are mainly responsible for the implementation phase of the urban design pg. 117 asaad / the academic research community publication process. they follow the regulations and produce what we can call the urban design product. those can be identified as developers, financers, construction companies and professional team of designers. the third and final group are the users of the product; within the urban society, and everyone who lives, works or visits the city. they are the main target for the entire process and the product assessment is done through the users’ satisfaction of the urban product. other factors that can be identified from the above categorization of urban design stakeholders is how they can be contributors to urban design success through the amount of involvement of users, interaction between different stakeholders, and the degree by which regulators ensure that producers work on users’ satisfaction to ensure a successful process. 2.3. objectives and principles most writings on urban design identify a number of basic objectives that are most commonly embedded within any new development plan of a city. (lang, 2005) kevin lynch (lynch, 1981), hamid shirvani (shirvani, 1985), allan jacobs and donald appleyard (jacobs & appleyard, 1987), francis tibbalds (tibbalds 1992), cabe (carmona m. , 2010), alex kreiger (kreiger, territories of urban design 2006), and jon lang (lang, 2005) ,as well as many others identified the basic objectives of urban design in different terminologies, but they can all be summarized as 8 major objectives that urban design aims to achieve in the city: livability, sense of community and quality of public realm; suitability for human scale; efficient, durable and adaptable; has identity, character and aesthetics in terms of city; diversity of activities and mix use; control; accessibility and connectivity; and environmental sustainability such objectives are then translated into principles and design guidelines for different cities according to the city’s context and own interpretation to these objectives, how to achieve them, as well as priorities to achieve them. the objectives of urban design can be considered a second base point to evaluate whether the process has fulfilled its purpose. 2.4. the urban design process the urban design process has been under development throughout the past years, where many efforts have been exerted to model the process by different theorists and writers. this section is going to present a review to a few models which have been theorized in urban design literature about the process; reaching a generic model that can be commonly agreed upon as what most literature presents. the urban design method as a process in practice can be described as a series of linked decisions forming a sequence of analysis, synthesis, appraisal and decision. this series is mostly explained in other literature as well that covers urban design process. the process is repeated for more detailed levels of design. (moughtin, cuesta, sarris, & paola, 1999) analysis includes some basic information gathering on local planning scope, visual survey, and functional analysis including classifications of goals and objectives and information patterns. synthesis is the analysis of constrains, potentials, problems leading to idea generation stages, followed by appraisal which is an evaluation to the solution against initial objectives and goals, costs and other constrains, and finally a decision is made based upon evaluation findings for implementation. the decision taken is not a linear process, but it holds many return loops between different stages. it is very crucial to view the process as iterative, and not only within the single process of urban design, but between what precedes it and follows it as well. (moughtin, cuesta, sarris, & paola, 1999) the following collective urban design processes presents different literature concerning the steps of the urban design process, it appears that according to lawson (2005) urban design is expected to follow a systematic process connecting knowledge through data analysis to actions to be implemented through steps of concept generation and pg. 118 asaad / the academic research community publication developing options guiding the entire process into realization. table 1. urban design process according to various writers and theorists authors based on(palazzo & steiner, 2011; shirvani, 1985; levy, 2009; urban design group, 2011; greed & roberts, 2014) riba practice (palazzo & steiner, 2011) hamid shirvani (synoptic) (shirvani, 1985) hamid shirvani (incremental) (shirvani, 1985) hamid shirvani fragmental (shirvani, 1985) john m. levy (levy 2009) barry young (urban design group 2011) clara greed & martin roberts (greed & roberts, 2014) tony lloyd jones (palazzo & steiner, 2011) resulting process (authors’ conclusion) data collection data collection decisions and objectives data collection data collection & analysis problem definition 1.data collection problem analysis (general study) data analysis data analysis data analysis data analysis rationale development (analysis) 2.data analysis goals & objectives goals & objectives goals & objectives synthesis (problem analysis and develop options) define physical design principals vision, goals and objectives potentials & constrains 3.setting vision, goals & objectives develop options concept generation concept generation concept generation performance criteria strategies conceptualization & evaluation 4.concept generation and strategies elaborate concepts to solutions elaborate concepts to solutions translate to plans design options 5.develop options (from concepts to solutions) evaluate evaluate evaluate 6.evaluation present options transfer to plans transfer to plans details to implement guidelines briefs 7.transfer to plans/ implementation the above processes show that various literature describes the same process only with different terminologies and sometimes merged parts of the process. the design process maps explored for different practices such as industries, town planning, engineering, architecture and even urban design tend to show similar agreement in terms of the process steps; which suggests that perhaps the design process is the same in all fields. the famous process maps include similar steps to the traditional problem-solving technique (lawson, 2005). when the riba architectural design process is inspected compared to all the previous urban design process steps; it is found that the similarity is very high with any given urban design process with regards to the existing iterative pg. 119 asaad / the academic research community publication loops. figure 2. a map of the design process according to riba architectural practices (moughtin, cuesta, sarris, & paola, 1999) the process of translating plans and goals into designs should be interactive rather than linear; where the urban design informs both the architecture and planning which should not be fixed unless the physical aspect is considered (creiger 2006). the linear presentation of the urban design process never meant for it to actually work in a linear manner; but within the process itself there are many iterative loops the more it gets informed, which might update its goals and objectives or affect its evaluation criteria and so on. decisions at higher scales should inform the design process at lower scales; from regional to town planning, to urban design and to buildings. it would make more sense when all components fit within the framework of the higher order. buildings are designed to fit within the urban design scheme of higher order, however, it is not a one-way process from large to smaller scale. it is argued that an individual building could have an impact on the larger scale of urban design scheme; which could as well inform the planning of the city as a whole; hence iterative loops of design process between planning, urban design, architecture, and different scales is a key element to successful process of design (moughtin, cuesta, sarris, & paola, 1999) figure 3. thedesign process for urban development (moughtin, cuesta, sarris, & paola, 1999) 3. the truth about urban design; the unbridged gap over the last decades, the urban design literature has been filled with criticism towards urban design; the gap between the disciplinary dreams and real outcomes translated in the urban design product has been widely discussed (palermo, 2014). the theories, and principles promote various ways and objectives to achieve good urban design; yet this doesn’t always ensure that the end-product achieves high urban design quality (steino, 2003). this section discusses the criticism urban design has faced concerning its theoretical literature and practices outcomes to understand the reality of what literature of urban design presents. in theory; the attempts to define urban design as mentioned previously have been too many; maybe even as many as those who wrote in the urban design literature; this caused a confusion in the term itself, and its main purpose. the term is very poorly defined to the point that it seems it was intentional that urban design remains undefined (lang, 2014); it is also very inaccurate to try and define urban design as one term and a set of specifications (arida, pg. 120 asaad / the academic research community publication 2002; madanipour, 1997; cuthbert, 2006). richard marshal states that “urban design has always had no clear role, territory, and authority. . . . in this context, perhaps urban design’s unique value stems from its vagueness or rather from its provision of an overarching framework that can bridge more specialized design efforts.” (marshall, 2009, p. 55) when it comes to the urban design process in practice; although literature is filled with writings on how cities should be, it doesn’t have enough to provide information on how it should come into being (steino, 2003). the history of urban design provides many examples that have changed during the implementation, or even left uncompleted. it has been relatively common that urban design projects may not turn out as intended. (steino, 2003; moor, 2006) urban design literature promotes the idea of urban designers being the “shapers of the city” which in citizens’ minds is not the case. although urban designers are viewed as those concerned with daily needs and tangible problem solving, they are still not perceived as the decision makes, yet planners are; since their profession operates in the broader spheres of policy formulation (kreiger, territories of urban design, 2006; steino, 2003). urban design and planning are in theory strictly separated disciplines; in which there is hardly any feedback from the design process to the planning process despite the fact that in practice both disciplines operate and cannot be separated from the same physical public realm (devries, tabak, & achten, 2005; steino, 2003). the ambiguous relationship between urban design, and urban planning, policies, regulations etc. . . has caused more concerns and clamps which hinder urban design than it has already presented in its theories. (carmona 2010). different practices especially in developing countries shows a lack of proper urban planning and design strategies capable of facing the challenges in the growing cities; the evidence to such poor strategies shows in ineffective urban policies, poor connectivity, excessive zoning, insufficient accessibility and lack of appropriate urban design. such state for cities is not satisfactory for users neither their well-being which is considered the core value for urban design objectives (un-habitat, 2013). the above criticism directed to urban design, and its relationship with other disciplines hints out that the multidisciplinary gap has not been bridged by urban design’s emergence; since urban design itself is still a confusing term that has no clear connections to the planning and policy processes, either in theory or in many practices. 4. what makes a successful urban design process? 4.1. considerations from literature review: the above interpretation to the urban design process is not the only issue of question; but the main question is how to evaluate a good urban design process in the light of all the criticism directed towards urban design theory and practice. understanding successful urban design requires an assessment to the previous theoretical understanding of what the urban design process is in terms of definition and achieving its purpose, objectives, stakeholders’ relationships and following the process itself. yet literature had a lot to say about what makes good urban design in practice as well -since theoretical application to urban design alone cannot achieve successful urban designand every presented factor to what constitutes successful urban design can be extrapolated as a consideration for success. from a theoretical perspective; urban design’s ambiguous nature as a term, and a discipline as described in literature makes it very challenging to set clear cut boundaries to evaluate what is “good urban design” (lang, 2005). our knowledge is still primitive and disorganized when it comes to implementation and urban design practice, (george, 1997; steino, 2003). the lack of awareness to tactics influencing the urban design decisions leads to uninformed urban designers to construct proper solutions, which explains why successful urban places are rarely created (george, 1997). extrapolating some criteria for success through what literature has presented leads to answering the main question; what can be considered good urban design? the question of “good” urban design is a very subjective matter; it pg. 121 asaad / the academic research community publication can’t be addressed as an abstract ideal (cabe, 2003; lang, 2005). the city is defined as “good” by some from a merely aesthetic view,regardless that aesthetics are valued differently by people-; others may value the city from a more functional perspective, in terms of the city capacity to maintain a specific kind of business; others may prioritize how a city meets their social, economic or cultural everyday requirements (steino, 2004). another interpretation; it is a matter of creating the right conditions for a place to function well. achieving this aim can’t be done in a separate process from the planning system (cabe 2003). in terms of working scope, urban design works in a much larger sphere than its own sphere of work, due to the responsibility of shaping cities, towns and villages. being a multidisciplinary practice, it involves many stakeholders as presented earlier. the variation of stakeholders controlling, designing, managing or using the urban development always gives different perceptions and motives resulting in a different perception for urban design as a whole for planners, politicians, architects, developers, and the users; such variation leads to different evaluation of what is “good” for each stakeholder (carmona, de magalhães, edwards, awor, & aminossehe, 2001); yet it seems that the success of the product outcome depends on the effective efforts of all the involved stakeholders through understanding the variety of agents mentioned. as hard as that may seem, it can be viewed as a kind of success required for good urban design. (cabe, 2003; knox & ozolins, 2000) finding a balance for conflicting interests and objectives can be solved through policies set out by central and local governments; which plays a great role in terms of its power to set the roadmap for developers and clearly identify the government’s aspirations for quality urban design (washburn, 2013). the same factor was also discussed as a current clamp of urban design; which is the inconsistent relationship with planning and lack of legislative framework on national and sub-national scale (carmona m. , 2010). supportive policy and regulations can influence urban design at different scales, they contribute to sustainable urban design, while non-supportive policies, regulations and process make it almost impossible to achieve. (macdonald 2016) urban design needs to reach an awareness of the context in which the process operates including political, economic and social factors. (sternberg 2000). promoting for quality urban design can be better controlled through design and planning guidance for different scales starting local plans level, planning briefs, frameworks, guidelines, etc. . . . the more structured the guidance, the better are the chances to achieve required qualities and the less possibility for developers to produce less quality than expected. (jones, 2006; moughtin, cuesta, sarris, & paola, 1999) 4.2. success considerations according to the un habitat the un-habitat has been working on developing a national urban policy framework for developed and developing countries; in its document (habitat iii policy paper: national urban policy) presented in habitat iii conference (un-habitat, 2016) it presented some challenges to consider for designing urban policies; which included urban design. (habitat iii policy unit, 2016) urban and physical design are suffering insufficient public understanding of its critical role in people’s lives in many cities around the world. few cities take on urban design considerations on a larger scope than short term investments, to include it in their local or national policies or plans. this is often a result to the lack of adequate resources or professionals at city level. the new urban agenda of the un-habitat promotes for national urban policy and sets a high priority to quality urban design, which should satisfy the demands of people living in urban areas (habitat iii policy unit, 2016) the strategy for promoting urban design and planning according to the un-habitat document on national urban policy has been reviewed to find that the overall objectives of the un-habitat guidance to urban planning and urban design is to improve policies, plans and designs for better connected and integrated cities at all levels; national, regional and city levels. the strategies provided by the un-habitat are evidence based from best practices and experiences. (un-habitat, 2013) another document developed by the un-habitat was the toolkit for public space by the un-habitat provides pg. 122 asaad / the academic research community publication general policies and guidelines for cities to overcome the challenges of quality public space (which is an integral part of urban design, and maybe the most neglected). these policies included a 10-point policy to follow in order to achieve high quality public space; along with the recommendations concerning the urban policy documents by the un-habitat, they can be extrapolated as consideration for urban design success which will be represented in the following collective criteria table.(un-habitat, 2016) 4.3. developing success considerations for verification: the following table presents both, the criteria derived from literature as mentioned earlier, and the un-habitat criteria for urban design and public space from its various documents. the analysis to such criteria shall be categorized, summarized and further verified through 2 successful case studies. table 2. categorizing and summerizing the urban design success criteria from literature, and un-habitatauthors based on (habitat iii policy unit, 2016; un-habitat, 2016; un-habitat, 2013; steino, 2003; cabe, 2003; carmona, de magalhães, edwards, awor, & aminossehe, 2001; carmona m. , 2010; sternberg, 2000; macdonald, 2016; moughtin, cuesta, sarris, & paola, 1999) (jones, 2006; knox & ozolins, 2000; lang, 2005; washburn, 2013) categorization from literature un-habitat criteria measuring criteria author’s concluding criteria functional and context related considerations surveying the existing situation for public space ability to assess the existing situation and measurement tools for better future evaluation 1 fulfils its own aim and definition according to each context fulfilling its own definition, objectives, functionality and aesthetics with response to context 2 fulfil its context/ city objectives planning public space as a system within policy; with specific objectives for high quality public space objectives aesthetics ability to measure the quality/ functionality of public space through a measurement tool functioning space and activities responsive and adequate to context requirements stakeholders and users’ considerations stakeholders’ role: participation, relationship participation of various stakeholders stakeholders’ participation and satisfaction 3 meets aspirations of users and different stakeholders satisfying the demands of users continued on next page pg. 123 asaad / the academic research community publication table 2 continued understanding the interconnected relations and powers of stakeholders through a framework anchoring public space within national urban policy and seeking synergies within governmental bodies synergy within various stakeholders and governmental bodies 4 governance and multidisciplinary considerations guided by informed urban policies inclusion within the national urban policy 5 follow the process in an iterative manner (work well within the planning and urban development framework) 6 connected to the planning process guided urban planning &urban design to imrpove policies, plans, &designs for better connected & integrated cities at all levels; national, regional, & city levels. the presence of iterative loops in the process of urban design 7 its ability to bridge the gap between various disciplines urban design relationship with planning, and other disciplines and levels the presence of urban design guides, frameworks, etc on local, city, or even higher levels of governance, with clear expectations to the urban quality objectives. political commitment through a national vision in the national urban policy, local government and planning policies, national building codes, development and housing frameworks political commitment level (national., regional, city, local, etc...) the presence of urban design documents (guides, policies, codes and frameworks) on several levels (national urban policy, regional, city, and local government levels) 8 the legislations should be able to provide a secure public space; regulate its use; protect and maintain the public space from being misused. 10.inclusion in legislation (definition, protection and management) 9 urban development considerations using public space as a leader to development strategies 11.urban design leadership to urban development funding through leveraging public space as resource multiplier 12.economic aspect to urban development: funding pg. 124 asaad / the academic research community publication 5. case studies: the case studies in the following section will focus on the criteria which may have contributed to success of urban design in 2 countries as a verification step of the previous criteria analysis. according to (palermo, 2014), uk, australia, and netherlands are considered some of the countries successful in urban design. the focus on the case studies shall be on the previously discussed success criteria that shall be further verified through the case studies 5.1. australia: australia’s urban design protocol is the main guiding document for urban design in australia, which has been well known and established since 2011; it has been a product of the action plan produced by the national urban policy principles. the national urban policy included 10 principles for australian cities; one of which was the aim for livability within australian cities. this could be achieved by supporting the community wellbeing, and improving the public domain quality. the action plan for such objectives was to develop an urban design protocol which acts as a guiding document to all australian states and territories. the protocol is developed by the federal government level on a national scale; yet the application of urban design practices on the local government scale is regulated through each state specific guidelines and strategic planning approaches. various urban design guides exist for different states adopting the same principles from urban design protocol, with a focus for enhancing the australian cities relative to their context. for example, to mention some and not exclusive to: -new south wales: beyond the pavement – rta urban design policy, procedures and design principles -victoria: the urban design charter for victoria -south australia: public realm: urban design guidelines: by local government association of south australia -west australia: livable neighborhoods by western australian planning commission -queensland: next generation planning – a handbook for planners, designers and developers in south east queensland (asbec, 2017) the following table offers an explanation to some of the success criteria contributes to urban design in australian cities. table 3. australian case study evaluation upon urban design success criteria. authors based on (department of infrastructure and transport, 2011; palich & edmonds, 2013; australian government, 2011; australian government, 2015; jensen planning & design, 2014; asbec, 2017) categorization success criteria australian case study governance and multidisciplinary considerations 1. the presence of urban design documents: (guides, policies, codes and frameworks) on several levels (national urban policy, regional, city, and local government levels) national urban policy guide: our cities, our future -national level (urban design policy): places for people: urban design protocol for australian cities -regional and local government: various urban design guides and planning guides on local government scale of cities, and regional scales for states and territories which follow the urban design protocol as a guiding roadmap, and has their own context specifications and principles. (asbec, 2017; australian government, 2011) continued on next page pg. 125 asaad / the academic research community publication table 3 continued 2.inclusion within the national urban policy urban design protocol, and liveability issue are included on the national urban policy scale. the national urban policy framework for australia presented in the guide “our cities, our future” constitutes 3 main goals translated into 10 principles and a set of objectives guiding the decision-making process and translated into action plans. one of those principles is “liveability” which has been translated in the action plan into the “urban design protocol” prepared on the national urban policy scale, (federal government level) (department of infrastructure and transport 2011) 3.political commitment level (national, regional, city, local, etc. . . ) high political commitment due to inclusion of urban design as a protocol on federal (national) government level, and national urban policy guides with flexibility to each state to the detail of guidelines and legislative context. (department of infrastructure and transport, 2011) (jensen planning & design, 2014) 4.urban design relationship with planning, and other disciplines and levels urban planning is not a direct responsibility to the federal government (policy level), the national urban policy includes guidance for urban planning and some legislations that impact national scale (australian government 2011). urban design is included within the local government guidelines, and guided by the urban design protocol on national urban policy level. local governments are responsible to ensure projects delivery in accordance with the specified guides. 5.the presence of iterative loops in the process of urban design one of the key principles of the urban design protocol is “engagement” which allows providing input and feedback at different key stages of the process including the vision generation, design options feedback, and giving feedback during the public exhibition 6.inclusion in legislation (definition, protection and management) variable according to each state since australian government legislations are defined individually by each state. urban design attracts little attention on legislative level; yet despite little legislative compulsion, urban design is regularly used in practice and guided by the protocol and documents of the local government. (jensen planning & design, 2014) continued on next page pg. 126 asaad / the academic research community publication table 3 continued stakeholders and users’ considerations 7.stakeholders’ participation and satisfaction encouraging stakeholders’ participation and engagement is a key objective to the governance principle in the national urban policy for australian cities; it promotes that engaging different stakeholders and end-users in the planning, delivery and management will achieve better outcomes for development. (australian government, 2011) one of the initiatives to engage them was creating an urban policy forum to advise on the national urban policy implementation. that australian government aims to include stakeholders as well in the evaluation process of urban development. (australian government, 2011) another community driven project is (andi) australian national development index; which introduces a holistic progress measurement in australia for more than 40 community organizations. (palich & edmonds, 2013) continued on next page pg. 127 asaad / the academic research community publication table 3 continued 8.synergy within various stakeholders and governmental bodies federal government (legislative, judiciary, executive) responsible for urban policy formation on higher levels of federal government; on such scale, the national urban policy handbook called “our cities, our future” is formulated, and includes a vision for the entire country, sets principles and objectives guiding the development process, and translated into an action plan. one of those objectives is liveable cities; which was translated into an action plan on the national scale of urban policy to become translated into an urban design protocol for australian cities. state and territory government: australian six states and 2 territories have the power to form their own laws which doesn’t bypass the federal law, yet they have their own legislations, executive and judiciary bodies. (australian government 2015) on the scale of state government, effective planning becomes the main responsibility, and they can directly work with local governments of each city, engage with the community, and different stakeholders. they can also engage with higher levels of federal government through coag (council of australian governments) (palich and edmonds 2013) local government: its responsibilities lie within the state government; and their roles differ according to each state. they work on community input to be delivered to the strategic planning process, and ensures the projects delivery in accordance with adequate guidelines and recommendations of the government’s policies. functional and context related considerations 9.ability to assess the existing situation for better future evaluation by review to the above-mentioned guides; each guideline on the regional and local levels as mentioned has its specific context criteria and principles of good design, which can be measurable and evaluated. 10.fulfilling its own definition, objectives, functionality and aesthetics with response to context urban design objectives have been translated into 12 principles within the urban design protocol entitled “places for people”. the protocol has been a by-product of the action plan of the national urban policy liveability goal. (department of infrastructure and transport, 2011) . continued on next page pg. 128 asaad / the academic research community publication table 3 continued urban development considerations 11.urban design leadership to urban development the urban design protocol acts as a guide, which promotes the concept of community participation and leadership to development. (department of infrastructure and transport 2011) 12.economic aspect to urban development: funding urban design according to the protocol has a great economic influence on success through enhancing productivity, encouraging local businesses and entrepreneurship, attracting people to live there, travel, give access to job opportunities, facilities and services. (department of infrastructure and transport, 2011) 5.2. uk: the united kingdom case study offers a successful example to urban design. such success can be analyzed and verified through examining its status with regards to the above considerations. the uk government consists of policies on 2 main scales and other supplementary scales; national, and local authorities are the mainly involved authorities with setting planning and urban design policies and principles. the national scale offers a national urban policy which has been under development starting 2011-2016; its main aim was to empower the local authorities for each city to take control over their own development. the uk government has adopted this approach of local authority empowerment ever since it started its national planning policy framework 2011; where the nppf offers 12 core principles for planning across uk cities with special considerations mentioned for urban design and planning policies which address the local authorities, and empowers them to create their own planning policies and guidelines for each distinct context. explained in the local planning authorities are mainly responsible for setting a vision for their cities, setting strategic planning policies, preparing local plans and supplementary planning guidance including urban design codes and framework; approving local proposals presented to them, and assessing projects in accordance with the higher planning, national policies of the country. table 4. uk case study evaluation upon urban design success criteria. authors based on (cabe, 2003; homes and communities agency; english partnerships, 2007; un-habitat, 2016; udg, 2012; carmona m. , 2013; department for communities and local government, 2012) categorization success criteria uk case study continued on next page pg. 129 asaad / the academic research community publication table 4 continued governance and multidisciplinary considerations 1. the presence of urban design documents, such as guides, policies, codes and frameworks on several levels starting national urban policy, regional, city, and local government levels -urban design compendium 1: english partnerships, 2000 -by design: better places to live, department for transport, local government and regions, 2001 -pps 1: delivering sustainable development office of the deputy prime minister, 2005 -building for life, english partnerships, 2005 -pps 3: housing, office of the deputy prime minister, 2006 -quality standardsdelivering quality places, english partnerships, 2007 -urban design compendium 2, english partnerships, 2007 -world class placesthe government’s strategy for improving quality of places, department for communities and local government, 2009 -design council cabe 2011 -national planning policy framework, department for communities and local government 2012 (homes and communities agency; english partnerships, 2007) 2.inclusion within the national urban policy the national urban policy of uk government has taken an approach since 2011 towards decentralization through an approach called “city deals” which aims at empowering local governments to take responsibility for their development, business strategies, and economic growth. (un-habitat, 2016) the national urban policy doesn’t address urban design, or planning directly; yet it empowers the local governments (which are responsible for urban design) to be in control of their cities’ decisions and urban development, guided by the national planning policy. (un-habitat, 2016) the national planning policy sets 12 principles for local governments; where local governments are responsible for planning decisions for their cities. the 12 principles include one that ensures high quality of design; this can be translated through urban design codes that are generally formed for uk and specific codes by each local authority. (udg, 2012; department for communities and local government, 2012) continued on next page pg. 130 asaad / the academic research community publication table 4 continued 3.political commitment level (national, regional, city, local, etc. . . ) political commitment can be evaluated through the ability of local planning authorities to direct development; which is highly promoted and empowered from higher national level. a research by matthew carmona about design codes effectiveness in uk showed very high and positive outcomes and commitment to urban design codes in practice. (carmona m. , 2013) 4.urban design relationship with planning, and other disciplines and levels urban design is included as a part of the national planning policy, and included in local planning, and neighborhood planning. (cabe, 2003) which builds very strong connections with planning. 5.the presence of iterative loops in the process of urban design developing the processes requires iterative dialogue with different stakeholders during several process phases. 6.inclusion in legislation (definition, protection and management) the legislations involved in urban development are: planning acts 1990, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2013; national planning policy framework, national policy statements, and building regulations. the urban design codes are not directly addressed in detail in the above legislative documents; yet the national planning policy framework includes within its 12 core principles the necessity for high quality design on local scale; which includes urban design objectives and ensures its implementation. (department for communities and local government, 2012). however, the urban design guidance effectiveness depends on council officers of local planning authorities in each city, in developing their own urban design guidance and approval of development plans. (carmona m. , 2013) stakeholders and users’ considerations 7.stakeholders’ participation and satisfaction stakeholder participation is highly promoted within all scales of urban development starting national scale within the 12 core principles of national planning policy framework; and within the local authorities. (department for communities and local government, 2012) continued on next page pg. 131 asaad / the academic research community publication table 4 continued 8.synergy within various stakeholders and governmental bodies the scales for urban development start at national level (national planning policy framework), and then no regional scale authority for urban development, preceded by sub regional partnerships; and then local authorities each acting through their own local development framework, including area action plans, and a lower scale at neighborhood planning, and then site development controls. (udg, 2012) the new national urban policy (2011-2016) aims toward better synergy between different governmental bodies horizontally (among departments) and vertically (between higher national, and local authorities) through empowering the local authorities to become fully responsible for their cities, but through guiding principles for development. (unhabitat, 2016) local authorities are responsible for setting out policies for development which should be targeted through a distinct vision for each city, but following the basic urban design principles, and urban planning principles. (cabe, 2003) functional and context related considerations 9.ability to assess the existing situation for better future evaluation in accordance to each urban design policy guide and framework on local scale. (local assessment) 10.fulfilling its own definition, objectives, functionality and aesthetics with response to context basic urban design objectives are set by “by design” and “urban design compendium” which local authorities must at least comply to. further details are provided merely as guidance for development. the local authorities reserve the right to add urban design guides and details of their own, which is more appropriate to its given context, local community needs and requirements. (cabe, 2003) urban development considerations 11.urban design leadership to urban development urban planning is the discipline taking lead of the urban development; but includes within its principles on national and local scales urban design as an essential factor. (cabe, 2003) 12.economic aspect to urban development: funding adopting the approach of “city deals” in the national urban policy promotes economic empowerment and development through incentives for cities to compete for better urban development, planning and urban design. (un-habitat, 2016) 5.3. findings: both case studies verify the criteria developed from literature and the un-habitat documents, in which it is found that all success criteria is present, with different context variations in each case study. regarding governance and multidisciplinary considerations, the way of urban governance and how urban design is included in each case study pg. 132 asaad / the academic research community publication policy, it is noticed that australia depends on national urban policy -higher levelempowerment to urban design through its protocol which is prepared on national scale and binding to all australian cities; yet encouraging its states and territories to produce their own specific guides. while the case of uk presents a completely different approach, which is empowering the local planning authorities -local empowerment-, through allowing each city according to its context to set out the best scenario for its own development; including its planning and urban design guides; with a guidance on national planning scale for each city to create its own urban design guides, giving out a few documents as general guidelines to set the general principles for the entire country. in terms of stakeholders and users’ considerations; both case studies present different approaches in including stakeholders and providing techniques for feedback, yet it shows that it is very essential to the urban design and development process. functional and context considerations are subjective to smaller scale on city level, yet the basic urban design objectives are always binding on the national scale whether in the case of australia through the urban design protocol principles, or in the uk through the guides in national planning policy concerning urban design. the urban development considerations were only promoted by the un-habitat; yet the importance of the economic aspect is highlighted in both case studies. as for urban design taking lead for development it doesn’t apply to both cases but it seems like it still plays an important role in leading development along with planning. 6. conclusion: answering the question of whether urban design was able to be a bridge to the multidisciplinary gap brings a necessity to assess its literature and theoretical aspect to the means of bridging such gap. the assessment of its objectives, process, stakeholders and other factors shows that urban design is still a discipline in progress, which promised more than it could achieve on its own; and literature is filled with criticism to urban design notions. these results lead to the necessity to answer the following question; how can we assess any successful urban design if the discipline in literature hasn’t been able to achieve its own purpose and bridge on its own to the multidisciplinary gap? the second question was analyzed through further literature about what successful urban design is, which turns out to be extremely subjective and had no specific criteria developed, yet some criteria can be extrapolated from literature and from the un-habitat’s documents on urban design, and toolkit for successful public space. these criteria through verification by application on successful case studies like uk and australian citieswhich are known for high quality of urban design valueswas able to give a general understanding to urban design success criteria. the verification by reviewing case studies reaches a final conclusion that urban design as a discipline in practice cannot fill all the gaps between various disciplines, yet its criteria of success can be broadly categorized to governance and multidisciplinary considerations; stakeholders and users’ involvement and empowerment; functional and context related considerations; and urban development considerations. these considerations include many criteria points as mentioned earlier and that still need further verification and development, but gives a basic guide to valuate and ensure urban design success. 7. references 1. arida, a. 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(2003, august). vision , plan and reality. phd thesis. 49.steino, n. (2004). urban design and planning : one object – two theoretical realms . nordic journal of architectural research, 63-85. 50.sternberg, e. (2000). an integrative theory of urban design. journal of the american planning association, 265–278. 51.tibbalds, f. (1988). intentions in urban design 1. urban design quarterly, 11-12. 52.tibbalds, f. (1992). ‘places’ matter most. in m. carmona, & s. tiesdell, urban design reader (pp. 18-20). architectural press. 53.udg. (2012). national planning policy framework (england). england: department of communities and local government. 54.un-habitat. (2013, september 5). urban planning and design. retrieved from un habitat for a better urban future: https://unhabitat.org/expertise/2-urban-planning-and-design/ 55.un-habitat. (2016). global public space toolkit: from global principles to local policies and practice. nairobi: united nations human settlements programme (un-habitat). 56.un-habitat. (2016). the state of national urban policy in oecd countries. oecd and habitat iii. 57.urban design group. (2011). retrieved from urban design group: http://www.udg.org.uk/about/what-is-urba n-design 58.washburn, a. (2013). the nature of urban design. washington, covelo, london: island press. pg. 135 introduction defining the urban design process: a literature review urban design ``term'' stakeholders objectives and principles the urban design process the truth about urban design; the unbridged gap what makes a successful urban design process? considerations from literature review: success considerations according to the un habitat developing success considerations for verification: case studies: australia: uk: findings: conclusion: references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.431 a new concept towards addressing our pressing development issues through innovation, sustainability, and social entrepreneurship (case studies: building infrastructure through plastic waste) hammam ahmed hammam al kezmazy1 1deputy project manager, pollutants inventory project, center for advancement of post-graduate studies and research in engineering sciences at cairo university, capscu hammam.ahmed@hotmail.com abstract nowadays, not only in egypt but also globally, the job for life is no longer the norm[1]. for this reason innovation became a must; not just a luxury or something that people or countries can deal with as a source of boasting or showing. thus, and in order to promote sustainability concept through innovation, sustainability, and social entrepreneurship, this paper suggests some recommendations and introduces some solutions which can help in achieving and getting the most possible outputs and deliverable from the challenges are faced every day. it also proposes a new concept regarding the social entrepreneurship, social problems and development projects; e.g. infrastructure issues. the concept assumes that we have to go through three different ways in parallel when solving our pressing problems. these ways include the benefit from: our previous experiences, others’ successful applied projects, and the continuous follow-up of new technologies under development. also, it addresses how those three elements can be connected in a sustainable way which ensures the sustainability and the effectiveness of improving them at the same time. in addition, it gives one or more examples in each channel to clarify the situation. besides, the paper introduces some recommendations such as launching innovation & social entrepreneurship hubs, holding conferences & competitions and supporting r&d projects in order to promote our situation and consolidate our experiences. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords sustainability; social entrepreneurship; innovation; sustainable development; plastic waste; infrastructure 1. introduction over the last few years, the magnificent change in the way people think, act, and go through the practical life -especially in the new generationshas shaped and formed new ways for how we can work[1] and achieve our deliverable as countries and as individuals, too. this promoted the opportunities among the social entrepreneurs who aim at helping their countries solving their pressing social issues through coming up with new, innovative and pg. 63 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ al kezmazy / the academic research community publication viable solutions. this can help them to solve those pressing needs by using the local resources, and the simplest techniques to ensure the sustainability of the applied solutions. in egypt, we need to spread the spirit of creating jobs; not just searching for this spirit among youth, inside our communities as a whole, or even inside our schools. that would help us improve our situation regarding social entrepreneurship and sustainability. [2] although we can learn from our mistakes and our previous experience, it is better to learn from others’ experiences and to follow-up new innovative technologies under development around the globe. so we can benefit from it once it becomes reliable. for those reasons, this paper addresses three new approaches or channels in dealing with the most important pressing issues we suffer from in the developing countries and specifically in egypt. these approaches can be categorized into three different channels as follows: 1) benefiting from our previous experiences, 2) benefiting from others’ applied solutions, and 3) continuous follow-up for new technologies under development. an example concerning the first approach, “benefiting from our previous experience”, is learning from a local experience by discussing an amazing egyptian experience in the field of social entrepreneurship and environment called “recycling the rejects of the rejected plastics”. while, the second approach, “benefiting from others’ successful applied projects”, can be illustrated via discussing some examples of globally successful applied projects. this can be achieved by discussing how we can benefit from the successful projects implemented by other social entrepreneurs around the globe. this paper presents four amazing examples which can help to solve infrastructure issues. the last approach, “continuous follow-up for new technologies under development”, focuses on the advantages of investing in the r&d projects and the importance of tracing new innovative technologies like ”plasticroad”; the very innovative solution towards building roads. there are many untapped opportunities around us which can be the solutions for most of our pressing social and economic issues. but because of selecting the wrong methods to reach our destinations and achieve our deliverable, it becomes harder to face our challenges. in the light of this reason, this paper aims at helping us to follow the right ways and the most suitable channels by applying some recommendations to apply our solutions and move them from the problem phase into the opportunity phase. there are lots of great and innovative ideas around the globe regarding the construction and infrastructure projects. the most important aspect is not the issue of selecting the idea but selecting the technology that we use in our projects to solve our infrastructure problems in a sustainable and simple way. for example, egypt’s population is a big concern as it is around 93 million and if it keeps with the same current birth rate, it will be 150 million by 2050.[3] this significant challenge contains internally great opportunities such as the big amounts of solid wastes generated every day which can be recycled or even used to generate energy through ”waste to energy” technologies. also, providing the labor force with a high-quality capacity building process can be a catalyst for improving our economy and make it valuable, not a pressing issue. this can solve many problems and come up with new innovative ideas helping with our economy and attracting foreign investments rather than creating problems resulting from the unskilled labor force. moreover, egypt produces 60 million tons solid wastes every day[4]. these generated wastes not only cause environmental and social problems but also sometimes cause political issues and protest movements e.g. demonstrations in lebanon in 2015 regarding waste-disposition crisis[5]. one of the most important elements concerning the solid waste management is the plastic bottles as they need more than 450 years to decompose.[6] according to ellen macarthur foundation report in partnership with the world economic forum, by 2050 the plastic wastes in oceans will exceed fish in terms of weight.[7] on one hand, social entrepreneurship focuses mainly on solving social problems through innovative ideas. on the other hand, one of the biggest problems in egypt infrastructure development projects which face many problems due to their big required investments. the following concept introduces a methodology on connecting these three elements: (social entrepreneurs, social problems and development issues e.g. infrastructure issues in a sustainable way). pg. 64 al kezmazy / the academic research community publication in short, the cycle begins with studying the current situation and collecting all related solutions for the problems to be solved through the three shown channels. then and after screening those solutions, we choose the best solutions to be implemented after making sure that the solution is viable, meets our requirements and is acceptable in terms of effectiveness and cost. finally, we repeat the cycle after introducing new problems based on studying our current situations and so on. figure 1. theproposed concept 2. examples for the three channels 2.1. first channel: benefiting from our previous experiences case study: (recycling the rejects of the rejected plastics)[8] this solution can produce pavement tiles, bricks, manholes and many other products through recycling the rejects of the rejected plastics. this can solve a big social problem and also provide good sustainable solutions regarding some infrastructure issues. this project has already been implemented in egypt by the association for the protection of the environment (a.p. e) which is a non-profit organization. the production process consists of four main processes; each process internally includes big opportunities for social entrepreneurs who aim at creating continuous value for their community through sustainable projects. the four processes are as follows: 1. collecting the rejects of the rejected plastic and mixing them with sand, 2. heating the mixture in a furnace up to 180 degrees celsius, 3. adding special dyes, and 4. conducting hydraulic press. finally, coming up with the products as shown in figure 2. [8] figure 2. one of the final products from the project [8] pg. 65 al kezmazy / the academic research community publication regarding the first channel, this project not only can help in protecting the environment, but it can also assist in poverty alleviation through offering job opportunities for youth. [8] in addition, each step of the four processes of the project includes great opportunities for social entrepreneurs to make money and help to improve well-being in their community by collecting and sorting plastic waste, working on the equipment, and selling and installing the final products. 2.2. second channel: benefiting from others’ successful applied projects case studies: (indian plastic initiative, liter of light project, zero electricity air conditioning, and building with plastic bottles) in november 2015, india tried to solve its pressing issues regarding plastic waste disposal so the indian government issued an obligation order for urban local bodies to encourage the use of plastic waste with the other traditional materials for road construction. [9] figure 3. a photo shows a road made from plastic waste in india [10] this second example is the ’liter of light’ project which aims at providing homes with a sustainable cheap lighting system by using local resources and plastic bottles. figure 4. a soda bottle solar light installed in a home in manila,philippine. [11] pg. 66 al kezmazy / the academic research community publication another innovative solution is the zero electricity air conditioner which is a good solution for those communities that suffer from lacking electricity and poor infrastructure in hot areas. this helps them with decreasing the air temperature. the zero electricity air conditioner consists of thermal sheets, bottle cans, small strands, and any phase changing material. in short, the zero electricity air conditioner depends on the swirl motion created when compressed air expands through a nozzle. as shown in figure.5. after leaving the bottle’s rim, the air starts expanding. as a result of this rapid expansion, the warm air is cooled. [12] figure 5. a photo shows the working principle of zero electric airconditioning [12] figure 6. two men installing a zero electricity air conditioner [13] plastic bottles can also be used in building walls and reducing the amount of used cement. one of the best innovative projects for building walls from plastic bottles is the kouk khleang youth center in phenom penh, cambodia. used plastic bottles are collected and placed in a frame. generally, there are two techniques, the vertical bottles wall and the horizontal one. to make the construction more solid, steel wires are used to tie walls together. [14] pg. 67 al kezmazy / the academic research community publication figure 7. a youth working on building vertical plastic bottles wall incambodia. [14] 3. third channel: continuous follow-up for new technologies under development case study: (plasticroad concept) the aim of this joint project ”plasticroad” from kws (part of volkerwessels), wavin (part of the mexichem group), and total is to produce sustainable roads made mainly from recycled plastic.[15] according to the developers of these roads, the plasticroad has many advantages comparing with the traditional asphalt road such as faster construction which is more suitable for cities with high traffic like cairo, egypt. it has lightweight with an advantage of reducing the risks of ground subsidence, longer lifespan, and multiple uses of the space inside the road.[16] figure 8. a picture illustrates a cross-section of the plasticroad [16] pg. 68 al kezmazy / the academic research community publication although the emissions of vehicles are considered the most serious problem in any developed country around the world, the situation is completely different either in egypt or in the developing countries which suffer from problems in infrastructure like unpaved roads, poor infrastructure, and many other problems. in many places, the problem is not vehicles’ emissions but the dust and the windblown sand from unpaved streets. in addition to affecting the visibility, these particulate matters have many negative effects on health and the surrounding environment. [17] so, we can find that an innovation like the plasticroad is a good opportunity for a country like egypt and other developing countries suffering from a lack of infrastructure 4. conclusion developing countries like egypt suffer these days from many problems in many different fields at different scales. this urges us to find innovative and unprecedented ideas and to encourage the social entrepreneurs who not only aim at helping with solving the social problems but also at empowering and enabling their societies to be able to solve their own problems without any external assistance even the social entrepreneurs themselves. moreover, we need to invest well in research and development projects and not only depend on bringing new technologies from others. on the long-term, we will find that new technology becomes expired and another innovative solutions appear on the scene nearly every day. for this, investing in education and innovation will never be expired, and we will never lose our investments in these two dimensions. this can be achieved by launching innovation and social entrepreneurs hubs. in these hubs, people, regardless to their age or background, can learn the basic skills required in helping with this big process. when talking about a country like egypt with 24.9 % of illiteracy[18], we should consider including the very basic skills inside our hubs like learning how to read, write and perform simple calculations[19] in order to ensure that people get the maximum benefits either from the activities inside the hubs or helping the targeted people without any distinction or bias. also, these hubs can help the local community to work and collaborate with social entrepreneurs to come up with innovative solutions to solve their pressing problems. figure 9. reflects the importance of the community engagement in implementing projects and helping social entrepreneurs achieving their aim. figure 9. an image shows aposter asking locals to collect recycled bottles for workshop in cambodia [14] pg. 69 al kezmazy / the academic research community publication briefly, adopting and applying the suggested concept may help us with preventing the negative impact of our waste which is closely related to our high population growth rates. this will be a good opportunity for us; the more we generate wastes, the more we make products from them and the more we help with introducing new social entrepreneurs into the market. in other words, we convert risks into benefits and challenges into opportunities. list of recommendations 1. applying the proposed concept while planning for infrastructure and development projects. 2. launching innovation & social entrepreneurship hubs with a mission of advancing the skills of the surrounding local community. these hubs aim at empowering people, especially youth. a lot of activities may be occurred in an innovation hubs distributed among all the governorates of egypt. 3. investing in research and development projects especially those that focus on sustainable development. 4. connecting the hubs together with the social entrepreneurship conferences and competitions in all governorates. 5. adding some courses concerning ‘social entrepreneurship’ into our curriculum at our primary and secondary schools, or even at the kindergarten stage in order to instill the spirit of social entrepreneurship in our kids at an early age. 6. instill some core values in the participants such as commitment, integrity, empowering others, innovation, and creativity. we should also teach them how to uphold their credibility inside their communities in order to succeed in their projects. 5. references [1] pricewaterhousecoopers. (2011). workforce of the future the competing forces shaping 2030. retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/people-organisation/publications/workforce-of-the-future.html [2] global entrepreneurship research association (gera).(2017).global entrepreneurship monitor. global report 2016/17. retrieved from https://www.gemconsortium.org/report [3] schwartzstein, p. (2017, march 25). forget isis, egypt’s population boom is its biggest threat. retrieved from https://www.newsweek.com/2017/03/31/egypt-population-birth-rate-food-water-shortage-isis-terrorism-siss i-570953.html [4] ministry of the environment, government of japan. egypt’s waste management report. available: https://www.env.go.jp/earth/coop/coop/c report/egypt h16/english/pdf/021.pdf [last accessed: 24 august 2017] [5] abu-rish, z. (2015). garbage politics. middle east research and information project: critical coverage of the middle east since 1971,277. retrieved from https://merip.org/2016/03/garbage-politics/. [6] the government of western australia, department of environment and conservation.(2011). litter how long does it take to breakdown?. [7] world economic forum.(2016).the new plastics economy rethinking the future of plastics. [8] s. greiss, y. sawiris, s. el haggar, s. mourad & y. negm. (2007). recycling the rejects of the rejects; protection of the environment and poverty alleviation by job creation to youth. [9] ministry of environment, forest and climate change, government of india. (2015). plastic waste management rules. retrieved from http://www.moef.nic.in/sites/default/files/plastic waste management rules 2015-forprinted version.pdf pg. 70 al kezmazy / the academic research community publication [10] k k plastic waste management ltd. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.kkplasticroads.in/ [11] maillet, r. (2017). liters of light: engineering a new soda bottle solar light rachel maillet massachusetts academy of math and science. [12] mishra, a., gupta, a., mandal, a., & singh, a. (2016). zero electricity air conditioning using phase changing materials. thermal engineering (ijte),4(1), 10-14. [13] anon.(2015). the zero electricity air-cooler created in bangladesh. [14] virkkala, i. (2017). building with bottles the basics. building trust international. [15] kws, wavin and total. 20.10.2016. press release. available: https://plasticroad.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/press-release-20.10.2016.pdf [last accessed: 18 august 2017] [16] a revolution in building roads. (2016). retrieved from https://www.plasticroad.eu/en/ [17]who(2013).health effects of particulate matter. [18] ghoneim, m. (2015). literacy and adult education in egypt: achievements and challenges. american journal of educational research,3(7), 793-799. doi:10.12691/education-3-7-1 [19] education for all by 2015. will we make it? (2007). retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/report/ 2008/education-all-2015-will-we-make-it pg. 71 introduction examples for the three channels first channel: benefiting from our previous experiences second channel: benefiting from others' successful applied projects third channel: continuous follow-up for new technologies under development conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.375 experimental simulation for load reduction techniques on underground utilities using geofoam bahr m. a.1, tarek m. f1, hassan a. a2, hassaan d. m3 1professor of soil mechanics and foundation, al azhar university, cairo. egypt. 2assistant professor of soil mechanics and foundation, al azhar university, cairo. egypt. 3phd student, al azhar university, cairo. egypt. abstract this paper investigates an experimental study on reducing stress acting on buried flexible pipes by using expanded polystyrene (eps) geofoam techniques. an experimental model was carried out with dimensions depending on pipe diameter (d) and location, the used fill cover material was from sand and eps blocks either embankment form, or within sand backfill as embedded layer. the pipe flexible is un-plasticized polyvinyl chloride (upvc). a series of experiments have been carried out by using static surface loading on rectangular steel plate,where the load is distributed over the backfill. the behavior of sand backfill around the pipe was observed, and the displacement and strains of the pipe were measured. the experimental results showed that the embedded layer of eps geofoam block embedded in sand for different techniques reduced the deformation of flexible buried pipe, with high efficiency and low coast compared with eps geofoam only. the results reveal that, the most effective methods that can reduce the stress on buried flexible pipe with low cost were eps encasement block with head void method, and eps block embraces the upper part of pipe method. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords buried flexible pipes; geofoam; a laboratory setup. 1. introduction underground utilities are infrastructures such as conduits and buried pipelines systems used for transmitting or distributing water supply, gas, electricity, lights, storm drains; etc.. underground utilities are expected to withstand induced stresses from dead and live loads on pipe . all these loads cause problems such as radial deformation, ring bending (crushing), axial extension or compression and longitudinal bending moment, these problems may lead to leakage or broken of pipe network (ng, 1994). the expanded polystyrene (eps) geofoam was used as lightweight construction material goes back to 1972 at oslo, norway for the roadway project. this material was used as foam blocks in the usa in 1980s and japanese constructed their first lightweight fill project at 1985 (nchrp, 2004). because of the advantages of eps as lightweight, low coast thermal resistance, vibration damping and compressible pg. 323 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ bahr / the academic research community publication properties, it has been used with different techniques in many countries at last decades in europe, united states, canada and japan for roadways, railways and covering underground utilities. geofoam also used to solve many important engineering problems such as settlement, bearing capacity of weak layers, and slope stability problems (stark et al., 2012 and bartlett et al., 2015). vaslestad et al., (1993) investigated the eps geofoam layer as imperfect ditch method above four rigid culverts had dimensions 1.6m diameter and 15m overburden high. the results showed that, the overburden ressure reduction at the crown was ranging from 50% to 75%. yoshizaka and sakanoue (2003) investigated eps geofoam as a lightweight cover on pipe to reduce lateral forcedisplacement relationships for buried pipes. they found that, the eps geofoam reduced the lateral soil-pipe forces by about 33 to 60%for pipe undergoing horizontal displacement. ahmed et al., (2013) studied the earth pressure interaction between the backfill and the wall of rigid pipe under static and cyclic loading conditions. the results investigated that the embedded eps geofoam reduced the earth pressure on the rigid pipe. this research studies by performing a series of laboratory experimental model tests, the stress and deformation of flexible upvc buried pipes and the soil backfill behavior around it was observed under static surface loading. different techniques using eps geofoam with different densities as backfill material was evaluated to reduce stress on buried pipes, and minimize its deformation. the experimental results of all tested cases were compared to deduce the most effective backfill method are comparing for all cases. 2. materials and experimental model 2.1. materials expanded polystyrene eps geofoam has many types and shapes which depending on the usage case. eps geofoam blocks are produced with two types: eps15 & eps30, the properties of eps geofoam are listed in table (1). sand material used in research was from the eastern desert of egypt. the sample is passing on sieve no. 4 (4.76 mm), table (1) also shows the properties of used sand. the used un-plasticized polyvinyl chloride (upvc) pipe is of 110mm diameter and 600mm long, with thickness of 4mm, the specification of upvc pipe according to manufacture are shown in table (1). table 1. properties of materials property sand eps 15 eps 30 upvc pipe unit weight (kn/m3) 15.5 0.147 0.298 14 modulus of elasticity e (kn/m2) 11000 3000 8000 2×106 void ratio (e) 0.73 specific gravity (gs) 2.69 relative density (dr) 0.25 shear parameters φ=32◦ poisson’s ratio(ν) 0.30 0.09 0.17 0.4 2.2. loading frame and steel tank a loading frame has dimensions of the loading frame are 1400mm long x 1200 mm height. the loading frame is fixed with steel tank as shown in figure (1). the dimensions of steel tank were approximately chosen to be more than the minimum rigid frame boundaries. the minimum rigid boundaries are 2d for vertical direction (where d is the pipe diameter) and 4d in horizontal directions (kamel and meguid, 2013). the overburden pressure above the pipe crest was 300mm (2.6d) from surface, and the rigid base of the tank was located at 315mm (2.8d) below the pipe invert. the lateral boundaries at a distance 615mm (5.5d) measured from its circumference, as shown in pg. 324 bahr / the academic research community publication figure (1). the tank is approximately1380mm long, 1000mm height and 300mm wide, with a 10mm plexiglass face, the front side was reinforced horizontally using three 25mm steel box sections every 250 mm and vertically using two 100 mm steel u sections every 400 mm, and the rare side was from steel. the steel tank sides were painted to reduce the friction. a hole of 150mm in diameter was drilled in the front and a rear side, the whole size was larger than the diameter of the pipe to ensure that the pipe rests on sand directly, a rubber membrane was put at both ends of the pipe to prevent sand leakage during loading condition. the compression load was applied using a hydraulic jack with load gauge operated by manual pump. dial gauges were used to measure the vertical settlement of the surface plate and the pipe deformations. electrical strain rosettes with gauge length of6 mm and gauge factor of 2.12 + 1 % were used to measure the strain at the outer face of the pipe, the stains were placed at crown and springline of the middle length section and connected to data logger. figure 1. (a) the sketch diagram with dimensions of the model and (b)the loading frame and steeltank 3. experimental setup and testing procedures. 3.1. overburden sand model three compacted layers of air dried sand with thickness of about 100mm for each layer were arranged from the base of tank to the lower level of the pipe. the upvc pipe was placed in position crossing the tank faces from a hole of 150mm, and a rubber membrane was inserted around the pipe and bond with walls by silicon, the horizontal level of the pipe was checked. the sand placement was poured and compacted around the pipe from invert to the crown, another two thin layers of colored sand were prepared at invert and crest of the pipe. black lines were drawn on the outer side of glassfiber plate parallel to colored sand layers. the final layer of sand was added to completely cover the pipe and to reach the height of 300mm above the pipe crown. colored layer of sand was put at the top of the overburden layer, the black line was drawn on the outside of the fiber glass. 3.2. overburden eps blocks model after removing the overburden layer of sand and reaching to the lower level of the steel tank; a bed of sand was prepared from the base of model tank to the lower level of the pipe, the new pipe was inserted and placed over the sand bed, then geofoam blocks with dimensions of 300 mm×300 mm×100 mm were arranged as overburden layer with depth of 300mm, as shown in figure (2). figure 2. the experimental set up for the overburden eps blocks model. pg. 325 bahr / the academic research community publication 3.3. embedded eps blocks over the pipe (imperfect ditch) model a bed of sand was prepared from the base of model tank to the lower level of the pipe, then the sand was poured around the pipe and above by about until 20 mm and well compacted. a layer of eps geofoam block was placedover sand with dimensions of 550mm×100mm, and then the sand was backfilled to reach a height of 300mm over pipe crown, as shown in figure (3) figure 3. the experimental set up for the embedded eps block over the pipe model 3.4. embedded eps block embraces the pipe upper part model as in the previous model, a bed of sand was prepared from the base of model tank to the lower level of the pipe. the sand layer was completed to the lower mid-height of the pipe, then the upper mid-height was encased by preformed eps geofoam block with dimensions of 330mm×165mm (3d*1.5d). the sand fill layer was completed to reach a height of 300mm over pipe crown, as shown in figure (4). figure 4. the experimental set pipe encased with embedded eps block model 3.5. pipe with embedded eps encasement blocks model a bed of sand was prepared from the base of model tank to the lower level of the pipe, then eps geofoam blocks with dimensions 165mm height ×100 width were put at the both sides of the pipe, and covered by eps beam block with dimensions 330 mm×165mm (2d*1.5d). the sand fill layer was completed to reach a height of 300 mm over pipe crown, as shown in figure (5). figure 5. the experimental set up in case of pipe inside embedded eps blocks culvert model pg. 326 bahr / the academic research community publication 3.6. testing procedures a load frame was used to transfer the load from hydraulic jack into a load cell which placed above a mild steel plate of size 500 mm x 280 mm x 30 mm to transmit the load uniformly to the sand, eps geofoam blocks and buried pipe. the surface stress is based on the aashto hs-20 truck loads which transmit stress with impact factor 86kpa to buried pipe at depth 305mm. the rate of loading for all the experiments was constant. 4. behavior of buried pipe in different backfill models 4.1. overburden eps blocks model figure 6. deformation of upvc buried pipe under loading in case of eps blocks (embankment) model figure (6) shows the maximum horizontal and vertical displacement curves of pipe in case of sand backfill, the crown and the springline displacement behavior started linear with surface stress until it reaches the value of 71.5 kpa, then the behavior became nonlinear. on the other hand, the stress-displacement relationship of the overburden eps blocks shows to be linear-relationship up a stress of about 180 kpa (nearly one and half the maximum linear load of sand backfill), under that load the reduction in pipe vertical deformation due to use eps 15 and eps 30 is about 46% and 36% respectively. while the reduction in the pipe horizontal deformation due to use eps 15 and eps 30 is about 70% and 57% respectively. it is worth noting that, eps with less density partially release the applied by a degree little more than the denser one. 4.2. embedded eps blocks over the pipe (imperfect ditch) model figure 7. deformationof upvc buried pipe under embedded eps blocks (imperfect ditch) model figure (7) shows that the maximum horizontal and vertical displacement curves of pipe in case of imperfect ditch method, for eps30the crown and the springline displacement behavior started linear with surface stress until it reaches the value of 71.5 kpa, then the behavior became nonlinear. while in case of eps 15 the crown and the springline displacement behavior started after 71.5kpa with linear behavior for crown and springline. under the design surface stress 180kpa the reduction in pipe vertical deformation due to use eps 15 and eps 30 is about pg. 327 bahr / the academic research community publication 60% and 0% respectively. while the reduction in the pipe horizontal deformation due to use eps 15 and eps 30 is about 50% and 37% respectively. it is worth noting that, eps with less density partially release the applied by a degree little more than the denser one. 4.3. embedded eps block embraces the pipe upper part model figure 8. deformation of upvc buried pipe under embedded eps blocks embraces thepipe upper part model figure (8) shows that maximum horizontal and vertical displacement curves of pipe in case of embedded eps blocks embraces the pipe upper part model, under the design surface stress 180kpa the reduction in pipe vertical deformation due to use eps 15 and eps 30 is about 65% and 45% % respectively. while the reduction in the pipe horizontal deformation due to use eps 15 and eps 30 is about 75% and 55% respectively. 4.4. embedded eps encasement blocks model figure (9) illustrates that maximum horizontal and vertical displacement curves of pipe in case of embedded eps encasement blocks model, the crown and the springline displacement behavior started linear after surface stress107.5 kpa until it reaches the value of maximum surface stress180 kpa. under the design surface stress 180kpa the reduction in pipe vertical deformation due to use eps 15 and eps 30 is about 95% and 95% % respectively. while the reduction in the pipe horizontal deformation due to use eps 15 and eps 30 is about 99% and 95% respectively. figure 9. deformation of upvc buried pipe under embedded eps encasement blocks model these figures show that, the most effective method which reduce the surface stress and minimize the pipe deformations are eps block embraces upper pipe method and eps encasement block method. the eps embankment method reduces the surface stress and the pipe deformations with high cost compared with eps embraces and encasement methods which get the higher results with low cast. the imperfect ditch is not effective method in pg. 328 bahr / the academic research community publication case of eps30 because of small compressibility as it transfer the stress to the buried pipe, also eps15 imperfect ditchmethod has not get good results although it has high compressibility. eps15 is more effective than eps30 at the same backfill method, due to its higher compressibility with lesser stress transfers to the buried pipe. 4.5. the reduction percentage of upvc buried pipe in case of optimum backfill models 4.5.1. the reduction percentage in case of eps embraces upper pipe model figure 10(a) shows the reduction percentage of eps block embraces upper pipe method at the crown, for eps15 the reduction percentage is 100% at surface stress 70kpa and then it is decrease gradually to be 70% at surface stress 107kpa and 65% at maximum surface stress 180kpa, while eps 30 reduction percentage at crown is 100% at surface stress71.5kpa and then it is decrease gradually to be 45% at 107kpa and finally the percentage is 45% at maximum surface stress. figure 11(b) shows the reduction percentage of the pipe springline, in case of eps 15 the reduction factor is 100% at surface stress 71.5kpa then it is decrease gradually to be 80% at 107kpa and finally reach to 75% at maximum surface stress, the eps 30 reduction factor is 50% at start and it is increase gradually to be 55% at maximum surface stress. figure 10. the reduction percentage of upvc buried pipe incase of eps embraces upper pipemethods. 4.5.2. the reduction percentage of upvc buried pipe in case of eps encasement pipe model figure 11 (a) illustrates that the crown reduction percentage of eps encasement block method, in case of eps15 reduction percentage is 100% at surface stress 71.5kpa and 107kpa then it is decrease gradually to be 95% at maximum surface stress, in case of eps 30 the crown reduction percentage is 100% at stress 71.5kpa and it is decrease gradually to be around 95% at maximum surface stress. figure 11 (b) illustrates the springline reduction factor, in case of eps15 the initial reduction factor is 100% at surface stress 71.5kpa reduced to 99% at maximum surface stress, in case of eps 30 reduction factor is 100% at stress 71.5 kpa and reduced to 95% at maximum surface stress. figure 11. the reduction percentage of upvc buried pipe in case of eps encasement pipe methods. pg. 329 bahr / the academic research community publication 4.6. the strain behavior of upvc buried pipe in case of different models. figure (14) shows the diametral stress-strain relationship of buried pipe diameter at crown in case of different backfill methods. the results shown in figure indicate that all curves started with linear trend until the surface stress reaches the value of 71.5kpa then it changed to be a nonlinear except for the eps encasement cover method which have a linear trend. the eps 30 and eps 15 embankment reduce the crown strain of the pipe by about 30% and 45%, respectively at maximum surface stress. the imperfect ditch method from eps 30 has no effect on reducing crown strain, but the eps 15 reduces the crown strain by about 45%at maximum surface stress. the eps 30 and eps 15 block embraces upper part of pipe method get the crown strain of the pipe by about 60% and 64%, respectively at maximum surface stress. eps 30 and eps 15 encasement block reduced the crown strain by about 93% and 95%, respectively at maximum surface stress. figure (15) shows the diametral stress-strain relationship of buried pipe diameter springline in case of different backfill methods. the results shown in figure indicate that all curves started with linear trend until the surface stress reach the value of 71.5kpa then the trend changed to be a nonlinear except eps casement cover method and eps embraces upper pipe which have a linear trend. eps 30 and eps 15 embankment method reduce the springline strain by about 56% and 68%, respectively. the imperfect ditch from eps 30 and eps 15 block reduce the springline strain by about 40% and 50%, respectively. eps 30 and eps 15 block embraces upper part of pipe method get the springline strain by about 81 and 86%, respectively. eps 30 and eps 15 encasement block reduced the springline strain by about 100%. figure 12. crown diametral strain of upvc buried pipe in case of different backfill models. figure 13. springline diametral strain of upvc buried pipe in case of different backfill models. 5. conclusions this research investigated the effect of eps geofoam techniques to reduce the earth pressure on flexible buried pipes. four techniques of eps geofoam as a backfill were applied: (a) embankment, (b) imperfect ditch, (c) eps block embraces the upper part pipe, and (d) eps encasement block with head void. these systems of eps geofoam defined as cover or as backfill system. a laboratory model was designed to set up backfill of height 300mm in rigid pg. 330 bahr / the academic research community publication box over flexible pipe and the surface pressure was applied over the steel plate, the pipe has horizontal and vertical dial gauges. two types of eps with different densities were used. from this study the following conclusions were drawn: 1.the results show that the different methods of eps geofoam eps 30 and eps 15 reduce the earth pressure on flexible buried pipes and the displacement and stress of it with percentage depending on backfill method and loads type. so, these methods protect buried pipes. 2.the eps geofoam embankment method reduced the vertical and horizontal deformations by about 36% and 40%, respectively for eps 30, while for eps 15 the reduction was higher with about 65% and 75%. 3.the eps encasement block with head void method minimized the vertical and horizontal deformations by about 98 and 99%, respectively and by about 95 and 99% for eps 15. 4.the imperfect ditch method from eps 30 reduced the vertical and horizontal deformations by about 0 and 37%, respectively, while for eps15 the vertical and horizontal deformations reduced by about 45 and 60%, respectively. the imperfect ditch method is not recommended in case of the backfill height300mm and the pipe is flexible. 5. the encasement with head void was the most effective method which reduces the stress over buried flexible pipe, followed by the eps block embraces the upper pipe method. 6. references 1. ahmed mr, meguid ma, whalen j. laboratory measurement of the load reduction on buried structures overlain by eps geofoam. geomontreal conference, montreal, quebec, 2013.p.1-10. 2. american lifelines alliance. gideline for the designe buried steel pipe. american sociaty of civil engineering asce, july 2001. 3. bartlett s f, lingwall b n, vaslestad j. methods of protecting buried pipelines and culverts in transportation infrastructure using eps geofoam. geotextiles and geomembranes. june 2015, pp1-12. 4. ilamparuthi k, rajkumar r. experimental study on the behaviour of buried flexible plastic pipe. ejge journal, vol. 13, bund c. 2008, p.110. 5. kamel s, meguid ma. investigating the effects of local contact loss on the earth pressure distribution on rigid pipes. geotechnical and geological engineering 31(1), 2013. p.199–212. 6. national cooperative highway research program nchrp. geofoam applications in the design and construction of highway embankments. web document 65 (project 24-11) stark, t. d., arellano, d., horvath, j. s. and leshchinsky, d., scarsdale, new york, 2004. 7. ng p c f. behaviour of buried pipelines subjected to external loading. thesis submitted to the university of sheffield for the degree of doctor of philosophy, 1994. 8. yoshizaka k, and sakanoue t. experimental study on soil-pipeline interaction using eps backfill.pipelines 2003.copyright asce 2004.p. 1126-1134. 9. stark td, bartlett sf, arellano d. expanded polystyrene (eps) geofoam applications and technical data. the eps industry alliance, 1298 cronson blvd ., suite 201, crofton, md 21114, 2012, p.1-36. 10. vaslestad j, johansen t h, holm w. load reduction on rigid culverts beneath high fills: longterm behaviour. transportation research record 1415, norwegian road research laboratory, public road research administration, 1993. p.58-68. pg. 331 introduction materials and experimental model materials loading frame and steel tank experimental setup and testing procedures. overburden sand model overburden eps blocks model embedded eps blocks over the pipe (imperfect ditch) model embedded eps block embraces the pipe upper part model pipe with embedded eps encasement blocks model testing procedures behavior of buried pipe in different backfill models overburden eps blocks model embedded eps blocks over the pipe (imperfect ditch) model embedded eps block embraces the pipe upper part model embedded eps encasement blocks model the reduction percentage of upvc buried pipe in case of optimum backfill models the reduction percentage in case of eps embraces upper pipe model the reduction percentage of upvc buried pipe in case of eps encasement pipe model the strain behavior of upvc buried pipe in case of different models. conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication the impact of integrating occupational safety and health into the pre-construction phase of projects: a literature review laila khodeir1, youhansen salahel dine2 1associate professor, faculty of engineering, architecture department, ain shams university, british university, cairo, egypt 2faculty of engineering, architecture department, ain shams university, cairo, egypt abstract construction is a high-risk industry owning to several accidents that take place in construction sites. fatalities and workplace injuries are a major issue. construction managers concentrate on profitability as far as cost, quality, and time are concerned. unless experts end up mindful of safety-related issues, development tasks can never reach their targets. the main aim of this paper is to review the literature that highlights the result of the implementation of occupational health and safety practices in construction sites. the research examines the impact of the implementation on the number of accidents in construction sites and the precautions that should be taken into consideration starting from the pre-construction stage. previous research suggested that early introduction of occupational safety & health management systems (ohsms) and elements within the project implementation is an important asset in decision-making. it aims toward the abatement of occupational hazards in the workplace. the paper explores through a literature review the root causes of construction accidents and factors causing risks in construction sites. the research explains oshms, and its effects, and how they can be integrated into the pre-construction stage in projects. the impact of the implementation of occupational health and safety practices at construction sites will be discussed as well. the study concluded that due to implementing ohsms, there is a significant reduction in accidents. in order to improve security and health, safety measures should be included starting from the preparation of contract documents. it is recommended that the managers of top construction companies commit more to safety and health procedures. there is a need to provide funding for the regulatory body that oversees health and safety in the construction industry. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords occupational health and safety management system; accident; construction health and safety; construction sites 1. introduction construction industry is a high risk industry awing to severe accident occurrence in construction sites and accidental deaths or work-related injuries is considered an issue. construction managers concentrate principally on profitability as far as cost, quality and time, though development tasks can never accomplish their targets unless experts end up noticeably mindful of the safety-related issues (smith, 1999). pg. 173 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.357 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ khodeir / the academic research community publication figure 1. rate of fatal work-related injuries per 100,000 workers as estimated by health and safety executive (hse) as indicated by health and safety executive, the statistics in figure 1 demonstrate the quantity of laborers fatally harmed in 2015/16 is 144, and relates to a rate of deadly damage of 0.46 deaths for every 100,000 labourers. over the most recent 20-year era there has been a descending pattern in the rate of fatal injury (workplace fatal injuries in great britain 2018, 2018). health and safety are related to ensuring the welfare of the laborers through protection in their separate work environment. security of laborers is extremely crucial in especially in high risk industries such as the construction industry in light of the fact that the fundamental power behind any site is the laborer. it is discovered that without wellbeing, the dangers and risks at an extremely risky place like construction sites can get individuals harmed, hurt or even executed and appropriately this can cause any development site deferrals and additional consumptions. health and safety are ensured to both the employees and employers since bosses can’t get a decent result if their workers are becoming ill and harmed constantly (shamsuddin, ani, ismail & ibrahim, 2015). occupational health and safety management system can be explained to be part of the whole management framework that encourages the administration of the occupational safety and health dangers related to the business of any organizational structure, planning of the activities and any other practices and processes in order to continually keep the os&h policy of an association and continual improvement directed towards the abatement of occupational hazards in the workplace, (osh). the main objective of the occupational health and safety management system (ohsms) to be certified is to empower the awareness of employees in safety through safety work practices, and higher safety standards are promoted in the construction industry, (teo, ling & chong, 2005). it is argued by smallwood (2002), that accidents are inescapable in the construction industry since the business is known to be naturally unsafe. the high rates of injury are essentially because of deficient or non-presence of osh administration frameworks (zolfagharian, ressang, irizarry, nourbakhsh & zin, 2011). health and safety issues are not bound to the construction phase of a project yet happen all through a project. huge numbers of health and safety problems experienced during construction could be avoided if efforts are made during the project brief and design phases, (haywood, 2004). (hare, cameron & roy duff, 2006) and (saurin & fermoso, 2004) explored health and safety integrate with preconstruction phase, thus suggested to future researches to develop the whole model for construction project management. this paper aims to present a literature review on root causes of construction accidents, factors affecting safety in construction sites, what is meant by occupational safety and health management system. the paper then discusses what the pre-construction stage is and effects of implementing occupational safety and health in the inception &feasibility, design &tendering pre-construction stage then implementation of occupational health and safety practices at construction sites will be discussed. previous research suggested that early introduction of occupational safety & health management systems (ohsms) and elements within the project implementation, is an important asset in decision-making as it directs towards the abatement of occupational hazards in the workplace. pg. 174 khodeir / the academic research community publication 2. defining construction site accidents (ritter, 2006) explains a ‘construction site accident’ is any type of accident that happens on a construction site; products fall, people are crushed, buried, burned, electrocuted and fall to their deaths during working hours and the injured party was someone working on that job, (ritter, 2006). it can be in term of harm to gear and materials and particularly attention is given to injuries, (hinze & russell, 1997). 2.1. root causes of construction site accidents there are many different root causes of construction site accidents due to unsafe acts and conditions. unsafe conditions on site are hazards that can cause injuries, these are: defective tools, unprotected openings, and improper storage of equipment and materials. unsafe acts on site are hazards caused by actions of people on site, these actions can be categorized in 3 ways: things a person should have done (e.g. inform others about unsafe conditions), things a person should have done differently, and those that a person should have not done at all, (frederick & nancy, 2009). however, according to literature, theses can be summed up into eight root causes. according to table 1, it is shown here that all construction accidents are due to one or more of the eight root causes. table 1. rootcauses of construction site accidents, (frederick & nancy, 2009) root cause description absence of legitimate training an employee was not appropriately prepared in perceiving and staying away from work risks. deficient requirement of safety an employee’s supervisor ˜or other individual with safety oversight duties realized that endorsed techniques for staying away from risks were not being taken after, but rather fail to uphold safety standards. safe equipment not given an employer does not give an employee with equipment necessary to decrease risks. unsafe strategies or sequencing the ordinary sequencing of construction tasks does not happen, bringing about a task being more perilous than usual unsafe site conditions the site is intrinsically more perilous than usual construction sites. not using given safety equipment an employee is given appropriate safety equipment yet does not utilize it or does not utilize it legitimately. poor attitude toward safety an employee may have been legitimately trained, but does not appropriately stay away from work risks. isolated, sudden deviation from endorsed conduct a regularly skillful and aware of safety employee abruptly and unforeseeably plays out a perilous demonstration because of exhaustion, distraction, or in like manner. out of the eight root causes, the initial five recorded are related to a hazardous condition due to an inadequate management of safety; the last three recorded are related to a perilous act by the harmed party, (frederick & nancy, 2009). this brings us to the main aim of the paper at examining the early introduction of safety management system which is the occupational safety & health management systems (ohsms) and its elements within the project implementation in the pre-construction stage assuming it, is an important asset in decision-making as it directs towards the abatement of occupational hazards in the workplace. pg. 175 khodeir / the academic research community publication 3. safety in construction sites safety is exceptionally crucial in construction industry since it is a high danger industry as the primary power behind any construction site is the laborer. safety is jeopardized because construction is always a risky task due to work-at heights and other outdoor reasons ,this in addition to workers’ attitudes and behaviors (frederick & nancy, 2009). helander (1991) states that construction is substantially more risky than manufacturing and this is partly because of more dangerous working techniques and machines used (helander, 1991).research has been done to identify problems for construction safety all over the world. some research findings from developing countries are gathered and shown in the following table 2. table 2. factorsaffecting safety in construction sites [16-19]. researches factors affecting safety in construction sites kartam et al. (bottani, monica & vignali, 2009) -disorganized work, -poor accident record-keeping and reporting -extensive utilization of foreign workers -extensive utilization of subcontractors -absence of safety regulations -the low priority given to safety -the small size of most construction firms, -competitive tendering, -severe climatic conditions tam et al. (wilson & koehn, 2000) -top management’s poor safety awareness -absence of training -project managers’ poor consciousness of safety -reluctance to include assets for safety -reckless operations cheng et al. (international labor organization,1988) -not giving value to the significance of safety measures actualized at working environments -not giving adequate safety orientation to new laborers -not employing all around prepared safety and health staff to execute safety measures aksorn and hadikusumo (mohamed, 2002) -worker contribution -safety counteractive action and control frameworks -safety game plan -management responsibility it is concluded from the previous studies that many issues are associated with actualizing and implementing safety and health management in construction projects and the majority of the work-related injuries are preventable through safety measures and enhancing safety awareness among industry stakeholders (baxendale & jones, 2000). the following section is concerned with the explanation of what is meant by occupational health and safety management system. 4. occupational health and safety management system the occupational health and safety management system (ohsms); in other words work-related health and safety management system was first prepared by the health and safety executive (hse) in the united kingdom (uk) of the accident prevention advisory unit (apau) in the uk in 1991. occupational health and safety management system can be explained to be part of the whole management framework that encourages the administration of the occupational safety and health dangers related to the business of any organizational structure, planning of the pg. 176 khodeir / the academic research community publication activities and any other practices and processes in order to continually keep the os&h policy of an association and continual improvement directed towards the abatement of occupational hazards in the workplace (osha, 2008). 4.1. objectives of occupational health and safety management system the main objective of the occupational health and safety management system (ohsms) to be certified is to empower the awareness of employees in safety through safety work practices, and higher safety standards are promoted in the construction industry, (teo, ling & chong, 2005).it is argued by smallwood (2002) that accidents are inescapable in the construction industry since the business is known to be naturally unsafe. the high rates of injury are essentially because of deficient or non-presence of osh administration frameworks (zolfagharian, ressang, irizarry, nourbakhsh & zin, 2011). bottani, monica, and vignali (2009) found through an empirical investigation that companies adopting safety management systems exhibited higher performance for all the topics encompassing company attitude to (bottani, monica & vignali, 2009) through identifying safety goals, giving latest risk data, defining risks and development of training programs to employees. wilson (2000) stated that despite the simple concept of the principles behind safety management, it is during the implementation of such a program that construction companies may encounter their most difficult obstacles. it is found that issues such as cooperation from others are vital, yet profoundly ignored, by construction companies which are why seemingly simple problems continue to exist, (wilson & koehn, 2000). this will be clarified in the next section as integration of occupational health and safety into construction. 4.2. implementation of occupational health and safety management system into construction sites numerous work-related accidents and injuries are because of a breakdown in the current osh management system (zolfagharian, ressang, irizarry, nourbakhsh & zin, 2011). according to the international labor organization (ilo), the contractor has obligations to take measures to protect workers from accidents ;that means the top of the company takes a leadership and responsibility for performing safety management activities either through actual control or nominating another body responsible for overall construction site activities (international labor organization,1988). accordingly, effective safety must be accomplished when there is an appropriate management upon the interaction between technology and individuals. (mohamed, 2002) used a questionnaire-based model to assess the safety climate at construction sites, corroborating the significance of management commitment, and laborers’ involvement, attitudes, in addition to supportive as well as supervisory conditions, in accomplishing a positive safety work atmosphere (mohamed, 2002). makin and winder 2008 developed a conceptual framework to ensure that an ohsms brings together the benefits of the three fundamental control procedures for managing working environment risks: safe place, safe individual, and safe frameworks (makin & winder, 2008). many reasons can be the cause of construction accidents and several shortcomings might take place in phases of in a construction project; planning, design and construction. this is also ascertained by a study made by (sulaiman& mahyuddin, 2005). firstly, in the planning phase, owners pay little attention to safety management and may neglect potential site safety issues. secondly, in the design phase, designers and architects may disregard all conceivable safety-related design codes or have the capacity to dispense with every single conceivable factor. finally, in the construction phase, contractors may not be mindful about site dangers or report issues in time, and additionally, laborers may carry out their activity thoughtlessly. hence, the pre-construction phase is essential. the following part will explain pre-construction, its stages and its integration with occupational health and safety. pg. 177 khodeir / the academic research community publication 4.3. implementation of occupational health and safety elements in pre-construction phase based on fig.2, construction project management is explained in three phases which are; pre-construction, construction & post-construction [23, (tregenza, 2004) .pre-construction phase is the first phase, which includes inception & feasibility, design, and tendering (singh, 2002). figure 2. construction project management. stages (k.s., i. h. s. (2002). the phases of pre-construction starts with “inception & feasibility”; is concerned with the customer’s prerequisites and is known as arrangements of the pre-project . it incorporates the project goals as well as, land matter, feasibility study and setting up project association structure. second phase is “design”; which contain project brief, calculated and schematic outline improvement, arranging endorsement, enumerating configuration, cost spending planning, and benefit of building, (hendrickson & au, 2000). finally the last phase in pre-construction is “tendering”; the tender document being an issue and after that being assessed to pick the potential contractor where the objective amid this stage is to obtain an entire and exact comprehension of venture necessities, (college, 2011). health and safety issues are not bound to the construction phase of a project yet happen all through a project. huge numbers of health and safety problems experienced during construction could be avoided if efforts are made during the project brief and design phases (haywood, 2004). (hare, cameron & roy duff, 2006), and (saurin & fermoso, 2008) explored health and safety integrate with preconstruction phase, thus suggested to future researches to develop the whole model for construction project management. the following table 3 discusses the implementation of occupational health and safety in the three phases inception & feasibility, design, and tendering. table 3. occupationalhealth and safety implementation in pre-construction phases, author afterextant literature pre-construction phases occupational health and safety implementation inception and feasibility -employer is accountable to his employees’ safety & health. employer also has a responsibility for the visitors (osh). -project owners can emphatically impact project safety & health performances since they are the person who contribute financing for the project and should be concerned with including osh during objective identification and project brief, (huang & hinze, 2006), and (sulaiman & mahyuddin, 2005) -it is also the management’s responsibility to alternate attitudes through health and safety awareness of employees (thye, 2006) continued on next page pg. 178 khodeir / the academic research community publication table 3 continued design -half of the work related safety and health issues arise from deficiency in design (fleming, 2006). -the design professionals who escape the responsibility of integrating health and safety in their design because of the absence of safety training, absence of safety design tools (gambatese, 1996). -the health and safety factors must be incorporated into the design plan, by doing as such it will make a gradually expanding influence scattering safety and health throughout the industry. -fundamental concept of prevention through design (ptd); that depends upon excluding safety and health dangers rather than ensuring the safety of the laborers or warning them (gambatese, 2000). -a design tool has additionally been created to help designers in distinguishing project-specific safety perils and to give best practices to end the risks, (gambatese & hinze, 1999). tendering -the first thing that comes in mind upon mentioning elements of safety and health, is how it becomes of legitimate and moral duty (huang & hinze, 2003). -parties that were included with the tendering as contractors need to play their parts in grasping safety and health (fleming, 2006). -beginning from the customer, it is an obligation to point out the significance of the safety and health execution of the construction’s contractors particularly upon making a choice; contractors should be picked on the contractors’ ability in predictive of safe project performance rather than lower tender costs (levitt, parker & samelson, 1981; fleming, 2006). -it is a problem in the traditional procurement to concentrate on tender cost subsequently limiting the contractual workers to work in a more productive way (fleming, 2006). 5. conclusion this paper presented a literature review on root causes of construction accidents, factors affecting safety in construction sites, what is meant by occupational safety and health management system. the paper then discussed what the pre-construction stage is and effects of implementing occupational safety and health in the inception &feasibility, design &tendering pre-construction stage then implementation of occupational health and safety practices at construction sites will be discussed. previous research suggested that early introduction of occupational safety & health management systems (ohsms) and elements within the project implementation, is an important asset in decision-making as it directs towards the abatement of occupational hazards in the workplace. despite the contributions and important role construction industry plays in countries’ growth, it has dependably been rebuked for the high rates of accidents and fatalities. pg. 179 khodeir / the academic research community publication literature review demonstrate that accidents are caused by a broad selection of issues, some of which are hazardous equipment, work site conditions, unique nature of the industry, risky strategy, humans and administration. the reason for accidents in construction industry are basically credited to workers’ lack of regard, inability of laborers to obey work techniques, work at high height, operating equipment without safety tools, poor site management, hard work operation, low understanding and skill level of workers, inability to utilize ppe and poor workers attitude about safety. construction sector is more dangerous than other sectors it is based on the literature findings, which increase the possibility for serious accidents. from the research findings, the aim to review the impact of implementing occupational health and safety practices at construction sites has been stated. the number of accidents in construction sites could be decreased upon implementing the occupational health and safety into the pre-construction phase. this review enhances the awareness of the role of implementing ohsms as the main objective of the occupational health and safety management system (ohsms) which is certified to promote safety awareness and safe work practices in the construction industry and the responses also show they are aware that ohsms is effective in prevention of risks and accidents and effective on-site safety and health management. finally, health and safety issues are not bound to the construction phase of a project yet happen all through a project. huge numbers of health and safety problems experienced during construction could be avoided if efforts are made during the project brief and design phases. researchers investigated the reconciliation of health and safety with the pre-construction phase, thus recommended to future researches to incorporate the factors shown previously with the whole model for construction project management. the occupational health and safety was discussed in the three phases inception & feasibility, design, and tendering. 6. references 1. baxendale, t., & jones, o. (2000). construction design and management safety regulations in practice—progress on implementation. international journal of project management, 18(1), 33-40. 2. bottani, e., monica, l., & vignali, g. (2009). safety management systems: performance differences between adopters and non-adopters. safety science, 47(2), 155-162. 3. choudhry, r. m., & fang, d. (2008). why operatives engage in unsafe work behavior: investigating factors on construction sites. safety science, 46(4), 566-584. 4. fleming, m. (2006). developing safety culture measurement tools and techniques based on site audits rather than questionnaires. final project report, saint marys university, 1-63. 5. frederick g. and nancy j. (2009). construction project management. columbus, ohio: prentice hall. 6. gambatese, j. a. (1996). addressing construction worker safety in the project design. university of washington, seattle. 7. gambatese, j. a. (2000). owner involvement in construction site safety. . in construction congress vi: building together for a better tomorrow in an increasingly complex world, orlando, florida, (pp. 20-22). 8. gambatese, j., & hinze, j. (1999). addressing construction worker safety in the design phase: designing for construction worker safety. automation in construction, 8(6), 643-649. 9. hare, b., cameron, i., & roy duff, a. (2006). exploring the integration of health and safety with preconstruction planning. engineering, construction and architectural management, 13(5), 438-450. 10. haywood, g. (2004). achieving excellence in construction procurement. actions to improve safety & health in construction. pg. 180 khodeir / the academic research community publication 11. helander, m. g. (1991). safety hazards and motivation for safe work in the construction industry. international journal of industrial ergonomics, 8(3), 205-223. 12. hendrickson, c., & au, t. (2000). project management for construction: fundamental concepts for owners. engineers, architects and builders, prentice hall, pittsburgh. 13. hinze, j., & russell, d. b. (1997). construction safety. prentice hall. 14. huang, x., & hinze, j. (2003). analysis of construction worker fall accidents. journal of construction engineering and management, 129(3), 262-271. 15. huang, x., & hinze, j. (2006). owner’s role in construction safety. journal of construction engineering and management, 132(2), 164-173. 16. international labor organization (ilo), safety and health in construction convention, 1988 (no. 167). (1988). retrieved march 20, 2017, from http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=normlexpub:12100:0 ::no::: 17. levitt, r. e., parker, h. w., & samelson, n. m. (1981). improving construction safety performance: the user’s role. stanford university, stanford, ca. 18. makin, a. m., & winder, c. (2008). a new conceptual framework to improve the application of occupational health and safety management systems. safety science, 46(6), 935-948. 19. mohamed, s. (2002). safety climate in construction site environments. journal of construction engineering and management, 128(5), 375-384. 20. occupational safety & health act and regulations act 514 in 1994 (osh) (my.). 21. osha, occupational safety and health administration, formaldehyde. (2008). retrieved march 10, 2017, from https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show document 22. providing guidance and information to deliver construction works at imperial college london. (2011). retrieved march 20, 2017, from http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/capitalprojects/projectprocedures/stages/tende r 23. ritter, f. d. (2006). successful personal injury investigation: master the techniques of finding the facts that win cases for plaintiff attorneys. library of congress. 24. saurin, t. a., & fermoso, c. t. (2008). guidelines for considering construction safety requiremnets in the design process. industrial engineering and transportation department. 25. shamsuddin, k. a., ani, m. n. c., ismail, a. k., & ibrahim, m. r. (2015). investigation the safety, health and environment (she) protection in construction area. international research journal of engineering and technology, 2(6), 624-636. 26. singh, h. (2002). engineering and construction contracts management: law and principles. lexisnexis. 27. smallwood, j. j. (2002, september). the influence of health and safety (h&s) culture on h&s performance. in proceedings (pp. 217-226). 28. smith, n.j. (1999). managing risk in construction projects, blackwell, oxford. 29. sulaiman, k., & mahyuddin, n. (2005). safety in the construction industry: are we barking at the wrong tree? [niosh]. journal of occupational, safety, & health, 2005, 2(1), 7. 30. teo, e. a. l., ling, f. y. y., & chong, a. f. w. (2005). framework for project managers to manage construction safety. international journal of project management, 23(4), 329-341. pg. 181 khodeir / the academic research community publication 31. thye, l. l. (2006). leadership and the development of osh culture. in proceeding of the 9th conference and exhibition on national institute of occupational safety and health (niosh). 32. tregenza, t. (2004). action to improve safety & health in construction. magazine of the european agency for safety & health at work. 33. wilson, j. m., & koehn, e. e. (2000). safety management: problems encountered and recommended solutions. journal of construction engineering and management, 126(1), 77-79. 34. workplace fatal injuries in great britain 2018 [pdf]. (2018, july 4). health and safety executive. retrieved march 20, 2017, from http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf . 35. zolfagharian, s., ressang, a., irizarry, j., nourbakhsh, m., & zin, r. m. (2011, july). risk assessment of common construction hazards among different countries. in sixth international conference on construction in the 21st century (citc-vi). kuala lumpur malaysia (pp. 151-160). pg. 182 introduction defining construction site accidents root causes of construction site accidents safety in construction sites occupational health and safety management system objectives of occupational health and safety management system implementation of occupational health and safety management system into construction sites implementation of occupational health and safety elements in pre-construction phase conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.392 integrative framework of kansei engineering (ke) and kano model (km) applied to light bulb changer soheir backar1 1(assisstant professor): production engineering department, faculty of engineering, alexandria university abstract currently, any industries face higher competition in their business pertinent to the customers’ demands and product design requirements. customer requirements and satisfaction measurement can be achieved through various methods. this paper presents an integrative framework of kansei engineering (ke) and kano model, applied to a product (light bulb changer lbc). ke captures and translates the emotional needs of the customer (kansei), whereas kano model is inserted into it to investigate the relationship between service quality attribute performance and kansei. on this research, the integration between ke and km in product development approach is applied though a daily life product as a case study (lbc product). the results show that the mechanical mechanism consisting of spring fingers with pvc, round grip and plastic telescopic pole is preffered by customers. this study found that the perceived or quality attributes are influenced by the emotional design or kansei response. it provides the useful spectrum to other researchers to gain more powerful product development in the future, and stay on the customer satisfaction and requirement track. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords kano method (km); kansei engineering (ke); product development process (pdp); semantic differential (sd) 1. introduction the customer satisfaction is one of the challenges on how they can deliver the quality of the product for their success and survival in today’s competitive environment. kansei engineering can be used as a tool for creative product development generating new revolutionary solutions (koleini et al., 2014). also, kano questionnaire is very helpful in measuring customer satisfaction (mostafa et al., 2013). qiting et al. made a questionnaire to determine the customer needs and satisfaction at shanghai disneyland (qiting et al, 2012). integration between kansei engineering and kano model is a new field to develop products and services to achieve customer satisfaction fulfillment. lanzotti and tarantino suggested the idea of integration of ke and km existing in pd (lanzotti and tarantino, 2008). schutte et al applied this integration in the service development (schutte et al., 2004). fevi et al proposed an integration framework of km and ke towards a product used in our daily life; pen design development (fevi et al., 2014). this research tries to find out the relevant features in the product development process and how they meet the characteristics required by the customers using kansei engineering (ke) and kano method (km). both approaches pg. 430 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ backar / the academic research community publication are integrated as the structural model of customer satisfaction that will be functioned to help the designer or producer to generate the questionnaire as an initial process to gain the data collection. neither ke nor km are sufficient to make the customer fully satisfied. so, integration helps to achieve customer requirements (cr) fulfillment. figure 1 shows the integration approach between ke & km. in this study, we illustrate the integration between ke and kano model through a procedure that helps in increasing customer satisfaction and maximizing profit applied to a certain product (light bulb changer). this helps to determine the strength and weakness in the integration process to be able to develop the procedure in the future. also, a complete analysis of questionnaire results and obtaining the most important kws and elements of the product will be applied. figure 1. the integration approach between ke & km 2. methodology the integration approach between ke and km depends on three basic phases; collection of kansei words, relating kws with engineering characteristics, and implementing kano model. 2.1. collection of kansei words: table 1 shows the 78 words that have been collected and gathered to form a new database for light bulb changer. table 1. kansei words modern self-sacrificed classic futuristic vulnerable charming strong comfortable professional lively neutral cheap expensive firm cool unique long organic domestic convenient impressive lovely rustic moderate real attractive surreal alignment sensibility flexibility friendly simple sophisticated adorable low profile public cute stylish luxury monotonous bold soft beautifully creative masculine light weight romantic bright continued on next page pg. 431 backar / the academic research community publication table 1 continued healthy chic refreshing boring neat calm relaxing plain hard mellow eye catching artificial complex warm loose sleek stationary transparency rough smooth durable thick vitality safety tough brilliant pure practical pleasant tasty it was necessary to collect some of the words (kansei words) that might reflect the needs of the customer and that relate to the product which will help us in thinking about the proposals for a new product suitable to the needs of the customer. depending on the considered domain, the kansei words generally vary from 50 to 600 (nagamachi et al., 2008). in order to get a complete selection of words all available sources have to be used, even if the words emerging seem to be similar or the same (schutte, 2002). 2.2. semantic differential (sd) scale semantic differential is a type of a rating scale designed to measure the connotative meaning of objects, events, and concepts. the connotations are used to derive the attitude towards the given object, event or concept or is a standard visual analogue scale (vas) and a 7-grade-likert scale.in order to ensure that the word was properly understood, the extremes on the opposite sides of the scales were symbolized by (very much) and (not at all). we weight every word to determine its importance, then select the most important words to be used in kano questionnaire. thirty five participants were interviewed and asked to answer the sd scale questionnaire. table 2 shows an example of the response of participant no 1. table 2. an example of the response of participant 1 customer no: 1 light bulb changer kansei word not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 modern x 2 strong x 3 expensive x 4 omestic x 5 real x 6 friendly x 7 cute x 8 beautifully x 2.3. importance weighting in our study, we use (sd) scale to measure the importance of each word and choose the most important words which have high grades, also we calculate the weight of each word to determine the importance of the word. the weight = (the total grades of word) / (7*no of participant). table 3 represents the grade of kansei words and importance weighting. after selecting the words that have the highest degrees and the highest weights. we collect all selected words in a table (meaning table; table 4). table 4 shows that the six words that have the highest grade are comfortable, convenient, attractive, simple, light weight, and durable. pg. 432 backar / the academic research community publication 2.4. relating ke with engineering characteristics (ecs) the chosen elements (characteristics) related to the most appropriate word of kansei words by brainstorming. these words & elements are combined together in a questionnaire (kano questionnaire). sauerwein et al. focused that each question must be involved some requirements of the product related to kansei words which must be suitable with this requirement (sauerwein et al., 1996). in this study, the questionnaire includes three sections, two sections (functional and dysfunctional) to check the lbc design (grip shape, grip material, telescopic pole) and one section to choose the lbc mechanism among (air suction, mechanical, and electrical). the number of questions are thirty four divided to seventeen functional questions and seventeen dysfunctional questions. table 5 shows an example of functional questions in the kano questionnaire. the questionnaires are distributed to 40 participants. by combining the answers of functional and dysfunctional requirements in the kano evaluation table 6, the product features can be classified into a (attractive), o (onedimensional), m (must be), i (indifferent), r (reverse). then, this data is analyzed by a mathematical approach. the mathematical model is to measure the customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction: customer satisfaction (s.c) = (a+o) / (a+o+m+i) customer dissatisfaction (d.c) = (o+m) / (a+o+m+i) total c.s.c (t.c.s) = (a-m) / (a+o+m+i) table 3. grade and weighting of kansei words kws grade weight kws grade weight modern 144 0.587755102 bright 106 0.432653061 strong 129 0.526530612 soft 139 0.567346939 expensive 102 0.416326531 public 136 0.555102041 domestic 68 0.27755102 flexibility 87 0.355102041 real 103 0.420408163 moderate 97 0.395918367 friendly 60 0.244897959 conservative 107 0.436734694 cute 67 0.273469388 cheap 183 0.746938776 beautifully 132 0.53877551 charming 87 0.355102041 self-sacrificed 87 0.355102041 sexy 104 0.424489796 comfortable 190 0.775510204 chic 128 0.52244898 firm 136 0.555102041 refreshing 114 0.465306122 convenient 173 0.706122449 boring 83 0.33877551 attractive 181 0.73877551 neat 78 0.318367347 simple 189 0.771428571 calm 87 0.355102041 stylish 151 0.616326531 relaxing 78 0.318367347 creative 113 0.46122449 plain 65 0.265306122 classic 132 0.53877551 hard 136 0.555102041 professional 80 0.326530612 mellow 103 0.420408163 cool 108 0.440816327 eye catching 127 0.518367347 impressive 92 0.375510204 artificial 100 0.408163265 surreal 102 0.416326531 complex 82 0.334693878 sophisticated 119 0.485714286 warm 68 0.27755102 luxury 99 0.404081633 loose 60 0.244897959 masculine 74 0.302040816 sleek 97 0.395918367 futuristic 155 0.632653061 stationary 87 0.355102041 continued on next page pg. 433 backar / the academic research community publication table 3 continued lively 100 0.408163265 transparency 120 0.489795918 appealing 105 0.428571429 rough 102 0.416326531 lovely 113 0.46122449 smooth 120 0.489795918 alignment 133 0.542857143 durable 167 0.681632653 adorable 113 0.46122449 thick 143 0.583673469 monotonous 95 0.387755102 vitality 134 0.546938776 light weight 177 0.72244898 safety 190 0.775510204 vulnerable 100 0.408163265 tough 106 0.432653061 neutral 81 0.330612245 brilliant 139 0.567346939 unique 132 0.53877551 pure 126 0.514285714 rustic 120 0.489795918 practical 103 0.420408163 sensibility 121 0.493877551 crunchy 101 0.412244898 low profile 123 0.502040816 organic 88 0.359183673 bold 102 0.416326531 healthy 100 0.408163265 romantic 108 0.440816327 table 4. the meaning table no kansei words meaning positively correlated to kw negatively correlated to kw word 1 comfortable sd words: -miserable comfortable providing physical well-being or relief -light -good -pleasant -miserable -boring word 2 convenient sd words: -inappropriate -convenient fitting in well with person’s needs. -suitable -appropriate -inappropriate -unsuitable word 3 attractive sd words: -barren -attractive pleasing or appealing to the senses. -lovely -likable -barren -unattractive word 4 simple sd words: -complex -simple easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty. -noncomplex -uncombined -complex -intricate word 5 light weight sd words: -heavy -light weight easy to carry it. -easy to carried. -heavy word 6 durable sd words: -jerrybuilt -durable able to withstand wear, pressure, or damage; hard-wearing. -industrial -strength tough -jerrybuilt -nondurable pg. 434 backar / the academic research community publication table 5. an example of functional questions in the kano questionnaire grip shape 1a lbc with a round grip on the handle helps me to feel comfortable as it gives physical relief while using it. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. 2a lbc with a hexagonal grip on the handle helps me to feel comfortable as it gives physical relief while using it. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. 3a lbc with a triangular grip on the handle helps me to feel comfortable as it gives physical relief while using it. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. grip material 4-a lbc with grip made of foam sponge seems to be convenient. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. 5-a lbc with grip made of pvc seems to be convenient. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. 6-a lbc with grip made of soft rubber seems to be convenient. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. telescopic pole 7using a telescopic pole made of plastic makes it feel light weight. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. 8using a telescopic pole made of aluminum makes it feel light weight. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. 9using a telescopic pole made of tin makes it feel light weight. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. 9using a telescopic pole made of tin makes it feel light weight. 1like. 2must be. 3neutral. 4live with. 5dislike. table 6. kano evaluation table pg. 435 backar / the academic research community publication 3. analysis of kano model questionnaire results 3.1. grip shape analysis the participants were asked to choose among (round, hexagonal, and triangular). table 7 illustrates the arrangement of customers’ requirements and the values of satisfaction and dissatisfaction factor for grip shapes. table 7. thearrangement of customers’ requirements and the values of satisfaction anddissatisfaction factor for grip shape q # d.c s.c q r i m o a q # grip shape g.d g.s grip shape 1&18 -0.6875 0.53125 1 7 6 9 13 4 1&18 2&19 -0.4482758 0.4827586 1 10 8 7 6 8 2&19 3&20 -0.25 0.25 0 20 14 1 4 1 3&20 due to the result of total satisfaction factor, it’s clear that (round shape) is the most satisfactory. so, the new design should consider the grip to be round. 3.2. grip material analysis the participants were asked to choose among (foam sponge, pvc, and soft rubber). table 8 illustrates the arrangement of customers’ requirement and the values of satisfaction and dissatisfaction factor for grip material table 8. thearrangement of customers’ requirements and the values of satisfaction anddissatisfaction factor for grip material q # d.c s.c q r i m o a q # grip shape g.m.d g.m.s grip material 1&18 -0.6666666 0.4666666 0 10 6 10 10 4 4&21 2&19 -0.3846153 0.5 0 14 8 5 5 8 5&22 3&20 -0.5757575 0.3333333 0 7 11 11 8 3 6&23 due to the result of total satisfaction factor, it’s clear that (pvc) is the most satisfactory. so, the new design should consider the grip to be made of pvc material. 3.3. telescopic pole material the participants were asked to choose among (plastic, aluminum, tin). table 9 illustrates the arrangement of customers’ requirements and the values of satisfaction and dissatisfaction factor for telescopic pole material. table 9. the arrangement of customers’ requirements and the values of satisfaction and dissatisfaction factor for telescopic pole material q # d.c s.c q r i m o a q # telescopic pole material t.m.d t.m.s telescopic pole material 7&24 0.513513514 0.648648649 0 3 4 9 10 14 7&24 8&25 0.285714286 0 0 19 15 6 0 0 8&25 9&26 0.333333333 0.095238095 1 18 13 6 1 1 9&26 due to the result of total satisfaction factor, it’s clear that plastic telescopic pole is the most satisfactory. so, the new design should consider the telescopic pole made of plastic. pg. 436 backar / the academic research community publication 3.4. mechanical analysis the participants were asked to choose among (air suction, mechanical, and electrical). table 10 repreents the result. table 10. mechanical mechanisms result mechanism air suction electrical mechanical score 11 7 22 due to the results, it’s clear that (mechanical mechanism) is the most satisfactory. so, we will focus only on the results of mechanical mechanisms to show which one is the most satisfactory. the participants were asked to choose among (clamp&collet, spring fingers, and interference). results are indicatd in table 11. table 11. the arrangement of customers’ requirements and the values of satisfaction and dissatisfaction factor for mechanical mechanisms mechanical q# m.d m.s q r i m o a mechanical q# 13&30 -0.222222222 0.222222222 0 13 7 0 2 0 13&30 14&31 -0.5 0.6 0 2 4 4 6 6 14&31 15&3215&32 -0.272727273 0.272727273 0 11 7 1 2 1 15&32 3.5. the chosen elements due to the result of total satisfaction factor, it’s clear that spring fingers mechanism is the most satisfactory. so, the new design should consider the mechanism to be spring finger (mechanical). figures 2, 3, and 4 represents the elements and designs selected due to participants choices. figure 2 represents the elements have been chosen due to achieving customer satisfaction in grip ship and grip material. figure 2. grip shape and grip material figure 3 represents the elements have been chosen due to achieving customer satisfaction in telescopic pole material and mechanism. figure 4 represents the element has been chosen due to achieving customer satisfaction in mechanical mechanism. 4. discussion and conclusion this study followed the known methods in collecting kansei words to establish a database. it also applied s-d scale as a guaranteed way to determine the important kansei words to form a meaning table. but on the other hand it contributed remarkably in: pg. 437 backar / the academic research community publication figure 3. telescopicpole material and mechanical mechanism figure 4. mechanical mechanism – applying the integration process on a new product with variable categories. – lbc is a new product to the egyptian market – contains four categories (grip shape, grip material, telescopic pole, and mechanism). – developing kano questionnaire to be in harmony with the product categories and characteristics. the new construction of the questionnaire is rich with choices among mechanisms, then choices among different designs in every mechanism. – analyzing data using a simple but valuable method to get accurate and detailed results. – this study was able to develop the procedure of integration between ke & km by applying recommendations deduced by the previous studies. most of previous studies neither either deal with many categories nor put elements and kws in order, they concerned only in the most important element and kw. – we made sure to mention all details in the integration process to be reliable in the future for other researchers or for industry men to follow. most papers or studies we have faced didn’t contain enough information to apply in industry. – the significant conclusions for this study are as follows: pg. 438 backar / the academic research community publication – the design (spring fingers mechanical mechanism with round, pvc grip and plastic telescopic pole) is the most satisfactory and it will be the best design that would achieve customers’ pleasure. also, it was found that the element (plastic telescopic pole) has the highest value of total customer satisfaction (t.c.s) = (0.135135) so it is considered the main priority in any design in the future. – mechanical mechanisms have the main priority at the beginning of any new design in the future. – this study allowed us to put the elements of each category in order, so if it becomes difficult to use the most satisfactory element, we can use the one that follow it in order, hence we can maintain customer satisfied. this study tried to focus on as many aspects and k.ws as possible to get accurate and precise results. also, it opens the door for other researchers to follow the same method to determine customer satisfaction in more important and complicated products with more aspects 5. references 1. lanzotti, a., tarantino, p., 2008. kansei engineering approach for total quality design and continuous innovation. total quality management journal, vol.20, pp.324-337 2. mamaghani, n., rahimian, e., mortezaei, s., 2014. kansei engineering approach for consumer’s perception of the ketchup sauce bottle. scgool of architecture and environmental design, iran university science. 3. mostafa, k., batool, r., parvaneh, p., alireza, a., 2013. identify and ranking factors affecting bank maskan service quality using kano model. university of tahran qom colleage, tehran, iran. 4. nagamachi, m., tachikaua, m., imanishi, n., ishizawa, t., yano, s., 2008 . a successful statitical procedure on kansei engineering. total quality management journal. 5. qiting, p., uno, n., kubota, y., 2012 . kano model analysis of customer needs and satisfaction at the shanghai disneyland. kyoto university, kubota, yoshiaki. 6. sauerwein e., bailom f., matzler k., hinterhuber, h., 1996. the kano model: how to delight your customers. international working seminar on production economics, australia. 7. schutte, s., 2002. designing feelings into products integrating kansei engineering methodology in product development. linkoping university se-58183, sweden linkoping. 8. schutte, s., eklund, j., axelsson, j., 2004. concepts, methods, and tools in kansei engineering. theoretical issues in ergonomics science, vol. 5, pp. 214-232. 9. syaifoelida, f., yahaya, s., sihombing, h., and yuhazri, m., 2014. the integration framework of kansei engineering (ke) and kano method (km) for product development. proc. of the international conference on advances in civil structural and mechanical engineering, acsme. pg. 439 introduction methodology collection of kansei words: semantic differential (sd) scale importance weighting relating ke with engineering characteristics (ecs) analysis of kano model questionnaire results grip shape analysis grip material analysis telescopic pole material mechanical analysis the chosen elements discussion and conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.442 [ant]: a machine learning approach for building performance simulation: methods and development mahmoud m. abdelrahman1, ahmed mohamed yousef toutou2 1kafrelsheikh university kafrelsheikh egypt. the american university in cairo cairo – egypt 2master student in alexandria university, b.sc. mansoura university abstract in this paper, we represent an approach for combining machine learning (ml) techniques with building performance simulation by introducing four methods in which ml could be effectively involved in this field i.e. classification, regression, clustering and model selection . rhino-3d-grasshopper sdk was used to develop a new plugin for involving machine learning in design process using python programming language and making use of scikit-learn module, that is, a python module which provides a general purpose high level language to nonspecialist user by integration of wide range supervised and unsupervised learning algorithms with high performance, ease of use and well documented features. ant plugin provides a method to make use of these modules inside rhino\grasshopper to be handy to designers. this tool is open source and is released under bsd simplified license. this approach represents promising results regarding making use of data in automating building performance development and could be widely applied. future studies include providing parallel computation facility using pyopencl module as well as computer vision integration using scikit-image. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords machine learning; ml; building performance simulation; rhino3d; python; scikit-learn; grasshopper. 1. introduction 1.1. machine learning in architecture and design. machine learning could be defined as: ”learning from data” (abu-mostafa, magdon-ismail, and lin 2012) by considering a set of n samples of data which is used to predict properties of unknown data, each sample could have more than one variable (multivariable data), these variables are called features. learning problems could be separated into two main categories i.e. supervised and unsupervised learning, the former consists of training data and targets set by users and the machine role is to classify a new unlabeled input data (classification) or to predict an output value of continuous data type (regression). while the latter only consists of data without targets and, in this case, the machine role is to predict a relation between these data (clustering) or determine the distribution of data within input space (density estimation) or to project data from multi-dimensional space into 2d or 3d space (pedregosa et al. 2011).in architecture and design, machine learning has been increasingly used in several studies during the last two decades due to the complexity and non-linearity of real-world multi-variable relations. its applications in architecture and design are rapidly mutating. pg. 205 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abdelrahman / the academic research community publication by reviewing the cumincad database ( a cumulative index about publications in computer aided architectural design supported by the sibling associations acadia, caadria, ecaade, sigradi, ascaad and caad futures ), it has been monitored that machine learning topics (including supervised, unsupervised and convolution neural networks cnn) are growing over the past few years. figure (1) shows the number of papers which are related to this topic. figure 1. machine learningrelated papers by year (collected from cumincad website). table 1. review of recent architecture-and-design-basedmachine learning articles. category reference architecture and design (vardouli 2013, paterson et al. 2013, cutellic and lotte 2013, bernhard 2013, fernando et al. 2010, tamke et al. 2016, silvestre, ikeda, and guéna 2016, stasiuk, thomsen, and thompson 2014) urban design (chen et al. 2017, laskari 2014, sokmenoglu, cagdas, and sarıyıldız 2010, wassermann 2010, stouffs et al. 2013, carlos sandoval olascoaga 2016, oh et al. 2006) robotics, automation and fabrication (decker 2015, pinochet 2016, chi-li cheng 2016, arenas and falcón 2013, harrison 2016) building performance and simulation (wilkinson et al. 2013, merrick, maher, and saunders 2008, mahalingam 2005, khosrowpour, gulbinas, and taylor 2016, davis 2016, standfest 2014, de wilde et al. 2013, yildiz, bilbao, and sproul 2017, paudel et al. 2017, kontokosta and tull 2017, banihashemi, ding, and wang 2017, deb et al. 2016, cui et al. 2016, chou and ngo 2016, zarkadis, ridi, and morel 2014) in spite of its emerging importance and popularity, machine learning requires a good knowledge in programming languages which is not affordable to all designers and engineers. however, visual programming tools such as rhino\grasshopper recently has gained increasing interest by a large body of architects and designers as the most popular algorithmic modeling tool due to its ease of use, user-friendly interface, flexibility, scalability in addition to its ability to be functionally extended by its plugin ecosystem to interact with both other software and other hardware using its software development kit (sdk) e.g. c# and python rhinocommon and grasshopper sdk. 1.2. scikit-learn. scikit-learn is a popular open-source machine learning module (pedregosa et al. 2011) developed and distributed under simplified bsd license, coded in python and written to be simple, efficient and handy to non-expert users, as well as , it brings high level machine learning algorithms i.e. supervised and unsupervised learning to be usable in different contexts. there are many other python machine learning modules but in this project, scikit-learn has been chosen for the following reasons (buitinck et al. 2013): its ease of use, robustness i.e. (code has followed pg. 206 abdelrahman / the academic research community publication specific quality guidelines such as consistency and unit-testing), documentation and examples covering all features, efficiency (time and resources), table (2) summarizes a comparison between machine learning modules .however, this library and its classes and functions are designed to be integrated with scientific and numerical modules in python such as numpy (walt, colbert, and varoquaux 2011), and scipy (oliphant 2007) because datasets are represented as either numpy arrays of scipy sparse matrices (buitinck et al. 2013). table 2. comparison between python-based ml modules (classes time efficiency andlicense) (pedregosa et al. 2011). algorithm scikit-learn mlpy pybrain pymvpa mdp shogun support vector classification 5.2 9.47 17.5 11.52 40.48 5.63 lasso (lars) 1.17 105.3 37.35 elastic net 0.52 73.7 1.44 k-nearest neighbors 0.57 1.41 0.56 0.58 1.36 pca (9 components) 0.18 8.93 0.47 0.33 k-means (9 clusters) 1.34 0.79 * 35.75 0.68 license bsd gpl bsd bsd bsd gpl 1.3. python for science and computation. python is one of the most popular programming languages among scientific computing community for its steadily expanding development ecosystem besides having a full range of sophisticated features such as first-class functions, garbage collection and expansion handling in addition to being an object oriented scripting language which can run on many platforms. also it can be managed to make the best of the hardware speed available. furthermore it is easy to use, subject to multidisciplinary large body of user community, above and beyond, it can be embedded into existing applications and interact with a variety of software. these reasons made this language rapidly gains interest by scientific computation users. this research aims to make use of python scikit-learn module and rhino/grasshopper for the sake of bringing sophisticated machine learning libraries to be manageable to architects and designers who are not specialized in machine learning but at the same time concerned with using its approaches in their work by introducing a plugin for rhino\grasshopper called ant developed using c# and python. 2. plugin structure. the structure of the plugin has followed a particular method consisted of three main segments, these are: 1) datasets such as data instances, targets and training data, 2) grasshopper interaction such as components, numerical inputs etc. . . ,and 3) python modules such as numpy, scipy and scikit-learn as shown in figure (2). figure 2. structure of antplugin. pg. 207 abdelrahman / the academic research community publication 2.1. input data the data input is categorized into three main portions: data instances i.e. the real-world data which are used for the fitting process, it comes in form of 2d array with shape (# samples, # features). the term ”features” refers to the explanatory variables which are used for training, it should have a label and be of numerical data type either continuous, discrete or binary. targets i.e. the response variables for each data sample, it comes in a form of vector xi ∈ r+, i = 1, ... n : n = # o f samples , that is each sample refers to one target as follows: features (x) targets (y ) input data =  i0 f0 i0 f1 . . . i0 fn i1 f0 i1 f1 . . . ... ... ... . . . ... in f0 . . . . . . in fn  ⇒  t0 t1 ... tn  where in refers to the input number, fn refers to the feature number and tn refers to the target number. the present plugin has been developed so that it is able to read data of different types such as comma separated values (csv) file, microsoft excel files (.xls, .xlsx) files or structured query language e.g. mysql data file. data to predict: these data are the unknown data numeric variables are predicted for instance, given unlabeled observations x, returns the predicted labels y. it comes in a form of 1d array of shape (# features, 1). the grasshopper data-set components are shown in figure (3-a). the data input has been dsigned to follow an exact structure as shown in figure (3-b) figure 3. a. data sets’ components b. the structure of input data 2.2. grasshopper interaction the plugin interface has been developed using c# grasshopper sdk. machine learning components has been categorized into sets based on their functions e.g. (linear models, support vector machines, linear and quadratic discriminant analysis, stochastic gradient descent, nearest neighbors. . . etc.) and each category consists of a group of components as shown in figure (5). figure 4. machine learning categories based on their functions. pg. 208 abdelrahman / the academic research community publication on the other hand, the development of each ml component has followed certain steps following the same steps as scikit-learn module for example, support vector classification (svc) is shown in figure (5) and the main inputs and outputs are demonstrated in table (3). a pseudo code of the fitting algorithm is illustrated in listing (1). table 3. the required input and the output of the support vector classifier. input description data data (x) instances derived from any data set components as shown in figure 3 targets targets (y), derived from the dataset components [array] working folder [string] predict the data which is required to be fitted. [array of numerical variables] fit? boolean toggle to start fitting data. output description data log log console to report errors and exceptions. prediction result the resulted value [numerical value] figure 5. an example of classifier component (support vectorclassifier). if fit is true: read data as d read targets as t read working directory as dir read prediction data as p read data from stand-alone dummy python file as f. write d, t, dir, p to f. save f at working dir as nf.py run nf.py (nf.py runs and saves results as res) while (nf.py hasn’t finished): wait read res as output. pg. 209 abdelrahman / the academic research community publication if any changes happen to d or t or p: repeat. listing 1. a pseudo code of the algorithm used in the classifier component. 2.3. complexity and efficiency the complexity of this tool is mainly derived from the complexity of the similar functions of scikit learn. for example: the complexity of the ordinary least square is: for x: x is a matrix of size (n, p)→ o(np2) assuming that n≥p (pedregosa et al. 2011), while that of the support vector machines, the complexity scales between o(n f eatures* n2 samples)and (n f eatures* n3 samples). a detailed explanation and best practices are demonstrated by (pedregosa et al. 2011). 3. future developments the current state of the ant plugin could enable regular users to perform machine-learning estimations, and predictions. it also gives users the ability to update data instances in real-time in addition to update calculations automatically whenever any input changes. it also could be efficiently integrated with other plugins such as galapagos, ladybug and honeybee, butterfly, octopus... as it depends on numerical variables as input and output. however, it is still under progress. thus, future development includes involving a wide range of supervised and unsupervised learning, providing well-structured documentation and including plotting facility based on matplotlib module(hunter 2007). furthermore, it is intended to add an image processing module components to be integrated with machine learning. this could be attained by adjoining the scikit-image module in addition to increasing efficiency by including parallel computing module i.e. pyopencl. 4. conclusion this paper presents a method for benefiting from the potentials of machine learning and python scikit-learn to be handy to architects and designers who aren’t specialists at machine learning and coding. machine learning has become an active field of interest by a large portion of designers due to its potentials as well as the advancement in computer resources, efficiency and algorithms. selecting scikit-learn for this purpose is justified due to its consistency, ease of use, efficiency and robust documentation. on the other hand, rhino\grasshopper has been selected as it is considered one of the most popular tools used by architects and designers, it also provides a wide range of flexibility such as the ability to be integrated with other software and hardware due to its robust sdk. the combination of these tools has led to developing a plugin called ant which could be thought of as an opensource free platform which brings scikit-learn classes and functions in a form of components inside grasshopper. these components could be integrated with any other plugins and tools such as but not limited to: ladybug and honeybee (a parametric environmental plugin for grasshopper) by (roudsari, pak, and smith 2013), butterfly (openfoam-based cfd plugin for grasshopper), galabagos (genetic algorithm plugin for grasshopper) etc. . . this plugin development is still in progress. future works include adding image processing module scikit-image and parallel computing module pyopencl in addition to enhancing efficiency of the current components. 5. references 1.abu-mostafa, yaser s, malik magdon-ismail, and hsuan-tien lin. 2012. learning from data. vol. 4: amlbook new york, ny, usa:. 2.arenas, ubaldo, 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and advanced control algorithm development.” procedia computer science no. 32:1003-1009. doi: https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2014.05.525. pg. 213 introduction machine learning in architecture and design. scikit-learn. python for science and computation. plugin structure. input data grasshopper interaction complexity and efficiency future developments conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.367 material’s perception strategy in terms of adaptive re-use within the computational, and parametricism context sarah mohammad mansour1 1phd of interior architecture ,faulty of fine arts,décor department, alexandria university. abstract creativity has been assigned to the design or drawing, with materials most often being specified as a result of design rather than being considered a driver of it. (i) designers empowered by new technology now consider form as it is defined by identifiable systems. this evidence based, parametric methodology is a response to two decades of digitally-derived projects, often produced simply for their novelty. (ii) the best work results when the architect has combined respect for the old with a skilled progressive command of the new. material culture is portrayed as the physical confirmation and articulation of a culture in its relics and design. in the time that we comprehend the thought of material culture not just as having importance for investigations of the past. yet in addition getting a projective limit. ww may now be at a critical defining moment.. as computation starts to significantly change our origination of the material, so in architecture this will defy the set up connection between the procedures of design and the physical fabrication of the constructed medium . obviously, computation was brought into design & architecture the greater part a century back. furthermore, expanding digitization has since plagued all parts of the field. as though, it has remained emphatically impacted by the theoretical isolation of the procedures of design and making that has overwhelmed structural plan thinking since the renaissance, and it is just now that creators are starting to deal with the computational void as never again disconnecting from the physical domain. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords adaptive-reuse; parametric design; laser cut; biodegradable materials; sustainability; computational; 3d printing. 1. introduction 1.1. background and motivation this paper is presenting an investigation about the truth about materials, as the using of old traditional materials in the terms of preservation depends on its way of processing and behavior. traditional old materials make a conflicted perception about the new and the old parts in the space, but, it could be processed with a new processing methods, using digital computation driven tools. for the final design output, could coin a mutational adaptive space, on a certain level of insane complexity. we can call it (insanely – adaptive). this term will conduct old pg. 265 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mohammad / the academic research community publication abandoned space and the tradition approaches of adaptive reuse to a new phase and upward its level to be parametrically enhanced. enhancement will involve both functionality and aesthetics values, a generative unfolding of material behavior in space and time from which hitherto unsought design possibilities could originate. fulfillment new design possibilities and innovation in making, as sometimes the final output could look historical, though the creation process was not a historical one. as neri oxman (iv) stated “the future of architecture lies in design that incorporates the systems and materials of nature.” so we need to have a new perspective in our dealing with materials in the terms of adaptive re-use within this computational era. 2. history synthesis 2.1. driving force for technical innovation just a couple of remarkable cases of architectural compositional styles consolidated in a solitary building exist generally. new structures tended to rub out old ones, and those structures that survive are the fittest cases of compositional architectural styles that won when they were assembled. styles changed gradually finished the course of design history, and dissimilar to today, structures built inside a specific decade—and now and again inside a given century—are comparable in appearance. today, style assignments have small importance, current works don’t fit into an effectively conspicuous complex example, and contemporary engineering outline dispositions are definitely not static. it is educational to take a gander at extremely old cases of building combination through current eyes. 1-the duomo at siracusa in sicily comprises of a mix of three design elements, (fig 1) spreading over more than two thousand years. the most seasoned part is greek doric, a style dating from around 500 bce. a romanesque nave and second story in all probability supplanted the top of the doric sanctuary amid the norman time frame (eleventh century), and a rococo exterior and apse were included after an earthquake in 1693. juxtapositions of these three particular styles are unmistakable from different vantage focuses both inside and outside of the church building. regardless of the huge time traverses between the increases of progressive components, the engineering creation isn’t divided. maybe on the grounds that each of the three components are of comparable shading and were built utilizing comparative materials, the diverse times are not instantly seen. moreover, each of the three bits was attached as a way to a similar end—making the most critical religious working in the city. since the elaborate veneer is the predominant component, the house of god looks, at first look, similar to a normal sicilian church developed amid the late renaissance figure 1. at the duomo at syracuse, three unmistakable styles—greek doric, romanesque, and florid—are obvious from different vantages of the house of prayer. the design forbear of the house of prayer feels durable in spite of the dissimilar styles (vi) another significance logical inconsistency, on the perception view of the space is: 2the mosque at córdoba, spain, (fig 2) inspires an alternate visual reaction. the site was initially a christian church, worked by the visigoths around 500 ce, yet was supplanted by a muslim mosque around 800 ce. the pg. 266 mohammad / the academic research community publication mosque is rectangular in plan and comprises of arcades included brilliantly hued, twofold horseshoe-formed curves, bolstered by thin segments. córdoba came back to christian mastery in the thirteenth century, and around 1525, a gothic nave was embedded into the focal point of the mosque. structurally, the inclusion is limit—the steed shoe curves obviously slam into the gothic fan vaulting. shafts of sunlight puncture the dull creation of the mosque in a sensational way, however in the congregation, sunshine enlightenment is splendid and uniform. the differentiation between the two structural styles couldn’t be more articulated, reverberating maybe the contrasts between the religious convictions that won in the sixteenth century. figure 2. at the mosque at cordoba, the two structural styles are unmistakably separated and articulated. the addition of new into old is limit—the gothic fan vaulting slams into the horseshoe curves. in both the duomo at syracuse and the mosque at cordoba , the designer of the more up to date parts of the structures did not browse a variety of conceivable styles: they essentially utilized the style that won at the time . the distinctions amongst new and old curve uncovered through genuinely expressed contrast. unobtrusive in syracuse and unforgiving and obvious in cordoba. a time stamp must be unmistakably identifiable on both parts (new & old) 3. material synthesis in the past two examples , we have reached that in the first one (the duomo at syracuse) that the subtle difference in choosing the same materials and colors in the preservation phase in the different three eras has led to a vague , indistinct , and unclear ambience . users’ perception couldn’t characterize and recognize each era separately. but if we look at the second case (mosque at córdoba ( the change consider to be a paradigm shift. the using of the off-beat colors (compare to the existed) and the new composition of the horse-shoe arches visibly which collide with the gothic fan vaulting, the experience was totally impressive. the obvious evidences from each style and era make it very apparent to the pg. 267 mohammad / the academic research community publication occupants without any confusion about the old parts and the new insertions. but what if we want to talk about the terms of materials in the preservation within the computational, and parametricism context? and what about the mutations of the adaptive reuse in this over-tuned notions? how about fusing the physical and the computational as material synthesis? material culture is portrayed as the physical confirmation and articulation of a culture in its relics and design. in the time that we comprehend the thought of material culture not just as having importance for investigations of the past. yet in addition getting a projective limit. we may now be at a critical defining moment.. as computation starts to significantly change our origination of the material, so in architecture this will defy the set up connection between the procedures of design and the physical fabrication of the constructed medium . obviously, computation was brought into design & architecture the greater part a century back. furthermore, expanding digitization has since plagued all parts of the field . 3.1. material strategy in preservation terms: figure 3. material strategies in preservation terms. author work this strategy is answering the query about the truth about materials,( fig3 )moreover the new fabrication methods—like additive manufacturingallow design to be extended to the level of the material structure. specialists at the icd utilized multi-material procedures to deliver frameworks that react to ecological boosts with a form transformattion. (fig 4) the related responsive development does not need any mechanical or electronic parts, or the supply of operational vitality. (vii) material as machine makes motion without motor (applicable for traditional materials like wood). while hygroscopy ( viii) is regularly comprehended as a material lack in innovation, biology has advanced methods for using it as a key element. a few plants utilize hygroscopic activations to create movement: also, conifer cones curve one case of this figure 4. 3d-printedenvironmentally responsive material systems, university of stuttgart 2014.david correa, steffen reichert and achim menges/achim menges architect bda andinstitute for computational design (icd). we can’t disregard existing materials in favor of the new or novel. fig(5) pg. 268 mohammad / the academic research community publication figure 5. material strategies processing for old and new materials. author work. 4. relevant precedents in a 1971 lecture to students, stated:louis kahn xi stated:: if you are ever stuck for inspiration, ask your materials for advice. ”you say to a brick, ’what do you want, brick?’ and brick says to you, ’i like an arch.’ and you say to brick, ’look, i want one, too, but arches are expensive and i can use a concrete lintel.’ and then you say: ’what do you think of that, brick?’ brick says: ’i like an arch.’”xii so we will review some relevant studies about using old traditional materials like bricks and sands had been processed with computational parametric tools, in both design and fabrication phase resulted in final output looked seamlessly brilliant as if we applied this old materials in any old site for preservation term no one could have any doubt that it’s brand new part has been inserted eventually to the space. 4.1. parametric regionalism flexibility is the very center of parametricism, which nourishes off technological change and flourishes with change. not constrained to system alone, adjustment in parametric plan can be reached out to react to territorial specifics and varieties. utilizing computational innovation, the architect applies a coordinated outline philosophy through the investigation of the particular implications of different design parameters, for example, material execution, building tectonics and human conduct. regionalism isn’t just reflected in the nearby setting and atmosphere, yet in addition innate in social perspectives like building materials and craftsmanship. the talk of regionalism in the computerized age has expansive social and moral criticalness. in the previous years, parametric plan strategy had been connected by designer philip yuan xiiito his training and research in china. with concentrating on the arrangement of parameters on the execution of nearby materials like bricks ,concrete, and timber and investigate the new open doors offered by the incorporation between parametric design and local culture. pg. 269 mohammad / the academic research community publication consequently, regionalism with regards to the computerized time is progressively worried about the reconciliation and recovery of physical data and virtual information through new innovations. the operation and advance of social frameworks dependably includes rich local traditions and social legacy, and the arrangement of their traditions is firmly identified with the domestic regional condition and social generation. parametric outline gives another way to deal with design learning and spatial association; it should consolidate provincial data and local behavior from a wide viewpoint. (xiv) parametric models have totally broken the limits amongst plan and manufacture, empowering an incorporated lifecycle outline philosophy from conceptualization to operation, amendment and development through the control of geometric data. (xv) the logicality, adaptability, intelligence and constructability of parametric frameworks relate to a completely open arrangement of digital design and fabrication. parametric models develop an association between design geometry and performative parameters of local climate, material, structure and behavior. the choice as to which geometrical parameters matter in architectural design turns into the way to the design approach. (xvi) digital design and fabrication of conventional materials(research and routine with regards to philip yuan) (xvii) conventional craftsmanship ought not to be seen just as far as its social esteem (fig 6). the importance of customary materials will be re-imagined as architects give careful consideration to their performative qualities and fabrication logics. likewise, the extraordinary topographical highlights encapsulated in conventional materials bring rich territorial qualities into architectural design. (xviii) as of late, he has dedicated his building practice to advanced manufacture utilizing nearby materials. conventional materials have been subjected to morphological investigations to accomplish an inventive standard of performative tectonics. 4.2. tools of imagination (michael hansmeyer projects – the grotto). between chaos and order, both natural and artificial, neither foreign nor familiar. digital grotesque (fig 7) presents an immersive, human-scale, highly articulated grotto that is entirely fabricated using 3d printing. fine-grained corns of sand printed at a resolution of 0.13mm allow the creation of a yet unseen architecture. the 16 square meter room is composed uniquely through algorithms (fig 8). (xxi) new materials and manufacture techniques have generally prompted radical changes in architectural design. they have for sure been essential drivers in its advancement. today, additive fabricating is creating emissaries as an insurgency in design. though in engineering, this development has up to now been used only for small scale forms. digital grotesque takes additive manufacturing innovation to a genuine architectural scale. digital grotesque presents a completely immersive, strong, human-scale encased structure with a bewildering level of detail (fig 9). its geometry comprises of a huge number of individual facets printed at a resolution of a tenth of a millimeter, constituting a 3.2-meter high, 16 square meter vast room. pg. 270 mohammad / the academic research community publication figure 6. silkwall. the angles of rotation of the cement blocks were constrained to 21values. wooden formats were given by the architect to educate the manufacturershow to distribute the pieces to the right position. figure 7. digital grotesque structure with a perplexing level of detail the potentials of additive manufacturing in architecture are huge. architectural details can achieve the limit of human recognition. there is no cost for multifaceted nature : printing this exceptionally grotto costs the same as printing a primitive cube. nor is there a cost for customization: creating very individual components costs close to printing a standardized series. ornament and formal expression thus cease to be a luxury. what would we be able to do with this recently discovered opportunity? 4.2.1. design by algorithm the single subdivision process produces shapes that contain data at various scales. the nearer one gets to the shape, the more highlights one finds. such a progressive separation can likewise be found in exemplary classic architecture design. however dissimilar to customary architectural design forms, here a solitary procedure is utilized both to shape the general frame, and to make the moment surface subtle elements” details”. this articulation can be utilized to make lineaments that surpass the limit of human haptic or visual observation that would be altogether un-drawable utilizing conventional means (fig 14). pg. 271 mohammad / the academic research community publication 4.2.2. fabrication the use of 3d printing innovation in architecture has up to now been constrained to prototyping or delivering little scale models. material expenses are high, machines have constrained to scales, what’s more, the larger part of materials are not sufficiently solid to satisfy development necessities. sand-printing innovation has as of late developed as an added substance producing strategy (additive manufacturing) that defeats these confinements (fig10). this innovation is right now utilized fundamentally to make casting forms in for industrial modern applications. however, it has remarkable highlights that make it reasonable to make architecture compositional parts. in particular, it permits the fabrication extensive scale components. (at present up to 8 cubic meters in estimate). with high resolution and exactness at an aggressive, competitive cost and in brief time frame. the printed sandstone components can be completely self-supporting and can be collected as a strong construction (fig 11). natural sandstone has been utilized as building material since prehistoric times. church buildings, cathedrals, figure 8. isometric view to the whole mass. figure 9. isometricassembly detail of the mass pg. 272 mohammad / the academic research community publication figure 10. thegiant 3d printer figure 11. assemblyin the real life. figure 12. thefinishing coat. figure 13. theexcessive sands while printing process pg. 273 mohammad / the academic research community publication sanctuaries and other fancy ornamental structures were frequently built with sandstone, as it is a moderately delicate material that is anything but difficult to work while as yet having basic protection and resistance. 3d printed sandstone has fundamentally the same as properties once it is post-prepared. with a specific end goal to additionally solidify the smaller scale “micro-detailing of the grotto” (local parts are thinner than 2mm) and to increase the structural stability, the printed sandstone is infiltrated with resin (fig 12). figure 14. the intricate grotesque after finishing and it shows a new phase in additive manufacture and its impact on architecture leading to generate classic forms though the processing phase was computationally done 5. informed robotic materials moreover, traditional materials like bricks and clay are now widely used by informed robotic system. clay are now using in 3d printing with an advancement in printing large scale constructions on site, and undoubtedly with a robotic technology (cable robots and drones) robots driven by cables (xxiv) figure 15. robotos driven by cables & drones have helped in 3d printing using clay in printing large scale construction 6. experimental design. ”by author”: suggested sustainable material like palm leaves mat, come in sheets (4*2.5m2 ) allows transmitting light due to the weaving ability to the material nature.could be fixed by to work as screening sustainable system on windows or shading vertical devices (fig 16).i used laser cut to perforate suggested design based on a grasshopper definition depends on curve attractor. the shading device could be double layer, creating overlapped design and different alternatives.(fig 17) pg. 274 mohammad / the academic research community publication figure 16. palm leaves mat before and after laser cut and how it helped to change the users perception to the material. 7. conclusion – materials ‘behaviour have been totally altered due it the way of processing and the paradigm shift in computational technology, parametric tools restore the design scene and the final output, reforming endless choices and generate unimaginable ideas. – experimentation with the shape of perforation and how each can be used to represent the dynamics of space, as well as what light and shadow effects are created as light source distorts the projection of the shape – the perforation pattern in the screen system could be based on daylight simulation according to using simulation software like diva for rhino & grasshopper and that’s for how using it in the applicable part of the study. figure 17. double layer, creating overlapped design and different alternatives pg. 275 mohammad / the academic research community publication 8. recommendations sustainability could be enhanced by conducting an investigation and experiment a research for new biodegradable materials depend on a developed 3d printing filament, extracted from palm leaves or palm midribs, referring to a new research from chalmers university of technology in sweden on liquefied wood , which it can be applied and developed to recycle existed palm tree’s waste which is easily obtainable in the arab region. the 3d printing could be used in preservations, and restoration of the old sites, and here it with the supposed new material, we can investigate the adaptability with the building special condition . that’s all will lead to energy and money save by making the best of what we already have mixed with the new innovative technology and cutting edge design tools. 9. references 1. i castle .helen, material synthesis, fusing the physical and the computational. september/october 2015. profile no 237.p:5 2. ii beorkrem .christopher , material strategies in digital fabrication, 2013 by routledge.p:8 3. iii menges. achim, material synthesis, fusing the physical and the computational. september/october 2015. profile no 237.p:9 4. iv http://www.wired.co.uk/article/mit-mask-maker 5. v bloszies ,charles, old buildings, new designs. architectural transformation, 2012, princeton architectural press, 1st edn ,p:41, downloaded from: https://issuu.com/vladimirchuzhinov/docs/oldbuildings. 6. vi text from ibid.p:41.photos;left; http://matthewwilliamsellis.photoshelter.com/image/i0000cuog rii0ei middle: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:2781 siracusa duomo navata centrale foto giovanni dall%27orto 22-may-2008.jpg right: http://www.paradoxplace.com/perspectives/sicily%20&%20s%20italy/montages/sicily/siracusa/s iracusa%20or tigia.htm 7. vii menges. achim, material synthesis, fusing the physical and the computational. september/october 2015. profile no 237.p:13. 8. viii hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules from the surrounding, usually at normal or room temperature, environment. this is achieved through either absorption or adsorption with the absorbing or adsorbing substance becoming physically changed somewhat. this could be by an increase in volume, boiling point, viscosity or other physical characteristic and properties of the substance, as water molecules can become suspended between the substance’s molecules in the process 9. ix ibid p:68 10. x ibid p:68 11. xi louis isadore kahn: from 1957 until his death, he was a professor of architecture at the school of design at the university of pennsylvania. kahn created a style that was monumental and monolithic; his heavy buildings for the most part do not hide their weight, their materials, or the way they are assembled. louis kahn’s works are considered as monumental beyond modernism. famous for his meticulously built works, his provocative proposals that remained inbuilt, and his teaching, kahn was one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. he was awarded the aia gold medal and the riba gold medal. at the time of his death he was considered by some as ”america’s foremost living architect.” https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/louis kahn pg. 276 mohammad / the academic research community publication 12. xii https://www.facebook.com/vanibahl/posts/10154282889178573 13. xiiiyuan,philip.,parametricism 2.0 . rethinking architecture’s agenda for the 21st century, architectural design, march/april 2016, profile no. 240,p:93. 14. xiv schumacher, patrik, the autopoiesis of architecture, vol i: a new framework of architecture, john wiley & sons (chichester), 2011, pp 5–8. 15. xv sheil .bob, and glynn. ruairi, fabricate: making digital architecture, riverside architectural press (toronto), 2012, pp 30–35 16. xvi hensel .michael, sunguroglu. defne, and menges. achim, ‘material performance’, versatility and vicissitude: performance in morpho-ecological design, march/april (no 2), 2008, pp 34–41 17. xvii philip yuan: is associate professor at the architecture and planning institute of tongji university, shanghai, director of archi-union architects, and a member of the shanghai urban & planning consultant community. 18. xviii picon .antoine, digital culture in architecture, birkhäuser (basel), 2010, pp 30–35. 19. xixyuan,philip.,parametricism 2.0 . rethinking architecture’s agenda for the 21st century, architectural design, march/april 2016, profile no. 240,p:94. 20. xx michael hansmeyer is a post-modern architect who utilizes algorithmic architecture techniques, generative art mentalities, and cad software to generate complex structures. he is currently based in the caad group at eth’s architecture department in zurich. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/michael hansmeyer 21. xxi http://www.michael-hansmeyer.com/projects/digital grotesque info.html?screensize=1&color=1 22. xxii ibid 23. xxiii ibid 24. xxiv http://www.iaacblog.com/life/iaac-shows-the-potentials-of-3d-printed-buildings-at-barcelona-building construmat/ 25. xxv ibid pg. 277 introduction background and motivation history synthesis driving force for technical innovation material synthesis material strategy in preservation terms: relevant precedents parametric regionalism tools of imagination (michael hansmeyer projects – the grotto). design by algorithm fabrication informed robotic materials experimental design. "by author": conclusion recommendations references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.516 urban identity formation in light characteristics of future cities youssef abdelhakeem elsayed1 1high institute of engineering-thebes academy for sciencescairo, egypt abstract with the beginning of the 21st century and with the increase of urban growth in cities, the impact on urban cities significantly, especially environmental changes, climate, social and economic, which loss of some cities urban identity, as planners and designers of cities, we must facing these challenges by identifying the characteristics of future cities to conservation our identity. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban identity(ui) — urban form(uf) — future cities characteristics(fcc) 1. introduction there are factors that have led to qualitative change in cities, such as industrialization, globalization and technological developments, which affect the function and formation of cities, and affect the form of aesthetic and urban, which affect the urban identity. there are some of future trends to build the cities, each with its characteristics and components. this is our role as planners and designers to build cities. we define these characteristics and how they reflect on the urban structure and the architectural identity such as formation of buildings, streets, public transport, landscape elements and urban spaces. 1.1. problematic search: urban identity formation (uif) and affected future cities characteristics (fcc) 1.2. main question: how urban identity is formed by the characteristics of future city trends? 1.3. research objectives: identity the characteristics of future city. formation of architectural identity. pg. 269 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ elsayed / the academic research community publication 1.4. research methodology: research methodology is three stages the first stage study of urban identity through urban identity definition, urban identity elements, and urban identity (past, present) using inductive method, the secon6d phase analysis future cities trends such as green city, smart city, social city, recreation city, touristic city, mixed city, science city and economic city, using analytical method, third stage show same leading models for future cities to reach future cities characteristics and future urban identity using synthesis method. 2. part i : urban identity(ui) 2.1. urban identity concept the word “identity” is generally described as a collection of features that serve to define any object. in addition, urban identity is defined as the natural and artificial elements of a city, its social, cultural and historical characteristics. among these characteristics, the most obvious and impressive are the identity of that city. every feature that differentiates one city from the other and appears differently is counted as the identity component of that city. each of the cities has had an identity over time, and today they are remembered and living with the identities they have created. the identity of a city has its own characteristics with many factors (simonovic, 2013). urban identity is defined by the identity of the place, the urban character, the character of the neighborhood and local character, urban identity is concerned some of the sciences such as urban planning, urban design, landscape, environmental psychology, sociology and urban sociology, the identity of the place is also defined urban pattern and architecture style. urban identity science has become an important issue in the past 25 years, reflecting the culture of society and societies and how it reflects on urbanization. social events and social groups affect the form of urban identity in terms of gender, ethnicity, social class, religion and color to form the city of spaces, squares and streets, the urban identity is a reflection of the socio-economic and environmental needs of any society (westminster, 2013). urban identity can also be defined (cities of the future, 2015): – the privacy of the place – local heritage – community culture – local urban pattern – local architectural character – building materials – environmentally appropriate urbanization – appropriate activities 2.2. urban identity components the identity of the city belongs to the city itself, which makes the city different from the others and adds value to that city and is the whole of the city-specific components. these components are also important features in the formation of that city’s identity. concepts that constitute urban identity are gathered under two main headings as environmental and social identity. the relationships and interactions of these concepts forming urban identity (parente, 2016). pg. 270 elsayed / the academic research community publication figure 1. urban identity components 2.3. urban identity (past, present) every place has a distinctive urban and architectural identity, be the attraction for residents or from outside, and then the urban and architectural identity becomes an engine of economic activity and source of income for the population, it produces architectural and urban identity of heritage and architecture grows and accumulates proceeds over the years, heritage consists of a set of cultural, social and environmental variables and economic as well as in the field of construction, and architectural identity and physical characteristics rooted in place, it’s tied to him and gives him a special form, show urban identity through formed urban fabric buildings and surrounding spaces (squares, roads and parks and other spaces, building forms, designs, colors of buildings, architectural elements, and materials ( , architectural or urban identity to be more explicit and prominent in president and large buildings (religious, governmental office, business and leisure), such models become a symbol for the place or city, the architectural and urban identity gives the place its spirit and taste, which required the architects and developers of urban and architectural identity confirmation, in distracts, streets, open spaces and buildings. with the passage of time are affected by urban identity variables, technology and globalization and industrialization up to losing you physical identity, (ozaslan, 1995) for example cairo city egypt and damascus city — syria. figure 2. new urban identity for cairo (past — present) pg. 271 elsayed / the academic research community publication figure 3. new urban identity for damascus ( past –present) 3. part ii: future cities trends (fct) 3.1. future cities — importance and relevance more than 70% of the populations live in cities; urbanization has become a major contributor to economic, demographic, social and environmental change, urbanization models have traditionally been applied without taking into account future results. today we see models of urban planning formed as a result of environmental, social and economic reasons without taking into account future results, this led to the incompatibility of urban urbanization with the predictions of the future, and total reliance on vehicle traffic has become the dominant belief in the 21st century, there should be integrated environmental management to increase welfare, prosperity and social cohesion to improve living and raise standards of quality of life to increase satisfaction with urbanization, environmental management provides appropriate funding resources and catalyzes investment to create fast, appropriate urban and environmental fabric to improve urbanization (saglik & kelkit, 2017). 3.2. future cities — conceptions of success there are some ideas, terminology and words that formed the concept of the future cities, they can be divided to environmental, social, economic and governmental, these characteristics and concepts was devised to satisfy future cities, they reflect different stakeholder and interest group conceptions of the ideal city of the future, these terms formed the urban identity of cities such as (sustainable, compact, smart, participative, walkable, integrated, livable, competitive, productive, innovative, managed, productive, efficient. . . and so on), (erdogan & ayatac, 2015). table 1 explains a some of the elements, terms and conceptions of success which are most used by those working in specific city-related fields, or concerned with particular future city outcomes. table 1. elements, terms and conceptions of success environmental terms social terms economic terms governance terms garden participative entrepreneurial managed continued on next page pg. 272 elsayed / the academic research community publication table 1 continued sustainable walkable competitive intelligent eco integrated productive productive green inclusive innovative efficient compact just business friendly well-run, well-led smart open global smart resilient liveable resilient future 3.3. identity and characteristics of future cities the global human settlements report 2009 entitled ”sustainable city planning” includes an assessment of the effectiveness of urban planning systems as a tool to address the challenges facing cities in the twenty-first century, the most prominent part of this global report revolves around the need to change existing planning methodologies in most parts of the world, (haapala, 1998). – smart city – green city – social city – recreation city – touristic city – mixed city – science city – economic city table 2. smart city identity and characteristics definition of smart cities and identity smart city seeks to create a technological environment that provides telecommunications and innovative services and enables them to access any application, anywhere, anytime smart governance smart grid smart economy smart mobility virtual citizen center flexible electric network flexible real estate car sharing management participation administration communication between electricity producer, consumer and energy storage networking local enterprises parking management information flexible exchange of data and goods integrated public transport system table 3. green city identity and characteristics definition of green cities and identity green city is a city that relies on renewable energy and clean technologies to achieve a carbon-free city and waste with the use of sustainable transportation. continued on next page pg. 273 elsayed / the academic research community publication table 3 continued zero carbon city zero waste city energy generation transportation reliance on clean energy reduce consumption 100% renewable energy solutions green city based city to operate without fossil fueled vehicles reliance on fossil fuels recycle 90% of grey water solar system energy high technology modern technologies reduce water leakage to 3% wind system energy table 4. social city identity and characteristics social city identity and characteristics the social city is a city based on the creation of a social environment among its inhabitants creating a formation of a range of spaces, gardens and spiritual and spiritual uses community society integration and interaction social administration and governance free time activities for all generations social organization of the city and the people community gardens and spaces participation of the during an planning process family friendly places public spaces for social integration table 5. recreation city identity and characteristics recreation city identity and characteristics the recreation city is a city based on nature in creating activities for entertainment, entertainment and sports activities to achieve the highest efficiency of calm, enjoyment and relaxation silence and nature leisure and entertainment activity and sport places for contemplative and selfcentered recreation cultural facilities exercising , walking , biking park spa/ wellness centers bike routes , hiking trials wind landscape area with lonely places playing, consuming sport facilities indoors and outdoors animation table 6. touristic city identity and characteristics touristic city identity and characteristics the tourist city depends on the exploitation of natural resources and cultural heritage to settle tourist activity that helps attract domestic and foreign tourists. natural resources local attractions economic values cultural heritage unique landscape traditional building accommodation build heritage natural features traditional festivals hotels customs climates religion places souvenirs traditions environmental touristic restaurants table 7. mixed city — identity and characteristics continued on next page pg. 274 elsayed / the academic research community publication table 7 continued mixed city identity and characteristics the mixed city depends on the multiplicity and confusion between the uses of land in the same neighborhood to reduce the travel distances between work, housing and shopping. mix of functions mobility mix mixed generations short distance between housing , working , leisure , food supply interaction of different mobility systems cooperation between younger and older citizens balance utilization of infrastructure public transportation multi generation homes private transportation demographic change bike way and walking table 8. science city identity and characteristics science city identity and characteristics the scientific city relies on research centers, universities and technology industries to attract the largest number of researchers and scientists in the world. schools and university research and industries conventions schools and universities the core of science: they attract researchers and students from all over the world and spread of knowledge over the city. private companies may benefit from the neighboring researchers in the universities and may support them or cooperate conventions are good occasions to bring all participants of the science city together and invite researchers and partner from abroad table 9. economic city identity and characteristics economic city identity and characteristics the economic city depends on the stability and improvement of the administrative conditions of the state through the exploitation of mineral resources in order to improve the living conditions of society. good general framework stability economic values national and international connectivity social stability raw materials efficient information system balanced social mixture accommodation administrative conditions good living conditions for the people at the merger of society hotels restaurants 4. part iii: urban identity model (uim) 4.1. msheireb projectdohaqatar : regeneration and a new urban identity (aziz & misni, 2016). in 2008, the msheireb project was launched over an area of 35 hectares; the aim of the project is to bring back the qatari families to downtown doha after their massive departure to the periphery during the 1950s and 60s. beside aimed to improve the environment and boost the economy of the area. in short, the following are the main objectives of the master plan. – to promote a sustainable way of living within a compact city framework that reduces automobile usage, increases density and promotes public transport and mixed use – to renew a piece of city infrastructure so as to reduce its reliance on fossil fuel – to promote better integrated social communities at the heart o the city where locals and expatriate workers pg. 275 elsayed / the academic research community publication are walk able neighborhoods, public spaces and amenities – to modernize a piece of qatar’s capital city in ways that will resonate with local history and cultures. in order to implement these objectives a number of modernization challenges are in this master plan(european union, 2016). – the short-term profit driven motives – fragmented land ownership and its impact on the development pattern – local climate and its impact on movement and urban form – the loss of community spirit and identity in the process of modernization – image of the city-creation not transposition. – to implement these objectives the master plan proposed a safe and a thriving residential /commercial center containing facilities and amenities within a walk able distance (boussaa, 2017). – in msheireb, streets and neighborhoods form a compact urban pattern rather than being scattered each one in its own plot. the compact layout offers many advantages in terms of creating shaded streets that encourage inhabitants to walk. – this compact urban pattern is inspired from the old neighborhoods, as a response to climatic and social considerations. in addition, it encourages the social interaction between neighbors that will eventually increase the sense of place and identity. – msheireb is structured around five main districts that encourage social interaction. these districts consist of the emiri diwan quarter, which will host the national guard and other services supporting the emiri diwan. a second district, the mixed-use and residential quarter, adjacent to the commercial quarter. it contains the main plaza to be the main breathing element for the entire msheireb area, residential buildings, offices and other dynamic activities. a third district, the retail quarter, is the largest district, which comprises the most luxurious spaces in the project and city of doha. the fourth district, the business gateway quarter, is a business-oriented quarter full of business opportunities and governmental representatives o facilitate future investments in the city. the heritage quarter, which escaped miraculously from decimation, forms the fifth part and stands as the only physical witness of the past. it is the main gateway to msheireb and acts as the catalyst to create a new urban identity for the entire district. – the need to establish a new urban identity and character for msheireb was fundamental in creating a new image to the city. instead of transcribing from the past, influences are inspired from studying the local built heritage. lessons learn from an examination of the historic districts in doha and alwakra enabled the establishment of seven principles as a guide for the design of the master plan, timelessness, diversity and unity, form and geometry, aspect of home, aspect of street, designing for climate and elements of architecture these principles intend to ease life for the future inhabitants while they provide them with a new urban identity inspired but not copied from the past. – the heritage quarter is the only survivor heritage area in msheireb, the quarter represents an area equivalent to 2% of the entire 35 ha sites. the heritage quarter has two main roles, first it functions as the main msheireb’s entrance, to welcome the local and global visitors from the adjacent souk waqif. secondly, it provides a cultural trail to retrace qatar’s history before 1950. – one way of rediscovering the urban identity of the city of doha is to go back to its first roots and try to sustain them in face of the emerging global environments. through the msheireb urban regeneration project. pg. 276 elsayed / the academic research community publication figure 4. new urban identity msheireb projectdohaqatar 5. conclusion through observation and analysis of the characteristics and identity of the future cities (green cities — smart cities — mixed cities — economic cities — social and scientific cities — recreational -tourist cities) and compare them with the concept of urban identity and components we find that: – urban identity means (place — privacy — heritage — culture — past — urban compatibility — simulation) – there are properties to future cities can reflect urban identity of our cities as follows : – the identity of green cities (climate and environmental adjustment — green urbanize — urban fabric — local architectural character -sustainable transport) – the identity of smart cities (participation administration — information — flexible exchange of data and goods-car sharing management-integrated public transport system) – the identity of social cities (integration and interaction — free time activities for all generations — community gardens and spaces — family friendly places — public spaces for social integration — social organization of the city and the people — participation of the during a planning process pg. 277 elsayed / the academic research community publication – the identity of recreation cities (cultural facilities — spa/ wellness centers — playing, consuming — animation — exercising, walking, biking — bike routes, hiking trials, sport facilities indoors and outdoors) – the identity of touristic cities (unique landscape — natural features — climates — build heritage — customs and traditions — traditional building — traditional festivals — religion places — environmental touristic — accommodation — hotels — souvenirs — food — restaurants) – the identity of mixed cities (short distances between housing, working, leisure, food supply — balance utilization of infrastructure — cooperation between younger and older citizens — multi generation homes — demographic change — interaction of different mobility systems — public transportation — private transportation — bike way — walking) – the identity of science cities (schools and universities the core of science: they attract researchers and students from all over the world and spread of knowledge over the city -. private companies may benefit from the neighboring researchers in the universities and may support them or cooperate) – the identity of economic cities (national and international connectivityefficient information system — administrative conditions social stability — balanced social mixture — good living conditions for the people at the merger of society) 6. references: 1. haapala, a. (1998). strangeness and familiarity in the urban environment. – e city as cultural metaphor. in studies in urban aesthetics. international institute,1998. 2. aziz, n., & misni, a. (2016). ’open space and urban identity. sustainable cities, healthy communities, 74-76. 3. boussaa, d. (2017). urban regeneration and the search for identity in historic cities. sustainability,10(1), 1-16. 4. erdogan, b. d., & ayatac, h. (2015). ” assessment of urban identity characteristics in public places: a case study of ortakoy square. itu journal of the faculty of architecture,12(1), 115-125. 5. cities of the future. (2015). cities of the future global competition, local leadership – 2005. retrieved from: www.pwc.com/government. 6. ozaslan, n. (1995). historic urban fabric: source of inspiration for contemporary city form(phd thesis, university of york, 1995). heslington, york: university of york. 7. parente, m. (2016). designing the city identity: strategic and product design for new experiential ways of living, enabling, and interacting with the urban context. design management journal,10(1), 62-71 8. saglik, e., & kelkit, a. (2017). evaluation of urban identity and its components in landscape architecture. journal of landscape architecture research,1(1), 36-39. 9. simonovic, d. (2013). rehabilitation of urban identity of cities in the banja luka region through urban form regulation. spatium international review, december 2013, pp. 28-32. 10. european union. (2016). the european economic and social committee. in culture, cities and identity in europe. 11. westminster. (2013). westminster comprehensive plan –city identity and design. pg. 278 introduction problematic search: main question: research objectives: research methodology: part i : urban identity(ui) urban identity concept urban identity components urban identity (past, present) part ii: future cities trends (fct) future cities — importance and relevance future cities — conceptions of success identity and characteristics of future cities part iii: urban identity model (uim) msheireb projectdohaqatar : regeneration and a new urban identity (aziz & misni, 2016). conclusion references: http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.511 mobilising youth towards building smart cities through social entrepreneurship: case of amman, jordan deyala tarawneh1 1architecture and urban planning department, university of jordan abstract social entrepreneurship is increasingly becoming a tool to undertake social, cultural and environmental issues in communities where startup businesses and entrepreneurs develop fund or implement ideas aimed for the solution of these problems. whether intentionally or otherwise, numerous startups and spin-offs, have in a way or another, provided services that address larger themes including, but not limited to, sustainability, public transportation and mobility which are also key components to smart cities. often led by youth, and through the employment of information and communication technology (ict) and the internet of things (iot), which have also become integral parts in smart cities thinking, social entrepreneurs are rapidly changing cities in ways city planners may never consider and thus becoming an under-recognised planning force to be reckoned with. on this note, this paper argues, a mobilisation for this force which aims to harnessing its potentials towards sustainable smart cities’ development is becoming an urgent need. moreover, as social entrepreneurship heavily depends on social networking and social media, thus acquiring an immediate interaction with a larger group of the local community as opposed to traditional planning methods, this paper argues it may further the advancement of participative approaches that include the public in the decision-making and planning of their own cities. through showcasing social entrepreneurship endeavours that have successfully addressed smart cities dilemmas in the case of amman, jordan, this paper aims to further explore the links between the two concepts. furthermore, considering the little literature available on both topics in non-western literature and developing countries context, and through looking at the non-traditional ways these projects addressed city planning problems, this paper bids to find ways to inform traditional city planners towards the achievement of smart cities goals. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords social entrepreneurship; smart cities; big data; urban informatics; public participation; amman 1. introduction in light of today’s ict and iot advancement, cities are increasingly transforming into smart cities. data is collected often from devices such as mobile phones and personal computers and are then processed and analysed in ways that help city planners in the management of services in addition to other city operations (j, 2015). in addition to profit generation, smart city applications aim to improve the quality of life and the performance of urban services as well as reduce costs and resources consumption (deakin, 2013), moreover, in the typical case, they are used to pg. 186 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ tarawneh / the academic research community publication increasing the interaction between city planners and the local community and allows them to monitor and evaluate the provided services thus measure the evolution of the city and better address its needs and its ability to respond to potential challenges (peris-ortiz & yábar, 2016). however, in the case of amman, this cycle is often broken. data is collected, processed and analysed but is solely used by software developers for the purpose of upgrading their products and city planners remain excluded from this process. in the absence of resources and in the lack of countries abilities to address critical social, cultural or environmental problems, social entrepreneurship emerged as an attractive alternative, more specifically to young entrepreneurs, to help solving these complications while providing a potential newfound economy where profit is no longer measured with your typical return of investment, profit, revenues or other metrics, rather with ’return to society’ along with different performance measurement tools (thompson, 2002). in jordan, the innovation and entrepreneurship movement is witnessing an unprecedented boom and hundreds of startups and spin-offs are mushrooming throughout its ecosystem. a large number of these projects fall under the loosely defined social entrepreneurship with an aim to address critical community needs including sustainability and transportation. these projects often heavily lean on social networking and require a basic level of data mining, processing and analysing and, in some cases, may require the use of sensors and machine learning which this paper argues may be of great help for city planners to include citizens in decision-making in addition to improve the overall city planning more specifically in developing countries context especially that the majority of research on both smart cities and entrepreneurship is based on developed countries literature. 2. literature review innovation and entrepreneurship in urban planning in the ‘big data and urban informatics: innovations and challenges to urban planning and knowledge discovery’ book, ((vonu) & m, 2017) introduce the idea of seeing cities through big data. in their chapter they argue that newly emerging big data, more specifically data obtained from sensors (e.g, iot) or socially generated (e.g, social networking and social media), are increasingly becoming important observational data in urban research. in the emerging area of urban informatics, they add, urban systems are better understood when constantly employing new sources of data. according to them, “urban informatics utilizes big data in innovative ways by retrofitting or re-purposing existing urban models and simulations that are underpinned by a wide range of theoretical traditions, as well as through data-driven modelling approaches that are largely theory agnostic”. ‘smart cities’ have been describes as an evasive and multifaceted term (nilssen, 2018). building on that, nilssen (ibid) explored the ways it may be coined with innovation in her research on smart urban innovation where she argues that innovative city initiatives contribute to the smartness of cities and that some types of innovation (between technological, organisational, collaborative or experimental) are central in the smart city. (caragliu & bo, 2018) support this argument and add that cities engaging in smart cities policies tend to patent more intensively which suggests possible innovation as a result of technologies directly involved in smart cities policies. integrating urban and digital planning, smart cities are being promoted as the solution to the challenge of urbanization and sustainable development (datta, 2015b) . it is a part of a longer utopian urban planning that emerged as a response to the challenges of development and modernity, moreover, it highlights the shift to ‘entrepreneurial urbanisation ‘as datta argues. smart cities until this day, the term ‘smart city’ remains ambiguous and the abundant similar terms that are often used interchangeably— including intelligent city, information city, virtual city— add to the confusion and stresses the need for a shared definition of what constitutes a smart city (albino, dangelico, & r.m., 2015) . according to batty (batty, 2013) , “. . . smartness in cities pertaining primarily to the ways in which sensors can pg. 187 tarawneh / the academic research community publication generate new data streams in real time with precise geo-positioning, and how the data bases that are subsequently generated can be integrated so that value can be added”, furthermore, he argues that cities only become smart when people are smart. in their research on smart cities of the future, batty et al. (ibid) define a smart city as “. . . a city in which ict is merged with traditional infrastructures, coordinated and integrated using new digital technologies”. according to them, there are six challenges smart cities face including (1) the relation of smart cities’ infrastructure to their operational functioning and planning through management, control and optimisation; (2) the exploration of the notion of smart cities as laboratories for innovation; (3) the provision of portfolios of urban simulation which inform future designs; (4) the development of technologies that ensure equity, fairness and realise a better quality of city life; (5) the development of technologies that ensure informed participation and create shared knowledge for democratic city governance, and lastly; (6) ensuring greater and more effective mobility and access to opportunities for urban population. although abundant literature is increasingly discussing the rise of smart cities and attempts to offer an interpretation for what the term may convey, (batty, axhausen, & giannotti, 2012; bunnell, 2015; datta, 2015a; watson, 2015) the term remains loosely defined and future research may offer a more comprehensive definition. 3. methods this paper will look at two social entrepreneurship projects developed for the city of amman which this paper argues, if shared with city planners and professionals, may contribute to achieving a smarter amman. the first project is a mobile application named ‘khotutuna’ (arabic: translated to english meaning: our lines) offered by ‘mean nasel’ (arabic: translated to english meaning: together we arrive) whom describe the app as amman’s unofficial transport map. the second project this paper aims to highlight is another social entrepreneurship effort aiming towards achieving sustainability through waste management and recycling. the paper identifies as a qualitative research and thus utilises qualitative methods including observation and semistructured interviews. within the wider qualitative design, the study adopts an interpretive philosophy which puts the emphasis on the researcher’s interpretation of the data. moreover, the research design is exploratory, which puts an emphasis on exploring specific areas of research and does not necessarily strive to achieve final or conclusive answers to the research problem rather, the recommendations are more tentative than final. 4. discussion from online banking, travel guides to food delivery, mobile applications have become the new way to getting things done. governments have also realized this and the transformation towards smart governance through egovernment mobile applications is currently trending in jordan. see below examples for egov apps, found in the next pages: pg. 188 tarawneh / the academic research community publication figure 1. chamber of commerce mobile application. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. figure 2. department of lands and survey mobile application. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. pg. 189 tarawneh / the academic research community publication figure 3. agricultural engineers association mobile application. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. figure 4. ministry of justice mobile application. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. pg. 190 tarawneh / the academic research community publication figure 5. social security corporation mobile application. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. pg. 191 tarawneh / the academic research community publication figure 6. greater amman municipality mobile application. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. figure 7. driver and vehicle license department mobile application. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. pg. 192 tarawneh / the academic research community publication figure 8. land transport regulatory commission mobile application. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. egovernment mobile applications, this paper argues are not solely integral to achieving smart governance, rather, they are equally important to achieving smart cities. moreover, smart governance, this paper suggests, must benefit from other applications not necessarily designed for the advancement of governmental operations. pg. 193 tarawneh / the academic research community publication in a recent video posted on facebook, august 10th, 2018, his excellency prime minister of jordan dr omar razzaz highlighted that smart phone transportation applications allow users to trace buses, make complaints amongst other features. technology may be a facilitator to find quick solutions to improve the public transportation user experience, he added. with the help of volunteers, information on current buses, coasters and service cars was collected with an aim to help local ammani’s as well as visitors arrive to their desired destinations. according to the developers; “. . . this map is the result of the efforts of volunteers whom love their city and care about it. . . it aims to clarify the currently unclear public transportation routes in order to encourage ammani’s and visitors to use them. . . we did extensive fieldwork and research in order to be the most accurate in tracing the public transportation routes throughout the city and that was not easy!” (interview, h.z, head developer) similar to common transit maps, the khotutuna map is also not geographically accurate and does not show real dimensions, however, it includes the larger majority of amman’s bus, coaster and services line with a total of 76 routes. the map is colour-coded, it categorises the routes according to their directions which are non-exiting neither on the vehicles or the street. the only existing code describes the big ‘amman transport’ buses, otherwise, a proposed code is used for the unnamed buses (b), coasters (c), and services (s). each line demonstrates all the routes that passes through it as well as the direction (back, forth or both). the application heavily depends on mobile global positioning system (gps) data and socially generated data which according to the developers are happy to share with city planner. figure 9. khotutuna map. source: http://maannasel.net/map/. retrieved august, 11, 2018. pg. 194 tarawneh / the academic research community publication figure 10. khotutuna mobile interface. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. the initiative aims to be a community impact tool to push for public transportation to become a national priority through monitoring and evaluating the government’s work towards developing a comprehensive and sustainable public transport system in jordan as well as provide the necessary success factors from policies, legislation, systems and funding that ensure the integrity of relevant city planners’ decisions. the initiative also aims to spread and raise awareness among both decision makers and citizens on the importance of public transportation and encourage their use and preservation. the initiative aims to provide proposals for improving the performance of public transport in the short term and push for their implementation, suggestions include: providing information on public transportation services through the distribution of maps and information leaflets in public places and at current bus stops; promote the use of mobile apps and collaborate with traffic management towards the implementation of traffic and safety systems including the number of passengers allowed; adhering to the specified bus stops; compliance with the allocated routes and lines; identifying specific public transportation segments of the street; providing handicappedfriendly vehicles, and lastly; raise the efficiency and awareness of workers in the public transportation industry. according the developers, to improving public transportation in jordan and towards achieving smart cities goals, the budget allocated for public transportation investment must be increased, contemporary public transportation laws must be fully activated in ways that guarantee the rights of the user, users voices must be heard, and lastly, orderly public transport for jordanian universities must be insured. pg. 195 tarawneh / the academic research community publication until this day khotutuna developers encourage users to join them and feed the map with more routes covering the different parts of the city and eventually the totality of jordan. the second social entrepreneurship initiative this paper aims to highlight is one aimed towards achieving sustainability through waste management and recycling. environmental solution pioneers (eps) is until this day the only mobile application that serves this purpose in jordan. according to the developers, eps is a system that aims to systemise the collection of waste including plastic, paper and cardboard, aluminum, and non-ferrous metals through a user-friendly mobile app. they are currently working with just over 600 establishments including hospitals, restaurants, schools, universities, cafes, in addition to factories and aim to include households in the near future to achieve a comprehensive waste management sustainability. figure 11. environmental solutions pioneers mobile application. source: google play store, retrieved august 14, 2018. pg. 196 tarawneh / the academic research community publication eps aims to achieve environmental sustainability not only through the recycling and waste management but also by minimizing the trips necessary to the process which, this paper argues, also complements smart cities goals. as demonstrated above, the system also heavily depends on big data and similar to khotutuna, the developers are more than happy to share this data with city planners and professionals in order to increase the smartness of amman. 5. conclusions social entrepreneurship continues to offer innovative solutions to social, cultural and environmental issues. through the facilitation of ict and iot, it is increasingly transforming cities including amman, jordan from data-poor cities to data-rich ones and numerous researchers explored the links between big data, more specifically obtained from sensors or socially generated, as observational urban research data in the area of urban informatics which is central to achieving the notion of smart cities. this paper concludes that social entrepreneurship efforts including resulting data in addition to social interaction must be harnessed and mobilised towards the achievement of participative, effective, realistic and applicable solutions to urban problems and thus the realisation of smarter cities. although this paper was set forward to address the gap in research on smart cities and innovation and entrepreneurship, big data and urban informatics more specifically in developing countries and middle eastern contexts, yet, it concludes that further research that takes into consideration context particularities and that identifies what constitute a smart city in these contexts is still much-needed. moreover, although this paper was set forward to highlight the significant role the youth may take in achieving smart cities goals through their innovative and entrepreneurial projects, the links between them and city planners and officials need to be further explored. innovation and entrepreneurship in all their types are central to smart cities and as a response for the challenges related to this notion, smart cities are increasingly explored as laboratories of innovation, however, this paper concludes that instead, perhaps we should look at innovation and entrepreneurship as catalysts for achieving smart(er) cities through the development of services that ensure equity, fairness and realise a better quality of urban life as well as the development technologies that ensure informed participative planning and create shared knowledge for just city governance, while ensuring greater and more effective mobility, sustainability and access to opportunities for the urban population. lastly, this paper ends on the note that technological advancement will never a replacement for good planning, however, reaping the outputs of endeavours aimed to improving urban systems and operations, and thinking of ways these outputs may be used to inform city planners and officials may bring developing countries a step closer towards achieving their best version of what they may constitute as smart cities. references albino, v., dangelico, b. u., & r.m. (2015). smart cities: definitions, dimensions, performance, and initiatives. journal of urban technology, routledge, 22(1), 3-21. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2014 .942092. batty, m. (2013). big data, smart cities and city planning. dialogues in human. geography, 3(3), 274-279. batty, m., axhausen, k. w., & giannotti, f. (2012). smart cities of the future. european physical journal: special topics, 214(1), 481-518. bunnell, t. (2015). smart city returns. dialogues in human. geography, 5(1), 45-48. caragliu, a., & bo, c. f. d. (2018). smart innovative cities: the impact of smart city policies on urban innovation. technological forecasting and social change, elsevier, 1-11. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.techfore.2018.07.022. datta, a. (2015a). a 100 smart cities, a 100 utopias. dialogues in human. geography, 5(1), 49-53. datta, a. (2015b). new urban utopias of postcolonial india: ‘entrepreneurial urbanization’ in dholera smart city, gujarat. pg. 197 https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2014.942092. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2014.942092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.07.022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.07.022. tarawneh / the academic research community publication dialogues in human geography, 5, 3-22. deakin, m. (2013). smart cities: governing, modelling and analysing the transition. taylor & francis. available, from:. retrieved from https://books.google.jo/books j, m. d. a. (2015). sharing cities: a case for truly smart and sustainable cities. urban and industrial environments. mit press. available from. retrieved from https://books.google.com.au/books nilssen, m. (2018, 7). to the smart city and beyond? developing a typology of smart urban innovation. technological forecasting and social change, elsevier, 0-1. retrieved from https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/ pii/s0040162517318942. peris-ortiz, b. d., & yábar, d. p. b. (2016). sustainable smart cities: creating spaces for technological, social and business development. innovation, technology, and knowledge management, springer international publishing. available, from:. retrieved from https://books.google.com.au/books thompson, j. l. (2002). the world of the social entrepreneur. international journal of public sector management, 15(5), 412-431. retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/10.1108/09513550210435746. (vonu), t. n. t. p., & m, z. (2017). big data and urban informatics: innovations and challenges to urban planning and knowledge discovery. in t. n. t. p. (vonu) & z. m (eds.), seeing cities through big data: research, methods and applications in urban informatics (p. 11-45). cham: springer international publishing. retrieved from https:// doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40902-3 2. watson, v. (2015). the allure of ‘smart city’ rhetoric: india and africa. , 5(1)(1), 36-39. doi: 10.1177/2043820614565868 pg. 198 https://books.google.jo/books https://books.google.com.au/books https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/s0040162517318942. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/s0040162517318942. https://books.google.com.au/books http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/10.1108/09513550210435746. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40902-3_2. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40902-3_2. introduction literature review methods discussion conclusions http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.370 utilization of “multiple kinetic technology kt” in interior architecture design as concept of futuristic innovation hala hassanein1 1associate professor – interior architecture design,helwan university, faculty of fine arts cairo, egypt abstract new trends of interior architectural design aim to maximize available spatial space for flexible and futuristic interiors. therefore, the design of a facility structure with its fixed and moveable interior components can have a significant impact on human performance leading to efficient interaction with surrounding spatial spaces. interactive design is constantly proves creating memorable connection and empowering connection with beneficiaries’ participants that can come to life in many forms, one of these many facility structures is implementing the interior architectural design approach of ”kinetic technology”. interior architecture is the design of a space inside any building that can be fixing. in addition, it can be the initial design and plan for use then later redesign to accommodate a changed purpose, or a significantly revised design for adaptive reuse of the building shell. generally referred to as the spatial art of environmental design, form and practice, interior architecture is the process through which the interiors of buildings are designed concerned with all aspects of the human uses of structural spatial spaces. therefore putting simply, interior architecture is the design of an interior in architectural terms, (wikipedia encyclopedia). the paper presents variety approaches of innovation trends, that utilizing multiple kinetic applications for the scope, benefit of interior design elements. it will give valid benefits to interior planners and designers for efficient enhancement into their practical expertise. that experience will be achieved when implementing this technology of kinetic approach to achieve effective utilization of interior spatial spaces as dynamic quality of the spatial space’s changeable size, continuity and to create a feeling of connectivity through the spatial space, which seems to virtual enlarge the small floor area. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords key words: kinetic; interactive; technology; innovation; aesthetic; dynamic movement 1. purpose/ emphasizing: obtain, analyzing various techniques in designing public and private spatial spaces by applying multiple kinetic technology through understanding kinetic systems. therefore, it will enable interior designers to assess major aspects of kinetic types, and its related applications that provide benefits to the design process. our approach is to analyze all variety of innovated kinetic systems and its applications in a certain classification aiming to act beneficially by introducing interior designers, variety series of principles, standards and techniques appropriate for implementing kinetic systems. pg. 302 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ hassanein / the academic research community publication then to conclude basic criteria to be a guide when applying kinetic approach and it classifications, type of movement required, the scope of interior design as well as scale of the kinetic elements. thus, we will present various approaches of innovation trends and accompanying solutions that utilizing multiple kinetic applications for the scope, benefit of interior design elements and its mechanical implementations. 1.1. methodology and structure: we will depends on number of searchable implementations, descriptive approaches through brief review of previous experiences for designing and implement multiple kinetic technology new ideas to use in design public and private spatial spaces. our intent is to clarify design kinetic principles and related mechanisms technology to help professionals with all types of its specification process. we have three parts to explore as follows in figure 1: figure 1. the paper discusses innovative concept of internal1 kinetic in the multi-functional architectural spatial space in terms of the animation, visual and plastic functions and the future trends in the internal motion design of the elements of interior architecture of floors, walls, partitions, ceilings and raw materials through analysis of a number of innovative applications and experiments in this field. 2. introduction architecture in general has always consists of two parts, one is design and the other part science they are integrated join to act as one. nowadays, we are living in era of technology and innovation where both have great potential manner to interact and help one another to provide adequate service rendering to the science of architecture and interior design taken as a whole. a design science marriage as known as “win-win “is a key issue, for fruitful partnership that designers strive to push their respective field of interior design forward by incorporating motion into architectural planners and interior designers give their beneficiaries another dimension by which to interact with their surroundings in a unify manner. the language of interior design is innovation .einstein1said, “imagination is the starting point of everything we do in life”. the 21st century buildings and its interiors are an undisputed evidence of that: innovation concepts, stunning iconic designs, incredible facilities and latest technologies are forming concept of futuristic interior architecture design. all decorating trends of the 20th and 21st century depending on the category term of technocentrism, (wikipedia encyclopedia). it is a term that denotes a value system that is, centered on technology and its ability to control and protect the environment. therefore, this introduction highlights the importance of applying kinetics into most of elements of interior design 1futuristic design concepts, http://designlike.com/about-architecture/ pg. 303 hassanein / the academic research community publication producing futurist design in form and shape as well. we will concentrate on conceptual framework of kinetic architectural structures in the field of interior design. 2.1. objective goal: our planned goal is to identify the effect of major concepts, approaches and solutions of kinetic structure as form and shape into the design process of interior design for public and private spatial spaces. such approach of applying kinetics will add a value and gain a benefit that helps to create new futurist ideas to used and deployed among variety applications of interior design whether within external or internal spatial spaces. we will form certain diagram for interior kinetic structure to set our concept of how can kinetics consider as crucial element within the design process that lead to innovate new futurist ideas for interior design. such diagram can be used by planners and interior designers as a guide or a criteria for new methodology when planning for new interior product that using the approach of kinetics. therefore, certain definitions of kinetics types and approaches are necessary to add and explained within our study. 2.2. interior kinetic structure ks diagram: interior kinetic structure ks diagram as shown in figure 2, is a symbolic representation of information according to some visualization technique to guide planners and interior designers to innovate new ideas and the technique we will use is a three-dimensional visualization diagram as follows: figure 2. pg. 304 hassanein / the academic research community publication 2.3. basic information: the process of creative design depends on many key factors that basic information the most important one. such information provides a realistic overview over all initial stages of a design project including the client relationship, methodology and collation of information to spark innovative ideas and then, develop, deploy these ideas to access the designer creativity to produce potential solutions for the innovated ideas. the interior designers first, have to analyze the previous information to consider later on any of the creative process, the pre-design work, gathering and applying the methodology, which involves a great deal of information about human needs; requirements spatial space and site considerations that the project will be based. the main requirements of design can be illustrated into human needs and requirements of the spatial space as following: human needs requirements of spatial space comfort noise control environment (solar, radiation) useable time cost benefits usability flexibility adaptability spatial space interactive spatial space shape activity 3. preliminary kinetic analysis 3.1. definitions: a. innovation2 : as extracted from businessdirectory.com, “innovation is the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay to call an innovation, an idea must be replicable at an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need”. the following figure 3, illustrate the process of five consequence stages as initial idea, assessment of idea, creation, innovation then stage of deploy into market and last but not least, accepted by its users or beneficiaries figure 3. initial idea: previous information, uses, current application, new desire for a change, or modification or enhancement of current product or newly one all are basics for initialing the idea. assessment of idea: 2https://ar.scribd.com/document/238126903/innovation pg. 305 hassanein / the academic research community publication the desired item or a product that created by the initial idea should be feasible, doable, in a reasonable cost, affordable and add positive value to the beneficiaries use and accompanying needs. creation / innovation: a new feature and product is created and innovated. market deployment & beneficiaries acceptance: start production, deployment to markets, gain benefits and therefore beneficiaries’ acceptance b. kinetic architecture3 : kinetic architecture is a concept through which designed to allow parts of the structure to move, without reducing overall structural integrity. it lies in creating spatial spaces and objects that can physically re-configure themselves to meet changing needs c. kinetic energy4: the energy of motion, observable as the movement of an object, particle, or set of particles. any object in motion is using kinetic energy. d. kinetic art:is the art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or depends on motion for its effect. kinetic art encompasses a wide variety of overlapping techniques and styles (wikipedia encyclopedia). e. sculpture kinetic5 : is a type from kinetic art and is an art form such as an assemblage or sculpture made up of parts designed to be set in motion by an internal mechanism or an external stimulus, such as light or air. that type could be for architectural or interior design as well as follows: i. sculpture kinetic construction6of the place, they have designed an empty place to transform into new futurist image by using sculpture kinetic construction for providing more relaxation feeling to its users better than it neglected without benefits or gains figure 4. as shown above in figure 4, they have used large columns with circle sheets by wooden panels that allow air and light to getting through via natural volume of lighting to the area with image of futurist in design and implementation as well. i. sculpture interior design kinetic7 : as example in the field of interior design figures 5(a-b), mark davis’s mobile series investigates the vast possibilities of how wood, metal material and line can deconstructed and reconfigured into new compositions each time it moved. playing with weight, movement, and ultimately gravity, the mobiles naturally lend themselves to a planetary quality, thus source and reflection 3kinetic architecture, www.piglix.org 4kinetic energy, http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/kinetic-energy 5sculpture kinetic, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/kinetic+sculpture 66rest hole in the university of seoul utaa, 2012, http://www.archdaily.com/440719/rest-hole-in-the-university-of-seoul-utaa/ 77new mobiles by mark davis showed at pucker gallery, 2017, https://www.artsy.net/artwork/mark-davis-tribute-number-1 pg. 306 hassanein / the academic research community publication figure 5. (a) (b) f. sustainable kinetic structure: architectures and interior designers seek to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings and its interiors by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development spatial space and the ecosystem at large (wikipedia encyclopedia). g. responsive kinetic structure: are those that measure actual environment conditions (via sensors) to enable building and its interiors to adapt their form, shape, color or character responsively (via actuators) (wikipedia encyclopedia). 3.2. kinetic shapes8 -ks: a kinetic shape (ks) is a smooth two or three-dimensional shape that is define by its predicted ground reaction forces as it is press onto a flat surface to achieve aesthetic design form. there are two types as follows: – two-dimensional shape (2d) is a flat two-dimensional area enclosed by lines. for 2d shapes there are many forms of shape in this category, but the one that is related to interior design is “dynamic shape”. as a matter a fact, kinetics, it is actually dynamics. the first case of dynamic is called kinetics. so, dynamic it is “every object experiences some form of motion which is the result of different forces acting on the object. dynamics is the study of the forces which are responsible for this motion.” – three-dimensional shape (3d) is a form of a three-dimensional area enclosed by a surface. that type of form could have; hollow forms have volume and or, sold forms have mass. 3.3. classification of kinetic structures: typology of kinetic structures 8elements and principals of design, kevin rigdone, pdf pg. 307 hassanein / the academic research community publication design using kinetic structure that include physical movement, could be apply within architecture design and interior design as well. 3.3.1. kinetic structures in architecture: figure 6. – embedded kinetic structures:such structure exists within a larger architectural whole in a fixed location, that used to control the larger systems and its respone according to modification of change of factors. – deployable kinetic structures:that one, exist in a temporary location and are easily transportable. there is a possibility within this structure to move, modify and change based on the plot area. – dynamic kinetic structures:that type of structure, include many applications such louvers, doors, partitions, ceilings, and walls as main elements of interior design (our focul topic). out of the above types of kinetic architecture mentioned, the dynamic structures are those that are going to study and to focus on in this paper. 3.3.2. kinetic structure in interior design9 : different movements of kinetic used within interior design including sliding, folding, rolling and pneumatic movement, the following samples of these types and their accompanying solutions are: structure of sliding kinetic: sliding partitions define the spatial space as needed, they require considerably less spatial space in store or when open it allow more place for movement. the partition panel as figures 7 (a-b), hanged on a sliding mechanism, on the rollers in tracks, moves along the guide way and hidden there. the following is an example of kinetic sliding partition: figure 7. (a) (b) · structure of folding kinetic10 : 9sliding kinetic, http://www.plaisirdeden.com/sliding-doors-eb8134ef1f8a987c.html 10typological classification of the recent kinetic architecture, vincenzo sapienza gianlucarodonò†july 2016” kinetic architecture and foldable surface” pg. 308 hassanein / the academic research community publication folding kinetic applications in interior design can done through natural/manually or mechanical structure shape as follows: natural/manual folding kinetic : futuristic design for most elements of interior design comes in many forms, and shapes for insistence, folding light is part of a series of interactive light sculptures that allow the users to manipulate amount and quality of light radiating out from the center. as shown in figure8 : figure 8. as a basic cube made of painted wood cut at four corners in different shapes and hinged so these corners, can be opened and/or closed in many ways to control the light. a single energy efficient electric light bulb is located at the center of the cube. this bulb surrounded by a light diffusing shield and six horizontal yellow colored planes, evenly spatial spaced around the bulb and light diffuser. this design as one sample of michael janzen’s many projects, explore new ways in which to reinvent the built environment through unexpected interactivity, which generates new forms and functions. – mechanical folding kinetic11 : the purpose of folding is to manage, control the size whether by minimizing or maximizing the spatial space plot. following example illustrate as figure 9, one of these folding systems which is sky-fold zenith: figure 9. as shown above such system as designed, can increase / decrease the spatial space using full system of automation that can be easily adaptable based upon the requirements and needs of the beneficiaries. – mix-structure of sliding and folding12 : sometimes, two types of structural design can join acting in same product. for example, jinlishi (egood) can provide different flexible storage options for sliding, and folding partitions storage option according to different site requirements as needed as follows: as shown above in figure 10, h storage styles are the most simple and popular option people use. 11kinetic behavior dynamic potential through architecture and design, mai m. youssef, 2017, https://www.witpress.com/elibrary/cmemvolumes/5/4/1658 12foshan egood movable partition, www.chinajls.com pg. 309 hassanein / the academic research community publication figure 10. – structure of rolling kinetic: the rolling and roll forming of structural shapes by passing them through a rolling a material or to bend or deform the work piece to a desired shape while maintaining a constant cross-section. it could be used in variety of materials such as wood, metal and glass as well. the following example as figure 11indicates the movement of rolling (rotate) furniture as convertible coffee bench (spatial space of sear as a table is adjusting by rotating elements of the bench). figure 11. – structure of pneumatic kinetic: pg. 310 hassanein / the academic research community publication pneumatics (from greek: πνεύµα) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized airpower by compressed air or compressed inert gases(wikipedia encyclopedia). such type is having the benefits of prompt, rapid, flexible and transformable that makes such approach is very feasible for international conferences, exhibitions and outdoors public and business events. the following is an example as figures 12(a-b) for construction done by yale school of architecture13 . figure 12. (a)(b) · structure of intelligent kinetic14 : intelligent kinetic systems structures are those that using hi-tech tools which have the ability of responsiveness with the movement by the human being. to perform this type of interaction, electronic sensors with controlled energy cells, system of led lights are used to produce this type of intelligent responsive kinetic in the floors as a key element of interior design structure as figures 13(a-b) figure 13. (a)(b) 4. technology movement of kinetic interior architecture15: kinetic interaction within architecture can greatly affect one’s experience. a designer embedding kinetics can often provide for a new kind of awareness. there are methods through which kinetic interior architecture can influence interior form as result of facing its forces, either during the design process or during the operation. there are two main categories for forces in kinetic interior architecture and its response. 4.1. static movement: when computer-aided programs16, used while designing futurist components of interiors there are many examples can be presenting to show how computerized designing can help, produce, and innovate various static movements for elements of interior design. 13yale school of architecture, http://architecture.yale.edu/people/henry-ng 14intelligent kinetic systems, michael a. fox & bryant p. yeh, http://echo.iat.sfu.ca/library/fox kinetic systems.pdf 15sustainable vision of kinetic architecture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/jba.2010.5 16https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=kinetic%20architecture%20interiors&rs=guide pg. 311 hassanein / the academic research community publication one of many examples for static movement is the parametric design: 4.1.1. parametric shape design: parametric design is a process based on algorithmic thinking that enables the expression of parameters and rules that, together, define, encode and clarify the relationship between design intent and design response, (wikipedia encyclopedia). therefore, it is a result of innovated idea to design number of wooden sheets, panels that is designed by computerized machine for cutting, placing and install in a unique futurist manner as shown hereunder for furniture seats (a bench17 ), walls18 , as well as ceiling – figures 14 (a-d) figure 14. the above examples as figures 14 (c-d), illustrate using 3d conception for exciting and interactive new design that gives a spatial space design a feeling of life. it is the moment in designs that think, innovative, and tries applying something completely different. the design aesthetic on this ceiling can use for any spatial space or even a dining area. this design could is delicate and elegant, almost an art piece 4.2. dynamic movement19: kinetic dynamic movement is that can be transformable based on a change or according to needs of beneficiaries is applied within the following example of oled lamp, as unique combination of art design and technology by selux and design studio art+com which done in a dining room of private spatial spatial space as figures 15: 17architecturebenchdividerfurniture,https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/furniture/sofa/parametric-bench 18layeredorganicparametricwallwood, https://lemanoosh.com/publication/auto-draft-287/ 19dynamic movement in light, https://www.ofdesign.net/interior-design/kinetic-oled-lamp-design-floating-silently-in-spatial space-2503 pg. 312 hassanein / the academic research community publication figure 15. oled lamp) 4.2.1. origami shape designs: origami (łł, from “ori” meaning ”folding”, and kami meaning ”paper” is the art of paper folding, which is often associated with japanese culture (wikipedia encyclopedia). based on this definition, origami design is the art of folding all types of materials in general by combination of sheets to produce new shape, form a certain design as unique futuristic colorful output. figure 16. mar-quee20 [mahr-kee]: an ornamental canopy, often identified by a surrounding a cache of light bulbs, signaling entrance to a theatrical event. mar-quise [mahr-keez]: a gem cut, yielding a low pointed oval with many facets. the installation as shown in figures 16, such approach of design has utilized to fold the production sheets into a flower shape as new manner of implementation “origami design” in ceiling as one of most important elements of interior design. to complete the design, lighting has utilized to complete the flowering patterns start from the base, and move on up to create a new form of design applicable for other usages whether internally or externally. 4.3. architectural technology: it can be summarized as the ”technical design and expertise used in the application and integration of construction technologies in the building design process, (wikipedia encyclopedia). generally there are numerous types of technologies systems in this regards, we will addressing those that are much in relation to the field of interior design as follows: electricity electromechanical digital technology multimedia mechanical systems continued on next page 20scad digital fabrication club (l) abnormal, http://www.arch2o.com/scad-digital-fabrication-club-l-abnormal/ pg. 313 hassanein / the academic research community publication table 1 continued hydraulic systems thermoelectric conversion systems 4.4. kinetic application solutions: effective and efficient designing spatial spaces have to accomplish two main factors, flexibility and comfort to earn beneficiaries satisfaction. there are new trends for multiple kinetic used in the spatial space design as the following: 4.4.1. multiple kinetic designs in close-plan: the concept of multi-purpose layout for closed-plan environments is changeable functional in interior walls ,floors and ceiling for multiuses spatial spaces and uses them for storing according to the need. 4.4.2. kinetic spatial space-saving solution: figure 17. the above diagram as figure 17, for spatial space-saving hong kong flat by architect gary chang is an example of how can small flat of 32 sq. meters formed in many uses of the spatial space including; bedroom, bath, kitchen, and living room as well as intended desire through folding its components fitting the requirements of user. while it is not in use, all these folded areas could close and folded down to save spatial spaces as its prime goal of the design. 4.4.3. kinetic all-in-one box solution21 : as figure 18, the concept of all-in-one box is to design many different applications to include within one limited spatial space or area. thus, the following example illustrate how to fold, extract and joining-in many functions serving the concept of “rooms within rooms” that enable the designer to consolidate many useful forms into one scope of spatial space. such design uses foldout and slide-out components of modular furniture to act as single unit 21http://weburbarist.com/2013/07/10/fold-out-room-12-ulta-compact-living-pods-systems/ pg. 314 hassanein / the academic research community publication figure 18. 4.4.4. multiple kinetic designs in open-plan: kinetic maximize spatial space solution 22(multipurpose layout of open-plan) the concept of multipurpose layout for open-plan environments is a flexible organization of interior spatial spaces, which based on arranging the spatial space as needed. layers of partitions are in used freely to control and manage the spatial space whether by maximizing or minimizing feasibly. such approach in design currently is in use by many planners and interior designers since nowadays the available spatial space are limited in spatial space through kinetic movable and sliding walls or hinged partitions as figures 19 (a-c): figure 19. turn a multi functional large spatial space into smaller specific areas to relax, work, eat and sleep with these ideas for dividing open-plan rooms without building walls or engaging in major renovation. these open-plan zones can be temporary measures that fold away when you do not need them or more permanent structures, to give purpose 22https://www.dezeen.com/2015/11/05/arch-studio-foldaway-walls-exhibition-spatial spaces-beijing-rongbaozhai-western-art-gallery/ pg. 315 hassanein / the academic research community publication to a large empty room, as shown above in figures 19(a-c) 5. case studies on ks innovation projects: in this last part of the paper, we have selected number of kinetic structure innovation projects that implemented to study, identify and analyze its descriptive approaches through our review over some previous experiences for designing and implement multiple kinetic technology new ideas to use in design public and private spatial spaces. our intent is to clarify most updated innovation designs been done in the kinetic structure, principles and its related mechanisms in the field of interior design applications and technology to help professionals with all types of its specification process as a guide when performing the design phase. the following template as shown within figure 20, identifying the selected innovated projects as its elements, function and target to achieved in each one respectively: figure 20. ceilings & partitions: responsive kinetic design23 interior elements typology of kinetic kinetic structure kinetic shape kinetic solutions typology of technology ceilings architecture, responsive pneumatic dynamic circle aesthetic interactive innovation multimedia, digital, thermoelectric architect and designer behnazfarahi likes movement,farahi has installed a kinetic ceiling at the university of southern california that reacts and moves in response to the people walking beneath it. as shown herewith in figure 21, the ceiling measures 15 x 15 feet (about 4.6 x 4.6 m) and has five floating motion disks covered in industrial felt.there are also four discs that don’t move. the discs can move both up and down and can rotate in various directions, which means the ceiling can get quite 23aurora, the interactive kinetic ceiling, michael franco, 2016, http://newatlas.com/interactive-ceiling/42525/ pg. 316 hassanein / the academic research community publication expressive. figure 21. the ceiling is activated through a connected xbox kinetic motion-capture camera that translates movement into the actuation of the ceiling panels. in addition to having the discs respond to movement, the installation also has special lighting that turns on and off based on the path of a visitor to the room. ”this project aims to rethink the conventional rigid, solid architectural spatial space through its combination of shape changing form, responsive lighting, adaptable spatial spaces and interactive responses,” says farahi. ”it is an attempt therefore to reimaging the possibilities of sensory spatial spaces and robotic architecture.” partitions24 : facet by mireille meijs, alison milne design using the approach of origami interior structure in walls and partitions as the following figure 22: interior design elements typology of kinetic kinetic structure ks kinetic shape kinetic solutions typology of technology partitions architecture, art kinetic folding origami adaptable spatial spaces electromechanical figure 22. bloomming has collaborated with 3form on this new product innovation. facet is an interactive solution with a unique aesthetic for partitions, screens or large-scale centerpiece applications. facet brings a new dimension to interior spatial space design. designer mireille meijs used pcabs and aluminum to create this modular system. 24facet by mireille meijs / alison milne design, 2012,http://alisonmilne.com/2012/01/13/facet-by-mireille-meijs/ pg. 317 hassanein / the academic research community publication doors: spectacular curtain door, by matharoo associates interior design elements typology of kinetic kinetic structure ks kinetic shape kinetic solutions typology of technology doors sculpture rolling parametric aesthetic innovation electromechanical matharoo associates25 , an architectural firm from india completed one of the most interesting doors in the following figures of 23 (a-c), presenting new unique innovation of curtain door in different form and shapes. this design is a piece of futuristic art in a manner that is not design by others before or applied elsewhere figure 23. the manufacture used teak wood in implementing the design, which we can remind us of piano riddles, by linking number of thick burma teak together in a harmony and smoothly way while opening or closing the door. evolution door26 , by klemens torggler: interior design elements typology of kinetic kinetic structure ks kinetic shape kinetic solutions typology of technology doors art kinetic rolling origami aesthetic innovation mechanical systems one of austrian designers named “klemens torggler” had invented many previous tries to design a door with very fast, flexible and dynamic in action to save spatial space with easy movement for open or to close features. during many times before, he continues to add more features or enhancement within the design by adjusting the components itself or using updated technology. at last, his last project as shown in figures24 (ab) called the evolution door which containing four panels opening and closing respectively based on simple move by user hand. in his last design, allow the panels to move more flexible. by the help provided by kinetics, it easily folds itself as folding/origami shape of kinetic to turn around repeatedly before aligning again into a form of rectangle shape. the special construction makes it possible to move the door sideways without the use of tracks. walls: transforming sculptural wall27 interior design elements typology of kinetic kinetic structure ks kinetic shape kinetic solutions typology of technology walls sculpture kinetic sliding, folding origami saving spatial spaces mechanical systems as shown in figures 25 (a-e), proper utilization of spatial space is a main factor of successful spatial space design. thus, in a spatial space area of 60 sq. m apartment area designed by vlad mishin, with sculptural blocks wall 25matharoo associates, curtain door, 2012, http://freshome.com/2012/09/27/express-to-impress-spectacular-curtain-door-by-matharooassociates/ 26torggler’s evolution door,2014, http://www.businessinsider.com/klemens-torgglers-kinectic-door-2014-2 27sculptural wall, by vlad mishin, 2013,https:/www.behance.net/gallery/6775861/transformer-apt pg. 318 hassanein / the academic research community publication figure 24. that easy transformable to separate or dividing the area as required needs of the beneficiary is new application in design. the wall itself consists of black metal framework and plywood. figure 25. (e) (plan of modern apartment withtransforming sculptural wall) seating furniture: flat-pack kinetic seating system interior design elements typology of kinetic kinetic structure ks kinetic shape kinetic solutions typology of technology seating furniture sculpture, intelligent sliding, folding origami saving spatial spaces fabrication unit the following example in new innovated kinetic furniture as shown in figure 26 is “flat-pack kinetic seating system”, created by thomas hurd called polytope28 . polytope is an environmentally conscious flat-pack seating system ideal for temporary seating needs. this piece of art, comes pre-cut, flat, packed and can be assemble in 15–30 seconds, polytope is light for easy stacking and redeployment, allowing for dynamic use of spatial space. seating furniture: kinetic chair29 28flat-pack seating system, by thomas hurd, 2014, http://www.core77.com/gallery/20249/core77-design-awards-2011/#image=50 29kinetic innovated chair, by jessica banks, 2014, https://bondstreet.com/blog/the-future-of-furniture/ pg. 319 hassanein / the academic research community publication figure 26. interior design elements typology of kinetic kinetic structure ks kinetic shape kinetic solutions typology of technology seating furniture flat-pack kinetic sliding, folding origami saving spatial spaces fabrication unit as shown in figure 27 (a), jessica banks’ company is an engineering boutique specializing in the innovation and fabrication of kinetic furniture, lighting and wearable’s. that design house, make responsive and reaction furniture that moves, this example of new innovated kinetic chair that fixable, light, and in simple design with a vision. figure 27. while as in figure 27 (b) another company named rockpaperrobot title “the ollie chair”30: shape-shifting seating, created by rockpaperrobot called “tambour” traditionally used in roll-top desks, a tambour is a flexible surface made of wood slats adhered to a textile canvas. using a tambour as a seating surface is an innovation that gives the ollie chair its unique movement and shape-shifting abilities. 6. conclusion futuristic multi kinetic interior architecture design has proved that it is one of the most spectacular trends in interior spaces, furnishing all types of spaces. in addition, futuristic kinetic applications presented herewith provides an opportunity for egyptian planners and interior designers to see new image of the future by applying kinetics approach within most of interior design plans and applications as well as enable having prime interior trends in the near future to develop futuristic concepts to benefiting the design process. interior designers will have the ability to perform scientific combination of their given talents and practical vision for more efficient and enhancement in the design using proper utilization of multiple kinetic technologies and its solutions. we have concluded that multi kinetic technology kt is a key for allowing interior designers and planners to solve problems of aesthetics, develop their design as unique, futuristic form of design. our study revealed many aspects of new design and materials of kinetic technology in design applications making a benchmark for ideal criteria for planners, interior designers in egypt and others within the region to serve as guide, or reference while applying 30the ollie chair, rockpaperrobot, 2017, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/144629748/the-ollie-chair-shape-shifting-seating pg. 320 hassanein / the academic research community publication the mentioned approach kt. this paper has given the crucial importance of technologies, hi-tech solutions and its fields of applications into elements of interior design through applying different types of kinetics as effective mean to fulfill innovated ideas that having the features of futuristic and creativity. egyptian architects and interior designers will grasp a vision that enable designing in more flexible, transformable, more adaptable to human needs and interaction with surrounding environment. such vision is achievable as obtained from our paper results and studies done over selected numbers of kinetic innovation projects has conclude numerous ideas, applications, creative solutions and design that develop more innovative creations useful for their enhancement for designing new ideas, trends that will help in our scope of interior design today and later on. thus, such results will give flexibility to designing of spatial spaces via applying new techniques in designing tiny spaces for residential areas to achieve target requirements of simplicity, conform, and cost effective that currently these spaces having huge demands in the egyptian market. wide implementation of these new designs using multi kinetic technology will open new lines within furniture manufactures to add, produce modern, unique futuristic unis to save time, effort and providing comfort with valid satisfaction accordingly. 7. bibliography – kenvin rigdone, elements and principals of design, pdf – vincenzo sapienza, gianluca rodono, typological classification of the recent kinetic architecture, “kinetic architecture and foldable surface”, 2016 8. references 1. interior architecture, technocentrism, kinetic architecture, kinetic energy, kinetic art, sustainable kinetic, responsive kinetic, pneumatic, origami, wikipedia encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org 2. 10 futuristic design concepts, http://designlike.com/about-architecture/ 3. https://ar.scribd.com/document/238126903/innovation 4. sculpture kinetic, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/kinetic+sculpture 5. rest hole in the university of seoul utaa, 2012, http://www.archdaily.com/440719/rest-hole-in-the-univ ersity-of-seoulutaa/ 6. new mobiles by mark davis showed at pucker gallery, 2017, https://www.artsy.net/artwork/mark-davis-tri bute-number 7. intelligent kinetic systems, michael a. fox & bryant p. yeh, http://echo.iat.sfu.ca/library/fox kinetic syste ms.pdf 8. sliding kinetic, http://www.plaisirdeden.com/sliding-doors-eb8134ef1f8a987c.html 9. kinetic behavior dynamic potential through architecture and design, mai m. youssef, 2017, 10. https://www.witpress.com/elibrary/cmem-volumes/5/4/1658 11. foshan egood movable partition, www.chinajls.com 12. yale school of architecture, http://architecture.yale.edu/people/henry-ng 13. intelligent kinetic systems, michael a. fox & bryant p. yeh, http://echo.iat.sfu.ca/library/fox kinetic syste ms.pdf 14. sustainable vision of kinetic architecture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/jba.2010.5 pg. 321 hassanein / the academic research community publication 15. https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=kinetic%20architecture%20interiors&rs=guide 16. layeredorganicparametricwallwood, https://lemanoosh.com/publication/auto-draft-287/ 17. architecturebenchdividerfurniture, https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/furniture/sofa/parametric-bench 18. dynamic movement in light, https://www.ofdesign.net/interior-design/kinetic-oled-lamp-design-floating-s ilently-in-spatial space-2503 19. scad digital fabrication club (l) abnormal, http://www.arch2o.com/scad-digital-fabrication-club-l-abno rmal/ 20. http://weburbarist.com/2013/07/10/fold-out-room-12-ulta-compact-living-pods-systems/ 21. https://www.dezeen.com/2015/11/05/arch-studio-foldaway-walls-exhibition-spatial spaces-beijing-rongbaozhaiwestern-art-gallery/ 22. aurora, the interactive kinetic ceiling, michael franco, 2016, http://newatlas.com/interactive-ceiling/42525 / 23. facet by mireille meijs / alison milne design, 2012, http://alisonmilne.com/2012/01/13/facet-by-mireillemeijs/ 24. matharoo associates, curtain door, 2012, http://freshome.com/2012/09/27/express-to-impress-spectacularcurtain-door-bymatharoo-associates/ 25. torggler’s evolution door,2014, http://www.businessinsider.com/klemens-torgglers-kinectic-door-2014-2 26. sculptural wall, by vlad mishin, 2013,https:/www.behance.net/gallery/6775861/transformer-apt 27. flat-pack seating system, by thomas hurd, 2014, http://www.core77.com/gallery/20249/core77-design-aw ards2011/#image=50 28. kinetic innovated chair, by jessica banks, 2014, https://bondstreet.com/blog/the-future-of-furniture/ 29. the ollie chair, rockpaperrobot, 2017, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/144629748/the-ollie-chair-s hape-shifting-seating pg. 322 purpose/ emphasizing: methodology and structure: introduction objective goal: interior kinetic structure ks diagram: basic information: preliminary kinetic analysis definitions: kinetic shapeselements and principals of design, kevin rigdone, pdf -ks: classification of kinetic structures: kinetic structures in architecture: kinetic structure in interior designsliding kinetic, http://www.plaisirdeden.com/sliding-doors-eb8134ef1f8a987c.html : technology movement of kinetic interior architecturesustainable vision of kinetic architecture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/jba.2010.5 : static movement: parametric shape design: dynamic movementdynamic movement in light, https://www.ofdesign.net/interior-design/kinetic-oled-lamp-design-floating-silently-in-spatial space-2503 : origami shape designs: architectural technology: kinetic application solutions: multiple kinetic designs in close-plan: kinetic spatial space-saving solution: kinetic all-in-one box solutionhttp://weburbarist.com/2013/07/10/fold-out-room-12-ulta-compact-living-pods-systems/ : multiple kinetic designs in open-plan: case studies on ks innovation projects: conclusion bibliography references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.390 evaluation of tribological performance of hydrogenated dlc by surface texturing in the presence of palm based tmp ester at different temperatures mahendra varman1, arslan ahmed1, haji hassan masjuki1, md. abul kalam1, n.w.m zulkifli1 1centre for energy sciences, department of mechanical engineering, faculty of engineering, university of malaya, 50603, kuala lumpur, malaysia abstract surface textured and dlc coated (hydrogenated amorphous carbon) samples were assessed for their coating performance at 40 ºc, 80 ºc and 125 ºc. as a result, textured a-c:h dlc demonstrated higher but stable coefficient of friction (cof) at high temperatures as compared to un-textured dlc samples. however, textured dlc samples showed higher wear resistance compared to un-textured dlc coating. the enhancement can be elucidated by the lower graphitization of textured dlc samples. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords tmp ester; wear resistance; friction; surface textured; ac:h dlc coating 1. introduction in the past, surface texturing has demonstrated reduction in friction [1] and wear [2]. applications such as piston/ cylinder [3], mechanical seals [4] and cutting tools [4] have been textured to enhance their tribological properties. micro/ nano textures improve the tribological properties by increasing the load carrying capacity through a hydrodynamic effect, minimizing third body abrasion by entrapping wear debris and reducing the increase in temperature at contact by keeping the lubricant at the interface [4]. lately, surface textured diamond-like carbon (dlc) coated surfaces have been experimented in oil-lubricated [5] and water lubricated [6] sliding conditions. dlc coatings are commonly being utilized to enhance the tribological properties of engineering components such as bearings, gears, seals and metal cutting tools, because of their hardness and preferred tribological performance. thus, the usage of dlc by automotive industry is also growing. however, the performance of dlc coating is heavily influenced by temperature and ambient condition such as relative humidity. as a result, dlc is doped with hydrogen, various metals and nitrides to sustain the tribological properties of dlc at harsh environment [7]. at the same time, surface texturing has also been considered as an alternative method to improve the tribological performance of dlc coating. ding et al. [6] showed a decrease in friction and wear in textured a-c coating under water lubrication. song et al. [8] demonstrated rise in the wear life span of a-c:h dlc coating in a vacuum environment. most of the research done in this area are conducted pg. 424 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ varman / the academic research community publication at room temperature and the thermal stability of dlc coatings at higher temperature has yet to be investigated thoroughly. therefore, the present study aims to examine the effect of textured a-c:h dlc coating at 40 ºc, 80 ºc and 125 ºc. moreover, the effect of textured a-c:h dlc coating in palm oil based trimethylolpropane (tmp) ester was also evaluated as an alternative to the conventional base oil. this investigation will then help validate the suitability of textured dlc coating at high temperature applications and in environmentally friendly base oil applications. 2. methods hardened steel was used as a substrate material with an average hardness of ~58 hrc. the material was cut into 15 mm by 15 mm pieces. it was then polished to reduce the average surface roughness to 35 nm. the counter ball material was 100cr6 with a diameter of 6.35 mm and average surface roughness of 40 nm. micro surface textures with approximate dimensions of dimple depth, diameter and density of ~8 µm, ~100 µm and ~20% respectively, were produced on the substrate using a picosecond laser. once textured, the micro bulges around the dimples were cleaned by light polishing with a diamond suspension of 0.5 µm particle size. then, the a-c:h dlc coating was deposited by hybrid magnetron sputtering. to determine the a-c:h dlc coating performance at different temperatures, a ball-on-flat-type tribo-tester in a reciprocating motion was employed. palm oil based trimethylolpropane (tmp) ester was used as an environmentally friendly lubricant. the procedure for the production of palm oil based tmp ester can be found in zulkifli et al. [17]. the load, speed and temperatures selected to simulate the cam/ tappet interaction are as follows: load = 100 n; temperatures selected is 40 ºc, 80 ºc and 125 ºc; frequency = 5 hz; test duration was 2 hours and stroke length was 2.5 mm. the applied load corresponds to the maximum hertzian contact pressure of 2.36 gpa, which is much higher than the typical contact pressure of cam lobe and valve tappet interface at 0.6 gpa. therefore, the present condition was selected to enable shorter laboratory testing procedure and accelerate the measurable wear. the symbolic representations used in the present study are as follow: table 1. symbolic representations used in the present study. sample and tested condition symbolic representations dlc coated un-textured sample tested at 40 ºc in tmp tmp-c40 textured and dlc coated sample tested at 40 ºc in tmp tmp-t40 dlc coated un-textured sample tested at 80 ºc in tmp tmp-c80 textured and dlc coated sample tested at 80 ºc in tmp tmp-t80 dlc coated un-textured sample tested at 125 ºc in tmp tmp-c125 textured and dlc coated sample tested at 125 ºc in tmp tmp-t125 nanoindentation hardness tests (hysitron) was used to determine the mechanical properties of dlc coating. an atomic-force microscopy (afm) (ambios technology) and a scanning electron microscopy (sem)/ energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (eds) (hitachi) were used to analyze the wear track surface morphology. eds was also utilized to investigate the elemental composition of the wear track. besides that, the change in id/ig ratio after the sliding test was determined by raman spectroscopy (renishaw). deconvolution of the raman spectra was conducted using data analysis and graphics software (originlab). pg. 425 varman / the academic research community publication 3. results and discussion with nanoindentation hardness tests, dlc coating showed hardness was around 18.4 ± 2.2 gpa. figures 1a-1c present the coefficient of friction (cof) difference with time for textured and un-textured dlc samples. from scheme 1, textured dlc samples showed comparatively steady cof with time compared to un-textured dlc samples. with the increase in temperature, the cof for un-textured dlc decreases, while it increases for textured dlc. tmp-t40 shows lower cof compared to tmp-c40 during the friction test. figure 1b shows that cof for tmp-c80 was lower than tmp-t80. at 125◦c (figure 1c), cof for tmp-c125 show an abrupt increase at the start. after that, cof reduced for tmp-c125 and increased until the completion of the test. for tmp-t125, after the initial instability, cof steadily increased to until the completion of the test. the reason for the decrease in cof of un-textured dlc at 80 ◦c and 125 ◦c may be due to higher graphitization transformation [12]. as a result, the coating layer becomes soft and the cof reduces but wear increases [13]. this may be the reason for the higher wear rate in the case of un-textured dlc, as shown in figure 1. furthermore, graphitization could be confirmed by raman spectroscopy. table 2 presents the raman spectra shift for specimens at 125 ◦c before and after test. the shift in the g peak and increase in the id/ig ratio show an increase in the sp2 fraction of carbon in the dlc film [14], which confirms graphitization has occurred. the results also indicate that even at higher temperatures, a lower graphitization transformation can be observed with textured coating. tmp-c125 exhibited coating delamination and scratches as shown in figure 2. as can be seen in table 3, specimen tmp-c125 exhibited a decrease of carbon (c) and higher increase of iron (fe) in comparison to as-deposited amorphous hydrogenated carbon coating. for textured dlc, cof increases when temperature increases, as shown in figure 1c. this may be due to the reduction in graphitization by the aid of textures. the reduction in graphitization can be explained by the lower wear rate of textured dlc as compared to un-textured dlc, as shown in figures 2. besides that, table 2 confirms the lower graphitization for tmp-t125 by slight change in g peak shift and id/ig ratio. it was observed that wear coefficient values nearly followed the cof trend in the textured dlc case. however, in the case of un-textured dlc, it was the opposite trend that was observed. this can be explained by the fact that higher graphitization helps in reduction of cof but increment in wear rate. as a result, textured dlc shows higher wear resistance compared to un-textured dlc throughout the different temperature tests. scheme 1: coefficient of friction at different degrees. pg. 426 varman / the academic research community publication figure 1. wear coefficient of textured and un-textured dlc at various temperatures in tmp table 2. raman spectra shift for specimens at 125 ◦c before test after test d-peak (cm-1) g-peak (cm-1) id/ig d-peak (cm-1) g-peak (cm-1) id/ig tmp-c125 1351.08 1533.07 1.17 1376.03 1559.74 1.57 tmp-t125 1351.08 1533.07 1.17 1355.11 1535.00 1.20 figure 2. sem image of un-textured dlc of tmp-c125 table 3. eds analysis of a-c:h coating at various temperatures specimen elements (atomic %) carbon oxygen chromium ferrous silicon as-deposited dlc 96.27 0.56 2.83 0.34 tmp-c125 34.23 3.45 21.22 41.10 pg. 427 varman / the academic research community publication 4. conclusions the tribological performance of textured a-c:h dlc coating has been presented and compared with un-textured a-c:h dlc coating. at a lower temperature (40 ◦c), textured dlc showed lower friction and wear compared to un-textured dlc. at higher temperature (80 ºc and 125 ºc), textured dlc showed higher friction compared to un-textured dlc. however, textured dlc showed higher wear resistance throughout the different temperature tests. in addition, tmp ester showed a strong potential to replace fossil fuel based lubricant. this line of study will be very useful to promote and optimize further, textured dlc coating as a wear resistant coating for automotive components. 5. acknowledgments the authors are grateful to ministry of higher education (mohe) of malaysia for frgs fp007-2014a support. thanks to professor dr. robiah binti yunus (universiti putra malaysia) for providing palm oil based tmp ester. 6. references 1. qiu, y. and m.m. khonsari, experimental investigation of tribological performance of laser textured stainless steel rings. tribology international, 2011. 44(5): p. 635-644. 2. quazi, m.m., et al., a review to the laser cladding of self-lubricating composite coatings. lasers in manufacturing and materials processing, 2016: p. 1-33. 3. quazi, m.m., et al., laser-based surface modifications of aluminum and its alloys. critical reviews in solid state and materials sciences, 2016. 41(2): p. 106-131. 4. ahmed, a., et al., an overview of geometrical parameters of surface texturing for piston/cylinder assembly and mechanical seals. meccanica, 2015: p. 1-15. 5. pettersson, u. and s. jacobson, friction and wear properties of micro textured dlc coated surfaces in boundary lubricated sliding. tribology letters, 2004. 17(3): p. 553-559. 6. ding, q., et al., improved tribological behavior of dlc films under water lubrication by surface texturing. tribology letters, 2010. 41(2): p. 439-449. 7. neville, a., et al., compatibility between tribological surfaces and lubricant additives—how friction and wear reduction can be controlled by surface/lube synergies. tribology international, 2007. 40(10-12): p. 1680-1695. 8. song, h., et al., improving the tribological performance of a-c:h film in a high vacuum by surface texture. journal of physics d: applied physics, 2014. 47(23): p. 235301. 9. fang, t.-h. and w.-j. chang, nanomechanical characterization of amorphous hydrogenated carbon thin films. applied surface science, 2006. 252(18): p. 6243-6248. 10. tsui, t.y., j. vlassak, and w.d. nix, indentation plastic displacement field: part i. the case of soft films on hard substrates. journal name: journal of materials research; journal volume: 14; journal issue: 6; other information: pbd: jun 1999, 1999: p. medium: x; size: pp. 2196-2203. 11. ronkainen, h., et al., load-carrying capacity evaluation of coating/substrate systems for hydrogen-free and hydrogenated diamond-like carbon films. tribology letters, 1999. 6(2): p. 63-73. 12. arslan, a., et al., effects of texture diameter and depth on the tribological performance of dlc coating under lubricated sliding condition. applied surface science, 2015. 356: p. 1135-1149. pg. 428 varman / the academic research community publication 13. arslan, a., et al. effect of surface texture on the tribological performance of dlc coating. in proceedings of malaysian international tribology conference 2015. 2015. malaysian tribology society. 14. ferrari, a.c. and j. robertson, interpretation of raman spectra of disordered and amorphous carbon. physical review b, 2000. 61(20): p. 14095-14107. 15. bremond, f., p. fournier, and f. platon, test temperature effect on the tribological behavior of dlc-coated 100c6-steel couples in dry friction. wear, 2003. 254(7–8): p. 774-783. 16. vanhulsel, a., et al., study of the wear behaviour of diamond-like coatings at elevated temperatures. surface and coatings technology, 1998. 98(1): p. 1047-1052. 17. zulkifli, n.w.m., et al., the effect of temperature on tribological properties of chemically modified biobased lubricant. tribology transactions, 2014. 57(3): p. 408-415. 18. arslan, a., et al., effect of change in temperature on the tribological performance of micro surface textured dlc coating. journal of materials research, 2016. 31(13): p. 1837-1847. pg. 429 introduction methods results and discussion conclusions acknowledgments references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.396 heterogeneous reservoir characterization (upper bahariya case study) abdelwahab bayoumi1, elsayed gomaa1,2, abdelnaser hamdy3 1al-azhar university, faculty of engineering, mining and petroleum engineering department. 2the british university in egypt. 3khalda petroleum company. abstract upper bahariya reservoir is one of the big productive reservoirs in the western desert (egypt). it is characterized by high degree of heterogeneity. so, it is very important to characterize it accurately for improving its recoverable oil. different tools were used to accomplish this task. these tools include dykstra-parsons coefficient, lorenz coefficient, well correlation, hydraulic flow units, relative permeability and capillary pressure. dykstra-parsons coefficient (permeability variation factor) and lorenz coefficient were determined for upper bahariya reservoir and found to be 0.86 & 0.92 respectively. this reveals that this reservoir is extremely heterogeneous. these results are proportionated with the pressure readings and the open hole logging format. the hydraulic flow unit’s reservoir technique showed the reservoir can be divided into nine flow units. the relative permeability curves of the reservoir indicated that it is a water wet system while the capillary pressure curve looks like a transition zone due to its high heterogeneity and high connate water saturation. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords heterogeneity; dykstra-parsons coefficient; lorenz coefficient; hydraulic flow units; reservoir quality index; flow zone indicator; relative permeability and capillary pressure. 1. introduction the amount of the recoverable oil from a reservoir and how it is recovered depend primarily on the accuracy of its characterization. so, reservoir characterization is the first step in any reservoir management program. briefly, the reservoir characterization is defined as the scientific and mathematical discipline that seeks to define quantitatively the input data needed to undertake predictions of flow through porous media. it is a synthesis of the disciplines of geology, geophysics, statistics, engineering and mathematics as related to the oil industry (amaefule, 1993 & kramers, 1994). the permeability and porosity of the reservoir rock have always been considered as two of the most important parameters for formation evaluation, reservoir description, and characterization. beyond evaluating permeability and porosity, one can also use a combination of two or more rock properties to gain insight into the character of flow through porous media. the j-function and the reservoir quality index (rqi) concepts are two of the ways that the oil industry has used to characterize the reservoir media. they incorporate parameters such as porosity and permeability into a single quantity that describe/characterize the formation (shedid, 2003).the pg. 465 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ bayoumi / the academic research community publication available tools are the core data (conventional and special), the open hole logging, pvt and pressure data. 2. reservoir heterogeneity identification the common static measures of the reservoir vertical heterogeneity are dykstra-parsons coefficient and lorenz coefficient which are excellent tools for characterizing the degree of reservoirs heterogeneity. these measures of heterogeneity describe the distribution of the permeability of a given sample from the formation (jerry, 1990& alharbi, 2013). 2.1. dykstra-parsons coefficient (permeability variation factor) the conventional core data from five wells (243 samples) were used to calculate dykstra-parsons coefficient as following (ahmed, 2001, abdussatter, 2008, tiab, 2004 & peter, 2013):– the core samples are arranged in a decreasing permeability sequence (a descending order) after removing any broken or nonsense data. – the percentage of samples having permeability greater than the respective samples were calculated. – use a log-probability graph paper, plot permeability values on the log scale & the percent of samples on the probability scale and draw the best straight line through the points as shown on figure (1). figure 1. permeability variation factor vdp forupper bahariya reservoir – the corresponding permeability values at 84.1% and 50% of samples from the log-probability graph were determined, and then the permeability variation factor vdp was calculated by using the following equation (ahmed, 2001) : vdp = k50−k94.1 k50 vdp = 0.27−0.037 0.27 = 0.86 (1) pg. 466 bayoumi / the academic research community publication 2.2. lorenz coefficient the following steps summarize the methodology of calculating lorenz coefficient from the conventional core analysis data of five wells (alharbi, 2013, ahmed, 2001, abdussatter, 2008, tiab, 2004 & lake, 1989):– the available permeability values were arranged in a descending order. – the dimensionless cumulative permeability and dimensionless cumulative capacity were calculated. – the data were normalized and plotted on figure (2). figure 2. normalized flow capacity to upper bahariya reservoir – lorenz coefficient was calculated using the following equation (abdussatter, 2008):lc = area above the diagonal area below the diagonal lc = 0.46 0.5 = 0.92 (2) 3. well correlation and pressure data the well correlation and pressure data together give a reliable evidence about the reservoir heterogeneity and continuity. the upper bahariya reservoir correlation shown on figure (3) indicates that the reservoir consists of thinly sand layers interbeded with shales, silt and limestone. in some areas, where log correlations are difficult and sands appear to be discontinuous, pressure uniformity suggests that the reservoirs are, in fact, continuous or pg. 467 bayoumi / the academic research community publication connected. in contrast, in other areas where porous sands can be correlated more easily, large pressure variations suggest reservoir discontinuity, or at least greatly reduced lateral permeability. hence the importance of pressure data comes. it can provide information about reservoir continuity and the effectiveness of the water flood program. when such pressures are plotted as profiles for well-to-well comparison as shown on figure (4), one striking feature that emerges is the great variation in pressures, both laterally and vertically. the pressure data show different decline trends in all the wells. this is obviously evidence on the reservoir compartmentalization. figure 3. upper bahariya reservoir correlation figure 4. upper bahariya reservoir pressure data generally, the huge variation in the upper bahariya reservoir permeability values obtained from the conventional core analysis, dykstra-parsons permeability variation factor and lorenz coefficient results, the well correlation and the pressure data readings indicated that:pg. 468 bayoumi / the academic research community publication – the reservoir is extremely heterogeneous. – the heterogeneity in the rock signifies the possibility of finding thin vertical shale barriers that may or may not extend across the field. – the high degree of heterogeneity avers that there will be no perfect relationship between the porosity values whether the measured and calculated or between porosity and permeability. 4. permeability-porosity relationships permeability depends on the continuity of pore space whereas porosity basically signifies the availability of a pore space. also, it is possible to have a very high porosity without having any permeability and vice versa. the quality of a hydrocarbon-bearing formation is judged according to its permeability. there is no theoretical relationship between porosity and permeability in natural porous systems. so any practical relationship represents a best fit and may be represented by a convenient mathematical relationship. the easiest relationship to test is that of a straight line and it has frequently been noted that a plot of porosity against the logarithm of permeability leads to an approximate straight line. also, porosity is logging parameter while the permeability isn’t. empirical correlation of porosity with permeability is frequently attempted in order to provide an extirpate of permeability as a function of depth. the down hole permeability is mainly obtained by flow and pressure determination and requires other characteristics such as the flowing interval (tiab, 2004& archer, 1986). the poor fitting (poor correlation coefficient) between the core porosity and core permeability depicted on figure (5) is attributed to the reservoir heterogeneity and means that there is no reliable relationship between them. consequently, the conventional averaging techniques (arithmetic, geometric and harmonic) to the rock properties will be not applicable. finally, the only way to establish a correlation between the reservoir permeability and porosity is to split it into units which are known as hydraulic flow units. figure 5. core porosity versus core permeability for upper bahariya reservoir. pg. 469 bayoumi / the academic research community publication 5. hydraulic flow units (hfus) using the conventional core data (kh & ø) from five wells, the following methodology was applied to characterize the upper bahariya reservoir (ahmed, 2001, maghsood, 1996, odilia, 2001, fahad, 2000, syed shujath, 2013, tohid , 2001& desouky, 2005). step one: before any data analysis, all the fractured samples were removed. also, each sample with very high permeability and low porosity was considered as a fractured sample. step two: reservoir quality index was calculated using the flowing equation (tohid , 2001): rqi = 0.0314 √ k/∅e (3) step three: normalized porosity (øz) was calculated using the flowing equation (tohid , 2001): ∅z =∅e/(1−∅e) (4) step four: flow zone indicator fzi was calculated using the flowing equation (tohid , 2001): fzi = rqi /∅z (5) step five: the calculated values of flow zone indicators were arranged in an ascending order, plot rqi vs. z on a logarithmic scale as shown on figure (6). three methods were applied to determine the number of hydraulic flow units as follows: – log-log plot of rqi versus øz. all samples with similar fzi values will lie on a straight line with slope equal to one as figure (6). samples that lie on the same straight line have similar pore throat attributes and thereby constitute a hydraulic unit. the mean value of fzi can be determined from the intercept of the unit slope straight line with øz=1. figure (6) allows picking out at least 9 hfus & estimate fzi boundaries for these rock types. table (1) summarizes all of these hfus. also, the value of intercept is mean fzi and will be used to calculate permeability. figure 6. hydraulic flow units of upper bahariya reservoir. pg. 470 bayoumi / the academic research community publication – histogram analysis. as fzi distribution is a superposition of multiple log-normal distributions, a histogram can detect the frequency of fzi to each hfu. the maximum value of the fzi to each hfus taken as data range and all the calculated fzi as shows on figure (7). this figure reflects that, fzi from 0.334 to 0.978 are the higher frequency. this data in the range of hfu-4, hfu-5 & hfu-6 which means that they are the dominate unit in the reservoir. figure 7. histogram of flow zone indicator for upper bahariya reservoir. – probability plot. the probability plot or cumulative distribution function is the integral of histogram (probability density function). a normal distribution forms a distinct straight line on a probability plot. therefore, the number of straight lines in the probability plot may be used to indicate the number of hydraulic flow units in the reservoir. as this plot is smoother than the histogram it is more useful to define hfus because identification of clusters becomes easier as depicted on figure (8). figure 8. probability plot of fzi for upper bahariya reservoir. the log-log plot of rqi versus ∅z, fzi histogram analysis and the cumulative probability plots allow picking out at least 9 hfus and estimate fzi boundaries for these rock types. table (1), summarizes all of these hfus. also, the value of intercept hfus lines at ∅z equal one is mean fzi and will be used to calculate permeability. pg. 471 bayoumi / the academic research community publication table 1. upper bahariya reservoir hydraulic flow units hfu no. relationship between k & ø k, md r2 fzi hfu-1 k = 0.1034 x ø1.2309 0.112 0.8251 0.1034 hfu-2 k = 0.1397 x ø0.9857 0.179 0.9041 0.1397 hfu-3 k = 0.1773 x ø0.9763 0.354 0.9864 0.1773 hfu-4 k = 0.2861 x ø1.0124 0.686 0.9240 0.2861 hfu-5 k = 0.4168 x ø0. 9895 1.689 0.9467 0.4168 hfu-6 k = 0.6668 x ø1.0301 3.389 0.9109 0.6668 hfu-7 k = 1.1877x ø0.9743 8.917 0.9224 1.1877 hfu-8 k = 1.7655 x ø0.9838 24.186 0.9568 1.7655 hfu-9 k = 2.8989 x ø1.0152 164.348 0.9497 2.8989 step six: to check if the guess is correct, calculate the permeability (k) for each hfus using the flowing equation (tohid , 2001): k = (1014× (fzi mean) 2×∅β e /1−∅e) 2 (6) the calculated permeability is plotted against the measured core permeability as shown on figure (9). the plot indicates that the closeness of the data to the 45o straight line. this cross-plot indicates the high accuracy of the calculated permeability and the strength of the guess. the average relative error (are) for the calculated permeability values was calculated as 1.4% by using the following equation (tohid, 2001): are = 1 n ∑ n k=1( measured permeability − calculated permeability measured permeability ) (7) figure 9. the calculated permeability versus the measured permeability 6. relative permeability the relative permeability to a certain fluid phase is defined as the ratio of its effective permeability to the absolute permeability of rock (ahmed, 2001& abdussatter, 2008).relative permeability varies between 0 and 1. knowledge of relative permeability is crucial in understanding multiphase fluid flow behavior in a reservoir and for the predicting future reservoir performance. relative permeability trends are of great significance when undesirable water or gas flow is anticipated in an oil reservoir. also, the relative permeability of a fluid phase is a function of the saturations of all of the fluid phases present in the rock. it is highly important to note that the relative permeability characteristics of reservoir fluids usually change from one location to another. various rock facies in a reservoir pg. 472 bayoumi / the academic research community publication may exhibit very different relative permeability trends. relative permeability data are incorporated into reservoir models in order to make realistic predictions of recovery. the relative permeability of a certain fluid increases with increasing the saturation of that phase in porous media. the relationship between the two parameters is nonlinear. relative permeability serves is a common standard in reservoir studies regardless of the magnitude of the effective permeability in a reservoir. normalization and averaging relative permeability data for preparing the relative permeability data to be incorporated into the reservoir model, it should be first be normalized to remove the effect of different initial water and critical oil saturations. after that the relative permeability can then be de-normalized and assigned to different regions of the reservoir based on the existing critical fluid saturation for each reservoir region. the following procedure was conducted to perform the normalization (ahmed, 2001):step-1 .calculate the normalized relative permeability: water saturation s∗w, relative permeability for the oil phase k∗ro and relative permeability of the water phase k∗rw for each set of the relative permeability curves, using the following expressions (ahmed, 2001): s∗w = sw−swc 1−swc−sor (8) k∗ro = kro /(kro)swc (9) k∗rw = krw /(krw)sor (10) step 2 .plot the normalized values of k∗ro and k∗rw versus s∗w for all core samples on a regular graph paper as shown on figure (10). figure 10. normalized relative permeability for upper bahariyareservoir step 3. the average relative permeability to oil at connate water saturation and the average relative permeability to water at residual oil saturation were calculated as shown in table (3) using the following two expressions (ahmed, 2001) (k∗ro)avg = ∑ n i=1(h k k∗ro)i ∑ n i=1(h k)i (11) (k∗rw)avg = ∑ n i=1(h k k∗rw)i ∑ n i=1(h k)i (12) pg. 473 bayoumi / the academic research community publication table 2. average relative permeability at swc &sor for upper bahariya reservoir sample no 11 18 24 28 34 sum. (kro)swc 1 1 1 1 1 (krw)sor 0.21 0.03 0.11 0.09 0.04 h, ft 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 k, md 14.60 1.50 4.01 0.89 1.10 k*h 14.60 1.50 4.01 0.89 1.10 22.10 k*h*kro 14.60 1.50 4.01 0.89 1.10 22.10 k*h*(krw)sor 3.11 0.04 0.43 0.08 0.04 3.69 (kro)swc =1 and (krw)sor= 0.167 step 4. calculate the average relative permeability to oil and water at connate water and critical oil, respectively (kro)sor by using the following equations (ahmed, 2001): (kro)swc = ∑ n i=1 |h k (kro)swc | i ∑ n i=1(h k)i (13) (krw)sro = ∑ n i=1 |h k (krw)sro | i ∑ n i=1(h k)i (14) step 5. the last step in this methodology involves de-normalizing the average curve to reflect the actual reservoir and conditions of swc and sro by use the following equations (ahmed, 2001): sw = s∗w (1−swc− sor)+ swc (15) kro = (k∗ro)avg ( k ro)swc (16) krw = (k∗rw)avg ( k rw)sor (17) using the average swc = 0.498 and average soc= 0.217 that obtained from the special core data of the upper bahariya reservoir, the relative permeability data were de-normalized to generate the required upper bahariya reservoir relative permeability curve as shown on figure (11). figure 11. relative permeability curve for upper bahariya reservoir pg. 474 bayoumi / the academic research community publication relative permeability curve description 1) figure (11) shows the relative permeability curve of upper bahariya reservoir which indicates that it is a water wet system. the connate water saturation is 48.95 %, water saturation at kro= krw is 61 % (i.e. greater than 50%) and krw at maximum water saturation (i.e., at floodout) is 17 % (i.e. lower than 30%) (abdussatter, 2008 & forrest, 1971). 2) the relative permeability curves consist of three elements. first element, points 1&2 represent the residual oil saturation and the irreducible water saturation. second element, point-3 is the relative permeability to water at residual oil saturation. in a strongly water wet system, the relative permeability at this point ranges from 0.1 to 0.2. point-4 is the relative permeability to oil at the irreducible water saturation. the end points saturations determine the movable saturation range and are directly related to the amount of recoverable oil. the end points of the relative permeabilities enters into the expression for the mobility ratio and will determine the sweep efficiency of a displacement process (torsæter, 2003). third element, the curvature of the relative permeability functions: a. the most prominent feature occurs at the critical saturations where both effective permeabilities drop to zero. in other words, water becomes immobile (krw = 0) at sw = swi (i.e. at swi = 48.95 %) and oil becomes immobile (kro = 0) at so = sor (i.e. at sw= 78.3%). b. swi is larger than sor due to wettability preference; water ceases to flow at a larger saturation because adhesion binds water to the grain surfaces with a stronger force. c. point-5 on water relative permeability curve is in the region where sw encountered in field displacement is found. in this region relative permeability to water is low because oil is trapped in the pores by the invading water. 7. capillary pressure when two immiscible fluid phases, such as oil and water, are present in a porous medium, one of the phases preferentially “wets” the pore surface over the other. as a result, a pressure differential is found between the two phases. this pressure differential is known as the capillary pressure. the magnitude of the capillary pressure in a porous medium is influenced by fluid saturations, interfacial tension between the two fluid phases, and the radius of the pores, among other factors (ahmed, 2001, abdussatter, 2008 & livia). a generalized expression for capillary pressure as it relates to fluid phases in porous media is as follows (ahmed, 2001) pc = pnw−pw (18) the equation can be expressed in terms of the surface & interfacial tension as (ahmed, 2001): pc = (2σow× cosθ)/r (19) table (3) shows the capillary pressure laboratory data for five upper bahariya reservoir samples: table 3. air-brine capillary pressure data for upper bahariya reservoir sample no. depth (ft) ka (md) porosity (%) brine saturation (% pore space) h 14.7 18 25 45 75 115 215 4 6505 11.2 22.9 99.8 92.0 82.0 65.6 54.3 47.7 40.4 6 6539 22.3 15.2 93.1 80.7 64.0 48.9 40.0 35.2 30.0 10 6541 19.5 17.9 95.3 88.3 75.6 56.5 45.2 38.9 32.1 16 6542 3.33 14.4 98.9 93.5 87.0 69.8 58.6 52.4 45.8 17 6559 2.42 16.7 99.1 94.3 87.8 75.0 64.8 58.5 52.6 * capillary pressure (psia) ka : air permeability (md) pg. 475 bayoumi / the academic research community publication the capillary pressure data presented in table (3) are plotted on figure (12). this figure reflects how the pore geometry affects the capillary pressure. the low-permeability zones have high capillary pressure (i.e. the direction of increasing the permeability is the direction of decreasing the capillary pressure at certain water saturation). leverett was able to derive a dimensionless function to average core capillary pressure curves to obtain the most representative curve for a field (ahmed, 2001, livia & abu-khamsin, 2004). this function expressed as following (ahmed, 2001) j = (pc/σ) × √ (k/∅) (20) figure 12. samples capillary pressure for upper bahariya reservoir the following steps summarize the methodology of combing all the capillary pressure data to classify a particular reservoir capillary curve: step-1 calculate leverett j-function using j-function equation along with the data presented in table (3) for each sample. plot the results of calculations as shown on figure (13) and then get the best fit curve for the data. figure 13. leverett j-functionfor the upper bahariya reservoir core samples step-2 estimate the average reservoir permeability and porosity from table (3) using the arithmetic averaging equations (∅ = ∑∅i/n ) and (k = ∑ki/n ). the average permeability and porosity are 11.7 md & 17.4 %, respectively. pg. 476 bayoumi / the academic research community publication step-3 use the best fit line equation obtained from figure (13) to calculate the best fitted j function (column 2) table (3). step-4 use the average porosity and permeability values to calculate the capillary pressure (column 3) table (3) by using the following equation (ahmed, 2001) pc = j × σ (0.21646× √ k/σ) (21) in the absence of the laboratory data the values in table (4) may be used as approximation (timmerman, 1982):table 4. approximation values of contact angle and interfacialtension system θ contact angle cosine of the contact angle σ interfacial tension σ cosine θ laboratory (airbrine) 0 1 60 60 reservoir (wateroil ) 30 0.866 30 26 step-5 since the laboratory fluid system does not have the same surface tension as the reservoir system and the core sample that was used in performing the laboratory capillary pressure test may not be representative of the average reservoir permeability and porosity; it becomes necessary to convert laboratory capillary pressure to reservoir capillary pressure, table (5) (column 4) using the following equation (ahmed, 2001): pc(res) = pc(lab)× σres σlab × √ [ ∅res×kcore ∅core×kres ] (22) table 5. capillary pressure calculation for upper bahariya reservoir brine saturation (% pore space) leverett j-function capillary pressure (psia) ( lab) capillary pressure (psia) (reservoir) 49.68 2.34 93 105 50 2.30 92 103 55 1.76 70 79 60 1.38 55 62 65 1.10 44 49 70 0.89 36 40 75 0.74 29 33 80 0.62 25 27 85 0.52 21 23 90 0.44 18 20 95 0.38 15 17 100 0.33 13 15 step-6 draw the combined capillary pressure curve as shown on figure (14). upper bahariya capillary pressure curve description: – because of the high reservoir heterogeneity, lithology and high connate water saturation, the capillary pressure curve of the reservoir looks like a transition zone. – to start the displacement, it is necessary to increase the oil pressure until the pores with the smallest capillary pressure give away first, at which instant the oil-water pressure difference would be just above the required capillary pressure. intuitively, such pores would be the largest ones. this minimum capillary pressure pg. 477 bayoumi / the academic research community publication figure 14. capillary pressure curve for upper bahariya reservoir which required for invading the rock, thus reducing water saturation below 100% is called the displacement pressure. figure (14) indicates that the displacement pressure for upper bahariya is 15 psia. – one can also see how the displacement pressure increases steadily with decrease in water saturation as smaller and smaller pores are invaded. also, the slope of the capillary pressure curve follows the gradual change in pore-diameters. a steep curve indicates a wide distribution. furthermore, the displacement pressure can also indicate the wettability preference of the rock. a positive displacement pressure in an oil-displacing-water process indicates preferential wettability to water and the relative magnitude of the displacement pressure reflects the strength of such wettability (abu-khamsin, 2004). 8. conclusions from this work, one may conclude that: (1) for upper bahariya reservoir the dykstra parsons coefficient was found to be 0.86 while lorenz coefficient is 0.92. these results indicate that the upper bahariya is an extremely heterogeneous reservoir. (2) as a result of this heterogeneity poor relationships between the permeability and the porosity were obtained (scatters data with 0.3076 correlation coefficient). consequently, the hydraulic flow unit technique was used to identify and characterize the reservoir and the results that it can be divided into nine hydraulic flow units with the different properties. these hfu’s should be taken into consideration during developing, stimulating, enhancing of this reservoir. (3) the relative permeability curves indicated that the upper bahariya reservoir is a water wet.o (4) the capillary pressure curve of upper bahariya reservoir looks like a transition zone due to its high heterogeneity and high connate water saturation. the displacement pressure of that reservoir is 15 psia. (5) the open hole logging showed that, the reservoir consists of thinly sand layers interbeded with shales, silt and limestone. in some areas, where log correlations are difficult and sand appears to be discontinuous, pressure suggests that the reservoirs are, connected and vice versa which is inversed on the effectiveness of the waterflood program. the pressure data showed different decline trends in all the wells which is obviously evidence on the reservoir compartmentalization. nomenclature k absolute permeability, md are average relative error (kro)swc average relative permeability to oil at connate water saturation (krw)sor average relative permeability to water at critical oil saturation r capillary radius, cm swc connate water saturation, fraction. continued on next page pg. 478 bayoumi / the academic research community publication table 6 continued θ contact angle, degree kcore core permeability, md øcore core porosity, fraction. sor residual oil saturation, fraction vdp dykstra-parsons coefficient øe effective porosity, fraction fzi flow zone indicator hfus hydraulic flow units (pc) lab laboratory measured capillary pressure, psia lc lorenz coefficient øz normalized porosity k*ro normalized relative permeability of oil s*w normalized water saturation σow oil-water interfacial tension, dynes/cm (kro)swc relative permeability to oil at connate water saturation kro relative permeability to oil k*rw relative permeability to water at the critical oil saturation (pc)res reservoir capillary pressure, psia kres reservoir permeability, md øres reservoir porosity, fraction rqi reservoir quality index σres reservoir surface or interfacial tension, dynes/cm h thickness of sample, ft n total number of core samples references 1. jude o. amaefule & et.al.: “enhanced reservoir description using core and log data to identify hydraulic flow units and predict permeability in uncored intervals /wells” spe-26436, annual technical conference & exhibition held in houston, texas, 3-6 oct.-1993. 2. kramers, j. w. “integrated reservoir characterization from the well to the numerical model” 26148 wpc conference paper–1994. 3. shedid s. a. & reyadh a. almehaideb: “robust reservoir characterization of uae heterogeneous carbonate reservoirs” spe81580, the spe 13th middle east oil show & conference held in 5-8 april-2003. 4. l. jensen & lain d. currie: “a new method for estimating the dykstra-parsons coefficient to characterize reservoir heterogeneity” spe-17364, copyright 1990 society of petroleum engineers. 5. ahmad mubarak alharbi: “experimental evaluation of the effect of carbonate heterogeneity on oil recovery to water and gas injection” phd thesis submitted to university of calgary, department of chemical & petroleum engineering, 2013. pp 11-12. 6. tarek ahmed: “reservoir engineering handbook” gulf professional company, boston, london, 2001, second edition. 7. abdussatter, ghulam m. iqbal & james l. buchwatter: “practical enhanced reservoir engineering assisted with simulation software” pennwell corporation, tulsa, oklahoma, u.s.a, 2008. pg. 479 bayoumi / the academic research community publication 8. djebbar tiab & erle c. donaldson: “petrophysics: theory and practice of measuring reservoir rock and fluid transport second edition” gulf professional company, amsterdam, boston, london, 2004. 9. peter fitch1 & et.al.: “the petrophysical link between reservoir quality and heterogeneity: application of the lorenz coefficient” spwla-2013-q, spwla 54st annual logging symposium, jun-2013. 10. l.w. lake and j.l. jensen: “review of heterogeneity measures used in reservoir characterization” 20156ms spe general-1989. 11. archer, j.s. & wall. c.g.: “petroleum engineering principles and practice” graham & trotman ltd, london, uk, 1986. 12. maghsood abbaszadeh, hikari fuji & fujio fujimoto: “permeability prediction by hydraulic flow units theory and application” spe-30158, petrovietnam conference held in hochiminh, 1-3 mar 1996. 13. odilia deghirmandjian: “identification and characterization of hydraulic flow units in the san juan formation, orocual field, venezuela” m.sc. thesis submitted to texas a & m university, 2001. 14. fahad a. al-ajmi & stephen a. holditch: “permeability estimation using hydraulic flow units in a central arabia reservoir” spe-63254, the 2000 spe annual technical conference and exhibition held in dallas, texas, 1–4 oct.-2000. 15. syed shujath ali, m. enamul hossain & abdulazeez abdulraheem: “hydraulic unit estimation from predicted permeability and porosity using artificial intelligence techniques” spe-164747, north africa technical conference & exhibition held in cairo, egypt 15 17 april 2013. 16. tohid nejad ghaffar borhani & seyed hossein emadi, “application of hydraulic flow units and intelligent systems for permeability prediction in a carbonate reservoir” the 3rd (2011) cutse international conference miri, sarawak, malaysia, nov.-2001. 17. s.e.d.m. desouky: “predicting permeability in un-cored intervals/wells using hydraulic flow unit approach” journal of canadian petroleum technology, petsoc-05-07-04-p, volume 44, no. 7, jul.-2005. 18. torsæter, o & abtahi. m: “experimental reservoir engineering laboratory work book” department of petroleum engineering and applied geophysics, norwegian university of science and technology, 2003. 19. livia j. sivila: “a petrophysical evaluation of capillary pressure for naturally fractured tight gas sandstone (reservoir: a case study)” m.sc. thesis submitted to colorado school of mines (petroleum engineering). 20. sidqi a. abu-khamsin: “basic properties of reservoir rocks” king fahd university of petroleum & minerals, 2004. 21. timmerman e.h.: “practical reservoir engineering part-1” pennwell publishing company, tulsa, oklahoma, 1982. pg. 480 introduction reservoir heterogeneity identification dykstra-parsons coefficient (permeability variation factor) lorenz coefficient well correlation and pressure data permeability-porosity relationships hydraulic flow units (hfus) relative permeability capillary pressure conclusions http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication a tool for comparative disaster risk analysis and evaluation in urban areas (draes) engin kepenek1, ziya gençel1 1suleyman demirel university, architecture faculty, city and regional planning department, turkey abstract the issue of examining the earthquake safety for existing constructions, which form the basis of urban mitigation strategies, requires new methods and tools according to each city’s and society’s specific conditions. the common goal in all methods is to yield correct results in a timely manner. however, due to the multiplicity and complexity of the parameters used in the examination, auxiliary tools are needed. this is not only because of difficulties in collecting data, but also in order to obtain reliable results. thus, collected data must be analyzed in computerized environment. in this study, an evaluation tool (software) called ”disaster risk analysis and evaluation system (draes)” is developed. this software has been implemented and tested in antalya; one of the metropolitan cities of turkey within an area of 8800 hectares at 26610 buildings. the obtained results were evaluated comparatively which determined, consequently, the priority areas for planning as an important input for the city of antalya. in this study, the general structure and working principle of the developed software are given. the source codes and data base of the program have been registered in accordance with the regulation on registration of the intellectual and artistic works of the ministry of culture and tourism. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords loss estimation; seismic hazard; seismic vulnerability; urban areas; comperative assesment; draes 1. introduction cities behavior during earthquakes depends on the structures in the city, characteristics of the local ground, earthquake source and the interrelationships among all these factors. therefore, in urban risk analyzes a large number of variables should be evaluated at the same time. urban habitats with a structure mass that has undergone inadequate engineering service have been formed in turkey in the mid-20th century as a consequence of population increase and migration to the city, using geologically inadequate areas for construction. this current situation, coupled with unplanned urbanization, has made our cities vulnerable to disasters. with the earthquakes, the problem of the safety of existing structural areas has come to mind. in the face of this problem, it has become a necessity to conduct a rapid and reliable screening of building stock expressed in hundreds of thousands of buildings in order to create a sense of structural confidence. however, the excess of building stock, workforce and resource problems have made the implementation phase almost impossible and it has become necessary to carry out alternative work on the subject. pg. 224 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.361 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ kepenek / the academic research community publication in this study, a software was developed to create a new evaluation approach by using the first degree evaluation algorithm which is among the methods to be used in determining the risky buildings within the scope of the ”law on the conversion of areas under disaster risk” law no: 6306, currently used in turkey and the results obtained were transferred from the building scale to the urban scale. although the method of construction examination is the same, for different cities; past earthquakes, structural characteristics, construction-methods and habits will be different. the underlying principle in developed approach and software is that these subjective conditions of cities differ from each other. 2. development of the methodology to say that disasters are purely natural phenomena is the biggest mistake made conceptually. disasters are a result of the coincidence of natural hazards and human vulnerabilities. so a danger does not create a disaster by itself. disaster is the result of the humanitarian systems and their fragility. natural disasters occur when these two effects are encountered in the same coordinates in time and space (alcantara, 2002). despite the fact that disasters are happening all over the world, the effects are much greater, especially in the underdeveloped and developing countries. in cities, the most destructive effects occur in the poorest and faulty structured neighborhoods, in other words, the most irregularly structured areas. in short, the formation of disasters is not a work of nature but the result of a system established by man. in reducing this vulnerability, the system should be considered as a whole, legal administrative, social and economic developments should be provided at the same time. because of its geological and topographical features, turkey frequently confronts the earthquake reality and experiences significant loss of life and property each time. since the beginning of the 1900s there have been 158 damaging earthquakes in turkey, 97200 people have lost their lives, 175,000 people have been injured and 583371 buildings have been destroyed or damaged in these earthquakes (taymaz, 2001). as can be understood from the figures, turkey, despite its dangerous geographical structure, has paid great price for the reason that it is unprepared for disasters. one of the biggest factors in the occurrence of these disasters is inadequate regulations, incomplete implementation decisions and unplanned construction as a result of them. after marmara earthquake of 1999, it is once again understood that turkey is inadequate and unprepared against natural disasters. after this date, it is not only legal but also project-oriented. in this context, many projects such as istanbul earthquake master plan, radius project, zeytinburnu project, marmara earthquake emergency reconstruction project, disaster prevention and mitigation project including seismic microzonation in istanbul province have been carried out and many evaluation methods have been developed within these projects and ”law no. 6306 on the conversion of areas under disaster relief” was issued. the methods to be used in determining the buildings defined within the scope of this law are similar to idpm. the purpose of these studies is to make a rational evaluation with minimal data to be collected in a limited time by building observation from outside, thus making a performance order for the detailed examination of the buildings in istanbul (i̇dmp, 2003). arranged order does not include any unit of measurement or the buildings are not classified according to their risky status. the review is carried out in a comparative way, with priorities for the next assessment being determined. in order to determine the regional risk distribution in the method, a series of parameters for the evaluation of 1 to 7 storeys reinforced concrete buildings are investigated by observation and evaluated by their weights. in order to apply the method specified in the law, the following parameters must be specified. these parameters are; type of structural system, floor type, current state and apparent quality, soft floor / weak floor, vertical irregularity, heavy outcrops, planar irregularity / torsion effect, short column effect, structure / collision effect, peak / slope effect, earthquake hazard and ground (çşb, 2012). pg. 225 kepenek / the academic research community publication 3. general structure of developed software the general structure of the software consists of 3 parts: android application, java desktop application and php web application. 3.1. java desktop application draes is a software developed in oop (object-oriented programming) standards using the java se software language. the mysql database management system, which is flexible and fast enough to store building information and regional risk data and to display records whenever necessary, is integrated into the software. draes completed the development process using the waterfall model, coded in the ”composite” design pattern. the use of a ”composite” design pattern allows the resulting objects to be combined together in a piece-whole relationship with a tree structure, and this composition can be accessed from a single interface. because the java programming language is used, the platform can run independently. draes can run on any operating system that has a jvm (java virtual machine). the initial login screen of the software is as shown in figure 1. figure 1. splash screen the software has user characteristics defined for 3 different user scenarios. these users can be classified as ”observer, analyst and manager”. once the user has logged in, the observer can enter and edit the data, the analyst can access and analyze the data, and the administrator can identify the new user. the user diagram is as shown in figure 2. figure 2. draes usage status diagram draes offers 8 different interfaces to the user in terms of usage. under the new data entry tab, there are the building pg. 226 kepenek / the academic research community publication identity, the technical information interfaces, the site map service interface under the display of the building data interface, the general, regional analysis, neighborhood analysis interfaces and finally the user profile interface under the data analysis tab. since the recent earthquakes and arc gis commands direct windows to different software, they have not been defined as an interface. 3.1.1. user profiles the number of buildings to be examined in urban areas is expressed in thousands. in such highly comprehensive projects, the hierarchy of employees needs to be applied. furthermore, in such studies conducted with expert personnel, it is possible that the error rate may be found in the data to be evaluated on the grounds that not all of the personnel on the study team are at the same information level. for this reason, there should be a tracking system for the personnel. the control of the data to be evaluated with this system can be controlled by another expert through the photographs taken, new levels of success and lack of personnel can be determined and new training programs can be prepared. each user must have a record and an ”id” in order to login to the system. in addition to general information such as name, surname, e-mail address, and password, the users who come to the registration screen should also choose the area in which they want to use the program. these areas consist of 3 options; observer, analyst and manager. the areas that users can choose from these areas are different. in addition to the recording area, there is an area where the user can leave messages to the manager. due to this field being filled on demand, the administrator has supervised the system security. users approved by the administrator can use the system in the user group they belong to. figure 3. user registration screen on the draes home page, users can use their user group attributes when they log in with their e-mail addresses and passwords, and their assigned ids are processed on the data they enter (figure 3). in addition, when the date of entry of each of the data is recorded, the next work to be performed on this area is made visible. after the login screen, the application continues with a login screen as shown in figure 4. system users get their e-mail addresses and passwords with help. users who want to register with the system, forget their password or visit our website can access the relevant page from the bottom line commands. users who do not remember their passwords can ask the system to send them a new password by entering their email addresses with the help of the screen shown in figure 5 after the password forget command. passwords consist of randomly generated letters and numbers. these passwords are both sent to your e-mail address and automatically changed in the database. after login with the current user name and password, the draes main interface comes up (figure 6). this interface can be accessed in submenus by selecting english and turkish language options. there is also a brief description of what each of the commands on the bottom of the screen does when the command is on the bottom of the screen. pg. 227 kepenek / the academic research community publication figure 4. draes user login screen figure 5. password renewal screen figure 6. draes main interface 3.1.2. addition of new building data the first menu in the software is the add building data menu. when the corresponding command at the top is clicked, the menu shown in figure 7, opens. the layout of the building to be evaluated is determined without fault and the layout, island and parcel numbers are used so that the information is not confused with the information of the other building. the map, island and parcel numbers that are taken from the municipality where yapi belongs are written in the related field in the software. when entering the map, island, parcel information manually, the coordinate data can be taken automatically on the android devices, unlike on the desktop. as you can see in figure 7, you can enter the name of the district, street, street, building id, building name, estimated age of the building, place of the building (concrete-masonry) to enter the data obtained with the help of forms during both the application and the field work intermediate percent. pg. 228 kepenek / the academic research community publication figure 7. new building data identity information in the add new building data interface, there is a page where the technical information will be entered next to the identification information command. this window contains the area where the variables to be used are entered when calculating the performance score. figure 8. yenibina verisi – teknik bilgileri if the user wants to enter data from a form that is in his / her hand rather than through the android device, he can log in from the page shown in figure 8. 3.1.3. displaying building data in the draes software, there is the view building data section where the observer group can input and edit (figure 9). the analyser user group is not allowed to make any changes to this page. in the interface, the entered building data can be displayed and modified on the system identification and technical information. with the help of gps data, the location of the building can be determined by clicking on the region map service command, and the accuracy of the data can be done on this side (figure 10). in addition, the district and neighbourhood options on the interface can be labeled by marking the areas where only the change is required. this grouping is displayed on the right side of the interface. the average of all the buildings where the performance score is calculated is compared with the neighbourhood and district buildings on the right side of the interface and the number of buildings below the average is displayed as a percentage. pg. 229 kepenek / the academic research community publication figure 9. view building data interface figure 10. territory map service interface 3.1.4. analysis of data another interface within the software is the interfaces of general-data analysis, region analysis, neighborhood analysis and structure analysis, which are opened by the analyze command. these interfaces are defined for display by the analyst user group. when the command to calculate the performance score is pressed on the general data analysis screen coming to the first screen, the performance scores of the buildings are calculated with the help of the algorithm defined in the software (figure 11). however, before the performance score is calculated, the ”list” command needs to be displayed on the right-hand side of the building where no data is entered. it is possible to display the identification information of each building on this screen. just below the screen is a window with ”building information”. with the help of this window, you can check the performance scores and make the necessary corrections by returning to the building data add menu the second drop-down menu under the ”analyze data” command is the region analysis menu (figure 12). the analyzer can be used by the user group to display both a single district data on the interface and two different districts can be compared graphically. the data on the left side of the interface are given as the performance score averages, the total number of buildings and neighborhoods, the number of buildings being evaluated, and the percentage of irregularities determined by the standard deviation. the number of buildings under the average urban average is given as a percentage and is called ”urban risk level”. this value has been visualized above the menu as a pie chart. in addition, the value entered with the command ”enter limit value” and the performance scores of that county are compared with the determined value again. if the right side of the pop-up window is inspected, the comparison can be made with another district. the analysis is based on the average performance scores, and the results are given as a graph. beneath the comparison chart, pg. 230 kepenek / the academic research community publication the result window displays 5 different result texts previously entered in the system. the next pop-up window of analyse data is the neighborhood analysis interface. in this menu, the total number of streets and buildings, the number of buildings to be evaluated, the average performance score and the number of buildings below and above the average can be displayed. the average performance score of the neighborhood is evaluated together with the average performance score (opp) of the province and the result is displayed as ”neighborhood risk level” as a percentage. in addition, any value determined by the ”enter limit value” command can be compared with the opp of the examined region. in the analysis of the district, it is possible to classify the streets in the neighborhood by making a comparative evaluation with the average performance score as it is in the neighborhood rank. the same map is also displayed with the ”map” command on google maps. the last open window of the ”analyze data” interface is the ”structure island analysis” interface. the total number of buildings, the number of buildings, the average performance points, and the evaluation of the buildings below and below average in the examined island are given in pie chart. the average performance score of the structure island is evaluated together with the average performance score of the surrounding region, and the result is displayed as ”structure island risk level”. it is also possible to compare any value determined by the ”enter limit value” command with the average performance score of the structure being examined. in addition, it is possible to classify the buildings in the island by making a comparative evaluation of the average performance points as well as the street order in the neighborhood analysis (figure 14). the same map is also displayed via google maps, which is also examined by the ”map” command. figure 11. analysis of data figure 12. analysis of data comparative regional analysis pg. 231 kepenek / the academic research community publication figure 13. analysis of data neighborhood analysis figure 14. analysis of data structure island analysis 4. conclusion one of the most important issues in determining the reliability of cities against depression in turkey is to test the resistance of the building stock against the depression. as a matter of fact, the detailed examination of thousands of buildings in the context of cities can be considered as very difficult and time-consuming when the critical time and costs are considered. for this reason, tools with fast and accurate results are needed with as few parameters as possible. with the introduction of law no. 6306 in turkey, rapid assessment methods have partially attained the required level. however, when the size of the cities is considered, tools and raised human subjects continue to be a problem. based on the need for the structural risk assessment of antalya, draes computer software has been developed as a tool for the street scanning method in the 6306 numbered law. draes software is an infrastructure work on determining regional risks and priorities and can be used to collect building inventory that is needed in disaster management systems. while providing fast and accurate results for the analysis and analysis of the developed software structures, the programming language used in the software minimizes the time loss in the information input and correction options that can be done by different software. the software not only saves the time lost in transferring survey forms collected in the field to the computer environment but also allows information to be entered on the terrain in all devices with android operating system. program outputs can be read by software such as arcgis, ms access, excel, etc. in the ”.mdb” format, allowing you to perform different analyzes and mappings on this page. pg. 232 kepenek / the academic research community publication 5. references 1. alcántara-ayala, i. (2002). geomorphology, natural hazards, vulnerability and prevention of natural disasters in developing countries. geomorphology, 47(2-4), 107-124. doi:10.1016/s0169-555x(02)00083-1 2. istanbul metropolitan municipality planning and construction department ground and earthquake investigation department, earthquake master plan for istanbul (p. 569, rep.). (2003). 3. kepenek, e. (2016). a structural risk classification model proposal for urban transformation (master’s thesis, süleyman demirel university, 2016) (p. 168). isparta: institute of science and technology. 4. regulation on the buildings to be built in earthquake regions (rep.). (n.d.). ankara: republic of turkey ministry of public works and settlement. 5. republic of turkey ministry of environment and urbanisation. (2012). law no. 6306 on the conversion of areas under disaster relief. retrieved from http://mavikart.cevre.gov.tr/en/mevzuatlar.aspx 6. sucuoğlu, h., yazgan, u., & yakut, a. (2007). a screening procedure for seismic risk assessment in urban building stocks. earthquake spectra, 23(2), 441-458. doi:10.1193/1.2720931 7. taymaz, t. (ed.). (2001). symposia on seismotectonics of the north-western anatolia – aegean and recent turkish earthquakes. istanbul. 8. temür, r. (2006). developing a rapid analysis technique and related software (unpublished master’s thesis). i̇stanbul university, institute of science and technology. 9. the study on a disaster prevention/mitigation basic plan in istanbul including microzonation in the republic of turkey, the istanbul metropolitan municipality. (2002). retrieved from www.ibb.gov.tr/tr-tr/su bsites/depremsite/publishingimages/jica eng.pdf 10. yakut, a., sucuoğlu, h., & akkar, s. (2012). seismic risk prioritization of residential buildings in istanbul. earthquake engineering & structural dynamics, 41(11), 1533-1547. doi:10.1002/eqe.2215 pg. 233 introduction development of the methodology general structure of developed software java desktop application user profiles addition of new building data displaying building data analysis of data conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.386 availability and feasibility of demand side management projects in egypt mohamed gaber1, ahmed mohamed atef2, amr el zawawi3, mohamed salah4 1electrical construction engineer,petrojet company,northern branch, egypt 2electrical maintenance engineer,egyptian steel company ,alexandria plant, egypt 3electrical engineering dept,faculty of engineering,university of alexandria, egypt 4mathematics and physics dept,faculty of engineering,university of alexandria, egypt abstract demand side management (dsm) results in energy consumption reduction accompanied by lower cost according to the feasibility study for each project. in egypt, dsm projects are scarce due to lack of good studies proving their underlining profitability. this paper studies the major types of dsm programs and their availability to be executed in egypt. tips to measure feasibility for these projects are given using the net present value (npv), internal rate of return (irr), profitability index (pi), payback period (pp) and discounted payback period(dpp). different factors affecting the projects to study like the inflation factor and the discount rate are studied. this paper also investigates a new sustainable way for natural illumination called the sun tunnel. this method is presented with its different types: rigid and flexible as a case study © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords day light; demand side management; energy efficiency; sun tunnel; sustainable lighting 1. introduction energy shortage and increasing energy price in egypt force many researchers and companies to reduce energy consumption as well as studying new ways for sustainable energy generation from renewable energy by users, although energy cost increasing is a main hurdle which motivates to find new ways to reduce energy consumption. this paper may serve as a reference for studying any project to take a decision about its execution. it also includes a case study for installing a sun tunnel. dsm demand side management npv net present value irr internal rate of return pi profitability index pp payback period dpp discounted payback period pg. 379 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ gaber / the academic research community publication o&m operation and maintenance (o&m) wacc weighted average cost of capital 2. dsm dsm has considerable potential to reduce power system generation, transmission and distribution costs. however, the integration of dsm into existing restructured electricity markets is not straightforward. dsm has been receiving increasing attention, particularly with the widespread of advanced metering systems, like smart meters, which facilitate more detailed monitoring and control of customer loads. the main goals of dsm are: peak clipping, valley filling, load shifting, strategic load growth and strategic conservation [1].distributed generation and energy storage can also be classified as dsm [2]. 2.1. classification of dsm programs there are three main different programs of dsm. they have been discussed in [3] and can be classified as shown in fig.1 figure 1. classification of dsm programs 2.1.1. energy reduction programs (energy efficiency): energy reduction programs are considered as cost negative due to energy saving. they provide a large number of energy saving tips in all sectors. this can be implemented by more efficient processes, buildings and equipment. in egypt, it can be extended to lighting, motors and boilers. pg. 380 gaber / the academic research community publication 2.1.2. load management it aims to change the load pattern and encourage less demand at peak times and peak rates and this can be done by three different ways: load leveling improved generation without increasing the reserve capacity. this is done by peak clipping, valley filling and load shifting using thermal energy storage for water, space heating and reducing the peak demand. load control [4] direct control of particular loads such as air conditioning, hot water systems and swimming pool pumps remotely by the utility. in this case, the utility offers special low kwh prices for customer and this method is not available in egypt. tariff incentives and penalties there are three different programs regarding tariff incentives and penalties: – time of use rates: utilities have different charges for power use during the day to reduce peaks. this method is not used in egypt. – power factor penalties: a penalty is applied in egypt for any given factor less than 0.9 inductive for industrial loads. – real time pricing: according to utilities loads. it may be continuous or by the hour pricing. this method is not used in egypt. 2.1.3. load growth and energy conservation load growth by improving the customer productivity, this increases the market share of the utility and imposes its ability to fill valleys and shave peaks. this is done in egypt by distributed generation using renewable energy projects. conservation programs this result from utility-stimulated programs directed to customers. these programs are used in egypt. 3. energy saving tips declaring energy saving tips is required by users to be award with different projects for different loads as following: 3.1. industrial and commercial sector: energy saving tips for boilers, that are most commonly used in industry can be found in [3]. also tips to avoid leaks in steam systems is studied in [3]. lighting is considered as one of the most important ways to reduce energy consumption. using led instead of fluorescent lamps and using interactive lighting scenarios are found in [5]. high efficiency motors and motors drives are used in most of factories to save energy. compressed air system saving tips in [3] are very important, because in an average facility, 70% of the generated compressed air is used in air blow applications, 10% for actuation with the remaining 20% are lost through leakage. actions must be taken to solve leakage problems and to adapt pressure for minimum requirement. for the devices which need higher pressure, pressure booster can be used. pg. 381 gaber / the academic research community publication 3.2. household there are many practices for houses for energy saving like sealing, insulation, hot water cylinder, washing machines, heaters, and lighting, energy saving tips are applied [3]. the most applicable module is saving energy using lighting programs by changing lamps, using intelligent lighting systems and using natural lighting like sun tunnel if applicable. 4. economic analysis economic study is the most important part in any project related to dsm. most of these projects need feasibility studies to be executed. the following section will describe this. 4.1. net present value (npv) [4] the method used to perform the economic analysis is npv since it is commonly used to measure the viability of engineering projects. npv is defined as the difference of all cash inflows and outflows taking into consideration the time value of money. inflows refer to revenues and outflows refer to capital cost as well as operation and maintenance (o&m) costs. the npv can be calculated using relation (1): npv = ∑ n t=1 (bt−ct ) (1+i)t where, bt = benefits at the end of each year of the project ct = cost for each year of the project n = number of years i = discount rate 4.2. profitability index (pi) pi is actually a modification of the npv method. while npv method gives an absolute measure for project; the profitability index gives a relative ratio for it. the project that has a pi above 1 should be accepted. pi as discussed in [6] is calculated by comparing the npv with the initial investment as shown in (2). pi = npv (initial investment) 4.3. payback period payback period is a procedure used to calculate the period of time needed to make up for the initial expenditure by discounting future cash flow. the payback period is calculated when the inflows equal the outflows. it can be calculated using formula (3): payback period = (t −1) + |ccft−1| cft where, t is the year when the cumulative cash flow begins turning zero or positive ccft−1 is the cumulative cash flow at the year t-1 cft is the cash flow of the year t pg. 382 gaber / the academic research community publication 4.4. discounted payback period (dipp) dipp, as reviewed in [7], is a procedure used to calculate the period of time needed to make up for the initial expenditure by discounting future cash flow and also taking in consideration the time value of money (discount rate). the discounted payback period is calculated when the inflows equal the outflows. dipp can be calculated using formula (4): dipp = (t −1) + |nct−1| dcft where, t is the year when the cumulative npv of cash flow begins turning zero or positive nct−1 is the npv of the cash flow at the year t-1 dcft is the discounted cash flow of the year t 4.5. internal rate of return (irr) irr as defined in [8] is the discount rate at which the npv equals zero. if the irr is above the planning discount rate that means, that the project is economically viable. when comparing two or more mutually exclusive project. the project that has the highest value of irr should be accepted. to calculate irr, relation (1) is solved for i , such that npv = 0. 5. sun tunnel sun tunnel brings natural light into even the darkest and most isolated spaces through a specially designed high reflective tunnel that passes from roof to ceiling, it is a better solution for any place has working hours during day time there are two types of sun tunnel. flexible type, as shown in fig.2 [9], is more suitable for shorter distances, cheaper to purchase, easier to install and allowed negotiating around obstructions in the roof space. due to the build of the flexible tube. light will reflect less in a flexible sun tunnel, effectively directing the light away from its required destination, resulting in less light reaching the required room. rigid type, as shown in fig.3 [9], gives a better light transmittance than the flexible sun tunnel. the less the light bounces off the internal surface of the tube, the more natural reaches the required room. figure 2. flexible sun tunnel our study is for a room with dimensions 2.5m width x 6m length x 2.8m height to maintain an approximate illuminance of 500 lux. room dimensions and the required illuminance data were inserted in dialux program. using luminaire type: philips noted as ”finess tcs198 2xtl5-14w/840 hf c6”, the distribution of the required luminaires is shown in fig.4 pg. 383 gaber / the academic research community publication figure 3. rigid sun tunnel figure 4. luminaire distribution using dialux there are different parameters that need to be taken into consideration when performing this kind of analysis. a. project life the lifetime of project will be 20 years. b. project costs the cost of the project for 8 tl5 luminaires that includes luminaires cost, electrical cables and switches, 5 times lamps replacement and maintenance cost for 20 years and equal 150$ sun tunnel type is studied in [10], and the results for the room data is 2 x flexible sun tunnel twf, 14” diameter and its cost as given by [11]was 198.41$ c. inflation inflation is the annual rate of change in prices that reduces the purchasing power of the customers. o&m costs are affected directly by this parameter; therefore, it needs to be considered in this study. inflation is arbitrarily assumed to be 12% in egypt as repeated values for all years. d. discount rate discount rate is explained in [12]. it reflects the time value of money. it is the rate at which any investor can expect to earn on his invested money. it is assumed at 18% for this study. e. weighted average cost of capital (wacc) wacc [13] is the minimum acceptable rate of return at which a company yields returns for its investors. if project return is less than wacc this means that the project is losing value. here we considered wacc= 18%. pg. 384 gaber / the academic research community publication f. depreciation depreciation is a measure of the decrease of the financial value of an asset over time due to the use and wear. depreciation is used to calculate the income tax for a project. g. income tax there is a fixed percent income tax rate that applies to any project or economic activity that has not been carried out 12 months before the date of the exemption request. h. energy price escalation the escalation rate chosen for this study is set at 2%, based on the present change in price of energy. based on these values for sun tunnels, we can conclude that for 20 years life time, we will find npv and irr as shown in table1 table 1. project data and economic results project life 20 years total cost for sun tunnel include taxes 440$ = 7920l.e tl5 luminaires project cost for 20 years 300$=5400l.e kwh cost for residential between 351 to 650 kwh layer [14] 0.75 l.e discount rate 18% npv 2560 l.e pi 1.424 payback period 3years dipp 4 years irr 21% figure 5. npv over 20 years project life according to these values, npv is positive and irr is greater thans 12% wacc. that means that the project is acceptable and is beneficial. 6. conclusion the increasing electricity selling price, enhanced the use of using the dsm. there are different programs for dsm but not all of these programs are available in egypt. sun tunnel project, which is considered as one of peak clipping program projects is profitable. this study shows its profitability according to npv and irr. pg. 385 gaber / the academic research community publication 7. references 1. z. hungerford, a. bruce and i. macgill, ”review of demand side management modelling for application to renewables integration in australian power markets,” in ieee pes asia-pacific power and energy engineering conference (appeec), brisbane, qld, australia, 2015. 2. j. a. deysel, m. kleingeld and c. j. r. kriel, ”dsm strategies to reduce electricity costs on platinum mines,” in international conference on the industrial and commercial use of energy (icue), cape town, south africa, 2015. 3. ”sustainable energy regulation and policymarking for africa ,module 15.,” may 2017. [online]. available: ht tp://africa-toolkit.reeep.org/. 4. j. r. matagira-sánchez and a. a. irizarry-rivera, ”feasibility study of micro pumped hydro for integration of solar photovoltaic energy into puerto rico’s electric grid,” in north american power symposium (naps), charlotte, nc, usa, 2015. 5. r. kathiresan, y. j. kenneth and s. k. panda, ”an interactive led lighting interface for high energy savings,” in ieee innovative smart grid technologies asia (isgt asia), kuala lumpur, malaysia, 2014. 6. i. giriantari, i. kumara and d. santiari, ”economic cost study of photovoltaic solar system for hotel in nusa lembongan,” in international conference on smart green technology in electrical and information systems (icsgteis), kuta, indonesia, 2014. 7. l. wei, y. li and y. su, ”research on economy and technology feasibility for centralized solar power development in qinghai-tibet plateau,” in ieee pes asia-pacific power and energy engineering conference (appeec), xi’an, china, 2016. 8. z. qiao, h. zhang and z. qiao, ”research on estimation methods of internal rate of return in hydraulic engineering project,” in 2nd international conference on information engineering and computer science, wuhan, china, 2010. 9. ”velux sun tunnel skylights—flexible and rigid.,” may 2017. [online]. available: http://www.veluxu sa.com /products/suntunnls. 10. ”velux sun tunnel lux calculator.,” may 2017. [online]. available: http://www.velux.co.uk/products/ suntunnels/lux-calculator. 11. ”flexible sun tunnel (twf/tlf) roof superstore.,” may 2017. [online]. available: https://www.roofingsup erstore .co.uk. 12. ”discount, inflation, and interest rates pveducation.,” may 2017. [online]. available: http://www.pveduca tion. org/node/708. 13. ”weighted average cost of capital.,” june 2017. [online]. available: http://www.investopedia.com/terms /w/wacc.asp/. 14. ”electricity price & tarrif.,” june 2017. [online]. available: http://egyptera.org/en/t3reefa.aspx. pg. 386 introduction dsm classification of dsm programs energy reduction programs (energy efficiency): load management load growth and energy conservation energy saving tips industrial and commercial sector: household economic analysis net present value (npv) [4] profitability index (pi) payback period discounted payback period (dipp) internal rate of return (irr) sun tunnel conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication case study on fuzzy blitz quality function deployment eslam a. nawar1, soheir h. backar2, mohamed a. el-dardiry3 1master’s student, production engineering department, faculty of engineering, alexandria university, alexandria, egypt 2assisstant professor, production engineering department, faculty of engineering, alexandria university, alexandria, egypt 3emeritus, production engineering department, faculty of engineering, alexandria university, alexandria, egypt abstract organizations strive to develop their products in a way that fulfills customers’ requirements and increases their satisfaction. the traditional quality function deployment (qfd) is a popular technique for that purpose but it has some drawbacks. to tackle these drawbacks, the researchers will implement blitz qfd a modern model of the traditional one and integrate it with fuzzy logic through a case study on the development of a cargo tricycle. this model provides a leaner approach that captures the most critical requirements of customers in order to implement them and provides more reasonable values as a result of using fuzzy logic. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords quality function deployment (qfd); analytical hierarchy process (ahp); fuzzy logic; product development 1. introduction quality function deployment (qfd) is a mechanism that translates customer requirements into engineering characteristics (akao & mazur, 2003). its objective is to better understand what customer really wants and offer a product or service that exceeds his or her expectation. in 1972, qfd was originated at mitsubishi’s kobe shipyard in japan and its first guidelines was introduced by akao in the same year. by 1977, qfd became a key procedure for toyota and other japanese firms used it such as daihatsu. in 1984 the technique was introduced to the western world where many companies like general motors and motorola started to use it (evans & lindsay, 1999). it was not until 2015 when the international organization for standardization (iso) published the first standard dedicated for this technique (iso 16355-1 general principles and perspectives of quality function deployment (qfd), 2015). researchers have reported many various advantages of the traditional qfd but the most agreed are that it is a preventive technique as it reduces the number of engineering changes required by better understanding customer requirements prior to manufacturing phase (jaiswal, 2012). this advantage leads directly to other two advantages which are reducing product development time and lowering start-up costs. toyota is the most famous example pg. 256 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.366 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ nawar / the academic research community publication for assuring these advantages. as between 1977 and 1979, toyota’s start-up costs were reduced by 20 percent, following by 38 percent reduce by 1982. also, development time was reduced by one-third by 1982. however the advantages of the traditional qfd, it has some drawbacks, some of the reported are that it requires a long time to be developed which is not suitable for today’s rapid change of technology and therefore change of customer requirements. also, it converts customer voice into specific rigid values which is not very suitable for human reasoning (jaiswal, 2012). in order to tackle these drawbacks, the researchers will propose a model built on a modern model of qfd called blitz qfd which aims to introduce lean thinking and thus shorten the development time. blitz qfd was first introduced by zultner in the mid-1990 to provide a faster approach to the traditional qfd (zultner, 1997). the main improvements are improving efficiency and speed of analysis by tracking only a small number of the most critical customer needs and prioritizing them using some methods like analytical hierarchy process (ahp) (mazur, 2012) (saaty, 1990). some researchers integrate fuzzy logic to the model in order to translate customer voice into more suitable values (lie, chen, zhou, & yi, 2016). fuzzy logic was introduced by zadeh in 1965 as a mathematical technique to deal with uncertainty and to be able to interpret human reasoning (zadeh, 1996). figure 1 shows the researchers proposed model which is based on the blitz model. this model will be the blueprint of implementing the case study and the rest of the research. figure 1. proposed blitz quality function deployment model 2. case study one of the differences between the traditional qfd and the blitz is the determination of voice of business (vob) as a first step of the model which usually consists of basic information about the company and the product of study, project targets, company points of strength and customer segments (mazur, 2012). the steps of the integration between blitz qfd and fuzzy logic are implemented through a case study taken form an egyptian business company. the company is specialized in manufacturing automotive parts, and manufacturing and assembling tricycles. the first step in blitz qfd is the identifying the strategic targets as shown in table 1. the targets were prioritized by using ahp. pg. 257 nawar / the academic research community publication types of customers are identified as: long term retailers, short term retailers, government and end user. by using ism, customer segments were prioritized as shown in table 3. the next step is to identify the company’s core competencies. by using independent scoring method (ism) (maritan, 2015), the competencies were prioritized as shown in table 2. pg. 258 nawar / the academic research community publication the next step is to perform customer analysis. various tools can be used to obtain qualitative information and quantitative data about customer requirements (proctor, 2005). in this model, we used gemba interviews as a qualitative tool, then used questionnaire as a quantitative one. a small group of selected customers have been interviewed to capture customers’ opinions, suggestions and requirements in their language and expressions. these customer requirements have been rewritten in sticky notes according to jiro kawakita (jk) recommendations (kawakita, 1981) as shown in figure 2, then grouped into categories of up to two level as shown in figure 3. figure 2. collecting the sticky notes figure 3. affinity diagram, the result of jk method pg. 259 nawar / the academic research community publication after that, the questionnaire has been designed to ask about the importance and bench marking for each requirement. all the answers from questionnaires are summarized in order to be easily. then the crisp values are converted into fuzzy values (chen & hwang, 1992). preplan matrix is constructed while the complete house of quality (hoq) matrix is constructed as well using the same relations of traditional qfd (cohen, 1995) but considering the mathematics of fuzzy logic (bede, 2013). the fuzzy values of relative importance design characteristics are converted back to crisp values using centre of gravity method (chen & hwang, 1992). pg. 260 nawar / the academic research community publication pg. 261 nawar / the academic research community publication figure 5 shows a chart to trade off between the importance of the technical requirements and their difficulty to implement. development team should start implementing the lower right part as it represents high importance and easy implementing characteristics. the lower left part represents low importance but easy implementing characteristics, so the team could implement them too. the higher left part is the last section to consider as it pg. 262 nawar / the academic research community publication includes low importance and difficult to implement characteristic. the last part is the higher right part which is considered as the challenging part where it contains high importance but difficult to implement characteristic, so the team have to spend much time in order to introduce innovative thinking to implement these characteristics. figure 4. bottle neck analysis 3. conclusions blitz qfd offers a leaner and faster way than the traditional one in a way that helps organization shorten the cycle time of product development and identifying the most important requirements to customers. the integration of fuzzy logic through the model helps to obtain more suitable way to reduce the ambiguity of voc. the most benefits obtained from this case study by applying the proposed model are the clear identification and communication of each steps between the development team enhanced by the use of visual tables, focusing on the most critical requirements for both vob and voc, not complicated calculations and suitable to use by small organizations and increasing customer satisfaction by correctly implementing his or her requirements. although the model can be implemented on wide range of applications, the researchers suggest testing and comparing other tools for each step like the use of focus groups in customer analysis, analytical network process (anp) in prioritizing customer requirements and chen’s approach for converting fuzzy numbers to crisp values in order to obtain the most suitable for any specific application. 4. references 1. akao, y., & mazur, g. h. (2003). the leading edge in qfd: past, present and future. international journal of quality & reliability management, 20(1), 20-35. 2. bede, b. (2013). mathematics of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic. springer. 3. chen, s.-j., & hwang, c.-l. (1992). fuzzy multiple attribute decision making, methods and applications. pg. 263 nawar / the academic research community publication springer-verlag. 4. cohen, l. (1995). quality function deployment: how to make qfd work for you. addison-wesley. 5. evans, j. r., & lindsay, w. m. (1999). the management and control of quality. south-western college pub. 6. iso 16355-1 general principles and perspectives of quality function deployment (qfd). (2015). iso. 7. jaiswal, e. s. (2012). a case study on quality function deployment (qfd). iosr journal of mechanical and civil engineering, 3(6), 227-35. 8. kawakita, j. (1981, sept.). the use of a holystic presentation of “key problem approach” in a technical cooperation project for a himalayan hill area. mab/conf-81/5/6 unesco-icsu conference-exhibit: ecology in practice, pp. 22-29. 9. lie, j., chen, y., zhou, j., & yi, x. (2016). an exact expected value-based method to prioritize engineering characteristics in fuzzy quality function deployment. international journal of fuzzy systems, 18(4), 630-646. 10. maritan, d. (2015). practical manual of quality function deployment. springer. 11. mazur, g. h. (2012). blitz qfd the lean approach to product development. asq world conference on quality and improvement. anaheim ca. 12. proctor, t. (2005). essentials of marketing research. prentice hall. 13. saaty, t. l. (1990). the analytical hierarch process. european journal of operational research(48), 9-26. 14. zadeh, l. a. (1996). fuzzy logic = computing with words. ieee transactions on fuzzy systems, 4(2), 103-111. 15. zultner, e. r. (1997). project qfd managing software development projects. transactions of the 9th symposium on qfd. pg. 264 introduction case study conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.389 an intelligent controller of nonlinear conical tank water level system hanan mohamed omran1, ahmed saad ali2, abd el-fatah.mohamed hashem3, aliabdalla abdal-hay4 1department of mechatronics engineering, south valley university ,qena, egypt. 2dr.department of mechatronics engineering, assuit university, assuit, egypt. 3pro.dr. department of mechanical engineering, south valley university ,qena, egypt. 4dr. department of mechanical engineering, south valley university, qena, egypt. abstract the present research presents an intelligent fuzzy logic controller (flc) system for control water level of nonlinear systems, whereas the cross-section area of the vertical water is not constant (conical tank). the mathematical model of the conical tank level system was derived and its simulation runs were carried out by considering the flc. for comparative analysis, a similar test runs were also carried out by means of conventional zn based pimode. interestingly, the results illustrate that applying the flc system in the control loop in the conical tank system could provide a good tracking performance than that of conventional pi model. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords fuzzy logic controller; conical tank; nonlinear process; pi controller; matlab ; 1. introduction numerous industry applications such as chemical plants, power plants, boiler, etcher requiring a control on their fluid tank precisely. this is extremely important because the desired production . rates and inventories are achieved through proper control of fluid flow and flow level. in more specific, proportional integral derivative (pid) controller [1] and various linear controllers are the most popular control schemes which have been widely implemented to control the liquid level in the process tank. in most of the industrial processes, the conventional controllers are usually proportional-integral (pi) or proportional-integral-derivative (pid. these controllers are popular partially due to their functional simplicity that allows a simple and straightforward operation. many tuning approaches have evolved in tuning the controller since 1942 when ziegler and nichols [1] pioneered a unified systematic properly, the pid loop must be properly tuned. standard methods for tuning include zieglernichols ultimate-cycle tuning [1], cohen-coon method [3], astrom and hagglund [2] and many other traditional techniques. a level control of conical tank is a challenging problem because of its non-linearity and changing in cross section. due to its simplicity, fuzzy logic control [4] method became most famous in this application. fuzzy logic is a form pg. 409 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mohamed / the academic research community publication of probabilistic logic or many-valued logic; it deals with approximate reasoning rather than fixed and exact. unlike traditional binary sets, where variables take either true or false values, fuzzy logic variables have a truth value that ranges in degree between 1 and 0. the truth value may range between completely true and completely false. thus, fuzzy logic has been extended to handle the concept of partial truth. fuzzy logic is a part of artificial intelligence or machine learning which interprets a human’s actions. computers can interpret only true or false values, but a human being can reason the degree of truth or degree of falseness. fuzzy models interpret the human actions and are also called intelligent systems. tuning approach in tuning the pi controller. for this control loop to function. 2. application description here, an inverted nonlinear structured conical process tank is taken. generally conical tanks are highly preferred for industrial storage process because of gravity discharge in its shape and it is difficult to maintain the level of the liquid at the desired point. it has a nonlinear structure which leads the liquid in the tank rises with respect to the inclination angle through which the tank is designed. the pressure acting in the conical tank is different at each point, and in this article, a fuzzy logic controller is implemented and the results were compared with pi control technique. the process is considered as single input and single output, i.e. a tank has an inlet upstream valve and outlet downstream valve [5]. identifying the process has to be done before proceed to tuning method. the process of identification has deals with the process gain (k), time constant (τ), and time delay (θ ) that can be determined by an experimental result of single step change on process input. figure 1. the liquid conical tank table 1. operating parameters si parameter description value 1 r top radius of cone 19.25cm 2 h maximum total height of the tank 73cm 3 fin maximum inflow rate of the tank 111cm3/s 4 β valve co-efficient 55cm2/s 3. mathematical model of conical tank fig. 1 illustrates the geometry relationship of the conical tank under study. as is shown, the shape isconical and therefore the geometrical relationship is nonlinear. the control goal is to keep up the level of liquid at a constant value and for thus must control the inflow rate. the radius of the cone is (r) for the level (h). the outflow rate is pg. 410 mohamed / the academic research community publication due to the hydrostatic pressure and it is not controlled. for the level h the liquid volume v is given by: v = 1 3 ·πr2 ·g h tan α = r h = r h v = [ 1 3 ·π · tan2 α ] ·h3·= 1 3 ·π · ( r h )2 ·h3 (1) 4. volume variation is the difference between the inflow and the outflow and it depends on the discharge coefficient β , as follows: dv dt = fin − fout = fin− β . √ h (2) by differentiating the equation (1), then: dv dt = [ 1 3 ·π · tan2 α ] ·h2 (3) the transfer function relating the height h and the inflow rate fin with parameters (k, τ) can be obtained as eq. (4) g(s) = h(s) fin(s) = k.e−θs τs+1 where k = 2h fout ; τ = 2ha fout ; fout = β . √ h (4) by the system identifier, process parameters of different operating regions are obtained (table 2). the process tank is divided into four region (i-iv). it is evident from table 2, when the level of the tank raises the process gain and delay time decreases because of accumulation of integral error [6]. table 2. process parameter at different valve opening inflow % rang k τ θ 40% region1 2.7 0.75 0.15 60% region2 .68 1.5 0.70 80% region3 0.18 0.78 0.22 100% region4 0.09 0.30 0.30 5. control description the main objective is to control the level of the non-linear conical tank. to achieve this, two controllers separately was proposed and comparing their results to evaluates its performance. 5.1. pid controller pid stands for proportional, integral and derivative. these controllers are designed to eliminate the need for continuous operator attention. in order to avoid the small variation of the output at the steady state, the pid controller is so designed that it reduces the errors by the derivative nature of the controller. a pid controller is depicted in figure 2. the set-point is where the measurement to be. error is defined as the difference between setpoint and measurement. (error) = (set-point) – (measurement), the variable being adjusted is called the manipulated variable which usually is equal to the output of the controller. the output of pid controllers will change in response to a change in measurement or set-point [7]. manufacturers of pid controllers use different names to identify the three modes. with a proportional controller, offset (deviation from set-point) is present. increasing the controller gain will make the loop go unstable. integral pg. 411 mohamed / the academic research community publication action was included in controllers to eliminate this offset. with integral action, the controller output is proportional to the amount of time the error is present. integral action eliminates offset. controller output = (1/integral) (integral of) e (t) d (t). with derivative action, the controller output is proportional to the rate of change of the measurement or error. the controller output is calculated by the rate of change of the measurement with time. derivative action can compensate for a change in measurement. thus derivative takes action to inhibit more rapid changes of the measurement than proportional action. when a load or set-point change occurs, the derivative action causes the controller gain to move the “wrong” way when the measurement gets near the set-point. derivative is often used to avoid overshoot [7]. the different between the actual acceleration and desired acceleration is taken as error in this study. figure 2. pid controller the pid controller is the most-used feedback control design. pid is a short form for proportional-integralderivative, show the three terms operating on the error signal to produce a control signal. if u(t) is the control signal which sent to the system, y(t) is the actual output and r(t) is the desired output, and tracking error e(t) = r(t) − y(t), a pid controller has the next form. u(t) = kpe(t)+ ki ∫ e(t) dt + kd d dt e(t) (5) the desired closed loop dynamics can be obtained by adjusting the three parameters kp, ki and kd, often iteratively with ”tuning” and without specific knowledge of a plant model. stability can often be obtained using only the proportional term. the integral term permits the rejection of a step disturbance. the derivative term provides damping or shaping of the response. pid controllers are the most well established class of control systems: however, they cannot be used in several more complicated cases, almost in the mimo systems [8]. applying laplace transformation in equation (5) will results in the transformed pid controller equation u(s) = kpe(s)+ ki 1 s e(s)+ kdse(s) (6) with the pid control transfer function c(s) = kp + ki 1 s + kds (7) kp: proportional gain, a tuning parameter e: error = sp − pv t: time or instantaneous time (the present) ki: integral gain, a tuning parameter τ: a dummy integration variable pg. 412 mohamed / the academic research community publication the effects of each of controller parameters kp, ki, and kd on a closed-loop system are summarized in the table below. note that these correlations may not be exactly accurate, because kp, ki, and kd are dependent on each other. in fact, changing one of these variables can change the effect of the other two. for this reason, the table should only be used as a reference for determining the values for kp, ki, and kd [9]. table 3. effects of increasing pid parameters type rise-time overshooting setting time s-s error kp decrease increase small change decrease ki decrease increase increase eliminate kd small change decrease decrease small change 6. intelligent controller (fuzzy logic controller) fuzzy logic is all about “the relative importance of precision” [10]. its importance is to be exactly right when a rough answer will do. a list of general observations about fuzzy logic: 1. fuzzy logic understanding is easy. its mathematical concepts are very simple. which makes fuzzy nice is the ”naturalness” of its approach and not its far-reaching complexity. 2. it is flexible. with any given system, it’s easy to massage it or layer more functionality on top of it without starting again from scratch. 3. fuzzy logic is tolerant of imprecise data. everything is imprecise if you look closely enough, but more than that, most things are imprecise even on careful inspection. fuzzy reasoning builds this understanding into the process rather than tacking it onto the end. 4. fuzzy logic can model nonlinear functions of arbitrary complexity. you can create a fuzzy system to match any set of input-output data. this process is made particularly easy by adaptive techniques like adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (anfis), which are available in the fuzzy logic toolbox. 5. fuzzy logic can be built on top of the experience of experts. in direct contrast to neural networks, which take training data and generate opaque, impenetrable models, fuzzy logic lets you rely on the experience of people who already understand your system. 6. fuzzy logic can be blended with conventional control techniques. fuzzy systems don’t necessarily replace conventional control methods. in many cases fuzzy systems augment them and simplify their implementation. 7. it is also based on natural language. the principal for fuzzy logic is the basis for human communication. this notice underpins many of the other statements about fuzzy logic. classical control theory requires a mathematical model of the system. while, fuzzy logic based control does not require a mathematical model since it is a rule based system. therefore it has an advantage over classical controller when it is applied to complex systems. it can be developed with minimal knowledge about the system dynamics. we’ll start with a little motivation for where we are headed. the point of fuzzy logic is to map an input space to an output space, and the primary mechanism for doing this is a list of if-then statements called rules. all rules are evaluated in parallel, and the order of the rules is unimportant. the rules themselves are useful because they refer to variables and the adjectives that describe those variables. before we can build a system that interprets rules, we have to define all the terms we plan on using and the adjectives that describe them. figure 3 is something like a roadmap for the fuzzy inference process. it shows the general description of a fuzzy system [10]. to summarize the concept of fuzzy inference depicted in this figure, “fuzzy inference is a method that interprets the values in the input vector and, based on some set of rules, assigns values to the output vector”. the key aspects of fuzzy logic are fuzzy sets, membership functions, linguistic variables, fuzzy rules and fuzzy reasoning. these topics will be discussed in detail in the following sections [10]. pg. 413 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 3. overview of fuzzy logic 6.1. fuzzy sets fuzzy logic starts with the concept of a fuzzy set. a fuzzy set is a set without a crisp, clearly defined boundary. it can contain elements with only a partial degree of membership. to understand what a fuzzy set is, first consider what is meant by what we might call a classical set. a classical set is a container that wholly includes or wholly excludes any given element. for example, the set of days of the week unquestionably includes monday, thursday, and saturday. it just as unquestionably excludes butter, liberty, and dorsal fins, and so on. we call this set a classical set because it has been around for such a long time. it was aristotle who first formulated the law of the excluded middle, which says x must either be in set a or in set not-a. in fuzzy logic, the truth of any statement becomes a matter of degree. a formal definition of a fuzzy set is, if x is a collection of objects denoted generically by x then a fuzzy set a in x is a set of ordered pairs [10]: a = { ( x,µx(x) x )εx } where µa(x) is called the grade of membership or membership function of x in a. an often used method for denoting a fuzzy set is a = ∑x1 ∈ xµa (xi) xi , i f x is discrete a = ∫ xµa(x) x , i f x is continous 6.2. linguistic variables linguistic variables are used to describe particular characteristics of a system. a linguistic variable is defined by [56] (x, t(x), u, g, m) where x is the name of the variable, t(x) is the set of names of linguistics values describing x over the universe of discourse u; g is a synthetic rule in the form of grammar for generating the name, x, of values of x, and m is a semantic rule for associating with each x its meaning. each particular synthetic rule generated by g is referred to as a term. as an example if temperature was the linguistic variable x and u = [30, 90], then the term set might be t (temperature) = {cold, comfortable, hot}. m is a rule that assigns a fuzzy set or membership function to a specific term. e.g. m(cold) = {(u,µcold(u))/u ∈u} g(x) is a rule designed by using expert knowledge, which is generates the labels of the terms i.e. cold, comfortable and hot. a graph of this linguistic variable temperature is shown in figure 4 [11]. it is to be noted that in our daily life most of the decisions are based on linguistic information rather than numerical pg. 414 mohamed / the academic research community publication values; then the use of the linguistic variables is an ideal way to characterize human behavior and decision analysis [11]. figure 4. membership function example 6.3. fuzzy rules fuzzy sets and fuzzy operators are the subjects and verbs of fuzzy logic. the if-then rule statements are used to formulate the conditional statements that comprise fuzzy logic. a single fuzzy if-then rule assumes the form if x is a then y is b where a and b are linguistic values defined by fuzzy sets on the ranges (universes of discourse) x and y, respectively. the if-part of the rule ”x is a” is called the antecedent or premise, while the then-part of the rule ”y is b” is called the consequent or conclusion. fuzzy rules also called as fuzzy if-then rules, fuzzy conditional statements or fuzzy implications are explained by using the fallowing example, x y small negative big large positive small using if-then statements if x is small then y is negative big if x is large then y is positive small statements of this type are known rather approximately as conditional statements with formal definitions, if x is a then y is b or symbolically a→b where a and b are linguistic sets defined by fuzzy sets on universe of discourse x and y, respectively. the antecedent or premise is “x is a” while “y is b” is consequence or conclusion. the relation a→ b represents a relation between two variables x and y. using this idea, a fuzzy rule is defined as a binary relation r found by the cartesian product depicted as, r (a→ b) = a × b the cartesian product is defined by the min. operator, a×b = ∫ min (µa (x) ,µb (y)) (x,y) or the algebraic operator [12] a×b = ∫ µa(x), µb (y) (x, y) pg. 415 mohamed / the academic research community publication thus the cartesian product x × y is characterized by the membership function µa(x, y) where each element (x, y) ∈ x × y [11]. 6.3.1. design of a fuzzy logic controller the designing a fuzzy logic controller consists of the following four steps: 1. fuzzification 2. rule design 3. computation 4. defuzzification the key steps involved in designing a fuzzy logic controller were examined [10]. they consist of, defining input and output variables, a knowledge base, fuzzy reasoning inference and a defuzzification procedure. figure 5 shows the basic elements of a fuzzy logic controller [11]. figure 5. fuzzy logic controller 6.3.1.1. input and output variables for a particular system the necessary input and output variables must be defined. no pre-defined procedure exists for defining the correct variable and relies on a thorough understanding of the plant being controlled and experimental procedures. if a controller for the plant has been already developed; this is often a good starting point for selecting the fuzzy input and output variables [11]. 6.3.1.2. knowledge base this consists of two parts: a data base which defines linguistic variables and their corresponding membership functions, and a rule base which uses the data base in the development of the fuzzy if-then rules [10]. 6.3.1.3. data base this consists of a set of input membership functions that defines each input and output variable. to arrive a data base for a fuzzy controller, the universe of discourse or interval spanned by each variable is partitioned into a number of fuzzy subsets with a linguistic label applied to each subset. for example the input to a fuzzy controller is acceleration, and then the corresponding linguistic variables can be portioned into fuzzy subsets named positive big (pb), positive small (ps), negative big (nb), negative small (ns), zero (ze), positive medium (pm), negative medium (nm). the number of fuzzy subsets must be decided using pg. 416 mohamed / the academic research community publication expert knowledge and or experimentation. additional fuzzy subsets improve control sensitivity at the expense of additional computational complexity [11]. 6.3.1.4. rule base a rule base is a group of fuzzy rules that define the controller output response given a particular set of inputs. the input conditions are the antecedent and the output conditions are the consequence of the fuzzy rules. depending on the system being controlled, anywhere from 9 rules to control an inverted pendulum, to as many as 105 rules may be necessary to control a truck and trailer system. lee gives four ways to derive fuzzy control rules [10] use expert experience and control engineering knowledge. based on operator’s control actions. based on the fuzzy model of a process. based on learning through experimentation. the most popular method is to use expert experience and control engineering knowledge. this procedure allows fuzzy control rules to relate state variables in the antecedent to process control variables in the consequence. however, it is necessary to have a general understanding of how a change in certain control input influences the system. one other increasingly popular method for developing fuzzy control rules is via an adaptive fuzzy rule system. normally called as adaptive-network-based-fuzzy inference system (anfis). this technique enables rules to be developed directly from training data. this procedure utilizes neural networks in the development of fuzzy control rules and the optimization of the corresponding membership functions. 7. simulation a conical tank control process considered here has nonlinear characteristics and can be represented as piecewise linearized regions around four operating regions as shown in table 2. block diagram shown in fig. 4 for the conical tank process system was created by using matlab simulink software. the system simulation response is analyzed for 40% to 100% valve opening. 8. pid simulation figure 6. pid simulink of council tank pg. 417 mohamed / the academic research community publication 9. flc simulation figure 7. a) simulink block diagram for non linear conical process tank figure 8. (b) subsystem tank figure 9. (a) – (c) shows membership values (a) membershiperror e(t) following five rules are used to make up the rule base of flc: rule 1: if an error is okay then valve is no change rule 2: if an error is positive, then valve is open fast rule 3: if an error is negative, then valve is closely fast rule 4: if an error is okay and rate is positive, then the valve is closer slow rule 5: if an error is okay and rate is negative, then valve is closely fast. pg. 418 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 10. (b) membership of rate of error figure 11. (c) membership of input flow u(t) fig.5. shows the corresponding rule editor window in the matlab fuzzy logic toolbox. fig.9 shows the rule editor window in matlab flc toolbox. figure 12. fuzzy rules pg. 419 mohamed / the academic research community publication 10. results and discussion we find that the advantages and disadvantages of pid control and fizzy control just offset each other. we can use fuzzy controller for rapid control (coarse adjustment) and then use pid controller for accurate control (fine tune). as seen from table 4, compared with pid control program, the overshoot is less in fuzzy curve. settling time reduces. the result of the simulation shows that as far as no balance and complex mathematical models, such a fuzzy control is similar to the human way of thinking. and it is suitable for coarse control at the beginning of the operation to rapidly control. and in order to get better 25 control accuracy, pid control program used as a fine tune. on the other hand, the fuzzy and pid control program presented has a wide practical value because of the fuzzy control program does not rely on the mathematical model. the responses of level control of conical tank using matlab, simulink are as shown above. the simulation shows the simulated results of the zn tuning method. from the simulated results step response for 40% step input is better than 60%, 80% and 100% in terms of time domain specifications. 60% step response also shows better results closer to 40% step change. then results show the response of flc on simulation. the controller stabilizes at the desired water level very quickly. in the fourth region in pid the system shows the high non-linearity process, flc shows critical system. 10.1. pid results figure 13. step response for 40% step input figure 14. step response for 60% step input pg. 420 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 15. stepresponse for 80% step input figure 16. stepresponse for 100% step input 10.2. flc results figure 17. step response for 40% step input pg. 421 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 18. step response for 60% step input figure 19. step response for 80% step input figure 20. step response for 100% step input table 4. comparion of pid & flc no rise time setting time peak time max overshoots 1 pid 50 78 60 1.33 2 60 90 60 1.55 3 55 70 60 1.45 1 flc 13 38 20 1.1 2 20 40 29 1.09 3 20 48 25 1.1 pg. 422 mohamed / the academic research community publication 11. conclusion non-linearity of the conical tank is observed and the model is implemented with the help of matlab. level control of the tank is checked by both pid controller and fuzzy logic controller. from the simulation results we can observe that fuzzy logic controller gives fast response with less number of oscillations when subjected to change in the level of the conical tank compare to pid controller and it enhances the performance of the system. 12. references 1. sung, s.w.; and lee, i.-b. (1996). limitations and countermeasures of pid controllers. industrial & engineering chemistry research, 35(8), 2596-2610. 2. ziegler, g. and nichols, n. b,”optimum settings for automatic controllers”, trans. asme, 64,759-768, 1942. 3. astrom, k j.;.hagglund .t, , “ automatic tuning of simple regulators with specifications on phase and amplitude margins”, automatica, 20,645+a651, 1984. 4. g.h cohen and g.a coon: “theoretical consideration of retarded control “, trans asme 75,pp.827/834,1953. 5. o.safarzadeh, a.kahki sedigh and a.s.shirani, ‘identification and robust water level 6. control of horizontal steam generators using quantitative feedback theory’, energy 7. conversion and management, vol.52, pp.3103-3111, 2011. 8. s.nithya, n.sivakumaran, t.k.radhakrishnan and n.anantharaman” soft computing based controllers implementation for non-linear process in real time” proceedings of the world congress on engineering and computer science(wcecs )2010,vol – 2. 9. s. mouleeswaran, development of active suspension system for automobiles using pid controller, proceedings of the world congress on engineering 2008 vol ii wce 2008, july 2 4, 2008, london, u.k. 10. http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/2.4/html/common integrator concepts.html. 11. h. imine, a. benallegue, t. madani and s. srairi, “rollover risk prediction of an instrumented heavy vehicle using high order sliding mode observer”, 2009 ieee international conference on robotics and automation, kobe, japan. 12. the mathworks inc . ”fuzzy logic toolbox for use with matlab”, the mathworks inc., 2004. 13. http://www.scribd.com/doc/22786677/quarter-car-vehicle-suspension system-using-fuzzy-logic-controller. 14. gao, w.zhang, n.du, h. p.”a half-car model for dynamic analysis of vehicles with random parameters” the fifth australasian congress on applied mechanics (acam 2007), brisbane, australia, vol.149, no. 163. pp.595-600, december 10-12, 2007. pg. 423 introduction application description mathematical model of conical tank volume variation is the difference between the inflow and the outflow and it depends on the discharge coefficient , as follows: control description pid controller intelligent controller (fuzzy logic controller) fuzzy sets linguistic variables fuzzy rules design of a fuzzy logic controller simulation pid simulation flc simulation results and discussion pid results flc results conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i4.397 a proposed heuristic optimization algorithm for detecting network attacks amr hassan yassin1, hany hamdy hussien2 11lecturer, electronics & communication, engineering department, alexandria higher institute of engineering and technology 2lecturer, higher institute of management science and advanced computing, el-beheira, egypt. abstract due to the exponential growth of e-business and computing capabilities over the web for a pay-for-use groundwork, the risk factors regarding security issues also increase rapidly. as the usage increases, it becomes very difficult to identify malicious attacks since the attack patterns change. therefore, host machines in the network must continually be monitored for intrusions since they are the final endpoint of any network. the purpose of this work is to introduce a generalized neural network model that has the ability to detect network intrusions. two recent heuristic algorithms inspired by the behavior of natural phenomena, namely, the particle swarm optimization (pso) and gravitational search (gsa) algorithms are introduced. these algorithms are combined together to train a feed forward neural network (fnn) for the purpose of utilizing the effectiveness of these algorithms to reduce the problems of getting stuck in local minima and the time-consuming convergence rate. dimension reduction focuses on using information obtained from nsl-kdd cup 99 data set for the selection of some features to discover the type of attacks. detecting the network attacks and the performance of the proposed model are evaluated under different patterns of network data. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 1. introduction the field of computer security has turned into an extremely important issue for computer network systems through the fast growing of the computer networks over the web which might be under risk for unauthorized and intrusion process. intrusion detection is the procedure to perceive all security issues through watching and breaking down the occasions emerging in a pc or system framework and can give a react to the unapproved activities (yu, wang, & xi, 2008). securing networks from interruptions or assaults is turning out to be more troublesome as the system innovations are expanding rapidly. the quantity of distributed denial of service (ddos) attacks has expanded by 90% , while the normal attacks span expanded by 28% (wahba, el salamouny, & el taweel, 2015).associations frequently convey a firewall as a first line of resistance keeping in mind the end goal to shield their private system from malicious attacks, however there are a few approaches to sidestep the firewall which makes intrusion detection framework a moment line of barrier and an approach to screen the system activity for any conceivable danger or unlawful activity. the performance of intrusion detection system (ids) can be improved by using the feature selection methods, pg. 481 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ yassin / the academic research community publication which become essential step through reducing the list of features. feature selection can effect on the most classification algorithms by reducing the learning time, and improving the prescient accuracy result (wahba, el salamouny, & el taweel, 2015). the remainder of this work is structured as follows. part 2 surveys previous work about intrusion detection methods. part 3 describes the nsl-kdd dataset. part 4 summaries the feature selection methods. the classification phase is described in part 5. the introduced algorithm for ids is presented in part 6. part 7 reports the experimental results and finally the conclusion is presented in the last section. 2. related work classification, clustering and regression techniques have been used for intrusion detection systems. several classification and clustering-based techniques have been studied for the design of intrusion detection system (ids). a multilayer perceptron (mlp) and support vector machine was used in (tang & cao, 2009) as different approach for intrusion detection. the average detection rate for various attacks obtain that the svm is better than nn. they used kdd cup’99 data set for their experiments. distributed time delay artificial neural network (dtdnn) was selected in (ibrahim, 2010) as classification techniques for intrusion detection. they used kdd cup’99 data set for their experiments. the classification rate was high accuracy. for intrusion detection, authors use multi-layer neural networks and naı̈ve bayes as classification algorithm in (ibrahim, badr, & shaheen, 2012). they used gain ratio as features selection algorithms for select best features in each layer. a three-layer and naı̈ve bayes classifier was used in (sharma & mukherjee, 2012) as a classification algorithm for enhance the awareness of the intrusion detection through using the domain knowledge and the backward sequential elimination (bse) as feature selection technique. they used nsl-kdd dataset for their experiments. in (wahba, el salamouny, & el taweel, 2015) authors proposed an improved approach for intrusion detection based on correlation-based feature selection and information gain hybrid as feature selection methods and naı̈ve bayes as the classification algorithm using reduced nsl-kdd dataset. a hybrid multilevel network was selected in (majeed, hashem, & gbashi, 2013) for intrusion detection system. the system can detect both misuse and anomaly types through using support vector machine and ann as a multilevel classification methods based on principle component analysis (pca) as feature selection algorithm on nsl-kdd data set. in (ahmad, abdulah, alghamdi, alnfajan, & hussain, 2015) authors proposed a multilayer perceptron (mlp) for classification the intrusion detection system using genetic algorithm (ga) for features selection on dd cup’99 data set. the method is able to reduce the feature numbers and score high detection rate, which act as prime intrusion detection mechanism. a combination algorithm used the bayes net, naive bayes, random tree, part, c4.5, and attribute selected classifier in (parvat & chandra, 2015) as a machine learning algorithm. used 20% kdd cup’99 data set for their experiments. the purposed work improved the more accuracy as well as the time complexity. a simple classification algorithm (nearest neighbor classifier) and feature selection technique (ant colony optimization) was used in (aghdam & kabiri, 2016) for intrusion detection system. the general experimental results on the kdd cup 99 and nsl-kdd data sets providing higher accuracy in detecting intrusion attempts and lower false alarm with reduced number of features. a new hybrid algorithm for classification and features selection was proposed in (sadek, soliman & elsayed, 2013). the neural network based on indicator variable used as classification method, while rough set method used as feature selection. the experiments result on nsl-kdd dataset provided high detection accuracy with low false alarm rate as better and robust performance. pg. 482 yassin / the academic research community publication 3. dataset description the kdd cup 99 dataset has many disadvantages (kaushik & deshmukh, 2011) which discovered through different statistical analyses. nsl-kdd data set (brunswick, 2017) is an enhanced version of the kdd data set which contains the main recodes of the all kdd data set. nsl-kdd dataset has many advantages : the redundant records are removed from the train set to enable the classifiers to not produce any unfair result. the duplicated records are removed to produce better reduction rates. the records have a sufficient number in the train and test data sets to execute experiments on the complete set. selection procedure of records from each group in the original kdd data set is characterized by the number of these records. in each record there isa number of attributes (here 41) indicates different features of the network flow and a label assigned to each either can be classified into an attack type or as normal. the details of the nsl-kdd dataset are listed in the table 1, 2, 3, and 4. table 1. essential features of each network connection att. no. attribute name description sample data 1 duration time connection duration 0 2 protocol type protocol used in connection tcp 3 service destination network services ftp data 4 flag status of the connection sf 5 src bytes amount of data transferred from source to destination 491 6 dst bytes amount of data transferred from destination to source 0 7 land status 1(source, destination, port equal) 0 (else) 0 8 wrong fragment wrong fragment number 0 9 urgent urgent packet numbers (bit activated) 0 table 2. content related features of each network connection vector att. no. attribute name description sample data 10 hot enter system & execute program 0 11 num failed logins attempts login filed number 0 12 logged in status 1(success) 0 (failed) 0 13 num compromised no. of negotiated conditions 0 14 root shell status 1(done) 0 (failed) 0 15 su attempted status 1(done) 0 (failed) 0 16 num root no. of operations in connection 0 17 num file creations no. of file creation in connection 0 18 num shells no. of shell prompts 0 19 num access files no. of operations access control 0 20 num outbound cmds no. of outbound command in ftp session 0 continued on next page pg. 483 yassin / the academic research community publication table 2 continued 21 is hot login status 1(hot login) 0 (otherwise) 0 22 is guest login status 1(guest login) 0 (otherwise) 0 table 3. network connection time traffic features att. no. attribute name description sample data 23 count amount of connections (same destination) 2 24 srv count amount of connections (same services + same port) 2 25 serror rate percentage of connections ( active flag ) in count 0 26 srv serror rate percentage of connections ( active flag 4) in srv count 0 27 rerror rate percentage of connections ( active flag ) in count 0 28 srv rerror rate percentage of connections (active flag 4) in srv count 0 29 same srv rate percentage of connections (same services) 1 30 diff srv rate percentage of connections (different services) 0 31 srv diff host rate percentage of connections (different destination) 0 table 4. network connection host traffic features att. no. attribute name description sample data 32 dst host count no. of connections ( same destination) 150 33 dst host srv count no. of connections ( same port) 25 34 dst host same srv rate percentage of connections ( same services) in 32 0.17 35 dst host diff srv rate percentage of connections (different services) in 32 0.03 36 dst host same src port rate percentage of connections ( same source) in 33 0.17 37 dst host srv diff host rate percentage of connections (different destination) in 33 0 38 dst host serror rate percentage of connections (active flag 4) in 32 0 39 dst host srv serror rate percentage of connections (active flag 4) in 33 0 continued on next page pg. 484 yassin / the academic research community publication table 4 continued 40 dst host rerror rate percentage of connections (active flag 4 rej) in 32 0.05 41 dst host srv rerror rate percentage of connections (active flag 4 rej) in 33 0 4. feature selection the process of getting and accessing small and suitable data from collection of large data is called features selection which has a unique interest inside the data mining field. it’s significant part to get more performance and accurate results for selected data. feature choosing, as a process of selecting related depended features for novel features based on some defined conditions, which may be considered as a decrease technique for data mining. feature selection process contains four primary operations: subset generation, subset estimation, stopping criteria, and final results testing and verification. the subset generation services is a process act as search method that defined the strategy of the search based on specific candidate feature subsets. the candidate partition is evaluated and compared with the earlier one which removed if the new one is better based on evaluation criteria, this process is repeated until a specific stooping factor completed. the feature selection method can be used in many artificial area with three main categories (witten, frank & hall, 2005) the filter, wrapper, and hybrid models. features selection has many benefits: overfitting reduction: less redundant data means less opportunity to make decisions based on noise. accuracy is increased: less misleading data means modeling accuracy improves. training time reduction: less data means that algorithms train faster. 4.1. genetic algorithms ga is a general random search method, able to discovering large search spaces efficiently, which used basically for attribute selection. genetic algorithms (ga) search from a population of points to find a global maximum or minimum of a function. unlike many other local search techniques, there is always a chance of escaping from local maxima or minima. the gas algorithm is a simulated of the natural systems for evolutions as the principle of “survival of the fittest” given by charles darwin (goldberg, 1989). the processes of the genetic algorithm are: reproduction: selection process for subset of the input attributes (better string). crossover: combination process for the selected attributes for generating better offspring’s. mutation: modification process for the local string attribute for creating a better string. the string attribute have two binary bit values, 1 represent selected and 0 represent non-selected, while the population is evaluated and tested for termination of the algorithm at each generation. when the criteria of the termination are not accomplished, the population is run based on the three ga processes and then checked. this process is repeated for specified number of generation. 4.2. weka tool weka (waikato environment for knowledge analysis) is a freeware tool designed for machine learning and preprocessing tools such as classification, regression, clustering, association rules, and visualization (dhanjibhai serasiya & chaudhary, 2012). pg. 485 yassin / the academic research community publication 4.3. feature selection algorithm the feature selection algorithm contains many steps to select the best related features based on ga algorithm as shown in figure. 1. 4.4. selected attributes the selected attributes are (15): service, flag, src bytes, dst bytes, logged in, num root, num shells, serror rate, srv serror rate, same srv rate, diff srv rate, srv diff host rate, dst host same src port rate, dst host srv diff host rate, dst host serror rate. 5. classification phase neural networks have been ended up being fruitful in mapping input patterns to specific yields. finding a legitimate arrangement of weights and topology for a system to deliver a craved element can be viewed as an optimization problem. figure 1. feature selection steps. evolutionary algorithms (eas) have been appeared to be great at optimization problem solving (rahmani, 2008). the artificial neuron is charchterized by inputs, having some weights associated with them; an input function which calculates the total net input signal to a neuron coming from all its inputs; and an activation function, which determines the activation level of a neuron as a function of its input. an output signal equal to the activation value is produced through the output of the neuron. the evolutionary algorithms (eas) can be used in optimization problem solving using the artificial neural network (anns) with ideal design through changing the weights, structure, and learning parameters (yu, wang, & xi, 2008). one of the recent techniques is gravitational search algorithm (gsa). this technique is considerd as heuristic optimization procedure inspired from the law of gravity and mass interactions. it should be remarked that this algorithm has an effiecient capability to search for the global optimum, but expierinces slow convergence in the last iterations. gsa contains a collection of agents (candidate solutions) that have masses related with objective function value (fitness). all masses attract each other during the generations by the gravity forces between them, the weightier mass has the bigger attraction force. so, the heaviest mass attracted the other masses with the amount of space between this heaviest mass and the attracted masses. gsa agents consists of four parameters: position, inertial mass, active gravitational mass and passive gravitational mass (mirjalili, hashim, & sardroudi, 2012) the position of the mass represents the solution of the problem and the inertial and the gravitational masses are determined by the objective function. masses are attracted by the heaviest mass. hence, the heaviest mass presents an optimum pg. 486 yassin / the academic research community publication solution in the search space. particle swarm optimization (pso) is another global optimization procedure by kennedy and eberhart (1995). pso inspired by the social behavior of bird flocking. pso search process used a swarm that contains a number of particles which move to best solution at the search space based on their own best position (xbest) and the best position of the swarm (gbest) (ibrahim, badr, & shaheen, 2012). each particle has two important parameters, velocity (vi), and its position (pi) as a possible solution (mirjalili, hashim, & sardroudi, 2012). each particle starts at a random position in the n dimensional search space of the optimization problem. determination of the best particle relies upon the objective function which is modeled mathematically by the user. depending on the velocity of the particle, the (xbest) and (gbest) will be updated toward the best solution(wahba, el salamouny, & el taweel, 2015). the velocity (vi) of each particle is updated as shown in (1). while maximum number of iterations or minimum error criteria is not obtained. vin (t +1) =w ×vin (t)+c1,i r1 (xibest (t)−pi (t))+c2,i r2 (xgbest (t)−pi (t)) (1) where: vin (t+1): the new velocity of particle i in the dimension n. w: the weighting function (considered as a random number within [0,1]). vin: old velocity of particle i in the dimension n. cj,i: acceleration coefficient for the particle i. c1,i: cognitive learning value for particle i. c2,i: social learning value for particle i. r1,r2: random numbers within [0,1]. xibest: optimum or best position that particle iin dimension n at time t. xgbest(t): optimum or best solution found by the entire population at time t. pi (t): current position of the ith particle at generation t. the position of the particle is updated using equation (2) as follows xi (t +1) = xi (t)+vi (t) (2) where: xi (t+1) new position of particle i in the dimension n. xi (t) old or previous position for particle i at time t. vi (t) denotes the old velocity of particle i in the dimension n. figure 2. steps of the pso algorithm pg. 487 yassin / the academic research community publication pso starts in a random way by placing the particles in a search space related to a specific problem. at each iteration step, the velocities of particles are calculated using equation (1). the positions of particles are calculated by equation (2) after the velocities are defined. this process is repeated until stopping criteria is accomplished. the main steps of pso algorithm are indicated in figure 2 above. gravitational search algorithm is a new experiential optimization method which inspired from newton’s theory that states: “every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them” (newton, 1729). by generations, all the gsa masses which related to the objective function value are attracted to each other through the gravity forces, and the heavier mass close to the global optimum attract. the gsa algorithm parameters begin at random by setting all the agents in the search space. throughout iterative procedure, the gravitational forces from agent j on agent i at a specific time t are updated by equation (3) as follows: fd i j (t) = g(t) mpi (t)×ma j (t) ri j (t)+ ε (xd j (t)−xd i (t)) (3) where: ma j is the active gravitational mass related to agent j, mpi is the passive gravitational mass related to agent i, g(t) is gravitational constant at time t, ε is a small constant, and ri j(t) is the euclidian distance between two agents i and j. the g(t) is computed by equation (4): g(t) = g0× exp(− ∝ × iter maxiter ) (4) where ∝ and g0 are descending coefficient and initial value respectively, and iter : is the current iteration, maxiter: is maximum number of iterations. in a search space with the dimension d, the total force that acts on an agent i is computed using (5): fd i (t) = ∑ n j=1, j 6=1rand j fd i j (t) (5) where rand j is a random number in the interval [0,1]. baesd on the law of motion, the acceleration of an agent is proportional to the result force and inverse of its mass, therefore the acceleration of all agents can be calculated using equation (6): acd i (t) = fd i (t) mii(t)′ (6) where t is a specific time and mi is the mass of object i. the velocity and position of agents are calculated as follows equation (7) & (8): veld i (t +1) = randi×veld i (t)+acd i (t) (7) xd i (t +1) = xd i (t)+acveld i (t +1) (8) where randi is a random number located in the interval [0,1]. pg. 488 yassin / the academic research community publication all masses in gsa are initialized with basic values, then the velocities values for all masses are determined by (7), while the gravitational constant, total forces, and accelerations values are obtained using relations (4) and (5) independently one by one at the same time. the positions of masses are determined by (8). lastly , the gsa will not stop until the end criteria are accomplished. the steps of the gsa algorithm are described in figure 3. a hybrid pso with gsa are used using low-level co-evolutionary heterogeneous method’s. the basic idea of psogsa is to combine the ability of social thinking (gbest) in pso with the local search capability of gsa using equation (9). vi (t +1) =w ×vi (t)+c ′ 1× rand×aci(t)+c ′ 2× rand(gbest− xi (t)) (9) where vi(t) :is the velocity of agent i at iteration t, c ′ j :is a weighting factor, w : is a weighting function, rand : is a random number between 0 and 1, aci(t): is the acceleration of agent i at iteration t, and gbest : is the best solution so far. the positions of particles are updated on each iteration, using equation (10): xi (t +1) = xi (t)+ vi (t +1) (10) all agents in psogsa are randomly initialized. then the gravitational force, gravitational constant, and resultant forces, among agents are determined by equation (3), (4), and (5), and the accelerations of particles are determined by equation (6). at each iteration, the best solution only will be updated and the velocities values of all agents are determined by (9). at last, the positions of all agents are calculated using equation (10). the value of solutions (fitness) in psogsa is updating and the agents near by appropriate solutions attempt to induce the other agents in the search problem. the agents move very slowly when they are near the good solution. psogsa use a memory (gbest) to save the best solution has found so far. by correcting the c ′ 1 and c ′ 2 values, the capabilities of global search and local search can be equally adjusted , and each agent can detect the best solution and go near it. 6. the proposed model in this paper, both particle swarm optimization (pso) and gravitational search algorithm (gsa) wereadapted to neural network to get the optimum weights and biases that give minimum error and higher classification rate for the feed-forward neural network (ffnn). with the aim of investigating the algorithm ffnn-pso or ffnn-gsa, the following essential parameters have to be clarified. first, an objective function using the error of the ffnn should be introduced to determine particles’ fitness in ffnn-pso and agents’ in ffnn-gsa. second, an encoding strategy should be defined to encode the weights and biases of the ffnn for the particles of the ffnn-pso and the agents of the ffnngsa. all steps of the proposed model are shown in figure 4. pg. 489 yassin / the academic research community publication figure 3. steps of the gsa algorithm figure 4. steps of the hybrid psogsa algorithm pg. 490 yassin / the academic research community publication 6.1. the related objective function the objective function can be described as follows: the neural network ffnn has three layers (1 input with n nodes , 1 hidden with h nodes, and 1 output layer with h nodes). the output of each hidden node at each epoch of learning process is given by equation (11) , (12): f (s j) = 1/(+exp(−(∑n i=1wi jxi +b j))) (11) for j=1,2,. . . .,h s j = ∑ n i=1wi jxi +b j (12) where (n) value is the number of the input nodes,(wij)value is the connection weight from the ith node in the input layer to the jth node in the hidden layer, bj is the bias (threshold) of the jth hidden node, and xi is the ith input. after calculating outputs of the hidden nodes, the final output can be defined in equation (13): ok = ∑ k i=1wk j f (s j)+bk (13) where (wkj) value is the connection of weight from the (jth) hidden node to the (kth) output node, and (bk) is the bias (threshold) value of the (kth) output node. the learning error ek is obtained by equation (14) ek = ∑ m i=1(o k i −dk i ) 2 (14) where (q) value is the number of training samples, (dik) value is the desired output of the ith input item when the (kth)vlaue is used, and (yik) is the real output value of the ith input item when the( kth)value is used.so, the fitness function of the (ith) training example using equation (15): fit(xi ) = e(xi ) (15) 6.2. equations of gsa 6.2.1. setting the agents setting the position value of (n) number of agents randomly by (16): xi = (xl i , ...,x d i , ...,x n i ) (16) for i=1,2,....,n xi represents value the positions of the ith agent in the dth dimension, while n is the space dimension. calculating the best and worst fitness for all agents at each iteration for minimization problems so that to achieve the fitness evolution value by equation (17), (18): best(t) = min f it j (t) (17) worst(t) = max f it j (t) (18) j=1,....,n the fit j(t) value is the fitness value of the (jth) agent at iteration t, the best (t) value is the best fitnessat iteration t, while the worst (t) value is the worst fitnessat iteration t. pg. 491 yassin / the academic research community publication 6.2.2. estimating the gravitational constant the gravitational constant value gc(t) at iteration t is given by equation (19): gc(t) = go eα(−t/t ) (19) where : (α) value is the descending coefficient, ( go )value is the initial gravitational constant, (t) value is the current iteration, while (t) value is the maximum number of iterations. 6.2.3. the masses of agents are calculated as follows: the gravitational and inertia masses values for each agent are at iteration (t) are obtained using equation (20) , (21) and (22): mai = mpi = mii = m i f or i = 1,2, ..n (20) mi(t) = f iti(t)−worst(t) best(t)−worst(t) (21) mi(t) = mi(t) ∑ n j=1 m j(t) (22) the active and passive gravitational masses values are mai and mpi, and the inertia mass value of the ith agent (miiis), and the mass value of object i is mi. acceleration of agents is obtained by determining the values of fd i (t) ( the total force acting) on ith agent by equation (23) , (24): fd i (t) = rand j fd i j (t) (23) fd i j = gc(t).(mpi(t)×ma j(t)/ri j(t)+ ε).(xd j(t)− xd i (t)) (24) where ε is a small constant and rij is the euclidian distance between two agents i and j and it is calculated using equation (25): ri j(t) = ‖xi (t),x j (t)‖2 (25) acceleration of the ithagents ai at iteration t is obtained from equation (26): ad i (t) = fd i (t)/mii(t) (26) 6.2.4. updating the speed and positions of agents: determining the speed and the position of the agents at the next iteration (t+1) is achieved by equation (27) , (28) as follows: vd i (t +1) = randi× vd i (t)+ad i (t) (27) xd i (t +1) = xd i (t)+ vd i (t +1) (28) social thinking capability (gbest) of pso algoirhtm and local search capability of gsa were grouped together in psogsa. all agents are initialized randomly, then the values of gravitational force, gravitational constant, and resultant forces are calculated . the accelerations of elements are defined in equation (20).at each iteration, the best solution is updated and the velocities values of all agents are calculated using equation (27). at last, the agents positions are updated using equation (28). updating the value of velocities and the positions will stop when conditions are met. pg. 492 yassin / the academic research community publication 7. simulated results and model verification exermienatl reuslts was run on matlab 2015a environment using core i5 processor, and 4 gb of ram.the last stage in the intrusion detection system is classification. in this work the classification stage is implemented using ffnn-gsa and ffnn-pso. table 5 show the training results of the feed-forward neural network with the opmtiziation techqniue gsa and pso for the intrusion detection process based on 16626 record of training nsl-kdd dataset samples. the reuslts are measured by the mean square error (mse) and the classification rate. with many number of iterations the neural network structure of ffnn for both pso and gsa are as follows: 2-layers input neural network with 71 neurons, hidden layer with 8 neurons, and output layer with 10 neurons. at the start of trainig neural network the weights are initialized randomly, which may casue corrupt recognition that improved after number of iteration. by increasing the number of iterations, the mse decreases, the classification rate increases and the time consumed increases. increasing the swarm size and the number of masses enhances the classification rate. table 5 illustrates the test accuracy of the classification model with and without the ga feature selection technique. the combination of gsa-pso feed forward algorithm has the best recognition rate against other algorithms with ga feature selection, while fnn pso algorithm has the best result without the ga feature selection. it should be noted that, dealing with 15 features is better than dealing with 41 features in classification, mse error, and processing time. table 5. comparison of recognition rate & mse values of various classification algorithms classification algorithm (2000iterations) test accuracy (%) with 41 features test accuracy (%) with 15 features recognition rate (%) mse time(seconds) recognition rate (%) mse time(seconds) fnn pso 94.0667 0.0060613 2237 96.9333 0.053256 895 fnn gsa 81.675 0.093597 2500 97.2 0.042981 1000 fnn gsapso 90 .5 0.13776 3367 98.966 0.00091032 1347 figure 5. the recognition rate for the classification algorithms pg. 493 yassin / the academic research community publication 8. conclusion the intrusion detection systems are utilized to distinguish the attacks coming towards the basic information of the client. an introduced optimized neural network model is based on studying the intrusion detection features and select the most important features only which creating an optimal intrusion detection system. this system is based on combination of gsa and pso with feed forward neural network ffnn classifier with feature selection. the classification proposed system is established by three different optimization algorithms with certain ga as feature selection method in weka program. getting the optimum performance for the classification process is our major goal, which has been done. the best algorithm performance based on ga feature selection is fnn gsa-pso classifier with an actuary of 98.96 % and the process time is 1347 sec. for the model. while fnn gsa-pso without any feature selection algorithm has the lowest average error 0.13776compared to others. generating an intelligent agent fire toward the infected packet with other new different classification algorithms in a real time environment will be our future work. 9. references 1. aghdam, m. h., & kabiri, p. (2016). feature selection for intrusion detection system using ant colonyoptimization. international journal of network security, 18(3), 420-432. 2. ahmad, i., abdulah, a. b., alghamdi, a. s., alnfajan, k., & hussain, m. (2015). feature subset selection for network intrusion detection mechanism using genetic eigen vectors. international conference on telecommunication technology and applications (csit), 5. 3. brunswick, u. o. (2017). retrieved from http://nsl.cs.unb.ca/nsl-kdd/ dhanjibhai serasiya, s., & chaudhary, n. (2012). simulation of various classifications results using weka. international journal of recent technology and engineering (ijrte) issn: 2277-3878, 1(3), 155-160. 4. goldberg, d. (1989). genetic algorithms in search, optimization, and machine learning. addison wesley. 5. ibrahim, h. e., badr, s. m., & shaheen, m. a. (2012). adaptive layered approach using machine learning techniques with gain ratio for intrusion detection systems. international journal of computer applications (0975 – 8887), 56(7), 10-16. 6. ibrahim, l. (2010). anomaly network intrusion detection system based on distributed time-delay neural network(dtdnn). journal of engineering science and technology, 5(4), 457 – 471. 7. kaushik, s. s., & deshmukh, p. r. (2011). detection of attacks in an intrusion detection system. international journal of computer science and information technologies (ijcsit), 2(3), 982-986. 8. kennedy, j., & eberhart, r. (1995). particle swarm optimization. proc. ieee int. jt. conf. neural networks, 4(6), 1942–1948. 9. majeed, s. k., hashem, s. h., & gbashi, i. k. (2013). propose hmnids hybrid multilevel network intrusion detection system. ijcsi international journal of computer science issues, 10(5), 200-208. 10. mirjalili, s., hashim, s. z. m., & sardroudi, h. m. (2012). training feedforward neural networks using hybrid particle swarm optimization and gravitational search algorithm. appl. math. comput., 1125–11137. 11. newton, i. (1729). in experimental philosophy particular propositions are inferred from the phenomena and afterwards rendered general by induction. andrew motte’s english translation. 12. parvat, t. j., & chandra, p. (2015). modeling intrusion detection systems with machine learning and selected attributes. journal of multidisciplinary engineering science and technology (jmest), 2(6), 1553-1557. 13. rahmani, m. (2008). particle swarm optimization of artificial neural networks for autonomous robots. chalmers university of technolog. 14. sadek, r. a., soliman, m. s., & elsayed, h. s. (2013). effective anomaly intrusion detection system based on neural network with indicator variable and rough set reduction. ijcsi international journal of computer science issues, 10(6), 227-233. 15. sharma, n., & mukherjee, s. (2012). a layered appoach to enhance detection of novel attacks in ids. international journal of advances in engineering & technology, 4(2), 444-455. pg. 494 yassin / the academic research community publication 16. tang, h., & cao, z. (2009). machine learning-based intrusion detection algorithms. journal of computational information systems(5:6), 1825-1831. 17. wahba, y., el salamouny, e., & el taweel, g. (2015). ijcsi international journal of computer science issues, 12(3), 255-262. 18. wang, d., yeung, d. s., & tsang, e. c. (2007). weighted mahalanobis distance kernels for support vector machines. ieee transactions on neural networks, 18(5), 1453-1462. 19. witten, i. h., frank, e., & hall, m. a. (2005). data mining: practical machine learning tools and techniques. morgan kaufmann, elsevier inc. 20. yu, j., wang, s., & xi, l. (2008). evolving artificial neural networks using an improved pso and dpso. neurocomputing, 71(4-6), 1054–1060. pg. 495 introduction related work dataset description feature selection genetic algorithms weka tool feature selection algorithm selected attributes classification phase the proposed model the related objective function equations of gsa setting the agents estimating the gravitational constant the masses of agents are calculated as follows: updating the speed and positions of agents: simulated results and model verification conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication the role of architectural education in promoting urban heritage: opportunities and challenges mona helmy1 1assistant professor, chair, architecture department at dar al-hekma university, jeddah, ksa abstract today, introducing urban heritage into the architectural education curriculum is becoming an important component of the learning experience. it strengthens the sense of belonging, national pride, and cultural identity of students as an active and remarkable part of their history that guides their future. urban heritage allows previous generations a better understanding of their long and rich history. the main objective for introducing urban heritage into the architectural education was to link heritage practice with teaching and research activities, as well as to create synergies between the educational activities and the surrounding community in order to ensure the preservation and the appreciation of the heritage. as part of hekma school of design and architecture, the architecture department at dar al-hekma university reflected its mission “to graduate professionals in the field of architecture and equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills, focusing on sustainable design while preserving the cultural and aesthetic values of saudi arabia.” within the curriculum. the mission was materialized through a set of interdisciplinary and co-curricular activities and initiatives for the promotion, conservation and revitalization of urban heritage in saudi arabia. those actions were determined to create a dynamic environment for social, cultural and economic development at large. the plan was also to strengthen students’ appreciation of urban heritage through the sharing and exchanging of knowledge, skills, and experience between the pedagogical activities and the real practices for mutual enrichment. often, each activity was dedicated to a given heritage theme. the activities are structured in thematic subjects covering many areas, such as heritage and sustainable development, theory and practices of conservation, adaptive re-use of heritage buildings, inter-disciplinary research investigations, heritage for dialogue, and reconciliation, among other themes. the creation of the architecture curriculum in the fields of urban heritage was the first step to share knowledge and competencies, and to encourage professors’ and students’ participation in heritage safeguarding projects. besides, this program tends to promote inter-cultural dialogues through heritage appreciation. the paper investigates the challenges associated with studying heritage in architecture, as well as opportunities for students to be more excited about studying heritage, develop their skills, and be self-motivated. it is expected that the paper will analyze dar al-hekma university educational experience in integrating urban heritage within the architectural education curriculum among other national and international experiences. it will evaluate related teaching approaches and draw thoughtful conclusions in order to use this unique pedagogical process and learning outcomes in enhancing the heritage appreciation and its practices. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords dar al-hekma university; urban heritage; architectural education pg. 196 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i3.359 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ helmy / the academic research community publication 1. introduction heritage is something inherited from a generation to another. the definition of the heritage in oxford english dictionary is “valued objects and qualities such as historic buildings and cultural traditions that have been passed down from previous generations”. there are different types of heritage, such as, cultural heritage, urban heritage, etc. heritage might be tangible or intangible. its tangible part includes countries/cities natural heritage, urban heritage, such as historic sites and/or historic buildings, etc. while its intangible part refers to cultural heritage and traditions, ideas, beliefs, memories, art, crafts, and dance among many other elements. as per tonkin (2011), “everything which the ancestors bequeath may be called heritage: landscapes, structures, objects, traditions.” preserving, excavating, displaying, or restoring are all practices connected with heritage. people’s identity is being characterized according to their heritage among other factors. people are learning and being influenced by the people around them. 2. teaching urban heritage in the architecture curriculum at dah: learning from reality the philosophy of teaching architecture in dar al-hekma university (dahu) is based on an integrative learning approach. it focuses on real issues and local and global contexts, to prepare students to use their architectural skills and knowledge in preserving cultural identity and to create environmentally, economically and socially healthy communities. it promotes the awareness of the implications of globalization on the discipline and practice of architecture through liberal education fields. urban heritage education in the school of design and architecture at dahu is an important component of the curricula. in the architecture department, many courses are communicating urban heritage. the nature of the courses ranges from theory into practice. while history and theory courses, such as arch 3301, “history of islamic world architecture”, and arch 4301, “theory and practice of urban form and housing” cover the urban heritage from a wider perspective communicating knowledge and cognitive learning domains, special seminars, such as arch 3305 “introduction to conservation, theory and practice” and arch 3306 “regional cultural identity” are directly connected with urban heritage issues. in general, the architecture curriculum is conducted to promote an interactive learning process and implement the student-centered learning approaches in the heritage field. various thematic studios are being conducted to implement and communicate urban heritage, natural heritage, cultural heritage, as well as contextual heritage. urban heritage life projects and community service projects are being developed through design studios, in order to link the students’ theoretical knowledge with the practical experience. other courses in the architectural curriculum at dahu are connected to the urban heritage in an indirect way, such as the technical courses group that deals with building construction, structure, materials, from sustainable and environmental perspective and consideration. 3. integrating urban heritage as part of the architectural education there are different methods in integrating urban heritage as part of the architectural education. studios, seminars, history, conservation and preservation courses are following different approaches to integrate heritage in academic curricula. students’ internship or training that provides practical experience in the vernacular heritage is of utmost importance in the learning process. all those approaches are tools for students to develop their knowledge, critical thinking, and practical experience in the heritage field. one of the main objectives of teaching architecture at dahu is to respond to the physical dimension, contextual dimension, and socio-cultural dimension among others. the curriculum focuses not only on classical methods of in-class education and research, but it heavily uses training, extracurricular activities and community service as pg. 197 helmy / the academic research community publication primary tools of the learning process. 4. dimensions of integrating heritage education within the school of design and architecture at dahu integrating urban heritage education within the architecture department at dahu could be classified under seven main dimensions. fig. 1 shows how the six dimensions of teaching heritage are needed and well integrated through the curriculum, in order to communicate the heritage knowledge, appreciation, and practices from different perspectives and on a variety of learning domains. figure 1. dimensionsof heritage education source: the author 4.1. first dimension: urban heritage as a surviving history urban heritage could be perceived as a rich story telling source. it demonstrates the formation, establishment, growth, expansion, development, changes, and transformations of all built forms, urban environments, and building traditions among others. as per heritage perth, “everywhere has a history and everywhere has a heritage”. the word ‘heritage’ means ‘something that is passed down from previous generations; a tradition’, while ‘history’ is: ‘the discovery, collection, organization and presentation of information about the past of people, places and events‘. the architecture curriculum at dahu has five courses ranging between lecturebased and seminar-based to communicate heritage from its historical dimension. courses, such as history of world architecture i “(arch 2301), and history of world architecture ii, (arch 2303) focus on history of architecture from pre-history, passing through all world historical eras, to european renaissance through the 20th century. while history of islamic world architecture (arch 3301) surveys the architecture of the islamic world from the 7th century onwards to the modern period. the course’s chronological structure introduces students to the historical evolution of architectural styles, and building typologies of islamic architecture, highlighting its diversity and multicultural nature. monuments are examined in their social, cultural, political, socio-economic, and aesthetic contexts. pg. 198 helmy / the academic research community publication teaching strategies of the history of architecture courses’ group is based on student-centered learning approach as well as thinking-based learning. it varies between interactive lectures, students’ seminars, class debate, case-based study, fieldwork and site visits. in fall semester 2013/14, twenty-six students of arch 3301, history of islamic world architecture have followed a case-study based approach in documenting and analyzing thirteen mosques in jeddah. the historical dimension of the urban heritage could be challenging to some students, as it relatively relies on studying and memorizing, which is more communicating the knowledge learning domain. however, incorporating field works and site visits, as well as case-study based analysis and learning approaches, which focus more on their cognitive skills, interpersonal skills, and communication skills, make it more exciting to students. 4.2. second dimension: urban heritage as geographical place one of the most important considerations of architecture and design is the building context, site, or its geographical place at large. often, physical factors of site-specific architecture (ssa), such as location, physical context and natural assets, are highly considered when designing or planning any project. in addition, non-physical sit factors, such as community values and traditions are governing some projects. however, some sites, such as mountain, lake, island, desert, monument, building, complex, or city are listed as world heritage sites if they meet the criteria of the unesco (united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization) in this regard and the icomos (the international council on monuments and sites). in fall semester 2014/15, students who are enrolled in arch 3305, introduction to conservation theory and practice, have worked on a collective research. the course introduced the concepts and methodologies of preservation, restoration and conservation of buildings. it also introduced basic concepts of the adaptive re-use of buildings. in addition, the course examined the role of governance as well as contemporary practices associated with architectural and urban conservation. the research conducted through this course focused on “reinventing the vernacular” as a topic. the idea of the research was to use the heritage and the traditions of asir region in bringing the past into the future of the region. in this course, students conducted an extensive research in asir region. parallel to that, students who were enrolled in arch 3601, studio iii contextual cultural and environmental design, have proposed a design for a cultural center as well as other creative reuse strategies of existing buildings. the students’ work, including research and design projects, was judged by an invited national and international panel in asir. urban heritage is very challenging from its geographical or spatial dimension aspect, yet a very interesting one. it reflects students’ skills in knowledge, comprehension, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and until reaching the application skills in some heritage based revitalization applications. often, it is associated with site visits and tangible experience. it becomes of highest motivational value when it is associated with contextual studies and live projects. 4.3. third dimension: urban heritage as vibrant architecture urban heritage in architecture has a set of design principles, categories and considerations. it varies and ranges from a project to another depending on the nature of the project and its context. while some applications/design projects, such as adaptive re-use projects, are completely following and guided by historic buildings’ designs to change the buildings’ functions with minor architectural modifications, other projects, such as infill projects in historic areas, are considering heritage as their main inspiration that guides design decisions. other projects in historic or non-historic sites may interpret heritage and represent it in other contemporary expression or modern language. recently, a new trend of dealing with heritage has emerged. in this trend, infill projects in historic areas and heritage contexts are completely in contrast with their context. often, contrasted design of architectural new pg. 199 helmy / the academic research community publication projects is based either on design philosophy/ concept, or otherwise just to pop up and draw a design statement. expression of heritage values in modern buildings was conducted as a design charrette in the architecture department at dahu. in the spring semester 2012, a three-day design workshop has been led by the renowned architect dr. rasem badran and arch. jamal badran, with the theme of “ritual space reinterpreted”. figure 2. dr. rasem badran and arch.gamal badran conducting a design workshop at the architecture department at dahu courtesy of the architecturedepartment at dahu figure 3. dr. rasem badran and arch.gamal badran conducting a design workshop at the architecture department at dahu courtesy of the architecturedepartment at dahu the three days’ design workshop was conducted for twenty architecture sophomore students to design a “mosque complex” within the city of jeddah. the complex included the mosque and its related services as well as some other structures/facilities. the additional facilities have varied between cultural, social, educational, and / or commercial facilities to serve jeddah community. the site was selected to be in the modern part of jeddah city. the objective of the design assignment was to be inspired from and to reflect the essence of jeddah heritage in a modern context. the major challenge of the workshop was to demonstrate how the interpretation of architectural heritage vocabularies, elements and expressions can be maintained and revived, not only as physical form, but also as a mean to accommodate contemporary needs and aspirations. the work done by roa’ abdulhakeem almargalani (see figures 4 and 5) shows the design process of the mosque and how the hejazi heritage inspirations were reinterpreted and reflected in a modern dynamic expression. figure 4. the design process of roa’ almargalani shows themosque design development. pg. 200 helmy / the academic research community publication figure 5. the mosque elevation shows the reinterpretation of the saudi heritage in a modern expression courtesy of the architecture department at dahu, roa’ almargalani another urban heritage interpretation was done by sara murad (see figure 6). although her designed mosque looks conventional, yet some design elements, such as the minaret and the use of the arches were introduced in a new expression. figure 6. themosque elevation designed shows the reinterpretation expression of aconventional mosque courtesy of the architecture department at dahu, sara murad the idea of introducing the design charrette was very motivational and challenging to the participated students. they were able to communicate their concepts in the mosque project in a limited duration. to build on the success of this workshop, the mosque design project was more developed and detailed throughout the semester. it was assigned to the students as the core semester project with a larger program of services and social facilities. 4.4. fourth dimension: urban heritage as living culture heritage doesn’t only reflect a history of a city or a place, but also it reflects its culture. traditional culture is what identifies communities, cities, or countries. heritage from its cultural dimension is considered as a story teller that communicates traditions and social life of past communities. it is an essential part of preserving identities of living communities. as per jokilehto j. (2011) “the integration of the different aspects of recognition of cultural heritage, whether physical, intangible, or living, and the motivation and involvement of society in its safeguarding, is one of the challenges of the 21st century”. in fall semester 2009/2010, a collaborative design studio between the interior design students at dahu and the urban planning students at the university of colorado at denver (cap at ucd) took place. the topic of the project was initiated on “jeddah: affordable housing”. the design studio focused on “affordable housing between living traditions and contemporary spaces”. it discussed the challenging design opportunities in the context of the rapid urban changes that are taking place in the rich, cultural and economic conditions in the city of jeddah. the design studio aimed to explore opportunities for developing an affordable housing scheme within the context of modern urban, architectural, and design conditions. it also aimed to create a platform for exchanging knowledge between students from both academic institutions. the main research and design assignments for the dahu students was to design the interior design in full detail of the affordable housing. master plan and units were developed by pg. 201 helmy / the academic research community publication students of cap at ucd, to fulfil the target of designing affordable housing units that effectively respond to the saudi arabian (jeddah) modern living conditions, while preserving its typical local living traditions and cultural identity. the scope of the project was to plan an affordable housing complex and to design a housing unit that allows maximum usage of the space with minimum expenditure. students from both academic institutions have worked jointly in small groups of two students each, where the urban design and architectural components of the design project was carried out by ucd students. an online discussion process was the main tool of the mutual exchange of ideas and design development that took place between the students from both institutions. final design projects have manifested integrated and comprehensive team work efforts. project nature was very challenging to students from cap as per its nature that deals with exclusive and very specific cultural values and living habits considerations in the affordable residential units in jeddah, which was completely different than housing considerations in the usa. residential considerations in saudi arabia, such as privacy, needed spaces and functions, life style, among other considerations were raised and communicated between the groups from both institutions. research took place has guided the design process and helped in reflecting a genuine (jeddawy) style in the designed residential units. the experimental design studio stimulated innovative solutions and creative ideas that respected saudi living traditions, residents’ cultural needs and requirements. at the same time, the designs utilized modern technologies and applications, beyond the superficial reproduction of traditional elements, which was another challenge for the cap students. the work developed by urjwan al shreef (see fig.7) reflects a modern expression of islamic design while preserving residential needs in saudi arabia. while the work developed by kholoud baroom (see fig. 8) confirms a traditional identity of islamic design in the interior design of the residential unit, yet in an elegant expression. figure 7. :modern expression of islamic design while preserving residential needs in saudiarabia courtesy of the architecture department at dahu, urjwan shareef figure 8. : traditional designexpression by kholoud baroom courtesy of the architecturedepartment at dahu, kholoud baroom the work developed by nadia mandourah from dahu (see fig. 9) shows the process of the project development that was carried out through knowledge and culture exchange with her counterpart from cap at ucd. through pg. 202 helmy / the academic research community publication an interactive process of communication between the paired students from both institutions, residential unit was modified to respect saudi living traditions and the residents’ cultural needs and requirements. figure 9. an interactive learningapproach. a process of the affordable housing collaborative design projectshows the knowledge, traditions, and culture heritage exchange between a dahustudent with her counterpart in cap courtesy of the architecturedepartment at dahu, nadia mandourah pg. 203 helmy / the academic research community publication 3.5 fifth dimension: urban heritage as an adapted technology design principles of urban heritage are considered one of the main solutions to inform our contemporary needs in buildings in terms of sustainability. by nature, heritage constructions are eco-friendly, sustainable, and considered as green architecture. they represent main examples of passive technology to meet communities’ current and future needs, while preserving resources. hosagrahar (2012) assumed that “the cultural heritage and creativity are valuable cultural resources for sustainable development in urban areas. the built heritage, monumental and ordinary, as well as cultural forms, expressions, practices, elements, values, and forms of knowledge, are all cultural resources that can contribute to development”. in spring semester 2014, an adaptive reuse live project was developed by the junior architecture students at dahu in collaboration for jeddah municipality, upon an invitation from culture and tourism department. in this project, students were asked to develop an adaptive reuse project for bab al bunt, an old building in historic jeddah, which dated back to almost hundred years ago. bab al bunt was originally built as a place to receive the pilgrims arriving from jeddah port. students were asked to propose a variety of design solutions for using bab al bunt as a pilgrimage museum. bab al bunt pilgrimage museum in jeddah was introduced as the facility that describes and documents the most important event in the life of any muslim: the pilgrimage to the holy sites of mecca and medina. the arrangement of the entire museum was proposed to be designed as a story told through a series of topics that was organized according to subject matter and specific time periods. the designs followed an itinerary, which brings to life the different phases and the overall meaning of the holy journey. as minimal changes in the building were allowed, a strict program was given to students. the project was designed to consider sustainability and green architecture as a development base. students were asked to examine the sustainable design solutions that are already provided by the old building while composing the required applications and recommendations that make it eligible for the leed certification. the project designed by mariam dandachi (see fig. 10) shows the sensitive design solution of changing the function of bait al bunt building into a museum without changing the structure of the building. it also shows the sustainability considerations in the building. figure 10. baital bunt adaptive reuse project and sustainability considerations courtesy ofthe architecture department at dahu, mariam dandachi pg. 204 helmy / the academic research community publication 4.5. sixth dimension: urban heritage as a meaningful sense of place the sense of place is an important element in perceiving, understanding and appreciating urban environments. it is a social phenomenon that incorporates individual people experience. there is no one specific or single sense of place, but a variety of perceptions that shapes it for people. usually, people form the sense on any place with different personalities, cultural preconceptions, emotional and cognitive experience, etc. it is argued that different people characteristics can guide or inform the sense of place. places that lack a sense of place are sometimes referred to as placeless or inauthentic. steele (1981) defines the sense of place as “the particular experience of a person in a particular setting (feeling stimulated, excited, joyous, expansive, and so forth).” heritage has a strong statement in terms of giving a powerful and authentic sense of place. often, it reflects the original sense of place that sometimes symbolizes the identity of the place. as per massey (1994) “the search after the ’real’ meanings of places, the unearthing of heritages and so forth, is interpreted as being, in part, a response to desire for fixity and for security of identity in the middle of all the movement and change. a ’sense of place’, of rootedness, can provide in this form and on this interpretation stability and a source of unproblematic identity”. in the spring semester 2014, the adaptive reuse project that was developed by the junior architecture students at dahu, has proved that sense of places conveyed through heritage is powerful enough to guide new development in heritage contexts. although bait al bunt adaptive reuse project had a strict program allows minimum interventions in the building, some students have developed the project and its surrounding using its genuine sense of place. the design project developed by aya zahran (see fig. 11) has another design approach. in addition to the design solution suggested by the student to inform the adaptive reuse project, bait al bunt building was integrated with its surrounding by adopting urban design solutions. figure 11. baital bunt adaptive reuse project. integrating the building with its surroundingcourtesy of the architecture department at dahu, aya zahran the project developed by amani aljehani and muhja malaikah (see fig. 12) is one of the best examples for that. students have suggested an integrated design solution for the outdoor exhibition associated with bait al bunt pg. 205 helmy / the academic research community publication museum that confirms and consolidate the main essence of the historic building. figure 12. baital bunt adaptive reuse project. communicating the heritage through sense ofplace courtesy of the architecture department at dahu, amani aljehani and muhjamalaikah in general, the project was challenging to students, as minimum changes and architectural interventions were pg. 206 helmy / the academic research community publication allowed in the adaptive reuse design proposal. in addition, the strong identity of the building and its context controlled students design proposals. students were more comfortable in designing the outdoor area of the building as they got less design constrains and more flexibility in their contextual proposed design solutions. 5. from practice to theory from the previous discussions on the dimensions of teaching heritage in the architecture department at dahu, some conclusions and considerations could be theorized. urban heritage is an essential component of architectural curricula. it needs to be integrated in architecture and design courses from different perspectives and following a variety of teaching dimensions. some of these dimensions, such as urban heritage as history or as geography, are already imbedded in the nature of some architectural and design courses. however, other dimensions of teaching urban heritage, such as a guiding theme for architectural design studios, needs to get more flexibility and innovation in their topics and in their design nature. it needs not to be only limited to conservation, or preservation oriented, but also to communicate students’ creativity in urban heritage reinterpretations. this paper recommends that a comprehensive educational plan should be addressed based on the school plan of study in partnership with a responsible organization, such as the center for the national built heritage, in order to develop, support and promote the following recommendations, among others: – encourage a sense of belonging to the national cultural heritage, and activate the relationship of the students with their local urban heritage and historic places. this includes events, visits, and cultural raising awareness. – motivate students to exchange ideas and thoughts by following new teaching methods and to discuss the role of studying urban heritage for architects and designers. – build a social awareness of the urban heritage with local communities, with emphasis on integrating the urban heritage within the educational curricula through various study and academic means. – encourage academic meetings, workshops and conferences on urban heritage and promoting a culture of specialized community-based revitalization of urban heritage. – encourage investigating similarities and differences for curriculum contents through the pedagogy of teaching architectural and urban heritage. – diversify the methods in which the teaching of heritage with all its proposed dimensions in the curricula and to support it through educational activities. 6. references 1. heritage. (n.d.). in oxford english dictionary. retrieved august 12, 2014. 2. culture’s contribution to achieving sustainable cities [pdf]. (2011, november 15). unesco. 3. heritage perth. (n.d.). retrieved july 28, 2014, from https://heritageperth.com.au/discovery/history-v-herit age.html 4. jokilehto, j. (2011). iccrom and the conservation of cultural heritage: a history of the organisation’s first 50 years, 1959-2009. international centre for the study of the preservation and restoration of cultural property. 5. massey, d. (1994). space, place, and gender university of minnesota press. minneapolis mn. 6. steele, f. (1981). the sense of place. cbi pub co. pg. 207 helmy / the academic research community publication 7. tonkin, s. (2011). essay: what is heritage? [pdf]. australian heritage strategy. retrieved august 10, 2014. pg. 208 introduction teaching urban heritage in the architecture curriculum at dah: learning from reality integrating urban heritage as part of the architectural education dimensions of integrating heritage education within the school of design and architecture at dahu first dimension: urban heritage as a surviving history second dimension: urban heritage as geographical place third dimension: urban heritage as vibrant architecture fourth dimension: urban heritage as living culture sixth dimension: urban heritage as a meaningful sense of place from practice to theory references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication integrating design and planning in informal settlements working towards resilience in gazdarbandh slum in mumbai manoj parmar1, binti singh1 1kamla raheja vidyanidhi institute of architecture and environmental studies post graduate program vidyanidhi , mumbai abstract informal settlements are often not included in the development plan of cities. urban planning has increasingly been less concerned about provision of basic infrastructure and services to vulnerable communities living and working in informal conditions. increasing official apathy pose major challenges to achieving the globally accepted goal of inclusive urbanization as envisaged in sustainable development goals / sdgs.. goal 11 that aims at creating safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities will remain distant until we factor in the informal living and working conditions into our current urban planning narrative. the problem statement in this paper is: gazdharbandh is a notified slum by slum redevelopment authority (sra) of mmrda (maharashtra metropolitan region development authority). the slum pocket is located in western suburb of santacruz west, mumbai. gazdhar bandh shows high density informal housing within the “no development zone” as per the development plan 2034, in estuary conditions that is vulnerable to recurrent floods. slum upgradation faces multiple challenges with the complex interplay of local diversities, relocation and livelihood concerns. the solution we offer in this paper using the case study of gazdar bandh slum, is how community responses to housing and other design strategies like public spaces, streetscapes, and makeshift spaces as immediate responses can go a long way to build long term resilience and factored into the broader city level planning narrative. the findings broadly offer the solution: how can urban planning and design embrace uncertainty and concludes with an operational framework drawing on participatory planning and good urban place engaging multiple stakeholders. informal settlements are often not included in the development plan of cities. urban planning has increasingly been less concerned about provision of basic infrastructure and services to vulnerable communities living and working in informal conditions. increasing official apathy pose major challenges to achieving the globally accepted goal of inclusive urbanization as envisaged in sustainable development goals / sdgs.. goal 11 that aims at creating safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities will remain distant until we factor in the informal living and working conditions into our current urban planning narrative. the problem statement in this paper is: gazdharbandh is a notified slum by slum redevelopment authority (sra) of mmrda (maharashtra metropolitan region development authority). the slum pocket is located in western suburb of santacruz west, mumbai. gazdhar bandh shows high density informal housing within the “no development zone” as per the development plan 2034, in estuary conditions that is vulnerable to recurrent floods. slum upgradation faces multiple challenges with the complex interplay of local diversities, relocation and livelihood concerns. the solution we offer in this paper using the case study of gazdar bandh slum, is how community responses to housing and other design strategies like public spaces, streetscapes, and makeshift spaces as immediate responses can go a long way to build long term resilience and factored into the broader city level planning narrative. the findings broadly offer the solution: how can urban planning and design embrace uncertainty and concludes with an operational framework drawing on pg. 38 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i3.521 parmar / the academic research community publication participatory planning and good urban place engaging multiple stakeholders. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords informality; slums; mumbai; planning; design; resilience 1. introduction india has committed to longterm adaptation to climate change with centralized plans, policies, and institutions. the diverse geographical conditions however, lead to the understanding that decentralized strategies integrated with local level planning can effectively build resilience as recently witnessed in varied urban contexts of india. a series of natural disasters like cyclones, tsunamis and floods in megacities and urban centers in india have prompted responses towards better disaster prepared-ness and also created awareness among city residents to issues concerning environment like the importance of solid waste management, housing for the poor, access to basic amenities like water and sanitation. community responses have been documented in cities like mumbai, kolkata and indore (chatterjee, 2010; mahadevia, 2001; stephens and patnaik, 1996). natural disaster risk management and adaptation plans are typically local in character. the importance of local institutions and communities in disaster risk mitigation and long-term climate change responses is also established (bartlett, 2008; agrawal, 2008, kelly & adger, 2000; chatterjee, 2010). with the understanding that decentralized strategies, practical design integrated with city level planning can effectively address the concerns of coping with disasters, build the muchneeded resilience, prerequisite to cope with the long-term challenges of climate change, this study argues for the inclusion of informal settlements like slums in the current planning narrative and provides an operational framework to integrate planning and design at the community level to build long term resilience. as chakrabarty (2016) argues, the use of the term slum is beneficial as some networks of neighbourhood organizations like the national slum dwellers federation in india prefer to identify themselves as slums as it assures certain benefits in a situation when residents can lobby to get their settlement classified as a notified slum. in this study, the term slum is used for those settlements that lack formal recognition from local government authorities like municipal bodies; do not have secure tenure; are inadequately serviced with basic infrastructure and services like water and sanitation; mostly overcrowded and located on land public/ government land or on sensitive urban ecologies with poor construction of dwelling units. slums in mumbai lack or have limited access to basic services like water, sanitation, solid waste management, and health services. despite the economic contribution to the city, urban policies and local authorities remain indifferent to the basic needs of residents in slums thereby increasing their vulnerabilities to impending disasters manifold. indifference from the state apparatus has also pushed slum residents to varied tactical methods to access basic services, access to drinking water, upgrade housing, build their own toilets and housing already established in literature (calderia, 2017). the slum settlement chosen as case study here, gazdar bandh is not included in development plan of mumbai 2034. based on an empirical study using participatory tools of survey and mapping in the slum community located in an estuary condition at ghazdar bandh, in the commercial precinct of western suburbs in megacity mumbai, this study argues for the significance of design strategies in consultation with local communities living in informal settlements that are vulnerable to environmental risks like floods and mudslides. these risks typically arise from inadequate living conditions in informal settlements like inadequate drainage, sanitation, solid waste management, and water and consequent harmful practices like disposal of waste into nearby estuaries, streams and drains resulting in clogging and recurrent floods. extensive fieldwork comprising semi-structured interviews with 40 respondents (including slum residents, municipal officials, local politicians, representatives of civil society organizations/csos) were conducted in gazdar bandh slum. a detailed qualitative study was carried out to understand the varied aspects of living conditions like housing typologies, livelihood patterns, drainage, sanitation, solid waste management, water, vulnerability to disasters like recurrent floods as a consequence of living in informal pg. 39 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ parmar / the academic research community publication settlements. the attendant responses in terms of investing in housing structures, makeshift structures, looking for alternative habitats, livelihood options and everyday practices like waste disposal, usage of toilets, access to water for drinking, cleaning and cooking were examined. section 2 discusses the meaning of informality in the urban context of india, its varied spatial and social manifestations. it situates the present study by taking the case of slums in mumbai as examples of informal living and working conditions that developed and proliferated as a result of flawed urban planning and policies. section 3 highlights slum redevelopemnt in mumbai and presents the case of gazdar bandh located in the western suburbs of mumbai. at another level the study examined varied urban policies (initiated at the centre, state and local government levels). significant among them was local area plan that was once part of the draft development plan of mumbai 2013 but later scrapped. it has been again reintroduced under the centrally supported smart cities mission in 25 designated smart cities in india. section 4 presents the concluding comments and presents an operational framework which draws from the principles of participatory planning, community level design strategies and practical solutions developed in consultation with stakeholders that could develop as a replicable model to build the much needed resilience in the face of the impending risk of flood that has plagued mumbai for over a decade. the framework can also inform lap currently reintroduced under the smart cities mission of india. 2. informality in the urban context of india informality – in the form of informal activities and informal use of available material presence – is an essential feature of urbanism in india and the global south in general. informality in the urban context can be understood from multiple frames as spatial categorization (slum), socio-economic groups (informalized labor), forms of organization (rule-based/relation-based) and knowledge and practices. the urban experience is brought about with the coming together of formal and informal spaces, and activities as witnessed in street economies across urban india. in other asian cities like the overcrowded streets in the mongkok district of hong kong provides a counter narrative to the criticism of overcrowded streets and markets: they serve as hangouts for the locals, symbolize the chaos and unplanned spatiality of the asiatic exoticism that appeals to foreign tourists. every corner of the innercity area of mongkok is filled with traffic, shoppers, passer-by, strollers, locals and visitors from other places. temporal changes brought about by changes in the street from varied uses – pen air bazaar, vehicles, unpredictable mixing of new and old, shops, roadside eateries add to the vibrancy and vitality of street life and help in place making (lau, 2011). it must be mentioned in this context that the domain of informality also includes the territorial practices of the state apparatus. noted urban theorist (roy, 2009) argued how the state applying rules of exception and deregulation has informalized planning practices citing examples of indian cities like calcutta, bangalore and gurgaon. informal settlements are often not included in the development plan of cities. urban planning has increasingly been less concerned about provision of basic infrastructure and services to vulnerable communities living and working in informal conditions. land use, zoning, building byelaws, and development restrictions are the major concerns of the current urban planning narrative. it is further observed that privatization of developed land, service provisions and road building is increasingly becoming a part of the planning process too. while within the new planning paradigm government agencies acquire land for public purpose, they immediately dispense it for special economic zones (sezs), multimodal freight or highway corridor projects with major real estate component. in cities too, the preparation of master plans, detailed project reports by private consultancies has become the new norm. these increasingly promote the new paradigm of globalized smart cities or service cities for global cities that have no bearing with traditionally evolved urban pattern and the social values that urban form contains. this results in indiscriminate allotment of prime public land for commercial use and residential plots for premium apartments in disguise of affordable housing. this pro-participation of private players in land development, known as the gurgaon (financial and technical hub city in southwest of new delhi) model in indian town planning paradigm is increasingly finding favour with the local planning authorities. the census of 2011 stated that approximately 65 million people live in slums and was expected to grow to 104 million by 2017. the socio-economic implications pg. 40 parmar / the academic research community publication of large slum population on civic services, housing and health care, social exclusion remain unaddressed in policy discourse in india. this implies that urban planners will face escalating social, ecological and legal challenges as informal settlements continue to encroach upon existing reservation lands, fragile ecologies and disputed geographies. the next section highlights the discourse on slums in mumbai in an attempt to delineate how current urban planning narrative outrightly excludes crucial questions of informality that are inherently networked with formal systems. history of slums in mumbai slums in mumbai can be seen from various perspectives. the migrant would sees slum as an entry level housing to establish his/her household in the city. the urban planner would see slums as outcome of faulty planning process or policy structure, policy and land management system. the economist would see slum as an irregular organization of informal economic network that forms the backbone of the city of mumbai. the policy maker would see the slum as informal urbanisation with self-constructed settlements that are commonly represented as problems responsible for the degradation of local ecosystems. the sociologist would see it as social and spatial protocol, born of necessity that enables its inhabitants to sustain their marginalized livelihood with scarce natural and material resources. the urban designer would see slums as marginalization of informal representation in formal urban planning processes and spatial understanding of cities. each perspective has its positive side and perhaps huge possibilities in cross learning for it to enable the urban inclusion in planning, policy and practice. the larger question is how new methodologies of research and formats of representation of informal settlements support their recognition in urban design, planning, political and policymaking processes. how could these processes in turn contribute to the sustenance of informal and formal aspects of the urban form. (the urban form from urban design point of view means the understanding of relationship of buildings to buildings, buildings to built & un-built open spaces, buildings to people, history, social and cultural aspects) historically, slums have grown in mumbai as response to growth of population (mainly due to migration in search of economic opportunities) far beyond the capacity of existing housing. this migration has sparked a steady rise in the illegal occupation of land and the chaotic construction of new slum housing, manipulating reserved land or land within fragile eco-systems or margins such as along railways or estuaries. many of these homes are made of steel sections, infill bricks and metal corrugated sheets. none of the slums or dwellers would have legal foothold in terms of the land or units. or the city’s sanction. electricity lines and water supplies are ingeniously diverted from the main lines. slums in turn emerge as an important resource with its symbiotic relationship developed over time for essential services and human capital. the oldest slums house families that provide cheap manual labour for various types of activitiesworkers for construction sites, auto rickshaw drivers, service providers for repairs and recycle, production house for domestic consumables and domestic helpers and often anti-social activities. migrants are normally drawn to the city by the huge disparity between urban and rural income levels. usually the residents of these densely populated enclaves live close to their place of work. the residential area itself does not provide employment. mumbai knows another reason for the formation of slums. as the city grew, it took over land that was traditionally used for other purposes. the koli fishermen & gaothans (the urban villages and original inhabitant of the city) were displaced during the development of the harbor and port. those driven out of the fishing villages improvised living space that was often far shabbier than before. this process continues even now. on the other hand, some villages were engulfed by the city growing around them. dharavi, originally a village with a small tanning industry, has become a slum in the similar process of transformation. many of the older slums in byculla and khar were initially separate villages, with their own traditional industries. the growth of slums as informal settlements runs parallel to the increasing informalization of work and economic restructuring in cities like mumbai. for instance, (pacoine, 2006) discusses that a process of informalization across pg. 41 parmar / the academic research community publication all industries that gathered pace in the 1980s and 1990s as industries in search of cost savings contracted out stages of the production process to temporary labourers in a factory or to outside agents and home workers. this was facilitated by the emergence of new forms of casual and contract labour and the growth of labour-intensive smallscale informal workshops often in slum and squatter settlements operating beyond the writ of the legal protections and regulations of the formal sector of the urban economy. a speculative boom in property and real estate markets in the 1990s that undermined manufacturing units located in old industrial areas such as the mill lands on bombay island, and led to the regeneration of these areas as new commercial and residential enclaves, (as evident in the gentrification of the phoenix mills, raghuvanshi mills in parel). similarly the formation of gazdhar bandh, a large pocket of self-built-sustain model of slums resulted from various parameters enumerated above. largely it owes its origin to the generic problem of state body (mhada) for not being able to provide affordable housing at the city level along with the absence of policy not being able create housing stock for the urban poor. these two issues are coupled with large scale land speculation in the open market and market driven real estate resulting in unaffordable housing in mumbai. however there is another specific condition that has necessitated the formation of this large slum pocket in the heart of the western suburbs in mumbai. the first condition as being the unchecked land that is designated as no development zone. second the land is situated in an estuary condition characterized with sensitive ecology. such conditions are never negotiated within the development plans either as subject of land or subject of the ecosystem. such dubious responses have allowed unchecked encroachment and lately resulted in the formation of the large slum pocket as a spatial illegality. unlike gazdhar bandh, many of the slums are either designated within the development plan as an open space or reservation or state body ownership or collectors’ land. it is interesting to note that such slum pockets are increasingly becoming hotbeds for speculative practices around land, development and expensive real estate. to address slum housing issues, the municipal authority (mcgm) and state planning body (mmrda) have introduced a number of schemes and flagship programs like the slum improvement board (sib), slum resettlement scheme (srs) and instituted the slum rehabilitation authority (sra).the formation of sra (under section 33/10), which is a large body, using policy as base to eradicate encroachment, has actually further facilitated the delivery of high end market driven house on the pretext of free housing for slum dwellers which is a miniscule component of the whole scheme. 3. slum redevelopment in mumbai the most prominent type of redevelopment that dictates the real estate market in mumbai today is the redevelopment of these slum pockets. typically, slum pockets emerged on reserved land, open spaces and margins within the suburbs. the state government of maharashtra replaced the maharashtra slum areas (improvement, clearance and redevelopment) act, 1971 with the sra (slum rehabilitation authority) in 1995 with a special committee constituting planning, architecture and social services. redevelopment of slum pockets has been most pronounced in nehru nagar, khotwadi, khar danda, behram baug, ghazdar bandh and golibar areas of mumbai. incidentally, most of these pockets are located near prominent areas and are well networked within the suburbs. the urban development notification under maharashtra regional town planning act/mrtp act 1966, section 154, has stated that slums with a density of more than 650 tenements per hectare are allowed to have a fsi of 4 as stipulated in the sra act, 1995, while those with lower densities shall have a fsi of 3. the high-density slum pockets are more prominent in the redevelopment narrative because of higher sale incentives and profits. slum redevelopment diagram (the encroached land is developed by rehabilitation of slum dwellers free housing either in situ or by relocation process with bare minimum open spaces. the housing for open market sale is given generous open spaces and occupation of prime portion of land. pg. 42 parmar / the academic research community publication figure 1. existing model for slum redevelopment case study gazdar bandh slum, mumbai gazdarbandh, a densely populated slum community located in the western suburbs of mumbai is one such case. walking through the narrow lanes and streets of this thickly populated slum community in mumbai’s bustling commercial district, one may not become aware of its informal conditions. the dense social life, ongoing economic activities and thickly populated residential and working spaces are actually the outcome of unique connections between people and places since three or more decades. this thriving everyday urbanism renders place based visual identity to this urban space yet remains informal and excluded from the master plan. existing data of gazdar bandh slum total rooms: 12,000 total illegal rooms :1800 total registered with maharashtra housing and development authority (mhada):10200. total population (approximate): 65,000 (90% hindus from uttar pradesh and mahrashtra) occupation of the slum residents: auto drivers service (watchman, drivers, office attendant, courier boy, delivery boy etc) local shop building contractors & labourers tiffin service papad & bread making mechanics (automobiles, ac, computer repair, tv ) landlords (illegal): ground floor occupied by the landlord and upper floor is rented out pg. 43 parmar / the academic research community publication figure 2. gazdhar bandh layout located in estuary conditions, residents of gazdar bandh are exposed to impending environmental disasters and health hazards until they are immediately addressed. figure 3. gazdar bandh slum site covered during field study unplanned growth and haphazard aesthetics can be greatly altered with the help of locals and few corrective measures, imaginative designs, and planning innovation. pg. 44 parmar / the academic research community publication figure 4. gazdar bandh slum site covered during field study figure 5. gazdar bandh slum site covered during field study pg. 45 parmar / the academic research community publication figure 6. gazdar bandh slum site covered during field study 4. conclusion in 2006, floods in mumbai exposed the city’s vulnerability, crumbling infrastructure, lack of coordination among government departments, and lack of preparedness to deal with disasters. existing literature establishes that coastal megacities like mumbai will be exposed to risks associated with climate changes like rising sea level, heat waves, tropical cyclones and storm surges besides changes in rainfall (hallegatte, henriet, patwardhan, narayanan, ghosh, karmakar, & herweijer, 2010; stecko, & barber, 2007). therefore, climate is becoming an increasingly important challenge as it starts to eat into india’s high economic growth rates and seriously impact the lives and livelihoods of millions of people (revi, 2008). post 2005, the municipal corporation of greater mumbai (mcgm) established a disaster management department, prepared a special plan for the monsoons, and planned for better departmental coordination during rescue operations. the existing program me in mumbai focuses on post disaster operations and largely ignores disaster risk mitigation strategies to reduce vulnerabilities that are inextricably connected with the everyday lives of residents living and working in informal settlements dotting the city. the most crucial of these include poor solid waste management practices, unsanitary garbage disposals into streams and estuaries that have been reduced to nullas (adapted from hind word meaning watercourse) especially as witnessed in the slum site chosen for this study, open drains, resulting in clogging of drains and eventual flooding. what is also missing in the existing disaster management program is the lack of integration of city residents, especially slum communities into the design, planning and governance processes of city as stakeholders. the idea of local area plan (lap, participatory approach) was first proposed in the development plan of mumbai 2014-34. implemented at the administrative ward level of the city (microcosm of urban governance), lap allows planning for urban renewal, housing, mixed-use development, and civic amenities at the locality level with help of local resident and stakeholders. the union housing and urban affair ministry has recently re-launched local area plan (lap) and town plan schemes (tps) for 25 smart cities in india in 2018 to accelerate resolution of area-based infrastructure issues. this announcement also includes central assistance of rs 50 crore for convert to millions 25 states for lap and tps. according to reports, the assistance is decided to be released in three installations; 20 per cent with pg. 46 parmar / the academic research community publication the submission of a preliminary proposal and 40 per cent during submission of a final plan. lap and tps are formulated under atal mission for rejuvenation and urban transformation (amrut), 2015 to enable planning for developing infrastructure in the brownfield areas and the green field areas respectively (source:.eletsonline.com accessed on 20 august 2018). still in its initial stages, lap provides opportunities for localized design experimentations that could eventually inform the city planning process. local area plan (lap) is envisaged as an intermediate level of planning which would address place-specific issues of the city. place specific concerns include redevelopment plans for large slum or resettlement areas and for urban renewal, plans for areas undergoing land use changes and transit oriented development. the lap also calls for place specific urban design guidelines for heritage precincts, designs and development of distinctive public spaces and streetscapes. it perhaps make sense in mega city context of mumbai, whose diverse geography, history and communities necessitate an alternative approch for their inclusion in the planning process which is currently silent on risks to environmental disasters and consequently invites citizens to formulate their own strategies. the provision of lap is a bottom up appproach operationalised at the administrative ward level wherein making, transforming and directing development is possible in consultation with multiple stakeholders and residents themselves. lap by definition is based on local needs, subsidises the notion of master plan and drawing board approach. it is therefore a good starting point to incorporate area specific design stragies developed in consultation with the community factoring in their risks and ways of mitigation. based on our case study in gazdarbandh slum located in mumbai we suggest an operational framework that could be plugged into lap drawing on the principles of participatory planning and good urban place engaging multiple stakeholders. figure 7. operational frmework for planning in informalsettlements lap argument and discussion once the operational framework is established, it shall enable the process to articulate the various conditions that exist within the slum communities. those conditions are varied from residents associations, illegal landlords, manufacturing unit owners, shop owners, socio-cultural background, user groups & demographic data along with the system that operate the entire network within the slum settlements namely, physical infrastructure, solid waste disposal systems, existing livelihoods. the next level of analysis shall be carried out in understanding the land topography and profile, watershed and vegetations (mangroves), and other ecological features of the site. the overall interdependency of data shall allow the local area plan to create awareness and articulate the nature of problems and its relationship with the issues at large. the local area plan shall enable the process as mentioned in the figure 8, which explains the process of engagement in executing the action plan with focused discussion on pg. 47 parmar / the academic research community publication issues. figure 8. local area planning process once the process of action plan is in place, it shall help in gathering the nature of data (data profile) and various modes of mapping. the segregation and integration of data shall in turn helps to create various participatory groups in form of small to large group of concerns. the final stage of local area plan will focus on the priority action plan that enables the process towards the execution of the proposals in stages to make the participatory approach not only effective but representative of environmental, social and economic equities. figure 9. local areaplanning management and implementation 5. references 1. agrawal, a. (2008). the role of local institutions in adaptation to climate change. 2. bartlett, s. (2008). climate change and urban children: impacts and implications for adaptation in low-and middle-income countries. environment and urbanization, 20(2), 501-519. 3. caldeira, t. p. (2017). peripheral urbanization: autoconstruction, transversal logics, and politics in cities of the global south. environment and planning d. society and space,35(1), 3-20. 4. chatterjee, m. (2010). slum dwellers response to flooding events in the megacities of india. mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change,15(4), 337-353. 5. chakrabarty, a. (2016). of slime moulds and smart slums — kolkata informal settlements and the tale of a failed canal reclamation project. environment and urbanization,28(2), 553–568. 6. hallegatte, s., henriet, f., patwardhan, a., narayanan, k., ghosh, s., karmakar, s., ... & herweijer, c. (2010). flood risks, climate change impacts and adaptation benefits in mumbai: an initial assessment of socio-economic consequences of present and climate change induced flood risks and of possible adaptation options. oecd environment working papers, (27), 0 1. 7. kelly, p. m., & adger, w. n. (2000). theory and practice in assessing vulnerability to climate change and facilitating adaptation. climatic change,47(4), 325-352. 8. lau, s. s. y. (2011). the dogma of hong kong urbanism. journal of asian urbanism,4(3), 20–21. 9. mahadevia, d. (2001). sustainable urban development in india: an inclusive perspective. development in practice, 11(2-3), 242-259. 10. mohua launched lap and tps for 25 smart cities. elets news network http://smartcity.eletsonline. com doi. http://smartcity.eletsonline.com/mohua-launched-lap-and-tps-for-25-smart-cities/ accessed on 20 august 2018 pg. 48 parmar / the academic research community publication 11. pacoine, m. (2006). city profile mumbai. cities,23(3), 229–238. 12. roy, a. (2009). why india cannot plan its cities: informality, insurgence and the idiom of urbanization. planning theory,8(1), 76-87. 13. revi, a. (2008). climate change risk: an adaptation and mitigation agenda for indian cities. environment and urbanization,20(1), 207-229. 14. stecko, s., & barber, n. (2007). exposing vulnerabilities: monsoon floods in mumbai, india. unpublished case study prepared for global report on human settlements. pg. 49 introduction informality in the urban context of india slum redevelopment in mumbai conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication the role of climate on residential architecture and living culture: an example of gaziantep hasan taştan1 1yıldız technical university abstract in architectural literature, researchers argue that there are many factors that affect architecture. culture, local materials, climate, socio-economic conditions, and topography are the most influential factors in the formation of the architecture of a region. the climate of the place is one of the most important factors in the construction of the built environment for communities throughout history. in a certain region, the living spaces that receive the original form with the influence of the climate and the cultures influence the daily lives of the people living there over time and change the way of life. in this context, it can be said that there is an interaction between traditional architecture, climate and culture. gaziantep is an important city in the south-east of turkey. gaziantep is located to the north of mesopotamia where the first civilizations originated and settled. and has hosted many civilizations that have been important trade centers throughout history. throughout history, housing areas within and around the castle have been included in the city. the city is characterized by an urban texture suitable for hot and arid climatic conditions. in gaziantep, houses are built around a courtyard completely separated from the street, in accordance with the mesopotamian tradition. traditional gaziantep residences which lined up around narrow streets stand out with its materials, building elements and unique details. the aim of this study is to reveal the construction techniques, ecological design principles of the houses which produced by greek, turkish and armenian masters in accordance with the warm climate conditions and to discuss its applicability today. in this context, the traditional gaziantep dwellings have been evaluated with six criteria for the ecological evaluation of traditional houses and the use of the obtained data in a new design. these are settlement texture and streets, building form and orientation, spatial organization, construction system and materials, physical properties of building façade. in addition to the stone materials used in gaziantep houses, building elements such as courtyard, water element, bird windows have positive effects on the building biology, and some of the findings that have ecological advantages of vine-like plants and gardening. in the conclusion of the study, an ecological and environmentally compatible project experiment was carried out which carried the findings and the basic principles of the traditional architecture. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords hot-arid climate; vernacular architecture; residential architecture pg. 14 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.498 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ taştan / the academic research community publication 1. introduction in architectural literature, researchers argue that there are many factors that affect architecture. culture, local materials, climate, socio-economic conditions, and topography are the most influential factors in the formation of the architecture of a region. the climate of the place is one of the most important factors in the construction of the built environment for communities throughout history (varzaneh, et al., 2014). in a certain region, the living spaces that receive the original form with the influence of the climate and the cultures influence the daily lives of the people living there over time and change the way of life. in this context, it can be said that there is an interaction between traditional architecture, climate and culture. it is vital to keep variables such as heat, light and humidity at a certain level in order to ensure the physical and psychological comfort of the people living in the city at a scale ranging from the formation of the urban form to the building to be constructed. today, with the developing technology, the provision of suitable conditions for the comfort of the people is realized by using energy. this approach, which we can call air-conditioned architecture, is far from sustainable architecture. on the other hand, in the past,due to the designing of the living spaces with the consideration of the climatic conditions, the creation of suitable living conditions was possible without energy. in this context understanding and knowledge of traditional architectural examples that have formed over time in accordance with climate conditions is important for today’s architectural circles where discussions of sustainability are made. the purpose of this article is to evaluate the effect of climatic factors on vernaculer architecture in hot and arid regions with special focus on gaziantep city. the degree to which a structure has benefited from climatic factors such as the sun and the wind and how its microclimate is formed is indicative of the level of success of its design. considering the negative and positive aspects of the climate, the designs provide the comfort of the user, while minimizing the amount of energy needed by the building. it is possible to use natural energy with climatic design principles that are as old as human history. thus, the need for mechanical heating and cooling systems of the structure is minimized. in the context of this study, the positive and negative aspects of the hot dry climate, which is the climate of gaziantep, were taken into consideration. later, design strategies applied in hot-dry climates were determined. in the next section of the study, the effects of these design strategies on gaziantep’s housing architecture and living culture were discussed. 2. gaziantep city gaziantep is located in southeastern anatolia region of turkey (figure 1). gaziantep, located on the syrian border, is one of the developed cities of turkey in terms of industry and trade. due to its geographical location and its location on important trade routes, the city has become an important center in every period of history. gaziantep, the sixth largest city of today’s turkey, is located between mesopotamia and the mediterranean, where the first civilizations were born in history. since prehistoric times, the city has been the settlement area of human societies. the city, which was dominated by the babylonian empire for a while, became a city of hittite state in 1700 bc. the ruins of many ancient settlements, such as belkis, zeugma, from the hellenistic, roman and byzantine periods, have survived to the present day. during the seljuk, mamluk and ottoman periods, the city became an important center on important trade routes (ünal, 1998). the climate of the city is a transition climate between the mediterranean climate and the continental climate. for this reason, winters, long and cold and summers are hot and dry. the highest temperature of the year is 44◦c in gaziantep, which is located at the in southeast anatolia, the hottest region of turkey. the lowest temperature is -16,8◦c in january (anon, 2016). hot, dry, clear, cloudy, dominant western windy climate conditions prevail in the city during the summer months. in winter, the climate conditions, cold, rain and snow are rainy (figure 2). pg. 15 taştan / the academic research community publication figure 1. (a): location of gaziantep figure 2. (b): monthly temperature averages of gaziantep (gaziantep, 2018) 3. hot-dry climate and climatic design principles in this study, the traditional residential architecture of gaziantep, which is a city shaped by hot-arid climatic characteristics, is discussed. in order to understand how the problems of traditional climate are solved in the traditional architecture, firstly the design principles that should be applied to provide thermal comfort in hot-dry climate type are discussed. the hot-dry climate zones are regions with very high radiation levels and associated high temperature and low humidity characteristics. in these regions, the annual amount of rain is below 70 mm and the average annual temperature is at least 18 ◦ c. (world climates, 2018). there are two main purposes of the design to achieve thermal comfort in this climate type. the first of these is to reduce the heat gain and prevent the inner temperature of the structure from increasing. the second is to increase the heat loss and to carry out the regulations that will increase the cooling effect in the hot summer days. to reduce heat gain, to reduce the sun exposed building surfaces, to prevent overheating, to choose the colors that reflect the most white and white are some of the main design principles. in summers, reducing the ventilation during the day and using elements that will provide shade, such as high walls, around the building, are some of the methods according to the developed climate type. in order to achieve heat loss, increasing the ventilation during the night hours where the temperature is low and cooling it through evaporation during the day are common design methods used in this climate type. the humidity of the air in this climate type, where the summer days are hot and dry, and the winter days are cold, is low and needs to be increased. in hot-dry climates, there is a need for insulation against the heat losses at night, and the elements that help to protect against the sun during the day and the effect of cooling are needed. (janani ,a. 2014). pg. 16 taştan / the academic research community publication 4. the effect of hot-dry climate on the architecture of traditional gaziantep houses in the years when technology has not developed sufficiently and the systems that are known today are not used, various design principles that enable adaptation to climate conditions have been learned and this knowledge has been transferred from generation to generation. in order to provide thermal comfort in the examples of traditional architecture that conveyed these design principles from the past to the present day, regulations have been made to make the buildings more comfortable and more livable in certain climatic conditions, and palatable building elements and building materials have been used. according to the climatic conditions, the way of applying these methods, which are developed to enable people to live their lives more comfortably, have been brought together under five conceptual headings in city and building scale; 1settlement texture and streets 2building form and orientation 3spatial organisation 4construction system and materials 5physical properties of building façade within the context of this study, the development of traditional gaziantep houses according to climatic conditions was evaluated through five conceptual headings. 4.1. settlement texture and streets streets are the city components that connect buildings and settlements, connect neighborhoods, and determine the main lines of physical tissue. therefore, the investigation of the neighborhood and street texture will provide important data in terms of revealing the relationship between the architectural form of gaziantep city and the climate of the city. gaziantep’s traditional texture consists of the castle which can be considered as the center of the city and its surrounding residential areas. in the neighborhoods around gaziantep castle, the housing texture is mostly composed of streets that are organic and show a more radiocentric structure (in the form of a web) (figure 3). the climate of the city has been effective in shaping the city’s texture in this way. in gaziantep, the houses are located in a tight and contiguous neighborhood, providing cross ventilation in the north-south direction (figure 2). it is observed that as much as possible, compact settlements were tried to be established in the city which developed over time as required by climatic conditions. thus, the surfaces that will cause heat gain and overheating have been reduced. in the city, the center of trade and daily life and housing areas were built very close together. in everyday life, people spend time in narrow streets, where load animals can pass by, instead of wide open spaces. the residential buildings surveyed in this study were selected from bey neighborhood, where the traditional architecture was partially preserved. bey neighborhood is located on a hill to the south of the gaziantep castle. armenians, turks and minorities from different nations lived together in this neighborhood which was established for the people who came to the city with immigration in the 17th century. the streets, which vary in width from three meters to seven meters in width, form an organic texture (deringöl, 2015). bey neighborhood preserves its original identity with narrow streets covered with cobblestone and traditional houses that have reached today. today, some of the restored buildings continue to be used as dwellings, while others have been given different functions. pg. 17 taştan / the academic research community publication figure 3. gaziantep city satellite view (yandex, 2018) in bey district, selected as study area; when the streets are examined in the context of home-street relationship, the houses are insulated from the street, and the constrictions and expansions along the street make up the identity of the neighborhood. the different perspectives that form the intersection of the streets form the original texture of the neighborhood (figure 4) (yüce, b. 2010). buildings with a courtyard adjacent to each other, coming together around the narrow streets; and they are separated by high walls from the street. the high walls provide the privacy of everyday life in the courtyards of the houses while keeping the streets cool by protecting them from the sun’s heat effect. this enables daily life to take place in the courtyard of the house, which has led to the development of an introverted lifestyle (figure 5). the courtyard where the daily work is done in the traditional gaziantep houses is called ’hayat’ and it means ’life’ in turkish. in the neighborhood, the end of the streets is sometimes turned into a stairway and sometimes into a dead end street. the dead-end streets are usually arranged to form small squares where several house entrance doors are located. these squares are used as semi-private social spaces where thermal comfort is provided. figure 4. bey neighborhood urban texture. pg. 18 taştan / the academic research community publication figure 5. current condition of bey neighborhood (bey mahallesi, 2018). another feature that develops with the effect of climate is the passageways, which are called ’kabaltı’. thanks to these passages, the generated air currents provide a cooling effect on narrow streets (figure 6). the ’kabaltı’ that provide a sense of security and provide additional space form a shadow area on the street and define the transition between the street and the residence. one of the original design features of the neighborhood is the dead-end streets that have been customized and built to reach the buildings located in the inner parts of the big city blocks. the fact that the users of dead-end streets are identified and restricted makes it possible to create semi-private, public spaces for the socialization of people using this street (figure 7). figure 6. passage example which is called ’kabaltı’ (taştan,.2014) pg. 19 taştan / the academic research community publication figure 7. a dead end street in bey neighborhood (taştan, 2014) 4.2. building form and orientation traditional gaziantep houses are usually located on land with one or two sides adjacent to the parcel of land border. one or two of the building facades adjoins the wall of the neighboring building. in this way, the surface area of the houses is reduced and the construction area is used in the most economical way (deringöl, 2015). traditional gaziantep houses are built around the inner courtyard, which is visually separated from the street by high stone walls and called ’hayat’. the houses were built as adjoining buildings in narrow streets, but the houses were prevented from covering each other’s landscapes. high windows or no windows were placed on the façades overlooking the adjacent house. thus, the importance of ensuring privacy has been given. in gaziantep, in the winter, winds are dominant in the north-west direction, so the houses are generally directed to the south, considering the dominant wind direction (center, a. 2018). traditional residences were constructed in u,l and i form or in rooms assembled around the courtyard called the mansion type (figure 8). the large houses, called the mansion type, were built on lands of 2000-3000 m2 (atalar, 2004) . in the construction of traditional gaziantep houses in this way, climate conditions were taken into consideration. the buildings are designed in two parts and usually have large gardens in their courtyards. in the gardens located in avlu, a wide variety of agricultural products are grown, while in most gardens broad-leaved trees are planted to provide a shade and a cool area. one of the two houses forming the residence was constructed in such a way that the direction would be to the north and the other direction to the south. in this way, the sunlight is being used more in the house. the mass directed towards the northern direction is used in summer and spring days as it is cool. the mass towards the southern direction is used as the main living place during the winter days because it is hot and benefited from the sun (taşdoğan, a. d. 2008). pg. 20 taştan / the academic research community publication figure 8. types of traditional gaziantep houses (adopted from, taşdoğan, a. d. 2008) 4.3. spatial organisation traditional gaziantep houses are usually built on two floors. the house is connected to the street with a large door opening to the courtyard on the ground floor. the units arranged according to the location of the land have taken their original shape as a result of the effect of climate on housing design and daily life. these units are courtyard (hayat), livan (eyvan), kitchen (ocaklık), cellar (mahzen), room and toilet. (merkezi, a. 2018). the courtyard houses are designed to allow all family members to enjoy the outdoors. the courtyard is also the place where weekly and seasonal housework are done. all things such as washing and drying clothes, baking bread, preparing food for the winter months are done in courtyard (figure 9). the kitchen, which is a heat source, is positioned close to the courtyard. usually the toilet and bathroom are also positioned close to the courtyard. figure 9. spatial organization in traditional gaziantephousing (adopted from, taşdoğan, a. d. 2008) the rooms on the ground floor are directly connected to the courtyard. the rooms on the first floor are connected to courtyard with open staircases. one of the important places connected directly to the courtyard is the iwan. the iwan, which makes the passage between the rooms, can be defined as a room arranged on one side open to the courtyard. having a cool environment on hot summer days, the iwan is very useful. iwan is the shape in which the sofa in the traditional turkish house is transformed into the houses in southeastern anatolia as a result of changing according to the climate conditions. the facade of the eyvan, which was reached with stone stairs and which was positioned higher than the courtyard elevation, was covered with wooden joinery and glass (tatlıgil, f. 2005). courtyard usually has a pool and a garden that meets the vegetable needs and is usually covered with grapevines and trees are planted so that the solar heating effect is minimized (figure 10). pg. 21 taştan / the academic research community publication figure 10. courtyard and eyvan in traditional gaziantephouse (taştan, 2014) 4.4. construction system and materials the traditional gaziantep houses, built using natural materials such as natural stones and masonry construction techniques, are quite successful in adapting to hot-dry climates. the thick stone walls provide a cool environment in the summer months, while ensuring the necessary insulation in the winter months to keep the interior warm. when the houses were being built, natural stone called ’havara’, which is the local material, was used. (figure 11). during the day, the courtyard is soaked with water. stones with porous structure used as floor covering; allowing the water to slowly evaporate. the evaporated water thus reduces the temperature of the courtyard during hot summer days. the stones used in the construction of the houses are usually supplied from the surrounding stone quarries. in some cases, the stones used during the construction of the house have been obtained as a result of using the house ground as a stone quarry. in the basement of these houses, there are also caves that function as refrigerators. these caves, located in the basement of the houses, are cooled by water from the underground water collection pools called ’kastel’. the water collected in the underground water collection pools is used in the pool in the courtyard and in the daily needs. thus, the refreshing effect of water is used (figure 12) figure 11. use of natural stone material in wallconstruction (taştan, 2014) figure 12. pool in the courtyard of the house (taştan, 2014) pg. 22 taştan / the academic research community publication 4.5. physical properties of building facade the climate factor was effective in the formation of the facade characteristics of traditional gaziantep houses. in the houses, it is possible to mention two different facades, the facade facing the street and the facade facing the courtyard. gaziantep houses are made of masonry construction technique and because of the difficulty of glass production, window sizes are quite small. there are small windows on the south facades of the houses. on the northern façades, the use of windows was avoided as much as possible. in addition, the ground floor windows opened to the courtyard instead of the street side because of privacy reasons. this situation brings the feature of collecting all the spaces of the courtyard to the forefront. traditional gaziantep houses have been arranged to make console to narrow streets. thus, the street texture is gained a movement. these structures expand the use area of the house and also form shadow areas on narrow streets (atalar, a. 2004). traditional houses have been constructed with floor heights of three meters and over. these houses were built with small windows called bird windows, which are located above normal windows (figure 13). bird windows provide natural ventilation. wooden shutters, which are located on normal windows and can be adjusted in their viewing direction, are used to provide solar control (figure 14). the other element that provides natural ventilation in the houses is the hollow walls built on the upper part of the high courtyard walls. the function of these walls is to provide protection against the heat-raising effect of the sun and to create air circulation. thus, the courtyard is cooled (figure 15) figure 13. bird windows (taştan,2014) figure 14. wooden shutters (taştan,2014) pg. 23 taştan / the academic research community publication figure 15. courtyard wall (taştan,2014) 5. conclusion in this study, the impact of climate on housing architecture and living culture was discussed in gaziantep sample. gaziantep’s partially preserved neighborhood texture; has been developed in accordance with the climate to provide protection against hot weather during summer and cold weather during winter days. bey neighborhood; narrow streets and compact urban texture, is one of the examples of traditional architecture applied by climatic design principles. traditional gaziantep houses with courtyards were isolated from the street with high walls and built with a stocking system using natural stone material. the courtyard, which is a cool place with a pool, and the iwan was developed as a unit in the traditional gaziantep house where most of the daily life passes. the garden in the courtyard cools the environment with evaporation and also meets the vegetable needs of the users. the thick stone walls used in the houses provide insulation while the inner surfaces of the rooms are covered with natural material, breathable wood. traditional houses have been constructed with floor heights of three meters and over. the bird windows, located just below the top floor floor, provide natural ventilation. in addition, wooden panels on normal windows protect the building from the sun in summer and cold wind in winter. the climatic design principles seen in traditional gaziantep houses are stated in the table (table 1). although developing technology and construction techniques have changed, the climate design principles seen in gaziantep houses are valid today. later studies should focus on how traditional houses will be maintained today and how information from these living museum-like buildings will be adapted to contemporary buildings. table 1. characteristics of traditional gaziantep houses’s climatic design principles. concept characteristics of climatic design principles 1settlement texture and streets the buildings are positioned adjacent to each other, in the north-south direction and to provide cross ventilation. the city, which is developed as required by the climate and consists of narrow streets, has a compact form as possible. 2building form and orientation there are different sections for the summer and winter periods in the residence formed by the units coming together around the courtyard. the courtyard, which provides user comfort with its pool and garden, has been isolated from the street and has become the centre of the house. continued on next page pg. 24 taştan / the academic research community publication table 1 continued 3spatial organisation the heat sources, such as kitchens and bathrooms, were built to be associated with the courtyard. everyday life happens in the courtyard. with its high walls in the courtyard of the house, lifestyle isolated from the street has been established. the sofa in the turkish culture has been rearranged in accordance with the hot climate and has become a useful place called ’iwan’. 4construction system and materials the thick stone walls built with the masonry construction system help to provide thermal comfort. light colored stones reduce the heat effect of the sun and provide insulation with the help of their porous structures. 5physical properties of building facade by keeping the window openings small, the solar heat effect is reduced. -the windows turned to the courtyard instead of the street. this provides an introvert lifestyle. bird windows on the facade provide ventilation, especially in hot summer nights. the wooden and adjustable panels on the windows provide solar control. 6. references 1.varzaneh, e., amini, m., & bemanian, m. (2014). impact of hot and arid climate on architecture (case study: varzaneh jame mosque). procedia engineering, 94, 25-32. doi: 10.1016/j.proeng.2013.10.010 2.ünal, z.g., (1998), bilgisayar destekli tarihi çevre koruma bilgi sistemi oluşturulması ve gaziantep kentsel sit alanında örneklenmesi, doktora tezi, ytü fen bilimleri enstitüsü. i̇stanbul. 3.anon,(2016)., ‘gaziantep i̇li 2016 yılı çevre durum raporu’ t.c. gaziantep valiliği çevre ve şehircilik i̇l müdürlüğü, ankara, 2016. 4.gaziantep, (2018)., i̇klim: gaziantep i̇klim grafiği, sıcaklık grafiği, i̇klim tablosu climate-data.org. retrieved from https://tr.climate-data.org/location/286/ 5.high school earth science/world climates – wikibooks, open books for an open world. (2018). retrieved from https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/high school earth science/world climates 6.janania.a.g., (2014), sıcak i̇klimlerde geleneksel mimari çözüm; bina i̇çi i̇klimlendirme elemanı rüzgâr bacaları,yüksek lisans tezi, ytü fen bilimleri enstitüsü. i̇stanbul. 7.deringöl, t., (2015)., sürdürülebilir çağdaş konut tasarımında gaziantep’in yerel mimarisinden öğrenilenler, yüksek lisans tezi, selçuk üniversitesi fen bilimleri enstitüsü, konya 8.yüce, b., (2010)., osmanlı son dönemiile erken cumhuriyet dönemi arasında gaziantep’te mimari dokunun değişimi (1839-1950), yüksek lisans tezi, i̇stanbul teknik üniversitesi fen bilimleri enstitüsü, i̇stanbul 9.bey mahallesi. (2018). retrieved from http://www.gaziantepmetgold.com/kesfet.php?p=37 10.merkezi, a. (2018). gaziantep’te konutun gelişimi. retrieved from http://www.arkitera.com/gorus/668/gazia ntep-te-konut-yapilanmasinin-gelisimi 11.taşdoğan, a.d., (2008) konutmobilyasının gelişimi üzerine bir i̇nceleme gaziantep örneği,yüksek lisans tezi, çukurova üniversitesi sosyal bilimler enstitüsü, adana. 12.atalar, a., (2004). osmanlı dönemi antepevleri, merinos, i̇stanbul. 13.tatlıgil, f., (2005). gaziantep kentinin geleneksel konut dokusunun ve sosyo-kültürel yapısındaki değişimin incelenmesi, yüksek lisans tezi, y.t.ü fen bilimleri enstitüsü, i̇stanbul. 14.taştan, h. (2014). personal photo archive pg. 25 introduction gaziantep city hot-dry climate and climatic design principles the effect of hot-dry climate on the architecture of traditional gaziantep houses settlement texture and streets building form and orientation spatial organisation construction system and materials physical properties of building facade conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.510 sustainable urban land development an approach for economic viability of infrastructure development ashima banker1 1school of planning, anant national university, ahmedabad abstract rapid urbanisation trends worldwide has resulted in 54% of the world population living in urban areas, in 2014 from 39%, in 1980. as per 2014 revision of world population prospects, un, 2014, india & china are expected to be the largest contributors to the estimated increase in urban population till 2050. most of the grunt of the population growth is going to be seen on big cities or mega-cities, with asia to struggle most with estimated 60% of the megacities by 2025, most of them across india and china (13th annual edition of demographia world urban areas, 2017). amongst the various challenges faced by these megacities, providing developed land (i.e. land with access to infrastructure facilities) for future developments and city infrastructure within the limited funds available with the city & state governments, is a major one. indian cities, due to limited funds often face delays in infrastructure development (due to high costs of land acquisition) resulting in haphazard development. land acquisition for industrial, urban and infrastructure development has always been a contentious subject. for land development – land acquisition and land pooling are the two methods adopted in land acquisition process. land acquisition is carried out under act (laa), while land pooling is carried out using the provision of related town planning schemes like in the gujarat. a public private partnership mode plays an important role in the land acquisition and in development of land this study attempts to analyse the mechanisms followed under the two methods and the benefits of each. it also recommends mechanism to provide for larger pockets of developed land to be used by the urban local bodies for public purposes, generate revenue and provide for additional development provisions for the developers (for larger public good). the suggested tools & recommendations will in addition to cutting the cost of acquiring land will fetch capital to the project that would make the project self financed and self sustaining, releasing the financial pressure from the urban local body. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords sustainable land development; public private partnership; land pooling; town planning scheme; gujarat 1. introduction urbanisation trends worldwide have been observed to be growing at an alarming acceleration with the urban population increasing from 1.73 billion people (39% of world population) in 1980 to 3.96 billion people (54% pg. 178 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ banker / the academic research community publication of the world population) in 2014. variations in level of urbanisations observed across developed nations (82% in north america) and developing nations (48% & 38% in asia and africa respectively) brings with it its own set of opportunities and challenges. 90% of the estimated increase in urban population till 2050 is projected to be in the continents of asia & africa, india & china being the greatest contributors (2014 revision of world population prospects, un, 2014) while urbanisation brings with it increased economic growth, income levels and economic opportunities, the challenges it is bringing with it cannot be negated, particularly in the developing nations. the impact of population growth on the environment, social and economic development is of great concern. in 2000, asia had more than half of the world’s largest cities, including ten ‘mega-cities’ (with populations in excess of 10 million). this number increased to 21 out of a total 35 megacities worldwide in 2017. the continent is estimated to house 60% of the megacities by 2025, most of them across india and china (13th annual edition of demographia world urban areas, 2017). burgeoning at a rapid pace, these megacities, need to address varied challenges. one of it being providing developed land (i.e. land with access to infrastructure facilities) for future developments and city infrastructure within the limited funds available with the city & state governments. india, the second most populated nation of the world and one of the largest contributor (the other one being china), to increased urban population by 2050 has experienced increasing tendency towards metropolitanization of its cities in the recent past. needless to say the limited funds often leads to delays in infrastructure development (due to high costs of land acquisition) resulting in haphazard development. post 1990s, public private partnership (ppp), a boon and catalyst in promoting provision for urban and infrastructure, is being used by city governments across developing and developed nations for improved delivery of infrastructure services and urban development. ppp is becoming the preferred method for public procurement of infrastructure, infrastructure services projects and urban development projects throughout the world. while provision, operation and maintenance of many of these infrastructure facilities is important, high cost in the land acquisition often lead to delays in implementation and successful completion of many of these infrastructure development projects. 2. public private partnership for land development in india 2.1. partial land acquisition land development by private developers in india, typically land has been developed by the urban local body under full or partial land acquisition carried out under the land acquisition act, 1894. there have also been planned cities like chandigarh, gandhinagar, noida etc developed vide ‘full land acquisition model’. however, since this requires a large amount of capital investment to be incurred by the urban local body (ulb) it is seldom preferred. most cities in india use the ‘partial land acquisition method’ in which they acquire land parcels as required by the development plan for provision of public amenities, services and infrastructure like roads, parks etc. nonetheless, in addition to the land acquired for public facilities & utilities, this method too requires to either acquire land parcels (which means large funds required) for regularising plots or leave it for haphazard development within the major roads. gurugram is an excellent example where the ulb through private sector intervention has ensured effective and proper development of these areas with adequate physical and social infrastructure. 2.1.1. case 1 : gurugram located in the southern periphery national capital city of delhi, the city of gurugram (erstwhile gurgaon)has witnessed immense development over the last two decades. identified as one of the rapidly growing satellite town in the national capital region, the city has grown from populating approximately 15 lac in 2001 to 26 lakhs in 2017. congestion, stressed infrastructure and need for larger land parcels in delhi forced many people to choose pg. 179 banker / the academic research community publication gurugram for their residence. haryana urban development authority (huda), the urban local body (ulb) of gurugram operates under the haryana development and regulation of urban areas act of 1975, which legally allows development of land as colonies by licenced colonizers permitted to develop land parcels to the range of 100-200 acres. huda is responsible for formulating the development plan defining predominant land use zones, trunk infrastructure and pockets for future developments. until the year 1985 huda was taking the responsibility of acquiring land, formulating master plans of the sectors, providing infrastructure and making the plots available for private buyers. post 1985, the private developers have taken an active role in providing serviced land at a rapid pace to meet with the market demand. while huda is responsible for the provision of trunk infrastructure (and thus acquisition of land for this purpose), the private developers are required to provide access, social infrastructure and other public use in 45% of the total land (in the range of 100-200 acres) they acquire (read purchase) from private land owners. these developers are required to get a license from huda as a colonizer, for carrying out the task and develop within two years of purchasing the land. there is also a mandate to accommodate economically weaker section (ews) housing within the remaining 55% of land. the colonizer is responsible for the “. . . construction, maintenance and upkeep of all roads, open spaces, public parks and public health services for a period of five years from the date of issue of the completion certificate . . . . . . and thereupon to transfer all such roads, open spaces, public parks and public health services free of cost to the government of the local authority. . . ” (the haryana development and regulation of urban areas act, 1975). this mechanism reduces the financial responsibility of providing serviced land, lets the market provide the housing size, typology and pricing as per market demand, along with generating competitiveness amongst private developers providing good quality housing integrated with daily needs and social infrastructure. 2.1.2. case 2: lucknow lucknow, a town centrally located, in the state of uttar pradesh, has experienced a very high growth rate to the tune of 65.66% in past two decades. responding to the housing demand of this rapidly growing city the public agencies like lucknow development authority (lda), uttar pradesh housing development board, uttar pradesh awas vikas (taking care of rural areas) etc, have been actively engaged in the process of housing supply right from the beginning. similar to gurugram, in an attempt to further support the public sector agencies throughout the state, reputed private developers, are engaged in land development, as a licensee. in lucknow the private developers are granted the raw land by lda, comprising of marketable and non-marketable areas. the cost of this land is payable by the developer to lda in eight stages: 10% of the cost of land plus external development charges within 45 days from the date of issue of the license; 15% of the cost of land within 90 days from the date of issue of licenses and the balance 75% cost payable in six half yearly equal installments. the private developer is also required to reimburse the development authority for the total cost of external trunk services provided like water supply, sewer line, and main h.t. electric feeder line provided at open point outside the allotted land for further connection. the licensed developer is supposed to provide internal development works like provision of piped water supply to individual plot and constructed house with over head tank / under ground reservoir for sufficient storage of water, sewer lines, internal roads as specified in the development controls of lda, surface drainage, social facilities like post office, bank, electric substation, shopping centres etc. in accordance with the prevalent norms in master plan of lucknow by lda. thus, though the ulb is required to incur an initial expense for land purchase and trunk infrastructure implementation, the same eventually comes back to the ulb. similar to the case of gurugram, only 55% is available for residential areas and the remaining 45% is used for provision of internal services & social infrastructure. provision of ews housing is also mandated to be provided by the developer. the internal facilities of the colonies are maintained by the developer for a stipulated time period as mutually agreed upon by the developer and the ulb, after which it is handed over to the respective public pg. 180 banker / the academic research community publication department for further maintenance. the developer benefits from selling the 55% of the serviced residential area. however, since the land values are not very high in this city it takes longer (as compared to gurugram) for the developer to break even. 2.2. land pooling & land readjustment – town planning scheme the land pooling mechanism, popularly known as town planning scheme (tps), prevalent in gujarat since a century now (the first town planning scheme was in the year 1925), is an effective tool which is used by the state government and the ulbs to carve out land for common neighbourhood level infrastructure like roads, garden, social amenities etc. facilitated under the gujarat town planning & urban development act (gtpud) 1976, the town planning scheme mechanism provides for generation of serviced land to be used for future developments. an effective mechanism which takes into account existing developments, existing geographical/historical features to be protected, major connectivity existing and as proposed in the development plan (dp), the land use zone as proposed under the dp etc, tps are primarily planned in greenfield areas. however, there have been instances where these have been implemented after a certain amount of development has taken place. similar, to the previous case of partial acquisition, tps mechanism also allows for 25-50% of land to be carved out for providing roads, public utilities and social infrastructure, this mechanism has proved to be an effective tool for providing walkable communities with daily needs, parks / gardens and other neighbourhood level social facilities in every neighbourhood. the mechanism however, does not require either the developer (in case of gurugram) or the ulb (in case of lucknow) to acquire the remaining 60% of the land. instead, the individual private land owners continue to hold the 50-75% of their land which is given back to them, almost where the original land parcel was located, with an advantage of access, basic facilities like water, sanitation & electricity and a regularised shape/size for more effective development and use. a major strength of this mechanism is its participatory approach through land owners consultations. 2.2.1. case 1: ahmedabad ahmedabad urban development authority (auda), ulb for the city of ahmedabad, has been designing and implementing tpss across the city for providing serviced land for urban development. the tpss of ahmedabad have been used as an efficient means of expanding urban infrastructure without compulsory land acquisition and an equitable, participatory and cost-effective mechanism for providing serviced land. rapid population growth in ahmedabad city and saturation of the areas within the city limits lead to enormous growth in its peripheral areas post 1980s with consequential large-scale housing development in the peripheral areas. however, due to lack of adequate infrastructure and road network, the peri urban areas sprawled haphazardly. in order to facilitate smooth movement of future growth of traffic and traffic congestion of ahmedabad an outer ring road was conceptualized in the revised development plan 2011. implementation of urban roads have, by default, been always considered to the responsibility of the government (read ulb), resulting in the availability of funds to govern the implementation. in an attempt to explore alternative funding means to effectively implement city level infrastructure auda was able to implement such a large scale project. the tps tool was efficiently used to create the sp ring road as a city level infrastructure, 76 km long 60 m wide, planned with a long term vision keeping in mind the future growth areas. land required for the sp ring road was carved out through combination of land acquisition (only 13.1 km) and implementation of 46 tpss during 2000 to 2010. the final tps layout plans were prepared keeping in mind the alignment of the ring road. this reduced financial cost of the project by a considerable amount. this participatory approach ensued rapid and efficient implementation of city level infrastructure facility. pg. 181 banker / the academic research community publication figure 1. town planning schemes along the sp ring road 2.2.2. case 2: gandhinagar gandhinagar urban development authority (guda) is a government of gujarat undertaking constituted under gujarat town planning & urban development (gtp&ud) act-1976 to control unplanned urban spread and to regulate planned development in urban agglomerations of gandhinagar taluka. guda was established in 1996 by urban development & urban housing department, government of gujarat with a prime objective to carry out the sustainable planned urban development of the area and creation of basic infrastructure in the area falling outside the periphery of the capital city gandhinagar municipal corporation. gandhinagar urban development authority (guda) has used tps mechanism since its inception. in the year 2006 it used the tps mechanism in successfully amalgamating government land for creating institutional zone ‘knowledge corridor’ in city of gandhinagar. the area selected for formulation of this tps was strategically chosen where there were large amount of government land. thes government land was, however, scattered. land pooling and readjustment along with 40% deduction resulted in amalgamating large land parcels required for housing institutions like pandit deendayal upadhyay university (pdpu), gujarat law university, seismological institute, gujarat energy research and management institute, etc. it also provided for land area required for common facilities like convention centre, food courts, hostels etc. once again tps mechanism was creatively used to create a city level infrastructure with no land acquisition to be done by the ulb. this method can be utilised to even create large scale commercial areas which can be given to the private sector for development or sold for generating revenue. 2.3. conclusion the cases studied here provide a range of approaches in which private sector have contributed constructively in generating serviced land for urban development. the case of partial acquisition in gurugram & lucknow demonstrated adequate neighbourhood facilities. however, since most of the areas / colonies are developed by the private developers as individual colonies, and sometimes gated, many of the facilities, particularly gardens, play areas, community halls etc have their access limited to a certain set of population, residing in the colony. also, there is no existing phasing mechanism, ensuring simultaneous implementation of adjoining projects which leads to unsatisfactory public facilities in neighbourhoods till the whole area gets developed. this method, nonetheless, encourages a competitiveness amongst different colonizers to provide their best in terms of quality and livability, so as to make their project more saleable than the other. lucknow has proved to be a similar situation with the difference being in public amenities being available to all. however, the large capital investment required to be made by the ulb (though paid by the private developer later) pg. 182 banker / the academic research community publication in the beginning, increases the financial load on the ulb. nonetheless, the lucknow model lets the ulb get the reimbursement towards the implementation of trunk infrastructure which is done by the ulb. a mandate of provision of ews housing takes care of housing the urban poor, which is an important responsibility of the ulb. the tps mechanism, used in gujarat, in general, eradicates the issue of public areas and their access. there is also a general satisfaction level of the land owners due to the participatory consultations carried out during the process. however, the land pricing variation is very dynamic in this case as the plots closer to garden or commercial areas experience more escalation than those close to a railway line or public utility area. the reduced financial load on the ulb for acquiring land towards provision of roads and public facilities is the greatest advantage this mechanism imparts. the cases of ahmedabad and gandhinagar discussed employs the use of this tool further in an innovative way for carving out large land parcels for accommodating city level infrastructure. in addition to the reduced cost due to no land acquisition, this takes lesser time (due to its participatory approach) and has an ease of acquiring land for speedy implementation of city level infrastructure. table 1. comparative analysis of land development mechanisms parameter partial land acquisition land pooling & land readjustment tps case study gurugram lucknow ahmedabad gandhinagar % land for public use 45 45 40 40 land acquisition for public land yes yes no no % land for other development 55 55 60 60 land acquisition for other development (developer/ulb) developer ulb no no access to public facilities access to limited population sometimes full access to public full access to public full access to public level of facilities / amenities created neighbourhood neighbourhood neighbourhood & city level neighbourhood & city level financing / implementation of trunk infrastructure ulb (funded from service charges towards total built up from developers) ulb (later reimbursed by the developer) ulb (funded from betterment charges collected from private land owners) 2.4. recommendations the study and analysis makes it evident that the tp schemes mechanism and contribution of private sector in urban development has proved beneficial in reducing the cost of development for the ulb and in catalysing development in terms of quantity of serviced land / no. of houses, quality of construction and cost recovery. partial acquisition method used in gurugram provides the same benefits. however, the possibility of creating city level infrastructure is possible only through the tps model. the participatory approach of tps model particularly ensures less controversy and a greater acceptance of the development efforts. land acquisition, even for public purpose has become a time consuming process sometimes leading to unending litigation. the acquisition process besides being time consuming also becomes cost prohibitive while some pg. 183 banker / the academic research community publication landowners feel that they have not been adequately compensated. the town planning scheme being followed as an alternative method to assemble the land for urban development activities is a faster and financially affordable manner without taking recourse to compulsory acquisition of land. the development of an area wholly by town planning scheme would be more feasible than other options as the tps has more advantages over land acquisition when planning at a large scale. the following recommendations can further have the possibility of creating large land parcels for public purposes, generate revenue and provide for additional development provisions for the developers. 2.4.1. delineation of tpss wrt government land tpss need to be delineated with an attempt to have the possibility of amalgamation of government land. this would have the possibility of creating more than 50% of the total area being available for public purpose. typically for a tps 10-12 % are goes under roads, about 4-5% under social amenities, 2-3% under gardens, about 10% for ews housing. the remaining land can be used towards establishing commercial spaces for housing daily needs and also have some balance which can be sold or given on lease to private agencies for development. this would have the ulb generate a high land value and thus greater revenue as the land thus sold/leased would have access to all utilities and facilities. this was successfully implemented to create the knowledge corridor in gandhinagar. government of gujarat has proposed a halol-savli special investment region (sir) in the vadodara/panchmahal district of gujarat over an area of approx 122 sq km. the combined area of the government waste land and the government land across the delineated site is 354.3 ha. at present this area is all scattered across the sir area in smaller land parcels. the usage of these land parcels is limited in their current location ad site. however, when combined these land parcels can create a larger land bank of a significant size, which can be put to a greater use of a larger facility or in this case create a cbd of this large scale which will also generate large revenues for the regional development authority (rda). this land bank can be used in the following ways towards revenue generation: the developed land for public & semi public amenities which can be sold at higher price than acquiredthe land can be developed as a major business development zone (cbd) which can generate large revenues in the future. 2.4.2. larger sized tps typically the tpss have been of the size 100-200 ha. the land carved out from 40-50% deduction can be used for providing the public purpose use. this area can further be increased to have large pockets created, in case need be, for providing for a sub-city level or sector level facility like city level park, stadium, water treatment plant etc. this combined with amalgamation of government land can further this towards generation of land for saleable purpose too. 2.4.3. simultaneous planning / designing of adjacent tps in the case of outer ring road and its implementation, planning of adjoining tpss simultaneously or in conjunction with the others with a clear objective of creating a city level infrastructure resulted in the effective land generation. this can happen only if the tpss (which are more like local area plans) are comprehended and planned with the larger picture in mind. for example, if there is a need to create a large city level garden the same can be created by carving out pockets from 3 or more tps, ensuring a large open area pocket eventually collating to provide for the city level amenity. the above mentioned tools and recommendations will in addition to cutting the cost of acquiring land will fetch capital to the project that would make the project self financed and self sustaining, releasing the financial pressure from the urban local body. pg. 184 banker / the academic research community publication 2.5. references 1. pranati d. (2006). “urbanisation in india” , regional and sub-regional population dynamic population process in urban areas european population conference 21-24 june, 2006 2. the world bank. (2009). world development report, 2009: reshaping economic geography. 3. ballaney, s & patel, b. (2009). using the “development plan – town planning scheme” mechanism to appropriate land and build urban infrastructure, india infrastructure report, 2009. infrastructure development finance company 4. ballaney, s. (2008), the town planning mechanism in gujarat, india, world bank institute, the world bank. 5. gujarat infrastructure development board (gidb) (2009), growth of gujarat, blueprint for infrastructure in gujarat (big 2020) 6. urban management centre (umc) (2007), public-private partnership for road infrastructure development, mega cities....poised for change leading practices catalogue. 7. joardar, s. d., development mechanism in spatial integration, 42nd isocarp congress 2006 8. roychowdhury, r. and shubhra p. (2017). gurugram: a framework for sustainable development, centre for science and environment, new delhi 9. town and country planning department, haryana government. (2012). explanatory note on the final development plan 2031 ad for the controlled areas of gurgaon-manesar urban complex 10. rai, n. & singh, a. k. (2007). strategic issues in infrastructure development: a case study of lucknow city. regional centre for urban and environmental studies, lucknow university campus, lucknow pg. 185 introduction public private partnership for land development in india partial land acquisition land development by private developers case 1 : gurugram case 2: lucknow land pooling & land readjustment – town planning scheme case 1: ahmedabad case 2: gandhinagar conclusion recommendations delineation of tpss wrt government land larger sized tps simultaneous planning / designing of adjacent tps references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 40 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i2.754 urban megaprojects as disorderly and unruly endeavors gerardo del cerro santamaría 1 1 u.s. fulbright award recipient (urban planning), new york visiting scholar, london school of economics *corresponding author: gerardo del cerro santamaría (gdelcerro@gmail.com) abstract megaprojects have multiplied around the world as an urban response to the pressures of neoliberalism and globalization in favor of development, competitiveness and innovation. the protagonists of the megaprojects adopt a narrative of international competitiveness, framing a discourse dominated by the rhetoric of economic survival. the response has been urban transformations in which governments and private sector actors have struggled to position their cities and services within a global socio-political division of labor, production and consumption, and to coordinate their local networks with the requirements perceived or real aspects of an increasingly deregulated and neoliberal international economic system. it seems clear, then, that the phenomenon of megaprojects is intrinsically linked to the logic of growth, development, qualitative urban transformation, wealth creation, competitiveness and prosperity. one of the consequences of this overall framework is that megaprojects usually evolve from an orderly planning project to a disorderly an unruly endeavor. the complexities of construction, operation, management and governance of large projects entail a series of stochastic processes where risk and unpredictability become fundamental components of urban economic life. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban megaprojects; development; competitiveness; management; governance; sustainability; urban prosperity 1. introduction over the last three decades, many of the large-scale urban interventions carried out by the public administration, in collaboration with private interests, have taken place outside the usual or traditional planning framework. strategic planning, increasingly common in cities around the world, reflects the influence of globalization in achieving major changes in the institutional structure, processes, influence and scope of urban planning, as has been observed by friedmann (2005). although both the state and developers try to clarify the design, planning and construction of megaprojects, civil society still perceives these great developments as full of secrecy, and this contributes to strengthening opposition initiatives and movements (del cerro santamaría, 2013). "introverted modes of governance that circumvent local planning frameworks, traditional democratic channels of participation, and any accountability are frequently observed" (harris, 2017, 41). land use plans can play an important role in guiding real estate markets and ensuring “adequate allocation of public resources as a major contributor to the ability of cities to promote growth through urban megaprojects and equitably distribute their costs and benefits” (del cerro santamaría, 2013, 25). http://www.press.ierek.com/ mailto:gdelcerro@gmail.com https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 41 urban megaprojects are generally developed as public-private partnerships “with major impacts on the de facto privatization of planning; and they tend to be geared towards growth and competition rather than socially progressive ends. in general, there is a minimal commitment to public benefit or socially just policies arising from a primary focus on profitability” (harris, 2017, 45). from this point of view, urban megaprojects represent the paradigm of the entrepreneurial city and present most of the problems of this model of urban governance. one of the most important issues in urban megaprojects is the financing mechanism, especially for the initial costs that correspond to the first phases of cleaning, decontamination of the soil, elimination of physical barriers and the creation of the necessary infrastructures. in addition, high investment costs, low expectations of returns, and considerable risks incurred during the early stages make private sector involvement unlikely. despite the anti-statist and pro-market rhetoric of neoliberalism, the public powers facilitate (with notorious expenses) the private sector undertaking of their businesses, and without requiring a fair distribution of the benefits, a formula already known and burdensome for the public interests. the public sector, therefore, has to frequently be in charge of regenerating and preparing land for the redevelopment required by urban megaprojects. and yet, given the limited financing capacity and tight public budgets of most municipalities and metropolitan regions, finding the resources necessary to carry out such large-scale operations is highly problematic and often unsuccessful. in many other cases, funds are raised, the impact of these investments on local public budgets is typically high, and there is an obvious opportunity cost associated with them. many urban megaprojects form the centerpiece of revitalization plans in their respective cities. under the attractive perception of "connecting" cities and regions to the global economy, local politicians often over-promote the potential of the project. the global rhetoric of urban planners and leaders and the image of renewal aimed at generating investment in cities and regions contrasts with the limited capacity of cities to attract and secure foreign capital investment. many supposedly "global" megaprojects have only a local or regional scope, an indication of the many contradictions inherent in most urban regeneration plans based on re-qualifications and new land uses, as fainstein (2001) has pointed out. the multiple risks of megaprojects and the uncertainty associated with the possible financial viability of flagship projects severely limit the prospects for success in their construction and development and, at times, force developers to redesign initially ambitious projects. the real impact of urban megaprojects has been magnified beyond reason. in many cases, megaprojects are not financially sound projects. “they are driven by ostentation and use the economy as a mask to create completely unproductive businesses, built in urban areas that often cannot sustain them. due to the large sums of money involved, rent-seeking behavior is common, as is the bias towards optimism in forecasting results” (flyvbjerg et al., 2014, 63). 2. disorderly and unruly megaprojects there is a tension between plans and vision in the development of megaprojects, the realization of iconic megaprojects and the political pressure exerted by the economic and financial interests that sustain the megaprojects. the positive or negative urban effects of large development plans depend significantly on the ability of strategic actors and participants to anticipate or at least adapt and successfully manage the ad hoc problems and collateral effects that are frequent in long implementation processes (del cerro santamaría, 2013, 32). local-global logic, or the tensions between site specificity versus global uniformity, are extremely influential in the design and construction of urban mega-projects. “in this process, contextual elements such as history and local culture are important factors to interpret the architecture and to ascribe a specific meaning (local, regional, national, global) to the architectural practices used to build megaprojects and make them visible” (del cerro santamaría, 2013, 29). del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 42 most megaprojects are physically and socially autonomous, isolated and disconnected from the context of the host city; therefore, they promote a similar urban form regardless of the host city, an urban form that encapsulates a very narrow definition of urban life and culture (harris, 2017). the resemblance of most megaprojects to conventional global city images is suitable for some city marketing purposes, but clearly not all. the paradox of the star architect is that he aims to create unique and unrepeatable places and yet we are witnessing “the multiplication of aesthetically striking cultural facilities and similar corporate headquarters all over the world with the effect of homogenizing cities. ultimately, there is always the question of how to distinguish one megaproject from others and how to uniquely identify it with the particular city where it is built” (del cerro santamaría, 2013, 39). 2.1. management projects are often led by inexperienced planners and managers who “continue to change throughout the long project cycles that apply to megaprojects, leaving leadership weak. decision-making, planning and management are often multi-stakeholder processes involving multiple stakeholders, public and private, with conflicting interests” (flyvbjerg, 2014, 76). furthermore, technology and designs are often non-standard, leading to an "exclusivity bias" among planners and managers, who tend to view their projects as unique, preventing learning from other projects. “often there is an overcommitment to a certain project concept at an early stage, resulting in a 'lock' or 'catch', making the analysis of alternatives unlikely and leading to ad hoc commitments at later stages” (flyvbjerg, 2014, 54). the achievement and delivery of the megaproject is a high-risk stochastic activity, with overexposure to so-called “black swans”, that is, extreme events with massively negative results. “managers tend to ignore this, treating projects as if they really exist in a deterministic newtonian world of cause, effect, and control. statistical evidence shows that such complexity and unplanned events are often overlooked, leaving budget and time contingencies not adequately addressed. as a consequence, misinformation about costs, schedules, benefits and risks is the norm throughout project development and decision making. the result is cost overruns, delays, and profit gaps that undermine project viability during construction and development” (flyvbjerg, 2014, 67). 2.2. economic impact in most megaprojects, global economic positioning and marketing towards a globally mobile elite prevails over concern for local issues (harris, 2017). “members of the economic and political elites and their local affiliates can be particularly innovative in creating enclaves that protect them and their families from the worst effects of mega-projects and in spreading the cultureideology of consumerism in which the new forms of global urbanity rest. urban megaprojects and emblematic buildings, according to this point of view, are a powerful tool to transmit the consumerist values and practices that sustain capitalist globalization” (del cerro santamaría, 2013, 46). there are examples of megaprojects where broad benefits have been achieved, combining international economic positioning with wealth distribution strategies. “these cases show the existence of a keynesian state model, with the aim of counteracting the cycles and damaging effects of the market, guaranteeing collective well-being and reducing inequalities. two areas offer perhaps the most transferable opportunities: (1) housing, where increasingly significant portions of residential land are allocated to affordable housing; and (2) transportation, where the rezoned value of the land is used to finance public transportation infrastructure for other parts of the city, as well as for the project itself” (harris, 2017, 71). 2.3. context not all cities are well positioned to be put on the map by means of a megaproject, especially those of the second or third level in terms of population that are outside the main routes and flows of people and commerce, or lack a del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 43 metropolitan or regional government capable of financing itself. the expected success of the megaprojects reinforces the influence of the promoters, who will agree to negotiate only in places with obvious financial and location advantages. cities and regions around the world follow, in part, their own specific logic of development: “each has specific reasons that help explain the decline, and each may require localized strategies for redevelopment. applying some of the ingredients of revitalization in most cities may be inevitable due to the rapid and uncritical adoption of political discourses from the center to the periphery, but hoping to repeat the success of a city in another context can be very difficult” (del cerro santamaría, 2013, 49). however, these conditions are more likely to be found in larger cities that are already on the map. “in many places, mega-projects become spectacular global image campaigns due not only to possibly unrepeatable buildings, but also to local economic and political conditions. far from being the triggers and drivers of revitalization, megaprojects sometimes follow urban revitalization processes” (del cerro santamaría, 2013, 54). as a consequence of the important role played by local political conditions, “the successful replication of megaprojects elsewhere may require a careful analysis of existing preconditions and even a re-examination of the validity of the strategy when the political-economic climate changes. this need to pay attention to context when designing urban policies can represent a structural obstacle to the successful development of megaprojects in many cities” (del cerro santamaría, 2013, 38). 2.4. resistance dissidence, protest, and resistance against urban megaprojects do not occur frequently, “but can be successful when they do, with the effect of immobilizing the megaproject and defeating the plans of urban promoters and leaders, or at least forcing its modification. while the ambitions of urban elites contribute to presenting large projects as indispensable, global networks also help to explain why anti-megaproject movements can evolve from localized local protests over land abuse to large social movements with transnational ties” (del cerro santamaría, 2013, 61). 2.5. evaluation the notion of "multiple success factors" and "success criteria" is not new in the field of project management and, in fact, is one of the most discussed topics by specialists. “it is increasingly important to evaluate projects and their impacts at different times and based on multiple criteria in order to fully assess their performance. success is often driven by political and / or power-related factors. due to the strongly political nature of stakeholders throughout the supply chain and their different underlying goals, the success factors commonly considered no longer appear to be sufficient. this configuration requires innovative governance solutions that align the interests of different participants in a complex environment with a large number of key players” (harris, 2017, 32). 2.6. sustainability one of the main topics in relation to future research on megaprojects is the challenges of sustainability and “how megaprojects will cope with external industrial influences such as digitization and automation. sustainability usually refers to environmental practices. in megaprojects, it is appropriate to use a broader definition, which includes concepts of economic, social and institutional sustainability” (del cerro santamaría, 2019, 9). a megaproject can be defined as sustainable “if it is planned and executed to take into account the capacity, suitability, resilience, diversity and balance of its urban ecosystem. we consider sustainability as an organic process involving the environment, the economy and the community form and efficiency (environmental factors in design, architecture, engineering and construction) and the policies (plans and urban practices that explicitly aim to maintain and improve the economic well-being of citizens)” (del cerro santamaría, 2019, 12). del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 44 2.7. new cities (new towns) in south korea the reconfiguration of urban spaces through the construction of megaprojects is evident in the case of new towns, as is the case of south korea. although this type of construction is less frequent today in that country for various reasons, the case of two new successful cities on the outskirts of seoul, bundang and ilsan , shows that, in south korea, despite decentralization and political and governmental neoliberalization , and the slowdown of its miraculous economic growth, the country still employs the concept of new cities in its megaprojects. south korea has been planning and building new cities for reasons not strictly residential. for example, to revitalize backward regions, south korea has decided to create the cities of saemangeum and sejong , rather than revitalize existing regions. in order to better compete in the global economy, the asian country has even chosen to build a new global city (songdo) from scratch, instead of building iconic mega-projects within other existing cities. south korea's costly and risky endeavor to develop new populations to solve its problems is understandable when one considers its past experiences of success: bundang and ilsan , built on the outskirts of seoul in 1989 to alleviate the housing shortage, are generally considered as the first symbols of the new urban developments in the country. in fact, bundang and ilsan were the first projects in south korea to be formally dubbed "new cities" (shin-doshi), and their impact on subsequent construction has been significant. its impact is not limited to south korea. many developing countries view bundang and ilsan as examples of new urban districts, or new cities, because of the surprising speed with which they were built and their ability to attract private capital to finance them. more than a dozen countries have signed contracts with the developer of bundang and ilsan to import these new developments. the importance of bundang and ilsan and their possible influence on the construction of new cities, both domestic and international, should therefore be underlined in order to understand why these new cities have been considered a success. this also allows us to obtain some perspective to understand if these new projects can obtain similar results today in south korea, and if they can work equally in other developing countries (joo, 2013). 2.8. kuala lumpur: the travels of megaprojects for more than two decades, research on urban megaprojects has focused on competitive efforts to sell venues. megaprojects are not just large-scale sites; they also seek to be focuses of interest capable of creating a symbolic image visible on a global scale of cities and even nation-states. a significant number of researchers have studied the use of megaprojects as a way to produce a globally marketable image of the city. however, much less attention has been paid to evaluating the success of these imaging strategies, the channels that are used to circulate visual images, and the extent to which they are consumed. this is the case in kuala lumpur (kl), malaysia. high-profile megaprojects in kl since the 1990s have been the subject of analysis in various studies, but, to date, there has been no concerted effort to trace the global effects of such a re-imaging process through the journey of visual images of megaprojects. based on kl megaprojects, such as the klcc in the city center (which includes the petronas towers), we can consider a series of means through which tourist places circulate: films and television, souvenirs, planning models, references at the height of the building, commercial advertising and even academic practices. the global repositioning of kuala lumpur has required considerable imaginative, discursive and symbolic investment. some nation states in many regions of the world have applied visualization strategies to capture global audiences. in the asia pacific region in the 1990s, such strategies frequently materialized in urban mega-projects with a particular penchant for building skyscrapers. the power of published images of a building, especially on television, is potentially greater than the visual experience of the building itself, since the latter is limited to a much smaller number of viewers. the klcc project and the petronas towers in particular was destined to become a "cultural landmark" for kuala lumpur and malaysia, placing the city and the nation on the "world map." since it was announced by prime minister mahathir mohamad in 1991, it was clear that such an investment was being made to travel, to be on the map, and to be seen from afar (bunnell, 2013). del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 45 2.9. monstrous hybrids in american urbanism megaprojects are proliferating around the world, and they are also growing rapidly in the heart of every city in the united states in the form of stadiums, convention centers, and casinos. the economic arguments against these structures have proven fruitless, as megaprojects are driven vigorously by the local elite and growth coalitions and irreducible to criticism. in both philadelphia, pennsylvania, and detroit, michigan, historic buildings have recently been demolished, streets opened, and pedestrianized neighborhoods removed in the name of economic growth. these projects, monstrous hybrids, can be understood as entities that represent a negative combination in the appropriation of commercial and governmental responsibilities. the proliferation and metastasis of megaprojects in the city center indicates a pathological increase in local government arrogance mixed with monopoly and opportunistic trade. unless a reform of local economic policy is carried out, the negative impact of urbanism based on propagating megaprojects can be moderated by a more intelligent location of these structures, away from active urban areas, in large and accessible places from the center, but they do not visually dominate the neighborhood or its surroundings. with respect to their downtown megaprojects, both cities represent two of the worst urban design scenarios, despite having numerous assets elsewhere. the philadelphia convention center represents the worst case of "conglomerate" cities, in which a megaproject is inserted directly into the dense structure of the historic center, with active street life, abundant businesses, housing and organizations. the convention center is a bad case, but the situation in detroit is far worse: it is one of the most extreme examples of the deterioration of the city center, which is being eaten up in its entirety by megaprojects, leaving a few fragments of its old structure like islands in an ocean of asphalt (ryan, 2013). 2.10. railway megaprojects: stuttgart 21 since its introduction in the early 1990s, stuttgart 21 was an extremely controversial project. although without being uniform in their messages, purposes or methods, opposition groups and civic associations directly confronted the bold proposals of stuttgart 21, demonstrating that cities are spaces in which growth-oriented neoliberal restructuring is most vividly expressed, but also where it is most fiercely confronted. civic associations and the defense of the environment opposed the basic premises of the development plan from its inception. the umkehr stuttgart (devuelvan stuttgart) group was created to organize the opposition and to actively participate in the decision-making process. headed by the bund, the largest environmental non-governmental organization, the alternative transport club vcd and a recently established citizens' group called leben in stuttgart, umkehr stuttgart organized a multifaceted campaign employing various forms of protest, including mobilizations in the streets, to support legal actions that promoted the development of alternative proposals. opponents questioned every aspect of stuttgart 21: from its alleged efficiency to its financing, to the alleged environmental sustainability of transport infrastructure and its impact on urban development. there were general criticisms about the cost of the project. even the german federal court of auditors qualified the assessment of the real cost of the project as unacceptable. critics also argued that the project's cost and risk were disproportionately subordinated to the public sector, as deutsche bank, the main private funder, significantly reduced its financial exposure over the years. public investment in the project affected investments in local and regional transportation elsewhere, posing a threat to existing services. in addition, the transportation priorities of the project and the announced improvements to the stuttgart rail crossing were questioned (novy & peters, 2013). 2.11. the afghan ring road megaproject the great bypass highway under construction in afghanistan connects almost all major cities in the country (kabul, lashkar gah, herat, mazar-esharif). the question is to identify the actors and institutions responsible for the construction of the ring road and to determine the reasons for carrying out a massive construction project (a 5,000kilometer highway) in a place of conflict. the main participants in the project, civilian government agencies, the military, promoters and banks, have specific reasons for participating in a megaproject of such magnitude. del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 46 the main reasons for the territorial restructuring that the road produces are the desire to satisfy the world's energy needs using the energy supplies of central asia (capitalist globalization at its best geostrategic expression), and the military need to efficiently transport goods through the limited regional systems available in south and central asia. it is, therefore, a geostrategic project. the bypass was conceived as a ring, a unique shape that could serve to maintain us / nato control within the borders of afghanistan and which could ultimately pass into the hands of the afghan state. however, the construction of this mega-project, and the safety strategies that the road has enabled, suggest that “it embodies a form of "global conflict" that encourages close connections between local powers and transnational powers while ignoring the state. afghan completely. what implications does this dual strategy of building and dismantling the afghan nation have for international development? the strategy constitutes a "mega-megaproject", a reform package that is based on the physical transformation of the afghan infrastructure to win the trust of the population. the afghan highway allows one to examine the ways in which even pre-existing structures within a nation have been modified to fit a mega-project-based strategy” (miller, 2013, 45). the scalar implications of this megaproject can be seen by focusing on the political and social aspects that have shaped the use of this highway. the first scalar implication is local, although supported by global forces: the conflict economy of tolls for local militias. the second scalar implication is global, but sustained by local forces: the physical manifestation of regional geopolitical interests in energy resources through the financing and construction of roads. the afghan state has not played a significant role in any of these power structures, suggesting that the scale of the 'nation' is irrelevant to many of the economic and physical processes that occur on the afghan border (miller, 2013). 2.12. controversy and defeat: the mexico city airport can megaprojects completely fail despite the backing of the government and pro-growth coalitions? this seemed to occur in mexico city, where some of the political and economic conditions that can lead to the failure of an urban megaproject have arisen. the case of the frustrated attempt to build a new international airport in the metropolitan area of mexico city shows the nature of the social and political alliances that were created to stop the airport project and the great socio-spatial, political, economic and economic conditions. institutional institutions under which these alliances were forged. several relevant factors led to the failure of this megaproject: “the divisions within and between the political classes, and of these with the citizens, driven by democratization, decentralization and globalization; the enabling and participatory power of the local state vis-à-vis the national one that sustained the citizen opposition; and the importance of cultural identity, historical alliances, and geographic location in mobilizing a wide range of local, national, and international alliances to fight the project” (davis & flores, 2013, 56). the case of the failed mexican airport suggests “that the historical and institutional legacies of national and urban development in latin america have created bureaucratic ambiguities and tensions over who is ultimately responsible for the development of large infrastructure projects in countries in the process of democratic transition” (davis & flores, 2013, 65). this same urban, political and institutional history has also deprived planning authorities and private developers of previous experiences regarding the role of citizen participation in the development of an urban megaproject. with these legacies, countries like mexico “have not yet developed institutional structures and processes that improve legitimacy and allow success in the construction of megaprojects subject to strong citizen opposition. in this sense, the failure in the construction of the airport megaproject in mexico city reflects a moment of precariousness in the political and economic development of the country, as well as the strength of the opposition that developed around the project” (davis & flores, 2013, 68). del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 47 3. infrastructure and environmental challenges in china infrastructure and megaprojects have opened the door to socio-economic development in china. while the socioeconomic results are indisputable, china’s performance in the area of environmentally sustainable development leaves room for improvement. according to the prc ministry of ecology and environment (prcmee), “two-thirds of china’s lakes have chemical deficiencies caused by pollution. as a result of pollution and increasing consumption, two-thirds of china’s cities are short of potable water. air is heavily polluted across the northern heavy industry belt from shanxi to liaoning provinces and along the heavily industrialized east coast. many polluted industrial sites will require extensive soil remediation before they will again be fit for human use” (prcmee, 2016, 13). according to a new york times report, china is responsible for 47% of the world’s coal burning, which is more than all other countries in the world combined. as a result, “respiratory diseases that are directly related to air pollution are currently the leading cause of death in china, according to the world wildlife fund (wwf). in addition to some of the world’s worst air pollution, china also has many waterways that are highly polluted. according to the economist, more than 50% of china’s surface water is not fit for human consumption, whereas approximately 60% of the groundwater under chinese cities is considered to be severely polluted" (watkins et al, 2018, b3). 3.1. energy according to the world bank, “electricity production in china doubles nearly every 10 years. china now generates 18 percent of all electricity globally, only slightly less power than the united states. china’s non-fossil fuel electrical power sources are still overwhelmingly nuclear and hydro (96 percent combined), according to the world bank. the more difficult target to achieve will be 20 percent renewable power production by 2020. despite rapid growth, wind and solar energy sources still make up less than one percentage point of total electricity production in china. since solar power is still more expensive to produce than electricity from coal-fired turbines, the government offers subsidies either for capital investment or operations, but neither subsidy is sufficient to break-even under current conditions” (world bank, 2018, 25). in addition to renewable power generation, there is a growing market for energy service company (esco) projects, “which can help to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. esco projects typically finance the purchase of new energy-efficient equipment through projected savings on future fuel bills in comparison with old or energy-hungry machinery. while the world bank and many smaller “green funds” have already entered this market, many local investors are hesitant, since they find the five-to-10 year payback period too long. this is one factor contributing to opportunities for foreign energy savings companies with local partners” (bachman & burnett, 2012, 35). 3.2. water and wastewater future efforts to increase water sector performance should adopt a more integrated approach. “the different components of urban water systems—water, wastewater, and stormwater—are often handled by different government organizations with different, sometimes competing agendas. integrated water resource management can be used to match water quality to water uses, improve treatment cost-effectiveness, and raise the quality of discharged water to environmentally safe levels. china’s water industry will open up for reverse osmosis, membranes, and other advanced treatment technologies that minimize energy inputs and simplify operations” (southerland, 2017, 43). 3.3. transportation transit-oriented development (tod) is key in the development of chinese cities. to be sure, land use and density factors are not yet considered systematically during design. however, “many cities retrofit their zoning codes after subway construction to allow development to cluster around transit stops. with the right land use mix, this offers the possibility of higher use of non-motorized transport. at least 13 chinese cities currently have one or more subway lines under operation, 54 lines covering 1,700 km. another 76 lines, or an additional 1,600 km, are under construction. the target is 40 subways systems by 2020 covering about 7,000 km. at this pace and scale, tod is poised to make a big difference in the long-term sustainability of urban living” (luo et al, 2017, 41). del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 48 3.4. desertification according to smith, “china is also dealing with rampant soil erosion and desertification, which is a type of land degradation that is a result of previously fertile soil transforming into arid land due to poor agricultural practices and land management, as well as extreme climate change. both desertification and soil erosion cause blinding dust storms and river-clogging mud that have battered chinese cities located near the edge of the gobi desert. according to the wwf, desertification has already swept over 30% of china’s land mass. since 1978, the chinese has followed guidelines set by the three-north shelter forest program, otherwise known as the great green wall, which involved the construction of what is now over 66 billion trees that are used to block the path of the gobi’s storms. despite this afforestation project, the desert’s expansion continues to affect various surrounding cities” (smith, 2018, 32). and schwärzel argues that, “as towns continue to get swept under sand as a result of these storms, the chinese government is forced to move affected populations away from degraded lands. in fact, between 2003 and 2008, over 650,000 people who were previously living in china’s inner mongolia province were forced to resettle in other cities. an even more concerning fact is that these sand dunes are forming only about 44 miles away from beijing at a pace of almost 2 miles each year. to prevent the capital city from being submerged in sand, the chinese government must investigate new and creative ways in which natural ecosystems can be restored” (schwärzel, 2017, 21). 3.5. sustainability challenges in china one of the factors contributing to the complex essentially complex nature of sustainability is that, in conceiving and presenting the goals of preserving sustainable strategies, sustainability appears as interdependent on the dimensions of entrepreneurship, innovation and competitiveness of economies. indeed, the goal that is presented to us in the majority view on sustainability is “green capitalism,” that is, not a sustainable global society with clearly established limits to growth, but rather the sustainability of the information and knowledge economy, to which reformers and planners add more or less ambitious commitments to the environment (meadows, randers et al, 2004). the chinese case illustrates the possibilities, contradictions and limitations of this approach (world bank, 2018). in early 2019, the chinese government approved three sustainable development zones, shenzhen, guilin and taiyuan , which form the leading axis in chinese innovation (ness, 2018). these zones are implementing the 2030 united nations sustainable development goals. “shenzhen is china’s innovation engine. this zone will integrate technologies in sewage treatment, waste utilization, ecological restoration, and artificial intelligence to solve issues from resource management to pollution. guilin will focus on innovations that tackle desertification, creating solutions that can be replicated by other regions facing the threat of encroaching deserts. taiyuan, targeting air and water pollution, will foster innovative solutions that can be replicated by regions relying on resource extraction” (xinhuanet, 2018, 22). shenzhen, guilin and taiyuan function as large sustainable innovation districts (or innodistricts). in these newly developed urban areas, achieving sustainability usually means achieving environmental sustainability. this goal by itself, however, does not guarantee the sustainability of innodistrict development in the knowledge economy (carnes, 2016). this objective must be pursued in a comprehensive and holistic way (united nations sdg 2030), such that it is integrated in innodistricts, any infrastructure projects, industrial corridors for advanced manufacturing, factories of the future and other development projects. it ought to take into account: (1) environmental sustainability, promoted by sustainable infrastructure and the creation of "sustainable development zones"; (2) sustainability in the design and planning of the development project ; (3) sustainability in management; (4) institutional sustainability, aimed at the integration of all relevant stakeholders, and (5) socioeconomic sustainability, based on a strategic alignment of the project's objectives with urban, regional and even national policies. http://english.gov.cn/policies/latestreleases/ del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 49 complex sustainability, therefore, is an organic process that includes the environment, the economy and the community; “form and efficiency (environmental factors in design, architecture, engineering and construction) and policies (plans and urban practices that aim explicitly to maintain and improve the social and economic well-being of citizens). thus a development project can be defined as sustainable if it is planned and implemented to take into account the capacity, adaptability, resilience, diversity and balance of the ecosystem where it is located and of which it constitutes a symbiotic element” (del cerro santamaría, 2019). despite this systematic and holistic approach, the limitations of many of the sustainability strategies underway today persist. such limitations are seen in the fact that, to the extent that countries shift into the transition from urban property investment and finances to science, knowledge and innodistricts, what we see is that sustainability strategies, including environmental sustainability, are conceived as a central element in the positioning of the market. “as cities and countries climb the industrial value ladder and expand their service sector to cater to growing domestic demand, environmental quality will become central to achieving sustainable economic growth. urban residents in the more sophisticated markets are already putting a substantial price premium on high-quality urban environment (i.e., ecological or "sustainable"). to attract the right labor pool, cities will need to raise their game further” (world bank, 2018, 33). thus, in global cities like new york, london or sydney, among others, certain strategies aimed at sustainability can have the perverse effect of gentrification (curran, 2017), which starkly reveals the problems of anthropocentric sustainability. from this perspective, the planet continues to be considered exclusively a resource for human use. 4. towards urban prosperity any fairly rigorous analysis of the impact of urban megaprojects on the economic growth of cities yields a result that generates skepticism: megaprojects act as supposed catalysts, but do not directly achieve important economic transformations in the cities where they are built. if spectacular architecture and urban mega-projects are not enough to positively transform a struggling urban economy, how can cities and regions successfully implement policies that, in times of globalization, bring economic benefits to citizens? the answer lies at the intersection of political economy, the historical and socio-economic context, and the reconsideration of urban boundaries as an integral part of broader regional networks of production and trade. although globalization offers new dimensions linked to the development of megaprojects and emblematic projects, it is also revealed firstly in the formation of networks, flows and economic nodes that link cities with the world economy. therefore, any fundamental analysis of contemporary urban development must focus on the economic globalization of cities and regions, the patterns of transnational finance and foreign trade. and thus, aligning the goals of megaprojects with regional and national policies has often proven to be a good decision. in many cases, the pillars of the recent evolution of cities to embrace the requirements of globalization were already present in the golden years of urban transformation: industrialization based on exports and the transnational reach of the local and regional financial bourgeoisies. this recent era of globalization, therefore, is not a new phenomenon in many cities (except, perhaps, for its scale, scope, and complexity), but rather a new cycle in a secular trend for cities to join. global economic circuits. thus, despite the exacerbated pace of recent financial globalization and its spectacular technological infrastructure, its mechanisms and trajectories are not new. as giovanni arrighi, the late italian economist, argues, “much of what is known as “globalization” has in fact been a recurring trend of world capitalism since modern times. this recurrence makes the dynamics and likely outcomes of current transformations more predictable than they would be if globalization were as novel a phenomenon as many observers think” (arrighi, 1997, 26). without a doubt, the most spectacular expansion of the last two decades, and the strongest evidence used by the arsenal of defenders of the globalization thesis as a recent novelty, has not been in fdi or world trade, but in financial markets worldwide. since 1980 the total value of financial assets has grown two and a half times faster than the aggregate gdp of all advanced industrial economies. del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 50 “and the volume of transactions in currencies, bonds and stocks has increased five times faster. in the absence of this explosive growth in world financial markets, we would probably not be talking about globalization today, and certainly not as a departure from the ongoing process of world market reconstruction launched under the hegemony of the united states after world war ii. the idea of globalization was identified from the beginning with the idea of intense interstate competition for increasingly volatile capital and a consequent subordination of most states to the dictates of transnational corporations. urban megaprojects emerged as a prominent vehicle for providing cities with an edge in the growing competition for capital and investment” (arrighi, 1997, 31). this vision of financial globalization and the restructuring of states caused by global processes has had consequences for the planning of policies associated with the construction of urban mega-projects that want to be successful. a first consequence has been the transformation of urban planning frameworks, processes and tools. the agencies and administrative procedures that implement planning policies have been integrated within the variable organizational structures of the states. however, in a flexible and post-fordist or 'disorganized' economic framework, there is a clear trend towards endowing megaprojects with their own strategic spatial plans, as mentioned above, which no longer depend on state regulations but not even of the urban regulations in operation. such organizational structures determine the levels of the political-administrative machinery to which planning powers are attributed and the political dynamics through which these powers are exercised. administrative scales are further relativized with new policies and regulations promulgated at different levels, and we have been witnessing a reordering (or reterritorialization) of the state in an explicit hierarchy of jurisdictions. despite everything, new forms of relationships between administrative levels continue to emerge, which are necessary to implement strategic planning policies, since disaggregating the objectives of megaprojects from regional or national goals is not desirable or convenient with a view to achieving results. therefore, megaprojects, supposed catalysts of urban development, “can also be used at the national level as tools to advance urban and regional policy. in countries with active national urban policies towards urban development, megaprojects are often planned at the national level to address housing problems, redirect urban development to specific areas, or trigger economic development in specific sectors. in such cases, projects are integrated with broader economic and social policies and tend to reflect broader economic trends as well” (del cerro santamaría, 2019, 8). the role that urban megaprojects can assume as instruments of national policy also depends directly on economic cycles and political programs. megaprojects can become an instrumental way of increasing public spending in periods of private sector withdrawal, as a way to maintain or boost aggregate demand. public spending through urban megaprojects can create conditions for productive investments and have an important multiplier effect in terms of social return on investment and increase in gdp. finally, “when studying megaprojects in connection with urban growth coalitions, we can ask ourselves whether the form of development represented by these large projects simply legitimizes growth machines and commercial interests, or whether this phenomenon can be analyzed from the prism of the role played by state actors and agencies in urban restructuring” (del cerro santamaría, 2019, 7). the study of megaprojects shows that they can function as pro-growth strategies, but are usually less decisive as direct development mechanisms with a synergy of their own than as symbols or catalysts for such development and the possible economic improvement that it entails. the study of urban megaprojects, emblems of global capitalism, helps us understand the dynamics of the economic system and urban development at different geographical scales. urban megaprojects have multiplied in the last two decades throughout the world and their transnational deployment continues to be one of the most important phenomena for understanding a variety of socio-economic processes of global reach in this 21st century. we remain convinced of the advantages of a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the complexities of urban megaprojects and the contradictions inherent in globalization and contemporary urban development. del cerro santamaría/ the academic research community publication pg. 51 references arrighi, g. 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social priorities; less developed countries; sudan 1. background provision of affordable housing is a big challenge and priority for all governments. because of the lack of economic resources it is more difficult in less developed countries. serious problems is facing housing development in less developed countries such as slums prevention, urban divide, economic development, human development and climate change. sustainable housing can play an important role in achieving sustainable development, especially in poor less developed areas. in most developed and less developed countries, housing polices are not addressed pg. 27 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abdelgadir / the academic research community publication within an integrated policy, the social, economic and environmental issues (un-habitat, 2012). if the affordability aspects excluded, it is very difficult to call such housing projects, a sustainable housing development. what usually called social housing is a standard practice in most less developed countries, including the study area. it provides shelters for poor people, with poor standards, usually in remote locations without considering their lifestyle, economic and social needs. the provision of such housing units is still covering a very low percentage of the real demand, especially with the high population growth areas. sudan annual growth population rate is 2.6% with over 37 million estimated population according to the 2007 national population survey. it is one of the biggest countries in africa, covering over 250 million hectares. the climate range from hot dry in the north, and change gradually to dry and semi dry in the center, sub-tropical region in the south with heavier rains and dense tree cover. most human settlements clustered around the rivers valley. 25-30% of the population live in khartoum the capital city. immigration because of war and conflicts and lack of services was a key factor in this high percentage (npc, 2010). less than 400 us dollar a year is the average of per capita income. sudan considered a less developed country because of the low average income, level of education, spread of diseases, lack or undeveloped and degrading condition of infrastructure. see table 1, (zakieldeen, 2009). table 1. basic poverty indicators for sudan compared to othercountries (ldcs) and arab countries,zakieldeen (2009) indicators sudan% future targets based on expected available budget less developed countries% arab countries developing countries basic education basic education enrolment rate 75.2% 90% 60% 86.4% 85.7% literacy rate 50.1% 41.1% 59.1% 59.7% 28.3% health infant mortality rate 68/1,000 65/1,000 103/1,000 55/1,000 64/1,000 child mortality rate 103,100,000 96/100,000 161/100,000 72/100,000 93/100,000 maternal mortality rate 509/100,000 478/100,000 na na na malaria rate 25% 22% 37.3% 19% na aids rate 1.6% 1.12% 4.13% 0.16% 10.18% water drinking water provision 60% 64.5% 64% 83% 72% sanitation coverage 60% 66% 40% 77% 44% as a result of migration from rural to urban areas, and also from neighbor countries like ethiopia, eretria, south sudan and chad, slums and informal settlements spread around the major cities. lack of infrastructure, sanitary, formal planning and building regulations is associated with such slums. addressing the issue of affordability is, therefore, a necessary condition for transformation towards sustainable housing. if affordable housing create a negative environmental, social or economic impact, it can not be considered sustainable. in the last decade sudan government changed the housing strategy from site & service and upgrading programs, to state built housing. this shift to state built housing reduces the benificares, because of the high demand and low supply. but it can be an oppertiunity to implement sustainable housing indicators, including social aspects of a sustainable housing. in the last few years many sustainable housing indicators and assessment tools appears, but its notice most of it developed in a developing country contexts, therefore the priority was environmental sustainability, due to the pg. 28 abdelgadir / the academic research community publication huge environmental impacts coming from industries and the relative social and economic stability. (gibberd, 2005) stated that social and economic issues are the most important priorites to developing and less developed countries, environmental issues should not be ignored, but considered as a less piorty. in the same line, (libovich, 2005) also stated that environmental performance can not be the main consideration for developed countries, he agrees with gibberd that each developing and less developd country should concentrate on developing its own social and economic indicators. in this paper, social sustainable housing priorities in the less developed countries are discussed, and a set of priorities and parameters developed for sudan will be presented. (sonntage, 2007) argued that securing human basic needs, live and social capital lead to a flexible human society, which is a definition of social sustainability. marinating the relations between individuals and groups, provision of human basic needs, and improving the human wellbeing are basic indicators of implementing social sustainability according to sonntage. (strener, 2008) identify the basic needs as providing food, water, air, safety, security and shelter. if governments cannot provide all needs directly, it should facilitate the means to the individuals to obtain it themselves. governments should invest in education, and building skills and capacities to increase the individual’s income and opportunities to access basic needs. fighting extreme poverty is a basic social priority for less developed countries, governments should make sure that all residents have equal opportunities to use goods and services, and has financial means to procure it. figure 1. relationships of social to environmental and economic components. (strener, 2008) 2. methodology the research used both quantitative and qualitative approaches, pilot study, survey, questionnaire, and structured and unstructured interviews. the first step was determining the initial variables suitable to inform the interviews. pg. 29 abdelgadir / the academic research community publication the research reviewed and analyzed the local, national and international indicators of sustainable development and sustainable housing, with a focus on social indicators and also environmental and economic indicators linked to social issues. sudan indicators of sustainable development was the main source to extract suitable social housing indicators. the research also reviewed indicators developed for similar contexts. considering the natural and physical conditions, the research identified the local housing social sustainability indicators. a questionnaire was distributed to the integrated stakeholders (private, public, governmental agencies), the purpose was to identify the relative importance of each proposed indicators, and also to the relative importance of the parameters designed to ensure a sound implementation of the indicators. 2.1. data collection the results of litreature review was a set of social indicators related to housing; the main analyzed indicators can be divided into three groups: 2.1.1. international sustainable development indicators social priorities of sustainable development, according to 21st agenda are health, social equity, production and consumption patterns, social equity, security and housing (united nations, 1992). united nations commission on sustainable development (uncsd) developed guidelines representing sustainable development, social sustainability was one of the four key aspects of these guidelines, with 12 indicators under it (uncsd, 2001).the consultative group to sustainable development indicators (cgsdi), developed uncsd indicators, the result was a set of sustainable development measuring indicators, which adopted by the united nations under the name sustainability dashboard (iisd, 2012). millennium development goals indicators mdgs, was a natural development of the previous attempts, it sets quantified targets to a dress many social issues, such as poverty, hunger, shelter, gender equality, education. all the previous social issues should be considered as basic human rights. the canadian genuine progress indicators also reviewed (talberth et al., 2007). 2.1.2. national sustainable development indicators as a result of collaboration between the government of sudan and the united nations agencies, sudan mdgs report was developed. the report was written after examining sudan’s social, economic and environmental context. it is a useful tool to evaluate the country sustainable development different aspects. social aspects was addressed in this eight goals report. the main social priority was fighting poverty, hunger and social justice (npc, 2010). 2.1.3. sustainable urban development indicators un habitat urban development agenda was reviewed from istanbul declaration 1996, to the latest quito new urban agenda 2016, the main social issues discussed in these agendas are right to adequate housing, affordable drinking water, sanitation, fighting discrimination, equal access to public goods and quality of services, education, food security, health, infrastructure within a participatory and friendly society, which promoting civic engagement. the researchers reviewed also (hyogo) 2005-2015: international strategy for disaster reduction, building the resilience of nations and communities to resist disasters. previous reports critically reviewed. the research also reviewed some local urban sustainable development indicators, such as zurich sustainable development indicators, karachi, jakarta, urban cincinnati, and seattle sustainable urban development indicators. the focus was on social urban indicators. pg. 30 abdelgadir / the academic research community publication 2.1.4. sustainable housing rating systems the researchers reviewed four housing sustainability rating systems, the purpose was extracting social indicators suitable to a less developed country. leed-nd v4 is a third party neighborhood development assessment tool, developed by the united states green building council (usgbc). leed-nd v4 addressed many important social issues, such as housing affordability, job proximity, connected and open communities, local food production, schools and also access to civic and public spaces and recreational facilities (usgbc, 2017). the second system was the uk based beeam communities, like leed it is a third party assessment certification standard. comparing to leed, the social dimension is poor, it appears in some indicators like housing provision, consultant and engagement, utilities and access to transport facilities (breeam, 2012). casbee for urban development (casbee – ud), is a system developed to evaluate the outdoor environment and compound function of group of buildings, social infrastructure is one of eight scoring criteria’s, but because of the environmental focus of this tool, the criteria concentrate in the water use within the community (ibec, 2008). it is fair to say this assessment system is the poorest regarding social issues. pearls community rating system for estidama, was the last reviewed urban development assessment tool. (abu dhabi urban planning council, 2010). livable communities category contains many social related issues, such as safe and secure community, housing diversity, accessible community facilities, neighborhood connectivity, open space network and community walkability. the social issues weight in this system exceeds 23%. 2.2. sudan’s current social situation the study of the previous literature review helped the researchers to find the investigation areas, to review the local sustainable development context, with a focus on issues connected to social aspects of housing situation. it can be summarized in the following points: – poverty rate is high, especially in slum areas. – school leavers and children labor is increasing, because of the high poverty rate. – quality of education is facing proplems, such as overcrowded classrooms, lack of quantitative and qualitative teachers and the imbalance in the distribution of schools geographically and demographically (hpg, 2011). – health sector is is in malaise condition, the percentage of the number of doctors to the population is the lowest in the region, and the number of centers providing health services with a disproportionate number of the population. cholera, malaria, typhoid, aids and other diseases are prevalent in the study area (elkheir, 2012) and (npc, 2010). – there is a significant progress in gender issues. – affordable housing policies are not responding to the increasing demand in terms of quantity, quality and affordability. – community participation in housing policies decision making is very week. the final result of the previous three steps is a set of social sustainable housing priorities developed to suit the context of sudan, and suitable for less developed countries after slight modifications to suit any local differences. 3. analysis the analytic hierarchy process (ahp) is a mathematical decision-making technique provides an effective means to deal with complex decision-making, developed by thomas saaty in 1980. ahp allows consideration of both pg. 31 abdelgadir / the academic research community publication qualitative and quantitative aspects of decisions; it can reduce complex decisions to a series of one-on-one comparisons by assisting with identifying and weighting selection criteria, analyzing the data collected for the criteria and expediting the decision-making process, (satty, 2008). ahp was used to set the relative importance of the developed priorities. a questionnaire was developed, and 50 participants involved in this experiment. the participants are experts in sustainable development, housing, environmental studies, economy, social studies, and architects working with private housing developers and government. the following figures 2 -7 will explain the relative importance of the priorities and the parameters according to the questionnaire participants. 4. results the outcome of the previous data collection and analysis is a comprehensive list containing sudan sustainable housing social priorities, degrees of relative importance, and parameters to ensure total fulfillment of those priorities. see table 2. figure 2. sustainable housing social priorities in sudan figure 3. availability of affordable housing and the provision of facilities pg. 32 abdelgadir / the academic research community publication figure 4. fighting poverty and hunger figure 5. promote health, safety and security figure 6. support education pg. 33 abdelgadir / the academic research community publication figure 7. support community participation and interaction among residents table 2. sustainable social housing priorities, relative importance and parameters in sudan. priorities relative importance parameters 1. ensure the availability of affordable housing and the provision of facilities 25% appropriate floor space per person. encourage residential projects based on the idea of developing slums provision of telecommunications and internet service. price or rent suitable housing compared to income. legal guarantees of tenure provision of mortgage finance for the poor. ensures the availability of different types of transportation for the residents of the housing project. 2. support education 15% provides a system for literacy. provide basic education provides appropriate training for workers to raise their abilities. 3. promote health, safety and security 19% provides adequate facilities for sanitation. providing safe drinking water. provision of primary health care. provides health care for motherhood and childhood. reducing conditions conducive to the spread of malaria and other diseases endemic in the study area. aids awareness and control. access to medicines. do not run children provide effective security system and not just for the project commitment to the standards of employment and working conditions planning reduces the likelihood of injury in traffic accidents. 4. support community participation and interaction among residents 14% community participation in decision-making. anti-social polarization encourage the establishment of libraries, community and cultural centres. encourages interaction and participation among the population. encourages entertainment within the residential project. consecration of the principles of transparency and anti-corruption. continued on next page pg. 34 abdelgadir / the academic research community publication table 2 continued provision of sports facilities, playgrounds and parks open. encourage social integration between different backgrounds within a single project encourage the construction of community facilities 5. fighting poverty and hunger 27% suitable wages for workers in residential projects alleviate poverty. fight against hunger (feed-workers to encourage agriculture). promotion of equality and strengthening the role of women (equal wages and non-exclusion) 5. discussion and conclusion population under poverty line in sudan is over 45%, this is why fighting poverty and hunger was in the top of social priorities. number two is to ensure the availability of affordable housing and the provision of facilities. the other three priorities are almost equal in importance, promote health, safety and security, supporting education, and supporting community participation and interaction among residents are the three priorities respectively. in the category (fighting poverty and hunger), participants choose fighting hunger as the first priority. this can be insured through many parameters such as promoting agriculture within the new housing projects, and initiatives to promote feeding the workers and school students in the new housing projects. another strategy to decrease poverty through new sustainable housing projects is setting suitable wages for construction workers to help them supporting their families. equality and strengthening the role of women (equal wages and non-exclusion) is also an important strategy to decrease the level of poverty. the second category in weight is to ensure the availability of affordable housing and the provision of facilities (to ensure that urban housing development support facilities access to land and adequate shelter, finance, information and public services, technology and communications wherever there was a request to do so). slums belts is noticeable in all sudanese major cities, and with the current political and economic situation it is predicted to increase. this why encouraging residential projects based on the idea of developing slums is the heights parameter on weight of this category. taking measurements to insure suitable prices or rent value considering the low income of the beneficial, is the second parameter. provision of mortgage finance for the poor is also important ease the process of owning a house. other parameters are lower in relative importance weight, such as provision of telecommunications and internet service, ensures the availability of different types of transportation for the residents of the housing project, appropriate floor space per person, and legal guarantees of tenure. the third category in relative importance is promoting health, safety and security (ensure that urban housing development consider human rights, and supports the strengthening of measures of health and safety and security). lack of safe drinking water is the most serious priority in the category (promote health, safety and security). even the capital city khartoum is not fully covered by water supply, especially the slums around it. reducing conditions conducive to the spread of malaria and other diseases endemic in the study area came as the second parameter in this category. aids awareness and control was also an important parameter. this cannot be done without provision of primary health care inside the new housing projects and providing a good sanitation system to avoid series diseases like cholera. provides health care for motherhood and childhood is also important piece of the community health system. issues of security came after the health issues, the reason is sudan urban areas and most rural areas can be considered relatively safe. the main security parameter is provides effective security system and not just for the project. other issues also included in this category such as commitment to the standards of employment and working conditions and planning to reduces the likelihood of injury in traffic accidents. the category (support education) came fourth with 14% relative importance rate. this category is about ensuring that urban housing development raise levels of education and awareness, including the awareness of sustainable development. . providing basic education is the most important parameter in this category. many new housing pg. 35 abdelgadir / the academic research community publication projects and city’s expansions came without planning to open new public schools, private schools in concentrated in the wealthy neighbourhoods, and out of reach of the poor. education is not only about school students, sustainable development should also care about adult literacy and building capacities and skills for the work forces. the last category is about supporting community participation and interaction among residents, to ensure that urban housing development support partnerships and social interaction and overlap, and it is affected by the wishes of the people influenced by it. the following recommendations should be considered in any future plans of housing in sudan and similar context less developed countries: – availability of affordable housing and the provision of facilities is an essential element in any sustainable housing plan. appropriate floor space per person. slum developing must a priority before planning new projects. the average income should be considered before renting or selling housing units, financing plans can be organised by the government. new housing projects quality of live can be enhanced by measurements like provision of facilities such as internet services, communications and transportation. – education system can be supported through provision of system for literacy, compulsory fully funded basic education, and considering educational facilities and adequate budget for it before the approval of any housing development. – less developing countries urban housing development, should consider human rights, and supports the strengthening of measures of health, safety and security. governments need more efforts to provide adequate facilities for sanitation, safe drinking water and primary health care especially for motherhood and childhood. it is a priory to fight endemic diseases and increase the public health awareness. effective security for the new projects is an important social sustainability indicator, and part of it is to consider reducing traffic accidents using planning appropriate techniques. – new urban housing development should support partnerships and social interaction and overlap, and it should be affected by the wishes of the people who influence them. – urban housing development can play an important role in fighting poverty, it can support provision of housing measures that would alleviate poverty and fighting 6. acknowledgments the authors would like to thank sur university college for the funding and support for this paper. we would like also to thank all the questionnaire participants and the sudanese organisations and government authorities who provided the necessary resources and information’s. 7. references 1. un-habitat. sustainable housing for sustainable cities-a policy framework for developing countries, united nations human settlements program, nairobi; 2012. [available online], retrieved 24 august 2017, from www.unhabitat.org 2. npc/gs national population council & ministry of welfare & social security. sudan millennium development goals progress report, khartoum; 2010. [available online], retrieved 24 august 2017, from http://www.w elfare.gov.sd/home.php 3. zakieldeen, s. adaptation to climate change: a vulnerability assessment for sudan. london: international institute for environment and development; 2009. [available online], retrieved 22 august 2017, from www.iied. org pg. 36 abdelgadir / the academic research community publication 4. gibberd, j. assessing sustainable buildings in developing countries – the sustainable building assessment tool (sbat) and the sustainable building lifecycle (sbl). in: proceedings of the world sustainable building conference. tokyo; 2005. p. 1605–1620 5. libovich, a. assessing green building for sustainable cities. in: proceedings of the world sustainable building conference. tokyo; 2005. p. 1968–71. 6. sonntag, viki. why local linkages matter: findings from the local food economy study. seattle: sustainable seattle, 2008. public draft comment, december 31, 2007; retrieved 22 august 2017, from http://www.sustainabl eseattle.org/programs/lfe%20files/lfe%20report%20 public%20comment%20draft.pdf. 7. sterner, carl s. a sustainable pattern language: a comprehensive approach to sustainable design, master thesis, university of cincinnati, college of design, architecture, art & planning, school of architecture & interior design, usa; 2008. 8. united nation. agenda 21: program of action for sustainable development, in: proceedings of the united nations conference on environment and development, rio de janeiro; 1992. 9. uncsd-united nation commission on sustainable development. indicators of sustainable development framework and methodologies. new york; 2001. [available online], retrieved 24 august 2017, from http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd9 indi bp3.pdf 10. iisd. consultative group on sustainable development indicators; 2012. [available online], retrieved 24 august 2017, from http://www.iisd.org/cgsdi/. 11. talberth, j., cobb, c., and slattery, n. the genuine progress indicator 2006 a tool for sustainable development, oakland: redefining progress; 2007. [available online], retrieved 24 august 2017, from ww w.rprogress.org 12. usgbc united states green building council. leed v4 for neighborhood development – updated july 2017; 2017. [available online], retrieved 1 september 2017 from http://www.usgbc.org/resources/leed-v4--neigh borhood-development-current-version 13. breeam, breeam communites technical manual; 2012. [available online], retrieved 1 september 2017 from http://www.breeam.com/bre printoutput/breeam communites 0 1.pdf&ved=0ahukewi9jtkuoit wahxsc8akhqshc6qqfggfmai&usg=afqzjrtx6qcunj529gfay2a 14. . ibec (institute for building environment and energy conservation). casbee for urban development tool-21 (2007 edition), first edition, ibec, tokyo; 2008. [available online], retrieved 1 september 2017 from http://www.ibec.or.jp/casbee 15. abu dhabi urban planning council (aupc). pearl community rating system: design & construction”, version 1.0, aupc; 2010. [available online], retrieved 1 september 2017 from www.upc.gov.ae 16. hpg humanitarian policy group. city limits: urbanisation and vulnerability in sudan – khartoum case study. london: overseas development institute, 1st ed.; 2011. [available online], retrieved 24 august 2017 from http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/6518.pdf 17. elkheir, o. the urban environment of khartoum, in: proceedings of national civic forum (ncf), rio+20 civil society preparatory process, khartoum; 2012. [available online], retrieved 24 august 2017 from http://ncf sudan.net/pdfs/rio (9).pdf 18. saaty, t. l. decision making with the analytic hierarchy process, int. j. services sciences, vol. 1, no. 1; 2008. pp.83–98 pg. 37 background methodology data collection international sustainable development indicators national sustainable development indicators sustainable urban development indicators sustainable housing rating systems sudan's current social situation analysis results discussion and conclusion acknowledgments references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i1.930 the challenges of building sustainable cities in cameroon: health issues associated with a rapid urban population increase in buea municipality. eyole nganje monono, ph.d.1 and tatenda p. zinyemba, ph.d.2 1 department of sociology and anthropology, university of buea – cameroon. email: eyole.nganje@ubuea.cm 2united nations university merit. email: zinyemba@merit.unu.edu abstract rapid urbanization compounded by urban poverty is one of the main challenges facing many subsaharan african countries. the municipality of buea is the 10th largest municipality in cameroon and equally faces such problems brought about by unplanned development in the past four decades. in 2020, the population growth rate in buea rose to 42% compared to 5.6% in 2005, especially in the peri-urban areas. this resulted in direct and indirect pressures on available resources. since 2019, buea has been hosting close to 100,000 internally displaced persons (idps) fleeing from the conflict between the defense and security forces and the separatist groups operating in the south west and north west regions. consequently, this expansion of urban agglomerations in buea brings about challenges for the urbanites whose standard of living within the urban space is affected. this article seeks to qualitatively examine how this rapid urbanization has contributed to this recurrence of cholera outbreak since 2019 and the effects on the healthcare system and measures that are in place to mitigate this outbreak. in addressing these issues, the study administered in-depth phone interviews with medical practitioners at buea regional hospital, which is the main treatment centre in buea. it also conducted in-depth phone interviews with public health experts at the south west regional delegation of public health and buea council personnel incharge of hygiene and sanitation. the study also made use of direct observation of the researcher in the field during sensitization campaigns in the affected communities in buea. based on the results, the influx of idps has stressed the already the existing sanitation resources and excerbated the shortage/rationing of water in the municipality. the study also found that in addition to inadequate sanitation and water issues, governance and cultural issues were equally associated with the recurrence of cholera outbreaks in buea. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords cholera; buea municipality; rapid urbanization; internal displaced persons (idps) 1 department of sociology and anthropology, university of buea – cameroon. email: eyole.nganje@ubuea.cm 2 united nations university merit. email: zinyemba@merit.unu.edu http://www.press.ierek.com/ mailto:eyole.nganje@ubuea.cm https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mailto:eyole.nganje@ubuea.cm author name / the academic research community publication pg. 2 1. introduction globally, more people now live in urban areas than in rural areas. about 55% of the world’s population is now residing in urban areas (undesa, 2018). it is projected that by 2050, 83% of the world’s population will be living in urban areas as compared to 30% in the 1950s (ibid). for the period of 1950-2018, africa’s urban population has increased by over 16 times (from 33 million to 548 million) (ibid). by 2050, africa is projected to contain 22% of the world population (ibid). curretnly, about 58% of cameroonians live in urban areas (world bank, 2022). moreover, cameroon’s capital city yaoundé is ranked the 20th fasted growing urban city in the world (undesa, 2018). however, following the ongoing anglophone crisis that started in 2016 that was escalated by economic and political marginalization of the anglophone minority group in cameroon, the northwest and southwest regions have been experiencing population changes (agbor, 2019). due to this armed conflict that included burning of villages and property destruction, at least 246,000 people in the northwestern and southwestern regions have been displaced (ibid). buea, the largest urban city in the southwest region has had about 100,000 new inhabitants (ochoa, 2018). since buea is already vulnerable to cholera outbreaks, the rise in population is likely to further increase cholera recurrence in the city. while some studies have examine the factors that influence cholera outbreaks, the impact of this disease on the healthcare system in buea is unclear. for the period of 2020-2025, cameroon is projected to have a fertility rate of 4.3 children per woman (un data, 2022). this is slightly higher than that of low-income countries (4.2) and more than double that of high-income countries (1.7) (ibid). hence, the health issues associated with an increased population density in buea urban areas are also likely to continue since november 2019, cameroon has been continuously reporting cholera cases (who, 2020). cholera is a diarrheal infection of the small intestines caused by ingesting food or water contaminated by the bacterium vibrio cholerae. for the first time, as of november 2022, cameroon will likely be declared as one of the cholera-endemic nations. 3 though cameroon has experienced cholera outbreaks before but these episodes have not been continuous. the last cholera outbreak in cameroon was between 2010 and 2011. this epidemic recorded 10,714 cases and 650 deaths nationally (nsagha et al., 2015). in the first three days of the recent outbreak, over 400 cases and 12 deaths were reported in fako division, south west region of cameroon (who, 2020). since the inception of this outbreak, the infection rates have been increasing exponentially. this is exemplified by the fact that between march 6, 2022 and march 27, 2022, weekly cholera cases in cameroon rose by over 6 times (from 200 to 1,262) (who, 2022). as of august 2022, 10,300 cases had been reported (africa news, 2022). these figures may be an underestimation due to lack of surveillance and underreporting (khan et al., 2022). given that this disease has been manageable in the past, it is important to investigate why this time it has been difficult to eradicate in cameroon. currently, the southwest region of cameroon is the most affected area with 4,617 cases recorded as of april 2022 (who, 2022). buea, the capital city in the region, is at the epicenter of this epidemic. the issue of water access, poor hygiene, and infrastructural issues have been highlighted as the major issues that need to be targeted to address these outbreaks (nsagha, 2015). however, new issues related to a rapid increase in population and consequently poorer sanitation may have exacerbated the health issues in the city. compounded with the depletion of water, sanitation, and hygiene (wash) resources during the covid-19 pandemic, the city may be in a crisis that it is too big to handle. this article seeks to qualitatively examine how this rapid urbanization has contributed to this continuous cholera outbreak and the effects on the healthcare system and the measures that are in place to mitigate this outbreak. the study will rely on phone interviews from medical doctors at buea hospital and local government officials. the next sections in this paper will discuss the literature, the methodology, the results and conclusions of the study. 3 the world health organization declares an area as cholera-endemic when confirmed cholera cases have been detected during the last 3 years with evidence of local transmission, with cases not imported from elsewhere. author name / the academic research community publication pg. 3 2. literature review urbanization in sub-saharan africa (ssa) has been on the rise, bringing about some health risks such has waterborne diseases (zerbo, delgado, gonzales, 2020). zerbo, delgado, gonzales, (2020) conducted a systematic literature review on urban risk factors associated with cholera outbreaks in ssa. they found that densely populated areas in coastal cities, regions with several lakes and rivers, informal settlements without proper sanitation and environmental/rainfall patterns to contributing risk factors. in a recent study conducted in cameroon, musa et al., (2022) examined the challenges related with addressing the cholera outbreak. the study highlighted lack of access to drinking water, open defecation in rivers, and overcrowding as the challenges to addressing this issue. however, the contributions of other attacks on the health system issues in the southwest region of cameroon from covid-19, measles, and conflict have not been studied (un ocha, 2022). musa et al., (2022) and amani et al., (2022) also showed that that in march 2022, a vaccination campaign. with the help of organizations such as the world health organization (who), 4,8 million doses of the oral cholera vaccine have been donated and hundreds of thousands cameroonians have been vaccinated (amani et al., 2022). the authors mention that the government has been revising the national cholera plan that will include preventative campaigns. government officials have been visiting homes, disinfecting toilets and public water sources. however, it is still unclear whether these measures have been useful. current reports still show that the new cases are still being reported (africa news, 2022). amani et al. (2022), also studied the challenges, best practices, and lessons from the mass vaccination campaign in littoral region of cameroon. they found that there was a 66% uptake among females and a 60% uptake among males the vaccination campaign of 2021. refusal was the main reason for not taking the vaccine. the mechanisms that influence this refusal where not necessarilly outlined. cultural dynamics, shared beliefs, values, customs, and behaviors, can potentiate and influence infectious disease transmissions like cholera (alexander & mcnutt, 2010). louis et al., 1990 carried out a study in guinea and reported that people who attended funerals were more likely affected by the outbreak that ensued than those who did not. this study complements these recent studies by examining what municipal officials and medical doctors have observed during this ongoing pandemic and whether measures are in place to address this ongoing disease. 3. methodology this article adopts a descriptive research design. it specifically uses a qualitative approach to understand the additional factors that influence the perpetuation of cholera in buea vis a vis rapid urbanization. the study administered in-depth phone interviews with medical practitioners at buea regional hospital, which is the main cholera treatment centre in buea. the study also conducted in-depth phone interviews with public health experts at the south west regional delegation of public health and buea council personnel incharge of hygiene and sanitation. the study also made use of direct observation conducted by the researcher in the field during sensitization campaigns in the affected communities in buea. the personal and physical presence on the field helped in structuring the questions and confirming some of the views of the city officials and health experts. the administrative authorization for this study was obtained from the regional delegation of the ministry of public health for the south west region. the interviews were conducted in english and french. the interviews lasted for atleast an hour. all interviews were recorded and trascribed in english. the results were analyzed using a narrative anaysis. the study allowed the interviewees to construct the stories and narrate their personal experience. the allowed the researchers to understand what has led to the recurrences of cholera and the measures adopted at various levels to tackle the outbreak. 4. results the results mainly pointed to the fact that the recurrences of the cholera outbreak was as a result of the stress put on the available resoureces due to a conflict-induced migration caused by the confrontation between seperatists and the cameroonian defense and security forces. rapid and unplanned population growth in buea is continuously on the rise due to this conflict-induced migration. this growth rate has mounted a lot of pressure on available resources (health care and hygiene and sanitation) especially in the peri-urban areas of buea. the current cholera outbreak and author name / the academic research community publication pg. 4 it recurrences paint a clear picture of the health-related challenges of buea amidst its population increase. because the disease has been previously manageable, some medical doctors suspect that there could be mutations of the disease. there are some respondents who also believe that the individuals who are being treated may also not be living in the city. that is, it is probable that the infections are occurring in areas where medical treatment is not easily accessible, which makes it seem as though the infection rates in the city are continuous. “…..we have observed some differences between the present outbreak of cholera and the previous ones that lasted just for two to three months and they were contained. personally, i think that we are dealing with a new strain of cholera which is resistant to treatment or has a high infection rate in the community because we have been observing recurrences of cholera for about two to three years now”. “this cholera outbreak as compared to the previous one has been very severe. it has been extremely prolonged and so it's not just been brief like previous ones. there has also been a good number of reinfections like the covid 19 pandemic. the cholera outbreak seems to overwhelm the existing health response and structures. it has been a burden like the covid-19 pandemic, because it is something that has to do with the well-being of the community”. “….. an epidemiologic investigation needs to be done, the site of infection might not be buea” the study discovered that in the 1970’s the notion of water rationing did not exist, because community member did not depend solely on the water utility company to supply them. the municipality of buea hosts many natural water springs and streams and many households depended on these water sources. the high demand for space for the expansion of settlement and other urban functions have resulted in the encroachment of buildings and other land use activities in catchment areas (kometa, 2009). this has resulted in the degradation of the catchments, thereby reducing the supply of water. in bomaka, about 50 – 70 % of the streams have been reclaimed, thus reducing the capacity of the stream to serve the neighborhood. it was reported that; another challenge preventing the daily supply of water is the aging installations; no significant innovations have been carryout to build storage tanks. camwater4 still depends on infrastructures that were developed in the 1980’s with which it cannot supply water for 24 hours. many households in buea are connected to pipe born water network, but this is not a guarantee of having water pours when the tap is open. some neighborhoods and households go for months with running water in their house and only depends on public taps that not also affected by rationing (morfor, 2010). during the 2010 cholera outbreak in cameroon, the ministry of public health reported that more than 600 cameroonians died from this disease. health experts say that this disease is mainly attributed to the absence of clean potable water and poor sanitary conditions (nkemngu, 2011). 4 it is a state-run water production and supply company. author name / the academic research community publication pg. 5 “i believe these neighborhoods are highly affected because they many households don’t have access to portable water. these are communities that depend on boreholes, community water schemes and springs. secondly, apart from access to clean water, the hygiene conditions in these areas are poor because of overcrowded households, compounded with the absence of toilets in many homes. majority of household members defecate in the open air, hence the spread of the cholera bacteria is transmitted easily”. “cholera is a waterborne disease, the absence of clean drinking water is always a starting point for infection. it also requires intake of large quantities of water during watery stool so if communities don’t have clean water, how do we want to fight the disease?” “we have communities where water is a problem, and so they resort to drinking water which is not well-treated. these communities are most likely to be hit by the cholera outbreak. of course, the issue of toilets, some areas don't have toilets, or their toilets empty into running water which is later carried at the downstream for household uses. others have built their houses so close together and you have a septic tank not very far away from the kitchen or boreholes. all these are major areas of infection that have been compounded by the pressure on the available resources” the study found out that, there were some conspiracy theories about the disease according to some community members. according to health experts, these conspiracy theories and the fear of stigmatization caused people to come to the hospital only after days of trying to manage the disease at home., hence spreading the disease to other household members. it was also reported that many people were worried about how the society will perceive them as people who have cholera. at the cholera treatment centre in buea, patients are isolated from the rest of the community. this makes household members, friends, and neighbors resort to some sort of stigmatization of the patients. on the other hand, some heath experts have explained that some people are so used to seeing the disease to a degree that it is no longer alarming to them and would manage the disease at home. according to public health experts, group eating poses great risks of cholera exposure but due to the cultural dynamics of such ceremonies, it is a way of life linked with feelings of belonging to a family. like other cultures, funerals and weddings are major events in african culture. however, these ceremonies incresease the risks of cholera exposure and rapid transmission. “you know we have a culture of events (funerals, weddings, and meetings) and in all these events we eat. these events have been a hot spot of transmission of the disease, because if the water used to prepare author name / the academic research community publication pg. 6 the food or an infected person was involved in the cooking, many people will be infected in one ceremony. people can’t understand why such ceremonies will not have food and often the risk of contamination is high. so avoiding food in public places will do good in slowing the spread”. “cholera or the symptoms are like endemic now to many people. they're just used to seeing cholera or someone with watery stool, so much that when they see somebody with watery stools and vomiting, it does not give any alarm. they don't panic and try to manage it at home. one funny thing about cholera is that it's a self-limiting disease. that means, even without treatment, you can have mild symptoms of cholera and still get well without any trouble. so they will just manage maybe onto when it gets worse… they'll be looking for a facility and most often they get to the health facilities very late”. from the standpoint of those interviewed, eating at public events and ceremonies can explain why the cholera outbreak have been recurring. hence, the efets of cultural practices on cholera exposure and transmission is very high after public events. according to health experts, many people testified to have eaten at a ceremony ceremony before contracting cholera. those interviewed agreed that the best way of stopping the spread is putting a lot of attention to prevention. “i believe the most efficient way to prevent the spread of cholera is through sensitization this has to happen first at the family level on proper hygiene. education is another key aspect, i think the delegation and other stakeholders like reach out, doctors without borders, norwegian refugee council etc., are engaged in educating communities on how to keep your area clean, to purify water before drinking, the most common being boiling the water, filter before drinking”. 5. conclusion the high demand for land in buea has pushed the construction of homes to some difficult and inaccessible sites, which make waste collection difficult. hence, most people dump their refuse on any available land and along river channels, polluting driking water sources, thus making the water not suitable for home consumption. the study found out that waste management remains a major problem for the city of buea, especially when unauthorized urban growth has outpaced the ability of the municipal authorities to provide adequate facilities for collection and management of waste. due to poor and ineffective management of waste, these dumpsites tend to act as sources of environmental and health hazards to people living in the vicinity.. the problem of water rationing has forced inhabitant to turn to untreated author name / the academic research community publication pg. 7 alternative sources of water. in addition, uncontrolled urbanization and conflict-induced idps, there is increased construction around streams and catchment areas. the water bodies are also facing pollution due to increased human activitiy. there are also open septic tanks close to houses and regrettably, some septic tanks empty themselves into running streams.these streams would have served as backups to the water demands of the buea population during times of prolonged water cuts. the rationing and shortage of sanitation and water that has also been excerabted by conflict-induced migration and cultural factors exemplify how eradicating a recurring cholera outbreak and covid-19 can be difficult for health and city officials.. both diseases require the usage of water for hand washing, clean drinking water and keeping the environment clean. more and multifaceted efforts from houselholds, local, national and international communities are needed to address these issues. otherwise, more breakouts and fatalities will continue. references africa news, (2022). retrieved from: https://www.africanews.com/2022/08/05/200-dead-in-10-months-after-resurgence-of-cholera-incameroon// agbor, j. o. (2019). an assessment of humanitarian response to internally displaced persons: the case of south west region of cameroon. agormedah, e. k., adu henaku, e., ayite, d. m. k. and apori ansah, e. (2020). online learning in higher education during covid-19 pandemic: a case of ghana. journal of educational technology and online learning, 3 (3), 183-210. doi: 10.31681/jetol.726441 alexander ka, mcnutt jw, 2010;. human behavior influences infectious disease emergence at the human-animal interface. front ecol environ.; 8(10): 522-526. amani, a., solange, n. g. o., mariette, d. i. a., lekelem, s. n., linjouom, a., makembe, h. m., ... & kamgno, j. (2022). challenges, best practices, and lessons learned from cholera mass vaccination campaign in urban cameroon during covid-19 era. vaccine. buea communual development plan (2012): description of the buea municipailty, pndp, pg. 1 136.https://www.pndp.org/documents/04_cdp_buea pdf. louis me, porter jd, helal a, drame k, hargrett-bean na, wells jg, tauxe rv, 1990. epidemic cholera in west africa: tue role of food handling and high-risk foods. am j epidemiol.; 131(4):719-28. mofor, s. buea municipality and leaking cde pipes the recorder newsline saturday, nov 06, 2010. accessed 10 september 2022. musa, s. s., ezie, k. n., scott, g. y., shallangwa, m. m., ibrahim, a. m., olajide, t. n., ... & lucero-prisno iii, d. e. (2022). the challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in cameroon. public health in practice, 4, 100295. nsagha, d. s., atashili, j., fon, p. n., tanue, e. a., ayima, c. w., & kibu, o. d. (2015). assessing the risk factors of cholera epidemic in the buea health district of cameroon. bmc public health, 15(1), 1-7. nkemngu, m. a. the paradox of cameroon’s chronic water crisis. the star news 23rd march 2011. http://thestaronline.info/?p=316 accessed 10 september 2022. un data, (2022). retrieved from: https://data.un.org/data.aspx?q=birth+rate+&d=popdiv&f=variableid%3a54 undesa, (2018). retrieved from: https://population.un.org/wup/publications/files/wup2018-report.pdf un ocha, (2022). retrieved from: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/cameroon/card/5nuwjw618w/ un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (ochoa), 2018, emergency response plan cameroon north-west and south-west summary (may 2018). published on 27 may 2018. (accessed 11 september 2022). who, 2020. situation report of cholera outbreak in buea health district, south west region cameroon. retrieved from: https://reliefweb.int/report/cameroon/situation-report-cholera-outbreak-buea-health-district-south-west-region-cameroon (accessed 13 september 2022) world bank, (2021). retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/sp.urb.totl.in.zs?locations=cm zerbo, a., delgado, r. c., & gonzález, p. a. (2020). a review of the risk of cholera outbreaks and urbanization in sub-saharan africa. journal of biosafety and biosecurity, 2(2), 71-76. https://www.africanews.com/2022/08/05/200-dead-in-10-months-after-resurgence-of-cholera-in-cameroon/ https://www.africanews.com/2022/08/05/200-dead-in-10-months-after-resurgence-of-cholera-in-cameroon/ https://population.un.org/wup/publications/files/wup2018-report.pdf https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/cameroon/card/5nuwjw618w/ https://reliefweb.int/organization/ocha https://reliefweb.int/report/cameroon/situation-report-cholera-outbreak-buea-health-district-south-west-region-cameroon http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.429 rebuilding libya a bird’s eye view the relationship between the built environment and natural habitat for migratory and resident birds hailana ben ali1 1architecture and urban planning dept. faculty of engineering, univ. of benghazi, libya. tel.: 00218.091-3482829: e-mail: hailana.benali@uob.edu.ly abstract there are numerous important human activity factors which cause drastic reduction of the population of migratory birds as well as resident birds in the libyan coastal areas and inner land too. resulting into the deterioration of the ecosystems which support life, urban health, and simultaneously causes loss of urban heritage and placeidentity. the urban sprawl has increased significantly over the past few decades as a result of population growth and economic activity. this rapid urbanization seriously invaded agricultural land and natural environment to the extent of endangering rural and urban landscape. in the absence of legislative regulations; this uncontrolled spatial development is threatening wildlife habitat. therefore, we see how urban expansion has gone out of control in many libyan cities to an alarming rate surmounting the increase rate of population caused by extensive economic policies. these policies lack an ecological vision of preservation of cultural and natural heritage which would have ensured the realization of healthy ecosystem and a sustained vision towards the future of rebuilding libya. this paper aims to identify the relationship between built environment and natural habitat for migratory and resident birds. the paper is using archival research methods by drawing together mortality causes from various sources so that human related factors can be placed in perspective with one another and perhaps, eventually, with other mortality factors in future studies. the paper attempts to shed light on the dangers faced by these birds including those inflicted by human activities. finally, the paper tries to formalise general outlines for presenting safer urban environment for birds in the city. a strategy for green buildings and sustained urban design in order to preserve the fragile natural landscape and the endangered biological diversity in our libyan cities. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords biodiversity; landscape ecology; resident birds and migratory birds; collisions with buildings; bird safe city 1. introduction one of the intriguing mysteries of nature is bird’s migration. birds travel thousands of miles to get to areas of more suitable natural environment; where food can be found; where breeding is possible and springs can be nurtured. when the environment changes, this means having to look further for another more suitable habitat. there are many different ways of bird’s migration: the majority of birds migrate from northern breeding locations to southern warmer areas away from the cold winter season. however, some types of birds migrate in winter from pg. 38 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ben ali / the academic research community publication southern areas in africa to northern areas or they migrate horizontally to enjoy the moderate climate in coastal areas. whereas other birds spend winter time in low ground and in the summer they move to high mountains. when do birds migrate? between mid march to beginning of june, spring migration. between mid august to beginning of november, autumn migration. libya’s location at the southern coast of the mediterranean renders it as one of the internationally important routes of bird’s migration between their breeding location in europe and asia to winter areas in africa. every spring and autumn millions of birds move across the mediterranean among them too a huge number of european migration birds. a study carried out in march 2014 suggested a plan of action to deal with the problem of birds over hunting in the mediterranean coastal line between egypt and libya. plan of action to address bird trapping along the mediterranean coasts of egypt and libya. [1]. the study was conducted by nature conservation egypt (nce) sponsored by the un environmental program, along with the agreement of conservation of migrating water birds in africa, europe and asia. the unep/aewa secretariat recorded a descending ratio of bird’s migration on the african, european asian routes. the ratio descended to 64 (34%) from 188 of sitting birds or in other less accurate expression; chirping birds. establishing the highest descending ratio in the mostly well known types such as: barn swallow (hirundo rustica), eurasian cuckoo (cuculus canorus), yellow wagtail (motacilla flava), european turtle dove (streptopelia turtur) [tab.1]. while other types such as red-backed shrike (lanius collurio), eurasian wryneck (jynx torquilla), disappeared from their sites [tab.2]. libya is like a paradise to bird lovers around the world. according to recent formal review of the birds of libya run by bundy[2]. in 1976; 317 types were numerated. never-the-less, during the last 30 years, there has not been any similar serious study of birds in libya. moreover, there are areas in libya which have not been exploited and studied. many areas in libya need to be explored and discovered. the situation has recently changed and reports have been modernized and field studies carried out and informative material have been produced on the three major territories of libya covering 90% the whole country. tripolitania in the west, cyrenaica in the east and fezzan in the south. each of these three areas has its own climate, habitat and hence its own bird life varieties. tripolitania: there are many good bird watching areas within the capital. interesting passerines include barbary partridge, black wheatear, eurasian spoonbills (platalea leucorodia), moussier’s redstart, cream-coloured courser [tab.3]. cyrenaica also has a number of interesting birds including: greater flamingo, collared pratincole, long-legged buzzard, lesser short-toed lark, lesser crested tern, white stork [tab.4]. fezzan holds many desert species and considerable unexplored territory: desert sparrow, white-crowned black wheatear, bar-tailed lark [tab.5]. such varied environmental systems in libya, and natural habitat provide support and protection to natural resources and hence to migrating birds specially those which settle and stay there for food, rest, nesting and mating. migratory birds visiting the cities in libya such as: 1. spanish sparrow (in the western part of libya) 2. house sparrow (in the eastern part of libya) 3. laughing dove 4. white wagtail 5. great grey shrike 6. chiffchaff 7. robin 8. barn swallow 9. pallid swift 10. kestrel 11. pied flycatcher 12. common pigeon 13. eurasian blackcap 14. common starling. coastal. ,khaled etayeb,2017 email correspondence. wetlands providing nesting and breeding habitats for migratory birds, like ain alshqaiqa near the estuary of wadi jarjarumeh, is an example of the cultural heritage of preservation of birds, the field observation, site was visited by the team of designation and classification on nature reserves on several occasions since 2010, birds were not studied per se, the focus was mainly on plants, biotic components of lake sediments and site’s landscape features . according to data collected from 2005 to 2010 demonstrated by atlas of wintering waterbirds of libya, 101 types of birds have been identified (including some seabirds and some raptors associated with wetlands), 110 wetlands were visited (and many others worthy of future investigation identified), while six globally threatened bird species (not yet including the very rare slender-billed curlew!) were recorded [fig.1]. [5]. p6. the three general areas of coastal libya which appeared as hot-spots for waterbird abundance and diversity: farwah area, tawurgha wetland complex and benghazi area [fig.2].[3]. 2. birds and the built environment birds are essential to healthy ecology: birds consume billions of insects daily, pollinate plants disperse seeds. some birds are acclimatized to built environment and urban life and remain in the location throughout the year and pg. 39 ben ali / the academic research community publication do not move anywhere else. other birds move in autumn to other locations where there is food and to the south to spend the winter and return to the north in the spring to make breeding sites in the summer. it is indeed amazing how birds find safe flyways* in astonishing accuracy [fig.3]. scientists have found out that these birds use the sun for its fly directions during daytime, while during night time birds use stars and pole illumination and according to the earth magnetic field. the migration journey encounters many dangers and numerous threats caused by human activities which threaten birds resting points and their winter locations in all of their geographical migration scope. *(flyways: corridors of bird migration). [4]. such threats and dangers reduce chances of survival and only diminishing number of birds manage to make the journey back to their breeding area every year because of climate change, pollution and poisonous air emitted by insecticides. beside all these serious threats there are the threats of wetland loss and natural environment abuse due to unsustainable farming, over hunting and other negative effects inflicted by human activates. this issue is encountered by birds living inside cities or by migrating birds with less experience when passing through cities during their migration routes: 1. there are many changes taking places on important wetland locations inside cities and within urban and rural areas. these changes inflict drastically negative effects on bird migration cycle and reduce their chances of survival. such changes are caused by urban invasion and the incessant change in the infrastructure as well as the pollution of water soil and air. the urban linkages surrounding cities which are parts of the birds flying routes or rest points are usually used for dumping city rubbish. all these negative activities threaten birds’ life cycle and reduced their chances of survival to a serious level of extinction. the destruction of wetland areas in the mediterranean has been another cause of serious threat to waterbird life since the 19th century. in libya, the ratio of wetland loss has been estimated at 1.6% compared to 1.2% in morocco (green et al. 2002). [5]. tab.8. p32. 2. bird mortality caused by their collision with buildings, roads, vehicles, bridges, electricity towers and electrical cables. but in fact the majority of injuries and deaths are caused by their collision with the transparent and reflective parts of building where there is glass. thirty years of studies and observations have documented that the second cause of bird mortality in north america after the loss of habitat is collision with buildings and windows. the studies estimated number of deaths at 100 million to one billion in north america every year. [6]. p2. “without question, bird collisions are one of the most significant causes of bird mortality worldwide,” says christine sheppard, manager of abc’s birdcollisions campaign and the author of its design guidelines. “it’s a problem that is probably escalating every year.”[7]. 3. night illumination drastically interferes with bird migration. beside loss of colonies and natural habitat, increasing number of night-migrating-songbirdsdies because of collision with illuminated buildings at night.[6]. p10. 4. unsustainable trapping practices.[1]. 5. conflicting environmental policies: strategies involving improvement of standards and specifications of urban design or sustainable urban environment may indeed help in the development of bird-safe cities. san francesco has established a long term policy prohibiting the use of reflecting glass on building exteriors to meet aesthetic goals. this strategy has helped the birds too which mistake reflections for real space and don’t perceive the glass as a hazardous object. the environment’s voluntary lights out san francisco program in 2008 which was released by the golden gate audubon society, pacific gas and electric company links smart energy policy with bird preservation strategies. sometimes, strategies objectives may conflict, but we have to reach a balance between the benefits of a certain policy and the cost of a conflicting strategy. for example the benefits acquired by wind generators may have negative effects on the environment, if such elements are based at locations where birds are threatened and killed.[6]. p3. 6. green buildings too may endanger birds and cause their death by attracting them to internal lush green sceneries witch birds cannot reach because of unseen transparent glass surfaces and so they collide and die. windows with adjacent vegetation that is reflected in the glass are most commonly associated with collisions. [6]. the chicago tribunal newspaper in 2011 reported that a ratio of 10 birds a day collided with the fbi’s chicago office, a platinum leed building during the migration season (devore 2011).[6]. p6. 7. here we ought to mention that migration birds cause a threat to civil and military aviation when they collide with flying airplanes and hit the glass or smash through the engine. birds are also attracted to airports where there are pg. 40 ben ali / the academic research community publication vast areas of greenery with biodiversity and where there are dumping areas of kitchens and restaurants waste.[8]. 3. constitutional protection for environmental rights in libya during the 70s of the last century, a number of environmental protection laws were issued. some of these laws concerned the water sources, pastures, forestry, animal life, trees, cultivation land and water life. other legislations were issued for the protection and enhancement of the environment to prevent pollution by certain causes. legislation number 15/2003 of environment protection law, is considered most exhaustive and explicit in so far as it definition of “environment” which in many ways consistent with definitions stated by other laws in many other countries. the second paragraph of this law states the following: the legislation targets supervision and control of the environment for the purpose of protecting and improving it, as the surroundings where humans and all other creatures live. the surroundings consist of water, soil and food which the legislation protects too.[9]. 3.1. libya and the conventions on waterbird and wetland conservation the united nations environment programme (unep) established a work programme concerns the mediterranean alone (map) which includes 21 mediterranean countries among which libya. these countries act within the framework of the barcelona convention for the protection of marine environment and the coastal region of the mediterranean. they adopted in 1995 a “ protocol concerning specially protected areas and biological diversity in the mediterranean”, administered by rac/spa, which includes in its annex ii a “list of endangered or threatened species. in the year 2000 libya also became a party to the ramsar convention. in the year 2005 libya became a member of aewa, the agreement on the conservation of african-eurasian migratory waterbirds. accordingly, atlas of wintering waterbirds of libya was issued. [5]. p10. 3.2. the ramsar classification system for wetland type ramsar convention 1971, article 1: wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine waters the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters [fig. 4 ]. since becoming a member libya has declared two wetlands as ramsar sites, the adjacent coastal lagoons of ain ash shaqiqah and ain az zarga, both located within the kuf national park in the jabal akhdar. the atlas team defined further more wetlands as rasmar sites which appear to meet the bird criteria as a guide for the libyan authorities 2005-2010. [5]. p9. 4. some published studies about wetlands and migratory birds in libya (juliana lake) 4.1 juliana lake: a benghazi wetland in distress, available from: mansour m elbabour, egu general assembly, 2013. ” of all the remaining natural habitats of benghazi’s urban area (ne libya), perhaps the most threatened are its karst lakes and coastal salt marshes (locally known as sebkhas). juliana lake stands out as one example of a fragile ecosystem that is steadily shrinking and exposed to dredging and, consequently, possible damage to its aquatic organisms, and the inevitable loss of its renowned biodiversity. several 19th & 20th–century traveler’s sketches and maps, soil maps, photographs and satellite images provide the bases for change in the size and magnitude of the lake and its adjacent areas over time. it is concluded that the distribution, diversity and abundance of the total benthic organisms recovered in this survey reflect that the local habitat of the juliana lake were rich in nutrients and consequently providing an important food source for fishes, birds, and mammals. in fact, without these benthic organisms, these larger animals would not be able to survive. finally, it is recommended that more specialized and detailed landscape ecological studies need to be undertaken by specialists to fully assess the peculiarities of juliana lake. similar survey work should also be completed for other wetland natural habitats in the pg. 41 ben ali / the academic research community publication region to fully understand their original functions and values, and assess recent alteration trends and consequences.” [fig.6.7]. [10]. 4.2 report on restoration and extension of lake jeliana islet. technical report, available from: khaled etayebapril 2012initiative pim. “this report presents a restoration action made to enhance the quality of breeding habitat at juliana lake islet. it is the last discovered breeding site for lesser crested terns in libya and the mediterranean. the work was conducted during the period from 5-7.04.2012. sand and gravel sacs were carried to the islet in order to increase its surface space and to raise its level to avoid nest inundation, which was the cause nesting failure of lesser crested tern in 2010 and 2011. the work was conducted by the members of libyan birds society (lbs), volunteers and coordinated by natural conservation department (ega).” [fig.8]. [11]. 4.3 results of the eighth winter waterbird census in libya in january 2012. available from: khaled etayebmarch 2015biodiversity journal. “after sporadic observations and reports on libyan birds during the last century, a regular census of wintering birds at libyan coastal wetlands started in january 2005. results of each winter census till 2011 have been published. the survey of 2012 was carried out by the authors of the present paper. the general aim was to continue the census of wintering waterbirds in libya, despite the difficulties that faced the team after the war of liberation, and the fact that certain areas, very important for birds, have been declared military areas. a total of 29,314 individuals belonging to 69 waterbird species were counted. comparatively, the number of sites covered in 2012 was less than that in previous years of the survey. the majority of individuals counted belong to seven gull species. this survey also observed a total of 56 individuals of aythya nyrocaguldenstadt, 1770, a near threatened species, as well as, for the first time, a single individual of canada goose branta canadensis (linnaeus, 1758) in eastern libya. [12]. cultural and natural heritage importance of (juliana lake) 4.4 the changing landscapes of benghazi. 2012 available from: mansour m elbabour the site occupied by the modern city of benghazi has been chosen to highlight urban and environmental peculiarities and transformations of a city deeply rooted in history for over two and a half millennia. focus will be on the specific karst lakes and sebkha wetlands, which abound in the area, their environmental attributes, and their ultra-sensitivity. a continuous belt of karst lakes and salt marshes defined the northeastern, eastern, southern, and southwestern limits of the old city. this elongated stretch of urban wetlands continues beyond the city limits in a north-easterly and southwesterly directions for tens of miles. lakes and marshes are fed by an extensive system of underground channels, i.e., the legendary lethe river and a group of surface karst lakes (ain zayana, budezira, maqarin, etc.). for most of the city’s long history, these extensive wetlands provided a valuable source of salt which was exported to other places. wetlands served as effective natural defensive barriers for the city until the italians built a defensive wall shortly after their occupation of the city. in addition to their cultural and scenic role, these urban wetlands also provided many valuable ecological and biodiversity services. equally important, they served as natural flood control mechanisms and alleviated flood hazard during rainy seasons. urban development and human activities in the city of benghazi has resulted in the direct loss and alteration of a significant portion of its lakes and salt marsh wetlands. half a century ago, the extensive central marsh of al-salmani had disappeared completely. now, a similar fate awaits another no less extensive and perhaps more ecologically sensitive natural habitat, i.e., juliana sebkha/lake. [13]. 5. recommended actions towards bird-safe cities nature and birds are an important part of the city’s sustainable future. the following are some recommended actions and strategies that improve the urban design quality or sustainability of the built environment and help to make a more bird-safe city: – it is through education and involvement of people that will lead to creating the balance between needs of human domains and animal environment. this will gradually and eventually reduce the number of deaths of migrating birds. pg. 42 ben ali / the academic research community publication – it is indeed up to the local governments and wildlife protection organizations, and other similar bodies to establish strategies for green buildings in libya. bird collisions could be reduced through bird-friendly building design. the rebuilding of libya offers an extraordinary opportunity to create solutions to this design challenge. areas to consider include building height; night lighting; types, placement and amount of glass; alternative curtain-wall materials; and landscaping, both interior and exterior. – the fragile natural habitat and the threatened biological diversity should be included in the new strategies of sustainable urban design and environment planning too. – listing migrating birds and their natural habitat among national protection rights legislation in order to preserve the libyan natural heritage. – supporting scientific studies and research of the sustainable biodiversity. – establishing ecotourism projects and wildlife national parks and national camping sites which encourage environmental awareness. – reduce the killing of protected species, improve the protection of migratory birds’ main sites and ensure law enforcement. 6. future studies sprawling land-use patterns and intensified urbanization degrade the quality and quantity of bird habitat across the globe. cities and towns encroach on riverbanks and shorelines. suburbs, farms, and recreation areas increasingly infringe upon wetlands and woodlands. some bird species simply abandon disturbed habitat. for resident species that can tolerate disturbance, glass is a constant threat, as these birds are seldom far from human structures. migrating birds are often forced to land in trees lining our sidewalks, city parks, waterfront business districts, and other urban green patches that have replaced their traditional stopover sites. [14]. p8. a research study to establish the principles of birds-friendly urban design in libya. one of the main methods of reducing the mortality of resident birds and migratory birds is to redress their collisions into buildings as well as by mortality caused by light pollution. these methods will also help in saving energy, and reducing the cost of construction as well as heat emission. moreover such procedures will also increase the aesthetic value of the urban environment through the implementation of these suggested guidelines towards an environmental and a bird-friendly development during libya’s reconstruction phase in order to limit the threats before they become irretrievable disasters the aim is to make cities safer both for wildlife and human beings. libya should be an environmental leader and a role model for the mediterranean countries and africa in general. 7. conclusion migrating birds have been passing through these areas for thousands of years. threats and dangers undergone by these birds in urban areas may be considered as quite recent in relation to time development. birds do not change their instinctive behavior in such relatively short span of time. however, flocks of birds have been rapidly eradicated all over the world by human intrusion, that one cannot even imagine that these birds can adapt quickly enough to the huge urban development, forests destruction and other drastic threats to birds survival. it is indeed in cities themselves that radical changes ought to be done with human activities in to help bird protection. pg. 43 ben ali / the academic research community publication 8. acknowledgments i am especially grateful to : dr. christine sheppard, bird collisions campaign manager at american bird conservancy abc who have directed me to references on avian mortality factors and bird friendly design solutions. dr. mansour m elbabour, professor of geography, university of benghazi urban geography, who have directed me to references on urban and regional planning, research methodology and geographical and environmental thought. dr. khaled etayeb, professor of zoology, university of tripoli, who have shared with me data of monitoring birds of libya. dr. abdul salam al-shukri professor of architecture and urban planning at benghazi university, who guided me in the research method. 9. references [1] plan of action to address bird trapping along the mediterranean coasts of egypt and libya. 2014. p4 [2] bundy, g. 1976. the birds of libya: an annotated check-list. check-list no. 1, british ornithologists’ union, london. [3] african bird club. libya, introduction. 2013. https://www.africanbirdclub.org/countries/libya/introduction [4] boere, g.c. & stroud, d.a. 2006. the flyway concept: what it is and what it isn’t. waterbirds around the world. eds. g.c. boere, c.a. galbraith & d.a. stroud. the stationery office, edinburgh, uk. pp. 4047. [5] atlas of wintering waterbirds of libya data collected from 2005 to 2010. [6] standards for bird-safe buildings. sf. san francisco planning department — adopted july 14, 2011. [7] capital-of-silicon-valley-adopts-bird-friendly-building-guidelines/ birdwatchingdaily.com/blog/2015/03/06 [8] istanbul-the-third-most-accurate-global-airport-in-relation-to-the-movement-of-birds.dailysabah.com /arabic/istanbul/2016/07/08 [9] mansour elbabour. 2015. constitutional protection for environmental rights in libya. p6 https://works.bepre ss.com/mansour elbabour/29/ [10] mansour m elbabour. 2013 juliana lake: a benghazi wetland in distress. egu general assembly. [11] khaled etayebapril 2012. report on restoration and extension of lake jeliana islet. technical report. initiative pim. [12]. khaled etayebmarch 2015. results of the eighth winter waterbird census in libya in january 2012. biodiversity journal. [13] mansour elbabour . 2012. the changing landscapes of benghazi. slideshow. [14] sheppard, christine. 2015. bird-friendly building design. p8. [15] etayeb, k.s. 2002. study of migratory and resident birds in ras-attalgha and western part of farwa island. m.sc. th esis, zoology department, university of alfateh, tripoli, libya. [16] golden gate audubon goldengateaudubon.org [17] american bird conservancy abcbirdtape.org [18] u.s fish and wildlife service fws.gov [19] www.altair.com/c2r [20] http://www.urbanhabitats.org/ pg. 44 ben ali / the academic research community publication 10. appendix pg. 45 ben ali / the academic research community publication pg. 46 ben ali / the academic research community publication pg. 47 ben ali / the academic research community publication figure 1. the very rare slender-billed curlew. libya. [5]. p6 figure 2. maximum species richness of waterbirds censused in libyan wetlands from 2005 to 2010.[5]. p30 pg. 48 ben ali / the academic research community publication figure 3. the eight broad flyways of waders/shorebirds. source: international wader study group. a more detailed evaluation by brown et al. 2001 distinguishes five shore bird flyways in north america: pacific-asiatic, intermountain west, central, mississippi, and atlantic. [4]. figure 4. geographical scope of aewa (contracting parties as ofaugust 2008). source; aewa strategic plan 2009 2017. p4. pg. 49 ben ali / the academic research community publication figure 5. atlas map of libyan wetlands.[5]. p40 figure 6. juliana lake: a benghazi wetland in distress. 2013. [10]. pg. 50 ben ali / the academic research community publication figure 7. juliana lake: a benghazi wetland in distress, available from: mansour m elbabour, egu general assembly,2013 figure 8. report on restoration and extension of lake jeliana islet. [11]. pg. 51 introduction birds and the built environment constitutional protection for environmental rights in libya libya and the conventions on waterbird and wetland conservation the ramsar classification system for wetland type some published studies about wetlands and migratory birds in libya (juliana lake) recommended actions towards bird-safe cities future studies conclusion acknowledgments references appendix http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i3.526 the transformation of using fractal forms between islamic and digital architecture from a sustainable approach (case study: king abdullah petroleum studies & research center, riyadh, k.s.a) amr elgohary1 1the higher institute of engineering, shorouk, egypt abstract along eras and civilizations, nature as a sustainable reference always has a great role in inspiration of the architectural form by the diversity of its vocabulary, rules, and colors. . . etc. consequently, fractals as the main natural elements appeared in the architectural morphology, since the ancient eras especially in the islamic architecture in various levels of forms, details, and patterns. however, nowadays the new architectural theories deal with fractals concept in a different ways depending on the deep understanding of universal and cosmic nature, also the new digital techniques in architectural design and construction that enhanced the appearance of new fractal forms. in this context, the research discusses the transformations of fractal systems, concepts and applications in architecture at the resent architectural theories, focusing on the digital architecture and how it deals with fractal forms, aiming to root the new architectural theories and link it with islamic heritage to achieve a new arab architecture that respects and reveals the local heritage and adapt with the latest architectural theories and techniques. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords fractal forms; transformation; morphology; sustainable; rhythm; chaos; architectural software; digital era 1. introduction fractals, this irregular forms that shows similarity in each level of magnification, can be considered as one of the most effective tools in the architectural composition, whereas it gives a new features to the architectural form like dynamic, unity and diversity. along eras, architects used to deal with the fractal forms since the ancient civilizations specially at the islamic eras, where they used fractals in various scales, starting with details scale, till the large urban scale. nowadays fractals received many changes in its aims, characteristics, and the methodologies to execute it, which occurred based on the new architectural theories and techniques that developed during the new digital breakthrough and its givens in the various fields specially the architectural field. so the research in this paper aims to determine the fractals concept, characteristics, and objectives, and how it can be inspired by nature. finally, it determines the new features of fractal forms which have occrued during the digital era. pg. 87 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ elgohary / the academic research community publication 2. fractals concept and definition the term of fractal expresses any various extremely irregular curves or shapes, for which any suitably chosen part is similar in shape to a given larger or smaller part when magnified or reduced to the same size [merriam, webster, 2016]. also regarding to oxford dictionary it is a curve or geometrical figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. they are useful in modelling structures (such as snowflakes) in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth and galaxy formation (oxford dictionary, 2016). the origin of that term referred to french ‘fractale’, from latin ‘fractus’ which means broken. on the other hand, mathematicians developed fractal dimension, to measure self-similarity through scale invariance; a it is coined by the polish-born mathematician benoit mandelbrot in 1975. figure 1 shows the basic steps of constructing von koch curve depending on the fractal shape concept. figure 1. basic steps of von koch curve 3. fractals in nature it can be considered that nature always combines a great deal of irregular complex shapes, which are oscillating and occurring changes. like leaves, mountains, clouds, and the distribution of galaxies in the universe. . . etc. hence, the evolution of the mathematics and science achieving the fractal geometry, and the fractal cascades, which facilitate viewing strange and unique scenery and giant forms in nature. 3.1. fractals in cosmic nature the notion that the cosmic universe itself might have some form of hierarchical structure goes back at least 200 years, with astronomers such as john herschel (1792-1871) and philosophers such as immanuel kant (1724-1804) suggesting that the portion of space that we can see around us might be replicated at much vaster scales (falconer, 2013). by the early 1980s, galaxies have been mapped up to distances of about 50 million light years away. based on this data, jim peebles, benoit mandelbrot, and others proposed that galaxies might have a hierarchical, fractal distribution, rather than a uniform ‘homogeneous’ distribution across space. very recent observations at the scales of up to 3 billion light years seem to favor homogeneity, but fractal clustering still cannot be ruled out even at large scales. fig. 2(a) shows the fractal cascade within a spiral galaxy. 3.2. fractals in human’s body by the deep observation of the human body, it became clear that there are so many extensive examples of branching fractal networks are to be founded within the bodies of humans or other mammals, in particular the respiratory tract pg. 88 elgohary / the academic research community publication (the windpipe splits into two bronchial tubes leading into two lungs. these tubes split into narrower tube , which continue to split repeatedly until, after about 11 levels of branching, which end in millions of microscopic thinwalled sacs called alveoli), (falconer, 2013), fig. 2(b) shows 3 levels of zooming in the mammalian lung which shows various scales of its fractal cascades. another example is the nervous system, and the blood circulation, which consists of an intricate branching fractal network, comprising a total length of blood vessels of around 60,000 miles. figure 2. (a) spiral galaxy; (b) mammalian lung. 3.3. characteristics of natural morphology natural forms have many characteristics that can be classified into three main items (self-similarity, components, and growing geometry) – components geometry: if we consider the complex forms as densest forms, it will not depend only on its size, or its scale, the internal components and composition would be the basic parameter of its fractal system. for example, it is clear that the pattern of the branches of the river is a branch with constant hierarchical form, number, and distribution, independent of scale. – growing geometries: nature is not specified as a fixed geometry and it’s not only a physical fractal form, but the proceeding of nature changes through time is also fractal, whereas in terms of mathematics, the geometry of nature grows up. it’s a dynamic cascade, where its whole form and its internal components are about to increase or decrease and decay. – self-similarity: it’s known that there is symmetry in nature, but by deeper observation there is also a complex diversity. for example, not all humans have the same size and shape. there is, however, a newly developed concept of symmetry that is proving it is useful in describing nature’s underlying diversity. this symmetry has invariance with respect to size. it has self-similarity, in which small parts of an object are similar to larger parts of the object, which in turn are similar to the whole object. 4. fractals in architecture despite architectural forms are considered as a handmade that is very much based in euclidean geometries, but we can find some fractal systems and components in architecture, too. whereas architecture and design concerned with the control of rhythm that can achieved by using this relatively mathematical tool. the fractal system and techniques provides a quantifiable measure of the mixture of order and surprise in a rhythmic composition. fractal pg. 89 elgohary / the academic research community publication geometry is a rare example of a technology that can reach into the core of design composition (bovill & bovill, 1996). 4.1. fractals from nature to architecture there is always a strong coherence between architecture and nature, where nature represents the basic reference for the architectural morphology, which appears in the most architectural thoughts and theories, like art novo, organic, functionalism. until the new digital architecture theories, thence it appears in inspiring the natural fractal roles and methodologies in architecture, this inspiration process can be coined into three main stages: – observing and analyzing the natural phenomenon to achieve the fractal concept. – deriving the mathematical and geometrical rules. – formulating the concept of architectural form, depending on its relative fractal concept. 4.2. fractal forms properties fractal forms are characterized as rough or fragmented geometric shapes that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole form. in this context, general properties of fractals can be included: – visual selfsimilarity on any scale ‘since all levels of magnification, fractals are similar’, the self-similarity feature is a prominent characteristic of the fractal forms, whereas it indicates the similarity between the parts that form the shape with the whole shape, i.e. the part of the whole is so similar to that whole. there are two terms that are relevant to the characteristic of self-similarity: the complete self-similarity which means that the small parts are completely similar to the whole shape. the statistical self similarity, which means that the small parts are roughly similar to the whole shape – uniformity and harmony in any measure. – have decimal dimensions. – repeating rhythm that leads the fractal shapes towards equilibrium. – irregularities in the appearance and more promiscuous than that can be described with the language of euclidean geometry. – nonlinearity, whereas no straight line in the fractal forms, despite the internal shapes and edges are not smooth but are spongy and wraped. – fractal dimension property, the regular geometrical shapes have dimensions as integers, while the fractal shapes have dimensions as a fractal number which expresses the complexity degree of the geometrical shape. dimension is a scalar quantity that when the scale becomes smaller, represents how fractal fills the space. there are many definitions of fractal dimensions, including: the hasdraf dimension, rainey dimension, boxcounting dimension and correlation dimension, and etc. none of them should be used as a single global model. a pattern with higher fractal dimension is more complex and irregular than lower fractal dimension and will take up more space (zarghami & milad, 2015). in fractal preferences, the fractal dimension is more important than scale. due to the reason that they come in any size, the fractal dimension is maintained and it reflects the essence of fractals. this matter has caused fractals’ application in science. pg. 90 elgohary / the academic research community publication 5. fractals in islamic architecture through the islamic eras, so many sciences have been emerged and developed, including the mathematics and measuring systems, and geometric methods, which developed as a result of the pressing need to partition and calculate irregular shapes. in other words, developments in mathematics, and particularly in algebra, were a direct consequence of islamic laws of inheritance. islamic succession law is believed to lie at the basis of the birth and development of both algebra and geometry in islamic civilization. al-khawarizmi (780-850 a.g.), from whose name the term “algorithm” was derived, introduced algebra to modern mathematics through examples from islamic inheritance laws (jencks & kropf 1997). in geometry, techniques and tools for the calculation of areas on the ground and shares of heirs were also made available to jurists and dividers (efendi 2000). 5.1. fractals objectives in islamic architecture – unity in diversity: unity can be considered as one of the most important islamic basis and thought. this is clearly evident in the art of the islamic world. in this context, diversity in terms of art and beauty expresses the unity and the godhead in the islamic vision. the muslim artist believed that mental art represented unity to diversity in the most direct way. this matter has been carried out by repeating geometric motifs and alternates weights and symmetry in islamic art matters. – dynamic stability: that achieved by the particular self-similarity, uniform rhythms, and the continuous flux of the whole system components. – infinity: islamic architects used to use the fractal systems in architecture to express the meaning of continuity and infinity which inspired from their beliefs of the infinite godhead knowledge and the infinite universe. fig. 3(a) shows the entrance muqarnas at isfahan masjid that consists of infinite hierarchal fractal system. – visualization of heaven: the fractal motifs that formed the building inner decorations and the outer facades details, seem as a symbol of heaven and paradise, depending on the natural inspiration of astronomical and botanical fractal cascades. fig. 3(b) shows the botanical pattern that covers the dome of isfahan masjid. figure 3. isfahan masjid (a) entrance muqarnas; (b) main dome. 5.2. applications of fractals in islamic architecture islamic architects used the fractal systems in so many various applications, which reflect the great importance of the fractal systems and techniques within the architectural design process, starting with a very small details, like pg. 91 elgohary / the academic research community publication mosaic ornaments and arabesque handicrafts, passing by architectural openings, arches. . . etc., and till the urban fractals, which appeared in the urban morphology, fabric, and context. in this context, we can determine some of the important features of islamic fractals through the following applications, and the mechanisms of appling these fractals in the real-life. – muqarnas: one of the most unique and accurate decorative element, which reflects fractal growth in islamic architecture, that can be named allegory of god’s created universe that is like light chandelier spread a kind of spiritual light above prayer’s head. it was initially built to be structural in purpose made out of stone, but later on, it became a more crafted decoration (burckhardt, 2009), these clusters niches were used to decorate the area between the wall and the dome in islamic architecture. fig. 4 shows the steps of muqarnas creation, from the small basic arch (the fractal cell) till the overall form. figure 4. mainsteps of muqarnas creation – ornaments: islamic artists and architects were proficient in using geometric and floral patterns and motifs, which depended basically on repeating the primary shapes in a various homogeneous rhythms to reach the overall pattern. fig. 5 shows three main steps that has been used to create islamic geometric pattern. figure 5. mainsteps of geometric pattern creation. – urban fabric: the islamic city consists of a set of hierarchal roads network and another sets of residential clusters which divided into a dense fabric of small residential buildings. fig. 6 shows the unity and diversity at the islamic city which appeared at any magnification. pg. 92 elgohary / the academic research community publication figure 6. hierarchy, unity and diversity in the urban fabric of the islamic city 6. fractals in the digital era the classical thoughts about balanced and hierarchical fractals (since the islamic architecture and till the modern architectural theories at the twentieth century) transformed at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century. depending on the new digital breakthrough and its great impacts in architectural theories and techniques, which enhanced new aspects within the design process, like adding complexity, randomness, and dynamic. hence the new cascades of fractal forms turned to be more dynamic, flexible, and nonlinear (jencks, 2002). 6.1. fractals from self-similarity to self-affine affine transformation is more general than a similarity, whereas the affine shape can be deformed into irregular and random deformations, without disrupting the overall character of fractal system, for example affine transformations transform square into rectangles or parallelograms, and circles into ellipses (falconer, 2013). thence a self-affine fractal form is one that is made up of smaller affine copies of itself which gives the self-affine system a greater ability to change and grow in nonlinear motions. fig. 7 shows a fractal surface based on self-affine system and how it gives the surface a great deal of flexibility and roughness. figure 7. three levels of deforming a self-affine fractal surface 6.2. fractals and chaos (including randomness): the terms “fractal” and “chaos” became so interwoven, and together form a single, integrated theory. they are usually used concomitantly. they are concerned with irregular forms and complex objects that show self-similarity at each scale of magnification when they undergo a certain process of iteration. pg. 93 elgohary / the academic research community publication consequently, it is relatively easy to differentiate between geometric order and chaos in architectural forms, whereas the geometric order is represented by ideal mathematical forms (in 2d: e.g. line, circle, quarter, or 3d: e.g. plane, sphere, cube) and ideal relationships (e.g. perpendicularly, parallelism, symmetry, rhythm/regularity). but chaos is the opposite of geometric order; it is represented by forms and relationships that are complex and difficult to describe with the language of classic mathematics. (rubinowicz, 2000). 6.3. fractals of the jumping universe : the jumping universe indicates to the tale of cosmogenesis and evolution of the universe, which unfolded towards greater complexity and increasing sentience. in spite of this progressive slant, it is a narrative punctuated by accident, upheavals and catastrophe. the investigation of cosmogenesis would also provide a series of new themata. the basic rules of the universe (including the traditional laws of natural fractals) would become protagonists; the constants of nature and organizing units would become particular icons: black holes, dna, gravity. all of these are the distinctive units of the universe, from the quark to the molecule of life to the great wall of galaxies, these are the main actors in the script that has lasted (jencks, 2002). (charles and karl, 2008). fig. 8 represents three steps clarifying how charles jencks inspired the fractal concept of the black hole phenomenon at the landscape of cosmogenesis park. figure 8. three steps of inspiring the black hole phenomenon at the landscape of cosmogenesis park. 6.4. cross-coding and parity cross-coding notion indicates to the mixture of an iconography based on cosmogenic themes set against another set of codes based on our contingent desires. biomimesies, or morphology, set some of these themes, but so too does our experience as cultural beings rooted in a particular historical situation, (charles and karl, 2008). pg. 94 elgohary / the academic research community publication 7. case study: king abdullah petroleum studies & research center, riyadh, k.s.a kapsarc, the abbreviation for the king abdullah petroleum studies and research center, is located in riyadh, saudi arabia, where it began its activities in 2010. it is an independent, non-profit institution that focuses on research in energy economics, policy, technology, and the environment. its research areas include global energy markets and economics, energy efficiency and productivity, energy and environmental technologies, and carbon management. designed by zaha hadid architects. 7.1. design concept the center emerges from the desert landscape as a cellular structure of crystalline forms, shifting and evolving in response to environmental conditions and functional requirements. consistent organizational, spatial strategies drive an adaptive approach. the modular structure is a living, organic fractal scheme where expansions to the building are allowed to grow and multiply like fractal cells – without compromising the visual integrity of the project. composed of a network of three-dimensional six-sided cells, the project is based on the concept of connectivity. the center rises above the desert landscape, emerging as a cluster of crystalline forms, which evolve in response to environmental conditions. the spatial program of the design ensures that each component is suited to the function it serves. the exterior’s shell-like façades conceal the porous interior, where sheltered courtyards bring natural daylight into the center of the scheme. these buffer zones allow a gradual temperature transition between outdoor and indoor volumes. fig. 9 shows the fractal cells that forms the whole building. figure 9. the fractal cells at king abdullah petroleum studies & research center 7.2. analyzing the fractals cascade the building form consists of a unique cascade of fractals, which can be clarified through the following: – the fractal cell: the whole cascade started with a nonlinear and multi-dimensional cellular form, which represents the petroleum cells. – the division mechanism: the division concept of the fractal cells inspired from the phenomenon of molecular division in nature, whereas, it has been applied in the building form through a primary cell which was divided into a nonlinear and successive divisions to finally reach the whole fractal cascade. so it represents the most new features of fractal forms at the digital era. fig. 10 shows the division stages of fractal cells that forms the whole building from the primary cell till the whole fractal cascade. pg. 95 elgohary / the academic research community publication figure 10. thedivision mechanism of fractal cells at king abdullah petroleum studies &research center pg. 96 elgohary / the academic research community publication 7.3. fractals characteristics of the building form the fractals characteristics of the building form represents in every part the most digital fractals characteristics that can clarified as the following: – self-affine form: whereas every cell shape can be distinguished, whilst the whole form is integrated according to whole form parity. – chaos system : which appears in the nonlinear and dynamic growth of the cells even in its scale or its growth direction 8. conclusion the research tried to clarify the essence of fractal forms, and the role of nature as a sustainable reference in inspiring its concept, and how it has been applied in architecture. hence, the research turned to highlight the transformation of fractal forms between islamic and digital architecture, in order to root the modern architecture that is represented in fractal forms, which considered to be one of the modern architecture features. accordingly, the following conclusions can be coined: – along eras and civilizations, nature is always the most motivating factor for inspiring the concepts, roles, and techniques of the fractal forms, starting with surrounding natural phenomenon till the cosmogenesis, and the jumping universe – at the islamic civilization fractal concept focused in how to achieve unity with diversity through a regular and homogenous rhythms, which appeared in many various – fractals transformed during the digital era, whereas it has gained new features like self-affine, nonlinearity, chaos, and parity, which gives the fractal sets a great deal of flexibility to adapt with various deformations, and the new aesthetical and symbolic aspects. finally, we can determine the most transformations of fractal forms characteristics, between islamic and digital architecture through the following table: the transformation of fractal forms between islamic and digital era characteristics islamic era digital era similarity self-similarity self-affine growth shape uniformly chaos rhythm regular random & irregular stability dynamic stability unstable smoothness partially smooth rough environmental reference surrounding and godhead nature cosmic and cosmogenesis universe 9. references 1. altuhafi, a. a. (2015). application of fractal geometry in islamic architecture: an analytical study of ottoman mosques. journal of civil engineering and architecture research,2(1), 483. 2. bovill, c., & bovill, c. (1996). fractal geometry in architecture and design. boston: birkhauser. pg. 97 elgohary / the academic research community publication 3. burckhardt, t. (2009). art of islam: language and meaning. world wisdom, inc. 4. efendi, c. (2000). damascus(r. al-qasemeen & m. ben-hamouche, eds.). 5. falconer, k. j. (2013). fractals: a very short introduction(vol. 110). oxford: oxford university press. 6. fractal. definition of fractal in english by oxford dictionaries. (2016). retrieved from https://en.oxforddic tionaries.com/definition/fractal 7. fractal. (2016). retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fractal 8. galaxy ii. (2010). retrieved from https://www.deviantart.com/lairis77/art/galaxy-ii-184022712 9. glenny, r. w. (2011). emergence of matched airway and vascular trees from fractal rules. journal of applied physiology,110(4), 1119-1129. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01293.2010 10. introduction to islamic art. (n.d.). retrieved from http://muslimheritage.com/article/introduction-islamic-a rt 11. jencks, c. (2002). the new paradigm in architecture: the language of post-modernism(p. 235). yale university press. 12. jencks, c., & kropf, k. (eds.). (1997). theories and manifestoes of contemporary architecture (vol. 312). chichester: academy editions. 13. rubinowicz, p. (2000). chaos and geometric order in architecture and design. journal for geometry and graphics, 4(2), 197-207. 14. saoud, r. (2004, july). introduction to islamic art. retrieved from http://muslimheritage.com/article/intro duction-islamic-art 15. youngrobv. (n.d.). esfahan masjed-e sheikh lotfollah mosque. retrieved from http://flickr.com/photos/y oungrobv/sets/72157600479601507/ 16. zarghami, e., & milad, o. (2015). the role of sustainable fractal geometry in islamic architecture and revitalizing the roots of it in contemporary architecture. journal of social issues & humanities,3(7), 282. pg. 98 introduction fractals concept and definition fractals in nature fractals in cosmic nature fractals in human's body characteristics of natural morphology fractals in architecture fractals from nature to architecture fractal forms properties fractals in islamic architecture fractals objectives in islamic architecture applications of fractals in islamic architecture fractals in the digital era fractals from self-similarity to self-affine fractals and chaos (including randomness): fractals of the jumping universe : cross-coding and parity case study: king abdullah petroleum studies & research center, riyadh, k.s.a design concept analyzing the fractals cascade fractals characteristics of the building form conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.446 battery charging application with thermoelectric generators as energy harvesters zakariya m. dalala1, zaid s. hamdan1, hussein al-taani2, mohammad al-addous1, aiman albatayneh1 1energy engineering department german jordanian university p.o. box 35247 amman, jordan 2school of basic sciences and humanities, german jordanian university, amman, jordan abstract this paper discusses and presents the implementation of a boost converter as power electronic interface to be used with the thermoelectric generator (teg). the common application for such system is the battery charger. the boundary conditions for battery chargers include the charging current and battery voltage limits which have to be respected throughout the charging process, while the maximization of the power generated from the teg is a global target that is desired to be met as much as possible. coordinated control algorithm that collectively combines these constraints is the main focus of this work. novel global control algorithm is proposed and verified in this paper with detailed analysis that shows the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. dual control loops for the voltage and current of the boost converter will be designed and analyzed to satisfy the source and load demands. maximum power point tracking (mppt) mode, power matching mode and voltage stabilization mode will be integrated in the control algorithm of the battery charger. this paper puts a schematic design for a system that harvests energy from a thermoelectric generator bank of a teg1-12611-6.0 teg modules in order to charge a battery bank of samsung icr18650 batteries using constant current (cc) and constant voltage (cv) charging profiles. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords battery charger; boost converter; thermoelectric generator; li-ion battery; mppt; perturb and observe 1. introduction energy’s importance has increased with the great population increase and prosperity linked with the advances in technology and industrial automation, which by itself has increased and diversified energy consumption. this has led to oil shortages and higher prices. the idea of alternative energy gained attention for the first time during the energy crisis of 1974, which led to igniting a serious research for alternative energy solutions, opening the door for nuclear energy as a reliable alternative to oil in some countries such as france. energy saving regulations have also been issued and approved afterwards to manage the energy sector in more optimized manner. another problem that has arose over the last decades, is the climate change that is causing many natural disasters and extreme weather conditions. many studies state that the greenhouse gasses (ghgs) emissions mostly produced by burning fossil fuels is the cause of this problem, which is forcing governments to cooperate to regulate these pg. 248 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ dalala / the academic research community publication emissions[1]. nuclear energy has its own dangers, the chernobyl and fukushima incidents for example, in addition to the radioactive wastes make this option not too attractive. this led to increased interest in solar, wind and wave energy as possible alternative sources [2]. in addition to renewable energy resources utilization, such as wind and solar, huge attention has been paid as well to the energy efficiency related research. as most of the wasted energy in the world nowadays is mostly thermal, techniques and measures have been proposed to enhance the thermal cycles’ efficiency and to shorten the energy conversion sequence to guarantee best efficiency attainable. heat engines are extreme and very versatile example of industrial tool vastly used today and efficiency tuning is imminent in these systems. the major problem of the heat engine – which is the base of transportation and electricity generation, is its low efficiency. about one third of energy input is converted to work and two thirds are waste heat. this cannot be eliminated or magnificently reduced according to carnot efficiency rule, which states that the maximum possible efficiency of the heat engine is governed by the hot and cold media temperatures. by simple calculation, the ideal efficiency is around 60%, this waste heat can be an auxiliary energy source to improve the overall system’s performance. many researches addressed recovering this energy in what is called ”waste heat recovery (whr)” one example for waste heat recovery, is the use of combined cycle, i.e. using brayton (gas turbine) with a rankine (steam turbine) for electric generation, during which the heat is extracted from the exhaust of the gas turbine to evaporate the water to start the steam turbine. this method increases the overall system efficiency to a value of 60% in some applications [3]. the thermoelectric generators (teg) perfectly can be used as well as energy harvesters to scavenge energy from wasted heat [4]. the tegs are solid-state devices engineered to generate electricity directly from heat, what is known as seebeck effect [5]. the temperature gradient across the structure has to be maintained to generate lucrative amount of electrical energy that can be used to charge batteries for example or to support a load. traditional usage of tegs has been in the fields of specialized military, medical and some space applications due to their reported low efficiency [6]. nowadays, and due to increased systems’ efficiency requirements and declining prices of teg manufacturing, more diverse applications have been found for energy harvesting with teg as core conversion unit [7, 8]. in this manuscript, a battery charger circuit design and control is proposed for use with teg as energy harvester. a boost converter is chosen as dc/dc converter. critical control objectives for battery chargers are the charging current and voltage limits which have to be respected for specific type of batteries. maximum power point tracking (mppt) is essential when operating teg conversion circuits, however, engaging mppt should take place while the charging current is below suggested limit by the battery manufacturer. seamless transition between mppt control mode and constant voltage/current modes is implemented in the proposed control algorithm to guarantee optimum operation while meeting the boundary conditions of the operations limits. 2. system structure the proposed system consists of the teg bank, the battery bank and the power conditioner which is a dc-dc boost converter and the control circuit as shown in the fig. 1. the teg model is simply a voltage source that represents the open circuit voltage connected to a series resistance as shown in fig. 2. the values of the voltage and resistance depend on the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides of the teg. the teg bank used in the system consists of 20 modules of teg1-12611-6.0 commercial product. from the datasheet, it works in the hot side temperature range of 50 – 300 oc, but in the design the range is 100 – 200oc and keeping the cold side temperature fixed to 30oc by cooling, giving voltage range of 5.2 – 12 v. the teg is modeled using psim software, and the modeling equations are obtained by curve fitting methods applied to the voltage and power curves of the teg. fig. 3 shows the specifications of the teg1-12611-6 module. pg. 249 dalala / the academic research community publication figure 1. proposed system block diagram figure 2. thermoelectric generator equivalent circuit pg. 250 dalala / the academic research community publication figure 3. teg1-12611-6.0module specifications figure 4. battery equivalent circuit the battery model is simply a large capacitor connected in series with a resistor, in addition to a voltage source to represent the open circuit voltage of the battery as in fig. 4. reference [9] developed this model for the battery when charged by constant current/ constant voltage charging profiles, and calculate the values of cb and rb. the topology of the converter used is the boost converter, the converter design takes into consideration the wide range of power input and the maximum power transfer. the converter is connected to an output inductor for further smoothing of the charging current as shown in the fig. 5. the output inductor is introduced for fine control and ripple elimination of the charging current. figure 5. proposed system circuit pg. 251 dalala / the academic research community publication the output inductor design process is carried out side by side with the output capacitor design for desired ripple in the output voltage and current. in [10], the values of output capacitor and output inductor are given by equations (1) and (2). co = 2(1−d)t ( √ 4vo + 4ioiodrparasitic 1−d −4vo) 4ior2 parasitic (1) lo = r2 parastic 4 × 2(1−d)t ( √ 4vo + 4ioiodrparasitic 1−d −4vo) 4ior2 parasitic (2) where rparasitic = rb + rc + rlo,4vo and 4io re the output voltage and current ripples respectively. for the controller, an adaptive control scheme is used by combining the mppt perturb and observe (p&o) controller with the simple current and voltage controller to perform the constant current/constant voltage charging profile with mppt, as shown in the fig.1 above. the perturb and observe (p&o) algorithm is shown in the fig. 6 [11]. figure 6. perturb and observe mppt algorithm 3. modeling and controller design for the voltage and current controller, the duty cycle to output current, i d ˆ and the duty cycle to output voltage, v ˆ o d̂ transfer functions are calculated using the pwm switch model [12], the system’s small signal model is in fig. 7. and the transfer functions are shown in equations (3) and (12). pg. 252 dalala / the academic research community publication figure 7. small signal model of the system v̂o d = voh(1−d)+ hrlo rb (1−d)(vo−vb)− h(r1 + sl) rb(1−d) (vo−vb) a4s4 +a3s3 +a2s2 +a1s+a0 (3) where: io = vo−vb rb (4) il = io 1−d = vo−vb rb(1−d) (5) h = s2ccbrcrb + s(cbrb +crc)+1 (6) a4 = lloccb (7) a3 = lccb(rb +rc +rlo)+loccb(r1 +rc(1−d)2) (8) a2 = l(c+cb)+ccbr1(rb +rlo +rc)+(ccbrc(rb +rlo)+locb)× (1−d)2 (9) a1 = r1(c+cb)+(1−d)2× (crc +cb(rlo +rb)) (10) ao = (1−d)2 (11) for the output current transfer function: îo d̂ = v̂o d × 1 rb = 1 rb ×h× (vb + io(rb +rlo))× (1−d)− io 1−d (r1 + sl) a4s4 +a3s3 +a2s2 +a1s+a0 (12) the responses and margins of stability are shown in fig. 8. and fig. 9. pg. 253 dalala / the academic research community publication figure 8. bode plot of the output voltage transfer function figure 9. bode plot of the output voltage transfer function the voltage and current controller is a pi controller, the controller parameters are tuned manually, and they are shown in equations (13) and (14) gcv = 10+ 10 s (13) gcio = 7+ 4 s (14) pg. 254 dalala / the academic research community publication and the bode plots of the open loop controlled plants are in fig. 10 and fig. 11. figure 10. bode plot of the open loop controlled output voltage transfer function figure 11. bode plot of the open loop controlled output current transfer function 4. simulation results the system specifications are shown in the table 1 below. pg. 255 dalala / the academic research community publication table 1. system specifications teg system 20 x teg1-12611-6.0, 2s10p vd 0.35 v vs 5.2 − 12 v c 3000 µf rs 0.193 − 0.225 ω rc 0.0035 ω pt eg 160 w lo 1µh fs 350 khz rlo 0.005 ω ci 30 µf battery samsung icr18650 6s2p rci 0.005 ω nominal voltage 22.2 v l 2.5 µh full charge voltage 25.2 v rl 0.005 ω nominal current 5.2 a rds,on 0.0025 ω rb 0.6 rd 0.004 ω cb 4830 f maximum charging current 5 a figure 12 shows the transition between the mppt mode and the constant current mode when the generated current exceeds the battery limit at high hot side temperatures. as can be seen the current controller transition is seamless and no induced overshoots appear. figure 13 shows that even during varying hot side temperature, constant current control is maintained if the generated current exceeds the battery recommended maximum limit. the transition between the constant current mode and the mppt mode is held stable with the aid of small hysteresis band for the current as can be seen in fig. 13, where the controller shifts to constant current mode whenever the charging current hits the upper limit of the hysteresis band set here to be 5.1 a, where the lower band is set to be 4.9 a. during mppt mode and constant current mode, the battery voltage is rising up due to charging process and whenever the battery voltage is at its rated value, the controller shifts to constant voltage control as can be seen in fig. 14 below. fig. 15 shows how the constant voltage control is maintained during changes in the temperature gradient applied across the structure. the overshoot seen in the output voltage when shifting to constant voltage control from the constant current control or the mppt control does not in fact exist when experimenting real system due the existence of the output capacitor which damps any changes in the output voltage. table 2 below shows a summary of the findings of the simulation results. figure 12. output current at different hot side temperatures in the full operation range of 100◦cto 200 ◦c during current control stage pg. 256 dalala / the academic research community publication figure 13. output current at various hot side temperature values with constant current mode control. figure 14. output voltage at different hot side temperatures in the full operation range of 100◦c to 200 ◦c during voltage control stage figure 15. output voltage at various hot side temperature values during voltage control stage pg. 257 dalala / the academic research community publication table 2. simulation results output voltage 25.171 25.234 v output current 4.978 5.017 a current ripple% < 1% voltage ripple% < 1% maximum output power 126.55 w efficiency ≥93.6% 5. conclusion in this paper, a schematic design for energy harvesting from thermoelectric generators is put and simulated, where a commercial teg product (teg1-12611-6.0) is modeled using psim, and a commercial battery (samsung icr18650) is modeled. boost dc-dc converter topology is used. all components are supposed to be parasitic, and a smoothing inductor is used at the output. mppt perturb and observe algorithm is combined with constant current/constant voltage in the charging controller to achieve the maximum possible power out of the teg bank. simulation results show that the proposed system operated at hot side temperatures range of 100-200oc and a cold side temperature of 30oc with a minimum efficiency of 93.6% and an output current and voltage ripple of less than 1%. 6. acknowledgments the authors would like to thank the german jordanian university represented by the deanship of graduate studies and scientific research for supporting this work. 7. references 1. r. r. judkins, w. fulkerson, and m. k. sanghvi, ”the dilemma of fossil fuel use and global climate change,” energy & fuels, vol. 7, pp. 14-22, 1993/01/01 1993. 2. t. mousseau and a. p. møller, ”perspectives on chernobyl and fukushima health effects: what can be learned from eastern european research?,” journal of health and pollution, vol. 3, pp. 2-6, 2013. 3. s. kumar and o. singh, ”performance evaluation of gas-steam combined cycle having transpiration cooled gas turbine,” distributed generation & alternative energy journal, vol. 28, pp. 43-60, 2013/04/01 2013. 4. d. rowe, ”thermoelectric waste heat recovery as a renewable energy source,” int. j. innov. energy syst. power, vol. 1, pp. 13-23, 2006. 5. s. b. riffat and x. ma, ”thermoelectrics: a review of present and potential applications,” applied thermal engineering, vol. 23, pp. 913-935, 2003. 6. d. rowe, ”thermoelectrics, an environmentally-friendly source of electrical power,” renewable energy, vol. 16, pp. 1251-1256, 1999. 7. s. dalola, m. ferrari, v. ferrari, m. guizzetti, d. marioli, and a. taroni, ”characterization of thermoelectric modules for powering autonomous sensors,” ieee transactions on instrumentation and measurement, vol. 58, pp. 99-107, 2009. 8. f. deng, h. qiu, j. chen, l. wang, and b. wang, ”wearable thermoelectric power generators combined with flexible super capacitor for low-power human diagnosis devices,” ieee transactions on industrial electronics, vol. pp, pp. 1-1, 2016. pg. 258 dalala / the academic research community publication 9. h. y. won, chae, s. y., & hong, s. c., ”state space averaging based analysis of the lithium battery charge/discharge system,” the transactions of the korean institute of power electronics, vol. 14, p. 10, 2009. 10. v. t. vs nguyen , w choi , and dw kim , “analysis of the output ripple of the dc–dc boost charger for li-ion batteries”, journal of power electronics, vol. 1, no. 1, jan 2014. 11. a. r. reisi, moradi, m. h., & jamasb, s. “). classification and comparison of maximum power point tracking techniques for photovoltaic system: a review”. renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 19, 433-443. 2013. 12. v. vorperian, ”simplified analysis of pwm converters using model of pwm switch. ii. discontinuous conduction mode,” ieee transactions on aerospace and electronic systems, vol. 26, pp. 497-505, 1990. pg. 259 introduction system structure modeling and controller design simulation results conclusion acknowledgments references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication the policies and process of preserving the historical and heritage buildings in dubai city: case study of historical district mai alhasawi1 1faculty of arts, design and media, birmingham city university, uk abstract preserving historical buildings is considered of one of the major priorities in many cities in both developed and developing countries. dubai is one of the major world cities that is experiencing rapid architectural transformations, thus the dubai municipality has taken the initiative to preserve historical buildings maintaining the culture and identity of the city’s heritage. this initiative started in 1991 under a unit called ‘the unit for the restoration of historic buildings’, which expanded further in 1994 to become ‘architectural heritage department’. over the years, the department has developed a mechanism of action, objectives, laws and strategies to keep abreast of progress and modernity in the field of repair, conservation and project management. in accordance with international and international standards while preserving the architectural character of the emirate of dubai. this paper is it a critical review to assert advantages and disadvantages of the policies and regulations that were set up by dubai municipality in terms of how they support the preservation of historical heritage and culture within the city. this paper is related my phd research, data was attained using existing documentations on policies, regulations, plans, books and available articles on historical buildings preservation. findings show that the plan of work for preserving heritage and historical areas in dubai is efficient and dynamic as it encompasses international standards and regulations while maintaining the cultural values of the city. the analysis shed light upon potentially creative perspectives in terms of protecting and preserving heritage buildings in similar environments. the paper provides a solid foundation for future research on heritage buildings, related complexities and the strategies employed by different governments to make informed decisions. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords historical buildings; heritage buildings; policies; dubai city; plans 1. introduction preservation of the architectural heritage and historic buildings is an objective strived for in many countries, both developed and developing. the heritage and historical sites symbolize, reveal and represent valuable and significant insights nations to the heritage of many countries (salama, 2015). therefore, they need special consideration in terms of legislation, regulations and politic visions which can be ensuring preserved since these sites for the future and present-day tourist attractions (boussaa, 2014). albeit several policies and guidelines regarding heritage preservation in many nations, there is no current consistent preservation approach, partly, because preservation of the heritage is a field which can be termed “interdisciplinary”. due to the diverse approaches to preserving architectural heritage and historical sites (salama, 2015). because of the several dimensions and aspects of the pg. 39 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i4.537 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ alhasawi / the academic research community publication preservation of heritage and historical sites, researchers and academics claim that future studies in heritage conservation should focus on comprehension of the factors that transform conservation, particularly, considering heritage stakeholders since their diversity of interests, beliefs and perceptions poses complicated concerns for the decisionmaking. (amar et al., 2017). this is significant, especially in an age where technological advancement has started to influence decisions and processes within the built environment. this paper focuses on the value of the policies and regulations set by the dubai municipality relating to how they support the preservation of cultural and historical heritage within its city. the preservation of historical and cultural heritage sites entails various tasks. primarily, the implementation and realization of sustainable preservation of built heritage need appropriate policies and strategies that are well organized. however, the built heritage regulations, policies, and legislation vary from one country to another. for example, in several developed nations, the heritage sites or locations must have historical and significance value, thus, the first significant preservation policy is established on conserving the local or national identity. another key policy element is for reclaiming the national identity which may have been lost due to whatever reason like in the case of beirut project. the most important policy element which most nations are pursuing currently is using heritage and historical sites for tourism promotion. the other components or elements may include regenerating and safeguarding historic areas, avrami et al., (2000). comprehensive and inclusive built heritage legislation or policy can include all the mentioned ideas so as to make the most use of the potential these sites. this research uses existing literature and primary evidence using documentation and plans obtained from the architectural heritage and antiquates department (ahad) of dubai municipality. these documents are the general principles applied to historical areas, the general design principles for dealing with urban fabric and historical areas, planning principles and guidelines for dealing with historical areas, the requirements for the protection of historic buildings in dubai, and the standards for dealing with facades in the historical area. it is essential to acknowledge that the above documents are only available in the arabic language; this is due to the issuing authority. the documents that were relevant to the historical areas in dubai were obtained for this paper which part of my phd research. 2. patterns of the historical and heritage preservation policies: an overview according to (dredge, 2006), there is not a specific policy which is suitable or appropriate for all the built historical and heritage sites in many countries depends on many factors such as social, cultural, economic, historical, architectural, urban and other factors that are related to these sites are considered in their broader contexts. internationally, many organizations including the international centre for the study of the preservation and restoration of cultural property (iccrom, 2018), the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco, 2018) and the international council on monuments and sites (icomos, 2018) are seen as the pillars in the protection of the world heritage sites. when considered by country-based, for instance, the national heritage act 2002 in the uk (national heritage act, 2002), the law of the people’s republic of china on the protection of cultural relics (national people’s congress, 2007) and heritage policies for the european union (european capitals of culture, 1985). in its broader context, ‘heritage’ is not restricted to physical artifacts, but it extends to cover intangible heritage (e.g. crafts and rituals), natural heritage (e.g. geological and biological) and cultural heritage (eprs, 2018). in the middle east, protecting heritage is considered as a major form of preserving cultural identity and values, hence benefiting from developed countries’ expertise. on the one hand, in 2016, the british council and the department for digital, culture, media and sport (dcms) funded countries such as sudan, lebanon and egypt to safeguard and promote cultural heritage (british council, 2017) where iccrom and unesco are looking after the majority (if not all) the heritage sites in the middle east. on the other hand, some middle eastern countries have established policies, departments and units to support protecting and preserving their heritage assets. within the arab world, the arab league educational, cultural and scientific organization (alecso) has set rules and policies to protect historical areas and places (alnaser et al., 1995). in saudi arabia, for example, bagader (2016) attempts to summaries approaches to protect and preserve pg. 40 alhasawi / the academic research community publication the architectural, urban and historical built heritage, and they include: – restoration of the monuments: this approach concentrates on the restoration of the significant buildings or monuments like palaces, bazaars, castles, churches, and mosques, as well as various traditional dwellings. even though this approach can be applied to all historical urban sites, it always focuses on specific buildings and leaving those that surround them. – heritage reconstruction: the reconstruction method has been pursued in the arab countries because it preserves both the tourism levels and the site heritage. this approach can lead to the decline of historical sites which become lifeless museums, instead of enhancing the living concept of the heritage, bagader (2016). – rehabilitation of the architectural heritage: this involves rehabilitating the economy and society of the heritage site as it was recently instead of recreating the past. this approach reflects the shifting of the international discourse since the 1964 venice charter towards preserving the whole context of the historical sites, bagader (2016). – the revitalization of the architectural heritage: the 1972 world heritage convention shifted the built heritage preservation concept towards the reuse of these sites for other functions and purposes to match the contemporary requisites of the economic vitality. there are several examples of such a pattern within arab countries such as the historic jeddah, old fez and old cairo, bagader (2016). although the above demonstrates different considerations towards the protection and preservation of cultural heritage within a large country scale such as saudi arabia. in dubai, the approach has significantly differed. the policies and regulations were set as a government city-based rather than country-based. it is highlighting the needs to further investigate and the dynamics in dubai that helped form these policies and how they support the heritage and historical preservation in dubai city, this is the intention of this paper. 3. heritage and historical preservation in dubai: dubai city is one of the modern world capitals that has been rapidly transforming and developing since the 1990s. in dubai, architectural preservation is relatively new and has been given significant attention only from the mid1990s (assi, 2015). the challenges to preserve dubai’s heritage have been immense. (assi, 2015) highlighted that rapid urban modernization and development in dubai city has negatively impacted upon the historical, physical fabric of the region. the main impact has been felt by the residents of dubai who have experienced many changes during the first few years after the establishment of dubai state, in terms of distancing them from their traditional and local environment. additionally, the discovery of the oil in the 1970s (darke, 1998) led to the displacement of many individuals from their original settlements in deira, shindagha and al fahidi (famous heritage districts in dubai city) to more modern neighborhoods. consequently, many (if not the majority) of the historic buildings and structures were abandoned (boussaa, 2014; assi, 2015). following the rapid transformations that have occurred in dubai city, dubai municipality started to consider the preservation dubai heritage and historical buildings as one of its essential priorities (assi, 2008), hence in 1991, a heritage preservation unit was established. from the successes that this unit had in preserving the heritage, it later became the historical buildings and exhibitions division within the architectural heritage department (ahd) and was recently renamed the architectural heritage and antiquities department (ahad). over the years, ahd has made significant strides in attaining its mission and objectives for the implementation of studies, supervision, enlightenment and spreading awareness regarding cultural heritage (dubai municipality, 1997). in fact, rashad bukash (former ceo of ahd department) in light of ahd stated: ”we try to come as close as restoring it to its original form based on our studies and interviews. we even use the same material as the original buildings – coral stone, gypsum, mud etc. everything is carried out exactly according to the rules of unesco and world heritage centre” “we have a total of about 712 historic building pg. 41 alhasawi / the academic research community publication in dubai, and we have restored about 315 of them. we have a plan to finish the restoration of the remaining buildings by 2020” (the tryptic note, 2016) 4. case study: renovation of dubai’s historical district: 4.1. project aim and ruler’s vision: “preserving our heritage and culture are part of our national responsibility,” sheikh mohammed said (the national, 2018). according to reporter, 2015, sheikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum, uae vice president and prime minister and ruler of dubai, in 2015 approved a plan to develop dubai historical district renovating the oldest part of the dubai city (figure 1). this project aims to attract 12 million visitors by 2020. according to the statement, dubai municipality, dubai’s department of tourism and commerce marketing and dubai culture joint as an initiative to transform the area into a leading heritage and cultural centre within the city. this project finished by 2018, it focused around four districts shindagha, alfahidi, deira, and bur dubai covering around 1.5 square kilometers. figure 1. develop dubai historical district project (khaleej times, 2015) pg. 42 alhasawi / the academic research community publication the project was coordinated by dubai’s department of tourism and commerce marketing (dtcm), dubai municipality and dubai culture. for the renovation of dubai’s historic district. according to alkhaleej, 2015, there are five main themes were applied: the project was coordinated by dubai’s department of tourism and commerce marketing (dtcm), dubai municipality and dubai culture. for the renovation of dubai’s historic district. according to alkhaleej, 2015, there are five main themes were applied: – theme 1: focusing on the uae’s heritage and traditions based on historical treasures and stories in the region. – theme 2: the promotion of uae heritage through the protection and preservation of historic buildings. – theme 3: providing new business opportunities by establishing content in traditional markets and activists. – theme 4: reviving and celebrating traditional trade; providing cultural experiences for the community by the renewal of the old neighborhoods and establishing an educational center which introduces the uae civilization contributing to the values of the uae’s social heritage. – theme 5: design public facilities to ensure the preservation of the original components improving the experience of the visitors. the architectural heritage and antiquities department is responsible for the urban renewal plan in al shindagha district, where they are responsible for the restoration of the mosques, the watchtower, and reconstruction of the houses that were demolished in the 1990s. in 2018, there are more than 150 historical buildings have been renovated including the house of sheikh saeed bin maktoum al maktoum in shindagha. (the national, 2018). 4.2. process of reconstruction of heritage sites in dubai: dubai’s historical district is divided into areas (figure, 2) the main handling standards are the historic area a (old markets area deira and bur dubai), the historical area a (ahmadiya area), historic area a (1960s), the historical area b and the creek facades and the interfaces of modern and heritage. (documentations form ahad). requirements incorporated these areas for the protection of historic buildings in the emirate of dubai. figure 2. dubai’s historical district divided areas (documentations form ahad) pg. 43 alhasawi / the academic research community publication dubai can be seen as an excellent example of the conservation approach which is helping the re-establishment of authentic and original structures by carefully rebuilding heritage and historical buildings (boussaa, 2014). the reconstruction projects of the al shindagha are being completed according to the highest international standards. this includes iccrom, unesco and icomos standards and policies (iccrom, 2018; unesco, 2018; icomos, 2018) and alecso (alnaser et al., 1995). although ahad has been in charge of all the preservation and restoration within the heritage sites in dubai old city, reconstruction and restoration processes follow embeds international iso standards (iso 9001-2008) in order to comply with the international quality assurance standards (assi, 2016). according to assi, e. & rajab, m (2016), the proposed process of reconstruction in al shindagha distract to be completed in four main phases are (figure 3): these phases are identification of the site, data collection and documentation, policy development and management of the site. figure 3. the polices to reconstruction of the historic building adopted by ahad-dubai municipality. (assi, e. & rajab, m, 2016). pg. 44 alhasawi / the academic research community publication in addition to the above ahad flows, in general, the principles for dealing with historical areas (documentation form ahad), is to provide all means available to ensure the enrichment of the cultural value of the historic area enhancing the heritage and avoiding any change to the structure of these historic buildings. by determining the use of the buildings to ensures the preservation, the value of the building and its continuity within the urban fabric. it is necessary to identify the interventions and additions in these historic buildings, so it does not affect the reading of the building, and these interventions can be removed if needed. also, to emphasize the originality of materials and craft used to rebuild the historical buildings. the architectural studies of the buildings to be repaired should be carried out on a historical basis showing the stages of its development in different periods. that can be considered the full assessment of the original elements and considering the non-distortion of historic buildings, whether by writing or embossing, or to put ads on them, or to damage them in any way. (documentation form ahad) 5. discussion and practical applications: 5.1. flexible approach to maintain heritage intangible values: the plan of work outlined in the previous section (figure 4) can be argued as flexible in terms of preserving the heritage in the historical areas in dubai. the social advantages for dubai’s historic district are that most individuals consider historical houses as a significant part of the region’s identity and character. similarly, most citizens of dubai consider heritage as an essential part of the country’s culture and identity. this aligns with wakefield (2012) who highlights the benefits and values of heritage, historic buildings, and sites viewed as significant to the local residents. as well as the consideration of the global requirement and rules (e.g. unesco, icconom) for the preservation of the urban heritage of dubai’s city, the vision of the ruler of dubai aims also to preserve the intangible heritage such as the social and cultural values, considered one of the priorities for the government. in dubai, many individuals are interested in the aesthetics of the built environment. therefore, historic buildings and sites can create a positive impact on several aspects regarding the development of the community. regeneration, economic growth, education, community engagement, and housing are some examples of aspects in which this historical and heritage sites can contribute positively towards. thus, it can be stressed that the plans for the reconstruction of heritage sites in dubai recognize heritage areas/districts on the map so that it can globally attract tourists and more importantly reflect the ancient heritage in dubai. socially, the historical and heritage assets always contribute to a regions identity and livability. there are other districts which are the focus for social activities like public halls, religious centers, parks, schools, and arts districts such as the transfer of the al fahidi area to an art district (wakefield, 2012). figure 4. the process to approach the international standards for renovation a historical district pg. 45 alhasawi / the academic research community publication 5.2. an approach to understand and maintain the city’s identity: the preservation of the historic buildings by the dubai municipality has been supported by various policies, strategies, and regulations. these policies are meant to ensure that historical sites, buildings, and monuments are preserved instead of being destroyed. dubai is aiming to become and continue being a significant world tourist destination. therefore, there is a need to preserve the old structures and buildings with the aim of maintaining culture and identity. in applying these strategies and policies, the preservation of the building heritage can be completed in a time frame which supports both the design and theme of the buildings in that period. it is anticipated that by solidifying this approach, dubai will be able to preserve its urban identity as the year’s fold, avoiding the dominant technological advancements that continually impose pressures within the global market. 6. conclusion: in conclusion, dubai and other cities in the arabic gulf region example of the rapid urban development in the modern and technological within the last decades. this is because these cities have rapidly developed from small merchant societies to flourishing commercial hubs mainly after the revenue of the oil in the region. the rapid development in terms of modernization and wealth has affected the economic and social structure resulting in the creation of urban environments which are fragmented. this paper demonstrates that the plan of work applied to heritage preservation in dubai support upholding the national identity and distinctiveness to reflected in the cultural values. restoration of the historical and heritage sites is viewed as a plan to reunite the society with their history and culture by revitalizing its values, memories, and meaning of the region to facilitate identity, pride and a sense of belonging among the citizens of dubai. the perceptions required of the decision makers are recognized as one of the key factors necessary in order to achieve the sustainable preservation of the historic built heritage. though, this significant factor is always overlooked and ignored in the history and heritage literature associated to how the perceptions of the decision makers drive the assessment and evaluation of these heritage sites, historic buildings, and monuments. with the escalating pressure to include different stakeholders in the process of decision-making, this research supports other ways to elicit a wider analysis regarding the perceptions of decision-makers and their significance towards the achievement of policy and realistic objectives for the preservation of the historical built heritage environment. in widening the preservation policies which impact upon the urban identity of the region, these are necessary to maintain the future. references: 1. alecso. charter for the conservation and development of urban heritage in the arab states retrieved june 14, 2018, from http://www.alecso.org/site-old/images/2016files/2017-02-24-13-18.pdf 2. alkhaleej. mohammed bin rashid adopts plan to revitalize historic dubai area. 2015, february 04 retrieved may 30, 2018, from http://www.alkhaleej.ae/alkhaleej/page/5edb2a8a-9680-4cd8-acb0-005e508f8587 3. alnaser, w., al-kalak, a. and al-azraq, m. (2019). the efforts of the arab league education, culture and scientific organization (alecso) in the field of renewable energy. [online] available at: https://www.scie ncedirect.com/science/article/pii/096014819500046m [accessed 15 apr. 2018]. 4. amar, j. (2017). australian cultural built heritage: stakeholders’ perceived conservation barriers and motivations.[online] taylor&francis. availableat: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14445921.201 7.1298950 [accessed 3 may 2018]. 5. assi, e. (2019). the relevance of urban conservation charters in the world heritage cities in the arab states, city & time. [online] ceci-br.org. available at: http://ceci-br.org/novo/revista/docs2007/ct-200786.pdf [accessed 10 apr. 2018]. pg. 46 alhasawi / the academic research community publication 6. assi, e. (2015). urban conservation and reconstruction in the gulf region: the case of dubai. [online] sdct-journal.com. available at: http://sdct-journal.com/images/issues/2016 1a/6.pdf[accessed 15 apr. 2017]. 7. assi, e. & rajab, m. (2016). symposium on urban conservation and reconstruction in the gulf states. dubai: dubai municipality. 8. avrami, e., randall, m., & de la torre, m. (2000). values and heritage conservation(los angeles, getty conservation institute). 9. bagader, m. a. a. the evolution of built heritage conservation policies in saudi arabia between 1970 and 2015: the case of historic jeddah(doctoral dissertation, university of manchester) 2016. 10. bagader, m. (2019). urban heritage and tourism in the gulf: the case of dubai in the uae. journal of tourism and hospitality management. [online] researchgate. available at: https://www.researchgate.net/pu blication/309270185 urban heritage and tourism in the gulf the case of dubai in the uae [accessed 27 sep. 2017]. 11. british council, (2017) retrieved june 14, 2018, from https://www.britishcouncil.org/organisation/press/uk -support-heritage-protection-middle-east-and-north-africa 12. darke, d. (1998). discovery guide to the united arab emirates. london: immel pub. 13. dubai municipality. planning studies; the shindagha revitalization project. dubai: dubai municipality. 1996-1997. 14. european capitals of culture. heritage policies for the european union. 1985. retrieved june 14, 2018, from http://www.europarl.europa.eu/regdata/etudes/brie/2018/621876/eprs bri%282018%29621876 en.pdf 15. iccrom. (2018). operational guidelines for the implementation of the world heritage convention.[online]retrieved from https://www.iccrom.org/section/world-heritage[accessed 27 may. 2018]. 16. icomos. cultural heritage and sustainable development. (n.d.). https://www.icomos.org/en/focus/un-sus tainable-development-goals[accessed 14 june. 2018]. 17. national heritage act 2002. (2002, may 10). http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/14/contentsacces sed 14 june. 2018]. 18. national people’s congress. law of the people’s republic of china on protection of cultural relics. 2007 retrieved june 14, 2018, from http://www.unesco.org/culture/natlaws/media/pdf/china/china lawprotection clt entof 19. reporter, s. (2015). new projects to revive the charm of old dubai’s historic sites. [online] khaleej times. available at: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/general/new-projects-to-revive-the-charm-of-old-dubais-historic-sites [accessed 17 jun. 2018]. 20. salama, h. (2015). dubai: an urbanism shaped for global tourism. [online] qspace.qu.edu.qa. available at: http://qspace.qu.edu.qa/handle/10576/5444 [accessed 1 nov. 2017]. 21. the national. (2018). dubai ruler speaks of need to ’preserve our heritage’ as he inspects historical district renovation. [online] available at: https://www.thenational.ae/uae/heritage/dubai-ruler-speaks-of-need-to-pr eserve-our-heritage-as-he-inspects-historical-district-renovation-1.711172 [accessed 30 apr. 2018]. 22. the tryptic note. in conversation with rashad bukash — the tryptic note.april, 26, 2016 retrieved june 26, 2018, from: https://www.thetrypticnote.com/single-post/2016/04/26/in-conversation-with-rashad-buk ash. pg. 47 alhasawi / the academic research community publication 23. wakefield, s. (n.d.). “falconry as heritage in the united arab emirates”. world archaeology. accessed april 06, 2018 http://www.academia.edu/1012105/falconry as heritage in the united arab emirates 24. unesco world heritage centre. (n.d.). world heritage information kit. retrieved june 14, 2018, from ht tps://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/567/ pg. 48 introduction patterns of the historical and heritage preservation policies: an overview heritage and historical preservation in dubai: case study: renovation of dubai's historical district: project aim and ruler's vision: process of reconstruction of heritage sites in dubai: discussion and practical applications: flexible approach to maintain heritage intangible values: an approach to understand and maintain the city's identity: conclusion: http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication green economy themes: pathway to sustainable urban development mohammad refaat mohammad abdelaal1,2, islam sallam3,4 1architecture and urban planning department, college of engineering, suez canal university, ismailia, egypt. 2architectural engineering dept., college of engineering, university of prince mugrin, ksa. 3architecture department, college of engineering, port said university, port said, egypt. 4civil and architecture engineering department, sultan qaboos university, muscat, oman. abstract this century, the growth and development of many world cities are pushed by an economy that supports sustainable, liveable and wealthy communities through integrated ecological, and socio-economic agendas that encourage human and environmental well-being. governments nowadays seek efficient methods to manage their nations towards better, more sustainable cities, while also considering socio-ecological limits. a green economy has been proposed as a way to support sustainable development. this paper focuses on the green economy idea and demonstrates how it is applied in urban planning through international case studies, suggests a framework for a green economy and concludes with a set of recommendations for application in egyptian cities. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords green economy; sustainable urban planning; energy efficiency 1. introduction the most complex and crucial socio-economic phenomenon of the twenty-first century is the rapid urbanisation is arguably. it represents significant irreversible changes in production and consumption and in the manner in which people interact with nature. only recently have cities and the urbanisation process been viewed through the lens of sustainability, with a focus on development and the green economy. our today’s economy and our way of life today are based mainly on of fossil fuels, which not only threaten essential environmental and social problems through global warming but, at actual consumption rates, will run out within few decades, causing enormous industrial and economic disaster. [1]. a green economy can be one tool that manages social equity, human well-being, with an improved economy while reducing ecological and environmental risks. this paper will give a general idea for the green economy through international case studies that applied this concept to their urban environments. the research will then highlight a framework which integrates green economy concepts into the urban planning processes. finally, the study offers recommendations in context for egypt to improve city life and create a ‘greener’ image for egyptian cities. pg. 38 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.501 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abdelaal / the academic research community publication 2. the research problem our today’s world is becoming rapidly urbanised, with more than half of the global population existing in urban communities. urban inhabitants number is expected to continue growing, particularly in developing countries. such expansion will require a wide range of infrastructures, services, housing and employment programs, and land for development. the world’s growth and development is expected that in the future it will be forced by an economy that supports sustainable, liveable and wealthy cities, by improving economic competitiveness and strategic urban planning. cities need to apply green economy concepts. therefore, this research aims to explore answers for the following main questions: • why a green economy? • what strategy creates a green economy? • have green economies achieved sustainable development at the urban planning level? 3. research methodology the paper explores the green economy idea from theoretical and analytical sides; the expected endpoint is sustainability in urban planning. it tries to identify the essential characters of a green economic strategy. then, it analyses international case studies and examines how these cases applied the green economy concepts. then, it constructs a framework for a green economy during the planning process. finally, it suggests a set of recommendations for developing city planning from the perspective of a green economy and its application in urban planning. 4. research objectives the primary objective of this paper is to explore the green economy concepts from an urban planning perspective. 5. the green economy and urban planning 5.1. green economy definition in general, the green economy has several common definitions (see table 1). it is defined as a sustainable economy and society with a one-planet footprint where all energy is developed from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished with and has zero carbon emissions [1]. in its purest statement, a green economy is “one which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive”. [2] thus, substantially increased investments in economic levels that build on and reduce ecological scarcities and environmental risks are the central item in the green economy, and at the same time green economy enhances the earth’s natural capital. green economy sectors include, for example, clean technologies, improved freshwater infrastructure, sustainable energy, low-carbon transport, and energy-efficient design, waste management clean technologies, sustainable agriculture, and forestry. these investment sectors are supported by the international policy development and market infrastructure besides the national policy changes. [3] table 1. some green economy definitions source definition unep’s working definition, 2010 “. . . a system of economic activities related to the prodcution, distribution and consumption of goods and services that result in improved human wellbeing over the long term, while not exposing future generations to significant envrionmental risks or ecological scarcities..” green economy coalition, 2010 “. . . a resilient economy that provides a better quality of life for all within the ecological limits of the planet ..” continued on next page pg. 39 abdelaal / the academic research community publication table 1 continued the unep-led green economy initiative, 2011 international chamber of commerce, 2012 the economy “that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. it is low carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive.” “. . . an economy in which economic growth and environmental responsibility work together in a mutualy reinforcing fashion while supporting progress on social development. . . ” diyar et al., 2014 “. . . the economy where the growth of the people’s welfare and employment increase are provided owing to the state and social investments ensuring reduction of emissions and environmental pollution and stimulating effective use of energy and resources as well as preventing from any harm to biodiversity and ecosystem. . . ” according to the un economic programme (2011), a green economy is an economy caused by significantly reducing environmental risks through improved human welfare and social equity. in such sort of economy, all types of investments that reduce pollution and carbon emissions, improve resource and energy efficiency beside stop loss of biodiversity and footprint impacts are main elements affected income and employment [4]. 5.2. green economy objectives kasztelan (2017) according to his paper titled “green growth, green economy and sustainable development” claimed that the term green economy was used for the first time within the paper “ blueprint for a green economy of 1989”, which has been prepared by a group of main environmental economists for the united kingdom government. in 2011, the unep published the report of green economy that enclosed a comment definition of “green economy. according to the report, the green economy is “economy that leads to improved human well being and social equity, side by side to reducing environmental footprint. it is also defined as low carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive”. fedrigo-fazio (2012) claimed that nowadays, according to the eu there is a need for global strategies to achieve green economy, which is an economy that produces real development, increases jobs and eliminates poverty to achieve “a long-term survival of our planet” through real investing in and conserving the natural capital offers upon. this transition can also present the needed international sustainable development governance reforms. therefore, the green economy is the tool to sustain sustainability’. the green economy aims to improve the efficiency of natural resource use to decrease ecological footprint and environmental risk and to improve human welfare, as shown in figure 1. 5.3. principles of a green economy according to the “un-habitat” habitat expert group meeting (2011), seven operational principles can help cities to achieve a green economy. these essential items have proven to be successful globally [2]: • developing land development patterns assigned for more sustainable urban issues and green areas (e.g. berlin and medellin) • creating urban areas depending on compact-design cities development concepts (e.g. project of stockholm’s hammarby sjoestad urban redevelopment, and masdar city, uae) • local economic chances with balance facilities (e.g. holland’s randstad region where cities are somewhat specialised) • expand network infrastructure side by the side of improving the existing networks efficiency. (e.g. bogota’s bus rapid transit system, and the addition of renewable energy sources) • enhancing the built environment by using efficient water and energy systems (e.g. cape town’s case. it solar water heaters has been integrated onto low-cost houses using a clean development mechanism funds.) pg. 40 abdelaal / the academic research community publication • shield essential biodiversity areas and ecosystems side by the side of expanding resilience to natural disasters (e.g. berlin’s tiergarten park, it is considered the city’s natural lung) • enhancing green industries clusters and jobs (e.g. neom project -ksa) figure 1. the objectives of a green economy reference: the author after kasztelan (2017), fedrigo-fazio(2012) and unep (2011). 5.4. strategy for a green economy “in rio in 1992 different green economy strategy measures have been considered in international discussions, including unced”[5]. ‘a strategy for the green economy offers a hopeful vision of cities transforming challenges into opportunities’[6], “and this strategy for green economic growth may consider cluster development drives in non-traditional sectors to the economy’ [7]. “thus, green development policies aim to identify the integration between economic, environmental challenges and urban planning. this is in a way, which stresses the chances for new sources of economic development, as green development emphases on the following:” [8] • land-use and transport (economic efficiency) • eco-urban areas and buildings (green buildings) • recycling, wastemanagement, and energy (energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste minimisation) • electric mobility and renewable energy (sustainable energy and transportation) therefore, there are a set of policies to achieve a green economy such as green buildings, sustainable transport, energy efficiency, water efficiency and waste minimisation. buildings and urban development environmental rating pg. 41 abdelaal / the academic research community publication systems are examples of the need for such policies (e.g. leed in the usa, or the green pyramid in egypt(. 6. case studies of a green economy there is an agreement on the value of the relationship between sustainable urban development and green economy. this section focuses on two international case studies which applied the green economy concepts within the urban planning process. 6.1. city of tshwane, south africa green economy strategic framework of tshwan provides a guide towards a climate-resilient, low-carbon design, and resource-efficient development directions, which will increase the number of jobs and stimulates economic activity side by side to ensure sustainable development. the tshwane vision 2055 was the primary guide for its “green economy strategic framework”, which has been extracted from and is outlined as follows, “by 2055, growth and development in tshwane is integrating ecological, social, economic and spatial agendas that promote human and environmental well-being, in order to be an economy that supports a sustainable, vibrant, liveable and prosperous city.”[9] the strategic framework of tshwane is divided into mitigation and adaptation clusters as shown in figure 2 figure 2. the strategic framework of tshwane reference: framework fora green economy transition, city of tashwane, http ://carbonn.org/uploads/tx carbonndata/a1-tshwane%20enviro%20book-1.pdf mitigation: transitioning to a low-carbon city pg. 42 abdelaal / the academic research community publication waste management and pollution: [10] the city implemented an integrated system for waste management that generated converting landfill gas into electricity to ensure clean energy from waste. this applies the waste-management hierarchy through waste prevention, reduction, recycling, and recovery. integrated approaches for management water resource: [10] integrated methods for managing water resource has been achieved by developing and implementing a water demand management strategy. this is through many procedures for water monitoring and reporting to control water losses and to improve the natural areas conservation status. green buildings and the built environment:the term “green built environment” concerns with the application of the principles of green architecture and the urban spatial design in a way that minimises resource consumption and negative ecological footprint [10]. according to tshwane greening the built environment can be achieved through many approaches, as compact urban design to improve mobility and reduce the carbon footprint, and through green spaces protection for decreasing the impact of pollution and waste on human health besides improving societal welfare by enhancing recreation and social interaction opportunities. sustainable strategies for transport and mobility:‘transport systems and infrastructure have a main impact on the environment. it is accounting for 20% to 25% of world carbon emissions and energy consumption. transportation greenhouse-gas emissions are rapidly increasing very fast than any other energy used by any other sectors, which increase air pollution levels both globally and locally [10]. according to tshwane, the current approaches to greening the transportation sector including the following: • reclaiming urban space for walking and non-motorised transport; • expanding tshwane’s mass public transportation systems and developing electric vehicles transportation systems; • promote private residents and companies to use renewable energy-based and electric vehicles. sustainable energy:sustainable energy approaches as energy-efficiency procedures, renewable energy technologies, and integrated demand management are rapidly used internationally to decrease carbon emissions and to create a better sustainable renewable-based economy instead of the current fossil-full-based economy. tshwane applied a set of actions as the following: • expanding the city’s solar water heater programme to improve demand-side; • sponsoring the intensive use of low-energy lighting systems; • using smart meters with time-of-use tariffs and applying improved building insulation systems; • developing the proposed afrko solar park in tshwane that produces 20 mw of photovoltaic-based electricity; • sponsoring producing renewable energy-based fuels from waste through the municipal waste-treatment facilities (i.e. landfill gas and biogas); • supporting the use of transportation systems depending on low-carbon renewables. (as the using biofuels instead of petrol and diesel, and electricity-based vehicles). adaptation: building a resilient and resource efficient city sustainable communities (health and social development) the vision for a sustainable society is to sustains and restores ecological goods and services by depending on reintegration of parks, wetlands, municipal buildings, and roadsides. this will provides for shared and lively public spaces and enhances the service delivery efficiency and sustains good access to the public services (especially water, electricity, sanitation, health care and housing). 6.2. sustainable planning for a green economy in curitiba, brazil curitiba has established its own reputation as a main developing world leader in sustainable urban planning. “the city has depended mainly on developing solutions to address major livability concerns. territory management has pg. 43 abdelaal / the academic research community publication played an important role in ensuring that the city’s functional zones support each other, and there are thus strong linkages between land use, densities, and transport” [11]. also, another critical aspect of the design of the city’s has been adjusting its development around transport axises and changing the floor area ratios alongside them to promote higher densities in the city centre. curitiba has founded some state-of-the-art approaches, for example: • “the city has developed a bus rapid transit (brt) system, which branded by dedicated bus lanes” [11]. • offering opportunities to reduce co2 emissions by applying methods of emission reductions in both transportation and urban environment. “curitiba has public transport highest rate in brazil (45% of journeys) as a result of integrated approaches of urban planning, and it is one of the country’s lowest rates of urban air pollution” [3]. • in the 1990s the city started a successful home recycling separation program [8], and “the city has promoted public awareness of waste separation and recycling, besides waste management infrastructure” [3]. • the city has established many public-parks and conservation areas, which creates areas for recreation and it also helps to manage the stormwater to protect the city from flooding [11]. • increasing the ratio the green per person. [3]. as a result, curitiba considered as an example of how smart urban planning can avoid essential costs in the future and improve quality of life for its inhabitants at the level of efficiency, productivity. figure 3. the strategic framework of curitiba for a green economy reference: the author pg. 44 abdelaal / the academic research community publication 7. framework towards a green economy as mentioned before, green economy is that economy, which can lead to improved social equity, human and economic well-being, while significantly reducing environmental and ecological footprint. it is a critical element in achieving sustainability. many methods can be used to apply the green economy concepts of as a framework in urban planning, as demonstrated in international studies. the premise of the framework is based on five fundamental principles: figure 4. the strategic framework towards a green economy reference: the author to create an enabling setting for a green economy, a set of recommendations should be applied based on a framework constructed from the theoretical and analytical study. these recommendations are summarised as follows: • encourage creating compact-design-based cities and planned an extension development of urban areas • depending on built environments that enhance the water and energy use efficiently • establish urban growth boundaries to limit urban sprawl • reduce cairo’s ecological footprint • increase the use of sustainable modes of transport with the support of local government policies and workplace practices • promote the redevelopment of city areas over greenfield sites through land-use regulations • enable urban areas for a green economy through the application of ecological infrastructure • integrate renewable energy technologies in urban planning processes 8. conclusions the green economy can be considered a way to bring citizens a better life. the switch to a green economy will need the adoption of a different development approach. the present system of values and beliefs integrated into our consumer-motivated society are the primary challenge of building a green economy. greening our current economy will require a transition to environmental behaviours from citizens using different approaches, which will include role-models, the prevailing culture, awareness, education, and infrastructure. pg. 45 abdelaal / the academic research community publication in conclusion, for a successful switch to a green economy, specific targets should be set to assist in achieving this strategic objective. this target should be based on overall green economy targets which include promoting renewable energy, low-carbon transport, clean technologies, energy-efficient buildings, green infrastructure, and enhanced waste management systems. according to the central international organisation working concerning with the topic as un, undp, some significant steps should be taken including; • integrated renewable energy technologies and application in both building and urban development sectors. • shortand long-term “renewable energy strategy” should be integrated into the development strategy, and it should be integrated into the urban development strategy. • a real step towards achieving sustainable transport and improved mobility should be implemented. mant eurbaian cities can be taken as an example. some of them reached 60-70% of its transportation systems, public and private, are sustainable systems. • a good design integrated green infrastructure that can help to decrease the footprint of human activities. • applying urban compaction as a tool for both decreasing mobility footprint, and enhancing the urban environmental sustainability. masdar of abu dabi is a good example. 9. references 1. scheer, h.(2004) the solar economy: renewable energy for a sustainable global future. new york: routledge. 2. un-habitat (2011) expert group meeting what does the green economy mean for sustainable urban development?, un-habitat, nairobi. 3. united nations environment programme (2010) green economy: developing countries success stories, unep (available at: http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy) 4. the united nations economic programme (2011). 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(2011) what does the green economy mean for sustainable urban development. un-habitat, university of stellenbosch and sustainability institute. 12. united nation (2018) sustainable development platform: green economy, un. (available at: https://sustain abledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=1446) pg. 46 abdelaal / the academic research community publication 13. kasztelan, armand1 (2017) green growth, green economy and sustainable development: terminological and relational discourse, prague economic papers, politická ekonomie, prague, p.487–499 (available at: https://doi.org/10.18267/j.pep.626) 14. fedrigo-fazio, doreen and brink, patrick ten (2012) green economy: what do we mean by green economy? , undp, unep division of communications and public information, kenya. 15. cec (2011) communication from the commission to the european parliament, the council, the european economic and social committee and the committee of the regions, rio+20: towards the green economy and better governance. 16. unep (2011). towards a green economy: pathways to sustainable development and poverty eradication. [retrieved 2015-11-03] (available at: http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/portals/88/documents/ger/ger fi nal dec 2011/green%20economyreport final dec2011.pdf pg. 47 introduction the research problem research methodology research objectives the green economy and urban planning green economy definition green economy objectives principles of a green economy strategy for a green economy case studies of a green economy city of tshwane, south africa sustainable planning for a green economy in curitiba, brazil framework towards a green economy conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication quality of life to achieve new egyptian cities dina darwish1, mohsen bayad2, mohamed mahdy2 1assistant lecturer at the higher institute of engineering and technology in menoufia egypt 2architecture department, faculty of fine arts –alexandria university egypt abstract the change in the pace of urbanization that egypt is currently witnessing due to the massive population growth and the trend towards migration to some urban polarization centers has responded in a large and unbalanced urban transformation. the absence of a clear long-term strategy for urban development has affected the accumulation of investments in major cities. alongside the challenge facing the development of new urban communities, is the result of interaction between the social situation, economic and urban and the environment that affects the human being to form a society characterized by the quality of life, which is the goal of development. if all these challenges did not achieve the results of quality of life, development has become deficient and unable to achieve its objectives and therefore the investments directed to this development is a waste of resources in a country that needs to deal with resources efficiently and effectively, so as to achieve the maximum possible return of national income. therefore, the need to design an appropriate strategy aimed at integration of parts of the state’s urban space, as well as alleviating the regional disparities in the levels of urban development between different regions of the country, and achieving the greatest justice in the distribution of services and facilities and economic opportunities between citizens and regions, and attracting residents from densely populated areas and territories to new urban centers with growing development and investment potential. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords quality of life – a measure of happiness – development – development – development management – development strategy plan development — new urban communities – economic development 1. introduction quality of life is the idea recently discussed in various studies as a response to many of the problems facing new cities around the world as well as in egypt. the current interest of the world in preserving the environment and the life of human societies on earth is the most important scientific, philosophical and applied trends to which the most research and studies are directed. therefore, the interest in the field of public services and the development of the method and system of submission to citizens, and where the individual’s satisfaction and happiness and ability to satisfy his needs through the rich environment and the development of services provided to him in the areas of health, social, educational and psychological with good management of time and benefit from it, while enjoying the physical conditions in the external environment, such as the sense of well-being, and to live harmonious life compatible between the essence of human values prevailing in the community. it is only pleasing to the quality of life. pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i3.518 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ darwish / the academic research community publication the aim was to establish new cities through proposed development axes outside the valley and delta region as one of the development strategies to overcome their various problems. the focus was on the idea of expanding the development of new urban areas of priority to attract development outside the valley as well as attracting investments and encouraging the economy in the western desert. to be based on new urban communities distinct to contribute to the alleviation of urban pressure on agricultural land and densely populated areas, and at the same time create new jobs for young people in the scope surrounding these new areas, and there were different views on the results of these cities, did the experiment succeeded or failed ?, have all failed or succeed some? the difference of views in the judgment on the experience is due to the lack of adequate and agreed assessment bases in which the experience can be assessed scientifically and practically to develop appropriate solutions to them and to accelerate the development of them and exploit the investments directed to the optimal exploitation, hence, the objective of this research is to determine the foundations of a stable and adequate assessment of the quality of life of new cities and urban communities, from which the developmental reality of each society can be determined. in the framework of the national vision for the comprehensive development of egypt until 2030 and the required activation of all sectors of economic, social and urban development in order to make full use of the elements inherent in each sector, in addition to the major national programs and projects as the starting point that will lead to the recovery of the egyptian economy and achieve sustainable development, it will also contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the economic development and social justice strategy, in addition to being a positive result in stimulating growth, reducing the unemployment rate and providing new jobs for young people, such as the 4 million acre reclamation project, the suez canal development project, the golden triangle project, al qattara development project, al-baz development corridor project and other national projects. the research focuses primarily on the quality of life indicators and their role in advancing the development of urban communities, as well as the role of the community to play an effective role in assessing urban development, in transforming the society from a beneficiary to a product to an effective and decision-making society at all stages of economic. 2. aims of research and methodology the research aims to identify a new system for the development of urban communities and egyptian cities to solve the problems of the local community and to create an urban product capable of meeting the challenges and obstacles facing society. the research follows several approaches to achieve the predicted results by determining the basic principles used in the evaluation of cities and urban communities and their contribution to the formulation of the urban development concept in egyptian cities to develop the role and thought of urban development in different experiences and trends as well as national development strategies. in order to reach conclusions and recommendations related to research. – preserving the agricultural lands from urban encroachment and encouraging growth on the desert lands. – evaluating the development policies of the new cities in the western desert. – access to the proposed development role of new sites suitable for development. – raise efficiency and productivity of industrial services and infrastructure. – to guide urban growth to the proposed desert areas, which contributes to maintaining the existing structures, both urban and economic. – enhancing productive capacity through the development of existing enterprises, industries, and services that complement major productive and economic activities. – provide incentives to the private sector to participate in the development process. pg. 2 darwish / the academic research community publication figure 1. research objectives 3. quality of life concept it is the individual’s sense of satisfaction, happiness, economic and psychological ability and spiritual and religious dimension to satisfy his needs through the richness of the environment, and the quality of services provided to him in housing, health, education, security, and justice. the quality of life is achieved by reaching the level that satisfies the different segments of society according to needs and priorities. the availability of services and needs of the community groups is a key factor in achieving satisfaction and happiness in the lifestyle of the members of society. it is impossible to give one universally accepted definition of the concept of quality of life because it is a multidimensional concept that depends on the description and assessment of the nature and circumstances of people’s lives in a given country or region. the common definition is the ability of man to achieve his basic needs according to personal perceptions in order to achieve self-prosperity. a set of preliminary indicators has been developed for the eu. the final urban declaration (issued by the european commission and the un-habitat) has shown that a set of urban standards should at least be similar in some respects and may differ in others: — the researcher in the field of investigation. — different cultures. — different depending on region problems. — vary by different functions within the political decision-making process. a number of basic criteria have been developed in the assessment process several times based on the objective of the evaluation. in recent years, in various parts of the world, processes have been initiated to create comprehensive systems of quality of life measures that seek to assess the quality of life and the durability of countries in the present and future. quality of life on a range of cities and achieving their importance in the strategies of sustainable development at the national level. (ben ghadban, 2015) general objectives of quality of life assessment: – strengthening the sense of social cohesion among the members of the new city. – making the most of the process of popular participation in all stages of development, from the decisionpg. 3 darwish / the academic research community publication making process to the completion of the construction process. – finding the right implementation mechanisms to manage the new cities to serve the population of these cities. – a continuous and effective assessment process for new cities in all stages of growth. there are many organizations that measure the quality of life including: – human development index (hdi) – united nations economic cooperation and development (oecd) index – numbeo indicator – the london sustainable development commission (lsdc) 3.1. oecd index oecd is an international organization aimed at economic development and the revitalization of trade exchanges. the organization was established on september 30, 1961, after replacing the european economic cooperation organization (oeec), which was established in paris in 1948 to assist in the reconstruction of europe after the second world war and after a period of expansion to include non-european countries. the organization is composed of a group of countries that accept the principles of democracy and a free market economy and are the official observer of the united nations. (organization for economic co-operation and development, 2018) ; see table 1 table 1. measuringquality of life through the oecd indicator housing: (the proportion of the individual in the room in the proportion of services) education: the number of people with secondary education aged 2564 jobs: and (the number of wage workers from 15-64 unemployment rate) work-life balance safety: (walk in the night crime rates) income: (per capita annual income) environment: the percentage of satisfaction with drinking water due to pollution. health:(quality of health services) satisfaction with life social communication: the number of people who believe they have an important person can use it. civil participation: and with it (percentage of elected people and political participation) 3.2. numbeo indicator it is a global online shared database that compels its users to make comparisons to cities and countries. was established in 2009 by an engineer (mladen adamovic) in a company in serbia, the main objective of which was to compare prices. in 2011, other data were added to measure the quality of life such as pollution, health care, and traffic. it is also the largest data collection site with 1.3 million statements and is among the top 10000 sites used according to the classification of alex 2014, but the data are taken directly from individuals without third-party scrutiny, the index is not the most accurate. (cost of living, 2018) ; see table 2 pg. 4 darwish / the academic research community publication table 2. measuring quality of life through the numbeo indicator real estate prices compared to income cost of living purchasing power traffic congestion safety healthcare weather population 3.3. happiness indicators gnh (gross national happiness index) global happiness index is a measure of happiness in countries and urban communities by reference to multiple studies and statistics. happiness is measured according to several criteria. in 2011, the united nations general assembly passed a resolution calling on states to measure the happiness of their people to help guide their policies. in 2012, the first united nations meeting entitled ”happiness and well-being: defining a new economic model” was held. in 2016, the world’s first ministry of happiness was set up in dubai. what are the signs and indicators of happiness among peoples? the global happiness standard does not depend mainly on the richness of countries and individuals, but some other indicators are priorities in the classification mechanism. (2015 gnh survey report, 2018) ; see table 3 table 3. gnh classification mechanism living standards ecological diversity and resilience psychological wellbeing health time use community vitality education good governance cultural diversity and resilience assets ecological issues life satisfaction mental health work donations (time & money) literacy gov’t performance speak native language housing responsibility towards the environment positive emotions selfreported health status community relationship schooling fundamental rights cultural participation household per capita income wildlife damage (rural) negative emotions spirituality healthy days sleep family knowledge services artistic skills urbanization issues disability safety value political participation 3.4. the london sustainable development commission (lsdc) established in 2002 to provide independent advice to the mayor of london on ways to make london a sustainable, the commission is an independent body, challenging policymakers to promote a better quality of life for all londoners, both now and in the future, whilst also considering london’s wider global impacts. the commission is made up of individual experts from the economic, social, environmental and london governance sectors. the lsdc hopes that the qol indicators provide a useful assessment tool that might be used by others across london. it should be noted that these indicators are the responsibility of a range of organizations and bodies across london including the mayor, boroughs, business, central government and other stakeholders in the private and public sectors. all of these will need to put into practice a series of actions in collaboration with the mayor in order to make progress on the key quality of life issues over the coming years. (london’s quality of life indicators report, 2017)london’s quality of life indicators report, 2017) ; see table 4 pg. 5 darwish / the academic research community publication table 4. lsdc indicators social indicators economic indicators environmental indicators • education: primary • education: secondary • childcare • crime • decent housing • life expectancy • physical activity • satisfaction with london • happiness • voting • volunteering • healthy life expectancy • social integrationl • travel • gross value added • income inequality • employment rates • business survival • human capital • innovation • child poverty • fuel poverty • housing affordability • london living wage • carbon efficiency • low carbon and environmental jobss • kills • traffic volumes • air quality • travel to school • access to nature • bird populations • ecological footprint • flooding • household recycling • water consumption • waste • recycling • nox emissions • co2 emissions 4. development of new cities in egypt it can be concluded from the above-stated indications that the concept of quality of life includes subjective and objective indicators at the individual and community level. this can be described as below from the authors’ point of view. see figure 2 & table 5&6 table 5. subjective and objective indicators criteria at the individual level at the community level subjective indicators life satisfaction, a sense of happiness, etc ability to participate and influence the quality of life decisions objective indicators measurement of functional situations such as education, skills, etc measuring the economic, environmental, social, etc to the following indicators: figure 2. research subjective and objectives indicators table 6. research proposed quality of life indicators — from the point of view of the researcher urban indicator economic indicator environmental indicator social indicator continued on next page pg. 6 darwish / the academic research community publication table 6 continued land use compatibility providing adequate housing facilitate traffic provision of services the growth of economic activities increase income reduce unemployment recruitment improving water quality improve air quality good governance of natural resources waste management of various types good health the sense of safty in the community life education achieving a balanced and participatory society general goals look for the technique to provide the needs of the population of facilities with the promotion of a healthy environment enhance living and alternative transport modes while creating an environment that users can modify and adapt to it achieve aesthetic and visual image of the areas through the formation and identification of the architectural spaces and buildings identified for them meeting the needs of families through the provision of adequate housing (prices space construction technology thermal comfort) general goals improving the economic standard of living create additional permanent jobs within the region ability to provide a decent living general goals ensure good comfort and availability of local environment requirements ensure the environmental quality of water resources provide comfortable environmental conditions within urban areas ensure environmental safety in relation to waste management rational use of renewable energy resources general goals integration and social equity improve social cohesion improve available capabilities preventing social inequalities and promoting a socially inclusive society create a strong and cohesive society work to improve and distinguish social performance to achieve sustainable social development 5. the challenges of developing new urban communities in egypt the problem of research in the light of the analysis of the development movement of cities and new urban communities, the human development of these communities does not go at the required rate and did not achieve its objectives because it did not achieve quality of life in economic, social, environmental and urban, this is illustrated in table 7 and figure 3, 4. at the national level, there are still issues of population increase and scarcity of arable land. in this context, the state has prepared a number of national and regional plans that deal with these issues. table 7. the challenges of developing new communities in egypt 1 about 95% of the population of egypt live in 5% of the republic 2 urbanization of the northern part of the nile valley 3 the phenomenon of urban expansion on agricultural land in egypt 4 the inability to direct urban growth away from the valley and the delta, and the slow exit into the desert for new societies of the lack of development and quality of life continued on next page pg. 7 darwish / the academic research community publication table 7 continued 5 the population growth is expected to reach about 150 million in 2020, which will exacerbate the problem of urban expansion 6 not adopting a modern national policy for urban development that takes into account the stages and levels of economic development and its relation to the stages of urbanization at the national and regional levels 7 the obvious lack of services and the existence of life and the imbalance of the dimensions of urban development, economic and social figure 3. a graph showing the approximate percentage of the population census in egypt — developed by the researchers. source: central agency for public mobilization and statistics in egypt — www.capmas.gov.eg statistical profile — egypt 2016 — central agency for public mobilization and statistics figure 4. a graph showing the proportions of flats in egypt – developed by the researchers. source: central agency for public mobilization andstatistics in egypt www.capmas.gov.eg statistical profile egypt 2016 central agency forpublic mobilization and statistics pg. 8 darwish / the academic research community publication 6. the importance of establishing and developing new urban communities in egypt there is an imbalance in the geographical distribution of the population within the framework of the population, which is characterized by the concentration of the population in a limited geographical area (sustainable development strategy 2030). the paper gives the following discussion illustrated in figure 5&6. figure 5. lack of exploitation of economic resources in quality and efficiency figure 6. a map showing the limited development movement on the banks of the nile source: sustainable development strategy 2030 ministry of planning, follow up and administrative reform pg. 9 darwish / the academic research community publication thus, the results and elements of the analytical problem appear below in figure 7 from the point of view of the researcher: figure 7. proposed urban communities development polices hence, the quality of life indicators play an important role in the development of urban communities through the following stages a proposal for indicators are illustrated below in figure 8: figure 8. proposed quality of life indicators pg. 10 darwish / the academic research community publication 7. discussion and conclusion within the framework of the national vision for the comprehensive development of egypt until 2030 and the required activation of all sectors of economic, social and urban development to make full use of for the components in each sector. a new trend has emerged that has resulted in analysis and understanding of the components of the local development perspective for the development of new cities and new urban communities through:—assess development trends identify key challenges —stimulate the community and relevant parties —contribute to advancing sustainable urban development. —benefit from investment opportunities in the region to achieve the development of the local economy —focus on institutional and administrative bottlenecks access to the measure of measuring development through quality indicators of life and propose a set of indicators and determine their different roles in the stages of development. 8. references 1. ahvenniemi, h.; huovila, a.; pinto-seppä, i.; airaksinen, m.( 2017). what are the differences between sustainable and smart cities? cities, 60, 234–245 2. ballas, d. 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(2015). the smartest cities in the world 2015: methodology. fastco-exist.com. retrieved 14 march 2016: http://www.fastcoexist.com — the smart cities in the world 2015 methodology. 10. delsante, i. (2016). urban environment quality assessment using a methodology and set of indicators for medium-density neighbourhoods: a comparative case study of lodi and genoa. ambiente construı́do, 16(3), 7-22. 11. development strategy for the governorates of the republic (2016). ministry of housing, utilities & urban communities (egypt). general authority for physical planning 12. dotti, g. (2016). how to measure the quality of life in smart cities?. available online: http://phys.org/ news/2016-04-quality-life-smart-cities.html (accessed on 21 may 2018). 13. marans, r.w. (2011) . stimson, r. investigating quality of urban life: theory, methods, and empirical research. soc. indic. res. 45, 1–29. pg. 11 darwish / the academic research community publication 14. maged, a. m. (2016). implications of government policies in egypt on poverty problem. arab economic research. issue 73 15. mercer. (2014). quality of living worldwide rankings. mercer survey. new york. 2014. available online: http://www.uk.mercer.com/newsroom/2014-quality-of-living-survey.html (accessed on 2 may 2018). 16. ministry of planning, follow — up and administrative reform . sustainable development strategy. egypt 2030 17. murgaš, f.(2016) geographical conceptualization of quality of life. ekologia, 35, 309–319 18. rezvani, m.r.; mansourian, h.; sattari, m.h. (2013) . evaluating quality of life in urban areas. soc. indic. res. 112, 203–220 19. sanseverino, e.r. (2017). the role of technology in participation processes. in smart cities atlas; springer international publishing: cham, switzerland, pp. 207–231 20. schade, sven & tsinaraki, chrysi (2016) . survey report: data management in citizen science projects . european union 21. statistical profile. egypt 2016. central agency for public mobilization and statistics 22. sustainable development strategy 2030. ministry of planning, follow up and administrative reform 23. the london sustainable development commission, in association with cag consultants, december 2017. london’s quality of life indicators report, 2017. part 2 evidence report 24. vázquez, j.l.; lanero, a.; gutiérrez, p.; sahelices, c. (2018). the contribution of smart cities to quality of life from the view of citizens. in entrepreneurial, innovative and sustainable ecosystems; springer: cham, switzerland, pp. 55–66. 25. undp one united nation plaza. (2016) human development report office. new york. ny cost of living. (n.d.). retrieved 2018, from https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ 2015 gnh survey report. (2015). retrieved 2018, from https://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/ city of london. (2018). retrieved 2018, from https://www.london.gov.uk/in-my-area/city-london organization for economic co-operation and development. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/ pg. 12 introduction aims of research and methodology quality of life concept oecd index numbeo indicator happiness indicators gnh (gross national happiness index) the london sustainable development commission (lsdc) development of new cities in egypt the challenges of developing new urban communities in egypt the importance of establishing and developing new urban communities in egypt discussion and conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication bioclimatism through vernacular architecture as a pass for new sustainable structure abeer samy yousef mohamed1, kholod moumani2 1architectural engineering, faculty of engineering, tanta university, egypt. 2department of architecture, college of architecture& design, effat university, saudi arabia. abstract vernacular architecture typifies a majority of constraints from places where it belongs, where the use of local materials and techniques is one of the key features. in comparison to industrially-produced materials, vernacular materials have low ecological effects, being an alternate for sustainable construction. the expanding utilization of new industrially-produced and standardized materials resulted in the homogenization of the several used construction approaches, and spawned a universal architecture that oftentimes has gone out of the environment context and it is very reliant on energy and other resources. vernacular architecture predicated on bioclimatism concepts was developed and used through the ages by many civilizations around the world. different civilizations have produced their own architectural styles predicated on the local conditions. this paper addresses via an analytical study to indicate the relationship between vernacular architecture, locally sourced materials and structure by relating them with bioclimatic zones. to assess the contribution of these materials for sustainability, an evaluation with industrial materials at level of environmental indicators was established. this paper highlights the advantages of using local materials and techniques as a factor of local socio-economic development. also, indicating different solar passive features that are available in vernacular architecture, related to temperature control and promoting natural ventilation by using locally available materials in their construction. through this methodology, this study will introduce a new approach bioclimatism and vernacular architecture as a pass for new sustainable structure © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords vernacular architecture; sustainability; energy consumption; bioclimatic zones; bioclimatism 1. introduction since the stone age, humans sought to find a shelter. starting with a cave, they started a very long way of creating, modifying, and developing their shelters, which we later called dwellings. during the continuous seek for luxury and welfare, human started to add appliances and materials that makes his life easier ignoring the surrounding environment. moreover, he ignored that that kind of architecture that once respected the surrounding environment and climate. (hanan, 2009). this kind of architecture what has once represented our historical roots, as without it we will never get future. vernacular architecture is the main root that presents the local culture and environment of any country, it is the result of creative interact of human and their nature with all of their aspects avoiding most of its crisis (ahmadreza, pg. 50 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i3.522 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication & fergus, 2008). by the beginning of the sixties of the last century, it was the egyptian architect hassan fathy, who initiated the importance of such architecture, known after that by the vernacular architecture, and that he was the first to outline the need of environmental architecture in egypt. (soflaee & shokouhian, 2005). however, what is the vernacular architecture? how far could it be related to the climate and the environment around? what distinguishes it? does it have a theme? if not, what could be similar between it in different countries? do we have our own vernacular practices with respect to the environments? what are the critical and essential problems faced those architects who are practicing traditional vernacular architecture? what actually stopped us from incorporating the techniques of traditional practices? therefore, we will discuss the definitions, components, and materials of every point proving that this is not about going back to traditional systems, without satisfying current needs. it is about regarding site and climate considerations along with considerations of techniques and materials available. achieving several objectives like clarify design roles and design techniques with respect to energy considerations, representing the basics of merging the bioclimatic concepts, integrating design concepts with natural cooling, ventilation and lighting techniques to contemporary practices, and interpreting the passive effects of natural material used on environmental solutions and its techniques. 2. aim of research an approach to integrate vernacular architectural practice and its structure materials and techniques to contemporary settings”. regarding to this vision, it is a systematic approach towards the integration of bio-climatic design concepts of nativity into modern practices as a solution to the current climatic issues and energy problems; it also embraces traditional energy efficient building techniques practiced in traditional vernacular architecture of buildings in arab countries. 3. scope & limitation this is not about going back to traditional systems, and it is all about acquiring traditional practices and techniques to modern buildings without satisfying current needs. our vernacular building construction system practices are starts with site considerations, soil & physical considerations, climate considered, also considers techniques and materials available etc., it is collectively a perfect passive designing system with climatic loads and energy consideration. vernacular architecture has been developed and practiced by the people over generations & they are tried and tested practices which sustains over the ravages of time using locally available materials for their building erection which responds climate without disturbing the environment. the bioclimatic design a methodology that exploits advantage of the climate through the correct utilization of design components and building technology for energy saving and also to guarantee agreeable conditions into structures. 4. research methodology this paper addresses via an analytical study to indicate the relationship between vernacular architecture, locally sourced materials and structure by relating them with bioclimatic zones. to evaluate the commitment of these materials for sustainability, an evaluation with industrial materials at level of ecological indicators was built up. it is not about creating a model of vernacular style to understand the energy consideration of traditional system; it is to understand the design techniques and practices of vernacular arab architecture & its native climate. after understanding the problems of practicing vernacular systems through case studies analyzing vernacular practices with respect to bioclimatic design approach – integrating bioclimatic vernacular practices to modern contemporary design practice. pg. 51 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication 5. research questions & objectives – in arab countries we have a wide range of traditional knowledge and practices with respect to build environments but why it’s not been practiced by all the architects? – what are all the problems faced by architects those who are practicing traditional vernacular practices? – advantages of the architects who are not practicing vernacular traditional techniques and methods? – what actually stops to incorporate the techniques of traditional practices. . . ? for example: materials, current methods of construction etc.,? to achieve answers for these questions research objectives are: – what actually stops to incorporate the techniques of traditional practices. . . ? for example, materials, current methods of construction etc. – understanding the bio climatic concepts of arab region. – integrating design concepts of natural cooling, ventilation and lighting techniques to contemporary practices. figure 1. process of research and analysis by authors 6. vernacular architecture the word vernacular got from ‘vernaculus’ signifies ‘native’, subsequently vernacular architecture – local investigation of building. “vernacular architecture” is an area of architectural hypothesis that reviews the structures made by experimental manufacturers without the mediation of expert architects. there exist numerous regions of non-proficient structural practice, from crude safe house in inaccessible networks to urban adjustments of building composes that are transported in starting with one nation then onto the next”, (oliver, 1997). actually, vernacular architecture has as vast range of definitions as its components itself. starting with paul oliver who expressed it saying, “vernacular architecture is an area of architectural theory that studies the structures made by empirical builders without the intervention of professional architects. there exist many areas of nonprofessional architectural practice, from primitive shelter in distant communities to urban adaptations of building types that are imported from one country to another”. as well as expressing it as the common dwellings and other native buildings of the people that are directly connected to environmental factors, traditional technologies with its available resources meeting their needs, regarding the values, economies, and the main cultures the created them, (oliver, 1997). pg. 52 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication shuzo murakami and toshiharu ikaga referred to it as the traditional buildings that have been designed and built to satisfy the local climate and culture, (zhiqiang & jonathan, 2008). moreover, bruce allsopp defined it stating that it is well known outline approach that is taken from open design and can be considered as the propelled type of normal engineering of a given domain which is communicated in connection to atmosphere, culture and building materials, (leila & mohammad, 2016). another definition mentioned in the same paper shows how it is related to the nature and people stating “the architecture in which harmony with nature, respect for other people and their houses, so the respect for the entire environment, whether it is man-made or natural environments are seen” (leila & mohammad, 2016). on the other hand, dilan m. rostam interpreted a nearly similar definition expressing in it the vernacular architecture as a building process created to develop a response to human’s basic necessities of life and communities as well reflecting many factors like the environmental, cultural, economic, and technical evolution (leila & mohammad, 2016). therefore, especially after knowing that the word vernacular derived from ‘vernaculus’ which means ‘native’, hence, vernacular architecture – native science of building, we can deduct a comprehensive definition that defines the vernacular architecture as “the process of creating a structure that is totally reconnected to the environment, respecting its nature as well as the climatic changes depending on locally created materials gathered from the surrounding nature”. that is approximately similar to bioclimatic architecture definition. 7. sustainability and sustainable architecture: sustainability in architecture is known as means of conserving constructions for the future. (soflaee & shokouhian, 2005). as it is known, “sustainability” as a term defined by the world commission on environment and development in the united nations for the first time. it was defined then as ”meeting the needs of the present generation without distorting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” moreover, by comparing between different definitions in different dictionaries we will find out that its meanings vary but they all are related to lasting, durability, protection, keeping alive, permanent continue, and making life longer (leila & mohammad, 2016). when dealing with the fields of urban life sustainability always have three main fields, from which it put certain criteria that ensure the continuity of the existing resources, or even lengthen the time of their existence, to guaranty the next generations’ rights. these branches are three: social, economic, and environmental sustainability. (figure 2) figure 2. graph of sustainability branches source:the issue of “the concept of sustainability in contemporary architecture andits significant relationship with vernacular architecture of iran” p 134 pg. 53 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication the appearance of this term and its indicators changed the architects’ points of view in the previous two decades to create techniques and standards towards it creating new techniques that are known as sustainable design, green architecture and sustainable architecture. therefore, sustainable architecture here will be defined, as “designed structure that satisfies its users’ needs form a social, environmental, and economic point of view regarding the needs of the next generations.” 8. bioclimatism (definition & explanation): a movement of climate responsive vernacular architecture – the term bio climatic was first used by victor olgyay in 1963, architect, norway. – the architecture of vast era’s & practices of our native scholars who designed their own homes by understanding the native climate and using the locally available materials to reflect the culture and heritage of their own. – the process of being reconnected to the environment during the design of buildings are called bioclimatic architecture. – climatic responsive building from the vernacular architecture is a perfect ideology of understanding climate and natural components of earth to provide a comfortable indoor environment to the users. – it’s very important to practice our vernacular techniques and systems to achieve maximum comfortable indoor environments with less energy sources. weather the eco-system is proper now? – the eco system is completely disturbed and totally unbalanced at present. – due to which issues such as climatic changes, environmental issues, pollution, resource depletion, genetic engineering, toxic and non-degradable wastes etc. – due to the improper practice of earth systems figure 3. global renewable energy used by technology & sector, 2010& in remap 2030 pg. 54 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication 9. applications of bioclimatism through vernacular architecture (case studies) through the history of vernacular architecture till nowadays, while searching & studying bioclimatism roles it seems that it was applicable through their designs, structure, material and even environmental solutions. the analytical study will be in arab countries (egypt, saudi arabia), where he climate region is arid zone. in these analytical study these roles will be explained as follows: 10. the nubian vernacular architecture the nubian vernacular architecture used the site, suitable terrain, colors, patterns, materials, window placement, spatial arrangement, and sunlight very well. starting with the site, the nubian vernacular architecture made the best use of the place as they built their buildings within mountains. since concrete structures demonstrated over the time that they’re vitality and warmth customers of 100%. what’s more, they demonstrated their perseverance in flimsy conditions. in light of the structure massing of antiquated structures, hassan fathy consolidated thick block dividers and customary yard frames additionally the roof to be framed in an arch shape to deliver aloof cooling without the need of an a.c. and ensuring a most extreme space, comfort capacity: – at a minimal cost by using local materials & innovative building techniques. – without using the heavy & expensive machinations of steel & concrete. nubians designed a unique models and building types of their own dependent on the arches ascending to help on the abuse of air streams in the easing of high temperatures without the requirement for cooling, in this way diminishing heaps of electrical surplus and lessen ozone depleting substances, as the shape, and they additionally planted numerous trees high-and medium-length side of the lake to help likewise in smooth air. they also keep construction craft through the egyptian nubian vault over the centuries that has become a feature of their culture. them some architects like hassan fathy and ramses wissa wassef inspired this technique at the beginning of the twentieth century. nubians has been different buildings than what the architects presented in the twentieth century. by entering a home made out of neighborhood regular assets with vault molded roofs and no electrical cooling, to locate a sudden plummet of peace and quiet inside a cool environment. conventional lights, mashrabeya screens, arches and hued glass let in silvers of light through. components from vernacular arab urban design, for example, the malkaf (wind get), shukshaykha (light arch) and mashrabiya (wooden grid screen), could be joined with the mud-block construction. table 1. case study 1 nubian vernacular architecture egypt urban pattern figure 4 specific design and developed building technique of ancient nubian house architecture space design figure 5 keep the same old way in construction building of nubian ”s house. figure 6 dom in nubian ”s style house for cooling environmental design elements figure 7 continued on next page pg. 55 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication table 1 continued structure systems, materials, and techniques figure 8 ”matchbox houses” were excessively sweltering in the late spring and excessively chilly in winter. nubian craftsmen were aces at building domed and vaulted tops of mud block which they additionally utilized for the walls. figure 4. figure 5. figure 6. pg. 56 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 7. figure 8. 11. bait nassif, jeddahsaudi arabia moving on to the next case study in saudi arabia, jeddah city to be more specific, the second case study differs from the first one from several points of view. it lies in the saudi arabian red sea city jeddah, latitude. moreover, this case study is not meant to study the effect of the architectural design on nature the same way as the first one. it was made to study the applied sustainable criteria, bioclimatic architectural methods, and vernacular architectural thought and their effect on both energy and water consumption. in the previous case study, results and information were noted by observations and documentation; on the other hand, she used advanced technologies to do so with this case study like simulator program called energy plus, which provide us with results that are more realistic if the entries were true and realistic. the significance of the nassif house comes predominantly from its initial hopeful and creative endeavor to restore jeddah’s lost legacy when it was attacked by the cutting edge office squares and shopping centers which required the obliteration of huge numbers of its notable structures. the house was planned by the prestigious egyptian engineer hassan fathy, who thought about the house as a chance to reinterpret the conventional design of saudi arabia. the proprietor, dr abd al-rahman nassif, was among the few to start the recovery of their own arabicislamic legacy in engineering in jeddah. nassif was brought up in the notable beit (home) nassif, a customary house in jeddah, which later turned into a gallery. in any case, nassif’s experience driven him to decide to make an arab-style house, yet one proper to the twentieth century. nasseef house has 106 rooms and the work of art a portion of the rooms contain is excellent. other than chips away at wood, others on tiles can be viewed and in addition arabic calligraphy. the plan style is said to be ottoman turkish. this fairly depicts increasingly the period amid which it was worked than relationship to outlines prevalent in the umayyad and abbasids social focuses as of now, for example, baghdad, cordoba and damascus. the style is believed to be more identified with expressive components found along the red sea, egypt and perhaps the levant around then. the material used in the construction of the gravel and limestone prospector as a basic, and the limestone prospect pg. 57 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication is the coral limestone they answer from the shore of the red sea, a fragile sandstone that keeps the house from cold and heat and absorbs moisture and uses the whiteness of limestone so as to prevent the erosion of limestone due to moisture year length. they used the roof and the roachin a large part of wood taken from an english ship sank in the sea bought by omar effendi and the rest of the wood imported from india and indonesia, and the most important vocabulary of the wonderful architecture they worked in the house of decorations and inscriptions in the openings of windows and rugs and doorfronts. rawashin is the wooden part that rises above the windows and external openings, and wood is the main element in the design of rawashin. the house of nassif is 900 square meters and has 40 rooms. the first floor is reserved for guests and the second is for sleeping rooms for the guests. the third floor is for the people of the house. the fourth floor is made of openings known as ”air pickers” to smooth the atmosphere for the family in summer. the method of building the stairs is low, making it easy to roll out the four roles quickly and easily. overall understanding: – mud brick low heat radiation, low cost, availability – thick wall high insulation – small windows not facing the sun – wind catcher air circulation, a pressure gradient used to get away with the hot air – qanat used with windcatcher to cool the interior air by deep cut canal in the floor filled with water – screens restrict glare of light – no use of r.c.c. and steel for high heat radiation – courtyard with partial greenery to screen dust and sand in the prevailing wind table 2. case study 2 bait nassif, jeddahsaudi arabia urban pattern figure 9 old islamic city pattern with narrow not straight roads space design figure 10 environmental design elements figure 11 structure systems, materials, and techniques figure 12 figure 9. pg. 58 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 10. figure 11. figure 12. pg. 59 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication table 3. vernacular as solution to contemporary architecture through bioclimatism bioclimatism through vernacular architectural a pass to sustainable structure vernacular as solution to contemporary architecture no. new suggested ideas samples 1 the idea of passive design figure 13 2 the idea of materials & techniques effect local and regional materials only local materials were used in construction depending on the location figure 14 recycled materials -most traditional rural architecture was made entirely out of recycled materials, figure 15 3 the idea of root zone & carbon minimization figure 16 4 the idea of daylight 100% figure 17 5 the idea of conservation of buildings and recycling of materials figure 18 6 the idea of zero waste figure 19 figure 13. figure 14. pg. 60 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 15. figure 16. figure 17. figure 18. figure 19. pg. 61 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication 12. results from the previously mentioned, vernacular architecture is not old or separate type of architecture that has gone. on the contrary, it is one of the kids of architecture that are flexible and can be modified to fit in any time’s style and criteria as well as being the closest design method to the sustainable design method. shuzo murakami and toshiharu ikaga stated that “vernacular housing to be either equal to or superior to modern housing in terms of environmental efficiency when both environmental load and environmental quality are taken into account” according to results that he had using casbee tool. hence, he put three steps that help to change the building from vernacular towards sustainable housing with an even higher environmental efficiency which are, the use of energy for machines, the deployment of appliances and fixtures featuring high-energy efficiency, and the creation of a sustainable society. the environmental design elements incorporated into all of the examples of the vernacular housing shown here provide valuable hints for achieving this end (shuzo, m.i.& toshiharu, y.i., 2008). therefore, vernacular architecture with its way dealing with the climate whether it is hot or cold makes it the bioclimatic architecture. here are some other lessons from the vernacular architecture need to be considered when we design a sustainable bioclimatic architecture: – participatory paradigm – density and sense of place – local materials and regional flare – energy conservation and ecology eventually, the three points classifications interpreting the vernacular architecture: architectural and urban properties of the building: – urban scale – structure of neighborhood spaces – spatial urban and local relationships – orientation of buildings – building form applying passive systems by using architectural elements: – natural ventilation and physical solutions through creating natural ventilation – natural ventilation elements used in building a shell – combination of two components incorporating louver and cross section in the building inside and wind circulation – green surfaces – courtyard – openings – building shading pg. 62 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication materials and structures: – specifications – thickness of walls – using local materials – the permeability of underground water structure techniques – benefits of alternate building materials: – the interest for building materials has been ceaselessly ascending with the expanding requirement for lodging both in provincial and urban territories. – the assets used to produce development materials influence the environment by draining common assets, utilizing vitality, and discharging pollutants to the land, water. – commercial misuse of customary building materials by different industries have irritated the circumstance. it has, along these lines, end up fundamental to thoroughly consider this issue truly and to give some reasonable solution to make the elective materials accessible to illuminate the lodging problem. – advantages of conventional materials: (better practical productivity cost viability better sturdiness ease of development better complete minimum waste less support cost minimum imperfections less vitality concentrated) table 4. conventional materials conventional materials material shape description advantages hollow concrete block (as brick) figure 20 a concrete masonry unit (cmu). -low maintenance -load bearing -fire resistant -provide therma , sound insulation economical. -environment friendly fly ash bricks figure 21 made of fly ash, lime, gypsum and sand -saves construction cost -less water seepage and dampness in wall -less energy consumption -reduction in air pollution -: continued on next page pg. 63 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication table 4 continued rice husk ash figure 22 containing reactive silica and/or alumina -increased compressive and flexural strengths. -reduced permeability. -increased resistance to chemical attack. -increased durability. -reduced effects of alkali-silica reactivity. -reduced shrinkage -enhanced workability of concrete. -reduced heat gain through the walls -reduced amount of super plasticizer -reduced potential for efflorescence ferrocement figure 23 a mixture of portland cement and sand reinforced with layers of woven or expanded steel mesh and closely spaced smalldiameter steel rods rebar. -low construction material cost -: -ease of fairing during construction -low ongoing maintenance -intrinsically safer in the event of grounding -long operational life tire veneer (as flooring material) figure 24 rubber tires play an essential role in modern life. -environmentally responsive ground surface material flexible both inside and outside. -used in territories, for example, sports and entertainment, creature lodging and high movement regions outside. -variety of buyer items continued on next page pg. 64 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication table 4 continued plastic wood figure 25 high-density polyethylene (hdpe), -100% resistant to rot. -impervious to breaking and part -environmentally amicable -requires less upkeep. -waste plastic and wood is utilized for assembling. -all woods may check, split, container, criminal, contort, and twist, and climate after some time to a grayish shading synthetic fiber figure 26 fiber-reinforced concrete (frc) -improve blend union -improve solidify defrost obstruction. -improve protection from touchy palling in the event of a serious fire. -improve affect obstruction. -increase protection from plastic shrinkage amid restoring. -improve auxiliary quality and diminish split widths. -reduce steel fortification necessities. -improve malleability. improve ductility continued on next page pg. 65 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication table 4 continued fly ash figure 27 a byproduct from burning pulverized coal in electric power generating plants -saves construction cost. -reduction in air pollution. -good compaction. -high scope of omc. -high inward edge of grinding. -free depleting (less interference because of rain). -no huge knots to be broken (simple to spread). -light in weight (can be utilized on frail subgrades). figure 20. figure 21. pg. 66 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 22. figure 23. 13. recommendations after what has been presented, it is now known the importance of the vernacular architecture as a wide step into the climatic sustainable criteria path, but the path is yet to finish. we, as architects, should work harder in the field of research in order to cover the gab the existed between the modern architecture and the sustainable vernacular architecture. more researches should be done to help spreading the awareness among people, architects, investors, and stockholders to confirm the importance of the vernacular architecture, its dimensions, methods, solutions to the problems it faced during the time, and the most important thing of all, the simplicity of having it integrated with the new architectural designs. pg. 67 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 24. figure 25. figure 26. pg. 68 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 27. moreover, the climatic architecture criteria, it should have its own papers studying in detail its components, methodologies, propositions, and thoughts. along with the methodology of integrating it with the advanced technologies like simulation programs to have the best results and the best design methodologies. 14. conclusion having major crisis happing in nowadays like greenhouse gas substance outflows that add to global warming and acid rain (zhiqiang, jonathan ,2008) demanded alternative solutions. architects sights directly pointed towards sustainability. in studying its rapid expansion since the first release of the term till nowadays, they realized its importance. during the digging into its principles, they found that most of its principles achieved in the vernacular architecture. on realizing the importance of the principles, vernacular architecture kept proven its importance as a sustainable climatic architecture. it took care of the smallest details. it knew the essentiality of materials for construction and its significant environmental impacts, (fernandes, mateus, & bragança, 2014). through it, the urban morphology in hot arid regions dealt with very well. therefore, researches have been done to study these methods and techniques in dealing with nature and the surrounding environment. after comparing between some of these researches and papers, it became clear that the vernacular architecture is the clearest way to have climatic sustainable architecture achieving the greatest fit through nowadays-modern design techniques. 15. references 1. maleki, b. a. (2011). traditional sustainable solutions in iranian desert architecture to solve the energy problem. international journal on technical and physical problems of engineering (ijtpe), 6, 84-91. 2. foruzanmehr, a., & nicol, f. (2008). towards new approaches for integrating vernacular passive-cooling system into modern building in warm-dry climates of iran. air conditioning and the low carbon cooling challenge; windsor: london, uk. 3. charles, j. k. & kevin, r. g. (2007). “envisioning next-generation green buildings” published in the journal of land use, vol. 23:1. pg. 69 abeer samy yousef mohamed / the academic research community publication 4. dilan, m.r. (2007). “evolved sustainable building engineering in vernacular architecture of kurdistan” published in aro-the scientific journal of koya university volume v, no 1, april 5. fernandes, j. e. p., mateus, r., & bragança, l. (2014). the potential of vernacular materials to the sustainable building design. in international conference on vernacular heritage & earthen architecture (pp. 623-629). taylor & francis. 6. taleb, h. m., & sharples, s. (2011). developing sustainable residential buildings in saudi arabia: a case study. applied energy, 88(1), 383-391. 7. leila, a.d. & mohammad, j. m. (2016). “the concept of sustainability in contemporary architecture and its significant relationship with vernacular architecture of iran” journal of sustainable development,10(1). 8. oliver, p.p. (1997). encyclopedia of vernacular architecture of the world. cambridge university press, cambridge. 9. shuzo, m.i. & toshiharu, y.i. (2008). evaluating environmental performance of vernacular architecture through casbee. 10. soflaee, f., & shokouhian, m. (2005, may). natural cooling systems in sustainable traditional architecture of iran. in printed in proceeding of the international conference on passive and low energy cooling for the built environment (palenc 2005), greece, santorini. 11. zhiqiang, j.z. & jonathan, m.p. (2008). ancient vernacular architecture: characteristics categorization and energy performance evaluation, energy and buildings,42(3), 357-365. table 5. energy and buildings, 42(3), 357-365. energy and buildings, 42(3), 357-365. table 6. energy and buildings, 42(3), 357-365. energy and buildings, 42(3), 357-365. table 7. energy and buildings, 42(3), 357-365. energy and buildings, 42(3), 357-365. pg. 70 introduction aim of research scope & limitation research methodology research questions & objectives vernacular architecture sustainability and sustainable architecture: bioclimatism (definition & explanation): applications of bioclimatism through vernacular architecture (case studies) the nubian vernacular architecture bait nassif, jeddahsaudi arabia results recommendations conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.514 a new vision for the design process of sustainable urban transportation tarek mahmoud yousry hassan1, ahmed abdel hamid abdel rahim, shimaa abdil wahab mohammed1 1lecturer at faculty of regional & urban planning, cairo university abstract nowadays, several new global trends have emerged, empathizing urban design dimension in the planning of transportation networks and keeping pace with urban, environmental and social development. these trends emerged into practice in many developed countries, aiming at achieving sustainability, improving the built environment, reducing and addressing the environmental impacts resulted from the misuse of local resources of the environment, improving public health and providing better quality of life. the patterns of these trends varied in both urban design and urban transportation. the frameworks of both urban design and urban transportation are closely linked to these modern trends, each of which relies on its own practical framework and is adapted to the local conditions according to the type and pattern of urbanization in which these trends originated. it is worth mentioning that the crosscutting points and the linkages between the two areas, urban design and urban transportation, clearly exist in a global methodological frameworks covering the design process in both fields. hence, the research gap to be covered in this paper is creating a global framework that covers the design process in both fields. the objectives of urban design are closely related to the objectives of urban transportation. this makes it necessary to integrate these two fields in a clear and systematic framework that suits and meets the needs of the urban content of the egyptian society. taking into consideration the pace of development taking place in both areas at the global level, and the emergence of many attempts integrating both the theoretical and the operational level. the egyptian society faces a large gap between the current situation of the egyptian urbanization and the extent of the application of these modern global trends due to the absence of the importance of integrating urban design dimension in planning urban transportation in existing urban cities. in this context, the paper seeks to reach a comprehensive vision that combines the two fields in order to improve the urban built environment and reduce the problems associated with the urban transportation sector in egypt with aid of many of the modern global trends that dealt with this subject and reached many solutions that can be adopted in egypt. the paper adopted the formulation of a generalized framework that includes the dimension of urban design in the planning and design of urban transport networks and included two pillars. (a) proposing an ideological framework elaborating the integrated design process, which includes the use of the global modern trends in urban design and urban transportation at the functional urban, social, environmental and economic level; (b) proposing a theoretical phased design process in line with the local egyptian reality, which includes different application levels for planning, design, management, development and operation. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). pg. 232 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ hassan / the academic research community publication keywords sustainability; urban transportation; urban design; planning process; design process; sustainable transportation strategies. 1. introduction many authors differed in the literature of urban design on a uniform or consistent definition of urban design. the definition of urban design is divided into five divisions that are integrated with each other to form a broadest framework of the definition (schurch, 1999). some definitions are basic and simple definitions; some are qualitative and qualitative definitions, while other definitions are proprietary and historical. finally, the process of urban design as an applied context requires a set of practical frameworks and sequential procedures to be implemented. ultimately, it concludes with a general nature of urban design and its relation to all other disciplines, which may be included in urban design by virtue of its unique nature. (carmona, 2014), (moughtin, 2003), and (moughtin, 1999) see the urban design process as a cyclical, analytical, creative and structural process in any self-conscious design which can be used as a tool for shaping the future of places. skilled specialized urban designers visualize and design solutions for specific locations or projects usually implement this process. (rowley, 1994) defines the urban design process as an important and vital part of urban design and believes that the design process can be seen as part of the ongoing urban development process, or can be seen as the process by which the functional and visual components of buildings, spaces and public life are formed and controlled. many of the literature of urban design have introduced the term ”design process” as a major component in the definition of urban design. (associates, 1991) considers, in general, urban design as a practical framework that provides urban design a direction for growth, preservation and urban change. the definition as referred to (pamaby, 1993) is to give the public spaces in the city the characterization of live organism in terms of development and maintenance through a practical framework of urban design. the definition of (partnership, 1991) involves understanding people, places, and fulfilling their needs in urban content through urban design as a framework or process leading to policies to improve urbanization and the urban environment in three dimensions. (rowley, 1994) notes that christopher alexander has gone with the definition of urban design much further. the overall development function of the city can be treated as a framework and cannot be dealt only by design, but by implementing a practical framework, that radically changes the shape of the city. it has been agreed that how urban designers work is determined by reflecting their positions within the larger framework of change in urbanization, acting according to the general economic, political and institutional content and responding to customer demands as well as location content. therefore, there is no specific definition of “urban design process” however; there are series of procedures and methodologies that determines the nature of design process in each content. the framework and the product in urban design intersect more than any other area of design. the practical frameworks of urban design, development, and management may play key roles in understanding the quality of the final product cautioned against the interest in the design process at the expense of urban form. the criterion here is the quality of change, not the urban form alone or the design process alone. both the urban form and the design process usually work together (langdon, 1990), (carmona, 2014), and (lynch, 1981). (carmona, 2014) reviews the urban design process as part of a new theory that considers the urban design as a synonymous with the space shaping of places and introduces a new theory for the components of the urban design process for public spaces in london in this concept. (rowley, 1994), (steino, 2003) and (lang j. , 2005) addressed the methodological framework of urban design, through a general design ideas that could be applied and transformed into urban products in order to improve the current urban environment. elements of the methodological framework consist of the following; design process; design approaches; design objectives; design principles; design guidelines and design products. pg. 233 hassan / the academic research community publication 2. nature and content of urban design process (moughtin, 2003) and (moughtin, 1999) define the nature of the urban design process as a natural process and not a linear one between the problem and the solution, but is essentially dialectic relationship. therefore, urban design neither is a physical interference of several narrow outputs in some projects, nor is it a specific result of design objectives. the urban design is a continuous journey that forms places and is renovated continuously, socially, economically through periodic planned interventions, as well as recommendations from the long term planning of the place. thus, the design processes in all its forms and differences, which form the urban places, constitute the essence of the unique urban design. (carmona, 2014). (rowley, 1994) defines the design process as an important and vital part of urban design. they consider that the design process can be part of the continuous urbanization process and a change of the poor content of urban design. they also empathize that the design process can be expressed as the process by which it can control the functional and visual components and for buildings, spaces and public life. 3. urban transport planning process the urban transportation planning process is defined as a participatory process designed to involve all parties in the transportation system, such as the business community, civil society, environmental bodies and freight and public transportation operators, through an interactive participatory process by the following entities: metropolitan planning organization ”mpo”, state department of transportation ”state dot” (transportation, 2014). transportation planning should be included within a larger range of ”process of decision-making” transportation solutions. in the past, transportation solutions alone were considered to be sufficient to solve the problems of transport, however, in fact the transportation planning process must be integrated with land use planning and development processes, which requires an integrated approach, analyses and a clear vision of the city type and the society we wish to live in. (meyer, 2001). transportation planning is also defined as the process leading to decisions, policies and programs to improve transportation system. in this process, planners develop information on the impact of the applying transportation services alternatives. these processes should operate within a general framework for the objectives of the study area concerned, including a good understanding of the needs of the population and all stakeholders. (transport, 2014), (civil.iitb.ac.in, 2014). it is worth mentioning that the urban transportation planning process is mainly related to the urban planning process of cities and large urban areas in terms of size, population and area. the issue of the misuse of the human scale in planning has often emerged due to the nature and size of the planning process as a most important defects and challenges of this type of planning. therefore, attempts have recently been made to include the human scale and the consequent response to societal, recreational and basic needs in the design of urban transport systems in order to improve the quality of the urban environment. the following is a brief review of the nature and the peculiarity of the urban transportation design process. 4. design process of urban transportation networks most of the us pilot attempts have emerged in the design process of urban transport networks. the us state transportation administrations are the first to interpret transportation problems. the us case studies were focused on one item in the design process. the design principles are based on a specific approach that has been adopted individually and in an isolated trial for each state. often, a design process for urban transportation has two basic functions; development of existing areas processes, including redesigning the existing traffic network to improve efficiency; the process of designing new traffic networks ”street design process.” among the common goals that are almost constant among all these case studies: – establishing and activating the principle of ”walkable communities” to reduce the reliability of cars by providing a good design for the network pg. 234 hassan / the academic research community publication – ensure the integration of all types of urban transportation by providing a good design for a high-traffic network that accommodates all types, thus increasing the opportunities of the society to choose the appropriate transportation means, as well as providing an integrated mass transport network that provides the highest connectivity and accessibility to work, places, accommodation and entertainment 5. research methodology this research aims to develop a proposed theoretical framework for activating the role of urban design in the planning and design of urban transportation networks, which covers the current gap in the relationship between urban design and urban transportation in the egyptian case with the application on al rehab and madinaty cities. therefore, the research gap is: there is no intersection between urban design and urban transportation in the egyptian institutional system, in terms of the ideological framework, consisting; approaches; design process and design products as well as policies, plans, design principles and programs. taking into consideration that urban design as the basic umbrella under which urban transportation works within the broader framework, which includes transportation design. the main research question is: what is the applied theoretical framework that includes the appropriate design process for urban transportation planning aiming at achieving the objectives and principles of urban design in urban areas of egypt? the research proposed a new theoretical framework in which the role of urban design in the planning and design of urban transport networks can be activated through the methodology of (mohammed, 2016) consisting of three main stages as follows: 5.1. phase i: theoretical and analytical framework of the research: analytical study of all the global trends and different design approaches in the field of urban design and urban transportation, and analysis of the global experiences associated with the research problem, which can be applied in the egyptian case, using the descriptive and the comparative approaches. – analytical study of the urban design process and the urban transportation design process for some international experiments that dealt with the integration of the design processes using the comparative approach – analytical study of the nature of the urban design problem and the urban transportation to achieve the criteria for selecting and determining the most appropriate process that suits the egyptian case using the descriptive historical approach 5.2. phase ii: formulation of the proposed theoretical framework consists of three steps: – step 1: the formulation of theoretical ideological framework consisting of the general framework of the design process – step 2: drafting the proposed framework for global trends of sustainable urban transportation – step 3: integrating design processes and formulating the final and integrated theoretical framework between urban design and urban transport these steps include the integration of design processes derived from both the theoretical background of urban design and sustainable urban transportation through the comparative approach, in accordance with egyptian reality. 5.3. phase iii: testing the proposed method on the egyptian reality by: – testing the theoretical approach by experts views through semi-structured interviews using “delphi method”. pg. 235 hassan / the academic research community publication – application of the theoretical approach to the study area in which the conditions covered in the theoretical framework are available. the testing process also deals with testing the theoretical framework drawn and applied to the egyptian case studies. it includes the theoretical framework and then reaches to general recommendations resulted from this comparison, which contribute to the development and revision of the framework and its finalization in the final form. fig. (1), shows the derived framework of the urban design that was tested in the first phase (mohammed, 2016). figure 1. the frame derived from the urban design used in the first and second phases of the questionnaire. source: (mohammed, 2016, p. 132) 5.4. research testing method therefore, this research is a process of conducting a new phase of an expert questionnaire using the delphi method and conducting semi-structured interviews in 2018, which include: – identifying expert groups divided into three main sections and selecting the expert sample in each group focusing on the experts of city authorities to find out the current practice in the planning and design of egyptian cities. the research focuses on the new cities of al-rehab and madinaty cities – design questionnaire and interviews – processing and revision of the framework in accordance with expert recommendations therefore, the research testing method in this research contains a set of stages that address specific points of the research problem, including: – completing and updating the theoretical framework by conducting further interviews and a questionnaire for a group of experts to be called (phase iii of questionnaire 2018) during this research – modifying the theoretical framework based on updates from the new phase of the questionnaire pg. 236 hassan / the academic research community publication 5.4.1. selection of expert sample in the first phase of the questionnaire (mohammed, 2016), there were about 42 experts, 10 experts in the second phase of the questionnaire, and 15 experts in the third phase: experts in both urban design and urban transportation, urban planning experts, and experts working in the authorities of egyptian cities. it is worth mentioning that the experts in each of the first, second and third phases of the questionnaire were interviewed individually and the interviews varied between the open discussion on the issue of research and how to find practical solutions to problems. it is to be noted that about 20% of the total samples did not complete the forms and therefore were deleted from the results. table (1) shows the relative distribution of each category for forms and interviews in the first phase of the questionnaire in 2016 and second phase of the questionnaire in 2018. table 1. expert samples distribution in phases i, ii and iii of the questionnaire. source: samples of forms and interviews 2016 and 2018. questionnare samples urban design experts urban transportation experts urban planning experts executives and specialists working in the authorities of egyptian cities actual samples of forms and interviews 10 6 13 23 samples for interviews only without a form 2 0 2 0 samples not completed 3 4 2 2 total 15 10 17 25 5.4.2. design questionnaire and interviews a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were suggested for each sample selected separately to ensure the diversity and impartiality of the results. the questionnaire for phase iii includes the following sets of questions: set of questions for urban design, questions on urban transportation, a set of questions for the design process, and a set of questions for the derived framework. 6. final theoretical framework discussion after reviewing the theoretical background of the urban design, structural frameworks and its components, analyzing the main issues of the urban design process and its important factors and studying international studies and the theories of the design process (mohammed, 2016). the design process was derived from the following: 6.1. design process theoretical framework the design process theoretical framework consists of all factors that are considered the main determinants of the nature of the proposed design process. fig. (2), shows the general combined framework of the urban design and urban transport design processes. generally, the framework is subject to the degree of control available in the planning process and in the development process involving the urban design according to the following: a. determination of procedural approaches (steino, 2003); b. identification of procedural patterns type (lang j. , 1996), (lang j. , 2005); c. identification of the participating stakeholders, and; d. identification of main factors influencing the application of the design process in the egyptian case studies (shirvani, 1985), (moughtin, 2003), (moughtin, 1999) and (lang j. , 2005) which include: pg. 237 hassan / the academic research community publication – legislative frameworks governing the relationship of urban design in the planning process in general and the planning and design of urban mobility in particular – the entities responsible for the planning process to include the urban design dimension in the planning process – programs and policies that contribute to the application and motivation of the role of urban design in the planning and design of urban transport networks. – – – – figure 2. general combined framework of the urban design and urban transportation design processes. source: (mohammed, 2016, p. 171) 6.2. monitor the overall framework of the design process in global trends previous elements of urban design were compiled, evaluated in literature and theories from global trends and design guidelines to identify the extent and appropriateness of its application in egyptian practice. it is mainly divided into three case studies in urban design, and eight case studies in urban transportation in usa, uk, australia and india as well as arab case study in uae. (engineers, 2010), (health, 2011), (ncdot, 2012), (place, 2000), (burton, 2006), (itdp, 2011), (wefering, 2014), (sakamoto, 2012), (ssatp, 2015), (steinberg, 2012), (leather, 2009), (hickman, 2011) (sayeg, 2014), (bos, 2014), (ishii, 2013) (dalkmann, 2010), and (schulze, 2012). the above case studies were included the methodology of proposing the design process theoretical framework. design approaches differed from one case study to another, and the approaches to procedural patterns varied between urban design as a decision environment and urban design as a living environment, primarily the first type. in general, all of the case studies coincided in the objectives and principles of the design and development of the existing areas. the outputs of urban design were all between the principles of design and the foundations of design, pg. 238 hassan / the academic research community publication while only two case studies dealt with urban design in abstract design as one of the outputs to be addressed. in terms of levels of application, they all contributed in the development and design levels. in terms of substantive differences, the level of planning, management and operation. 6.3. main components of proposed design process theoretical framework 6.3.1. urban design inputs a set of objectives and principles have been studied and concluded reflecting the general human needs in both urban design and urban transportation. they have been extracted from reviewing modern global trends in urban design, grouped into ten categories that combine objectives and principles of modern trends and sub categorized into four main groups. literature such as: new urbanism (new urbanism, 2010), livable communities (livable streets, 2012), sustainable urbanism (wiryomartono, 2014), green urbanism (lehmann, 2015), new pedestrianism, place making, smart growth (anderson, 2015) and eco city (register, 2015). the four main groups are: – group 1: objectives and principles aims to improve and develop the design process itself and include development of design process – group 2: objectives and principles aims to improve and develop urbanization, in the planning level, include mixed-use & diversity, character of urban form, increased density – group 3: objectives and principles aims to develop and improve the surrounding environment, in the planning level, include sustainability, quality of life, environmental aspects – group 4: objectives and principles aims to improve and develop the design of transportation networks, at the level of design and include: walkability, connectivity, smart transportation 6.3.2. design process inputs the conceptual perception of the phases of the urban design process framework was developed and divided into; the traditional phases of the design process and the stages of the design process according to the concept of sustainability. the design process has been divided into three main levels: the main stages, main processes within each stage, and sub processes within each major operation. the stages of the main design processes in the various literature in the urban design appeared through a set of theories adopted for the design process, which consisted of four main theories categorized according to the author as follows: – the john lang model: which divided the design process into five main phases: creation, design, selection, implementation and post-operative evaluation (lang j. , 1994) (lang j. , 2005) – the matthew carmona model: based on four main phases: design, development, management, and space use (carmona, 2014) – rachel cooper’s 1st model: which adopted four main stages: formation of teamwork and goal setting, design and concept development, evaluation and creation of plans and ending with implementation. followed by four transition phases between each of the above main stages: continued understanding of urban content, continued identification of design options and alternatives, continued development of the scheme and continuation of the design process and a return back to the first stage (boyko, 2005) – rachel cooper 2nd model: which transformed the design process into a continuous loop model of subprocesses that includes inclusion of the dimension of sustainability in the design process and processes that ensure its achievement (cooper, 2010) pg. 239 hassan / the academic research community publication the research proposed design process theoretical framework was drawn from compiling the above theories. the main processes within each main stage and sub-processes were studied in all the different literature in the urban design, which differed between each model and another, thus formulating the framework. 6.3.3. urban transportation inputs from global trends at the level of sustainable transport strategies these inputs include ”enable-avoid-shift-improve (easi) strategies”, which can be combined with urban design objectives and principles, which have been extracted from global trends on sustainable transport strategies (steinberg, 2012) as follows: – enable: policies aimed at achieving the efficiency of institutional and governmental system, forecasting system needs and the formulation of procedures, ensuring integrated management and development of the urban transportation sector – avoid: policies aimed at reducing reliability of private cars through the integration of urban transportation planning and land use – shift: policies aimed at increasing reliability on sustainable means of transportation – improve: policies aimed at improving transportation efficiency and improving safety and the quality of the urban environment 6.3.4. sustainable urban transportation global trends global trends in sustainable urban transportation include two sets of trends, the first containing planning guidelines and the second are projects that have already been implemented and evaluated after a period of operation. the criteria for the selection of case studies and guidelines include the following: – must follow a modern approach of sustainable urban transportation – must include the principles and objectives of urban design that appear in network design – should contain some or all stages of the design process to be followed in the projects executed according to these design guidelines – must demonstrate how sustainability principles are addressed in the planning and network design, including fulfilling society social needs, economic and environmental aspects. in addition, the institutional dimension and ruling regimes dimension of sustainability that could emerge 6.4. urban design and urban transportation: integration of design processes the combination of the design process theoretical frameworks of urban design and sustainable urban transportation as shown in figure (3) depends on the comparison of their design processes at the level of main phases, main and sub-processes. in order to achieve this, this kind of integration has been studied at several levels as follows: – identifying the theoretical framework of urban design process through urban transportation tends with the aim to choosing the main phases and interpretation the compatibility of the sustainable urban transportation global trends with the urban design process in terms of major stages and major processes at least – comparison between both theoretical frameworks (urban design and urban transportation) in order to identify the main stages of the integrated design process between them preparing for the formulation of the final integrated theoretical framework that combine both fields source: (mohammed, 2016, p. 172) pg. 240 hassan / the academic research community publication figure 3. theoreticalframeworks for the urban design and urban transportation processes 6.5. final integrated theoretical framework for urban transportation design process the final form of the integrated theoretical framework for urban transportation design process was derived from analyzing each of urban design and urban transportation separately. the framework of the proposed design process was analyzed by merging all the factors resulted from the study of each of the two fields. finally, the analysis of the components and stages of the design process derived from the study of the joint design process. the final proposed integrated framework for the design process, which explains all the interrelations between urban design and urban transportation, is presented as follows: – defining the objectives and principles in common between urban design and urban transportation consistent with the needs of the community – identifying strategies that will be used between the two parties in an integrated manner – identifying the application tools and standards at each application level the general idea was adopted as shown in figure (4), which is based on the above detailed studies of urban design, urban transportation and the joint design process. the integrated theoretical framework for urban transportation design process was formulated based on several factors that helped shaping the current proposal: – taking into account the components of the methodological framework of urban design – inclusion of all main and sub-processes, which were included in theoretical frameworks and theories of urban design, which dealt with the design process in general – taking into account the inter-stages between each main stage of the design process, which works to achieve two objectives: (a) continuation of the content of the previous phase in the design process in order to ensure that developments and continuous changes are taken into consideration, and (b) preceding the next phase through administrative procedures and engaging the parties involved figure (5) illustrates final integrated conceptual framework for urban transportation design process. pg. 241 hassan / the academic research community publication figure 4. general idea of the integration of urban design with urban transportation. source: (mohammed, 2016, p. 113) 7. results the research results pivots around main parts as following: a.general results of the study and analysis of the factors concerning the research problem, which directly and indirectly affect the composition of theoretical frameworks for both urban design and urban transportation. as well as the direct factors of the research problem that affect the formation of the final theoretical framework integrated between the two fields, such as: – the extent to which the goals and principles of urban design influenced the design of the transport and mobility on networks. the impact of urban design goals and principles on the planning and design of urban transportation networks (through the four groups of objectives and principles mentioned in section 6.3.1) 86% of all experts agreed that there is a strong impact on these goals and principles – the issue of the application of modern trends of sustainable urban transport in egypt through the formulation of mechanisms to develop appropriate legislative frameworks – a number of obstacles to the application of this trend was identified in the egyptian case, which could cause the application of the final theoretical framework between urban design and urban transportation to be impeded, such as: (a) lack of sufficient funding for the egyptian authorities and institutions to implement these policies, (b) current transport problems, (c) social constraints such as: culture change, community awareness and understanding of the transport system used, and the socio-economic characteristics of the population (by region), (d) legislative obstacles such as miss-application of regulations, law and code, and (e) the inefficiency of governing institutions and institutional systems, relying on established norms and fighting all new, traditional and routine b.results of the theoretical framework – the validity of the use of the main stages of the design process in the planning and design of the urban transportation networks was studied through the first and third stages of the experts questionnaire, more than 64.5% of the experts approved the approval of most of the main and secondary stages – the factors influencing the proposed design process were summarized in: (a) inefficient institutional systems, (b) inefficient legal and legislative frameworks, and (c) the economic dimension in the development of sustainable urban transport projects – the framework for implementation in egypt has been approved and the possibility of integrating the proposed framework into existing institutional systems has been approved c.some suggestions have been proposed from the expert interviews that contribute to the development of this framework, which was later used in the formulation of the final theoretical framework between urban design and pg. 242 hassan / the academic research community publication urban transportation. expert proposals focused on: (a) raising the awareness of the parties involved in the planning and design process, (b) linking these strategies to the general policies of the country, (c) application in new cities of small density, (d) giving the private sector more allowance to participate and invest in the transportation sector, (e) identifying the roles of teams in different disciplines which interact directly and indirectly with the planning and design of urban transport networks such as urbanization, housing, economy, social, etc., and linking their roles to the main stages and sub-processes of the proposed framework, and (f) activating the social dimension and public participation. source: authors. 8. conclusions to monitor the impact on the final integrated theoretical framework for urban transportation design process, some adjustments were made through practical application through the experts’ questionnaire in phases i, ii and iii. some results (within 15 to 20% disagree) in the questionnaire for the first, second and third phases, which measure the extent to which experts agree on the main stages of the theoretical framework, are due to several reasons, such as: some samples of interviewers, which focused on the group of executives and specialists working in the authorities of egyptian cities, were primarily concerned not to change the style of design and planning adopted in these institutions. this was very clear in rejecting the amendments proposed by the researcher on the traditional process of planning and design such as the following: – the exclusion of the main process (the beginning of the project) in the pre-design phase, as a result of relying on the political intervention in the current egyptian situation – the difficulty of achieving integration with other disciplines due to the deterioration of the institutional system and the weak inter-institutional relations in the current egyptian situation – the difficulty of implementing the sustainability agenda in the egyptian cities as well as the deterioration of the current institutional systems and the absence of a real political desire for change – the need to separate the two phases of planning and design in the second stage and to consider them as separate operations according to the current traditional system followed in these institutions some expert samples, especially road design engineers, were primarily concerned with the design of traditional road networks. their answers were limited to the technical details of the traditional design stage, because of the lack of knowledge of both urban planning and urban design, as well as lack of familiarity with contemporary issues to achieve urban sustainability, as well as recent global trends in the planning and design of sustainable urban transport systems. most of the major processes that were finally approved in the final integrated theoretical framework ranging from 80% to 85% of the total samples of the interviewers in the first and second phases of the questionnaire. this ensures that such integrated theoretical framework could be applied in realty to the case studies (al rehab and madinaty cities) as a comprehensive level and at the level of residential neighborhoods. 9. references anderson, g. 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(2014, 10 20). http://www.otdmug.org/media/3250/chapter1.pdf. retrieved from www.otdmug.org: http://www.otdmug.org/media/3250/chapter1.pdf transportation, d. o. (2014). the transportation planning process: key issues a briefing book for transportation decisionmakers, officials, and staff. u.s.a: u.s. department of transportation, federal transit administration. wefering, f. (2014). guidelines developing and implementing a sustainable urban mobility plan. brussels: european platform on sustainable urban mobility plans, www.eltis.org/mobility-plans. wiryomartono, b. (2014, 12 15). principles of sustainable urbanism as public policy a theoretical exposition. retrieved from www.academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/5190201/principles of sustainable urbanism as public policy a theoretical exposition łł. (2009). łł ł ł ł ” ł ł ł (delphi method ) ł ł łłł. ł – . łł . (20 10, 2013). ł łł ł ł. ł ł www.upc.gov.ae: http://www.upc.gov.ae/template/upc/pdf/sdm%20arabic %20v06.pdf pg. 246 hassan / the academic research community publication ł ł. (2004). ł ł łł ł . ł ł. pg. 247 introduction nature and content of urban design process urban transport planning process design process of urban transportation networks research methodology phase i: theoretical and analytical framework of the research: phase ii: formulation of the proposed theoretical framework consists of three steps: phase iii: testing the proposed method on the egyptian reality by: research testing method selection of expert sample design questionnaire and interviews final theoretical framework discussion design process theoretical framework monitor the overall framework of the design process in global trends main components of proposed design process theoretical framework urban design inputs design process inputs urban transportation inputs from global trends at the level of sustainable transport strategies sustainable urban transportation global trends urban design and urban transportation: integration of design processes final integrated theoretical framework for urban transportation design process results conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication city image between gated and open residential areas ghaidaa kotb1 1political science, future university in egypt abstract city image and self identity are two interrelated notions. self identity, also referred to as urban related identity, is not solely derived from the physical characteristics of an urban space, but, consists of the social construction founded in the perception of individuals and groups (lalli & ploger, 1991). the relationship of the individual with a place is essential as place and space shape human experiences (chen, 2012). with the trend of gated residential areas emerging in large cities such as cairo and alexandria in the late 90s creating a spatial discontinuity and urban fragmentation, this research is examining how open and gated urban residential areas shape place image of new cairo’s third settlement residents. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords gated residential areas; city image; new cairo; place image; open residential areas; lynch 1. introduction due to the new trend of gated residential areas, emerging in the new cities around grand cairo region, this research is interested in examining how the residents in third settlement view their place. ten participants have been asked to draw a sketch map describing their home; neighborhood (whether it is open or gated residential area) and their district (the third settlement) followed by semi-constructive interviews to understand their spatial perspective. the closer the relationship between a person and his space, the more powerful his place shapes him (xiangming chen, 2018). in egypt, there has been an urban revolution in the late 90s which led to the emergence of new trends in urban spaces. the trend of gated communities or gated residential areas have emerged in large cities such as cairo and alexandria, as an urban space that provide westernized, relaxed, healthy lifestyle away from the hectic traffic and pollution in the center, as well as a social image and prestige relating its residents with a social class and an economic level. according to blakely and snyder (1997) gated communities are: residential areas with restricted access in which normally public spaces are privatized. they are security developments with designated perimeters, usually walls or fences, and controlled entrances that are intended to prevent penetration by non-residents. they include new developments and older areas retrofitted with gates and fences, and they are found from the inner cities to the exurbs and from the richest neighborhoods to the poorest. (blakely and snyder, 1997) the growth of gated communities in several cities in the 1990s attracted the research interests of social scientists. in a comparative study conducted by g. wilson-doegenes (2000), the author explored the difference between gated pg. 18 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i4.535 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ kotb / the academic research community publication and open residential areas in accordance with issues like sense of community, crime, and fear of crime in newport beach and los angeles, california. based on the results, the author argued compellingly that high-income gated community residents reported a significantly lower sense of community and place attachment, with no significant difference in actual crime rate as compared to their non-gated counterparts. while blakely and snyder (1997) affirmed that gated residential areas fragments their social and economic fabric. it is difficult to remain neutral to the impacts of gated residential areas since they are now a feature of the urban landscape in most cities around the world, and they serve to highlight values and opinions about urban life and city development (roitmann, 2009). hence, this research tries to examine how residents, dwelling in gated and open residential areas, perceive the image of their city with the presence of physical and social fragmentation. ”third settlement” have been chosen due to the diversity of social and economic levels as well as the presence of different types of settlements. this research focus on two open residential areas: shabab and zelzal housing, both created by the state and inhabited by low and middle class income; and arabella and diplomats compound both gated residential areas created by the private sector. there is room for exploring further this topic as it provides a value-added theoretical contribution with insights about how urbanization is changing egyptian society and individuals. most of the research that has been carried out in egypt was to portray the impact of gated communities on urban development (yousry, 2010; metwally and abdallah 2013), urban segregation (gauch, 2000, khalifa and hamhaber, 2014) and urban sustainability (landman 2000, metwally 2006). while the socio-spatial dimension of gated residential areas remain unexplored due to the lack of research in urban sociology and human geography. finally, supported by field work, this research will contribute to the empirical comprehension and knowledge on how third settlement residents view their neighborhood. 2. lynch’s place image the process of building an image or identity is interrelated. lalli (1992) argues that a certain vision usually accompanies a space while lynch (1960) affirms that the image of a place is composed of 1) meaning, 2) identity and 3) a structure. in his skilled written book the image of the city , lynch (1960) emphasizes the importance of looking at the image of the city as “{a} product both, of immediate sensation, and of the memory of past experience” (1960: 4). this is related to how an image is produced which is a two-way process between the resident and his/her place. the place provides the physical settings while the resident selects and associates these physical settings to a set of memories or symbolic experiences. according to the author, an image of a place is related to the set of identification a resident forms, distinguishing it from other places. the structure of a place is usually related to the spatial relations or patterns a resident shape and finally, the image of a place commonly evokes a personal meaning whether it is emotional or practical. he later than proceed to raise the common physical components of a city or a place as following: paths, edges, nodes, landmarks and districts. 1. paths: are the channels were people move, they may be streets, sidewalk, canals, railroad...etc. their importance varies according to the resident’s degree of familiarity to a specific place. for instance, if a street is marked by a certain activity or special use, residents will normally relate it with this significance. furthermore, some spatial features like the narrowness or the width of a street might also be a significant mark. 2. edges: are the boundaries or the limit of a space. these edges might be spatial barriers however, they are essential in the process of organizing a city. it could be a water surface or a road. edges might be the boundaries to two different areas, which in this sense matches perfectly the rupture created by the walls of a gated residential area. however, lynch argues that strong edges might not be impassable as “many edges are uniting seams, rather than isolating barriers, and it is interesting to see the differences in effect.” (lynch, 1960: 65) pg. 19 kotb / the academic research community publication 3. nodes: are the strategic points of which a person could enter: it could be a square or a bus station. they might look small in the map but to some residents, they carry a lot of importance. the nodes are usually a point of junction. it could carry a symbolic meaning and importance to the dwellers of a space. 4. landmarks: are the significant marks that the resident rarely enters. they are usually the used clues to identify an area the more a place becomes familiar. landmarks as lynch described them could be the point of reference to an outsider who is not familiar with the place. 5. districts: are “sections of the city, conceived of as having two-dimensional extent, which the observer mentally enters “inside of,” and which are recognizable as having some common, identifying character.” (1960: 41). lynch emphasize how districts and its boundaries are socially constructed. in his interviews, some participants were classing districts according to the class income. hence, the image of the boundaries of a district could be hard and definite or malleable and undefined. another interesting point in how lynch views districts is the edges within a district as “they may set limits to a district, and may reinforce its identity, but they apparently have less to do with constituting it.” (lynch, 1960: 70). thus, this type of boundaries could aggravate the fragmentation of a city due to the barriers of the districts. lastly, lynch stresses on the importance of the image quality and the interrelations existing between the previous mentioned elements in shaping a place image. he described four stages of images quality of which we can see clearly in the sketch maps drawn by the generous participants of this study. the approach done by lynch (1960) will be of great help to provide an understanding of the participants sketch maps where they drew how they see their home, their residential area and their district. the structure and the categorization made by him are the reference for the analysis of the image drawn by the participants. 2.1. third settlement image there is no image of the city but a pattern of interrelated images that guide and determine appropriate responses to the physical world. (proshansky, 1978: 163) the image of a place is related to the set of identification a resident forms, distinguishing it from other places while the structure of a place is usually related to the spatial relations or patterns a resident shape which usually evokes a personal meaning whether it is emotional or practical. lynch (1960) stresses on the importance of the image quality and the interrelations existing between the elements of place image and the process of shaping a place image and personal meaning and urban related identity. for the purpose of examining how residents in gated residential areas (gras) and open residential areas (oras) view their place, participants were asked to sketch a map of their home, compound in the case of gated residential areas and neighborhoods in the case of open residential areas and finally the third settlement as it is the common district. in this part, we will focus on how residents of third settlement reviewed different aspects concerning the image of their environment. the paper will start with a general observation regarding their district, the elements drawn in their sketch maps and the papers used, then proceed to a more detailed observation concerning how were the streets, blocks, markers, nodes and home were illustrated in both gra and ora residents. 2.1.1. observation districts are sections of the city, conceived of as having two-dimensional extent, which the observer mentally enters ‘inside of’, and which are recognizable as having some common, identifying character. pg. 20 kotb / the academic research community publication (lynch, 1960: 41) lynch emphasizes how districts and their boundaries are socially constructed. thus, it could be reasonably argued that most of the interviewed participants living in open residential areas are more aware of their district. most of them when asked where they live replied immediately “third settlement” with different nuances to where they exactly they live in third settlement. while on the other hand, residents of gated residential areas in third settlement expressed an ignorance of their district and a clear estrangement when asked where their gated residences exist with expressions like: “i don’t really know the third settlement”, “what is the difference between fifth settlement and third settlement?”, “ i don’t have the third settlement in my cognitive perspective”, “is arabella a part from katameya or third settlement? [...] isn’t a part of fifth settlement?”. it appears to be that most of the answers of gras residents classify their residence as part of the fifth settlement. this could be a result of how fifth settlement is portrayed in the usual dialect or cognition. the fifth settlement in cairo consists only of several private neighborhoods or as we call them in this research paper: gated residential areas. thus, the urban fabric of the fifth settlement involves only gras, hence one can see the confusion resulted in participants dwelling in gras as they consider themselves part of this urban fabric instead of third settlement fabric which consists of private and public real estate and gated and open residential areas with a various colorful social fabric reflecting most of the income levels in cairo. it is worth to mention that most of the participants referred to new cairo as tagamo’. when we analyse this use of wording, we have to understand the background of it: new cairo as a city was originally built to inhabit five settlements (settlement=tagamo’) : the second and the fourth settlement in west of the 90s street (which is one of the main streets in new cairo) and the first, third and fifth settlement to the east of 90s street. however, due to the constant changes made in the master plan of the new cairo city (ghonimi, 2010), the second and the fourth settlements have been eliminated while the rest of the settlements remained the same without changing the names. the urban management planning of the new cairo city has changed several times through the years which contributed to the confusion of some residents (nasser, 2013). henceforth, instead of referring to a specific settlement like the first settlement (tagamo’ awal) or third settlement (tagamo’ thaleth) or fifth settlement (tagamo’ khames), the residents used the word settlement (tagamo’) to refer to their place of residence. one is tempted to see how the egyptians tend to shorten the word when they use it constantly in their daily life (huffington post, 2010), this is observed when they refer to the facebook as “face”, whatsapp as “whats” and other different words. in this case, instead of paying attention to the peculiarities of each different settlement, the residents of new cairo city refer to it as tagamo’ as it contains all the settlements mentioned above. the use of the wording contributed to the suppression of the differences between the different settlements existing in new cairo, which may explain how most of the gras residents are confused of where their residents exist. however, some gras residents referred to their place as katameya instead of third settlement. it is worth to mention that some ora residents did the same with only one difference: they knew clearly that katameya is in third settlement, while gra residents did not refer at all to the notion of third settlement and settled for katameya only. according to one participant this was due to “the signs which are saying katameya right and katameya left. so all of this is katameya [...] arabella is katameya”. thus, one is tempted to conclude that due to the signals and the general conception of the place, the third settlement has not been recognized by the gated residential area residence unlike the residents of oras. 2.1.2. sketch maps in this part, we will focus on three interrelated elements one can observe while viewing the sketch maps drawn by the participants: papers used, elements drawn and the structure as a whole. worthy of mention that participants were proposed to draw on more than one paper, however, open residential area residents used only one paper grouping all the elements they wanted to illustrate (only one case demanded two pg. 21 kotb / the academic research community publication papers, so she can use one of them as a draft), while the gated residential area residents used this opportunity and took advantage of multiple papers with a maximum number of three papers (figure 1). the usage of these papers were different, two of them used it to draw a top view map with focus on streets and squares while another case used three papers to draw their home, their favorite place in their gra and the main places they associate their surroundings with. figure 1. sketch map of a gated residential area resident pg. 22 kotb / the academic research community publication this seems to be of a great significance as one might assume that there is a direct correlation between the increasing number of pages and the number of elements drawn. unfortunately, this is not the case in the sketch maps drawn. the participants living in open residential area have drawn higher number of elements in their map with a maximum of 16 elements (figure 2) while the gated residential area participants drew relatively fewer elements with a 12 elements as the highest number of drawn elements. bearing in mind that the elements drawn in both cases were of significant differences as the oras maps were focusing on the elements providing essential services such as the mosques, markets, medical centers, police station and schools while on the other hand, the gra maps where locating putting more weights on elements providing complementary services such as shopping malls, tennis paddle and lakes with an honorable mention to schools, universities and medical center (only in one sketch map). this was reflected on the size of the elements drawn in the map and arguably the importance of each element. the size of the elements in the gra maps were relatively big comparing to the tiny size of which the ora elements have been drawn. this is worth to be analyzed and observed deeply with reference to the consumption culture and its domination on different level of incomes which will be elaborated subsequently. figure 2. last but not least, there is an element of truth in how the structure of the sketch maps was different in the gras than oras. the structure of which the residents of gated residential areas illustrated their maps tends to be more rigid with strict lines and clear boundaries showing the streets and the squares clearly. on the other hand, the structure of the open residential area appears to be more fluid and moving, the boundaries are less visible and the streets and squares tend to be complementary elements not essential (contrary to the ora maps). the elements are characterized by their numerous number and tiny size, the elements are not restricted by any limits and the openness of the structure appears visibly clear. the blocks are only shown in the drawing of buildings such as malls and medical centers; or places surrounded by walls such as the mosque or the university. pg. 23 kotb / the academic research community publication figure 3. it could be reasonably argued that the rigidity of the structure is due to the movement of the residents, while on one hand the residents of open residential areas usually move on foot on their area, on the other hand, the gated residential areas moves by car and can seldom access any desired place on foot due to different reasons: whether pg. 24 kotb / the academic research community publication the fear of sexual harassment as expressed of one participant or the far distance. 3. urban related image according to lynch (1960), the urban fabric is composed of paths, edges, nodes, landmarks and districts. for the author, paths: are the channels were people move, they may be streets, sidewalk, canals, railroad...etc.; while edges: are the boundaries or the limit of a space; nodes: are the strategic points of which a person could pass by or transit in: it could be a square or a bus station; furthermore, landmarks: are the significant marks that the resident rarely enters; and finally, districts: are places with identified character of which the inhabitant of a city is aware when he/she enters it. it is widely acknowledged that the classification of the urban fabric made by lynch is quite revealing to how residents view their place, however in this research paper we will be guided by his veteran work and create a different classification. this different classification is due to the different definitions he made, which seems, in the context of this research as rigid. the rigidity of the definitions made by lynch (1960) lies in their appropriation to the context of the study of three cities examined by the author in his book. hence, for him, landmarks are ”unenterable” places, nonetheless of the possibility of its entrance; in this study, we will use the word markers instead, so we can eliminate the definition used by lynch. furthermore, the district according to his definition is consistent of an unconscious framing of an area of which a resident is aware when he/she enters it, due to its particular characteristics. in this research, the districts were replaced by the word blocks due to the shape of it as well as the clear framing of the space in the drawings; moreover, the word blocks signify a rupture of the urban fabric so it includes additionally the notion employed by lynch as “edges”. furthermore, we announce that there are some elements which have not been emphasized through the interviews such as paths, hence we have not included it in the analysis. thus, according to this new lexical choice, in this research paper we are going to demonstrate how gated and open residential area residents view the image of their place according to the following aspects: blocks, nodes, markers and home. 3.1. blocks in this research, the word blocks refers to the framed sketched object or the group of objects. it is related to lynch’s (1960) notion of “edges” and “districts” as it entails the places where an inhabitant of the city is well aware when he/she enters; and also a genre of rupture of the urban fabric. figure 4. pg. 25 kotb / the academic research community publication the blocks meant different connotations in the case of gated and open residential areas. in the gra, residents illustrated mainly blocks or numerous framed shaped object (figure 3). as we mentioned before, the structure of the sketch maps in the case of gras were more rigid and characterized by the presence of clear barriers or limits. the lines were clear as a mark of separation and hence, the blocks were illustrated as an element of continuity with this hard-line structure. it appears to be that most of the sketch maps for residents of gated residence showed other compounds, shopping malls or commercial centers as main elements in the drawings. two main malls were featured in half of the participants maps: cairo festival city and point 90, while other places such as schools, universities and other commercial centers like waterway, downtown new cairo and arabella mall had honorable mention and finally, places which provide essential services such as medical protection and services buildings were drawn in only one map. on the other hand, for the participants living in open residential areas, the blocks were the irregular items in the maps as it is characterized by a visible degree of openness without clear limits which makes the blocks easily attract the attention (figure 4). the blocks identified were referring to hospitals or medical centers, shopping malls relatively small compared to the ones mentioned in the gras maps and market. one is tempted to observe how the blocks reflect the image of the residents. in the case of gra residents, one participant put it clear: “i have the feeling that there are more places in tagamo’ other than the ones i’ve mentioned, but it’s really a compound area. so i can point the compounds i regularly visit: diyar, lake view, katameya height, the village. . . .etc”. new cairo and the surroundings of his place are places with fractured social fabric and lack of continuity, this is mirrored in how most of the residents of gras illustrated their image of the city. these blocks may be considerate as an indicator of difficult accessibility without means of transport as you have to go rounds around the many gates built in the city to enter a place as a result of the walls spread all over the city. the contrary was clear in the open residential area maps. the lack of barriers and openness of the space seems to be an indicator of the accessibility of most of the important services or the services that matters. it is also worth to mention how the meanings of the blocks are different in both of the cases which takes us to the next point. 3.2. markers markers are the signs which matter to the resident: places which could have significant meaning to the resident or of a significant importance. markers could be similar to what lynch (1960) described as landmarks: significant marks that the resident rarely enter and are usually the used clues to identify an area. there is an element of truth in how markers are used to be the clues for describing an area to someone, as one participant put it: “i drew these places because it’s the very first thing that comes to my mind when i’m describing the way to someone.[...] so it’s kind of easy instructions”. however, it is arguable to identify landmarks as impenetrable places and this is the reason why we are using different wording to eliminate the confusion. we can easily observe that the markers drawn in the gated residential areas are limited in shopping centers, other compounds, with honorable mention to universities, schools, mosques and only in one case were the medical services mentioned. in the open residential area maps, we can observe other types of market clearly indicated such as markets, charity foundations, police station, medical centers, schools and universities. when we analyze, it is tempting to see how the markers drawn reflect a consumption culture. however, this consumption culture differs from residents in gated residential areas than the residents in open residential areas. the services drawn in the gra maps could be classified as complementary luxurious services, while on the contrary, the services in the oras were indicating essential services necessary for the daily life such as markets to buy groceries, hospital and medical centers for the medical care. hence, these sketch maps reflect how each of the residents of gated and open residential areas carry on their personal and social lifestyle. furthermore, it could be reasonably argued that the markers which gra residents indicated are mirroring how they see their city as a block city, whether commercial block or residence blocks, each block is separated as one of the gra participant claimed: “there is nothing really communal in tagamo’ [...] i can’t really see anything else that could carry the social package of the ‘commonality”’. on the other hand, the maps of ora residents seems to be in the reach of hand, even if pg. 26 kotb / the academic research community publication the distance could be far, which was expressed by one of the participants as the following: “the atmosphere in arabella is cool as well. but accessibility wise, here is way better, i mean if any of your family wants anything it is easily accessible: doctors, pharmacies. . . all easy. you have the accommodation that makes you comfortable.” which takes us to the next point, how moving somehow shaped this place image to both gated and open residential area residents. 3.3. nodes we can easily observe the difference of the structure in both open and gated residential space. it is tempting to see how this pattern is different due to the different type of movement both parties have. when interviewed, most of the gra residents own a car unlike the ora residents which use the public transport regularly (in one case an ora possessed a car but preferred not to use it as the gas prices in egypt increased and gave it to his mother). nodes are defined as the points at which lines or pathways intersect or branch. it could be a central or connecting point. according to lynch (1960), nodes are the strategic points of which a person could pass by or transit in: it could be a square which a person regularly cross or a bus station. nodes have been portrayed differently in the maps. for the gra residents, one could easily see the squares as one of the main features of the map (figure 6). in this case, one may reasonably argue that the nodes for the gated residential area residents are the squares. when asked why did they draw squares, the answers were varying between: “two squares the one of mountain view and the one close to shell’s gas station because it’s where all the traffic is” and “the square of mountain view because that’s where i always pass daily to go to work, so it’s kind of big marked point”. thus, one is tempted to conclude that due to the constant movement with a car, the nodes for the gra residents are the squares. the movement by car is shaping how the residents see their city, according to the sketch maps of gated residential area residents, the participants tend to look on the city with a holistic point of view, discarding the small important places which could be of significant importance, this is due to how the rapidity of movement which prohibit them from noticing the small shops or relatively small places unlike the residents of open residential area. furthermore, it is worth to mention that streets are remarkably visible in the gated residential area maps unlike the ora maps, the reason of this might be due to the holistic view and the movement by car. it is also important to relate it with traffic as it put more weight on the driver as one of the participant said it:“i will put a warning sign on the 90 street as i’m a little traumatized of its traffic”. figure 5. pg. 27 kotb / the academic research community publication as for the ora residents, we can observe in their sketch maps that they have illustrated the small shops, market, and the elements which are important to them. however, the nodes for them were not squares, they were bus station as it is they mean to meet “the rest of the world” as one of the participant described it. another participant described it as the following: “this is the bus station. it’s really important because it’s my portal to anywhere outside tagamo’. i take the bus that goes directly to my mom from this bus station. it’s the best thing. i really like this bus station.” it is interesting to see how most of the participant in the ora wrote “out of zone”, “downtown and the rest of the world” or described their relation with the outside of tagamo’. some of gra residents expressed how they are content as they can find what they need in tagamo’ and don’t have to go out of the territory, however, ora residents expressed a more complex relation as half of them did not need to leave new cairo unless it is to meet their relatives as they work in the same area and all of their need get satisfied within the territory, while the other half works outside of new cairo. both of half of ora residents expressed how their relation with outer tagamo’ is important. thus, we may reasonably argue that nodes for ora residents tend to have more importance as it is represented as the mean to communicate with the outer new cairo. as for gra residents, nodes like squares and streets represent merely urban planning with significant attention to the traffic condition. to conclude, the nodes were illustrated differently in both cases. this difference tends to be a result of the type of movement each of the participant have in the city. one thus may conclude, that the movement by car, which appears to be more frequent in gra residents, provides a holistic point of view concentrating on nodes and streets. on the other hand, the movement on foot with necessity of public transport makes nodes, like the bus station, essential for the residents of open residential areas. figure 6. 3.4. home home has been drawn in different sizes and different shapes in the sketch maps. it often came with a heart shaped icon stuck to it or the actual drawing of it. in the case of gated residential area sketch maps, home was illustrated pg. 28 kotb / the academic research community publication differently in each map. one participant wanted to draw his home with the smallest detail in a separate paper because he liked how the idea sounds and liked how each detail matters for him (figure 5); a female participant marked her home by the famous saying “home sweet home”; while another participant referred to his place using the third person, this is interesting to analyze because he did not refer to his place using the possessive pronoun, instead he preferred abstracting it using his name as an outsider (figure 3). . . lastly but not least, the last participant drew home with a heart shaped icon. in the open residential area map, two participant drew their place as part of the illustrated fabric, the size of their home was matching the rest of the drawn elements. another participant decided to draw her home with some details and bigger size taking 1/6th of the drawing paper (figure 6). this portrayed home as an important component of the drawing. finally, the last participant decided to draw an abstract design of how she sees the overall area with three buildings and four cars, this case is specifically interesting as the female participant was not allowed to leave the house without her husband permission and thus it is precisely compelling to examine how her attachment with their place was formed which will be examined in detail in the process chapter specifically the continuity sub chapter. it is compellingly interesting to see how each individual illustrated his/ her home, each case gives a deep insight about the place attachment expressed towards the place. for instance, one could argue that in the case of the participant drawing the home relatively small to other elements in her map is not paying much attention to her home or might not be attached to her home as much as she is attached to the area or the city as whole which has a reference in what she was saying in her interview. furthermore, the participant which referred to his home with the third person might view himself as an outsider in his place. . . etc. however, we need to bear in mind that these comments above are merely speculations as we can not provide a simplistic generalization. one may reasonably argue that each case is particular and provide a different process of place attachment. thus, we will attempt to analyze this thoroughly in the process chapter. 4. conclusion in this research, we examined the place image drawn by the participants from both gated and open residential areas. we started by a general observation focusing on how the elements and the structure of the place have been illustrated in addition to other material notes such as the use of paper. the results showed that the structure differed from the sketch maps drawn by gra residents and ora residents. as the structure drawn by gra resident was more rigid as their visual understanding of the space based on their movement by car and their few elements were scattered, drawn in a big size as if it to compensate the lack of numerous content; whereas the structure of the maps drawn by ora residents was more fluent with an absence of urban planning and paths, the elements were numerous and scattered and drawn relatively with a small size to inhabit their wide variety. furthermore, we moved to a more detailed observation regarding the markers identified by the residents revealing a tendency to a consumerist culture, the nodes and how important it was in the process of being attached to the outer world for the residents of ora, homes and how it was illustrated (size, drawing style and affect towards it). the blocks and the district and finally the paths. the main structure of this research paper was upon the reference of lynch (1960)’s book which gave the main headline and provided the needed guidelines for this chapter. finally, one may reasonably argue that this visions and sketch maps drawn by the residents are significantly important in the process of place identity, one may even say that a whole other research could be built upon the material data provided in this chapter. the importance of the visual materials lies in the way it transports the vision of the resident of their entourage, their surroundings and home. each of the participant had his personal input which differs from the other participant, depending on his/her age and other life dimension which a two hours interview will still lack to reach. furthermore, the sketch maps as a tool was a suitable tool to open new discussion regardpg. 29 kotb / the academic research community publication ing the place. hence, through reaching out, asking questions about specific elements in the residents maps, new understanding of how they view their area was discovered. one may reasonably argue that the place image has a correlated relation with place attachment: the weight the residents put on an element emphasize their importance to it. we can assume that some residents are more attached to their home than any other place from how big they draw it, how long it took them to draw it or even the meanings they associated with. others tend to be more attached to their city: new cairo as a whole and the facilities it provides such as shopping mall and wide spaces to move. whereas others are attached to their neighborhood and residential area as it is related to neighbors, communal space and personal and social memories. however, one might assume that without the semi-constructive interviews, it would have not been possible to better code and analyze the visual material. 5. acknowledgements to my dear professor katarzyna kajdanek, thank you for your constant support. 6. references 1. blakely, e. j., & snyder, m. g. (1997). fortress america: gated communities in the united states. brookings institution press. 2. chen, x., orum, a. m., & paulsen, k. e. (2018). introduction to cities: how place and space shape human experience. john wiley & sons. 3. el nasser, haya (2002): more americans living behind the bars, usa today, december 16 4. gauch, sarah (2000): a widening class divide in egypt, christian science monitor, may 24 5. ghonimi, i., alzamly, h., khairy, m., & soliman, m. (2010, september). understanding and formulating gated communities inside greater cairo new towns urban fabric. in 46th isocarp congress (pp. 19-23). 6. lalli, m. (1992). urban-related identity: theory, measurement, and empirical findings. journal of environmental psychology, 12(4), 285-303. 7. landman, k. (2000). urban future: enclosed neighborhoods. 8. lynch, k. (1960). the image of the city (vol. 11). mit press. 9. metwally, m., & abdalla, s. s. (2013) major trends of the gated communities development in egypt an approach to urban sustainability. 10. metwally, magda et al. (2006): evaluation of the experience of residential compounds in new urban communities on the outskirts of the greater cairo region, national center for housing and building research (nchbr), national academy for scientific research and technology, egypt (in arabic) 11. a., khalifa, m. a., & hamhaber, j. (2014) understanding urban segregation in cairo: the social and spatial logic of a fragmented city. in proceedings of the 1st international conference of the cib middle east and north africa research network” smart, sustainable and healthy cities”, abu dhabi, (uae), 14-16 december 2014. cib middle east and north africa research network. 12. nassar, a. (2013). ‘being’in al-azhar park: public spaces in cairo. open urban studies journal, 6(1), 65-74. 13. proshansky, h. m., fabian, a. k., & kaminoff, r. (1983). place-identity: physical world socialization of the self. journal of environmental psychology, 3(1), 57-83. pg. 30 kotb / the academic research community publication 14. proshansky, h. m. (1978). the city and self-identity. 15. environment and behavior, 10(2), 147-169. 16. roitman, s. (2004): gated communities and the right to safety, in report of valladolid 2004: the right to security and safety, a publication of the ‘human rights and the town’ research group (http://www.ciu dad-derechos.org), rosario del caz et al. (eds.), spain: school of architecture, university of valladolid, 187-189 17. roitman, s. (2008) urban social group segregation: a gated community in mendoza, argentina. phd thesis, university college london, london. 18. roitman, s. (2009). gated communities: definitions, causes and consequences. proceedings of the institution of civil engineers: urban design and planning, 163(1), 31-38. 19. wilson-doenges, g. (2000). an exploration of sense of community and fear of crime in gated communities. environment and behavior, 32(5), 597-611. 20. yousry, a. m. (2010). the privatization of urban development in cairo. lessons learned from the development experience of al rehab gated community, faculty of urban and regional planning, cairo university. a. appendix table 1. open residential area residents participant age profession marital status r 35 owner of supermarket married f 29 pharmacist married z 35 head of medical care single m 29 government employee in a relationship am 22 freelancer in a relationship table 2. gated residential area residents participant age profession marital status np 18 student single ag 29 accountant engaged ah 27 judge married am 25 unemployed married sh 22 chef single pg. 31 introduction lynch's place image third settlement image observation sketch maps urban related image blocks markers nodes home conclusion acknowledgements references appendix http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.523 identifying opportunities and challenges of human resources in smart development projects in egypt laila m. khodeir1, mohamed nabawy2 1associate professor, dept. of architecture, faculty of engineering, ain shams university; british university in egypt, cairo, egypt 2assistant lecturer, british university in egypt, phd student, london south bank university, school of built environment and architecture, uk abstract design and building of smart development projects (sdp) has arrived to be one of the most essential targets by most of the countries worldwide. this is due to the positive impact on the qualities of countries living standards, economic situation and human working force engagement. the egyptian 2030 strategic plan (2016) aims at constructing sdp with identified specific vision and strategy in egypt. despite, the design and building of sdp in egypt is expected to offer many (hr) opportunities, but also it shall generate different challenges which might lead to drastic failures. technological solutions, among those challenges, must be understood as a tool to achieve goals and to tackle the challenges cities must face helfert (2015). skilled workforce is another major concern for development of sdp. according to fails management institute’s (fmi) talent development survey (2015) 86% of respondents reported that their company was witnessing skilled labor shortages. thus, the main aim of this paper is to identify human resource key opportunities and challenges arising from the internal and external stakeholder’s environments, where the paper assumes that such hr factors can impact the success of delivery of design and building of sdp. the paper undergoes a review for human resource challenges and opportunities in design and building of sdp. the factors were studied for case studies highlighted mainly from developed countries with an emphasis on the case of egypt. a qualitative analysis was then performed to identify the key challenges impacting the success of building and designing new sdp. by the end of the paper a complete risk breakdown structure was obtained including key hr challenges and opportunities. the identified factors can then be successfully lamented into the development of egyptian smart cities. the paper adds knowledge value in human resource project management concerned with building new smart projects. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords smart development projects (sdp); human resource(hr); project management(pm) 1. introduction according to el deen (2014), design and building of new cities is said to be one of the focal points targeted by different countries. the design and construction of smart development projects (sdp) is said to reflect major opportunities for both organizations and the country hosting such projects. the intervention of this project into pg. 279 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ khodeir / the academic research community publication the egyptian industry can enhance great achievement by minimizing egypt unemployment rate (adel, 2016). in addition, strategic goals can be achieved seeking successful delivery of sdp. based on the world bank report (2016), around forty-three percent of the egyptian population live in two hundred and twenty-three cities. besides, fifty-six percent of this population are localized in the greater cairo region (gcr) and alexandria. thus, sdp are to be considered as a solution for improved urbanization in egypt. despite opportunities obtained, more challenges are to be managed successfully by the construction of new sdp in egypt. those challenges mostly arise because of the use of advanced technology and due to the human resources working within the egyptian contextual environment. both design and building of sdp needs higher technological skills and background. however, in a study of unemployment in egypt done by adel (2016), it was recognized that the probability of unemployment increases significantly from a gender to another. policy makers within the developing countries need to adopt a clear multilevel highly collaborative strategy for hr development (el badawy et al, 2014). in this line, the new egyptian strategy 2030 ensures that flexible policy and transparency with stakeholder’s will both present egypt’s core motivator for strategic sdp investments. poor management of these challenges could lead to negative impact which can overcome any benefits gained from building new sdp (helfert, 2015). human resources roles in design and building of sdp are considered to be one of the major elements affecting their success specially within the egyptian context. thus, this paper aims to recognize human resource key opportunities and challenges for developing countries and egypt which arises from both internal and external stakeholder’s environments. the factors were studied for case studies highlighted from developed countries with an emphasis on the case of egypt. 2. methodology in order to recognize human resource challenges and opportunities towards successful building and designing of sdp in egypt. first, the authors suggested a coding system for opportunities and challenges in the light of improving egyptian smart cities development. the coding of human resource challenges and opportunities was followed by a global review for researcher’s efforts in identifying human resource factors which could help in achieving successful design and building of smart projects. in the benefit of egypt and in order to cope with previous case studies, a group of case studies conducted from developed countries projects were then analyzed to verify the identified opportunities and challenges that were extracted from literature sources, those factors were then categorized using the risk break down structure. finally, the paper assessed a detailed interaction between the literature review researcher’s literature and the case studies. 3. proposed coding system for identification of human resource factors in order to identifying human resource factors, the authors suggested a hr coding system. this system is presented in table 1. the development of smart cities in egypt requires a clear recognition of challenges and opportunities impacting organizations as well as countries hosting their design and construction. thus, the goal of this code is to clearly realize possible hr challenges and opportunities. the table presents hr factors in terms of internal and external opportunities and challenges. table 1. human resource coding system, by authors human resource challenges and opportunities in the construction industry human resource challenges human resource opportunities internal (a) external (b) internal (c) external (d) a.1 availability of work force b.1 available hr c.1 government support d.1 improving countries human resource skills continued on next page pg. 280 khodeir / the academic research community publication table 1 continued a.2 employee diversity b.2 flexibility of policy c.2 improving level of intelligence d.2 solution for high population a.3 globalization and multicultural diversity b.3 lack of smart cities data base c.3 increasing competency chances d.3 providing more job opportunities a.4 integrating hr with technology b.4 required technology c.4 improving human resource skills d.4 improving political environment and trust a.5 construction safety b.5 poor governance systems c.5 attracting talent employees d.5 increasing investments a.6decentralized work sites b.6 week economy d.6 improving hr use of technology a.7 employee involvement 4. exploring human resource factors through international and local literature the following part of this paper undergoes a comprehensive analysis for the hr opportunities and challenges that were discussed in literature either internationally or locally within the egyptian context. 4.1. a review for international literature on human resource factors the success of delivery for sdp worldwide is maintained through the exploration of researcher reviews. thus, several researchers have tried to recognize hr challenges and opportunities in order to maintain successful delivery of projects. shown in table 2, a review for authors description regarding identified human resource challenges and opportunities. the table highlights the importance of each challenge and/or opportunity identified from researcher’s views. in the light of identified success factors, authors opinions are highlighted for further clarification and understanding. it is concluded from the review analysis that most authors emphasized the importance of engaging hr work force into the organizational decision-making systems. in addition to that, training should be supported for individuals working within the organization to be upgraded with new technologies. researchers further ensure the presence of talented employees who can improve the organization productivity. authors also described the importance of managing the diversity problem inside the organizations, which might be due to multi culture human work force, most probably found in international organizations. it also exists as a gender diversity, where authors suggest that engaging different gender may be an optimum solution for lack of talents and could improve organization efficiency and productivity. it can be clear that managing challenges induced within a construction organization can actually lead to successful delivery of sdp. thus, organizations will be able to achieve their objectives and deliver projects within budget cost and planned schedule. table 2. a review for the literature of identified human resource factors, authors after extant literature author hr categ. hr factor description urdal 2006 o solution for unemployment good working environment relation between unemployment and improving political environment azeng et al. 2013 c harsh working conditions african countries political instability apm 2015 c low experienced work force stakeholder’s work force challenges towards projects successful delivery continued on next page pg. 281 khodeir / the academic research community publication table 2 continued global gender gap report 2014 c workforce diversity. increased participation of women in the workforce has a positive impact on a country’s economy aguirre et al. 2012 c workforce participation rate of women to equal men could raise the gross domestic product (gdp) per capita by an incredible 34 percent okoro 2016 c embracing a diverse range of talent will contribute to addressing the huge rise in numbers of project managers. shortage of skilled employees people with the intellect they bring, along with their numerous soft skills, diverse experiences and behaviors contribute to overcome challenges and achieving project success low technical skills integrating people and technology is indicated to be a global issue to be addressed in all regions apm 2015 c employee diversity women project managers often earn less than their male counterparts arras 2015 henderson et. al., 2013 c project management risks issues highlighted by project managers zhang et al 2008 c culture and gender diversity bad workforce diversity may arise many problems like the difference in gender or culture dulaimi 2011 c culture diversity the culture variations problems between employees shifnas 2016 c low productivity firm’s managing team, as they need to use that diversity towards the firm’s favour, or they will be facing problems like less productivity, conflicts between workers. aullin 2011 c employee diversity ensure an equal opportunity exists for females working in design and building sector, neglecting the gender negative considerations gaston& khalid 2010 o unavailability of efficient information and communication technology fragmentation of production and the development of information and communication technology parker 2005 c cultural diversity characteristics of globalization: growing worldwide interconnections; rapid and discontinuous change; growing numbers and diversity of participant; greater managerial complexity continued on next page pg. 282 khodeir / the academic research community publication table 2 continued pmbok 2017 c poor project management by organizations an organization’s culture, style, and structure influence how projects are performed. marchewka 2014 c multicultural diversity characteristics of a multi-cultural project as “multicultural projects can be international projects or domestic projects whereby an organization is attempting to diversify its workforce bennett 2013 c poor communication and internship between workers heart of the multicultural project, is an assumption of a multi-ethnic world in which many peoples can live together in harmony ford 2014 c multicultural diversity multi-cultural management process is an art which combines project management knowledge, skills, techniques and multicultural ability in order to create a unique product, and meet the project requirements c poor communications project manager should use the communications management plan, a part of the project management plan, as a tool for effective and efficiently communication between stakeholders murphy & dillon 2010 c week knowledge information and educated personnel multi-cultural principles to be aware of ethnic, gender, and cultural heritage; to acquire knowledge about the clients’ cultures; to use self-awareness and knowledge to devise flexible strategies abouellil 2011 c low availability of skilled workers within the country human element is a determining factor for the degree of progress in any community bashkarev 2015 c poor data base hr departments have moved from primitive records management, including document processing and staff registration to tackling strategic tasks rasmussen & jeppesen 2006 c low job satisfaction teamwork have been related to report higher job satisfaction blass 2007 c low talents and suitable workforce talent management in hr planning requires many different processes such as starting to identify, select, then develop and most importantly retaining the talented ones in any successful organization continued on next page pg. 283 khodeir / the academic research community publication table 2 continued tajuddina et al. 2015 c poor analysing of project management situations many analysts are encouraged to offer and improve talent management problem models as this may assist as an advantage for hr planning araoz et. al., 2012 c no sufficient qualified workers 15% of united states, asian, and below 30% in european companies, declare that they have sufficient qualified workers and don’t have a problem with succession in key positions. vaiman et al. 2012 c no talent management in business firms talent management is a tactical tool that can be used to achieve sustainable competitive advantages tarique & schuler 2010 c low individual skills firms must increase the individual’s skills and abilities fmi talent development survey 2015 c shortage of skilled work force according to facilities management institute’s (fmi) talent development survey (2015) 86% of companies have witnessed skilled labor shortages due to facing many difficulties in identifying their required talents. 4.2. egyptian perspective review in identification of hr challenges & opportunities egyptian researchers efforts in identifying human resource challenges and opportunities in egypt have been highlighted and analyzed in table 3. the opportunities conducted includes, improvement in meeting rise in population demands, capability of reducing the egyptian workforce rate, improving egyptian human resource technical skills, design, and construction qualifications. this achievement can only be maintained through successful collaboration between the egyptian construction authorities and organizations working within the industry of smart cities development. challenges explored by the egyptian researchers included, gender diversity. national researcher’s reviews studied both human resources challenges and opportunities throughout several studies which totally focused on the egyptian context. in the light of identifying egypt’s researches preview towards maintaining successful smart development, human resources factors which can enhance the successful developments of sdp are gathered forming a set of external and internal human resource factors. table 3 indicates a list of challenges and opportunities including benefits gained by reducing the unemployment rate, increasing egypt’s innovation and technological aspects, urbanization solution. challenges include flexible policies, transparency with organizations, implementing supportive gender diversity employment standards to make use of available skills. pg. 284 khodeir / the academic research community publication table 3. recognized researches opportunities by local authors, authors after extant literature author hr category hr factor description handousa 2010 o solution for urbanisation problem the author described a methodology based on the concept of smart city and its various applications in egypt. the author realized external opportunity through the shift to smart construction is said to solve egypt’s urbanisation problem. the author further explore planned smart cities which ended up in achieving a categoric smart development. this includes the cities of el-rehab and madinaty smart infrastructure helped in developing smart social and environmental communities. c lack of smart knowledge & techniques vision, objectives, plans (strategic or action), decision making practices, are all central and city is entirely run by the owner company. madinaty can be considered as on the correct path in developing into a digital city. however, technical smartness as described/defined of smart is still in its birth phase. el badawy 2014 c no governmental coordination lack of coordination between the different ministries that run technical training schools in egypt world bank report 2016 o solving population problem to date 43% of the population in egypt live in 223 cities, of which 56 % are concentrated in the greater cairo region (gcr) and alexandria. this rapid urbanization represents one of the biggest challenges that faces egypt’s urban development and is one of the main causes of the growth of informal and unsafe areas in egypt. capmus 2015 o providing more job opportunities a key aspect of the stunted transition in egypt is the problem of unemployment. its rate continues to climb and youth between the ages of 15 and 29 are increasingly the most affected. the official unemployment rate currently stands at 12.8 percent, and in the youth bracket it reaches 30 percent o gender diversity the official unemployment rate stands at approximately 12.8 percent, and in the youth bracket it reaches 30 percent. young women unemployment rate reaches 49.8 percent. deanne et al. 2012 c a study ranked egypt 129 out of 142 countries in workplace inequality. it was estimated that raising the workforce participation rate of women to equal men could raise the egypt’s gdp per capita by an incredible 34 percent adel 2016 c human resource diversity comes in the form of either gender, age, or even culture. in egypt, the gender diversity is clear in the figures of unemployment of women. smart cities require employment of personnel with high technical skills which might be available in both genders. amid east ilo o making use of available skilled employees the recently commissioned women at work initiative funded by the ilo seeks to provide 200 unemployed women aged 21 to 26 with appropriate skills that will enhance their job prospects and entry into the workforce continued on next page pg. 285 khodeir / the academic research community publication table 3 continued egyptian strategy 2030 o improving countries innovation technology of work force, the egyptian companies innovation capacity index presenting their skills in using research to achieve their goals from year 2014 to year 2030. egyptian companies were ranked to be 132th in 2014 and is said to be 60th by year 2030 only if research and innovation was more involved in the construction process. escwa o available hr a smart city is one that manages such development by excelling in multiple key sectors; economy, mobility, environment, people, living, and government. this can be achieved through strong human resource, social capital, and/or ict infrastructure el badawy et al flexible government systems attributed to the institutional setup in the country, and the inability of the system to respond to the changes in this institutional setup. supportive policy policy makers in developing countries are in a persistent need for outlining a clear multilevel highly collaborative strategy for hr development which would provide the infrastructure on which a sustainable economic policy can be set. this policy would ensure consistent long-term growth and prosperity ilo egypt report february 5. challenges & opportunities based on developed countries case studies due to the scarcity of sdp in egypt, the authors of this paper performed an analysis of the sdp case studies in developed countries, aiming at extracting lessons learned and comparing the existing hr factors in such projects to what is to be expected in egypt. 5.1. challenges of human resources in design and building of sdp the design and building of sdp faces different human resource challenges which can greatly impact their successful delivery. one of the crucial factors which practically influence the economic situation of a country is the hr development. hr development has recently been a major priority, if not an obsession for leaders and policymakers in the developing new smart countries (el badawy et al., 2014). the development of human resource is characterized by different implications regarding their external and internal environment. the relation between external environment and the human resource development ensures the institutional setup of the country for improvement of organizations successful engagement in design and building of new cities. the aim of this review is to recognize and classify hr challenges based on both internal and external environment of an organization. table 4 summarizes hr challenges classified into either internal or external challenges towards the design and building of sdp in developing countries. the table indicates the author name, publish date, country, classification of challenge, and a brief description of the hr challenge are presented. at the end of the table, the number by which the challenge is repeated all-over the study of developed and developing countries is indicated. case studies in table 4 includes: smart city of wein, waterfront toronto, smart city of atalanta, european sdp, china yinchuan smart city, and dubai sdp. pg. 286 khodeir / the academic research community publication table 4. human resources internal and external challenges (homeier, 2016; ning, 2016; helfert, 2015; pmi, 2013; smart dubai, 2014) (hr) challenges in sdp code no. flexibility of policy makers c e 2 unoptimized use of natural resources c e 1 optimum integration of resources c i 1 interaction with talented work force c i 1 decentralized work sites c i 1 formal and informal governments c i 1 economic decline c i 1 mono sectoral economy c e 1 safety and security c i 2 lack of smart city data base c i 2 multicultural diversity c i 1 talent gap inside organizations c i 3 5.2. opportunities of human resources in design and building of sdp in developed countries despite there are noticeable hr challenges within the design and building of sdp, but opportunities are noticed as well. hr opportunities are classified into either external or internal environment opportunities. hr internal opportunities are those opportunities which its benefit return on work force working within stakeholder’s organizations. these stakeholders are responsible for the design and building process for sdp. on the other hand, external opportunities represent benefits gained by countries in implementing the design and building of sdp. table 5 summarizes hr opportunities classified into either internal opportunities or external opportunities towards the design and building of sdp. the table presents the author name, publishing date, country, opportunities classification, and a brief description of the human resource opportunity. table 5. human resources internal and external opportunities in developed countries (homeier, 2016; ning, 2016; helfert, 2015; pmi, 2013; smart dubai, 2014) (hr) opportunities code repeated opportunity /case study improve countries use of technology o e 2 providing more job opportunities o e 2 shrinking cities o e 1 organizational intelligence level o i 1 good governance o i 1 solution to high population o e 1 improving employee skills o i 1 flexible financial stability o i 1 smarter working environment o i 1 5.3. analysis of case studies for development of smart projects in developed countries the following review describes ten different cities working on building or developing their cities to be new sdp. the review aims in recognizing human resource key opportunities and challenges arising from the internal and external stakeholder’s environments. table 6 presents different developed countries considered from different contexts in order to be able to highlight both challenges and opportunities in more details. case studies selection is based on specific criteria’s including: scale, budget and its geographical location. case studies selected represent countries from developed countries. egypt is said to benefit from the international case studies highlighted through pg. 287 khodeir / the academic research community publication different researchers reports and studies. as shown in table 6, each of the researcher, year of publish, case studies titles, photos, are illustrated. furthermore, the previously conducted hr challenges and opportunities from these case studies will be structured and categorized. table 6. analysis of international case studies for sdp case studies background hr factors sdp built in the mediterranean region, helfert (2015) highlighted through a threeyear research developed by the universidad politecnica of madrid (upm). -government flexibility -supportive governmental policies -rapid demographic changes -technological aspects -economic changes the smart city of wien, homeier (2016) vienna strategy to be a smart city on 2050. the development of the strategy begun in 2013. -policy makers flexibility -optimum utilization of existing plans -resource scarcity -increase in innovation -provides employment -can be base of future smart applications smart city of toronto, ning et al (2016) the smart city is built on six pillars: broadband, knowledge workforce, innovation, digital equality, sustainability and advocacy -providing jobs -affordable smart houses -increase of innovation -improvement employees technical skills. china yinchuan smart city, ning et al (2016) it will shift to cloud architectures: construction of infrastructure, platform and software will be introduced with a cost of more than $150 billion by 2020 -improving communications -enhancing use of technology -more accessible work place -supportive government -sharing big data -available data base atlanta smart city, ning et al (2016) new vision for atlanta to become the transportation city of the future. -cooperative working environment -available workforce -solve population problem -provides jobs -fostering the growth of the economy -improve mobility, public safety -provides hr with smart construction experience -meet sustainable goals. smart city of catalonia ning et al (2016) based on the european union goals for 2020. goals seeks improving data sharing capabilities between citizens. -improving hr technology and knowledge -enhancing communications between hr workers -empowering innovation and big data storage continued on next page pg. 288 khodeir / the academic research community publication table 6 continued development of dubai as an innovative smart city, kpmg (2015) the project aims to achieve six ‘smart’ focus areas: smart life, smart transportation, smart society, smart economy, smart governance and smart environment. -increase countries innovative skills -cultural diversity -need to improve hr performance -gender diversity -smart will improve technical hr skills -centralized workforce 5.4. application of risk break down structure on case studies the classification of case studies challenges and opportunities using risk break down structure technique (rbs) is represented in table 7. these success factors are a combination of the analysis including both different sdp case studies and stakeholders obtained from the previous cases. the main target of this analysis is to identify, highlight, analyses and further investigate both challenges and opportunities for each case study and categories them accurately. table 7 below is considered to be a deep focus on human resource success factors regarding different contexts in the light of the review of developed sdp case studies. table 7. a review for the role of (hr) in design and building of sdp in developed countries developed countries smart city of wien, smart city of toronto, china yinchuan smart city, smart city of atalanta, dubai, smart city human resource challenges and opportunities role of human resource in the design and building industry hr challenges flexibility of policy makers ce2 unoptimized use of resources ci7, ci1 & ce1 needs of talented work force ci1 lack of smart city data base ce3 decentralized work sites ci6 multicultural diversity ci3 safer environment ci5 hr opportunities improve quality and use of technology oe6 good governance system oe4 raising organizational level of innovation and intelligence oi2 & oi5 improving countries hr skills oe1 & oi1 providing more job opportunities oe3 solution to high population oe2 improving employee technical skills oi1 & oi2 country flexible financial working conditions oe5 providing smarter working and living environment oi2 &oe6 5.5. key hr challenges and opportunities of sdp as shown in figure 1, human resources challenges are analyzed from international countries case studies. the most challenging factor for hr in design and building of sdp in developed countries is the internal challenge ‘availability of suitable work force’ (ci1). followed by internal challenges ‘globalization and multicultural diverpg. 289 khodeir / the academic research community publication sity’ (ci3), ‘suitable human resource safety’ (ci5), ‘decentralized working sites’ (ci6), ‘employee involvement’ (ci7) and external challenges ‘available human resource in a country’ (ce1), ‘flexibility of policy makers’ (ce2), and ‘lack of sdp database’ (ce3). figure 1. human resources challenges for developed countries 6. conclusion the main aim of this paper was to identify key hr opportunities and challenges arising from the internal and external stakeholder’s environments, which can impact the success of delivery of design and building of sdp. the factors were studied for international case studies highlighted mainly from developed countries with an emphasis on the case of egypt. by the end of the paper a complete risk breakdown structure was obtained including key hr challenges and opportunities. the identified factors can then be successfully lamented into the development of egyptian smart cities. thus, the paper adds knowledge value in hr project management concerned with building new smart projects. the paper recognized hr factors which acts as threats or an opportunity towards the successful delivery of smart city projects. the identified human resource factors resulted from interaction between both the literature of hr challenges and opportunities and practical application approaches. the practical approach was conducted by navigating through different developed countries case studies. thus, obtaining a strongly related hr challenges and opportunities which is closer to the egyptian context. furthermore, a detailed risk breaks down structure was obtained in the benefit of sdp in egypt. this was categorized into internal stake holder’s environment and external enterprise project environment. based on this paper, hr involved in the design and building of sdp has a critical role in improving the economic situation for countries. by building and developing sdp in egypt, more opportunities will be offered to different hr engaged in the design and building, and thus improving the country’s gdp. thus, egypt can have the opportunity to have more stable economy, attract more external investments, and improve technological skills 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(2008). understanding values diversity within the organisation: a case study in uk construction. in: proceedings of the 8th international conference on diversity in organisations. communities and nations. montreal. canada. pg. 293 introduction methodology proposed coding system for identification of human resource factors exploring human resource factors through international and local literature a review for international literature on human resource factors egyptian perspective review in identification of hr challenges & opportunities challenges & opportunities based on developed countries case studies challenges of human resources in design and building of sdp opportunities of human resources in design and building of sdp in developed countries analysis of case studies for development of smart projects in developed countries application of risk break down structure on case studies key hr challenges and opportunities of sdp conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v6i1.875 climate-proof planning for an urban regeneration strategy carmela mariano1 1 department of planning, design, technology of architecture, sapienza university of rome abstract this paper deals with the issue of the relationship between climate change and the government’s land management policies, investigating how urban planning regulation may provide responses to the need for planning and designing the coastal urban settings affected by flooding phenomena as a consequence of gradual sea-level rise (slr). in this frame of reference, comparison among the strategic planning experiences put into play in a variety of national and international settings suggests the urgency for policymakers to implement knowledge frameworks on planning instruments, in order to identify– as a prerequisite for defining site-specific design actions – the territorial settings affected by the phenomenon of flood risk. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer-review under responsibility of archive’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords sea level rise; climate-proof planning; urban regeneration; strategic planning 1. introduction the need to identify new references for a sustainable transformation of the territories affected by the risks and degenerative processes related to climate change (ipcc, 2013; unisdr, 2015; unfccc, 2015; eea, 2016), has solicited, therefore, in the last decades the scientific and disciplinary debate on the key role of urban and territorial planning, as well as on the urgency of an update of the planner's competences and of the instruments of territorial government in the elaboration of possible strategies of regeneration and resilience to climate change (musco, 2008). strategies that imply, as we have seen, an overcoming of the traditionally sectoral approach on these issues, in favour of an integrated approach to urban complexity (mariano, marino, 2018) ascribable to the ecosystem based approach (iucn; 2020), as also advocated by the document guidelines for ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction (secretariat of the convention on biological diversity, 2019) placing, in particular, emphasis on the need to define the elements of a knowledge process aimed at a spatial definition of the vulnerability of territories to climate change, with specific reference to the possible impacts on the landscapeenvironmental system, settlement-morphological, infrastructural and territorial endowments, and on the system of socio-economic relations. process capable of introducing and accompanying the construction of integrated strategies of climate-proof regeneration, in coherence with the objectives of the european strategy on adaptation to climate change (ec, 2021), combining the emergency dimension with a perspective of design and transformation of the territory in a sustainable key, in which all the elements of the built environment adapt to the new balances with efficiency and high performance levels. http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ carmela mariano/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 in the general framework of the research activities carried out by the author, this paper is part of the research conducted within the department of planning, design, and technology of architecture (pdta) at sapienza university of rome, with the university research work entitled “strategie di rigenerazione urbana per territori climate proof. strumenti e metodi per la valutazione della vulnerabilità e per l'individuazione di tattiche di resilienza degli ambiti urbani costieri soggetti a sea level rise” (“urban regeneration strategies for climate-proof territories. instruments and methods for assessing vulnerability and identifying tactics of coastal urban environments subject to sea-level rise”) (principal investigator: prof. carmela mariano). dealing with the issue of the relationship between climate change and the government’s land management policies, the paper investigates how urban planning regulation may provide responses to the need for planning and designing the coastal urban settings affected by flooding phenomena as a consequence of gradual sea-level rise (slr). associated with other climate events like storm surges, this phenomenon doubtlessly represents one of the next challenges with which the “world risk society” (beck, 2013) will have to grapple, both for the growing impact on cities and territories, and for the empirical evidence of the economic, social, and environmental damage it causes. 2. literature review and objectives of the research the global mean sea level (gmsl) is constantly rising, accelerating in recent decades due on the one hand to the shrinking ice caps of greenland and antarctica, and on the other to windier tropical cyclones and increasingly intense rains – all phenomena that may be blamed on the higher temperatures highlighted in the sr1,5 report (ipcc, 2018). in a nutshell, the global forecasts on slr at 2100 vary from 53 to 97 cm according to the ipcc (2013), and from 50 to 140 cm according to rahmstorf (2007). in this scenario, a major impact will be seen along the coasts, causing widespread erosion. this impact on the territories’ morphological characteristics will probably trigger internal migration inside the coastal erosion, significantly increasing flood-related risk (mariano, marino, 2019a). an interesting study titled “mediterranean unesco world heritage at risk from coastal flooding and erosion due to sea-level rise” (reimann et al., 2018), calls attention to the unesco sites located in the coastal areas of the mediterranean most exposed to flood risk caused by sea-level rise, emphasizing the risk of loss not only on a material level, but also in terms of the people’s cultural identity. this brings the consequent risk of losing the perception of certain landscapes that we may define as “sub limen” , from the latin sub limen (“under the threshold, limit” – the etymological root of “subliminal”), which in this context refers to the limit of the coast, the physical limit between earth and sea that determines the landscape, the transition between the present and future landscapes of territories that are in actuality “suspended” because they are affected by a phenomenon of potential risk of loss1. the relevance and currency of the issue dealt with is emphasized by numerous international research institutions, including the european environment agency (eea, 2016) which, in the report “climate change, impacts and vulnerability in europe 2016”, expresses the need for european countries to define strategies and plans for territorial adaptation on a national, regional, and local level in order to prevent and manage the risk linked to the climate crisis. the united nations office for disaster risk reduction (unisdr, 2015), in its document “sendai framework for disaster risk reduction 2015-2030”, also enshrined the key role of territorial planning in reducing the vulnerability of territories, stressing on the one hand the inadequacy of the approaches and of the sectoral instruments put into play thus far to prevent and mitigate risks, and on the other the need for a transdisciplinary approach that goes beyond the specific points and purview of regulations. not least, the 2030 agenda for sustainable development emphasizes the need to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” and urges the signatory states to “take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” (un, 2015). a study by enea, titled “sea-level rise and potential drowning of the italian coastal plains: flooding risk scenarios for 2100,” (antonioli et al, 2017), published in quaternary science reviews, is an essential, prerequisite document 1 the issue of "sublimen landscapes" is studied within the research "medways le vie del mediterraneo", international scientific cluster, national academy of lincei (resp. mosè ricci, university of trento) in the contribution of the pdta department, sapienza university of rome “landscapes of the sublimen. itinerary between the "suspended" territories of the adriatic coast "by carmela mariano and marsia marino (2022 forthcoming). carmela mariano/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 for this research. in europe, approximately 86 million people (19% of the population) live within 10 km of the coastline, and in the mediterranean area this figure rises to 75%. this scenario was also determined by the rapid urbanization of the 1960s, which contributed towards what was in many cases an unplanned development of coastal settlements now exposed to serious flood risk (sterr et al., 2003). the areas at greatest risk are those in turkey (anzidei et al, 2011), the coastal area of the northern adriatic (antonioli et al., 2007; lambeck et al., 2011), the aeolian islands (anzidei et al., 2016), the coasts of central italy (aucelli et al, 2016) and eastern morocco (snoussi et al., 2008). as for italy, the study by lambeck et al. projected a sea-level rise in 2100 based on the ipcc 2007 report and rahmstorf (2007), whose results show that, assuming a minimum rise of 18 cm and a maximum of 140 cm, 33 italian costal areas will be flooded by the projection date. for the italian region being investigated (northern adriatico, gulf of taranto, and sardinia), by the year 2100, a sea-level rise of 53-97 cm (ipcc, 2013 – rcp 8.5) and 140 cm (rahmstorf, 2007) is hypothesized. in addition to the social and environmental stressors that have long been acknowledged to affect urban areas, ipcc reports have unequivocally identified cities as exposed and vulnerable to climate change, and liable to be subject to the projected impacts of sea level rise and of an increased frequency of extreme events, such as heatwaves and floods. at the same time, due to their high population density and concentration of human activities, cities are themselves major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. it is therefore urgent that specific planning strategies are developed and implemented, jointly addressing both mitigation and adaptation targets, highlighting potential synergies, and resolving conflicts and trade-offs. the urgency to face the challenges related to climate change in terms of mitigation, adaptation and possible transformation of sensitive territories affected by risks and degenerative processes has prompted in recent years a reflection on the responsibilities of policy makers in transposing these issues into urban agendas. more generally, this aspect has brought out the need to both update the skills of the urban planner and territorial governance tools, with the aim of developing possible regeneration and resilience strategies to climate change. the objective of the research is to identify theoretical/methodological and operative references for trialling and innovating the content of urban planning regulation, with particular reference to the need, on the one hand, to expand the framework of knowledge of the possible impacts on the territory produced by climate change, and, on the other, to provide for adaptation strategies and site-specific actions aimed at resolving the risk. for this reason, the research highlights the need to overcome land governance policies’ traditionally sectoral approach to the issue of climate change, in favour of climate-proof planning, through lines of deeper analysis that adopt an experimental, integrated, multi-scalar, and iterative method, and that bring the work fully into the scientific and disciplinary debate. 3. methodology in the general framework of the research activities carried out by the author, the contribution gives back part of the results of a work of analysis and critical evaluation of some planning experiences carried out at national and european level, which allowed, through an inductive method, to identify two different approaches of the tools promoted by the local authorities and territorial agencies in a climate-proof perspective (maragno et al, 2020). a first approach refers to a strategic dimension, related to the supra-municipal planning level (metropolitan or regional area), which identifies the main strategies for adaptive and resilient cities to climate change. a second one recalls a regulatory dimension, mainly referred to the municipal planning level, which highlights a gradual process of integration of the plan contents, both in terms of implementation of the cognitive framework of the vulnerability of the territories, with the preparation of management drawings that give the consistency of the areas affected by the risk phenomenon, differentiated by level of hazard and in relation to possible time horizons analysed (heat islands, floods, alluvial phenomena, subsidence, etc.); both in terms of identifying possible mitigation and adaptation project actions on "target" areas identified by the plan, from which to identify quantitative and qualitative indicators/requirements/standards, referring to the measures adopted (mariano et a, 2021). carmela mariano/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 in particular, the activity of analysis and critical analysis was based, on the one hand, on the study of dossiers and reports prepared by public administrations (pas) and published on institutional websites, articles and scientific proceedings, and, on the other, on interviews and meetings with representatives of the pas concerned. in particular, the criterion for choosing the case studies, attributable to the two approaches, considers the prevalence of a strategic approach in the planning tools adopted in the italian national context, instead the examples of the international context also highlight the presence of a experimental with the identification of specific actions and guidelines for climate adaptation. in general, the plans were analyzed that in general terms deal with the issue of the response to climate change, regardless of the presence in the reference territory of a specific sea level rise risk problem. for this reason, among the plans of the italian national context, the strategic plan of milan is present, in addition to that of milan and venice, because it is configured as a recent example of strategic planning of a large area, the metropolitan city (established in following law 56/2014), which highlights a focus on new issues and new perspectives for action prompted by climate-change. 4. case studies the research activity concentrated on a comparative assessment of certain trials of strategic plans in italian national (genoa, milan, venice) and international (vejle, rotterdam, new york) settings. with reference to the examples of strategic planning in a national setting (referring to the metropolitan cities of genoa, venice, and milan), general guidelines emerge with respect to the issue of the territory’s adaptation to climate change. by priority, these are oriented towards implementing urban policies with a short-term (3 years) temporal horizon that does not meet the need to outline a structured mediumand long-term vision, in order to respond to the issues related to climate change. these guidelines are, in particular: sharing a common horizon and a multi-actor convergence upon an action strategy, while at the same time recognizing the various players’ specific characteristics and autonomy; strengthening dialogue between the various levels of governance and between public and private players, involving stakeholders and citizens in close connection with the world of research and innovation; adopting a knowledge-based approach and fostering the integration of the various land governance instruments with a view to “downscaling” (musco, fregolent, 2014), as recommended by the venice strategic plan (2018) that emphasizes the need to promote a coordinated management of the environmental plans system, and by the milan plan (2019) that highlights the need to join together the land governance instruments that, on various levels, deal with the environment; considering the adaptation actions’ complementariness with the mitigation interventions alone; promoting forms of sustainable financing for urban projects aimed at reducing land consumption and at increasing urban and environmental quality (milan, 2019); carrying out the regular monitoring and assessment of progress towards adaptation (genoa, 2017). on the other hand, as to the analysis of strategic planning case studies in an international setting, alongside the content of a general nature and of urban policy, a markedly experimental approach emerges, more oriented towards identifying site-specific planning responses depending on the orographic and geomorphological characteristics of the territory (todaro et al., 2009). this requires strategic approaches diversified depending on the cases and articulated in accordance with scenarios of a short, medium and long-term vision although some of the strategic plans are mainly oriented towards a long-term (rotterdam) or medium-term (new york) vision. the temporal horizons often referred to for mediumand long-term visions are 2050 and 2100, while through 2050, short-term strategies and good practices are outlined. each territory requires a site-specific approach. however, it is equally true that, on a strategic level, certain, recurring conditions can be found; this has made it possible to systematize the cases deemed, in this research’s opinion, essential carmela mariano/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 for defining urban regeneration strategies in settings affected by the effect of sea-level rise, or considered at future risk of flooding – strategies that are such as to guarantee an urban planning development that is long-lasting and resilient over the long term. table 1. comparative overview of the contents of strategic plans (by c. mariano, 2021) national setting strategies strategic plan of the metropolitan city of genoa climate-proof urban policies strategic plan of the metropolitan city of milan climate-proof urban policies strategic plan of the metropolitan city of venice climate-proof urban policies international setting vejle’s resilient strategy climate-proof urban policies and design strategies for defense, adaptation and delocalization rotterdam climate change adaptation strategy climate-proof urban policies and design strategies for defense, adaptation and delocalization one nyc 2050. building a strong and fair city climate-proof urban policies and design strategies for defense, adaptation and delocalization the vejle’s resilient strategy (approved in 2013 and updated in 2019), promoted in the context of the 100 resilient cities partnership, takes into its corpus the three macrostrategies (defence, adaptation, delocalization), theorized in the research setting. it is articulated in four key strategies for a resilient urban development (mariano, marino, 2018), making reference to the content of a general nature already surveyed in the strategic plans analyzed in the national setting: “co-creating city,” a slogan that refers to public/private collaboration for the performance of structural interventions, like the creation of an information and experimentation centre – the “laboratory for climate change adaptation and flood control” – aimed at managing fjord flood risk; “climate resilient city,” which makes reference to the repercussions of climate change on the city’s infrastructures, such as for example the port, the coastal area, communications infrastructure, the water system and the sewer system, and for which it calls for targeted actions aimed at increasing these systems’ resilience; “socially resilient city,” which instead aims to increase social and economic cohesion thanks to the citizens’ active involvement from the decision-making to the realization phase; this is also done by promoting the dissemination of the strategies proposed through the drawing up of updated catalogues, in order to promote vejle as a “pilot city,” an international model of urban resilience; “smart city,” which promotes the introduction of digital technologies for managing the risks connected to climate change, but also relating to the daily management of traffic, modes of parking, and information on the climate and on tourism (vejle kommune, 2013). however, beyond the content of a general or urban policy nature, the strategic plan defines the areas at flood risk and identifies priority settings for intervention, for which a vision, articulated in various temporal horizons – 2025, 2050, 2100 (figure 1) – was outlined. articulated by temporal horizons, the site-specific actions relate to planning interventions included in the defence strategies, with works of environmental engineering, adaptation with nature-based solutions, and delocalization with the possibility of building resilient neighbourhoods (vejle’s resilient strategy, 2013). carmela mariano/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 1. settings at flood risk starting from 2030; areas above 2 metres in elevation are in yellow. source: stormflodsstrategi. stormflodsbeskyttelse der gror med byen (2019). the rotterdam climate change adaptation strategy (2013) identifies four general strategies for the city’s adaptation to the flooding phenomenon: reinforcing and constantly updating the defence system against floods, storm surges, and sea-level rise, to protect settled areas); adapting the urban space to flood impacts; promoting an integrated planning in favour of a resilient urban development; promoting working opportunities in the field of adaptation to climate change, thus strengthening the economy, improving quality of life, and protecting biodiversity. figure 2. settings at flood risk, forecast at 2100, indicating the infrastructure at risk. source: rotterdam climate change adaptation strategy (2013). carmela mariano/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 in this case as well, the plan defines certain settings at flood risk in 2100, emphasizing the main infrastructures affected by possible flooding (figure 2). for these infrastructures, a vision is set out that, despite the prevalence of the defensive strategy approach, articulates three strategies for a resilient metamorphosis of the public spaces exposed to risk: “sponge”: water plazas, infiltration zones, and green spaces; “protection”: dams and coastal protection; “control” of flood events: evacuation routes, water-resistant buildings, and floating structures (rotterdam climate initiative climate proof, 2013). the one nyc 2050. building a strong and fair city (2019) strategic plan, drawn up as part of the 100 resilient cities and mayor’s office of resiliency project, considers the city of new york to be one of the metropolitan areas most affected by flooding phenomena caused or aggravated by sea-level rise, as took place on the occasion of hurricane sandy (2014). the plan, which anticipates the municipal administration’s vision at 2050, is structured in eight general goals articulated into thirty specific initiatives. in particular, as regards the specific initiatives of goal no. 6 “a livable climate,” we find: achieve carbon neutrality and 100 percent clean electricity; strengthen communities, buildings, infrastructure, and the waterfront to be more resilient; create economic opportunities for all new yorkers through climate action; fight for climate accountability and justice. as with other international examples, the plan identifies some settings for which, while not setting the exact perimeter of the areas at flood risk, it shows the areas currently subject to flooding, and that will continue to be so in the future; areas not currently affected by flooding but that will be so in the future (2020, 2050, and 2080); and areas that are not – and that are estimated not to be – affected by flooding phenomena. (figure 3). the one nyc 2050 strategic plan outlines a medium-term vision and has 2050 as its temporal horizon of reference. of the plan’s thirty specific initiatives articulating the eight goals, initiative 21 “strengthen communities, buildings, infrastructure, and the waterfront to be more resilient” defines certain strategic lines referring specifically to urban adaptation to the phenomenon of sea-level rise: mitigation of risk, which calls for the implementation of projects to protect vulnerable coastal areas in lower manhattan, red hook, the rockaways, jamaica bay, the east shore of staten island and other risk areas; an initiative to strengthen sewer infrastructure in order to deal with possible flood events is planned; “climate-smart” adaptation, which calls for building awareness among property owners in the floodplain on climate change issues, in order to incentivize ordinary and extraordinary maintenance on their properties so as to make the building stock resilient to possible flood events (subsidies for this are provided); promoting and supporting non-profit organizations providing assistance to citizens residing in risk areas; and increasing the percentage of public greenery and green infrastructures; integration of policies and instruments of land governance, which will involve updating building codes and zoning on a local level in support of the planned adaptation initiatives (one ny2050, 2019). carmela mariano/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure 3. areas at flood risk from the present to 2080. source: one nyc 2050. building a strong and fair city. 5. results and discussion these research experiences, show the search for a transcalar continuity of objectives and actions, in the dual strategic and regulatory form of plans, and take on and operationally decline crucial issues at the heart of eu policies for sustainable development (europe 2020 strategy) and climate change, for the improvement of territorial connectivity and the harmonisation of ecological, landscape and cultural values (eu, 2011), the promotion of city efficiency in a smart and green perspective, concretely pursuing an integration between urban planning and ecology. with reference to the analysis of the strategic planning case studies in the international context, the research highlighted the presence, alongside the contents properly referred to the construction of a general vision of mitigation and adaptation strategy, of a markedly more experimental approach oriented towards also identifying site-specific project responses articulated according to short, medium and long-term vision scenarios. for these horizons, certain prevalent action strategies are outlined that are placed within the strategies of ecological urban regeneration. within them, they articulate general guidelines for climate-proof urban policies and objectives and actions that may be placed in three design macrostrategies identified after the analysis: defence, adaptation, and delocalization (mariano, marino, 2019b). the three prevalent approaches refer respectively to the need to defend the territory by means of environmental engineering works; to the appropriateness of increasing the urban structure’s resilience to flooding phenomena in those areas for which defense works should prove insufficient; and to the appropriateness of delocalizing activities and settlements present in the areas exposed to greater risk, to others that are geomorphologically safer. the defense strategy identifies (short-term) actions for the mitigation of and protection from the risk phenomenon, relying on hydraulic engineering works able to attenuate the extreme event’s impacts on the territory. adaptation actions and strategies represent a complementary approach to mitigation. this approach implies the population’s ability to continue living their habitat while making adjustments that can reduce flood impact to a minimum; and it involves practices of urban regeneration of compromised territories (boateng, 2008) – practices that carmela mariano/ the academic research community publication pg. 9 can effect urban development with a view to sustainability and resilience (salata, giaimo, 2016), also by relying on the adoption of nature-based solutions (nbs) as “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits” or solutions inspired to the ecosystem-based approach (eba) that involve a wide range of ecosystem management activities to increase the resilience and reduce the vulnerability of people and the environment to climate change (iucn, 2020). the third macrostrategy that has been conceived refers to the need to rethink the urban planning development of the settled coastal strips with a view to their ecological regeneration. this raises the need for new, flexible urban models capable of responding to heightened usership on existing services, while guaranteeing the population’s access (bukvic, 2015; bates, 2002; mele et al., 2016; davenport et al., 2016), to the point of outlining certain potential scenarios for the long-term relocation of the stricken population, possibly to be adopted as part of a regional relocation strategy for “climate crisis migrants” (brent et al., 2015). 6. conclusions the comparative analysis of the strategic planning experiences conducted in an international setting, with particular reference to the content referring to climate-proof planning, underscores the “strategic role of knowledge” (talia, 2020) in identifying – as a prerequisite for defining site-specific design actions – the territorial settings affected by the flood risk phenomenon as a consequence of sea-level rise. developing this knowledge framework allows policymakers and planners to interpret the content of the areas affected by the risk phenomenon, differentiated by level of danger and in relation to any temporal horizons analyzed for the medium and long term; and to provide for a possible adoption of indications relating to the detailed intervention categories aimed at resolving the risk within the planning instruments, with particular reference to the scale of local urban planning. in this sense, it is emphasized, in the italian national setting, how urgent it is to support and incentivize the building of complete and comprehensive databases, and to expand the framework of deliverables for more in-depth knowledge of the territory, aided by geographic information systems (gis) and relying on the tools and methods of remote sensing and climate modelling aimed at the preliminary construction of vulnerability and risk maps of coastal urban settings, and at the consequent implementation of the planning instruments’ territorial knowledge frameworks. the purpose is to guide the definition of intervention macrostrategies and the choice among the actions of defence, adaptation, and relocation for the territories affected by the risk phenomenon (mariano et al., 2021). monitoring of actions is a very important aspect of a successful adaptation plan, as is the case for any spatial planning tool. the main difficulty in monitoring urban adaptation to climate change arises, in fact, when trying to measure (in quantitative terms through indicators) the effects of an action defined by the plan and its contribution to increasing the resilience of the area targeted by that action. in this sense, the need is highlighted for a constant updating of the cognitive framework of the territory, through innovative elaborations and databases able to manage and share environmental, climatic, urban and economic information and a periodical evaluation of the results obtained through the implementation of strategies and sitespecific climate-proof actions, which allows, in relation to new instances and monitoring results, to start a constant process of updating and adjustment of the plan. references antonioli, f., anzidei, m.k., auriemma, r., gaddi, d., furlani, s., orrù, p., solinas, e., gaspari, a., karinja, s., kovacic, v., surace, l. 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(2015). the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. available online: https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda (accessed on 03.07.2020). http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication sustainable development and the dilemma of egyptian economic growth and climate change: 1917-2015 dina m. yousri1, christian richter1 1economics department, faculty of management technology, german university in cairo abstract it is forecasted that 250,000 people will die every year because of climate change and that 86.4 percent of the world population will be living in poverty by 2050. previous literature has highlighted the tradeoff between poverty reductions and eliminating environmental degradation. improving the livelihood of the poor therefore has to include improving the environment as well; especially that the poor suffer disproportionally from the effects of environmental decline. this paper tests the long term impact of climate change on economic growth in egypt over a time period of 98 years using the threshold model.the estimated threshold regression model suggests 22.9o c as the threshold value of temperature rate above which temperature significantly retards the growth rate of gdp. in addition, below the threshold level, there is a statistically significant positive relationship between temperature and growth. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords climate change; developing countries; environmental degradation; poverty; sustainable development; economic growth; temperature; revolution; carbon emissions 1. background the ‘environment’ is where we live, and development is what we all do in attempting to improve our lot within that abode. the two are inseparable. (unep, 2007:34) egypt is a developing country located in the african continent although known for its diverse resources yet a main challenge for the country is reaching the balance between proper allocation of the latter and its accelerating population growth at a 2% annual rate, reaching approximately a total of 100 million citizens in 2018 (capmas, 2018). owning to its desert nature, the whole population is allocated to only 4% of the total area of the country. unsurprisingly, the nile valley, from aswan in the south to cairo in the north, and the delta; together represent 2.5% of the aforementioned 4%; as the river nile is considered the main source of water providing 95% of water needs (eid, el-marsafawy and ouda 2007). from which 80% is consumed in agriculture, making it convenient for intensive agriculture today and through egypt’s history (el-raey, 1999; el-shaer et al., 1997). agriculture is one of the main contributors to the gross domestic product (gdp) with around 14.5% of its total value and provides 28% of all jobs in the market, out of the total women workforce 45% are working in the agriculture industry as per the us agency for international development (usaid, 2017). pg. 13 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i3.519 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ yousri / the academic research community publication the growth performance of the egyptian economy varied significantly over the period 1966-2015. the gdp growth rate averaged 4.86%; while real gdp per capita averaged 2.55%. this period has been mainly characterized by low increases of per capita income and gdp growth if compared to other developing countries in the same period. egypt has always been a leading country in the middle east and it has been in the center of events either affecting or being affected by the radical changes caused by profound events such as consecutive wars (1973-74) and/or oil shocks (1979). some of these events are reflected in egypt’s economy when gdp growth contracted to 0.705% in 1973. however, from the mid of the 1970s to mid1980’s the country witnessed accelerating economic growth with an average rate of 8.53%. the highest recorded gdp growth was in 1976 when it reached 14.62% which was due to remittances, tourism, increased foreign borrowing and high oil prices (al-mashat and grigorian 1998). in 1974 (opec 2016) opec raised the barrel price from 3.01$ to 11.65$ causing a market shock pushing the prices up to 20$ per barrel (el beblawi, 2008). high oil prices have caused countries like egypt, brazil, india, malaysia, and oman to double their oil output to a total of three million barrels per day between 1979 and 1985 (gately, adelman and griffin 1986). nevertheless, this oil-led economic growth was not sustainable as eventually, oil prices fell in 1991. this resulted in a major decline of gdp growth and per capita gdp from the mid-’80s (1.078%) until 1991 (-0.8%). in the same period, gross fixed capital formation shrank from 15.95% to 7.59%. the percentage of imports to exports of the gdp decreased from 35.79% to 27.81% causing a current account deficit (world bank online indicator, 2016). in 1991, with the existence of all the macro imbalances such as the balance of payment and government deficit, along with the high inflation rate, egypt considered signing an agreement with the imf and world bank with the aim of remedying these macro imbalances (korayem, 1997). this resulted in a decrease in the unemployment rate, budget deficit, inflation rate and a rise in current account surplus and gdp growth rate (subramanian, 1997). consequently, that has encouraged the egyptian government to sign another agreement with the imf and world bank aiming at higher economic growth and a better standard of living; this agreement was expected to increase gdp growth rate with 5-6% between the years 1996 and 1998 (bush, 1999). this hope was shortly crushed with the internal and external shocks that hit the country from 1997 to 2003. it started with the luxor terrorist attack in 1997 followed by the east asian crisis and the drop in oil prices in 1998 and ending with the september 11th terrorist attack in 2001 and 2003 iraq invasion (khier el din and el-laithy, 2008). the year 2011 witnessed the start of a new era when the egyptian revolution took place on the 25th of january, the revolution caused egypt to enter an exigent transition stage, as foreign direct investments (fdi) was reduced -from 6.8 to 2 usd billion-, the budget deficit, debt rate, unemployment rate, poverty rate rose, standards of living fell even further. moreover, one of the main sources of foreign income to the country –tourism revenues decreased by 60%, as did foreign currency reserves which plummeted from $36 billion pre-revolution to $15 billion postrevolution. all these factors were bound to have their effect on the value of the egyptian pound which fell to a historic low against the dollar even with vigorous support from the central bank of egypt. this came on top of (temporary) supply shortages following the uprising and food and fuel price inflation due to higher import prices since early 2011. although the economic situation of egypt is easing since the revolution of the 25th of january, the economy still has a long way to recover (abdou and zaazou, 2013). there is a consensus among economists that developing countries’ economies known to be fragile and unstable (un 2018; lekwot, uchenna and alfred, 2012; thorpe and ogle, 2011; parry et al., 2007; korten 1991) egypt is not any different. on the economic level, they are largely based on agriculture activities where the environment is an important factor of production (hughes et al. 2009). on the social level, accelerating population growth is evident. on the institutional level, a high level of corruption or institutional failure was recorded. on the environmental level, they are suffering from a number of environmental problems, for example, an increase in drought, water scarcity, and soil degradation. thus, the risk of environmental migration is projected in the coming years (schubert et al. 2007). similarly, trainer (1990) asserts that they are surrounded by an increasing level of air, and water pollution and resource depletion, which can be seen in the deforestation, soil erosion, overfishing and damaged marine and coastal ecosystems (trainer 1990), plus the annual tropical land losses that mainly occupied by the developing pg. 14 yousri / the academic research community publication nation (bonnie et al 2000). protecting the environment is vital not only for the interest of the present generations but also for future generations. this could only be possible by tackling the human causes of climate change so that egyptians can enjoy a sound and livable environment. climate change started to gain much attention from the international community in recent years. funds have been dedicated, and solutions have been suggested to face global warming (fadairo, 2016; lekwot, uchenna and alfred, 2012; posner and weisbach, 2010). this aim is supported on the domestic level by the sustainable development strategy: egypt vision 2030. as well as, on the international level, presented in the united nations agenda transforming our world: 2030 for sustainable development, where 17 objectives and 169 goals of sustainable development in which the need environment protection has been highlighted and the urge for controlling climate change (un, 2018; wedy, 2016). sustainability requires the adoption of environmentally friendly strategies in production activities (ezemokwe, 1998). besides, ensuring adequate measure for adaptation and setting stricter targets for greenhouses gasses emission-cutting that is legally binding while aiming at controlling global warming below 2co (cop21 paris, 2018). motive the importance of this study is originated from the cost that developing countries like egypt will have to bear in the coming years. many scenarios have been assumed and probabilities were discussed about egypt’s future with environmental damage and climate change, what received higher probability was the risk of devastation that falls on alexandria the second largest city in egypt and the north african countries in general. government officials have already declared that by 2020 several towns and urban areas in the north of the nile delta will face the problem of mediterranean level rise; rising sea levels are threatening at least 15% of the delta land and groundwater via leakage (elsharkawy, rashed and rached, 2009; thomas, 2008). aim this study aims at contributing through researching the nature of the paradoxical relationships between economic growth and climate change in egypt. as achieving sustainable development in egypt requires taking into account the economic-environmental interaction. so far, studies by alhakimi and alhagrasy (2015) ghalwash (2014), el hamid (2013), nasr (2008), kheir-el-din and moursi (2006), bolbol et al. (2005), galal (1998), and levy (1986) focused on the low level of egyptian economic growth; analyzing a limited number of explanatory variables such as government expenditure, trade openness and capital accumulation as main determinants of the economic growth level and neglected other possibly relevant non-economic variables, or including egypt as one of many countries listed in panel data studies without adequate consideration to its economic condition and special characteristics. 2. anticipated consequences of environmental degradation pollution in egypt has reached a critical level where cairo the capital was ranked number one on the most polluted cities list. egypt’s environment helps in manifesting the pollution problem given that the rain pattern and the hot weather is causing pollutant to get stuck in in the foggy air above the city. on an annual basis, different types of pollution (water, air, etc.) are causing human deaths all around the world more than all other factors such as hunger, natural disasters, war, murder, smoking, aids, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. pollution, of all kinds and its disturbing associated consequences, are creating a real threat for human mental and physical health and wellbeing (conca, 2018). over the last 50 years, egypt carbon dioxide emissions’ (co2) is maintaining an increasing trend as seen in (figure 1) with an average annual co2 emission of 1.4 metric tons per capita (world bank, 2018). the increase in co2 is claimed mainly to the continued fossil fuels burns which also contribute to ozone layer damage that is responsible for controlling the sun’s radiation and water evaporation (ifrc, 2009). the increase of anthropogenic greenhouse gases is mostly driven by the unsustainable production pattern followed all over the world. the continuous rise in anthropogenic greenhouse gases along with deforestation and the use of unsustainable techniques in agriculture industry has led to change in climate (wedy, 2016). this view is supported by oreskes and conway (2011) and gerrard (2007) who found that the negative impact pg. 15 yousri / the academic research community publication for the retention of these gases is a change in climate, which has severe consequences on human health, causing illnesses and deaths because of the increasing frequencies and intensity of heat waves. also, on the ecosystem, seen in the increasing doughtiness and fire threats, air pollution and change in rainfall patterns and floods, moreover, it causes an increase in sea-level and coastal flooding. these environmental imbalances are threatening human life and all livings on the planet with a degree and intensity that has never been witnessed before; it contributes to increasing diseases, land and assets’ damage which may cost billions of us dollars (elsharkawy, rashed and rached, 2009). climate change occurrence is no longer a probability but rather a fact that will continue to manifest itself in the coming years (parry et al, 2007). as such climate change can, therefore, be defined as; “climate change refers to a broad range of global phenomena created predominantly by burning fossil fuels, which add heat-trapping gases to earth’s atmosphere. these phenomena include the increased temperature trends described by global warming, but also encompass changes such as sea level rise; ice mass loss in greenland, antarctica, the arctic and mountain glaciers worldwide; shifts in flower/plant blooming; and extreme weather events” (ngcc 2018). figure 1. carbon dioxide emission per capita in egypt source:world bank (2018) as per the world bank (2018), egypt’s temperature has also shown an increasing trend over the last years with an average of 22.4co see (figure2) the hottest recorded year for egypt was 2010 with an average yearly temperature of 24.8co. this environmental catastrophe is particularly visible after 1997. it is estimated that by the year 2100 an increase in temperature between 1.8◦c to 4◦c will take place. even the minimum estimated increase (1.8◦c) will be larger than any variation that occurred over the last 10,000 years. increase in temperature leads to evaporation of water; reduce in rainfall and consequent increase in salinity putting the livestock and marine-life at risk (unep 2007); the risk for marine-life revolve around four axes which is abundance, distribution, migration pattern and availability of fish, which are highly affected by temperature, salinity, wind speed and direction, ocean currents, and strength of upwelling (lekwot, uchenna and alfred2012). likewise, an expected increase in the sea-level between 18 and 59 centimeters is much higher than the average recorded level of 10 to 20 centimeters over the 20th century (sachs, 2015; gore, 2006). it was also recorded that weather-related disasters such as floods, storms, heat waves, and droughts have increased by 57% over the years1990 to 2000. these numbers reflect an increase in the number of humans getting harmed which is an estimated 243 million in 2008 compared to 190 million in the 1990s(ifrc, 2009). figure 2. average temperatures in egypt 1917-2015 source: climate change knowledge portal world bank (2018) pg. 16 yousri / the academic research community publication 2.1. economic impact of environmental risks developmental programs established by world organization and the united nations starting 1960s, in response to the severe level of poverty in developing countries especially the newly independent nations of africa and southeast asia that were moving from colonialism took into consideration the environmental aspect (bandypadhyay and shiva, 1989). they were aiming at raising the standard of living and alleviating poverty. un identified poverty “as both a cause and a consequence of environmental degradation”. this un identification was essential in raising awareness about the nature of poverty. in the first era of these programs, economic development or increase in per capita gdp was conceived as the cure for poverty by different countries (goodland and daly, 1992). economic growth was viewed as a chance not only to create job opportunities that help in alleviating poverty but also to create a surplus that could be used in cleaning up the environment (homer-dixon, et al 1993). furthermore, based on the demographic transition theory, achieving a high standard of living would lead to a decrease in the fertility rate and henceforth a decrease in population growth rate. accordingly, economic development was seen as a solution for poverty, population growth and environmental degradation in developing countries. in general, low-income countries are expected to remain poor unless they receive support to raise their standard of living on a sustainable basis (tadoro, 1989). this can be explained as low standard of living countries spend a significant percentage of their income on consumption, which implies low saving, and low investment, and hence low production (solow, 1994; tadoro, 1989). climate change negatively affects natural resources which are seen as a fundamental factor of production in any economy especially in the developing world (ifrc, 2009). the world is losing an estimated $4 trillion annually because of the environmental problems such as pollution which represents 6% of the world gdp (conca, 2018). climate change is capable of repudiate years of economic growth (wedy, 2016; lekwot et al., 2012; benson and clay, 2003) and puts sustainability; the ability to satisfy current needs without affecting future generation’s needs fulfillment (brundtland, 1987), at risk that in turn affects economic growth, social equalities, and poverty eradication plans. climate change is threatening the achievement of the millennium development goals (mdgs) (undp, 2011; un, 2018; parry et al, 2007). this argument was supported by lekwot, et al. (2012) and the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies (ifrc) (2007) who argued that although the united nation’s mdgs is aiming at decreasing poverty in african countries but with the rising environmental problems especially change in climate this seems hard to achieve. furthermore, conditions might even be worsened by several existing factors in developing countries like egypt as for instance, poor economic performance, corruption, undesirable human activities, and practices, environmental degradation and its associated risks; fluctuation in rainfalls and projected crop failure. determining the exact impact of climate change on food availability and affordability requires considerable attention to several factors on top of which are; the level of co2 emissions, the intensity of floods, the degree of droughts, agriculture system and its adaptive capacity, population growth, and economic condition in the country (pittock, 2017). this environmental-economic interaction made it almost impossible or ineffective for local governments and international institutions to isolate economic development issues from environmental issues, many forms of economic activities exploit the environmental resources so that environmental degradation actually weakens economic development. poverty was also found to be a major cause and effect of many environmental problems (wedemann and thielke, 2005; korten, 1991; wced, 1987). though all people around the world whether developed or developing are at risk because of climate change and its associated hazards, poor nations are the utmost vulnerable, especially african countries (fadairo 2016; lekwot, uchenna and alfred, 2012; posner and weisbach, 2010; graßl et al. 2003) [1] . social, economic and environmental conditions in developing countries are the main reason behind their high vulnerability to climate change and their failure in coping and/or adapting to climate risks. in developing countries, the natural environment is already severally degraded. therefore, climate change, poor resource management, environmental degradation and human pressure on lands pose a real threat to human development, welfare, and food security. this worsens, for example, major health problems which are already hard to control given the existing health care system. accordingly, considering the climate change risks’ and its respective mitigation policies are inevitable in developing countries (elsharkawy, rashed and rached, 2009; leary andkulkarni, pg. 17 yousri / the academic research community publication 2007; abou-hadid, 2006). in fact, the forecasts reveal a more distressing effect now and in the future because of change in climate and the anticipated global increase in temperature that is declared to be around 2-4oc. meaning that climate change would be a major contributor to the developing world poor performance now and in the future, as it affects and will continue to affect their key sectors such as agriculture, water, health, energy, and transportation, which are crucial factors to achieve sustainable socioeconomic development (pelling et al, 2004). although, many sectors will be affected by environmental imbalance seen in the change in climate, continuous change in rainfall pattern and water resource. agriculture sector and the animal stock would be the most affected. in particular agriculture production, fisheries, livestock, and industries using agricultural products as raw materials (ex. medical herbs). also, change in crops’ cycle and structure which have a direct impact on productivity, nutritional value, and taste of some fruits and vegetables (unep, 2007). over and above, egypt was listed as one of the most affected countries by environmental surges; an increase of 83.6 % is estimated to egypt surge zones, with the continuous change in climate, egypt will suffer from storm surges along with the sea level rise putting cropland at risk as well (dasgupta, et al., 2009). elsharkawy, rashed and rached (2009) claims that the increasing frequency of extreme environmental events including an increase in temperature; a reduction in crop yield, changes in the agricultural distribution of crops, the negative impact on marginal land, increasing desertification, will increase unemployment and income losses ending with probable political unrest. as the anticipated decrease in agriculture productivity, crops yield will cause a direct change in supply and demand pattern leading to increase in goods prices, a decrease in farming profitability, (lekwot, uchenna and alfred, 2012) food availability and affordability in egypt, with an estimated increase in prices of imported goods (el-raey, 1999). industries production cost will even rise due to the assumed environmental damages, a clear example would be clean energy (hydropower) which will diminish with a change in climate. these projected consequences of great concern to egypt as hydropower made up around 12% of egypt’s total installed power generation capacity (ibrahim, 2012). the net effect of these environmental problems will be increasing poverty (un, 2018; lekwot, uchenna and alfred, 2012; thorpe and ogle, 2011; parry et al, 2007; ifrc, 2007). a problem that will be aggravated with the accelerating population growth, urbanization, industrial development, and irrigation intensification, these factors leads to a continuous increase in water demand causing agriculture vulnerability in egypt (abou-hadid, 2006). meaning that protecting the environment is an essential element in poverty alleviation and the country’s social stability (bandyopadhyay and shiva, 1989; hughes et al, 2009). eid, el-marsafawy, and ouda (2007) have supported this view as they estimated that agriculture sector in egypt will be suffering in the coming years because of a decrease in available water and subsequently irrigation water that is caused by climate change. especially that egypt is suffering already from water stress along with the continuous population growth that it mainly concentered along the nile valley and delta pressured by increasing urban demand (leary et al, 2008). the aforementioned industries will be forced to reduce their operations and downsize employees to accommodate these changes in the short-run. however, this could be reversed in the long-run if adequate measures are taken or shutdown of major industries is projected in the medium to long-run (schubert et al, 2007). another major environmental problem is the change in sea level, which is mainly driven by ocean thermal growth, in addition to other factors such as glacial melt from greenland and antarctica and a lesser effect is attributed to terrestrial storage (dasgupta et al. 2007). by 2050, a rise in the global average sea level from 7 to 35 cm is anticipated and this will continue to accelerate to an average level of 9-69cm in 2080 (roaf, crichton, and nicol 2005). this increase in sea level, for instance, the atlantic ocean will have a destructive impact on egypt large coastal areas more precisely alexandria governorate (anthoff, nicholls, tol, and vafeidis 2006). this sea level rise will cause lowlands along the coast and agriculture area to drawn, causing socio-economic and socio-cultural problems. accordingly, climate change will increase the opportunity cost of resource utilization and thus making resources allocation decisions more difficult. as a result, social conflicts may rise and supply will fail satisfying demands and needs in addition to other problems such as continued population growth (ozor, 2009). pg. 18 yousri / the academic research community publication 2.2. sustainability and the need for controlling change in climate wedy (2016) argues that a clear direct link between human, environment and the economy exists and cannot be ignored while planning for economic development; environmental protection must be taken carefully into consideration. for instance, carbon emissions of economic activities must be controlled, not only for the sake of the microclimate but also the macroclimate. climate change can be mitigated by applying the appropriate sectoral plans, that establish a low carbon economy by gradually reducing carbon emissions while considering the special nature of each sector; such as health services, agriculture, electricity generation and distribution, national transportation systems of freight and passengers, public transportation in the urban area, production of durable goods, chemicals, pulp and paper, and mining and construction. this means economic growth must be achieved by new sustainable agriculture production methods and natural resource management to go in line with climate change control (ezemokwe, 1998). this can explain why economic growth alone might not be the ultimate solution for problems of developing nations, like egypt as it may depend on other factors as well (undp1999). the vast majority of the countries which applied aggressive economic development policies to maintain their existing standard of living, while ignoring any environmental considerations, have failed in the long-run and ended up with deepening poverty level and increasing environmental degradation (hussen, 2012; goodland and daly, 1992). hence, it could conceivably be assumed that a sustainable social and economic development in any country is nearly impossible with the presence of climate change. climate change is a problem that gained that attention of governments, united nations, ngo’s, and many concerned entities who acknowledge the imperative need for world strategies, policy framework and assessment techniques for all countries to tackle climate change problem and its related consequences. in an attempt to formulate a sustainable community climate, which makes it vital for countries to control their local environment related activities’, work toward containing the existing problem and adopt a preventive measure for the future. such efforts shall support poverty reduction endeavors and create a better livelihood community (lekwot, uchenna and alfred, 2012). so far the contingency plans followed in egypt for climate change was mostly reactive adopting the impact rather than active eliminating the source (thomas, 2008),it could be seen in the $300 million concrete sea wall that they are building in an attempt to protect the beach area from the rising sea level, or the vulnerability index to identify the regions at utmost risk (batisha, 2012), beach nourishment (putting sand onto the beach), building of breakwaters, restricting development in endangered areas, and adjusting land use (el-raey, dewidar, and el-hattab 1999; el-raey, 2009). 2.3. model specification and data to carry out an estimation procedure of the relationship between climate change and economic growth we employ annual data covering the period 1917–2015. the data is extracted from the world bank’s world development indicators and climate change knowledge portal world bank (2018). the variables used in the estimations are the following: • gdp growth rate (gdpgr). this is the dependent variable used in the regressions. real gdp per capita is gross domestic product divided by total population. the method adopted in the study is threshold regression. the threshold autoregressive (tar) model developed by howell tong has been vastly influential in economics. accordingly, we argue to include environmental factors such as change in climate as a main contributor to the egyptian economic growth performance, to obtain a unique unpinned view. the approach suggested in this research is intended as a preliminary step towards constructing a better understanding for the dynamics between the environment and economic performance relative to the other driving forces in a developing country such as egypt. it is also necessary to understand how these impacts vary given the economic, environmental and institutional setting of a country like egypt. economic problems cannot be resolved by looking at them separately. it also requires having a stable local government, a tenure system that supports the efficient utilization of natural resources. this research aimed at contributes by providing a comprehensive understanding of the interrelationships among economic growth and climate change in egypt. to enable egypt to achieve a level of economic progress that is considered to be environmentally sustainable. thus, sustaining any progress in egypt requires environmental conpg. 19 yousri / the academic research community publication sideration. this will contribute to solving the current problem of poor economic performance and environmental degradation. this result shows that if gdp one year ago was less than 24% then the impact of temperature is negative and will cause a reduction of 1%, this result represents most of the observed sample. on the other hand, if gdp is greater than 24%, the temperature impact will turn to be bigger with almost 16%. for this time period 1917-1945, egyptian gdp was mainly agriculture driven which is why temperature will have a much bigger impact if compared to an industrialized country. gdpt = α + { β1 tempgrt +ut i f gdpt−1 < 24.6 β2 tempgrt +ut i f gdpt−1 > 24.6 (1) table 1. environmental-economic growth threshold model dependent variable: gdpgr threshold type: bai-perron tests of l+1 vs. l sequentially determined thresholds threshold variables considered: gdpgr(-1) gdpgr(-2) gdpgr(-3) gdpgr(-6) gdpgr(-7) gdpgr(-8) threshold variable chosen: gdpgr(-1) threshold selection: trimming 0.15, max. thresholds 5, sig. level 0.05 threshold value used: 24.66636 variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. gdpgr(-1) < 24.66636 – 24 obs tempgrpr -0.947441 0.692926 -1.367305 0.1837 24.66636 <= gdpgr(-1) – 4 obs tempgrpr -15.67293 2.858535 -5.482852 0.0000 non-threshold variables c 3.679790 1.861473 1.976816 0.0592 r-squared 0.379256 mean dependent var 5.268097 adjusted rsquared 0.329597 s.d. dependent var 11.41974 s.e. of regression 9.350276 akaike info criterion 7.409646 sum squared resid 2185.691 schwarz criterion 7.552382 log likelihood -100.7350 hannan-quinn criter. 7.453282 f-statistic 7.637127 durbin-watson stat 1.065589 prob(f-statistic) 0.002579 studying the economic environmental interaction over a longer time period 1917-2015 using threshold model reveals a more interesting and unique relationship. if the temperature is between 22.4 22.9 gdp per capita is following a positive trend while if the temperature is below 22.4o c and above 22.9o c gdp per capita will follow a negative trend. the negative trend is bigger with a higher temperature than with the lower one. what we learn from this threshold regression is that the economy needs an “optimal” temperature which is in between 22.4co and pg. 20 yousri / the academic research community publication 22.9co. of course, this result is country specific and may be different for other countries. however, as far as egypt is concerned, egypt has the interest to limit the temperature increase to 22.9oc. equation 2 gdpt = α +  β1 trend +β2 gdpt−1 i f temp > 22.4 β3 trend +β4 gdpt−1 i f 22.4 < temp < 22.9 β5 trend +β6 gdpt−1 i f temp ≥ 22.9 (2) table 2. environmental-economic growth gdp per capita threshold model dependent variable: rgdppc threshold type: bai-perron tests of l+1 vs. l sequentially determined thresholds threshold variable: temp threshold selection: trimming 0.15, max. thresholds 5, sig. level 0.05 threshold values used: 22.40362, 22.90669 variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. temp < 22.40362 – 36 obs trend -3.001981 2.925292 -1.026216 0.3078 rgdppc(-1) 1.252926 0.028749 43.58150 0.0000 22.40362 <= temp < 22.90669 – 39 obs trend 10.00091 3.303288 3.027562 0.0033 rgdppc(-1) 1.045207 0.028916 36.14680 0.0000 22.90669 <= temp – 15 obs trend -55.35832 17.09311 -3.238634 0.0017 rgdppc(-1) 1.389468 0.084192 16.50361 0.0000 non-threshold variables c -5.783884 1.507539 -3.836640 0.0002 r-squared 0.998851 mean dependent var 1031.837 adjusted rsquared 0.998768 s.d. dependent var 2019.096 s.e. of regression 70.87020 akaike info criterion 11.43416 sum squared resid 416874.6 schwarz criterion 11.62859 log likelihood -507.5374 hannan-quinn criter. 11.51257 f-statistic 12026.13 durbin-watson stat 1.571736 continued on next page pg. 21 yousri / the academic research community publication table 2 continued prob(f-statistic) 0.000000 3. conclusion in summary, the paper presented what climate change is all about. it adopted the definition of climate change as accumulated continues increase in temperature observed over the period of time that is claimed to human activities which change the composition of the world atmosphere. we do not want only to quantify the parameters of our suggested variables but also be able to forecast the future of egypt accordingly. in order to contain climate change, create awareness and better ability in tackling the climate change problem in egypt certain measures need to be addressed and taken into consideration. climate change strategies need to be incorporated in economic development plans and resources use, to ensure sustainability. meaning that public policies, goals, guidelines, and developmental social and economic programs must be in line with the objectives, guidelines, and instruments of environment protection. this includes reducing emissions by using environmentally-friendly production methods, infrastructure, and technology. on the micro-level adjustment to citizens, lifestyle to a more environmentally friendly life is crucial. developing countries more preciously egypt is vulnerable to projected climate change risks’ given its economic, social and environmental conditions, as for instance poverty, population growth, corruption. the general increase in temperature known as global warming, leads to flooding, drought, erosion, desertification, sea level rise, heat stress, pests and diseases, unpredictable rainfall pattern inter alia. these negative outcomes do have an impact on the country long-term developmental plan. a clear negative outcome would be a decrease in agriculture productivity, food shortage, diminishing of natural resources, health problems, increase in poverty and unemployment, in addition to environmentally induced migration. the paper underpinned the impact of climate change on economic growth. the evidence from this threshold regression suggests that the economy needs an “optimal” temperature which is in between 22.4 co and 22.9 co. obviously, this result is country specific and may be different for other countries. however, as far as egypt is concerned, egypt has the interest to limit the temperature increase to 22.9o c. acknowledging the importance of tackling such a problem is done via applying proper solutions. given that pre adaption plan for climate change will be of less cost than post-event expenses. 4. references 1. abdou, p., salman, d., & zaazou, z. 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(2016). climate change and sustainable development in brazilian law. columbia law school, sabin center for climate change law 60. world bank online indicator (2016). egypt, arab rep. retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/country/e gypt-arab-rep 61. world bank(2018). co2 emissions (metric tons per capita), retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indic ator/en.atm.co2e.pc?view=map pg. 25 background anticipated consequences of environmental degradation economic impact of environmental risks sustainability and the need for controlling change in climate model specification and data conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.439 sustainable energy in the middle east eslam ahmed1 1masters student iwes university of kassel abstract the main purpose of this paper is to illustrate and show the differences and capabilities if renewable energy sources in the middle east region and how using renewable energy will affect the future of the community. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords renewable energy 1. introduction sustainable energy system is the future energy and the core of the future town’s energy source, its free and environmental friendly and permanent sources. and according to the increasing needs in the middle east for large population , the price of energy , the lack of resources in remote areas and the need to improve the living conditions, so what sustainable energy system offer for this problems? 2. overview of wind energy resources the middle east region renewable energy potential is high, particularly for wind and solar projects. most arab countries are part of the sunbelt1, and benefit from solar insolation levels that are among the highest in the world (as high as 6.5 kwh/m2 per day). this shows that despite favorable natural conditions for renewable energy development, there is much room for progress in utilizing these resources. figure 1. pg. 182 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ahmed / the academic research community publication 3. wind and solar atlases in the arab region the arab region’s renewable energy potential is high, particularly for wind and solar projects. most arab countries are part of the sunbelt1, and benefit from solar insolation levels that are among the highest in the world (as high as 6.5 kwh/m2 per day). this shows that despite favorable natural conditions for renewable energy development, there is much room for progress in utilizing these resources. figure 2. 4. renewable energy targets most of middle east countries have set targets as part of their national renewable energy plans or sustainable energy strategies, be these medium-term (2020s) or long-term (2030s) targets. such targets demonstrate a political commitment to the transition towards renewables. many targets can be seen as relatively ambitious, considering the high and ongoing reliance on fossil fuels in most of the region. in many middle east countries, especially those with a degree of experience in installing and operating utility-scale projects, the targets have been scaled up to correspond to domestic needs and circumstances. figure 3. pg. 183 ahmed / the academic research community publication 4.1. sustainable energy solutions the sustainable energy systems offers the perfect solution for most of the middle east problems and needs by offering free energy sources wind and sun energy, creating new futuristic energy stations to absorb the free energy and produce renewable power to be used as fuel for transportation, sustenance requirements and also industry. 4.2. sustainable energy consumption the use of the sustainable energy in the middle east until 2015 is bet. 0.1% to 20% of the renewable energy capacity and with the minimum technologies and according to the topographic location and climate condition.in other hand if we took a look at the maps and decided to reevaluate our resources according to the latest condition, to improve the geographical extension of capital cities. figure 4. 4.3. middle east solar resources according to the latest solar maps and measurements illustrated in the following map shows us the amount of solar power produced per 1sqm/y in the middle east zone. figure 5. pg. 184 ahmed / the academic research community publication figure 6. 4.4. middle east wind resources wind atlas in the middle east shown that wind vitiate between 5m/s to 10m/s figure 7. 4.5. wind power conclusions should state concisely the most important propositions of the paper as well as the author’s views of the practical implications of the results. figure 8. pg. 185 ahmed / the academic research community publication 4.6. energy assessment power of the wind could be calculated by the following equation pwt = ρ 2 av 3 wind power pwt calculated byρ the density of the medium, a the reference area, v 3 the wind speed, so if the wind speed increased by one unit the total generated power will increase 8 times. 4.7. energy production figure 9. as shown we could use the wind power at each speed if we used the right wind turbine. 4.8. conclusion the renewable energy is rich in the middle east region solar and wind energy could support and offer a lot of work opportunities . 5. references 1. heier, s., nutzung der windenergie, 4th edn, tv rheinland, cologne, 2000. 2. haas, o., heier, s., kleinkauf, w. and strauß, p., zukunftsaspekte regenerativer energien und 3. die rolle der photovoltaik. fortschrittliche energiewandlung und -anwendung. schwerpunkt: 4. dezentrale energiesysteme, in vdi conference, bochum, 13–14 march 2001, vdi reports 5. 1594, pp. 3–16, isbn 3-18-091594-3. 6. berlipp, a., standortund anlagenspezifische energieerträge von windkraftanlagen, thesis, 7. universität gh kasel, 1996. 8. heier, s., regelungskonzepte für windenergieanlagen, in wind energy conference of the german 9. association for wind energy (dgw) and kfa jülich, oldenburg, 27–28 march 1987 10. global solar atlas 11. wind atlas pg. 186 introduction overview of wind energy resources wind and solar atlases in the arab region renewable energy targets sustainable energy solutions sustainable energy consumption middle east solar resources middle east wind resources wind power energy assessment energy production conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication open design new mechanisms for a new approach to design valentina sapio1 1department of architecture and industrial design, university of campania studies ”luigi vanvitelli ” abstract the evolution of electronics, sustainable energy, digital and the web in the productive and entrepreneurial structure generated, in the second half of the twentieth century, the third industrial revolution. defined by some scholars like chris anderson and economic newspapers like the ”financial times”: ”a revolution in which the planner in general and the designer in particular have truly new technical, economic and above all formal language opportunities for the design of new elements”. a phenomenon still in full swing, yet we are already talking about industry 4.0, as synonymous with a fourth industrial revolution that presents a new feature, a new bidirectional relationship that re-examines two key players: producers and consumers. this complete connection has led to the creation of new products and services, which improve the level of efficiency of life by making it more productive. cyber-physics, in fact, the current technological science that integrates software and networking with new techniques of abstraction, modeling, design and analysis to the dynamics of physical processes, joins traditional design processes, generating a new stream of production process. defined by denis santachiara, designer and professor at naba in milan «[...] a virtual representation of a manufacturing process in a software environment [...]». this new context presupposes the inclusion within the internet network, ”the network of networks”, increasingly configured as a ”network society”, where to grasp the growing complexity of the digital revolution, the integration of new instruments that lead to the digital manufacturing. this determines an innovation in the language of designers, towards a new culture of the project, thanks to the resources developed by the new digital technologies. a new reality that turns into opportunities for young designers, in which transversal and multidisciplinary figures with a heterogeneous design background are needed, able to interact with the various facets of these means. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords 3d print; makers; digital craftsmanship; sustainable materials; digital fabrication 1. new craftsmanship the introduction of new technologies produces a renewal of the nature of the organizational and market context. the rediscovery of craftsmanship has drawn a common line to many advanced economies over the last ten years. the profound transformations that have marked our economy and the crises that have punctuated its evolution since the second half of the nineties have repeatedly triggered a debate on new forms of work in an economy and in a knowledge society. this debate has different variations in the united states and in europe, triggering converging economic and social transformations. pg. 78 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i4.541 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ sapio / the academic research community publication in the united states, several publications have helped to stimulate a new vision of work and innovation. mark frauenfelder, author of the volume made by hand in 2010, was among the first to reflect on the theme of making as a tool for learning and discovering the material culture that surrounds us. former journalist and profound connoisseur of the new economy, frauenfelder has had the merit of re-proposing the value of doing starting from a rediscovery of the complexity of the objects that are part of our everyday life. greater awareness of the material world around us stimulates a greater capacity for quality assessment and a more conscious consumer culture. figure 1. 3d printed objects 2. the social and economic field the rediscovery of doing has never assumed regressive characters, linked to regret for lost trades and for a traditional organization of society, but rather represented an element of criticism to the limits of the current economic and social structure and a starting point for looking differently to the future. the 2009 book makers of cory doctorow, foreshadowed a real battle between the proponents of a new way of working, the makers precisely, and the large corporations, interested in perpetuating an economic system based on the logic of innovation and property rights clearly unbalanced in favor of finance. the strength of these ideas has not been confined to limited circles of readers passionate about the topic. in 2005 frauenfelder became director of the magazine «make», the monthly magazine promoted by dale daugherty, who in a few years became one of the reference points of the makers’ community. the strength of the movement, especially in the united states, is mainly linked to the ability of these new figures to re-propose activities of a traditional nature in a new cultural and technological framework. it was from this editorial project that the maker faire circuit was born, the fairs of the makers who, first in the united states and then all over the world, have demonstrated that they can aggregate an ever-wider community of enthusiasts and professionals. in europe, the revisiting of manual activities linked to established trades has had a different path. in the anglosaxon world, deeply marked by the cultural heritage of the works of john ruskin and william morris, the revisiting of the figure of the craftsman coincided with a close critique of the limits of financial capitalism and its cyclical crises. the book by richard sennett, the craftsman of 2009, develops in a complete manner the revival of an idea of work and of a worker capable of acting as a barrier to the logic of production and consumption that put man at the margins of economic development. the initiative of many cultural institutions has also contributed to the dissemination of a new sensibility towards artisan know-how. the victoria and albert museum in london, in particular, promoted the exhibition the power of making in 2011: the exhibition gathered extensive documentation on the current status of traditional crafts and the potential offered by new technologies compared to the possibility of new economic activities. pg. 79 sapio / the academic research community publication figure 2. an example of fab lab in the economic field, it is worth recalling how much the revaluation of the artisan work has helped to redefine the value of the assets referable to the luxury sector. in italy, the debate on the topicality of the artisan work has imposed itself not without difficulty. this debate has historically coincided with that on the small manufacturing and service company and this has made it difficult to highlight the contribution that the artisan work has produced in all the sectors of made in italy, regardless of the size of the company (micelli, 2011). a more careful analysis today allows us to look with new eyes to the debt that many italian manufacturers, from mechanics to furniture, from fashion to food industry, should recognize the heritage of knowledge of artisanship inherited and maintained in many italian territories. the possibility of considering artisan work as an essential part of evolved economic systems does not simply depend on the effectiveness and the goodness of the path of cultural and social legitimation initiated in the united states as well as in europe. it also depends on the profound changes that are characterizing the production technologies and the evolution of the network. just the changes initiated on these fronts, in particular the imposition of technologies of digital manufacturing, place the artisan work on the frontier of technological transformations of the last decade. 3. the digital manufacturing the term digital manufacturing usually refers to the set of technologies for the production of manufactured products whose specific feature is to weld together the potential of consolidated tools with the computer and network calculation capacity. it should be emphasized that these technologies do not in themselves represent a novelty. the first cnc machine was built at the beginning of the fifties at mit (massachusetts institute of technology) thanks to a combination of a lathe and a computer. the machines that exploit the potential of laser cutting have been on the market since the seventies and have become widespread in industrial companies. 3d printers (see threedimensional printing), the most visible and emblematic technology of digital manufacturing, began to spread on the market as early as the mid-1980s and many of their functionalities such as rapid prototyping are widespread also in italy since the mid-nineties. pg. 80 sapio / the academic research community publication figure 3. cartesian type 3d printer figure 4. delta type 3d printer what really represents an element of discontinuity compared to the past and that prefigures what (anderson, 2010) has called the next industrial revolution is the reduction of the cost of these technologies and their increasing ease of use. on the one hand, these tools, especially 3d printers, have reached such low costs that they are accessible to the professional and family market. this cost reduction was possible thanks to the expiration of many international patents and the spread of new forms of open source intellectual property. the ease of use of these tools, on the other hand, is linked to the use of simplified man / machine interfaces, similar to those of pc software, and to the pg. 81 sapio / the academic research community publication possibility of referring to communities of practice capable of promoting the condition of knowledge through the web as well as through networks of dedicated laboratories (fablab and makerspace). figure 5. an example of a robot figure 6. 3d printed ceramic vases the digital manifacturing label must not be limited, however, to the digital intelligence that today qualifies the manufacturing processes. even products can become ’smart’ thanks to technologies that significantly increase their ability to interact with users and the surrounding environment. the arduino boards, small and very simple processors, invented and developed by massimo banzi and his working group in an open source logic, represent in this regard the emblem of a new generation of technologies able to contribute in a way significant to the connectivity of objects in the past lacking in intelligence and interactivity. these cards also allow people with limited technical knowledge, gained a little ’experience with the programming language, the design of common objects that have within them a digital intelligence. 4. conclusion the contribution of all these factors contributes decisively to a rapid process of democratization of the tools of production. compared to the typical logics of mass production, the digital manufacturing technologies allow a new pg. 82 sapio / the academic research community publication generation of digitized artisans to develop a competitiveness based on the economies of variety and customization unimaginable with traditional technologies. a first novelty for digital artisans concerns the international projection of their activity. if the traditional artisan has operated mainly within a well-defined geographical area (mainly his reference city), the digital artisan works in an international context that recognizes its specificity. this international projection does not simply translate into the possibility however important to access new markets thanks to increasingly effective e-commerce platforms. coincides, also and above all, with the possibility of interacting in an innovative way with different cultures and sensitivities from those that characterize the domestic market, in order to contribute to product innovation processes that were once exclusive of large multinational organizations. a second new aspect that characterizes the profile of digital artisans is linked to the relationship with knowledge and its dissemination. traditional craftsmen have jealously guarded their secrets, allowing only those who participated directly in the production process to gradually take possession of that set of knowledge that defines a profession. digital artisans develop a different perspective: they tend to tell a story about the product to make explicit its cultural value and the necessary commitment to its realization. in this case too, technology plays a fundamental role in making available, at low cost, infrastructures for multimedia communication that today play an essential role in promoting the history of the product and its specific elements in an effective and innovative way. the urgency of a new story of craftsmanship is particularly important when the products are complex, as in the case of so much of the made in italy. only adequate communication can make objects that are characterized by a history and a sophistication otherwise inaccessible to those coming from cultures different from ours. the commercial projection on an international scale, as well as the communication and marketing activities of the new artisans, have a growing need for technologies and services to be economical even in the presence of a limited dimensional scale. in the near future, it is plausible to imagine that the range of these online activities grows consistently. the possibility of accessing funding for the promotion of innovative projects, for example, is now effectively supported in services such as kickstarter.com or indiegogo. personnel selection and continuing education find a growing space in dedicated social networks such as, for example, linkedin. the growing importance of the digital dimension in the management of business activities should not suggest a decrease in the relevance of the territory with respect to the competitiveness of digital artisans. in the field of research and prototyping, digital artisans find an important part of the network of fablabs and makerspaces today widespread on an international scale. these spaces host a wide range of technologies for digital manufacturing and aggregate a variety of professional profiles (from simple enthusiasts to specialists in the field): unlike many facilities dedicated to innovation and technology transfer, these laboratories allow diffusion dynamics knowledge that are based on active participation and on informality. the possibility of a continuous updating of digital artisans will pass through the quality of these new infrastructures often located in urban centers and metropolitan areas. even the distribution and commercial structures in the cities are today the subject of profound transformations. compared to the past, the commercial space of the new digital artisans presents itself first of all as a space for interaction and exploration: thanks to new technologies, the customer can define the finished product in a new way and, in some cases, actively participate in its construction. these new-generation commercial spaces, already visible in many international cities, are aimed at stimulating the purchase of a product that is not yet there, triggering the curiosity of a more attentive and aware question. 5. references 1. m.b. crawford, (2009). shop class as soulcraft. an inquiry into the value of work. new york: giacomo feltrinelli editore. 2. doctorow, c. (2009). makers, londra: giacomo feltrinelli editore. pg. 83 sapio / the academic research community publication 3. sennett, r. (2009). the craftsman, new heaven. milano: yale university press. 4. frauenfelder, m. (2010). made by hand. searching for meaning in a throwaway world. new york: penguin group (usa). 5. micelli, s. (2011). futuro artigiano: l’innovazione nelle mani degli italiani. venezia: giacomo feltrinelli editore. 6. bettiol, m. (2015). raccontare il made in italy: un nuovo legame tra cultura e manifattura, venezia: marsilio editore. pg. 84 new craftsmanship the social and economic field the digital manufacturing conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.509 applying the cultural district concept as an approach for boosting future development of cairo city haitham samir1 1college of architecture and design, architecture department, effat university, ksa, abstract the notion of ‘cultural district’ or ‘cultural quarter’ is not new. cities have always had spaces for entertainment, arts, and cultural consumption, whether as scattered venues across the city or in clusters of entrepreneurial activity. cultural districts are geographical areas which contain the highest concentration of cultural and entertainment facilities in a city or town. cultural districts have a role to play if it is well defined inside the cities. it could be a catalyst for development as well as enhancing the image of the city. thus, corresponding policies towards the recognition of these places and consequently adopting suitable plans for its development will result in economic benefits to the city. although the fact that ‘cultural districts’ have been well identified in many international practices as well as in the literature, the concept is still vague in the developing countries. cairo is possessing several places where culture is the main focus involving important intellectual and creative components. the city centre, old cairo, khan el khalili, coptic cairo are all districts with high potential of cultural and creative activities. they are a sound strategic investment for boosting the economic fortunes of the city. thus, a dedicated plan should be tailored considering its capacity for local development and the recognition that culture could be facilitated for more benefits. this paper aims to address the notion and characteristics of ‘cultural districts’ and apply this concept to re-frame some specific areas inside cairo and to explain how culture and creativity can act as a driver for identifying solutions to the main development challenges they face. the viability of cultural districts is discussed regarding the designation of potential territories, required and supporting legal frameworks, contributing stakeholders, ending by adopting a management plan that could lead to territorial competence and efficiency within the city. the research targets the area of al fustat specifically as a potential territory for applying the discussed notion. the paper is organized in two main parts to achieve its objectives: the first part is the theoretical part which discusses the definitions of cultural districts and its associated characteristics. the paper demonstrates the classification of cultural areas within the city and focuses on policies and approaches that govern them. the second part analyses some international experiences of cultural areas to conclude the “cultural districts model”. and consequently apply them to the egyptian context, for future consideration of the culture and its role in development plans. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords cultural districts; cairo; creative cities; cultural development pg. 160 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ samir / the academic research community publication 1. introduction the utilization of cultural activities, goods, and services to a city’s image gain enhancement, tourism attraction, and promote economic development has become a prevailing trend not only in the renowned traditional cultural capitals of the world but also in places not famous for their past cultural backgrounds, such as bilbao, spain. many cities have initiated the building of museums, cultural destinations, arts centers, galleries, and cultural districts, as part of their urban development and conservation policies. the coexistence of cultural activities with many urban development schemes makes it important for planners and policymakers to think how they add to the success of the local economic development. on the other hand, the declining quality of the egyptian cities is now a matter of extensive public and academic concern and is part of a wider fear that we can no longer manage the well-being of our cities. it is becoming inevitable for city planners and decision makers to adopt tools and mechanisms emerging from the realization of local context and existing potentialities to employ in formulating the development plans and strategies of our cities. culture is one of these tools, which is offered greatly within cairo as the capital city of egypt. the significance of culture as an incentive for urban development can be determined by considering its role in our cities’ revitalization and development. this paper is intended to clarify policy discussions about how to enable egyptian cities, particularly cairo, to utilize their cultural potentialities and gain the benefits for all citizens. the discussion is organized into three parts. the paper starts with an overview of elaborating the close link between culture and the development of the city districts. the contemporary concept of cultural districts and the growing prevalence of market-provided forms of culture and leisure in the urban context is discussed. it questions whether local authorities can develop a policy relying on the cultural and creative potentialities of the place in order to reach a new quality of urban life. second, the paper highlights different attempts from different cities of the world presently informing new visions and initiatives that involve culture in their development plans to assess the returns of cultural investments in selected cities. the third part of the paper tests the possibility of adopting and implementing the cultural district approach in one of the prominent districts of cairo. finally, the paper notes an absence of local initiatives dedicated to developing urban areas by looking at the cultural dimension of the place and utilizing it to gain more developmental opportunities. one of the key conclusions arising from the study is that a better relationship between creativity and city urban areas could play an inevitable role in developing these areas. 2. culture as a catalyst for city development cultural-led development and revitalization policies have attained importance in the economic development plans of many cities around the world, yet the notion was not applied in the cities of developing countries which are possessing considerable cultural backgrounds and could be invested and employed. cultural activities are considered as a significant catalyst for city development due to many reasons as it plays a role in urban tourist and visitor draws, and a significant factor in how individuals prefer where to live or work. many researchers have focused on the success of specific cultural projects in urban regeneration. the current literature lacks, however, a discussion of how local governments in egypt could utilize and associate culture in their proposed urban development schemes. although many agree that culture is important, but how cultural activities become a catalyst for economic development? what are cultural activities can governments support? what are the expected benefits of these activities? how do cities designate places to pursue cultural policies? to answer the previous questions, we first discuss briefly the evolution of cultural development notion as addressed in the urban development literature. cultural strategies models are outlined to describe the characteristics and objectives of distinct approaches to cultural development. then, a presentation of some case studies is discussed to determine the extent to which local governments can consider cultural activities as vital catalysts for economic development and helps to obtain a clear understanding how strategies are applied on the ground. pg. 161 samir / the academic research community publication 3. why culture? many reasons have recently justified the need for the local development initiatives to consider culture as a promising mechanism for economic development. reasons include: 1. the competition between cities due to large global forces that have radically transformed the economic base of many cities. despite its various global expressions, culture is a feature of distinction for cities, and this marks it a key component of contemporary urbanization. each city is offering a unique culture, reflecting its associations with the heritage of a community, and its expression into the world (van der borg and russo, 2005). 2. innovations in communication, transportation, production, and management have materialized the deindustrialization of many cities and encouraged the growth of an economy marked by an increase in service industries. wealth creation is now motivated less by the exploitation of ordinary resources of the land or the manufacturing processes but more from the utilization of our creativity, innovation and intellectual potentialities and cultural associations (authenticity, 2008). 3. the increasing levels of education, and people interested in urban lifestyles with significant expenditure on leisure and cultural activities, and the growth of consumption behavior as a means to express one’s social status and identity. van der borg and russo (2005) argue that the growing changes in the lifestyle have encouraged the demand for cultural services and the proportion of that income going to culture, leisure, and entertainment. as these considerable changes have occurred to societies, governments have become more interested in initiatives that will stimulate economic growth within their cities. a clear reaction by municipal governments in this regard is to plan cultural development policies that take advantage of on these changes. the growing need of municipal governments to invest in cultural and entertainment facilities has become a prevailing response (eisinger, 2000). in many different cities, the creation of cultural facilities has encouraged a rapid pace in the development process. 4. what culture can do? the goal of involving cultural amenities in the development process is multifold. it has a tangible economic effect on attracting tourists and visitors. it has the potential to improve a city’s image. it also provides employment in the cultural sector, especially among the creative class and offers educational programs for a wider public. it is clear that culture has the potential to support the physical, economic and social revitalization in urban areas in many ways. thus, city governments pursued to adopt different principles as techniques of cultural revitalization. when applied in combination, the following principles help to clarify how culture is realized as an important mechanism for effective revitalization: 4.1. cultural facilities act as a catalyst for investment and activities cultural facilities (such as, festivals, art venues and historic destinations, etc.) have a ripple effect in the economic sense, implying that it can help generate other economic non-cultural activities by attracting visitors, people, and tourist who spend in restaurants, hotels and public transport, etc. in this way, cultural destinations act as a catalyst for investment and activity. cultural districts cannot perform without cultural and other non-cultural supporting activities. this mixed-use economy should be diverse, preferably at the small and medium scale where the target is to boost the economics of the area and helps create self-sustaining growth. this notion can also facilitate a publicprivate partnership so at the same time the public sector provides cultural services; private sector contributes with other private galleries and supporting services. pg. 162 samir / the academic research community publication 4.2. cultural activities as the basis for a night-time economy cultural activities have the capacity to create a night-time economy and bring the revitalized areas to life. this is noticeable in many areas that were obsolete and by the injection of such activities; they could return to its active role. it is advisable for city planners and governments to promote and manage the night-time economy as part of their approach to supporting the economic contribution of cultural activities. this entails paying attention to managing security, accessibility, and transportation. 4.3. creating a range of activities and mix of uses it is apparent from the previous discussion that culture can help to provide the critical mass in amount and timescale of the activity, which facilitates the social and economic performance of an area. this can be achieved by encouraging a range of activities and mix of uses in an area, which reinforces each other and help to increase confidence in an area through a purposeful utilization of properties for cultural uses. consequently, cultural quarters are created. 4.4. culture has the potential to form a sense of identity and meaning of a place culture also has a significant role in providing the content for activity to create lively urban areas (montgomery, 2003). events in public spaces, parks, and squares help bring meaning and, therefore, improve the competitiveness of those spaces. in this way, culture in association with the built-up environment helps to create a sense of meaning and identity of the place. 4.5. culture could inform the process of urban design it is critical that the urban public realm has a local identity that creates its distinctiveness and remarkable character of its spaces, squares, and streets. if rooted in the cultural backgrounds of the area, architecture and urban design can develop special human experience, vigorous economies and more sensitive integration with communities. urban design needs to have a cultural conscience to succeed. this intertwining of culture and urban public realm will result in positive articulation of the city through new developments, revitalization schemes, and public art. 4.6. branding the place and its products cultural activities, if exist, have the potential to transform the place from a mere location to a destination where people want to visit, live, and work. it is worth mentioning that successful branded cities were able to market their history, culture, quality of place, diversity, lifestyle, etc. cultural venues can radically affect the city brand as in the example of guggenheim in bilbao spain has largely affected the image and the economics of the city. 5. cultural development strategies cultural development strategies are not a simple task that engages only policymakers to formulate these strategies, but they require collaborative efforts among different governmental and private bodies to bring them on the ground. but it is important to identify the approach in which these strategies have to be formulated according to the variables offered by the place. grodach & loukaitou-sideris (2007) have grouped cultural strategies into three models: entrepreneurial strategies, creative class strategies, and progressive strategies. each type varies based on a set of factors that include strategy objectives, the cultural activities, proposed venues, geographic scale, and target users. entrepreneurial strategies follow a practical, market-driven approach directed by merely economic goals; creative class strategies pursue economic development by providing quality of life and recreational facilities; and pg. 163 samir / the academic research community publication progressive strategies follow a neighborhood-based approach to cultural policies that correspond to the desires and needs of its local communities and existing cultural organizations. 5.1. entrepreneurial strategies entrepreneurial strategies favors enhancing the economic growth rather than social goals. in this process, city governments try to adapt their built environments and economies to compete for the emergent industries of the “new economy” such as cultural tourism, performing arts, and information technologies. the process was adopted earlier to revitalize the abundant parts of the cities that have been ignored for a long time due to the de-industrialization process. the strategy was seeking to inject new investments by creating retail and mixed-use spaces in historically themed environments, the construction of flagship cultural complexes competing for attention. this approach has its roots in the in economic agglomeration theory which can be described as a geographical concentration of firms within an industrial sector. firms locating within a cluster benefit from shared infrastructure, resources, and networks, as well as a shared image for branding and other general economies of scale. the goal was to bring a new enhanced image to attract new capital, visitors, and tourists. due to their apparent economic success and marketing competencies, a wide range of cultural activities has become a key factor of many urban redevelopment and revitalization projects. critics argue that entrepreneurial initiatives favoring the private sector over the public sector are better as they concentrate more on building the city for visitors and affluent residents rather than the whole population (eisinger 2000; zukin 1995). however, a balanced relationship between the public and a private will certainly lead to more comprehensive consequences. 5.2. creative class strategies creative class strategies focus on the quality of life and lifestyle facilities that attract the “creative class” – a wideranging group of people who are highly educated workers and “knowledge-based professionals” including such diverse of professionals as software designers, writers, artists, architects. florida’s “creative capital theory” argues “creative people power regional economic growth and these people prefer places that are innovative, diverse, and tolerant” (florida, 2008). he, further, explains that a specific type of human capital, the ‘creatives’, are important ingredients for the economic growth. for him, creativity or ideas are key economic goods (florida, 2002). other keywords behind the creative city concept, besides the mainly economic outline which creativity and culture are seen in, is the promotion of growth understood as a growth of the creative class and with it, economic growth and the competition among cities. landry (2008) suggests that the concept of the creative class and creativity affects the urban realm and have become its dominant paradigm. for florida “place is the key economic and social organizing unit of our time, making the quality of a place essential” (florida, 2002). establishing a creative environment is becoming a key factor for the economic success of cities. citizens become more demanding for quality of life facilities in their cities. cultural and entertainment consumption and urban amenities are increasingly important for enhancing locations turning the city into a vibrant destination (clark, 2004). 5.3. progressive strategies progressive strategies concentrate on providing a wide spreading of benefits among people. success here is not measured regarding economic returns, but rather its impact regarding its social benefits such as reducing the economic and social differences and increase the overall standards of living and the encouragement of citizens’ participation. progressive strategies seek to extract public benefits from the private sector. progressive cultural strategies seek to broaden access to and participation in the arts, support local cultural production and utilize the arts to strengthen community identity and to revitalize disadvantaged neighborhoods. city governments have established initiatives to fund arts and culture education, turn obsolete properties into community cultural centers, and encourpg. 164 samir / the academic research community publication age attention to local heritage and culture (grodach & loukaitou-sideris, 2007) 6. cultural districts the notion of “cultural district” or “cultural quarter” is not new. many cities have always utilized spaces for cultural consumption, arts, and entertainment, whether in dispersed locations across the city or grouped in clusters of entrepreneurial activity. wynne (1992) defines a cultural district as “that geographical area which contains the highest concentration of cultural and entertainment facilities in a city or town”. cultural districts for brooks and kushner (2001) are mixed-use zones anchored by cultural facilities. they have a distinctive sense of place influenced by well-designed architecture and an attractive public realm. a lively day and night economy typified by markets, festivals, and public art programs. culture is crucial to the idea of a cultural district as a place where people can live, work and play. a cultural quarter can be defined as a geographical area of a city characterized by agglomeration of cultural activities. they are typically mixed-use, comprising cultural and heritage organizations, business, retail, and residential uses, as well as being centers for night-life and tourism. an economic agglomeration is one feature of the cultural quarters that can be described as a geographical concentration of firms within an industrial sector. firms locating within a cluster benefit from shared infrastructure, resources, and networks, as well as a shared image for branding and other general economies of scale. 6.1. the urban setting the cultural district may gain attraction through its unique urban and architectural configuration, which plays a considerable role in accommodating a diversity of cultural and creative activities. historic urban settings, for instance, with significant forms of symbolic meaning, are a potential territory for encompassing cultural and creative activities. the articulation between individuals and the physical setting of the place contribute to facilitating the transfer of different forms of cultural production and consumption. the physical component of cultural districts such as buildings, places, spaces, streets . . . etc., appear to be essential. it provides the local milieu with physical venues capable of circulating and transmitting cultural activities. they provide suitable opportunities for the people to exchange ideas, knowledge, and creativity. montgomery (2003) argues that a place which has good cultural activity but lacks a good urban design and form will not count as a cultural quarter in the sense of being a destination which attracts everyday users and visitors, but rather a place (most likely) of only cultural production detached from the arena of consumption. this means that cultural quarters, and indeed the wider notion of city creative economies, cannot be considered in segregation from the geographical setting and the characteristics of its urban qualities. 6.2. the cultural component the competition between places entails the creation of meaning behind the mere existence of its physical fabric. incorporating both tangible and intangible elements, and profoundly affecting the social image, reputation, and representation, culture becomes the main interest of this time. fanzini & rotaru (2012) argue that cultural heritage is no longer considered as a consumer good, but rather a capital resource and asset that can be utilized in the process of producing goods and services and consequently contribute to the local development. hence, it is not surprising that places within the city are becoming more appealing by involving important intellectual components to their physical context. pg. 165 samir / the academic research community publication 6.3. events if the physical settings appear as formal meeting points, events offer a key platform for culture producers to offer their work and interact with the community members. events can bring a wider recognition on both the local and global scene. the scale and scope of a specific event may increase and lead the community to plan further specific events such as public festivals, fairs, competitions that may reach a wide spectrum of audience and individuals. these events are vital to revitalizing the creative process by allowing cultural districts to new exposures. in turn, these events stimulate a process of facilitating the interaction between potential producers or consumers (cohende et al., 2011). 6.4. the economic dynamism of the cultural sector cultural districts have a role to play as incubators for creativity, innovation, and quality, which can lead to bringing economic benefits. they also succeed in attracting tourists, visitors, new business opportunities and mixed-use economic activities. thus, they are a sound strategic investment for boosting the economic fortunes of the city, throughout the recognition that culture could be facilitated commercially. understanding how cities can offer a desirable milieu for its individuals and firms to pursue their creative and intellectual activities has become a key issue in today’s economies. cohende et al. (2011) argue that cities can play a remarkable role in defining the road map for creativity both locally and globally. however, many questions remain as to how cities can effectively utilize human creativity and benefit from their cultural potential. 6.5. the institutional arrangements the existence of mutually shared objectives between stakeholders is one of the most important factors that support the cultural district development process. there should be a local administrative arrangement committed to facilitate the integration between cultural activities, urban settings, and target audience. the local authorities have to provide incentives, community support, and regulations to facilitate the implementation of the cultural district and to ensure its continued success. 7. international practices cultural districts designation has major influences on the cities which followed a cultural policy in urban regeneration schemes. it has, in many cases, transformed the city spaces and the peoples’ everyday life in different manners. investments in the cultural facilities, enhancements of the public spaces and buildings in the city, and conducting various cultural projects, which reflect the recent tendencies in cultural policy and urban regeneration have together reformed the cities’ image with a modern look and up-to-date atmosphere. the concept of promoting and introducing cultural facilities to revitalize abandoned urban areas is expanding within many cities across the world. over the past few years in the united states, australia and uk and elsewhere, ’cultural planning’ has started to enter the debate between designers and urban planners, local government officers, community arts workers, and organizations with special interest in the arts and cultural production. this is a good sign in so far as it implies that cultural resources, broadly defined, are now being taken seriously in planning strategies. the australian local government association (alga), for example, considers cultural planning along with environmental, economic, social, and infrastructural planning among its requirements for local developments in australia. pg. 166 samir / the academic research community publication 7.1. the united states practices united states’ cultural districts are distinct areas, selected or certified by state governments that employ different cultural resources to stimulate economic development and promote interactions between culture, arts and other businesses (nasaa, 2012). state cultural districts have developed into pivotal areas that are characterized by many types of businesses, yield a high quality of life for its residents, attract visitors and provoke civic pride. cultural district programs are, currently, established in fourteen different states and more states are expected to consider the implementation of similar policies. there are more than 200 state-designated cultural districts, and more new districts are evolving every year (stubbs r., 2014). cultural districts are among strategies states have implemented to foster their economies while achieving many other social benefits. the anticipated results of cultural districts spread beyond the arts and cultural sector to benefit all members of the community. those goals may include: 1. attracting the creative class and cultural endeavors to a local community, and encouraging business and job development. 2. addressing the community’s unique conditions, assets, needs, and opportunities. 3. encouraging tourism. 4. restoring and rehabilitating historic buildings. 5. improving the property value of the area. 6. promoting cultural development. 7. cultivating creative places. 8. designating districts through qualifying assessment criteria and developing an application process, allowing not only governmental bodies but also communities to apply for designation and inscription. 9. articulating standards, and adopt guidelines to both rural and urban needs. 10. providing technical and planning assistance. 11. ensuring wide and fair benefits. 12. provide financial support. 13. offering incentives to encourage business development such as tax exemptions for the creative class and businesses within a district. 14. pass enabling legislation. 15. improving the visibility of cultural districts through marketing strategies and promotional endeavors that can attract visitors and tourists to designated districts. 16. integrate existing districts into a statewide program. for the sake of a successful outcome, many state agencies have been participating in collaboration in state cultural district programs such as historic preservation, department of economic development, division of cultural affairs, department of tourism, state main street office (may be government or nonprofit), and small business administration. pg. 167 samir / the academic research community publication 7.2. cultural districts in the uk and ireland the concept of cultural quarters was established in the uk during the mid-1980s. these were perceived as creative milieus that are as focal places in cities – quarters or industrial districts – where economic development of the creative industries, the arts, and other cultural economy of cities are focused to achieve trading exchange, agglomeration economies, and city diversity. recently, urban cultural quarters are considered as mechanisms for urban revitalization. this was, intensively, discussed in the urban literature, especially on theories of city growth, urban design and economic development. cultural quarters are usually perceived as part of a broader strategy interlinking cultural and economic development. this is usually interlinked to the development or revitalization of a selected urban area, in which mixed-use urban development is to be encouraged, and in response, the public urban realm is to be rearranged and enhanced to adopt with changes. in other words, cultural quarters opt to combine strategies for consumption of culture and arts with urban place-making. john montgomery, with urban cultures limited, devised their first cultural quarter plan 1991. at that time, the irish government appointed him to advise on the establishment of a suggested cultural quarter in the temple bar area of dublin. this remarkable initiative is now viewed in the literature as a pioneering modern urban planning initiative. this work has been followed by other similar projects in many cities, including glasgow’s merchant city, manchester’s northern quarter, grainger town in newcastle, belfast north side and east gateshead, the sheffield cultural industries quarter, and dundee’s emerging cultural quarter. the case of temple bar is perhaps the most prominent as it dates back more than 25 years ago when the area witnessed neglect and decline in its property values which resulted in an imperative process of revitalization. by 1990, temple bar had many neglected buildings, vacant sites, problems of poor, remains of business activity and many buildings which were declining. businesses, culture and arts organizations the area organized themselves to establish the temple bar development council as early as 1989, and started to raise the issue of the need to revitalize the area as a cultural quarter. the strategy, which was adopted to accomplish this, was a combination of cultural led urban revitalization, physical renewal, and local economic development, particularly in connection with the cultural activities. an early strategic development framework for the area was prepared by urban cultures limited in 1990/91 (montgomery, 2004). this recommended the following key interventions: 1. adopting managerial arrangements to facilitate land acquisition and to bring back the physical constancy of the urban area; 2. adopting cultural projects and activities to act as urban focal points and to provoke interest in the area, these included different cultural venues. 3. providing grants and loans to help small enterprises to start up their business, and to promote the existing ones. 4. proposing training for people who are involved in business and the offered cultural industries. 5. promoting activities contribute to the night economy. 6. proposing initiative to improve vehicular access and pedestrian walkways through the area, involving the design of new public spaces, squares, gardens that consequently affect the experimental qualities of the public realm. 7. suggesting a major intervention of public art and cultural animation, designed to retrieve and provide meanings and distinctiveness to the area’s public domain; 8. property management and rehabilitation based on balancing the current needs to enhance the area’s image with the needs to retain specific existing activities; 9. the introduction of incentives to encourage the process through grants and tax exemptions; pg. 168 samir / the academic research community publication 10. the insertion of newly designed buildings for newly proposed activities. 11. branding the area through marketing campaigns, and information provision using good attractive design. cultural writers acknowledge the importance of temple bar as a notable example of using culture and design to re-establish an area’s economy and place-making. they referred to temple bar as a strategy of utilizing cultural assets to attract people and stimulate economic benefits. 8. the case study of al-fustat as a potential cultural district in cairo: cairo is the capital of egypt and, it has a total population of 16 million people, and is considered as one of the largest cities in the middle east. it is one of the 19th largest cities in the world. cairo offers a considerable destination for a variety of visitors, tourists and people who are even seeking a place to work. cairo possesses many old districts that date back centuries ago. many of its districts are having cultural references and backgrounds that add to their identity and meaning and its citizens’ everyday life in various ways. the research, through its previous discussion, has concluded that over the past few years, one of the essential developments in the local governance of urban spaces is the general recognition of the notion that provision of access to and consumption of, “cultural” resources is a vital concept in successful urban development strategies. however, this has not yet considered in the local context, which is providing a variety of places with considerable potential for such application of this concept. downtown cairo, for example, has been the urban center of cairo since the late 19th century. after many years of being a place for cairo’s creative intellectual class, downtown started its deterioration in the mid-20th century; its prosperous population began to move to new suburban areas. this resulted in a notable transformation of the city center. buildings started deterioration due to disrepair caused by the freezing rents by rent laws. street names also changed from its original. later, and as more residents moved from the area and cairo became more crowded, building facades deteriorated, infrastructure overloaded, street vendors occupied the area, and garbage spread all over. part of this deterioration was caused by the change from an prestigious residential area into a business and shopping destination for lower social classes; and as cairo continued to develop, traffic crowed became a prevailing feature of the downtown, making it difficult to access. recently, the government has initiated a restoration project of downtown bringing its former glory back, the project included painting and restoring buildings’ facades, providing parking-free lots to main streets, regulating signage, planting trees, and paving pedestrian sidewalks. another important initiative was providing transportation stops, which helped to mitigate the flow of traffic. the plan also proposed the replacement of street vendors and the removal of unlicensed coffee shops from the district’s main streets. the initiated plan with its interventions provided solutions for the physical urban elements of the districts and could capture the extraordinary potential of its cultural dimension to support its future continuous and sustainable development. 8.1. the district of al fustat-old cairo another district in cairo, which offers a good cultural potentiality, is the pottery district of al-fustat in misr alqadima area which represents an example of a cultural production district in cairo, among many others, as an industrial, cultural district using low technologies. al-fustat has been renowned for its pottery making, the distinct of its traditional design and the creativeness of its artisans. pottery production has marked the cultural spirit of this district. in response to its air pollution caused by the use of primitive methods, the egyptian government decided to close the district’s pottery kilns in 2003. this resulted in threatening the potters who trace their origins to the establishment of al-fustat in ad 641. in response to this, an arts and crafts center project was initiated to include modern kilns and commercial spaces as part of a new potters’ village. another project was also designed for the study of the pg. 169 samir / the academic research community publication traditional crafts of pottery and ceramics. the building consists of lecture areas, workshops, , exhibition galleries, offices, a multi-purpose hall, and rooms for artists. the center has become a catalyst for the revitalization of al fustat and an important training destination. (nassar, h. & hewitt, r., 2012) the district is located near the coptic museum and historic churches in old cairo; the location is featured by its old churches and other heritage buildings. buildings such as the hanging church, abu sarga, the church of saint barbara the martyr, the church of the virgin mary, the greek orthodox church mar girgis, the church of the monk mar girgis, the fortress of babylon, the coptic museum and the ben ezra synagogue are all considered among the super touristic destinations of cairo. the nmec is the first museum of civilization in egypt is also located in the district, overlooking the ain el-seera lake. the nmec is planned to display the egyptian civilization through different eras from prehistoric times to the present day and highlight the country’s tangible and intangible heritage. figure 1. the national museum of egyptiancivilization nmec source: (http://cairobserver.com) the realization of the cultural significance of this area of the city has attracted the attention of the non-governmental bodies to contribute to providing another venue to the area. darb 1718 is a non-governmental organization founded in 2008. it provides different types of spaces for a variety of cultural and artistic events. darb 1718 has one theater, two exhibition halls, stages, open-air cinema, outdoor spaces in addition to the residential part to offer accommodation facility for guest and artists coming from abroad. the center offers different artistic workshops, cultural events, and training programs for young artists and provides them with spaces to display their work together with professional artists. it involves the egyptian creative class with the local and international art and culture field. darb 1718 is the gathering point and a platform for displaying cairo’s contemporary art. figure 2. fustat traditional crafts center, source:https://archnet.org/sites/5065 pg. 170 samir / the academic research community publication figure 3. darb 1718 a cultural venue, source: http://www.darb1718.com/darb1718/ al fustatold cairo is showing another opportunity to invest in culture for the sake of developing the whole district. the case here is providing many cultural venues but needs more physical interventions to positively change and align the public realm with the cultural offerings of the place. 8.2. the effects of cultural district designation the key consequences of the designation of districts as a cultural district can contribute to the change and the overall enhancement of the physical content, activities and the image of the place. it will also yield an opportunity for an active partnership between the local community organizations, and governmental bodies. this can offer effective governance of the area and engagement in the regenerating activities of the place. major cultural activities at al-fustat are mixed between selling goods with traditional and artistic cultural contents, besides the touristic and cultural services offered by both the coptic churches and museum with the recent existence of the national museum of egyptian civilization. the future of al-fustat depends on both the private sector activities and the public involvement in determining the framework of private sector activities through ordinances, building regulations, infrastructure provision and urban public realm enhancements such as open spaces, squares, pedestrians, and street installments. goals of thinking to involve such initiatives of cultural districts include: revitalizing theses designated areas of the city, offering evening activities with extended hours during which the area is used, providing facilities for cultural activities and organization, enhancing employment, and connecting culture more intimately with community development. 8.3. proposed cultural district strategy for al fustat combining both cultural and urban planning is a key element in this strategy. streets, parks and open spaces, for example, could be perceived as tracts of the built environment. however, those same urban elements might become the venue of film making, a site of musical performance, or for displaying visual or performing arts and so on. the annual citadel music festival of cairo is a good example of celebrating art and culture within an environment, which offers historic associations of saladin citadel. the proposed strategy is suggested to include the following stages: figure 4. proposed strategy elements (the researcher) pg. 171 samir / the academic research community publication realizing the opportunity: which consider in broad terms the full range of the cultural resources as well as its interrelation with the physical environment as a milieu. in this phase, all conditions, issues, and needs should be identified in the local area concerned. cultural mapping is the prime identification of the cultural features in the designated area. mapping is a tool for pinpointing creative and cultural assets. the focus of mapping is to compile information of cultural resources that support decision-making and planning in cultural development or revitalization. figure 5. al fustat area cultural mapping (the researcher) identifying the stakeholders: the coordination between concerned agencies, organizations, and departments of government to affirm that relevant programs, public expenditures and regulatory process are effectively connected, and focused on culture as the key component. the previous literature review shows that building governance capacity requires institutions of collaboration. justifying the strategy: this considers taking into account the economic and social impact of the cultural planning. the identification of all the consequences such as the provision of job opportunities, the creation of more attractive places based on the cultural dimension and the attraction of visitors and tourists. according to (montgomery, 2003) changes brought by the cultural district designation should be analyzed and assessed in terms of the district image, cultural and other related activities and meaning. 8.4. objectives of cultural based development of al fustat: the key objectives of the cultural district of al fustat are to: 1. enhance the physical image and reputation of the area. 2. reinforce relationships between target groups and the site including cultural producers, residents, landowners, community representatives, non-governmental organizations, and visitors. 3. encourage and enhance cultural activities, events, and festivals. this could be promoted by nmec. 4. raise heritage awareness and involve professionals in the revitalization of al fustat. 5. encourage cultural tourism and improve mobility and access to the different cultural and heritage destinations. pg. 172 samir / the academic research community publication 6. guide investors towards sustainable interventions to benefit the whole site. 8.5. target groups: 8.5.1. community community members have to be involved in the safeguarding and enhancement of their cultural production. community members include: business sectors (ceramics and pottery craftsmen, services, local businesses) and residents of al fustat 8.5.2. stakeholders the involvement of governmental authorities, such as supreme council of antiquities sca, ministry of antiquities moa, ministry of culture moc, ministry of housing moh, ministry of tourism mot, and national organization for urban harmony nouh is crucial both to raise awareness and protect the heritage property of al fustat. local and international institutions, development programs and non-governmental organizations that provide services on the site should also be addressed. 8.5.3. the tourist industry the cultural tourism sector is considered as an economic resource not only for the country but also for the local people; however, it needs to be structured, managed, and enhanced on the area to maximize its expected benefits. 8.5.4. media the partnership between the creative class and the media in egypt needs to be strengthened to raise awareness of the area. good media channels to reach the public include for example newspapers, magazines, and the internet. 8.5.5. students and education professionals the cultural district targets secondary educational entities, such as cultural centers and museums, which can contribute to awareness-raising and the safeguarding of cultural heritage, introducing cultural events, promoting the existing cultural production of ceramics and pottery through selected programs and events. 8.5.6. professionals the contribution of cultural professionals, artists and experts is vital to establish technical groups who can support the revitalization of al fustat area through events, workshops and public lectures. they include cultural and technical experts (urban planners, engineers, architects, historians, writers, artists, etc.), socioeconomic experts, legal experts and investors willing to support sustainable interventions in the site. 8.6. tools to be applied the cultural district designation and implementation strategy involve a variety of tools – both essential and complementary – to fulfill its goals and objectives. these are described below. pg. 173 samir / the academic research community publication 8.6.1. offering incentives to encourage business development governments use a variety of tax incentives and eligibility for special loan funds to encourage business development within local cultural districts. exemptions and loans for artisans and cultural business within a district foster activity and contribute to local people’s welfare and well being. 8.6.2. improving the physical component of cultural districts physical components such as buildings, places, spaces, streets . . . etc. have to be improved to achieve good accessibility to the district and providing a suitable milieu for the existing cultural activities. it should reveal a unique identity, and authentic image marks the district’s distinctiveness regarding its heritage buildings, cultural places, museums. . . etc. 8.6.3. public relations/multi-media the effect of the media is crucial to help promote the concept of cultural district and the benefits of the site to a wider audience. media coverage and events may incorporate the following: press releases, newspapers and magazines, dedicated website, twitter account and facebook profile that responds to public queries and includes cultural and events information, documentaries, short movies, and other visual art projects related to al fustat, smartphone applications, including tours guided by gps. the application could be connected to a website for the creation of itineraries. itineraries have to include cultural attraction points within the site such as the national museum of egyptian civilization, foustat traditional crafts center, darb 1718 cultural venue and the coptic museum and historic churches of old cairo. 8.6.4. branding making the site’s image more recognizable by branding tools will help users, and visitors pinpoint site attractions, new initiatives, and proposed interventions in the site, thus supporting the promotion of al fustat. a general logo may be designed as a vehicle for a soft branding of the site. a strong, identifiable brand is critical for the success of any cultural districts. many of the districts have used considerable resources to create websites that provide information about the district and its events; some have ensured that the district is well branded with signage defining its entrance and boundaries; while still others have installed an information center where visitors are greeted and welcomed during events. enhancing the visibility of cultural districts, through marketing and promotional efforts more attraction of traffic and tourism to local districts may be achieved. 8.6.5. interactive events interactive events that involve different groups of people can raise awareness about al fustat, benefit the local community in learning about the potentials of the site and involve stakeholders in the promotion of the area. they include workshops, lectures, forums, and information days that target relevant authorities, institutions and the community. community events is another tool that raises public awareness and creates social, economic and cultural benefits for the community. festivals, exhibitions, and performances may be arranged in strategic existing venues. activity workshops and competitions for children, young people, and inhabitants including painting, poetry, ceramics may also take place. pg. 174 samir / the academic research community publication 9. conclusion several key notions of the cultural district’s concept were discussed to understand the framework in which cities are investing in their possessed cultural aspects. although the concept has been applied by many cities around the world, it was not perceived in the local context. cairo, as the capital city of egypt, is possessing many districts with cultural references and could build upon the concept to facilitate the development of these districts. it is worth mentioning that to achieve this, a local plan formulated by the authorities and city officials should be developed to designate the cultural districts of cairo and indicates its role as a focus for cultural and other related activities. in terms of implementation mechanisms, an umbrella organization, coordinating all key stakeholders should control of the cultural district’s promotion and the implementation of all the required actions and initiatives to achieve a vibrant cultural quarter, including financial incentives, encouragement of mixed uses, promotion of high-quality urban design, and direct development projects. yet whether in al fustat, or elsewhere, any successful cultural district must be firstly planned in a matter that fits the unique characteristics of its given characteristics, and secondly, be built with the broad support it 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(1995). the cultures of cities, blackwell publishers, malden, ma & oxford, uk. pg. 177 introduction culture as a catalyst for city development why culture? what culture can do? cultural facilities act as a catalyst for investment and activities cultural activities as the basis for a night-time economy creating a range of activities and mix of uses culture has the potential to form a sense of identity and meaning of a place culture could inform the process of urban design branding the place and its products cultural development strategies entrepreneurial strategies creative class strategies progressive strategies cultural districts the urban setting the cultural component events the economic dynamism of the cultural sector the institutional arrangements international practices the united states practices cultural districts in the uk and ireland the case study of al-fustat as a potential cultural district in cairo: the district of al fustat-old cairo the effects of cultural district designation proposed cultural district strategy for al fustat objectives of cultural based development of al fustat: target groups: community stakeholders the tourist industry media students and education professionals professionals tools to be applied offering incentives to encourage business development improving the physical component of cultural districts public relations/multi-media branding interactive events conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication scenic and scientific representation of water in mughal architecture: a case study of shahjahan’s quadrangle lahore fort, pakistan saira iqbal1 1quaid e azam university islamabad, pakistan abstract nothing is useless in this world. everything has its specific purpose and objectives with respect to its importance. the present-day hardware and materials utilized as a part of building swallow noteworthy measure of our national vitality. ancient monumental buildings and palaces are still a place to relax without fans, coolers and air conditioners. there is a need to study the traditional buildings because they are time-tested. mughal architects are legendary for their creativity. without beauty, architecture would just be the combination and amalgamation of some material. hence, art is the soul and spirit of architecture. mughal architecture is the example of “feeling of wonder” that is the source of aesthetic experience. mughals showed the great skills in infusing the islamic idea with local tradition. water has had been an important element in asian culture and architecture. water is an architectural element that is extensively used in our ancient buildings and in the garden of the mughals. water not only pleases the eye on a hot summer day, but also provides passive cooling. this paper deals with the utilization of water not only for the purpose of beautification of the site but also for studying the scientific utility of water. this study is a mixture of basic and applied methods according to architectural research methods. the study in this research will show how mughals used water as an eminent representation of undaunted mughal mastery in retaining and regulating the temperature along with the beautification purpose via fountains, water channels, and pools. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords water; architecture; mughal 1. introduction in the west, the term “mughal”, usually spelled mogul, means a man of great power (robinson, 2006). in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the great mughal empire seemed like a wonderland of fabulous wealth, priceless jewels, and gold treasures. the term mughal still signifies power and wealth. it is also said that no other dynasty in the islamic world has left behind more comprehensive documentation in the history than mughals (schimmel, 2004). they not only left a history of power, wars and treasure but immense art and architectural treasures were also their marks. mughal architects are legendary for their creativity. mughal architecture is the example of “feeling of wonder” that is the source of aesthetic experience. the great skills were shown by mughals in infusing the islamic idea with local tradition. water has had been an important element in asian culture and architecture. the idea behind this research is that “mughals utilized water for aesthetic purposes via its scientific pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v2i2.485 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ iqbal / the academic research community publication utility”. the question designed to study is: is the utilization of water by mughals in lahore fort still an eminent representation of undaunted mughal architectural mastery in retaining and regulating the temperature along with the beautification purpose via fountains, water channels, and pools? the research will be qualitative as it will be subjective and will assess water in terms of its technical functions as well as its use as a beautification method.this research will follow the inductive process covering a little about mughals, their architecture, lahore fort as a breathtaking symbol and then focusing on shah jahan’s quadrangle as a case study. lahore it generally lies between north scope 30 degrees – 38’ and 31 degrees44’ and east longitudes 73 degrees – 38’ and 74 degrees – 58’. it includes the entire plain nation lying between the ravi river on the north and the sutlej on the south and has the state of a general quadrilateral titled in the general northeast and south west bearings of the river (fig 1). 1.1. history of lahore fort in mughal period “ the lahore fort is one of the noblest structures of its kind on the planet. ascending out of the north-west of the walled city, it has been an image of its most punctual days. on the off chance that it could talk, it would tell such things that would spellbind the audience. it could recount love, sentiment and enterprise of dim looked at wonders and furious browed warriors, of rulers in streaming silks and lords in sparkling protective layer, of writers, performers, slaves and mistresses, of fighters and descendants, of transformations and court interest, of crowning ceremonies and deaths, of foul play and dark requital” (qureshi, 1998) a.location: the lahore fort is situated on the left bank of river ravi and in the northwestern part of the walled city. the site is ideally located at the intersection of the ancient north-south riverine route which used to run parallel to the river ravi and east-west hinterland route connecting kabul with delhi. (ed muhammad naeem mir, mahmoud hussain, james l. wescoat jr, 1996) (fig 2) b.significance: the lahore fort is basically the key site to study mughal architecture as it contains buildings starting from akbar’s reign till shah jahan’s reign. it covers the complete history of architecture from 10th century onwards to the extinction of sikhs and occupation of punjab by the british. there are five main quadrangles in lahore fort. diwan-e-aam quadrangle, moti masjid quadrangle, jahangir’s quadrangle, shah jahan’s quadrangle, paien bagh quadrangle. the focus of the research will be shah jahan’s quadrangle (fig 3) shah jahan’s quadrangle 2. shah jahan’s quadrangle immediately west of the jahangir’s quadrangle is located an open court enclosed with buildings of the period of shah jahan on all the four sides. it is thus known as shah jahan’s quadrangle that has some of the most beautiful places manifesting the pinnacle of the mughal art of architecture inside it. shah jahan is known as the royal builder and he can really crown the architectural domain of mughal history by virtue of his contribution to palaces, forts, tombs etc. under his reign, the mughal architecture took on a new aesthetic and entered its classical phase (chaudhary, 1991) (fig 4). the building in this quadrangle includes the diwan e khas on the north and shah jahan’s sleeping chambers on the south. the open courtyard in these buildings has been designed based on the formal charbagh style by dividing it into four by means of walkways, with a square-shaped platform serving as mahtabi in the center. the charbagh has been converted into grassy lawns now (khan). the raised platform has a shallow cistern in the center while a fountain occupies a central place in it (nadiem, 1996). pg. 2 iqbal / the academic research community publication 2.1. diwan e khas (hall of special audience) it is situated in the northern part of shah jahan’s quadrangle. this hall was built in 1645 a.d. this graceful pavilion is 53’x 51’ and 20 feet and 4 inches in height depicting a perfect example of refined mughal architecture. it was placed on a raised platform having the qualities of lightness and freshness because of the grills facing the riverside with openings all around (fig 5). 2.2. khawab gah e shah jahani (sleeping chambers of shah jahan) it is situated south of the shah jahan’s quadrangle. it is known as the sleeping chambers of shah jahan. the khawab gah has five spacious rooms laid along an east-west direction opposite to diwaan e khaas, the front of which had grand multi-cusped arched openings. the projecting portico on the northern side has been cut off now leaving only the foundations of the walls through the fountain in the cistern still remains at the central place (kombo, 1994) (fig 6). 2.3. lal burj (red pavilion) it is situated on the north-west corner of shah jahan’s quadrangle. this summer pavilion is octagonal. it was built between 1617 and 1631. 2.4. hammam e shahi hammam e shahi or the royal bath is situated at the west of sleeping chambers of shah jahan. it is a single storey structure symmetrically designed on a longitudinal axis. 2.5. khilwat khana (room of solitude a general tradition was that the mughal emperor did not generally reside in the harem, but in a separate court adjacent to it. it was constructed by shah jahan in 1633 a.d. the court of khilwat khana was divided into two parts: i)paien bagh (south) the chief characteristic of this garden was the provision of a number of paved paths and walks. a spacious platform in the middle of the garden was the provision of a number of paved paths and walks. a spacious platform in the middle of the garden, in cut and dressed brickwork with a water basin in the center enhances the beauty of paien bagh (fig 7 ) ii)emperors private residence (north) a small door opening from the garden areas leads to the adjoining second court which has a small but elegant curvilinear pavilion on the north. a deep tank with a fountain is set in the center (fig 7) 3. scenic and scientific representation of water the architecture of any time depends on two main concepts: a.the needs of the people b.the idea of beauty prevalent during that period kant suggested beauty as a distinct and autonomous employment of the human mind comparable to moral and scientific understanding (scruton, 1979). among many other assets, the architecture of mughals is admired worldwide because it was the product of experiences based in the field of geometry, hydraulics and other building scenes. new eras in refinement were at their peak in the akbar’s era but shah jahan’s style and traditions in architecture pg. 3 iqbal / the academic research community publication created wonders. today, the eye-catching and splendid cultural and historical buildings, along with the services, also gratify the eye (abdul rehman, munazzaha akhtar, 2012). landscaping is an integral part of mughal monuments. trees, green areas and water bodies in and around the building improve the physical comfort along with pleasure (mittal, 2010). great skills were shown by mughals in infusing islamic ideas with local traditions. they used hydraulic features to promote landscape design. according to the researchers, landscape designers and microclimate control experts, the water bodies like fountains and water channels were added in the buildings which pass through the internal buildings to modify the internal environment (mittal, 2010). the evaporation of water is useful in hot and dry climates because it raises the level of humidity. water has a moderating as well as regulating effect on the air temperature of microclimate. it retains very high thermal storage capacity, much higher than the building material like brick, concrete, and stone. it also has a cooling effect on environs. the heat is taken up from the air through evaporation and causes significant cooling. wind direction is an important factor in technique and science as well. the wind direction of lahore varies with the weather. in winter it is from north east to south west. in summer it is reversed i.e. from south west to north east. water is an architectural element which is extensively used in our ancient buildings and in the gardens of mughals. water not only pleases the eye in a hot summer day but also provides passive cooling. water improves physical comfort by the evaporative cooling of the surrounding air. the rate of heat loss from the moving air depends on the area of water in contact with the air and the careful zoning of the sheltered spaces so that strips of the water could be strategically placed around the structure (mittal, 2010). a water pool in the middle of the courtyard with maximum dimensions stores the solar energy and decreases the heat of the summer. this pool (fig 10) along with gardens, trees, and the boundless sky provide limited but fresh nature. evaporation from the surface of the building or from objects within the interior can produce a cooling effect on the buildings, which reduces heat (samadi, 2014). evaporative cooling is also the part of the internal environment in mughal architecture. it had not been an element of external spaces. the process is simple; air passing over water causes evaporation, and as the result of this process heat is absorbed and the air is cooled, increasing air humidity. so, the aim is to channel breezes over the water pools before they enter the building (j. fernendes, j. correia da silva, 2007). to enhance the process, the pool or fountain is placed in the center of the courtyard or the building. the fountains are placed in the center of the quadrangle. when the air passes over the water in the fountains, it takes up the heat and channelizes the breeze before it enters in the khilwat khana. the flow of cool breeze inside the khilwat khana gives a cooling effect even in hot summers (fig 7). the water pool in the middle of the courtyard with maximum dimensions store energy and decreases the heat of summer (fig 10). moreover, water on the surface of a building has a tendency to evaporate. for every gram of water that evaporates, roughly 2500 joule of heat energy is consumed. wetting a building, therefore, helps to remove heat, a process that is analogous to human sweating (ali, 2013). when the fountain in front of khawab gah e shah jahani (fig 6) evaporates water, it makes the building wet and removes the heat produced by the sun. the water pressure was maintained by salsabil. it forces the water to come out of the fountainhead. for beyond the psychological effect, the sound of the water has a soothing and relaxing effect, more significant in human comfort related with the capacity to balance and reduce environmental temperature (j. fernendes, j. correia da silva, 2007). there are many symbols of heaven on earth. “water” is one of them. the water in the pool, because of its stagnancy, reflects the sky. it is the place on earth where we can see the depth and exquisiteness of the infinite sky. the tranquil and quiescent water omits the boundary between the sky and ground. water not only affects the psychology or the aesthetic sense of the human but it also has a remarkable effect on auditory and visual sense. “the sonic and aquatic properties of water are other positive and effective aspects of pools. a fluid like water has the ability to reduce a remarkable amount of sonic energy in its fluctuations, and in fact the existence of water in the pool acts as a hidden barrier against the sound passing inside and outside the house. the magic power of water mostly presents itself through its view and sound.” this is why often there are some fountains in the rectangular pools from which water falls naturally due to the water level difference and presents a desired view and sound that pg. 4 iqbal / the academic research community publication brings happiness and joy. the illustration of cooling of shah jahan’s quadrangle is shown in fig 8. the fountains in front of khwab gah and diwaan e khas not only controls the temperature and allows the cool breeze to blow but helps in maintaining a peaceful visual and psychological environment. these are situated in between coming and going passages of the wind and provide the residents with a calm and pleasant environment. the natural resources like water, plants sun, and wind – all provide a symphonic and pleasant set of environmental efficiencies (m. shokouhian , f. soflaee, f. nikkah, 2007). 4. conclusions water is a key element in human life. it as a lifeblood that is important in different philosophies and cultures. architects have always tried to make the best possible use of the environmental resources and in architecture, water finds a special place from a scientific as well as an artistic point of view. according to the findings of research water bodies like fountains and water channels were added in the building to keep the temperature moderate inside the building. when air passes above the water bodies, water absorbs the thermal radiation (as water has high latent heat of vaporization). hence the cool air is introduced into the building. moreover, water along with its beauty, has its magical power to present itself through view and sound. it omits the boundary between the sky and ground. it not only affects the psychology or the aesthetic sense but has a positive effect on sonic and visual properties of humans. hence, mughal used water not only to enhance the beauty of the place but scientifically as well to cope with the climate of that area. so, utilization of water by mughals in lahore fort is still an eminent representation of undaunted mughal architectural mastery in retaining and regulating the temperature along with the beautification purpose via fountains, water channels, and pools. illustrations following are the figures referred in the article. these plans are provided by the architecture department in lahore fort but are graphically designed and labeled by the author. all the photographs are taken by the author. figure 1. lahore during mughal era pg. 5 iqbal / the academic research community publication figure 2. master plan lahore fort figure 3. quadrangles of lahore fort pg. 6 iqbal / the academic research community publication figure 4. planof shah jahan’s quadrangle figure 5. planof diwaan e khaas figure 6. plan of khawab gah e shah jahani pg. 7 iqbal / the academic research community publication figure 7. an illustration of paien bagh quadrangle figure 8. an illustration of shah jahan’s quadrangle figure 9. fountain in courtyard in front of khilwat khana pg. 8 iqbal / the academic research community publication figure 10. a view of fountain in paien bagh quadrangle figure 11. fountain inside diwan e khas pg. 9 iqbal / the academic research community publication figure 12. fountain inside khwab gah e shah jahani pg. 10 iqbal / the academic research community publication 5. acknowledgments first and foremost, thanks to the a lmighty allah. sincere thanks to dr. ghani ur rehman, staff of lahore fort and my friend cum mentor komal nazir abbassi for the support and suggestions. 6. references 1. abdul rehman , munazzaha akhtar. (2012). heart pleasing and praise worthy buildings :reviewing mughl architecture in the light of primary resources . pakistan journal of engineering and applied sciences , 10. 2. ali, a. (2013). passive cooling and vernacularism in mughal buildings in north india :a source of inspiration of sustainable development . international transaction journal of engineering , managment , applied sciences and technologies. 3. chaudhary, n. a. (1991). lahore fort a witness to history : architectural features . lahore : sang e meel . cultural sustainable tourism (cst) 4. ed muhammad naeem mir , mahmoud hussain , james l. wescoat jr. (1996). mughal gardens in lahorehistory and documentation . lahore : university of engineering and technology . 5. j. fernendes , j. correia da silva . (2007). passive cooling in evora’s traditional architecture . building low energy cooling and advanced ventilation technologies . 6. khan, d. a. (n.d.). lahore fort : the shah jahan quadrangle . lahore : the department of archaeology and museum . 7. kombo, m. s. (1994). shah jahan nama. lahore. 8. m. shokouhian , f. soflaee , f. nikkah. (2007). environmental effect of courtyard in sustainable architecture of iran. building low energy cooling and advanced ventilation technologies. 9. mittal, n. (2010). heritage buildings an inspiration for energy efficient modern buildings . central building research institute roorkee . 10. nadiem, i. h. (1996). lahore a glorious heritage : shah jahan’s quadrangle . lahore: sang e meel . 11. qureshi, s. (1998). the citadel : lahore the city within . concept media . 12. robinson, f. (2006). the mughal emperor and the islamic dynasties of india, iran and central asia. london: thomas and hudson. 13. samadi, j. (2014). utilizing the central courtyard of traditional architecture in modern architecture . research journal of environment and earth sciences . 14. schimmel, a. (2004). the empire of the great mughals, history art and culture . reaaktion books. 15. scruton, r. (1979). the aesthetics of architecture : the problem of architecture . great britian : w&j mackay limited . pg. 11 introduction history of lahore fort in mughal period shah jahan's quadrangle diwan e khas (hall of special audience) khawab gah e shah jahani (sleeping chambers of shah jahan) lal burj (red pavilion) hammam e shahi khilwat khana (room of solitude scenic and scientific representation of water conclusions acknowledgments references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 44 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i1.698 health and safety considerations in mega construction projects waad waheed1, laila khodeir 2 1department of arcitecture,faculty of engineering, ain shams university, 2associate professor, department of arcitecture, faculty of engineering, ain shams university, british university in egypt abstract the construction industry is considered one of the most hazardous industries especially in mega projects, not only in developing countries but also throughout the world due to its unique nature. the hazards of this industry make it very essential to pay more attention to construction safety and to improve the safety performance of construction companies. however, safety is not a luxury but a necessity, and may be considered an important function to be used against unnecessary loss. international mega construction projects are likely to become increasingly common in the engineering and construction industry. a mega-project as a high impact technically complex project which requires careful advanced planning, large projects are defined as those with construction work valued in excess of us $1billion. on such projects, there may be 60 large contracting organizations and 30 to 40 consulting companies. the construction workforce could total 45,000 personnel delivering over 10 million man hours of effort per month at peak periods, so there is a need of guidance material that can be used to improve the management of health and safety(h&s) throughout these type of projects. thus the aim of this paper is to identify the h&s considerations that are related to mega construction projects. to achieve the aim of this paper a literature review analysis has been performed where more than hundred research paper that have been published from 1998, to 2018 have been analyzed. findings of this paper have managed to identify the nature of mega construction projects, the root causes of accidents and the consequence of poor health and safety management in mega construction projects. this paper is considered of value to construction project officers and project managers working in mega construction projects in egypt and mena region. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords health and safety ; mega construction projects 1. introduction mega construction projects (mcps) feature huge edifice and venues with strong symbolic significance or a larger scheme with complex contents which is encountered at the top-end of the construction industry’s spectrum of activities. mega projects are multicultural projects that involve different designers, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers from all over the world, they have to work together and cooperate to achieve success and to accomplish the objectives from megaprojects and gain the benefits associated with these types of the projects represented in their ability to achieve a strong connection with a region's or even the society's prosper and stability as many countries use these type of projects to stimulate the development of relevant industries and increase employment. there is no doubt that safety and health management are very important challenge that face mega projects, so we have to consider it carefully while approaching mega projects. safety management is an underrated challenge that http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 45 wasn’t studied carefully in the literature. special considerations have to be given to safety just to keep it into high standards, this reflect on the labor and engineers participating in the projects. strong and rigorous regulations have to be devised and applied properly to increase the safety factors associated with the project. this impacts different aspect of the project from the cost of the project up to the execution time. the construction industry especially in the field of mega projects has been in a deep need for approaching and reconsidering the new challenges to achieve a safe working environment as they suffer from a lot of tedious and unordinary work due to their unique nature. effective construction safety considerations require a clear vision, systematic methodology and sustained commitment to improve the whole process from the very early design stage throughout the whole other project stages focusing on every individual participating in the mega construction project to avoid their vulnerable to accidents. as a result, advanced and more rigorous considerations are to be devised to guarantee and improve the safety performance of mega projects which reflects on safety precautions in the projects. health and safety regulations in mcps is one of the greatest risk presents enormous challenges to directors, construction managers and safety supervisors of the organizations involved in the construction process. studies found that poor health and safety management in construction projects costs the construction industry millions of pounds each year due to the undesired consequences resulting from poor management systems. this cost is represented in loss of lives, medication and insurance. (griffith and howarth 2001) have found out that the record of health and safety in construction sector is the second worst of any other industrial sectors. this is due to its unique, complex, and hazardous workplaces. so considerations and efforts must be excreted in order to increase the levels of safety, besides the development of new efficient tools and mechanisms to avoid these losses. 1.1. aim and methodology the main objective of this paper is to identify considerations, that could help in achieving efficient health and safety management in mega construction projects. any organization associated with the construction , need to apply adequate standards, structures and processes to support the right behaviors and acts by all the involving construction structure which related to health and safety. in this paper, mega construction projects have been studied . specifically, a literature review on different topics related to mcps including the definitions, characterstics, factors affecting, challenges facing, and benefits of mcps have been provided. also factors contributing to accidents in mcps and types of construction accidents have been covered, and finally this research studied the standards of occupational health and safety management system. 2. literature review the following part is intended to review more than hundred research papers, thesis and books that published from 1998, to 2018 and tackled the topic of this research which provided different topics related to mega construction projects . 2.1. the nature of mega construction projects in this subsection, different aspects of mcps which include a list of definitions , characteristics, factors, challenges and benefits of mega have been introduced . 2.1.1. definition of mega construction projects in the construction communities, one could hear the terminology ”mega construction project” (mcp). the first question that could raise up to your mind is simple, when do we call a certain project a mega project? there are different approaches one can follow to define the mega projects. the literature is rich in this discipline, the divergences between different definitions depends on the researchers’ perspective and their approaches in analyzing these projects. in table 1, we are providing a brief summary for the different seven approaches that can be followed to define mega projects. in every approach, we are listing number of authors who followed that approach and some quotations from their publications that support this definition. waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 46 table 1. approaches of mcps definitions. “source: authors based on literature sources” different approaches for defining mega construction projects have been introduced. it can be noticed that some approaches have received more attention in the literature than other approaches. for instance pn.o.l.d.c and complexity are the most common approaches in defining mega construction projects. author definition critical analysis of the definition (crosby 2017) (sun, et al., 2011) (marrewijk, 2007) “mega construction projects are usually described as substantial investment (more than 1 billion dollars) long schedule (over two years) public infrastructures, which usually have long life time of 50 years and more, and generate multiple social impact and invested or commissioned by governments” project nature, objective, location, duration and the cost of the project ( pn.o.l.d.c) approach . (mok, shen and yang 2015) “mcp often involve various stakeholders of diverse occupational and professional backgrounds who have different levels and types of interests in the project” stakeholder approach according to the stakeholder and performing organization structure. (flyvbjerg, bruzelius and rothengatter 2003) “ many countries take mega project as an important tool to lift the status in global political and economic systems.” economic business approach focused on defining mega construction projects as an important tool to lift the status of economic systems. (flyvbjerg, bruzelius and rothengatter 2003) “ the world of megaproject preparation and implementation is a highly risky one where things happen only with a certain probability and rarely turn out as originally intended. risk approach depends on defining them as including many risk factors that can cause delays or failures during the project life cycle. (albishri, 2015) “ mega-project’s process contains project phase transitions and milestones which connect, by providing spatial and temporal platforms, the interests of project actors, interest groups and constructors”. project process and technical requirements (pp.tr ) approach . (mok, shen and yang 2015) “ mcp play three major roles in the strategic development of a society: (1) satisfying human, economic and societal needs; (2) elevating a country's social image; and (3) delivering leading international events”. political, society and environment (p.s.e )approach (gerald, 2009) “complexity is something’ undesirable that made a project unique, more complicated and more difficult to execute, manage and control or even an ‘excuse’ for mistakes. complexity approach leans on investigating the complexity and constraints associated with the project and their consequences. waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 47 2.1.2. characteristics of mega construction projects in this sub subsection, different features and characteristics of mega projects have been studied . these features are the reason behind the existence of different approaches for defining mega projects. this research also detailed every feature with supported literature. table 2 summarizes these characteristics and the relevant literature. table 2. characteristics of mega construction projects with respect to different approaches. “source: authors based on literature sources” characteristics of mega construction projects make them special projects with unique nature which need an efficient management with a lot of effort in different directions starting from resolving conflicts and contradictions to resources allocation, managing schedules and human power required to accomplish these types of projects and lead them to success. approach author characteristics of the approach p n.o.l.d.c approach (mackhaphonh and jia 2017) (t. zidanea, johansenb and ekambaramb 2013) (othman 2013) (diaz orueta and s. fainstein 2009) (marrewijk 2006) a large-scale system is usually perceived to be large and made up of a large number of system components with complex interconnections among these components. capital asset in order to plan, design, finance and build. located in remote and or inhospitable large areas. long duration but program urgency project with a total budget more than $1 billion stakeholder approach (kardes, et al. 2013) (jia, chen, et al. 2011) the construction of mcps involves many stakeholders that exists complicated interest relationship and ineffective communications between them. economic business approach (flyvbjerg 2014) they are keep the economic viability of the country as a whole by making large amount of money attracting visitors and investment to help in achieving community benefits, this is due to their heavy and delegated impacts. risk approach (gyoo kim 2011) (flyvbjerg, bruzelius and rothengatter 2003) increase of costs and the duration which are often due to inadequate estimates of the initial cost. pp.tr approach (flyvbjerg 2014) (t. zidanea, johansenb and ekambaramb 2013) (kardes, et al. 2013) high design knowledge and quality front-planning with unprecedented integration effort. professional technological skills and highly trained employees especially in the field of the project management logistical support. p.s.e approach (othman 2013) (jia, chen , et al. 2011) (bornstein 2010) attract external capital and redefine a city as a whole. a higher quality of life for residents. undervalued environmental impacts complexity approach (thomas and mengel 2008) (duy long, et al. 2004) they distinguished by their huge size and unique nature, these bring more complexity to them. they are susceptible to the risk of increase in budget and schedule overruns which adds an additional complexity to the projects. waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 48 2.1.3. factors affecting mega construction projects in this sub subsection, the most common and highly considered factors that affect mega construction projects have been discussed. these features have been obtained by conduction a wide literature survey. it’s important to note that there are some factors with great importance and they need to be considered by most of the projects. on the other hand, there are some features of less importance and they are considered based on the project itself. for instance. the contract term is an important factor that affects the projects because it is involved in every single detail in the project starting from determining the owner of the project up to the flow of funds and the role of every single individual participating in the project. risk management system has been found to be as important as the contract itself. risk management allows for smooth accomplishment of the required tasks without delay and cost efficiently. failure in managing the risk could case unexpected delays or increase in the estimated cost of the project. technology is a crucial factor as well, engaging new technologies has a huge impact on the performance of mega projects. nevertheless, project’s member need to allocate sufficient time and resources to plan and execute the integration of new or unproven technologies. communications management is a factor that shouldn’t be forgotten since good communication skills lead to the success of the project. in the following table 6, we are summarizing the factors that have been discussed in the considered literature. there is also another way to classify the factors of mega projects. specifically, factors can be classified into qualitative and quantitative . to classify a certain feature as a qualitative and quantitative, one need to differentiate between these two classes. qualitative factors are factors that can be intangibles which are not purely numbers driven but they are as important as crunching the numbers., however, quantitative factors are the ones that are related to actual numbers, financial metrics and ratios. thus, after studying the factors affecting mega construction projects, it is important to note that despite the many factors affecting mega construction projects, we can derive that risk management, contracts and technology are the most important factors affecting mega construction projects. 2.1.4. challenges of mega construction projects overcoming the challenges that hinder the development of (mcps) is very crucial for many large construction companies, but they first need to identify these challenges and prioritize them in order to minimize their impact on the progress of the project and smooth the project flow. some of the challenges that face mega projects will be discussed and elaborated. fig 1 shows the challenges iceberg which face mega construction projects from the very early stages. in table 3, we are summarizing these challenges figure 1. the challenges of the mcps “source: authors based on literature sources” waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 49 table 3.challenges of mega construction projects with respect to different approaches “source: authors based on literature sources” approach author challenges of the approach p n.o.l.d.c approach (gupta 2015) (he, et al. 2014) (t. zidanea, johansenb and ekambaramb 2013) (jia, chen, et al. 2011) challenges due to the unique nature that conclude to increase of the size of the project. difficult to define and achieve the program objectives and their alignment with the organizations' strategies. unfamiliar location . schedule overruns huge and expensive cost stakeholder approach (mackhaphonh and jia 2017) (gupta 2015) (othman 2013) variety of cultural differences and backgrounds complexity organization lack of efficiency, effectiveness behavior and performance especially in project management process inadvisable communication skills which decrease the required coordination to achieve the project objectives economic business approach (c.esty 2004) challenges associated with bad performing project could have a negative impact on the society due to their fail to achieve the intended financial and operating objectives. risk approach (flyvbjerg, bruzelius and rothengatter 2003) efforts to reduce the possible harm that may occur such as an increase in the project’s cost, unplanned elongation in the execution duration of the project. pp.tr approach (othman 2013) (sun and zhang 2011) lack of design knowledge and experience on practicing good skills and concepts that improve chances of success on the project. lack of technological knowledge and application requirement p.s.e approach (mok, shen and yang 2015) (flyvbjerg 2014) (othman 2014) political imperatives and authority misuse public acceptance is against the social impact lack of considering environmental requirements, preserving historical sites, and natural reserve complexity approach (giezen 2012) managing complexities that bring a lot of difficulties and challenges in implementing and constructing mega construction projects face different challenges and each challenge has its own impacts and concerns. thus, we cannot conclude that some challenges are more important or have huge impacts than other challenges and every challenge has to be considered independently and inclusively for each project. 2.1.5. benefits of mega construction projects mega projects have become a key part of the wider project ecosystem due to their impacts on their surroundings. fulfilling business, social and environmental objectives for a huge number of stakeholders by creating a product or a service, to serve to the community or to yield benefits are the main benefits of the mega construction projects. in this subsection, different benefits based on the approaches we have selected before will be introduced in order to show the importance of constructing these types of projects table 4 summarizes all these benefits. waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 50 table 4. benefits of mega construction projects with respect to different approaches “source: authors based on literature sources” approach author benefits of the approach p n.o.l.d.c approach (jia, chen , et al.) (diaz orueta and s. fainstein) benefits of projects that don’t have a direct impact or return these projects impact the society and the country in a way benefits and value of mega construction projects stakeholder approach (gupta 2015) (flyvbjerg) (duy long, et al. 2004) cooperation between stakeholders and different governmental agencies experience exchange between different participating parties new and efficient communication tools could be invented. economic business approach (flyvbjerg, 2014) (c.esty 2004) there is significant cash flow between different governmental agencies. the cooperation between governmental agencies and the private sector leads to a significant improvement to the economic status of the society while strengthening it. risk approach (kimiagari and keivanpourb 2018) (gyoo kim 2011) developing new management techniques and tools that aim at keeping the construction process smooth and flawless which helps the project to satisfy its deadline and hence maintain its objective which typically leads to the project’s success. pp.tr approach (zhou, whyte and sacks 2012) (zidane, johansen and ekambaram 2012) new knowledge and tools. new technologies. knowledge transfer p.s.e approach (bornstein 2010) (c.esty 2004) brings harmony between different agencies in the country bring comfortable life for residents. projects that target the environment to achieve sustainable projects. mega construction projects have a lot of positive impacts on different life aspects. however, the most remarkable and recognizable ones are their social and economic impacts. 2.2. the root causes of accidents in mega construction projects the construction industry is considered as one of the most dangerous and hazardous industries in the world due to the high number of persons who have died on the construction sites and the other many who suffered from occupational diseases. 2.2.1. contributing factors to accidents in mega construction projects accidents avoidance requires the development of a clear understanding of the factors involved in the causation of these accidents. accidents and their causes have been studied in literature which reveals that there are common factors that mostly cause most of the accidents occurring in mega construction projects. one of the most important approaches in identifying the root causes of accidents in mega construction projects is based on information aggregation. figure 2. shows the factors causing accidents based on the previous studies. waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 51 figure 2. the root causes of accidents in mega construction projects. “source: authors” in this part factors affecting accidents in mega construction sites have been discussed and analyzed. by identifying these root causes, proper measures and considerations can be developed to approach the root causes of accidents and prevent their occurrence. this study is so critical and represents one of the main component of this research. since we are interested in studying health and safety in mega construction projects. 2.2.2. types of construction accidents analyzing the accidents is very crucial in order to orientate safety practitioners and adopt appropriate measures in all construction stages that include different scenarios of accidents and to develop new, and concrete safety regulations that could prevent possible accidents. figure 3 summarizes the main types of accidents figure 3.the main types of accidents “source: authors” identification of the accident types raise our ability in developing methods and procedures to prevent these accidents. predicting the type of accidents is critical since we can utilize these predictions to provide the workers with efficient ways to apply health and safety considerations. 2.3. the consequences of poor health and safety management in mega construction sites over the last 20 years, there has been an increase on the rate of accidents occurring in construction projects, this increase is due to the increase on the construction and expansion capacity along with the poor health and safety regulations that fail to manage the tremendous number of workers, large and heavy plants, huge amount of material, complicated construction operation and multi-interface between different entities. root causes of accidents personal factors: _ age _ gender _ experience _ geographical factors: _ tough _ rugged terrain time factors: _ overtime _ hot weather _ project factors: _ project types _ contract environment and equipment factors _ accident type _ source of injuries _ site condition _ shortcomings with equipment management factors _ size of company _ the situations with hazards types of accidents fall caught in/ between electrical shock struck by caught in category: collapse caught between category: when worker between two surfaces waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 52 2.3.1. standards of occupational health and safety management system. quality ratings of previous studies have discussed the standards of the safety management systems in construction industry and they concluded to divide them into two main categories. the first category includes standards related to organization level, while the other category is linked to standards related to the project level. figure 4 summarizes the categories representing the occupational health and safety management systems and show different trends in each category, this categorization has been studied in the work of chia-fen chi. figure 4. health and safety considerations based on literature review “source: authors” evaluation and risk assessment : − identifying potential hazards. − indicating methodology for risk assessment to achieve good policies and objectives. − applying control measures to prevent and decrease risks. − showing the rate of progress in performance indicators. − using the results of risk assessment to achieve training programs. − developing control techniques based on risk assessment results. implementation and monitoring − setting monitoring criteria. − identifying an efficient way to analyze and record accidents cases. − developing corrective measures to prevent accidents. − monitoring hazardous agents at work. − assessing medical examination to workers regularly. project level leadership and commitment: − allocating different required resources. − involving efficient way in making programs, assisting meetings at all levels . − preparing health and safety cultural programs. policy and strategic goals: − developing occupational health and safety policy (oh&s). − announcement of applying (oh&s) regulations to achieve (oh&s) goals. − indicate measures and responsibilities for the required purposes to develop the safety performance. − setting new objectives if the previous ones haven’t been applied. organization, resources and documentation: − identifying an organizational structure to handle oh&s issues. − setting responsibilities to each member in the safety committee. − efficient communication in order to encourage workers to spread a safe working culture at construction sites. − assessing training resources to carry out the non-standardized operations. − ensuring that meetings of safety and health committee are held . − planning: − setting (oh&s) objectives from the beginning. − identifying emergency management to control the multiple hazards in sites. − informing all about the changes in procedures, process and properties. − involving personnel in procurement of health and safety equipment such as using personal protective equipment(ppe). − giving the contractor the plan of applying health and safety rules. − organization level auditing and reviewing: − introducing an auditing methodology according to (oh&s) standards. − developing guidelines to deal with reviewing process. − recording the results from the internal auditing of the organization. − suggesting solutions for the issues presented in auditing reports. standards of occupational health & safety management system waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 53 the advantages of applying the standards of occupational health and safety management system in their organization and project levels at mega construction projects are including a safer workplace, improved employee behaviors, reduced costs related with accidents and compensation and stakeholder confidence. 3. findings in this paper, extensive literature reviews governing different aspects of mcps have been conducted. the results of this literature review are summarized in different charts. figure 5. shows the approaches that have been tackled in literature from 1998 to 2018 to define mega construction projects. it could be observed that the definition based on approach pn.o.l.d.c and complexity approach are the most comprehensive definitions, and thus this research shall adopt them. the chronological ranking of these ordering is shown in figure 6. figure 5. percentage of agreement among authors about the definition of mcps. “source: authors” figure 6. period of 31 papers that showed the agreement about definition of mcps. “source: authors” project nature,objective, size,finance and time pn.o.l.d.c approach 26% stakeholder & performing orgnization structure stakholder approach 13% economical business economical business approach 6% risk factors risk approach 13% project process and technical requirements pp.tr approach 10% policy , society and enviroment p.s.e approach 10% complexity approach 7 22% definition of mcps 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 1998-2002 2003-2007 2008-2012 2013-2018 waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 54 figure 7. shows mega construction projects and their relation with the finance, time, stakeholder management, economical business, risk assessment, project process, political rules, environmental legislations, social surroundings and complexity. it’s clear that mega projects composed of many individual project groups, e.g., government, numbers of investment companies and the residents with different culture backgrounds, manners, political systems and languages that adds an additional complexity to mega projects, are the most common shared characteristics among authors. figure 7. degree of agreement among authors about the characteristics of mcps depends on the previous approaches. “source: authors” figure 8. shows the factors affecting mega construction projects, and the chronological ranking of this study is shown in figure 9. technology, risk management, and contracts are the most important factors impacting mega construction projects and effect their performance. figure 8. degree of agreement among authors about the factors affecting mcps.“source: authors” 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 charctristics of mcps 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 factors affecting mcps quantitative factors qualitative factors waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 55 figure 9. period of 18 papers that showed the agreement about factors affecting mcps. “source: authors” challenges facing mega construction projects are shown in figure 10. it is important to note that there exists a gap in the literature covering the challenges facing mega construction projects from safety perspective. finally, the benefits associated with mega construction projects have been studied and the literature interest is shown in figure11. figure 10. degree of agreement among authors about the challenges of mcps depends on previous approaches.“source: authors” figure 11. degree of agreement among authors about the benefits of mcps depends on previous approaches. “source: authors” 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1998-2002 2003-2007 2008-2012 2013-2018 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 challengs of mcps 0 2 4 6 8 benefits of mcps waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 56 figure12. shows that the most common accidents occurring in mega construction project is falling and caught in/between. this ranking is very crucial in developing health regulations for safety in construction projects. the chronological ranking of the contributing literature is shown in figure 13. figure 12. degree of agreement among authors about the main types of accidents.“source: authors” figure 13. period of 21 papers that showed the degree of agreement about accident types. “source: authors” 4. conclusion in this paper, a comprehensive study for mcps have been conducted, this study covers different perspectives. various existing definitions for mcps have been explored. this research shows that there are some approaches received more attention than others. for instance, p.n.o.l.d.c approach and complexity approach are the most common approaches in defining mcps. by adopting every approach followed in defining mega construction projects, the characteristics of mega construction projects have been studied in accordance with the adopted approaches. factors affecting mega construction projects have been discussed. the research presents that technology, risk management, and contracts are the most important factors impacting mega construction projects. it’s important to shed a light on the fact that accidents have not been considered as a factor affecting mega construction project. however, accidents are very important factor affecting mega construction projects, some projects could be halted sue to since they are very dangerous and thus that is why our research paper considered as very important due to the crucial topic it tackled .then this research moves to describe the challenges facing mcps based on the same approaches and it has been observed that there is a gap in the literature covering the challenges facing mega construction projects from safety perspective. finally, the benefits associated with mega construction projects have been studied to explain why mcps have become a key part of the wider project ecosystem and their impacts on their surroundings. fall 35% struck by 17% caught in 22% electric shock 21% other 5% main types of accidents 0 2 4 6 8 1998-2002 2003-2007 2008-2012 2013-2018 waheed / the academic research community publication pg. 57 in a complete turn over for the research focus, the accidents and their root causes in mega construction projects have been introduced, this can be fully justified due to the existence gap in the literature as we have shown earlier. this is very crucial for the research since this study has shown that health and safety regulations are not well studied nor covered in the literature. so, this research is motivated, however, it is important to note that these findings are limited, as the research was mainly based on literature review, and that it is recommended to do further analysis to case studies to validate the results of the paper consequently, different types of accidents have been studied. it has been shown that falls and caught in/between are the most common accidents occurring in mega construction projects. then a general safety consideration to be used as a draft by construction project officers and project managers working in mega construction projects in egypt and mena region have been suggested, these considerations are extracted from the literature. references bornstein, lisa. 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(2012) “construction safety and digital design: a review.” automation in construction, 22, 102111.doi:10.1016/j.autcon.2011.07.005 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication assessing “the revival of the egyptian museum initiative” for the people with special needs as an approach for social sustainability mostafa khaled mohamed1, amal abdou2, doaa abouelmagd3 1teaching assistant at faculty of fine arts, helwan university, cairo, egypt 2professor, architecture department, faculty of fine arts, helwan university, cairo, egypt 3associate professor, architecture department, faculty of fine arts, helwan university, cairo, egypt abstract disability is one of the greatest challenges faced by the societies. recent statistics from the world health organization indicated that the percentage of people with special needs with different disability problems is around 13% globally and exceeds 10% at the local level. despite the many national laws and codes that seek to make people with special needs have corresponding life to that of others, there are still barriers to their involvement in the society adequately, especially their use of the social infrastructure, and public and cultural buildings like museums. museums are one of the most important establishments that must be suitable for the use of every person including people with special needs. they are catalysts for culture, history, art and science as well as their representation of the progress and renaissance of countries and societies. the egyptian museum with its 19th century neoclassical style has been one of the most prominent landmarks of downtown cairo for more than 100 years. it has the largest collection of works of ancient egyptian history and art. despite its status as one of the most important museums in the world, it has suffered a great deterioration over several decades, which reflected the building and the exhibits negatively. as a result, “the revival of the egyptian museum initiative” was launched in may 2012 to define the national and international future role of the museum. it aimed to study the current situation of the museum and develop a comprehensive plan for rehabilitation. the paper discusses and assesses “the revival of the egyptian museum initiative” and its suitability for the people with special needs as an approach to achieve social sustainability. moreover, the paper analyzes the appropriateness of the egyptian museum for the use of people with special needs and its comparison with a similar global example to come up with a set of recommendations to increase the efficiency of the egyptian museum and it’s surrounding area. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords museums; disability; special needs; egyptian museum 1. introduction sustainability provides a decent life for all human beings while preserving these factors in the future and it is divided into 3 domains environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and social sustainability, and this three domain could express pg. 64 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i4.539 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mohamed / the academic research community publication a model for defining sustainability. social sustainability concept includes topics such as, justice, equality, safety, community development, human rights, social responsibility, social justice and resilience, and human adaptation. figure 1. sustainability diagram social sustainability can be defined as ”a process for creating sustainable, successful places that promote wellbeing, by understanding what people need from the places they live and work in”. as a result, social sustainability will be ongoing activity that aims to improve the quality of life for all groups of society today and in the future. this activity is the spirit of community and comprehensive cooperative care by individuals and institutions in society for the benefit of the state and society as a whole. social sustainability requires that society as a whole reaches a stage where they accept differences and regard them as the source of strength and excellence that achieve growth and well-being for all. to classify any building as a sustainable building must regard the social aspect and to be suitable for all users. the problem of disability is one of the most serious problems faced by the communities and one of the most important segments that shouldn’t be ignored in the design of any building. considering the museum building as a reflection of the culture of peoples and their degree of development was necessary to be suitable for use with all users while achieving the criteria of sustainability in general terms and community sustainability in its own concept. the paper analyzes and evaluates the experience of reviving the egyptian museum through the extent to which it achieves community sustainability and is suitable for the use of people with special needs to try to find a way to verify the sustainability of the museum and preserve the cultural and social role. following the introduction, the paper is divided to seven sections; it ends with a conclusion and recommendations. 2. methodology the study combines the inductive, analytical and applied method, which includes all the general and detailed elements related to the subject of the scientific paper. trying to formulate a method of improving the efficiency of the spaces to achieve social sustainability and the compatibility of the use of people with special needs and focus on the principle of ”accessibility” as the most important factor to achieve social sustainability to improve the efficiency of museum spaces and increase their effectiveness for all users. inductive approach: based on the reports issued by the ministry of antiquities in addition to the reports that monitor the process of re-reviving the egyptian museum by the general mobilization and statistics authority and the statistics showing the census of people with special needs and their proportions and grades. analytical approach: analyzing the experience of reviving the museum and its suitability for social sustainability and its suitability for people with special needs, as well as analyzing a global experience that succeeded in achieving community sustainability in community buildings. pg. 65 mohamed / the academic research community publication applied methodology: the applied approach depends on the field visits, monitoring and surveying of a number of users and their surveying about their suitability with the use of all users and trying to compare them with the global models visited by the users of the museum. 3. sustainability the name sustainability derived from the latin sustinere sustain means ”maintain”, ”support”, or ”endure”. initially, the concept of sustainability was an expression of environmental sustainability. attempting to reduce the risks resulting from the inappropriate use of natural resources and then expanded to include all environment, economic and community aspects as a part of the concept sustainable development. united nations defined sustainability, as “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. social sustainability defined according to the western australia council of social services (wacoss) ”social sustainability occurs when the formal and informal processes, systems, structures, and relationships actively support the capacity of current and future generations to create healthy and livable communities. socially sustainable communities are equitable, diverse. 4. disability disability is a problem in the function or structure of the body that inhibits the individual’s ability to perform a task or work, while restricting participation in the individual’s problem in society. it also defined as a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. thus, disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives. the concepts differed in determining the meaning of disability, its types and degrees, cancel these entire try to provide a life equivalent to their owners enabling them to engage in the community without the help of someone else to overcome the obstacles they face. the division of people with disabilities (special needs) into groups that are similar or vary according to a specific characteristic, so that they help determine the nature, quantity and type of service that each category needs. the classification of the disability according to the subjective, medical, educational and social criteria, external to different senses identified in four main branches. – mental disability: – sensory disability: – motor disability (physical) – unseen disabilities the paper focuses on the type of motor disability and every invisible disability that hinders the users’ use of the museum to visit and benefit from the cultural role of the museum. the problem of disability is one of the most serious problems now and the role of integration of the disabled in society is one of the most important roles that must be within the requirements of the construction of any building. the percentage of people with special needs is increasing significantly, which leads us to reflect more and try to address the obstacles that may prevent their participation fully effectively in their society on an equal footing with others. pg. 66 mohamed / the academic research community publication – in 1986, it reached about 500 million disabled people, representing 10% of the world’s total population. – the percentage increased to 600 million by 13% of the world’s population in 2000. – then increased to reach 650 million by 13.5% of the population in 2006. – up to one billion people that reached 15% of the world’s population in 2011. – and their percentage in egypt exceeded 10% of the total population. despite the multiplicity of instruments and covenants, there are still barriers to the participation of people with disabilities around the world as members of the society on an equal basis with others. figure 2. according to the researcher from un statistics 5. the museum it is a permanent exhibition aimed to preserve monuments and presenting them in a way that preserves their educational and artistic value, therefore, these institutions play a very important role in the social development. the purpose of the museum is to create a space that preserves the exhibits, in a vacuum to provide an attractive and exciting environment that complements the idea and philosophy of these exhibits. museums hold moveable cultural heritage, and the identity of the community .they can also be a place of inspiration for all from the ordinary public to specialists or any other person seeking enlightenment and a place to learn new skills from infancy to old age. interest in museum buildings in egypt began in the late 19th century until it became a state plan to preserve its historical holdings at the beginning of the 20th century at the time when the egyptian museum was built. 6. museums and sustainability the great role played by the museum building makes it necessary for museums to be sustainable buildings that integrate all their environmental, economic and social principles. in addition, trying to reflect these concepts on the community and all buildings that reflect it to serve both current and future, and making this vision to a general trend for governments trying to achieve. pg. 67 mohamed / the academic research community publication 6.1. the egyptian museum the egyptian museum considered one of the national museums that presents a certain era of history in a specialized style. the egyptian museum was designed using the roman style on 13600 m2 in the center of cairo and was open in 1890. the museum is currently displaying 63,743 monuments. there are 53,722 monuments not exhibited. the technical workshop and the stores are located in separate buildings. there is also a museum garden in front of the museum. containing some of the original pieces that weren’t influenced by weather conditions. figure 3. the egyptian museum cairo museum, early 1900s photo by: the american colony and eric matson collection 6.2. description of the museum the egyptian museum was the first museum in egypt designed with large interior spaces to accommodate large numbers of sub-monuments. the building consists of two symmetrical structures on either side of a main north-t axis in the form of a vertical southern letter, with the central hall, which lined with rows of arches and columns on either side. the gallery extends (honorary hall) vertically on this axis parallel to the southern facade of the museum and designed in the form of a series of rectangular and circular double-edged spaces extending from east to west, with a rounded hall in the middle after the main entrance of the museum directly. it is located on either side of the central hallway. the large series of seven grand halls, which are double-storey rooms with taller lighting. these halls connected to each other through two indoor and outdoor galleries located in the two halls of the museum. the seven halls surrounded by the two sides and the galleries connect the two sides of the museum. with the expansion adopted by the country in the construction of a number of museums throughout the republic to accommodate the newly discovered and stored objects, especially the egyptian grand museum, the egyptian museum still, continually holds its cultural and community role. despite the creativity of the design, it lacked the needs of people with special needs, which were not required to design museums at that time. the changes that took place in the museum throughout different decades did not take into account the museum’s suitability for people with special needs. 7. the changes that flew on the museum the egyptian museum had deserved attention for many years. transportation and infrastructure projects in the region were one of many several factors that resulted in permanent physical damage to the museum’s structure and caused deterioration in the surrounding environment that seemed irreparable. this disregard caused painful harm to everyone who use it. pg. 68 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 4. the egyptian museum isometric plans the changes of the museum building in its current status over the past decades, most of which contributed to the damage of the general harmony of the building and architecture, both on the level of the inner perimeter of the building and the outside perimeter. 7.1. first: for the exterior of the museum the establishment of several projects near the museum is a constant problem facing it since its inception, in some cases affecting the structure of the museum. the vibrations resulted from these activities, such as tunneling during the construction of metro lines, and traffic fluctuations near the museum in “tahrir square” and the construction of the sixth bridge of october caused cracks in the walls of the museum and influenced the monuments. by 1949, the british military barracks southeast of the museum removed, adding a larger area of public land to the museum. five years later, in 1954, cairo governorate seized a large piece of land to establish the headquarters of the arab league in the west and south of the museum, in the addition of the establishment of the nile hilton hotel (now the nile ritz-carlton) and a private building in cairo municipality. after that in 1962 nasser decided to establish the headquarters of the arab socialist union on the land of the museum which changed by the late president ”sadat” to the headquarters of the national democratic party in 1978. in the last years of the 1970s, the ministry established number of transportation and tourism development projects as 6th of october bridge and the ramses hilton hotel in the ”abdel moneim riad square” which doesn’t take into the account the museum’s development needs and its overall plan. the eastern side of the museum expand the adjacent road, while the gardens in the south removed and a bus station, which demolished in the 1980s during the construction of a tunnel station in tahrir square. pg. 69 mohamed / the academic research community publication 7.2. second: regarding the interior of the museum there are currently 89 showrooms, although the museum already had 100 showrooms. the shortage in the showrooms resulted from the conversion of some exhibition spaces to storage facilities, which increased over time. the interior round hall on the ground floor is no longer open to the public and has been converted a to storage space. the library and the administrative offices have separate entrances on the western and eastern sides of the southern façade of the museum. the egyptian museum from the beginning represented a series of architectural and constructional challenges for the construction contractors. during the museum construction, they modified the museum roof to achieve natural ventilation, lighting. moreover, it was decided that the ground floor of the central hall should be constructive in lower level to be suitable to accommodate statues and monuments. over the years, the museum exposed disregard because of many factors which negatively affected the museum. after the 1967 war, the government decided to build concrete roofs over the museum to protect the museum from possible air strikes. without taking into account the excessive load on the museum’s roof structure. moreover, the reflected sense which required to be achieved through natural lighting and ventilation. figure 5. roof modifications after 1967 war to protect it from air strikes (photo by eqi report for reviving of the egyptian museum in 2014) the building of the egyptian museum has been classified as a protected monument and has been under the protection of the ministry of antiquities since 1983 for its unique architectural style. law no. 117 states that protected not only the museum but also can control all buildings surrounding the museum.in a circle of circumference 500 meters. the protection act allows for alterations on the premises of the museum building, which means that at least the land occupied by the former national museum building annexed to the museum. the granting of this piece of land to the ministry of antiquities will greatly support the rehabilitation of the museum in accordance with its revitalization initiative. 8. initiative to revive the museum the ministry of antiquities is implementing the initiative to revive the museum in partnership with “environmental quality international” (eqi) ,in of may 2012. the initiative aims to restore the museum to its original design by the french architect “marcel dornillon” in the 19th century. the initiative includes works in architecture, restoration, maintenance and conservation. the initiative also includes works to develop the liberation area and the surrounding area of the museum. pg. 70 mohamed / the academic research community publication in an interview with “mohamed el sayed”, who is in charge of the museum’s restoration he explained that the revival of the museum divided into 3 phases – first phase: from the beginning of the project in 2012 until 2016 and was in the development of the upper halls of the museum. – second phase: from 2016 until 2018 which include the restoration of the tut passage of khamon and the it’s halls. – third phase starts from february 2018 and takes 30 months which include the entire revival of the museum. when we asked about the tasks assigned to him for the development of the museum, he explained that the company’s tasks are concerned with the restoration of the museum, including walls, floors and celling, and does not includes the development of the museum to be accessible for people with special needs. figure 6. photo for the revival process in the first floor (taken by the author on 2/6/2018) the development strategy is based on three axes – performing architectural restoration work to rehabilitate and rehabilitate the museum building with the help of newly graduate university graduates with the appropriate skills under supervision, training and appropriate guidance. – provide technical and administrative training for the staff of the museum to enable them to preserve the effects and upgrade the process of visiting the museum to all visitors. – provide educational activities and awareness-raising activities to achieve community involvement in development processes. as for building work, the initiative focuses on four key principles in its implementation – sound environmental management and commitment to the best energy saving practices. – the use of prevention as an advanced means of preserving the effects. – work with labor-intensive methods. – making the most of the training of young university graduates participating in the restoration work. pg. 71 mohamed / the academic research community publication the initiative to revive the egyptian museum suggests following simple rules in the proposed construction on the western side of the museum to replace the land of the national party. it is expected that the museum will benefit from the special constructions in this area of various activities cultural, scientific and economic, including permanent or temporary galleries, new restoration laboratories , offices ,administrative and other museum facilities. the commercial buildings established in the western square of the museum will remain in place while maintaining their current functions and revitalizing these functions (library, shop, gifts and restaurant).. the proposed new facilities will be built on the western side of the museum around a pharaonic park designed in the style of ancient egyptian gardens. the pharaonic garden is surrounded by a colonnaded corridor with open rooms for the public, including temporary display areas, as well as restoration plants. figure 7. the conceptual design for the extension of the egyptian museum by eqi the initiative also proposes the establishment of a tunnel to link the museum to the river, allowing visitors to enter and exit the museum site from its western façade overlooking the river and restore the capacity of the museum to transfer its holdings across the nile river as it was estimated when it was built. it is also proposed to extend a botanical garden as an encyclopedia of ancient egyptian vegetation extending from the inside of the museum to tahrir square. moreover, the initiation will extend to develop all downtown area after improving the egyptian museum and its surroundings. in spite of the importance of the role-played by the initiative to revive the museum and the impact of the monument, it is missing the special needs. although the ministry of housing, utilities and urban communities issued the ”egyptian code for the design of external spaces and buildings for the use of persons with disabilities” in 2003, the initiative to revive the museum did not comply with the requirements contained in the code, which is reflected in the participation of persons with special needs in society on an equal basis with others. which is contrary to the general principles assumed by the initiative of revival and not achieving the sustainability concept by missing one of the most important component, which is social sustainability. pg. 72 mohamed / the academic research community publication 9. accessibility of people with special needs (case study) the egyptian museum considered as one of the most important museum in the world and the most important museum on the local level in addition to the revival initiative for it in a recent period and the attempt to choose a global example to compare the suitability of the requirements of people with special needs. where the two museums met in several factors – both museums specialize in a historical exhibition of the country history for each of them – both the museums are located in the heart of the capital – both museums were built in the last century and in a relatively old period – both buildings have been renovated in a relatively recent time – relative convergence in the built up area for both of them and we could compare them in several factors – location – parking and enterances – pre-visit materials – vertical links – restrooms – tour guidances – disabilty services the national museum of american history was chosen as the best global example of achieving these factors to be compared with the egyptian museum. 9.1. the egyptian museum (the local example) although the egyptian museum is one of the most important egyptian museums and reflects its cultural and social role, it is not suitable for the use of people with special needs. – location: tahrir square, which the museum is located in not suitable for people with special needs. – parking and enterances : there is no private parking for the museum but there is near public parking beside the museum and it provide slots for prople with specaial needs ,but it is seperated with about 100 meters from the museum and the lane between them is not suitable with the people with the special needs. – pre-visit: there is no previsit material for people with special needs for they accissable or there guidances. – vertical links :the lack of only one elevator to the museum which is added to it later and doesn’t placed in clear place and could only use it by requesting from museum administration as well as it can not reach all the spaces of the museum as the courtyard of the museum which is located in the lower level from the ground floor of the museum and separated with 14 stair and can not be reached through the elevator and there is no ramp to avoid using of the stairs. pg. 73 mohamed / the academic research community publication – restrooms :the museum toilets of the museum are located in the middle level between the ground floor and the first and can only be reached through the rise of 12 stairs as well as not suitable for the use of people with special needs. – disability services: there are only tools for mobility disability and there is no other tools for other disabilities. – tour guidance : lack of any of the guidance that contribute to the use of people with special needs of the museum presentation, either through special booklets for the blind or tours for the deaf and dumb. figure 8. photo for a disabled tourist visiting the museum (taken by the author on 2/6/2018) figure 9. analyzing plan for accessibility for the egyptian museum pg. 74 mohamed / the academic research community publication 9.2. the national museum of american history (the international example) the national museum of american history: display the heritage of the united states in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. the museum is located in washington, d.c. the museum have been designed with a strong focus on accessibility for all visitors specially for people with the special needs with the standers of ada (american disability act) this illustrated in: – location: the area where the museum is located in is suiatble for the people with special needs. – parking & entrances: the entrance is located beside the parking and it provides parking slots for special needs. – pre-visit materials: people with special needs and their families can find tip sheets, sensory maps, social stories, and visual schedules to help them to enjoy the visit, which is available on the website page. – vertical links : all spaces is accessible for people with special needs with elevators and other vertical links which make them enjoy the museum as any other visitor. – restrooms : museum restroom regarding the use of people with special needs and provide special cabins for them. – disability services :the museum provide wheelchair service while visiting the museum by requesting it from the security officer. – tour guidance : the museum provide a special kind of tour for people with special needs without prereservation, they could enjoy the tour using audio-described tour or sign language interpreter. in addition to several brochures produced by the museum in alternative formats at the information desk museum achieve his cultural role in the addison to achieving the exhibition role with regarding the people with the special needs and it could be founded in – theater features seating for wheelchairs and anyone who have any problem with his mobility. – exhibition space are accessible for people with special needs and also provide visual and vocal devices for them. figure 10. analyzing plan for accessibility for the national museum of american history produced by the museum website page pg. 75 mohamed / the academic research community publication the examples reveal to us how important the museum building is at the cultural and educational level. and the large number of visitors which visit it with their different mobility situations and their different ability to use their senses, and the importance for the museum to achieve the concept of ”accessibility” which means not only making all the spaces accessible for them but also provide the same visit quality for all museum users. 10. conclusion in the paper, the concept of social sustainability was discussed as a platform for achieving sustainability in museum buildings and focusing in its comprehensive concept on ”accessibility” as a major source that investigates the role of society as a way of expressing it’s civilized and cultural role. do not achieve the principle of ”accessibility” only through the ability of all visitors to visit the museum, regardless of the degree of disability. and referring the number and degrees of disability of persons with special needs to be a reference index for the target group of the study. and then evaluate the egyptian museum in the current situation and initiative to revive the museum which launched in 2012 and the extent of its realization of the concept of accessibility and compare it to a global example to reach a set of recommendations to increase the efficiency of the museum and achieving sustainability. 11. recommendations – the importance of maximizing the museum’s role in society and increase educational and cultural awareness – the importance to restore the egyptian museum to its original design – the need to include the design requirements that make museums able for people with special needs in the initiative to revive the museum – the importance of keeping pace with technological development and activating the latest means and systems that help facilitate the movement of people with special needs and their integration into society – provide professionals workers to educate the people with special needs and appropriate training and support for them – the professional development of museum staff’s competences relating to disadvantaged youth’s learning and involvement – a particular attention to designing programs and activities with an inclusive approach, also in terms of learning styles and contents adaptability – the provision of community-based activities for people who can not reach the museum 12. references 1. adams, w.m. (29–31 january 2006). ”the future of sustainability: re-thinking environment and development in the twenty-first century.” report of the iucn renowned thinkers meeting. 2. eng.mohamed el sayed interview (2 june 2018) who is in charge of the museum’s restoration from (eqi) in the egyptian museum. 3. national agency for public mobilization and statistics (2017) statistic of population pg. 76 mohamed / the academic research community publication 4. united nations brundtland commission (20 march 1987), definition of “sustinability”, https://academicim pact.un.org/content/sustainability. 5. united nations (1986),”disabled persons department of international economic & social affairs 6. united nations. (2006). statistics on the population of the disabled in the world. 7. social sustainability developed by “social life” a uk-based social enterprise specializing in place-based innovation. retrieved from: http://www.social-life.com. 8. sustainability. the shorter oxford english dictionary (1964), oxford: retrieved from http://www.diction ary.com, p. 2095. 9. the ministry of antiquities with the cooperation of (eqi), the ”international environment quality” (2014), revival of the egyptian museum, www.egyptianmuseumrevival.org. 10. the national museum of american history official website, americanhistory.si.edu/visit. 11. the world health organization (2011), disability defenition by “world report on disability”, https://www .who.int/topics/disabilities/en/, page 7. 12. world health organization (2011) statistics on the population of the disabled in the world. pg. 77 introduction methodology sustainability disability the museum museums and sustainability the egyptian museum description of the museum the changes that flew on the museum first: for the exterior of the museum second: regarding the interior of the museum initiative to revive the museum accessibility of people with special needs (case study) the egyptian museum (the local example) the national museum of american history (the international example) conclusion recommendations references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 50 doi: 10.21625/archive.6i1.879 investigation of human-centered transportation (walking and biking) for low-income workers in kabul, afghanistan sayed nasir shah1, yoshitaka kajita1 1tokai university abstract human-centered transportation (walking and biking) has been the cheapest, healthiest, and most convenient mode of transportation throughout history. in the new global economy, walking and biking have become common modes of transportation for low-income groups of people. kabul is the biggest city in afghanistan with scattered space organizations and currently is unfavorable for walking and biking due to insufficient attention to pedestrian and bicycle routes in city planning and poor road network and sidewalk conditions, which are among the issues that affect this 4-5 million population city. the purpose of this research is to analyze the current traffic situation in kabul and identify the role and share of citizens' use of human-centered transportation (walking and biking) for transportation. this research also aims to investigate the relationship between the economic scope of low-income workers and the use of walking and biking for transportation. the statistical population of the current study was selected from three municipal districts as travel zones. using cluster sampling, a sample participant of 929 people was obtained. it was observed that in the broad context, due to increasing cost and insufficient public transportation, low-income workers use bicycles and walking as a reliable mode of transportation. finally, it is suggested that the spatial organization of kabul is redefined and designed based on the new space organization, and the local organization and formulation of urban transportation strategies in urban strategic plans for pedestrian and bicycle transportation systems are strengthened, especially for roads leading to employment locations. furthermore, in planning, priority is to be shifted to human-centered transportation (walking and biking). © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer-review under responsibility of archive’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords pedestrian life; human-centerd transportation; walking and biking; kabul; low-income workers 1. introduction human-centered transportation (walking and biking) has been the cheapest, healthiest, and most convenient mode of transportation. walking and cycling for daily transportation have more potential than leisure activities for physical activity. focusing on transportation policies can also reduce air and noise pollution and improve health. furthermore, increasing walking and cycling in the general population and among groups of interest reduces the cost of daily travel (racioppi, 2002). research to date has tended to focus mainly on walkability as being beneficial for health and the environment as it helps reduce many health issues caused by obesity which is the result of an inactive lifestyle (speck, 2018). given the potential effects of economic stabilization and social equality that walkable neighbourhoods can provide, it is not surprising that recent studies have shown the resilience of these areas to economic crises (gilderblooma et al, 2015). http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0264275114001474#! shah/ the academic research community publication pg. 51 walking and biking are some of the most widely used modes of transportation for work purposes of low-income workers in the city of kabul, afghanistan, even though the roads and pedestrian route conditions are not favourable. human-centered transport (walking and biking) facilities are not provided in kabul, and many roads lack sufficient width for safe passage by pedestrians. consequently, on some roads, pedestrians are using the carriageways, causing conflicts with vehicles (jica study team, 2009). this situation reduces the traffic capacity and increases risks to nonmotorized transport as well. furthermore, road crossing infrastructure including road marking for human-centered transportation (walking and biking) are insufficient. it is very dangerous for pedestrians and bikers to cross roads without such infrastructure, especially on roads with heavy traffic. despite these problems, to improve walkability in the city, it is necessary to use effective measures and strategies to recover the lost identity of sidewalks and design complete streets. 1.1. research question -with all the above-mentioned uncertainties in city walkability in kabul, why is the share of human-centered transportation (walking and biking) relatively high compared to other modes of transportation? -to what extent do low-income workers benefit from the use of walking and biking for transportation? 1.2. purpose the purpose of this research is to analyze the current traffic situation in kabul and identify the role and share of citizens' use of human-centered transportation (walking and biking) for transportation. this research also aims to investigate the relationship between the economic scope of low-income workers and the use of walking and biking for transportation. 2. method simple statistical analysis was used to show the walkability share in kabul. in this investigation, we used both qualitative and quantitative methods. we adjusted analyses for the personand walkability factors associated with low-income workers. 3. survy data and results the data were collected from a one-day trip survey. participants (n = 34140), mean age = 33.06 years) resided in 22 municipal districts across kabul, afghanistan. the statistical population of the current study was selected from three municipal districts as travel zones. using cluster sampling, a sample participant of 929 people was obtained. the od is summarized to that of three transport modes and five trip purposes (figures 1 and 2). three transport modes: i) walking, ii) public mode (= bus + taxi), and iii) private mode (car + truck). five trip purposes: i) to go to work, ii) to school, iii) for business, iv) for private (shopping + others), and v) returning home. we used street interviews to subjectively collect data on kabul transportation characteristics. we adjusted analyses for the personand walkability factors associated with the low-income group of workers. table 1 transportation modes share modes trips share modes trips share walking 1347918 28.87% taxi 467288 10.01% bike/bicycle 282319 6.04% pr cars 709846 15.2% microbus 1411794 30.24% sh cars 179074 3.83% minibus 110693 2.37% truck 11828 0.25% bus 147074 3.15% total 4667834 100 shah/ the academic research community publication pg. 52 figure 1 transportation modes share table 2 transportation share by pusrpose purpose trips share purpose trips share work 1675240 35.9% shopping 178042 3.81% school 374243 8.01% home re 2387447 51.14% business 52862 1.13% total 4667834 100 figure 2 transportaion share by purpose the total number of daily trips in kabul in 2019 reached 4,667,834, including 1,347,918 on foot trips (by walking and bicycle from origin to destination) and 1,411,794 of those trips was done by micro buses which is counted as public transportation. in the 2008 calculation, non-motorized trips were higher than other modes of transportation, but in recent years, micro buses had more travel than trips on foot. travel by other modes, such as bus, minibus, taxi, and private car, also has its share, which is shown in (tables 3 and 4). among the purpose of trips, most trips are made for work (35.9%), followed by school (8%), business (1.1%), and shopping (3.8%). 4. study area kabul is situated in the northeastern part of the country, at 1,800 meters above sea level. the city is located between 34˚31ʹ80ʺ n and 69˚10ʹ29ʺ e. it is the largest city in the country with approximately 1,023 km2area, and the population is estimated at 4.4 million people (statistical year book of afghanistan, 2019-2020). the target area of this research consists ofthree districts out of 22 municipal districts of kabul province. 28.87% 6.04% 30.24% 2.37% 3.15% 10.01% 15.20% 3.83% 0.25% walking bike tonnis minibus bus taxi pr cars sh cars truck 35.90% 8.01% 1.13%3.81% 51.14% work school business shopping home return shah/ the academic research community publication pg. 53 in order to facilitate the survey and to effectively analyze the transportation system of kabul, it was necessary to divide the city into main and sub-zones. the sub-zones are eliminated after the completion of the survey process, and no use is made in the analysis. the geological names of origins and destinations of the trip samples collected through the pt survey were converted into code numbers (coding) to facilitate the data assessment. the district centers were used for zoning within the city. in most societies, sidewalks are the main component of the network of urban and local passages for rest, recreation, and walking of citizens. unfortunately, in kabul, sidewalks are considered paralyzed and forgotten places. in urban planning, priority has been given to motorized transportation. evidence of this claim is the unfavorable physical conditions of streets and sidewalks even in the most important central parts of the capital city of kabul. these problems are as follows: existence of surface differences and physical barriers along the way lack of proper urban equipment and furniture lack of use of technically appropriate flooring materials on sidewalks and lack of necessary infrastructure interference of adjacent business activities to the pedestrian way occupation of large parts of sidewalks by shopkeepers vehicles parking on the street lack of proper bike lanes lack of complete streets other 5. analysis according to the one-day trip survey, the trips on foot have the largest share among the other trips within the district. the size of the district is large, and the trip distances between districts tend to be calculated much longer than the actual ones so that no clear relation between the trip distances and the share of trips on foot was observed. therefore, a model formula for the modal share of trips on foot within the district by purpose is prepared to assume the maximum, as well as the sharing rate for a distance, not less than 10km, will become almost 0% (figure 3). pij= 1 1+𝑒(𝑎𝐷𝑖𝑗+𝑏) (formula by jica study team, 2018) where pij modal share dij distance between i and j district (km) a, b parameter table 3 parameters of modal choice model table 4 mode choice share purpose a b work 0.5 0.5322 school 0.5 -1.45 private 0.5 0.4055 purpose walk share work 37% school 81% private 40% shah/ the academic research community publication pg. 54 figure 3 modal sharing curve of trips on foot according to (figure 3), it is observed that distance of travel and modal share have an inverted relation. 6. results the first set of the analysis shows a significant share of the walking and biking modes of transportation, which consists of 37% altogether. the above share is for all the trip purposes, namely work, school. business, shopping, and home return. the result we are going to present in this research is the use of walking and bicycling for transportation for low-income workers. in order to accurately study citizen traveling patterns within the city, a question was asked from the statistical population to determine their daily travel cost, travel time, and travel distance. the results of which are as follows: table 5 one day travel outcomes for all purposes 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 p ij distance(km) mode choice share work school private travel cost travel time travel distance modes ct. mean sd min max ct. mean sd min max ct. mean sd min max walk 292 0.0 0.0 0 0 165 1.9 2.3 10 18 165 1.9 39.5 4 21 bike 78 0.0 0.0 0 0 38 3.8 2.8 10 19 38 3.8 32.3 6 14 microbus 221 31.3 16.8 10 100 126 6.9 4.8 19 30 109 6.9 66.3 4 6 minibus 33 24.2 10.0 10 60 17 8.2 10.2 40 45 18 8.2 30.2 3 12 bus 51 26.3 12.3 10 60 37 6.0 3.1 20 36 25 6.0 41.1 8 18 taxi 86 79.0 41.1 20 220 53 7.5 4.7 20 35 60 7.5 50.4 10 22 private 125 93.6 43.4 20 450 58 7.8 8.5 30 63 85 7.8 53.1 2 36 share car 43 44.4 15.2 20 80 19 5.5 3.4 30 47 29 5.5 31.6 16 24 929 513 529 shah/ the academic research community publication pg. 55 (table 5) is the result obtained from sample data of 1, 3, and 8 zonal districts that shows count, mean, min, max, and standard deviation of travel cost, travel time, and travel distance from sample participants (n=929). all of the participants declared their travel cost, while 513 declared their travel time and 445 declared travel distance. in the following linear regression, as stated by (pradip kumar sarkar, vinai maitri and g.j joshi, 2015), the relationship between the two variables is modeled by fitting the linear equation of the observed data, one variable as an explanatory variable or is considered an independent variable, and the other that is to be estimated is considered as a dependent variable. intention is to find out the existence of a relationship between a dependent and independent variable . a simple tool for determining the relationship between two variables is to consider a scatter diagram (figures 4 and 5). figure 4 modal sharing line of trips on foot in respect to distance figure 5 modal sharing line of trips on foot in respect to time the above diagrams show the direct relationship between the one-day travel cost of workers concerning their travel distance and one-day travel cost with travel time. the mean scores of one-day travel cost were compared with oneday travel time and one-day travel distance of all modes of transportation to present their correlations. the use of walking and biking modes of transportation are the highest for shorter distances. as the distances get longer, private cars are used to meet daily needs. non-motorized modes of transportation (walking and biking) also confirm previous statements, with more usage in shorter travel times. in the final analysis of the relationship between the mode share for low-income workers and the high usage of human-centered transportation, according to (figures 4 and 5), it was observed that in the broad context, due to increasing cost and insufficient public transportation, low-income workers use bicycles and walking as their reliable mode of transportation to a noticeable extent. y = 0.0449x + 4.2724 r² = 0.4877 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 t ra v el d is ta n ce /k m travel cost(mean)/afn 1afn=0.014usd 1day travel distance 1day travel distance linear (1day travel distance) y = 0.1499x + 58.51 r² = 0.3017 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 t ra v el t im e/ m in travel cost(mean)/afn 1afn=0.014usd 1day travel time 1day travel time linear (1day travel time) shah/ the academic research community publication pg. 56 7. share of transportation mode by trip distance the trip distance discussed here means the shortest distance between gravity centers of districts measured along the trunk road networks. therefore, it should be noted that the trip distance within the district is unclear, the distance measured along the trunk road may not be the shortest route, and the trip distances for the inhabitants living far from the gravity center may be longer than actual trip distances. the share of trips on foot within the district, at 61%, is the highest. the average distance of trips on foot is 2.9 km (figure 6 and table 6). table 6 transportation modes share in respect to trip distances distance trips (trips/day) share walk public transport private transport total walk public transport private transport intra district 1093300 533797 285685 1992408 55 27 14 0-2 21777 62724 56247 134493 16 47 42 2-4 7148 54313 30592 88284 8 62 35 4-6 42499 269558 89382 393703 11 68 23 6-8 63277 324066 126076 502441 13 64 25 8-10 53371 303420 109067 456388 12 66 24 10-12 15178 200909 73924 281212 5 71 26 12-14 13312 176204 64833 246631 5 71 26 14-16 25015 108650 43611 173801 14 63 25 16-18 14133 81548 27438 120857 12 67 23 18-20 1141 25167 6061 31704 4 79 19 20-22 6129 37746 14246 56776 11 66 25 22-24 5847 41279 20194 65001 9 64 31 24-26 5112 29064 10447 43717 12 66 24 26-28 5681 22283 7547 35087 16 64 22 28-30 2801 12553 4418 19462 14 64 23 30-32 3113 9210 3571 15731 20 59 23 32-34 254 213 139 613 41 35 23 34-36 163 1551 87 1817 9 85 5 36-38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 38-40 1120 2710 973 4791 23 57 20 40-42 136 181 21 351 39 52 6 42-44 396 786 631 1760 22 45 36 44-46 217 432 154 806 27 54 19 460 0 0 0 0 0 0 total 1347918 2315923 1003993 4667834 29% 49% 22% avg. length 2.9 km 8.3 km 7.3 km 6.4 km shah/ the academic research community publication pg. 57 figure 6 share of transportation mode by trip distance the number of people using public transportation tends to increase when the trip distance exceeds two km and shares not less than 60% in most of the ranges. the average trip distance of public transport users is 8.3 km. the number of private transport mode users also tends to increase when the trip distance exceeds two km and shares around 20% in most of the ranges. the average trip distance by private transport is 7.3 km, which is shorter than that of public transport. the shares of each transport mode are almost constant in most of the ranges except for the trips within the district. this is because most of the trips are concentrated in the center of kabul regardless of trip distance (whether from districts close to or far from the center). 8. modal split by purpose the share of public transportation for commuting to work purposes is 60%, which is the highest, followed by private transport modes, such as passenger cars, motor bikes, etc. (figure 7). trips-on-foot shares 62% for the way to schools, followed by the trips with public transport sharing 29%. for business trips, the share of trips on foot was smaller compared to other purposes, and the share of private transport modes is higher instead. the share of public transport is high for the trips of private purpose, such as shopping, compared to other purposes. table 7 one day mode split by purpose figure 7 one day modal split by purpose of trip 0 100000 200000 300000 400000 500000 600000 t r ip s /d a y km walk public transport private transport walk public transport private transport total work 234534 1005144 435562 1675240 14.00% 60.00% 26.00% school 232405 108156 33682 374243 62.10% 28.90% 9.00% business 3859 32352 16652 52862 7.30% 61.20% 31.50% private 23324 131573 23145 178042 13.10% 73.90% 13.00% home 809345 1172236 405866 2387447 33.90% 49.10% 17.00% total 1347918 2315923 1003993 4667834 28.89% 49.6 21.51% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% walk public transport private transport shah/ the academic research community publication pg. 58 9. conclusion the purpose of this study is to determine the limits of the use of walking and biking for transportation forlow-income workers in kabul afghanistan. it was also shown that human-centered transportation (walking and biking) was mainly used for intra zonal (district) trips because of the lack of proper zonal connectivity and walking and biking facilities. although the current study is based on a small sample of participants, the findings suggest the investigation can be broadened to cover all 22 zonal districts to obtain more precise findings. finally, it is suggested that the spatial organization of kabul is redefined and designed based on the new space organization, and the local organization and formulation of urban transportation strategies in urban strategic plans for pedestrian and bicycle transportation systems are strengthened, especially for roads leading to employment locations. furthermore, in planning, priority is to be shifted to human-centered transportation (walking and biking). references francesca racioppi, world health organization, (2002), a physically active life through everyday transport with a special focus on children and older people and examples and approaches from europe, rome. jeff speck, (2018). walkable city rules, 101steps to making better places, washington dc: island press, 2000 m steet nw suite 650 washington dc 20063. john i.gilderblooma et al (2015). does walkability matter? an examination of walkability’s impact on housing values, foreclosures and crime. elsevier ltd. japan international cooperation agency(jica) study team(2009). the study for the development of the master plan for kabul metropolitan area in the islamic republich of afghanistan: sector report 8: transportation, kabul-afghanistan: recs international inc. yachiyo engineering co, ltd. cti engineering international co, ltd. sanyu consultants inc. pradep kumar sarkar, vinay maitri, g.j. joshi, (2015). transportation planning: principles, practices and policies. delhi-110092: phi learning private limited. national statistics and information authority, (2021). afghanistan statistical yearbook 2020: issue no. 42. kabulafghanistan: nsia. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0264275114001474#! http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication city marketing & urban branding: a new way to identify egyptian cities through creating positive public mental image studying urban branding elements in the advertising advertising campaigns of egyptian cities in the 21st century doha bassem1 1post graduate masters student, architecture department, faculty of engineering, cairo university abstract globalization contains new areas of research that still under development. among these research is urban branding. it’s an alternative for countries to promote and rebuild their image in order to attract business and tourism. the public mental image is the first engine to, attract develop and improve the place in consumer mind. it is a catalyst picture of urban design and manufacture of urban branding. the paper will study advertising campaigns on the egyptian cities that carries distinctive mental image of its urban (physical, cultural, social, economic and urban elements) at the whole city. the city contains urban elements those elements are not individual, but related to each other creating the city limits physically and symbolically. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban development; mental image; city marketing; nation branding; urban branding & marketing campaign 1. introduction cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else. italo calvino, 1972 in today’s globalized world, cities reflect our collective identity. cities are the starting point for all human activities and therefore valuable networks that have created their own images and brands. the paper puts criticism of those urban elements on the basis of the modern urban planning theories and urban branding theories, then we describe the quantity and quality of those elements in egyptian advertising campaigns with a preliminary study of some of the concepts of urban branding and their impact on the urban planning industry. after that the search will exposure to global examples in city marketing. finally we can analyzing the performance of different actors on how countries promote its image abroad. generally, city marketing is strategy to provide cities with the brand identities, including positioning, brand personality, urban branding and nation branding. the function of city branding is a source of added symbolic. on the other hand, the traditional urban planning aims to solving problems. the urban problem is an outdated concept nowadays people pursue higher quality of life. urban branding and planning get closer in this era even they pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i4.534 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ adel / the academic research community publication supposes to be two separated disciplines. people bay a way of life through discussion and implication, there will be attempts to recap what it takes to urban branding, and further discuss if city should take the urban branding conceptual framework, and address how this approach would help egyptian cities as a whole to brand its cities. research methodology this paper utilizes a case study approach for urban branding topic. through theoretical, analytical and practical view point. by making definition of city marketing, nation branding and urban branding. the theoretical part shown in two sections firstly, simon anholt nation brand hexagon six factors susceptible to affect a nation’s image; people, culture and heritage, exports, government and investments and immigration. secondly, studying urban branding strategies which support a credible identity through media, historical buildings, city form, signature architecture building. taking into consideration that paper encompasses case study, of egyptian marketing campaign “new egypt, old friends”. 1.1. research problem there are deficiencies in the successful urban spaces representation in many egyptian cities, which can be an effective tool in attracting tourists and investment, and on various aspects of disease from the track and forelock end to the distinctive signs to find out several questions 1. does your image and branding reflect who you are and what do you now rather than what you have done in the past? 2. is this campaign case reflect the six dimensions mentioned in the hexagon model and urban branding strategies? 1.2. research objectives the objectives of research on the monitoring of urban elements help to create a positive mental image of the egyptian cities of which the egyptian authorities see elements of global and regional attraction to activate the economic situation the purpose of the thesis is to analyze how these campaigns affect and promote the urban environment image of egyptian cities in the world. consequently, the aim of this paper is to analyze a specific case which could be worth for instance in order to gain global recognition. 1.3. research hypothesis when linking the results of the investigation to the concept of nation brand and urban branding through athol’s hexagon model and branding strategies show the aim of this paper is to analyze a specific case. the following hypothesis which links with one of the proposed questions will be tested: when we promote to any city we need to use all of strategies and terms of marketing starting from city marketing then nation branding and urban branding to give the right image about place and city. in particular, this paper could be taken as a practical case of urban branding between developed countries which can show interesting differences with the promotion conducted towards developing countries. besides, the application of the athol’s model to a practical case of promotion campaign could give way to new questions or approaches. 1.4. literature review: this paper is studying cities marketing and the modern urban environment theories .in this part some definition that supported the investigation of the paper will be shown. pg. 2 adel / the academic research community publication 2. city marketing, nation branding & place branding 2.1. city marketing means designing a place to satisfy the needs of its target markets. it succeeds when citizens and businesses are pleased with their communities, and the expectations of visitors and investors are met. (kotler et al. 1999,) city marketing includes several different trends and forms of branding: nation branding, place of origin branding, destination branding and city branding. place and city uses branding as an approach to integrate, guide and focus place management. (warnaby 2009) it is a challenge to tell people that logos and slogans are not the brand, but that they can be a tool to communicate the brand at the end of a long process. zenker, sebastian 2017 marketers can draw tools to implement an effective image of a place: slogans, positions, themes and visual symbols (logos) or events and deeds. a city brand can be based on various attributes. usually people think about cities in terms of qualities or some kind of story. like “paris is romance, milan is style, new york is energy, washington is power, tokyo is modernity, barcelona is culture, rio is fun. these are the brands of cities, and they are inextricably tied to the histories and destinies of all these places.”(anholt 2007). figure 1. brand dimension it can be possible to link between city marketing ,urban branding & nation branding together to have our country campaigns vision .three trends focus on improving city image to communicate with their target audience .every trend has its strategies and tools .branding is one of marketing process which means that city marketing include nation branding and urban branding . city branding has to take under consideration the historical and cultural background, the social and the economic development, the landscape and the natural surroundings, the infrastructures and the architectural statements of the city and their possible interaction and combination to actually create a place with an enhanced monetary value (zhang, 2009). pg. 3 adel / the academic research community publication figure 2. relation between city marketing and branding types 2.1.1. urban branding the unique, multi-dimensional blend of elements that provide the city with culturally grounded differentiation and relevance for all of its target audiences dinnie 2008 the objectives of branding a city are attracting inward investment and tourists secondly, to reinforce local identity and identification of the citizens with their city thus, it can be argued that the ultimate goal of city branding is to foster the economic development of the city and to improve the wellbeing of its residents (prilenska 2012). in order to achieve this purpose, two main strategies can be developed; the creative or experience city strategy. these strategies seek to improve the image and reputation of the city in an attempt to foster inward development and improve the quality of life of its residents and, although both pursue the same goal, the implementation of each is relatively different. – the creative city strategy breaks old prejudices and towards a city by showing its most innovative, alternative and high-tech side, making it more attractive for skillful individuals, for this to occur, the city must have the technology, tolerance and talent also called the three t’s of the creative class (henze 2014). in addition to the three t’s, such a city should have qualitative and affordable housing, public services, short travel times among other cities, lifestyle and cultural opportunities and, lastly, quality of city spaces such as green and public areas. – the experience city strategy is usually developed by those cities which, due to their size, location or history do not have potential for developing creative cities (prilenska 2012). place bound experiences include events, activities such as shopping, sports and artistic activities, services such as theme restaurants, wellness centers, art galleries and theatres and, lastly, different places which act as a host for diverse activities such as recreational parks, museums, sights... pg. 4 adel / the academic research community publication 2.1.2. nation branding the nation’s image becomes the reputation of the country. (wee, f.woo, 2009) a city’s image reflects how people experience it and what the city is known for. an image highlights disparity and individuality. (virtanen, 1998) .city’s image is the sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that people have of that place. different people can hold quite different images of the same place. (kotler etl, 1999) image’s mission is to individualize a city, separate it from other cities and give it its own identity. brand identity there is a gap between the nation’s identity and the nation’s image. the brand identity is projected while the country’s image is perceived. brand identity indicates what a brand stands for: its history, purpose, principles and ambitions. there are no two brands alike with same core values, roots and visual identity. (van gelder 2003,) figure 3promotional mix however, brand image may turn out to be something entirely different as the planned identity, because image is subject to perception. the brand identity can be confusing or something entirely different than planned. this is called “the perception gap”. perception gap must be avoided by ensuring that the target audience sees and relates to the brand identity and acknowledges what is offered. (temporal 2002). 3. advertising campaigns advertising campaigns is one of promotions strategy of marketing mix .it delivers the brand image to create brand awareness and attract new customers .businesses have many choices of how and where to promote or advertise their products. advertising campaigns are the application of clear and consistent brand messaging using different promotional methods .the campaigns are designed to present the magnetism, strengths and competitive advantages of selected countries to an elite global audience. figure 3. promotional mix 3.1. advertising campaigns critic criteria to critic advertising campaigns we need a strategic criterion based on specific elements to get the overall concept. those used elements based on tow branding strategies (urban branding strategies & nation branding strategies) firstly urban branding elements which contain the urban physical elements, secondly nation branding elements. 3.1.1. urban branding elements the process of developing often takes 10 to 20 years (moilanen & seppo, 2009). most of the literature on urban branding and nation branding focuses on the means of building a brand. robin d. rusch, (2003) suggests that branding a city is not just coming up with a ’snappy logo’. there’s a lot of strategic research and planning like pg. 5 adel / the academic research community publication 1. what sort of business or visitor are to be targeted? 2. what areas or features will in turn be attractive to these groups? 3. how the city life is looks like? 4. how city form reach target audience? 5. which urban elements create the best mental image? 6. the existing perceptions either need to be enhanced to launch a credible identity. the image that one has about another country shows how one sees that country; image and progress go hand in hand as a place to invest or as a source of goods. therefore, country promotes its brands, those brands will promote the country, but what about urban elements which describe the physical features that define the character or image of the city as a whole (street, neighborhood, community). urban design is the visual and sensory relationship between people and the built and natural environment. all of these questions it can be answered by here under elements of urban branding (shape 2). the branding of urban elements has benefited from branding of the city, the city should benefit from the magnificent network of open spaces, waterfronts, and boulevards that is already in place, and the principal idea is to change the traditional face of city, to meet the rapid development of the city. figure 4. urban branding elements through, branding of city life as a tool rendering the urban image new and active, (rehan, 2014) city life shows the city very attractive place in which to hold events and celebrations. then prompt city as a cultural place which has historical building like mosques, opera house ,castles and new places .when city could attract international architects who design landmarks buildings that role is branding a city as a new icon it called “signature architecture icons”. the urban image is featured in media (advertising campaigns, t.v, movies city publication, social media) using logos and slogans to extract characteristics and reach a goal. one of the main attraction branding elements is city form which includes public spaces. figure 5. examples for cities logos and slogons pg. 6 adel / the academic research community publication 3.1.2. nation branding elements in 2005, anholt gfk puts list started with 35 countries about nation branding, but nowadays the study rose to 50 nation. the in study measures the power and quality of each country’s brand image by combining the six channels represented in the hexagon model (anholt gfk-america, 2010). the study also allows to measuring the rating of one country towards another. therefore we choose it to have accurate information about developing branding plans more focused. the list of anholt is based on the political and economic importance of the nations in global geopolitics and the flow owes, listed by six region north america, western europe, central/eastern europe, asia-pacific, latin america, and middle east/africa. based on anholt’s competitive identity, there are six pathways: tourism, export, governs, investment, culture, and people. figure 6. anholt gfk six path aways chart table 1. anholt gfk six path aways export determines the public’s image of products from each country and the extent to which consumer proactively seek or avoid products from each country of origin. governs measures public opinion regarding the level of national government competency and fairness and describes individuals’ beliefs about each country’s government, as well as its perceived commitment to global issues such as democracy, justice, poverty and the environment. investment determines the power to attract people to live, work or study in each country and reveals how people perceive a country’s economic and social situation. cultural reveals global perceptions of each nation’s heritage and appreciation for its contemporary culture, including film, music, art, sport and literature. people measures the population’s reputation for competence, education, openness and friendliness and other qualities, as well as perceived levels of potential hostility and discrimination. tourism captures the level of interest in visiting a country and the draw of natural and man-made tourist attractions. which include anholt competitive identity, six pathways any government had to invested time and money to nurture all of these sectors: export, governs, investment, cultural, people, tourism. although enhancing the beauty and livability of the city by protecting its historic design legacy, reinforcing the identity of its neighborhoods, harmoniously integrating new construction with existing buildings and the natural environment, and improving the vitality, appearance, and security of streets and public spaces. pg. 7 adel / the academic research community publication figure 7. nation branding elements 4. case study (new egypt, old friends) 2016 campaign egypt well known as pg. 8 adel / the academic research community publication if we look at the branded image of egypt outside of egypt, there are primarily things that come to people’s minds. egypt’s identity is defined by a particular set of physical features, including nile river, the topographic sahara that surrounds it. one of dominant symbols in the formal and semi formal sphere derives mainly from aspects of egypt’s history, especially the pharaonic and islamic periods. the three giza pyramids with the great sphinx represents the most important and obvious visual symbol of the egyptian nation. figure 8. egypt degrees around 50 country in 2008, 2014 gfk panel & nbist “in 2008 culture index of gfk & nbism” egypt ranked as 4th place in 50 country, which widely known for their cultural and ancient civilizations, get their best scores in this dimension, lifted primarily by the “rich cultural heritage”. “new egypt, old friend” campaign created by qcp tv company, an award-winning international production company and the exclusive tv producer for some of the world’s leading countries and news channels throughout europe, africa, middle east and latin america, ..etc, created the campaign “new egypt, old friends”, which gives the campaign a professional character. the campaign focuses on egypt as country at all. it showed a lot of egyptian cities (luxor, red sea region, suez) but the most one has appeared the capital cairo. pg. 9 adel / the academic research community publication cities in campaign cairo: the architecture and layout of the city reflect the various epochs of its history. very roughly, old cairo is the medieval part, the heart of popular cairo, and also where the islamic and coptic monuments are. the modern city center was built in the nineteenth century and was model dafter paris. new cairo include open spaces and parks and modern compounds, and the wide diagonal boulevards and rectangular street grid. the city is further defined by its horizontal skyline in nile valley contain the region’s tallest buildings while the central city is characterized by lower buildings of relatively uniform mass and height. luxor it is one of the oldest cities in the world, but the campaign doesn’t use it. the carnac temple appeared in one scene red sea region & suez. figure 9. egypt map shows important cities 4.1. urban branding elements through egyptian campaign mediagenerated image logo & slogan: the combination between slogan and logo considered an essential starting point for any urban branding campaign. it is also a difficult tool to use: a poorly chosen slogan or logo can haunt a city for many years. here they use a complicated logo (figure 10) contain lots of architecture elements (alex library, three pyramids and sphinx, ministry of foreign affairs, neil towers, bridge peace commentator, cairo tower, the new egyptian museum. figure 10. complicated logo used in the campaign (new egypt old friends, 2016) pg. 10 adel / the academic research community publication they didn’t follow new york in 1977, when they decided to combat increasingly negative images by using new logo “i love ny” its short and to the point. the message from such example is developing a coherent and convincing ‘story’. for both large and small cities finding a story or even a set of stories .for slogan, they use the same name of the campaign to be the slogan. in 2004, singapore launching “uniquely singapore” campaign, which had the same slogan name. “new egypt old friends” website: it doesn’t show any connection channels website or different types of social media, just logos of companies that appeared in the campaign. signature architecture it is an approach to marketing and advertising places. buildings have a power and tangible symbolic value. these building have different functions, such buildings become icons but also act as magnets for investments, tourists and labor, like the great pyramids is an inherent part of how we understand and think of our home (countries/cities). some buildings, like the twin towers, retain their symbolic meaning even after their distortion. the grand egyptian museum (largest archeological museum) took a big part of campaign because it’s fit with concept of new egypt. the museum hopefully will generate a huge success in changing the image of the urban fabric around it especially when linking it with the great pyramids and attracted national and international media coverage during planning and construction. figure 11. shows the iconic grand egyptian museum(new egypt old friends, 2016) figure 12. shows the iconic great pyramids in giza(new egypt old friends, 2016) branding urban projects/ flag ship projects new large-scale projects, culture project and new internationally recognized buildings like moutoin view (cairo, north coast, sokhna), dream land & smart village, those compounds developers can make up a vital part of an urban branding strategy. it also assumes the guise of energetic redevelopment programs for the place. the goal is to use culture as a flag that attracts new residents or whether there is a concerted attempt to create cultural industries clusters. pg. 11 adel / the academic research community publication figure 13. shows flag ships projectssmart village , mountoin view (new egypt old friends, 2016) city form it’s one of important branding elements strategy public spaces around nile valley, its main attraction point of egypt as an environmental public space and international hotels. parks privet compound parks had been shown, landmarks to develop a memorial statue like t.v. building maspero tower and cairo tower .there is no memorial statue .libraries despite egypt have one of the most important libraries in the world .the campaign doesn’t benefit from it .museums the grand egyptian museum used as an iconic building, and no one also showed to make an unique image for egypt. modern streets moaaz street used as modern and developed street. figure 14. shows public spaces, ( nile valley – alazhar park ) (new egypt old friends, 2016) historical places it’s one of the striking visitor’s sights and the campaign showed very little historical places like (hatshepsut temple, giza pyramids, mohamed ali mosque, moaaz street). pg. 12 adel / the academic research community publication figure 15. historical places (hatshepsut temple – muhammad ali mosque ) , (new egypt old friends, 2016) brand city life various events and cultural activities seem to be always new and rich characterized country. events had been shown egypt economic development conference /financial services events, and cultural activities dancing party nights. 4.2. nation branding elements through egyptian campaign tourism vibrant city cairo appeared as the only vibrant city, despite there was another rich cities with historical buildings like karnack temple in luxor, giza and great pyramids, and throw natural beauty of urban environmental spaces like desert and under the sea life these all with visit if money no object. figure 16. events with different purposes used in egypt (new egypt old friends, 2016) people the campaign used different celebrities in defiant fields ministers, the president, singers, stylist, investor, but it couldn’t connect all those people together like the my houston campaign (2013) when all celebrities use the same slogan at the end of their word about the city “these is my houston”. employability it showed biomedical, engineering and construction facilities to tell the world how to invest in our country. close friend it showed the egyptian people welcoming and happy. figure 17. some public figures in egypt (new egypt old friends, 2016) pg. 13 adel / the academic research community publication culture the campaign focuses on contemporary culture more than cultural heritage and sports like (golf, diving, parachute para-sailing ) just two seconds of the campaign. figure 18. used sports in the campaign (new egypt old friends, 2016) governance the campaign doesn’t mention poverty, environment, peace & security, rights & fairness, competent & honest of these section, because it wasn’t the target of the campaign. exports it focused on creative place like suez channel expansion project it is a logistics hub which will improve the place around it and guide to logistic city. buy products it used the egyptian stock exchange/ central bank of egypt to give the image of new improved economy. here is one of science & technology filed pharmaceutical industry and archaeology science had been shown. figure 19. improving exports road through suez canal expansion (new egypt old friends, 2016) immigration quality in society it didn’t mention, invest in business construction field, pharmaceutical industry is the most investment used there and trading with other countries throw new expansion of suez channel. educational they didn’t mention any type of it. pg. 14 adel / the academic research community publication figure 20. some logistic projectcs (new egypt old friends, 2016) quality of life shows the luxury life, and they didn’t mention those people residents or visitors. work & live it showed throw employee in several pioneering developments and banks. figure 21. the quality in sosaity life , work & live (new egypt old friends, 2016) 5. summary the campaign covered different types of urban branding strategies and nation branding but without mention names. it connected architectural elements with logo but also there was no slogan to link all parts of the campaign to make one identity. it focused on new construction project to show how many operations on egypt, there for it neglected the historical part an important landmarks, event, activities. 6. conclusion city branding theory is still in an emergent phase. egypt should embark on nation, urban branding because it has many elements somewhat in place. egypt tries to stay current and relevant; and it evolves with the present global environment. egypt is competing for affluent residents (investment) and tourists. egypt should take on nation, urban branding to position itself to compete in the global market. it needs to define its own brand identity. from that identity, have all the stakeholders work towards a cohesive pg. 15 adel / the academic research community publication brand. there should also be a flow of communications to share a common goal. transparency is essential in this communication process to keep things on track. – egypt needs to identify and recognized its own identity. – egypt should first research, and find out what is the public’s view on egypt’s identity. – to successfully nation brand, egypt will require more foundation data. – the campaign doesn’t mention any city name or nick name ,so if you want to visit cities and related urban element 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(2012). a parametric study on (doctoral dissertation, msc. thesis, faculty of engineering, cairo university, giza, egypt). pg. 17 introduction research problem research objectives research hypothesis literature review: city marketing, nation branding & place branding city marketing urban branding nation branding advertising campaigns advertising campaigns critic criteria urban branding elements nation branding elements case study (new egypt, old friends) 2016 campaign urban branding elements through egyptian campaign nation branding elements through egyptian campaign summary conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.444 overall framework of the foundations and pillars of sustainable development for local communities (damietta governorate model) randa galal hussein ali1 1associate professor regional urban development department, faculty of urban and regional planning cairo university abstract egypt as a developing country aims to promote sustainability among its various sectors. noticing the need for promoting better life among local communities, as the corner stone for promoting sustainable development, the government has initiated a number of private and public attempts that aimed for utilizing the local communities as a catalyst for promoting sustainability. after 3 decades of real attempts for promoting local sustainability approaches most of the attempts has failed to achieve its objectives. the research aims to introduce an innovative practical approach that would have the ability to overcome the defined deficiencies of the existing approaches and to practically promote sustainability among local communities. the research methodology will depend on an analytical comparative analysis of the existing sustainability local communities frameworks based on which the deficiency and contributions of the current situation can be defined. then based on theoretical analysis the research is to innovate and introduce a new approach for promoting local sustainable communities, ’foundation and pillars for sustainable local communities’ (fpslc). the developed framework was then applied to damietta governorate as a case study where it was tested and proven. the research developed frame work is requested by the development agencies in egypt to enable the achievement outputs and result of this research can be summarized in the formulation of the conceptual framework for sustainable development and mechanisms leading to realizing self sufficiency within the competitive industries through the introduced pillars of development. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords sustainable local communities; sustainability foundations and pillars; local communities models 1. preface damietta is one of the windows of egypt on the coast of the mediterranean sea, where the north of the delta is located on the east bank of the nile river and the city of damietta is the capital of the province 15 km from the estuary of the river, which is a peninsula populated by the mediterranean to the north and lake manzala to the east; delta and its plains. pg. 222 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ali / the academic research community publication the relative importance of urban and rural areas in the governorate is represented by the urban areas in the existing city of damietta and the new city of damietta near the new damietta port which is one of the most important elements supporting the city in activating the interaction between the city and the scope of the influence of the port and providing huge opportunities for investment in all fields (chemical furniture paper industries engineering industries packaging storage) both in the industrial zone or the coastal zone as well as in the field of housing. the new city is considered a development pole that integrates with the existing city to solve the problems of the governorate and the existing city of providing jobs and new extension areas and revitalizing the industry. damietta city’s urban wall is being completed with the establishment of the furniture city as an integrated industrial zone for furniture industries to enter international markets. the rural area of the governorate is integrated into the economic activities of the governorate. the governorate is considered as an integrated development unit for a number of industries, mainly the furniture industry. figure (1) shows the location of damietta governorate in delta egypt. figure 1. shows the location of damietta governorate in delta egypt 2. research problem: egypt as a developing country aims to promote sustainability among its various sectors. noticing the need for promoting better life among local communities, as the corner stone for promoting sustainable development, the government has initiated a number of private and public attempts that aimed for utilizing the local communities as a catalyst for promoting sustainability. after 3 decades of real attempts for promoting local sustainability approaches most of the attempts has failed to achieve its objectives. the research problem can be summarized in the need to introduce an innovative practical approach that would have the ability to overcome the defined deficiencies of the existing approaches and to practically promote sustainability among local communities to enable the successful application of the new approaches of the recently announced egypt’s 2030 strategy and achieve its objectives. 3. research aims and objectives: thus this research paper aims at developing an overall framework of the foundations and pillars of sustainable development for local communities using damietta governorate model as a case study. this will achieve the pg. 223 ali / the academic research community publication main outputs and result of this research can be summarized in the formulation of the conceptual framework for sustainable development and mechanisms leading to realizing self sufficiency within the competitive industries through the introduced pillars of development. 4. research methodology: 4.1. this research will proceed in accordance wityh the following methodology: first analysis of industries with competitive advantage will be presented with special focus on the local industries of damietta governorate as the subject for the case study to determine the basic required elements the methodology will then proceed to defining the pillars and criteria for sustainable development of damietta’s community including the role of the main actors in the development of industry this will be followed by studying the extent of integration among export industries within the framework of a single production format, with emphathis on the production units of the furniture industry. the research will then proceed to understanding the functional specialized units for the furniture industry of damietta governorate, which includes both urban and rural areas and the extent of benefiting from the characteristics and culture of the local community to activate these units. the research will then climax with developing a comprehensive framework and pillars for the sustainable development of local communities. 4.2. 1. development of damietta furniture industry as a local industry with global competitiveness 4.2.1. craft industries damietta is famous for its high quality and taste, which matches the latest international designs. damietta produces almost two-thirds of the furniture production in egypt. the total annual production is 375,000 rooms (bedroom, dining room, salon and pantry), as well as kitchens and chairs. in addition to industrial and commercial activities, the daily production is estimated to be around 2 million pounds. due to the quality of the furniture product and its compatibility with the global development of this industry, damietta furniture has found a place on the export map since years to compete with world production and surpass it since ancient times. damietta is famous for the textile industry because of its proximity to the areas designated for the cultivation of the finest cotton and linen and for the skill of its international people in this industry, the boats that run to the old port of damietta were loaded with cedar wood for the manufacture of ships and furniture and are loaded with hand-made textiles. it was used by merchants from everywhere to buy textiles and embroidered fabrics. damietta spinning & weaving company is the head of damietta textile industry. it is a large edifice whose production covers the local market and a large part of the production is exported to europe and america. (planning, 2015) 4.2.2. development of furniture industry thought in damietta development of invested and working capital during the period 2003 – 2009 , the working capital and investor of the furniture industry in damietta grew from 2003 to 2009, with working capital reaching about le 3.8 billion, while the invested capital reached le 3.5 billion, figure (2) shows development of invested and working capital during the period 2003 – 2009 . the value was reduced from 2010 to 2016. pg. 224 ali / the academic research community publication figure 2. development of invested and working capitalduring the period 2003 – 2009 – the furniture industry in egypt is mainly concentrated in damietta governorate in el-jawh el-bahr, as it produces nearly two-thirds of the production of wood furniture in egypt with high quality and high taste that matches the latest designs. – damietta city is one of the best cities in the production and manufacture of furniture at the level of egypt and has a global role (export) – the furniture industry in damietta province depends on the wood industries through factories for the production of wood, alpakash, factories for the production of veneer wood, and factories for the production of accessories for furniture, handles, paints, paints and other furniture. – the total annual production of 375 thousand rooms between (sleeping, dining, salon, and entra) as well as the production of kitchens and chairs and the work of nearly 100 thousand workers as well as industrial and commercial assistance and estimated daily production of nearly two million pounds of egyptian. (aufsd, association for the upgrading furniture sector in domietta, 2014) – the volume of egyptian exports was expected to reach one billion dollars in 2017-2018. figure (3) shows the exports of furniture industry to 1 billion $. figure 3. exports of furniture industry to 1billion $ pg. 225 ali / the academic research community publication 4.2.3. factors affecting the increase in the rate of industrial production – the main reasons for the boom in the rate of increase in income entry of the industry modernization program in damietta. operating more than 10 new factories in new damietta and other factories under construction. – industry modernization program: the egyptian ministry of industry aims to leapfrog huge leaps towards rapid growth and competition at the international level. – industrial modernization program: which covers all small and medium industrial activities and is not limited to a certain number of manufacturers, but includes all the manufacturers of egypt in various industries, including the implementation of a comprehensive program to develop the furniture industry based on the land of egypt in damietta or elsewhere where the program aims in the first phase development of 70 furniture facilities in egypt. – the exhibition of permanent furniture products in damietta is one of the start-ups of the modernization of the egyptian furniture industry and its requirements. some 120 companies from various egyptian companies working in the furniture industry are participating in the exhibition, stressing the need to benefit from the egyptian industries which have a good international reputation. italy, france, germany, england, austria and others – the modernization program for the furniture industry in cooperation with damietta governorate has created a spirit of cooperation and coordination between damietta furniture manufacturers, which facilitated the accurate diagnosis of their problems and the development of suitable and immediate solutions. – the exhibitions organized by the egyptian industrial modernization center or in which it participates have a positive impact on the egyptian industry, where it succeeded in concluding direct and indirect contracts between several egyptian factories and international markets, especially that they enjoy international quality specifications and high tastes and favorable prices. the results are accurate to ensure the maximum benefit of these exhibitions for the egyptian furniture products. – the modernization is not limited to industrial establishments, but extends to quality programs and calibrations and testing laboratories as one of the most important elements of increasing the exports of many egyptian factories working in the field of furniture industry. – the egyptian ministry of industry maintains relations with representatives of international companies for furniture investors who are invited to watch egyptian furniture products and the advantages and possibilities of egyptian furniture, especially in quality, taste and price. – for its part, damietta governorate, the main producer of the furniture industry in egypt, is implementing a comprehensive plan for the development of this important activity and the establishment of a committee that was later developed an association on behalf of the damietta furniture development association, praising the role played by the modernization program to improve the quality and tastes of these products and facilitate their presence in international markets and from the opening of the faculty of applied arts in damietta will receive about 200 students to provide skilled workers able to absorb the modern technology of this industry. – the industrial modernization center is developing strategic plans to promote the furniture industry, which represents one of the main industries met by the industry modernization program. damietta governorate alone includes about 35,000 production factories and workshops. about 75% of the egyptian furniture exporters go to the middle east, europe and the usa. – the damietta furniture industry is part of the regional programs implemented by the modernization program. the damietta center of excellence program includes the provision of export development services for medium-sized enterprises in damietta’s furniture sector, financed by c 197,300 for 15 furniture manufacturers in damietta. pg. 226 ali / the academic research community publication – the industrial modernization center is given great priority to make a real breakthrough in the egyptian furniture industry and to benefit from the huge potential of egypt. it organizes exhibitions and hosts a group of international experts to provide expertise and transfer of export expertise to international markets. the factories that participated in the exhibitions organized by the program achieved large export contracts, its production lines for more than a coming season. – egypt attaches particular importance to the need to rely on national industrialization and in national factories such as government factories or private sector factories. this includes the furniture industry in order to achieve and raise the competitiveness of the egyptian industry to deal with foreign markets in the framework of the egyptian european partnership agreement. – 885 companies in the modernization program, including 65 companies from the city of damietta to develop the furniture industry. it is updated. within the factories and focuses on the development of production processes and the introduction of quality systems and management training and professional employment and the composition of marketing devices. – eighty plants have been developed to comply with international standards and 260 companies have participated in training programs for human capacity development in senior and middle management and industrial management. in addition, 4 service centers were set up in 10th of ramadan, 6th of october, alexandria and damietta. the modernization program is being held in damietta with the association of furniture exporters to develop them through the establishment of a technological center, design center, training center and showrooms in european countries. 4.3. the integration of export industries in the context of a production format represented in the production units of the furniture industry the market for damietta furniture has witnessed a big boom over the last few years. statistics show that the furniture industry in the last five years progressed at a high annual rate indicators of the rate of increase in income in 2001 the income of the export of furniture damietta about 36 million dollars and in 2005 amounted to income of 129 million and 500 thousand dollars. in 2008, income amounted to $ 280 million. (gouvernorate, 2017) total exports in 2014 of furniture $ 1600 million and imports $ 423 million has increased consumption by 16% in 2015, exports rose by 35% and imports rose by while production increased by 12% (elbangay, 2016) the kingdom of saudi arabia tops the list of importing countries, where the percentage of imported egyptian furniture products 25% of the total exports of furniture in the country, while the united arab emirates ranked second place by 6%. italy is imported from egypt with a value of 17.2 million us dollars and exports in italy amounted to about 7%. china is a major source of furniture imports in the egyptian market, accounting for 39% of the total furniture imports. the value of these imports is $ 55 million, while asia and the middle east together account for 55% of all furniture imports to egypt. germany is a supplier to egypt, with 9% of total furniture imports valued at $ 13 million and the united states the third largest foreign exporter of furniture to egypt worth $ 11 million (elbangay, 2016) 4.3.1. functional specialization at the level of local units of the governorate through the analysis of the quality of industries in the province, the province was divided into stages of production of the furniture industry where there are dedicated areas as follows: – the processing areas are represented by the port area and the adjacent irrigation sector in the western part of the governorate. – special areas of the manufacturing process and concentrated in the south of the province in rural units. pg. 227 ali / the academic research community publication – areas to finalize the product in the center of the province in the provinces of small cities such as the city of faraskur and the city of kindergarten and the city of abu gharib and zarqa and the rural units of these cities. – areas of marketing and manufacturing together concentrated in the territory of the city of damietta, which is based on the branch of damietta branch of nile. (gouvernorate, 2017) figure (4) shows the functional specialization of furniture industry operations in damietta governorate. 4.3.2. levels of development units figure 4. the functional specialization of furniture industry operations in damietta governorate industry levels can be classified into sub-production units as follows: – units for the manufacture o f modern furniture is in the northern areas of the province of the cities: damietta and damietta new and kafr saad and kafr al-batikh. – secondary units for the traditional furniture industry in the western province near the egyptian delta – sub-units for the traditional furniture industry concentrated in the southeast of the province of the cities of faraskur, kindergarten, abu ghaleb, zarqa and siro. figure (5) shows the levels of specialization units for the furniture industry. figure 5. levels of specialization units for thefurniture industry pg. 228 ali / the academic research community publication 4.3.3. number of workshops and furniture factories in damietta city and its employees. – the presence of more than 35 thousand small workshops and some medium factories and spread in all cities of the province and employs in this industry more than 100 thousand workers and more than 10 thousand others frequented daily to maintain the province to work in this profession .. – the production of large and medium factories in damietta represents about 20% of the export production. the small workshops in all the cities and villages of the governorate numbering 35 thousand workshops represent 80% of the export production. – a unique experiment in eliminating unemployment within the governorate. this experiment began to be spread throughout all educational stages. the most important of these is the furniture industry and the woodwork. therefore, after graduating, the student has no obstacle to finding a job. – there is a relationship between the distribution of the rate of growth of workshops geographically with the distribution of employment growth rate. (gouvernorate, 2017) figures (6) & (7) show the growth of employment in the damietta & the growth of workshops maintained. figure 6. growthof employment in the damietta figure 7. growth of workshops maintained pg. 229 ali / the academic research community publication 4.4. the foundations and pillars of sustainable development units of damietta governorate the economic activity in damietta is one of the best economic patterns in the development process as it achieves economic growth because it is based on several foundations and pillars represented in the following: – spatial location of relative importance – community culture of damietta governorate – private capital for industrial men in the governorate – management of the furniture industry – the role of the parties in the industry – contribution to local and national output – local and global competition 4.4.1. the relative importance of damietta governorate location – the establishment of the new city of damietta, where a new economic entity is subject to the law of new urban communities and have huge opportunities to invest in the coastal area or industrial area as well as investment in housing, in addition to the availability of places and land required for housing. – the availability of skilled labor and also available many of the workers from the geographically close governorates, such as dakahlia, western, eastern, kafr sheikh. – the allocation of the industrial area in the new city of damietta, with an area of 300 feddans located south of the new city of damietta, in addition to an area of 250 feddans which is an extension of it. the industrial zone entered the actual production phase with many projects including food projects, chemical, furniture, paper industries, engineering packing & packaging storage, ...). a small complex for small industries within the area was also implemented and allocated on an area of 2916 square meters to provide opportunities for young artisans. – the existence of the free industrial zone east of damietta port, with an area of 190 feddans located in the area between the navigational canal and damietta port. it aims to create an industrial pool. this area was supplied with an electric capacity of 8 mw and a 400mm diameter plan of drinking water (planning, regional plan of damietta, 1996) – the free storage area is located west of damietta port with an area of 545 feddans and serves the port of damietta and the industrial free zone east of the port. – damietta port and its distinguished potential in providing depths that allow the reception of giant vessels and regular international shipping lines linking damietta with europe, north america and far eastern countries. – the city of furniture represents an important qualitative leap for the availability of furniture technology in egypt. the company and the sons of damietta hope that the city will become the new center for the furniture industry in the middle east and africa. the city is expected to make a major shift in the export of egyptian furniture. the egyptian product is the international, regional and local markets. the dream of the furniture city of damietta is a true model of the will of the state in success. the city will be established according to the international standards in technology 3, the henningers, which are the first of the project’s construction, were finished. the first one contains 22 workshops, a small factory and a new workshop center. to be a technological center for the development of the furniture industry, which includes a place to train manufacturers on the latest manufacturing methods and a chemical laboratory to test the quality of wood and the final product in addition to the laboratory of quality tests in the city. pg. 230 ali / the academic research community publication – detailed studies of the new furniture city (office, 2015) have been carried out to ensure the comprehensive development of its industry through various industrial zones within the framework of the city’s master plan. the project will be implemented in several phases, a medium and a complementary industries and other petrochemical industries for the manufacture of environmentally friendly products, in addition to the allocation of space for infrastructure projects, in addition to major marketing areas including one of the largest marketing exhibitions of furniture along the two sides of the city. figuers (8) & (9) show the image of workshope in furniutrue city & new furniture city master plan. figure 8. image of workshops in furniture city figure 9. newfurniture city master plan 4.4.2. community culture – there is an impact on the culture of the damietta society on the development of the furniture industry, where the interdependence of the family members integration in the distribution of roles (marketing industry ...) – the diversification of economic activities in the governorate between industrial activity and craftsmen (small industries) and tourists in addition to commercial activity and fishing, which affected the culture and characteristics of the community in damietta governorate. – damietta economic activity depends mainly on the human element as the most important resources owned by the province and for the population to be characterized by activity, love and work. – cultural and social heritage of the population, where workshops are located under the homes of children and children, which confirmed their skill in manufacturing and love to work in this area. – damietta is considered a large workshop in which all sectors of the society interact, considering the damietta citizen as a small investor. the specialty of the damietta society is in its culture and its influence on the pg. 231 ali / the academic research community publication development of the furniture industry. in the current situation, there is an overlap of the syrian bodies for residency in damietta. in the industry and their entry as investors. 4.4.3. private capital for the industrial men in the governorate industrialists are the owners of capital, which affects the revitalization of the movement of the furniture industry, which leads to ease of movement of capital among investors in damietta. (galad, 2014) 4.4.4. management of the furniture industry: – the impact of the new city of damietta, the new port and the city of furniture (under construction) on strengthening the industry and opening markets in the arabian gulf, europe and africa. state intervention in the management system of the furniture industry in support of this special system. – development depends on small production units and the efforts of the governorate with the social fund to support these productive units and provide loans to craftsmen and provide production requirements. one of the fruits of these efforts was that damietta has a permanent exhibition in the exhibition grounds in cairo to showcase the furniture of high quality, taste and taste. the province has also gone a long way in exporting production to arab countries. – providing services related to the existing industries to assist in the process of industrial development in the field of furniture industry such as (management of local affairs training courses for young people, etc.) 4.4.5. role of parties in industry – actors in the furniture industry are represented in the furniture development association the association of furniture industry investors and the role of state industrial development centers. the role of the association of furniture industry investors in the development of industry and the intervention of the state as a supporter of the industry and opening exhibitions and markets for the furniture industry at the international and local levels. – services provided by the industrial modernization center damietta branch to damietta furniture customers: services provided by the state modernization center in the services group: quality, finance, information services, training, human resources, recruitment of experts, training needs, energy saving, lending for modernization, production. figure (10) shows the technical services provided by the industrial modernization center damietta branch to damietta furniture customers. figure 10. technical services provided bythe industrial modernization to damietta furniture customers pg. 232 ali / the academic research community publication 4.4.6. contribution to gdp: the extent of the serious contribution of the furniture industry to the increase of the national and local product of the province. 4.4.7. local and global competition: is there a role for the competition for the furniture industry at the local and global level, the impact of the furniture industry imported from china on the furniture industry in damietta, are there mechanisms to meet the challenges of industry to reach global competition. 4.4.8. examining the impact of factors for achieving sustainable development of local communities through an opinion survey (questionnaire) (questionnaire, 2017) a survey was conducted for the concerned parties in damietta governorate (makers, workers, officials, traders, investors, etc.) to measure the main factors and pillars affecting the furniture industry through a set of basic and sub-variables. it measures the most important factors affecting the sustainability of damietta furniture industry. the presence of the effect of whether or not to measure the degree of this effect is very strong, strong, average, admit, weak. these variables were as follows: 1. impact of the site: includes a set of sub-elements is to measure the impact of the location on the mediterranean sea, the impact of the port on the increase of exports and imports and the impact of the role of new damietta in the development of furniture industry) 2. community culture: measuring the impact of the damietta society culture on the development of the furniture industry, the interdependence of the family members, integration in the distribution of roles (marketing, industry, etc.). damietta is considered a large workshop in which all segments of society interact, the specificity of the damietta community in its culture of work and its impact on the development of the furniture industry, and measuring the acceptance of the damietta society of other nationalities such as the syrians and their entry as investors. 3. the movement of private capital and its impact on the furniture industry: manufacturers are the owners of capital, which affects the revitalization of the movement of the furniture industry, measuring the freedom of movement of capital between investors, measuring is there a restriction on the movement of investment in the country? 4. management of the furniture industry: measuring the availability of private management among individuals, integration of production lines between urban and rural areas, the impact of the new city of damietta and the new port on strengthening the industry and opening markets in the arabian gulf or europe africa. 5. role of industry parties: is there an impact on the role of the furniture development association on industry and the industrial development unit? is there a role for the association of furniture industry investors in the development of industry? is there an impact to support the state in opening exhibitions and markets for the furniture industry? 6. contribution to gdp and gdp: measuring the serious contribution of the furniture industry to increasing the national and local output of the governorate. 7. local and global competition: is there a role for competition for the furniture industry at the local (national) and global level, the impact of the furniture industry imported from china on the furniture industry in damietta, are there mechanisms to meet the challenges of industry to reach global competition. 8. free opinion: writing for other influential factors. by spss program using the results of the sample for the availability of the effect of the variables that were included in the questionnaire form and analyzed statistically by the t-one-sample test (t-one-sample test), which is one of the important statistical tests used to test the differences between the averages of one sample or two samples, a pg. 233 ali / the academic research community publication significant correlation was found between the variables (p-value = 0.000), i.e., it can be based on these variables by more than 95%. in measuring the degree of agreement between the responses of the sample on the importance of the effect of the main variables, shown in table (1), the result of the analysis of the questionnaire indicates: the consensus was that a variable (contribution to gdp and gdp) would affect damietta governorate as a productive unit. this variable is influenced by both the variables (site impact, community culture, private capital movement and its impact on the furniture industry), respectively, with a significant impact of more than 80% of the relationship. the variables of (furniture industry management the role of the parties in the industry local and international competition) have the importance of medium impact in the relationship of damietta governorate as a production unit amounting to about 77%. table 1. t-one-sample testdegree ofagreement between the responses of the sample on the importance of the effectof the main variables one-sample statistics mean std. deviation std. error mean trgat 230 12.00 6.648 .438 factor availability influence 230 .84 .364 .024 table 2. agreement between theresponses of the sample on the degree of influence of the main variables andthe sub-result of the analysis of the questionnaire indicates one-sample test test value = 0 t df sig. (2-tailed) mean difference 95% confidence interval of the difference lower upper trgat 27.376 229 .000 12.000 11.14 12.86 factor availability influence 35.129 229 .000 .843 .80 .89 in measuring the degree of agreement between the responses of the sample on the degree of influence of the main variables and the sub-result of the analysis of the questionnaire indicates: there are three levels to the effect of the main variables (very strong strong average) as shown in table (2). where the variable (contribution to gdp and national) has the highest degree of influence in the relationship by 92%, while the variables (the role of parties to the industry local and global competition) have the least impact in the relationship by 55% the existence of four levels of the effect of the sub-variables ranged from (very strong strong average acceptable weak) as shown in table (2). where variables (presence of influence on the culture of the damietta society on the development of the furniture industry, the presence of serious contribution to the furniture industry to increase the national and local output of the province) have the highest degree of impact in the relationship by 92%, while the variables (availability of private management among individuals, for other nationalities such as syrians and their entry as investors in the furniture industry) had the least impact on the relationship by 28% and 36%, respectively due to the dependence of the furniture industry on independent economic entities and the non-entry of other nationalities in the field (most of the syrians go to the food industry), according to the responses of the parties concerned. mechanisms of damietta’s continuation as a unit produced by analyzing the views of the questionnaire: – continuing to support the efforts of the state in providing local and international exhibitions and providing means of transport for small manufacturers to transport goods to local exhibitions. – provide support for raw materials to help small workshops. pg. 234 ali / the academic research community publication – providing raw materials at the appropriate prices for the presence of huge qualified manpower in the furniture industry to support the opening of new workshops. – ensuring that the city of furniture is equipped with mechanisms that allow the employment of the young people of the governorate alongside the large factories. – activate the role of furniture associations to ensure sustainability of the industry. – development of human resources for employment in all fields (carpentry, engraving, etc.) entering the industrial process. – facilitating the procedures for obtaining licenses and providing information dissemination for export and providing transparency of this information. – not to overstate the taxation of small workshops to encourage the licensing of workshops and reduce the use of the state. – reducing customs duties on imported raw materials. – add new machines and new equipment to add a higher and better level of the product. – disruption or reduction of brokers in business transactions because of inconvenience to the seller and the buyer. – cooperation between investors and the state. – providing overseas markets for product display. – technological compatibility with the latest machines and machines abroad and providing them in the governorate for the development of industry. 5. comprehensive framework for the foundations and pillars of local development and their role in achieving sustainable development building an integrated community framework-the community framework is one of the most important pillars of development. the community has industrial skills to take advantage of the damietta model to promote the sustainable development of local communities. production framework of industrial activities – definition of the prevailing conditions of industrial productivity and levels at the level of the industrial sector and its various activities. – determine the factors that have the effectiveness in pushing productivity rates to the required levels. development and modernization framework – evaluating the policies adopted for modernization and development in all fields related to industrial activity: marketing administrative production. – defining the general frameworks for modernization policies development at the spatial and sectorial level, this has an impact on the productivity and competitiveness of industrial activities. building a technological base pg. 235 ali / the academic research community publication – undermining the technological reality of the egyptian industry and its problems. – the foundations of providing scientific technological base in damietta. – mechanisms for the development of technological base and labor support. – industries that qualify for the introduction of modern technology. competitiveness support framework supporting the competitiveness of egyptian industrial facilities is one of the basic requirements for facing the globalization of the international economy driving the export rates of industrial products. it is therefore one of the main pillars not only for industrial development but also for supporting the national economy as a whole. therefore, it is important to have policies and programs to develop the competitiveness of industrial products in general and export in particular at the level of different industrial sectors as a result of the various indicators governing the competitive capabilities, namely: – macroeconomic indicators. – sectorial indicators. – indicators of economic activities the efficiency of the performance of auxiliary and service activities for industrial production – increase in spatial correlation rates through roads and means of communication between the main and secondary industrial centers between them and the sources of production requirements, marketing centers and sea and air ports. – cover the existing shortfall in the needs of the facility of electricity, water and sanitation for the existing industrial activities and provide future requirements in this regard. – integration of service activities covering the needs of industrial activities in all areas: productivity marketing financing, at the sectorial and spatial level. sustainable development as a determinant of industrial development directions within the general framework of industrial development strategies, it is important to define the basic requirements and conditions under which industrial development strategies must be adapted to address negative environmental impacts, and in this context the conservation of sustainable natural resources at the national and regional levels. continuous industrial development – means that development strategies have the mechanisms to develop escalating development rates covering consumption and productivity needs at the sectorial (industrial) and spatial (regions) – the requirements and means for the continuous development of industrial activity should therefore be determined. maximizing the positive aspects of globalization and reducing its disadvantages globalization and its free trade in goods, services, labor and capital have become the ruling elements of the economies of the world, especially the developing ones, and egypt’s intervention in this context, the implications of which cannot be ignored. it is therefore important to identify the orientations of industrial development strategies capable of maximizing the advantages of globalization and those that limit their disadvantages. pg. 236 ali / the academic research community publication – adapting the structure of the economic activities, especially the export, as it is more integrated into the global economy. – provide the necessary incentives to attract foreign investment. – the orientations of the general policies of the state towards the activation of external economic ties, especially in the arab and african countries and the european union, in addition to china and southeast asian countries. – finding ways that are compatible with the contribution of international giants in industrial development. – activation of policies to protect emerging industries and counter dumping. building an institutional regulatory framework for the management of economic resources for industrial development – the effectiveness and achievement of the objectives of industrial development strategies depend on the existence of an institutional regulatory framework that ensures that policies are formulated for the general plans and programs that are achieved for the objectives of the industrial development strategies. this is in addition to coordination between the industrial sector and other economic sectors as well as between the different public and private sectors related to industrial activity. taking into account the following: – 70% of the industrial investments and therefore the responsibility for achieving the economic development goals lie with the private sector. – activating the role of the state in guiding the general economic path and achieving balance and interdependence between the economic sectors and facing any deviations resulting from the economic practices of the private sector that have negative effects on the public interest. – the role of local administration in the management of industrial development and providing a climate conducive to achieving its objectives. 6. conclusions and recommendations 6.1. search results – the foundations and pillars of local development in various fields and their role in achieving sustainable development. – functional specialization (furniture industries), which are considered competitive industries in damietta governorate. – focus on local industry and independence (self-sufficiency) – achieving the principle of popular participation. – integration of the system of export industries within the framework of a single production format. – completion of manufacturing rings under the technology available and compatible with the type of industries (simple and labor intensive technology) pg. 237 ali / the academic research community publication 6.2. recommendations – achieving the principle of preserving the environment (good environmental impact) – providing marketing and distribution centers (providing shopping centers / furniture and marketing exhibitions) – providing basic networks (ports ...) – all members of society benefit from development revenues – providing local and international marketing management and skills – providing an appropriate investment climate for investment – increasing the role of the private industrial sector in achieving the industrialization strategy – providing 30 thousand employment opportunities in the villages and cities of the province by 1500 industrial workers annually. – dependence on agricultural resources and local raw materials in manufacturing (food and textile industries) with the need to provide some raw materials from abroad such as wood, plastic, building materials and mineral materials to form – link the industry to the local market and the needs of the population and interest in export – develop and update existing industry development programs – adopting the industries based in the centers of the province: wood, textile, food and engineering – dependence on labor-intensive industries, the most important of which are small industries and light industries, about 30% of the size of the industrial and crafts industry, 50% in terms of the number of workers. 6.3. research resulting concepts – comprehensive framework: a framework based on multiple subsectors to achieve the integrated development framework. – sustainable development: refers to development (economic, environmental, social) that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and sustainable development is not a consistent state of harmony, but the process of change and exploitation of resources, investment orientation, direction of technological development, which are in line with future needs as well as current needs. – competitive industries: industries that have the ability to compete in terms of quality and internal efficiency in the use of resources to ensure the conditions of survival and achieve economic return. – self-sufficiency: is that a country depends on its own possibilities to obtain its consumer and investment goods, in order to reduce the level of political and economic dependence of other countries and thus achieve a higher degree of independence in its decisions and international and internal positions. self-sufficiency does not in any way mean stopping or cutting off trade with other countries, but preparing and securing national conditions and conditions to achieve higher profitability of economic exchange through the channels of international division of labor in order to develop local production quantitatively and qualitatively. consumer and investment citizens. on the other hand, this new situation leads to a high level of economic and social welfare in general. pg. 238 ali / the academic research community publication – the pillars of development: the basic rules on which the community depends on the work of development (such as technology, employment, infrastructure, services, etc.) – sustainable development units: a unit of integrated functional specialties to achieve economic development as a result of geographical location factors and social, cultural and environmental characteristics as sustainable factors for the development of local units. 7. references 1. questionnaire, 25 (parties in damietta october 20, 2017). 2. aufsd. ( 2017, october 20). www.aufsd.com. retrieved october 2017, 2017, from www.aufsd.com. 3. aufsd. (2014). association for the upgrading furniture sector in domietta. domietta: association for the upgrading furniture sector in domietta. 4. elbangay, a. (2016, april 7). damietta the largest in the world in the manufacture of furniture ».. dream is not impossible. elaharam economic, pp. 3-4. 5. galad, e. (2014, setemper 15). factors affecting the furniture industry and the role of the new city of damietta. (r. galal, interviewer) 6. gouvernorate, i. c. (2017, september 18). furniture exports to damietta governorate. damietta, damietta gouvernorate, delta region. 7. hamed elmosely, hamdy mosa, nabil moskos. (2010). independent dervelopment: aglimpse of hope. cairo: coptic anglican organization for social services. 8. office, e. e. (2015). master plan of furniture city. cairo: industrial development authority. 9. planning, g. a. (1996). regional plan of damietta. cairo: general authority of urban planning. 10. planning, g. a. (2015). stratigical regional plan of damietta governorate. cairo: general authority of urban planning. pg. 239 preface research problem: research aims and objectives: research methodology: this research will proceed in accordance wityh the following methodology: 1. development of damietta furniture industry as a local industry with global competitiveness craft industries development of furniture industry thought in damietta factors affecting the increase in the rate of industrial production the integration of export industries in the context of a production format represented in the production units of the furniture industry functional specialization at the level of local units of the governorate levels of development units number of workshops and furniture factories in damietta city and its employees. the foundations and pillars of sustainable development units of damietta governorate the relative importance of damietta governorate location community culture private capital for the industrial men in the governorate management of the furniture industry: role of parties in industry contribution to gdp: local and global competition: examining the impact of factors for achieving sustainable development of local communities through an opinion survey (questionnaire) (questionnaire, 2017) comprehensive framework for the foundations and pillars of local development and their role in achieving sustainable development conclusions and recommendations search results recommendations research resulting concepts references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i3.601 the efficiency of the intelligent materials in the patient room randa hassan mohamed1, eman ali mohamed shiha2 1department of architecture –the higher institute of engineering, el sherouk, egypt, email: dr.randa hassan@yahoo.com 2department of architecture – faculty of engineering, mataria, helwan university, egypt, email: arch emanali@yahoo.com abstract the paper investigates the efficiency of using the intelligent materials in the patient room of the health care buildings, as they have a role in the infection control and the various aspects of healing the patients. the purpose of the paper is to focus on these new materials to be used as sustainable materials in the healthcare buildings. two main concepts concerning the intelligent materials are discussed, the first one figures the intelligent materials nowadays, and how they act as sustainable materials while the second one represents the opinion of how these materials can be used in the patient room with efficiency to be a part of the healing process of the patients. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords intelligent materials; smart materials; infection control; the healing aspects; the ambient environment; the patient rooms. 1. the preamble nowadays intelligent materials are called the “welfare” which is a technology that offers many solutions to human beings’ healthcare, especially in architecture. they play a vital role in reshaping the means of life as they could replace the traditional materials or reshape their performance. they are examined and used in various buildings, but each one of them represents a specific prototype in the project which it is a part of. although smart materials sounded to be efficient in both environmental and economic aspects, there are no categories for these materials to be used in the health care buildings until now. at the same time, the patient room is a complicated issue in these buildings because there are various topics to take in consideration other than its design and functionality. one of these considerations is the materials used in it, which directly affect the environmental circumstances present in this room. (cullinan, 2010) moreover, the traditional materials used in patient room have various problems as follows: • the glass used in the windows has problems while constructing this room, as they need many applications to suit the various needs they are designed for, such as: the clear visibility, the reduction of heat transition and harmful sun rays, the glare and the patient privacy. • the materials used in the final finishing of the room or in the furniture have no capability to be easily cleaned, so they can lead to the propagation of infection inside the room. pg. 111 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mohamed / the academic research community publication • the efflorescence of the masonry and the concrete mold discoloration formed due to the humidity are means of lung infection. • the materials concerning sound insulation, such as: cladding materials of the partitions, finishing floors or false ceilings, are not matching the indoor quality efficiency as they emit various toxics. at the same time, the health care fabric industry faces significant challenges nowadays. many agencies such as; the healthy building network (hbn) and health care without harm (hcwh) work with health care institutions to enhance the functionality and performance in fabrics without compromising environmental safety or human health as they move the market to develop and produce greener and healthier building materials. also, many sectors of the market including the fabric industry have responded by removing or substituting some of the worst-in-class chemicals from their products, and they also invested dollars while attempting to research into bio-based materials and safer alternatives. as a result, significant methods have been developed to reduce the risk of environmental exposures for hospital staff, patients, and the larger global community such as producing green materials and products which provide solutions to environmental problems. (silas, 2007) 1.1. the liability issue multiple researches were conducted in the field of constructing the patient room and they ended up focusing only on the following: the zonings of the room content, the relations between the main topics of the room, the indoor quality and the proposed traditional materials used in the room. it was noticed that there were no researches targeting the relation between the new trends of the technological materials and the aspects of healing the patient in form of efficiency. in spite of the presence of hundreds of millions of patients globally that are affected each year by healthcare-associated infections (hais), due to the inefficient materials used in the patient rooms. in 2011, around 75,000 u.s. hospital patients died in the united states of america with hais. (harris, 2017) the questions are: in the health care buildings, could the intelligent materials improve the quality of the patient room if they were involved in its construction? and what is the level of their efficiency in such spaces ? 1.2. the objectives this research aims to focus on the following: firstly, the relation between the intelligent materials and the patient room. secondly, the effect of these materials on both, the ambient environment and the infection control which represent the physiological needs of the patient leading to his healing . 1.3. the hypothesis it is considered that intelligent materials are sustainable materials which can enhance the internal environment of the patient room and lead to the patient’s healing. 1.4. the methodology in order to achieve the objectives, this study has followed two approaches. first, it used a literature review to introduce the intelligent materials in form of sustainable materials. second, it has been relied on assessment approach to study the relation between the healing aspects in the patient room and the functional performance of the intelligent materials. finally, the results insist that the usage of the intelligent materials in the patient room will enhance the components and the construction of the patient room. pg. 112 mohamed / the academic research community publication table 1. nomenclature hbn hcwh uv tio2 zno ceo vips hvac ulehb hais who healthy building network health care without harm ultra violet titanium dioxide zinc oxide cero oxide vacuum insulation panels heat, ventilation and air conditioning ultra low energy high brightness light the healthcare-associated infections world health organization 2. the intelligent materials the intelligent materials appeared at the end of the twentieth century, they reached the architectural industry and managed the buildings to control most of their systems. these materials have two phases: the first one represented the ability to perform sensing and actuating functions, similar to those in living systems, and their basic components are: sensors, control and actuators. (akhras, 2012), (sun, 2015) the second phase is known as the huge development which invaded the chemical and industrial fields through the appearance of the nano technology. this nano technology produced nano materials which enhanced the efficiency of the materials and solved many problems in the environmental control issues. (konarzewska, 2017) 2.1. the intelligent materials in the first phase these materials are called smart materials which are forms of sensors and actuators and divided into two types as follows: 2.1.1. type 1: materials undergo changes in one or more of their properties (chemical, electrical, magnetic, mechanical, or thermal) in direct response to external stimuli in the surrounding environment. as the external stimuli represent the energy input to the material which affects its internal energy and alter its microstructure, so the result is the change in the materials property, (vavan, 2014) as shown in fig (1). figure 1. type 1 of smart materials that undergoesproperty change with response to an external energy (vavan, 2014) edited by the authors. pg. 113 mohamed / the academic research community publication 2.1.2. type 2: smart material transforms energy from one form to another. as the energy input to the material changes the energy state of its composition, but does not alter the materials property. (sun, 2015), (vavan, 2014), (konarzewska, 2017), (mahdavinejad, bemanian & khaksar, 2011) shown in fig (2) figure 2. type 2 of smart materials that transforms energyfrom one form to another. (sun, 2015), (vavan, 2014), (konarzewska, 2017),(mahdavinejad,bemanian & khaksar, 2011) edited by the authors 2.2. the intelligent materials in the second phase they are called nano scaled materials and they have four types; nano particles, nanowires, nano films and bulk nano material, as shown in fig (3). these materials, which are reduced to nano-scale, can show very different properties compared to what they exhibit on a macro-scale; they are involved in unique applications. for instance, opaque copper substances become transparent and inert platinum materials attain catalytic properties . (”smart nanomaterials in construction works and their applications”, 2019) the most famous applications in the industrial and architectural fields appeared to be coatings; however, nanotechnology can add permanent effects and provide high durability fabrics due to the large surface area-to-volume ratio and high surface energy of nanoparticles. the previous researches show that coating with nano-particles can enhance the textiles with properties such as anti-bacterial, water-repellence, uv-protection and self-cleaning, while still maintaining breath-ability and tactile properties of the textile. (vavan, 2014) , (sun, 2015) figure 3. the types of nano materials and their properties (vavan, 2014) edited by the authors pg. 114 mohamed / the academic research community publication 2.3. the intelligent materials as sustainable materials sustainability in the materials calls for the environmental and economic efficiency, and the intelligent materials fulfills these two efficiencies; they are a type of advanced technologies, they settle between the low tech and the high-tech applications. these materials are presumed to be very classy; they can direct and distinct substitute for much larger systems. they can solve the obdurate problem of ever-increasing energy use by building systems. designing mainly with smart materials is essentially just mapping the relationships between energy forms and state changes. the material chosen would be the simplest and most straightforward to produce the desired effect. choosing the material does not determine the effect, rather the material is determined by the effect. smart materials may simplify the systems used in the buildings. (addington, 2014) intelligent materials are mainly designed to cope with the smart maintenance as they are responsible for the following: – optimizing the response of complex systems. this is done by establishing early warning systems, enhancing the range of survivability conditions and/or providing adaptive response to cope with unforeseen conditions and situations. – providing better control for the used systems. this could lead to improving the design and performance of new geometries for special applications. – improving the functionality of the system by a proper preventive maintenance and performance optimization. – improving the health monitoring of the system and better control of its active, adaptive or smart functions. – nano materials can help achieving a more sustainable environment, such as: improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases. – the use of surface properties of the materials offers a mean of achieving greater energy efficiency and sustainable architectural design. (akhras, 2012), (atwa, al-kattan, & elwan, 2015) – smart materials offer solutions of great new aesthetic effects and make an innovative field of inspiration for architects, designers and artists. they change color or appearance, are able to emit sound and odor, reveal refined patterns, change shape, and are able to produce kinetic movement or display interactive images. with their special aesthetic features they attract the attention of building users and public space participants, being more noticeable than other more functional smart solutions. there are more of these kinds of solutions in architecture, art and design because they are simpler and require less effort to make experimental surfaces or sculptures. (ritter, 2007) 3. the role of the intelligent materials in healing the patient in his room 3.1. the factors of healing and its relation to the materials in the patient room the infection control and the ambient environment are considered to be the two major factors that could optimize the patient well-being and comfort. (cullinan, 2010) and they both are in common relation with the materials used in constructing the patient room, as shown in fig (5) 3.2. the role of the intelligent materials in the infection control lately, intelligent materials shared in a wide scope in the infection control, as; they played a role in enhancing the cleaning process, shared in purifying the air and attacked the bacteria and the factors producing it as follows: pg. 115 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 4. the relation between the materials and theambient environment and the infection control. (cullinan,2010) (edit by theauthors). 3.2.1. materials enhance the cleaning process: self-cleaning / easy to clean nano coatings which are either lotus effect or selfcleaning photo catalysis, as titanium dioxide (tio2). selfcleaning lotus effect is to be called (hydrophobic-water trickles), they are microscopically rough, not smooth and well suited for surfaces exposed to sufficient quantities of water. it needs low maintenance. while self-cleaning photo catalysis are hydrophilic surfaces as the deposited dirt is broken down in the presence of uv light and little amount of water, (leydecker, 2008) as shown in fig (5). figure 5. the application of self-cleaning of glass (leydecker, 2008). 3.2.2. air purifying materials: adding nano silica to the concrete purifies the air while exposing to sun light, as it eliminates the bad smile and the waste products in the void, but without ignoring the natural ventilation to permit air which help in reducing humidity. (leydecker, 2008), (hanafi, 2012) 3.2.3. antibacterial materials: coatings have very high surface area to volume ratio of the nanoparticles, which means that the ions can be emitted more easily and therefore kill bacteria more effectively. (hanafi, 2012) they are in form of chemical vapor deposition, dip, meniscus, spray and plasma. nano silver particles can be used in coating textiles as silver ions prevent the cells from absorbing bacteria and it makes stain less effect on various products as shown in fig (6). also, nano tio2 is used as anti-bacterial coating for various metallic products. and is used in making anti-bacterial cement tents (leydecker, 2008), as shown in fig (7). these coatings are used in berlin, in operating theater floors and walls to lessening the risk of infection. (nanotechnology product catalog for professionals, 2013) pg. 116 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 6. samples of the products can use nano silverparticles to be antibacterial (hanafi,2012) figure 7. abacterial cement tents (leydecker , 2008) moreover, there are inorganic nano materials used as coatings to absorb the ultra violet rays, so they reduce the harmful effect of these rays on the organic products. the nano materials used are; titanium dioxide (ti02), zinc oxide (zno), cero oxide (ceo). 3.2.4. water proving effect nano zinc oxide is used in the manufacture of textiles and it gives the product extra property which is water proving, as a result it prevents the attachment of the bacteria to these textiles. (”nano-technology”, 2019) 3.2.5. the cure of salts and humidity pre-sealing nanotechnology produced admixtures as; nano silicon, which can be added in the process of manufacturing pressed concrete products (tech-dry masonry). these admixtures significantly reduce water absorption in the concrete, and hence reduce the presence of unsightly long-term efflorescence and concrete mold discoloration, as a result it prevents the presence of any bacteria on the surface of the masonry, and any further treatment for these surfaces. (tech-dry® australia, 2019) 3.2.6. the infection detector there are smart materials of phase change property, used as furniture finishing layer that show thermo-chromic prints as a proof of receiving bodies of high temperature, as a result they indicate the presence of the infection in the space. (sun, 2015) shown in fig(8). pg. 117 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 8. to the right the thermochromic bed (ritter, 2007) , and to the left thermochromic pair chair with middle table (mahdavinejad, bemanian & khaksar, 2011) 3.3. the role of the intelligent materials in enhancing the ambient environment 3.3.1. enhancing the thermal/ sound insulation a.nano insulators as; nano foam, powder or glass fibers succeeded to be used as the filling materials in the vacuum insulation panels (vips) which are one of the innovations that have maximum thermal insulation and minimal insulation thickness. its cladding skin is made of plastic foil or of stainless steel. it is to be used for both new building constructions and the renovation work, and can be applied to walls as well as floors as shown in operating theatre, goslar, germany fig(9) (atwa, al-kattan, & elwan, 2015, p. 3551-3564) figure 9. (vips) panels used in operating theatre, goslar,(atwa, al-kattan, &elwan, 2015, p. 3551-3564) b.temperature regulators as; phase change material (pcms) always made from paraffin and salt hydrates. they can be imbedded inside the panels used in the outer envelope of the building. they regulate the heating and cooling demands, as the gained/ lost energy through the panels is to be consumed in changing the physical state of the paraffin from the solid state to the liquid one, and visa verse. they are economically efficient as a thickness of 1 mm of paraffin can be used to reduce 5 co of temperature. (kancane, 2016), (fokaides, kylili & kalogirou, 2015) c.eliminating noise: the smart material actuated rotor technology (smart) aims to reduce the vibrations and to eliminate the noise of helicopters and aeroplanes by up to 80% as it is used to be the envelope of aeroplanes as shown in fig (11). (akhras, 2012) figure 10. the insulating envelope of the aero planes (akhras,2012) pg. 118 mohamed / the academic research community publication 3.3.2. the role of enhancing the hvac system smart dusts used as smart sensors which can communicate till 100m far to optimize the hvac systems. they can communicate wireless via the radio to promote temperature, humidity, luminance intensity and vibrations. (seeboth, schneider & patzak, 2000) 3.3.3. the role of artificial lighting efficiency a.organic nano polymers: are energy producer/transformer and are used instead of silicon in photo voltaic units to absorb solar energy and convert it into electric one. they reduce the cost of operating electricity and produce three times watts of energy more than that produced from the traditional photo voltaic units. and no poisoned materials can appear while manufacturing them. (shiha, 2014) , (senjen, 2009) b.quantum dots: are nano crystalline particles containing only a few hundred atoms that when expose to incident light they emit radiation of a particular color such as cadmium selenide cdse. these dots emit only one wavelength of light when excited. thus, they represent an aspect glorifying the economic light as, and can be used in the design of the reflective surface that will be exposed to incident light, as; floors, walls and ceilings. (”applications of carbon nanotubes”, 2019) c.organic composites (carbon nanotube): used in ultra low energy high brightness light (ulehb), that reduces energy running costs and reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide. it has potential benefits as it can be used as variable mood lighting over a whole wall or the ceiling of any space. ulehb can be related to the sustainable energy as, it can produce the same quality of light as the best 100 watt light bulb, but it consumes only a fraction of the energy and lasts many times longer. it is expected to use in the market in various fields, as, it can be used in the exhibitions, street lighting, commercial lighting, public buildings and offices lighting, also it can be used in the hospitals. (”applications of carbon nanotubes”, 2019) 3.3.4. the role of enhancing the natural lighting/ thermal insulation a.thermo-chromic /photo chromic/ chemo chromic: they are smart materials which change their color by receiving excess heat, ultra violet, infra-red spectrum or by means of chemical catalysts. these chromic can be managed to reach the thermal and light comfort, as they can control light and heat through the building envelope. they are named according to the kind of actuators they are exposed to, as, they are called thermo-chromic if the actuator is heat, photochromic if the actuator is light, and chemo-chromic if the actuator is a chemical catalyst. as shown in fig (12). (mahdavinejad, bemanian & khaksar, 2011) figure 11. the cars display store in singapore ascontrolling the size of the smart application , the color of the light radiation and the light intensityin the windows. (mahdavinejad,bemanian & khaksar, 2011) b. (electro-chromic materials and suspended particles applications): electro-chromic materials change color while applying electrical voltage. electro-chromic windows darken when a voltage is applied and become transparent when the voltage is removed. (leydecker, 2008) as shown in fig (13). the electricity rearranges the suspended particles to permit the needed light, as the range of light emission begins from 1% till 57%. (”how smart windows work”, 2019) pg. 119 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 12. the system of the suspended particles applied in the windows (”how smart windows work”, 2019) c.aerogel: it is a transparent gill material impeded inside a multi-layer glass windows, 99.8 % of its volume is composed of air, with density of 3mgm/cm, so it is three times denser than air, and it is considered to be a good heat isolator (it resamples 10-20 cm glass thickness as heat isolation), when exposed to direct sun rays it solidify to be semi-transparent, and its transparency depends on the intensity of light and the sun light rays angles. the silica gill used in double glass windows reduces the heat emissive factor of glass and optimizes the light transmittance factor. aerogel used in glass windows are sound isolators and scatters light ray to cure glare. (atwa, al-kattan, & elwan, 2015, p. 3551-3564), (”coagulation technology co., ltd”, 2019) d.nano gill: the nano dimension is of vital importance for the pore interstices of the foam, as the air molecules trapped within the minute nano pores; each with a mean size of just 20nm, unable to move, lending the aerogel its excellent thermal insulation properties. it can be used as an insulating fill material in various kinds of cavities – between glass panels, u-profile glass or acrylic glass multi-wall panels – and is therefore well suited for use in external envelopes of buildings. that way aerogels can help reduce heating and cooling costs significantly. because it is translucent, aerogel exhibits good light transmission, spreading light evenly and pleasantly. in addition to its thermal insulating properties, aerogel also acts as a sound insulator according to the same basic principle. with its above-average thermal and sound insulation properties aerogel contributes towards energy efficiency, which is its primary functional property. (hatch tensile membrane structures, 2019) e.nano coatings as ceramic nano films: they convert the color of the glass to be darker while exposed to more heat energy as shown in imi kolkata centre fig (14). these coatings reduce the electric energy used to control the chromic system. it can reduce 57 watts. moreover, nano films give strength to the glass, absorb the infra-red and ultra violet rays and reduce 3-3 co of the latent heat. (abou-ghazala, fared, & al-shami, 2014) figure 13. internal shoot of imi kolkata centrekolkata,west bengal, india. (abou-ghazala,fared, & al-shami, 2014) pg. 120 mohamed / the academic research community publication 4. results and discussion: 4.1. the categories of applications of intelligent materials in the patient room as aspects of healing the patient 4.1.1. the applications within the structural system (structural elements and claddings), these applications shown previously can enhance the following: • noise isolation • thermal isolation • humidity control • the antibacterial effect 4.1.2. the applications within the fittings (hvac systems, light systems), can enhance the following: • optimize smart control within sensors • air purifying • reduce the usage of electricity by emitting light and producing light. 4.1.3. the applications within the finishing materials (paintings, floors, ceilings, corner curing doors and windows), can enhance the following: • the protection from the ultra violet rays • the protection from bacteria • the cleaning process, as shown in fig (15) figure 14. the inputs and outputs of smart and nanomaterials on the finishing ( the authors) pg. 121 mohamed / the academic research community publication 4.2. the applications within the furniture and the installs that the patient or the guest or the stuff needs, can enhance the following: • heat control • uv protection • the process of cleaning • infection control 4.3. applications within openings (windows), can enhance the following: • lighting and heat control • uv protection • the process of cleaning • infection control • energy efficiency • privacy. as shown in fig (16) figure 15. the inputs and outputs of smart and nanomaterials on the openings (windows) 4.4. the intelligent materials have a good impact on the patient 4.4.1. the good quality of life for the patient the world health organization (who) outlines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. moreover, the green guide for health care states that the two key ideologies of the healthy building as those that keeps the health of the building occupants and the pg. 122 mohamed / the academic research community publication health of the global community. the therapeutic environment is explicit and depends on many factors, as it mainly doesn’t depend on the treatment of the physical body, but it also to support the psycho-social and spiritual needs of patients and their families as well as the staff around the patient. as well it needs to produce quantitative goals on patients’ clinical outcomes and staff effectiveness. these are all positive criteria that can be reached by regarding the choice of materials and interior finishes, and with respect to connection to the natural world without any harm to the patient. and by displaying the advantages of the intelligent materials; they can cope the needed goals for the good quality of life can be afforded by the materials. 4.4.2. optimizing the aspects of healing a. optimize day lighting: using smart and nano materials can optimize day lighting that regulates the circadian system which plays an important role in the healing process of the patient. the circadian system leads to the regulation of the body functions; as regulating the digestive system, sleeping patterns, hormone regulations and even body temperatures. through this system, day lighting aids in healing through reducing depression, shortening hospital stays, and improving sleep. patients in day light rooms have less pain, less stress, and are calmer. in addition, the staff performance and job satisfaction are increased, creating a work environment where doctors and nurses are more effective. b. prevent the growth of molds and bacteria: nano materials offers ease of cleaning, sanitizing and have the ability to prevent growth and transmission of molds, bacteria and other pathogens on the surfaces of the patient room. as these surfaces can be daily polluted by pathogens that can cause hais. (harris, 2017) 4.4.3. the enhancement of the green rating system the health care buildings especially the hospitals are large consumers of natural resources and energy, and (32%) of the initial budget for a healthcare facility is consumed in interior finishing and interior construction (shohet, lavy-leibovich & bar-on, 2003). while referring to the rating systems of the green buildings all over the world; the two main categories concerns energy and material efficiency; especially in the green pyramid concerning egypt. as they concern the building life cycle from its construction till its maintenance, and the intelligent materials have their proof in the reduction of energy, at the same time the nano materials are forms of high quality products that have their special properties, which allow them to last for long times without consuming any natural resources. (guenther & vittori, 2013) moreover, intelligent materials have goals in the innovation aspect which is the green rating systems appreciate. they can reduce the usage of water in the cleaning process in the space as they call for the self-cleaning aspects, and they can enhance the indoor air quality, which affect the healing process. 5. conclusions intelligent materials have their potential impact on the patient room and its fabrication. they can perform like living systems that can enhance the ambient environment and the infection control of the patient room. moreover, they will represent new opportunities to solve various problems and lead the building structure and architecture to be in an optimum level. their use can open up new possibilities for sustainable design strategies and provide new trends for functions, which would help the interaction between the patient room and its users . they could also reduce energy, and they have an economic impact in establishing healthy patient rooms. pg. 123 mohamed / the academic research community publication figure 16. shows the afforded intelligent materials in the patient room. pg. 124 mohamed / the academic research community publication 6. references 1. addington, m. 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(2019). retrieved 25 july 2019, from http://www.textile-structures.co m/technical-fabric-tensotherm.html pg. 126 the preamble the liability issue the objectives the hypothesis the methodology the intelligent materials the intelligent materials in the first phase type 1: type 2: the intelligent materials in the second phase the intelligent materials as sustainable materials the role of the intelligent materials in healing the patient in his room the factors of healing and its relation to the materials in the patient room the role of the intelligent materials in the infection control materials enhance the cleaning process: air purifying materials: antibacterial materials: water proving effect the cure of salts and humidity the infection detector the role of the intelligent materials in enhancing the ambient environment enhancing the thermal/ sound insulation the role of enhancing the hvac system the role of artificial lighting efficiency the role of enhancing the natural lighting/ thermal insulation results and discussion: the categories of applications of intelligent materials in the patient room as aspects of healing the patient the applications within the structural system (structural elements and claddings), these applications shown previously can enhance the following: the applications within the fittings (hvac systems, light systems), can enhance the following: the applications within the finishing materials (paintings, floors, ceilings, corner curing doors and windows), can enhance the following: the applications within the furniture and the installs that the patient or the guest or the stuff needs, can enhance the following: applications within openings (windows), can enhance the following: the intelligent materials have a good impact on the patient the good quality of life for the patient optimizing the aspects of healing the enhancement of the green rating system conclusions references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 52 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i2.755 an approach to adaptive sustainable facades inspired by plants nadeen nour eldin1*, amal abdou2 1ph.d. candidate, faculty of fine arts, helwan university, architecture department 2the former head of architecture department, faculty of fine arts, helwan university, professor of architecture and environmental sciences, faculty of fine arts helwan university correspodning author: nadeen nour eldin (nadeen.eng@gmail.com) abstract nowadays, and under the global warming circumstances we are facing, particularly those resulting from the building sectors, many directions for more sustainable and eco-friendly concepts have emerged. from these sustainability approaches is the “biomimicry” approach. this approach represents the science of imitating and benefiting from nature’s principles. nature has provided various strategies to adapt to the surrounding conditions. there are several methodologies and tools developed following the biomimicry approach and taking nature as inspiration. however, difficulties arise in collaborating more than one discipline, which consumes a lot of time and effort, consequently cost. furthermore, the existing methodologies are still too generic for architects. therefore, this paper aims at developing a platform that integrates different methodologies, approaches, and tools comprehensively. in this paper, the focus would be on plant adaptations. a more focus would be on the building’s envelope specifically due to its valuable contribution to the building’s overall energy consumption. the paper seeks to integrate the plant’s adaptive strategies to the building envelope. the motivation is to tackle solutions for the building envelope environmental problems mainly for heat, water air, and light challenges. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords biomimicry; adaptation ;plant strategies 1. introduction biomimicry represents the science of imitating nature, where nature has proved to identify what survives, what lasts forever. nature knows what works by developing lots of strategies to guarantee this survival. (janine, 2002) biomimicry has been classified into three levels which are according to the way of mimicking (zari, 2007). mimicking the behavior or physiological or even the morphological aspect of the living organism. in this section, the focus would be on the plant's features as an inspiration. plants similar to buildings are static in their location, confronting various environmental challenges; however, plants can strive with these conditions through different adaptive means. some designers consume a lot of time trying to figure out the most efficient plant solution that suits their design purpose. this is due to the diversity of these strategies and the variety in the building envelope’s demands. therefore, in this paper, an overview of the plant’s adaptive strategies would be described. several methodologies and other categorization systems similar to the one proposed in this paper are available, but in this paper, there is an emphasis on the building envelope. more focus on the environmental challenges the building envelope encounters in hot dry regions related to heat, water air, and light. the paper begins by identifying the main environmental challenges that face the building envelope, an initial selection of 200 research publications corresponding to 40 plant strategies, http://www.press.ierek.com/ mailto:nadeen.eng@gmail.com https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 53 from which approximately 10 plants were selected for this paper and analyzed. the equivalent function and possible architecture application in the building envelope are then identified according to the hot dry context. this paper would show a simplified methodology to this translation process from the plant’s adaptive strategies which would help to assist the designer in decision-making in choosing the appropriate materials and methods suitable for a specific type of envelope regulation. 2. biomimicry overview nature has been a source of inspiration to many innovations till the 21st century, however they were mostly limited to imitating shapes and forms. however, lately, there was a paradigm shift in contemporary architecture, where mimicking nature became towards deep search in nature’s function and the strategies it offers. there are several methods for implementing biomimicry in architecture which will be discussed as follows: 2.1. biomimicry activities there are two methods of applying biomimicry in architecture, either directly or indirectly. the “indirect” approach, figure 1, is concerned for two disciplines other than architecture, however, architects benefit from it indirectly. a kind of the “ gooey mold” was observed as being able to discover the straight, shortest path for reaching its food. this behavior was mainly an inspiration to develop an algorithm that was more efficient than the conventional ones. it was capable to discover the optimum path in a network via a minimum number of nodes with a collaboration between biologists and computer scientists. this discovery inspired architects indirectly and urban planners with the assistance of computer scientists. they reused these algorithms to develop an efficient transportation network by using minimum lines to connect a city (tero et al., 2010). figure 1: on the left: the behavior of physarum polycephal , on the right : the transport network in mexico city on the other hand, the “direct” approach, is an approach designed specifically for architects (mazzoleni, 2013; badarnah, 2020). it is a collaboration between the biologists and architects directly to discover solutions to architectural problems. “architecture follows nature” is an example to direct biomimicry in architectural design activity. architect ilaria mazzoleni along with biologist shauna price searched solutions of twelve animal skins behaviors. those behaviors were analyzed in terms of communication, thermoregulation, water balance, and protection. those principles were inspirations for the design building envelope. 2.2. biomimicry approaches there are two main biomimetic approaches, figure 2. first, the “problem based” approach. it was also termed “topdown” (knippers, 2009) or “ design looking to biology” (zari and storey, 2007). they all lead to the same meaning; wherein the “problem based “ approach, designers initially tackle a particular problem, goal, and parameters by searching biological analogies. on the contrary, the “solution-based” (bottom-up) approach seeks nature solutions to be applied to suitable problems (vincent et al., 2005). for this paper, the focus would be on the “direct”, “topdown “ approach, as it is most commonly used by designers. this approach is different than the “solution-based” which requires people with previous biological knowledge. nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 54 figure 2 : the biomimicry approaches 2.3. biomimetic tools there are several tools to assist the biomimetic design process. the most commonly used is “ask nature”, (deldin and schuknecht, 2015) which is a large online database that contains biological information .“functional modelling” (nagel et al., 2010) uses functional models to represent biological systems. “ bio-triz”. (vincent et al., 2006) simulate a contradiction matrix based on biological phenomena and “saphire” (sartori et al., 2010) which is intended to recognize biological systems. however, those tools are generic for architects to efficiently benefit from it. 3. biomimicry and plants throughout history, architects have been inspired by plant strategies as shown in the following, figure 3. though, most inspirations were either structural, ornamental, or aesthetic functions, despite the variety of the strategies they perform on other levels. a brief timeline presenting the plants as a source of inspiration throughout history. the “egyptian column” inspired by the “lotus plant”, the “greek column” was inspired by the “acanthus plant”. we could also see the “gothic fan vaults” inspired by the “tree structure”, similar to the “tree trunk” which was also an inspiration to “sagrada familia” columns. the “crystal palace” also was inspired by the “lily plants” and finally, the well-known “fibonacci spiral” was a source of inspiration for many architects. nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 55 figure 3: timeline summary to plants as inspiration to architecture throughout history 3.1. lant’s adaptive strategies plants are capable of adapting different environmental challenges on different adaptive levels. those adaptations are either static (related to morphological adaptations) or dynamic (related to behavioral and physiological mechanisms). “morphological” adaptations are related to the plant’s shape, pattern, or structure. “cactus” undergoes a variety of morphological adaptations in response to harsh environments, like having ribs, spines, and its spherical shape in some cactus species. “behavioural” adaptations are those actions and acts that are taken by the organism in an interaction with the environment to survive. “mimosa pudica, sp.” (badarnah, 2017) is an example of this type of adaptation, where it closes its leaves inwards as a result of a physical contact stimulus. the third adaptive level represents the “physiological” adaptations, which is the plant’s response to the external stimuli through chemical processes to maintain its homeostasis. most of the “cam” plants undertake the photosynthesis process to adapt to dry conditions for increased water efficiency, like in the “ezcurra, sp.” plant. (ezcurra et al., 2006) figure 4. figure 4 : an example to plant's adaptive levels plants are good candidates for adaptations; they are capable of a variety of adaptations. the following table is an example of plants' adaptive strategies to different environmental conditions. the characteristics of 10 plants are shown in the following table. in the type of adaptation m: morphological, p: physiological, b: behavioral. the performance: h: heat, l: light; w: water; a: air. table 1. nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 56 table 1: plants adaptive strategies plant name adaptability level of adaptation strategy summary sunflower (badarnah, 2017) l b sunflower track sun path throughout the day by bending towards light and maintaining radiation perpendicular surface pinecone (krieg, 2004) w b the pine cone opens and closes in response to humidity allowing air to pass through grape leaves a m grape’s vines morphology allows air to pass between. lotus leaf (mauseth, 2003) w p the hydrophobic leaf is covered in papilla, which are small bumps or ridges covered in a thin layer of wax. thus rolling water off the leaf’s surface. tree bark (baumeister, 2007) h, l m a)a waxy thick layer of cork plays a very crucial role in preventing water loss in plants. b)the round cross-section dissipates heat and light, thus stays cool. (c) rough and peeling crusts provide shade. phragmites (valk, 2006) a b stems move air, generate/use air pressure difference, or temperature difference for ventilation. cactus (pohl, 2011) l,h,w m a)the outer skin of the stem of the barrel cactus is covered by a thick waxy coating to reflect the solar radiation, b) densely spaced spines provide shade skin of a cactus and reflect and diffuse the direct incident solar radiation. c) ribs and folds provide shade to combat heat radiation cool down the skin. venus flytrap (schleicher, 2015) other b sudden deformation due to the structural element, altering its properties to a deformed geometric structure, less strained instead of high tensile or compressive stresses. it was described as a failure made due to amplifying small stimuli to vast movements beyond the limits through simple hydraulic mechanisms. mimosa pudica (guo et al., 2015) other b closing its leaves and bending its “pulvinus”. the ventral and dorsal side of the leaf consists of flexor and extensor cells (motor cells), shape, and volume are changed according to the applied turgor pressure. strelitzia reginae (bird of paradise) (schleicher et al., 2011) other b bending motion to the bottom two petals due to bird’s weight when lands on it when a bird lands. 3.2. plants and building envelope plants like buildings remain static in their place confronting environmental challenges, unlike animals that could move and search for shelters. accordingly, this paper will be concerned with the plant's adaptive strategies as they would always be good candidates for inspiration for an adaptive building envelope. nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 57 figure 5: concept scheme showing the main objective of the study (the researcher, 2020) building envelopes are similar to nature's skin, where they perform almost similar functions. they remain both barriers to secure the inside from the outside, tend to maintain the inner comfort. both face the same environmental challenges, thus developing strategies and methods to mitigate those conditions and adapt to it. accordingly providing thermal and light comfort, as well as suitable air and moisture content. figure 5, indicated the similarities between the building envelope and nature, specifically plants. the following figure 6, demonstrates a comparison between the “man-made” construction versus “nature’s” creations. the comparison is in terms of complexity, cycle, using resources, interconnection with the surroundings, multi-functionality, and dependence on renewable energy. figure 6: comparison between man made and nature’s constructions 4. current problems with the building envelope the building envelope contributes to the building’s overall energy consumption to reach the indoor thermal comfort, thus more attention should be taken to the façade’s design. in this paper, the focus would be on solutions corresponding to environmental challenges that were classified into four categories, heat, light, water, and air regulations. “heat” regulations require multiple methods like prevention, dissipation, retention, or gaining. the aim of “light” regulation within the envelope is to reduce or manage the amount of light incident, adjusting the amount of light, upon a surface to improve the comfort of the space for users or improve the functionality of the building. “water” regulation is related to heat regulation by using evaporative cooling to cool the envelope. water conservation in hot dry regions and preventing water loss could be through reducing the evaporation process by regulating the temperature, sv ratio, or permeability, or water transportation. the fourth regulation of the building envelope could nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 58 perform is “air” regulation. air regulation could be either by air exchange through diffusion or air movement. air movement could be fulfilled as a result of natural convection like temperature gradients or pressure differences. this pressure difference could be due to a variation in volume or velocity gradient. 5. methodology motivation as discussed earlier, there are several methodologies and approaches developed to assist nature inspiration. they all share the sustainability and energy efficiency concepts, they all agreed on the potential of mimicking nature. however, it was observed that they are generic; disciplines fit several professions with different design approaches, sims, scales, and projects; figure 7. it was also harder to find personnel experienced with all competent knowledge. therefore, this methodology is developed to be tailored to architects, specifically environmental designers, specialized in building envelope adaptation inspired by plants. figure 7: showing the differences between man-made constructions and nature’s strategies 5.1. research approach from the previous table, we could deduce that there is an interrelation between three factors, which represent the plant’s adaptive strategies, environmental challenges; and building envelope. remarkably, they share similar factors offering interesting solutions and a variety of options for building adaptation. accordingly, they are considered as the main pillars of the methodology generation. figure 8. the methodology correlates between those key components. each plant performs a certain adaptive strategy that is correlated to the environmental challenge (heat, water, air, and light) it tackles at a certain level of adaptation (behavioral, morphological, and physiological).. those strategies are thus categorized, classified , and organized to be easily translated to the building’s envelope for its adaptation. figure 8 : the interrelation between the methodology pillars (the researcher, 2020) nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 59 5.2. methodology generation the proposed methodology was a correlation between the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis as follows the database in table 1, could be represented in a 3d matrix. this 3d heuristic model was developed combining the three pillars, where every two axes are interrelated as shown in figure 9. figure 9 : on the left: 3d heuristic model proposal, on right : matrix a: the relation between the desired type of regulation, and the desired adaptive level (the researcher, 2020) this design methodology is formed out of two main layers discussed earlier. each layer consists of a series of steps that are interconnected where each step leads to the step that follows. layer 1 is related to the environmental factors that need to be regulated within the envelope, figure 10. this layer is formed up of two steps which are as follows: • step 1: defining the environmental regulation, which is categorized into the four key environmental factors that we focused on earlier. • step 2: specifying the adaptive level desired according to the designer’s preferences, building typology, and scale of application. the second layer, layer 2, is specified with the plant’s adaptive methods, it consists of four steps which are as follows: figure 10 : on left: matrix b: describes the relation between the desired environmental regulation and the plant’s adaptive strategies. on right: matrix c: shows the relation between the plant domain and the adaptive level (the researcher, 2020) • step 3: defining the adaptation type, whether it is a macro level: morphological (static) /behavioral (dynamic) or micro level: psychological. (static) • step 4: afterwards, datasheet for the available plant domains that are relevant to the selected type of environmental challenge, the designer subsequently the adaptive and most suitable strategy for the desired project. nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 60 • step 5: once the designer set their preferences and entered the inputs as well as chose the suitable strategies that fit the building’s typology; another database with possible architectural application relevant to this strategy would be suggested. figure 11. figure 11 : matrix (b) description and segmentation (the researcher, 2020) 6. case studies the following section shows an example of the utilization of the proposed methodology in generating solutions inspired by plants. two scenarios for three building types, each tackling an environmental challenge on a certain adaptive level through navigation within this 3d-heuristic model. 6.1. scenario 1 assuming that the building typology is an office building that requires “light” regulatory solutions. the architect subsequently starts navigation according to the aforementioned steps. first, selecting “light” as an environmental challenge. second choosing “physiological” as the adaptive level. if “ivy plant ” was chosen, a corresponding datasheet to this choice, with a description of strategies developed by ivy plants, an example of a project that adopted a similar adaptive strategy for the same purpose, figure 12. figure 12 : example to utilizing the use of solar ivy in renovating an office building for light regulation on the physiological level nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 61 6.2. scenario 2 the researcher assumed that the architect has chosen “ heat” regulation on the “ morphological” level. out of the resulted plant strategies, it was assumed that the architect chose “treebark’s” solution for example. the corresponding existing project mimicking tree bark strategies is ch2 building as shown in figure 13. figure 13: example to utilizing the use of tree bark strategy in renovating residential building for heat regulation on the morphological level 7. findings it could be observed that the methodology could assist the idea generation process and allowing the architect to visualize the building’s ideas either for renovation or new buildings. the generated ideas would contribute to the outcome of the total energy savings of the building. for instance, the adapted strategies would contribute to visual comfort, total energy savings, hvac savings, natural lighting. the proposed scenarios indicate the difference between conventional building and a biomimetic building applying plant’s adaptive strategies. it also minimizes the search process where all the abundant information is classified in a systematic methodology. 8. conclusion mimicking plants offers a comprehensive database for building envelope adaption. therefore, this paper has shown and analyzed selected plant’s strategies with proposed solutions that offer opportunities that could be implemented. however, there are still some unexplored areas for future research that could be following the same methodology. as it could be observed, plant’s inspirations are available to be used by the architect directly without the need for any biologist's experience or multi-discipline team in the design process. it was also observed that each plant could have more than one biomimetic strategy, thus the database was necessary to facilitate and simplify the selection process. it as well contributions to deciding which strategy and which plant could be further explored. this paper has investigated simplified plant’s problems and challenges to assist understanding and underlying their main concepts and translate them to corresponding architectural applications depending on the building’s typology. this methodology acts like an “idea generation” a tool to the designer’s aiming at overcoming environmental challenges facing the building envelope. nour eldin/ the academic research community publication pg. 62 references badarnah, l. 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(2007). an ecosystem based biomimetic theory for a regenerative built environment. in sustainable building conference (vol. 7). lisbon, portugal. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication land tenure security and resident’s stability in squatter settlements of lahore sana malik1, ruhizal roosli2, fariha tariq3, muhammad salman4 1phd scholar (housing), school of housing, building & planning, universiti sains malaysia, malaysia 2senior lecturer, school of housing, building & planning, universiti sains malaysia 3chairperson department of city & regional planning, school of architecture and planning, university of management and technology, lahore, pakistan 4lecturer, department of architecture, university of south asia, lahore, pakistan. abstract squatters have now become integral part of urban centers in most developing countries like pakistan, with lahore experiencing growth of such informal settlements at its peak. a myriad of issues and challenges associated with economic, social, spatial, environmental and political contexts within squatters has become a great hindrance towards home improvement and better life style. tenure security brings a sense of homeownership to socioeconomically disadvantaged households. recently, promotion of increased security of tenure of all whether living in formal or informal settlements has been affirmed by new urban agenda of habitat iii. therefore, it is need of the time to look into present tenure types of squatters being offered by the city to solve problem of housing backlog and to provide promote inclusivity ensuring healthy, affordable and sustainable environment for all inhabitants. proposed argument has got stronger foundation due to comparative analysis of squatter having secured land tenure with squatter of unsecure tenure. in this paper we explore that tenure security is one of the key factors which leads to resident’s stability, through case study approach by investigating two squatters based on their tenure types. the data collected through questionnaire will help us to identify other key factors associated with resident stability in squatters. study reveals that limited secured tenure options and poor governance in present urban scenario projects as major obstacles in coping with urban sprawl and squatter settlements. findings help us to understand the phenomena of inter-connection of land tenure security and residential stability of squatters in lahore, suffering from housing shortage and informal settlements. keywords: land tenure; security; squatters; residents; stability; lahore. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords land tenure; security; squatters; residents; stability; lahore. 1. introduction land is fundamental component of urban development. the possession of land shows the social and economic stability of any community. the war for land has been a constant dialogue for centuries as it provides ecosystem services, employment opportunities and wealth generation. no progress is possible without land. it proves that pg. 146 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.508 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ malik / the academic research community publication land is most crucial part to acquire for achieving affordable shelter. however, tenure security alone is not enough for attaining affordable and adequate housing, yet it serves as one of the key factors for access to improved housing. other factors such as housing finance, provision of infrastructure, adequate planning, and relaxation of building codes and regulations have been identified as significantly affecting low-income people‘s access to housing, improved livelihoods and environmental conditions (nyametso, 2010). many developing countries like pakistan, india, bangladesh, ethiopia, nigeria, face such issues of land tenure and squatter settlements. also, in developed countries, land ownership represents the single powerful assets to be owned by anyone. this comes along with the importance of land tenure and its security which provides relief to the tenants. land tenure has evolved as a significant terminology of housing studies. it has been defined in different perspectives of various researchers as following: 1. maxwell & wiebe (1999): an infrastructure of institutions that administer use of land and other resource. 2. adams, sibanda & turner (1999): a set of policy and rules on basis of which land is acquired, used and transferred. 3. reale & handmer(2011): land tenure is a set of policy and rules on basis of which land is acquired, used and transferred within an infrastructure of institutions that administer use of land and other resource. the recognition of prime role of land rights and tenure for managing land is not a new phenomenon to literature. secure land tenure for poor households is evolving as a major problem for developing countries in africa, asia and latin america (durand-lasserve & royston, 2002). in addition to residential sector which is surely in control of land tenure and rights, commercial land is also bound to fulfill the requirements of land legal system. the insecurity of land tenure is a great threat to vulnerability of an individual or a community. reale & handmer (2011) have established five ‘mediating factors’ that control secure land tenure as following: (1) the local legal system; (2) government administrative authority; (3) the economy; (4) evidence of tenure, and; (5) custom and dominant social attitudes. the paradox of land tenure is becoming central focus of recent housing studies. land is a public good and is essential for mankind for performing all types of activities. like clean drinking water is a commodity for which public cries in dry regions, similarly for urban land security of tenure is a relief for public. insecurity of tenure leads to extreme losses of a community which includes homelessness, violent, forced evictions, lost livelihoods, inadequate housing, loss of identity and environmental as well as social disturbance. every piece of land is unique, its special value and scarcity have opened the doors to political favoritism and corruption. it is a subtle asset to administer, and most governments are simply not very good at it (doebelej, 1987). in game of political urban power, local and state authorities often push the poor to leave the acquired land in favor of new commercial and residential buildings. this practice has been evident in various cities of developing world including delhi, karachi, bombay and bangkok (hardoy and satterthwaite, 1993, 121). this implies that low-income groups squat and construct substandard housing not because they choose to, but because they are forced to. (sengupta & sharma, 2006). this argument has been strengthened by the fact that in most cases, half of the urban population survives in illegal settlements or inadequate housing units (durand-lasserve & selod, 2009). hence, it proves that the role of governments at local or national level in effective administration of land and its legal matters, specifically in developing countries, has been unpromising one for long time. the aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of secure land tenure for developing countries such as pakistan taking the case study of second largest city of lahore. the paper highlights the differences and challenges of two squatters based on their tenure types. findings help us to understand the phenomena of inter-connection of land tenure security and residential stability of squatters in lahore. pg. 147 malik / the academic research community publication case of brazil brazil has been facing housing challenges; rio de janeiro favela1 is most notable one among these which is now established as authorized squatter settlement. the local authorities launched favela bairro slum upgrading program (fbp) to overcome these challenges. the program established that transformation of such favelas into formal communities is the appropriate solution to rio’s housing afflictions. the significant challenge to meet in this program is the land tenure and how to deal with it. fbp introduced unique solution to this by setting an example of slum up gradation without attaining full legal tenure security and providing the primary right to occupy and use the land (handzic, 2010). this exceptional state of using the land allowed this program to take place with huge success. this initiative put emphasis on provision of adequate infrastructure rather than legal land tenure. as a consequence, favela tenants felt the effect of security of tenure through better living conditions by implementation of fbp. case of india india is going through rapid urbanization which has put massive pressure on existing urban infrastructure, hence creating informal settlements, squatters and slums. even in such alarming housing shortages, people plan to own a home rather than rental housing. obviously, rental housing is also not that much economical within urban centers nowadays. in india, there are two-fold reasons for it: first, rent-control laws in urban areas have discouraged new rent-based units from coming into the market; secondly, an increase in available housing finance options over the years has enabled more people to buy a home (un-habitat, 2008). four types of land tenure exist in case of india as following: 1. through title deed has the highest legal authorization 2. attaining a lease period, giving tenant right to use land for certain number of years 3. license from associated authorities and cooperative societies, giving members registration to show right to property 4. stamp paper demonstrating sale of property, yet has no legal strength squatter dwellers normally tend to survive their lifetime either on lease period or through stamp paper. inability to show proof of legal land ownership limits the access to formal sources of housing finance. this implies that low-income groups seldom have formal secure land tenure and their rights to land are linked with other forms of land security. previous studies have referred to such rights which are normally either property tax forms or stamp papers (the fourth type) known as paralegal rights. para-legal rights in urban areas can also take the form of government-granted security to slum dwellers which protect them against eviction (centre for micro finance (ifmr), 2007). the discipline of legal land rights and tenure is one of key areas for governments both state and central to play their role for up gradation of housing conditions that surrounds the poor. case of pakistan increasing urban population in major cities of pakistan is causing urban poor as migrants to get suffer through poor housing conditions. the high population levels and centralization of job markets is making difficult supply of formal housing in cities. as a result, people tend to opt informal housing and squatter settlements. in pakistan, squatters are called ‘katchi abadis’; the term refers to housing settlement on state land without ownership rights. under the revised katchi abadis act 1987 the settlement can be declared as official katchi abadi that is not ecologically dangerous zone, not on areas earmarked for amenities, not required for the development needs of the cities and having at least 40 dwelling units (qadeer, 1996). for a long time, within the context of pakistan, the informal housing in karachi has been prime focus of researchers, since it is the largest city of pakistan. however, lahore being the second largest city overall, and largest city of largest province (punjab) has not been in international/national debates or a prime focus of research for informal housing or squatters. till date, community oriented projects have 1squatter or informal housing in national language of brazil. pg. 148 malik / the academic research community publication been acknowledged in case of karachi as compared to lahore (table 1). karachi presents more development of informal land and housing market due to the inadequacy of the formal sector to meet population demands (hasan, ahmed, raza, sadiq, ahmed, & sarwar, 2013) table 1. a comparison of housing intiatives for karachi and lahore, source:author housing karachi lahore housing initiatives for urban poor opp-rti khuda ki basti-kkb urban resource center ashiana housing project-ahp khuda ki bastikkb heritage homes housing issues housing issues are more recognized internationally housing issues are started to highlight on international scale major urban poor housing initiative orangi pilot project -opp (upgradation project of pakistan’s biggest slum) no slum up gradation project till date remarks opp as slum up gradation project in karachi is practical model for addressing issues of urban poor in katchi abadis of other cities of country. the second largest city of pakistan is still lacking behind in up gradation projects of informal settlements. important informal housing projects include organi pilot project (opp), khuda ki basti (kkb – hyderabad) and yakoobabad project. the most successful among these is opp which is house to 1 million people and is the largest squatter of karachi since 1980. the success story behind opp is land provision from kda (karachi development authority) and improvement of house construction by providing technical assistance and managerial support to over 65,000 house-owners for financing and developing their own underground sanitation scheme. in addition, the opp has developed a package of advice for local masons for improving their performance, both technical and managerial, and to the people regarding design and construction of houses (hasan, 1992). the process resulted in improved house construction with economical budget accompanied with training sessions for masons and builders. recently, studies have now started to evolve in this regard, to highlight the housing problems and land tenure issue of low-income groups in lahore. research has shown that tenants of katchi abadis (squatters) that have been authorized by state and local authorities receive better access to infrastructure and public goods. similarly, residents of squatters located close to central lahore have much convenient access to employment and facilities as compared to residents of peripheral squatters. hence, dwellers that have property rights have greater bargaining power and so see better provision of public goods that those that do not have property rights. (shami & majid, 2015). another research in lahore cantonment and aziz bhatti town reveals that most people have preferred to live in new urban settlements of the city after selling their rural lands and have started investment in new developed urban areas. this has resulted in creating more pressure on urban centers and pushing urban poor to reside in substandard housing settlements. haider (2015) discussed that low income areas are faced with problems of healthcare and housing and are often faced with tedious legal formalities of land ownership. 2. research methodology lahore is the largest city of punjab province and second largest city of the country. qadeer (1983) in his book described that since independence, lahore has undergone explosive growth and notable transformation of its material, technological and institutional bases. yet like most third world cities, it counties to be ravaged by poverty, inequality and mismanagement. lahore is a hometown to 8.9 million presently and is expected to go beyond 11 million by 2020 (lahore population 2016, 2016). the city is experiencing huge influx of urban poor coming from smaller adjacent cities and suburbs in search of employment opportunities. also, the city is currently a huge development of housing infrastructure. total demand of 1,265,183 housing units until year 2021 has been established, pg. 149 malik / the academic research community publication including the existing shortage of 199,204 units (urban unit, n.d). housing backlog can be effectively tackled by addressing the secure tenure for informal housing like squatters. in current situation, it has become essential as well as important to provide secure tenure types to all types of residents for discontinuation of increasing figure of housing deficit in lahore. the study adopts a qualitative method of research through case study approach for developing deep insight into complex homeownership phenomena. the case study is comprised of two study points based on type of their land tenure. first study selection is of legalized squatter with secure tenure through lease of 99 years (qalandar pura squatter) and second study selection is of illegalized squatter with no security of tenure (badar colony). this has helped to identify the reasons for which tenants have shown improved residential stability in squatters provided with land tenure security. it also explores how the completed social mechanism behind sustained existence of informal settlements in rapidly urbanizing city of lahore. field survey along with well-structured questionnaires will be conducted to collect data from both squatters. analyzing parameters will include: – accessibility and affordability – environment of squatter – incremental house construction – governance – secure land tenure & residents stability – community development 2.1. case study selection the selection of case studies is strategic as both of selected squatters are just 3 kilometers away situated within vicinity of harbanspura lahore. it is interesting to observe the issues of land tenure and resident stability for qalandarpura and badar colony located within the same urban context. however, the change in the type of land tenure and its legal status creates a difference and impact on the lives of its residents. a brief description of both squatters is given below. 2.1.1. qalandar pura squatter qalandar pura is one of the legalized squatter of lahore situated near harbanspura interchange in vicinity of lahore ring road and lahore canal road accounts for strategic location of this squatter settlement implying that this study area has strong connections with other city centers (figure 1). the mega lahore ring road connects this informal housing settlement to well-established housing schemes for the elite class of lahore, for instance, defence housing authority in just 10 minutes of drive on car. this obvious connection is clear picture of extreme contrasting environments between the two ends of city users situating at close locations. figure 1. google map for qalandarpura squatter pg. 150 malik / the academic research community publication 2.1.2. badar colony badar colony is illegalized squatter situated in sadar near ranger’s head quarter, lahore on harbanspura road (figure 2). recent study described the squatter is an informal housing settlement with total of 1300 houses having population figure of 7800. there are two types of tenants here, some of them are urban settlers and other ones are the migrants from nearby suburbs, and villages. ali park, jalal town and itthad colony are well-recognized areas near the selected squatter. out of total population, only 2% have legal status of ownership while rest of the colony is living with unsecure tenure and ownership rights. recent study revealed that people complain about corruption by official authorities for giving ownership rights and they charged more than rs.172/marla (according to katchi abadi act 1992) from residents of katchi abadis; there are also some people who don’t even know the procedure of applying for ownership rights (nasreen & hira, 2009). figure 2. google map for badar colony squatter 2.2. data collection and respondents random sampling has been chosen to identify the general perspective of land tenure and stability of residents. earning head of the family has been selected as respondents for gathering actual facts and figures. further, data sampling has been done on behalf of convenience by connecting to networking members. thematic analysis will be applied as per analyzing parameters by extracting themes from each parameter and describing through collected data in form of percentage values. 3. results & discussions 3.1. accessibility & affordability accessibility and affordability are major concerns for any housing settlement either its formal one or informal one. here, the extracted themes for both case studies include squatters as cheaper than rental housing, squatters as affordable ones, commuting issues and inspiring social circle to opt squatter housing (table 2). table 2. accessibility & affordability issues of squatters. source: author accessibility & affordability squatter strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree total squatter residence is cheaper than formal rental housing badar colony 30 50 10 10 100 qalandar pura 30 30 30 10 100 continued on next page pg. 151 malik / the academic research community publication table 2 continued squatters as affordable shelter based on your monthly income badar colony 50 50 100 qalandar pura 20 30 40 10 100 easy commuting to work places from squatter badar colony 20 10 40 10 20 100 qalandar pura 10 20 10 20 40 100 inspiring other family members and friends to opt for squatters instead of living on rent badar colony 40 40 20 100 qalandar pura 10 20 40 30 100 case of badar colony according to the results, most tenants of badar colony consider squatter settlements as cheapter subsitute of living than opting house on rent in a formal housing settlement. as they consider it affordable according to their monthly income. transportation and commuting issues remain unhighlighted by the community with equal positive and negative response in this regard. the interesting part was inspiration for the associated family members and friends to select squatters as their housing and convincing them not to choose rental housing. this suggests that personal experiences do influence the mindset and it reflects to the extended social circle of tenants. case of qalandar pura qalandar pura enjoys the status of legalied squatter settlement in lahore, hence people living here believe that it is cheaper and affordable housing for them as compared to formal rented houses based on their monthly income. however, they showed facing difficulty in commuting to their workplaces from their house location. may be this is the reason that community does not inspire their relatives and friends to choose this squatter as their housing option. 3.2. environment of squatter environment of squatter is another important aspect and studied themes are safe environment, community system, hygienic conditions and social issues (table 3). table 3. environment of squatters, source: author environment of squatter squatter strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree total safe & secure environment badar colony 40 30 30 100 qalandar pura 10 30 40 20 100 community system for addressing environmental issues badar colony 60 40 100 qalandar pura 10 40 30 20 100 better hygienic conditions badar colony 10 10 40 40 100 continued on next page pg. 152 malik / the academic research community publication table 3 continued qalandar pura 10 40 50 100 incidents of kidnapping and robbery activities badar colony 40 30 30 100 qalandar pura 10 40 50 100 case of badar colony tenants showed positive response towards the safe and secure environment of squatter. active community system was recorded as intergral part of this setttlement. however, the hygienic conditions of badar colony were not satisfactory and tenants were not contented about it (fig 3). on the other hand, due to strong community system, social issues were less such as kidnapping and robbery incidents which are considered to be common aspect of such informal settlements. figure 3. alley view in badar colony, source: author case of qalandar pura safe and secure environment is merely a feature of such informal housing. however, people were satisfied with safety of environment to some extent. most of them did not have the idea of safe environment as majority of them are not educated. this can also be linked with absence of active community system for addressing such issues. as a result, hygienic conditions were also not better here (fig 4). according to the results, kidnapping and robbery activities had not been witnessed by the respondents. figure 4. alley view in qalandar pura, source: author pg. 153 malik / the academic research community publication 3.3. house renovation/incremental house construction squatters are affordable and cheaper housing settlements. tenants continue to reside here for generations and tend to adjust their family either through house renovation or incremental house construction. both squatters showed positive attitude towards this particular aspect and themes included incremental housing, house renovation and squatter legalization (table 4). table 4. house renovation/incremental house construction in squatters. source: author house renovation/ incremental house construction squatter strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree total tenants practice incremental housing in squatter badar colony 100 100 qalandar pura 90 10 100 tenants practice house renovation badar colony 30 40 10 20 100 qalandar pura 20 40 30 10 100 legalization of squatter prompts residents to go for renovation. badar colony 20 30 20 30 100 qalandar pura 10 20 30 30 10 100 case of badar colony incremental housing is in full practice for badar colony which shows that once residents start living, they tend to live for longer time periods in most cases (fig 5). house renovation also demonstrated positive response, however there are some groups of people who were not interested in it. half of the respondents agreed that legalization of squatter will make majority of the community to go for renovation or incremental construction on basis of secure land tenure. figure 5. incremental house construction in badar colony, source: author pg. 154 malik / the academic research community publication case of qalandar pura tenants responded in clear positive figure towards the practice of incremental housing in squatter (fig 6). in addition to this, more than 50% of the respondents acknowledged the exercise of house renovation as well. since the squatter is already regularized one, so the response about house renovation after squatter up gradation was mixed one but more inclined towards disagreement. figure 6. recent incremental house construction in qalandar pura, source: author 3.4. governance squatters face governance and related issues in its extreme form. this is because due to illlegal status of such housing settlements and their informal structure. this parameter studied themes involving frequent inspection by officials, squatters as vote bank, ngos intiatives and self-help as final choice (table 5). table 5. governance issues of squatters, source: author governance squatter strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree total frequent inspection of squatter by government officials badar colony 100 100 qalandar pura 100 squatter is major attraction for vote bank badar colony 100 100 qalandar pura 100 100 ngo visit squatter to work for well-being of community badar colony 10 20 50 20 100 qalandar pura 10 20 70 tenants usually solve their issue through self-help badar colony 40 40 20 100 continued on next page pg. 155 malik / the academic research community publication table 5 continued qalandar pura 50 30 10 10 100 case of badar colony problems and issues of badar colony governance are alarming as no promising attitude was documented from governing officials of respective state and local authorities. complete disagreement has been recorded from tenants when inquired about squatter inspection by governing bodies. same response has been observed in case of considering squatter as significant vote bank by political leaders. tenants acknowledged efforts of ngos here to some extent. community engagement was a key factor for squatter governance in this case and tenants tend to solve their routine issues through self-help. case of qalandar pura even though qalandapura is a recognized squatter in comparison to badar colony, still the governance issues are same and tenants showed whole disappointment towards the governing bodies. people gave a clear yes for considering their squatter as merely a point of vote collection for political victory. ngos also received same kind of discontent for showing no promising efforts towards well being of community. hence, self-help, being the only option left behind, was observed to be governing system for functioning of squatter and housing units. 3.5. secure land tenure & resident stability security of land tenure is one of the prime concerns for squatter residents. informal settlements are reality of developing world and their metropolitans. this prime concern inspects the strong connection of secure land tenure with resident stability, employment opportunities, social life and infrastructure up gradation (table 6). table 6. secure land tenure & resident stability in sqautters, source: author secure land tenure & resident stability squatter strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree total secure tenure by government will bring resident stability after secure land tenure badar colony 60 20 10 10 100 qalandar pura 40 20 30 10 100 secure tenure will bring more employment opportunities badar colony 10 20 50 20 100 qalandar pura 20 20 50 10 100 secure tenure will impact social life of tenants badar colony 30 50 10 10 100 qalandar pura 40 20 30 10 100 secure tenure will help improving infrastructure badar colony 40 30 20 10 100 qalandar pura 50 10 10 20 10 100 case of badar colony tenants believe that if government legalizes this squatter then resident stability will reach its highest possible value. around 80% percent of respondents agreed on this point. chances of more employment opportunities after securing land tenure does not seem to get affected and tenants showed balance response in this regard. however, pg. 156 malik / the academic research community publication social life and infrastructure are two major aspects to be impacted in a better manner after legalization and tenure security of squatters in community’s perspective. case of qalandar pura squatter upgradation into formal housing scheme was considered as a positive sign towards residents stability and more tenure security according to perception of qalandar pura community, however employment opportunities were not believed to be majorly affected by this. on the other hand, tenants acknowledged the positive impacts on social life and infrastructure improvement after such upgradation. 3.6. community development community development and community engagement have capacity to do wonders in such informal settlements. squatters often have strong community system which leads to development in its small dimensions. community development parameter covers themes such as meeting arrangements, community inclination towards such meetings and its importance more than state initiatives (table 7). table 7. community development in squatters, source: author community development squatter strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree total arrangement of community meetings for squatter improvement badar colony 30 30 20 10 10 100 qalandar pura 10 20 40 30 community interest and inclination for such meetings badar colony 30 40 20 10 100 qalandar pura 10 40 50 community development program is more beneficial than state initiatives for securing land tenure. badar colony 40 30 10 10 100 qalandar pura 20 10 50 20 case of badar colony tenants of badar colony showed positive response towards frequent arrangement of meetings for addressing squatter issues. in addition to that, community is quite in favour of such meetings empowering community development. engagement of community and opting self-help in most cases made tenants to believe that community development programs are more beneficial than the state-initiated squatter programs. living within the community can lead to better solutions for their problems rather than planning in offices of state and local authorities. case of qalandar pura community development was not in much practice here, as the tenants showed major negative response about arrangement of community meetings for squatter issues. most of them did not have the idea of what is community development and what community meetings are about. hence, half of the respondents delivered no information about it and half showed disinterest in such community engagement programs. almost same response was observed for considering community development program more beneficial than initiatives of state and local authorities. pg. 157 malik / the academic research community publication 4. conclusions squatters and informal settlements are integrated part of urban development for most cities of developing countries like lahore, pakistan. their complex social mechanism puts great challenges and issues for survival of tenants. analyzing parameters in the present study help us to understand such challenges for squatters with and without tenure security. for instance, since the illegal squatter (badar colony) is more accessible option for low-income groups, the people inspire its social circle to opt this as their final housing option, whereas qalandar pura community is not inclined towards such inspiration. in addition to this, strong community system was observed in case of badar colony as compared to qalandar pura. this community system is the major reason for same kind of issues even in presence of big difference of tenure status for both squatters. however, this difference does not create any impact on incremental housing and renovation and both communities showed positive response in this regard. issues of poor governance were the most significant issues in badar colony as well as qalandar pura and self-help technique was adopted for squatter functioning. up gradation plans for squatters were welcomed by both communities. the aspect of community development was more profound in case of illegal squatter which came out as a big surprise since more sophisticated culture was observed in case of legal one. this proves the power of community engagement for such housing settlements when official authorities are not performing their duties properly. research concluded that legalization of squatter do brings secure tenure and resident stability, however it still demands for thorough governance to deliver decent lifestyle to its tenants. both cases studies demonstrated mostly same issues and few differences in some circumstances. this implies that security of tenure is not the only characteristic which brings relief and housing stability in residents. other factors such as governance, environment, infrastructure and community development are of similar significance. the lahore context suggests, securing land tenure can assist in dealing with most issues of informal housing as tenure security brings a positive turn in coping with urban sprawl. also, by promoting the concept of authorized squatters through their inclusion in the spatial planning of formal housing sector and in national housing policy will help in allocating budget for adequate infrastructure and facilities in such livable communities. the paper is a contribution by exploring housing issues in present administrative frameworks and charters to fill the inherent vacuum about the tenure doubts of squatters and resident’s stability in lahore. 5. acknowledgements we would like to acknowledge the support and cooperation of respondents of squatters involved in data collection. the presentation of this paper in “international conference on urban regeneration sustainability (urs)” held from 15-oct-2018 to 15-17.10.2018 in united kingdom was funded by higher education commission of pakistan under travel grant (ref. no. 301.126). 6. references 1. adams, m., sibanda, s., & s. turner. 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(1996). an assessment of pakistan’s urban policies, 1947–1997. the pakistan development review, 443—465. 17. reale, a., & handmer, j. (2011). land tenure, disasters and vulnerability. disasters, vol. 35, no. 1. , 160-182. 18. sengupta, u., & sharma, s. (2006). the challenge of squatter settlements in kathmandu: addressing a policy vacuum. international planing development review, 105-126. 19. shami, m., & majid, h. (2015). the political economy of public goods provision in slums: preliminary results from a field study in urban pakistan. social science and policy bulletin, volume 6 no. 3, pp. 10-14. 20. un-habitat. (2008). housing finance mechanisms in india. nairobi : un-habitat, united nations human settlements programme 2008. 21. urban unit. (n.d.). assessment of land development and management practices in five. lahore: urban unit. retrieved from http://www.urbanunit.gov.pk/publicationdocs/28.pdf pg. 159 introduction research methodology case study selection qalandar pura squatter badar colony data collection and respondents results & discussions accessibility & affordability environment of squatter house renovation/incremental house construction governance secure land tenure & resident stability community development conclusions acknowledgements references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication heritage as a key element of cities and destinations branding kareem nabil hammouda1 1phd candidate at ain shams university, cairo, egypt adjunct lecturer at the arab academy for science, technology and maritime transport, cairo, egypt abstract today, in a globalized connected world, nations, cities, destinations are in a continuous competition with international rivals to define their place and value among others. it’s no longer valid for cities to stand still in such competition, depending on their basic momentum of their resources to position themselves in such global contest. branding is an essential part of the economic sustainable development of a city and marketing it as a destination for tourism. heritage plays a central role in creating destination brand, as heritage, with its tangible and intangible qualities is a prime factor in brand creation. this paper will be discussing the role of the heritage in its brand creation in its symbolic and identity inherits. this will be executed by exploring the definitions and strategies of destination branding, its elements and means to create such brand and the contemporary means the heritage is presented on the online space. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords branding; city brand; heritage; destinatation image 1. introduction in today’s consumerist society, and with the fast pace of the globalization, global societies are faced with notions of insecurity, and loss of identity and belonging. here oscillates the tendency towards the search for markers of identification .today, the economic and political values are in continuous change and are effected with large number of parameters that are altered with the slightest change in everyday events worldwide. the global inter connectivity has resulted in a vast culture of copy and significant loss of identity on all levels. this pushes individuals to seek their own identities and try to position themselves within this unified singular world. earlier, social values and identities were formed by religion or nationhood, withal the accompanying cultural, political and ideological implications. nowadays, economic consumerist values prevails and thus social individuality is defined by the branding of products, as the brands, in such economic context, is the only way to belong to a certain cluster of values. brands bring into focus ways of identification that surpass cultural, traditional, and local differences. a brand then signifies a kind of intangible model to identify a system of values shared by bigger groups of people and societies regardless to their location, religion or nation . the stockpiled heritage of a place or a destination is already an important definer for the group of individuals living in this place and acts as the significant image that distinguishes this place in such global realm of replication. each city or a destination stands alone depending on these values that are not to be found in others and the heritage, physical or cultural, represents these values. this pg. 32 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i4.536 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ hammouda / the academic research community publication paper will be discussing the role of the heritage as a brand element that has a direct effect on the nourishment of the place or city as a branded destination, attracting visitors or residents to share these values on various levels. the paper will explore the idea of branding in general and the development of a brand position, and how the heritage fulfills the characteristics of brand element. heritage as a brand element is directly linked to the practice of tourism. tourism defines the main activity that impacts and gets benefit from the heritage economically. in this context the study will not be addressing the tourism as an economic complex activity; rather it will focus on the perception of the tourist and mechanisms of how the tourist is affected by the image of a certain city or destination. in this discourse, it’s important to address the effect of the information technology and the digital space on such process . the study will be exploring the online place branding process and how 2. branding definitions and heritage as a brand element this change on the idea of branding could be understood as the result of cultural fragmentation and pluralism coupled with a fast-paced capitalist consumerism, where developed societies are experiencing increasing insecurity that often oscillates between a desire for belonging and profound disorientation. and within pluralistic societies that signals of identification take on critical importance. klingmann (2007) ‘ in a world in which social, economic, and political value systems are defined by continual change and movement, individuals are forced to create their own identities and find ways of signaling their place in the world ’ klingmann (2007) 2.1. brand definitions brands and branding have been defined variously through literature kladou (2016) , the brand could be defined as a product or service to which human beings attach a bundle of tangible (functional) and intangible (emotional and symbolic)meanings that add value. gordon (1999) the brand is adding to a product either rational or tangible dimensions (i.e. related to how the product performs) or symbolic, emotional and intangible dimensions (i.e. related to what the product represents) that differentiate it from other products that fulfill the same need keller, apeira, and georson (2008) . brands could be also defined as multidimensional constructs, consisting of functional, emotional, relational and strategic elements that collectively generate a unique set of associations in the public mind’. these associations are formed in peoples’ minds, and they are not necessarily the associations intended by the branding authorities aaker (1996). from the previous definitions, it could be understood that branding is an act of identification in the first place, where the marketers through different branding elements and strategies try to give a distinctive identity for a product, and the consumer at the other end, try to be belonged to group of people who share the same interest in this product thus identify himself as part of a cult. 2.2. city brands and heritage cities are no different from products in terms of branding. the goal of branding a product in the first place is to differentiate it from others and define its competitive edge, similarly, places in general including cities, adopt the concepts of destination branding to have the same distinction among other cities. today, the world is connected like never before, and the culture of copy became the dominant feature of the era. it became a necessity for cities to highlight their differentiating qualities and promote their position via branding. in fact, cities hold the very basic elements of a brand, and they are already perceived by people, even if unconsciously, as a brand ashworth and kavaratzis (2009) ; a city has the main ‘brand identity’ in form of its name, visual identity. it has ‘brand symbols’ in form of landmarks, heritage, significant built environment, and the ‘brand image’ which is the perception formulated in peoples mind towards the city. the physical heritage of a city the falls under what to be considered brand symbol. the brand symbol is the identifier that symbolizes the brand. the brand symbol can be a visual symbol such as sign or logo, or it can be pg. 33 hammouda / the academic research community publication verbal in a form of a slogan or tagline. in all cases, the brand symbol is a tangible brand element. the heritage fits very well in this category, as the physical heritage of a city is in all cases very distinctive than any other city. each city, even if shared the same historical and political influences, has developed its own kind of physical structure even if similar to others. yet, when it comes to heritage site or place, it will remain a very unique symbol. this is the main characteristic of the brand symbol, distinction. on another level, for a successful brand, developing a brand positioning is very important keller et al. (2008) . setting a brand positioning defines the way the marketing activities and programs should work. it involves creating a solid brand image in the minds of consumers and constructs the important associations that differentiate the brand and creates its competitive edge keller (2005) , this includes two main areas: brand intangibles ; which is related to the real perception of the brand in the consumer mind and his expectations, and the way this brand fulfills his desires , all affecting his decision-making in dealing with the brand, it includes the brand personality as the position or identity originally created by the marketers, the brand relationships , which evolve between the consumer and the brand and the brand experience, which deals with the experiential dimension of the brand , the way they sense experiences involving sensory perception, feel experiences involving affect and emotions, think experiences which are creative and cognitive, act experiences involving physical behavior and incorporating individual actions and lifestyles, and relate experiences that result from connecting with a reference group or culture h (2003) . in this context, the heritage has a stored potential of filling this area. as the heritage have the ability to create the idiosyncratic position of the city with the accumulated symbolic meaning that it carried over the years. if the consumer in this case is the city visitor, then by witnessing an encounter with a physical heritage site, it would fulfill his desires of experiencing the proximity with the heritage and meet his embedded perceptions that have been formulated about this city. if any of names of the cities of successful brands is mentioned, such as paris, london, cairo or rome, a stored image of this city will evoke, including one of its heritage landmarks. the mind searches for a symbol to define this perception, which in all adds up to its intangible value. it’s then clarified that one of the important target groups that the city brand is after is the visitor or the tourist. the way this brand is conveyed to this group is merely a virtual visual one. this arouses a necessity of understanding the method the tourist encounter the city brand , not referring to obsolete ways , but taking in consideration the contemporary ways a brand city consumer deals with the city, which involves a deeper study of the effect of the information technologies and the virtual space on this. even on a strategic level, the information induced to set the actions for the positioning and marketing the city, positioning its brand amongst others as in anholt gfk index is dependent on the study of the virtual space, which will be looked upon closely through the rest of the paper 3. destination image and online presence with the rise of the mass transportation means and the appearance of low cost carriers on one hand, and the rise of the communication technologies and social media, greater masses of people are now able to be more mobile and able to experience such encounters with the heritage sites around the globe in much easier way, and the heritage sites are now much more exposed through the internet posts and imagery. today, instead of taking a car from one of the cities in europe or even the middle east to visit the capital, now you can easily take a flight from dubai to cairo or from an english village to berlin with almost the same amount of money or at sometimes even cheaper. websites like booking.com or trivago made it completely easy to plan your own vacation on a personal computer, depending on the intriguing images that one has been exposed to over the internet or via visitors reviews to various places, a stream that was not available before resulting in huge traffic of information and specially images about a place or a destination. such a practice resulted in a furious competition between cities that are defined as tourist’s destinations selby (2004) . cities accordingly invests more in city branding, refocusing on their stock of distinguished elements, at the top of theselements’ts comes the built environment and the physical heritage, attracting more and more of the masses. these phenomena could be understood in respect to the sociological concept of ‘tourist gaze’ that was introduced by the british sociologist john urry. pg. 34 hammouda / the academic research community publication 3.1. the tourist gaze the theory of tourist gaze discussed in his book the tourist gaze urry (1990) tries to define the reasons behind why people in general travel for leisure and chooses to visit places more than others. the touristic travel mainly floats around moving to other places to see unusual scenes that could not be seen in the normal live/ work environments. tourist’s main activity is ‘gazing at signs’, whether this sign is a building, cathedral, or a famous square. adding to urry, another main activity of the tourist is ‘taking a photo and sharing a post over a social media platform, whether sharing a selfie with ‘sign ‘at the background, or ‘checking in’ at the site of such sign. having eiffel tower in the background of a photo or visiting the colosseum in rome is a tourist goal. such places gazed upon by tourists vary according to the tourist backgrounds and culture. the choice of the place in general, then the site to gaze upon is pre-given to the visitor subconsciously through various channels, such channels would be a travel guide, advertisement, a movie or television program where this site appears, websites and blogs, and mostly through the word of mouth of previous visitors in form of stories, whether told directly or via a social media platform and photo sharing hospers (2009) . all such channels creates a predicted image of what is to be seen at the site thus, the tourist gaze moves and searches accordingly for such element , neglecting others. an example on this, whether traveling for leisure or for work , to any city in egypt, the visitor have to find the time and effort to go and have his own gaze at the pyramids of giza and the sphinx. although the pyramids of giza is one of the most heritage sites that have appeared and still appears on all media channels ,yet , the both the site and the visitor have been manipulated to make it a must see element. the theory of the tourist gaze is applicable with the rise of the mass tourism that evolved since the second half of the 19th century; this is closely aligned with the development of the photography industry, as photos of the touristic sites became available by travelers and on tourist guides, advertisements then through various media. by taking pictures of places that were no longer used, ‘sites’ were turned into ‘sights’: tourists started to visit churches, not to pray, but to photograph them maccannell (1999) . tourists travel to see on real what they have seen in the photograph, expecting a similar experience like that they have heard about or a different unique one of their own yet involves the same site. the photography industry has developed in an unprecedented magnitude during the last two decades. with the rise of digital photography, the number of photographs taken has expanded to be tenth or maybe hundred times compared to those produced on regular films. in year 2000, kodak, the leading company in the photography production and film making announced that 80 million photographs were taken that year. today, according to estimates, at least 1.3 trillion photographs were taken via digital means, which 85 percent is taken by smartphones, which means more flow over the web platforms and a greater exposure of their objects to unlimited number of people (info trends 2017). the theory of the tourist gaze was developed by a sociologist before the rise of the notions of place branding. taking in consideration that the base of the tourism activity is directly connected to visit places that we have seen on a photograph, place branding exhibiting images of well-known heritage sites would have a direct influence in the nourishment of such activity. it’s very important to consider in this context the means of how these photographs and images are being distributed. 3.2. the destination image and the cyber space today, we cannot neglect or oversee the internet governance over the flow of information and how our decisions are taken, whether forming a political view, or buying a product, or aspiring to visit a city or a place. the virtual world on the different internet platforms , social media, websites and blogs not even competes the physical real one, but exceeds it in affecting branding of products and specially places , since branding, as previously explained is intended to construct this mental association between the consumer and the product (place) based on the perception that is dependent on the distinctiveness of such product exhibited through symbols, images as tangible elements of branding and intangible ones like word of mouth, resulting in a kind of a desire of belonging to a certain idea around the product. the place branding specifically is to a great extent could be dependent on the virtuallity of this place over the cyber space, as the mainly the images of such places are almost completely virtual. the main source of information about such places now comes through the word of mouth on social media or peer reviews pg. 35 hammouda / the academic research community publication on travel websites beerli, jd, et al. (2004) .thus, the usual advertisement on which many places and cities mainly depend on for their branding would be considered a waste of efforts hildreth (2010) . advertising is a generic mean of branding that may not reach the right audience compared to the opportunities provided via social media on which the target audience has the choice of searching the needed information that will affect their decisions, in a posted photo or in shared stories about experiences with places. the internet suites very well the virtual properties a place carries and reusing it not in an autonomous way would have a great contribution to place branding and would improve and develop the ways we deal with cities and underline the potential of physical built heritage as a possible image for branding cities. the stated above does not mean that advisement is an obsolete mean of place branding. advertisement would still act as the catalyst agent that ignites the hype from which the virtual means stated would take over. to understand such mechanism, first we have to acknowledge that place branding is an image influenced practice govers (2011) . there are various ways in which image are transferred and influence the perception of people about the product (place). such ways are referred to as image formation agents’ gartner (1993) . on the top of this list comes the peoples own experiences (organic agents), followed by the shared stories and word of mouth of others experiences referred to as social agents. below these agents comes the information transferred via media and news and media (‘autonomous agents’). lastly comes the direct means of marketing communications as commercial advertisement (induced agents), which have the least influence on people in the practice of branding. in such context, the autonomous and induced agents have relatively a certain importance in place branding, due to the various ways a place could be presented in media and news, and due to the different types of image forming elements of place, whether it’s a heritage site, or an experience, or even a unique physical quality of such place. the experiential nature of the place makes people more tending to share their stories about it and make it more appealing as a location for directed stories as in movies and documentaries. such experiences are intrigued and moved in the first place through induced agents as advertisements which initiate the interest in the place and then it’s followed by mass experiential sharing on the web medium buzz (email forwards, blogs, and mentions of social networking sites). such buzz is then recovered on the news and media (autonomous agents) and the content is created by the consumer himself, and the cycle goes on. the medium on which all of this occurs today is the virtual medium, as the induced agents as advertisement starts the spark, the organic and social agents in form of self-experiences and shared stories sparks on the web medium in form of social platforms, review websites, blogs, emails, etc. and recycled through autonomous agents as media and news to keep the process going on. the digital and virtual space here acts as the perfect medium for all above stated agents; induced (push ads), organic and social (social media platforms, emails and blogs), and autonomous (news websites and pages). thus, the virtual space becomes a dominator in place branding practice. the elements of this process could be analyzed against the framework suggested by simon anholt regarding the competitive identity of “strategy, substance and symbolic actions” anholt (2007) . in this frame work, the “strategy” can be understood as first the basic analysis and assessments of the place as a branded product, understanding its potentials and properties, points of distinction and accordingly, formulating a general vision of the brand, it’s goals, position and equity. a general strategic design of the brand is then formulated. the points of action, including the changing policies, involving stakeholders, and other related activities are to be understood in this framework as the “substance”. the next step would be defining the means of building the brand reputation and engaging the consumer with the brand. this is referred to as brand communication; the brand communication includes the different image formation agents (organic, autonomous, or induced). this communication stands for the “symbolic” actions in the framework. these three elements of the framework are directly affected by the information technology medium. the strategic part which involves the research and analysis is now directly moderated via the internet platforms. one of the most acknowledged survey based indicators of the place and city branding is the anholt-gmi city brands index, which is based on the stated framework and depends on the online surveys, questionnaires and interviews. new ways of information gathering about the place identity and the image of the place in the preceptors minds includes monitoring the number and the way places as destinations or as understood as brands are mentioned, this monitoring includes what the word of mouth in the mentions is about, pg. 36 hammouda / the academic research community publication what types of images in a visual term is accompanied in these mentions and posts. the online presence on social media does not only help in data collection and building the strategy, it also provides an opportunity of fostering the required place identity and the sense of the public of the distinctive potentials of the place. for the substance part, action points as policy changes or engaging stakeholders as investors and residents or even governmental officials is introduced, discussed and promoted online 3.3. heritage as online symbol the heritage as clarified before is an image based element of branding. its presence on the cyber space and how it’s exhibited would affect completely the city brand. although the information technologies and internet social platforms might offer a wider understanding of the city experience, yet, a heritage landmark still holds a prominent position when it comes to the general brand of the city. as an example, paris has one brand asset which is uniquely valuable: the eiffel tower. this landmark is one of the few truly global mega brands in the anholt gmi city brands index, a landmark of iconic status which is spontaneously associated with paris by nearly 80 per cent of all respondents worldwide . the presence of such a prominent and distinctive visual symbol is certainly one reason why paris does so well in the rankings anholt (2010) . the appearance of heritage site on the cyber space changes the value and the perception of the heritage as a city symbol thus affecting its brand positioning , as first poses this heritage site in a new view, how it is viewed and how it is referred to, unveiling new opportunities for marketing such site. second, the re occurrence of appearance of such heritage online increase the reach out to the target groups which results in two effects; the more it appears in stories and post and even in news threads, the more the desire off having a physical encounter increases. second, this re occurrence fosters the brand image of the city in the minds of the stakeholders first and in the minds of the visitors second. this online appearance kind of dictates the way people should see the city and its brand in a very democratic word of mouth based way not in an induced way as earlier advertisements did. 4. conclusion today, in a globalized connected world, nations, cities, destinations and corporates are in a continuous competition with international rivals to define their place and value among others. in case of cities and destinations , which stand as the platform where the economic and cultural interactions occurs, it’s no longer valid to stand still in such competition , depending on their basic momentum of their resources to position themselves in such global contest. from here the importance of adopting more intent “branding” strategies appears. branding is an essential and integral part of the economic sustainable development of a city and marketing it as a destination for visiting and residing. heritage plays a central role in creating place or destination brand, as heritage, with its physical tangible and intangible qualities is considered a prime factor in brand creation from a marketing point of view. branding depends on creating a unique character of the commodity or the destination, with a powerful symbol or logo to define it. thus, heritage could be treated as that symbol which is a main component in the brand formation and it represents one of the main factors of forming the identity both physically and mentally of the city or the community. this is the competitive edge in making a city or destination stand out between its global competitors. understanding the new methods the image of this heritage is exhibited in various means and on the top of the list the web space becomes a necessity to keep up in the competition, opening new opportunities for the heritage to stand out again as city symbols. references aaker, d. a. (1996). building strong brands. new york: free press. anholt, s. (2007). competitive identity: the new brand management for nations, cities and regions. pg. 37 hammouda / the academic research community publication anholt, s. (2010). places: identity, image and reputation. basingstoke: palgrave macmillan. ashworth, g. j., & kavaratzis, m. (2009). beyond the logo :brand management for cities. journal of brand management, 16(8), 520-531. beerli, a., jd, m., et al. (2004). factors influencing destination image. ann tour res, 3(657–681). gartner, w. c. (1993). image formation process. j travel tour mark, 2(2/3). gordon, w. (1999). good thinking: a guide to qualitative research. (henley on thames: admap) govers, r. (2011, 11). from place marketing to place branding and back. place branding and public diplomacy, 4(227-231). h, s. b. (2003). customer experience management: a revolutionary approach to connecting with your customers. john wiley & sons. hildreth, j. (2010). place branding: a view at arm’s length. place branding publ. dipl, 1(27–35). hospers, g. j. (2009). “lynch, urry and city marketing: taking advantage of the city as a built and graphic image”, place branding and public diplomacy (vol. 5). keller, k. l. (2005). brands and branding: research findings and future priorities, journal. of marketing science, 6(740-759). keller, k. l., apeira, t., & georson, m. (2008). strategic brand management: a european perspective. harlow: prentice hall. kladou, s. (2016). the role of brand elements in destination branding. journal of destination marketing& management. klingmann, a. (2007). brandscapes. cambridge, ma: mit press. maccannell, d. (1999). . the tourist: a new theory of the. selby, m. (2004). understanding urban tourism: image, culture and experience, i.b.taurus. co. urry, j. (1990). the tourist gaze: leisure and travel in contemporary societies. sage, london,united kingdom. pg. 38 introduction branding definitions and heritage as a brand element brand definitions city brands and heritage destination image and online presence the tourist gaze the destination image and the cyber space heritage as online symbol conclusion http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 34 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i1.697 identification of key challenges of smart buildings projects in egypt samar el-motasem1, ali fathy eid2, laila m. khodeir3 1architect, phd student, dept. of architecture, faculty of engineering, ain shams university, cairo, egypt. 2professor of architecture and project management, dept. of architecture, faculty of engineering, ain 3associate professor, dept. of architecture, faculty of engineering, ain shams university, british university in abstract the world is changing rapidly heading to the future with quick intelligent steps. adaptation of smart and responsible architecture that can cope with future demands is no more a choice. nowadays; smart buildings projects (sbp) is a new trend and very important worldwide type of projects. smart buildings projects evolved during early 1980s and were called “intelligent buildings”. since then; different definitions have been stated by many institutes and researchers, and the terminology “intelligent building” was then replaced with “smart building”. sbp in egypt are rare; they don’t have clear description or specific definition. there is a lack of guidelines to establish a smart building in egypt and lack of research work discussing sbp, their design, management system, life cycle costs, risks, etc. as well. this paper is concerned with determining the main challenges of sbp in egypt through both: analysis of literature sources and analysis of some sbp internationaly and comparing them to sbp in egypt. finally; the results of the study were collected, analyzed and categorized and the key challenges of sbp in egypt were determined and pointed out. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords smart buildings projects (sbp); smart cities(sc); egypt 1. introduction the world is changing, adaptation became a must; moving into the future with smart progress requires more responsible architecture and more smarter buildings in order to cope with future demands. “smart” doesn’t only refer to the automation and artificial intelligence; it also refers to the way of dealing with and approaching the challenges; this is in addition to the methods which are presented by planners, architects and city officials to face and metigate those challenges. dominique davison & ashley z. hand, 2016 clarified that “being smart about architecture means understanding economic growth, density and zoning and how the existing network of roads and grids can be better”. the concept of intelligent building was first adopted by the united technology building systems (utbs) corporation in the usa in 1981. in 1983, the city palace building was constructed in the usa and was announced to be the world’s 1st intelligent building (so albert &wong kg, 2002). the utbs was resposible for operating and contolling the shared equipment of the city palace building; this included shared elevators, shared air-conditioning equipment and disaster prevention devices (albert t.p. et al., 1999). sbp were being studied over the last three decades. many institutes alover the world had many attempts to define sbp, their concepts and targets; however, the definition of sbp is still vague (a.h. buckman et al. 2014). the aim http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ el-motasem / the academic research community publication pg. 35 and concept of sbp are not clear as well, they differ from one country to another according to time, needs and culture. asia, europe and australia are considered pioneer continents in the field of sbp. asia mainly concentrates on environmental aspects; the asian instiute of intelligent building determined 10 quality environmental modules to define and assess sbp (so albert &wong kg, 2002). in europe; the main target is to improve the european economy by achieving low-carbon economy goals through adopting smart cities and smart buildings (eceee policy brief, 2010). australia focuses on increasing the performance of environmental, economic, operation and safety aspects in addition to improveming the performance and reliability of various technologies in communications, control, automation, etc. (amir ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2015). in egypt; smart village (sv) is considered the first attempt to establish sbp in. sv adopted an ecosystem platform that connects all the buildings in addition to providing a smart facility management system (smart village report, 2010). the new administrative capital (nac) in egypt is a new trend of projects. nac in egypt can be considered the second attemp to build sbp and the first attempt to establish a smart city. in egypt; there is a lack of research work covering the field of sbp generally; characteristics, targets and challenges particularly. the lack of experience, guidelines and frameworks to establish and manage sbp is considered the main risk that may face this new trend in egypt. 1.1. research problem and objective smart village (sv) is considered the first attempt to establish sbp in egypt. the new administrative capital (nac) is the second attemp and the first attempt to establish a smart city in egypt. lack of experience in the field of sbp in addition to absence reference projects and absence of clear guidelines or frameworks to establish and manage sbp are counted as major risks that may face this new trend of projects in egypt. the entire research is concerned with a main problem that is demonastarted in the lack of research work in egypt that covers the field of sbp generally; characteristics, targets and challenges particularly. identification of the risks and challenges is considered the first step in finding appropriate solutions to mitigate and resolve those challenges. the main objective of the current research is to determine the key challenges of sbp in egypt. 2. method the objective of this paper will be fulfilled through both: analysis of literature sources and analysis of some sbp internationaly and comparing them to sbp in egypt. based on the output of the data analysis; the challenges of sbp in egypt were divided into four main categories by project phase; data collection to concept design challenges; schematic design to design challenges; construction to testing and commissioning phase and operation and maintenance phase. figure (1) shows the flow of research methods in terms of input, process and output. figure 1. flow of research methods; source: authors •data collection •analysis of literatue sources •analysis of international sbp input data analysis •findings •determining the key challenges of smart buildings projects in egypt output el-motasem / the academic research community publication pg. 36 3. literature review there is a lack of a comprehensive or unified definition that sums up the common characteristics of sbp. definitions and characteristics of sbp vary according to time and location where a smart building is established. the literature review will collect and summarize the different definitions and characteristics of sbp aiming at standing on the key risks and challenges that may face this type of projects through their life cycle. 3.1. analysis of literature sources although the concept of sbp evolved in early 80’s, the definitions and characteristics of sbp are still vague. there have been many worldwide and local attepms to analyse the concept of sbp and issue a comprehensive definiton that reflects the objectives of this type of projects. most of the researchs in egypt and worldwide concentrated on definitions of sbp. o.omar, 2018 proposed a multi-criteria framework composed of sixty-eight sub factors on the core level as a comprehensive tool for categorizing sbp. the final findings categorized the usage of sbp into two approaches. the first is a multi-criteria framework that illustrates and defines the design process’ involved factors. the second proposes a conceptual environmental framework helps in limiting the carbon dioxide emissions. ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2016 objective was to extract the common features, key performance indicators and challenges of sbp in order to identify a comprehensive definition that can be used as a reference framework for designing, evaluating and developmening future sbp. a.h. buckman et al., 2014 aimed at assessing the existing meaning of intelligent buildings and extracting a new successful definition for smart buildings. this definition aims at reflecting more advanced criteria, targets and guidelines that exceeds limitations of previous terminology, in addition to meeting the criteria of assessing highperforming buildings. this was achieved through focusing on and analysing the key drivers behind sbp development from past to present. albert t.p. so et al., 1999 developed a new method for defining and specifying intelligent buildings; they categorized the users’ requirements into eight key modules and they divided the buildings’ features and systems into ten elements. each group of elements was then assigned to a particular key module; and each type of building is then allocated certain key areas for detailed design. khashaba sherif, 2014 focused on providing a proposal for achieving sustainability by using the capabilities of intelligent buildings for the public buildings in cairo city. the researcher extracted an architectural proposal for public buildings that helped in determining sustainability elements through applying the available recent techniques of intelligent buildings that are compatible with users in cairo city in egypt. so albert & wong kg, 2002 analyzed the available definitions of sbp and defined a comprehensive method of assessing intelligent buildings which they called the intelligent building index (ibi). the ibi consists of different quality environment modules; each module has different score and rank; based on the rank, the intelligent building is assessed and the overall performance is determined. the key elements of each module are flexible depending on the practice of the country where the intelligent building is being built or assessed. the conclusion of the above analysed literature sources can be pointed out as follows: most of research work focus on analysing the available definitions of sbp and introducing new ones while there is a lack of research work discussing the challenges of sbp. some of the analysed reseraches provide clear but not holistic understaning for the concept of sbp. objectives of sbp are not constant, they differ from on place to another and from one sbp to another. in egypt; there is a lack of research work discussing the concept of sbp in general. in egypt; the difference between sustainable buildings and sbp is not clear, sustainable or green buildings are considered sbp. el-motasem / the academic research community publication pg. 37 there are attempts to provide assessment frameworks and intelligent building index to assess sbp; the introduced frameworks and intelligent building index will be used as a guidline to design a checklist to assess the case studies in the entire research. 3.2. definitions of sbp the entire paper collected and analysed the available definitions of sbp that were issued by official international authorites and institutes. the international authorites and institutes of sbp are responsible for inreasing the public awareness and understanding of sbp as new futuristic worldwide trend. the main task of sbp authorites and institutes is to determine the key characteristics and definitions of sbp; this is in addition to setting and developing set of tools to help in assesseing the smartness level of sbp in a simple and practical way. table 1.definitions of sbp; source: authors based on literature sources definition reference the intelligent building institute (ibi) in usa concentrated on achieving cost effective environment. in order to achieve this goal; the ibi determined four basic elements that should be considered (structure, systems, services and management). the ibi also determined other sbp goals like safety, flexibility and energy management but didn’t recommend or suggest any tools to achieve those goals (kent peter, 2004). the intelligent building institute (ibi) in usa, washington dc, 1985 the international symposium focused on cost aspects and achieving maximum return. the definition illustrated that the integration between innovations, technology and management can be considered a tool to achieve the target cost return. this definition ignored other smart aspects like energy, flexibility, safety, etc. (kent peter, 2004). the international symposium, toronto, 1985 the european intelligent building group identified three main objectives of smart buildings; maximizing efficiency of occupants, acheives effective management of resources and minimum life cycle. this definition is very generic and not clear; there is a lack of determining the tools to achieve the mentioned objectives. there is also a lack in clarifying the meaning of efficiency of occupants and effective management (krawczyk robert & sherbini khaled, 2004). the european intelligent building group (eibg), europe, late 80s – early 90s the international council for research and innovation in building and construction (cib) introduced the most comprehensive defnition of sbp compared to available ones. this definition provides a guideline to the nature of architectural design of sbp; it describes the design of sbp as a dynamic and responsive design. this definition explained the main target of sbp and determined a comprehensive tool to achieve this target through integrating four basic elements of the building; places, processes, people and management (kent peter, 2004). the international council for research and innovation in building and construction (cib), 1995 el-motasem / the academic research community publication pg. 38 table 1 continued the definition of sbp in asia evolved in 1999; the main objective was to meet user’s requirements and achieve long-term building value through selecting the suitable quality environment modules (albert t.p. so et al., 1999). from 2000 to 2015; the asian institute of intelligent buildings developed the concept of sbp and sbp became a description of buildings which contain systems that are integrated into an advanced information technology (it) environment, smart structure and modern management theories. this concept was then formulated and replaced with the one that was previously issued in 1999 (asian institute of intelligent buildings web site, 2017). the old definition is more comprehensive and covers more aspects than the one which was adopted in asia from 2000 to 2015 (so albert & wong kg, 2002) dr. albert so who has developed a definition of intelligent building (ib) for asia, 1999. the asian institute of intelligent buildings (aiib), asia, 2000 to 2015 the european alliance of companies for energy efficiency in buildings (euroace) concentrated on energy efficiency of sbp through its life cycle and the way of connecting sbp within the same neighborhood through a smartgrid. the main target was to achieve comfortable, healthy indoor environment and low energy demands that allows the use of cost-effictive renewable energy sources. this definition concentrated on energy aspects while ignored design and management aspects. (the european alliance of companies for energy efficiency in buildings (euroace), 2015). the european alliance of companies for energy efficiency in buildings (euroace), 2015 the international council for research and innovation in building and construction (cib) determined five characteristics of sbp; responsive, sustainable, lowly polluting, healthy and fuctional. although the mentioned charcteristics seem comprehensive; cib ignored cost, design and management aspects. cib also didn’t propose a framework or action plan to achieve the sbp targets and characteristics (cib world building council congress, 2016). the international council for research and innovation in building and construction (cib), in the “w098 working commission report for intelligent and responsive buildings”, 2016, adopted prof. derek clement-croome’s 2010 definition the buildings performance institute europe (bpie) focused on energy aspects. bpie determined three main environmental objectives “(i) stabilizes and drives a faster de-carbonization of the energy system through energy storage and demand-side flexibility; (ii) empowers its users and occupants with control over the energy flows; (iii) recognizes and reacts to users’ and occupants’ needs in terms of comfort, health, indoor air quality, safety as well as operational requirements of sbp”; bpie then identified “energy storage and demand-side flexibility” as a tool to achieve the three objectives. bpie ignored management, cost and design aspects of sbp. (de groote maarten et al., 2017) the buildings performance institute europe (bpie), 2017 as illustrated in table (1); most of the authorities and institutes that are concerned with and responsible for sbp present in europe, asia and america while there is a lack of authorites which are responsible for sbp in egypt. although there is a lack of comprehensive definition that describes sbp worlwide; most of the available definitions are concerned with achieving users’ requirements . in europe; most of the authorities concentrate on energy aspects and life cycle of sbp, asia focuses more on the value of sbp and technology aspects that can connect sbp together, while america focuses on cost aspect of sbp. generaly; the guidelines that facilitate achieving the objective of sbp are missing in most of the definitions. el-motasem / the academic research community publication pg. 39 3.3. characheristics and targets of sbp europe, asia and australia are three pioneer continents that set different characteristics of sbp based on their circumstances, culture and needs. in europe; the main target of sbp is to improve the european economy by achieving low-carbon economy goals through adopting smart cities and smart buildings. according to the european council for an energy efficient economy and “the energy performance of buildings directive (2010/31/eu)”; smart new buildings should achieve nearly zero energy by 2020 (eceee policy brief, 2010) sbp in australia focuses on enhancing the performance of environmental, economic, operation and safety aspects; this is in addition to adopting communications, control and automation technologies. in asia; the aiib determined nine “quality environment modules” (ms) or “ib index” that define sbp; “m1; environmental friendliness; health and energy conservation; m2; space utilization and flexibility; m3; human comfort; m4; working efficiency; m5; culture; m6; image of high technology; m7; safety and security measures; fire, earthquake, disaster and structural damages; m8; construction process and structure; m9; life cycle costing; operation and maintenance with emphasis on cost effectiveness; m10; health and sanitation” (so albert & wong kg, 2002). in addition to the characteristics which were determined by the aiib; some countries in asia identified other characterestics for sbp that can cater more for their own needs. in korea; according to the intelligent building certification program” (ibcp); sbp aim at providing a comfortable, safe, and environmentally sustainable built environment through achieving the integration between architecture, electricity and electronics, information and communication, mechanical equipment, energy, and environmental systems to (amir ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2015) in japan; sbp focus on energy consernation, environmental and ecological sustainability, users’ health and comfort, efficiency of operations and management and flexible responsive economics that can cope with and adapt changing environment (amir ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2015). in china; sbp are divided into two types; type 3a which contains three main functions; communication automation (ca), office automation (oa) and building management automation (ba) and type 5a which contains all the functions of 3a in addition to fire automation system (fa) and maintenance automation system (ma) (albert t.p. so et al., 1999). in singapore; according to the public works department of singapore government; sbp should adapt advanced automatic control systems in order to monitor various facilities and to provide a comfortable working environment for the user. sbp should also adapt proper infrastructure network and suitable telecommunication facilities in order to enable data flow between floors and stay connected to the surroundings (albert t.p. so et al., 1999). characteristics of sbp are flexible and differ from place to another according to different cirumstances such as objectives, needs, culture, cost, etc. the most holistic characteristics of sbp are those described in asia as the environmental modules cover most of sbp aspects, they are flexible and can be applied, increased or decreased according to the objectives of sbp. based on the analysis of literature sources, definitions and characterestic of sbp; a checklist to identify smartness aspects of sbp can be conscluded as illustrated in table (2). table 2.sbp smartness aspects checklist; source: authors based on literature sources smartness aspects sbp1 sbp2 sbp3 1 efficient life cycle costing 2 efficient facility management (operation & maintenance, safety, comfort, health, sanitaion, etc.) el-motasem / the academic research community publication pg. 40 table 2 continued 3 flexible architectural design 4 efficient energy performance 5 internet of things (iot) technology, automation applications and bim applications 6 environmental sustainability 7 connected to surrounding sbp through smart grid the checklist determined 7 key smartness aspects that partially or fully present in sbp. this checklist will be applied on the casestudies to compare between them and identify the differences between sbp in egypt and worldwide. 3.4. analysis of case studies the checklist was applied on three sbp which are located in europe, asia and australia. europe, asia and australia are considered three pioneer continents in identifying the characteristics of sbp. the edge office building in amesterdam, europe is internationally known as the smartest building in the world, irena head quarter in masdar smart city, abu dhabi, asia and pixel smart building which is considered the most successful building to achieve characteristics of sbp in melbourne, australia. the three worldwide sbp were analyzed and compared to an sbp (dar office building) in smart village egypt. the main aim is to determine the main differences between sbp in egypt and worldwide. table 3.analysis of case studies in egypt and worldwide; source: authors based on literature sources smartness aspects the edge office building, amsterdam, netherlands, europe the international renewable energy agency (irena)’s global head quarter (hq), masdar smart city, abu dhabi, dubai, asia pixel building, melbourne, australia dar office building, smart village, egypt smart buildings in the new administrative capital, egypt 1 efficient life cycle costing ✓ ✓ ✓ 2 efficient facility management (operation & maintenance, safety, comfort, health, sanitaion, etc.) ✓ ✓ ✓ 3 flexible architectural design ✓ ✓ ✓ 4 efficient energy performance ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ el-motasem / the academic research community publication pg. 41 table 3 continued 5 internet of things (iot) technology, automation applications and bim applications ✓ ✓ ✓ 6 environmental sustainability ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 7 connected to surrounding sbp through smart grid ✓ ✓ worldwide sbp achieve more than 50% of sbp smartness checklist while in egypt sbp achieve less than 50% of sbp smartness checklist; this percentage reflects that sbp approach in egypt is not comprehensive. some sbp in egypt concentrate on flexibility in architectural design and efficient facility management; other sbp in egypt concentrate on iot technology and energy efficiency aspetcs. most of sbp worldwide focus on life cycle cost efficiency while this aspect is ignored in egypt. green sustainable buildings in egypt are counted as sbp, while worldwide; sustainablity is considered on of the smartness aspect in sbp. 4. findings the trend of sbp is new and very rare in egypt; there is a lack of studies, guidelines or benchmarks in egypt that can be used as reference to establish new sbp. the attempts to design, construct or operate sbp in egypt are not comprehensive and don’t reflect the holistic meaning of sbp compared to worldwide experience. table (4) summarizes the general challenges of sbp in egypt categorized by project phase based on the analysis os literature review and initial analysis of some case studies in egypt and worldwide. table 4.challenges of sbp in egypt ; source: authors based on literature sources and analysis of case studies category by phase challenges data collection to concept design challenges lack of clear definition to smart buildings in egypt most of the associations and researchers concentrate only on automation and technical aspects (ict, communication, connection to smart infrastructure grids, etc.) of smart buildings and ignore other aspects schematic design to design challenges lack of set of guidelines to design a smart building project lack of experience to manage the design process of this type of projects in egypt operation and maintenance requirements are not clear as the responsible team is not involved during early project phases construction to testing and commissioning challenges many variations result in increase in the budget and time schedule of the project lack of well-trained labor who can work on this type of projects lack of experience to test the smart aspects and systems of this type of projects operation and maintenance challenges huge operations and maintenance costs due to the absence of the operations and maintenance team during early project phases; a lot of risks evolve during operation and maintenance phase. the above concluded general challenges were re-categorized into six key challenges; lack of research work, absence of comprehensive definition, absence of characteristics, vague objectives, lack of framework an ignoring lcc aspects. the re-categorization is based on analysis of case studies along with analysis of available definitions and characteristics. the analysis of case studies and literature resources reflect the average number of repetition of each el-motasem / the academic research community publication pg. 42 of the six identified key challenges categories. the number of repeition of each category was translated into percentages which were pointed out in figure (2); the main aim is to fullfil the objective of the entire paper and to identify the average percentages of different challenges that face sbp in egypt. figure 2. the key challenges of sbp in egypt; source: authors based on literature sources and analysis of case studies more than 50% of sbp challenges in egypt are due to the absence of framework to establish sbp, ignoring lcc aspects and absence of clear characteristics. the rest of challenges are divided between lack of research work, absence of obvious definition and objectives. the resulted percentages reflect the importance of needed further studies to develop a comprehensive set of characteristics, holistic definition and framework that incorporates all smartness aspects and respects circumstances in egypt while establishing sbp. 5. conclusion the objective of this paper has been partially fulfilled through the literature review and an initial analysis of some sbp projects in egypt and worldwide; however, the extracted challenges facing sbp need to be validated through undergoing analysis of examples for such buildings and then through investigation and detailed analysis of local case studies. validating the extracted challenges is the first step to mitigate and resolve them. providing appropriate solutions to face the challenges can be achieved through designing a comprehensive framework to be applied while establishing an sbp and through its life cycle. in order to design this important framework, further studies are required to identify the objectives, holistic definition and characteristics of sbp. the action plan to design and validate a framework to face the challenges of sbp in eygpt is illustrated in figure (3). figure 3. action plan of designing and validating a framework to face sbp challenges;source: authors 25% 20% 18% 15% 12% 10% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% percentage of challenge sbp challenges in egypt validating the extracted challenges further studies to extract comprehensive definition, clear characteristics and precise objectives of sbp design a holistic framework validation through application on sbp in egypt challenges solved = valid framework challenges not solved = repeat el-motasem / the academic research community publication pg. 43 references buckman, a. h., mayfield, m., & beck, s. b. 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[online] available at: https://www.easyrender.com/blog/sustainable-smart-cities-and-the-architecture-of-the-future [accessed 03 sep 2017]. clements-croome, d., & croome, d. j. (eds.). (2004). intelligent buildings: design, management and operation. thomas telford. khashaba, s. (2014). the use of intelligent buildings to achieve sustainability through an architectural proposal for public buildings in cairo. in: world sustainable buildings. madrid: gbce, pp.216-225. sherbini, k., & krawczyk, r. (2004). overview of intelligent architecture. 1st ascaad international conferencee-design in architecture kfupm, 137-152. omar, o. (2018). intelligent building, definitions, factors and evaluation criteria of selection. alexandria engineering journal, 57(4), 2903-2910. doi: 10.1016/j.aej.2018.07.004 matias, p. (2020). defining today’s intelligent building | commscope. retrieved 21 december 2017, from http://www.commscope.com/blog/defining-todays-intelligent-building/ so, a. t., & wong, k. c. (2002). on the quantitative assessment of intelligent buildings. facilities. the european alliance of companies for energy efficiency in buildings (euroace). (2015) smart buildings: energy efficiency first, retrieved 19 february 2020, from: https://euroace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2015_10-euroace-position-paper-smart-buildings.pdf http://www.aiib.net/index_topic.php?did=248228&didpath=/248063/248228 https://euroace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2015_10-euroace-position-paper-smart-buildings.pdf http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 14 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i2.752 visualization system for traffic accident data su chenlu1, hong yating1, liu tianyi1, raja majid mehmood1* 1 school of electrical and computer engineering, information & communication department, xiamen university malaysia *corresponding author: raja majid mehmood (rmeex07@gmail.com) abstract at present, the traffic problem is a problem that the government attaches great importance to. many papers also put forward their own visualization models for traffic problems. this research focused on the map-matching and spatialtemporal visualization of expressway traffic accident information and improves the original two-dimensional visual model of accident rate into a three-dimensional model. the goal is to represent more attributes in a visual model and make them easier to compare, so as to provide users with more intuitive visual information. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords information visuliztion, visualization system, three-dimensional model,traffic accident 1. introducation since the beginning of the 21st century, there is a large amount of traffic accidents over the world because of increasing number of vehicles and complex urban construction. previous data analysis models were more planar and in the form of digital tables, which made it difficult to analyze all the data information. considering the seriousness of this problem, it is necessary to design a traffic accident data visualization system, which allows the traffic departments to visually analyze accident data so as to better improve the traffic and road planning. based on that, this study will based on the 2d modeling of traffic accident data from research on the map-matching and spatial-temporal visualization of expressway traffic accident information, and improved it into a threedimensional model that can represent more attributes in a visual model and make them easier to compare, so as to provide users with more intuitive visual information. in this regard, the transportation department can separately analyze the occurrence of accidents at different time points according to the results of the visualization, and can clearly see the accident trends of working days and non-working days, so as to formulate more feasible transportation law. in addition, people can also plan the travel arrangements by looking at the visual results to avoid peak accidents and avoid high-risk roads. 2. literature review in research on the map-matching and spatial-temporal visualization of expressway traffic accident information, this paper proposes a method based on accident collection data and gis roadmap data to realize rapid location, map http://www.press.ierek.com/ mailto:rmeex07@gmail.com https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 15 matching and verification of highway accidents. through visual analysis, traffic management departments can be helped to improve accident prevention capabilities. specific implementation: first, collect data using map collection tools (not only can collect street view information of roads, but also collect road data). next, it can achieve automatic road data extraction of panoramic images. the visualization of accident time-space data helps to enhance the understanding of time and space factors and accident data changes, including three aspects: a. time series visulization figure 1 time series visualization using the line graph figure 2 time series visualization using the polar graph b. spatial distribution visualization figure 3 spatial distribution visualization using map and scatter plot (simulating data) mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 16 figure 4 accidents frequently-occurring road segment visualization figure 5 spatial distribution visualization using reginal hierarchical rendering and scatter plot. c. space-time related visualization, considering the time and space of traffic accidents distribution characteristics, specifically expressing the regularity of accidents in a certain time and space. figure 6 superimposing the time-line chart for different regions on the map. (simulating data) mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 17 among those visualization model, time series visualization using line graph and time series visualization using polar graph are compared. (m1 means method 1: time series visualization using line graph; m2 means method2: time series visualization using polar graph.) table 1. type of visualization m1 m2 type line chart polar chart musk points, lines and color circle, clock and coloe target audience transportaion department table 2. displayed information m1 m2 number of acccidents in each hour displayed displayed number of accidents every day displayed displayed table 3. scalability m1 m2 scalability high medium reason because the number of accidents can refer to different value in y-axis, if the value is high, still can be represented. because the size and color of circle represent the quality of accident, and it is not really precise，but it still can represent large number. table 4. accuracy m1 m2 accuracy medium low reason although its visualization is based on exact value to represent the number of accidents, but it is not easy to get the precise quantity of accidents in each timestamp (any point) on x axis. it is hard to determine the accurate value from size and color shade of circle., because each color refer to a range of value. table 5. reliability m1 m2 reliability high high reason the source of the data for the three methods is derived from the accident record and use a double-check model to verify whether the data is reliable, so the data is highly authentic. that means the visualization has high reliability. mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 18 table 6. a degree of discrimination (when the data is ver close) m1 m2 degree of discrimination high low reason it is differentiable from exact value in y axis, so it is really clear to see discrimination. when the data is really close, it is not easy to distinguish them between color and size of circle. 3. proposed method based on the original data visualization model, we improved that visualization system for the accident data in the road. figure 7 data set for section2 (the value is number of accidents) 3.1. version 1 a calender map is proposed to visualize the traffic accident data. in this map, days are arranged in a calendar form. all the days will be showed as a grid surrounded by red edges with 12 smaller grids inside (4 lines and 3 rows). each smaller grid represents two hours in a day. they are arranged in chronological order from left to right, from top to bottom. colors change from light green to dark green will show the probability of accidents from low to high. figure 8 calendar map-1 mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 19 figure 9 calendar map-2 3.2. version 2 since the version 1 cannot give direct comparison between different attributes in more perceptible sequence, in this version, the proposed model is designed to deliver the information of different hours in a day and different days’ information in a month. it is a three-dimensional visualization model that x axis represents hours in a day, y axis represents days in a week (from monday to sunday) and z axis represents the same weekdays in a month (four mondays in a month will be assigned to the same z axis). table 7. the explanation of information in different axis axis meaning x-axis hours in a day (from 0:00-24:00, each bar is 2 hours) y-axis days in a week (from monday to sunday) z-axis the number of accidents in four same weekdays in one month. the reason why we used days in a week (monday to sunday) instead of specific date (may 1st or may 2nd) is because weekday and weekend are more comparative, have more important directive to target audience (transportation department).for example, it is more meaningful for user to compare different accident rates between weekdays and weekend at the same time period (such as the evening rush from 18:00 to 20:00). in this model, readers can get different contrasts by comparing different dimension. in z axis, there are four weeks (first week, second week, third week, fourth week) in a month. each of them is a column which filled with different colors: green, red, yellow and blue respectively. mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 20 figure 10 three-dimensional method when the x axis and z axis is displayed, it can show accident data in every 2 hours on specific day in one week. (figure 7 four mondays etc.). two hours is a group. figure 11 the explanation of block with different colors figure 12 monday (four weeks) mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 21 figure 13 tuesday (four weeks) figure 14 wednesday (four weeks) figure 15 thursday (four weeks) figure 16 friday (four weeks) mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 22 figure 17 saturday (four weeks) figure 18 sunday (four weeks) when y-axis and z-axis is displayed, it can show accident data at specific 2 hours t (as figure 41 shown is 0:00-2:00) on every weekday in one month. figure 19 y and x axis other than this, the model can also be displayed in x axis and y axis. blue color from light to dark will give information according different number of accidents. there are four smaller grids in one rectangle. each of a smaller grid represents week in sequence (first row of girds represents the information of first week, and so on). all the information can be showed in the x and y axis. mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 23 figure 20 x and y axis 3.3. version 3 although the proposed version 2 has been greatly improved, for example, it can represent more data and make clearer comparisons. however, the color classification is so few that the visualization of each set of data is not clear enough. therefore, in the proposed version 3, we use more color systems to represent the incidence of traffic accidents. figure 21 proposed method version 3whole month [x-y axis] 4. evaluation and result here are the comparisons among the original method, proposed version 1, version 2 and version 3. mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 24 table 8. comparation among methods and proposed versions 1, 2 and 3 method proposed version 1 proposed version 2 proposed version 3 type polar graph calendar garph 3d bar chart 3d bar chart displayed data size 7-day 1-month 1-month 1-month dimensional 2d 2d 3d 3d mask circle, color shade grid, color shade bar, grid, color shade bar, grid, color, color shade accuracy low medium high high scalability low high high high perception high medium medium high the first polar graph only displays 7-day data whereas all method we proposed can show one-month data. and the previous two methods are 2-dimensional and later two are 3-dimensional. polar graph consists of circle and color shade to represent the number of accidents, and the calendar graph use different color shade of grid to show accident condition in calendar form. however, the last two method display the number of accidents by height of bar and the top different color shade of grid can represent every day data. besides, the last method includes 3 colors (red green blue) to indicate different severity. the polar graph and calendar graph use color shade to represent number of accidents is not really precise, but the later methods we proposed are use height corresponding to different values, which is really precise. apart from that, if the data set is huge, the polar graph cannot accommodate all data, but later 3 methods can be applied to large sample size. as for perception, the clock form of the polar graph makes it intuitive to see the time changes within a day, but the changes in different days are not very obvious. although the calendar map can reflect the accident situation within one month and one day, it is difficult to compare each other. 3-d bar charts can be compared from different dimensions (different days of one-week, different times of one day, data within one month), and then different results are obtained. the amount of information is large, but the color shade is single, resulting in low information acquisition. in the last 3-d bar chart, we used different colors in the y-z axis view to distinguish the severity, and the viewer can obtain information more intuitively. the significance of this part can be divided into four parts: firstly, in the way of data representation, the regular grid provides a neat data visualization model from different angles (x-y, x-z and y-z), and through the form of a 3d bar chart, different dimensions are integrated into one, which can clearly display and compare data for each dimension by rows or columns. secondly, in the data dimension, this model provides more different dimensions of time representations: hour, day and week (the x-axis is the hour, the y-axis is the week, and the z-axis is the day), so it is easy for user to represent and compare the data of the accident occurrence from more different aspects, such as the amount of accidents on different days of the same time period (such as 0:00 am to 2:00 am) and the number of accidents at different time periods in same day. in the existing data visualization model, the time dimension is only 7 days, so it is impossible to provide so many contrast dimensions and information volume. thirdly, in the term of the noticeable of the data, through improvement, a strongly contrasting color was used to indicate the number of accidents on different days of a month. red and green as a pair of contrast colors which were used to represent data in the top view allow the user to intuitively feel which time period or day of the week has a high risk of accidents. also, the colors with different hue are used to indicate different weeks of a month, which there is a strong discrimination between each week. mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 25 finally, this model also has good scalability. when the amount of data is more, it is easier to find the similarity of data in the same time period, and it is easy to get road congestion information and dangerous information. this model has no spatial limitations and the expression dimension limit of other existing models (like the polar model is limited by the spatial position size and circle size). among the users surveyed, all felt that the improved model could provide more information. at the same time, it is generally believed that the visual model can be clearly understood, and the legends provide enough information. however, suggestions have been put forward for the representation of similar data. if two numbers are close, it is difficult for them to distinguish, that is to say, there are not enough categories and grades of colors. meanwhile, it is suspected that if the number of data increases, it may be difficult to express it in this model. 5. conclusion in this study, we first selected the paper research on the map-matching and spatial-temporal visualization of expressway traffic accident information and improve the visualization model. regarding the traffic accident rate of a certain area every two hours, every day and every week, the two-dimensional time-space visualization model of the original paper was first changed to calendar model to display more data. and then the calendar model was changed to three-dimensional model so that each attribute can be clearly compared. finally, the 3d model was further improved, more colors were used to represent the accident rate and the legend was also improved. in a word, compared with the models in the paper, the final three-dimensional model has the advantages of displaying more data, easier comparison, clearer representation information and easier understanding. reference fang, a., peng, x., zhou, j., & tang, l. (2018, september). research on the map-matching and spatial-temporal visualization of expressway traffic accident information. in 2018 3rd ieee international conference on intelligent transportation engineering (icite) (pp. 23-27). ieee. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 26 doi: 10.21625/archive.v5i1.810 nesting in the city: urban environment that invites wildlife tanjina khaleque1 1architect, independent researcher abstract this study explores how important it is to keep the ecosystem in balance, maintaining healthy biodiversity in urban areas. it also seeks ways in which a growing metropolitan like dhaka can be friendly for wildlife. modern cities are becoming more and more hostile to fauna which eventually affects humans also. the damage done over decades cannot be rectified overnight. the approach will be in different phases that address ecological succession. the paper suggests ways urban design can aid biodiversity. a minor consideration as the introduction of nectar-producing plants may increase the honeybee population. the urban landscape should be such that it favors insects or birds. to achieve this, complementary plants should be selected that can nurture an ecosystem. this research looks for options that can be applied in dhaka’s context. the symbiosis between native wildlife and humans is studied. exemplary design solutions for urban built areas as flyovers, bus stops or road medians are proposed. © 2021 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban ecosystem; biodiversity; ecological succession; urban design; urban landscape; ecological corridor 1. introduction no matter how much we indulge ourselves in the countless digital screens around us, it seems that it is embedded in our genes to be amidst a clean and green natural environment. frederick law olmsted states, “...it is evident that in our daily lives nature must be thought of not as a luxury to be made available if possible, but as part of our inherent indispensable biological need” (dramstad et al., 1996). imagining human life amidst a natural setting may sound like a dream if we consider dhaka’s realities. the capital city of bangladesh is one of the major megacities in the world and the 9th largest city as per world bank (world bank, 2010). with 9,317,043 urban population in 2011, greater dhaka has an area of 1,463.60 sq. km.; 8,229 people per sq. km. (bbs, 2015). the chief town planner of dhaka city corporation mentions that the city has only 8% green coverage, although theoretically, it should have a minimum of 20% greenery to sustain a healthy urban environment (byomkesh & nakagoshi, 2012). moreover, 90% of dhaka’s wetlands and low-lying areas got filled up in the past 12 years. with the decrease in bio-capacity and the increase in transport sector emission, the city’s ecology will face more deterioration (labib et al. 2013). the structure plan of 1995-2015 recognizes the importance of greenery in urban areas and advocates the introduction of new ones. it also proposes to preserve the existing green spaces (byomkesh & nakagoshi, 2012). leaving too little space for green not only deteriorates the city’s charms but the regular loss of urban green spaces is steering towards the loss of biodiversity and key species, resulting in the appearance of contagious maladies and http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ khaleque/ the academic research community publication pg. 27 growing environmental pollution. these phenomena have adverse effects on both the urban ecosystem and the human population (byomkesh & nakagoshi, 2012). if we look into the bird population, dhaka was once a home for waterfowls, pheasants, partridges, bustards, cranes, storks, eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, herons, egrets, etc. except the present-day city-birds. the city still accommodates two hundred bird species in its concrete jungle, giving us hope for the betterment of today’s condition (akash et al., 2013). 2. background 2.1. importance of connectivity ecological corridors serve as the connections or continuation among the patches. connectivity is interpreted as “the degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes movement among resource patches” at the landscape scale (taylor et al., 1993). corridors serve five major functions: habitat, conduit, filter, source and sink. these functions are primarily controlled by width and connectivity (dramstad et al., 1996). an efficacious habitat corridor makes an entirely or partially undisturbed habitat link that is congenial through an uncongenial context. such links are known as ‘wildlife corridors’, ‘dispersal corridors’ or ‘movement corridors’ and they are to be used for animal passage (bennet, 1998, 2003). dhaka still has a few remaining habitat patches (fig. 1) which can be enriched if we can manage connectivity. these connections work as a continuation of the patches and help a species populate a previously unpopulated area. bennet (1998, 2003) has justified that “recolonization will be greater in remnants that are connected to source areas by corridors than in unconnected remnants”. identifying the key habitat patches is essential in this respect. hillary et al. (2002) mentioned a hierarchy of habitat nodes for their habitat connectivity analysis. the nodes are defined as mother nodes and satellite nodes; mother nodes are the larger green areas with greater biodiversity and satellite nodes serve as stepping stones through an inhospitable environment. the first type has a greater influence on the latter type. corridors in the urban matrix greatly affect the arthropod garden metacommunities that are essential for a healthy urban ecosystem. alan et al. (2011) observed: “taxonomic and functional compositions of carabids, staphylinids and spiders communities of connected gardens were closer to those of the corridors and the sources than the communities of disconnected gardens.” these connectors are beneficial not only for flora and fauna but for the people also. as per fuller et al. (2007), there is a positive connection between the diversity of species in urban green areas and the health of the people visiting those areas. furthermore, a variation in green space type increases human well-being as it permits them to choose and access the spaces where they get the most benefit. bolund & hunhammar (1999) suggested that urban landscape provides numerous services as air filtration, microclimate regulation, depletion of sound pollution, rainwater management and adding recreational values to a space. moreover, effective connections across ecosystems can serve as a supplement to sewer and water services. they can also define zoning edges and restrict development (nassauer, 1997). 2.2. the landscape where dhaka fits in it is strongly emphasized to follow native topography and vegetation if we want to enrich the nature of the city. it is also vital to support the ecosystem with a built environment as it is a very efficient way to make it self-sustainable. the principles of landscape ecology are to be followed here. ecology is generally defined as the study of the interconnections among life forms and their environment and landscape ecology is merely the ecology of landscapes (dramstad et al., 1996). while considering a natural ecosystem, discreet habitat patches are more likely to fail. in the case of developed landscapes today, the necessity of ecological linkages is acknowledged as an elementary concept in land-use planning and land management (bennet, 1998, 2003). dhaka falls under madhupur tract physiographic region. it is a region of complex relief and soils developed over the madhupur clay. it consists of three main kinds of relief: broad level uplands dissected by broad valleys, closely dissected uplands dissected by many shallow, sloping valleys and a few undissected level upland areas (brammer, khaleque/ the academic research community publication pg. 28 2016). the uplands intertwined by low-lying areas have been prominent in this region’s topography before being interrupted by landfills. the difference in elevation complements each other; the low areas accommodate seasonal flooding while the higher areas support the upland inhabitants. until the beginning of the 20th century, this region was part of a continuous deciduous sal forest belt from comilla in bangladesh to darjeeling in india (alam et al. 2008). very little is left today of this continuous forest because of urbanization and population growth. moreover, forestation with foreign tree species has caused dramatic changes and damages to the environment. the rubber plantations or the manmade gardens with limited species diversity do not have many birds as peacock and python anymore (gain, 2005). the jahangirnagar university campus is in the dhaka district, not far from the central urban area. a remarkable number of bird species has been spotted here. during a study conducted by jahan et al. in 2018, not even a single bird’s nest was spotted in eucalyptus sp. on this campus. a small number of nests were found in acacia moniliformes. it is to be noted here that both are exotic tree species in the local context. there should be no denial of the fact that if we want to restore a degraded natural environment, it is best to go with the native flora that is well accepted by the native fauna. 2.3. the remaining green dhaka city has an area of about 360 square km. around 21.57% or 7765 hectares of its territory is allotted to open space. this open area consists of 12.12% cultivated land, 0.9% garden, 0.036% burial ground, 0.15% lake, 5% unoccupied area, 0.9% park, 0.39% playfield, 0.25% pond, 1.82% swamp, 0.02% urban green etc. (uddin, 2006). it has been mentioned by byomkesh and nakagoshi (2012) that the major or noticeable green patches (fig. 1) in dhaka are the botanical garden, suhrawardy uddyan, ramna park, national parliament building, chandrima uddyan, bahadur shah park and the national zoo. to add to this list, there are dhaka university area, azimpur and wari graveyards, hatirjheel, lakes in dhanmondi, gulshan and banani, the city parks, playfields and so on. ramna park has an area of 68.50 acres now. fifty bird species from 11 orders and 28 families were found in total by rajia et al. in 2015. among these, the percentage of permanent residents is 84% and the rest 16% were recognized as migratory, counting both winter migrants and summer migrants. half of the observed birds were passerines. the high species diversity in december is suggested to be an outcome of the migratory birds appearing for food, suitable foraging and breeding sites. on the contrary, extreme heat, scarcity of food and shorter-range migration of birds to surrounding cultivated lands may reduce the species diversity in the month of july (maheswaran et al., 2001). we can derive from this study that if the proper habitat is provided nearby, the amount of local migration will be reduced. the dhaka university area (established on 600 acres of land) is home to many of dhaka’s remaining bird communities with its abundance of green space. here the highest number of birds (5879) was recorded in winter as it was the time for wintering and passage migrants. however, 5400 birds were sighted in the monsoon (banu et al., 2016). studies by akash et al. (2013) on the birds of dhaka university curzon hall area show an abundance of 50 species. shrubs and bushes adjacent to water bodies are preferred by species as clamorous reed warbler, great tit and indian silverbill. house swift, common kingfisher, green bee-eater and white-breasted kingfisher were found in close proximity to water bodies. coppersmith barbet was recorded to nest in cape lilac tree. ficus and parrot trees attract birds as chestnut-tailed starling and rufous treepie. this area serves not just the avian community; akter et al. (2019) identified eleven bee species from three different areascurzon hall, ramna park and sher-e-bangla agricultural university. the dominant species was apis dorsata, a species of honeybee. the surprisingly high number of fauna in ramna park and dhaka university campus indicates that it may still be possible to induce rich biodiversity in other less green areas. the interconnectivity here is very crucial. a wellconnected number of patches gives the inhabitants not just more area to live but also more freedom of movement. khaleque/ the academic research community publication pg. 29 figure 1: a few of the green areas in dhaka. even without considering how healthy the ecosystem is there, the small quantity of isolated green areas in comparison with the grey ones is highly noticeable. image source: bing maps 3. findings and recommendations 3.1. succession & grassland patch the corridor can be seen as linear connectors with a microclimate that resembles the native forest. for dhaka, it should consist of vegetation that appears naturally in the sal forest. though it has many other co-dominant species, shorea robusta constitutes 70% of sal forest (gain, 2005) . growing large native trees will take years. that is where an approach in phases comes in. the natural succession of a sal forest can be followed here. any riverain area is first populated by grass as saccharum munja. the first trees to appear are usually the ones that are fast-growing and can thrive in soil with low humus content, e.g., dalbergia sissoo. in the next phase, the plant community is taken over by species as bombax spp., heloptelia spp., albizia spp. and eventually develops into a sal forest (alam et al., 2008). the initial habitat accommodates the grassland birds. also, in areas where a tall visual obstruction is not desired, a grassland patch should be kept permanently, e.g., the central median of a node. a node median is usually not accessible for people and hence suitable for a microhabitat patch. it even works better if accompanied by a water body. it has been observed that the microhabitats containing both a creek and dense, tall grass hold the highest number of grassland specialists. the preferred habitat for grassland birds can consist of ravenna grass (saccharum ravennae) that can be the dominant species. the co-dominant layer is to be of cogon grass (imperata cylindrical). these, accompanied by dense clerodendrum infortunatum (a native and widely available perennial shrub), form enough coverage for foraging (akash et al., 2018 ). khaleque/ the academic research community publication pg. 30 3.2. roadside linkages dhaka is infamous for traffic congestion, poor quality of public transport, insufficient safety and comfort measures for the wayfarers and increasing contamination of air (world bank, 2009). the percentage of people in dhaka walking to their destinations or taking non-motorized vehicles is over 55%. another study reveals that 14% of dhaka dwellers opt for walking (labib et al., 2013). figure 2: new modes of transport being added in dhaka. the photo shows the ongoing construction work of elevated mrt at the karwan bajar node. image courtesy: dhaka tribune the importance of well-designed pedestrian circulation is beyond doubt here. if we can nudge in a wider buffer (fig. 3 & 4) between the footpath and vehicular circulation, it benefits both the pedestrians and the biodiversity. these buffers or bio-swales need to be “soakable” areas where stormwater soaks in as much as possible and surface run-off water amount is reduced. apart from providing extensive ecological services as microclimate regulation, wildlife habitat and biodiversity, they also serve the purpose of educating people and enhancing the aesthetic value. (lovell et al., 2009). plantation with native water edge plants for the bioswales ensures the filtering of hazardous elements from water. these areas can hold, permeate and manage a part of surface runoff water which results in decreasing the adverse effects of built areas on aquatic ecosystems (lovell et al., 2009). as buffers are able to decelerate the course of water and escalate the water permeation into the ground, they can lessen the extremity of flooding (schultz et al., 1997). if suitable habitat nodes (fig. 3) are integrated into a link, they can expand its efficacy with their additional habitat areas. they can act as shelters or foraging grounds while passing through a long route. “habitat nodes may also maintain larger breeding populations within the linkage, thus introducing more dispersers into the system” (bennet, 1998, 2003). these nodes can take the form of rain gardens at intervals connected with the roadside bioswales. khaleque/ the academic research community publication pg. 31 figure 3: proposed road intersection plan showing roadside habitat linkages and habitat intermediate nodes. the road medians can be planted with trees that prefer drier areas, while the roadside linkages can have riparian plants e.g., operculina turpethum (turpeth), tamarindus indica (tamarind), crataeva magna (three leaved caper), albizia lebbeck (siris), bombax ceiba (shimul), barringtonia acutangula (indian oak), ficus racemosa (cluster fig) (rahman et al., 2013). these are well accompanied by neolamarckia cadamba (burflower tree), lagerstroemia speciosa (queen crepe myrtle) and holarrhena antidysenterica (kurchi). the habitat nodes may take the form of a rain garden with water-loving plants. or can have mild slopes going up from the road level with larger and drier soil preferring trees as shorea robusta (sal), alstonia scholaris (devil’s tree), artocarpus heterophyllus (jackfruit), artocarpus lacucha (monkey jack), schleichera oleosa (ceylon oak) or nyctanthes arbortristis (coral jasmine). khaleque/ the academic research community publication pg. 32 figure 4: roadside bioswale linkages the roadside bioswale (fig. 4) doesn’t only work as habitat corridors but also performs as green buffers separating the vehicular traffic from the pedestrian circulation, creates a pleasing environment for the people walking by. 3.3. riparian buffer the edge treatment of a water body plays a vital role in the health of both the water and its surrounding area. riparian ecosystems are unique ones that sustain adjacent aquatic flora and fauna. the riparian buffers consist of a more diverse and populated flora species communities than the nearby habitats. this phenomenon can accommodate a wider variety of foraging grounds and microhabitats, resulting in a more diverse fauna species community. dhaka has a few months of relatively drier season when habitats in proximity to water can stretch the growing season. therefore, it increases the plethora, dependability and continuance of food for inhabitants (bennet, 1998, 2003). “a number of reptiles and waterfowl rely upon natural wetlands as permanent habitat or migration corridors” (lovell et al., 2009). as observed by doyle (1990), considering small mammals, riparian zones held both greater species richness and a larger total number of individuals than the surrounding upland areas. these areas generally have coarser and more friable soil, which makes burrowing easier for small mammals. the higher number of insects here attracts a high number of insectivores. bennet (1998, 2003) has seen the more productive and stable riparian zones as probable source habitats in the future. individuals can disperse into surrounding areas from these sources. hence it is important to not cover khaleque/ the academic research community publication pg. 33 water edges with hardscape. native plant species can help to keep the water clean, prevent erosion by holding soil with rooting and create habitat for fauna. 3.4. making the birds feel at home it is important to use a mix of deciduous and evergreen species as a mixed evergreen environment supports a wider range of bird species. jahan et al. (2018) spotted more bird nests in summer than winter at the jahangirnagar university campus. they suggested that insectivores pick the dry winter season for breeding and build nests when the insects are abundant before the onset of monsoon; parents need insects to feed nestlings. the non-insectivore birds usually build nests during the drier months of winter. examples of such birds are the kingfishers and the indian pond herons. jahan et al. (2018) also discovered that one-third of the birds chose to make holes for nests in trees, built spaces, soil mounds and electric posts. the rest two-third preferred places as tree branches. there are birds that make nests both in holes and built areas, e.g. common myna, rose-ringed parakeet, jungle myna, oriental magpie robin and asian pied starling. woody trees as shorea robusta, alstonia scholaris and albizia procera are excellent hosts for birds that prefer nesting in holes (jahan et al., 2018). bennet (1998, 2003) suggests, “roadsides with broad strips of suitable habitat have a valuable conservation role for invertebrates”. birds were found to prefer large roadside trees in the jahangirnagar university campus to build nests though these areas have a high amount of human movement and nests are easily detectable (jahan et al., 2018). along with large trees, as suggested by gates & gysel (1978) for forest edges, dense shrubby vegetation creates habitat niches amidst urban areas by providing increased foraging and nesting sites for understory birds. 3.5. utilizing the transport route dhaka is growing fast with numerous new elements being incorporated into the city’s transportation lattice (fig. 2). the routes for bus and metro rail can be seen as a network where small habitat patches can be created at intervals by introducing green roofs for the stations and incorporating plants in road median design. green roofs can hold and filter rainwater, reducing surface run-off, regulate microclimate, contribute to food production by urban farming and add to the recreational value of built space. they also reduce the heat island effect by providing shade and evapotranspiration. it lessens the air conditioning cost of the building (oberndorfer et al., 2007). these habitat patches can serve the urban bee population if the plants are selected wisely. bees are attracted to yellow and blue flowering plants in general but are mostly attracted to the yellow ones during foraging. akter et al. (2019) observed bees on flowering plants as corchorus capsularis (white jute), solanum nigrum (eggplant), abelmoschus esculentus (okra), mesua ferrea (indian rose chestnut), vigna radiata (green gram) and brassica nigra (mustard). bees play a vital role in pollination both in natural and managed ecosystems. they are also effective agents to control pest insects (akter et al., 2019). 3.6. the networking policy according to dhaka imarat nirman bidhimala 2008 (dhaka building construction act), depending on the building type and site area, it is mandatory to keep at least 16.25%-25% area as “true ground”. in other words, nothing can be built on, over or under this area. moreover, it has to be completely unpaved. this piece of land can be utilized by developing policies as: connecting this true ground directly with the roadside green linkages without any interruption, e.g., a vehicular road. there should be a minimum length of connection that will be proportional to the site area. generating a list of native plants (that play a significant role in regulating microclimate and creating habitat) and make it compulsory to plant at least one species in the mandatory “true ground” area. the link (fig 5) between the roadside bioswale and the mandatory true ground inside a property area creates a continuous habitat for small species, e.g., earthworms, insects and mollusks. the inclusion of native plant species khaleque/ the academic research community publication pg. 34 enriches the ecosystem and complements the surrounding connected habitat patch. this connection helps with the site drainage too. figure 5: a conceptual diagram showing how the mandatory soakable true ground can be connected with the roadside bioswale. 4. conclusion while conducting this study, it has been strongly felt that there are very little research data available on dhaka’s native biodiversity and how urbanization impacts the natural ecosystem. there is an urgent need for more studies being conducted on these topics for making more efficient planning and design decisions. it is understood that a metropolitan with a growing economic boom has many other concerns than making the city wildlife-friendly. but it should not be forgotten that before introducing any new element to any area, the characteristics of that area should be thoroughly understood and the impacts of this introduction should be known. poorly coordinated new developments as making stories upon stories of elevated transport routes without improving khaleque/ the academic research community publication pg. 35 the efficiency of the existing transport system and filling up wetlands may bring localized and short-sighted benefits but destroying a well-established natural system on the way will not be good in the long run. our hostile behavior towards nature is bound to come back to us. the more we fill up the wetlands, cover up the remaining pieces of ground with impervious surfaces or cut down trees thoughtlessly, the farther we push ourselves away from nature, from being humans. nature has always prioritized balance and every single life here is a much-needed part of an intricate system. toppling this balance will commence dire consequences. the sooner we understand this and act accordingly, the better for us. references dramstad, w.e., forman, t.t. & olson, j.d. 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(1990). use of riparian and upland habitats by small mammals. journal of mammalogy, 71(1), 14-23. https://doi.org/10.2307/1381312 gates, j.e. & gysel, l.w. (1978). avian nest dispersion and fledging success in field forest ecotones. ecology, 59(5), 871–883. https://doi.org/10.2307/1938540 oberndorfer, e., lundholm, j.t., bass, b., coffman, r., doshi, h., dunnett, n., gaffin, s., köhler, m., liu, k. y. & rowe, d.b. (2007). green roofs as urban ecosystems: ecological structures, functions, and services. bioscience, 57(10), 823-833. https://doi.org/10.1641/b571005 dhaka imarat nirman bidhimala (dhaka building construction act) (2008). ministry of housing and public works, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh. research paper received: 11 october 2023, accepted: 29 october 2023, published online: 31 october 2023 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i3.1036 taj mahal is the crystallization of iranian architecture and a symbol of god's throne on earth shaham asadi1 1architecture teacher, education and training administration of east azerbaijan province, iran the editor-in-chief has retracted this paper due to the author's breach of the publication ethics through publication duplication. the author doesn't agree with this retraction. the content of the article has been removed. asadi, s. (2023). taj mahal is the crystallization of iranian architecture and a symbol of god’s throne on earth. the academic research community publication, 7(3), 34–47. https://doi.org/10.21625/archive.v7i3.1036 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) academic research community publication http://www.press.ierek.com/ http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 294 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.617 organic transportation networks: human-oriented renewal of modern megapolises oleksandr galychyn1, shqiprim ahmeti2, kevser ustundag3 1 phd student at urban and regional planning department, mimar sinan fine arts university, meclis-i mebusan st. 24 34427 findikli, istanbul, turkey. 2 graduate student at urban and regional planning department, mimar sinan fine arts university, meclis-i mebusan st. 24 34427 findikli, istanbul, turkey. 3 associate professor at urban and regional planning department, mimar sinan fine arts university, meclis-i mebusan st. 24 34427 findikli, istanbul, turkey abstract studies related to the growth of the transportation networks from the second half of the 20th century have constantly been focused on the topological complexity of motorized & public transportation network (internal geometry & dynamics, occupied space, and geographical settings), or the structural properties (complexity of network structure). however, those studies have failed to incorporate the concept of an integrated public-soft transportation network, and the human-oriented transportation system, and its structural elements: soft transportation network, accessible nodes called transit-oriented developments (tods), healthy neighborhoods and, most importantly, its attributes. additionally, the relative location (urban geographical settings) haven't been conceptualized in their models. in this paper, the ontological frameworks of an integrated public-soft transportation network and human-oriented transportation system will be proposed. secondly, the attributes of those networks will be determined by comparing the integrated public-soft transportation network in finland (helsinki) with ordinary one in italy (rome) through the human-oriented transportation system framework. thirdly, the applicability of the concept of human-oriented transportation system in bozcaada (tenedos) island will be discussed. thus, a new conceptual model of the human oriented transportation system will be proposed. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords human-oriented transportation system, organic transportation approach, logical categories,integrated public-soft transportation network, socio-ecological system 1. introduction major studies during second half of the twentieth century have been focused on the public transportation network conceptualization in accordance with topological complexity or network structure (xie & levinson, 2007). however, it is easy to trace among those studies that only economic sphere of sustainability was incorporated into the research. environmental and social sphere were never utilized to represent the ontological complexity of transportation networks (xie & levinson, 2007). not to mention that from the standard elements of organic city and transportation policy only physical regulations were incorporated directly into the analysis mode of transport networks (ustundag, 2012, pp. 2-9). in other words, only standardized car and rail dominant contexts that encompass economical and http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 295 technological dimensions were studied (xie & levinson, 2007), (ustundag, 2012, pp. 2-9). considering the fact that those studies weren't subjected to the criticism in this direction this work would be a first to advertise the urgency of reconceptualizing the transportation network as a ontological framework. to provide a fundament for a building the ontological framework for transportation system corresponding to the needs of sustainable megalopolises. after a major drawbacks and strong points of each ontological representation to define the crucial processes and outcomes in the specific context will be explained, the integrated publicsoft transportation network concept (galychyn & ustundag, 2017) will be developed in accordance with the spatial transformations (lehmann, 2015, pp. 10000–10006). then, an integrated public-soft transportation network concept will be linked to a sustainability concept (lehmann, 2015, pp. 10000–10006) and organic transportation approach (ustundag, 2012, pp. 2-9), (galychyn & ustundag, 2017) to introduce a human-oriented transportation system framework . the case studies of helsinki&rome will allow to determine the type of each system: public-soft transportation network or motorized transportation network and to assume about how an integrated public-soft transportation network concept can be developed in these settings. lastly, the human oriented transportation system ontology will be tested on bozcaada (tenedos) island, an extraordinary case due to low population&density, tourism-oriented specialization and the presence of exogenous influences (climate and hydrology) (south marmara development agency, 2012). thus, a new ontological framework for the human-oriented renewal of modern megalopolises will be developed. 2. critisizm of five main streams of studies aimed on modeling transportation network growth 2.1. geography of transportation networks the criticism of the studies that introduced a transportation network as a research object within the geographical settings(1962-1969) is attributed to the haggett&chorley (1969) (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). however, they failed to detect any foundations of the sustainability, not to mention any elements of organic transportation policy in the observed motorized network with the simplest topology like in the models of the taaffe (1963), lachene (1965), pred.(1966) and rimmer (1967) (tolley & turton, 2016). to put it simply, those models don't include anything except the topology and basic geographical constraints that undermine the last phase of the network development. the simplification of links and nodes to the level of scheme of physical circuits left out of study focus the dynamic network attributes, built environment, and external geography (tolley & turton, 2016), (cartwright, 2012, pp. 1-14). in addition, the studies in this stream have focused on the regional transportation network as a main object of analysis leaving of range large scaled urban transportation networks (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (tolley & turton, 2016). as this assumption was confirmed below, network is more complex than a basic topology (simple evolution of geometrical shape evolving in accordance with basic geographical constraints) on basis of which was evaluated along the historical pattern. therefore, networks created during this movement fail to address the complexity of all scales that form a complex&sustainable transportation system: geography (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (tolley & turton, 2016), regional economy (sasaki, ohashi & ando, 1997), sustainability (lehmann, 2015) and organic city&transportation policy scales (ustundag, 2012, pp. 2-9), (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). moreover, it's only possible to identify settlements as elements of regional railroad system (tolley & turton, 2016). lastly, network is a part of more complex and a wide concept-system (newman, 2011, pp. 800-810), (bagliani & dansero, 2011). to create at least a basic concept of systems all elements and their attributes should be known in order identify their functions, methods to extend life cycle, and possible drawbacks that undermined not only the operational but also the network's pattern. 2.2. optimization and design of networks (1970-1987) the second scientific movement that lasted for a longer time was focused on economic dimension of transportation networks (xie & levinson, 2007) summarized that this scientific direction was aimed to predict traffic flows (outcome of processes) in realistic way by designing an optimal demand forecasting models, such as studies of newell (1980) and vaughan (1987) (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). those models were shifted from regional space to the urban area. namely, first urban transportation planning models have been entered a stage. this galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 296 is the first step into the direction of organic transportation networks, which are urban transportation networks (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). moreover, those models were based on social data (human behavior and needs)-main generators of demand. however, the both physical and social data are required for successful integration of soft modes to the public transportation system (ustundag, 2012), (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). social sustainability represent multidimensional social networks that must correspond to the socially optimum decision elaborated by an organic unit (by means of kaleidoscopic method) (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (costa lobo & ustundag, 2007) to generate optimal design (combination of spatial&physical regulations) narrowed by social constraints: standard of living (physical regulations) (tokyo metropolitan government, 2007), education and training (thorne-lyman, wood & zimbabwe, 2011), community (public participation) (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (bagliani & dansero, 2011) and equal opportunity (spatial regulations) (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). although many criticism was addressed to the actors involved into the network growth process, (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (tolley & turton, 2016), a critics never been mentioned that even with the fully-developed public participation mechanism the basic level of sustainability would be unreachable. 2.3. stastistical analysis of the network growth (1975-present) this stream has been aimed to calibrate the optimization models to investigate in change in the supply based on the accumulated gis data (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). at the beginning the authors were trying to use transit demand as an impute data like gaudry (1975), alperovich et al. (1977), peng et al. (1997) and taylor &miller (2003) (xie & levinson, 2007). although, the generated demand models had been more accurate in comparison to the optimization stream, the major problems indicated above hadn’t been taken into consideration. however, according to that xie & levinson (2007) the recent studies such as levinson& chen (2005), levinson &chen (2007), levinson (2007) were based on mutual causality between a transportation network and diversity (mix of land uses) (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). those works haven't touched sustainable design and broader settings in which the processes associated with public & soft transportation network development can be identified ( sprawl, integration, perception, optimization and management & maintenance) like the socio-ecological system (bagliani & dansero, 2011). 2.4. economics of network growth (1996-present) this stream can be separated two aspects of economics (transportation economics and fiscal federalism) in the same way as it has been done by levinson (2007) (xie & levinson, 2007). due to similar nature of those aspects, it was decided to merge them for the purpose of more sophisticated analysis. in the same way as the previous stream this scientific movement have limited to the economic feasibility of the network structure with a regard to the space occupied by a transportation network and its geography (related ecosystems) (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (tolley & turton, 2016). in the same time, the first-tier category: management& governance on the local level has entered a stage with work of knight (2002), and humplick & moiniaraghi (1996a,b) (xie & levinson, 2007). in this context, an ownership structure as an attribute of the management&governance (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (steffen, 2010, pp. 4-9), (carvero & kockelman, 1997). this means that the transportation network became the input-and-output from the governance system. however, it can be argued that it's without all elements and attributes ready available for the analysis it's impossible to evaluate the change in a state of the network in accordance with the governance model instead of a jurisdiction-centered political economy (mixed-use transportation system of ownership forms) (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (steffen, 2010, pp. 4-9), (carvero & kockelman, 1997) such as works of levinson et al. (2007), montes de oca&levinson (2006). those studies simply indicate a causal relationship between jurisdiction (ownership) and supply (provision) (xie & levinson, 2007). the way other economical properties such as network effect, path dependence, and jurisdictional organization influence the network structure still hasn't been proven yet despite being an important factor to the network growth (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). the last observed attribute in this stream was already mentioned before as it was underpinned by economic dimension of the network growth (xie & levinson, 2007), (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017). in addition, the studies of jackson & wolinsky (1996), and marini (2007) imply that path dependence issue has been introduced in this stream. the diversity (jurisdictional control) was the galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 297 primary attribute of spatial dimension (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (bagliani & dansero, 2011), (carvero & kockelman, 1997, pp. 199-2019), the other attributes ( network effect and path dependence) have simply referred to the economical feasibility without understanding their true empirical value (xie & levinson, 2007), (bagliani & dansero, 2011), (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017). particularly, the network effect was the primary attribute of the economic dimension of sustainability (xie & levinson, 2007), (bagliani & dansero, 2011), (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017) since the transportation geography. 2.5. the network science (2002-present) this is the last stream, dedicated to the study of the complex systems, namely power-law distribution that occurred in the biological, social and technological “scale-free” networks (barthélemy, 2011). this stream signifies the concluding phase of exploration of network structure. topological attribute called hierarchy of nodes have been finally proved by network science (barabási &albert, 1999) (xie & levinson, 2007). however, later was discovered that a 'preferential attachment' can be applied only to the vaguely defined and delimited transportation networks, without self-organization mechanism (barthélemy, 2011), (batty, 2009). in other words, it can't be applied to the surface transportation network due to existence of strong geographical constraints (cś anyi &szendröi, 2004) and those networks exhibit distinct structure (gastner & newman, 2006). only urban street (jiang, 2007) and subway networks were found to be scale-free, or separated from geography (derrible& kennedy, 2010) (barthélemy, 2011), (batty, 2009). barthélemy (2010) has summarized effects of spatial constraints on structural properties of network (degree distribution, betweenness centrality, hub and spoke structure, and closeness) (barthélemy, 2011), (kujala, 2016) the effect that all transportation geographers had failed to explain despite being modeled and named by them (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (tolley & turton, 2016). it can be argued that a density, agglomeration, hierarchy of node and links (and traffic flows attributed to them) would be the same properties supplied by theoretical meaning (xie & levinson, 2007), (tolley & turton, 2016), (barthélemy, 2011), (kujala, 2016). to put it simply, a spatial effect measured quantitatively without any meaning attached to it. how those effects influence an evolution of the transportation network still remain a mystery, especially, in the theoretical plain (barthélemy, 2011), (batty, 2009). those constraints is only one of the spatial attributes (density, diversity and design) (carvero & kockelman, 1997, pp. 199-209), (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017) that characterize socioecological system (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (bagliani & dansero, 2011) the system that contains the transportation network, the subsystem influenced by its operation. in other words, the structure urban transportation network, its function and an exogenous influences from the related ecological systems (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014) and broader socio-economical context (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014) as well as to predict outcomes of these interaction haven't been observed outside of complex science. 3. back to the future: integrated public-soft transportation network and humanoriented transportation system the summarized attributes of the transportation networks during the review of previous streams will be linked to the related systems mentioned before (that influence transportation networks and ultimately been influenced by them) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014) to finalize ontologies. additionally, the physical transformation of space requires both the the design of surface urban landscape: artificial landscape corridors (pedestrian-oriented design (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (puget sound regional council, 2014)) and the fragmented patch areas of different sizes ( tod nodes (calimente, 2012) and healthy neighborhoods (calimente, 2012)) surrounded by artificial urban matrix, and the underground urban landscape ( metropolicenter) multifunctional underground complex of transport and pedestrian facilities at different levels centered around the subway station (popov & siganchin, 2019) (patch of artificial area), and spatially linked with the upper level, or station entrance on the surface (patch of artificial area) . the structure of healthy neighborhoods includes the following elements: micro-district (landscape matrix) defined by mix of affordable housing of octagonal blocks chambered in the corners that shared among residents ( artificial patch area) and the area where local materials are recycled and clear water utilized, danish method of capturing energy in organic waster streams (patch of natural areas) separated by low volume streets with only soft transportation modes allowed (landscape corridor) (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 298 in order to construct an ontological framework of integrated public-soft transportation network (galychyn, ustundag, 2017) during the first stage the categories related to this concept (galychyn & ustundag, 2017) were selected from the above mentioned streams. the thirteen topological attributes described by the jean-paul rodrigue (2006) have been recognized to be essential to understand the network structure (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017). those attributes in accordance with their nature can be classified in four categories. primarily, statics network attributes: number of edges and nodes (network size), modes and terminals, pattern (geometry), type of correspondence (hierarchy of nodes) (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017), (barthélemy, 2011), (roth, kang, batty & barthelemy, 2012) while the second category define the functions: type of traffic, load and capacity, volume and direction (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017). the attributes like types of road and level of control is pertinent to the road transport and cannot be used as generalized criteria for classification (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017), (galychyn, 2011). therefore, types of road and level of control should be excluded from a set of topological attributes. further, were chosen three attributes that indicate the space occupied by transportation networks: level of abstraction, orientation and extent and mode of territorial occupation (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017), (barthélemy, 2011). however, use of these topological attributes along can only lead to the assumption that a network growth mechanism can be captured by the heuristic model a fallen product of geography of transportation networks (xie & levinson, 2007), (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (tolley & turton, 2016). therefore, the these categories were also added to a set of other categories selected from the streams reviewed. the public-soft transportation network is observed simultaneously across exogenous and endogenous influences (natural and human process at various scales) (ustundag, 2012, pp. 2-9), (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (lehmann, 2015) (figure 1). figure 1. integrated public-soft transportation network ontology this ontology consists of a set of overlapping scales of different sizes. the size of the scale (upper level of organization (the logical relationships among all scales, or terms, define a socio-ecological system (mirkin, 2005) is relative to each other. some of those scales are ones of human nature, others are represents natural systems (bagliani & dansero, 2011). among this maze of second-tier categories , three terms must be identified: sprawl (song, rajamani, jung & handy, 2002) , bicycle 3, (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (costa lobo & ustundag, 2007) and galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 299 pedestrian-oriented design (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (puget sound regional council, 2014). the aim is to transform sprawling area into the compact area (carvero & kockelman, 1997, pp. 199-209), and simultaneously to optimize design and pattern of bicycle & pedestrian paths (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (bagliani & dansero, 2011), 22 within the socio-ecological system (lehmann, 2015), (bagliani & dansero, 2011). the optimization procedure of design and pattern of bicycle follows the specific procedure characterized by the social transformation of bicycle. public bicycles are simple in design and produced from the local materials, namely old bicycles within community; therefore, complicated security systems like utilized in gated communities aren’t required (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the security costs are borne by local government (abe-kudo, 2007), and together with a cheap locallyproduced bicycle can generate a decision in favor of the gates and fences to detect intruder (grant & mittelsteadt, 2004). during the second stage the logical relationships change due to the addition of these terms. the changes occur during the first stage, and the attributes refer to properties that emerge on the upper level of aggregation depend on the distance relative to the other attributes, nature of scale (mirkin, 2005), and hierarchy of nodes and links (dash type) (barthélemy, 2011), node centrality (barthélemy, 2011), (kujala, 2016) and other typical topological attributes (rodrigue, comtois & slack, 2017). the integrated public-soft transportation network concept consists of three structural elements: scales, nodes (attributes) and links (relative distances). the scales are labeled as the upper-tier attributes while the nodes are referred to as the second-tier attributes surrounded by the lower tiers (features of secondtier attributes). therefore, the second tiers undergo physical and social transformations due to the change of the characteristics of their attributes and connections between them as well as under exogenous and endogenous influences (bagliani & dansero, 2011). each of the nodes ( second tiers) the network connects to a group of interrelated nodes (third-tiers). some of the second-tiers are the central nodes in their respective scales. these node affect more the third-tiers within their scales than the third-tiers that belong to the other scales. the same rule applies to the relationships between the third tiers of one scale and the central nodes (one per scale) of the other scales. in other words, the secondary nodes are fully dependent on central node oaf the same scale and less dependent on the central node of the neighboring scale (bagliani & dansero, 2011), (barthélemy, 2011), (mirkin, 2005). the next stage of the network growth is aimed to fully transform a motorized transportation network (ustundag, 2012) to the organic one (figure 2). figure 2. standard elements of organic city&transportation policy galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 300 the title indicates a transition from market-oriented transportation to human world (ustundag, 2012), (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). here more scales and nodes are added to the integrated public-soft transportation network concept. here tods (second-tiers) and healthy neighborhood (second-tiers) that both input and output of the endogenous socio-economical process that realized in the scope of these nodes (second-tiers) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014): 1) the education and training of staff in the related businesses (tods) and the tod residents on joint initiatives such as greening of tod space (production of nursery trees) (bagliani & dansero, 2011) 2) voluntary activities of private companies to provide affordable housing for businesses through bot transfer to enhance ownership structure and management&maintenance of tod; 3) improvement of regulations regarding the access of healthy communities within tod: a) brt equipped with bike rack service between tods (galychyn & ustundag, 2017) connecting healthy neighborhoods along the way or by metro till the center of tods, pedestrian paths (300 m till the public bicycle station) designated for anyone to buy one-way tickets, weekly of monthly passes from the station kiosk or beforehand online system on public bicycle authority online to use any of the bicycles available within city . economy of energy resources (economical &ecological scales) (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (codoban & kennedy, 2008) and time savings (social scale) as well as a preservation of historical heritage in the central part of the city (built environment scale) are the most noticeable advantages of tod. the tod like any other governance system defines the rules for actors that act within its boundaries (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). for instance, each pass can be utilized in any of the tods within a city without any restrictions. management&governance of tod is effectuated by organic unit, namely by the agents of local administration, scientists, planners and residents (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (costa lobo & ustundag, 2007) during a meeting at community center. each tod include single organic unit is a countermeasure against the social conflicts caused by social separation or/and environmental degradation within tod (calimente, 2012) . the organic unit manages services and security within tods. this unit also has an authority to devise rules for administrations of healthy neighborhoods (management office of private companies). each healthy community has its own administration that perform the same function as organic unit (galychyn & ustundag, 2017),. in this case an issue about tod as a uniform system arises. the tod not only a single tiers category but also one of the numerous a heterogeneous socioecological communities surrounded by the artificial urban landscape (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the healthy community, unlike the tod, can have the the natural or artificial patch in the geometric center (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). it can be autonomous governance system (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014) or be a margin, a transitional zone between the closest tods, that is more dense and mixed in terms of social status, ownership, nationality and age (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). the distance and mode of transportation makes a difference, especially for the residents of the healthy neighborhoods. subway bicycle/walking option is much better than brt-bicycle/walking because of overall decrease in distance, pollution, crashes, and deficit of space for housing, business and recreational spaces (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). compactness indicators will improve quickly if healthy communities will be formed from each 3-4 affordable residential groups (galychyn & ustundag, 2017) within tod not to mention more optimized pattern for waste disposal and energy accumulation within every community (codoban & kennedy, 2008). the education&training scale is added to develop a cooperation between residents and private developers&related businesses on the affordable housing projects. the cooperation will produce the following results: 1) the reduction of a social and physical separation between tods residents and an outer city (grant & mittelsteadt, 2004), (abe-kudo, 2007) to facilitate transition towards mixed -use of housing types, prices and ownership forms within healthy neighborhoods (steffen, 2010, pp. 4-9). 2) establishment of a fundraising scheme for social and physical infrastructure and facilities (tokyo metropolitan government, 2007) not only to maintain current infrastructure but also to periodically enhance the remote facilities accordance with a density, diversity, design parameters and compactness indicators (carvero & kockelman, 1997, pp. 199-209) as well as social design such as access for disable, walking&cycling space, pollution and safety control (thorne-lyman, wood & zimbabwe, 2011, pp. 54-57), (bagliani & dansero, 2011). after the governance model at the community level was explained, the governance model at the level of urban system2 will be described (figure 3 & figure 4). galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 301 figure 3. local public participation (tod) figure 4. global participation (urban socio-ecological systems) galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 302 public participation dimension in urban socio-ecological system (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014) is effectuated by an intervention from beneath (private company), above (government) and the exogenous influence (sustainable development associations) (bagliani & dansero, 2011). the model applied for socio-environmental conflict resolution applying a compass design where each tracks has an equal value is derived from the multi-track diplomacy (bagliani & dansero, 2011). in the global participation model organic unit (first track) takes role of mediator of conflict between citizens (second track) and private company or local administration (third track) (bagliani & dansero, 2011). fourth track of this process involve cost savings through the collaboration between residents, private companies/local government, central government and sustainable development associations(bagliani & dansero, 2011). fifth track involve education for young people and training for employees towards the joint conflict management (bagliani & dansero, 2011). sixth track consist of non-profit organizations that perform a role of mediator during the earliest stages of conflict (between private company or local administration and citizens) (bagliani & dansero, 2011). seventh track involves an intervention of churches and the other formal religious organizations if the conflict emerges on their territory (bagliani & dansero, 2011). during the eight track the cooperation between all mentioned above parties and organic unit archived to enhance a safety of the system against market failure (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the ninth track consists from free media as a countermeasure against the popular culture images towards one-sided (government-oriented) public opinion (agnese & rondinone, 2011), (tuathail, routledge & dalby, 2006). finally, the feedback to the organic unit for generation of an optimal social decision about safety (galychyn & ustundag, 2017) influenced by above mentioned endogenous forces (grant & mittelsteadt, 2004). the global participation model, government regulations, management & governance, cultural, and economical&social scales (top-tier categories) influence each other and provide with a feedback (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). the aggregation of these top-tier categories defines the higher logical category (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). in this paper this category is referred to as societal system (organization of human scales that interact with each other). the feedback paths link outcomes of operation of scales, or the logical relationships (inputs-outputs) between the second-tiers within the scales to each other (bagliani & dansero, 2011) (figure 5). figure 5. socio-ecological system and exogenous influences galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 303 the discussed above ontological framework of human-oriented transportation system is shown below (figure 6). figure 6. human-oriented transportation system framework 4. case studies: finland (helsinki) and italy (rome) initially, the ontological structure that show an existing logical categories that along the cyclical pattern interrelationships (influence-and-feedback) is constructed. from the the this diagnosis or analysis it could be confirmed that city of helsinki might enter the integrated public-soft transportation network stage by 2025 provided the both planned social and physical transformations will be archived (helsinki city survey division, 2015, pp. 326). social transformations (modified perception of a bicycle in accordance with affordability, equality, security) in helsinki has been partially archived by completing the first step : social acceptance of bicycle as a mode suited for the short distances within the city (helsinki city survey division, 2015, pp. 3-26). however, social acceptance of galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 304 bicycle can only be completely archived when perception of bicycle is changed from individual private equipment to the common shared public service (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). although city`s bike&bike rack services have been implemented, the services haven't been successful in achieving this goal due to the absence of optimal social decision (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (helsinki city survey division, 2015). the socially optimum decision cannot be elaborated due to lack of safety-driven decision system in helsinki (galychyn & ustundag, 2017) for generating optimized design and pattern of bicycle (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (puget sound regional council, 2014) as well as undermined endogenous and exogenous influences indicated above to limit design alternatives for this mode (grant & mittelsteadt, 2004). in other words, standard decision framework for planning process is utilized (helsinki city survey division, 2015, pp. 3-26). during the safety-centered process the planner makes decisions by means of kaleidoscopic method (four dimensions of diamond) with the safety parameter placed in the center (costa lobo & ustundag, 2007). this approach gives a priority for a safety instead comfort (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). during this process different cycling route types were transformed through pedestrian-oriented design : separation of cycling and pedestrian traffic (one-way cycle path), the widened pedestrian paths (separate cycle path), reduced road width (cycle line, no parking), speed regulations (mixed traffic route, cycling on road) (helsinki city survey division, 2015, pp. 3-26). an absence of most of physical data except bicycle traffic (bicycle&pedestrian paths, pedestrian traffic and bicycle parking data) as well as the pedestrian accessibility (helsinki city survey division, 2015, pp. 3-26) were identified beforehand through the up-to-date report that was crucial for the building an ontological structure that builds on the foundation of the integrated public-3,4 ontology1,. the consequences of third-ties categories (mixed traffic on the road) spread to the network structure ( second-tier variable) to bring the output (substitution of the third tier category contained in network structure) : increase of road width and duplicate traffic along the route from the transit station (helsinki city survey division, 2015, pp. 3-26). then , the network structure .applies an output as input to the same third-tier category (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). the outcome is an action situation: bicycle&pedestrian traffic along the routes decrease in width. in other words, the overall supply is a lower than a overall demand. this situation situation can be explained by preferential attachment law in the street design, where the duplicate routes are assigned to the streets with more traffic mixes (high hierarchy) and fewer routes to the streets with single traffic option (low hierarchy) (roth, kang, batty & barthelemy, 2012). this result allow for a third-tier category to bring the last outcome as an input again to generate a changes in the second-tier (transportation networks) structure. this time the other third -tier categories contained in the same scale (top-tier category) are joined together in accordance with their importance within the scale (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). this action is allow to observe how many instances of the top-ties connected together can produce a more lasting outcomes within a broader socio-economical settings (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). in case of helsinki the following outcome were predicted: 1) in the long term soft transportation modes will be removed from the route permanently due to the excessive competition along the route (helsinki city survey division, 2015, pp. 3-26). 2) motorized transportation will take the streets back in the long-term perspective. some of outcomes is harder to predict than the other due the absence of the logic relationship existed in particular settings. for example, an orientation and extent of network growth is unpredictable due to routes more promising in terms of demand but poorly linked to the network structure (second-tier category), built environment scale (density, diversity, design, ownership structure) (carvero & kockelman, 1997, pp. 199-209) and physical scale (pedestrian-oriented design) (puget sound regional council, 2014). although bicycle system is owned&maintained among different authorities (management&governance) it causes difference in the standard of maintenance among owners (helsinki city survey division, 2015, pp. 3-26). this issue contributes to the emergence of sprawl in the long term. when it matures to this critical state, the sprawl should be inserted into integrated public-soft transportation network ontology (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). based on this ontology local environmental policies must be structured (bagliani & dansero, 2011), then optimal social decision is generated by an organic unit (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). finally, this decision of organic unit (top-tier category) is linked through the feedback to a density, diversity, design, compactness and social design (second-tier categories) (carvero & kockelman, 1997, pp. 199-209) galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 305 to produce outcomes: access for disable, walking&cycling space, pollution and safety control (codoban & kennedy, 2008). rome, unlike helsinki, had the late start in terms of sustainable mobility opening a way for integrated publicsoft transportation network in 2010 with the approval of the framework plan for cycling of the municipality of rome (rome services for the mobility, 2010). the conceptualization and comparison of the both network ontologies has allowed to conclude that the transportation system in rome is lagging behind helsinki. in other words, this network can be placed around the early transitional phase between motorized transportation and integrated public-soft transportation networks. this comparison has allowed to conclude that the social transformations here, unlike helsinki, haven't been started yet; therefore, physical transformations without a social acceptance of soft transportation modes can’t produce a sustainable spatial outcomes. it’s important to note that the physical transformations include traffic-calming measures and physical infrastructure for cycling instead of pedestrian-oriented design. the traffic calming measures are effectuated by separating historical center with ztl (limited traffic zones) with electronic gates (gori, nigro & petrelli, 2012). this measure is similar to the pacification of inner areas of superblock with only difference that speed less than 30 km/h is allowed instead of 10 km/h limit within the secondary streets of the superblock (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the comparison of ontologies has allowed to grasp a situation where physical transformations have been implemented neglecting the social transformations (social design of neighborhood) (abe-kudo, 2007) and the social acceptance of bicycle hasn’t been archived. thus, the social transformations (modified perception of bicycle in accordance with affordability, equality, security) in rome unlike helsinki has failed to attain the social recognition of bicycle as sustainable mode of transportation suited for the short distances within the city (29 bike stations with 290 bikes) (transport and mobility department of rome, 2015). the second step of social transformation (change of perception of bicycle from individual private equipment to the common shared public service) haven’t been initiated. conversely, helsinki has embarked on the second stage in the summer 2016 year when 50 bike station with 500 bikes have been introduced (helsinki city survey division, 2015, pp. 3-26). in both cases the standard decision framework for planning process is utilized here with the four dimensions of diamond and comfort placed in the center of those scales (xie & levinson, 2007). the influence of ownership structure (second-tier) to the network structure(second-tier ) (hansen, 1959) along the feedback paths (roth, kang, batty & barthelemy, 2012) bring the consequences of the second-tier as an outcome: volume of dispersed origins&destinations along the routes shared with private and public vehicles. this situation indicates that the time savings and safety problems (social scale) have the same effect within rome as in any other motorized sprawled city where physical infrastructure substitutes the pedestrian-oriented design. the influence of network structure on those problems (third-tiers) can be to analyzed (diagnosed) to understand how the situation where 'urban slums' within ztl might emerge in the long-term perspective can be avoided. 5. human-oriented renewal of bozcaada (tenedos) island. bazcaada is a unique case among the other studies not only because of the relative location (external geographical constraints) but also due to its size (network structure) and social organization (social scale), cultural scale (popular culture), standard decision framework, prioritized economically feasible projects (economical scale) and environmental processes (environmental scale) (south marmara development agency, 2012). by diagnosis of the current situation by means of ontological structure that feedback from this problems to the network structure (secondtier) and its consequences on the multiple instances: motorized transportation network in the inner ring (minibus, bicycle and automobile routes within island) and outer ring (steamboats and sea buses, or ferries) to seize its operation in the long term perspective and cause market failure on the island (doğan, 2011). for the long -term prediction about the market failure and network abandonment the circular pattern between the second-tier categories (network effect, path dependence and jurisdictional control) and network structure with its centrality measures is necessary (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). the ontological structure builds on the data of the report (doğan, 2011). in accordance with the structure bocaazada can be placed around early motorized network stage due to feedback from the instances of third-tiers: low settled population, underdeveloped inland infrastructure and absence of activity poles (south marmara development galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 306 agency, 2012). it could be argued that the nationalization policy lead to the closure of greek schools (1964) and construction of open prison and airport on public land (1965) coupled with low compensation rates from authorities were the primary factors that affected out-migration of almost entire greek (25 people remained) and a portion of turkish population up until 2000 year (south marmara development agency, 2012). the ontology confirms that the damaged champagne industries along with the high taxes on producers (until 2001) caused a market failure, and the socio-economic disparities (top-tier category) between island the rest of the çanakkale province (south marmara development agency, 2012), (doğan, 2011). the ontology also confirms that the both physical and social transformations haven’t been initiated yet (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). in other words,the integrated public-soft transportation network cannot be developed on the island where both physical and social transformation haven't been occurred till today (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the physical arrangement of space is out of question on the island where abandoned since 1964 physical infrastructure (network structure ) influence the social and environmental scales with the following outcomes (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014): waste storage and lack minibus units within island to maintain optimal frequency of service are present (doğan, 2011), absence of direct service between gökçeada and bozcaada (south marmara development agency, 2012) and waste of steamboat and garbage from sea buses coupled with irregular low frequency of service (south marmara development agency, 2012), and excessive automobile traffic during spring/ autumn months (beginning/end of tourist season) coupled with smaller number of tourists (south marmara development agency, 2012), (doğan, 2011). the other issue at hand is lack of housing for public sector employers and dorms for students (third tiers) due to tourist-oriented specialization of island (second tier that contained in the social and spatial scales) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). the government regulations (top-tier) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014) has influenced the social fear and separation (third-tier) and physical isolation( thirdtier) (grant & mittelsteadt, 2004), (abe-kudo, 2007). consequently, feedback of these third-tiers to government and how they affect each other haven’t been fully grasped by both the government and citizens (education and training scale) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (south marmara development agency, 2012). therefore, according to the report all issues are remained untouched despite different strategies published in 2012 (south marmara development agency, 2012). each of those strategies grasp a single isolated scale (top-tier) only and don’t incorporate any sustainable practices (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the best rated strategy is aimed to solve social&physical isolation issues by performing sociological research ( including roots, language and religion) (south marmara development agency, 2012. the comparison among the ontologies shows the output (situation) in bozcaada is similar to rome because it employes standard decision framework for planning process with the four dimensions of diamond and comfort placed in the center (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the same negative effects as in rome hasn't been produced due to low population ( third-tier) and its contribution to the early stage of motorized transportation network employed across the island( network structure) (south marmara development agency, 2012). the deference is that, unlike the oner cases above, the both physical structure for tourists and pedestrian-oriented design aren’t given any priority (south marmara development agency, 2012). steamship for car transport (third-tier) not only generate wastes (instance) but also transport cars for tourist and owners of rental property to the island (instance) (south marmara development agency, 2012). this action (instances) diminish passenger capacity of ships (filling rate of rolling stock), feedback these consequences to the network structure (second-tier category) to cause to the negative instance: pollution& limited accessibility during the summer season (south marmara development agency, 2012), (doğan, 2011). this action (instances) is also fueling privatization process by feedback to the jurisdictional control (second-tier) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). therefore, steamships should be removed from service and substituted with more sea buses not only in direction geyiklibozcaada but also along the route between gökçeada and bozcaada. then, by inserting these services into the appropriate space (third-tier category contained with the network structure) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). however, the distinct issues would be a low population and tourism-oriented specialization due to governmental regulations (including difficult procedures to get permission for reconstruction within protection areas), and a limited of space within the island for the network growth (south marmara development agency, 2012). including these categories need an clear understanding on how to logically connect them by their instance (can be done by the organic unit) (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). it was mentioned before that the physical transformation of surface space requires not only artificial landscape corridors but also fragmented patch areas of different sizes. the lowest available patch in the galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 307 transportation network is the neighborhood area (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the neighborhood can be considered as a margin area between tod (more dense and more populated than the area of tods) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014) and also to have a distinct properties (size, shape, structure, boundary, mix of the classes and ages, etc.) (lehmann, 2015), (kujala, 2016) build the integrated public-soft transportation network the social transformation must be archived (ustundag, 2012). in accordance with the organic transportation approach a social transformation should incorporate the social design of neighborhood (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). this neighborhood is contained within the socio-ecological system, and the individual or collective actions of actors inhabiting the neighborhood influence/and been influenced by socio-ecological system ) (bagliani & dansero, 2011). this neighborhood should utilize waste-to-energy strategies ( almost infinite source considering inland environmental issues) (peart, 2016). those issues (third tiers) can be inserted into integrated public-soft transportation network ontology to generate local environmental policies to be applied later to the socio-ecological system to understand their effect (bagliani & dansero, 2011). all this measures discussed before will not work unless the population, density as well as major attraction poles are enough for transformation into integrated public soft transportation network. however, the population of island community cannot be increased due to service sector only, namely tourism business not only because of seasonal variation of population but also due to uncontrolled privatization coupled with protection areas designed by local government and socioeconomic disparities between bozcaada and continental part of turkey (south marmara development agency, 2012), (doğan, 2011). those disparities are evident in labour intensive small and medium -size noncompetitive industries like wine&champagne production as well as lodging& hotel facilities (tourism sectors) spatially unbalanced with loose technological base, and the high degree of spatial concentration of private sector r&d as well as population and economic activities in the continental part (south marmara development agency, 2012), (doğan, 2011). those factors contribute to the government deficit (linear pattern) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014); therefore, local government cannot even solve basic infrastructure problem within island. other problem is related to low education level of graduates that add to the unqualified lodging service employers that instead of upgrading physical arrangement of space including touristoriented facilities pursue the profit by increasing rent prices (south marmara development agency, 2012). to solve those problems techopolis program should be enacted with emphasize knowledge-intensive industries (e.g. semiconductors, electronics, biotech as the key industries) (araki, 2000) as well as priority of capital intensive industries (wind energy, waste-to-energy, rail transportation) (south marmara development agency, 2012), (codoban & kennedy, 2008). this should be done simultaneously with interactive model, a continuous interaction among local government, hotel industries and lodging service industry workers, and to balance the innovation process networks by locating tourism-oriented companies together with universities to transmit their knowledge to continental regions (south marmara development agency, 2012), (araki, 2000). the same procedure should be applied also to the knowledge-intensive and capital-intensive industries. knowledge and training of students and lodging service employers initially generated by connecting standard of living, community (exogenous influences) (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014) to the training of staff and fundraising (education&training) performed by non-profit organizations that also involved mediation process during environmental conflict within island (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). however, it shouldn't be forgotten that transport network and preexisting social agglomeration within island should be developed before industrial development and encouragement of r&d within the island (araki, 2000). this will guaranty success of the program by attracting high-tech firms from istanbul, ankara and redirect a concentration of private sector r&d, population and economic activities to the island. lastly, to increase population and facilitate technological and cultural exchange is important to include in this program not only gökçeada but also bigger greek islands (rodos, crete, lesbos) that have already the mix of uses should encourage walking& cycling activity and to foster a walkable and vibrant environment within island. provided those strategies are implemented deficit of space can be finally taken into account starting from evaluation of opportunities in regard to the complex utilization of space and infill sites (popov & siganchin, 2019). those ordered measures will allow to redirect a growth of transportation network within bozcaada towards a late stages of motorized public-soft transportation network to be simplified to the level of ontology and analyzed in terms of the effective process and outcomes in these settings (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 308 6. conclusion in this paper by analyzing five streams related to the transportation network growth: geography of transportation networks (1962-1969), optimization and design of networks (1970-1987), statistical analysis of the network growth (1975-present), to the economics of network growth (1996-present), network science (2002-present) have been found that infrastructural and engineering projects were mostly have been evaluated based on the cost savings (economical scale) and physical regulations (physical scale)1 while environmental and social scale were never assessed to conceptualize a transportation networks. the single exception was a social data, or human behavior and needs, to generate demand forecasting models during optimization stream (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). in addition, was confirmed that sustainability, human-oriented transportation and socio-ecological system concepts have never been incorporated in the studies despite the impact of the exogenous influences (climate, topography , hydrography and geology), economic feasibility analysis and structural properties (network science) on the network structure has been assessed in the geography of transportation network and network science streams, (barthélemy, 2011). the four groups of the topological attributes summarized during those streams: network properties, space occupied by transportation networks, built environment and geographical constraints with 22 attributes generalized to be included into the scales to finalize ontologies. those attributes have been linked to the physical transformations (pedestrianoriented design) (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (galychyn, 2011) and social transformation (modified perception of a bicycle in accordance with affordability, equality, security (galychyn & ustundag, 2017) and social design of neighborhood (galychyn & ustundag, 2017)) across the their respective scales (top-tiers) to finalize an integrated public-soft transportation network ontology (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the rule of social optimum were introduced and case studies from helsinki and rome helped to confirm that rule regarding socially optimal decision about safety essential for archiving the social transformations for integration of public and soft transportation networks (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), (bagliani & dansero, 2011). by adding the concept of healthy neighborhood (carvero & kockelman, 1997, pp. 199-209), socio-ecological system (thorne-lyman, wood & zimbabwe, 2011, pp. 54-57), and underground (popov & siganchin, 2019), education &training (tokyo metropolitan government, 2007), global participation (galychyn & ustundag, 2017) and cultural scales (agnese & rondinone, 2011), (tuathail, routledge & dalby, 2006) to public-soft transportation network a human-oriented transportation system concept was developed. firstly, a concept of a physical transformation of the human-oriented transportation system’s area was formulated by combining tod and metropoliceter concepts (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014), (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). secondly, the cultural scale were constructed by combining in accordance with the feedback loop between the popular culture and public opinion, operationally defined as interpretation of public opinion against social optimum (bagliani & dansero, 2011). thirdly, local participation model were transformed in accordance with the multitrack diplomacy into global public participation model consisting from tracks: organic unit (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), community, local administration/company, cost-benefit driven collaboration , education&training, mediator (non-profit organization), religious organizations (bagliani & dansero, 2011), safety-driven collaboration (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), free media (agnese & rondinone, 2011), (tuathail, routledge & dalby, 2006). the case studies of helsinki were helpful in understanding that integration of public and soft transportation networks cannot be successfully completed without safety driven decision system (galychyn & ustundag, 2017), simultaneously implemented with the optimization of design and pattern of bicycle & pedestrian paths (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). the case study of rome has showed that jurisdictional organization issue (rome services for the mobility, 2010) has caused motorized sprawled pattern of urban transportation network. the last case study identified limitations of the human-oriented transportation system framework due to low population, tourism-oriented industry and absolute barrier for development (sea) (south marmara development agency, 2012), (doğan, 2011). therefore, in this case by adding the technopolis concept together with an interactive knowledge networks the transportation network can be suitable for building an ontological structure to analyze the processes and process an outcomes to bring forth the human-oriented transportation . however, this concept can still be used as ontological framework to develop the properties of the specific transportation networks within the socio-ecological systems (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). galychyn/ the academic research community publication pg. 309 therefore, any ecologist, policymaker and analyst, and the citizen that interested in develop the similar ontological organization for knowledge to diagnose the complex systems such as cities (galychyn & ustundag, 2017). this framework can also help to pose a flexible questions and investigate many aspects of a given situation (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). consequently, the network represents a mind map to generate new narrow or comprehensive ideas about term in question to reorganize the local parts without alterations in the overall equilibrium (mcginnis & ostrom, 2014). simple example can be that tod and metropolicenter by merging with each other create physical transformation of space , an element that in feedback relationship with the design and pattern of transportation network and management&governance and underground scales. the challenge related to developing of the shared base that facilitate the diagnoses of the properties of numerous complex systems such as ecosystems and landscapes to adapt the logical linkages to these specific system as well as to make it also applicable to the numerous of theories to increase the the range of specific situations for building the appropriate models and to avoid the confusion in the further applications of the ontology will remain open in the upcoming decades. acknowledgements the authors are wishing to thank to the professor dr. sergio ventriglia, university of naples “l'orientale" for his valuable lectures 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(2007). modeling the growth of transportation networks: a comprehensive review. networks and spatial economics, 9(3), 291-307. doi:10.1007/s11067-007-9037-4 http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm85.htm http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/es-06387-190230 http://sapiens.revues.org/1057 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 58 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i1.699 “stepping stones” in urban greenways: design strategy of roof garden in jiangbei new district, nanjing, china wenhui liu1, hong zhang1, jiaxin ni 1 1school of architecture, southeast university, nanjing 210096, china abstract this paper focuses on the design strategy of roof gardens, analyzes the relationship between aerial greening from the overall shape of urban space, and discusses the greening spots effect of “stepping stones” in urban greenways. taking the green corrider between the green space of the yangtze river wetland and the green space of the laoshan mountain as a sample, the roof garden is analyzed as the impact of the stepping stones of the birds on the urban space shape control and height control. afterwards, it researches the modular technology which can be adapted to building various types of roof gardens. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords roof greening; urban greenways; stepping stones; ecological diversity; modular design 1. introduction during the process of rural areas transforming into cities, the urban density is getting higher and higher, and the land resource has become the most precious resource in the city, which leads to the high-intensity and high-volume development of the city.in order to improve urban heat island effect, reduce carbon emissions and protect ecological diversity (especially birds), this paper starts from researching the overall form of green space in urban space, focusing on the greening spots in the air, known as roof gardens. by analyzing the relationship between these greening spaces, it explores the aerial greening corrider suitable for ecological sustainable development in urban space. in this way, the jump point of birds can be formed to achieve harmony between man and nature and achieve ecological balance. jiangbei new district, as a state-level new area in nanjing which government has focused on in recent years, sustainable development of urban environment should be considered before its design and construction. the convenience and effeciency are particularly important in designing and constructing roof gardens of newly built buildings and existing buildings in the area. therefore, this paper also discusses the integration technology of modular components for roof gardens and modular greening technology. 2. background 2.1. research on roof greening most of the world's population now lives in cities. so if we are to address the problems of environmental deterioration and peak oil adequately, the city has to be a major focus of attention (richard, 2006). with the highintensity and high-density development of land during the urbanization, green space is becoming smaller and smaller. "roof greening" is an effective way to solve the lack of public green space in urban central areas and improve the effectiveness of ecological greening. the implementation of "roof greening" construction will be conducive to http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ liu / the academic research community publication pg. 59 improving the ecological level of the city, purifying urban environment and upgrading the quality of the inhabited environment. accordingly, "roof greening" is not only an important part of city image, but also a significant manifestation of urban civilization, and a vital measure to build an ecological city. a green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. it may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems (vandermeulen, verspecht, vermeire, huylenbroeck & gellynck, 2011). green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater, providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, increasing benevolence and decreasing stress of the people around the roof by providing a more aesthetically pleasing landscape, and helping to lower urban air temperatures and mitigate the heat island heat island effect (vandermeulen et al., 2011) and decreasing stress of the people around the roof by providing a more aesthetically pleasing landscape, and helping to lower urban air temperatures and mitigate the heat island effect. green roofs create natural habitat as part of an urban wilderness.even in high-rise urban settings as tall as 19 stories, it has been found that green roofs can attract beneficial insects, birds, bees and butterflies. rooftop greenery complements wild areas by providing stepping stones for songbirds, migratory birds and other wildlife facing shortages of natural habitat. the area of urban roof occupies about one fifth of the urban area. if it is planned and utilized reasonably, the urban environment and greening will be improved significantly. presently, the field of roof greening in china is still in the development stage, and the technology needs improvement. in the process of urban development, the sustainable development, design and utilization have not been valued. therefore, the renovation plans of many roof gardens have been limited and influenced by the original roof structure. nowadays, modularized integrated roof gardens are carried out to adapt to the demand of urban roof development. currently, there are few feasibility studies on urban roof gardens acting as springboards for flying animals. research on the distribution of stepping stones can be used for designing urban greenways. 3. study object 3.1. design concept of jiangbei new district located in the north of the yangtze river, jiangbei new district (fig 1) is a state-level new area in nanjing. it consists of pukou district, liuhe district and bagua zhou street in qixia district. its total area is 2451 square kilometers, accounting for 37% of the area of nanjing. jiangbei new district is an important strategic fulcrum of east china. there are convenient highways, railways, waterways and aviation hubs. it is an important intersection between yangtze economic zone and east coastal economic zone, and it is an opening door of yangtze river delta radiating the midwest of china. the development orientation of jiangbei new district (fig 2) is a state-level demonstration area for industrial transformation and upgrading, new-type urbanization and open cooperation. it is also an important development figure 3 green axis of jiangbei new distract https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/roof https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/waterproofing#construction_waterproofing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/root_barrier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/drainage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/irrigation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/absorption_of_water https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rainwater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/building_insulation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/heat_island_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/heat_island_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/heat_island_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/habitat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/urban_wilderness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/habitat_destruction liu / the academic research community publication pg. 60 figure 4 three-dimensional traffic in jiangbei new district fulcrum of yangtze economic zone and yangtze river delta, as well as an important base for scientific and technological innovation and advanced industry in china. the northern service center and comprehensive transportation hub of nanjing metropolitan area; and the ecology of nanjing city. a suitable and relatively independent urban sub center. jiangbei new district is the northern service center and comprehensive transportation hub of nanjing, and a livable and relatively independent sub-center. the planning of the central area of jiangbei new district will integrate comprehensive services such as commercial business, cultural leisure, and tourism education. at present, according to the needs of urban development, many urban parks have been planned and designed between laoshan and the yangtze river, forming greenways between the two places. bird ecosphere in jiangbei new district facing the yangtze river and against laoshan national forest park, jiangbei new district has an excellent geographical location,and it is an undeveloped ecological community with high greening rate. there are settlements of various birds in this area. along the yangtze river, there are many migratory birds in the wetlands. laoshan national forest park, as the largest forest park in nanjing, has a large number of wild birds. to study the jump point effect of the roof garden, it is first necessary to research the species, flight distance and habitat of the birds in the area. according to the surveys, the main habitats of birds in jiangbei new district are areas as follows: the yangtze river wetland and lvshuiwanbay: snipes, lapwings and eophona migratoria harterts; laoshan: shiziling forest farm: minivets and brain-fever birds; egret garden: egrets, cattle egrets, chinese pond herons and herons; laoshan national forest park: cyanopica cyanuses, grey treepies, chinese bulbuls and masked laughingthrushes; railway forest farm: brain-fever birds, black-eared kites and tomtits; tangshan hot spring: yongning egrets; nanjing university of technology: mynas, barn swallows and cyanopica cyanuses; qilihe river: ceryle rudis, greater pied woodpeckers, daurian redstarts and tringa erythropuses; pukou campus of southeast university: thrushes, greater pied woodpeckers, magpie robins and tringa ochropuses; table 1.flight height and distance of birds. species flight height(m) flight distance(km) blackbird, brown headed brucea, black tailed waxbeak, great tit, grey magpie, grey tree magpie, bulbul, black faced noisy babbler <100 2.5~3 barn swallow >100 2.5~3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/heat_island_effect liu / the academic research community publication pg. 61 table 1 continued egret, cattle egret, pond egret, heron >100 >3 black-eared kite >1000 >3 it can be seen from the table that the flying height of most birds in pukou district does not exceed 100m. even if the flying height of birds like barn swallows exceeds 100m, the living range is also within 2.5 to 3km. as for large predatory birds, generally they have strong flight ability and have little demand for roof gardens. therefore, based on these information, a limited range of height for urban planning can be drawn to design roof gardens that allow birds to jump in the air. 4. analysis on urban spatial form based on roof gardens pukou new area is a belt space between laoshan and the yangtze river. jiangbei new district is an approximately square urban space between laoshan and pukou wharf. presently, in the urban design made by som, a green corridor (fig 3.) has been reserved between laoshan and the yangtze river. this green corridor is composed of several sshaped strip green spaces (fig 4.), and it interlaces with qilihe river, and other water systems, forming a good ecological circle. the core area has a central avenue from laoshan to figure 3 green corridor of pukou new area figure 4 s-shaped strip green spaces of pukou new area the yangtze river, which will become the main axis space in the future. in order to reduce the use of private cars and carbon emissions, transit-oriented development is adopted and 5-minute walking range of metro stations has been taken into consideration for deciding the development sites. from the previous urban space design made by som in 2015, it is difficult to form an aerial greenway because there are many landmark buildings on the central avenue with high height and high density. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/heat_island_effect liu / the academic research community publication pg. 62 however, along the s-shaped green corridor on both sides, there are many multi-storey, low-rise buildings, and highrise buildings no more than 100 meters. these buildings are suitable for the design of the roof gardens acting as jump points in the air. therefore, the green corridor is not only feasible on the ground, but also can be extended to the threedimensional space through the roof gardens. it can be concluded that the control of buildings on both sides of the green axis within 100 m is more suitable for the movement and migration of birds in the aerial garden. through bird activities in pukou district, the whole green area will be more ecological, and species diversity can be preserved in this strip space. similar green jumping points can be found between strip green corridors and rivers. the aerial green corridors composed of these corridors are not a single linear space, but a network space. and it is a space showing a multidimensional network. 5. modular technology of roof gardens the main disadvantage of green roofs is that the initial cost of installing a green roof can be double that of a normal roof (getter & rowe, 2006). traditional roof gardens, which require a reasonable depth of soil to grow large plants or conventional lawns, are considered intensive because they are labour-intensive, requiring irrigation, feeding, and other maintenance. intensive roofs are more park-like with easy access and may include anything from kitchen herbs to shrubs and small trees (“seattle department of planning and development”, 2008). under the demand of rapid construction, a modular design idea is needed. modular design is a combination of different forms of modules to create a variety of styles of space, just like building blocks. the modular roof garden has several features such as versatility, economical practicability, quick operability, safety and aesthetics. therefore, it has strong adaptability in the construction of the new buildings and the renovation of existing buildings in the new district. the following modular design methods are available: first point: plant landscape module: generally, the planting layer of roof gardens consists of these layers: vegetation layer, soillayer, blanket, drainage layer, water barrier, etc. in the process of arranging the roof garden module landscape plants, the lightweight root zone is explored, and the vegetation layer, the blanket and the drainage layer are combined in a modular way to form a system for water permeation, filtration, collection and conveying. as for plant selection, due to different geographical locations and climatic conditions, the selection criteria of roof garden plants should be adapted to local conditions. generally speaking, evergreen, slow-growing, shallow roots and moisture-tolerant plants are usually chosen for later management and maintenance. second point: artificial landscape module: the artificial landscape of roof gardens includes roads, squares, etc. when designing the roads of roof garden, lightweight, durable, ecological, environmentally-friendly and anti-skiding paving materials are usually taken into account combining with modular characteristics to coordinate with surrounding environment, and pursue an artistic effect of consise. meanwhile, there should be a good connection between artificial landscape and plant landscape. third point: facility module: when designing roof garden landscape, rainwater filtration and gathering system, solar drip irrigation system and solar lighting system are considered and applied in the facility module. the connection and transition between each module should be handled well. forth point: the modular planting method of roof gardens directly separates the relationship between the planting soil and the ground, which significantly reduces water-holding capacity of the soil. because of the lack of water storage, it is difficult for roof gardens to achieve water balence in a certain range of time. therefore, proper watering methods and advanced watering techniques are important guarantees for the greening effect of the roof garden. and so on, a number of light structures can be used in roof gardens to form a semi-enclosed roof space, which can provide birds with the possibility of nesting. 4. conclusion the arranging of roof gardens is very important for urban planning and design. an eco-city is not an existent form in which green spaces and buildings are in opposition to each other, but an urban design concept that aims at ecological https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/roof_garden liu / the academic research community publication pg. 63 balance and is oriented by a three-dimensional ecological circle. the sustainable development of cities needs balanced natural environment and appropriate policy guidance. jiangbei new district, as an important demonstration area in nanjing, has a certain demonstration effect on the urban design of the whole country and even the world. based on this demand and the city's own development characteristics, the design of the roof garden and its impact on urban design make more sense. through the data analysis and experiments of urban environment and ecosphere, as well as the concrete practice in urban design, establish an ecological “stepping stone” suitable for bird activities. acknowledgements in the design process of this paper, i am grateful to my school for giving me the opportunity to learn. during the study, the teacher gave meticulous guidance from the topic selection guide, the paper framework to the details, and put forward a lot of valuable opinions. it is recommended that the teacher has an important influence on me with his rigorous and realistic academic attitude, high professionalism, conscientious work, courageous work style and bold and innovative enterprising spirit. at the same time, i would like to thank the students who have helped me with my thesis writing, and help me when i am in trouble. i would like to thank you in the end. i would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the teachers who have taken time to review this article. references getter, k. l., & rowe, d. (2006). the role of extensive green roofs in sustainable development, hortscience, 41(5), 1276-1285. doi:10.21273/hortsci.41.5.1276. richard, r. (2006). ecocities:rebuilding cities in balance with nature (revised edition.). gabriola island: new society publishers. rodriguez, b. (2011). sustainability assessment of green infrastructure practices for stormwater management: a comparative emergy analysis. proquest dissertations publishing. umi number:150078. seattle department of planning and development (12 february 2007, 3 november 2008). city green building – green roofs. retrieved from http://www.seattle.gov/services-and-information/city-planning-and-development. vandermeulen, v., verspecht, a., vermeire, b., huylenbroeck, g. v., & gellynck, x. (2011). the use of economic valuation to create public support for green infrastructure investments in urban areas. landscape and urban planning, 103(2), 198–206. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.07.010 http://www.seattle.gov/services-and-information/city-planning-and-development http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 research paper received: 13 june 2023, accepted: 17 july 2023, published online: 31 july 2023 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i2.964 tourism in a unique destination: case study antarctica pelagia moloni msc student at university of thessaly, greece email: peggy.moloni@gmail.com abstract tourism in antarctica has been dynamically developed in recent decades, although it is located in a small geographical part of the continent. the main reason that visitors plan a trip to the destination when the opportunity is given is the natural landscape and wildlife. in addition, the overheating of the planet that causes ice to melt has enhanced the feeling of fear, as there is severe environmental concern for the coming years. space and seasonal exclusions make it even more special, and the tourist product that is offered by this continent is expensive and requires a lot of preparation. tourism activity in such a fragile environment has sparked several reactions in the past, mainly from the scientific community, which is the main recipient of the negative effects of tourism. furthermore, organized efforts have been made so that the offered product will promote more environmentally friendly trips that will affect the ecosystem as little as possible. the main objective of this research is to analyze this kind of tourism because of the need for new forms. the positive and negative impacts that tourism can have on the environment and the statistics on the arrivals and countries of origin of tourists in recent years are analyzed. moreover, the tourist packages that seem to be in the greatest demand among visitors are presented. the main research question of this paper is whether this destination can host intense tourism activity. following an extensive bibliographic review, the research makes it clear that the study area cannot support strong tourism activity, even though future tourism forecasts report an additional increase in arrivals. © 2023 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords antarctica, last chance tourism, expedition cruises, ecosystem 1. introduction when it comes to antarctic tourism, it is a rather recent phenomenon that takes place under certain circumstances. two of the main reasons for this destination’s footfall are its unique landscape and wild life. firstly, due to its location and extreme climate, the landscape is enveloped in mystery, enticing many visitors to explore it (bauer, 2013). moreover, antarctica is home to a sizable fauna (albatrosses, penguins, whales, etc.) that provides an element of intrigue for visitors, as well as various kinds of invertebrates, drawing the attention of ecologists and researchers (world travel guide, 2017). therefore, visitation motives correspond to a range of visitors’ needs, and the area’s unique attributes reinforce their desire to travel to antarctica. beside the reasons behind one’s wish to travel to antarctica and the trends influenced by consumers’ emerging needs, protecting the fragile natural environment of the area is paramount, as is making sure that any a ctivities held there have the smallest possible footprint (mason and legg, 1999). several organizations have been founded and deployed http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ moloni / the academic research community publication pg. 2 to this end, while the protocol on environmental protection, or madrid protocol of the antarctic treaty system has been in place since 1998 namely, the main body for biodiversity conservation and management, regulating, among others, tourist activity in the area (antarctic treaty, 2023). this area was selected due to its increasing tourist demand despite its "fragility", which intrigues many researchers. the research questions the present paper seeks to answer are the following: what is the environmental impact of tourist activity in antarctica? -is intense tourist activity possible in such a particular and eco-sensitive destination? 2. literature review technological advancements, increased leisure time, new social and consumption standards, and the shift towards traditional life and nature, coupled with the pursuit of an alternative lifestyle, are the pivotal factors contribu ting to the development of special forms of tourism (kokkosis et al., 2011). the latter lead to the emergence of new destinations and experiences, as well as new tourist demands (george et al., 2009). tourism in very particular destinations is a category of special forms of tourism and is comprised by people or groups wishing to explore a destination that is relatively hard to access and demonstrates several particularities (lee and bai, 2016). this genre was created by the desire of potential visitors to partake in an activity or their interest in an area or destination (douglas and derret, 2001). tourists who choose to visit a particular destination are a rather niche market, as they are interested not just in the area but also in the broader experience (rittichainuwat, 2018).tourist activity and the antarctic 2.1.1 origins and historical context during the 1950s, ships arriving from argentina and chile brought passengers to the south shetland islands, their number exceeding 500. in 1966, businessman lars-eric lindblad started embarking on exploration voyages, which also had an educational function, with a group of tourists (palmowski, 2020). cruise tourism began in 1969 with lindblad explore, which was exclusively designed to transport tourists to antarctica (headland, 2009). the collapse of the soviet union boosted cruise tourism as icebreakers and special soviet navy ships were chartered to relevant companies (molenaar, 2005). the periods 2006-2007 and 2008-2009, golden and star princess arrived in antarctica respectively, carrying 3,700 passengers. the aviation industry took off in 1957 with pan american world airways and the first tourist flight to the area’s mainland, while in 1959 linea aerea nacional carried 66 passengers to the south shetland islands. in 1977, australia and new zealand operated short overflights over antarctica (bauer, 2007). more frequent flights began in the 1980s by chilean air to king george island. flights for the rest of the accessible mainland areas of antarctica began at the end of the same decade by adventure network international (headland, 2009). today, the largest part of tourist expeditions to antarctica are carried out by sea (antarctica flights, 2022). 2.1.2 last chance tourism one of the gravest consequences of climate change is the melting of ice sheets, causing sea levels to rise, along with fears for the future sinking of islands. this draws visitors to destinations such as antarctica, greenland, alaska, and tuvalu, as people want to see them before they vanish (eijgelaar et al., 2010). this kind of tourism has been heavily criticized and has been labeled "climate tourism", "extinction tourism", "disaster tourism", "climate sightseeing," and "climate disaster tourism" (leahy 2008, salkin 2007, gras-dijkstra 2009). according to stewart et al. (2009), "last chance tourism" was first used as a term to describe the increasing tourist demand for the glaciers. some operators have acknowledged the potential impact of tourist activity on the fragile environment of these destinations; however, others consider it an opportunity to raise awareness. specifically, the antarctic and arctic regions have become more accessible due to climate change, as melting ice allows tourists to put some areas, now accessible by cruise liners, on their destination lists (gossling and hall, 2005). the visitors’ motivation to travel there is to experience nature, to explore, to learn, to have an adventure, and to a smaller degree, to relax (eijgelaar et al., 2010). moloni / the academic research community publication pg. 3 2.1.3 expedition cruises cruise tourism is one of the main forms of special tourism and contains various sub -categories. according to diakomihalis (2009: 147), cruise tourism combines transportation, f&b services, culture, leisure tourism, and entertainment on board in just one voyage. special expedition cruises is a subcategory of cruise tourism; this genre is carried out mainly in areas like alaska, antarctica and north pole, which is why a lot of people call them "adventure cruises" (should be cruising, 2022). this particular subcategory involves smaller vessels (20 to 500-passenger capacity), most of which are designed to weather the particular conditions of the area. their small size allows them to reach areas impossible to access by larger cruise liners. even though any tourist activity im pacts the host area in some way, this type of travel has a minimal environmental footprint. moreover, higher sustainability is achieved when travelers are required to attend seminars and expert round tables during their trip. 2.2 statistical data arrivals in antarctica have been increasing over the years. the period 1989–1990 saw the visitors reach 2,500, while according to figure 1, in 2008–2009, tourist arrivals rose to 37,000 and in 2019–2020, they exceeded 74,000 (iaato, 2020). this percentage is expected to increase in the following years, even though it came to a halt due to the covid19 pandemic. it is worth mentioning that in 2020, tourism in the area was not significantly impacted, as the tourist season lasts up until february. figure 1: progression of arrivals over time regarding visitor profiles, in the early 2000s, antarctica’s tourist market was primarily north american, australian, and european (bauer, 2001). as seen in figure 2, this remains relatively consistent in the tourist period 2019–2020, except for the addition of china, which follows the usa at the top. moloni / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 2: visitors’ origin countries for 2019-2020 3. methodology the present study is a combination of methodological approaches, namely a case study and content analysis. specifically, the method used was secondary research for the theoretical framework and the case study, as the latter was based on obtained information and third-party sources, such as books, scientific articles, and statistics. through the literature review, we try to answer the aforementioned research questions based on a critical analysis of existing published work (literature reviews, empirical, and theoretical research). 4. results in 1991, iaato (international association of antarctica tour operators) was founded as a membership organization promoting eco-friendly tourism through guidelines. this organization advocates responsible travel to antarctica with a minimal or zero footprint, and it has put in place a series of measures all visitors are obligated to conform to. those traveling by ship have to participate in educational seminars on the rules applied on land as well as the distance they have to keep from the local fauna. moreover, a limit has been imposed on the number of passengers and the duration of visits; the consumption of food and alcohol, as well as smoking have also been forbidden. during breeding seasons, some areas are off-limits. today, they cooperate with more than 100 m embers, including governments, scientists, travel agencies, companies, and ngos (iaato, 2022). regular monitoring is carried out, which enables a thorough assessment of the impact of tourist activity (frame et al., 2021). 4.1 positive impact though the environment is the main receiver of touristic activity, there are other benefits from antarctic travel which, as we shall see, are long-term. according to powell et al. (2008), tourists who visited antarctica saw an improvement in their environmental attitudes as they became more aware of environmental protection and were informed on relevant issues. therefore, iaato’s initial objective is achieved; visitors return home as advocates of antarctic ecology. moreover, a large number of these visitors become more interested in environmental protection and natural resource conservation in their day-to-day lives. the aforementioned research showed that, after taking an antarctic trip, visitors actively participate in charity events regarding environmental protection a nd conservation in general. today, experts claim that we must prioritize the maximization of positive impact and develop methods to turn antarctic tourists to advocates of antarctic conservation (zeppel and muloin 2008, alexander et al. 2020). according to snyder (2007:5), tourism can be used to not only turn visitors into ‘ambassadors’ for the protection of the visited regions but also into supporters of conservation activities and organizations worldwide . properly educating visitors on ecological matters can convey the importance of the area for the larger ecosystem. moloni / the academic research community publication pg. 5 4.2 negative impact concerns arise from the growing scale of tourist activity and its future consequences. many have deemed decision making and implementation to be rather weak, as many of the regulations are not legally binding (enzenbacher, 2007). visitors unintentionally bring in bacteria, which destroy the area’s ecological equilibrium (huiskes et al., 2014). moreover, tourist activities affect the lives of organisms, seeing that quite often the breeding period coincides with the arrival of tourists; thus, their populations are diminishing (leaper and miller 2011, barbosa et al. 2021). regarding air travel, the increase in the frequency of routes due to increased demand, the cruise lines’ d etermination to obtain access to ever more areas, as well as global issues such as climate change and pollution, give rise to growing fears, as future consequences have not been studied extensively in recent years (lei et al. 2020, tejedo et al. 2022). fin ally, there are major concerns regarding the prospective demand for construction in the area, which will lead to the deterioration of the natural landscape (liggett et al., 2011). 4.3 tourist product tourist activities take place from november to february, since the rest of the year the area is inaccessible by ship due to sea ice (verbitsky, 2014). antarctica is not an easily accessible destination, which is why the scale of tourism there is small in relation to the size of the continent and touristic activ ities are concentrated in specific locations (vila et al., 2016). arctic tourism requires extensive preparation, like special permits, proper clothing, experienced staff, and logistical support, as any kind of oversight or weather change can result in the trip being cancelled. tourist activities are concentrated on the antarctic peninsula and the islands off the western coast (neumann, 2020). 98% of the services provided to visitors are different kinds of cruises. they vary in duration, level of comfort, and accessibility, while their range of activities is also emphasized (figure 1). certain cruises provide seminars by experts, while others provide access to hard-to-reach areas (antarctic treaty consultative meeting, 2022). cruises aboard small or medium-size vessels provide activities such as scuba diving, water skiing, rafting, and camping, while larger cruises provide landscape views from the deck or the coast. ships operating in the area are categorized as follows (palmowski, 2009): -ya: 12-passenger yachts -c1 class 1: 13 to 200-passenger ships -c1 class 2: 201 to 500-passenger ships -cr: vessels with a capacity of more than 500 passengers table 1: tourist activities 2018-2019 table 1: tourist activities 2018-2019 column a (t) tourist activity percentage driving small boats/zodiacs 41.6% small boat cruise 25% ship cruise 18.1% rafting 3.4% exploring 2.9% pollar plung 1.2% snowshoeing 0.9% hiking 0.7% moloni / the academic research community publication pg. 6 water skiing 0.6% camping 0.6% scuba diving 0.4% bird watching 0.4% other 2.1% total 100% source: antarctica tourism (2020), processed by researcher trips to antarctica usually last 8–25 days, and the cost varies from €4,500 to €20,000. the most commonly used ports of departure are those in buenos aires and ushuaia in argentina and in punta arenas in chile. in recent years, the indian tourist market has selected this area as a honeymoon destination. the top two tourist packages are the antarctic explorer: discovering the 7th continent and the south georgia and antarctic peninsula: penguin safari, lasting 11 and 16 days, respectively. both trips share the element of educational activities on board (seminars and presentations by experts) as well as the observation of rare animal species from a safe distance (quark expeditions, 2022). 5. conclusions antarctic tourism has been severely criticized, mainly by the scientific community, since it used to be one of the few places on earth still intact. today, the area presently studied has lost this element, as more and more tourists had been visiting it every year up until the outbreak of covid-19. tourism in this area is highly seasonal and concentrated in more easily accessible areas with unique natural and historical attributes. it is estimated at less than 0.5% of the continent, mainly around the antarctic peninsula. the area’s uniqueness makes it increasingly enticing to tourist markets, which is why tourism there is continuously growing. one of the most serious modern challenges antarctica faces is effective tourism development planning and the comprehensive monitoring of tourist traffic. the studied area cannot support intense tourist activity. knowledge on tourism’s impact is steadily growing, but the quantification of its contribution remains largely unknown. the precise determination of t he impact of tourism on the area is an ambitious and complex endeavor. it requires an approach combining long-term impact monitoring and short-term experimental studies to detect any negative impact of antarctic tourism. uncontrollable tourism growth can have irreversible effects on the environment. however, it is rather optimistic that many measures taken to restrict human activity are now policy-oriented and therefore mandatory. monitoring tourism is of vital importance for the continent. iaato and the other organizations and travel agencies it works with are making an effort to promote packages with ever-lower environmental impacts through the measures they implement. the atlantic treaty is dedicated to the protection of the environment and science. educa tion is a prerequisite for any and every visit, thanks to iaato’s work. informed travel contributes to a deeper understanding of the objective, the need, and the responsibility of tourism for the continent’s protection. this is why the activities provided are designed to impact the local fauna as little as possible, and access to high reproduction rates is not allowed. 6. discussion in recent years, significant progress has been made in understanding the environmental impacts of antarctic tourism, which is largely reflected in the measures that have been implemented. however, it seems that all accessible areas are a landing point for visitors. an exception is the inaccessible south georgia island, where it is the most breeding area, most species are found there, and monitoring is done remotely. it is proposed to adopt similar policies in other areas, especially during breeding seasons. according to iaato (2023), more than 50 cruise ships are approved to sail in antarctica for the 2022–2023 season. this ranges from expedition ships to ocean ships from mainstream cruise moloni / the academic research community publication pg. 7 lines that operate scenic cruising along the antarctic peninsula. therefore, the number of ships that can visit the area is controlled every year in order to protect and preserve it. the present research does not propose a limitation on the number of these but a limitation on their size, as until today it seems that all categories of ships that visit antarctica can approach at close range. as a consequence, it is considered necessary to limit the large ships to a safe distance and to transport visitors inland with smaller ones. human activities in antarctica were increasing before the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, and tourism was no exception. furthermore, the pandemic due to the temporary suspension of research and tourism activities, created an opportunity to re-evaluate the tourism activity and examine the tourism pressure, something that unfortunately did not happen. however, it seems that the return of tourist activity did not have chan ges in terms of observing the measures and restrictions with the pre-pandemic period. today, further scientific research on the effects of tourist activity in the study area is deemed necessary as its quantification remains unknown. acknowledgments not applicable. funding this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not -for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval not applicable. conflict of interest the author declare no conflict of interst. references alexander, k.a., liggett, d., leane, e., nielsen, h.e.f., bailey, j.l, brasier, m.j., haward, m. 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(2008). conservation benefits of interpretation on marine wildlife tours. human dimensions of wildlife . vol. 13 280294. 10.3727/154427308787716802 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.01.038 https://iaato.org/about-iaato/our-mission/ https://iaato.org/information-resources/data-statistics/visitor-statistics/visitor-statistics-downloads/ https://iaato.org/information-resources/data-statistics/visitor-statistics/visitor-statistics-downloads/ https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102011000708 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.06.019 http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/me.2020.118106 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2010.03.005 https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)0733-9364(2005)131:3(343) https://doi.org/10.1080/2154896x.2021.1911764 http://dx.doi.org/10.30892/gtg.334spl11-602 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247408007456 https://www.quarkexpeditions.com/expeditions/antarctic-explorer-discovering-the-7th-continent https://www.quarkexpeditions.com/expeditions/south-georgia-and-antarctic-peninsula-penguin-safari https://shouldbecruising.com/2020/09/14/what-is-an-expedition-cruise/ https://doi.org/10.1080/01426390600783111 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114634 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s003224741200071x https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.12.061 https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/antarctica/antarctica/ http://dx.doi.org/10.3727/154427308787716802 pg. 68 international journal on: the academic research community publication http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) quality of life indicators in sustainable urban areas ahmed abunazel1, yasmin hammad2, mohamed abd alaziz3, essam gouda3, wagdy anis4 1phd researcher at faculty of engineering, department of urban planning, al azhar university, egypt 2teacher assistant at the faculty of urban and regional planning, department of urban design, cairo university, egypt 3professor dr. at faculty of engineering, department of urban planning, al azhar university, egypt. 4professor dr. at ain shams university, faculty of engineering, electrical engineering department, egypt. abstract quality of life is a concept that has been discussed recently in various studies, as a response to many problems facing the compacted cities, all over the world as well as in egypt. the purpose of this paper is to concentrate mainly on the concept of urban quality of life, it has a multi-dimensional and complex issue, the framework of this study is to find the (missing available urban quality of life indicators) in compacted cities. although, there were design concepts of sustainable urban form in (high-density residential areas) with mixed land uses, which have a high degree of social interaction, this paper also aims to facilitate the participation of urban authorities in process of measuring, and analyzing the urban quality of life with providing an extra element for design concepts of a sustainable urban area such as greening & renewable energy. the study is beneficial for who interested in the field of sustainable development, and it gives indicators such as (gdp) (gross domestic product) which help the simi sustainable areas to be a more efficient with urban quality of life indicators. gdp is highly useful for measuring marketing production and providing an indicative snapshot of an economy at a given time, this research uses the descriptive analytical and statistical approach to identify a quality of life indicators through study the interrelationships environmental, social, economic and physical elements applying on compacted egyptian cities. finally, to raise the value of benefit from the resources and sustainable development within the compacted residen tial areas to get the required indicators of quality of urban life and managed. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords quality of life; quality of life indicators; sustainable urban areas; semi sustainable urban areas; compacted cities; social interaction; urban form; (gdp) (gross domestic product) 1. introduction quality of life indicators in egypt are important to measuring the results of the community development plan. doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.503 http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ pg. 69 abunazel / the academic research community publication because all of development indicators are not just income, but also the quality aspects of life, the research trying to cover and prove this issue. quality of life does not only mean economic development, but also social and environmental development of individuals. among the indicators that measure the success of quality of life in egypt, that identifying the available employment opportunities and income levels to be appropriate with the basic needs of families. providing the adequate housing with healthy environment and an economic constituent that help families and individuals to rely on themselves and acquire self-sufficiency skills. in this paper, the study focuses on these elements, which contribute to raising the quality of life for individuals at the selected study area, through establishment the small projects such as surface’s agriculture by using the appropriate climatic conditions, also reuse the waste areas in the roofs of buildings, this project will be funded by the cooperation with local banks that are finance and help to provide payment facilities introduced to participating families. 2. definitions 1. quality of life: keeping or improving the quality of life (qol) is a basic target for the many activities in the life. many aspects of life contribute significantly to improving the quality of life factor at overall such as employment, health, rela tionships, friends, and income as well as the environments in which we live. ”the rangs of the life”, the fields of interest in this issue is ”qol in urban areas” (the ability to live in the urban environments). many studies had found that satisfaction with living especially the living at urban areas, involves a great deal of synergy and integration of all the previous elements in a total. (rodrik & sinclair, 2007). 2. quality of life indicators in egypt: (mostafa, 2008) there are four fields are represented as a pillars of quality of life, economic, social, environmental and urban zones. the quality of life measurement through its indicators, which were selected in accordance with the reality of egypt situation, so the distribution of these indicators according to the criteria to be mentioned as follows: – economic standard: including the following objectives: provide employment opportunities, reduce the unemployment rate, increase annual income, increase economic activities. – social standard: including the following objectives: ensure good health, learning, safety of community and social integration. – urban standard: including the following objectives: land use consensus, provide adequate housing, accessibility & transition, availability of services. – environmental standard: including the following objectives improving air and water quality, rational management of resources, also efficient waste management. 3. sustainable urban areas: sustainable urban areas, it is the areas that can accommodate the current and future needs of residents of resi dential settlements, they have four pillars that would enhance the sustainability of cities: i) social development, pg. 70 abunazel / the academic research community publication ii) environmental protection, iii) economic development, and iv) effective urban governance, including various examples for each pillar as shown in the following figure, (pisano, lepuschitz & berger, 2014). figure 1. sustainable cities (pisano, lepuschitz & berger, 2014) 4. semi sustainable urban areas: these areas which have a number of urban support’s features that would enhance the sustainability of the existing urban settlements. these areas are most of the ability to be a sustainable areas at the future, because it has a group of design concepts of sustainable urban form such as compactness, mixed land uses, ability for the greening. design concepts of sustainable urban form: (jabareen , 2011) – the thematic analysis has identified seven concepts significant themes for the urban form: – 1.compactness,2.sustainabletransport, 3.density,4. mixed land uses, 5. diversity,6. passive solar design, 7. greening. 5. (gdp) gross domestic product: (measuring gdp & economic growth it is the market value of all final products and services that were produced in a country at the specific period of time,this definition has a following parts: marketing value, final products, and services that were produced within a country, in specific period of time. (wyatt, 2014) recall: gdp is total spending : (y = c + i + g + nx) ) ,consumption (c) ,investment (i) ,government purchases (g) net exports (nx) (wyatt, 2014) 3. methodology there are design concepts of sustainable urban form at the (high-density residential areas) with mixed land uses, which has a high degree of the social interaction, which help to find the lost quality of life indicators and provide additional elements of sustainable design concepts such as greening. the research suggests to adding renewable energy tools such as solar energy by using the solar cells under the (passive solar design) as one of the practical tools to maximize the usage of the solar radiation, especially in case of conversion of existing buildings to be based on passive solar design the following: the research uses the greening and renewable energy under the umbrella of quality of life indicators according to (economic, social, urban and environmental criteria). therefore, the research examine the case of (semi-sustainable areas) that is content of the basics of sustainability elements, that are involved in design concepts of sustainable urban design such as the (high density residential pg. 71 abunazel / the academic research community publication areas with mixed-land use). the research measure the ability of the above-mentioned sustainability elements to make a significant addition and the possibility of making changes in the gross domestic product (gdp) applying on the community that research is studied using the following tools: – using a (random sample) selection method, in the buildings that will be used within the group of buildings, that are generalized the experience of the surfaces to be cultivated in the field of greening surfaces, also using those buildings for the creation of (small solar stations). – applying the questionnaire method to obtain data for the (study area), to get information about numbers of households, the average size of the household, also their economic activities and the individuals jobs types which are support these families. – taking into account the ownership types of housing units, and the ability of the population to use the resi dential buildings roofs, also the ability of this social sector to deal with for use roofs that upper their homes, such as farms for the production of vegetables, and some types of fruits, because these projects lead and generate a very good revenue from profits at the short term, to increase annual household income. – the research uses another questionnaire focusing on the ability of the population, how can them deal with bank financing, whether private or governmental banks to finance these types of projects, and which way the population would prefer to get the returns. – also, the research use a questionnaire, about the population satisfaction to manage these projects with formal ways to ensure the sustainability and success, finally the research use questionnaire for the willingness of the population to learn the different methods of agriculture and horticulture and professional competence to manage these activities. – the results of the questionnaire on social factors will be analyzed as one of the important points. – the research uses gis to analyze the important results that the research is expected to achieve, from the gdp forecast and the optimal utilization of semi-sustainable areas. – finally, the research will reach the important conclusion that help to find the missing indicators of quality of life those were existed at the semi-sustainable urban areas, also the research recommendations for the future research at the same field. 4. the selected tools of design concepts for sustainable urban form which be enhance (qol): 4.1. the greening: buildings roofs are very important whence their relationship with thermal comfort and energy conservation for both inside building and in the surrounding area. so the greening of buildings roofs can be relied upon as an easy and effective strategy to beautify the built environ ment and increase investment opportunities, help to address the shortage of green spaces in urban areas, it is one of the ways of sustainability, also one of the characteristics of the negative design of the roofs, but the green roofs need to isolate the buildings surfaces by the different ways of roofs solutions, especially at the rain areas, by the way, many of arab cities are suffered from weakness in the production of agricultural crops, the fact is that food is not readily available (attia & mahmoud, 2009). greening, in our research has many definition sides, the research spot’s points are on the agriculture roof greening to catch more benefits from the urban components, to add a physical values to the daily life of the populations for the reaches for the missing available urban quality of life pg. 72 abunazel / the academic research community publication indicators, the fast-growing population and the failing of government’s approaches for housing, spatial planning policies solutions that were leaded to the growth of informal settlements inside and around the city center. cairo city is considered that is the most populous city with a population of 22 million, also it is the most polluted in the middle east, therefore, the fao helps people produce their own organic crops and generate the income. (fao regional office for near east and north africa, 2017). 8 million people live in informal settlements, suffering with the unemployment, pollution, overcrowding, inacces sible to water and sewage networks, and the shortage of open spaces at the urban areas that used as a serve and safe, healthy spaces. at the city of cairo, the average green area is about 0.33 square meters per person (3.5 square feet) and it is one of the lowest greening areas’ percentage around the world. the importance of using the building’s roofs is to increase the green area spaces inside the city. (attia & mahmoud, 2009), by using the small investments, the surface agriculture can contribute to improving the quality of life for the families, also provide the healthy food for them, increasing the income of these families, in, also contributing to improving the environment in the urban areas, at the city of cairo, the government and citizens recognized the problem of pollution and the consequent pollution of food and the spread of diseases, ain shams university in the early nineties developed an initiative to grow organic vegetables, for high-density population in egypt, the experiment was circulated on a small scale; until it was formally adopted in 2001 by fao. there are many successful examples that are overseen by ngos, public institutions, and others. figure 2. comparison of density, greening, food production & urban forest between cairo, new york city & vancouver (attia & mahmoud, 2009) figure 3. greening roof in unformed residential zone (attia & mahmoud, 2009) pg. 73 abunazel / the academic research community publication in the district of (al-zawiya al-hamra at cairo city, a roof farm was constructed of wooden containers containing of plastic sheets filled with algae. the agricultural drainage water was moved through small plastic hoses to special buckets and produced the paper crops such as parsley, carrots. the cost of constructing a square meter using this method is about le 400 (attia & mahmoud, 2009). 4.1.1. the selected roof agriculture types: 4.1.1.1. containers roof agriculture method: this is a good way to use local raw materials and resources for the agriculture container industry. the following is a presentation of hong kong’s experience: hong kong is witnessing the recent demand for agriculture over roofs of buildings, this is mainly due to fear of foods contamination, these farms held on rooftops are for solving many problems experienced by a society increasingly divided which in the proportion of the elderly population are rising. hong kong’s society is divided into social strata like most cities, it is citizens are linked and divided into groups of close colleagues and friends, and each group often lives in isolation from other groups, the team leader of these projects hopes to help farms that are held over the surfaces to dissolve the differences between classes. to achieve this, the team is trying, for example, to invite farmers who live in the surrounding areas to visit the city, in order to teach employees agricultural methods, hoping that this valuable information remains valid for next future generations, and spread among people of a community.” figure 4. farm built on the surface of the tower, “bank of america” hong kong (containers roof agriculture method, 2017) on the other hand, farmers receive wages for planting seedlings of farms above the roofs, thereby providing them with a stable source of income to protect them from market fluctuations. this initiative may seem simple, but it may contribute to the link between two different groups of the population that link never occur between them in usual. the team also includes the hearing impaired and disabled people, who contribute to communicating with nature to improve their health. the problem is that older people do not find a suitable place for a walk. they spend most of their time on the streets, especially low-income people. it is better to spend their time on surfaces, is not it? knowing that the lite activates and sociability in a regular manner are of the best. the farms that are held on the surfaces have another advantage, which it isolates heat and sound, and thus save energy consumed by air conditioners in the building. pg. 74 abunazel / the academic research community publication trying to convince ways to protect against dementia. the government to look into account the farms that are held on rooftops as acceptable uses of surfaces. it is included in the urban planning of the city. figure 5. hong kong weather is ideal for vegetables cultivation throughout the year. (containers roof agriculture method, 2017) from this case we find these results : 1. it is much better for us to plant the roofs of our homes, to prevent the accumulation of garbage and scrap on the surfaces that help the spread of contamination& infections, this is one of the most effective forms of community safety because of its health benefits role. 2 the initiative to convert the building’s roof at some areas are working to clean the environment and represent these small projects a source of income can be implemented using simple local materials. 3the experience of surface cultivation has become small projects that can be carried out by different groups of society, such as young people, housewives, and people with special needs, and students in leisure and vacations, which invest their spare time in a useful way. in addition to production medical plants and aromatic plants, generates income for the family, and raises the standard of living and quality of life. another case in cairo, with the greening cairo’s roofs with nutritious vegetables and fruits: mr. latif experiment, he planted these types of plants such as eggplant, spinach, cabbage, oranges, mandarins, dill, parsley, tomato, lettuce and, occasionally, and he kept his plants from the birds that may feed on them using a scarecrow wearing traditional egyptian dress. mr. latif collects his fruits and vegetables after the plants have matured which he proudly sells on a small stand in front of the building t o residents and passersby who have been his friends for a years. roof agriculture was begun a few years ago, because that the main problem is that people at suburbs were not eating enough healthy fruits and vegetables and their diets were pretty poor in nutrients, so the egyptian government launched a program encouraging roof agriculture to get people to grow and eat their own food. figure 6. (fao regional office for near east and north africa, 2017). pg. 75 abunazel / the academic research community publication the program is designed primarily for poor families in cairo and alexandria, it aims to facilitate the production and consumption of fresh vegetables, to be have ensuring of a stable income for families and women who adopted this method quickly and enthusiastically. (fao regional office for near east and north africa, 2017). fao has trained 48 families on the use of various agricultural techniques, such as aquaculture systems, fruit, and vegetable. the cultivation techniques are means to teach families what is known as green production and pest control tech niques by reducing or preventing the use of pesticides. a number of other families have used non-conventional containers for growing herbs and vegetables, as well as in water tanks, such as used truck tires, all in the presence of an irrigation system. (fao regional office for near east and north africa, 2017). by using surface agriculture and their development ways, there are a good proportion of green areas can be reached in a short period of time, equivalent to 4 square meters per person. (attia & mahmoud, 2009). the populations at the studying area realized the importance of roof agriculture in obtaining healthy and seasonal food using the minimum fertilizer, in addition to the emergence of the environmental benefits of this type of agriculture. a city like cairo needs to purify also help surface gardens to reduce the temperature by 8 to 10 and recently contributed to this experience by one of the international ngos, and provided tables, positions, containers and other inputs such as seeds, soil, fertilizers, irrigation systems and other tools and has made a condition for funding the project that the population works in this type of farming for at least two years. (fao regional office for near east and north africa, 2017). 4.1.1.2. aquaponics method: the aquaponic method is based on the creation of a healthy environment for several organisms, plants, fish and beneficial bacteria in one environmental and productive system through what is known as nitrification process as follows: 1. bypassing the water of the fish tank through the filters and then into the areas designated for agriculture (agri cultural ponds) and then returning the water back to its tank. 2. the filters purify the water from the fish waste. one of the filters (mechanical filter) removes the solid waste and then passing through the bio filter removes the dissolved waste. 3. bio filters provide the ideal environment for bacteria to convert fish-damaging ammonia to nitrate, a nutrient that is easier to absorb in plants. 4. after absorbing the dissolved nutrients in the water, the water returns to the aquarium again. from the above, plant nutrients are provided from a sustainable, cost-effective and non-chemical source. agriculture with the use of aquaponic technology is complex and requires significant start-up costs, therefore it is necessary to have a surplus of production, which is equivalent to the high costs of investment in this type of technology, which is necessary for the integration of the two systems, which necessitates the development of a full work plan that takes into account economic, environmental, social and logistical aspects. (food and agriculture organization of the united nations rome, 2014). pg. 76 abunazel / the academic research community publication figure 7. simple aquaponic unit (food and agriculture organization of the united nations rome, 2014). -aquaponic education units: small-scale practical lectures are being held in various educational institutions and civil society organizations, the importance of the aquaponics system as a means of bridging the gap in food crops and consistent sustainable activities such as rainwater harvesting, nutrient recycling and organic food production can be integrated in the lesson plans. in addition, this integrated nature of agriculture with the aquaponics system provides practical experience for training in widly fields as anatomy, physiology, and other practical sciences associated with the same scientific activity. (food and agriculture organization of the united nations rome, 2014). figure 8. combined aquaponic unit for educational purposes. (a) nutrient film technique; (b) media bed; (c) deepwater culture; (d) fish tank (food and agriculture organization of the united nations rome, 2014). -the case in egypt brought by agriculture engineer (zakria rateb) had a good experience in the roof agriculture, as the figure 4 shows, he uses a different ways to get the most efficient of the roofs areas, and the irrigation & planting pots, he pointed out that the surfaces’ agriculture have many benefits, including clearing the surface from the waste, as well as spreading the culture of children’s education to rely on the use of fresh vegetables, also supervision and learning how to plant, to obtain crops free of reliance on the use of chemical fertilizers and contaminated water. also the irrigation and drainage systems are safe and reliable in the production of paper crops and vegetables, he published this experience through ngos and experimented with it on the roofs of one of the schools and succeeded greatly. the technologies by names(hydroponic & aquaponic systems) are expensive at the starting step, but when are built and operated, they generate significant returns afterwards, and they are more safe because there is one fixed tank for the irrigation (hydroponic & aquaponic systems, extra news, 2017). pg. 77 abunazel / the academic research community publication figure 9. (aquaponic system case). (hydroponic &aquaponic systems, extra news, 2017) 4.1.1.3. hydroponics method (soil-less agriculture system): soil-less culture is the method of growing without the use of soil, replace the soil with various inert growing media, irrigation systems are integrated within these media, this solution provides all the necessary nutrients for plant growth. hydroponics is the most common method of soil-less culture for the following points : 1. the growing of plants either on a substrate or in an aqueous medium with bare roots. 2. controlling the soil-borne pests and diseases by avoiding the contact between plants and soil. 3. some substrates are more useful than soil, particularly in water-holding capacity and oxygen supply at the root zone. 4. help users to improve plant performance through the control increase for over several crucial factors of plant growth. 5. nutrients availability at plant roots is better manipulated, monitored and real-time controlled. 6. in addition with the rising in demand for chemicaland pesticide-free produce and more sustainable agricultural practices (food and agriculture organization of the united nations rome, 2014). at egypt, mr. amr bassiouny decided to think outside the box in the hope of finding a way out of this predica ment and boosting the agricultural industry in general, after a period of intensive self-study of farming systems, bassiouny, with the help of his partner adel el shentenawy, founded one of egypt’s first hydroponic farms, egyp pg. 78 abunazel / the academic research community publication tian hydrofarms became a boon for those who look for affordable healthy and pesticide-free leafy greens. hydroponics is a farming method that depends entirely on water instead of soil to grow plants, plants can get the required mineral nutrients directly from the (ph-balanced water), such as this farming systems are environmentally friendly, it does not use chemical pesticides and above all save approximately 95% of the water wasted in traditional farming. egyptian hydrofarms, seeds are placed in pots to freely grow, the (nutrient-rich water) is pumped through pipes, ”we adopt the nutrient film technique” it is a hydroponic system by which the necessary dissolved nutrients are delivered to the plants bare roots through gullies or channels. figure 10. ( basiony, 2017) by using this system, that they became able to grew a wide range of leafy greens in the same greenhouse, the lettuce, and herbs in general are cool-weather crops, so they flourish in winter and spring. in the summer, these leafy crops grow hydroponically in egyptian hydrofarms’ greenhouses, traditional farming relies on water and soil, in egypt, water sources are either polluted due to the drainage water being pumped into the nile, also the soil helps insects, therefore, farmers resort to chemical pesticides to get rid of them, this negatively affects food safety. all these factors along with the threats of global warming put traditional farming at stake, the farms’ produce can be found in many stores in egypt, gaining more popularity among consumers, ”i think the local market is saturated and our products successfully managed to cover the domestic demand,” as he said. the farm’s staff totals nearly 20 people, including college graduates and undergraduates, the majority of them are graduates. ”having previous experience in farming is not among our criteria for selection:( basiony, 2017) 4.2. greening concept at the research it is unfortunate that so many green roofs are not built for accessibility, because inaccessibility prevents the real ization of a great deal of rooftop potential. the green roofs serve many impressive environmental functions, but without accessibility to roofs, the food secu rity benefits are lost, the inaccessibility of green roofs, of course, makes sense with cost constraints and liability concerns, where people have created a rooftop garden system that they can build out of local materials, repair and maintain themselves, as in senegal, india.( nowak, 2004). 1. greening using buildings roof agriculture is one of the most direct means of increasing the green areas within the urban tissue of the urban form. pg. 79 abunazel / the academic research community publication 2. the crops that are cultivated can have a good income, especially in developing and needy communities. 3. these roofs can be used in the aromatic and medicinal plants agriculture, which generate a great return through the export of these products for the outside, especially used in the manufacture of cosmetics and others. 4. using the engineering solutions at the action area, to solve & mange the various agricultural processes which can be carried out, both the production and marketing of products, also their transition from the surface without any intersection between the inhabitants transportations & products transports. 5. it is important to use local production materials, more popular materials that are used for insulation cages and containers supply agricultural products, also use the organic household waste as organic fertilizer. 6. establishing leading local companies with high training in the management and marketing of agricultural prod ucts under the supervision of the competent authorities and agencies in order to ensure the continuity of projects and their success. 7. the important to choose one of housing type (middle income housing type), and the management depends on banks or to a ministry, to ensure that the feasibility of the proposed practical experience implementation will be exist. 8. the (gdp) will be directly target to improve the income of the population, and their living conditions directly after tax deduction and operating expenses of the management, marketing companies, which ultimately represents a significant addition to the (gdp). 9. it is better to use small agricultural crops, especially with relatively fast life cycles 10. the surface that will use as a cultivation project need to check the building structure situation, also check the isolation methods too. 11. cultivation of surfaces is one of the most important ways to achieve food security especially in slums, fresh vegetables can be obtained without the burden of transport costs, crop labor and retail profit margins, they can also be marketed directly to adjacent neighborhoods. . 12. the specifications and conditions prepared by the study required for buildings to be suitable for surface agriculture: (a) the surfaces shall be connected to each other to give the largest area of cultivation. (b) buildings surfaces must be have no structural obstacles that prevent the optimum utilization of the surface area. (c) architectural design of buildings allows the installation of lifts for service, and the development of irrigation networks and agricultural drainage. (d) the buildings designated for the establishment of roof cultivation shall be have highly accessibility with main transportations roads, as well as the providing the parking spaces that contribute to the transport and marketing operations. 13. food security: aquaponic system is highly efficient, the examples of aquaponic initiatives can be seen in bar bados, brazil, botswana, ethiopia, ghana, guatemala, haiti, india, jamaica, malaysia, mexico, nigeria, panama, the philippines, thailand and zimbabwe, there was a surge of aquaponic conferences worldwide, furthermore, aquaponics is increasingly a part of confer ences on aquaculture and hydroponics (food and agriculture organization of the united nations rome, 2014). 4.3. solar energy: the world need to cut back on wasteful resource use, and greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions, it is critically important to change this pattern, and to find new models for living well on less (liz walker), the best practices, such as green building, densely clustered housing, low energy and water use, strong social ties, local food production, extensive waste reduction(liz walker), energy losses occur during extraction, generation, transmission, distribution and end pg. 80 abunazel / the academic research community publication use in lighting, appliances, buildings, mechanical work, transport, and industry contexts. consequently, the areas for energy efficiency improvement and investment can occur anywhere along the chain of energy production and use, from primary energy to final energy required to perform the service (grs full report, 2016). 4.3.1. according to egypt’s solar plant plan by the world bank: no resettlement is foreseen and no adverse social impacts are expected. the project may, on the contrary, impact poverty positively by adding to the power capacity of egypt. the improvement of the living conditions in rural areas may also reduce the migration pressure to urban areas, improving the overall social, demographic and economic balance of the nation. (meisen & hunter, 2007) solar array capacity the capacity of a solar pv array (in kwp, kilowatt-peak)depends 90% energy consumption of the building on and the shade-free rooftop (or other) area available. assumptions the roof (or elevated structure) area requirement per kw of solar pv modules is about 12m2. 4.3.2. installed photovoltaic systems in egypt: egypt: a 2.7 pv system is being used to light one of nrea’ remote sites at the matrouh governorate. the total capacity of 2 pv systems is 424 watt peak for 9 × 11 w (dc) efficient lamps, and a tv set of 60 w (ac). (meisen & hunter, 2007) 4.3.3. concentrated solar power plants in egypt: egypt will soon develop a hybrid parabolic-trough concentrating solar power plant in kuraymat. according to the nrea, it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 38,000 tons per year. refer to the report by the world bank for more details. (meisen & hunter, 2007) figure 11. (grs full report 2016) pg. 81 abunazel / the academic research community publication figure 12. (grs full report 2016 ) figure 13. (meisen & hunter, 2007) pg. 82 abunazel / the academic research community publication -an analysis of solar maps: important aspects remain to be investigated/developed: – what assumptions are made in the rating of the suitability of surfaces? • what additional information is provided to accelerate the implementation of solar energy? • how is the information provided from the solar maps used (by frontand back-end users) (jouri, 2015) -a quantitative analysis was performed, looking at the following aspects: • annual solar irradiation level (kwh/m2a),considered technologies (pv, st),total output per roof (kwh/a). • assumed efficiency of the technologies planning for solar buildings in urban environments. • minimum surface of the solar system (m2), the percentage of maximum available annual solar irradiation level • maximum annual solar radiation, information on which parameters the categories were based upon 4.3.4. mini-grids for electricity access mini-grids can be an important alternative to or enhance the effectiveness of central grid extension to increase ac cess to reliable electricity services in developing economies. mini-grids are defined as one or more local generation units supplying electricity to domestic, commercial, or institutional consumers over a local distribution grid. these generation technologies include solar photovoltaic and wind turbines with battery storage, biomass gasi fies and biogas digesters with internal combustion engines, micro and mini-hydro turbines, and hybrid systems (deshmukh, carvallo, gambhir, 2013) 4.3.5. community solar: community solar programs (also called “shared solar”) offer the economic and environmental benefits, (1) such programs are experiencing rapid growth, with active projects across 26 states, up from 6 states in 2010.2 this market has the potential to grow more than 50-fold from the 110 megawatt (mw) capacity in early 2016 to between 5,500 mw and 11,000 mw by 2020.3 previously, it was often uneconomic to develop individual solar projects of less than 2 mw in capacity (2,000 kilowatts [kw])4 if they were not tied directly to or net metered with a customer site. with community solar, projects between 50 kw and 2,000 kw are often viable because numerous off-site subscribers can purchase shares of a solar installation rather than hosting the installation themselves. by bringing an enormous source of new demand into the market and offering new contracting arrangements to the 51% of americans who already have potential solar access, community solar is expected to greatly expand the market for mid-sized solar projects. (deshmukh, carvallo, gambhir, 2013) 5. the case study the practical model of the study used to implement design ideas that will increase the quality of life. as mentioned above, study area selection depends on several criteria, these criteria are help to make the results of the study more practical and objective, the selected action area is housing area located in cairo, that is nearest to the ring road beside the police academy, it is one of the planned areas that contain the initial indicators of sustainability. the study area is located on the main axes, that are help in marketing the roof’s agriculture projects. and transfer agricultural products outside the residential area, action area also is a (semi sustainable area), attached with the tulip club, we expected that there will be environmental integration between the open spaces at the club’s space, and the cultivated areas on the roofs of the buildings, our sample is 29 buildings of total 1500 buildings at the residential zone, a part of (39.65) feddan area have mixed land use. pg. 83 abunazel / the academic research community publication the research use the questioner method to get the needed data, depends on three types of roof agriculture to measure the correlation between the number of households which agree to the use of their own building surfaces with the different types of agriculture presented at the greening chapter of the research, the study sequence will be shown in the followings: figure 14. action area location(https://www.google.com.eg/maps/@30.048828,31.4008003,17.37z?hl=en&authuser=0) (figure 15-16) shows the spatial distribution of buildings of the study sample as well as the number of units that agreed with principle to participate in the project under the study, this is reflected in the variation of the participation rate in the project, however, that is a direct correlation between the number of units in the building and the number of units that was approved to participate in the project under the study. pg. 84 abunazel / the academic research community publication figure 15. no of residential apartments in each building figure 16. no of residential apartments which participate in project in addition, the surfaces that were checked in order to accommodate roof agricultural activity, as shown in (figure 17), one of the results is that the buildings that make up some of the clusters in the study area are directly connected to the axes ways. that is an approach for success of the application of this experiment, and in (figure 18), the study included the available space in those buildings to installation solar cells to achieve environmental integration for clean and renewable energy to operate the roof agriculture system. pg. 85 abunazel / the academic research community publication figure 17. available roof area to agriculture use % figure 18. available roof area for agriculture use % & available roof area for solar cells use the research proceeded to determine the extent to which the project owners were able to finance the project using (bank financing) through soft loans, so the results of the survey showed as in (figure 19) that are 60% agree on this type of project financing system. figure 19. proportion of households agree with banking borrowing from the total apartment will share in the project. pg. 86 abunazel / the academic research community publication i − ( i) i − ( i) on the other side of the study, at (figure 20) that is about 40% of the sample of the study is likely to be participating in the project with only effort required for the project, and the consequent needs for learning skills for surface cultivation, also the maintenance for solar units, marketing and distribution for different products. figure 20. no. of housholds agree only share with effort by using the questionnaire method to determine which the type of expected available roof using agriculture method to be the most applicable, especially in the early stages of the project, we have obtained the following results, which are illustrated in figure 21 as follows: figure 21. comparison between the number of families who chose different each type of roof agriculture from the (figure 21) we find the most types of roof agriculture that were selected by the families is (aquaponics method), but, in order to select the optimal type of roof agriculture method, which was mentioned in the previous research, it was based on one of the statistical methods, such as correlation coefficient (not depends on question naire method only) for several reasons, most of which is the inability of many families of the sample, can not choose the type of agriculture suitable for their practical abilities, especially with the families that will be involved in this project with only effort, the study used the linear correlation coefficient of (pearson), which is equivalent to: r = r = n ∑ xiyi − ∑ xi ∑ yi xy . n ∑ x2 ∑ x 2 . n ∑ y2 ∑ y 2 since the number of households is the variable x and the household which selected the type of agriculture method is the variable y, as shown in the following sample table: pg. 87 abunazel / the academic research community publication table 1. linear correlation coefficient of pearson variables table building no. of households (x) containers (y1) aquaponics (y2) hydroponics (y3) bl01 10 3 1 6 bl02 8 1 4 3 .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... bl29 54 3 23 28 and the results of correlation coefficient study are in followings: 1. correlation coefficient between no. of households and the (containers roof agriculture method)= 0.448. the correlation coefficient in this case is positive and average, it expresses a strong correlation which leads to the fact that it is impossible to rely on this method of agriculture, especially in the early stages of project implementa tion. 2. correlation coefficient between no. of households & aquaponics method = 0.950. the correlation coefficient in this case is positive and strong and it expresses a strong correlation which leads to the fact that this method of agriculture can be relied upon especially in the early stages of project implementation. 3. correlation coefficient between no. of households & hydroponics method = 0.893 the coefficient of correlation in this case is positive and strong and it expresses a strong correlation which leads to the fact that this method of agriculture can be relied on especially in the early stages of project implementation. however, the aquaponic system increases the amount of correlation. it is likely based on the results of the questionnaire and correlation coefficient values, the choice of families participating in the project oriented to the aquaponics system for the following reasons: possibility of establishing small farms for raising fish (within the system of the aquaponics), which means in creasing the financial returns from the project. the operation of the irrigation system in a closed cycles and which ensures that there is no leakage of irrigation water, which poses a danger for the building’s structural surface. easy training and learning methods of gardening for the agricultural system in general. the possibility of growing aromatic and medicinal plants using this system of agriculture in addition to the cultivation of organic vegetables, which is one of the sources of improving health and thus increase in the value of quality indicators of life. 5.1. proposal concept for roof agriculture typical layout: finally, the following proposal layout show the concept ideas that the project in aquaponic system implementations as per the figure 22, shows the proposed design for the operation of the aquaponic farming system, the irrigation system elements will be arranged in rows as in the form, and for the fish ponds. the design has corridors for service to facilitate the introduction of raw food for plants and fish alike, and the work of the maintenance and periodic transfer of various products. the model also illustrates the complete separation between the entrances of the population building and the service point on the project (and in the case of increasing the demand to be increased in the future). the design also considered the linkage between the parts, the roofs of the buildings are merged by adding lanes (small bridges) between surfaces, and some of them for easy productivity and catered to the transfer to outside. the design was concerned with providing the necessary electrical energy for the project by relying on the renewable energy generated by solar panels. pg. 88 abunazel / the academic research community publication figure 22. proposal concept for roof agriculture typical layout 6. conclusions quality of life is one of the most difficult measures to evaluate, it differs from one society to another one according to the characteristics of each society in economic, social, urban, environmental aspect. since the field of research specifically in egypt has been concerned with the indicators of quality of life appropriate to the egyptian reality, which include four main elements (economic social urban environmental) this is done through the use of non-active quality indicators based on new design ideas of sustainable urban form, such as greening through the study of different systems of surface farming, and the use of renewable energy (solar energy) to activate these systems. since greening is an important income source that the quality of life indicators are activated through it, for ex ample: from the economic point of view, it is represented by (provide job opportunities reduce unemployment increase annual income). that all can be achieved by growing the total value of the(gdp) for the study area. it should be noted that the application model did not address the expected values of the gdp for the specificity of the current egyptian economic situation (exchange rate change), but in the future it can be accurately measured by using own equation. from the social aspect, the indicators are visible in the form of (integration and communication increase aware ness of culture learning and training) of the community. the environmental quality indicators of life are represented in (improvement of the air quality resulting from the cultivation of surfaces). as a result of the field study: 1. semi-sustainable areas can be transformed into sustainable areas by directly exploiting non-functioning quality pg. 89 abunazel / the academic research community publication indicators of life. 2. increase the allocated surface areas that cultivate will be lead to increase the percentage of participation house holds in these houses, so can be lead to higher the quality of life index and the improvement of the urban environ ment of the sample of population at the study. 3. the aqua-ponic system is considered the best system for improving the economic quality of life for at areas as in the study area. a design model was planned in which the aquaponic plantations were distributed, in addition to the distribution of solar cell panels beside them which serve the project. 7. references 1. attia, s., & mahmoud, a. (2009). green roofs in cairo: a holistic approach for healthy productive cities. proceedings of 7th annual greening rooftops for sustainable communities. 2. food and agriculture organization of the united nations, (2014), small-scale aquaponic food production integrated fish and plant farming, fao fisheries and aqua culture technical paper, rome. 3. mccrea, p. r. (2007).urban quality of life: linking objective dimensions and subjective evaluations of the urban environment, a thesis submitted for the degree of doctor of philosophy. 4. moustafa, a. (2009). measuring and managing the development of new urban communities through quality of life indicators. 5. pisano, u., k. lepuschitz & g. berger (2014) framing urban sustainable development: features, chal lenges and potentials of urban sd from a multi-level governance perspective. esdn quarterly report , esdn office, vienna. 6. jabareen, r. y. (2011). sustainable urban forms their typologies, models, and concepts. journal of planning education and research, 26,38-52. 7. brooks, w . (2014). measuring gdp and economic growth [lecture 7]. www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ102/falk/lecture 7 gdp.pdf 8. davies, r . (scientific journalist). (may 2017). hong kong weather is ideal for vegetables cultivation throughout the year, bbc. 9. grs full report. (2016). countries with energy efficiency policies and targets. 10. grs full report. (2016). share of primary and final energy from renewable sources, targets and 2013/2014 shares 11. meisen, p . & hunter l ., (2007). renewable energy potential of the middle east, north africa vs.the nuclear development option.global energy network institute (geni) 12. kanters, j . ( 2015). planning for solar buildings in urban environments. lund university, jouri kanters and division of energy and building design. 13. deshmukhm, r . juan, p .c. gambhir, a . (2013, march). sustainable development of renewable energy mini-grids for energy access, a framework for policy design 14. fao. roof-gardening.http://www.fao.org/neareast/programmes-and-projects/roof-gardening/en/ 15. extra news, (2017) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tobhphi-oy8 16. egypt-hydroponic, (2017). https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals//egypt-hydroponic-farms.html 17. nowak, m.,(2004,may 4). urban agriculture on the rooftop. http://www.fao.org/neareast/programmes-and-projects/roof-gardening/en/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tobhphi-oy8 http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/egypt-hydroponic-farms.html ahmed abunazel1, yasmin hammad2, mohamed abd alaziz3, essam gouda3, wagdy anis4 abstract 1. introduction 2. definitions 3. methodology 4. the selected tools of design concepts for sustainable urban form which be enhance (qol): 4.1. the greening: from this case we find these results : 4.2. greening concept at the research 4.3. solar energy: 5. the case study 5.1. proposal concept for roof agriculture typical layout: 6. conclusions 7. references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 39 doi: 10.21625/archive.v6i1.878 imitation and traditions evaluation the effectiveness of ethnic identity culture on architecture mourad amer1 1architect, bsc, dsc, msc, phd, ceo & founder of ierek abstract this paper discusses the phenomenon of rapid urbanization and modernity that has omitted communities’ traditions. it evaluates the effectiveness of closing in on the sentience of ethics identity, it also presents solutions and instructions that create the balance between tradition and imitation, to conserve the history of our cities and social behaviors. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer-review under responsibility of archive’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords architecture; ethnic identity culture; rapid urbanization 1. introduction as the number of technological options increases, so does the complexity and senseless of identity also increases. the last few years have rightly witnessed a growing debate among the arabian developing countries, especially those that which their economies had been enriched, and through the architecture development process they missed the thinking about their identities and imitated the western models of architecture and urban planning which were not very suitable to their resources of ethnic identity or climatic circumstances and socio cultural, they also required themselves had been forgotten to look into their own past heritage to understand the architecture and planning practice to develop it with acceptable new techniques instead of blind imitation, the cloning of the western architecture techniques without care of ethnic identities led to critical questioning about the next danger if the sense of identity will razing or lost. searching for architectural identity, our societies should rethink about the real meaning of built environments, this is the that some architects found and they are contentious calling to win the debate on the functionality of architectural vocabularies and fixed the fact that each symbol in architectural design should have a function, other architects neglect this fact and moreover they deliberately imitate in blind action, they drifted and vested interest with postmodernism and technology which make them forgot their identity. in addition, some of foreign developers who investing in our arabian area had been imposed their identity within investing in real estate, confirming with their interests, then this case became as dreadful infection on our heritage and identity. the sense of identity usually reflects in two levels, one at the physical level such as elevations, materials used and method of construction. the second, at the sincere level, such as harmonization with the lifestyle and or honours of the own past heritage which describe the social, cultural, and religious inspiration. http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 40 at first glance, the inspiration of architectural styles should be from the sense of society and its own history, with no inhibition to mix this inspiration with compatible technologies and techniques. through this research, the study will rise gradually to evaluate the effectiveness of cloning these techniques in our social life, and define the acceptable imitation for our ethnic identity. some examples will be focussing about the refashioning in architecture in the entire world, and especially in gulf areas, which have changed their intellectual methodologies, replicating them in egypt, and focusing in alexandria city, which may have more clarity. 1.1. problem statement the problem statement is divided into two major parameters. one begins with the role of imitation and cloning techniques, and its acceptability within an environmental context. the second, begins with more tangible issues, reviewing current design practices vis-á-vis the traditions and resource parameters in the arabian zone, and focussing on egypt, which seeks to express the built form as a manifestation of socio-cultural institution, which is lokced into a dynamic relationship that nurtures, and complements the sense of ethnic identity. 1.2. aim of the research there is an urgent need to resolve the argument about the identity, and how architects, people, and decision makers should respect it. therefore, it is important to define how identity influences people, designers, and authors, as well as discovering the lack of identity in contemporary architecture in the arabian area. this raises the following questions: what is the meaning of identity, and how should public awareness be increased to preserve its meaning? and how do they define their social and cultural identities? the preservation of identity and management, by using technologies is critical, and difficult in these days, so this research aims to: 1. clarify the importance of identity and its denotations with architectural heritage. 2. maintain the identity when enabling a higher level of technology or using new materials. 3. decrease the applications of blind imitation and complicated technologies. 4. create the usage of parameters of imitation within acceptable applications. 1.3. the research methodology the research begins with outlining the definitions of identity, traditions, and context. firstly, the research discusses the importance of respecting of heritage symbolism. secondly, offering some excerpts about imitation, before focusing on the egyptian situation, especially in alexandria. finally, an extract of studies is used to recommend methods of fixing the scale of cloning techniques, through a synthesis of parameters for elimitation of imitation. 2. definitions this definition is for how one can identify identity and traditions, and how people should look after them. this definition does not only address the behaviours, but also social contributions to the behavioural guidance for new generations. identity is defined as a (noun) in the dictionary which describes the distinctive character or the behavior of an individual, it is the roots upon which one is brought up and the origins that extend to ancestors (liberty alliance project, n.d.). it is a process, and not a found object, it is the linking between the generations, it acts as a connecting link between them to transit the culture and civilization through history, people cannot be fabricated, but they can develop it. the sense of identity needs the sense of belonging to deepen the meaning of identity. this strengthens the citizens’ adherence to their identity, and increases their ability to preserve their culture and heritage (powell, n.d.). amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 41 identity management is applying technologies to the identity, there is no theoretical approach or specific requirements to manage the identity, the strategy of each case could be inspired from the context of a certain community, and the technology used in each project. traditions: a tradition is a behavioural practice of ethnics groups; it is acted repetitively over years; it reflects the social behaviour of individuals, and the degree of their engagement with their homeland and communities (fragaszy, 2003). context: it is the environmental information for the surrounding space, all information is important to operate environmental aspects of the context around a project. people are always the important factor as well as their activity, identity, and tradition. physical aspects are also needed, such as the location, and geographical information related to the environment (dey and abowd, 2000). 3. ethnic identity and diversity resources ethnicity is the affiliation to a certain group, it depicts the quality of the group’s social life, it characterizes a group of people, and defines and distinguishes them from other groups. when ethnicity is added to the identity, it means that there are many specific elements, resources, and facts, such as geographical aspects, nationality, origins, domesticity, culture, history, religion, and language (phoenix college, n.d.). the representation of ethnicity through architecture has more clarity in traditional architecture; it is well suited to transmit a sense of appreciation for the cultural values of a society. this claim is equally valid for the house, which is still found in its traditional style. the change from traditional to modern in dwelling architecture can be either very abrupt or more gradual, as revealed in intermediate forms of living in the city. some traditional houses are no longer inhabited and have fallen into a state of disrepair. others have been changed by the addition of walls between the posts at the ground level to provide additional living space and room for economic activities, the several generations of architects identified in this essay understand that they contribute to the shaping of an ethnic and regional identity. by selecting special traits from traditional architecture and incorporating them in modern private and public buildings, they try to solve the problems raised by the translation of the principles of wood construction to brick structures. they have shown great dedication in doing so and have created a new branch of ethnic architecture. despite their exertions, they are not completely satisfied (bowen, n.d.). 3.1. architecture and society societies must present the facts for its members, and explain the dimension of interactions to create the complex reality, called ''the contemporary society'', among these facts is: social, economic, culture, political, institutional, religious, and other dimensions. the physical environment is one of these dimensions that must interact and reflect that all this mixture is formatting the structure of the society’s ethnic identity (serageldin, n.d.). the members of societies must express their societies in the physical world, architects and developers should have an explicit vision to the resulting building, and the urban fabric must include ideological aspects which define the society's objective reality, according to its cultural identity, and to its future inspirations, figure 1. amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 42 figure 1a depicts the municipal building , newyork, figure 1b depicts the stockholm city library, germany, figure 1c depicts the harraz mountains manakha, yemen and the figure 1ddepicts the himeji castle in himeji, japan the form of architectural expirations is rooted in the geographical location of that society. it must reflect their aspirations, their artistic sensibility, their economic wealth, their levels of technology, the elements of climate, topography, and the structure of their social organization. the net result of all the requests that the society embodies and helps shape the vision for itself, and reflect its activities, and it is the instrument shaping the identity for the society. 3.2. the technology form and culture in architecture modern technology can be guaranteed only through the sustainability system, which guarantees the continuity of skilled craftsmen, and passes on and improves on the needs of our identity. as if militating against tradition, technology has decreased the social and occupational stability of traditional society. the depletion of craftsmen, and the loss of expertise that has resulted, has proven the advantages of modern technologies when combined sensitively with traditional technologies rather than traditional technology alone (porter, 1986). this research is not an aggressive refusal of technologies, but encourages conscious use of vernacular technologies in this day and age, which has all but died out in contemporary life styles, and can only be read as aggressive rejection of modern technology, and that it may represent a native wish for return to a more primitive and ideal condition, or a deliberate action of social reform. when the technology of power, sources of energy, materials, and elements of construction were introduced in beginning of the late eighteenth century, products could be divorced from the places they would be used, and the people who will us them, figure 2. figure 2a depicts the cultural center, tajibaou and figure 2b depicts, opera sydney australia amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 43 architects who have awareness with the sense of using technologies demonstrated an equality towards all the demands of creating creative designs; they balanced between grandeur of vernacular architecture and heritage, traditions of societies, cultural identities, and using technologies. 4. the ethnic identity in arabian symbolism the issue of the identity of arabian cities has been debated upon in the past three decades. architects are trying to find the concept of cultural uniqueness and plurality to be considered in their design proposals to avoid the painfulness of architectural symbolism that reflects a specific identity, figure 3. figure 3a depicts the kuwait parliament building, kuwait, figure 3b depicts the batelco building and mosque, manama, bahrain arab architecture should be inspired from arabian history, identity, and tradition, it must embody the combined ambitions of societies in this region (salama, 2006). in the gulf area, some practices still seem to be at grips with the issue of identity. where others do not often address the issue of meaning in relation to the sense of belonging, almost understanding the built environment, and using the modern designs, techniques, and materials which reflect in their mind that they are the friends of the environment. 5. comparison examples, does the arabian symbolism embodied? two examples will be discuss in arabian zone, were they applying the symbolism of arabian identity? the first of them, succeeded in explaining the identity, and the other one, applied blind imitation. 5.1. the hajji's airport terminal, jeddah imitation sometimes is a good thing, when it is from the pith of identity, and when describing the culture of people and their nature. as an example, the hajji’s airport terminal in jeddah, saudi arabia illustrates this point. the design of the hajjis terminal reflects and explains the dialogue between tradition and modernity, the designer attached the identity in structural technologies, and successfully indicated the saudi heritage. the design has been applied with integral form, and an active dialogue. the form has a good shape, which reflects the heat. it looks like a series of huge tents, which gives an expression to the saudi’s forebearers’ homes, who lived in tents, and also for hajjis, who came to the holy land for their hajj obligation. they will spend this period inside tents like these, figure 4. amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 44 figure 4 depicts the hajjis terminal, ksa the architectural design of hajj terminal in saudi arabia has embodied the identity of ethnic bedouin groups, the design concept depends on the shape of a tent, which is the shelter of the bedouin people in deserts. the architect (som) therefore, purposed a prototype of a tent to create the world largest fabric roofed structure, the architect succeeded in seeking inspiration from the arabian identity. the concept of the tent brings to visitors a sense of welcoming and hospitality, and it is culturally symbolic, and structurally innovative portrayal for millions of pilgrims annually (o.m.l. som architects (skidmore, hajj terminal), n.d.). 5.2. cyclone of foreign developers in dubai complexity took place in the arabian sense of identity, different countries left it away, and indulged in imitation. has dubai implemented the goals of development in its arabian image? do the modern cities have elements of modernized tradition and historical background? or can we add or remove wallpaper skin to solve this issue and then it’s back again to the lost identity? blind imitation distresses the social and cultural aspects our communities. the fast life ignores the relationship between groups, and even between members of the same family. this occurres due to the loss of tradition in arabian house design, and a lack of representation of the image of the social status of its habitants. famous international construction companies were invited to build the public buildings with modern designs, this lead to see these new buildings reflecting the identity of the companies themselves, dismissing the identity of the building’s context and surroundings. 5.2.1. images of architecture by closely field studying dubai, and newly developed architectural designs of public buildings, first impression are; social wisdom is surely affected by the blatant modernity of its users. at the urban design level, the traditional neighbourhood is dissolved, and gated communities are widespread, which are composed of an isolation of homes and social groups, although they offer other positive aspects such as services and security. as the architecture influences people in dubai, people become influenced by architecture. the estimated percentage of citizens to foreigners is 1 to 4, which is a main concern that produces a sense of weakness of identity. this brought different architectural styles, a composition of modern, islamic, indian, and arabian appeared. the use of modern building materials and certain wall glass, and controls, directs the character of public buildings in a way of losing identity. the famous architectural office of zaha hadid designed the signature towers in business bay. it contains three similar buildings, and it is not far from burg dubai, which is the highest tower in the middle east. they defended the design of these towers and their complex facades and stated that the rotation of the building helps to increase the visibility of the creek and its surroundings. this may be a convincing reason, but it is not as strong as the sense of commitment to the principle of identity. it is a dance, swaying the movement of the towers, no sign to dubai's people’s identity, only an appearance to challenge the principles of engineering. burg dubai has been completed in 2009, as the tallest tower in the middle east, it is a merely a vertical race, and a dream to have the impossible. a group of architects; adrian smith of skidmore, owings and merrill, brought this amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 45 dream to a reality. the tower is now an icon for the collective aspiration of the people of dubai to complete the epic of showmanship, they want to say to the world that they are able to achieve incredible works, figure 5. figure 5a depicts twist towers, dubai, figure 5b depicts burj dubai, and figures 5c and 5d depict some other modern buildings in dubai the tallest building, burg dubai tower, the signature towers and most recent towers in dubai, have helped in killing the arabian identity completely. the foreign developers also aided this crime, they were carrying their technology which connected with their identity, and they did not seek inspiration from of the arabian traditions. this does not mean that this research is challenging the technologies, or defying modernity, rather, it is standing strongly for protecting the arabian identity. 5.2.2. dubai and weakness of arabian identity the people in dubai became aboulias in retrospect to their traditions, mainly because of many reasons that carried their country to a big bubble of stolen development. firstly, the captialistic western entity has dominated real estate in dubai. they bedazzled the people to win their support about attaining their desires, these developers did not understand the cultures and traditions of dubai's people, even if they did understand, they still enacted subversive works upon the arabian identity. secondly, the littleness of nationals number in dubai and large quantities of foreigners, has drafted the priorities in life for the foreigners, whom variegated the identity in western colour. thirdly, the absence of domination on the developers, and non-existant rules, make them serving and maintaining the arabian traditions in their real estate investments. 6. the cloning negativity in the sensation of ethnic identity modernization and the dilemma of technologies in rapid architecture, is making people interrelate with changes in buildings’ atmosphere, they maybe desire to modify their existing identity to be adapted with changes, this could be considered as one of the reasons of losing the social mechanisms by which society creates, and thieves a new identity, which has negative effects on our identity, the aspects of this negativity is appearing in the lack of the sensation of ethnic identity, the shapes of this negativity can be abstracted as:: • the first backlash of identity cloning to the blandness between citizens and their neighbors, communities, and their homeland. • lack of affiliation and bonding of community members to one another within the neighborhood, despite its importance in acquiring identity. • increase of visual monotony, wherein everything in our surroundings becomes the same glass and tall buildings. • the increasing of the cloning of different technologies causes the lack of the sense of belonging to the community, whereas the main sense of citizenship will be as a stranger within these different identities. amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 46 • loss of tradition, which characterizes our identity, and imposes upon our history at the concept of architectural works, this was as the result of the importing strange traditions. 7. focusing in egypt 7.1. egypt between mediterranean’s and middle east mediterranean culture has influenced people in egypt for a long time, this came politically over three decades ago, which opened new opportunities for economic reform, and considerable developments. between 1974 and 1981, a new policy has appeared regionally, as well as on international levels regarding the private sector to play its role in new investment plans. the egyptian government decided to strongly encourage international investment, and engage the private sector into future development plans. this influence on the urbanization process and sustainable development, which is clearly apparent in the investment of the private sector in housing and industrial development in the last 40 years. obviously, the private sector aims to develop strategic locations in core cities, this of course harvests much more profits when the product is large-scale luxury commercial and office buildings. in new cities, they also target the middle class, because this class has a wide range of customers and they are a larger segment of society. the culture of the mediterranean and the middle east has constructed political ends, added featured characteristics and great value. it helps in sharing the deeper meanings of cultural and human existence levels. fortunately, the middle east shaped a rich soil for architectural and urban development, where a considerable number of architects have developed the idea of conserving and maintaining the identity and work behind its meaning (salama, 2007). 7.2. egyptian historical renaissance the historic features of egyptian cultures, the pharonic, the coptic, and the islamic is always used in designs, they add a kind of richness and artistic perspective to new buildings. architects believe that imitating the old features in new buildings increases the sense of belonging and strengthens the sense of identity between people and their societies, this positively affects the built environment. the argument represents the attitude of egyptian architects toward using historical features in architecture. the architects moemen afify and amro el halfawy tried to apply the pharonic featuers to the exhibition hall and factory of oriental weavers, the building seems to be a temple. another example in maadi, by the architect ahmed mito, is the supreme court of egypt which is designed in a monumental scale and style, figure 6. figure 6: the supreme court of egypt, maadi, cairo, 1999 farouk al gohary architects used ordered arches and designed the building with the concept of nubian houses, that depend on internal courtyards. openings are covered with stucco screens. it is believed that this has been used to simulate the past with a contemporary image. the building brings special attention to the usage of arabian features of architecture. amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 47 another example that localized the architecture, and conserved the arabian tradition, appeared in the works of ashraf salah abo seif, who didn’t imitate any other modern visual features, and always used local natural materials that simulate islamic heritage. like buildings the buildings of old cairo, some of the other architects didn’t innovate in their designs, they copy and paste from the past. as happened in khan al azizia project copied some features of old cairo such as mashrabya and its narrow openings, figure 7. figure 7: khan al azizia. a commercial and recreational center, cairo/alexandria desert road, 1999 however, the overall appearance is not credible, because the building’s purpose and its function does not match its activities and users (salama, 2007). 7.3. adaptive reuse and architectural recycling to adapt the reuse of a building, it is useful to define this concept; the adaptation of using historical buildings is a process of transforming dilapidated building, to usable and constructionally safe. on an urban design level, it is transforming uninhibited historical sites that have cultural and artistic value to sustainable firms that create revenues to cover the cost of operation and maintenance, in addition to attracting much more visitors and tourists to increase income. the egyptian ministry of culture has previously applied a similar concept in several sites and buildings, for example, the huge project of reuse in the open museum of luxor and the wekalet el-ghouri building in cairo, which is used as a theater of folk arts, conserving both the building as a tangible historical building, and the folk arts as an intangible cultural heritage. 8. recommendations: 8.1. the parameters to define the acceptable imitation there should be no inhibition to use and imitate technologies, they are very important to developing our societ. to acceptable technologies, the following diagram depicts how we can measure the performance of imitation for buildings, when a building succeeds and passes these parameters, it will be acceptable for our society, figure 8. amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 48 figure 8: the diagram depicts the parameter of acceptable imitation the main criteria of these parameters will judge the building. these criteria, such as environmental, social, and cultural response, will gain from users and people. the buildings with new technologies should be balanced and symbolized with our heritage, ethnicity, and history. 8.2. sharing responsibility: moving towards a stable identity for egyptian society: the egyptian identity should be maintained in architectural works. architects have a wide area of history and heritage to seek inspiration from in their designs. policy makers, and architects should cooperate to form a defense against the muddling of identity, they should be united in reflecting a culture of shared responsibility in which everyone plays their part: the architects should: • inspire their designs from our strong identity, by indicating the symbolic meaning of our heritage, this must be the main concept represented in their final products. • create culturally and environmentally responsive architecture with our communities, and present acceptable solutions to environmental problems. • respect our traditions in their thinking, and disperse between our arabian ethnic, and other foreign ethnics. • balance between globalization and localization, when choosing building materials or construction techniques, the styles should be from the sense of society. • search for an architectural identity and build an environment within the current developing and rapid modern-day civilizations. the students of architecture should: • study our historical heritage and know our traditions that will improve the sense of their identity in their thinking. amer/ the academic research community publication pg. 49 • persevere in the limits of our arabian traditions without drifting to the seductions of globalization. • distinguish between cloning and inspiration in their design process, this will helping them to achieve creative designs. • study and search extensively to know the physical descriptions of different materials, and prefer the ability for our climate and context. the policies should: • maintain all the areas of heritage and cultural value, it should be maintained and simulated in other new projects if it has a location in the context of this area. • prevent any developers trying to confuse our symbolism by importing any incongruous technologies with our identity. • recognize acceptable technologies and development in different architecture fields, and improve architectural tourism to announce our inveterate identity. • care for including public participation in comprehensive projects, it always gains a good quality of decisions, and presents the chance for people to express their identity. references liberty alliance project, (n.d.). introduction to the liberty alliance identity architecture. retrieved november 7, 2008, from http://xml.coverpages.org/libertyalliancearchitecture200303.pdf powell, r. (n.d.). the aga khan award for architecture, architecture and identity. retrieved november 5, 2008, from http://archnet.org/library/documents/onedocument.jsp?document_id=6029 fragaszy, d. (2003). making space for traditions. evolutionary anthropology: issues, news, and reviews, 12(2), 61-70. dey, a. k., & abowd, g. d. (2000, june). the context toolkit: aiding the development of context-aware applications. in workshop on software engineering for wearable and pervasive computing (pp. 431-441). seatle: university of washington. phoenix college (n.d.). ethnic identity and diversity resources. retrieved december 7, 2008, from http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/departments/library/guides/diversityethnic.html bowen, j. (n.d.). the new anthropology of ethnicity. retrieved december 7, 2008, from http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/docs%5cacehproject%5cfull-papers%5caceh_fp_johnbowen.pdf serageldin, i. (n.d.). architecture and society. retrieved november 7, 2008, from http://archnet.org/library/documents/onedocument.jsp?document_id=2758 porter, w. (1986). technology form and culture in architecture: misconception and myth. space for freedom: the search for excellence in muslim society, ed. ismail serageldin, 288, 292. salama, a. (2006). symbolism and identity in the eyes of arabia’s budding professionals. layer magazine, layermag, new york, united states. archnet. o.m.l. som architects (skidmore, hajj terminal) (n.d.). retrieved november 7, 2008, from http://www.som.com/content.cfm/king_abdul_aziz_international_airport_hajj_terminal salama, a. (2007). archnet-ijar, international journal of architectural research. 1. http://xml.coverpages.org/libertyalliancearchitecture200303.pdf http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/departments/library/guides/diversityethnic.html http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/docs%5caceh-project%5cfull-papers%5caceh_fp_johnbowen.pdf http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/docs%5caceh-project%5cfull-papers%5caceh_fp_johnbowen.pdf http://archnet.org/library/documents/one-document.jsp?document_id=2758 http://archnet.org/library/documents/one-document.jsp?document_id=2758 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication city identity reflected in art craft school student projects at sour magra el oyoun in cairo marian a. nessim1, sara i. khalifa1, karim el sheikh1 1arab academy for science technology & maritime transport smart village abstract this paper addresses a very critical issue which concerns designing a project in a historical area meanwhile coping with the contemporary architecture with all its aspects and needs. in this paper, authors represent a real experience with a group of undergraduate students from arab academy for science technology & maritime transport (aastmt), smart village. those groups of students were required to design an “art craft school and tannery museum” at the wall of “magra el oyoun” at “masr el kadima”. this historical area had a very special historical and social nature and regulations which opposed a great challenge to the students, especially since all the tanneries now are being demolished and moved to the “rubeiky”, including the old tanneries that should have been considered as a heritage worth conserving. the course was conducted over 2 phases: research phase and design phase. in research phase, students were requested to study 3 main aspects: social, physical and building regulations. all these studies beside the program of the project formed the identity of the projects which came out with a rich variety of ideas and designs and reflects in different ways the special character of this historical area. the research conclusions, design process and the deliverables will be presented in this paper to show to which extent those group of students succeeded to achieve this goal socially and physically. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords sour magra el oyoun; art school; tanneries; urban character; heritage; physical context; social context 1. introduction by the 1960’s, the concept of identity appeared in the field of urban studies. for example, kevin lynch (1960) mentioned that, the image of the city has three – always appearing together –components; identity, structure, and meaning. he described the identity as “the identification of an object, which implies its distinction from other things, its recognition as a separable entity. it is not in the sense of equality with something else, but with the meaning of individuality or oneness”. although, lynch uses meaning as one of the component of the image of the city, he does not directly point out the spatial meanings of the city for its residents. his definition of identity refers to the noticeable features of the city, while the term “structure” refers to the spatial relations of those features (rifaioglu, güçhan, & djerbi, 2007). in “design 4 course” at the aast, the main objective for the students was to start understanding the identity of architecture in project site along with social aspect, in order to practice its importance within the design process. pg. 49 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i4.538 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ nessim / the academic research community publication in “spring 2018” course, heritage aspect was of great importance in identifying the city identity and had to be embraced in architecture education. according to the amsterdam declaration, jokileh which took place in fall 1975, concluded that: “the architectural heritage will survive only if it is appreciated by the public and in particular by the younger generation. educational programs for all ages, and should therefore, give increased attention to this subject.” (embaby, 2014). and so we realized our responsibility as educators to engage the students and young generations with this heritage, and at the same time face the challenge of the globalization and fulfilling the social needs. the project assigned to the students was located at “sour magra el oyoun” a very historical area with a very unique nature either physically or socially. the students were required to study and analyze the zone from all aspects in order to be able to come up with a successful design that reflects the identity and needs of this zone. students were required to design an “art crafts school, gallery, museum and a plaza” in the coming paragraphs the project requirements, project research and project outcomes will be presented thoroughly. 2. project requirements each student is expected to develop their architectural program including the number and type of spaces tailored according to their research outcomes and proposed conceptual design within the following categories: workshops: potteryleatherwoodother types decided by students lecture rooms ateliers administrative areas storage spaces toilets resting area and cafe´ galleries for all the art school products tannery and craft history museum indoor and outdoor extension areas services (kitchen, toilets, storage) sitting places restaurant/cafe´outdoor extensions green areas in addition, each student is free to add further activity spaces with justifications according to survey. figure 1. a satellite image for the whole zone (google earth) pg. 50 nessim / the academic research community publication figure 2. a satellite image for the site with dimensions (google earth) 3. project research as mentioned before in the abstract that the course was conducted over 2 phases: research and design 3.1. research requirements in the research phase students were required to do a research that covers the following studies in 4 weeks: – historical background – environmental studies – physical context including: – urban fabric – urban character – site analysis – land uses – heights – landmarks – social context including: – identifying main users’ of the project – identifying user needs assessment and problems – surrounding touristic attractions pg. 51 nessim / the academic research community publication – local and international precedents – building regulations since this area falls within the boundaries of historical areas that undergo the regulations enforced by “national organization for urban harmony”. deliverables of project research were as follows: – tree of objectives that will help them reach their concept keyword. – program guidelines for the project in each phase we introduced and clarified the tools and how to do this phase through series of lectures: lecture one: focused on the meaning of social dimension of design, surveying methods and how to observe and document activity settings using activity mapping tool and how to identify all user groups and how to do an interview and questionnaire to discover and explore the local community real needs and problems. lecture two: focused on objective definition analysis tree and how to use it as a project planning tool that helps to analyze and graphically break down objectives into smaller and more manageable parts. the tree of objectives is divided into five levels as shown in figure (3): figure 3. tree of objectives (shehayeb, forthcoming) lecture three: this lecture reviewed the tools and methods to document the physical environment and architecture features lecture four: this lecture represented local and international examples of similar projects to expand their horizon and prepare them for the design phase. 3.2. research outcomes 3.2.1. physical context studies main outcomes: urban character: the tanneries wooden towers where they dry out the leather which gave a unique character to the site as shown in figure (4). urban fabric: there is no main urban tissue that dominates the site, on the contrary there is a mixture between different urban tissues which gave flexibility to use it in the projects as shown in figure (5). also in the solid and void map it showed how dense this zone is which cleared out the need for green open spaces as shown in figure (6). pg. 52 nessim / the academic research community publication figure 4. tanneries wooden towers (students research) figure 5. urban fabric (students research) figure 6. solid and void (students research) pg. 53 nessim / the academic research community publication 3.2.2. social context studies main outcomes main user groups were found to be : local residentsart school studentstourists, also the demographic studies shows that 40% from resident are males and 60% are females and 60% are children as shown in figure (7). figure 7. demographic studies (students research) students also worked on identifying the real needs of the three main user groups (local community – tourist – local visitors) by interviewing them and observe their behavior in the real environment using some giving tools from lectures as behavior mapping and taking systematic photos and sketching and so some social problems were raised during the course and students survey that had to be solved by the projects, these problems were mainly as follows: – unsafe life for girls in the location site, and they were being annoyed by boys, and so some projects were motivated to separate boys’ area from girls’ area, especially in the plaza. – a lot of people were about to lose their jobs due to transferring the whole tanneries to “rubeiky” zone so the project should be able to provide the community with job opportunities. – the residents at the site didn’t appreciate the great historic value of the wall of “magra el oyoun” because they felt it isolated them from their surroundings and so the project should be able to enforce their feeling of belonging by using the wall in a way to upgrade their life through connecting the site with the touristic map. pg. 54 nessim / the academic research community publication 3.2.3. building regulations studied outcomes the location of the project falls within the boundaries of historic cairo which was set by the “national organization for urban harmony” and so it falls under its building regulations as shown in figure (8) these regulations had a very important role in identifying the identity of buildings in these area and so the educators of the course were very concerned that students learn these regulations and try to apply as much of them as possible. not all of these regulations apply to our project and so therefore main points were chosen, these regulations are to be explained in the coming paragraphs. figure 8. boundaries of historic cairo zones under protection (national organization for urban harmony) pg. 55 nessim / the academic research community publication 3.2.3.1. urban fabric 1. building should be built on land boundary, no recesses allowed. 2. built area should not exceed 70% of land area 3. buildings should form compact fabric like the old fabric and all void spaces should be in the form of courts or back yards in addition to the importance of vegetation of these spaces. 3.2.3.2. urban character 1. buildings should be in harmony with urban character of surrounding area. 2. unfamiliar architecture elements to the surrounding area should not be used. 3. openings: – openings should be rectangular in a vertical direction with a ratio not less than 1:1.5 (horizontal :vertical) and not more than 1:2 (horizontal :vertical), openings in horizontal directions are not allowed. – ratio of openings should not exceed 50% of the elevation. – opening building materials should be wood, metals are prohibited. – clear or tinted (fume) glass are allowed but any other color or reflective glass or curtain walls are prohibited. – if openings ratio exceeds 20% then it should be covered with screens or “mashrabeya”. – parapets should be in the form of wood or “faire forge” or walls with voids. – heights: – heights on streets less than 10m in width should not exceed 13m high. – heights on streets more than 10m in width should not exceed 16m high. – stairs and elevator wells may rise above the maximum height by 4 more meters. – elevations: – elevation colors should be beige or color of natural stone. – natural stone cladding should be used or at least for the ground floor. – it is allowed to use paints in typical floors. at the end of the course a questionnaire was given to the students to measure the importance of project research and its contribution in the projects outcomes and results are shown as follows: table 1. from your point of view, which of the following studies helped you improve your work? very important moderately important not important social studies 100% physical studies 62.5% 37.5% regulations of historical areas 87.5% 12.5% environmental studies 100% pg. 56 nessim / the academic research community publication table 2. from yourpoint of view, which of these dimensions were more important? very important moderately important not important social studies 87.5% 12.5% physical studies 62.5% 37.5% regulations of historical areas 75% 25% environmental studies 50% 50% concept generation 87.5% 12.5% project research outcome was in the form of: program guidelines and tree of objectives which helped each student to reach a concept keyword that was reflected later on in all project items: layout-plans-elevation and sections. 3.3. project outcome there are many different styles of decision making, each with individual quirks as well as manifestations of common characteristics. sometimes the unfolding of a design is strongly influenced by constraints derived from the initial setting of the problem, such as the context in which the building is to be built or its social purpose. on other occasions the process seems more determined by a designer’s personal attitudes and prejudices toward such things as functional expression or modes of fabrication technology. more often than not, there is a mixture of both orientations, as designers move back and forth between the problem as given and the tentative proposals they have in mind. ( rowe, 1991 ) this led to large variety in the where each student had his own concept in, and there were a variety of concepts and objectives. some student concentrated on social aspects, others on urban character and fabric and others were able to combine all, which produced a good variety within the projects as reviewed in the coming paragraphs: 3.3.1. the impact of social studies on the components of the project “ahmed shemisah’s” project: this project adopted most of the community needs through different levels: educational, recreational and financial levels, and succeeded to reflect them in the project’s components. in addition to respecting the surrounding urban fabric as it was also reflected in the morphology of the project. learn and work: from the demographic studies done in the research phase, the students reached that there is a great percentage of the community under the age of 16 years and they were mostly uneducated, so he emphasized the value of learning through work. this can lead to a better education, which was reflected in the direct relation between the class rooms and the workshops to make sure that students can practice what they learn all the time, as shown in figure (9). figure 9. showing gender separation zones (“ahmed shemisah’s” project) pg. 57 nessim / the academic research community publication gender separation: also from the social survey done, he adopted the idea of segregation between girls and boys classrooms, due to the community social and cultural habits, as shown in figure (9). playable spaces: as a result of the rarity of suitable play areas for the children in the local community this proposal intentionally made the project spaces more playful and children friendly.as shown in figure (10). figure 10. showing playable spaces (“ahmed shemisah’s” project) social interaction space: one of the crucial things for achieving and maintaining sustainable tourism development is to create a positive interaction between residents and foreign tourists. and that’s what this proposal tried to do by creating lively opened public spaces to encourage the interaction between tourists and local community, as shown in figure (11). figure 11. showing plaza (“ahmed shemisah’s” project) “salma omar’s” project: empowering women: was her concept after the social survey and questionnaires done which showed the high percentage of working and family supporting women and since then the student adopted this concept by creating workshops and classrooms only for women besides providing a safe area for their kids to play nearby. she also made the 2 masses occupied by women in the plan oblique and different from the rest of masses, as shown if figure (12). pg. 58 nessim / the academic research community publication figure 12. showing the rotated masses occupied by women (“salma omar’s” project) 3.3.2. the impact of urban fabric analysis on the project morphology the project tried to match its surrounding urban pattern as part of making the new project familiar to the local community and to encourage them to interact with the new project, as it shown in figure (13). as well as saving the old daily pedestrian routes that goes through the site, as part of respecting the community behaviors as shown in figure (14). figure 13. showing the project within its surrounding context (“ahmed shemisah’s” project) pg. 59 nessim / the academic research community publication figure 14. pedestrian routes (“ahmed shemisah’s” project) 3.3.3. the impact of urban character on the architecture details of the project: ”ahmed shemisah’s” project: one of the major elements that shaped the visual identity of sour “magra el oyoun” area is the tanneries’ wooden towers since they are part of the tanneries industry process. as well as the wall of “magra el oyoun” itself which posed a great challenge that faced this proposal as it tried to reflect the tanneries tower by adding wooden shading devices on the top of the buildings and meanwhile deals with the wall as a part of the interactive plaza as shown in figure (15). figure 15. elevation with abstract tanneries features (“ahmedshemisah’s” project) “amr aly’s” project: in this proposal, the student tried to take advantage of the historical value of the wall of the “magra el oyoun” ,by linking most of the project’s components to the wall by creating an inner plaza facing the wall to achieve transparency and visibility between project visitors and the context to deepen the value of the wall for visitors, craftsmen and craft school students, as shown in figure (16). figure 16. showing all the floors and spaces directed towards the wall of “magra el oyoun” (“amr aly’s” project.) pg. 60 nessim / the academic research community publication in addition to taking into account the architecture features of the area that came as a result of the prevailing craft activity in this area and the spread of tanneries which is characterized by wooden towers on the roofs of buildings, as shown in figure (17). figure 17. elevation with wooden shades to reflect theurban character (“amr aly’s” project) “ahmed yousry’s” project: the concept came from the need of reviving the memory of the industry that was moved out of the area. he accomplished his concept by making the museum centered in the heart of the project and represented in the regular form of the old section of the tanneries and elements connected with the leather industry, which shaped the urban character of the area. figures (18) and (19). figure 18. shows the museum mass in the center of the project.(“ahmed yousry’s” project) figure 19. showing the elevation with the wooden shades (“ahmed yousry’s” project) 3.3.4. the impact of building regulations on the architecture details of the project this project was committed to the building regulations of historic cairo to the extent that his concept was based on creating the same experience of historic cairo’s streets and alleys and courts. and so the masses were all built on the boundaries, no recesses left, and courts were the main open spaces that were used as plaza and as open spaces for workshops, as shown in figure (20). pg. 61 nessim / the academic research community publication figure 20. layout showing building on boundaries and using courts (“omar abou zeid’s” project) a questionnaire was given to the jurors to evaluate the projects and the following are the questions and results: q: to which extent has the selection of project’s topic reflected the site identity? a: 100% % of the external jurors agreed that the selection of project’s topic reflected strongly the site identity q: to which extent have the students’ projects reflected the urban fabric of the site through layout and plans? a: 100 % declared that it was strongly reflected q: to which extent have the students’ projects reflected the urban character of the site through elevations and building materials? a: 100% agreed that it was moderately reflected q: to which extent have the students’ projects reflected the social identity of the site through their plans, functions and forms? a: 50% agreed that it was moderately reflected-50% agreed that it was strongly reflected q: to which extent were the students’ projects committed to the building regulations of the site? a: 100% agreed that it was strongly reflected. 4. conclusion selecting the project’s topic and relating it to the chosen site was intended from day one of the course because the instructors appreciated the great value of this area and saw the unique identity it had. the target was to help the students reach this same conclusion and start appreciating their countries heritage and try to reveal it’s identity through their projects. pg. 62 nessim / the academic research community publication the outcomes showed the deep understanding of both physical, social and historical dimension and all the students’ work was able to reflect these dimensions and as they understand more the value of the wall of the “magraa el oyoun” they were able to produce more successful projects. the students also dealt with the project as an integrated project for the development of “magraa el oyoun” & the surrounding area. the identity of this unique zone was achieved in the students’ projects through the following: physically: through reflecting the urban fabric and character and complying with the building regulations which came out with masses and forms that would appear to be homogeneous with their surrounding yet succeeded to stand out and be attractive. socially: by the deep understanding of the main user groups needs and trying to solve the problems that were revealed during research phase and using the assets of the area that were neglected and poorly used by the local residents in order to strengthen their belonging to this beautiful place. 5. references 1. embaby, m. e. (2014). heritage conservation and architectural education: “an educational methodology for design studios”. hbrc journal,10(3), 339-350. doi:10.1016/j.hbrcj.2013.12.007 2. shehayeb, d., et al. (forthcoming). maximizing use value in upgrading informal areas: a participatory manual set for local government. giz-participatory development programmer in urban areas (pdp), giz: cairo, egypt. 3. kao, h. c., huang, y. m., & wu, z. (2017). modernization and self-identity in the practice of architecture design modernization and self-identity in the practice of architecture design. uia 2017 seoul world architects congress. 4. rifaioglu, m. n., güçhan, n. s., & djerbi, a. (2007). the concept of identity and its identification process in urban conservation projects (j. al-quawasmi & a. mahmoud, eds.). in an international conference of csaar on regional architecture and identity in the age of globalization(vol. 3, pp. 10991111). tunis, tunisia: csaar (the center for the study of architecture in the arab region). retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284038848 the concept of identity and its identification process in urban conservation projects 5. rowe, p. g. (1991). design thinking. mit press. retrieved from http://www.egyptarch.gov.eg/sites/defaul t/files/pdf/books/design thinkng.pdf pg. 63 introduction project requirements project research research requirements research outcomes physical context studies main outcomes: social context studies main outcomes building regulations studied outcomes project outcome the impact of social studies on the components of the project the impact of urban fabric analysis on the project morphology the impact of urban character on the architecture details of the project: ''ahmed shemisah's'' project: the impact of building regulations on the architecture details of the project conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 85 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i4.686 « rabat, a metropolitan city », between displayed image, reality of image and identity hassan kharmich1, mouna sedreddine2 1uuniversity professor at national school of architecture in rabat 2phd student at national school of architecture in rabat abstract embodying for a long time the image of an administrative capital where the functionary dominate, where the urban setting is aging and where quality of life is declining, the city of rabat has recently embarked on a frantic race to reinvent a new image: a modern, innovative and qualitative image. in order to achieve this, several projects and programs of development, embellishment and construction, has been initiated with a common feature which is greatness (large theater, high towers, large stations, large arteries, new centralities, etc.). this greatness aspect is visible through the importance of the areas involved, the volumes and the shapes designed, the modes of transport developed, the means and resources deployed in add to the promotion of architectural signatures of the renowned architects, and the modes of governance and project management. henceforth, rabat shows its ambition as a city of culture, as a green city and as a “city of light”. the time of rabat, as administrative city, is over. however, the image displayed and publicized seems controversial compared to the reality of certain urban spaces, often with high heritage value, that develop on the margins of programs and projects initiated. real deficits are observed in terms of basic equipment and services, in terms of transport network and in terms of urban coherence and social cohesion. everything contributes to an urban image with two facets: one more qualitative, more modern and more elitist, while the other is more spontaneous, more vulnerable and more devalued. faced with this identity transition and this double temporality, what image and identity do we want for rabat? what vocations do we claim for this city which aspires to become a national and international metropolis? what developments should be advocated for a capital with such a rich and diversified history? what relationship can be established between the local identity and the global identity of the city? how does the citizen apprehend his living spaces in the face of such universal urban model, where social connections as well as the spatial relationship mutate towards new practices? these questions will be enlightened through the confrontation of major projects underway and urban realities, through the analysis of the new urban model which is universal, modern and generating a new image and a new urban identity, as well as through the impact of these major projects both on the urban landscape and quality of life. it’s with these considerations in mind that this paper is drawn up: « rabat, a metropolitan city », between displayed image and reality of image and identity. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords metropolisation; urban image; local and global identity; innovation; urban deficit; urban experience; perception; media coverage; social connections. http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ kharmich/ the academic research community publication pg. 86 1. introduction faced with the challenges of national and global competitiveness guided by the neoliberalism issues, cities must assert themselves considering a context in which the trend toward metropolisation requires rapid and efficient economic development, a development that transforms urban complexes into permanent building sites and initiates a real urban revolution based on new operations. new urban development strategies and new governance tools are used to serve the need for attractiveness and contemporary issues. thus, planning principles based on project town planning and imported architectural models are used as way of media coverage attracting foreign investors and potential users. a real paradigm shift is underway. cities are deeply remodeled according to a universal urban model that generates a transition in the image of the city and in its identity, a model based on an operational planning called in french "urbanisme de projet" wich means an urbanisme based on urban projects instead of the principles of classic urbanism. moreover, and under the excessive effect of marketing campaigns, cities are made according to a logic of profitability often neglecting the identity and cultural language that makes their history and justify them but also and especially to depend on areas deemed unfit for development because precarious or without assets. moreover, these mutations, although of a physical nature, tend more and more to impact the social bonds as well as the relation of the user to his living spaces. practices guided by a new perception of the urban environment reflect the advent of a new urban area where the sharing of space tends towards elitism and segregation. selected to make the international renown of the kingdom alongside other cities with strong development potential, such as casablanca, tangier or marrakech and agadir, the city of rabat has been trained in a race to reach the standards that will make it the “cultural metropolis” of a morocco in search of a global and regional positioning. thus, by choosing the case of the metropolis of rabat, this article will be an opportunity to unerstand how this change of vocation from an administrative capital to a capital of culture is happened, to understand the new paradigm that guides the development strategies wich transform the city on a national and international urban showcase and to highlight the impact of the selective new urban model on the urban landscape and the local identity of the city of rabat in order to better understand the difference between its desplayed image and the one that really caracterizes it. we will also try to apprehend the new spatial practices that result from this mode of development and to emphasize the relation that the user maintains with his living spaces in front of an urban model in break with the local context. a dual spatio-temporal dimension is identified: two urban realities, two perceptions of space and two relationships to space structure the city and shape it. 2. «rabat, capital of culture», or the manufactured image of a metropolis under construction subjetc of a vast development program focused on its seafront and parts of its hinterland, the city of rabat became since the 2000s a large open-air building site. having for aim supporting the enlarged regional policy, strengthening the socio-economic and sports structures as well as the road infrastructure, improving the human development indicators and promoting the tourist attractiveness of the region, this program embodies the advent of a new urban era. from an administrative capital to a cultural one, all the efforts are invested to make rabat a metropolis with international outreach. a new logic of urban planning characterized by universality and based on urban projects deeply impacts the urban structure of the city in add to its urban landscape. indeed, this new model draws its references in international concepts reproducing standardized urban forms (marina, mall, technopoles, towers, etc.) and makes that the city develops according to a new organization of the territory, based on a multipolarity and on new centralities leading to new mobilities and new connectivities. new urban landmarks symbolizing contemporary architectural trends, based on scenography and aesthetic research, replace the old ones and shape the image and identity of the city: the tower moroc telecom, the new hotel "the kharmich/ the academic research community publication pg. 87 view", the new mall "rabat city center", the great theater of zaha hadid, the national library, the museum of contemporary art, the project of construction of the highest tower of africa, etc. many projects are underway and the rhythm of realization is going fast at a time when the country is seeking to position itself internationally. the development project of the “bouregreg valley” as well as the new business district “hay riad” are emblematic examples in this field. . indeed, it was through the development project of the bouregreg valley, instituted as a major urban issue, that the culture of the urban project was introduced, surpassing the classic approach that the city experienced during its different historical periods, an approach based on planning. figure 1 : the tower maroc télécom”-hay riad-rabat figure 2: the theater of zaha hadidvalley of bouregreg rabat figure 3: the national bibliothèque-rabat kharmich/ the academic research community publication pg. 88 consisting of a large number of structuring projects often referred to as "mega projects", the bouregreg valley was chosen because of its location in the heart of the city but also on the seafront and along the oued bouregregand due to the importance of its landscape and heritage assets, in order to reflect the new image of rabat, an image with strong advertising connotations whose role is to attract potential investors and drain foreign capital especially those from the gulf countries. thus and thanks to colosal expenses, the bouregreg valley has become more than emblematic, it embodies, since the launch of the urban development program, the new identity of the city as capital of the culture but especially as showcase urban at all scales. to the two former identities (historical center and colonial center) is added a third one wich is "hybrid", uniformist and universal. also, and on the right bank of the valley, other projects come to be welded to the site as part of the “supposed” integrated development program of rabat: the construction of the highest tower in africa, the long-awaited theater of zaha hadid, the villa of arts and culture, the new cinema complex, the sculpture gallery, luxury residential complexes, etc. lot of projects, or rather, architectural signatures, which further support the "marketing" approach largely inspired by western countries. it must be admitted that all these operations benefited from a brand new governance model without which these projects would not have emerged. indeed, a foreign mastery and a new system of actor enjoying autonomous decisionmaking were put in place to offer more efficiency and convenience to the realization of the development program of the valley of the bouregreg (derogations on an ecologically vulnerable site, expropriations for public utility, relocation of some local populations, etc.). this new approach was accompanied by the implementation of new tools for framing the action such as autonomous development agencies, development companies, external subcontracting, investment agreements, international consulations, etc. this new approach was an opportunity to introduce new forms of action whose deeply impact the metropolis. indeed, it is a two-speed urbanism that marks the frame of the city. between an operational urbanism that develops at the valley and the maritime front of the city but also at the business district "hay riad" and a classic urbanism based on planing which frames the rest of the metropolis, the city develops in segments without real urban or social links. the rhythms are different and the results in terms of development are even more so. the fact that the interest but also the efforts and the investments which accompany them are directed towards certain zones of the city without others, ended up creating a kind of social ghettoisation and a disruption of the urban framework (a deficient in transport infrastructure, ineffective relocation operations wich stay unsuitable for the target populations, persistent insecurity in some remote areas of the metropolis, etc.). figure 4: youssoufia district-rabat https://www.linguee.fr/anglais-francais/traduction/ineffective.html kharmich/ the academic research community publication pg. 89 figure 5: the transport problematic in rabat the image of a resilient, modern and equitable city whose slogan is "rabat, city of light" as a reminder of the vocation (or rather the etiquette) of the capital of culture, becomes controversial in the face of another reality. 3. from the " displayed image " to the "reality of the image": an urban paradox to catch thinking outside the usual uses, mobilities, residential paths and identity references wich is very closely linked to the history of places, this new generation of projects is far from being shared by the entire community and often lacks territorial belonging. also, the high cost of projects, some of which are non-priority, accentuate the gap that exists between the different neighborhoods of the city where some lack the infrastructure and amenities. regression of the identity role of the old centers (medina, colonial center), reconfiguration of the urban landscape according to architectural models lacking contextuality, progressive loss of urbanity and appearance of new relationships to space (multiplication of socially selective spaces) , proliferation of unhealthy housing (especially the youssoufia and yaakoub al mansour districts), transformation of the landscape on the outskirts from rural habitat towards unhealthy social or economic housing (douar lhajja, industrial district, takaddoum district, inbiaat neighborhood, etc.), new opening of new urbanization aerea and fragmentation of land (the new aerea of akrach, guiche oulad mtaa, etc.), persistence of informal means of transport, the inefficiency of "resettlement" operations that have created more social precariousness, all of which attest to the fact that the back country of the metropolis proliferates on the sidelines of the so-called "integrated" development program of the city of rabat, a program that in the end only affects areas with high media potential whose developmental assets are undeniable (seafront and banks of the river of bouregreg, new residential and administrative districts of high standing chosen for co to establish a new urban centrality such as the "hay riad" business district, etc.). a striking paradox between the image we want to give to the city, the controversial image of a modern, resilient and fair rabat and the image of a rabat overwhelmed by persistence of sub-integrated neighborhoods thriving there and the precariousness of the informal economic activities that are multiplying. figure 6: informal economi activities-marché central-rabat kharmich/ the academic research community publication pg. 90 figure 7: informal economic activities-the médina of bab el had-rabat thus, and based on the example of the development project of the bouregreg valley, the development program was done by omitting the role of such an intervention in the development of supra-municipal issues. its relevance at the scale of the municipality should not compromise the major balances on the scale of the whole city, but rather should ensure urban continuity where intercommunality is essential. some questions must therefore be asked: are the new urban development programs carried out in continuity with the existing? are conncettivities taken into account? (public transport, networking, etc.), what is the impact of development projects on the natural area? (landscape, relief, sensitive environments), do these programs and opréations promote a social mix? is privacy preserved? does the citizen adhere to the programs and transitions they involve or is he simply a spectator? do projects value built heritage and surrounding natural heritage? what relationship can there be between local identity and fabricated identity? as many fundamental inter-actions that should precede any new development, and this, in favor of solidarity, equitable and balanced living areas. 4. conclusion faced with the challenges of atractivity wich is strongly linked to the issues of conpettivity, the image of the city has become a real tool for city branding. the promotion of cities is now done through the creation of advertising slogans assigned to various development programs such as "rabat: ville lumière" or "al-hoceima, manarat al moutawassit". in this sense, strengthening the brand image of the cities often involves urban and architectural projects likely to have a strong influence. so, the import of signatures or global architectural icons strongly contributes to make the city identifiable and atractive. thus, this approach of labeling serves to assert the status of the city and strengthen its attractiveness by giving it a vocation (capital of culture such as rabat, capital of tourism and leisure such as agadir or marrakech, economic capital such as casablanca, etc.). however, this race for attractiveness can, as in the case of the city of rabat, generate adverse effects that call into question the image of the city. indeed, an imbalanced development within the city leads to a strong growth of social inequalities in terms of housing and access to infrastructures and equipment thus inducing perverse effects that affect the quality of life (discomfort, social tensions and insecurity). an unbalanced attractiveness is likely to engender repulsiveness. being selective, the attractiveness raises the question of maintaining the balances of the city (between its multiple functions and between its populations) and that of its harmonious development. the image of a city therefore depends on its ability to couple economic opportunities with social life (infrastructure, work, housing, leisure, etc.) it must be highlighted that the image of the city is strongly linked to the social representations, to identities and to the strength of the feelings of belonging that these generate. a second image is designed by the dweller, other than the kharmich/ the academic research community publication pg. 91 one manufactured. this image refers to the perceptions and aspirations of people, and their belief that the city is likely to satisfy their aspirations. the success of the image of the city therefore depends on its ability to communicate with citizens by mobilizing appropriate cultural registers and highlighting assets that make sense to the public in their urban experience. thus, the construction of the image of a city must be characterized by a symbolic aspect based on the highlighting of specific local values, a singular history, the "personality" of the city, its dynamism, its aesthetic qualities but also its potential heritage. the goal is to put the image chosen for the city at the service of an equitable sharing of urban space. references mouloudi, h. (n.d.). les projets d’aménagement des fronts d’eau de rabat, entre logiques de développement urbain et internationalisation. le maroc au présent, 61–75. doi: 10.4000/books.cjb.1000 serhir, s. (2017). hay ryad à rabat : de la ville nouvelle au quartier ?. les cahiers d’emam, (29). doi: 10.4000/emam.1376 marchand, d. (2005). la construction de l’image d’une ville: représentation de la centralité et identité urbaine. a: robin, monique i ratiu, eugénia (eds.). transitions et rapports à l’espace. parís: l’harmattan, 299-335. marchand, d., & weiss, k. (2006). la crise de l’identité urbaine: stéréotypes spatiaux et mise au ban de la ville. psychologie sociale de l’environnement. rennes: presses universitaires de rennes. cusin, f., & damon, j. (2010). les villes face aux défis de l’attractivité. classements, enjeux et stratégies urbaines. futuribles, (367), 25–46. doi: 10.1051/futur/36725 cvijic, s., & guzijan, j. (2013). cultural and historical heritage: an asset for city branding. spatium, (30), 23–27. doi: 10.2298/spat1330023c http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication research paper received: 15 august 2023, accepted: 25 september 2023, published online: 31 october 2023 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i3.1003 the contradictions of saint paul’s cathedral: an architectural exploration of its relationship with the people of london ilaria bortot1, harry ellerd-cheers2 1llm art law, school of law, university of york, united kingdom 2ma medieval history, faculty of history, university of york, united kingdom abstract saint paul’s cathedral is a contradiction. beautiful and majestic, it combines an almost catholic shape with a protestant soul. it is one of the most powerful symbols of england, and a reason for pride for any londoner. this paper wants to explore the architectural variations of saint paul’s, especially before and after the great fire in 1666, to unveil the peculiar relationship between the cathedral and the people of london. although st paul’s has been a constant for the londoners, its role in their lives has not always been the same. the progressive change in people’s attitude towards the cathedral went at the same pace as the alteration of the architecture of the building, which mirrored the social, political, and religious changes of the country. from being a central point of commerce and medieval social life during its norman period and its gothic style, the cathedral evolved into the highest symbol of religion and power and reached its peak with the design provided by wren. looking at the different models of saint paul’s, from its first consecration in 604 until today, it is evident that the building has been an active player in english history, adapting itself to necessity. it witnessed the norman conquest, the dissolution of the monasteries under henry viii, and the great fire, and it was the symbol of the english strength and resistance in world war ii. therefore, the study of the architectural changes of saint paul’s is the study of the city of london, its people, and some of the most significant historical events that shaped england. © 2023 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords: st paul cathedral; social changes; architectural changes; london; history; people 1. introduction there are few artworks that better embody the idea of british imperial power like the heart of the empire by niels moeller lund (fig 1). the painting represents a moment of dynamic and almost chaotic activities of the people of london on one of the city’s main streets. the londoners here are framed by buildings that play an active role in their lives, such as the bank of england, mansion house, and st paul’s cathedral. artistically speaking, the latter represents the vanishing point of the painting, and the viewers’ gaze almost accompanies the crowd from the street up to the magnificent dome of the cathedral itself. the painting is a masterpiece of imperial power. however, for the sake of this article, we will focus on another relevant element of the artwork. the heart of the empire indeed emphasizes the role of london as the main player in finance and trade, and it wants to create a visual link between the economic and spiritual power of the city, embodied by the glorious presence of st paul’s. the cathedral is indeed central in the daily life of londoners: it is a symbol of belonging, a spiritual guide, and a reason for pride. as this article will show, the story of st paul’s is the story of london and its people. through a historical and architectural lens, this paper wants to study the architectural variations of saint paul’s, especially before and after the great fire in 1666, to unveil the role of the cathedral in shaping not only the aesthetic of london but also its history. mostly, the article will focus on the relationship between the building and the people of london, and it will investigate whether http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ bortot/ the academic research community publication the architecture of st paul’s influenced the life of the citizens, or if they determined the ultimate key role of the cathedral in london. 2. pre-norman history the earliest history of st paul’s we can reliably draw from comes from bede’s the ecclesiastical history of the english people. the narrative that bede constructs is one embroiled in the context of local political, social, and intellectual circumstances. however, bede’s skill as a historian allows him to place the religious oscillations of the east saxons as a microcosm of the wider “english” relationship with christianity and the roman church. bede tells us of the consecration of bishop mellitus to london in 604. mellitus arrives in the first rank of pope gregory’s ministers and provides the first link between the established post-roman church and london (bede, ca731/1994). almost immediately then, st paul’s was involved in the center of religious and political convulsions at the heart of the “english conversion”. bede quotes from a letter from st gregory, addressed to mellitus, stating ‘that the idol temples of that race (the english) should by no means be destroyed... for if the shrines are well built, they must be changed from the worship of devils to the service of the true god (bede, ca731/1994, book 1, chapter 30). there is no way to tell if this refers to some pagan ‘shrine’ at the site of the original, saxon, st paul’s, however it proves somewhat prescient to the fate of the historic see. this mention of ‘change’ by bede mirrors the various transformations of st paul’s through the centuries as a site of religious, social, and political power and influence. any further conjecture surrounding a possibly pagan beginning to st paul’s is bound to end in failure. there is currently no archaeological evidence of the saxon church, let alone anything which may have preceded this. as such, any link between architectural and social/religious change would lack the required evidence. indeed, it is possible that the religious roots of st paul’s stretch back even further, towards an elusive roman past, as evidenced by bishop restitutus representing london at the 314 council of arles. however, with no indication of what form any imagined structure would take, this study must base itself on more solid foundations. despite this, it is important to note that, from the earliest recorded mentions of st paul’s by bede, the building has been linked with conflicts between political and religious power. the dedication of this church to st paul is a direct result of the preaching and conversion of the east saxons by mellitus (bede, ca731/1994). it was built, however, by king aethelberht of kent, who according to bede ‘was the third english king to rule over all the southern kingdoms… but he was the first to enter the kingdom of heaven’ (bede, ca731/1994, book 1, chapter 5). after aethelberht’s death, however, the kingdom of the east saxons reverted to their pagan faith. bede then details how the east saxons wished to partake in the offer of bread during the sacrament but refused to be cleansed in the ‘font of salvation’ (bede, ca731/1994, book 1, chapter 5). subsequently, they expelled the bishop from the realm. it would not be the first time the worlds of political and religious power clashed at the doors of the famous cathedral. figure 1 heart of empire by niels moeller lund (1904), guildhall art gallery, city of london corporation. bortot/ the academic research community publication 3. norman cathedral: old st paul’s thereafter came various iterations of the anglo-saxon st paul’s, all of which produced similarly lacking archaeological records (schofield, 2011). the normans eventually began construction of the version of the cathedral which would stand for almost 600 years, this came to be known as old st paul’s. there is a certain historical irony that has meant that st paul’s has burned to the ground a number of times in its past, and on each occasion, rising to a new acclimatized context. this is also the case for old st paul’s. the anglo-saxon chronicle states that in 1087, ‘the holy minster of st. paul, the episcopal see in london, was completely burned, with many other minsters, and the greatest part, and the richest of the whole city’ (swanton ed, asc, 2000). the construction of a new cathedral at the site in ludgate hill could have proved to be an opportunity to impose royal authority on the freemen of london. the rebuilding of st paul’s in the norman style of the time was supposed to be a strong statement of political power. the plan was an imposing building that would oversee the city by a hill: the conqueror imagined a majestic cathedral whose shadow would scare the anglo-saxon population. however, the design of the building with its large open areas, the historical events of the time, and, mostly, the people of london, reshaped its character. this affected its role in the citizens’ daily lives, and ultimately its relationship with the city. london had emerged from the norman conquest relatively unscathed. after surrendering the city to william in 1067, the people of london received an uncharacteristically generous boon from the conqueror, in the form of a charter, significantly written in old english. this charter guaranteed ‘that every child shall be his father’s heir, after his father’s days; and i will not suffer any person to do you wrong’ (london metropolitan archives, royal writ (the ‘william charter’)). interestingly, this charter begins by addressing both ‘william the bishop’ and ‘godfrey the portreeve’, placing religious and local power together, but within the overall authority of royal supremacy. (london metropolitan archives, royal writ (the ‘william charter’)). william’s subsequent decision to build the tower of london away from the city itself, and the subsequent norman investment into the palace of westminster, further entrenched this diametrically opposed circumstance (keane et al., 2004). this meant that the royal seat of power could develop physically detached from the more commercial development of the city of london. it later became customary for the mayors of london to visit st paul’s and pray for the soul of ‘william the bishop’, due to his efforts in securing london’s freedoms (morrissey, 2021). an indication that the cathedral, and the clergy who it represents, have been seen as analogous to royal/state power, but also, key in london’s further success. this absence of royal authority, compared directly to westminster abbey, led st paul’s to develop more organically. what began as an exercise in control and oppression, would eventually become the scene for dramatic challenges to royal and spiritual authority. 3.1. old st paul’s architecture the story of old st paul’s traditionally starts in 1087, after a great fire devastated london and the anglo-saxon cathedral. the new construction was modeled following the norman styles of contemporary churches in france and italy (cook, 1995). it had a cruciform design and included a short choir raised on a crypt on its east side, deep transepts on both sides and a long aisled nave (fig. 2). following the words of the anglo-saxon historian william of malmesbury, the old saint paul’s was a “magnificent church... [with]…an interior so vast that could accommodate an inconceivable number of worshippers” (cook, 1995, 27). it is interesting to note that the big space provided by the cathedral will indeed play a key role in its relationship with the people of london, but not as a place of worship. the 13th century was a significant milestone in the development of saint paul’s, and it witnessed an enormous number of changes that mirrored the early gothic period of the time. works began on the clerestories, the walls were carried up, and each bay was provided with lancet windows that would benefit the interior with natural lighting. the vault covering the nave was quadrupled, and a timber roof was built above it. furthermore, 1256 marked the beginning of a project today known as the “new work”, which comprised the extension of the norman choir, and the adjunction of a lady chamber in every important church in england due to the spreading of the cult of the virgin (cook, 1995, 28). bortot/ the academic research community publication figure 2 old st paul’s plan. cook, 24 in addition, two further parishes were destroyed by the fire of 1087. both st gregory’s and st faith’s would be incorporated into the building of the cathedral, with st gregory’s attached to the south-western side of the cathedral and st faith’s located underneath the main building, in the eastern crypt (fig 3) (schofield, 2011, 43). this established the cathedral as a meeting point between parishes. the ecclesiastical system of parishes was vital in the administration of all aspects of life in the middle ages (harding, 2022). old st paul’s became a place where locality and community diminished to a commonly shared collective space. as this intended place of worship evolved into a liminal zone, political and commercial interests took center stage and worship became supplementary. there is a question as to how much the architectural design fed into this situation. the question of whether this is a case of purposeful design, or an incidental determinism is an interesting one to ponder since st paul provided such a vast space for gathering (beresford, 1925). as the cathedral finished construction in the late 14th century, old st paul’s started to emerge as a temporal and civic space rather than a monastic institution. mostly, it was used as a location for the formal conduct of legal business. st paul’s cross, a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in the churchyard, was dedicated to announcements, sermons, and political events enacted in front of the citizens of london (keane et al., 2004). interestingly, that same nave that malmsbury glorified, soon became a place for gossip, trade, and social meeting, not too dissimilar from the ancient roman notion of a forum (fig 4). hence, it became a space meant for activities that had not much interest in the salvation of the soul. bishop braybrooke in 1385 tried to issue a formal protest against people’s abuses of the sacred building. he forbade any ball playing inside or outside the cathedral, and crossbow activities that were damaging the parapets and towers, and he tried to stop any form of trade within the building (hist, mss, com rep). however, it was all in vain, and by 1554, one century before the great fire, the cathedral was already in a state of total neglect. figure 3 the st. paul’s precinct c. 1500. keene, burns, and saint, 4 figure 4 john franklin's illustration of paul's walk for william harrison ainsworth's novel, old st. paul's, published london: chapman & hall, 1841 bortot/ the academic research community publication the scale of old st paul, and its vast spaces such as the churchyard and the nave, played a significant role in the cathedral's relationship with londoners. when william the conqueror started the construction, the building was intended to be an overbearing and imposing shadow that overlooked the city. it had the purpose of scaring the anglosaxon population, it was a symbol of power and oppression. by the end of the 14th century, st paul’s was a core element of people’s everyday life. according to caroline m. barron and marie-helene rousseau, the londoners’ sentiment towards st paul’s wavered between intimacy and indifference (keane et al., 2004). as mentioned above, the space was used for practical activities. on the other hand, the absence of any sort of spiritual connection could be the reason for a detached feeling that led to the degradation of the building. however, regardless of the true sentiment of the people, we cannot deny that the initial intentions behind the building of old st paul’s were largely ignored by the residents of london. old st paul’s had a central role in london, it was far too familiar to londoners to be an effective symbol of oppression and authority. it was a place to do business, not to be scared into submission. this was largely down to an unintended consequence of the desire to build something notable, impressive, and daunting; it had the opposite effect. 3.2. reformation in the 1530s, the fate of all monasteries and religious institutions in england changed forever. henry viii, after several disappointing years of marriage with catherine of aragon, from whom the king did not conceive any living male heir, decided to divorce her and marry anne boleyn. the pope’s refusal to allow the divorce led henry to take gradual and confusing steps towards the final split from rome and the establishment of the new church of england (wilson, 2009). the 1534 act of supremacy indeed officially made the monarch the supreme head of the church, a title still in use today. acknowledging that the actual abandonment of catholicism and the establishment of protestantism only happened under elizabeth i, henry viii, together with thomas cromwell who at the time was principal secretary, made a radical visual step against rome, the dissolution of the monasteries. a first act was approved in 1536, the act of suppression, whereby small monasteries with an income of less than £200 a year were closed, and their buildings, land, and money were taken by the crown. the second suppression act of 1539 allowed instead the dissolution of the larger monasteries and religious houses (wilson, 2009). they were a strong reminder of the power of rome, and therefore a threat to the new and still uncertain church of england. also, following luther’s influence on the matter, the king convinced himself that the old institutions were no longer relevant and that they were full of corrupt and immoral individuals who did not provide real help to the poor as much as their wealth indicated they should. on the other hand, the monasteries’ wealth itself was probably the main reason behind their destruction. they were the richest institutions in the country, and they owned over a quarter of all the cultivated land in england. by destroying the monastic system henry could acquire all its wealth and property whilst removing its papist influence. st paul’s, however, was not destroyed. the canons and priests there signed the 1534 act and recognized the king as the head of the church of england. in 1535, st paul’s fell under the control of the royal supremacy and, significantly, thomas cromwell, who granted the cathedral the license to continue its spiritual mission (keane et al., 2004). nonetheless, st paul’s still suffered the effects of the reformation. for example, in 1538, the rood of grace from boxley abbey in kent was displayed at paul’s cross and immediately destroyed. furthermore, in the same year, dean sampson removed three of the cathedral’s main pilgrimage attractions, the rood of the north door, the image of st uncumber, and the image of our lady of grace (keane et al., 2004). after the death of henry viii, st paul’s faced troubling years. the brief reign of edward vi, the proclamation of jane grey as a queen, and the notorious ruling of mary tudor kept the country in a constant state of change, where religion was among the main causes of death. eventually, the catholic-protestant issue was settled with elisabeth i. the protestant queen, who witnessed the mistakes of her father and sister, had a new approach. to her, england’s stability was a priority. hence, although the country and the queen herself were effectively protestant, she did not care for the personal religion of her people, as long as the country was at peace (guy, 1997). the reformation, therefore, gave the english an opportunity to reflect on their cultural past. with the dissolution of the monasteries, the ruins of the institution of the catholic church provided a window into their architectural heritage which could then be reflected upon by the newly “protestant” hierarchy. this would become particularly relevant when arguments emerged over the designs of the new cathedral in the seventeenth century. bortot/ the academic research community publication 3.3. elizabeth i and the 1561 lighting strike during elizabeth’s reign, st paul’s faced a catastrophe that would echo for decades. in 1561, lightning struck the spire, starting a fire that destroyed the steeple, the roof, and the bells, which crashed down beside the organ (fig 5). although the inside of the cathedral did not suffer any permanent damages, and the fire was fairly contained, the event was not only seen as a matter of human negligence but of divine intervention (keane et al., 2004). there were offers of funds and donations to repair the damage. this came from all around the country, from the queen, who directed, “from her purse, a thousand marks in gold”, all the bishoprics in the country, the greater numbers coming from london itself, but also significant contributions from norwich, lincoln, exeter, and hereford (dugdale, 1658/1818). the largest donation actually came from the total funds of the “citizens”, which accounted for almost half of the total (dugdale, 1658/1818). the people had bought a stake in the cathedral, an indication that they viewed the cathedral as their own and could adapt it as they wished. the political role of st paul’s in the elizabethan era found its peak in august 1588, when dean nowell preached a sermon for the first public recognition of the miraculous triumph of the english navy over the spanish armada (keane et al., 2004). in november of the same year, the queen, who just come back from the victory, visited st paul’s for the first and last time, and she found a huge crowd of cheering and proud citizens waiting for her. the post-armada cathedral, however, faced the same destiny as old st paul’s at the end of the 13th century. the building’s hollow spaces were polluted by smoke and smells coming from the chimneys of sheds around it. again, trade activities and children playing in the churchyard, profanities, and beggars contributed to the progressive degradation of the cathedral. on the other hand, st paul’s became, probably for the first time, a tourist attraction. following the 1561 fire, visitors were encouraged to climb to the steeple to admire the view from the top regardless of the sermons of holy ceremonies happening at the same time (keane et al., 2004). therefore, the spiritual element did not seem to be a strong component in the shaping of people’s relationship with the cathedral. however, unlike the 13th-century condition, it is plausible to assume that the citizens of london were developing a stronger feeling towards st paul’s. many londoners were living in properties that gave access to the cathedral’s roof, and they all possessed the keys to st paul’s. one of today's most prestigious buildings was therefore accessible to the poorest, who could do as they pleased at any time of the day or the night. looking back at the conqueror’s original plan for old st paul’s, it is fair to state that his original idea failed. the building that was supposed to scare an entire population not only became the heart of people’s lives but also their actual homes. the social contradiction of st paul’s, between sacred and secular, politics, and commoners, catholic and protestant, kept shaping the role of the cathedral throughout the centuries. at the same time, the development of new architectural designs mirrored the social changes of the time and simultaneously influenced people’s relationship with the building. st paul was therefore stuck between these two elements, which worked as external pushes from ancient times until today, and that gave st paul’s its final character. figure 5 saint paul's from the south showing the spire (ecclesiae paulinae prospectus...), from "the history of st. paul's cathedral in london", wenceslaus hollar, 1657 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/336038 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/336038 bortot/ the academic research community publication 4. a new design the relationship between st paul’s and londoners began to shift towards the end of the sixteenth century. this is evidenced during an outbreak of plague in 1582. the lord mayor issued an order to restrict the number of parishes authorized to bury at the cathedral from twenty-three to thirteen (porter, 2005). this was precipitated by a large uptake in shallow burials at the cathedral as londoners rushed to bury their dead in a timely fashion. this ban did not extend to persons of ‘honor or worship’ (porter, 2005). meaning that the ban was essentially a separation between those of the elite strata of society and those outside. this may help to explain the increased feeling of indifference towards the cathedral. while the structure of the building became more and more dilapidated, the choir became the site of prestigious, assertive tombs of courtiers and high-ranking officials, further entrenching this division (schofield, 2014). therefore, it is the cathedral excluding the masses from participation, and literal inclusion in the space, in a way that was distinct from the previous history of st paul’s. arguably, the cathedral moved away from londoners, rather than the londoners forsaking st paul’s. the reformation and its subsequent release of mass religious and political dissent had both an effect on, and was influenced by, the architecture of st paul’s. paul’s cross in the courtyard of old st paul’s became the setting of increasingly fiery sermons, the subjects of which could be the topic of its study. this had been used as a location for proclamations, both civil and religious, to the people of london since henry iii’s reign in 1236 (beresford, 1925). william dugdale’s influential writings on st paul’s in the 1650s established the narrative that paul’s cross was dismantled during the civil war, under the puritanical parliamentary regime (dugdale, 1658/1818). this was the predominant thought until recent historians began to challenge this assertion. mary morrisey has written that the paul’s cross sermons were administratively independent of the cathedral and staff, as such they had become the political domain for criticism and embarrassment of the civic authorities (morrissey, 2021). the pulpit from which the sermons were delivered was torn down during renovations which began in 1633, however, the sermons themselves continued inside the cathedral, in the choir, until the restoration. this becomes an interesting question about the impact of the space and setting of the sermons on the audiences, as well as the content, nature, and purpose of what is being said. morrisey details the various adornments that were paid for by the city of london corporation, as well as various guilds, which decorated the interiors of the choir (morrissey, 2021). increasingly, this space was becoming a symbol of secularity, commerce, and displays of wealth. this is reflected by the offers by these wealthy ‘citizens’ to maintain and repair the cathedral, as evidenced previously, rather than by the church or royal funds. st paul’s itself was becoming a monument to the emerging middle classes. mercantilism, business interests, and industry are reflected in this shift in contemporary nationalistic imagery. 4.1. civil war the early seventeenth century was a tumultuous period for britain, london, and st paul’s. the puritan restrictions in london were in action long before they were at the heart of the governance of the country after the civil war. concurrent with the shift in self-perception of english national character, were the convulsions within the political and religious landscapes of the stuart era. the poet thomas randolph satirized this paradox of puritan control with the reality of the city’s moral and physical corruption. he specifically uses st paul’s to do so, writing: figure 6 views of old st paul’s, london, cording inigo jones’s resurfacing. engraved by wenceslaus hollar from william dugdale’s the history of st paul’s cathedral in london (1658) bortot/ the academic research community publication divinity means to cure all souls, and charity means repairing old paul’s. the clergy and laity lovingly meet; th’one sweeps the conscience, the other the street, in the cleanly city of london. (randolph, 1629) there is clearly an established link between the funds to repair st paul’s, the conflict of puritan ‘charity means, and the dripping sarcasm of the “cleanly” city of london. in this way, we can see how st paul’s became synonymous with this new regime of london, almost to the point of mockery. this contradiction pre-empts the most significant restoration of old st paul’s which began in 1633, by the greatest english architect of his age, inigo jones (schofield, 2011). from jones’ (and later ones based on originals) drawings, we can see that two significant modifications to st paul’s were carried out (fig 6). these were, work on the main body of the cathedral, including the nave, and the construction of a classically inspired portico at the western end. the works were initiated by the royal commission, paid for by crown funds, but carried out under the auspices of london’s puritan governance. the “heroic” nature of the reconstruction seemingly flies in the face of puritan sensibilities (schofield, 2011). however, they were carried out to halt what the puritans would see as the physical, and moral, decay of this major symbol of christianity in england (schofield, 2011). they were an attempt to impose authority once again on the ancient cathedral and provide an insight into the clash of ideals at what would soon become the heart of revolutionary england. the city of london was at the epicenter of this simultaneous transformation. the commercial landscape fostered by the city led to the increased prominence of men whose wealth didn’t depend on how much land they possessed (baron, 1997). this new, “middling sort” drove the revolutionary waves of the mid-seventeenth century, the very same individuals who were paying for the renovations and gildings of st paul’s. this view is summarised by an anonymous english newsletter, clearly sympathetic to the crown, published in 1643, ‘who broke down the bounds to those streams of blood than have stained this earth… twas the proud, unthankful, schismatical, rebellious, bloody city of london’ (anon, 1643). the outbreak of civil war in 1642 had a direct impact on st paul’s, halting the extensive restoration works (schofield, 2011). then, in 1643, a parliamentary ordinance ordered the removal of all church icons of idolatrous nature. the following chapters in st paul’s history seemingly resemble a departure from the clashes between royal/religious authority and the secular use of the cathedral. however, during the commonwealth, st paul’s was used variably as a barracks, stable, and congregational meeting place (schofield, 2011). in fact, it was the site of the typical christian upheaval characteristic of the period, including a sermon by john biddle, an anti-trinitarian, who questioned the divinity of christ (smith, 2006). clearly, st paul’s was once again having an impact at the forefront of england’s spiritual uprising. this may have been the reason why, with the restoration of charles ii in 1660, the work to restore st paul’s seems to have stalled. however, the site around jones’ portico became home to a number of shops, reducing the gap between the street and the cathedral (schofield, 2011). it is possible that this latest narrowing of the secular and religious spheres contributed to disastrous consequences for old st paul’s, during the great fire of 1666. 4.2. the great fire the great fire came to be known as the milestone that forever changed the character of the cathedral. the fire began in the eastern side of london, but it quickly spread due to the wind and the quantity of combustible materials in the riverside warehouses. it hence reached old st paul’s. the building at the time was going through some restoration processes and it was surrounded by wood scaffolds. they rapidly assisted the fire’s spread (fig 7): the roof collapsed, heavy blocks of stones smashed the floor, and the cathedral burnt for an entire week (keane et al., 2004). people’s reaction wavered between those who believed in the providential purpose of the fire in cleansing the contamination of the civil war and those who were instead badly shaken by the fire, as old st paul’s represented the measure of their entire worldview (keane et al., 2004). in the 17th century, london was not only the largest city in britain but also the center of trade and finance. the damages caused by the fire were a challenge to the city’s status in europe. bortot/ the academic research community publication london had to be rebuilt, as fast as possible, or a new modern city would take its place. the construction of a new st paul’s was part of this process, and wren was the man granted the task of framing “a design handsome and noble, and suitable to all ends of it, and to the reputation of the city, and the nation” (summerson, 1993). 4.3. wren’s designs the process that led to the final construction of st paul’s was long and characterized by several designs and adjustments. however, the common element was something still estranged from english architectural tradition: the dome. in the summer of 1673, the center of the dome was marked out, among the ruins of the old cathedral, on a gravestone “with nothing remaining of the inscription but this single word in large capitals, resurgam” (royal academy of art, 1991). that same stone was years later re-carved in one of the tympanums, under a phoenix. both elements then became symbols of the new cathedral and the new london itself (royal academy of art, 1991). the decision to build a new modern cathedral led to the preparation of the first design. the latter was characterized by a rectangular choir with a large domed vestibule, which was probably influenced by the design of temple church, just a few minutes away from st paul’s. the choir had a simple arcuated outline and it presented two external orders, which were inspired by the theatre of marcellus in rome (summerson, 1993). although the contribution of the new cathedral was only just starting, wren already showed his interest in the connection between english tradition and rome, both ancient and modern, which will be highly evident in his next projects. the first design was approved by the king in 1670. however, the following two years witnessed a vast and rapid prosperity in london, which made wren’s model look too modest if compared to the city. wren thus offered an alternative, today known as the great design, which was approved by the king in 1674 and had to be recorded as a “perpetual and unchangeable rule” in a wooden model (royal academy of art, 1991, 10). wren here introduced a greek-cross plan with a central space characterized by the dome supported by eight equal, but not equally spaced, piers (fig 8). the interior was to have a major corinthian order and a subsidiary order, while the exterior had one single corinthian order and seemed to echo inigo jones’ model (summerson, 1993). there is not much evidence about the rejection of the great model. following the words of wren’s son in parentalia, some of the clergy thought the design was “not enough of a cathedral fashion” (royal academy of art, 1991, 11). the reason behind this statement is both financial and symbolic. the approval of the great design was indeed a commitment to a building that would have been usable and stable until it was finished. hence, it was a “commitment to completion and taxation” (royal academy of art, 1991, 11). on the other hand, the domed central plan of the model invited an inevitable comparison to st peter’s in rome, the iconic symbol of catholicism and papal authority. the reformation happened merely a century before, and, as it has been examined in the previous paragraphs, religion kept being a reason for concern through the elizabethan period and the civil war. it is safe to assume that the clergy did not want to risk challenging either the king or the people by giving a catholic look to what was supposed to be a symbol of unity for the country. as it is reported by summerson, the great design was an intellectual exercise that was appreciated by connoisseurs and intellectuals, but incapable of gaining national approval (summerson, 1993). figure 7 etching depicting st paul’s cathedral burning in the great fire of london, by wenceslaus hollar, 1666 © trustees of the british museum. figure 8 great design. studies for transept wall and entrance for the central recess. drawn by wren, c. 1673 (ref. no. wre/1/3) bortot/ the academic research community publication to please the clergy, the king, and the people of london, wren started working on a new design that would include a cruciform model that would have a “cathedral-form but so reflective, as to reconcile, as near as possible, the gothic to a better manner of architecture” (royal academy of art, 1991, 15). this project, in 1675, came to be known as the warrant design (fig 9). although it was never built, not even on a wooden model, the drawings showed wren’s intent to build a sort of classic equivalent of a gothic cathedral. the design had a latin cross plan with an octagonal central space, a traditional long aisled nave, and a tall spire, which perhaps wanted to embody a symbol of rebirth after the 1561 fire. despite wren’s intention to satisfy english taste for their architectural tradition, he still added elements of roman influence. the warrant design meant to have an internal dome, based on the one at the pantheon, that was supported by eight arches, and that would have worked as the base for an eight-sided tower. looking at the drawings, the final result would have been rather bizarre, and not particularly appealing to a modern audience. as mentioned, the warrant design was never built, and wren continued to modify his ideas. the first alternation, in 1675, was the replacement of the gothic tower and spire with a classical dome resting on a drum that would contain sixteen oval windows. at the same time, wren kept the interior of the dome that he planned in the warrant design. he replaced the octagonal plan with a cylindrical one, introduced diagonal semi-domes at the level of the aisles, and, above them, included large windows that would diagonally lighten the central space. to make room for the semi-domes, wren eliminated the plinth of the main order, which was lowered to floor level, and he included an attic storey where the semi-domes could rise. the design was therefore stabilized, and it looked almost perfect (fig 10). nonetheless, in comparison to the magnificent structure, the dome appeared too modest and not fit to provide the great landscape that london deserved. st paul’s needed a new, bigger, and majestic dome that would not damage the building. this stage is known as the definitive design, and it led to the building of “complex unity” that today we are all familiar with (fig 11) (royal academy of art, 1991, 16). in this final design, wren proposed to add screen walls that would rest on the aisle walls of the cathedral. the effect would be bi-fold. on the one hand, they would render the exterior of the building a visually adequate “voluminous mass” (summerson, 1993, 211). at the same time, the screen walls could work as counterforts to any excess weight of the new dome. to match the glorious massiveness of the new st paul’s, the new dome had to be enlarged. wren based his design on the french example provided by hardouin mansart for the dome of the invalides in paris in 1683. the model offered by wren was approved in 1701, and by that time it showed a combined influence of mansart, bramante’s tempietto of s. pietro in montorio and michelangelo’s st peter’s basilica. the visual effect of the dome, although it is essentially baroque, presents a strong resemblance with bramante's example. wren kept the buttresses terminating in twinned columns, which were present in both mansart and michelangelo’s domes. however, in st figure 9 penultimate design. summerson, 208. figure 10 warrant design. the warden and fellows of all souls college, oxford. bortot/ the academic research community publication paul's this device is used eight times, and it fills every fourth intercolumniation with masonry. in addition, wren introduced a second internal dome, influenced not only by michelangelo but also by the pantheon. st paul’s was hence characterized by a smaller dome with an open oculus, and a bigger majestic one right above it (fig 12). by doing so, wren combined his stylistic taste with architectural necessities and produced a dome that mirrored the grandeur of london and the country. the building of st pual’s therefore required changes, adjustments, and compromise. despite the clergy's initial resistance to any sort of resemblance between the cathedral and st peter’s in rome, by the beginning of the 18th century, the comparison was inevitable. it was however important that the differences between the two buildings would outweigh the similarities, and wren successfully accomplished the task. the new st paul’s is two buildings in one. architecturally speaking, the double dome and the interior serve the purpose of the church and its structural needs. on the other hand, the exterior mirrors the greatness of the country and represents the perfect ornament of the city. st pual’s duality also rests in its two souls. the long aisled nave and the two-sided gothic towers combined with a classical dome and the cylindrical plan are the perfect syntheses of protestant and catholic elements in the country. therefore, wren was able to embody the history, the tradition, and the future role of the cathedral by incorporating different architectural elements. he did not choose one religion over the other, he acknowledged english history and religious struggles, and he created an architectural masterpiece. 5. st paul’s as a symbol following the official completion of st paul’s on 25 december 1711, the life of the cathedral continued to shape, and be shaped, by events and people surrounding it. it would, of course, be an exaggeration to say that religion had left the daily life of londoners in the years of the reconstruction. however, old st paul’s had burnt down in one era, and risen again at the beginning of a new one. the catholic stuarts had been ejected from the throne of england, to be replaced at parliament’s will by their protestant relatives. william and anne, and later, the hanoverians would be granted the same opportunity. the commercial and civic sensibilities that had begun to emerge and show themselves in old st paul’s were now firmly entrenched in the systems of power in this new united kingdom. it is not then incidental that the construction of st paul’s had begun under royal prerogative, and officially finished by parliamentary declaration. this new st paul’s was meant to symbolize a different nation, not one of a conquered people, but one confident in their imagined sense of moral, mercantile, and imperial superiority. the symbolization of st paul’s would continue in the centuries after, constantly being adapted to the social conditions of the nation. the impact of the symbolization of st paul’s by the people is clearly seen in one of the most famous images of the dome from the second world war. ‘st paul’s survives’ was taken on the night of 29 december, one of the deadliest of the london blitz between 1940-41. however, away from the inevitable sentimentalism associated with such an image, we can explore how the social impact had affected the way the cathedral was viewed. first-hand accounts of the 29 december describe the dread and sorrow for the famous building, american correspondent ed murrow figure 11 st paul’s cathedral, 1896, by cassell & company, london. figure 12 paul’s double dome. summerson, 215 bortot/ the academic research community publication reported live that, ‘the church that means most to london is gone. st paul’s cathedral is burning to the ground as i talk to you now.’ (bliss ed, 1968). as he spoke, multiple incendiary bombs had fallen in or around st paul’s, one lodging itself in the rafters near wren’s beloved dome. by the end of the night, virtually every building surrounding the cathedral had perished, apart from wren’s masterpiece itself (hastings, 2010). many saw this as a miraculous intervention from god, reflecting the opposite religious condemnations from the previous great fire. in a less religious age, it still helped to feel like god was on your side. this night later came to be known as “the second great fire of london”, such was the destruction wrought by the luftwaffe. the parallels that can be drawn here are almost too obvious to state. winston churchill knew the power of this impression and it was not a mere accident that the cathedral survived. a member of the london fire service later remembered that churchill had said to her that ‘he wanted us to save st paul’s cathedral… at all costs.’ it is the image of the dome that provided the most powerful propaganda, the aim of which would inspire the people with something they were inherently familiar with (clampin, 2014). the exterior of the building was saved and broadcasted, despite extensive damage to the interior. this symbolizes how st paul’s has been warped into a perfect image of a cathedral and a symbol for london and what it represents, rather than a practical, religious building. this had happened organically, not through imposition, but from londoners adopting st paul’s as their own, something that belonged to them. the power of this symbolism endured the decline of the empire and britain’s identity crisis of the tumultuous later twentieth century. the architectural landscape of the city saw the arrival and subsequent decline of brutalism in the 1950s and 60s, as well as the construction of challengers to st paul’s vertical domination (white, 2008). the office blocks, communication towers, and council flat blocks meant that st paul’s was no longer the singular, overriding frame in the cityscape of london. by 1991 pelli’s one canada square, a monument to a different, less exalted, form of consumerism, stood at twice the height of st paul’s cathedral (white, 2008). however, st paul’s still managed to retain the aura of its past and stand as the venue of various national and international events. king george vi opened the festival of britain at the cathedral in 1951, martin luther king preached from the famous pulpit in 1964, and in 1980, st paul’s was chosen as the site of the most famous wedding of the century, lady diana spencer and charles, prince of wales. despite the newer, overbearing construction of various monoliths and barbicans of the post-war world, st paul’s still belongs to the people of london, without imposition from above. indeed, the city of london corporation still maintains the statutes laid out in the st paul’s heights legislation in 1937. this maintains protected views of the cathedral from all cardinal directions. a report from 2015 found that while some elements of st paul’s had been obscured, particularly the main body of the cathedral, the dome itself remained visible and distinctive (city of london corporation, 2015). figure 13 st paul’s survives taken by herbert mason (1940), taken on december 29, 1940, published on december 31, 1940, in the daily mail. bortot/ the academic research community publication 6. conclusion the social status of st paul’s cathedral today is unquestionable and maintained via direct action. the building speaks of power, religion, and greatness. it is a symbol of london, of england, and a point of reference for visitors from all around the world. from ancient roman times until today, st paul’s has had a direct relationship with the people of london, who are responsible for its contemporary perception. this research wanted to explore the dichotomy of architecture-people, and which element influenced the other. after a careful analysis of both primary and secondary sources, it is plausible to conclude that the people hold the main responsibility for the architectural changes. although the variations in the designs also follow the style and tradition of the centuries, the major role of the people of london cannot be ignored. the initial intended dominance of old st paul’s, in 1087, was meant to be a symbol of oppression, which led to the impressive size of the cathedral: the anglo-saxon population had to be scared of the big black shadow of the building. however, the literal space created by this will to over-awe externally, unwittingly formed a space for the communal internal use of the building. due to the access to the space allowed by st paul’s role as the church of the city of london, as well as various local parish shrines, the consequence was the antithesis of an imposing building. therefore, the people turned the cathedral into something they needed, regardless of its original purpose. from then on, st paul’s began to be shaped by the populace of london. the social developments of the city had a direct impact on the transformation and aesthetic of the building. the mixing of the commercial and the religious began, at first, almost as a convenience. it soon became the driving force in the adaptation and maintenance of the cathedral. in fact, even the times of neglect and distance from st paul’s reflect the contemporary social conditions. the growth of the city's commercial and financial interests was directly mirrored in the interior of the most public spaces of st paul's, and the dramatic losses to the exterior only reinforced this shift in the balance of power. the most obvious physical change occurred following the mass destruction of the medieval structure. however, these themes of commercialism and mercantilism continued with wren’s masterpiece of design, which contributed to the final transformation of st paul’s. considering the political climate, it could have been another statement of the reinforcement of royal power. instead, it became the center of the worldwide trade networks at the heart of the imperial system. furthermore, the building officially became an architectural masterpiece of religious embodiment; however, it would have not been possible if it were not a house of prayer for the people of london. st paul’s is therefore a perfect combination of practicality and sensitivity, which adapted itself to the needs of its citizens, and reflects and exemplifies how the people of london see themselves. they took the original cathedral and made it their own and kept shaping it throughout history into what today is one of the most powerful symbols of london. this is a consequence of the relationship between the cathedral and the populace. london is st paul’s and st paul’s is london. acknowledgments not applicable. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references books: bede. 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(2009). a brief history of henry viii: king, reformer and tyrant. robinson. http://archive.org/details/historyofstpauls01dugd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzqnhbumgqm https://doi.org/10.2307/990910 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1342305/the-blitzs-iconic-image-on-70th-anniversary-the-mail-tells-story-picture-st-pauls.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1342305/the-blitzs-iconic-image-on-70th-anniversary-the-mail-tells-story-picture-st-pauls.html https://www.history.ac.uk/events/ihr-derek-keene-london-lecture-2022-great-fire-and-end-medieval-london https://www.history.ac.uk/events/ihr-derek-keene-london-lecture-2022-great-fire-and-end-medieval-london https://marymorrissey.hcommons.org/research-chapters/ https://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/lma_opac/web_detail?sessionsearch&exp=refd+col~2fch~2f01~2f001~2fa#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&z=-0.1545%2c-0.0497%2c1.309%2c0.9944 https://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/lma_opac/web_detail?sessionsearch&exp=refd+col~2fch~2f01~2f001~2fa#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&z=-0.1545%2c-0.0497%2c1.309%2c0.9944 https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511627507.008 https://lady.co.uk/day-churchill-asked-me-save-st-pauls https://lady.co.uk/day-churchill-asked-me-save-st-pauls http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 6 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i1.696 creativity management: an approach for achieving efficient workplace environment omar mohamed ain1, laila mohamed khodeir2 1 department of architecture, faculty of engineering, the british university in egypt 2associate professor, department of architecture, faculty of engineering, ain shams university/ the british university in egypt abstract workplace environment is defined as the current conditions of the surroundings of a workplace. more than 80% of performance problems are influenced by the workplace environment where efficiency of workplace environment represents the total amount of work done by one employee in a single day. there are different types and traits of employees in architectural design firms , where only 5 types are being analyzed in this research paper which encounters; creative, innovative ,talented , technical & analytical architects that should be considered to achieve an efficient workplace environment. hence , the problem of this paper the inefficient management creating inefficient management for architects results in the dissatisfaction of employees while boosting the rate of turnovers impacting the productivity negatively. one approach that has been introduced to tackle such problem is creativity management which could embrace the 5 types of employees in architectural design firms. thus, the main purpose of this study is introducing how creativity management approach can effect the workplace environment and increase its efficiency in architectural design firms . to achieve the aim of this paper , a comprehensive literature review analysis has been done on recently published research papers from 2000 to 2018. this includes discussing the contribution of authors on the approaches for efficient workplace environment , and introducing creativity management approach in workplace environment in architectural design firms. hence, findings of this paper took the form of impact analysis , where the effect of creativity management approach on achieving efficient workplace has been identified. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords workplace environment,efficient workplace, creativity management, architectural design firms 1. introduction nowadays , working in any kind of an organization requires a proper environment to be comfortable and creative in order to be efficient and to be more productive , but this workplace could not be found in every organization. therefore the focus of this research paper is to identify and resemble the concept of a workplace environment considering the http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ain / the academic research community publication pg. 7 employees needs and satisfaction in order for them to be happy and can be more productive which will result back on the organization in more productivity , profitability and much more. the concept of a workplace environment is not simple as it sounds , it goes through various stages to get to an efficient point where the concept relies and prospers its benefits on the organization. 1.1. the concept of a workplace environment the term workplace environment stand for the current conditions of the surroundings of a workplace whether it is the physical environment surrounding the workplace or it is the psychological approach taken in the organization towards its employees. both terms defines a workplace environment and plays an important role in such environment. to limit the scope of this research paper , the study will focus on the psychological components of a workplace environment where the mentality of employees is considered and taken care of whether its through interactions , management , communication and much more that will be revealed in this research comprehensive literature review. (work environment , 2018) 1.2. efficient workplace environment an efficient workplace environment is defined as the amount of tasks accomplished by a single employee within a single day, the more tasks accomplished by a single employee within a single day the more efficient the workplace is.(jane, 2010). furthermore , in order to achieve an efficient workplace environment, the workplace has to be identified in the first place. for instance , to know the types & trits of employees in a workplace environment. there are various types of employees present in a workplace environment. but this report only focuses on 5 traits of personalities presented in employees already present in the workplace environment. after analayzing the current workplace environment , a tool or an approach is needed to accomplish an efficient workplace environment which is described next that this study has been focusing on which is creativity management, (croome,2002) 1.3. latest trends of management in efficient workplace environment nowadays, there are various of management styles and leadership style has been revealed in all aspects and types of organizations including architectural design firms. for instance, talent management has become a commonly used management style in various companies all over the world, where this style truly appreciated godly talented people and use their talent in various different structure of work to perform and to produce better results in all fields. furthermore, lean management as known a japanese style of management has developed from being a very harsh and strong decisive style of management into a more human need related management where they take in consideration human aspects related to the way of how to manage humans and be a part of the team instead of being the common big boss who only gives order and barely follow up with his teammates. finally, the main topic of this research, creativity management which is considered as a new style of managing employees in organization to perform their imaginative and creative skills to produce new ideas, and not only ideas but ideas that can be practically function or perform. creativity management is used in various organizations including architectural design firms in other countries and has become a strong factor in determining quality and value of the firm. creativity management is a strong asset and requires a lot of attention and investment to perform in its best shape. (alomar, 2010). 1.4. the role of creativity management towards embracing creativity embracing creativity in individuals is a fundamental potential that can be found in any human being but needs a motive to move it from the thinking state to functional state. the human resources management can be responsible for choosing creative employees or transforming regular and regular employees to creative ones. hr management plays on the strings of creativity management, it can determine whether creative people are treated with the right management style to overcome their thinking barriers and complete the work with the best techniques and tools provided or is there a special way and development is needed to be maintained in order to deal with creative people and determines whether an employee is a creative or a non-creative employee. not only treating the creative people with the right management is the solution, but also transforming the non-creative ones to more creative employees is ain / the academic research community publication pg. 8 an important role that hr management is facing in order to achieve the purpose of creativity management with lowest cost possible and also builds and enhancing employee’s skills rather than just disqualify them and replace them with costly qualified people. creativity management is related somehow with cost through the last point discussed. improve the existing employees and reveal their internal creative skills instead of throwing them away and replace them with brand new employees that will cost the firm in both time and money. (alomar, 2015). this research resembles a list of questions that will be answered through the research. questions that describe the problem, purpose and the daily routines from an employee’s point of view dealing with management styles in egyptians organizations especially related to architectural design firms. 1.5. creativity management in architectural design firms egypt is well known for its architecture and its history in this field particularly, but nowadays the future does not promise as much as the past. there are several problems in various areas related to architectural fields and the development of the deigning & construction procedure. one of the main problem is the lack of creativity management here in egypt and misleading creative people and not appreciating the talent they have and can be developed to achieve unpredictable results. egypt as well-known as its historical architecture like the pyramids, luxor & aswan and many other. unfortunately, it is also known as it’s ugly buildings that are present in every corner of this country. these buildings represent the lack of various aspect but in this case, it strongly lacks the creativity aspect. all buildings are becoming the same, some buildings even left without finishing the exterior layer. for instance, in any design office here in egypt, let’s take residential buildings for an example. there will be one or two designs as a maximum for an apartment or an entire building, and no other alternatives if a problem suddenly shows up. this lack of alternative directly presents the lack of creativity and it management to the firm’s employees with other aspects and factors off course included. but the man lack that has to be fixed is the lack of this essential management style. (danfulani babangida, 2015). how to achieve an efficient workplace environment through creativity management approach? how is can workplace environment directly affect the productivity of an organization ? how is creativity management related to architectural design firms? what is the difference between creativity, talent and lean management? what kind of expected results from this approach? 1.6. problem statement management is a method to manage and organize a whole organization and the employees underlying this organization, and it has various styles and types which all focus on one aspect which is a successful and a smooth way of working environment to enhance productivity and quality at minimum cost and time. the main problem of this research paper is the lack of efficient workplace environment caused by the lack of an appropriate management style that leads to the dissatisfaction of employees and while boosting up the rate of turnovers which eventually leads to a drop in productivity of an organization. there are various types of management styles used in most of organizations. according to world business culture, that analyzed the egyptian management style. the most common used leadership style in management here in egypt is bureaucracy, where an authority is clear and the hierarchy of subordinates is clear. most often in this style, subordinates are never getting include in the decision making, subordinates are only meant to follow rules, even if it was wrong or traditional. limiting the risk-taking factor is highly cautioned in this kind of management, and being in the comfort state and following the old or mainstream structure of work is approached in this style. according to kathleen elkins who analyzed 50 leadership styles in 50 different countries have classified egyptian leadership style as nepotism. nepotism stands for the act of using the power of an authority to get good quality job from people underneath. refer to fig 2.1 (elkins , 2016) https://www.businessinsider.com/author/kathleen-elkins https://www.businessinsider.com/author/kathleen-elkins ain / the academic research community publication pg. 9 his research paper describes a problem that has been here in egypt for ages without any change or development. the management problem here in egypt is larger than expected. managers following the traditional methods from their previous mentors/teachers without realizing the effect of the general output of the organization and that will affect the overall outcome of the country. creativity management is a new kind of management style approach that is being used nowadays in other organizations overseas. it can be another solution to the large picture here in egypt. the lack of knowledge of dealing with creative and talented employees will indeed affect the overall process output during the process and after the process. it is strongly related to the quality, cost and time of the organization, and plays on the value of each of them. the problem needs to be reviewed all over again from this scope, focusing on creative people, encouraging them and motivating them to reach their highest potential. (gilbert tan, 1998) 1.7. aim the main purpose of this study is to identify the current workplace environment and change it to an efficient workplace environment to increase job satisfaction related to employees and increase productivity of an organizations through applying the principles of creativity management to manage creative employees within an organization and achieve an efficient workplace environment. 1.8. research methodology mixed methodologies and techniques have been used to identify the problem and achieve the aim which leads to the results. firstly, literature review has been undergone, to demonstrate how different literature sources discussed the topic from different approaches used in other countries and some firms here in egypt that has gone through creativity managed and have experienced managing creative employees in different fields, secondly one to one interviews were made with different companies’ representatives that have already managed to use these strategies to magnify their outcomes and productions in different fields , furthermore their daily interactions with different mindsets of employees and how each of them need a special part from creativity managed to be based upon them. last, employees have been asked about their daily routines and how they are wished to be managed and what do they actually seek from their managers and organization to embrace their potentials in different fields in architectural design firms and other firms as well. 1.9. scope of work the study is carried on in egypt and specified for egyptian architectural design firms and the significance of the lack of creativity management in these firms. the study includes the modern era, as of 2018 and afterwards, despite that creativity management has been already practiced in other firms internationally , data and information are collected due these specifications from international and national sources that carry the same scope of work of this study. 1.10. hypothesis architectural design firms need creativity management to be one of their management department, if not the prior. creativity management as explained previously has a direct effect on the success of the business whether through the employee’s motivation to work and create new ideas that will steer the wheel of the business better , or through the cost , quality and time effects as discussed previously. creativity management have been tested through certain amount of businesses and architectural firms , and it see that the type of organizations that has practiced creativity management in their field , proves that creativity and creative people actually affects the outcome of the final product and it is essential to take in consideration that factor to improve future outcomes and profitability. 2. literature review kevin bacon an american actor has stated “a good director creates an environment which gives the actor the encouragement to fly” . a beautiful quote that somehow explains that the director is the manager of an organization and his role is to create a work environment to motivate employees to be more productive. workplace environment is a term that is used to describe the surrounding conditions of the workplace relation with the employee’s operation. ain / the academic research community publication pg. 10 work environment can be of physical factors including office temperature, noise or tools & equipment’s such as personal computers. work environment also includes phycological factors such as the operations and interaction of employees with other employees’ peers or managers that determines the quality of the work environment. (work environment,2018). since people spend 50% of their time in an indoor environment, employees are very affected by their work environment that strongly affects their performance & productivity in an organization. (olanipekun, 2018, sundstorm,1994). efficiency is doing things right. (drucker, 2010). efficiency in workplace is defined by the work tasks completed in a single workday by a single employee. the more tasks completed by a single employee in a single workday creates more efficient workplace. (jane, 2010). achieving an efficient workplace environment prospers various benefits, on first hand it boosts the productivity of employees, thus boosting the productivity of an organization. according to akinyele, about 80% of performance problems reside in the work environment of organizations. (akinyele, 2010). an efficient workplace environment is developed in a way that allows creativity and productivity work together in parallel and peacefully co-exist. (jones, 2018) creativity is the action of transforming new and imaginative ideas and thoughts into reality, as well as creativity is characterized by the ability to receive the world from a different perspective to dig and discover hidden patterns , to make connection between unrelated phenomena. (naiman and naiman, 2018). there has been many argues that employee’s creativity makes a vital contribution in an organization productivity, therefore organizations need to create a context where it can manage creative ideas and employees and develop a work environment that prospers creativity. (management,2018) 2.1. defining workplace environment workplace environment has a strong influence on the performance and the productivity of an employee. take for instance, the interactions occurring in a workplace between colleagues during work can motivate other employees or it can destroy their own productivity and distract them from the main aim and goal every organization and achieving it through the performance of its employees. more than 80% of the performance of the employees and the problems occurring that disturb their performance is depending on the workplace environment and it can decide whether the performance of employees is efficient or not, hence the productivity can increase or decrease. (akinyele,2010). work environment can be broken down into three sub-environments that affects the manner and the implications of the nature of the work. first is the technical environment where the tools, equipment, infra-structure and other technical elements are included within this type of environment. the other type environment comprises the human environment that interacts with colleagues, teammates and work groups and interactions. the third type is the organizational environment that determines the leadership and management which includes procedures, practices, values and philosophies (opperman, 2002) (olanipekun, 2018). this study is determined to find out the implications and procedures taken in organizational environment in order to achieve an efficient workplace that not only increase the whole productivity of employees but also increase the satisfaction of employees, thus also revolving around increase the productivity and performance of employees depending on the type of environment they are working. refer to figure 1 that reveals the three sub-environment every work environment has. ain / the academic research community publication pg. 11 figure 1, work sub environment ( oppermann , 2002) workplace environment of an organization can also be broken down into two main categories which influences the environment where employees show their performance at work. first category is external factors which is generally the physical components that influence the work environment and employee’s performance. anything physical that influence the comfort level of employees is considered to be an external factor under the categories. physical components can be light, noise , temperature , the furniture design of an office where employees work , the presence of plan and greenery in the office and the spatial organization of the office which presents the level of comfort employees are expected to have during their working days. the office should encourage them to work better and increase their performance through comfort factors such as light level that has an effect on the comfortability of employees during performing their job. other than the external factors that influence the employee’s performance to be more productivity, on the other hand the other factor that influence on the employee’s performance is the internal factors of an organizational work environment , internal factor is basically composed of phycological and social components that affects the employees state of the ability of performing the job in the best form. psychological components actually composed of interactions that happen during the working days, such as communications with other colleagues as well as with managers and supervisors , self-motivation and reward system as well as recognition and creativity. all these factors and more are considered interactions within work environment that affects the performance and mental state of an employee. refer to figure 2 to get the full picture of work environment factors and components. other than interaction, there is also distractions that are negative factors that demotivates the employees on doing their job well and influence by decreasing the rate of their performance on doing a particular job. distractions are generally composed on overly strict policies that expect overload work to produce great result , rather than considered as too much and getting to low quality products will be the result as well as the daily use components such as internet , cell phone , gossip every day distractions should also be eliminated from the work environment as much as possible to avoid these negative components that decrease the rate of efficiency and productivity and thus creating a boring and inefficient working environment that will result in a drop of productivity. (haynes,2008)for instance , according to entrepreneur site article about employees satisfaction relation with work environment , about 86% of employees valuing interested work than pay and other 76% of employees rated that the sense of accomplishment is more important than the par , so satisfaction of employees and their motivation does not only depend on how much their pay is , there is much more than materialistic factor , the sense of recognition and accomplishment given to employees by their managers or supervisor can be much more important according to the ain / the academic research community publication pg. 12 study stated by entrepreneur site article on 5000 employees from different companies around the world. (al-masri, 2015) figure 2, work environment components, (haynes, 2008) 2.2. achieving an efficient workplace environment efficiency in workplace is defined by the work tasks completed in a single workday by a single employee. the more tasks completed by a single employee in a single workday creates more efficient workplace. (jane,2010) . producing an efficient workplace environment is strongly related to increasing the productivity of an organization , the productivity of organization has five main components that are phycological influenced due to the employees interactions and how these five components influence the productivity and performance of employees in a workplace , and the managerial process to avoid such problems to identify these five components in the organization and try to fix or replace the symptoms that appear to resolve such a problem. for instance, well-being is the prime main factor that directly affect the productivity of an individual , the other two factors that are very vital as well is the ability to perform a task or a specific job and motivation given to an employee to increase his or her performance. refer to figure 3 , to see the observations of phycological factors that influence the productivity of an employees while performing a specific job. figure 3, internal phycological factors influences rates (croome ,2002) ain / the academic research community publication pg. 13 a study made on 5000 employees in mena region including egypt on the job satisfaction and the performance of employees depending on work environment showed that only 4 out of 10 people are satisfied with. their work environment and 6 of them are complaining about the influences of their work environment affecting their way of work and decreasing their productivity , as well as more than one fourth of employees are not happy and motivated with their work environment and say that their environment plays a strong role on their demotivation to do their work perfectly . furthermore , 61% of employees are continuously trying to move to another firm which is creating a continuous cycle of not committing a creating lack of employee’s loyalty to their organization due to the poor work environment of the organization that affect the employees in such a manner that they want to leave their job every now and then. lastly only 27% of employees believe that their organization care about their well-being which demotivates employees to work perfectly and increase the rate of their performance , if they know they can be replaced within an eye glance. for more illustration , refer to figure 4. figure 4. percentages pie charts ( al-masri , 2015) in order to create an efficient work environment , knowing the current type of employees at an organization is a vital step to know how to change the work environment to an efficient work environment. employees are of various types with different personalities and skills. but this study paper has focused on five main types of employees that are at every organization and how much they are influenced and influence a workplace according to their skills level and personality traits. creative employees, are those employees that are imaginative and have the ability to generate new ideas and visualized new possibilities and solutions for problems. these employees are the most effected by a work environment , and work environment influence their performance the highest. innovative employees, are these employees that take the lead after creative procedures is done by creative employees , innovative employees are employees that implement the new ideas and transform these ideas into reality with new way of thinking and technologies that create a product with minimum effort and cost. talented employees, those employees are gifted with a special skills in a special field , these employees cannot multi task they are focused on one task with a particular high skill to perform well , they are not so much influenced by the work environment such as the creative and innovative employees. technical employees, those employees are technology seekers , they love technology and software , these employees have the ability to work under high pressure and over loaded tasks to perform a job , these employees are not very affected by their surrounding work environment. ain / the academic research community publication pg. 14 analytical employees, those employees are analysts thinkers , they have the ability to transform their knowledge and data to graphs and plots , chart and diagrams to know the optimum solution and resolve complicated problems , their work environment is not so much of an importance to them. refer to figure 5 to know the difference between the five types of employees at every organization and figure 6, to know how much of an importance work environment to each employee. figure 5, types of employees in an organization. (haynes, 2008) figure 6. percentage of workplace influence on each type. (haynes, 2008) ain / the academic research community publication pg. 15 2.3. defininf creativity, innovation and talent there has always been a confusion between creativity, innovation and talent. either, the three terms are all added up to sum a one term whether it is creativity , innovation or talent. or, the three terms are confused up and no clue of which one is more efficient , or which term relies on the other. one of the factors that this study shows is a clear definition and separation between the most commonly mistaken and confused terms , and give a clear image about the real sense of each term , and which term relies and depend on the other. talent is a well-known term used in everyday routines and work places as well as in educational institutes where students can be differentiated according to their level of talent in a specific subject, or in specific task in work place, or even talent can be doing something entertaining at home. old english talented, talent an (as a unit of weight), from latin talent, plural of talented ‘weight, sum of money’, from greek talan ton. talent (sense 1) is a figurative use with biblical allusion to the parable of the talents (oxford dictionaries | english, 2018). talent has many colors and skins with different features given to all human beings. talent is someone who has a natural ability to be good at something, especially without being taught. (dictionary, 2018) talents are gifts from god in the form of a person’s calling or natural ability. (institute for faith, work & economics, 2018). there are factors that directly affect any talent, factors can underlie the support of both emotional and social , the physical environment as well as the targeted remediation. furthermore, the differentiated instruction and challenging curriculum influence the nature of talent and affect its growth as well. the components of the model shown in figure 7, are interacting with one another and act differently according to an individual needs and abilities. (baum , 2009) figure 7, talent centered elements (baum,2009) innovation as defined by cambridge university is the use of a new idea or method as well as the development of new products and designs and lies under any of financial/organizational/technological innovation factors. (dictionary, 2018). innovation is actually more of a process that discovers different tools and techniques to uncover modern and new ways to do and create things. in order for innovation to be produced or even exist, it needs creativity which acts as the seed of innovation. creativity is the foundation of innovation, and innovation is the process of creativity. (tools hero, 2018). from the world perspective, innovation is the improvement of existing or the creation of completely new products , processes or services, as well as the transformation of existing conditions into preferred ones to create a new value for the world. (spinoglio, 2015). here are some keys to embrace innovation in an individual or a team. to develop and embrace innovation it has to be directed towards the vison that is desired in the future depending on analytics and data and how to implement these analytics to develop and achieve the desired vision. refer to figure 8 (arealityofmyown, 2012). ain / the academic research community publication pg. 16 figure 8, components of innovation (arealityofmyown,2012) creativity , the magic word that appears in many business and television advertisements to solve any problem or fix any situation. well, creativity is not that simple , actually creativity is a science that is based on facts and applications in order to realize what creativity actually means. creativity is basically the action of transforming new and imaginative ideas and thoughts into reality, as well as creativity is characterized by the ability to receive the world from a different perspective to dig and discover hidden patterns, to make connection between unrelated phenomena. (naiman and naiman, 2018). furthermore, as stated in the dictionary , creativity is the state or quality of being creative , the ability to transcend traditional ideas , rules to meaningful new ideas and forms that underlies creative abilities. (www.dictionary.com, 2018, oxford dictionaries | english, 2018). from the famous book human motivation creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives or possibilities that may be useful in solving complex problems while entertaining self and others. (csun.edu, 2018, from human motivation, 3rd ed., by robert e. franken pg. 396) last but not least, the modern definition of creativity focusing on the individual person, as an aspect of thinking, as a personality constellation, and as an interaction between thinking, personal properties and motivation. this interaction involves a number of paradoxes, in that apparently contradictory elements have to coexist for creativity to emerge (cropley, 2015). according to harvard business school professor, teresa aambile , there are three components that define and explore creativity. creative people in nature spend long period of time learning and developing their skill at a specific field and thus they acquire expertise, they also process and develop creativity thinking skills. however, this is not enough for creativity , the most important component of the three is motivation which can come from outside (extrinsic motivation , via corporate incentives , complements , appreciating the hard work , etc.) and can also come from an inside source ( intrinsic motivation , such as passion, purpose or simply fun). (aambile,2012). refer to figure 9. figure 9, the three components of creativity. (aambile,2012) ain / the academic research community publication pg. 17 according to the previous debatable papers and studies. there was a clear evidence that there is a strong relationship between the three terms each in a different aspect or area and field of application. although, these three terms have been confused lately but recently there were enough evidence based on facts and scientific proves that these terms and debatably meaningful each by its own identity and definition. for instance, if creativity is combined with innovation , a process is formed , a process of transforming the creative generated ideas into reality using new methods and techniques to have a new product. (finelabs, 2018). furthermore, if creativity is combined with talent , a creative talent is formed , because talent only is not enough , creativity is needed when new modern and undiscovered ideas are needed . (jensen, t. 2014). . as well as if talent is combined with innovation , entrepreneur is formed (klein, e. 2017).. last but not least, if all terms are combined together , this will result in an enormous growth in productivity whether in business field or in education field or any other field. (creative edge. 2013). refer to figure 10, where an illustration is made to make it clear about the combination between the three terms. as further more refer to figure 2.8 , where a comparison chart is made according to the papers and sources discussing about the three terms in terms of their efficiency , resources process and other in percentages to give a clear sense about the reality of the three terms , as well as refer to table 2.25 , where critical analysis based on the sources collected on each topic discussed to have a clear image about the whole topic and a simplified definitions in terms of the three subjects discussed earlier. figure 10, venn diagram of the three terms (klein, e. 2017, jensen, t. 2014 , finelabs. 2018) the following chart explains the difference between the three terms , creativity , innovation and talents according to number of papers relation to the years these papers has been published to give a clear image about the development of these ideas and opinion through time. refer to figure 10. figure 10 , percentage of papers relation of their year of publicity ( estimated number according to the sources & papers gathered) ain / the academic research community publication pg. 18 as shown in the last figure 10, a high percentage of number of papers has discussed creativity importance and relevance during period from 2012-2018 , as well as talent with a 28.5% of total papers during 2009-2018 and innovation with the same rate but during 2012-2018. as a result, creativity shows a high importance due to the number of papers debating over the components and programs of how to imply and develop creativity in everyday routine. another comparison shown in figure 11, shows the rate of effectiveness of each type and the skills needed in order to produce a noticeable effect on the project or output. the relation shown is based on the paper and resources collected to generate an organized and final results comparing between the three types in different fields. figure 11, the relation between effectiveness with skills needed in each type (baum,2009) (spinogolio,2012) (naiman,2018) as shown in the last figure 12, there is high effectiveness of creativity compared with talent and innovation , not only that but also requires minimum skills and have high effect upon an output. while talent requires high skills in order to perform that kind of talent and to have a noticeable effect on an output, inspire with innovation also requires a relevant skills amount but have high effect on an output than a talent does. furthermore, another figure 3.1 shows a relation between the resources needed in order to generate ideas. this relation has proved that there is a quite difference when inspecting each term on different level of resources limitation but there are fixed values in order the effect of each type on generating ideas in percentages. figure 12, the relation between resources needed and the ideas generation output of each type (baum,2009) (spinogolio,2012) (naiman,2018) ain / the academic research community publication pg. 19 as shown in the previous figure, that creativity requires minimum resources in order to perform and generate new ideas that have a noticeable effect on the progress of the process. while talent and innovation need a considerable amount of resources to start them and get an effect level according generating and stimulating ideas on an output or final product. last but not a least, a figure 13 that shows the effect of work environment on each type according to their performance. for instance , creativity could be very sensitive to its work environment , as colleagues and teammates affect creative people on a mark able level and can cause confusion in the idea generation phases. figure 13, the effect of work environment of the performance of each type of each type (arealityofmyown,2012) (csun,2018) (aambile,2012) (baum,2009) as shown in the last figure , creativity has scored 60% according to the impact and effect of work environment on creativity that proves creativity is the most of three types that is most likely to be very sensitive to its work surrounding and environment. while talent and innovation has much lower impact of work environment , regardless of what innovation has scored that proves it also has a higher impact from work environment comparing it with talent which has the least impact from work environment. the next table 1, shows the different resources and papers that has discussed the three terms innovation , talent and creativity. according to their components, definitions and elements as well as these papers has been classified and organized in order to get a clear image about the differences of the three terms. the next table is categorized according to the paper topic and publisher as well as the year it has been published in. furthermore , critical analysis has been provided to analyze and criticize the content each paper is carrying in order to clarify the image more often. table 1. shows the resources and papers discussed in the previous topics papers/authors year topic critical analysis talent oxford dictionary cambridge dictionary 2018 2018 definition of talent natural ability to be good at something , especially if not taught. institute for faith , work & economics 2018 the precise definition of talent talents are gifts from god in the form of a person’s calling or natural ability. ain / the academic research community publication pg. 20 table 1 continued innovation cambridge dictionary 2018 innovation meaning a new idea or method tools hero 2018 what is innovation? innovation is actually more of a process that discovers different tools and techniques to uncover modern and new ways to do and create things spinoglio 2015 definition of innovation innovation is the improvement of existing or the creation of completely new products creativity naiman 2018 what is creativity? creativity is basically the action of transforming new into reality, by the ability to receive the world from a different perspective discover hidden patterns. dictionary oxford dictionaries 2018 the definition of creativity creativity is the quality of being creative , the ability to transcend traditional ideas , meaningful new forms that underlies creative abilities. csun 2018 what is creativity? tendency to generate ideas , alternatives or possibilities that may be useful in solving complex problems while entertaining self and others. cropley 2015 definition of creativity focusing on the individual person, as an aspect of thinking, , personal properties and motivation. combination of three terms klein e 2017 talent-innovation development when talent is combined with innovation , entrepreneur is formed jensen finelabs 2014 2018 collaborative creativity innovation research and training creativity combined with talent , gives creative talent and when combined with innovation gives a process creative edge 2013 creative steps when all the three terms are combines it peaks up the productivity of any organization. according to the previous papers and resources and the previous table 1 that has clarified the differences between the three terms , the next table 2 is a seperating component in order to differentiate the advantages and disadvantages of each term. the next table concludes and justify why creativity in specific has been chosen to be the most reliable option of all three terms , in terms of efficiency , productivity and overall benefits. ain / the academic research community publication pg. 21 table 2. pros & cons of each term ( robinson,2018) talent innovation creativity pros + competence to finish a subject + develop new ways to synthesize information + thrive when only motivated + promote productivity +productivity +competitiveness +personal value and status +new relationships +profitability + problem solving + connect with other people + expanded sense of time , +self-awareness & expression + freedom +stress relief +multidisciplinary , it benefits almost all professions + give sense of purpose + confidence and risk taking + fun cons -needs a considerable amount of motivation to extract the talent -needs much time and effort to finish a task -very emotional -act as victims -seeking perfectionism -talents depend on availability -not multitask not talented in different fields -needs much resources -very expensive to apply -too much investments -might waste resources -might ruin reputation if product is poor needs time and effort -needs much resources -too many ideas to apply may take a lot of time -too many ideas may cause confusion and decrease focus -saturations of ideas -might affect quality if not done efficiently as shown in the table 2, creativity is the most efficient component of all three, due to it has various advantages and comes with least downsides that are although fixable. creativity has shown that it is very efficient and it can draw up a new margin of success and achievements if it is implemented in the right conditions with the right tools and techniques. as shown creativity is best at problem solving and generating new ideas on a continuous manner but as well too much ideas can cause a creative person much confusion, so ideas has to be limited to an exceeding limit and not further because too much ideas will also cause saturation , the ideas will not be valid anymore due to much confusion and lack of focus. generating new ideas is great but limiting them into sufficient amount increases the chance of these ideas actually working and practiced in real life applications. (higonia, 2016) (robinson, 2018) 2.4. latest trends of managerial procedure for an efficient workplace. recent organizations and firms are aiming for higher productivity and profitability , and the focus of the firms is circulating around the main head of management , to achieve better efficient management process , the hr management role has become more of an important status to control and maintain the management process and the ain / the academic research community publication pg. 22 teams that are being selected to perform efficiently under the management processes in order to gather as much as possible of value knowledge and new techniques to keep up with the ongoing updated market , as well as to ensure that the firm is significant enough to perform and compete among other firms and competitors. latest trend of management process has been development through the years of expertise and development. which underlies of these three-management process, despite that there are various other efferent management processes , but this research papers are focused on three management process to maximize the focus on the scope and to keep up with goal orientation of this study. management processes are of which lean management that is originally a japanese management process developed by toyota , talent management that development and focused on talent and innovation of employees , and lastly and most recently creativity management which is the focus of this research paper and the following debatable discussions , determines why the study focuses and preferred creativity management to be one of the most efferent management processes among other management styles. lean management is widely known in the business world, and has influenced many businesses in various ways. the origin of lean management comes from the management philosophy developed from toyota production system (tps). lean management is simply defined as the process of focusing on improving the speed and quality through reduction of process wastes. lean management most common used teams will be problem solving and self-directed teams. (schultz, 2015). lean management is a method of managing companies that adapt to the actual market status through organizational and functional alternations. the core of lean management is the act of polishing up the company, especially in the company’s assets and its management styles. furthermore, lean management focuses on training and shaping the employee’s attitudes keeping in consideration positive public relations this method pays important focus to the factors concerning hr management. (dekier, 2012). understanding the philosophy requires to understand lean management process , because lean management is a cultural continuous improved practiced at every level by all teams of the organizations as well as lean is the respect of the customer voice , furthermore , it is the elimination of waste in all its forms and focusing on only improving the work process .key elements of lean management are simple to apply and can be applied on any firms , all it needs a professional manager that can control the atmosphere of the management process. refer to figure 14, lean management key elements apply strong leadership governance engage staff fully in daily improvement coach the staff and transfer lean skills measure the right things and make results visible embed standard work into the culture. (zaidi,2016) figure 14. lean management key elements (soar,2018) ain / the academic research community publication pg. 23 talent management the process of finding, developing, training, and keeping employees whose skills best align with the needs and objectives of the company. the goal of talent management is to hire the best employees the business can afford so that the company reaches its maximum potential for success. it is made of phases that are characterized and emphasized towards the employees needs and the success of the business. workforce planning, recruiting process, onboarding, performance management, training and performance support, succession planning, compensation and benefits, critical skills gap analysis. layla ataee, 2013. approach to talent management is designed to meet wider strategic needs. focuses on getting maximum benefit consistent . only 33 % of organizations , business leaders and hr work together to set a talent strategy that is closely aligned with and enables business strategy. three pout of five say their organizations should reappraise their talent management approaches to stay consistent with business needs , every six months or an ongoing basis. talent management is often assigned based on availability rather than specific skills and experience. (pmi , 2014). the process of talent management requires certain steps in order to perform talent management right and to avoid any future confusion or mistakes. the steps of the process are as the follows. retain ( role matching , special projects & roles) recruit ( role profiles , talent insights) select ( gap report , comparison reports) deploy ( role profiles , job/talent , comparison) develop ( personal skills , competencies ). consequences that might arrive with the process of talent management is that available talent will miss business expectations , stand alone or homemade assessments, instinctual decisions are left to chance , hr. fail to meet business talent needs , voluntary turnovers will occur according to the top performers. refer to figure 15 , that illustrates the process of talent management in a clearer scope. (soar, 2018) figure 15, talent management key elements (soar,2018) creativity management is defined as management processes that aims at increasing goals , evaluation and new ideas preparations for further implementation in organizations. while many organizations already affect the creativity of their employees and managers (and not always in a supportive way), the point of creativity management is to make ain / the academic research community publication pg. 24 processes that do so explicit and increase creativity and innovation. as mentioned earlier, an important and current focus is to induce lower officials to act with increased creativity and initiative.(berman, 2005) creativity management process acquires several phases that has to be undergone to guarantee a healthy and wellfunctioning of creativity management. creativity management can be the foundation for innovation processes in the future, but in order to innovate in a correct manner , the foundation should be built in a form where it can hold strengths for further implementations refer to figure 16 creativity management process in summery is a fundamental six phases that requires focus and order of each phase. and they are as the following: idea generation & evaluation orientation & training incentives & rewards appraisal & evaluation processes individual appraisal process department evaluation process (berman,2005) figure 16, creativity management process. (berman,2005) creativity management is considered to be more of a complex process than it sounds, but comes with its great results and benefits over the firm/organization or business. to understand creativity management and understand how to manage creative people, the foundation of understanding creativity itself must be built first. creativity has always been known with the phrase “thinking out of the box” but in fact creativity is a broad approach than this , it is an approach supported by ideas and experiences. furthermore, adapting new fresh thinking. creative people usually ignore the criticism despite them following the criticism to its conclusion, but the comments of their colleges at work can affect them not in a negative way by driving their ideas into a different conclusion. therefore, the environment ain / the academic research community publication pg. 25 surrounding and supporting creative teams can have an enormous impact on creative people. creativity can be best understood if it is divided into two terms. (patmore,2009). refer to figure 2.3.3.1. visual thinking (the mind’s ability to have a different sight of a totally new situation) problem solving (when solving a problem, a problemis divided into smaller problems , hence ‘sub-problems’ where it can be more easier and flexible to understand and requires much less effort to fix ) furthermore, there are some guidelines to encourage and enable creativity within the team by examining leadership, structure and culture in more details as following. leadership style – must be participative leadership, democratic and nonauthoritarian style. the job should provide the employee with both attention and freedom organizational structure a non-hierarchical, flat structure with no perceivable boundaries culture supportive and risk-taking culture , open to new ideas and encouraging nontraditional thinking attitude adjustable, thoughts sharing and able to work around pre developed ideas skills skilled in terms of knowledge, learning, and creativity techniques value understanding and valuing employee creativity. (patmore,2009) figure 17, guidelines to enable creativity in an organization (berman,2005) table 3. shows the resources and papers discussed in the previous topics papers/authors year topic critical analysis master thesis in business adminstration (shcultz,m) 2015 lean’s impact on innovation lean management is simply defined as the process of focusing on improving the speed and quality through reduction of process wastes. lean management most common used teams will be problem solving and self-directed teams. ain / the academic research community publication pg. 26 table 2 continued researchgate, (dekier.l) 2012 the origin & evolution of lean management system earn management focuses on training and shaping the employee’s attitudes keeping in consideration positive public relations this method pays important focus to the factors concerning hr management. lean management, (zaidi.a) 2016 lean management process apply strong leadership governance engage staff fully in daily improvement coach the staff and transfer lean skills measure the right things and make results visible embed standard work into the culture. ataee.l 2013 talent management workforce planning, recruiting process, onboarding, performance management, training and performance support, succession planning, compensation and benefits, critical skills gap analysis. pmi 2014 talent management talent management is often assigned based on availability rather than specific skills and experience. soar community 2018 talent management consequences that might arrive with the process of talent management is that available talent will miss business expectations , stand alone or homemade assessments, instinctual decisions are left to chance , hr. fail to meet business talent needs , voluntary turnovers will occur according to the top performers. refer to figure 2.31 , that illustrates the process of talent management in a clearer scope. researchgate, (berman.e.m) 2005 creativity management in public organizations the point of creativity management is to make processes that do so explicit and increase creativity and innovation. as mentioned earlier, an important and current focus is to induce lower officials to act with increased creativity and initiative. based on the previous data and sources through papers gathered information, it has been clear enough. that talent, lean and creativity management are a very different approaches and each require a different type and style of leadership, therefore each of them require a unique organizational structure where , the delegation and team work takes place in order for an organization to be functional. each type of management has its own organizational structure. for instance, talent management uses matrix organizational structure for that the work is transferred through several manager and each manager is responsible for a certain number of employees working in a field where they can embrace their talents. as for lean management, this type of management is very direct and it throws all its concentration and focus on the customer satisfaction and the value of the product an organization produce. a flat organizational structure is an optimum solution for a lean management organization, where work is directed for each one specialized in his\her field without any delegation or excessive amount of work depended on small number of people. lastly is the chosen management that has been analyzed thoroughly in this study , creativity management where team work is vital , leadership styles are participative and non-authorized leadership style , ideas must flow through the whole organization in order to achieve a function creativity management organization and in order to achieve and enable creativity within an organization , for this to happen , the non-hierarchal organizational structure is the most optimum solution and structure for creativity management to allow ideas flow freeline to the whole organization and to create an environment of team-work and motivation. this structure gives a sense of freedom to ain / the academic research community publication pg. 27 the employees , where they can embrace their ideas as well as to share their ideas with each other and with the whole organization. refer to table 3. (al-senosy ,2014) (organizational structure, 2009). table 4.organizational structures of each management style. (al-senosy ,2014) (organizational structure, 2009). talent management matrix organizational structure lean management flat organizational structure creativity management non-hierarical organizational structure ain / the academic research community publication pg. 28 2.5. creativity management application in architectural firms architecture is the art and science of aligning cities and building to actually fit the lives we want to live, the process of encouraging our society into the physical world. (ingels , 2014). according to msi database a research was done on industries on the level of creativity it requires, and architecture has been placed in the 2nd position industry with 33% that requires creativity in its organization, refer to figure x. as architecture field is not like any other business field, it requires a different style of management and specified directions for its employees, as usually the employees in architectural firms are more creative and innovative than other fields , because it requires them to come up with new ideas for projects and problem solving as well as the novelty and originality of the ideas is a very important issue in the design field. moreover, not only the novelty of ideas is important but also its functionality and its adaptive levels to reality scenes. an architect is required to satisfy the needs of the client through his creative thinking and designs, therefore a management is required to manage architects and increase the efficiency of the workplace environment they are working in , so they are more productive and hence the productivity of the firm will boost when the architect or employee is well satisfied and motivated to accomplish goals and achieve tasks. refer to figure 18. figure 18. the creative engine bar chart (emsi,2012) in working with creative architects , a management must be considered to recognize and appreciate creativity. creativity management is the central role of management to release creativity and develop its core impact on quality, productivity and turn on profits. furthermore, creativity management is an effective management that fits any architectural firm as it is well consistent with the goals of both employees/architects and the firm itself. those who have successfully managed to enhance and increase creativity suggest the following guidelines to get the optimum creativity level from architects as well as other employees. (torrance, 1964) motivation towards goals maximize the flow of communication recognition of subordinates give creative architects some time alone help creative architects to feel secure and confident tolerate failure special direction for employees respect out of the box thinking ain / the academic research community publication pg. 29 motivate free flow of ideas provide creative work environment reward system for creative achievement evaluate creative ideas as soon as possible allow freedom for creative people in their workplace environment. after looking up for the guidelines go how to manage the architects in an architectural firms , it is also of importance to re-organize the whole organization to be collaborated with creativity and encourage of spreading creativity in the whole organization , according to b.miller of managing innovation for growth and profit (1970) suggested that a company department should be established to report and evaluate new ideas and information generated from employees within an organization and then this department after evaluating new ideas , it could be passed to the top level management and also a division could also provide training and counseling for managers at every level in all divisions serving as a coordinator of innovation regularly measuring creativity in all other departments and making conclusions and remarks to top management. furthermore, there are various techniques to foster and enhance creativity thinking within an organization to encourage new idea generation and implementation. the most common of these techniques is brainstorming where a group approach to a problem and try to find and evaluate solutions with the greatest number of alternatives. there are many other techniques than brainstorming, for instance cataloging ,checklists , attribute lists , free association , forced relationships , morphological analysis , and lastly input-output techniques .all of these techniques are listed in the following chart with a brief description of each technique. (miller, 1977) 2.6. results and findings this study conducted the main feature of a workplace environment and how to achieve an efficient workplace environment through applying the application of creativity management in architectural firms and other organizations. the upcoming charts shows the results of the impact of creativity management and how the management of creative people have changed their work environment efficiency and thus boosted their job satisfaction and their productivity in an organization. according to a study conducted by forrester consulting commissioned by adobe in 2014. 58% of survey respondents said their firms enhance creativity had 2013 revenues exceeding their 2012 revenues by 10% or more. another survey also showed that 69% of firms applying the principles of creativity management had national recognition for being the best place to work. moreover, 82% of companies around the world claims that creativity management gain greater business benefits like revenue growth and market share. another study shows satisfied employees increase productivity by 12% and high level of engagement to their workplace increase the operating income by 19% and the earnings growth by 28%. refer to figure 19. (forrester consulting, 2014). figure 19. enhanced creative firms analysis ( forrester conculting , 2014) ain / the academic research community publication pg. 30 the figure 19 shows a chart that presents how influenced enhanced creative firms are by creativity management and how much of an impact it has on the workplace environment of a firm. the first bar shows that 58% of firms that uses the application of creativity management has a 10% increase over their revenue compared by their last year revenue, and the middle bar shows that 69% of the enhanced creative firms has a better workplace environment influenced by their application of creativity management. last bar shows that 82% of these firms has an increase in their revenue growth and market share due to their application of creativity management and an efficient workplace environment. (forrester consulting, 2014) as for figure 20, it represents the impact of satisfied employees over the success of an organization which is due implementing creativity management techniques and applying an efficient workplace environment. the satisfaction of employees is very important it can change values , numbers , profits of an organization. therefore as shown in the chart if employees are well satisfied theproductivity of a firm is boosted by 12% which is a reasonable increase in the rate and level of productivity within the whole organization.moreover , a 19 percent increase in operating income of an organization which makes sense as long as there is high job satisfaction and job engagement of employees within the organization. furthermopre , a 28 percent increase in the earning growth of an organization , job satisfaction is indeed helpful for the growth of an organization especially it was a startup organization. last but not least studies have proven that it is 37 percent boosting rate in the sales level of an organization according to the levelof satisfaction of its employees. ( business & personal growth, 2014 ) figure 20, satisfied employees benefits analysis (business & personal growth, 2018) 3. methodology this section of the study research explains and describes the methodologies used and practiced while depriving the data and information to be based on facts and proofs, to identify the problem and that it has a real effect on the scope of the research. a problem restatement is also provided to assure the existence of the problem, proving it with facts deprived from methodology practiced that has been done in this research study. a background of methodologies techniques has been explained, to give a justified reason of choosing the methodology technique in order to collect ain / the academic research community publication pg. 31 data and base information to identify the problems and its roots in the current scope of the research paper. furthermore , a detailed methodology approach is also explained , on how the data and information collection procedures has been practiced and under what condition and circumstances and the rate of practices it was done on , for instance if it was interview , when and where and who was interview and how much employees and people interviewed in order to base the research problem on their point of view and collect data and information from their own perspectives and aspects of their own problems relations with the research problem and identity. 3.1. background on research methodologies in research, two primary methodologies exit to do it, either subjective or quantitative approach. quantitative research has the fundamental goal of information measurement. it gives estimation of occurrence of different sentiments or perspectives because of results' speculation on a test of intrigue. now and again, this dimension of research is trailed by subjective research for further investigation of discoveries. subjective research centers around picking up top to bottom comprehension of main drivers of issues or basic inspirations or reasons. it unwinds an issue's motivation or on the other hand setting. besides, much of the time it creates speculations and thoughts for later quantitative investigation or research. (atlasti, 2017) joining both subjective and quantitative investigation together can be a third methodology embraced. for instance, this can be accomplished if the examination of research is fundamentally quantitative; notwithstanding, a 'human touch' is included utilizing interviews. this can be gainful as to explicit patterns or indicating what explicit factors or issues intend to individuals along the quantitative examination and discoveries. subjective discoveries can give great thinking of quantitative discoveries also now and again. another model in which quantitative and subjective can be coordinated is in evaluative contextual analyses. the information gathered for this assessment incorporate quantitative information and diverse information accumulation techniques can be utilized to give examined, extensive discoveries from alternate points of view. 3.2. 3.2 lack of efficient workplace environment. the problem discussed earlier in this research, is the lack of an efficient work environment in egyptian firms which decrease the productivity and employee’s satisfaction which leads to declination in the effectiveness and productivity of an organization. and how to fill/fix this lack with techniques and managerial style to give a better work environment for better job satisfaction and productivity of the whole organization. furthermore, 80% of the performance problems occurring in everyday work is the work environment and its influence on the employee’s performance.(akinyele,2010)as stated before that a study made on 5000 employees in mena region including egypt on the job satisfaction and the performance of employees depending on work environment showed that only 4 out of 10 people are satisfied with. their work environment and 6 of them are complaining about the influences of their work environment affecting their way of work and decreasing their productivity, as well as more than one fourth of employees are not happy and motivated with their work environment and say that their environment plays a strong role on their demotivation to do their work perfectly . furthermore, 61% of employees are continuously trying to move to another firm which is creating a continuous cycle of not committing a creating lack of employee’s loyalty to their organization due to the poor work environment of the organization that affect the employees in such a manner that they want to leave their job every now and then. lastly only 27% of employees believe that their organization care about their well-being which demotivates employees to work perfectly and increase the rate of their performance, if they know they can be replaced within an eye glance. (al-masri , 2015) 3.3. 3.3. research methodological approach. the methodology approach of this paper was a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. where in quantitative approach focused on data collection from sources and other scientific papers that identifies the main scope of the problem and practices done to recover form the problem and avoid it in the future in the identical scope of the research paper where the main problem is the lack of efficient workplace environment in egyptian firms , furthermore statistical analysis was also provided and collected from scientific papers. the qualitative approach was based on the people point of view on the scope of the problem and the level of their understanding to the issue , and observations on the experiences they have dealt with their working lives in different ain / the academic research community publication pg. 32 firms facing the same problem. this qualitative approach was done with interviews and questionnaires on how the problem is affecting their way of work and how did the problem affect them. qualitative research approach was utilized on the grounds that such an apparatus comprehends fundamental motivations to an issue or circumstance which works as one in surveying the impact of recuperating inside plan on work environment fulfillment. the effect on employee’s performance depends the work environment they are working in , and along these lines such relations furthermore, observations require top to bottom comprehension and examination further past than measurement that a quantitative technique can give. regardless of that, quantitative examination or research technique was gone for in measuring the regular responses to specific inquiries giving a sign of the degree of legitimacy of variables or answers to employees and a sign with respect to what implies most to employees. to sum things up, quantitative gave insights with respect to which factors exist increasingly and which mean most to clients while subjective gave the reason and comprehension of how and why such factors influenced employee’s performance and productivity. the subjective investigation helped in creating needs. the two primary information accumulation techniques received were organized meetings and top to bottom subjective meetings. organized meetings were utilized as a quantitative instrument in meetings and reviews with staff (engineers, architects, employees, managers), while the subjective in-depth interviews were embraced in the meeting with employees and getting from them the real picture on the main problem and the variable solutions that can be conducted to solve such problem ana aim at achieving an efficient workplace environment to increase the employees’ level of satisfaction. and the overall productivity of the organization. 4. references aambile, t. 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(2016). lean management. retrieved from http://mdi.com.pk/management/2016/03/lean-management/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271199590_considering_collaborative_creativity https://www.academia.edu/23870146/work_environment_and_its_implication_on_employees_performance https://www.academia.edu/1583075/the_management_of_creativity_and_innovation https://soarcommunitynetwork.com/talent-management/ http://mdi.com.pk/management/2016/03/lean-management/ http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 12 doi: 10.21625/archive.v6i1.876 artificial wetlands as a key for the construction of new sustainable urban systems. giovany albarracin1, 2, christian contreras1, angel puga3 1professor of catholic university of cuenca, ecuador 2 student of ph.d. university of girona, españa 3 student of catholic university of cuenca, ecuador abstract along the water route, man and nature interact intimately. the flow and occupation of the water route led to a relationship that emerged naturally within its logic. however, based on a deep understanding of complex and dynamic ecological processes, the relationship between man and natural processes has changed. control and centralization buried these processes through a system of invisible infrastructures, causing a disconnection between the water path and the landscape's ecological processes. providing clean water and an adequate sanitation system does not represent great complexity. while essential technologies and engineering principles have been mastered, it is striking that more than one billion people in the world still lack access to clean water, and almost two billion struggle with inadequate wastewater treatment. furthermore, water-related diseases are the leading cause of premature death in developing countries. in searching for a solution to water sources and soil pollution, we propose exploring artificial wetlands (aw) as nature-based solutions (nbs). these solutions provide environmental, social, and economic benefits. the research focuses on a hydraulic sanitation system disconnected from the central network. this system includes designing a system of artificial wetlands to treat wastewater produced by direct discharges to streams and rivers and proposes an aw in sinincay (peripheral parish), where 42% of their territory does not have a wastewater treatment system. the results show that this phytoremediation technique is a passive and aesthetically pleasing cleaning practice that utilizes plants and solar energy to treat polluted waters. thus, it is imperative to rethink sanitation concepts in order to integrate constructing infrastructures, ecological functions, and accessible spaces for people as a new alternative to a sustainable urban system. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer-review under responsibility of archive’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords artificial wetlands; sustainable development; ecological processes; wasterwater treatment 1. introduction the accelerated growth of urban agglomerations is a phenomenon that, although globally accepted, admits nuances and particular considerations depending on the local context. in the case of latin america, specifically the city of cuenca-ecuador, we can foresee two characteristics for the coming years: 1) the consolidation of a majority of urban population and 2) a high rate of urban growth, which has overflowed the city itself and threatens the territory as a whole. http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ albarracin/ the academic research community publication pg. 13 thus, this projection anticipates an enormous challenge for city planning. it is imperative to rethink the methodology and instruments used to run the city because expansive growth threatens the whole of the territory (corboz & marot, 2001), fragmentation and loss of soils of ecological value, biodiversity, climatic and hydrological alterations, among others (delgado, 2008). the objective of this study is to explore off-grid infrastructures through nature-based solutions (nbs) in the transition space between the city and the countryside known as peri-urban, an edge space that is characterized by its speed of transformation and which will presumably be where a large part of the sustainability and resilience of cities in latin america is at stake (arola, 2014). the proposed system, artificial wetlands using the phytoremediation technique, provide environmental, social, and economic benefits. in this context, this paper takes a theoretical and methodological approach consisting of three sections. first, the theoretical foundation, through the analysis of three categories, (2.1) urban edge, argues the need to recognize urban edges as a new design category that allows us, on the one hand, to distance the negative connotation of the term periurban, and on the other, to go beyond the urban scale and overcome old binary oppositions such as center/periphery. (2.2) social metabolism and the city, explains the relationship between social systems and ecological systems as parts of the same metabolism. (2.3) water and the city, recognizes water as a process of construction and hydrosocial transformation, which presents a manifest interrelation between nature, society, and technology (boelens et al., 2016). second, cuenca as a case study, recognizes the edge of the city as a space of opportunity, and the problem which represents the lack of wastewater treatment as the main cause of premature deaths in developing countries (swyngedouw, 2006b). third, artificial wetland, reviews decentralized and off-grid infrastructure in the sinincay parish, where 16 of the 38 communities do not have a wastewater treatment. the results revolve around new sanitation concepts that interrelate infrastructure, ecological functions, and accessible public spaces for people. 2. theorical foundation as the city journey moves forward, two fundamental facts mark the history of the modern city: many people have been living in cities since the end of the last century, and more people will be living at the periphery in the next century. however, between the 1980s and 1990s, urban planning has been stubbornly focused on the urban center, insisting on a center-periphery dichotomy that has increased inequalities, especially in developing countries (tzaninis et al., 2020). since most people live in cities, the periphery is the area that undergoes the most significant changes, where much of the sustainability and resilience of cities is at stake. however, when we define cities, we usually resort to opposing categories: city-countryside, urban-rural, interior-exterior, and so forth, separated by a clearly defined boundary. yet, a third space occupies the gap between these two that deserves recognition as a new project category that allows overcoming the negative city-countryside dichotomy and understanding the third space as a space of opportunity (galindo & giocoli, 2012). 2.1 urban edge but, how can we conceptualize this edge space that neither fulfills the proper functions of an urban nor rural setting characterized by an ambiguity (busquets & sola morales, 1999); linked to a form of expansive growth; and also can serve as a suitable sample for explaining transformations within social, cultural, and environmental relations? at first glance, periurbanism looks at the city from the center, highlighting that no periphery exists without a center (tzaninis et al., 2020). as defined in the european context, the peri-urban is considered to be the space surrounding urban areas and merging with rural areas (piorr et al., 2011). it is therefore identified as a center of innovation, knowledge, and globalization. it is also the place where new types of housing, transportation infrastructure and multifunctional agriculture with a diversity of recreation sites and ecosystem services have been experimented. these new types of urbanization processes are occurring, but under particular pressure on land use, which puts urban sprawl at risk, as well as various social and environmental problems associated with this condition. therefore, several authors have identified urbanrural linkages as emerging matters that require not only new approaches to politics and funding, but also new epistemologies (allen, 2003). albarracin/ the academic research community publication pg. 14 in addition to being constantly transformed, the periurban space, like the territory, is also a space that is constantly being renovated. unlike the slow construction of the territory, however, it is characterized by its speed of change: it extends, relocates, moves from place to place, and it's neither a field nor a city (avila sánchez, 2001). the ecotone refers to habitats that are located between two interacting systems with high diversity differentials, such as meadows and forests and sea —which by interacting— develop a "third space" (burbano et al., 2017). the third space is defined by the presence of agricultural and non-agricultural activities within the same geographical area (tacoli, 1998) and is further defined by two groups of actors: rural and urban, with different ways of living, producing, thinking, and different interests. andré corboz (2001) provides the following example: "in the image of the countryside as a happy arcadia, the peasant had never recognized himself. nevertheless, paradoxically, he had an almost identical representation of the urban, that is to say, as fictitious as the other, since he conceived the city as the place of permanent leisure, and since he had absolutely no voice, he did not get to make himself heard about his condition; meanwhile, the man of the city continued to perceive it as the green solitude to which he himself aspired" (corboz & marot, 2001) . therefore, this space in transition becomes a disputed territory, leading its actors and inhabitants to compete to subsist and control the territory and its resources; a conflict in which the dominant factor is the urban and the vulnerable one the rural (ballén-velásquez, 2014). nevertheless, the loss of rural and environmental character is not the only factor defining this phenomenon; it is also the lack of urban attributes, such as low density, lack of accessibility, infrastructure, among others (allen, 2003). meeus & gulinck (2008) describe urban transformation as a phenomenon with low density, dispersion, fragmentation, and consumption of a large amount of land and energy. according to delgado viñas (2008), this expansion process is highly destructive of natural resources, as buildings located on land coincide with the land of ecological value (agricultural and environmental), causing the fragmentation of the territory and also alterations in climatic conditions, hydrology, and other factors (delgado, 2008). 2.2 social metabolism and the city as a result of society's visions, expectations, anxieties, and problems, the city emerges from how it understands and perceives its changes over time and as a result of multiple transformations. many authors, including kennedy, cuddihy, and engel-yan (2007), and timmeren (2014), suggest that cities' vitality depends on their spatial relationships with the surrounding environmentand global resource networks. the reason for this is that in the latter stages, resources traveled longer distances to reach cities, thereby depleting the closest and most accessible resources, and ultimately limiting the development of cities (kennedy et al., 2007). the growth processes of cities initially included their immediate environment for their growth, but later, resources traveled longer distances to reach the cities, leading to resource depletion and consequent limitations for their development. since the goods used in urban processes, especially food, have reached such a point, modern cities do not depend on their zones of influence, but rather feature in continental and global economic networks (timmeren, 2014). cas (complex adaptive system) is the most accepted definition of a city today. it is adaptive because it changes and learns from experience and complex because different actors of different nature form it. these are formed by various elements of great interconnection between them (acero caballero et al., 2019). the term metabolism comes from the greek metabole, meaning change. this concept appeared in the 19th century to study the physical and chemical transformations within an organism, allowing it to maintain itself, grow, and reproduce (clark & foster, 2010). subsequently, ecological metabolism appears to refer to the functioning of ecosystems. the city can then be understood as a social-ecological system of cyclical behavior. thus, a complex system that is subject to changes and called to be more resilient, can adapt to changes more efficiently. in this sense, they present an adaptive cycle that requires exploring new theories, methodologies, and planning tools that respond to the new demands-challenges present in the territory: territorial metabolism from a social metabolism and decentralization approach; thus, it seems to present a fruitful field. albarracin/ the academic research community publication pg. 15 finally, social metabolism appears through the social sciences and is designed to explain the relationship between human beings and nature. social metabolism relates to social and ecological systems (foster, 2004). it refers to the set of processes through which human societies appropriate, circulate, transform, consume and excrete different products (matter, energy, and information) or processes of ecological metabolism (foster, 2004). human societies are also understood as complex, organic and dynamic systems (gandy, 2004, odum, 1971), which produce and reproduce the indispensable conditions for their existence, based on their metabolism with nature (gandy, 2004). from an organic vision, social metabolism can be understood as an interconnected space of flows and dependent on external inputs of energy, matter, and information. as a result, it cannot explain by itself how space is historically produced, requiring instead that we establish an ecological-historical basis as the basis of what is social, with the possibility of lasting in time (swyngedouw, 2006a). this approach of metabolism allows the study of how rural and urban landscapes have been historically produced. similarly, to build the economy of the future focused on the urban based on the inclusion of social equity, environmental justice and urban ecosystem services, can be recognized as the normative objectives of the concept of urban metabolism proposed by timmeren (2014). for this author, modern society is dissociated from nature and such transition from unsustainable societies/cities to more sustainable and resilient societies/cities will be gradual and evolutionary. open and global energy and material systems are now supplemented by short-loop economies, whose primary characteristic is to be based on the local and regional. consequently, short-loop economies have the potential to increase awareness and creativity at the local level, not only in terms of participatory governance and social integration, but also allow for a better balance between local, regional, national and international markets. in this way, large corporations/centralized governments must cede more power to communities, giving them more control over what is produced in the local setting, allowing for fair trade and benefit to both parties (timmeren, 2014). within this conceptual framework related to social metabolism and the city, decentralized infrastructural systems stand out as an alternative to the conventional centralized and cumulative systems, typical of the industrial city and its contextualized reproductions. the fair and efficient distribution of resources is one of the significant challenges of the current urbanization process at the global level. under this premise, the world summit (un-habit, 2015) establishes in its issue papers that: "given the global trend of growth of urban areas, they will tend to capitalize unequally on the majority of resources, and this may have adverse effects on universal access to resources (...). this trend requires urban planning strategies that promote decentralized resource management in areas such as renewable energy, drinking water supply, and wastewater treatment" (un-habit, 2015). the latter, wastewater treatment, is of particularinterest to this study." for swyngedouw (2004), urban metabolism is a socio-ecological process of metabolizing the ecological system. cities are the places where the environmental system and its social relations are intensely re-elaborated. therefore, they can also be conceived as nature (swyngedouw & cook, 2010). thus, when harvey (1996) argued that "there is nothing unnatural about new york city", he meant that cities and social systems, in general, are transformed into socio-natural hybrids that reveal social and ecological processes; and are part of the same metabolism (heyden, 2003). urban metabolism is crucial in understanding urban-rural relations since rural areas and natural areas co-depend directly on this (ariza montobio, 2013). such interdependence between the ecological and the urban; and their constitutive processes allow the assumption that all types of nature are socially mobilized, economically incorporated (commodification), and physically metabolized. swyngedouw & kaika (2014), recognize that this race supports the urbanization process. on the other hand, rural metabolism refers to the metabolism of rural social-ecological systems, where its population to survive depends on agriculture, livestock, forestry, hunting, fishing, gathering, and extraction (toledo, 2008). in this way, the urban/rural dichotomy is maintained and accentuated in planning, with the ideological complexity of limits uses, among others, typical of a complex system. in this sense, tzaninis et al. (2010) propose that there is the need to overcome the distinction between center and periphery, viewing them as parts of the same socio environmental continuum, to overcome the inequal development that this produces. albarracin/ the academic research community publication pg. 16 2.3 water and the city social systems are sustained through flows and trans-flows of matter and energy (daly, 1974), one of which is water. the complex network of metabolisms is supported by the constant circulation of water in, through, and out of the city; without its uninterrupted flow, life and the web of practices that constitute the city's essence would be impossible (swyngedouw, 2004). the social system appropriates the water resulting from the ecological metabolism. water is: captured, pumped, purified, chemically regulated, piped, transported, bought, and sold; used in homes, by living beings, in agriculture, in industry, in electricity generation, transformed into waste and returned to the ecological system; all this determined by complex political, economic, social, cultural and ecological processes (kaika, 2003). traditionally, in the course of water, one can observe an intimate relationship between man and nature. its flow, its occupation, generated a natural relationship respecting the logic of this course. elisee reclus (1850), in historia de un arroyo, describes the importance of this metabolic process. as a human geographer, he thinks of the utility and the service that a stream provides: in fishing, irrigation for crops, gardens, in the mills and factories that he finds downstream, in the cities' water that forces the construction of dams. it is necessary, he argues, to learn to use it in a complete way for the irrigation of our fields and the dynamization of our wealth, then we will be able to make it work for the shared service of humanity, instead of leaving it to the sun the crops and straying into pestilential swamps (reclus & guazzelli, 2001). and so it continues, [...] this water will undoubtedly become dirty later on; it will pass over fragmented rocks and rotting vegetables; it will dilute muddy lands and will be loaded with the impure remains poured out by animals and men; but here, in its pit of stone or its cradle of reeds, it is so pure, so luminous, that one would say that it is condensed air [...] (reclus & guazzelli, 2001). the relationship between man and natural processes, according to reclus, is based on a deep understanding of complex and dynamic ecological processes. since the idea of control and centralization buried these processes through a system of invisible infrastructures, a disconnection has ocurred between the path of water and the ecological processes of the landscape (stokman, 2008). therefore, it is essential to introduce water management as an integral part of the rural/urban landscape, which, as it has been previously stated, is dominated by open spaces and has a clear agricultural vocation. hence, providing clean water and adequate sanitation is not exactly rocket science. essential technologies and engineering principles are known and mastered, management systems, biological, physical and chemical processes are well understood. however, it is striking that more than one billion people still suffer from inadequate (both in quantity and quality) access to water, and almost two billion have unsatisfactory wastewater treatment. these are some reasons for water-related diseases that cause premature deaths in developing countries (swyngedouw, 2006a). this problem is aggravated in the so-called developing countries. in the case of ecuador, wastewater discharge is the leading cause of contamination of water sources (isch, 2011). for this reason, exploring innovative strategies that allow a paradigm shift in the management of water resources, particularly wastewater, will optimize this process and create greater access to this service. 3. cuenca as a case study the ecuadorian city of cuenca has the ideal characteristics for the proposed study. cuenca is an intermediate city that exemplifies this scenario in which 65% of its population is already urban, also what will foreseeably be the type of environment for the majority of global urban growth (ballet, c. llop, 2004). furthermore, projections for the next thirty years making cuenca one of the cities with the fastest urban growth rate in latin america (aa.vv, 2014). under these characteristics, the contemporary city is understood as a "city-territory" to identify the importance of its changes within the spatial, economic and social structure. the approach to the case study allowed the analysis, interpretation and prospective of remediation strategies that were addressed at three levels: city-territory, as a whole and in detail (figure 1). albarracin/ the academic research community publication pg. 17 figure 1 work scales. own elaboration. cuenca comprises 15 urban and 21 rural parishes, and it is expected to double its population in the coming years. this population will be located mainly on the city’s edge, known today as peri-urban areas. this fast transformation process has occurred in the rural parishes of sinicay, ricaurte, el valle, baños (1 -6 -10 -12) (figure 2). these parishes present the accurate scales and intensities to understand this phenomenon. on the other hand, it is urgent to rethink the centralized wastewater treatment system that the city uses. cuenca is the only city in ecuador that treats its wastewater; 98% of its wastewater is treated, but only within the urban area (approx. 8000 ha). however, the city is surrounded by a strip (approx. 24000 ha) of foamy, diffuse quality land, colloquially referred to as peri-urban. it coincides with the transition zone between city and countryside, where, today a third of the population lives. still, there are null or partial water treatment systems. sinincay (1) comprises 4648 ha, and it has a population of approximately 20,000 inhabitants distributed in 38 communities (pakariñan, 2015). this territorial edge of the city is constituted by rural, urbanized, and natural fragments articulated by a complex capillary hydrographic network. this particular characteristic allows observing a process of hydro-social construction and transformation (boelens et al., 2016) (córdova et al., 2020) ,which represents a relationship between nature, society and technology (boelens et al., 2016) . albarracin/ the academic research community publication pg. 18 figure 2 object of study. own elaboration. the rural parish of sinincay is located only 7 km from the center of cuenca. its main characteristic is its high relief; (72%) corresponds to slopes higher than 12%, and its altitude ranges from 2567 to 3959 meters above sea level. a large part of the parish is highland wetlands, which stands out for their high ecological value. another outstanding feature is the empty land/space (not occupied by buildings), which is mostly used as agricultural land, and constitutes the territorial matrix (forman, 1995) (figure 3). this agricultural land has a smallholding structure, leading to low productivity levels due to monoculture, inadequate technology, and limited technical assistance. however, a hydro-social system is recognized. this has allowed complementing the economy of the territory. a clear example is the community playas del carmen. figure 3 territoral matrix of the sinincay parish. own elaboration. albarracin/ the academic research community publication pg. 19 4. artificial wetlands playas del carmen is a field of open spaces crossed by a winding road with houses on its edge. there are green areas all around as well. this community has 65 hectares and a density of 6 houses/ha. the sinincay river, streams and green areas are natural factors. like most of the analyzed rural parishes, there is a rain-fed agricultural tessera as the most representative due to the topographic conditions, the low budget that these territories capture, and the lack of wastewater treatment as an aggravating factor (figure 4). in these transition zones, wastewater treatment is partial or non-existent. either because of the distance to the leading network, in which case the city's budget is insufficient, or because of technical factors due to the relief of these parishes. in the case of the sinincay parish, 16 out of 38 communities do not have a wastewater treatment system. it seems like we are facing new opportunities to harmonize better urban growth, environmental values, and the provision of off-grid infrastructures. a solution to the pollution of water and land sources by residential wastewater discharges is included in the nature based solutions (nbs), which are cost-effective solutions that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits. these are resilient and bring diversity and nature to the city; and, in specific cases, to rural communities. the proposal focuses its attention on a hydraulic sanitation system disconnected from the central network located at the city’s edge. this system consists of designing a system of artificial wetlands (aw) to treat wastewater resulting from direct discharges into streams and rivers. the process has to take advantage of the physical, chemical and biological processes that occur when water, filter media, plants, microorganisms, and the atmosphere interact with each other. this process is carried out through three general steps: first, removing suspended solids by sedimentation and filtration; second, because of biodegradation of organic matter by aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms; and third, by eliminating pathogenic microorganisms by sedimentation, filtration, and the predatory action of other organisms (arias martínez et al., 2010). figure 4 detail scale, playas del carmen. discharge of wastewater into the river. own elaboration. albarracin/ the academic research community publication pg. 20 this phytoremediation technique is characterized as a passive and aesthetically pleasing cleanup practice that takes advantage of the capacity of plants and solar energy to treat contaminated water. on this technical arrangement, plants act as traps or biological filters that decompose contaminants and stabilize metallic substances present in soil and water by setting them in their roots and stems or metabolizing them as microorganisms do to convert them into less hazardous compounds. the construction of aw is an attractive, cost-effective alternative in construction, operation, and maintenance; it is environmentally friendly and applicable in peri-urban areas if compared to conventional wastewater treatment particularly in developing countries (gopal, 1999). for the case study, the proposed technique is the design of a sub-surface flow aw (figure 5). this system consists of a biological filter filled with a porous material (volcanic rock/gravel). macrophyte plants are planted on the surface of the filter, and the pre-treated wastewater flows horizontally through the filter. with this system, the water level is maintained below the surface of the granular material; therefore, the presence of plagues and the absence of foul odors is minimal. likewise, its modular condition allows the addition of new units according to its needs. it also constitutes an economically viable solution. figure 5 wastewater hydraulic system outside the net. playas del carmen. own elaboration 5. conclusions urban fringes are areas between the countryside and the city, and their proximity to the urban center precludes their use as agricultural or forestry land. therefore, the main characteristic is the ambiguity of multiple services, actors, and interests.it is also important to note that this region is expected to be home to most of the population during the albarracin/ the academic research community publication pg. 21 current century. urban edges must be recognized as a new project category that allows us to move away from the connotation of peri-urbanism and transcend the city-country dichotomy. third spaces (neither urban nor rural) have their own characteristics and problems. it has a great ecological value constituted by agriculture, forestry, and the corridors created by rivers and streams that should be appreciated and recognized. this should also be a central component when designing and planning a new sustainable and resilient urban/rural dimension. to preserve this area, we must eliminate urbanistic expectations, which should be understood as a space of opportunity that articulates crops, forests, communities, and cities in a complex and evolutionary manner beyond being considered an expansion zone. for the specific case in the sinincay parish, 5 of its 38 communities do not have running water, and 16 of these do not have a wastewater treatment system which is 42% of its territory. the same thing occurs in other rural parishes of cuenca and the country in general, which is the leading cause of pollution of water sources. however, this problem presents new opportunities for better harmonization between urban growth and environmental values. for this reason, exploring innovative strategies that allow for a paradigm shift in water resource management, particularly concerning wastewater, will allow optimization and greater access. the construction and maintenance of a conventional wastewater system are very costly (delgadillo-lópez & gonzález-ramírez, 2011) and requires an extended amortization period of between 50 and 100 years. this transition area is not due to these territories' accelerated transformation and growth. consequently, it is necessary to urgently rethink these sanitation concepts with a new approach that interconnects the construction of infrastructures, ecological functions, and accessible public areas as a possible path to new sustainable territorial systems (stokman, 2008). thus, the exploration of an off-grid water treatment system favors the protection of water sources and could strengthen the productive character of agricultural areas, promote food self-sufficiency, and increase the economy. also, it is crucial to promote the geographical convergence of production and consumption in contemporary cities, in which today’s, open and global systems of energy and materials are complemented by short-loop economies; 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(2016). water and asphalt. the project of isotropy. park books, zurich, zwitzerland. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 101 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i1.736 islamic architectural ecological philosophy in contemporary egyptian residence marwa elsayed mohamed albasyoni 1 1 lecturer at modern academy for engineering & technology abstract the research discusses the relation between the modern ecological design trends and the preservation of the identity taking advantage of the ecological islamic design in contemporary egyptian residence, where the research aims to avoid interior designs that help to drain energy and resources, polluting the environment and adverse impact on human health, also it aims to philosophy preservation of islamic content in interior design re-using islamic vocabulary environmental substances in the contemporary egyptian residence. finding the formulation of the contemporary egyptian residence design by islamic heritage vocabulary with its environmental content. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords islamic architectural; ecological design; egyptian residence; identity 1. introduction the modern trend towards ecological buildings is the inevitable future entrance to harmonize between the functional and physical requirements of mankind and the balance of nature surrounding him as a kind of peace with it. it is the process of designing buildings in a manner that preserves the environment, reducing energy and resources depletion and reducing the negative impacts on the environment and human beings. the islamic architectural heritage is governed by fixed rules and architectural philosophy that achieves most of the objectives of ecological design through design functionality that suits the needs of the user taking into consideration the surrounding environment, this philosophy is reflected in islamic buildings, especially residential buildings. thus, we can take benefits of the islamic ecological design philosophy to the contemporary egyptian residence to develop designs that achieve modern trends in buildings, which urges us to connect with the surrounding environment, using the philosophy and vocabulary of islamic heritage to confirm identity within the control of modern thought. 1.1. research problem: 1. spread of designs that help to drain energy, pollute environment and have negative impact on human health in the inner space. 2. separation between the trends of modern interior design such as ecological design, and the preservation of the arab islamic identity. http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 102 1.2. research objectives: 1. importance of interior design functionality, to suit the needs of the user taking into consideration the environment, and avoid designs that help to drain energy and resources, polluting the environment and adverse impact on human health. 2. preserving the islamic content in the interior design by reusing the islamic vocabulary environmental substances in the contemporary egyptian residence. 3. finding the formulation of the contemporary egyptian residence design by islamic heritage vocabulary with its environmental content. 1.3. research methodology: research pursues the historical approach, and descriptive analytical approach. the historical approach demonstrates the historical relationship between ecological design and islamic architecture in its different eras. the descriptive analytical approach in order to describe and analyze the modern ecological design trends in the inner space and its relation to the philosophy of islamic architecture and how to formulate it in contemporary egyptian housing. 2. principles of ecological design in buildings: understanding the environment, ecosystem and the impacts of the buildings on it is one of the most important approaches to understand the ideas and principles of ecological buildings and the best way to apply them. the principles of ecological buildings are ideas capable of overcoming drain of energy and resources, pollution of the environment, negative impact on the health of building users (hayles 2015), (waziri 2002), they are summarized in the following table: table 1. the principles of ecological buildings natural energies use: use of natural and renewable energies use of building materials with a large thermal capacity. openings design that helps flow of lighting and natural ventilation eco building materials local and high probability materials low energy consumption materials nonpolluting materials saving water rationing water use reuse of wastewater use of rainwater indoor air quality avoid using materials pollute or help concentrate pollutants in the air use of natural ventilation systems porous materials to control moisture. albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 103 table 1 continued lighting quality rationing industrial light energy: use types of lighting closer to natural light selection of energy saving types provide natural lighting: the presence and distribution of openings to obtain natural light open spaces building heights for non-blocking of natural light sound design efficiency of walls to prevent transmission of sound floors with a noise absorption degree plant trees on the noise side. safe design of the building region study to avoid natural hazards avoid hazards that threaten the safety of the building or its occupants alternative materials for inflammable materials harmonious architectural style to surrounding environment the architectural style & form must correspond to the surrounding environment historically and socially. study the cultural heritage throughout the ages to inspire the appropriate style for surrounding environment and contemporary society. 3. international systems for environmental design: with the increase of the world's interest to the environment and hence the idea of environmental buildings, they began to develop assessment systems of ecological buildings, including: 3.1. breeam (building research establishment environmental assessment methodology): breeam was developed in the united kingdom. it is the oldest system for assessment and environmental classification of buildings. buildings are rated and certified on a scale of pass that achieves 36%, good 48%, very good 57%, excellent 68% and outstanding (www.breeam.org). table 2.breeam points of evaluation and standards breeam points of evaluation and standards evaluation standards 19% energy and carbon dioxide emissions * the rate of emission in the house * environment-friendly classified goods. * effect of building material on energy * low power source consumption 6% water * water consumption inside the house * water use outside the house albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 104 table 2 continued 12.5% materials * environmental impact of materials * sources of materials for basic * sources of materials for secondary elements 7.5% waste * warehouse for recyclable waste * management of waste generated by construction 10% pollution * influence in global warming * nitrogen oxide emissions 15% health & wellbeing * daylighting * sound insulation * special space * age of the house 12% management * home user guide * security * effects of construction * consider the plans of contractors 10% ecology * the environmental value of the site * effects of construction on the environment * protection of environmental features * additions and environmental improvements 8% transport * connected to public transport network * maximum parking space * convenient transportation 3.2. leed (leadership in energy and environmental design): leed is the most widely used green building rating system. aims to help owners and operators of buildings to take environmental responsibility and use resources efficiently. buildings are rated and certified on a scale of four levels, certified that achieves 40–49 points, silver 50-59 points, gold 60-79 points, platinum 80 points and above (reeder 2010). table 3. leed points of evaluation and standards leed points of evaluation and standards (v4 edition): evaluation points standards 16 transportation means & location nonpolluting means of transport and protection of land 10 sustainable sites ecological sites & design strategies albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 105 table 3 continued 11 water efficiency water use reduction 33 energy and atmosphere improve energy efficiency for entire building 13 materials and resources waste management &ecological materials 16 indoor environmental quality management of and improvements to indoor air quality, low-emitting materials, sunlight benefit 6 innovation in design creativity in design, cultural awareness; impacts and challenges; historical or heritage awareness. 4 regional priority 110 points total points 3.3. gprs (green pyramid rating system levels): the green pyramid evaluation system was established in 2009 by the egyptian council for green building. global systems that could contribute to the development of the egyptian green pyramid, such as the leed system, were used. the system was developed according to the egyptian laws of construction and the integration of methodologies and techniques that have proven successful in using the programs of the united states, europe, asia and the middle east (the egyptian green building council 2011). there are levels of green building certification according to the egyptian classification system for green architecture, certified that achieves 40% to 49%, silver pyramid 50 to59%, golden pyramid 60 to 79%, and green pyramid 80% or higher assessment points. table 4. gprs certification category points gprs certification category points credits points categories 15% 10 sustainable site, accessibility, ecology protection of habitat respect for sites of historic or cultural interest minimizing pollution during construction transport infrastructure connection catering for remote sites alternative methods of transport desert area development informal area redevelopment brownfield site redevelopment compatibility with national development plan albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 106 table 4 continued 25% 50 energy efficiency optimized balance of energy and performance energy and carbon inventories peak load reduction renewable energy sources environmental impact operation and maintenance energy efficiency improvement passive external heat gain reduction energy efficient appliances vertical transportation systems 30% 50 water efficiency waste water management sanitary used pip efficiency of water-based cooling water feature efficiency water leakage detection efficient water use during construction indoor water efficiency improvement outdoor water efficiency improvement 10% 20 materials and resources use of lightweight materials use of higher durability materials use of prefabricated elements use of salvaged materials use of recycled materials regionally procured materials materials fabricated on site use of readily renewable materials 10% 20 indoor environmental quality controlling emissions from building materials thermal comfort acoustic comfort optimized ventilation visual comfort 10% 20 management control of emissions and pollutants providing a building user guide providing a periodic maintenance schedule project waste management plan engaging a company specialized in recycling protecting water sources from pollution waste from mixing equipment containers for site materials waste employing waste recycling workers on site access for lorries, plant and equipment identified and separated storage areas extra 10 innovation and added value innovation exceeding benchmarks cultural heritage 4. ecological interior design standards: ecological interior design standards are an extension of green and sustainable design principles, and as part of a comprehensive environmental system, ecological interior design works to achieve the physical and psychological health of humans in enclosed environments. through taking into account the systems and materials used in the design process to have a positive impact on the ecosystem and work to reduce the negative effects on the environment and human health (todd and todd 1994). albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 107 by studying principles of ecological design in buildings, systems and codes of environmental design for buildings and internal spaces, we can have inference of aspects of interest to achieve ecological design in the interior spaces and divide them into three aspects as shown in the table below: table 5. ecological aspects in interior design: environmental side functional side aesthetic side save energy and reduce resource depletion visual and acoustic comfort innovation and design natural and renewable energy sources. building materials with large thermal capacity for thermal insulation. use water to adjust moisture and purify and cool the air. reuse of wastewater and rainwater. efficiency of walls to prevent transmission of sound. floors with a noise absorption degree. plant trees on the noise side. openings design for visual privacy. the architectural style & form must correspond to the surrounding environment historically and socially. study the cultural heritage throughout the ages to inspire the appropriate style for surrounding environment and contemporary society. ecological materials secure design regional, higher durability materials non-polluting materials. energy efficient materials and raw materials. porous materials to control moisture. study the region to avoid natural hazards. avoid hazards that threaten the safety of the building or its occupants. avoid inflammable materials. protection against harmful atmosphere. ventilation quality openings design that help flow of natural ventilation. use of natural ventilation and heating systems. lighting quality openings design that help flow of daylight. opened spaces. energy-saving industrial lighting types. 5. components of ecological interior structure: the aim is to create interior environment that works as natural ecosystems and as living machines, and the adoption of principles and concepts that help the interior components to sustain themselves. main components of interior are responsible for losing or gaining heat, and by design treatments they became environmental mediators that have vital functions in the interior space (todd and todd 1994). 5.1. walls, ceiling, floor: • distribution and height of walls and their positions to openings encourage the flow of air and light. • finishing materials must be eco materials, whether they are paints, wallpaper or tiles. • floors must be covered with materials that absorbs noise, like wood panels, cork or recycled rubber albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 108 • ceiling is preferred to be sloped and as high as possible, to help flow of natural ventilation and daylight (hayles 2015). 5.2. doors and windows: • windows glazing systems that allow a specific range of solar radiation to flow within the air, reducing solar thermal gain. • internal shading systems should work to reduce light glow, provide privacy, and prevent indoor air leakage. the southern, eastern and western openings need internal shade and the northern openings do not need to be shaded except for privacy or designing purposes. • doors and windows materials must be eco materials. • make sure there is no air leakage that reduces the function of systems of heating and cooling of the vacuum. • adjust the size and position of the door in return with windows and openings to help flow of natural ventilation (ibrahim 2006). figure 1: role of openings in air flow 5.3. ventilation and lighting: 5.3.1. to improve the flow of natural ventilation design should include both ventilation systems; wind ventilation and buoyancy ventilation; design must take into considerations the following points: • improving the function of ventilation openings, ensure the absence of external constraints (plants or nearby buildings) or internal (furniture and domestic items). • entry openings for air and exit openings inside the space, this could include openings on the wall facing the wind, others on the opposite wall or in the ceiling. • air entry openings preferred to be low, and air outlet openings to be at a higher level, to larger air permeates the space. • use of courts and skylights to provide thermal comfort in internal space, especially at night. • presence of external shading for southern openings (theweny 2008). albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 109 figure 2: wind ventilation figure 3: buoyancy ventilation 5.3.2. to improve the flow of natural light, the design must be integrated with artificial light. there are two strategies of natural lighting: • side lighting: wall openings, it is preferred to be high, openings on western and eastern walls works to gain as much light without glow or gaining heat. • top lighting: roof openings, good distribution of openings provide good distribution of light in internal space. this type of lighting is used in one story building or in the upper floor of multi stories building. 5.4. furnishing: • eco furnishing must be made by eco standards, like: (vicente et al., 2009) • materials of furnishing preferred to be raw local materials, recycled, or renewable. • provide as much benefits to the user as possible like multifunctional, and durable furniture. • textile and manufacturing process free of harmful chemicals. a) hand sculptured chairs,durable and had no harm impact on environment b) furniture made of falling leaves, and tree peels c) natural fusing to install tree units togetherusing wooden nails and organic adhesives figure 4: eco furniture 6. ecological vocabulary and processors in islamic recidence: islamic architect used ecological methods and vocabulary in buildings adapting to climate data, where the environment of islamic communities in the arabic region characterized by desert climate and high solar temperature through using some vocabularies and processors in islamic architecture, including: 6.1. building shape & orientation: building in islamic city is characterized by not being long, which yields largest amount of interior spaces away from the external climatic conditions to achieve internal thermal stability. building forms is complicated blocks to provide shadows. best building orientation and openings was north, then the south where the shading process was as easy as possible. islamic buildings fluttered openings to the west as much as possible. using solar energy in winter rooms and energy stored in walls and ceilings (waziri 2003). albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 110 6.2. building materials: using light-colored local materials with high thermal insulation properties helped to decrease temperature and increase humidity as: the mud-brick, natural substance that can provide thermal insulation of the building brick and red bricks, helps to provide good thermal insulation in interior spaces stone, provides good thermal insulation, limestone helps to keep the interior spaces cold most daily hours. wood, provides a porous property and reduce convection and construction on the building and spaces underneath (waziri 2004). 6.3. refracted entrance: indirect entrance provides visual privacy, also it protect interior space from dust and external noise (waziri 2004). figure 5: refracted entrance 6.4. inner courtyard: the internal courtyard is the constant element in the various islamic buildings, whether religious or a civil, in mosques and religious building is an open area surrounded by arcades, and in houses surrounded by walls. is an opened space of the building to achieve environmental and social objectives? the roofing of the courtyard provides the possibility of maintaining the coolness required at night. it is possible to roof most or part of the yard, for the protection from sandstorms and extreme heat (theweny 2008). in residences, the courtyard is the center of the house, main rooms face it, most of openings overlook the courtyard, and also most of house activities are held in or around it. figure 6: flow of air in courtyard through the daytime albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 111 6.5. shokhshekah: is a difference in the level of the ceiling of the architectural space having small openings, that allow the exit of hot air rising up. it is used to cover the main halls and help to provide ventilation and indirect lighting to the room. it is either in the shape of a wooden dome, circular or polygonal form. 6.6. malqaf (wind catcher): ‘malqaf’ is one of the distinctive elements in the islamic buildings especially in the hot areas. it is defined as entrances that ventilate the building in the presence of air exits. it is a wooden roof above the building in a sloped way with an entire open side facing the direction of the desired wind and directed to the inside of the house to temper the atmosphere the hall. (okasha 1994) figure 7: movement of air inside building in presence of malqaf & shokhshekah 6.7. windows and openings: the window is the opening that penetrates a wall and may be narrow from the inside and wide from the outside to expand the viewing angle and prevent direct rays from entering. the windows were made of plaster and were engraved by geometric or floral motifs, filling the gaps with colored glass, known as ‘shamsiat’, and windows with smaller volumes called ‘kamriat’. (waziri 2004) 6.8. mashrabiah: a wooden window, is made of geometric, square or triangular shapes with decorative elements and inscriptions. it allows gentle air to enter easily because of the rotation of its parts. it helps absorb some of the humidity in air as it is made of wood that absorbs moisture and does not allow direct sunlight, and usually exist in the external interfaces to provide privacy. it is provided with internal glass to protect from coolness in winter and dust. (theweny 2008) 6.9. ceiling treatments: some insulating materials, such as fiberglass and light bricks, were used to isolate the heat absorbed by the ceiling. the sloping and gable ceilings were used. these included the elevation of part of the interior area, allowing the hot air to move upward. the increase in roof area reduces roof heat average. part of the ceiling is shaded most of the day, acts as a heat radiator absorbs heat from the exposed part of the sun and from the internal air and then radiates to the outside air (ali 2007). 6.10. plants & water: to add beauty feature in addition to the role played in the mitigation of temperature and increasing humidity. water was used in various forms like fountains and salsabil. plants has many health and climatic benefits. it is effective in reducing noise, absorbing heat and reducing speed of harm air currents and dust storms (waziri 2002). albasyoni / the academic research community publication pg. 112 table 6. ecological aspects that islamic residence achieves: environmental side save energy and reduce resource depletion ecological materials ventilation quality lighting quality natural and renewable energy sources. building materials with large thermal capacity for thermal insulation. use water to adjust moisture and purify and cool the air. regional, higher durability materials non-polluting materials. energy efficient materials and raw materials. porous materials to control moisture. openings design that help flow of natural ventilation. use of natural ventilation and heating systems openings design that help flow of daylight. opened spaces. functional side visual and acoustic comfort secure design efficiency of walls to prevent transmission of sound. openings design for visual privacy. protection against harmful atmosphere. aesthetic side innovation and design the architectural style & form correspond to the surrounding environment historically and socially. 7. results: 1. ecological design can be achieved in interior design, avoiding interior designs that help to drain energy and resources, polluting the environment and adverse impact on human health. 2. the possibility of connecting between the modern ecological design trends and preservation of identity. 8. conclusions: 1. recommending interior and architectural designer to control and reduce designs that help to drain energy and resources and pollution of the environment and negative impact on human health in the internal space. 2. public awareness and dissemination of the importance of ecological design and concerning the environment to reconcile the functional and physical requirements of the human and the balance of nature surrounding it. 3. the role of the state in finding solutions to reduce pollution of the environment, and the establishment of ecological buildings and housing without losing identity, especially in new cities and youth hostels, to spread this concept among the community. 4. the interior designer's interest in heritage and cultural heritage and awareness of the ecological, cultural and social content of islamic heritage architecture. 5. importance of producing and using ecological raw materials in various fields of life, especially in interior design and furniture. references ali, s. 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(2016). sustainable construction: green building design and delivery. john wiley & sons. okasha, t. (1994). aesthetic values in islamic architecture. dar shorouk first. reeder, l. (2010). guide to green building rating systems: understanding leed, green globes, energy star, the national green building standard, and more (vol. 12). john wiley & sons. the egyptian green building council (2011). the green pyramid rating system publication, first edition. theweny, a. (2008) environmental orientation in islamic architecture. alnoor (independent cultural media center). todd, n. j., & todd, j. (1994). from eco-cities to living machines: principles of ecological design. north atlantic books. vicente, j., da silva, f. m., & frazão, r. (2009). sustainable design: a furniture focused approach. in in corte-real, e., couto, a. & duarte, c.(eds.) iade 5th international conference. lisbon, iade. walker, a. (2010). natural ventilation: national renewable energy laboratory. retrieved from: https://www.wbdg.org/resources/naturalventilation.php waziri, y. (2002). applications on environmental architecture, solar design of the inner courtyard. matbouly library. waziri, y. (2003). environmentally friendly architecture design towards green building. arab printing and publishing. waziri, y. (2004). islamic architecture and environment, the tributaries that formed islamic reconstruction . knowledge world, kuwait. http://furniture.about.com/od/furnitureterms/qt/su22409le.htm https://www.wbdg.org/resources/naturalventilation.php http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 27 may 2024, accepted: 4 august 2024, published online: 29 august 2024 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v8i2.1086 life cycle analysis comparison of stabilizing materials for expansive soils zied benghazi1, rima tobal2, adel djellali3 1,2,3 environment laboratory, department of mining and geotechnology, mining institute, echahid cheikh larbi tebessi university, algeria abstract expansive soils present significant challenges to infrastructure stability, necessitating the use of stabilizing materials. this study conducts a comprehensive life cycle analysis (lca) research design to evaluate the environmental sustainability of various stabilizing materials for expansive soil. the study uses a quantitative analysis assessing materials, including cement, limestone, natural pozzolana, iron ore tailings, and geopolymers (especially alkaliactivated slag cement). the method involves a comprehensive lca, considering phases from raw material extraction through production, use, and disposal. the analysis reveals distinct differences in environmental impact. cement and lime, common stabilizers, show a high carbon footprint. natural pozzolana and iron ore tailings exhibit potential as supplementary cementitious materials with reduced environmental impact. geopolymers, particularly alkali-activated slag cement, offer promising alternatives with lower carbon emissions. this research contributes insights into sustainable geotechnical practices, guiding material selection aligned with environmental goals for effective expansive soil stabilization. © 2024 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords environmental sustainability; expansive soil; stabilizing materials; life cycle analysis 1. introduction expansive soils (es) pose serious challenges to the stability of infrastructures worldwide due to the presence of clay minerals susceptible to volume changes under moisture content variation. these soils undergo significant swell-shrink behavior when they are exposed to alternate periods of wetness and dryness, leading to severe structural damage to civil engineering works. this dynamic behavior makes the es significantly impact the durability and safety of infrastructures. in response to these challenges, geotechnical engineers have adopted various soil stabilization techniques to prevent the damaging effect of es. stabilizing materials, such as binders and pozzolanic materials, are commonly used to enhance the es properties and minimize volume changes over time. the utilization of materials that minimize the environmental impact of es stabilization contributes to sustainable construction practices. numerous studies have investigated the environmental effects of traditional stabilizing agents, such as cement and lime. cement, a widely employed stabilizer, has been subjected to examination due to its high carbon footprint during production (ellis et al., 2020). previous research by chang et al. (2019) and garcez et al. (2024) have explored the https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v8i2.1086&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ benghazi/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 carbon footprint associated with cement-based stabilization and emphasized the need for alternative materials with lower environmental impact. on the other hand, the literature suggests that natural pozzolana (np) and iron ore tailings (iot) can be used as supplementary cementitious materials with reduced environmental impact. studies by ghadir & ranjbar (2018), bahadori et al. (2018), and soğancı et al. (2023) demonstrated the viability of these materials in enhancing the mechanical properties of es while minimizing their environmental footprint. geopolymers, particularly alkali-activated slag cement, have garnered attention as a promising alternative with lower carbon emissions (zeghichi & benghazi, 2011; benghazi et al., 2022). the work of disu & kolay (2021) shows the potential of geopolymers in sustainable soil stabilization. understanding the environmental advantages offered by these newer materials is important to guide geotechnical practices toward more sustainable solutions. in that context, researchers have also conducted several studies on the possibility of recycling mine ore tailings to use them as stabilizing materials, such as lead-zinc ore tailing (odumade et al., 2022) and iot (osinubi et al., 2015). however, their environmental sustainability has not been comprehensively explored. as infrastructure development continues to escalate globally, understanding the ecological impact of soil stabilization becomes a necessity. this study aims to investigate the sustainability of different stabilizing materials, contributing valuable insights into sustainable geotechnical practices. a life cycle analysis (lca) is conducted to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of iot with natural pozzolana and alkali-activated slag cement, as well as with high carbon footprint conventional materials: cement and lime. the lca provides a holistic approach by considering the environmental implications of these materials, from extraction to their final disposal after use. this work’s findings provide recommendations for environmentally sustainable geotechnical techniques. 2. materials and methods the lca is led on one tonne of ordinary portland cement (opc), lime (ll), iot, np, and alkali-activated slag cement (aasc), with a specific surface area ranging from 3000 to 3500 cm2/g. tables 1 and 2 illustrate the physical properties and chemical composition of the studied materials. as their production process varies, their environmental impact also varies (fig. 1). the lca encompasses the different life cycle phases of each stabilizing material. this includes raw material extraction, energy consumption, transportation, water consumption, and carbon footprint. table 1: provenance and physical properties of studied materials. material provenance color bulk density (kg/m3) specific gravity surface area (cm²/g) opc (cem ii/a) cement plant of tebessa, algeria grey 1371 3.18 3500 ll eastern cement & derivatives company, constantine, algeria white 791 3,345 3080 np beni saf, algeria brown 1030 2.72 3430 aasc granular blast furnace slag of el hadjar steel factory, annaba, algeria greyish 927 1.85 3350 iot boukhadra iron mine, tebessa, algeria brown 1853 3.95 3410 table 2: chemical composition of studied materials (% wt.). material sio2 al2o3 fe2o3 cao mgo k2o so3 na2o clloi opc 27,430 05,400 03,480 53,710 01,410 00,920 02,590 00,160 00,004 01.790 ll 01.400 03.540 00.790 81.860 02.130 00.190 00.160 00.062 00.270 benghazi/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 np 46,250 17,340 10,260 10,180 02,900 01,640 00,800 03,640 00,010 04.480 aasc 39,700 09,260 01,470 40,250 04,130 00,890 00,590 00,140 00,004 01.590 iot 20.010 06.000 43.160 02.540 00.390 00.280 01.330 02.420 figure 1: the studied materials’ manufacturing flow chart: (a) opc production; (b) ll production; (c) np powder, aasc, and iot powder production 3. life cycle analysis and discussion 3.1. raw materials extraction opc primarily comprises 80% limestone and 20% clay (aïtcin, 2016; benghazi et al., 2022). the extraction of limestone, a pivotal component, poses a significant environmental impact during quarrying due to processes like blasting and haulage, leading to the emission of dust and co2. similar environmental implications arise in the extraction of ll and np. conversely, iot are byproducts of iron mining activities and are not extracted independently. the iot from the boukhadra mine consists of rocks and particles of varying sizes, with a substantial content of low-grade ore exceeding 30 million tonnes (rouaiguia et al., 2017). granulated blast furnace slag (gbfs) is also a byproduct that results from the steel manufacturing process and does not directly contribute to pollution. consequently, the transportation phase becomes the focal point for potential pollution of iot and gbfs in this life cycle phase. in optimizing this transportation stage, the utilization of rail transport emerges as a more advantageous choice than trucks. this choice not only proves economically advantageous but also aligns with low carbon emissions practices. by prioritizing rail transport, we can mitigate the environmental impact associated with the movement of raw materials, thereby fostering a more sustainable and eco-friendly approach. 3.2. raw materials grinding and calcination both grinding and calcinating of the different raw materials for opc are electricity-consuming processes. the calcination of the clinker in kilns (about 1450°c) is the most polluting phase in opc manufacturing, with about 0.83 tonnes of co2 per tonne of clinker (antunes et al., 2022) due to both the fuel combustion and the decomposition of calcium carbonates (caco3) lime during this phase. the same for the limestone calcination at a temperature of 900 to 1200 °c, with 1.8 tonnes of co2 per tonne of ll (greco-coppi et al., 2023). in the case of this work’s chosen materials, the complete decomposition of ll calcium carbonates (caco3) would produce about 50% more co2 per tonne (≈ 1.251 tonnes co2/tonne) compared to clinker. the (caco3) occurs at a minimum temperature of 900°c (fig. 2). benghazi/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 figure 2: transformation of raw meal into clinker (aïtcin, 2016) 3.3. final grinding during this stage in opc manufacturing, the amalgamation of final ingredients (mineral additions and clinker) takes place, which is accomplished through the grinding and mixing process utilizing ball mills. clinker demands approximately 40 kwh/tonne to achieve a specific surface area (ssa) of 3500 cm²/g, which is approximately equal to 60% of the total energy consumption in opc plants (benghazi et al., 2022). in contrast, the entire manufacturing process of gbfs cement consumes 43.52 kwh/tonne (ciments lafarge, 1999). this divergence in energy consumption underscores the distinctive energy profiles associated with these materials, emphasizing the importance of considering energy efficiency in the manufacturing process. in this study, both iot and np underwent laboratory grinding. notably, iot exhibited a grinding time comparable to that of gbfs, indicating similar processing requirements. conversely, np necessitated a more extended grinding duration, approximately 1.5 times longer than gbfs, to achieve the targeted ssa. this difference in grinding times depends on the material's chemical composition, porosity, and mineralogical properties. tables 3 and 4 present the energy consumption and the carbon footprint of the studied stabilizing materials, respectively. table 3: energy consumption estimation of studied stabilizing materials based on wächter et al. (2021) and simoni et al. (2022) work material energy consumption (kwh/tonne) opc 110,28 ll 20 to 50 np 62.64 aasc 46.32 iot 46.34 table 4: carbon footprint estimation of studied stabilizing materials based on wächter et al. (2021) and simoni et al. (2022) work material carbon footprint (tonnes co2/tonne) opc 0.834 ll 1.0 to 1.8 np 0.150 aasc 0.140 iot 0.150 benghazi/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 3.4. water consumption water consumption in opc manufacturing plants varies widely, spanning from 0.14 to 1.28 l/kg of cement (nydrioti et al., 2023). as depicted in figure 3, the water demand of the investigated stabilizing materials is showcased. opc demands 28% of water to achieve normal consistency, a factor that significantly influences its water consumption. pozzolanic materials exhibit a positive impact on reducing water demand, particularly evident in the cases of np and industrial iot. additionally, aasc, formulated using naoh as an activator with a concentration of 5 mol/l, demonstrates a lower water demand compared to opc. this is attributed to the small ca/si ratio (zeghichi & benghazi, 2011), signifying a crucial aspect of environmental stabilization. the diminished water demand implies that less water is required for the stabilization process when employing aasc, np, and iot, compared to opc and ll. while geopolymers and pozzolanic materials (aasc, np, and iot) exhibit a slower development of early mechanical strength in comparison to soil stabilized with cement, it is notable that these materials continue to enhance their longterm mechanical strength beyond the conventional 28-day period (zeghichi & benghazi, 2011; ahmed et al., 2019). this characteristic highlights the enduring and sustainable nature of these alternative materials in the stabilization context, emphasizing their potential for long-term infrastructure resilience. figure 3: water demand of the different studied stabilizing materials table 5 provides a comparative overview of the environmental impact of opc, ll, np, and aasc based on data from existing literature. it can be noticed that the current study values from tables 3 and 4 are generally consistent with those found in the literature. however, it is important to note that some values are not reported in the literature, particularly those for iot. this gap is attributed to the relatively nascent stage of research in utilizing iot as a stabilizing material. therefore, the current findings of the present paper contribute valuable preliminary data, offering a foundation for further exploration and validation. table 5: summary of literature review on opc, ll, np, and aasc as stabilizing materials material reference energy consumption (kwh/tonne) carbon footprint (tonnes co2/tonne) water demand (%) opc wächter et al. (2021) 110.28 0.834 simegn et al. (2021) 0.26 to 0.33 ll simoni et al. (2022) 20 to 50 1.0 to 1.8 0.40 np heath et al. (2014) 0.004 to 0.435 aasc black (2016) 0.052 to 0.143 zeghichi et al. (2011) 0.19 benghazi/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 4. conclusions this life cycle analysis (lca) compares the environmental impact of expansive soil stabilizing materials, emphasizing the need for sustainable geotechnical practices. traditional stabilizers like cement and lime exhibit high carbon footprints, prompting the exploration of alternative materials. np and iot emerge as eco-friendly options, offering reduced environmental impact as supplementary cementitious materials. geopolymers, especially alkali-activated slag cement, present lower carbon emissions the lca encompass and diminished water demand, making them promising alternatives for environmental stabilization. consideration of energy efficiency during raw material extraction, grinding, and final manufacturing stages underscores the importance of sustainable material selection. while geopolymers and pozzolanic materials exhibit slower early mechanical strength development, they compensate with continued long-term mechanical strength enhancement, showcasing their potential for enduring infrastructure resilience. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the geographic perspectives on climate change mitigation in urban and rural environments (gcue) conference – 1st edition which was held on the 25th-27th of june 2024. funding declaration this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval not applicable. conflict of interest the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references aïtcin pc. portland cement. in: science and technology of concrete admixtures. woodhead publishing series in civil and structural engineering: number 59; 2016. p. 27-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-08-100693-1.00003-5 antunes m, santos rl, pereira j, rocha p, horta rb, colaço r. alternative clinker technologies for reducing carbon in cement industry: a critical review. mater 2022;15(1): 209. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15010209 bahadori h, hasheminezhad a, taghizadeh f. experimental study on marl soil stabilization using natural pozzolans. j mater civ eng 2018;31(2):04018363. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0002577 benghazi z, zeghichi l, djellali a, hamdane a. environmental impacts assessment of alkali-activated natural pozzolana/slag cement under algerian conditions, proceedings of 1st national conference of materials sciences and engineering, (mse’22), university of khanchela, algeria; 2022. black, l. 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https://doi.org/10.1260/1708-5284.8.2.141 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 114 doi: 10.21625/ archive.v4i1.783 energy efficiency as a tool to improve buildings behavoir in egypt. a frame work to achive low energy buildings locally. heba mahrous ali abd el aal1 1lecture in architecture department at modern academy for engineering and technology in maadi abstract sustainable development goals for 2030 depending on how to create abetter life for pepole including all parameters which affect human to avoid the negative impacts of climate change which can destroy life on our plante. saving energy is one of the main global problems, and buidings are one of the influences on energy consumption. it is a must to solve this problem by identifiy the causes which includinng the building features, operation process and the impact of its occupants . on the other hand, clarify permanent solutions according to modern concepts and techniques which can help to solve it locally. the study attempts to clarify human, nature environment and built environment impacts , in indicating how building play an active role in achieving virous stages of energy consumption or production to adress the enegy effeciency importance. this paper discusses this issues and gives recommendations and proposals on how to solve problems ensure the achievement of low energy buildings in egypt depending on the parameters which respect and depend on our local environment in egypt. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords energy consumption; low energy building; energy efficiency; energy use; human impacts; local culture. 1. introduction over the last decades, there has been an increasing awareness of the disparaging connection between traditional economic development and the over exploitation of the world’s natural resources. pollutants and harmful residues from land stripping and the production of building materials increasingly stress the environment. (fakosh & ahmed, 2012). energy is not a local problem, but it is an international issue as it effects all life themes. how to use and save it need a new solutions according to the current activates, technologies and human needs, the middle east faces considerable energy and environmental challenges which result from its huge energy demands. (abdul salam,2010) according to the continuously growing population creates a huge demand for energy, high energy consumption means high carbon dioxide levels also amongst the highest in co2 emissions. (asif, 2015) energy consumed for cooling and heating in buildings is becoming an increasingly serious source of global warming. buildings are responsible for 48% of energy consumption and 45% of co2 emissions within the region, see figure http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ abd el aal / the academic research community publication pg. 115 1, it shows sectors of energy consumption and illustrates that buildings account for the highest amount of energy consumption (unep, 2007). figure 1. consumption of energy-(unep, 2007). egypt, as a developing country, is in serious need for saving resources and providing housing for an increasing population, the current way of building rarely has not any green incentives or conforms to global energy saving models. moreover, the recently launched ‘sustainable development strategy of egypt’s vision 2030’ by the egyptian government as part of the economic conference held in sharm el sheikh, aims at the economic development, human capital and the competitiveness of the egyptian market (sis 2015). among the objectives of the strategy is to (1) improve the productive capacity of the energy sector; (2) reduce the waste disposal and the associated costs with it; (3) improve the wellbeing of the egyptian citizens; and (4) reduce the environmental footprints and greenhouse gases from the various sectors (mop 2015). thus, sustainability in the construction and buildings sectors through a green building rating system will have a vital role in the successful achievement of this strategy. (hebaalla,2016) . this paper focus on presenting a solutions for some questions as an analytical study to clear the concept of efficiency from definition to applications to improve the local vision for achieving low energy buildings. 2. what is the relation between building and energy use ? buildings have an enormous and continuously increasing impact on the environment, using about 40% of natural resources extracted in industrialized countries, consuming nearly 70% of electricity and 12% of potable water, and producing between 45% and 65% of the waste disposed in landfills .moreover, they are responsible for a large amount of harmful emissions, accounting for 30% of greenhouse gases, due to their operation, and an additional percent of 18% caused indirectly by material exploitation and transportation. 3. egypt & energy consumption among the many challenges that egypt is facing, is to fulfill the rising oil demand with its declining production. an annual average increase of 3% was recorded for the total oil consumption over the past 10 years, averaging about 775,000 bbl. /d in 2014 (eia 2015). figure 1.2 shows that egypt's oil consumption has surpassed its production since 2010. additionally, egypt’s 2013 total energy production was about 691,000 barrels per day (eia 2015). furthermore, egypt suffers regular electricity power cut because of rising demand, natural gas supply shortages, old infrastructure, and insufficient generation and transmission capacity. almost 152 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity was produced in 2012, of which about 70% was powered by natural gas, 20% by oil, and less than 10% by renewables, mostly hydropower generation (eia 2015). building 48% transportation 27% industry 25% consumption of energy abd el aal / the academic research community publication pg. 116 furthermore, the electricity consumption in egypt has been increasing where the peak load demand has amplified at an average annual rate of 8% over the last decade, reaching about 30 gw in 2013/2014. the rapid growth of energy use has created anxieties over problems of energy supply, energy sustainability and exhaustion of energy resources; this increasing consumption of energy sources has led to serious environmental problems such as global warming and air pollution (nabih, et al. 2011). this deficit and insufficiency in the production of resources is due to the uncontrolled system caused by the scattered and unorganized approaches followed by the building users. due to the depleting fossil fuel resources worldwide, one of the solutions to overcome this problem is to adapt to renewable energies in egypt particularly that 60 percent of its area has a solar energy intensity that exceeds 6.4 kwh/m2/day, see figure 2. renewable energy use in the egyptian market is very limited when compared with other regions around the world. thus, the call for renewable energy is of ultimate importance in the meantime. furthermore, the advances in on-site renewable energy technology have brought the concept of net zero energy buildings. figure 2. egypt annual average of direct solar radiation (eeaa 2017) 4. egyptian community impact and energy consumption: the egyptian community depends on mechanical equipment almost entirely when dealing with climatic issues. air conditioners have become one of the basics of home and office appliances, see figure.3. to the extent that new buildings now are delivered to end users with cantilevers hung on certain walls to bear the compressor units of air conditioners, and with openings ready for the window-type units (robroad .com, 2012) many houses and most offices are designed to use artificial light even during day, in spite of the huge solar radiation egypt receives every day) the current way of building in egypt was not design environmentally, although egypt is a developing country in serious need for saving resources. it does not provide users with the required comfortable and healthy environment they need (karim, 2011). although the egyptian government has developed both energy efficiency standards and energy labels for the most popular appliance such as "ecp 304/2-2004 a code for refrigerating and air conditioning" ,which goals to provide the minimum level of comfort and public health as well as to save energy ,the application s are not satisfied (usama, 2011) furthermore, the raw materials we are still using in egypt are the products of very polluting and energy consuming industries like cement, masonry and aluminum. this is mainly because most of the practitioners in the construction field do not adopt the principles of green architecture in their work. abd el aal / the academic research community publication pg. 117 figure 3. air conditioner technicians risking lives to install units. (source: online mail newspaper, 24 octobe,2008) 5. using energy codes: there are a standard codes deals with energy such as ansi/ashrae/usgbc/ies24 standard 189.1-2011, widely known as ashrae standard 189.1 was released in 2011 by a committee with representatives from ashrae, aia, usgbc, ansi and ies. ashrae and us. green building council (2011), the main points that are discussed in the standards are; cp 306-2005 the egyptian code for energy efficiency improvement in buildings part 1. this code is applicable to residential buildings. it covers requirements related to energy efficiency in buildings through passive and active strategies (nuca. 2016.) 6. how to solve this problem locally? this step is important in order to produce a building that properly solves the environmental case of its context and provides comfort for customers to achieve low energy buildings (saberi, 2010), by following these points: 1. use of resources wisely. 2. decrease energy use. 3. provide healthier work and living environments. 4. achieve a balanced distribution of population. taking those regulations into consideration during the design phase will help produce designs that can cope with the hot-arid environment, so we can decrease the impact of heating which need much energy which is electricity to get human comfort. as egypt is a country with a hot-arid weather during most of the year, with sand deserts making 95% of its land area. this fact indicates special architectural treatment when erecting buildings, using certain green techniques. on two phases; design and technical tools which deal with buildings operations (unccd,2005). 6.1. design phase: 1. orientation. 2. looking-in plan. 3. inner courtyards. 4. wind-catchers. 5. least glass surfaces 6. increasing green areas 7. creating water surfaces ( ficarelli, l. ,2009). abd el aal / the academic research community publication pg. 118 6.2. using technical tools : new technologies can improve the consumption of energy to achieve efficiency . it can help architects to provide users with solutions that are comfortable, affordable and environmentally-friendly. see figure4, they also help the user to lead a healthy and more economical way of life. adopting these technologies can get people closer to green concepts and understand the importance of using them in architecture (karim,2012). examples for the green technologies that can be used in such as; 6.2.1. solar tubes: they are lighting systems consisting mainly of tubes with reflective surface that are capable of transporting natural sunlight into spaces which are not reached by direct sunlight. 6.2.2. solar chimneys: they are architectural elements made from transparent materials, usually glass, allowing sunlight to heat the air inside it. the hot air evolves and is naturally replaced by cool air coming from the opposite direction, causing an artificial air current that helps cooling the building. 6.2.3. natural coolers: there are different kinds of cooling devices that need no electric current or sophisticated equipment. 6.2.4. sensor controls: sensor controls can help save a lot of resources when used in residential or commercial building. sensors can be used to turn lights on and off automatically when users enter a certain space. they are also used to turn water taps on and off when users place their hands underneath the tap. 6.2.5. solar heaters: the technologies of using solar power for heating building indoor atmospheres using water or oil as media for heat transmission has been widely used since decades. the most commonly used solar heater is that used with water as a medium. 6.2.6. photovoltaic panels: they are panels of photo-sensitive materials that have the ability to generate electric power from light energy received from the sun. (a) (b) (c) figure4: technical tools (a) :solar tube ™ daylight system. (source:www.solatube.com) (b): a solar box water heater.(source:www.homeconstructionimprovement.com) (c): p.v panels . .(source:www.homeconstructionimprovement.com) 7. how to achieve low energy buildings in egypt? it can be achieved if architect respect some elements to can decrease the building use which are: the architecture design of the building, envelop, construction, islamic elements, technics, culture and climate. http://www.solatube.com/ http://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com/ http://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com/ abd el aal / the academic research community publication pg. 119 7.1. architecture design of the building: 7.1.1. form: 1. the structural design of the building bloc should minimize external surface and roof areas exposed to the sun’s rays. the ideal form is a primary one (square, circle). loosening the blocstructure by adding a courtyard augments the flexibility of an environmentally appropriate design. 2. natural light should penetrate 4.5 m into the building’s interior; the deeper the light penetrates, the weaker the lighting becomes. natural light that penetrates up to 9 m inside the building provides good lighting; beyond this distance, building interiors require artificial lighting. 3. the greater the height of a building, the more effective is ventilation and the wind’s effect in reducing thermal radiation levels. 4. sound insulation through judicious use of quiet spaces (they should be close together and separated from noisy spaces) (waleed,2014) 7.1.2. orientation: 1. orientation affects a space’s thermal comfort level, ventilation and natural lighting. a northward orientation is the most suitable; it is not exposed to direct sunshine and allows for a steady level of natural light. ensuring that the widest side of the building faces north will attract sought-after wind, and the largest openings should therefore be located on this side. the east and west-facing sides of buildings are not conducive to good natural lighting. southward-facing sections are desirable in the winter season, and regulating incoming sunshine is an easy matter throughout the rest of the year. 7.2. building envelope design: 7.2.1. roofs: 1. sloping roofs, heat insulation materials (lightweight brick) and heat deflective light colored materials should be used. 2. creating insulating air vacuums by constructing double roofs (two tile layers) 3. elevated ceilings allow for increased ventilation. ceilings should be of different heights and upper openings (in ceilings) should be installed. 7.2.2. walls: 1. construction materials such as burnt brick should be used to reduce heat conduction from outdoors to indoors 2. constructing double walls, using light colored, heat deflective materials 3. shading walls and building ledges on the walls of upper floors 4. at both the vertical and horizontal levels, walls should be tilted to allow for the angle of the sun’s rays. 5. using coarse surfaces to deflect the sun’s rays 6. using openwork wall structures, upper openings and skylights 7.2.3. openings 1. narrow openings in hot zones; they should be shaded and equipped with sunscreens 2. in egypt, openings facing north are the most suitable for lighting and ventilation. 3. the greater the width and height of the openings, the more natural light penetrates into and spreads in building interiors. abd el aal / the academic research community publication pg. 120 4. openings should be installed on several walls and upper openings should be used as well. 5. at least one air inlet, larger than the air outlet, should be provided 7.3. construction materials in design: 1. using natural and renewable construction materials that are suitable to the building site and the surrounding environment should be used. 2. light color, low thermal conductivity materials with coarse surfaces to deflect radiation and heat should be used. 3. durable, energy-efficient construction materials should be used. 7.4. reusing islamic architecture elements: construction materials and environmental solutions make use of natural resources and energy sources (sun, wind, and construction materials) to provide an interior environment that is both comfortable and in harmony with social values and culture. 7.5. strategies and technology techniques: optimizing the use of engineered materials which provide high strength and durability with the least amount of material and benefit out of proven engineering principles such as structural systems (concrete/steel, other…), insulated concrete forms, engineered trusses, composite materials and structural insulated panels (stress skin panels), and frost protected shallow foundations. identify ways to reduce the amount of materials used and reduce the amount of waste generated through the implementation of a construction waste reduction plan. (sheriff ,2014) 7.6. strategic energy technology plan the strategic energy technology plan is the key decision-making support tool for many countries’ energy policies. it encourages the development and use of low-carbon technologies through the wide dissemination of education and information technology. (angelidou, m. 2014. ) it is characterized by specifying targets that will be achieved within a set period of time or by a certain deadline. 7.7. respecting the local community culture human needs, activities, faiths which can be called its culture is one of main elements which control energy use. as technology can control human behavior to decrease its negative impacts to achieve energy efficiency 7.8. climate needs hot arid climate must be respected as providing the successful models in design of form, materials, orientation which must designed to decrease heating inside building, 8. a checklist for achieving low energy buildings in egypt the criteria are presented to can analysis the building statues to can improve it by clearing the main factors: 1. building operations. 2. form of building 3. external envelope 4. construction and finishing materials. 5. building appliances. abd el aal / the academic research community publication pg. 121 table 1. the checklist can be used by architects who can analysis and improve building description: name:…………………………………………………………………………………………… type of building:…………………………………………………………………………………………… area:…………………………………………………………………………………………… climate:……………………………………………………………………………………….. factors comments rating of factors 0-40% 50% 60-80% 85≤ building operations (energy use) heating (artificial-natural) cooling(artificial-natural) lighting(artificial-natural) type of energy used form of building design of form shading elements courtyard plan parameters orientation external envelop ceiling type shading insulation wall orientation insulation opening type of glass orientation area construction materials of envelope (ceiling-wall) u. value r. value structure system height span application for heating equipment for lighting equipment for cooling equipment abd el aal / the academic research community publication pg. 122 9. conclusion: we need to be moving ,as a country, toward sustainable,efficient buildings, but let the market dicate our direction.market demand encourages innoation.if solar power systems are too expensive today ,donot force them on the public,but ask companies to build it in a differet way to reduce the cost. making use of traditional architectural solutions that are suitable to local environmental conditions to provide thermal comfort, natural lighting and ventilation and to successfully design a green home. the importance of integrating and consolidating local environmental principles intoegyptian construction law and systems. the importance of assessing the environmental impact of construction projects andpromoting the adoption of energy efficiency principles . with egypt preceding to sustainable development through its latest ‘strategic vision 2030’ announced in march 2015, methods and tools are becoming crucial to achieving the vision’s goals. there are hundreds of green building tools including one dimensional, two dimensional and total sustainability assessment tools. for achieving the concept of energy efficiency in egypt we need to clarify the building into three categories : first: how building work efficiency : mandatory provision of space and equipment for the future installation of renewable energy systems such as solar and wind energy collection systems. mandatory provision of measurement devices of remote communication capabilities for all energy sources in the building such as electricity and natural gas, in order to transmit consumption data to a data acquisition system. building envelope design and insulation depend on climatic analysis of the project location. control human behavoirs in building operations to control energy use. second :how to design building envelope: presenting the standard classification of the bioclimatic zones of egypt and their respective building envelope design recommendations. enforcement of bioclimatic calculations and analyses as part of construction documents necessary for licensing. limitation to the use of materials and building techniques which are incompatible with the results of the bioclimatic analysis for the specific climatic zone. third : importance of following energy codes for indoor environmental quality and comfort: buildings shall be designed in compliance with ashrae 55 – 04 (according to thermal comfort specifications of the climatic zone), except spaces with special requirements for processes, activities, or contents that require a thermal environment outside of that which humans find thermally acceptable, such as food storage, natatoriums, shower rooms, saunas, and drying rooms. references: abdul salam darwish, (2011),sustainable green smart buildings: future energy survivor, isesco journal of science and technology vol. 12 no 21. ashrae and us. green building council, (2011) ansi/ashrae/usgbc/ies standard 189.1-2011, ashrae, atlanta, ga, pp.19-22,. asif, m.. (2015) growth and sustainability trends in the buildings sector in the gcc region with particular reference to the ksa and uae, renewable and sustainable energy reviews. ayyad, karim. (2011). marketing green architecture in egypt: integration of green architecture into the mainstream construction market in egypt. 10.13140/rg.2.1.4035.6243. eeaa..( 2008 ) renewable energy strategy for scientific research. cairo: energy research center-faculty of engineering cairo university,. abd el aal / the academic research community publication pg. 123 eia, u.s. energy information administration.( 2015). “egypt international analysis u.s. energy information administration (eia)” 2015: 1–13. fakosh, u. and ahmed, r. (2012). the employment of technical development to the direction of high-technology buildings within the framework of sustainable design. damascus university journal of science and engineering, 226-246. ficarelli, l. (2009), the domestic architecture in egypt between past and present: the passive hebaalla mostafa karmany, evaluation of green building rating systems for egypt, a thesis submitted to center for sustainable development in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of science in sustainable development ,the american university in cairo,2016. home-sis. sis.gov.eg. retrieved from http://www.sis.gov.eg. housing and building national research center. nuca. karim m ayyad,,( 2014) marketing green architecture in egypt: integration of green architecture into journal of asian scientific research, , 4(6): 260-269. karim m ayyad,mostafa gaber,( 2012) greening building codes in egypt, sustainable futures: architecture and urbanism in the global south kampala, uganda. mop.( 2015). ministry of planning. egypt sustainable development strategy 2030,. nabih, ahmed, mina michel samaan, osama m.a. farag, and alaa s. el aishy.. (2011) "using simulation tools for enhancing residential buildings." proceedings of building simulation 2011: 12th conference of international building performance simulation association, sydney, 14-16 . saberi, o. et al.( 2010) ,thermal comfort in architecture, shahid beheshti university press, iran,. sis. (2015). state information service. egypt launches sustainable development strategy. sweepnet. (2014). the regional solid waste exchange of information and expertise network in mashreq and maghreb countries. “country report on the solid waste management in egypt” the mainstream construction market in egypt, master thesis, faculty of engineering ,cairo university. u.s. energy information administration (eia). retrieved from http://www.eia.gov unccd (2005), egypt national plan to combat desertification, arab republic of egypt ministry. usama el fiky , (2011)towards a green building law un egypt :opportunities and challenges, science direct-elsevier-energy procedia6,. waleed hussein, (2014),an applicable approach to green architecture in egypt proposed measurement matrix model to assess the use of historicislamic architectural elements and repertoire in the application of green architecture principles and concepts, global journal of arts humanities and social sciences, vol.2, no.10,pp.629, http://www.sis.gov.eg/ http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i2.512 democratically smart world from neighbourhoods to the world preyan mehta1 1school of design, swarnim startup & innovation university abstract this paper discusses as to how the human civilization has evolved over time, and how we already have become semi-humanoids. living in the data driven society, we rely hugely on numbers and data, rationality and science ((lohr, 2013)). darwin postulated, and i paraphrase, complex organisms evolve out of the simplest ones, and the new, evolved and complex organisms evolve according to the natural selection and become better versions of yesterday ((ghiselin, 2013)). this paper focusses on the development of a universal system, which would help us solve all of the global issues. accordingly, this system proposes a symbiotic relationship between the three major forces present on earthhumans, nature and technology. currently, humans have a linear relationship with both of the forces. we are the predators and nature is the prey. because of this relationship, human civilization have started to fear its own creations, which is reflected through what prof. stephen hawking shared with bbc, “”...the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.... it would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate.... humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.....”((cellan-jones, 2014)). the system proposed in this paper will be democratic in nature, where all the three forces have an equal voice to speak. the symbiotic relationship will be based on a concept known as mutualism,” where all species mutually share the limited resource increasing both species ’ chances of survival or reproduction” ((wolfe, 2016)). till date, the world has not seen the true form of the democracy. instead, have witnessed pseudo democracies, where the power is handed over to the few after the elections and the citizens stay where they were before. instead, a true democracy translates into“by the people, for the people” ((maskanian, n.d.)). the system is based on the principle, that to maintain a balance between powers, one need not go to war with it. instead, try and understand one simple concept“all is one, one is all”((kotsos, n.d.)). as small as this statement is, it explains the entire functioning of the world. this paper will conclude with answering to the question, “the distant utopia or a mere mirage?” and will also try to lay down the fundamentals of how to make the world smart and not just few cities, comparing the world to an organism and cities with organs. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords data; technology; nature; humans; linear relationship; predator; prey; artificial intelligence; evolution; darwin; symbiotic relationship; mutualism; power; society; extinction; natural selection; humanoids; robot; reality; democratic; smart city; smart world; decentralization of world power; global issues; world constitution pg. 199 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mehta / the academic research community publication democratically smart worldan introduction the paper focuses on proposing a system, a symbiotic relationship between three of the major forces of the worldhumans, human’s creations (technology) and nature. humans, of course, are a part of the nature, and technology is a part of humans’ manifestations. humans evolved from unicellular organisms and technology is nothing but an extension of humans which we created to help us overcome our own limitations and slower biological evolution ((than, 2010)). even though we humans, and our own creations (technology) are part of the entire ecosystem, when one force tries to become stronger than the whole, it needs to be checked and controlled. over the period of historical time and throughout our own evolution, we have always tried to eat more than we could digest. we have always thought of ourselves as the ultimate conscious beings, smartest amongst all living beings ((snyder, n.d.)). when this thinking of controlling a force to maintain the balance of the entire system becomes the priority, radical changes and strong decisions must be taken. that is how, we have lived and known to live since our inception as a species. the system hence proposed here, is where there will be no need to maintain a balance wherein one force becomes stronger or weaker than the other, but instead, it is always working, keeping in mind the balance of the entire ecosystem. the three forces, humans-nature-technology (h.n.t.), will be called as triad (group of three) of forces (or simply triad-f throughout the paper). triad-f is the solution because in a triad, if one of the force becomes more powerful, then the other two forces can neutralize it and maintain the balance. whereas in the existing dyad of forceshumans and nature, one force can easily start becoming ominous and try to tame the other ((10 ways humans impact the environment, 2016)). humans, even though are intelligent, they have their own prejudices which is why they cannot be given the majority of the power share in the ecosystem. therefore, introducing our own creation will help stabilize the power share. we have developed the technology to the extent now, that they will soon achieve artificial general intelligence. once they do that, we will have another force to take into consideration which will be trying to gain power ((koch, 2015)). noting that, even though technology may achieve full intelligence, they are programmed and work on algorithms. because of that fact, they cannot be conscious (in reality the entire theory of consciousness is debatable, but for the sake of this paper let us consider that they will not be as conscious as we are)((graziano, 2016)). and because they cannot achieve consciousness, they cannot have prejudices. here then, nature, which is a force running on its own resources; humansrunning on consciousness, intelligence and resources; and technologyrunning purely on intelligence and resources will act as the perfect triad. the system equates the world as an organism, where citizens are the cells, neighbourhoods are the tissues, cities are the organs and countries are the organ systems. research methodology 1. emergence and polishing of the ideaworld as an organism and citizen as a cell 2. dissecting, segregating and selecting few of the layers and its details 3. explanation of the layersgeographical layer, technological layer, urban infrastructure, political layer, economical layer, rating system, analytical power of the technology 4. designing an escape plan, if and when the doomsday (natural and artificial) comes 5. conclude with answering the questionthe distant utopia or a mere mirage? pg. 200 mehta / the academic research community publication body of the organism geographical boundaries the current population of the world is 7,632,819,325 or 7.63 billion and the projected population for the year 2050 is 9.7 billion or 9,700,000,000 ((world population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, 2015)). let us assume, for the sake of this paper, that the population in the year 2050 will be 10 billion or 10,000,000,000. this population will be distributed as per the hierarchy of cell to the organism. where, 1. 1,000 citizens = 1 neighbourhood 2. 1,000 neighbourhoods = 1 city 3. 1,000 cities = 1 country 4. 10 countries = the world (1,000 citizens x 1,000 neighbourhoods x 1,000 cities x 10 countries = 10,000,000,000 total citizens) the total land area on earth is 148,900,000 km2 ((springer, n.d.)). if we divide this area by 10 (total no. of countries), we get 14,890,000 km2 per country. analysing the world demographics for the land area under usage by different countries, there are currently around 224 countries in the world, where the maximum area of land is 16,376,870 km2 (russia) and the minimum of the area is 1 km2 (monaco), and their populations are 144,300,000 and 38,499 respectively. that means in russia, a single person gets 11,000 m2 and in monaco, a single person gets 28 m2 (note: this is not the exact density for the countries, because of many factors such as social, economical, political etc nor does it represents the entire range of the densities of the countries) ((largest countries in the world by land area worldometers, n.d.)). this system’s first step is to eradicate the geographical limitations by distributing equal land for all the citizens of the world. according to the calculations, each country will get 14,890,000 km2, i.e. each city will have 14,890 km2, each neighbourhood will get 14.89 km2 and hence each citizen will get 0.01489 km2 or 14,890 m2 of land to live on, equally, no matter which country you visit. neighbourhood, being the smallest geographical unit deciding the physical boundaries of the same, automatically defines the physical boundaries of the entire world. the world’s land, if charted on a piece of a flat paper, forms an organic shape (only the land). all the shapes are the derivatives of a polygon and the smallest polygon is the triangle (because two connected lines can never form a shape but as soon as a third line is introduced, a triangle is formed, which is the most basic of all shapes and which can form all the other shapes). hence, the smallest geographical unitthe neighbourhood, will be a triangle in its shape. the area of a single neighbourhood is 14.89 km2, but we are only going to take area of the neighbourhood to be 14 km2 (the remaining area, i.e. 0.89 km2 will be discussed later) and the formula for area of a triangle is a = (h×b)/2 (1) where (equation (1)) a= area of a triangle, h= height of the triangle measured from the base, b= base length. so, a= 14 km2, therefore through the method of trial and error, we get one dimension to be 5.6 km and another 5 km, where ‘h’ can be either 5.6 or 5 and ‘b’ can be either 5 or 5.6 respectively. based on the height and base measurements, the permutations and combinations to form a particular triangle will be many, which will help encompass the organic shape of the world. in terms of land usage, the entire land area (liveable) will be divided into three parts (based on triad-f). one third has to be covered by humans, another third by technology and the last third by nature. that means in a single neighbourhood, each force will get 4,666,667 m2. coming back to the area of land left out of the equation, i.e. 0.89 km2 from each of the neighbourhoods, total area left out of the equation is 0.89 x 1000 x 1000 x 10 = 8,900,000 km2 (n x c x co). this area will be used to make city capitals, country capitals and world centre. the areas will be divided in the ratio of 1:2:3 (city: country: world) based on the importance they hold. hence 1,000 city capitals will get 1,483,333 km2, i.e. single city capital will have an area of 1,483.33 km2. in a similar way, each country capital will get 296,660.6 km2 and world centre will get 4,449,999 km2. pg. 201 mehta / the academic research community publication technological wiring weaving threads upon the geographical fabric, are the technological wires. the entire system is known as democratically smart system (d.s.s.). this system controls the entire technological front of the triad-f. the technology will run on the concept of internet in air, i.e. cloud computing and wifi. the wifi here doesn’t require modems to give the output, but instead embedded within the electron particles of air in the ionosphere (a hypothetical idea of nikola tesla, taken further and used for internet rather than just electricity)((dickerson, 2014)), and hence internet for everyone, everything and everywhere. for cloud computing, we still require servers to store data and information, the reason being privacy. now, the cloud is known as democratically smart cloud (d.s.c.) and the servers, being shared amongst all the citizens of the world, are known as shared servers (s.s.). this nomenclature is important for the further understanding of the hierarchy. – d.s.c.i (cloud for individual) – d.s.c.n (cloud for the neighbourhood) – d.s.c.c (cloud for the city) – d.s.c.co (cloud for the country) – d.s.c.w (cloud for the world) this hierarchy is top to bottom. that means that d.s.c.i is the most basic cloud, which will then integrate with the d.s.c.n, d.s.c.c, d.s.c.co and then finally integrating into d.s.c.w. hence, similar to the chain, citizen till the world, even the clouds will follow the same. the hierarchy for the shared servers also remains the same, s.s.i, s.s.n, s.s.c, s.s.co and then finally s.s.w.. the d.s.c. will be storing all the data in the s.s.. when we are talking about the world, which will be totally based on the sharing of information and synchronising a lot of information, we also need to store that information somewhere and that is why shared servers exist instead of just servers. hence, connecting all the shared servers together helps maintain this chain of command and also store huge amounts of data. another logic behind sharing servers is if one s.s.i fails or if one d.s.c.i fails, the entire system won’t collapse, or also, if the main d.s.c.w./ s.s.w. fails, then the entire system won’t collapse. instead they’ll redirect the data and information channel onto to the next point in the circuit, considering the lost cause as a void (what will happen if the entire system collapses or the d.s.c.w./s.s.w. collapse? we’ll discuss that later under the topic, “the red button”). urban infrastructure the triangle (shape of the neighbourhood) will be divided into 3 parts as already discussed, each having an area of 4,666,667 m2. it means that humans will only get that much area for the purpose of living, trading, industrialising etc. it also means that the same area of land will also be used dedicatedly towards nature, in terms of plantations, forestry, agriculture etc. and that the technological infrastructure will also be of that much area, which includes s.s.ns, d.s.c.ns, roads etc. the zoning will follow the concept of outwards to inwards, meaning that humans will live on the corners of the triangle, technology in the centre and nature in between both of them. the layout is deduced through the reasoning that humans need to socialize not just amongst the citizens of their own neighbourhood, but also with the other neighbourhoods. the citizens as are on the corners, will interact with 3 of the adjacent neighbourhoods. more than the social and culture factors, this arrangement also allows the possibilities for the development of common amenities, centers, buildings, institutions etc between four neighbourhoods. based on the geographical location of the neighbourhoods, the resources will be divided and allocated to them. the arrangement of massing of the population directly influences the road networksthe main highways are outside the population, i.e. on the edges of the triangles and the internal roads will diverge inside and towards the nature and the center which is a technological hub. note that these are not iron grids but guidelines which will help pg. 202 mehta / the academic research community publication design the urban fabric of the society, strategically, in a defined manner ((dawes & ostwald, 2017)). for example, neighbourhoods are triangles but that does not mean that all are equilateral triangles or triangles with the same height and the base, nor does it mean that the city will also be triangular and the country as well. it will simply follow its own course of formation based on the geographical location and the typology of the natural topography. in the year 2050, we will advance to the extent that we are no longer required to drive a car, for better or worse ((autonomous driving – five steps to the self-driving car, n.d.)). utilising this autonomous system of cars and integrating the cars with the d.s.c.i-s and on the bigger scale, d.s.c. (for cars) will enable us to tap the possibilities of less or no traffic jams, re-use of the same car for more than one user, less accidents, ease of transportation, human comfort etc. because of urban planning, walking is always favored and awarded. these layout will help make the neighbourhoodswalk-able neighbourhoods. the public transportation systems are inspired by living organisms, for example earthworms, which travel by overlapping each other, without disturbing the other’s routes or paths. this earthworm inspired public transport also facilitates the system of synchronising with all the cars and people who are walking on the footpaths and can engulf humans as well as cars themselves, to save the fuel. for example, if ten cars have maybe 3 km of the transit as a common path, then these cars will get attached to these earthworms for that much distance and will get detached when the time comes. similarly, the same applies for people. these earthworms save fuel, time, and congestion, hence reducing the number of accidents occurring. the earthworms are always on the move and hence, there will be no need to invest in unnecessary infrastructure of bus stops/train stops/tram stops. when they’ll have no passenger, they’ll simply move slowly, hardly burning any fuel and will be in hibernation mode. that means, even though cars are private vehicles, they’ll also be public and even though the earthworm buses are public mode of transport, they’ll also be private. this system, hence tries to diffuse and eradicate the boundaries between private and public transportation, over which, there have been many debates lately. public transportation helps at the urban level but not everyone wants to transit through public transport because they do not want to share their private spaces with others. so, these autonomous earthworm buses and autonomous cars, help in blurring such issues and facilitates better, cheaper, and faster commuting methods. this was one example of private-public transportation, on the land. the concept remains the same for the air and water, but using different technologies. what about the city as an identity through art and architecture? won’t this uniformity across the globe, vandalise, and eradicate their own identities? all the neighbourhoods, cities and countries have the freedom to select their own course. some cities can be agro-cities, some can be techno-cities, some mechino-cities, some art-cities, some water-cities, some commercial-cities and some edu-cities etc. this will be decided through various factors and decisions taken by the citizens themselves, including the names of the neighbourhoods, cities and countries. the inter zoning of the neighbourhoods will be done by the citizens and also be decided through the soul of the organism, which is discussed in the next topic. soul of the organism if the body of the organism is the physical environment, then the soul of the organism is the social structure of the world. without these layers, a body cannot work. or rather, cannot work with a conscious. we’ll discuss about the different sub layers of the soul, one by one. political hand the system, d.s.s., is democratic in nature because firstly, this system eradicates the need of having any leaders or a political hierarchy. one doesn’t need a political party or an organisation or a leader to govern. if it is a democratic system, then eventually it is the citizen who is responsible for each and every decision taken and implemented. this system, allowing freedom, adds more responsibility on the shoulders of the citizens. the city, country and world centres are technological as well as political centres for the citizens. the entire system works on a simple concept, wherein a single citizen’s thoughts, ideas etc makes a difference. yes, this system works on the principles of pg. 203 mehta / the academic research community publication voting. voting, for everything. is that empowering a single citizen? yes. so let us see with the following examples which show how a citizen will make a law/rule. a citizen named m45, lives in the neighbourhood444, city42 and country3. a male by sex, aged 23 years old, lives with his girlfriend. here are few demographics, which are important while understanding the neighbourhood and it’s thinking. no. of men500; no. of women400; no. of children(aged under 18)100; no. of married couples350; overall distribution of the age groups1-10 years (55), 10-17 (45), 18-30 (600), 31-50 (100), 51-100 (200). now, m45 is not married but is living with his girlfriend, w40 (add.: n578, c57, co3). one day they were kissing each other outside their front gate and a middle aged couple with children, felt awkward looking at them, especially because they had their children with them. they tap their watches, the husband opens d.s.c.n444, opens the section of “new rule” and types‘physical display of affection in public must be banned’. as soon as he clicks on “post for the elections”, dated 23/09/2053, will be stored and the question goes to the cloudn444, which will then be pushed to all the citizens of d.s.c.n444 on 07/10/2053. this is done because the new neighbourhood rules are up for voting every 1st sunday of a month. the day comes, i.e. 07/10/2053 and that potential rule (p.rule) will be pushed to all the citizens of n444, and will be under the tag, level 1, p.rule 3. as all the citizens can post for new rules, this time there were 9 p.rules, tagged under level 1. a side note, only one new rule can be added to d.s.c.n every month. all the 9 p.rules were displayed to 900 citizens of the n444 (only 18 or above can vote), along with their conditions and reasons and have 3 hours of voting time in the morning, i.e. from 9-12am. out of all the p.rules, a single citizen can only vote for 3 p.rules at the level 1 and only the top three p.rules will tagged as level 2. these p.rules will be pushed to the citizens after the results, where now single citizen can only vote for a single p.rule. that clearly means, the entire population will be divided into three p.rules. considering that p.rule 5 got the maximum votes out of the three and hence will move up on the ladder to level 3. this is the level, where the citizen’s votes does not count anymore. the citizen’s participation is over. now, the d.s.s.n444 will take over the entire process. the d.s.s.n444 will scrutinise the p.rule 5 in two steps. in the first step, it’ll crosscheck that p.rule doesn’t violate any existing rules of n444, c42, co3 and the world’s rules. considering for now, that it doesn’t violate any of the existing rules and also, that this rule in some way or the other does not exist. then it goes to step two. here, in this step, p.rule 5 will be marked according to the h.n.t.’s parameters (humans, nature, technology) and will also predict the effect of the p.rule on the n.r. (neighbourhood rating). considering further that the p.rule 5 does good in the h.n.t. test and is actually improving the n.r. (h.n.t. and n.r. will be discussed later in the topic), then the d.s.s.n444 will push this p.rule, as rule no. ## (in order with the existing rules), along with its terms, conditions, and penalties. if the above example was to go in a different direction, i.e. if the p.rule would not have gotten positive test in h.n.t. and in terms of n.r., then p.rule 5 would have been eliminated from the competition and the next p.rule, with the 2nd highest votes, would have gotten tagged as level 3 and again the same process would have happened. if out of three p.rules, none were to be converted into a rule, then the citizens will be asked for a “re-election”, where now only the remaining of the p.rules, i.e. 6 of them will be there in the re-election. if the majority of the citizens vote for no, then re-election will not take place and no new rule will be added to d.s.s.n444 that month. also note that after the elections are done, except for the one rule which got elected, all other p.rules will be tagged as level 0 and will be archived (the use of which will be discussed in the topicbrain of the organism). if the citizen wants to remove or edit a certain rule, it is an annual process where voting in the similar pattern will take place. neighbourhood rules are made every month and changed/removed every year because citizens are directly under the influence of them all the time and hence a quicker process is an advantage for them. similarly, rules will be made for a city, a country and for the world, with modifications such as city’s elections will happen every 2 years (adding, removing or editing a rule) every 3 years for a country and every 4 years for the world. this example was at a grassroot level, i.e. neighbourhood level. let us take just another example, of other end of the spectrum, i.e. making a new rule for the world. making rules for the entire world is tricky and hence the process is little longer than that of a neighbourhood. pg. 204 mehta / the academic research community publication because the election will take place at a global level, where there could be 1,000 or even 1,000,000,000 entries (all tagged as level 1 p.rules), the election goes on for an entire month (january), first month of every 4 years. except for neighbourhood elections, whenever a user types a new p.rule, they are checked for discrepancies, similar existing rules and or even suggestions based on the keywords they type in, in the similar ways as to how we are used to suggestions given to us as a drop down menu when we are searching for something online. the process for selecting the rules is in the reverse order and here it doesn’t start with the process of voting; rather it starts with a three step process. the first step will cross check for any similar existing rules at the world level (including all the sub levels) and if the p.rules doesn’t exploit any existing world rules (including all the sub rules). the next step is testing the p.rules through the h.n.t. and w.r. (world rating) and will be awarded marks. the last step involves selecting only 10 p.rules from each of the country (the logic being, because these are the world level rules, the number of citizens wanting to make a rule for the world can be as high as 1 million or so), i.e. in total 100 p.rules and then these 100 p.rules will be tagged as level 2. now, at level 2, the 100 p.rules are pushed to the citizens for voting where a single citizen can only vote for 10 p.rules at the maximum. now, along with the voting results, all the 100 p.rules will move forward to the level 3. at level 3, d.s.s.w will go through a 2 step process. the first step will check for the number of votes achieved by each of the p.rules and will run an algorithm to see how will all the p.rules perform and influence the world and the citizens over the next 50 years. accordingly, the p.rules will be marked. the last step involves ordering the p.rules under each country, from top to bottom. that means, each country will have a list of 10 p.rules based on the markings achieved in the last step, where the top p.rule will be having the maximum of the marks and the bottom p.rule will have the lowest of the marks. then, d.s.s.w. will select only the top p.rules of each country and thereby a total of 10 p.rules and 1 p.rule from each country will be tagged as level 4. level 4 p.rules are the world rules for the coming 4 years, and will be pushed to all the citizens throughout the world with their terms, conditions and penalties. 1 rule from each country is selected, so that no single country can become more powerful than the other and hence maintaining the balance eventually (special note: no matter at which level, the citizen’s identity will not be disclosed throughout the entire voting process, but the citizens are entitled with the power of letting others know if they want to). here, also note that voting is not just a right of the citizen but also a universal rule, just like the rule of maintaining balance between the three forces, which cannot be broken. the citizen will have option to pass the voting process 3 times at the neighbourhood level but when it comes to the world level elections, every citizen must vote. what happens if they stop voting? (it’ll be discussed under the topicthe red button). economics of the oxygen the currency for the entire world will be “de”, or demo-currency. 1 de = 1 calorie/ 4.186 j/ 4.186 w/s/ 2.6 x e19ev the money, demo-currency equates to the energy units. this is done in accordance with that fact that everything is but energy, in one form or the other. according to einstein, “energy can neither be created nor be destroyed. it can only change from one form to another”, also known as the law of conservation of energy (considering a closed system)(what is conservation of energy? (0)). this is the core fundamental for selecting energy units as the world currency. this is a universal currency, which means that no matter where you stay, in whichever corner of the world, this is the currency you’ll use and trade with. physical currency is not efficient and is a fake currency in its inception (the fractional reserve banking system / zeitgeist addendum (2009)). the reason why barter system for trade was better than the current monetary system throughout the world isit had a universal language. but because people started abusing this system with dominance and power, the system changed into currency notes and coins. this system creates lot of waste, which means we are wasting the energy form in one way or the other. when the currency is digital, we save a lot of resources in printing, distributing and making the dye etc. if everything worked on the same currency throughout the world, yet another reason for any country to become more powerful is negated. also, a person can earn this money earnestly, equally and anywhere. going back to the concept of “all is one, one is all”, anything and everything can be converted down to its smallest units pg. 205 mehta / the academic research community publication as energy units. this currency gets stored with you on your d.s.c.i, and cannot be hacked (technically, a person can. but because everyone and everything is under the eyes of d.s.s. thus hacking and adding that money to some other place will be nearly impossible). this account stays in the name of the person, from the day they are born and perishes once they die, giving back to the world the energy which was stored inside/with him/her. through the example of an apple, we’ll now study how trading will happen in this system. the apple’s cost is nothing but embedded energy, meaning from the process of growing them till the process of bringing them to the market to sell. the entire process will have lots of energies embedded within it, which will then be calculated in all the steps and then added up. this total will be divided into how many apples can be sold. this will be the cost of the apple which the person needs to pay through the d.s.c.i directly. it takes all the parameters, like the time it took to grow, the cost of seeds, the cost of maintaining the apple trees throughout that number of years, the number of trees which couldn’t bear fruit, the cost of the fertilizer, the cost of the fuel when transporting it to the market etc. this is something that a person cannot manipulate or calculate by himself. hence, here the upper hand for all the calculations will be with d.s.s.. the d.s.s. doesn’t allow or facilitate profit margins. this is done in accordance with the fact that when there is profit, there is loss. the loss could be incurred on the behalf of anyone or anything, but it surely has to come. following this concept of profitloss, there always comes the concept of rich and poor. this system also envisions solving few of the major global issues, which are poverty, economic inequality, hunger and poor health etc. d.s.s.w., gives and allocates the daily demo-currencies to all the citizens of the world according to the age and sex. nobody needs to earn money to survive, but only to buy luxuries or more than what the basic requirements to live are. the currency allocated is calculated per person’s age and sex and is updated daily on their d.s.c.i., as per the calories required to stay alive (not to achieve obesity). if someone wants to eat more than he/she should, then they need to earn that extra money through jobs. the basic three things are food, shelter and clothes. these things’ monthly budget will be calculated per person and hence the required amount of money (which is nothing but energy units) will be generated. this leads to the next topicbudgeting. the d.s.s.w will analyse and calculate the annual requirement in terms of all forms of energies for the entire world population and hence, that will help deduce the annual budget for the world for that year (every year’s data will be recorded and will be used to decide, predict etc for the next year. this will be discussed in detail under the topicbrain of the organism). let us take the annual budget for the world for the year 2053 to be 200,000,000 quadrillion demo-currencies or 2 million quadrillion demos (this number was deduced and approximated from the world energy consumption statistics). the d.s.s.w will distribute this money to all the countries based on their country ratings. ideally if all the countries have the same ratings, they’ll get 0.2 million quadrillion demos. but that can never be the case or rarely will be the case. let us understand the concept through an example. the country ratings for the year 2052 were: co.r.1=8/10, co.r.2=5/10, co.r.3=7/10, co.r.4=6/10, co.r.5=5.5/10, co.r.6=9/10, co.r.7= 9.5/10, co.r.8=5.5/10, co.r.9=3/10 and co.r.10=7/. the co.r. is the average of all the c.r.s(city ratings) of that country, and c.r. is the average of all the n.r.(neighbourhood ratings). after attaining the co.r.s of all the countries, the d.s.s.w. will find out the average co.r. for all the countries, which will become world rating (w.r.). for this example, w.r. is 6.55/10, based on which it analyse that out of the 5 countries whose ratings are below the w.r., 3 of the countries were struck twice by natural calamities during the last year and hence, due to that factor, the rating came down. the other 2 countries, whose ratings are below w.r., had no particular reasons as to why their ratings were below average. first step the d.s.s.w. will do, is exclude 10% of the total annual budget and therefore the remaining the annual budget for the countries is 1.8 x 108 quad. demos, and hence ideally every country should get 1.8 x 107 quad. demos. the next step is distributing the 95% of the 1.8 x 107 quad to the 5 countries whose co.r. is equal or above w.r.. the 3 countries that were struck by natural calamities will be given 100% of their budget plus an extra of 5% (loan without an interest, but the extra money has to be returned to the d.s.s.w. the next year along with the improved ratings) so that those countries could again improve their ratings (and eventually improve the w.r.). the countries that did not have a particular reason for bad ratings, will be labelled yellow, as it occurred for the first time and will be allotted 95% of the budget as well. the next time if the same thing occurs, then they’ll be flagged as red and the time after that, they’ll be flagged pg. 206 mehta / the academic research community publication as grey. the country flagged as grey, will be given only half of their annual budget with which they will have to improve the ratings the next year, else that country will be dissolved and the citizens distributed among other countries. then a new country will be formed, whose citizens will be selected analytically and will be informed to move to that country. 3 warnings are given because of the fact that dissolving an entire country and building a new one, uses a lot of money. but on the other hand, if they cannot somehow increase their ratings, they will keep on decreasing the w.r.. all the countries were deliberately given only 95% of their budgets. the reason was to use the remaining money for the purpose of loans and rewards. the country that scored the maximum rating, will be awarded the rest of the budget (in the totality, we are still not using the 10% removed at the beginning. the use of that money will be discussed later in the topicthe red button). the budget distribution in a similar manner will happen at all the levels of the hierarchy, i.e. country-city, city-neighbourhood and neighbourhood-citizen (also that all will be left with 10% of the total budget, except for the citizens). ofcourse, the budget will have lots of sub categories, for example, transportation, healthcare, agriculture etc and will be distributed under the particular categories((dorotinsky, n.d.)). rating systemthe yard scale as discussed earlier in all the topics and sub topics, there always comes a point where ratings are the most important thing, based on which decisions are taken. the rating system, follows the triad-f philosophy and hence has three main components to decide the ratingshumans, nature and technology. the factors are human parameters, nature’s parameters, and technological parameters. the core parameters under each section arelife expectancy, sustainability and advancement of the technology, respectively. there are thousands of other sub parameters under each broader parameter, but the main parameters are these three. let us take an example, as to how would something be rated. women-09, n376, c98, co07, adds a new p.rulecars running on fossil fuels shouldn’t be allowed inside the neighbourhood. this p.rule gets converted into a rule (for understanding the process of rulemaking, refer heading1.3.1 political hand). now, let us dissect this rule into the broader parameters. 1. by not allowing cars running on fossil fuels, people of neighbourhood-376 will not be exposed to carbon emissions, and hence will live longer and better. 2. by not allowing the cars running on fossil fuels, there will be a need for research and advancement in technology for a better, cleaner and cheaper fuel to run cars on. 3. by not allowing the cars running on fossil fuels, followed by the arguments that citizens will live longer, solution as a new fuel type and hence, not using fossil fuel, is a leap towards sustainability. therefore, this rule will be rated as, h.p. (human parameters)7/10, n.p. (nature’s parameters)8/10 and t.p. (technological parameters)6/10. hence, the rating for this rule will be 7/10. the neighbourhood rating is an average of all the ratings achieved per rule, per collective decision, per project etc which simply means that if the citizens of the neighbourhood are actively thinking for the betterment of themselves, then they’ll have good n.r.s. this is done based on the understanding of the human psychology and human tendency to be selfish ((kaufman, 2016)). so, if a citizen wants to stay fit, live longer, have a good place to live, have his/her neighbourhood to be the best, he/she will have to improve the n.r., and eventually that will improve the co.r. and that will influence the w.r. and the budget. with this sub topic, we conclude the topicsoul of an organism and the next topic shall cover about the brain of the organism. pg. 207 mehta / the academic research community publication brain of the organism this topic will discuss the brain of the organism, or rather the analytical, reasoning, logical skills of the d.s.s.w.. this will eventually cover topics such as resource management. firstly, let us rewind about the voting systems and the system of the levels. as discussed earlier, the questions/ concerns/ potential rules etc were archived when tagged under level 0. this was done to analyse the thinking of the citizens in that year. it will analyse the trends occurring over time, the changes in culture and traditions, the changes in art and architecture etc. hence, archiving plays a vital role to predict the future of the organism, after 5/ 10/ 100/ 1000 years. what this will help achieve is, better management for the next year in terms of resources and money (energies). the d.s.s. also analyses the entire rating systems, all the resources consumed throughout the year, and energy units used throughout the year and that will again help predict how much energy units/ money will be required for the next subsequent years. this will help the d.s.s. prepare the necessary resources to help produce that much money etc. for example, it will analyse that water used by the organism for the entire year was 123 x 1020 litres (random numbers), and out of that 20 x 1010 litres got converted into grey water/ polluted water/ waste water, 10 x 107 litres of water caused water borne diseases, also will be able to analyse specific things like, co-03 used 40% of the entire water usage of the world, co-09 re-used 50% of the total annual water usage etc. this was just a small example as to how studying the entire world demographics annually can be used for predicting the future problems and advancements. this analysis and logical reasoning will help the human civilization improve upon and reflect upon their ownself in the holistic sense. resource management hence acts like the brain of the organism. the red button this topic discusses the times of emergencies. for example, a cyclone is about to hit 40% of the cities of the country07. of course, the d.s.s.c07 will have predicted this disaster before it will happen. just before the calamity is about to hit (before atleast 4 hours or so), all the public transportation of that cities will be diverted to the next safer city capitals, transporting the citizens temporarily. the loss in terms of money, will be solved because d.s.s. of all the levels have the emergency funds. the 10%, left out of the budget, was the emergency fund (refer sub heading 1.3.2 economics of the oxygen). if the country emergency fund cannot help the cities rebuild (only talking about the basic city fabric, no extra projects or infrastructure, but only the basic shelter and resources to stay alive), then the d.s.s.c07 will send the reports to the d.s.s.w. and after analysing the situation, the d.s.s.w. will send more emergency funds inside the d.s.s.c07’s emergency funds. but these problems are manageable. the topic has been named “the red button” due to two major scenarios that can take place due to this system or in this system. scenario 1, humans trying to gain power. to do that, the humans in the totality need to stop voting. if nobody votes, the role of technology fails. but the next question that arises, is why would the human race do something that will eventually kill them due to global issues such as climate change, poverty, hunger, terrorism, corruption, etc? only because of the active participation of the technology, can we survive the day of extinction. ok, which means that as the human race, we will not try to disturb the balance of the world. another possibility, is the fear of certain groups of humans trying to hack the technology for their own benefits. even that situation is not possible, because d.s.s. makes and remakes new codes and algorithms everyday and understanding the pattern is near impossible. also, due to the fact that the d.s.s. runs on shared servers, it means that even if someone manages to break the code and try to shut the system from the core, i.e. world center, it will not be possible as the d.s.s. in the its entirety, runs on every shared server of each and every citizen, meaning the computational brain is dividing the computational brain amongst all citizens of the world. hence, humans have no means of overpowering the d.s.s.. scenario 2, d.s.s. trying to gain power. to do that, it would need to run autonomously, from step 0 to step 10. pg. 208 mehta / the academic research community publication the role of d.s.s. is very specific for the entire world. it is only to aid or help maintain the balance between humans and nature. meaning, technology in itself is nothing but random algorithms which, if not given any data, cannot work. considering the worst, that the a.g.i. becomes so powerful that it re-programs itself, then in that situation, the solution is to stop voting. yes, if such scenario happens which threatens extinction of humanity, then uniting as a single organism and not voting will bring the entire d.s.s. on halt. if these extreme measures were not enough, then another level of security is in place. an alternative system constantly runs simultaneously along the main frame of the d.s.s.. the day the main a.g.i.’s intellectual, consciousness or reasoning becomes threatening to the world balance than the system running parallel, will automatically shut that algorithm off, make a new algorithm in place of that and switch it over without anyone ever noticing a glitch. the main reason that the red button will never be pressed, is because only if all the three forces work mutually, can they benefit, grow and advance further. due to this reason, none of the power will try to gain more power as all the forces know their disadvantages of working alone and or working on the top of the chain. the distant utopia or a mere mirage?conclusion the distant utopia or a mere mirage? the proposed system raises many questions and makes us thinkis it so easy to change and improve the world, is it an easy option to hardwire an entire planet than to leave the planet and stay somewhere else or is it just the biggest bluff created by humans so far, based on the technological advancements? this paper and the hence proposed system is a priori knowledge-based system and not a posteriori knowledge based system. that means, it hasn’t been quantitatively analysed and then made. it is an idea, erupting out of necessity, out of desperation and out of the pre-conceived notions of the human brain. why, according to me this system works and will work, is but one thing, survival instinct. this system, where taking advantage of the creator of the human race, i.e. nature and the creation of the human race, i.e. technology is possible, in its best. we are the common thread between nature and technology. because on one hand we take and with another hand, we make, because we all are but alchemists. in both of the scenarios, if such a symbiotic relationship is not maintained and balanced, then one force or the other will wither out. the global issues faced by the human race, such as global warming, climate change, poverty, hunger, inequality, superpowers, terrorism, over population to name the few, can only be solved if we manage our resources efficiently and consistently. resources such as food, water, energy etc are very important, scarce and hard to get day by day((depletion of natural resourcesthe needs of 7 billion people, 2014)). if our society does not stop wasting them because of factors such as world dominance, power hunger, war, military, law enforcement etc then we will not be able to utilise the actual present resources and our children will not even know about something as small a thing such as a banana (the fruit). if individuals or organisations or governments do not stop thinking in terms of profit and loss, they will no longer have anything to control or govern. human race will eventually fall in the list of extinction, just like dinosaurs, but due to our own selfish reasons. a deeper question the paper raises is, does the human race actually want to survive? or does it only want to gain more power? will the leaders of the world let this system be put in place? or will they hold onto their power, like trying to hold water within the grasp of their hands, only to watch it drip and spill in vain? the answer to these questions will decide the fate of the world. we all are striving towards making cities smart, but how will a smart city function if the world remains dumb, while also talking about sustainability. a city can become smart, or even the smartest, but if the entire network is not smart enough to utilise that, then what is the benefit of making cities smart? the system hence proposes an organismthe world, and as the name suggests, a democratically smart worldfrom neighbourhoods to the world. the organism can only work efficiently if it’s body, soul and brain are in synchrony with each other, failing to do which, leads to death. as discussed in the earlier sections, this symbiotic relationship is one of the only way our planet has as a chance of survival. looking towards an optimistic and a brighter side, humans already have bits and parts in place for this system to be active by the year of 2050, when the world population may reach as high as 9.7 billion. if starting from today, pg. 209 mehta / the academic research community publication we start begin designing, integrating strategies towards this proposed system, then maybe by 2050 we can achieve a true and idealistic world, where everyone is healthy and happy. hence, concluding the paper, i would say with confidence that the concept of democratically smart world, is not just a mere mirage, but a distant, promising and the only utopia we can have. references 10 ways humans impact the environment. 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geographical boundaries technological wiring urban infrastructure soul of the organism political hand economics of the oxygen rating systemthe yard scale brain of the organism the red button the distant utopia or a mere mirage?conclusion http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 research paper received: 21 september 2023, accepted: 30 october 2023, published online: 5 november 2023 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i3.1026 endangered religious cultural heritage spatial distribution, tourism design, and heritage narratives from a protection and enhancement perspective in the carpathian region giuliana quattrone1 1researcher, national research council, italy abstract in the carpathian region, there are numerous churches of different denominations built in different architectural styles, including masterpieces of wooden architecture, which are of particular interest from both a cognitive and pilgrimage perspective. the churches of wooden architecture in the carpathian region are the subject of excursions and cognitive religious tourism, and some of them are included in the unesco heritage list. the paper aims to represent and interpret this religious heritage through the narration of places, understood as "topoi" endowed with distinctive identities. the religious heritage of wooden churches is in fact the identity expression of ethnic minorities; identity is substantiated in architecture through the use of particular construction techniques. starting from the analysis of the heritage of wooden churches in the carpathian region, the paper intends to propose innovative ways of multiple immersive narratives where the built religious heritage assumes the function of a tool capable of restoring the narrated reality and acting as a support for a hermeneutics of places. constructing narratives of these places is very important for the preservation of the heritage of wooden churches, which today is experiencing many threats. in addition to bearing witness to local identity processes and conflicts and cooperation between different religions, they are able to increase the attractiveness of their territory and invite and guide visitors to come into contact with these places and establish an empathetic and reciprocal relationship with them. © 2023 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords wooden architecture; cultural heritage; carpathian region; sustainability; churches. 1. introduction the carpathian wooden churches are more than 2,000 and represent an important church heritage for the christian communities in these regions, which have used them as places of worship and prayer for centuries. they also have a wider value, as they represent a cultural and historical heritage for the whole of humanity. they are all very different in terms of form and construction and are objects of great architectural, artistic, and conservation value. despite the considerable importance of their architecture and construction, these magnificent wooden buildings are not mentioned much in the relevant literature and are little known even in the professional circles of architects and art historians. a total of 16 wooden churches (tserkvas) entered the unesco world heritage list in 2013. together they form a centuries-old cultural heritage of this rural border region between the western and eastern slavs, between catholicism, orthodoxy, and judaism. these churches are more than 300 years old, the oldest of which dates back to 1502-1600 (shevtsova, 2021). http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ quattrone/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 according to unesco, this heritage embodies the cultural expression of four ethnographic groups, but also the formal, decorative, and technical changes adopted over time. the tserkvas bear witness to a distinct building tradition, rooted in the ecclesiastical tradition of the orthodox church, interwoven with elements of the local architectural language and tradition, and with symbolic references to the cosmogony of their communities. the architectural structures, designs, and decorative motifs are characteristic of the cultural traditions of the local communities in the carpathian region and illustrate a multiplicity of symbolic references and sacred meanings related to traditions. the architectural forms of the tserkvas, with their three-part plan, pyramidal domes, chapels opening onto a quadrilateral or octagonal space, wooden bell towers, iconostasis, polychromatic interior decorations, as well as parish precincts, loggias, and tombs, respect the requirements of the eastern liturgy while reflecting the cultural traditions of the local communities. 2. state of art the use of wood for the architecture of these churches is dictated by the ample availability of this material in the carpathian mountains area due to the presence of large areas of woodland and forest. wooden churches have shaped the landscape of western ukraine and south-eastern poland for centuries (potichnyj,1980). unfortunately, today they are in various stages of decay, with minimal intervention in their state of preservation. in most cases, restoration was carried out as an emergency measure, as there are no national programs dedicated to the restoration of monuments in critical situations that require immediate restoration. this is why these objects have been gradually disappearing since 1990. not infrequently, they are destroyed due to a lack of safety precautions; sometimes even the communities in the villages where they stand are dismantled and destroyed. since the beginning of the 20th century, old wooden buildings have increasingly been replaced by stone churches. only in individual cases were new sacred buildings still constructed in wood. in many villages where churches are located, new stone churches were built to better withstand the specific climatic and geographic conditions of the area (e.g. low temperatures in cold seasons and high humidity, which create favorable conditions for severe damage to wood and the development of various species of fungi, both outside and inside). inside these often simple-looking churches, more often than not, are iconostases and surprisingly magnificent and colorful wall paintings. the 16 churches recognized in the unesco heritage list as part of the object 'the wooden churches of the carpathian region in poland and ukraine' escape this inauspicious fate under the new protection regime. figure 1: location area of wooden churches in the carpathian region on the territory and details of the location of each church (source: author's elaboration with google earth software) the possibility of including these wooden monuments in the unesco world heritage list places them among the most important structures created by humanity. it is just a pity that despite the prospects in the respective villages in this case, instead of causing the restoration of the old church, or the renovation of its roof, communities often endeavour to build new stone churches nearby. the problem is probably due to the fact that no one has ever explained to people what an architectural monument is and what should be related to it. theological institutions pay no attention to the history and culture of art, so priests have no idea of the value of the churches in which they work. this hypothesis has been confirmed by surveys of the church-going population and/or by contacting local cultural and religious groups to discuss and evaluate priorities regarding the preservation/conservation/restoration of these buildings. most priests dream of a big new temple and quattrone/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 are easily ready to destroy the existing small old church, ignoring the fact that a better temple cannot be built with modern bricks or metal-plastic, so it is important to preserve what our forefathers left us. all ukrainian churches included in the unesco list are protected at the highest level by inclusion in the state register of historical property monuments of ukraine and are classified as national monuments under the law on the protection of cultural heritage (2000). the properties and buffer zones are recognized and protected in the relevant local and district development/land-use plans. all wooden churches nominated for inclusion in poland's unesco list are also protected at the highest level by inclusion in the polish national heritage register under the law on the preservation and protection of historical monuments (2003). in addition, all eight orthodox or catholic wooden churches in south-eastern poland are also stations of the 'szlak architektury drewnianej', i.e., they are included in a tourist route of wooden architecture that runs through a total of four voivodships. this route, covering more than 3,000 kilometers in the voivodships of podkarpackie, malopolskie, swietokrzyskie, and slaskie (silesia), combines several hundred monuments of wooden architecture, such as churches, mills, residential and manor houses. of the 16 wooden churches on the unesco list, the churches in smolnik, turzansk, and chotyniec are included in the podkarpackie trail, and the church in owczary is included in the malopolskie trail (michniewscy, duda 2003). the management of the serial property is coordinated by a steering committee that acts on behalf of the ministers of culture of both countries and works with the administrators of the tserkvas to ensure their preservation and organize training courses. experts in various fields are invited to meetings with the steering committee, which is also required to invite property owners and curators as well as church and secular authorities to participate in this cooperation. the steering committee monitors the land use/development plans in cooperation with the local authorities. instead of individual management plans, the steering committee is also responsible for overseeing all issues related to maintaining the value of the properties; the maintenance of their physical condition, and the elimination of potential threats, including the restriction in development plans of land use in the immediate vicinity of the properties and their buffer zone. such restrictions are essential in some cases, and states parties have committed to establishing appropriate protection mechanisms in all relevant development and land-use plans. furthermore, various conservation processes have been followed in poland for these buildings, starting with scientific studies that allow the development and implementation of predictive models to simulate structural or climatic modifications of these buildings in the event of restoration or relocation. the processes and studies already started in poland could be the basis for accelerating the restoration of similar buildings in ukraine. 2.1. wooden churches as an expression of a strong historical settlement identity these churches should be protected because they are an expression of a strong local identity. the carpathians are home to eastern slavic peoples who have written their names in the tradition of wooden architecture. these are the ruthenians, an ethnic minority who have managed to preserve their faith, identity, and language and have created their own strong and distinctive culture. the ruthenians, or rusini, are an eastern slavic ethnic group that is often referred to as ukrainian, but historically, and according to the ruthenians themselves, they are a separate slavic people, dispersed in various countries by the will of fate. after world war ii, almost all of them had to leave their homeland, as the new rulers saw them as supporters of separatist aspirations. during the 'aktion weichsel', most of the inhabitants were resettled in the former east german territories or the former soviet union. only a few managed to remain in their old homeland or to return after a few years. more than three-quarters of european ruthenians live in ukraine, i.e., in the region of transcarpathia. in slovakia, ruthenians inhabit the pryaszewski region, and in poland, the southeastern part of the country is called lemkowszczyna. there are 12 ruthenian villages in maramorosha in central romania. there are also ruthenian villages in eastern hungary. despite this territorial dispersion, the ruthenian settlements are all united by the orthodox faith, a common ruthenian language with a number of dialects related to history and place of residence, and a common secular culture. the ruthenian people are divided into three ethnic subgroups: lemky, boyky, and hutsul (djakonov,2015). these ruthenian minorities created the masterpieces of carpathian wooden temple architecture that are now included in the unesco world heritage list. in detail they include hutsul styles in the south-eastern ukrainian carpathians at nyzhniy verbizh and yasynia; halych styles in the northern carpathians on both sides of the polish-ukrainian border at rohatyn, drohobych, zhovkva, potelych, radruż, and chotyniec; boyko styles on both sides of the polish-ukrainian border, near the quattrone/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 slovak border, in smolnik, uzhok and matkiv, and western lemko styles in the polish western carpathians in powroźnik, brunary wyźne, owczary, kwiatoń and turzańsk (taras, 2019). the wooden churches of the carpathian region are of great historical heritage and cultural significance for the inhabitants of the small villages in this area. they are artifacts that bear witness to the history of denationalization and religious persecution. even though religious rites are only performed in some of them today, they represent a marked identity factor for the small orthodox communities in the area (rudnytsky,1987; gheorghe et al.,2020). from an architectural compositional point of view, the tserkvas present similar characteristics to the traditional houses of the area, in terms of size (very small), materials used (wood), construction techniques (the arrangement of logs horizontally on stone foundations with angular assemblies by interlocking and the wooden roofing tiles) and decoration. usually, the plan of these externally austere churches is very simple and compact and includes the narthex the nave, and the altar arranged on a longitudinal axis (kutnyi, 2009; gheorghe et al.,2020). very often associated cemeteries or free-standing bell towers stand next to these structures; all are enclosed with perimeter walls and surrounded by trees (shevtsova, 2018; gheorghe et al.,2020). 3. material and methods the methodology with which the research was carried out aims to explore the topic of how the heritage of wooden churches can be adequately preserved and valorized in order to bring benefits throughout the carpathian region and to offer a cognitive approach based on case studies. the aim is to describe contextual situations through a descriptivecorrelational empirical investigation and to suggest strategies for valorization. after examining the existing literature, a more detailed study was carried out for each church in order to take a census of the heritage of the existing churches and to identify the elements useful to set up a correct conservation and valorization policy within the reference contexts. in particular, the following were considered: architectural characteristics, the photographic survey, the internal iconography, the presence of particularly valuable artistic works, the identity style of the building, the year of construction and historical information, past restoration work, and the current state of conservation. the purpose of the case study is to describe the historical-religious identity importance of this architectural heritage and to understand the complex structure of relationships that identify and characterize each artifact in itself, in its unique and unrepeatable specificity, and in relation to the context of reference in which it is located, and only secondarily to use the empirical evidence gathered to shed light on the effectiveness of adopting appropriate solutions for the enhancement of this heritage. the data collection techniques used in case studies are manifold and are both qualitative and quantitative in nature. finally, a research database based on multiple data sources is constructed, which allows for the possibility of intersubjective control of the research procedures. the database contains all the data and materials collected and the annotations, descriptions, and interpretations that are deemed relevant (i.e. documents, observation reports, interviews, questionnaires, field notes, photographs or audio-visual materials, etc.) appropriately annotated, organized in a form that is as comprehensible as possible and structured in such a way that they can be easily consulted to assess the empirical evidence of the research. 3.1. study areas the churches considered are located in various villages that are very different from each other in terms of size, socioeconomic and geographical context: these are 8 wooden churches (tserkvas) from the carpathian region located in ukraine (4 are located in the lviv region, 2 in transcarpathia and 2 in the ivano-frankivsk region) and 8 churches a few kilometers away across the border in ukraine located in the polish carpathians (in the hill country of roztocze and the pre-carpathian mountains in the far south-east of poland). quattrone/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 more details on the location of the ukrainian churches: the church of the holy trinity is located in the suburb of zhovkva. the church of the holy spirit is located on a small rise in the western part of rohatyn. the church of st. george is located in the town of drohobych, in the south of the lviv oblast. the church of the ascension is located in the village of yasinya, situated in the district of rakhiv, transcarpathia. the church of the nativity of the blessed virgin mary is located in the village of nizhny verbizh, in the kolomyia district of the ivano-frankivsk region. the church of the holy spirit is located in the village of potelich, in the lviv region. the cathedral church of the blessed virgin mary is located in the central part of the village of matkiv, in the valley of the stryi river. the church of the archangel michael is located in the village of uzhok in the velykobereznyansky district of the transcarpathian region (красовский, 2002). as for the location of polish churches: the church of the apostle james the younger, in the village of powróznik, is located in the malopolska voivodeship, on the border with the slovak republic. the church of st. paraskevi is located in the village of kwiaton. the church of the archangel michael is located in the village of brunary wyzne. the church of the protection of the mother of god is located in the village of owczary. the church of st michael the archangel is located in the village of turzansk and belongs to the sanok deanery of the przemysl-gorlice diocese of the polish autocephalous orthodox church. the church of st michael the archangel is located in the village of smolnik, in the bieszczady mountains. the orthodox church of the nativity of the holy theotokos is located in the village of chotyniec. the church of st. paraskevi is located in the village of radru on a small hill above the radrużka stream in the far south-east of poland (malinowscy, marciniszyn, 2009). the study involved a detailed analysis of the compositional and structural characteristics of all the churches mentioned above. for reasons of brevity, it is impossible to present in this paper. however, the following is a brief description of 2 churches (one polish and the other ukrainian) because they are expressions of 2 different styles (lemko and boyko) and for similarities and/or differences in their plans or specific features and symbols. 1) the church of the protection of the mother of god in the village of owczary is a greek catholic parish church, built in 1653. currently, it serves as a branch of the roman catholic parish in sękowa. it is one of the oldest churches in lemko. the church is tripartite, with a strut-frame tower above the vestibule. it is surrounded by a low fieldstone wall, into which the stone gate tower is incorporated. in 1701, the presbytery of the church was completely rebuilt, in 1783 a tower was added by the masters dimitr dekowekin and teodor rusinka, and in 1870 the vestibule was enlarged to reach a width equal to the nave. the shingled roofs over the three parts of the temple are crowned with helmets with pseudo-lanterns and crosses. the presbytery and the nave, after the reconstruction, are of equal width. inside there is an eighteenth-century baroque iconostasis painted in shades of blue, red, and gold, richly decorated with openwork columns with a vine leaf motif. the icons in the iconostasis were created by the artist jan medycki. in addition to the iconostasis, the church also features side altars of st. nicholas, the mother of god, and christ which are of particular value. the icon in the latter dates to 1664 and was originally located in an older iconostasis in the same temple. in the years 1983-1985, a profound renovation of the entire church was carried out, including the restoration of the roof covered with shingles. the ministry of culture and arts has awarded this renovation a special distinction. in 1995, the church received the prix europa nostra for the best-maintained historic building. since 1998, the temple has been the joint seat of the roman catholic and greek parishes. 2) the cathedral church of the blessed virgin mary in the village of matkiv was built in 1838 by masters ivan melnikovich and vasily ivanikovich. the church is located on a low hill in the central part of the village of matkiv, not far from the highway, in the valley of the stryi river. the church which has three trunks and three domes, belongs to the boyko-type temples. the architectural composition of the church consists of square log cabins (wider naves) located along the west-east axis. on both sides of the altar, there are small rectangular sacristies. the main volumes are completed with eight-sided floors, above the nave they are with five-folds, and above the altar and the babiniecs are with four folds, topped with domes with crowns and crosses. the church has a clear rectangular shape and is very tall; it is surrounded by an attic on stepped ledges of log cabins, under which a glazed porch is arranged in the western facade. the wooden walls and quattrone/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 the folds are leveled vertically with boards and platbands. to the southwest of the church is a square, threetiered, wooden bell tower, with a balcony on the second tier, facing a small square in front of the southern facade of the church. the bell tower which was built in 1924 by master mikhail veklich, is covered with a tent roof with a grid gallery above it. 4. tourist enhancement of the heritage of wooden churches the research on the 16 carpathian unesco churches produced a summary database from which the most suitable policies for the conservation and enhancement of the carpathian wooden church heritage were identified. tab. 1 historical artistic architectural conservation status of the carpathian unesco churches author's elaboration quattrone/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 tourism related to wooden churches can therefore represent a source of economic development for local communities and can help to promote the preservation and enhancement of this unique cultural heritage, as well as become an opportunity to promote integration and dialogue between different cultures and communities in the region. this is why the preservation and enhancement of these churches are of paramount importance both for local communities and for humanity as a whole. moreover, tourism can be an important source of income for local communities and for the carpathian regions where the wooden churches are located. however, it is important that tourism is sustainable and respects the needs of local communities and the environment. in this sense, it is crucial that tourism related to carpathian wooden churches is managed in a responsible manner, promoting the integration of local communities into tourism activities. the optimization of tourist accessibility, particularly through the construction of structures and parking facilities, must be carefully planned so as not to compromise the integrity of the property's constituent elements and important views to and from them, and risk prevention, including against fire and flooding, must be robust at all times in order to prevent adverse effects in the event of a disaster. the carpathian wooden churches were severely affected by the war in ukraine, which involved several carpathian regions. the war interrupted the conservation and cultural heritage activities of the carpathian wooden churches, making their preservation and tourist development difficult. moreover, many of these buildings were severely damaged or destroyed during the fighting, and local communities lost access to these places of worship and meeting places as well as their identity base. despite the difficulties, some organizations and associations are working for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the carpathian wooden churches by promoting projects for their reconstruction and sustainable tourism development. in addition, unesco is supporting efforts to preserve this heritage. these projects will have to be supported by adequate funding and will have to involve all local stakeholders. obviously, financial investments will be needed to save and support the restoration of these buildings; the economic resources may come from soft loans from international financial organizations or from private sector investments and the domestic budget of the two states trying to overcome all political and regulatory obstacles. after the war in ukraine, it will be necessary to undertake a series of actions to restore church heritage, especially the carpathian wooden churches, which were severely damaged during the conflicts. this will entail several challenges and will require the intervention of various entities, including government authorities, non-governmental organizations, local communities, and religious institutions. the priority actions could include: 1. damage assessment: an accurate assessment of the damage sustained by wooden churches during the war will be necessary in order to identify the most appropriate recovery actions. this will involve the collection of data and information on the current situation of the heritage, and the definition of an action plan for the recovery and conservation of the heritage. 2. reconstruction: it will be necessary to reconstruct wooden churches that were severely damaged or destroyed during the war. this may require the involvement of experts in vernacular architecture and wood restoration. 3. conservation: it will be necessary to conserve the wooden churches that were partially damaged during the war, repairing the damage and protecting the buildings from future damage. 4. valorization: it will be necessary to promote the valorization of the cultural heritage of wooden churches, promoting knowledge and understanding of their historical and cultural significance and sustainable tourism. 5. conclusion all the carpathian wooden churches represent an ecclesiastical and cultural heritage of great importance, and they also represent an opportunity for the development of tourism in the various regions of the carpathians on which they stand, since they can attract tourists from all over the world who are interested in their history, architecture, and cultural importance. in order to describe the case studies, a holistic approach was adopted, which aims to consider the quattrone/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 case in its unique and unrepeatable complexity, i.e., considering the case as a system whose behavior is determined by the behavior of individual subsystems. in this sense, for example, social effects on local actors, the inhabitants, and local political action are assessed. after the war in ukraine, it will be necessary to undertake a series of actions to restore church heritage, in particular the carpathian wooden churches, which were severely damaged during the conflicts. this will entail several challenges and will require the intervention of different entities, including government authorities, non-governmental organizations, local communities, and religious institutions. acknowledgments: not applicable. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the author declares that there is no competing interest. references djakonov, а.в. tipologija djerjevjannogo hramovogo zodchjestva podkarpatskoj rusi, trudy nizhjegorodskoj duhovnoj sjeminarii, [typology of wooden temple architecture of subcarpathian rus, proceedings of the nizhny novgorod theological seminary], 2015.p.157-176 gheorghe, i., sârbu, i., pecete, i., blăjan, i., & balotescu, i. caratterizzazione multilivello di consorzi microbici coinvolti nel biodeterioramento di chiese del patrimonio rumeno in legno e pietra.scienza della conservazione nei beni culturali,20(1), 2020. p.289-308. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1973-9494/12805 krasovskij м. entsiklopjedija russkoj arhitjektury: djerjevjannoje zodchjestvo. spb. [encyclopedia of russian architecture: wooden architecture. st. petersburg], 2002. p. 164 kutnyi, a. construction research on ukrainian wooden churches. 39. 2009. p.77-92. malinowscy g.i z., marciniszyn e.i p. ikony i cerkwie. tajemnice łemkowskich świątyń, [icons and orthodox churches. mysteries of lemko shrines], carta blanca, warszawa 2009. michniewscy m. i a., duda m. cerkwie drewniane karpat (polska i słowacja), wydawnictwo rewasz, pruszków,[wooden churches of the carpathian mountains (poland and slovakia), rewasz publishing house, pruszków], 2003. potichnyj, p. poland and ukraine past and present, canadian institute of ukrainian studies, 1980. rudnytsky, i. carpatho-ukraine: a people in search of their identity, harvard. essays in modern ukrainian history. 1987. shevtsova, g. genesis of ukrainian wooden church: world context and originality, architectural studies, vol. 4, no. 1. 2018. shevtsova, g. & andropova, o. log roofing of ukrainian wooden church in the context of world wooden temples space construction. 2021. doi 10.2991/assehr.k.211125.150. taras, y. schools of folk temple building, types and groups of carpathian churches, architectural studies. vol. 5, no. 2. 2019. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/rewasz_(wydawnictwo) http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 30 june 2024, accepted: 12 january 2025, published online: 31 january 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1094 cultural sustainability tourism knowledge and skills: lessons from the amazon to the mediterranean sharon m. jackson1, rosa v. espinoza2, stella i. diomantaraki3 1director, the european sustainability academy, crete, greece 2founder and executive director, amazon research internacional, lima, peru 3sustainable food expert, the european sustainability. academy, crete, greece sharon.jackson@eurosustainability.org amazonresearchint@gmail.com; stelladiom@hotmail.com abstract increasing global sustainability crises and climate change are impacting biodiversity loss. the terms ‘net-zero’, ‘green transition and ‘green skills’ are increasingly used, but many employees in the tourism sector do not know what this means, nor the relevance in their own roles. this exploration addresses an overlooked area of workplace learning, competencies development, for the people expected to drive the massive changes required in the tourism sector in greece. the aim is a multidisciplinary, conceptual framework for knowledge and skills in sustainable tourism management, underpinned by theory in learning transfer and experiential learning, with pedagogy anchored in community-cultural insight, including beekeeping, for making sense of sustainable tourism development. through an enquiry lens of greek tourism, the methodology reviews academic and practitioner studies about sustainable tourism education and citizen-science models from the amazon (peru). literature insights are explored through empirical study, targeted surveys and probing interviews. qualitative data is analysed through discourse analysis coding. findings suggest a ‘talk-act’ gap as many greek tourism professionals do not know what green management competencies are but think they do, which can manifest in inadequate skills and inaction. adaptation of citizenscience style learning and storytelling focused on bees and honey production, could play a ‘sensemaking anchoring’ role in developing sustainability management competencies in the greek tourism sector, with the potential for adaptation for other countries. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords sustainability; tourism; greece; green-skills; citizen-science; management 1. introduction this study addresses the speed of change needed in the tourism sector towards: 1. achieving a net-zero (intergovernmental panel on climate change, 2018) decarbonized economy, driven by the 2015 cop21 legally binding, international treaty, global pledges to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by 2050 (unfccc paris agreement). 2. addressing the increasing environmental, social and governance (esg) legislation, compared with a shortfall in organisational management competencies necessary to make transition objectives a reality. https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1094&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 the european green deal (egd) characterizes ‘green transition’ as a general concept of moving from a carbonbased economy to a more sustainable economy.’ although awareness of climate change and net-zero carbon economy objectives is increasing, skills development in the workplace for enacting green objectives has not yet caught up, as reflected by the un sustainable development goals (sdg) performance indicators (un sdg). in the case of greece, its sdg performance lags behind other countries and in the context of sustainable tourism, greece falls behind its mediterranean competitors, notably spain, italy and portugal (kafatos, et al., 2023, p.10.). the egd aligns with the unsdgs (koundouri, et al., 2024), and is estimated to create 2.5 million additional jobs in the eu. sufficient skills development is pivotal to creating a green economy ‘there is no green transition without skills’ (etf europa) and sustainability tourism strategies cannot be enacted without parallel skills development and education. internationally, the labour market increasingly demands ‘competencies’ to drive green economic activity; thus, ‘the development of green skills is no longer optional’ (linkedin, 2023). in recruitment across sectors, the terms ‘green transition’ (etf europa) and ‘green skills’ are prevalent (linkedin, 2023). according to the un industrial development organization (arthur, 2022) ‘greenskills’ encompass expertise and strengths including “the knowledge, abilities, values, and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society.” a 2023 uk chartered management institute (cmi) study on green skills received over 1300 responses from managers in sectors including tourism and hospitality, confirming that green skills, whilst widely discussed, are not well understood outside of the energy sector. the high-carbon-emitting tourism sector, which has one of the largest greenhouse gas (ghg) footprints, is under pressure to change. the world travel and tourism council finds that globally, tourism accounts for 8-11% of all ghg emissions and significantly contributes to climate change. according to the eu skills agenda, ‘pact for skills’, in 2019 over 12.5 million employees worked in the tourism ecosystem. a widespread upskilling program in green workplace competencies for these employees could have a significant positive influence on the environmental and climate change impacts of tourism (eu cedefop). many organisations with espoused sustainability objectives lack robust training plans in green workplace competencies, often relying instead on ‘bolt-on’ tactical csr and pr initiatives (frankental, 2001). this has led to the growth of greenwashing (ramus & montiel, 2005), ineffective ‘certification’ (tolkes, 2020) and minimal change in business strategic operations in sectors including tourism (kafatos, et al., 2023). this underscores the need for a clearer understanding of green skills in the workplace and vocational educational training (vet) for management competencies in tourism for mitigating environmental and climate emergencies. the 2023 cmi survey revealed consistent manager requests for training to understand sector-specific and role-specific, workplace green skills. this study compares those learning preferences for green-skills training with those of employees in the tourism sector in greece. 1.1. this study aims to understand why, despite objectives set by the egd, eu skills agenda and the greek tourism action plan 2030 (insete, 2023), the enactment of green skills in greek tourism has not materialised. tourism is the largest single contributor to greece’s gdp, 34.3% as of 2023, making it imperative to address these challenges for sustainable development of the sector. an expert focus group was convened at the european sustainability academy in crete, in june 2023, to examine the ‘on the ground’ implementation of the greek tourism confederation (sete), national tourism strategy (2023). attendees included tourism educators, practitioners, academic researchers in tourism and policy influencers. a senior tourism professional said, “in crete, we say we are doing it but we are not really”. further insights highlighted the absence of sustainability literacy in tourism teaching models, resulting in a green competencies deficit in vet programmes, which perpetuates the ‘talk-act’ gap. all attendees agreed on the need for a multidisciplinary vet educator network in tourism and hospitality, supported by new teaching frameworks underpinned by academic study. in a review of sustainability practices in greek tourism, in collaboration with sete, the mismatch between espoused sustainability intentions and workplace reality, with limited or absent plans for measurement or competencies development, is noted by kafatos, et al., 2023, p.19.). the global impact of covid-19 on tourism triggered the need jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 for built-in resilience, future-proofing adaptation strategies and a recognition of green skills as essential for the future of work. however, there is a noticeable lag in the practical implementation of these principles in greece. some existing sustainable tourism global training programmes offer certification and accreditation, but they tend to focus on generic skills development models rather than role-specific workplace training. frameworks like the european sustainability competence framework, greencomp, (bianchi, et al.,2022) offer a framework of sustainability-related, knowledge, skills, and attitudes (ksa) competencies, yet their complexity and not obvious relevance to specific sectors or roles, hinder their adoption in greece. projects on erasmus+ funding platforms are beginning to address the green competencies gap in greece’s tourism sector, with projects targeting the sme supply chain, waste management, higher education institutions (heis), and circular economy. however, very few address a workplace, further education (fe), or vet proposition, as outlined in this study. to address the sensemaking processes (weick, 1995) contributing to the ‘talk-act’ gap in sustainable tourism in greece, this study explores potential ‘anchoring’ mechanisms, through storytelling, to bridge that gap. peru was chosen for this study due to the insightful stingless bee initiatives which have flourished as a viable sustainable economic activity, such that the peruvian government has realized the potential of ‘bees’ at the heart of teaching sustainability tourism skills. beekeeping has been deeply engrained in greek culture since ancient times and this study explores learning transference parallels between greece and peru for anchoring new learning to foster a conscious connection with the climate crisis and biodiversity loss in the mediterranean region. the amazon region is known as ‘the lungs of the planet’, for its critical role in global net-zero aims (wwf), also, both regions rely heavily on tourism and face environmental peril, with the mediterranean warming 20% faster than the global average (unep). building on an in-depth understanding of these problems from literature, existing studies and frameworks, the authors propose a conceptual framework (crawford, 2020) for competency development aimed at addressing the green-skills gap in the greek tourism sector. 1.2. overarching aim is to identify a conceptual framework for anchoring and enhancing ksa learning through cultural and experiential interventions. to propose a first-stage conceptual framework, built on experience, literature, theory and empirical input. this includes exploring literature on potential transferrable learning outcomes from ‘citizen-science’ (see 2.1) tourism (vohland, et al., 2021) with a focus on bees in a sensemaking role for educating tourism sector employees in the workplace. validation of the proposal is sought through surveys and interviews with professionals and educators within greece’s tourism sector. 2. literature review to understand why sustainable tourism in greece lags behind other mediterranean countries and to address the identified skills gap and apparent ‘talk-act’ gap in sustainable tourism aspirations, the study delves into fields of knowledge transfer (2.2), citizen-science (2.1) and sensemaking theory (2.5). additionally, it explores the potential of cultural heritage (2.3) and beekeeping as teaching mechanisms through a literature search on apitourism (2.4) (akyürek, 2022; izquierdo-gascón & rubio-gil, 2023; topal et al., 2021). this study explores novel and emerging fields of enquiry, drawing from academic, practitioner, and grey literature to understand the transference of knowledge in cultural and heritage sustainability practices (brooks et al., 2023; zhang et al., 2023) citizen-science interventions (vohland et al., 2021) and the theoretical roles of sensemaking (weick, 1995) and storytelling (boje, 2011; boyce, 1996) in experiential learning transfer (kolb, 2015). 2.1. citizen-science the literature highlights the growing focus on the learning impact of citizen science (cs) (vohland et al.,2021). at its core, cs offers participants an active role beyond ‘more than just an observer’ (izquierdo-gascón & rubio-gil, 2023; lynch-o’brien, et al., 2021). lynch-o’brien, et al., (2021) describe cs as ‘known for increasing the geographic, spatial, and temporal scale from which scientists can gather data. it is championed for its potential to provide experiential learning opportunities to the public’. https://www.emerald.com/insight/search?q=mary%20e.%20boyce jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 it is widely acknowledged that early climate change warnings went unheeded because the ‘scientific language’ was not understood by the public and did not make relatable sense in their lives. cs as ‘a research relationship between professional scientists and the general public’ offers a mechanism for bridging ‘communication between the scientific community and the general public about contemporary science topics and environmental issues’ (lynch-o’brien, et al., 2021). studies suggest that peer group exchanges within cs projects enhance understanding of scientific data on biodiversity conservation and encourage sustainable behaviour change to address climate change (tõnisson et al., 2021). whilst the literature lacks consistent agreement on the transferability of cs participants’ learning beyond scientific study objectives (vohland et al., 2021), some studies suggest potential impacts. notably, the ‘bumble boosters project’, a 3-year programme aimed at attracting nesting bees through building artificial hives, revealed 5 conceptual categories of transference, including influencing change in individuals outside the project. (lynch-o’brien, et al., 2021, p.9.). 2.2. retention and transfer of experiential learning there is some consensus that transference can be enabled by a ‘pre-existing interest in nature’ and ‘self-concept of the learner’ (lynch-o’brien, et al., 2021; velardi, et al., 2021). instances of transference occur when participants ‘maintained a long-term interest in nature, joined a citizen-science program, shared science knowledge and experiences, acquired an expert role to others, and influenced change in others’ (lynch-o’brien, et al., 2021). in their study on ‘knowledge transfer with citizen-science’ tõnisson et al., (2021) conclude that changes in individuals’ behaviours toward sustainability can happen through knowledge transfer, awareness building, observation and monitoring in cs projects because civic involvement increases awareness of environmental impacts. however, bridging the apparent gap between awareness and actionable knowledge requires anchoring mechanisms to translate intention into action (pfeffer & sutton, 1999; tolkes, 2020). in organisational contexts, a short-term vision focused on daily tasks can block learning transfer, leading to a failure to reflect on incongruent actions. this ‘organisational shortsightedness ‘contributes to ‘learning myopia’ which can result in overstating success and a ‘systematic denial of wrongdoing’ (frankental, 2001). this might explain why the identified ‘talk–act’ gap continues unchallenged, requiring specific consideration in competencies teaching design. a study evaluating learning exchange between maple syrup producers and beekeepers in maine, (velardi et al., 2021) found that respondents relied on both formal and informal knowledge exchange, with peer group networks facilitating knowledge transfer. additionally, jordan et al. (2012) propose a framework for evaluating citizen-science participant learning outcomes, including the expanded transference of learning across communities which illustrates the learning impact from direct experience (kolb, 2015). 2.3. culture and heritage a growing body of study suggests the tension between tourism development and natural heritage and culture conservation can be problematic due to impacts on the community and the environment. aligning the goals of protecting cultural heritage, conserving the environment, and promoting tourism is a growing field of research, with new frameworks proposed (brooks, et al., 2023; csurgó & smith, 2022; zhang et al.,2023). this includes, ‘consideration of the impact of tourism activities on the biodiversity, water, geology and landform’ (zhang et al., 2023). in a systematic review exploring connections between cultural heritage tourism and the health and well-being of host communities across 6 who regions, including the eastern mediterranean, between january 2000 – march 2021, brooks, et al. (2023) found evidence that cultural heritage tourism can significantly reduce poverty in rural areas and low-income countries. however, solely relying on economic measures can obscure and even exacerbate damaging impacts, both culturally and environmentally. the study finds ‘a lack of understanding about the cultural impacts of tourism on wellbeing’. community ‘participation’ has gained popularity in tourism experiences; however, it can introduce activities that ultimately erode autonomy and self-determination through superficial engagement with community needs and concerns. terms like ‘community participation’ and ‘capacity-building’ in experiential tourism can mask poor jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 practice which ‘effectively re-engineers the knowledge of local communities’ rather than support and enhance their original practices and well-being (brooks, et al., 2023). researchers broadly agree that cultural heritage has been under-researched through a holistic lens of ‘cultural ecosystem tourism’. csurgó & smith (2022) propose new approaches for tourism development which value the human experiences derived from natural landscapes. the authors posit a firm ‘sense of place’ rooted in cultural heritage is essential for tourism development. a ‘sense of place’ connects people to natural landscapes, triggering a deep feeling of well-being (wilson, 1984), along with attachment to cultural heritage values, local history and culture. this approach has inadvertently strengthened community cohesion and cultural identity. 2.4. cultural art of beekeeping and apitourism beekeeping has been deeply engrained in greek culture since ancient times, dating back to the minoan era of crete (mavrofridis, 2016). the enduring cultural significance of honey across time, and regions, has contributed to the emergence of ‘apitourism’ which offers modern travellers immersive experiences into this ancient tradition and insights into the deep culture of honey production past and present (topal, et al., 2021, p.4.). businesses are starting to realise the economic benefits of their potential to contribute to climate solutions and the green economy. notable examples in the tourism sector are emerging to overcome superficial green experiences (ramus & montiel, 2005). apitourism is emerging as one of the most sustainable ways of development, blending rural community culture and traditions (akyürek, 2022). in spain, it’s even labelled as a ‘regenerative tourism’ activity (izquierdo-gascón & rubio-gil, 2023). the surge in apitourism interest is attributed to the consumers’ growing desire for sustainable, healthy practices and organic products such as honey which is renewing interest in bee-related activities (akyürek, 2022). in many developing countries, beekeeping plays an important role in overcoming poverty, through income generated from the sale of bee products, particularly in rural areas, thus also driving the rise of apitourism (akyürek, 2022). understanding that the tourist experience is paramount (richie et al., 2011), apitourism offers rich, memorable experiences through cognitive and physical activities. for example, visits to beekeeping museums evoke deep emotions about culture. akyürek’s study (2022) on visitor feedback at beekeeping museums in turkey revealed descriptions of the ‘emotions and moods’ that visitors felt, with comments expressing gratitude for the museum ‘shedding light on the history of local beekeeping and the transfer of this culture to future generations’. it could be said that apitourism represents a steppingstone between more comprehensive cs projects, as both approaches engage tourists to feel more than ‘just an observer’, thus making tangible sense to them in their own world view of reality (akyürek, 2022; lynch-o’brien, et al., 2021). 2.5. sensemaking and storytelling as mechanisms of learning transfer sensemaking, understood to be reached through words as a ‘subconscious process’, plays a central role in human behaviour, described as an ongoing process stimulated by questioning “what is going on here?” (weick, 1995, p.43). it involves ‘a process by which individuals develop cognitive maps of their environment’ (basu & palazzo, 2008), which serves as a springboard for action or inaction. the first stage of sensemaking is the cognitive process that notices and collects data before interpreting and giving meaning to that data. this stage can be influenced by storytelling (boyce,1996) which is relatable to the individual’s own worldview. in this study, the theory of sensemaking and the impact of storytelling provide insight into addressing the ‘talk–act’ gap that has been identified in the aspirations towards a sustainable tourism strategy in greece (kafatos, et al., 2023). jackson’s (2010) study revealed how managers’ sensemaking processes can lead to a gap between sustainability intentions and actions in organisations. subconscious narratives such as ‘the action is someone else’s responsibility’ or ‘the action can be done later’ contribute to this disconnect and perpetuate the ‘talk–act’ gap. the empirical part of the study demonstrated how people select information (words) from dominant narratives (informal and formal storytelling) and day-to-day language. when the narratives were anchored in a shared experience or meaningful story, managers were observed to collectively enact the espoused sustainability aspirations. this was a temporal and ‘sense of space’ influenced phenomena. jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 in 1999 the un world tourism organisation declared that the tourism industry should ensure environmental conservation, benefit local communities and maintain economic viability. these three aims are specifically upheld in the principles of ‘ecotourism’, defined by the international ecotourism society (1990) as ‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people’. however, these principles can be abstract and lack relatability. complex terms tend to not be memorable for people if not grounded in their own sensemaking reality. this can lead to people guessing what the terms mean or moulding the terms to align with their own ‘cognitive maps’. this suggests a need for adaptation to education interventions and learning paradigms for making sense of the emerging narratives and terms about the green transition. storytelling has been a successful mechanism for transforming sensemaking in organisations and developing collective communication skills, which have been enhanced through the digital age (boje, 2011). a study conducted at a beekeeping museum (akyürek, 2022) highlights the profound and innate human connection with nature (wilson, 1984), and heritage, which enriches the visitor experience. this connection is vividly brought to life through relatable stories that emphasize the role of bees in biodiversity and everyday life, exemplified by a visitor’s remark that “the bee is life, the bee is honey”. sustainability efforts must extend beyond environmental conservation by providing tangible economic benefits and integrating local knowledge and practices. since biodiversity often goes unappreciated by those who feel disconnected from it, relatable narratives are essential for ‘reconnection’. as highlighted in a recent new york times article “without pollination, you don’t get good crop yields. without honey, you don’t have a good cup of tea.” (miller & chávez, 2024). this approach demonstrates that sustainable practices are not only about ecological health but also about enhancing human well-being and economic prosperity. o’malley (2010) posits that ‘bees work on the same kinds of problems we are trying to solve’ and transposes the knowledge, skills and behaviours of bees to parallel applications in organisations. through 25 insights, including, ‘bees work to achieve a common goal and simultaneously create a productive and resilient organization’. insight no.1.‘protect the hive!’ holds significant potential as a powerful anchoring endorsement for workplace decisionmaking, strategic policy-making and sustainability actions that could contribute to reversing climate change. 2.6. summary the literature provides insight into the potential impact of storytelling about beekeeping, shared across cultures in the amazon and greece, as a sensemaking anchoring mechanism for new learning and for establishing a conscious connection with the climate crisis in the mediterranean region. this insight is valuable for addressing a critical gap in competency development for professionals expected to manage massive levels of change within the greek tourism sector. from a comprehensive literature review, several themes emerged: -experiential learning transference shows indication of occurring under specific conditions (sense of place and sense of self). -involving people through culture and heritage is necessary for relatability and sensemaking. -green and climate change terms and definitions are often not memorable to people. -biodiversity and cultural heritage are not valued or in some cases not even ‘noticed’. -a desire for connection with nature (biophilia) through travel experiences is growing -apitourism and human reconnection with bees and bee products is rising -the key priority for bees to ‘protect the hive’ holds potential as a metaphor for learning transference sensemaking anchor these emerging themes are explored through empirical study using the most appropriate methods of data collection (kvale, 1996). the empirical exploration of these themes is conducted through qualitative methods, specifically a survey and semi-structured interviews, aligning with principles for social constructionist research. this approach jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 seeks to uncover how human perception, understanding, and sensemaking impact actions within the tourism and hospitality sector. 3. method an empirical survey was conducted to gain more understanding of current knowledge regarding net-zero, green transition and green-skills training needs for driving greek sustainable tourism ambitions. it also sought insight into how the tourism sector values greek heritage, both culturally and environmentally. a smaller sample from peru was taken as a comparison to assess the transferability of a vet learning mechanism anchored in beekeeping and honey stories, which are integral to the economic and heritage cultures of both regions. a survey of 13 questions, created on surveymonkey, in 3 languages english, greek, and spanish, was disseminated by social media and personal invitation in the last week of march 2024 and boosted twice until mid-april (see table 1.) the greek survey was offered in both english (eng) and greek (gr) to observe any impact of translation on the interpretation of terms. ethical approval for primary data collection was received. target groups: existing tourism vet educators, tourism and hospitality professionals, policymakers, and local government. with levels of authority: senior executives (board), senior managers, operational managers, staff. respondents were evenly distributed across gender (f 43.75%, m 56.25%) and ages (between 45 and 64). in greece, most responses were from the attica region (31.6%) and crete (21.5%) with the rest evenly spread across other areas. in peru, responses were evenly divided between lima (city) and the amazon rural region. the total ‘reach’ of the survey was 27075 people, resulting in 51 surveys completed: 27 in english and 16 in greek from greece, with 8 in spanish from peru. table 1: summary of survey reach and responses impressions/ reach greece eng. version greece gr. version peru spanish version totals linkedin boosted 2779 not available 0 2779 facebook boosted 19542 564 0 20106 sm organic 2890 486 389 3765 instagram 0 0 280 280 personal invitation 60 10 75 145 total reach 25271 1060 744 27075 total engagement (survey taken) 27 16 8 51 post-survey, semi-structured qualitative interviews were planned to test the findings and probe deeper. 20 people from hospitality, vet teaching and policy making were identified, however, only 4 agreed to 1:1 virtual interviews, which were recorded and transcribed. further data were gathered through informal, naturally occurring dialogue with 4 additional respondents from the same target groups. 4. findings 4.1 the survey received a very low response (51 total), although 1 sm post gained 72 ‘likes’. whilst responses were fewer than anticipated, the qualitative content was rich and informative. data were analysed using discourse analysis and theme coding. do you know what net-zero means? yes responses: greece (eng) 63%, greece (gr) 28.5%, peru (sp) 75%. the 2050 goal for a net-zero carbon economy drives the green transition, therefore, understanding of green transition and green-skills reflects on a genuine grasp of the term ‘net-zero’. have you heard the term green-skills? yes: greece (eng) 74%, greece (gr) 71.5%, peru (sp) 33%. jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 given the small sample, we can only cautiously surmise, that the term ‘green-skills’ is more embedded in eu vocabulary through the egd, whereas net-zero is a global un, ipcc term. what does green transition mean? see table 2. table 2: select responses to the survey question ‘what does green transition’ mean? theme responses: greece greek (gr), greece english (eng), peru spanish (sp) carbon (co2) ● climate neutral by 2050, boost the economy through green technology, create sustainable industry and transport, and cut pollution. (eng) ● economic transition to net-zero carbon. (eng) ● like almost everything these days, it is surely linked to emissions reduction. (sp) ● mitigate climate change. (sp) shift to renewable energy a way out of the need for fossil energy sources. (eng) from non-renewable to non-renewable energies. (sp) systemic change the transition to an economic development not based on the use of fossil fuels and the overexploitation of natural resources, but on the use of new environmentally friendly technologies. (eng) implementation of sustainability practices & economic activities. (sp) change our current model to one that avoids pollution and destruction of the ecosystem. (sp) generic ‘eco friendly’ a transition towards eco-friendly tourism. (eng) the transition, one's change to eco-friendly. (gr) the change to something eco-friendly. (gr) only 2 greece responses, in english, mentioned carbon (co2). the greek survey responses mostly focused on tactical, transactional activities including recycling and electric bikes, therefore suggesting a lack of systemic, strategic perspective. this also suggests a lack of genuine understanding of net-zero and the green transition. what does green-skills mean? see table 3. table 3: select responses to the survey question ‘what does ‘green skills’ mean? theme responses: greece greek (gr), greece english (eng), peru spanish (sp) economic transition ● they empower individuals to make decisions and take actions that reduce environmental impact across various sectors. (eng) ● skills to support and nurture the green economy. (eng) ● the skills required to drive the green transition. (eng) ● those that enable environmental sustainability in various economic activities. (sp) ● it is possible that they have the skills to manage tourism in a more sustainable way. (sp) ● skills of people linked to the sector that generate enabling conditions for the green transition. (sp) technology ● technical knowledge to expertise and abilities that enable the effective use of green technologies. (eng) ● the knowledge that permits you to use effectively new technologies to promote sustainability. (eng) generic ‘eco friendly’ ● ability to manage waste, recycling and composting. (eng) ● ways to make something more environmentally friendly. (gr) ● environmental sustainability, climate change. (sp) 1 greek and 1 peru respondent connected the need for green skills with the green transition. many associated the term with practical activities like recycling, composting and actions perceived as tactical rather than strategic, or related to climate or carbon/ ghg reduction. the responses lacked a management or strategic focus and were often jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 related to technology elements of the energy sector, rather than a broader interpretation applicable to mainstream management in other sectors. in response to the definition of the term ‘ecotourism’, greek responses varied widely, including a mix of broad terms such as ‘eco-friendly’, and ‘sustainable’ and activities including hiking, backpacking, and river kayaking. ‘responsibility’, ‘conservation’ and ‘local people’ were not mentioned. what would be your preferred way to learn sustainability skills? the options were taken from the 2023, uk cmi study on green-skills list of training preferences from 1300 respondents. in the survey for this study in greece, ‘sustainability added to all workplace training’ was the preferred response, (eng) 38.46%, (gr) 28%. the responses from peru favoured equally ‘a community for the exchange of practices and knowledge’ and ‘short and concise online learning materials’(43%). what do you think is the most important area for tourism to make improvements? climate change and food waste were equal in the greek (eng) respondents and climate change and ocean health for the greek (gr) respondents. neither greek responses included biodiversity. culture and heritage was very low. in contrast, the responses from peru favoured culture and heritage (43.75%), biodiversity (25%) and climate change (18.75%). 4.1.1. semi-structured interviews the interviewees (tourism educators, hotel managers/owners, restaurant owners, and esg experts) were asked why they thought the survey response rate was low. responses included; -“perhaps a sense of self-perception and afraid of being seen to not know” (tourism educator) -“people in tourism are tired and weary” (tourism educator) -“due to the lack of knowledge of information…lack of trust in general” (large hotel owner) in comparison, the uk cmi green-skills survey in 2023 was the quickest, largest response to any cmi managers’ survey. therefore, suggesting a difference in the level of understanding of the importance of green-skills development for managers in organizations. other select 1:1 interview responses relating to themes emerging from literature are shown in table 4. table 4. select interview responses bees as a mechanism for sustainability learning “the narrative, the role, the importance, and example of the bee, show us the way to protect nature”. “the bee from the minoan civilization still holds a primary and central role for the environment and its sustainability”. (large hotel owner) greece tourism, low knowledge and skills, dominated by ‘talk–act’ gap “they think they know what these terms mean because they have heard them, but they don’t know”. (tourism educator) greek tourism is not ready for (does not understand) impending esg reporting regulations. “some of the big players are talking about it. many are cynical”. (tourism educator) “…they have no idea of the train that is coming down the line right at them, despite all the warnings they have been hiding behind ignorance and greenwashing that is all coming back at them – they will make excuses, leave it all too late…and then ‘panic”. (esg expert) weak management skills in the tourism sector, therefore a weak base for building green skills. “most people in the hospitality/ tourism sector have no management or business training’’. (tourism educator) “internal stakeholders (influencers) don’t yet realize the skills gap is there….”. (small hotel owner) jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 10 4.2. training methods the 2023 cmi, uk green-skills survey responses showed preferred training methods including ‘sustainability added to all workplace training’, which is the top result from the greek responses. however, the uk managers also favoured ‘a community for the exchange of practices and knowledge’ (as did the peru respondents) and a ‘jargon buster’ for explanation of terms. notably, in both cases, the total greek responses were zero. this study suggests there is a very low understanding of terms/jargon around green skills in greece, however, if greek tourism professionals ‘think that they understand’, they probably see no need for explanation. one interviewee said: “training for change needs a systemic approach across the full value chain. this can only be done through collaboration and knowledge exchange”. (tourism educator). 5. discussion this study aims to propose a conceptual framework for sustainable tourism management and leadership competencies development, underpinned by theory in learning transfer and experiential learning. it advocates for pedagogical crosspollination of community cultural insights for developing competencies for driving the sustainable tourism transition in greece. synthesizing literature and empirical exploration indicate a demand for such a framework. the survey and 1:1 interview findings endorse those of the 2023 greek tourism survey (kafatos, et al., 2023), in particular, ‘60% of the survey participants don’t gauge their sustainability progress, mostly because they don’t know how to’. this study suggests this knowledge and skill gap is filled with ‘guessing’. the authors propose an innovative non-formal, workplace-relevant learning approach, on-demand and easily accessible through digitalization. focused on green skills within vet and apprenticeships frameworks, supplemented with microcredentials, with blended learning interventions for encouraging peer interaction, inclusivity and limiting carbon emissions. this approach underlies a novel learning method to cultivate critical workplace competencies for driving net-zero transformation in tourism and hospitality and mitigating the environmental damage and climate change impacts of tourism. vital issues to address include re-connection with biodiversity and cultural heritage and bridging the ‘talkact’ gap between rhetoric and action, through adequate competencies development. the greece sustainable tourism strategy 2030, ‘connects its strategy and action plans for the next years with the un sdgs’. studies show that tourists are prepared to pay up to 38% more to ensure that their travel is more sustainable (kafatos, et al., 2023, p.27), therefore, biodiversity and natural heritage are of intrinsic economic importance to the future tourism sector and a potential driver for change that does not appear to be noticed in greece. shortfalls in sustainability training and lack of green skills in greek tourism have been noticed, in particular measurement and auditing, however, other than generic points about ‘strengthening skills and developing entrepreneurship’, studies lack any tangible recommendations for skills development planning. 5.1. the concept of bees as educators drawing on the work of cmi, egd, eu greencomp and eu pact for skills, this study explores the potential of citizen-science transfer of learning and anchoring mechanisms, through projects like beekeeping, as a conceptual mechanism of sensemaking theory for skills development. entomologist césar delgado, at the research institute of the peruvian amazon, says “beekeeping is a very good way for the forest and communities to adapt to climate change”. building an economy around stingless bees, which pollinate much of the amazon’s native flora, helps combat deforestation. the stingless bee project has revealed how indigenous knowledge and cultural lifestyles must be included for the collective environmental effort to have an impact. it must be “a process that is self-sustaining, and aligned with the culture of the communities”(miller & chávez, 2024). as a sensemaking pathway, these projects are underpinned by a framework of cultural storytelling about the importance of bees to the community alongside pioneering scientific work which underscores their ecological, medicinal, and economic value in the peruvian amazon (delgado and espinoza, 2023). the stingless bee initiatives were triggered by the covid-19 pandemic and have seen such success that they have continued and flourished. the jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 11 peruvian government has since expressed interest in a sustainability skills training initiative with ‘bees’ at the heart of the teaching, with micro-credential accreditation. 5.2. learning transference parallels between greece and peru in greece, biodiversity’s value in tourism is generally overlooked. contrastingly, peruvian bee initiatives show a transformative appreciation for biodiversity in tourism, incorporating beekeeping tours and showcasing stingless bee honey as a culinary delicacy. the narrative of a ‘loss of wildflowers means no bees and broader ecological decline’ can be woven into the cf pedagogy as a sensemaking anchor and connector for learning. the amazon is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, but deforestation threatens its life web, including indigenous communities and wildlife. educators from the amazon bee project have extended their work to the arctic, demonstrating the adaptability of their teaching methods. similarly, the mediterranean climate’s shift toward north african patterns, largely unnoticed by locals, underscores the urgency for educational engagement. athens is now europe’s hottest city with its own ‘heat minister’ in government. this epitomises the dire effects of climate change, accelerated by tourism, which suggests the need for mitigating action through well-informed training for policymakers. tourism has been a major contributor to increased warming and has the potential to play a corrective role if the employees are adequately trained and educated. while international trends show a growing interest in apitourism, biodiversity and land appreciation tourism, this study suggests greece lags behind, in an outdated paradigm “the concept of tourism in greece is sun, sea, beach” (tourism educator) occasionally adding ‘gastronomy’ that does not always fully celebrate cultural or environmental heritage, “biodiversity is not understood, not noticed and not valued in greece… culture and heritage in greece are taken for granted…even considered boring” (tourism educator). nevertheless, the response from tourism students to a beekeeper’s lecture indicates a shift towards embracing a more biodiverse-centric tourism approach, “we recently held a seminar for the college students…the response and participation from the students was surprisingly good. by sharing his passion and expertise in precision beekeeping and its disciplines, students had the opportunity to appreciate first-hand the ecological value of the bee”. 6. conceptual framework a conceptual framework (cf) is described as a model which ‘illustrates the main things to be studied key factors, variables or constructs and the presumed relationships among them’ (miles et al., 2014, p.20.), and explains the rationale and importance of the study to the audience (crawford, 2020). focusing on upskilling in the area of green skills to address the ‘talk-act’ gap, figure 1 illustrates a first draft of a potential cf for workplace competencies development, including sustainability literacy, communications, carbon measurement/ management and life cycle analysis skills which are role relevant and identified as necessary (kafatos, et al., 2023). this model draws on key lessons from the amazon region's sustainable tourism models around beekeeping, it is grounded in a review of literature, and empirical findings and underpinned by theories in sensemaking (weick, 1995), storytelling (boje, 2011; boyce, 1996) learning transference through direct experience, anchored by relatable stories (kolb, 2015). jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 12 figure 1: conceptual framework for learning green management competencies in tourism. as a first draft concept, the practical application of this framework requires further study and pilot testing. 7. conclusion this study aimed to understand why, despite objectives set by the egd, eu skills agenda and the greek tourism action plan 2030 (2023), the enactment of green skills in greek tourism has not materialised. the apparent reluctance of a large number of systematically targeted respondents to contribute to empirical data gathering was unexpected. this may be because this study is an ‘early mover’. lack of engagement was suggested to be due to ‘afraid of being seen to not know’, which can be related to another key finding of a ‘talk-act gap’, which can manifest in ‘biodiversity and cultural heritage not valued’ and frequently ‘not noticed‘ in greece. a greater number of personal invitations to take the survey may have achieved a greater response rate. these observations merit further exploration and support the authors’ hypothesis of needing a new approach to developing knowledge and skills competencies for sustainable tourism. our approach for activating the cf is a hybrid taught, workplace-relevant pedagogy which leverages sensemaking and storytelling anchors, underpinned by a knowledge and skills framework that combines evidence-based learning with fe, vocational apprenticeship style approaches with microcredential certification. amazon beekeeping narratives are core to our proposition as a catalyst for learning and cognitively reconnecting greek tourism professionals to their cultural and natural heritage. limitations to this study include the small participant sample and the short timescale of the study. however, it would be reasonable to suggest that a baseline of new understanding, in an area that has not been extensively studied, has been gathered as an indication of proof of concept to be taken to a further stage of enquiry. the next step is a pilot study to test the conceptual framework through practical adaptation and iteration with insight from a wider group of stakeholders including tourism educators. policymakers at both national and eu levels should be engaged to explore the potential of further development of the conceptual framework within apprenticeship and microcredential frameworks along with collaboration with other studies to escalate and advance understanding and practice. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the cultural sustainable tourism (cst) conference – 6th edition which was held on the 28th-30th of may 2024. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. jackson/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 13 ethics approval: the authors have received ethics approval from the ethics committee of the european sustainability academy for the interviews and questionnaire that were conducted by the authors. conflict of interest: the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references akyürek, s. 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(2023). natural world heritage conservation and tourism: a review. heritage science, 11(1), 55. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-00896-6 https://doi.org/10.3390/ https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement https://www.unido.org/stories/what-are-green-skills https://www.unido.org/stories/what-are-green-skills https://sdgs.un.org/ https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2020.1773283 https://www.wwf.org.uk/where-we-work/amazon https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-00896-6 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v5i1.809 soil liberation in the multimodal city claudio zanirato1 1 researcher and professor at dida of the university of florence italy abstract new mobility does not just mean technological innovation, but also a change in lifestyles, modes of transport and services, ways of doing business and governance of the common good, represented by urban space and service infrastructures. just as the car shaped the city of the 20th century with all its distortions, the new mobility systems of the current millennium could redefine the use of urban space with a new, more balanced footprint. the new mobility could drastically reduce the total number of vehicles in circulation (with their interchange and continuous use) and free up large areas of the city, for example parking spaces, which could be used for other purposes, and car service areas, which could be used as widespread freight delivery hubs. in this scenario, motorway service stations would become more similar to interports, exchange points serving not only travelers but also and primarily segments of metropolitan areas, small cities and territorial areas of influence, creating a system of "cells" of relevance. today, therefore, there is growing awareness that new mobility also requires a different approach to the city and its design, given that the electrical infrastructure contributes to the (re)definition of urban space. for this reason, cities must change their approach and make use of technology to understand where and how to intervene, with the primary objective of restituting the space taken up by the streets, which were designed for cars, to citizens and their expanded needs. new electric, as well as connected, shared and multimodal mobility is in fact an integral part of the new cities being built. more consolidated cities will also obtain substantial benefits: a case study applied to the entire urban area of florence demonstrates the potential of this revolution which is already underway. © 2021 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords new mobility; logistics; multimodal; urban transformation; infrastructures; florence; 1. movement spaces from a historical perspective, all communication innovations have drastically altered the organization of space (caccia, 2009), which has always led to new urban configurations, so it is likely that the new intercommunication methods being employed in the city will ultimately reconfigure it. we are triumphing over an increasingly rapid epochal revolution of the whole system of the territorial mobility of people and things: the use of drones to deliver mail and parcels (last mile) will greatly reduce traffic on the ground, which is increasingly congested by e-commerce, and it may become possible to interface with autonomous private vehicles (auto-delivery) (aa.vv., 2017). urban growth has always been promoted by the development of transport, so much so that today they are both reaching exhaustion point. cities have become very large and rely heavily on rail transport to facilitate movement http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ zanirato/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 given the expanses covered. if the morphology of cities is a direct consequence of the transport technologies available at the time they were developed (ventura, 1996), we can associate walled cities with movements on foot and horseback, radio-centric cities with rail transport, and widespread cities with the availability of cars. generally speaking, the downtown area of a metropolis is currently 2/3 occupied by streets and parking lots and to some extent this degrades it (zardini, 2003). territorial urban settlements in fact follow the footprint of the communication system prevalent at the time. we need only think of the changes in the urban landscape induced by lifts and subways in the last century to also imagine how today's technology is altering the concept of space, and people can now no longer consider themselves isolated from a physical obstacle or by distances that take too long to cover. (figure 1 & 2) figure 1. irene ponticelli, florenze smart city, florence school of architecture, 2020 figure 2. existing and newly planned fuel service stations in the municipality of florence, florence school of architecture, 2020 since urbanity coincides with mobility, it is also true that meeting up and living do not represent the very essence of the city, which is rather represented by human accessibility to things, people and information, served by the available forms of transport. if all this no longer creates limits and it has become possible to meet anywhere, and in any case "virtually," and we can reach anything by staying right where we are, then urbanity dissolves into a situation of widespread "peripheralization" (ratti, 2017) the consolidation of transport and communication systems increasingly via air and less overland suggests that we should review land use together with spatial rarefaction: this process can be associated, in consolidated cities as well as others, with a form of the "liberalization" of soils and of open and zanirato/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 public space. thus, new forms of transport and communication tend to progressively release people from the need to concentrate in limited spaces. the reduced need for physical proximity to access, consume and participate takes away from the city, since it is no longer seen as a program of rationalization and an overall manifestation of social relations. the communication systems are designed to expand the space and reduce the times, tending to zero the space as a function of (real) time. freedom from the constraints of distance makes the model centered on material translations unnecessary, undermined by a homogeneous universe of information. the concept of proximity, on which cities were founded, is now no longer based on the concept of physical distance, but rather on accessibility, seen as a location factor that acts over time rather than space, also supplanting the development of the polarities that attempted to reorganize the settlement systems, overlapping the traditional centralizing polarities (indovina, 2017). (figure 3) figure 3 historical and future evolution of urban fuel service stations, irene ponticelli, florence school of architecture, 2020 2. widespread accessibility over the course of this pandemic we have discovered that much of the frenetic movement that has suffocated cities and vast territories is perhaps superfluous and not entirely necessary, and that the technologies we already have can help us live better lives if they are set up to assist us. therefore, the hypothesis of a more "static" city is emerging, where people will move around less and goods and items will have to find alternative ways of reaching us. much of the anthropized scenario for more than a century has been geared towards enabling people to move around more and more quickly, and especially autonomously, using roads, parking lots, service stations, and so on, distributed in a widespread manner (de matteis, 2018). the ongoing process implies that to a large extent it will have to be reoriented to serve people and service providers who have discovered that they can move around much less and in other ways (mossetti, 2018). the city can be reborn by reversing the suffocation factor that has characterized the recent era, gaining urban spaces that are already present but used for other purposes. today, therefore, there is growing awareness that new mobility also requires a different approach to the city and its design, given that the electrical infrastructure contributes to the (re)definition of urban space (ferlenga, 2012). new electric, as well as connected, shared and multimodal mobility is in fact part of the new (smart) cities being built. zanirato/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 instead, we must imagine adaptive scenarios for existing cities that are consolidated and have adapted to the traditional combustion vehicle system. (figure 4) figure 4 smart mobility systems, florence school of architecture, 2020 a study conducted in july 2019 by the bcg concluded that “up to 80% of the fuel-retail network as currently constituted may be unprofitable in about 15 years” (boston consulting group, 2019). car manufacturers have been trying to take remedial action for some time by imagining the installation of new refueling points, powered by electricity or hydrogen, more often designed for the parking areas of workplaces or shopping centres, but they do not represent a real novelty in terms of urban services. these logics could even lead to the complete "dissolution" of the refueling service as it could be achieved more conveniently by "induction" in any equipped parking area (but it is also being tested in special dedicated road lanes) or through the use of special robots (an advanced solution conceived by volkswagen) that would find vehicles in parking lots and then recharge them in full autonomy. therefore, in these radical scenarios it is imperative to come up with alternative functions that could be offered at automobile service stations to ensure their survival, and to think of new or unused settlement spaces, such as road junctions for example. in the international scenario, it is obviously above all the large oil companies who are most threatened by these potential closures and thus seek a "necessary" conversion to new energy sources. it is therefore a question of changing the traditional "locations" where customers in transit can refuel their car into "destination points,” namely places where customers’ needs can be met by offering a wider range of integrated services that intercept current and green trends. however, these scenarios still remain very much visions in the wake of simple updates to the current systems without actually implementing functions that would truly place them on the road to alternative urban mobility. what instead do projects to transform parts of the city into a “smart” projection involve, such as the metrogramma proposal for milan future city, which partly re-proposes the new york experience for the broadway axis. in the usa, the joint attempt by reebok and gensler is interesting: they were perhaps the first to grasp the enormous potential of the common gas station, with the "get pumped" project, which the global architecture firm and fitness brand have been developing since 2018 with a plan to redo the state service station as we know it, integrating it with gyms. equally interesting are the projects uber commissioned from large international architectural firms to create intermodal hubs, especially for the use of taxi-drones. a tangible evolution of the service station has been developed by british sustainable energy company gridserve for 100 new stations in the uk, conceived for the electric age: designed in collaboration with arup, the stations will zanirato/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 aim to charge electric vehicles while offering cafes, supermarkets, airport-style lounges with high-speed internet and educational centres for exploring electric vehicle solutions. in 2015, combo competitions held a competition called "rethink refueling" asking participants to reimagine the ubiquitous gas station that could be easily recognized regardless of its location, while still maintaining visibility. four years later, goarchitect followed suit with a design competition entitled "gas station of the future." all these studies focus on new proposals for service stations in renewed and/or more profitable urban areas (such as shopping centres), therefore of large dimensions, but none have considered the strategic value of existing locations that are better integrated into the city fabric. in fact, the small size and network of points of sale scattered throughout the territory represents a problem as it does not help economies of scale and investments and jeopardizes the existence of these familiar places for motorists, which once provided an opportunity to stop and rest. it is therefore necessary to come up with alternative services that can be offered at micro-urban scale and accordingly to a much wider range of users than just travelers, reducing their number or streamlining them, with some of them becoming completely free of road traffic, transforming into hubs or port-drones. the service station will perhaps also become a place where people can recharge, taking advantage of the time "lost" while refueling the car: restaurant services could be available, as is the case now, but there could also be special relaxation rooms, gyms and innovative wellness treatments, or health monitoring through screenings, and smartworking stations with internet and printing facilities (mobility hub). before arriving at the service station, customers could select their station and any services, activities, treatments and menus they require and pre-order through the car's integrated computer system. the now certain and immediate abandonment of propulsion systems based on fossil fuels in favor of renewable energies will mean that traffic becomes practically "non-polluting," almost silent and discreet, compatible with the environment from which it has often been segregated. in addition, automatic driving will optimize the approach and parking of vehicles in a programmed way and limit the occupation of the ground, allowing more space for collective use and for people to meet (e.r.t.r.a.c., 2012). vehicles powered by renewable energies, most likely only electricity, will require "charging" stations that employ different methods and take different amounts of time. they will certainly be fewer in number but the time spent there will still be short (induction or photovoltaic systems will charge vehicles during journeys or stops, and interchangeable batteries can be replaced) (wyman, 2017). as a result, the technical areas of road service stations, already widespread throughout the country, will have to be streamlined by serving less vehicle traffic, but they can become hubs for exchange, car sharing or drone taxi services, or even sorting areas for heavy vehicles and the final delivery point for drones or private vehicles with automatic guidance as "bellboys" (walsh, 2019). in this scenario, urban service stations spread over the vast territory will become more like interports, exchange points serving not only travelers but also and above all parts of built-up areas and small cities, creating a system of "cells” pertaining to the new intermodal logistics. the performance of drones can ultimately offer a significant contribution to the optimization of the entire logistics chain, in the last mile, in the management of warehouses and urban distribution, as well as in the penetrating diffusion of many services (medicine delivery, assistance, surveillance...). efforts should also be made to make the best use of alternative flow channels for diversified movements: not only the soil, therefore, but also an aerial layer and waterways, for micro-navigation but also as a resource for urban flight corridors. with an extended view of the possibilities of travel, it is clear that the existing road network will be decongested and suited to more "constructive" roles. zanirato/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 5 simone saporito, florenze smart city, florence school of architecture, 2020 3. florenze smart city this vision can help solve the problems of the congested accessibility of larger historical centres as well as the isolation of the more impervious and abandoned traditional villages. in practice, it should be possible to bridge the contrast in accessibility to urban places that makes the evolutionary difference. ultimately, these are new functions that require an unprecedented architectural interpretation and new spatial functionalities that can redefine the roles of many parts of the city, deformed or adapted to other uses that are about to be abandoned and must be replaced. it is an architectural and urban scenario still to be imagined (zanirato, 2012). applying all these new technological resources to the existing city will certainly be the challenge of the future: building new cities or parts of them in the name of the technological footprint is certainly easier (for the countries that can afford it) than applying them to existing and highly historicized cities. it is precisely the fabrics and experiences of the oldest cities that have suffered the most from all the effects induced by the motor mobility of the last century, and therefore the benefits expected from smart possibilities should have greater prominence. in the application of the florentine case, three distinct interconnected and interscalar employment scenarios can be hypothesized: the highway/ring road, the urban fuel service areas, the city crossing of the arno river. to complete the work to upgrade the florence motorway link, three new service areas are planned, which are next to the only one in campi bisenzio. they can be seen as an innovative articulation of the services offered mainly to travelers passing through (with electric and automated cars) together with the possibility of sorting many goods destined for the city (breaking the load) and letting them continue to their destination in a targeted manner with autonomous means. there are currently several dozen urban fuel service stations (around 90) in the florentine municipal area, some of which have already been closed and abandoned for some time (on via senese, for instance), which will necessarily have to be converted into new mobility systems and at the same time their widespread diffusion taken advantage of so that they can be used for various neighborhood-scale services, starting with e-commerce (specific loads sorted on the highway could be brought here). finally, the course of the arno could be used to quickly penetrate the most historical fabric of the city, by water or with overflights, to move tourists and goods without interfering with the delicacy of the historical-monumental density. (figures 2,5-9) zanirato/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure 6 simone saporito, florenze smart city, florence school of architecture, 2020 a very interesting proposal is based on the fire safety services of cities: a service station located on the florentine lungarno (via e. de nicola) is integrated with fire station services, using the "corridor" of the river to quickly reach the "alarmed" areas with drones, carry out real-time reconnaissance to inform and organize rescue operations and start automatic shutdown operations, drawing water on the spot (also by carrying "rescue nets" to altitude). by exploiting the same urban penetration axis, it is possible to imagine the use of taxi-drones or delivery systems, simply flying over the "surface of water" which is otherwise not navigable and not at all exploited for urban services. (figures 5,6) indeed, the indiscriminate overflight of urban areas and "sensitive" parts of them is a very thorny issue (no-fly zone) for obvious reasons of general safety and airspace governance (there are even those who consider the use of urban sewage networks as a solution for the movement of small vehicles to reach every point of the city, almost entirely via underground passages). the dissemination of fuel service areas plays an undoubtedly strategic role in activating new policies for the prevention/management of territorial security, as they could potentially become valid alert and emergency intervention points (for health, i.e. life-saving medicines, defebrillators, fire prevention, plumbing, earthquakes, public order, etc.). accordingly, depending on the level of risk pertaining to each settlement area, the service areas could be specifically equipped with appropriate basic and/or special emergency equipment. figure 7 gherardo selvatici, florenze smart city, florence school of architecture, 2020 zanirato/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 instead, the more peripheral service stations (ponte dell'indiano viaduct) could be exploited as collectors of agricultural products grown nearby and distributed by automatic means in the nearest quadrant of the city, thereby turning an evident point of territorial friction into a mediator of needs between agricultural and urban life, in short, a wide-ranging exchange point. once again there is the conception of the greater mobility of vehicles and goods compared with the relative static nature of people, where needs can be met even without physical movement, all by exploiting the strategic positions of the stations and their consequent suitability. (figures 7,8) figure 8 gherardo selvatici, florenze smart city, florence school of architecture, 2020 in practice, the road must be considered not only in terms of its longitudinal extension but also its transversal dimension, its depth, and therefore the involvement of the territory crossed, urbanized and otherwise. in this context, road service stations, with their precise dimensions, along a simple linear path, play a pivotal role in a large anthropized area. thus the "station" can truly become an enlarged service "area," an interpreter of the vocations and needs of a place of belonging, therefore "belonging" to a specific part of the territory in a sensitive way (diffusion of products at km0, traffic, waste abandonment, microclimate monitoring and air-water quality ...). figure 9.1 martina roncolini and 9.2 grata viola, florenze smart city, florence school of architecture, 2020 the on-site conservation of stations located much more internally within the urban fabric, which are therefore smaller but strategically important as they are closer to the central historical areas, will necessarily have to become more specialized in addition to providing refueling facilities, probably focusing on logistics/short-range deliveries, benefiting from inherent population density. they can thus develop in height with the normal propensity towards the sky and new carriers, at the same time exploiting “panoramic” positions for catering activities (area near campo di marte, figure 9.1), or using the tops of buildings to “get closer” to the new modes of air transport (lungarno de nicola, figure 9.2) and finally directly borrowing some typical “airport” miniature spatial modalities (via della rondinella, figure 10). zanirato/ the academic research community publication pg. 9 figure 10 carla tufo, florenze smart city, florence school of architecture, 2020 4. conclusion it seems clear that the types of services offered lead to projects in which the height of the buildings plays an inevitable role, transforming them from accessory and utilitarian presences into real architecture. leaving aside their forms and constructions, it is above all their roles and functions that mark an epochal transition in the rethinking of these urban "infrastructures," which from being designed for private traffic can become extended services for large swaths and settled areas, thus strengthening their role and contribution to the smart city. the services that the new service stations can offer, the implicit link with urban mobility systems and the consequent network diffusion make these installations the ideal cornerstones of an "intelligent" city which must absolutely not be renounced in the face of the changes that will bring about crisis if not properly thought out. in these design simulations, cities can be reviewed starting with their voids to obtain widespread accessibility seen as a new urban value within everyone's reach. moving from the city of the automobile to the city of "programmed" mobility represents a necessary rebalancing for every urban and historical organization, to increase efficiency and operating safety in a more homogeneous way. the evolution of the current mobility systems will therefore lead to a further radical change in city life towards a greater sharing of spaces and services, a "socialization" of coexistence which remains the underlying reason for them. references: aa.vv. (2017). la logistica ai tempi dell'e-commerce. quaderno n.26, freight leaders council, casma. (p.215-226) boston consulting group. (2019). is there a future for service station? bcg. caccia, s. (2009). architettura in movimento. ets. de matteis, a. (2018). polis in fabula. metamorfosi della città contemporanea. sellerio ed. mossetti, p. (2018). che succede se le auto del futuro renderanno superflue le stazioni di benzina. forbes, 03.12.2018. e.r.t.r.a.c. (2012). european roadmap. infrastructure for green veichles. ferlenga, a., biraghi, m., albrecht, b. (2012). l'architettura del mondo. infrastrutture mobilità nuovi paesaggi. editrice compositori. indovina, f. (2017). ordine e disordine nella città contemporanea. franco angeli. ratti, c., claudel, m. (2017). la città di domani. come le reti stanno cambiando il futuro urbano. einaudi. ventura, n. (1996). lo spazio del moto. laterza. walsh, n.p. (2019). what is the future of the gas station? archdaily, october 14. wyman, o. (2017). the gas station's digital future in around the corner. forbes, 18.04. zanirato, c. (2012). ricreare la città. smart cities. pamphlet. zardini, m. (2003). asfalto. il carattere della città. electa. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 59 doi: 10.21625/archive.v6i1.880 changing academics’ ways of working: towards a distributed university campus alessandra migliore1, chiara tagliaro2, andrea ciaramella3 1 department of architecture, built environment and construction engineering & department of management, economics and industrial engineering. politecnico di milano, milan, italy 2 department of architecture, built environment and construction engineering, politecnico di milano, milan, italy, 3 department of architecture, built environment and construction engineering, politecnico di milano, milan, italy abstract academics are a peculiar category of knowledge workers whose work, by nature, is characterized by undefined time and space and includes individual and collaborative activities. over the past decades, academics have progressively evolved their typically university-centric way of working towards a hybrid, spatially distributed model that includes home and other spaces. the spread of the covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the redrawing of the geography of workspaces for academics and has opened up opportunities to enable creative, innovative and socially sustainable ways of working. indeed, working from other spaces than the official workplace can not only have positive impacts on productivity, creativity, and collaboration of academics and staff, but also increase the attractiveness and inclusivity of university campuses by proposing a campus model that is spread across the territory according to the individual needs of its users. while there are already some cases where university campuses accommodate coworking spaces, libraries and innovation hubs within them, evidence of academics using other spaces off-campus is scarce. this research investigates whether, and to what extent, the use of off-campus spaces by italian academics is a likely and desirable prospect for the future, based on how much their way of doing research has evolved during the covid19 pandemic towards a multi-local way of working. a questionnaire was distributed among italian tenured academics. this chapter presents a quantitative and qualitative interpretative analysis of the data collected from 1,199 answers to this questionnaire. results describe different profiles of multi-local italian academics, in relation to the types of location they work from, the experience they had during the covid-working period and the future they wish for at university campuses. the evidence on multi-local work presented in this chapter shows implications both for academic staff and for university management. the former could approach work in a more distributed way such as it would extend university campuses to an urban and extra-urban dimension. the latter are called upon to meet the needs of their staff using socially sustainable ways of managing their facilities within and beyond campus boundaries. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer-review under responsibility of archive’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords covid-19; academia; multi-local work; distributed campus 1. introduction in recent decades, the diffusion of information and communication technology (ict) and the availability of new digital tools enabled knowledge-intensive workers to spread their work activities across multiple locations (ojala & http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 60 pyöriä, 2017; di marino & lapintie, 2018). multi-locality of work means mixing several locations in different times of the day or of the week to perform work activities (di marino & lapintie, 2018). recent literature has focused on multiple reasons that drive the choice of working multi-locally, as well as on the personas that select a multi-local spatial pattern. however, only a few studies (e.g., bruchell et al., 2020; wheatley, 2020; di marino & lapintie, 2018; ojala & pyöriä, 2017) analyzed which types of locations workers access, how often and, most importantly, what may be the impact of such a phenomenon on the urban environments. moreover, the current literature has extensively focused on broad categories of multi-local workers – e.g., knowledge workers (burchell et al., 2021) – while job-type specifications may be crucial. among the population of multi-local workers, academics have been overlooked, even though their way of working has always been mobile across several different places. on one hand, their need for multi-disciplinary collaborations, entrepreneurial activities, and connections with enterprises (rajalo & vadi, 2017) brings their work off-campus and in third places (oldenburg, 1989), such as cafés, restaurants, public outdoor spaces, etc. on the other hand, their need for concentration and individual work (seddigh & berntson, 2014; gornall & salisbury, 2012) as well as family duties and personal motivations pushes academics to work at home (mokhatarian et al., 1998). the research presented in this chapter focuses on academics as a specific type of knowledge workers (gornall & salisbury, 2012) who have adopted multi-locality of work. the disruptive impact of covid-19 on the world of work has also been crucial for academic work and opened up new opportunities for redesigning work policies and workspaces within and beyond university campuses. indeed, campuses are centers of innovation and social sustainability within cities and require adequate collaboration between their users (i.e., students and academics) and the city at large (den heijer et al., 2018). for these reasons, this research aims at understanding the profiles of academics that adopted a multi-local work during the so-called “covid-working” period, meaning the period in-between strict lockdown phases when academics were not “obliged” to work-from-home but they were relatively free to decide where to work (tagliaro & migliore, 2021). the definition of profiles of multi-local academics integrates information on (i) the types of other spaces, beyond home and the campus, they accessed during covid-working and (ii) the most valuable needs that drove their choice to be multi-local. consequently, this research aims at reflecting on the implications that these flexible habits may have on future university campus models as extended organisms at an urban scale which are made up of multiple work locations. according to this framework, this chapter attempts to answer the following research questions: who are the academics that adopted multi-local work during covid-working? which implications does multi-locality bring to future university campuses? in order to address the two research questions, the study presents a literature review on multi-local work for academic work. furthermore, the chapter presents the results of a survey distributed to the whole population of italian tenured academics in summer 2020. the analysis yields three profiles of multi-local workers and their research and spatial practices within different work locations. since these results only represent the italian academic community, it is not possible to generalize the needs of multi-local academics. nevertheless, this analysis adds to the limited literature on the topic a definition of three distinct profiles of multi-local workers and elaborates on the potential implications of more distributed work practices of academics for future university campuses and cities at large. our findings contribute to the literature on work location patterns, multi-local and remote work. by drawing attention to an important but understudied type of knowledge worker, our results also advance the literature on academic work and university campus management. 2. the significance of multi-location of work for academics the nature of knowledge work entails that it combines high cognitive skills with social interaction. knowledge workers need time to work alone for thinking, analyzing and reflecting, along with time to interact with others so that ideas can be generated and evaluated (ojala & pyöriä, 2017). this might be one of the reasons why the phenomenon of coworking spaces has been growing constantly in the past decade. indeed, coworking spaces have proved to support knowledge and creative workers in working alone together (spinuzzi, 2012), flexible sharing (ivaldi & scaratti, 2019), and peer-interaction (brown, 2017). academics and researchers – knowledge workers by definition – need a migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 61 pattern of different workspaces to optimize their levels of proximity and privacy, nevertheless there is little evidence about their specific multi-local patterns. in particular, information is missing about the multiplicity of spaces that they use to conduct their work, including coworking and similar spaces. nadler (2016) defined multi-locality as an active everyday life distributed in different places. multi-local work implies that workers have the freedom to choose the workplaces they prefer from a pool of potential places reasonably accessible to them (liegl, 2014; kojo & nenonen, 2015). this selection derives from a conscious evaluation process aimed at maximizing benefits (spivack & milosevic, 2018) and it is frequently related to collaborative work activities (townsend et al., 2011). nonetheless, multi-local workers may face several challenges. for instance, as hislop and axtell (2008) report, space limitation and the unavailability of technological facilities made it hard to work in what oldenburg (1989) defined as third spaces or from home. moreover, working off-site means being absent from the assigned workspace, therefore reducing social relationships with colleagues and/or giving up a recognized position in the social hierarchy of the workplace. not by chance, multi-local work is less frequent in hierarchical business contexts. academics are less subjected to hierarchical mechanisms and have weaker organizational structures compared to company employees. in addition, their work is knowledge-intensive. for these reasons they benefit from location autonomy more than other categories of knowledge-workers. specifically, academic work has a dual nature. on the one hand, it is strongly remoteness-compatible and can be flexibly located in multiple spaces. this part of the academic work is configured as the timeless and spaceless work when academics read, write, and think individually or collaboratively (ylijoki et al., 2003), also facilitated by ict and online tools. on the other hand, research needs specific facilities on-campus or off-campus which vary according to the research field (haugen & aasen, 2016). this part of academic work configures as scheduled and location-dependent. it is characterized by strict project deadlines, in-presence teaching, lab experiments or research that requires special facilities and equipment, as well as administrative meetings. given the dual nature of academic work, the literature reports that academics mix flexible and fixed times and spaces (ylijoki et al., 2003; gornall & salisbury, 2012). indeed, academic work boundaries – if any – derive from temporal and spatial strategies aimed at finding an adequate balance in the use of space and time between the two parts of academic work (ylijoki et al., 2003). this research lays on the assumption that university campuses are complex architectures (kornberger & clegg 2003) which either formally or informally include multiple locations (i.e., university facilities, staff and students’ houses and other spaces). the inclusion or the exclusion of such locations for work within individual work patterns derives from personal and organizational motivations. gornall & salisbury (2012) summarized the evolution of spatiality of academic work as follows: first, the traditional on-campus model assumed that home was totally separated from work while the university campus was the work base; then, home gradually became a work location; and finally mobile working anywhere and anytime was progressively possible. at this point of extreme work flexibility academics decided to return to a campus workplace (for instance at alternative work hours or days). today, ten years after the gornall and salisbury paper, an evolution of spatiality of academic work occurs again, as academics integrate other third spaces to their workplace locations adopting multi-local work. namely, universities are connected more than ever to the urban environment they are embedded in through other spaces which accommodate work and learning activities. other spaces for research may include research-oriented and non-research-oriented locations. research-oriented spaces are, for instance, private labs, collaborators’ organizations, living labs. non-research-oriented locations, instead, include homes, coworking spaces, cafés, and public transport. specific consideration of those spaces is of utmost importance, especially in light of the covid-19 pandemic which forced knowledge workers to rethink their work locations. at the same time, universities have made unprecedented investments to improve onand off-campus infrastructures in order to rethink their role as urban attractors, innovation hubs and knowledge-sharing facilitators (rytkönen, 2015; baldry & barnes, 2012). for these reasons, universities are becoming increasingly dependent on the presence of non-academic spaces (chapman, 2006; den heijer, 2011; haugen & aasen, 2016; kuntz, 2012). while modern campuses host learning and working incubators for entrepreneurs (wissema, 2009), it is now frequent that universities partner with coworking spaces to host their students and staff. moreover, den heijer and curvelo magdaniel (2018) report that coffee shops and sport facilities are functional resources of the city that serve as crucial spaces for a dynamic university campus which has a strong relation with its urban environments. in such cases, other migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 62 spaces can support campus spaces in assisting community formation onand off-campus (temple, 2009; chapman, 2006; hampton & gupta, 2008; dowling & mantai, 2017). in addition, research work is strongly collaborative. it is frequent that academics work for and within third party and private companies’ sites. in fact, universities exploit external spaces to maximize their mission of sustainable development, integration within the city and inclusion (den heijer & curvelo magdaniel, 2018), as well as favoring exchanges between society and the university community by building a critical mass of local and foreign actors – including students, education institutions, training companies, knowledge industries, and science and technology centers (knight, 2014). finally, academics are strongly involved in field work and data collection activities which push them outside of the campus boundaries for a significant amount of their work week. according to this trend, the covid-19 pandemic may have engendered challenges for a socially sustainable development of distributed campuses through multi-local work. on the one hand, academics that adopted a multilocation pattern even during the covid-working period – with social distancing restrictions – stressed the relevance of alternative work locations for a part of the academic community. on the other hand, the pandemic may have amplified social inequalities (e.g., in terms of gender or age) among academics that adopted a multi-local pattern. for instance, burchell et al. (2021) found that female knowledge workers are usually more constrained in one single location, while men enjoyed more multi-local work. in addition, some disciplines or specific universities may have benefited from other spaces for research more than others because of their surrounding urban quality or because of the specific activities to be performed. this research aims at understanding who the italian academics that embraced multi-local work during the covid-working period are, and at identifying the implications of multi-local work practices on future university campuses. 3. multi-local work and the covid-19 pandemic the findings of this study are best understood in the context of “covid-working” as the adaptation period between covid-19 waves, when the freedom to move to other research locations returned almost to normal levels. during covid-working academics were somewhat free to move to locations different from their homes where they were locked down in strict emergency times, but still discouraged from full presence in university buildings. in italy, this period started just after the first lockdown phase (march – may 2020) and lasted over the summer until the second covid-19 wave in october 2020. our study refers to this time window (fig. 1). following the economist (2020) we divided present times in the b.c. before the coronavirus period and the a.d. after domestication. before coronavirus, academics worked mainly on-campus. university education and research was strongly associated with the idea of a precise physical environment. architecture of campuses was the means to transmit identity, ideals and values of the university community (temple, 2009). namely, every activity of the university used to revolve around the campus and researchers, students and businesses were co-located under the same roof. after domestication, academics increased the extent to which they work off-campus, either from home or from other spaces. such a flexibility of their work and teaching activities is leaving traditional workspaces on campus empty, while university activities are being distributed around the city, without a spatial core. figure 1: covid-working timeline migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 63 4. methodology 4.1 research data the data used in this chapter were collected through a large-scale survey that was administered to the whole population of italian tenured academics, with the aim of exploring their work habits during the covid-working period. the target population was sampled thanks to the italian education ministry’s lists (mur)1 that are publicly available online. these lists include all the italian scholars tenured in public italian universities but exclude phd students, postdoc researchers, and research grant holders. the target population was composed of 52,630 academics, based all over italy, and included all the scientific sectors of italian academia. after a pilot-test and pre-test (collins, 2003), our survey was distributed to the target population via email. participation was voluntary and confidential, and remained open from july 24th to september 24th, 2020. overall, 11,634 answers were collected (response rate 22,11%). the sample consists of 3,853 women (48.99%) and 4,012 men (51.01%). the respondents are on average 51 years old. they are geographically distributed all over italy (north, 48.29%; centre, 25.86%; south, 25.85%). the survey collected responses on different domains through both closed and open answers. according to the objectives of this research, we focused on the information about (i) locations of research activities, considering time spent at ‘campus’, ‘other spaces’, and ‘home’ during the covid-working period (i.e., after the first lockdown phase in italy); (ii) home life, meaning family composition, household duties and house spaces; (iii) research life, including collaborative work activities and involvement in institutional activities2. moreover, mur lists provided background information on research life (disciplines and academic seniority) plus individual characteristics included age, gender, university affiliation and geographical location. 4.2 sample selection and data analysis as a first access to our dataset, we initially explored research locations. since the objective of this chapter was to delineate profiles of multi-local academics, we dropped responses from those academics who were only home-centric, only university-centric or who accessed both home and university, without considering other spaces in their location pattern. accordingly, our dataset was composed of 1,199 usable and consistent answers (including 843 completed open-ended questions) from those who adopted a multi-local work, meaning that they worked from other spaces for a significant amount of their work week (i.e., equal or more than 1 time a week) in addition to home and the campus. the sample analyzed in this chapter represents 10.31% of the overall 11,634 answers. even if the sample is limited in size, the aim of this study is interpretative rather than statistical. the analysis proceeds with an elaboration of survey data using descriptive statistics as well as t-tests and anova tests for close-ended responses, and qualitative interpretation of open-ended answers. all the 1,119 closed-ended responses were considered for quantitative elaborations, whereas among the open-ended responses, only 442 provided information consistent with the objectives of this research. namely, the survey asked academics to comment on their own productivity during the covid-working period in relation to the location accessed for doing research. the qualitative analysis of the open responses takes inspiration from the gioia methodology (nag, corley & gioia, 2007). accordingly, we coded lower-level meanings (primary needs) and then, through a process of abstraction, we merged them first in macro themes and finally in overarching personas or profiles of multi-local academic workers. 5. results and discussion 5.1 other spaces for research during covid-working among other spaces for research, multi-local academics were strongly anchored to their home (mean=3.77 times a week), but they also worked from the campus (mean=2.07 times a week) and from other spaces (mean=2.60 times a week). indeed, as figure 2 shows, 433 academics (36.11% of the sample) worked from home more than five times a week, meaning that their access to other spaces was not weekly but rarer. in effect, 466 academics (38.87% of the 1 retrieved from: https://cercauniversita.cineca.it/php5/docenti/cerca.php. 2 as our research excluded on purpose teaching commitments, every question of the survey explicitly referred only to research activity. https://cercauniversita.cineca.it/php5/docenti/cerca.php migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 64 sample) accessed other spaces only once a week, while 505 academics (42,12% of the sample) consistently used other spaces for more than three times a week. concerning the access to campuses’ workspaces, a consistent number of academics (308, 25.69%) never returned oncampus during covid-working, while 446 academics (37.20%) worked on-campus more than 3 times a week. these first results depict an interesting figure: although during covid-working academics were almost free to move across different locations, a sizable amount of academics worked from home and only rarely accessed to other spaces, or to university workspaces. these results are not surprising as literature confirms that other spaces for research are alternative workspaces for temporary use and for flexible arrangements (hampton and gupta, 2008), thus we did not expect regular access to these spaces. moreover, the access to other spaces could have been limited because of the pandemic restriction policies (e.g., some of them were closed or enforced safe distances by reducing the capacity). figure 2: multiple locations of research during covid-working of the sample among other spaces we recognized three specific categories: (1) other universities or institutions, (2) third spaces such as coffee shops or coworking spaces, (3) in transit locations (i.e., in the car or trains). other specific locations came up also from open answers. this analysis at a higher granularity allowed us to inform more specifically the profiles of multi-local academics (see section 5.4). the distinction of access to such spaces either for individual and collaborative work (fig. 3) showed that third spaces (coworking spaces and coffee shops) are mostly used for collaborative work, while only rarely for individual work. on the contrary, cars and trains were actually temporary locations for individual work when reaching other locations of research. moreover, the greatest number of academics was involved in both individual and collaborative research activities in other universities or institutions. some researchers may have a double affiliation in other institutions and thus had the availability of a workstation in other spaces or they were frequently involved in collaborative research with other institutions or in fixed-term consultancy projects that require face-to-face meetings and the use of labs. indeed, other institutions or companies were those locations which are more frequently accessed by the multi-local academics in our sample, even for the full work week. finally, among other specified locations of research summer houses, private study spaces in second-apartments, colleagues’ houses, public libraries, museums, parks, and open experimental parks emerged as other spaces for research, as can be confirmed also from the open-ended responses analyzed below. indeed, it is frequent for academics to perform activities from privately owned offices where they can host clients (e.g., architectural studios) or benefit from specific technical facilities (e.g., in hospitals). migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 65 figure 3: frequency of access of other locations of research (beyond the home and the campus) these results question the mainstream view which attributes to knowledge workers a binary choice between home and office (spivack & milosevic, 2018), and supports the recent literature confirming how – in the case of academics – spatial boundaries of research work expanded at the urban level (wheatley, 2020; watson, 2007). our findings confirm this trend even during the covid-working period. gender, age and geographical locations of multi-local academics multi-local academics were more often men than women. specifically, 669 (55,80%) were men and 530 (44,20%) were women. this difference reflects the gender imbalance in academia, especially among more senior academics in italy. it is interesting to note that the difference between men and women in access to other spaces during covidworking is more evident among those who used other spaces only 1-2 times a week and among those who used them almost always (more than 5 times a week). instead, among those whose work pattern remained more balanced in between home, campus and other spaces, the difference between men and women is negligible (fig. 4). figure 4: access to other spaces by gender concerning age distribution, a first observation is that the respondents were relatively old. on average the sample of multi-local academics is 52 years old (s.d.=9.29) with a minimum of 26 years and a maximum of 70. specifically, 457 academics (38.12% of the sample) belong to the range 51-60 years old. the main reason is that the survey was distributed only among tenured academics; in fact 31% of the overall sample belongs to the range 51-60 years old. figure 5 shows how often each age group accessed other spaces. migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 66 figure 5: access to other spaces by age groups to further articulate the relevance of these first differences that emerged, our analysis explored whether any statistically significant difference exists among genders and age groups in the access of specific types of other spaces for collaborative or individual activities. results of t-tests showed that no statistically significant difference between gender and age groups exists in the access to other spaces for collaborative research activities. instead, a difference emerged in the access to those spaces for individual research activities. namely, more men than women used other universities/institutions’ workspaces (p value=0.05) and coworking spaces or coffee shops (p value=0.04) for individual research during covid-working. as other authors argued, true work location autonomy is a male privilege (burchell et al., 2021), because women tend to be more tied to one single location (either the office in normal times, or the home in emergency times). reasons for such differences may relate to the unequal allocation of family and household duties between genders, especially among academics during the covid-19 emergency (cui et al., 2020). another intriguing figure emerged from the results of the one-way analysis of variance (anova) and from the subsequent tukey post-hoc comparison3 in the four age groups. according to the analysis, the oldest group of academics (above 60 years) resulted as the most mobile with respect to the other groups. namely, considering the diverse types of other spaces investigated with the survey, this group accessed significantly more than the other age groups to other universities/institutions’ spaces both for individual (p value=0.002) and collaborative research (p value=0.008), probably because their experience and status allowed them more freedom of choice as well as a more frequent involvement in large research projects with companies and institutions. it is interesting to note that there is a quite evident gender imbalance in the oldest group (above 60 years old) among which only 29.0% of the sample is composed by women, while 71.0% is composed by men. again, this may reflect the female gap in italian academia, especially among more tenured academics, and the gendered access to alternative workspaces. the multi-local academics in our sample worked mainly in the north of italy (352, 29.36% in the north-west; 207, 17.26% in the north-east), second in the centre (325, 27.11%) and finally in the south (212, 17.68%) and on the islands (103, 8.59%). to better understand these results, we analyzed the specific distribution of the sample among italian university campuses. the sample is composed mainly of multi-local academics who work at the university of rome ‘la sapienza’ (93 responses), the biggest university in italy, the university of milano ‘la statale’ (88 responses), the public university of milan and, at the university of torino (59 responses). first, the university of rome ‘la sapienza’ has the highest number of academic staff (3,388 tenured scholars overall) and for this reason the fact that many observations come from this university was expected. university of milano ‘la statale’ and university of torino are respectively the fifth and the sixth universities with the highest number of tenured staff employed over the 67 public universities surveyed (after rome, bologna, napoli federico ii and padova university). these three universities are located in metropolitan cities and the literature confirms that multi-location of work is firstly a metropolitan phenomenon (vilhelmson and thulin, 2016). however, since the response rate of our survey strongly clustered around these big universities because they share the largest workforce, we looked at the rate of multi-local academics over the total academic staff of each university who answered the questionnaire (fig. 6). we found, conversely, that multi-local academics clustered in four universities: roma “tor vergata”, ferrara, palermo and 3 tukey post-hoc test allows to further articulate the results of the anova test by providing information on which group differ compared to every other group. migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 67 siena. these results may be explained considering the specific geographical locations of those universities. university of “tor vergata” is a multidisciplinary higher education institution located in the south-east periphery of rome metropolitan area, within the tor vergata district. differently from other campuses which are located in the city center (e.g., la sapienza), this campus configures as an enclosed area fairly distant from rome (i.e., more than one hour of commuting with public transport from the city center). for this reason, it is reasonable to assume that tor vergata academics live in the same neighborhood where the campus is located and may be encouraged to do multilocal working by the availability of nearby services that can be found in the district (de valderrama et al., 2020). similar motivations can explain results from the universities of ferrara, palermo and siena. in these cities, which are smaller with respect to the great metropolitan areas in italy and which share a strong academic vocation, distances between home and other spaces may be shorter and academics may have benefitted from more sustainable and safer commuting distance both to the campus and to other spaces confirming that commuting time is a crucial criterion for work location choice (mokhtarian and salomon, 1994). according to these results, multi-local academics emerged as people who exploited the benefits of the 15-minutes city (moreno et al., 2021): a city where the university campus is spatially linked to their neighborhood. figure 6: percentages of multi-located academics per university (calculated as the rate of multilocal academics over the total number of employed tenured staff in each institution) 5.2 research and family life of multi-local academics the survey explored both the research life and the family life of academics in order to grasp the main motivations that encouraged or hampered their multi-local pattern. among the overall sample, only 174 academics (14.51%) lived alone during covid-working, while 1,025 academics (85.49% of the sample) shared the house with at least another person. among these, 871 (72.64%) lived with a partner or spouse and 31.20% of the sample had school children. the number of academics who had pre-school children was even lower (11.59% of the sample) both because of the relatively old age of our sample and because multi-local work is inversely correlated with heavy family constraints (burchell et al., 2021). indeed, the youngest academics in our sample had more school children than the other age groups and they are at the same time those who accessed other spaces less frequently. the majority of the sample is composed of associate professors (531, 44.29%), then 238 (19.85%) are full professors and 430 (35.86%) are researchers – both with a permanent (320) and not permanent (110) contract. accordingly, the sample is almost equally divided among those with institutional roles (586 academics) and those without institutional roles (613 academics). noteworthy, the frequency of access to other spaces for research changes slightly according to seniority and eventually to the commitment in institutional roles. associate professors used other spaces more than the other categories – these are more males than females – while among lower status researchers – where women prevail – access to other spaces is the lowest. these results again confirm gender differences in employing multi-local work patterns. we further explored which disciplines the sample of multi-located academics belong to. based on the european research council categorization, our sample is composed as follows: 42.20% (506 academics) are life scientists, migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 68 30.53% (366 academics) are physical scientists and engineers, finally, 27.27% (327 academics) are social scientists and those who work in the humanities. analyzing these results more deeply, some intriguing figures emerged. as expected, the largest group of multi-local academics counts academics in medical and biological sciences, as these are those academics who needed access to external laboratories, hospitals and other public or private institutions to assure their work continuity during covid-working. also noteworthy, exploring if some disciplines outperform others in the access to other spaces, we found that beyond academics in medical sciences who are overall the most mobile subjects, the share of academics in legal sciences, civil engineering and architecture, agricultural and veterinary sciences and political and social sciences are those who accessed other spaces more frequently (fig. 7). these results reflected evidence from open responses of people in these disciplines stating that they are involved in consultancy activities that they perform in privately owned studios (e.g., architects and lawyers) or that they are frequently doing collaborative research with public and private institutions. figure 7: percentages of multilocal academics per discipline. we defined research life also considering the share of collaborative activities performed by our sample of multi-local academics. on average, they remained strongly collaborative during covid-working (mean: 34.94% of the total amount of time devoted to research: s.d. 21.85), although before covid-19 they were strongly more collaborative (mean: 46.16%; s.d.:23.06). according to the quartile distribution of the variable indicating the share of collaborative activity, we recognized four groups of academics: (i) strongly individual; (ii) individual; (iii) collaborative; (iv) strongly collaborative. the frequency of access to other space for work have a particular relation with those groups. those who were more collaborative during covid-working, more frequently accessed other spaces. namely, the 12.42% of those who did research from other spaces for a significant amount of time a week (i.e., 4 or 5 times a week), belong to the group of strongly collaborative researchers (fig. 8). indeed, multi-local working resulted strongly related to collaborative work (townsend et al., 2011), even if some academics escaped from home also for individual work. figure 8: access to other spaces and collaborative research work. migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 69 as expected, some disciplines are more collaborative than others. on the one hand, social scientists were more individual (more than the 50% of academics in these disciplines belong to the groups of very individual and individual academics). on the other hand, life scientists and physical scientists were more collaborative (about 70% of academics in both disciplines belong to the groups of collaborative and very collaborative researchers). in addition, collaborative activity is unbalanced between age groups. 46% of the youngest academics (40 y.o. or below) in our sample were individual researchers during covid-working, while the share of individual researchers is very much lower in other age groups, especially in older groups (only the 30% of the groups aged more than 51 y.o. is an individual researcher). this may be caused by the fact that younger individuals had more family constraints which pushed them to work from home more than their older colleagues and thus used other spaces less frequently (which are spaces typically devoted to collaborative activities). conversely, older academics have more institutional responsibilities and they usually coordinate research teams, which makes them more likely to collaborate and thus access other spaces. in summary, we found that during covid-working academics who adopted a multi-local pattern for their research were largely older adult men without family constraints (i.e., children), linked to other institutions’ workspaces for both collaborative and individual activities or to public third spaces (e.g., coffee shops and coworking spaces), especially for their collaborative activities. they were mainly associate or full professors who do research in life sciences. academics in legal sciences, architecture and civil engineering were, instead, linked to different kinds of other spaces (i.e., privately owned studios), both for their individual and collaborative work. such results suggest that multi-local work in academia is far from being an inclusive work pattern. namely, multi-local work is something that academics do not choose to adopt unless they are pushed to do so for external motivations. the following paragraph reports the results of the analysis of open responses. the analysis allowed us to understand which kind of external motivations push some groups of academics towards multi-local work and, thus, which are the profiles of multi-local academics. 5.3 the profiles of multi-local academics according to the open answers that the questionnaire collected and the descriptive statistics above reported, we defined three profiles of multi-local academics. namely, the profiles of multi-local academics helped interpret the criteria that the multi-local workers used to select their spatial locations for their research as well as their expressed needs. figure 9 summarizes the main findings. starting from grouping the primary needs as they emerged in open answers, we summarized ten macro themes which recap the main motivations pushing academics to look for other spaces for research during the covid-working period. the ten macro themes were associated with three profiles. the profiles were named as “the unhappy fugitive”, “the seeker” and “the near worker”. figure 9: open answers coding. migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 70 the unhappy fugitive is an academic who was strongly unsatisfied with his or her space for work or family reasons. there were academics who needed a private space for concentration (34.94% of the answers) and ict facilities better than the ones available at home (14.25% of the answers). for instance, for unavoidable commitments, like exams or important meetings, they accessed other spaces where they found a stable internet connection. alternatively, they sought a more evident division between work and life spaces (especially women) or they escaped from their family obligations (especially men). indeed, private-life intrusion in work activities was frequently reported as a covidworking issue in open answers (12.64% of the answers). “overall, i was much more productive in terms of drafting and submission [of scientific papers]. however, work has slowly become exhausting in terms of time and space, invading practically every place in the house. […] i have found myself in video conferences and business calls even at times previously unthinkable (8-8:30 am, 00-01:00 am). […] in practice, i can conclude that i am probably a more productive writer, but probably a less happy scientist and man...” (male fixed term researcher, university of napoli “federico ii”, chemical science). it is important to note that some academics reported having benefited from alternative work schedules. for instance, they were more productive in the evenings and thus required access to spaces at alternative work hours. “[…] staying long at the university i wasted a lot of time, because of continuous unavoidable interruptions by colleagues, students, bureaucratic issues etc... and especially because of the fact that the classic working hours are not suited to my rhythms of productivity. i only manage to write my work with adequate mental clarity between 5.30 pm and midnight, but of course not if i have spent the day at the university. […]” (female associate professor, university of genova, biology). this group also includes those who were unhappy with their academic community and preferred to work outside the university, to create their alternative work environment or to better concentrate (1.81% of the answers): “i work better without giving importance to colleagues' criticism, i feel freer and more independent to do my job. […] i take more pleasure in doing my work and feel more capable in everything. i am available to do work throughout the day, which means i am more up to date with developments.” (male associate professor, university of parma, medical sciences). the seeker is that type of academic who was strongly linked to a specific space for performing his or her research. namely there were bench scientists who needed laboratories (8.51% of the answers) or facilities in hospitals (4.37% of the answers) to be productive researchers. in addition, their need for formal and informal collaboration is an invaluable benefit of collocation in laboratory spaces or in other spaces (3.85% of the answers). “[my productivity] has certainly suffered a downturn due to the lack of phd students, postgraduates and thesis students in the labs, but with the partial resumption of activity in the labs we are now getting back up to speed. there will be no problems if we are not forced into further 'downtime'. my scientific productivity is the result of collegial work, made up of meetings and cultural exchanges that only take effect in the presence of others.” (female associate professor, university of campania ‘vanvitelli’, biological sciences). moreover, social scientists (‘bookworms’) needed libraries (both universities’ libraries and public or private libraries and archives, see di marino & lapintie, 2015) to seek out their research materials (8.97% of the answers), as well as close relations with the larger academic community and civil society. “the negative elements lie in the impossibility of accessing the [university] library (even though many resources can be found online or at least are available thanks to other libraries). there are also fewer opportunities to meet and socialize, which are already seriously unsatisfactory in my relations with my closest colleagues (the fact that i don't have to attend them is actually an advantage), but seemed better with scholars from other cities or civil society. however, online connections do not replace human contact.” (male associate professor, university of torino, legal sciences) the near worker is an academic who chooses to work in the vicinity of their home for several reasons. there are academics who had a second privately owned office, often accessible also by colleagues (1.81% of the answers). migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 71 among these, there are academics who explicitly needed to perform their medical freelance activity from other spaces (0.69% of the answers). “the absence of conferences has freed up many days, leaving me more time for both increasing freelance activity and scientific work” (male associate professor, university of milan, medical science). other academics lived far from the university main campus and preferred to work from other spaces in their neighborhoods (2.71% of the answers). there are also modern flaneurs – borrowing baudelaire definition – meaning those who exploit commuting time to reach their other spaces for work in order to reflect and think of their research: “[…] walking to your workplace is not wasted time! when you walk you have ideas, you keep thinking, staying in the same places all the time is not good for your research!" (female associate professor, university of rome “la sapienza”, mathematics and computer science) the three profiles are not mutually exclusive. they have to be intended as abstract profiles and not individual ones. however, profiling helped define motivations of the descriptive results above reported and articulate important implications on how a distributed campus model can inclusively allocate the needs and the requirements of the academic community. 6. conclusions the results of this study give an original contribution to the understanding of multi-local work in the academic context, which generally received little attention in the literature (e.g., koroma et al., 2014). even during the covid-working period, multi-local workers carefully selected their work locations between the university campus, the home and other spaces (di marino & lapintie, 2018). this study shows that specific types of other spaces turned out to be crucial for the work continuity of some academics. namely, other organizations’ premises were exploited for collaborative and individual activities for those academics who are involved in joint research work, public third spaces such as coffee shops, libraries or coworking spaces were used for teamwork and collaborations, and other locations such as in transit spaces (e.g., cars or trains) or privately owned studios were accessed for individual and collaborative activities respectively. this scenario related to the covid-working period helps figure out future development of the phenomenon and possible implications at the individual, university, and city level. the three profiles identified through qualitative analysis of open-ended responses and descriptive statistics suggest important implications on how the physical spaces may be supportive for (i) managing social sustainability of the academic work environment, (ii) effectively improving the alignment between campus facilities and the academic activities, and (iii) increasing the interactions between industry, universities, and public institutions at a city level. considering these external other spaces as integrated physical support to a model of distributed campus may have strong advantages for academics, universities, and cities. firstly, we found that, during covid-working, academics who adopted multi-local work for their research were predominantly older adult men without family constraints (i.e., children). they were mainly associate or full professors who do research in life sciences, legal sciences, architecture and civil engineering. even if the ability to work remotely promotes workplace inclusiveness (pyöriä, 2003), the unbalanced access to these spaces in relation to disciplines, genders and age show that multi-location of research work was generally not socially sustainable during covid-working. future campus models should engender policies of inclusion, in order to increase social sustainability and gender equality in academic institutions. for instance, literature is showing how female-oriented coworking spaces (sargent et al., 2020) may be sources of equality and inclusion in the work environment, providing more favorable commuting times, services which support work-life balance and a more inclusive atmosphere as well (clifton et al., 2019). while supporting multi-local work, universities may create partnerships with coworking space suppliers, which could in turn lead to positive results for collaboration and hybridizations of skills with other members of the space, as the literature on coworking suggests (brown, 2017; ivaldi & scaratti, 2019; spinuzzi, 2012), and give a distributed shape to university campuses. secondly, future campus models should integrate the other spaces that academics effectively used before and during the covid-working period. we need to increase our awareness that the work of academics does not only take place migliore / the academic research community publication pg. 72 within the traditional campus and that other spaces can be valorized within a unique strategic model. accurate planning policies of future campuses should support research life before, during, and after working hours by ensuring accessibility to campus and off-campus spaces. for instance, we intend a distributed campus strategy as a development strategy which considers that private spaces (i.e., homes, organizations’ premises, privately owned studios) and public spaces (i.e., coffee shops, libraries, parks) are all to be considered as university facilities which meet diverse academic work needs. in this way the campus model would become multi-centric instead of monocentric. analyzing the campus as an extended organism made of multiple work locations at the urban scale means considering the work patterns of their staff as the source of data to start a new university planning strategy. although a model of distributed campus may lead to a diffusion of a university’s identity that may hamper academics’ sense of community (den heijer & curvelo magdaniel, 2018), exploiting and converging off-campus spaces within a comprehensive campus strategy can represent a development opportunity from which all the stakeholders involved can benefit (including academics, students, campus managers and public society). thirdly, the distributed campus model could contribute to cities planning towards multi-functional districts which actively integrate higher education functions within residential, tertiary and public activities (den heijer & curvelo magdaniel, 2018; 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(2003). conflicting time perspectives in academic work. time & society, 12(1), 55-78. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463x03012001364 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2017.04.003 https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243220974691 https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651912444070 https://doi.org/10.1108/jcre-10-2020-0053 https://www.economist.com/business/2020/05/30/working-life-has-entered-a-new-era https://www.economist.com/business/2020/05/30/working-life-has-entered-a-new-era https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3435.2007.00299.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3435.2007.00299.x https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098020911887 https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463x03012001364 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 research paper received: 14 september 2023, accepted: 19 october 2023, published online: 31 october 2023 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i3.1021 palestinian traditional architecture and methods in designing dwellings (case study: old city of hebron) wisam h. shaded1 1assistant professor of interior architecture at palestine polytechnic university, palestine abstract this paper examines the components and elements of traditional palestinian dwellings, focusing on those found in the historic district of hebron. this area is renowned for its agricultural construction and peasant architecture. the study elucidates the formation of these dwellings and their structural, architectural, and constructional elements, as well as the materials employed in their construction. moreover, this research delves into the history of hebron, which serves as a vital resource for the study of the cultural history of palestine, particularly within the context of islamic civilization. it scrutinizes the urban development of the arab city and draws parallels with various other islamic cities, notably in terms of their primarily vernacular architecture, with formal architecture playing a limited role. the research adopts a descriptive, analytical, and documentary methodology to document these components through images and diagrams. it endeavors to address inquiries regarding the current condition and the pivotal elements that have contributed to the construction of traditional dwellings. the study underscores the substantial responsibility entrusted to society, institutions, and engineers for preserving these components during restoration or conservation endeavors. this can be achieved through a comprehensive examination of the authentic foundations of traditional vernacular construction in the city of hebron. © 2023 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords housing classification; vaulted system; vault work; dome system; construction techniques 1. introduction architectural heritage and historical areas represent a school of thought in planning and architecture. they offer valuable insights for distinguishing architectural styles, optimizing functionality, enhancing aesthetics, and promoting the efficient use of local building materials. they also serve as models for achieving harmony between humans and their surrounding environment (el-masry, p14). traditional architecture, in general, is closely linked to the cultural and folk heritage of each region. the clear connection between architecture, heritage, and identity is significant, and palestine is not significantly different from other regions in the world (carabelli, 2019, p12). the term "palestinian architecture" encompasses various architectural forms and innovations that have evolved throughout the stages of human development, from ancient times such as the mamluk, ottoman, and british periods to contemporary palestinian architecture. it is an integral part of the cultural heritage of the levant region (el-ghadban, 2005). while this heritage may vary from one environment to another, it shares a common thread with islamic architecture in its emphasis on personalized building design and effective layout that provides comfort and encourages community interaction. in the design of these buildings, the inner courtyard, or the spacious interior, plays a prominent role. the http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 importance of the inner courtyard lies in its role in regulating temperatures in the rooms, entrances, and surrounding corridors, creating local climatic conditions suitable for the residents (abu ganima, 2013). traditional architecture focuses on local elements and inherited techniques passed down through generations, including construction methods, materials, and patterns. it is characterized by simplicity and the avoidance of extravagance, which is an integral part of islamic architecture and its association with simplicity (abu ganima, 2013). the construction methods for traditional palestinian homes have remained consistent for an extended period, spanning decades, and have been recently recognized and adopted by most palestinian cities. limited modifications have been made, such as certain additions, the type of stone used, building size, and the location of the residence in relation to the old city center (el-ghadban, 2005). the historical identity defines numerous components and elements of homes, shaping the architectural fabric that produced contemporary residential structures. traditional homes in palestine, particularly in hebron, have preserved their architectural and structural elements throughout the ottoman period. traditional craftsmen and builders, drawing from the accumulated experience passed down through generations, have managed to provide architectural and construction solutions (al-ja'ba, 2007). to better understand traditional buildings, an analysis of the materials used in construction is crucial. this analysis allows us to assess their structural integrity and identify potential weaknesses or defects. it primarily focuses on identifying the construction techniques used in traditional architecture and deepening our understanding of the properties of building materials. furthermore, it helps us understand the significance of each component in a building, such as the type of bricks or stones used (dandis, 2018, p. 19). the modernization phases in palestinian society have resulted in changes in social and economic environments. they have distinctly highlighted the consistent character of palestinian architecture through its simple structures, diverse building forms, resource utilization, building orientation, and stonemasonry skills (el-ghadban, 2005). in the 20th century, palestine experienced several occupations, including the british, and israeli occupations, leading to a decline in architecture, deteriorating infrastructure, and urban degradation (abuarkub .2018). the british mandate in palestine, which lasted from 1920 to 1948, did have a significant impact on urban planning and architecture in the region. the british mandate authorities were involved in various aspects of governing palestine, including urban development, and planning (dweik . 2014. p1105) in the present day, with the ongoing occupation and the division of palestinian territories under palestinian and israeli control, palestinian architecture faces complex challenges. the historical traditional architecture of palestine reflects various periods and cultural and architectural influences. (abuarkub .2018). 1.1. problem statement there is a noticeable gap in research concerning the structural and architectural aspects of traditional housing, which is essential for researchers and professionals involved in the restoration of traditional housing and the revitalization of historic cities. this research aims to address this gap by employing a systematic scientific approach to gain insight into the processes involved in traditional housing construction. the primary question guiding this study is as follows: what is the current state of traditional housing, and which key elements have played pivotal roles in its design and construction? 1.2. methodology this paper follows a descriptive scientific approach for analysis and documentation, utilizing a range of resources. these resources include references to literature in books, written documents, and previously published scientific research. the study employs on-site observations as well as tools like photography and computer-generated engineering drawings. the primary objective of this research is to identify the factors and causes contributing to the development and interior design of traditional dwellings. it also aims to preserve the aesthetic qualities of these dwellings, considering the fast-paced changes in building materials and construction methods. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 2. traditional housing construction the methods of residential building construction in palestine have evolved significantly over time, leading to diversity in construction materials and interior and exterior architectural design, including building size and interior planning. the choice of building materials always depends on the geological composition and climatic conditions of a specific region. most local architecture was either constructed with stone or mud. in hilly areas, stone buildings were used extensively due to the availability of stone quarries. in coastal areas and the jordan valley, mud bricks were used due to the scarcity of stone. this trend continued until the mid-20th century (abdulhadi, 2008). in palestinian villages, traditional homes share similar construction patterns characterized by their shapes and building materials (ahmad, 2008, 57). building elements in certain cases in the farming community are similar, particularly regarding construction materials and techniques. despite these differences, these techniques often prioritize durability and strength over ornamentation (abdulhadi, 2008). in the case of the old town of hebron, traditional construction heavily relies on the use of stone as a primary building material. this is due to the mountainous nature of the city and its villages, relatively cold weather during the winter, and the ample availability of stone compared to other building materials. additionally, iron and steel columns and ordinary cement became available in the early 20th century. residential building structures consist of adjacent stone blocks, often taking square and rectangular forms. building materials play a critical role in shaping the architectural character of homes in the old town of hebron. the impact of materials can be summarized through the following main points: athe design of front facades – where differences appear in the use of building materials in window openings, variations in the arrangement and balance of stones, and fragmented ornamentation, which indicates a change in style in terms of color and the type of stones used, as well as architectural openings of doors and windows. bwall construction and the materials used, including changes in wall thickness. croof construction and its different styles, including the vaulted roof, the intersecting vault, and the barrel vault, followed by the addition of i-beams steel structures like steel columns and ordinary cement in the early 20th century. dinterior design and changes in the shape of courtyards, entrances, and prominent architectural features like balconies, supported by i-beams steel structure. figure 1: construction of old traditional buildings (drawing by the author, 2020) the methods of constructing traditional dwellings are summarized by several elements from materials to reconstruction. these are described in the following sections: shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 2.1. building materials (al-karastah): houses were constructed using various building materials, and the choice of materials varied from one region to another depending on the type of construction and its method. in palestine, mud houses were prevalent in areas such as the jordan valley (ahmad, 2008, p. 57), and the buildings of palestinian farmers in villages featured similar architectural patterns and construction materials. the construction techniques were influenced by agricultural practices, emphasizing durability and strength while sometimes neglecting ornamentation. these buildings were typically constructed using the following materials: earth: various types of soil were utilized for different purposes. soil was readily available everywhere, and types included "jidar" soil, "huwar" earth, ordinary earth, clayey earth, ash pottery, or "sakan." is obtained from fire residues or furnaces, and it is prepared and mixed with other components (hamdan, 1996, p. 513). usually, earth was sourced from the construction site, mixed with straw and water to create the necessary mortar in ratios of 1:2 or 1:3. it is preferable to use firebricks after grinding and mixing them with straw for stone construction. this type of soil or sand requires less straw compared to black earth, which is considered good but weaker. red earth is used only for filling inner layers of walls, facades, or foundations (abdul hadi, 2008). pure lime: pure lime is a locally manufactured material, obtained by burning limestone rocks, which primarily consist of calcium carbonate (caco3). gypsum is extracted from rocks rich in calcium sulfate and various stone types such as mizzi and ka'kouli (hamdan, 1996, p. 513). it is burned in special kilns known as "tun" or "aton" and was an industry at which the people of hebron excelled. it was used either alone or mixed with other materials like clay and employed in plastering, as well as filling gaps between wall solutions and "tirasha" (al-ja'bah, 2007, p. 47). "tirasha" refers to a specific paint used for surfaces and walls, available in various types, including water-based and oil-based paints. pure lime is produced by exposing limestone (containing calcium carbonate caco3) to high temperatures, transforming it into calcium oxide (cao) through heat. this calcium oxide, or lime, is then immersed in water for a minimum of two weeks. during this period, the calcium oxide transforms into calcium hydrate, known as ca(oh)2, which subsequently reacts with carbon dioxide from the surrounding air, leading to the reformation of calcium carbonate. the resulting product is slaked lime, which is now prepared for further processing (abdul hadi, 2008). zeebar: which is the residue of olive oil extraction, is free from acids, preventing permeability and promoting material cohesion when mixed with shaid (abdul hadi, 2008). it also increases hardness over time. for this reason, zeebar was used in foundations after being mixed with fibers and" shaid" lime, and applied in successive layers to improve the earth's properties before laying the foundations. this mixture (zeebar, lime, earth, and fibers) was also used beneath walls and floors, being well-tamped to serve as a waterproof and moisture-resistant material. additionally, it found applications in ceilings (al-ja'bah, 2007, p. 47). al-qasrmal: al-qasrmal is a mixture of ash and mortar, used as a bonding material between layers of walls or in plastering work (al-ja'ba, 2007, p. 47) ash: or "sakan" is obtained from fire residues or furnaces, prepared, and mixed with other components (hamdan, 1996, p. 513). mud: this is clay mixed with plant residues such as straw and chaff (abdul hadi, 2008). hebron's construction did not involve mud but was primarily constructed using stones. we believe that mud might have been used to fill gaps in walls, foundations, and roofs, but it was not the principal material in the old town's buildings. its usage was more common in the buildings of hebron's villages (al-ja'ba, 2007, p. 48) stones: stones: the stones used, especially in the central mountainous regions of palestine, are primarily of limestone. this type of stone is composed of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate and is characterized by its hardness. it is divided into two types: the first type is soft limestone and includes: kakkouli stone: this is a white limestone with occasional reddish veins and is easy to cut. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 fire stone: this is a non-pure white limestone and is considered unsuitable for any construction purposes. it is called "fire stone" because it can withstand heat and does not transform into shid. it is used for fireplaces, grinding, crushing, and for the inner layers of walls. it is also used in building stone ovens (kabbara/al-latoun). (abdul hadi, 2008). the second type is hard limestone as referred to by the locals: angelic stone: this is a soft white limestone that gains hardness when exposed to air and turns yellow. because of its initial softness, it is easy to cut and is considered one of the best stones for construction. mazz stone: this type of stone is further divided into three subtypes: red mazz: a hard stone with a light-yellow color. sweet mazz: white stone with yellow veins. jewish mazz: a hard stone with a grayish color and is the hardest among limestone stones. (al-ja'ba, 2007, p. 47). wood (timber): wood has been an integral component in construction due to its natural straightness and strength. this material is celebrated for its ability to evenly bear tensile and compressive stresses in parallel directions to its fibers (torroja, 1962, p. 39). in the construction process, wood planks and branches, often sourced from the nearby forests, have played a crucial role. these wooden elements were frequently employed in various aspects of construction, particularly in the construction of beams. the gaps between these wooden planks were meticulously filled with mortar, and for added stability, sesame stems and veins were ingeniously utilized (hamdan, 1996, p. 521). furthermore, wood extended its utility into finishing works, where it was applied to construct door frames, windows, balconies, flooring, foundations, and framework roofing in various palestinian buildings (al-ja'ba, 2007, p. 47). the selection of wood types is deliberate, with considerations for both strength and local availability. olive, cypress, and pine woods are among the varieties commonly chosen for their suitability in construction (abuarkub, mumen. 2018). these wooden materials, serving as columns, beams, and roof framing, are frequently used for structural purposes. traditional palestinian homes consistently incorporate wooden elements, emphasizing the historical significance of forests as an abundant and valuable resource. (al-ja'ba, 2007, p. 47) pottery: pottery, or "kezan," refers to clay vessels with a height of 20-30 cm and a diameter of 10 cm. it was used for roofing some rooms to reduce the load on the supporting roof. broken pottery was also used as a filler, whether in ceilings or between walls, mixed with mud (al-ja'bah, 2007, p. 47). kezan pottery was also used to introduce lighting and ventilation in various areas of the dwelling, such as ceilings and ventilation openings (ahmad, 2008, p. 93) figure 2: image of construction materials such as small pieces of stone, pottery, and lime, used in building a traditional dwelling in the old city of hebron (rehabilitation comity in hebron 2020) 2.2. architectural methods of construction of traditional buildings in the old town of hebron construction methods used on traditional buildings in the old town of hebron are described below. stone walls: the construction process of these buildings relies on two rows of stones with filler materials. some variations are observed in certain walls (amiry 2017. 148) with the use of mud being more common in the construction of affluent households due to the relatively high cost of materials at that time. once the foundation is established on the ground surface, the walls are constructed with two layers of stone. the outer wall is crafted from engraved stone, locally shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 known as "maliya buraniya," signifying the external facade of the wall. the inner wall is comprised of both carved and non-carved stones, which are subsequently covered with a layer of lime plaster (qawasmi, 2016, p. 53). the facade is smoothed using straight edges, and is locally known as "maliya juwaniya." the space between the two layers is filled with broken stones referred to as "dabsh," along with binding materials. the total width of the wall is known as "al-klin" or "al-kalil." to withstand varying weather conditions. , durable stones are used on the exterior, while unpolished stones may be used in certain buildings. the same facade may feature multiple types of engravings and sizes due to variations in the construction period (qawasmi, 2016, pp. 52-53). as for the interior stones, they are of lower hardness and are extracted from upper rock layers, after which they are shaped. stone walls are built-in courses, with the height of each course typically ranging from 35-20 cm. these walls are typically constructed on rocky ground, but in cases where such ground is not available, a trench is excavated around the building's perimeter to reach a suitable layer for construction. in some instances, buttresses are used in construction. these buttresses are stone sections that connect the inner and outer walls to enhance the wall's strength. upon reaching a certain level in construction, openings are created for doors, windows, or niches. additionally, arches are constructed within the walls; these arches are not windows but are employed as storage cabinets. in the kitchen wall, a unique feature called "al-wajaq" is introduced (al-ja'ba, 2007, p. 48). it's an arched opening that terminates with a chimney that extends to the ceiling. particular attention is given to the selection of stones for these openings, emphasizing their strength and refinement. the walls may feature gaps that were utilized for storing grains. moreover, they contain channels extending from the roof to the well, serving for rainwater drainage or channeling smoke from the "wajaq" to the roof and outside of the building. (figure 3) figure 3: image of construction material used in building a traditional. (rehabilitation comity in hebron, 2020) (drawing by author 2023) roofs: the need to protect buildings from the elements has driven the development of various roofing materials and techniques (abdulhadi, 2008). from the very beginning, arches have been used, evolving from barrel vaults to domes through the intersection of arches at a single point, which includes the term "qubba," representing a diverse range of arches (qawasmi, 2016, p. 59). roofs in the vaulted system appear to be supported from a fixed pivot point and are spaced without exerting any load on the supporting walls. small openings are made in these walls for ventilation and lighting without expanding them to ensure continuity, which the vault is subjected to. this architectural style was widely used in traditional palestinian architecture and housing in the old town of hebron. the reason for their extensive use is that their curved surfaces are not exposed to sunlight during daylight hours, unlike horizontal surfaces. this reduces thermal pressure on the interior spaces (rizk, 2000, 222). the transition from the cubic base to the dome was accomplished through pendentives. the domes can sit directly on the circular base of the dome, or the circular wall called the drum (the wall between the base of the dome and the dome itself) to increase the dome's height. in palestine, firestone was used in building domes with low heights (one or two stories), while in high stories (e.g., the fourth floor), pottery was used instead of firestone to reduce the weight (abdulhadi, 2008). the following types of roofs were used, in addition to modern roofing, which includes the use of cement and steel in roofing buildings. roofing styles varied based on the construction stages, including: shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 a) barre vault: this type of vault is built directly above the walls and consists of a series of adjacent curved arches that rely on walls instead of columns or supports (rizk, 2000, 234). the arch is oriented vertically towards the longer dimension of the space, and the openings decrease in the longitudinal direction. this is because the walls carry the load, and doors and windows are created in the shorter dimension of the space (qawasmi, 2016, 62). it is also known as "yakhour" in the local terminology, indicating the level beneath the main dwelling, which is often used for wells, storage, or animal stables. (figure 4) figure 4: image of the vault's construction (drawing and photo taken by author 2023) b) simple dome and shallow dome: including the simple dome, which is built directly above the four walls, and the shallow dome, which takes the place of the level circular nave where the four arches' edges end at the base circumference of the dome (figure 5). figure 5: simple dome and shallow dom found in the old town of hebron e (drawing by author 2023) c) fan vault: the use of fan vaults or semi-circular vaults dates to the mamluk era (rizk, 2000, 235), a period that coincided with its appearance in gothic architecture. this type is characterized by the dome resting on fan-shaped "legs". it has three legs that converge at a hexagonal hub, with a small hexagonal dome in the middle. these complex fan vaults led to the use of single stones for ribs and vault edges (al-eisawi, 2015, 10). the next step involves covering this framework with branches, especially hazel branches, and then applying a layer of binding materials like lime, ash, and stone fragments (reish) to reach the desired thickness. it has been found in historical residential vaults that the roof was filled with clay tiles to reduce the loads on it. it transfers the load triangularly from the arches to the "knee", which is then transferred to the foundations. fired clay was used as the main material in these joints, designed in specific shapes to replace the "dabsh" in the joints of perpendicular arches, especially at the knee. (figure.6) figure.6: photos represent construction examples of fan vaulting (drawing and photos taken by the author, 2022 d) cross vaults: shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 cross vaults are composed of two intersecting vaults, referred to as "cruciform" by orientalists. while cylindrical vaults were used in passages and corridors, regular cross vaults were used to cover some "iwans" (semi-open spaces, closed from the top, open from the side) in various ancient buildings. in these cases, if the chamber covered by the intersecting cross vault had a rectangular shape, the horizontal plan of the intersection lines of its half-vaults would be composed of straight lines (rizk, 2000, p. 235). it was extensively used during the ottoman era and was named so because the arch contains branches or legs at each knee (qawasmi, 2016, p. 59). voussoir stones were used in such a way that these stones would rise from the knees or piers in an arch shape until reaching the closing stone, which is the last stone placed in the ceiling. cement and steel were used as primary materials in these joints. fired clay was also used in the binding material to reduce loads on the joints. figure 7: represents the plan and section of the layers used in the process of establishing the vault in a traditional dwelling. (drawing by author 2023) e) cement roofs with steel i-beams: the upper-floor ceilings were constructed using cement and structural steel i-beams, a technology that emerged during the british mandate period in palestine between 1932 and 1965 (carabelli, 2019, p. 31). this period marked the evident influence of british architecture on the local architectural landscape, whereas, in the early stages of colonization, local architecture was influenced by late ottoman architectural styles (dandis, 2018, p. 167). the structural system initially relied on the use of iron beams and concrete to efficiently distribute and transfer loads from the roof to the supporting walls (qawasmi, p. 62). these roofs were used for both upper-floor ceilings and to create distinct balconies. the process involved installing beams along the shorter spans, followed by pouring concrete between them in a curved arch shape to distribute and transfer loads to the beams and the supporting walls. afterward, the concrete surface was smoothed, and the lower parts of the beams were painted. this shift led to a reduction in the use of bricks as the primary building material and the widespread adoption of concrete. figure 8: image of the construction of structural steel i-beams (drawing and photo taken by the author 2023) f)"the taṣwīnah” from al-kayzan: the rooftops of residential buildings were used to raise the surrounding wall of the building, as well as for ventilation, air renewal, and ensuring privacy for women when they needed to go up to the roof to carry out daily tasks such as hanging laundry, drying vegetables and fruits, and other household chores. this allowed them to see the street without being exposed to passersby (al-hajj, r. via telephone, 2020). they were also used in the ceilings of public bathrooms shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 9 to allow for natural light and ventilation. some of them were covered with colored glass to introduce light. they were predominantly used in residential buildings, where they were covered with a latticed screen on the rooftop to provide privacy for the central courtyard. figure 7 figure 9: image of the al-kayzan: (photo taken by the author 2023) 2.3. stages of construction and methods of traditional housing the first stage is the preparatory: which includes everything related to the first preparation for the construction process, including the preparation of the site, the builders, and the " al-karistah. the stages of building a traditional house can be divided into five stages as follows: preparing site: this is done by following the next steps: a) the first step is to contact the builder or the construction master to determine the work steps in the dwelling. the process of stone construction involves several skilled workers, including "al-hajjar" (stonecutter) and "an-naqash" (stone engraver). the actual construction is carried out by "al-banna" (mason) with the assistance of "al-fa'ila" (laborers). "al-qanawati" (water carriers) bring water to the construction site, while "al-muballit" (tiler) is responsible for the flooring works, and so on. in palestine, there were talented builders known as al-hajjar, al-banna, and an-naqash. the building master "al-banna" mason or (muealim albina') assigned to build the dwelling. figure 9. shows ratib abu haikal, one of the most famous building teachers in the old city of hebron the opinion of the construction master is taken in the technical aspects of the work (hamdan 1996. 602). b) marking the foundation to start excavating. c) inventory of the quantity and types of stones and their preparation in advance at the site to be built in. d) determining the number of materials required to start the construction process. note: it should be noted that the architectural details in the ancient era were not done by plans but during the stages of determining the construction on the land by the owners of the land or the building master, before starting the construction process. procuring building materials: procuring building materials involves the preparation of stones as requested by the designated builder (hamdan, 1996, p. 602). these stones are sourced from various locations and transported using camels or donkeys (amiry, 2017, p. 148). the stones are prepared by cutting and trimming, a process often overseen by skilled craftsmen. trimming may even occur on-site, where different types of stones are sorted and cut according to the specific requirements and approved measurements. it's noteworthy that high-quality, polished stones are typically used for the exterior facades, while irregular stones find application in the interior (amiry, 2017, p. 148). additionally, materials such as "shaid" (lime plaster), clay, sand, and the specific wood used in construction and for making the"al-tawbar" trusses are also prepared. all these materials play a vital role in the construction process (hamdan, 1996, p. 602) shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 10 trimmed stones. sculpted stones irregular stones fieldstones figure 10: illustrates the types of stones used in the construction of houses in palestinian vernacular architecture (drawing and photo taken by the author 2023) the preparation of the brick kit: preparing the tools for rubble construction: the preparation includes gathering the necessary construction tools and equipment for its completion. these tools consist of the "shakoush," which is used for pounding and shaping. it has one end for driving nails and the other end for removing them. additionally, nails and screws, and tools with a long handle are used for disassembling the rubble. there's also a measuring line and the "alum" used for arches. various measuring tools are used, including the commonly recognized meter (hamdan 1996, 618). preparing the necessary means for transporting building materials to the site and facilitating workers' access to all construction sites: adequate means for material lifting are prepared, utilizing ladders and scaffolding. a well is also prepared, typically dug a year before construction, for future use by the inhabitants, as well as the preparation of the "qurb" (a goatskin bag used for water transportation) (amiry 2017, 148). figure 11: this image dates to the early 1970s when construction was carried out by one of the most famous builders in the city of hebron, rabieh abu hikal with his tools( source hirschfeld, yizhar.1995) marking building lines (threads, bulbs, and others): the designation threads are necessary to define straight lines for construction and to determine the exact location of the building, and this is done by what is said to determine the baseline on the ground so that the angles are right. corresponding to determine the length of the side of the facade of the walls. the second stage is foundations, which include: foundation preparation: the width of the foundation typically ranges from 80-120 cm, depending on the building's size and the nature of the ground. in most cases, the foundation width is around 1 meter, except for large buildings. this is to ensure it can support the weight of the structure. excavating foundations: the cost of excavating the foundation is usually borne by the building owner. workers are hired either on wages or by labor exchange. if the building owners are from a lower-income background, their family members, relatives, neighbors, women, and children may also participate in the excavation process (hamdan, 1996, p. 605). when excavation begins, the depth of the foundation depends on the site and soil type. in cases of soft or rocky ground, the foundation may need to reach the bedrock for added strength (amiry, 2017, p. 148). workers involved in excavation gradually remove the soil and shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 11 fill baskets with it (a basket made of leather with handles used for transporting soil and other materials). the depth of the foundation is determined by the nature of the soil, and sometimes, construction continues until bedrock is reached for added structural stability (hamdan, 1996, p. 606). foundation reinforcement: the foundation floor is covered with sand to prevent moisture penetration. depending on its hardness, the ground is treated by applying a layer of zibar, a mixture made from olive residue after oil extraction, lime, sand, fiber threads, and water, which is then thoroughly compacted. additionally, sand is applied, and sometimes tree branches are added to bind the materials together. building foundations: the foundation is filled with crushed stones (dabbash) and clay, thoroughly compacted, and then the wall is constructed on top of it. in cases where the rocky ground is weak, reinforcement is added, or the foundation is made thicker than the wall itself (al-ja'bah, 2007, p. 48). refer to figure 11 and the symbols (a), (b), and (c) to see the various types of foundations used in the construction process, including handcrafted and sun-dried mud bricks, which are shaped to bear the loads placed upon them. this phase encompasses foundation preparation, excavation, reinforcement, and construction. different foundation types are employed, including handmade and sun-dried mud bricks, which are designed with concave shapes to withstand the loads they carry (al-ja'bah, 2007, p. 48). figure. 12: the foundations of the walls of residential buildings the third stage is building walls, the external walls are constructed using regular stones, usually by skilled masons, while the internal walls are built with irregular stones, either by laborers or by the building owners (amiry, suad. 2017, p. 148). the width of the walls, as mentioned earlier, typically ranges from 80 to 120 centimeters. several factors determine the thickness of the wall, including: building materials used (stone, bricks, etc.), their size, shape, and stability. quality and strength of the mortar used. the load on the wall, including the weight of the wall itself and anything placed upon it (roof, upper floors, etc.). construction methods or techniques, and the precision of wall construction. external surface forces, especially wind. the architectural form of the wall, its length, and its location within the building, including angles, connected ceilings... etc. filling the gap between walls: the gap between the walls is filled with excavated earth mixed with small stones, and the resulting gap between the rows is filled with small stones, clay, and mortar. additionally, a horizontal stone is placed between the inner and outer rows (see figure 11), and voids are created between the walls to make wall niches (al-ja'bah, 2007, p. 29). when construction reaches a certain stage, various openings are created, including doors, windows, or skylights. additionally, arches are constructed within the impermeable walls, serving as storage niches. in the kitchen wall, a structure known as "al-wajaq" is built, which is an arch that terminates with a chimney extending through the roof. particular attention is paid to the selection of stones shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 12 used in this opening, focusing on their strength and refinement, with the best types of stones chosen for this purpose. furthermore, gaps are often integrated into the walls, some of which are made of pottery, for storing grains. these gaps also include channels that extend from the surface to the well, serving the purpose of draining rainwater or transporting smoke from "al-wajaq" to the exterior (al-qawasmi .53). (a) (b) figure. 13: types of walls, a wall with two equal-shaped stone faces, the outer face of regular polished stones, and inside, small, irregular stones. (drawing by author 2023) the construction of the vault is established at the four corners to support the arches and is often built simultaneously with the construction of the walls. there are different types of vaults, some starting from the foundation, while others have lateral bends. the construction of these vaults depends on the size and height of the arch. in the case of small arches measuring 3x3 meters, the height is less than 5 meters, and they begin at a height of approximately 1 meter from the architectural void floor. the corners are elevated above the ground. subsequently, robust stone vaults are constructed at the corners of the room to serve as the main supports for transferring loads to the foundations. the vault may start from the architectural void floor (al-ja'bah, 2007, p. 29). the creation of arches in walls involves constructing the four walls in an arched shape. architectural openings such as doors and windows are crafted by the builder (amiry, 2017, p. 148). this process is referred to as "tahleel," where the crescent shape is formed at the top. it's named "tahleel" because the interior of the wall takes the form of an arch resembling a crescent (see figure 13). these arches are created in various dimensions, with some reaching up to 25x50 centimeters, along with other openings determined by the builder (hamdan, 1996, p. 615). the fourth stage is the vault work, which consists of: preparation of the wooden truss structure: after preparing the truss, which consists of a wooden framework to support the piers or the dwelling's roofs, a process known as "tasteev" is carried out. this involves placing the wooden beams and arranging them in the roof structure. these wooden beams are robust and well-reinforced (hamdan, 1996, p. 616). the installation of the beams starts with the creation of the "arousah," which is considered the most important piece of the truss. it consists of a wooden post positioned vertically at the intersection point of the arches. its dimensions vary depending on the intended purpose, ranging from 3-5 meters in length and 20-25 centimeters in width. the "arousah" is supported by inclined and horizontal wooden supports to secure it in place (hamdan, 1996, p. 616), as shown in figure 14. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 13 figure 14: represents ("tahleel") in the walls bearing the vault. (drawing by author 2020) roof structure reinforcement: in this stage, wooden supports are created, extending from the "arousah" to the walls' sides. these supports are called "al-maddad" and are reinforced with various-sized wooden struts. they are placed within "taqaat" prepared in the wall's crescents. additionally, horizontal reinforcement, known as "al-maddad," is implemented, varying in width. from below, wooden pieces extending from the "al arousah" to the sides provide further support. wooden beams, called "al-jahsh," are prepared to serve as support during construction (hamdan, 1996, pp. 616-617), as depicted in figure 14. covering the truss: in this stage, the truss is covered with different materials. olive branches, (amiry 2017, p. 148), grapevines (al-ja'bah, 2007, p. 50), straw, and tree leaves (hamdan, 1996, p. 617) are used for this purpose. terracotta fragments may also be placed to reduce the load on the truss (alja'bah, 2007, p. 50). these materials are secured in place with adhesive substances, often composed of mud and water. firebricks may be added to the covering, constructed over arches, and secured with adhesive materials like mud and water (see figure 11). limestone is used for its heat resistance, as it is lighter than other types of stones (amiry, 2017, p. 148), as shown in figure 15. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 14 figure 15: represents the plan and section of the layers used in the process of establishing the vault in a traditional dwelling. (drawing by author 2023) vault construction process: preparation for this stage involves labor and materials. the process is carried out collectively, with teams assigned to prepare the clay mixture (al-jabal) and another team to pour the mud bricks (al-jablah). the builder starts by arranging the "aqad" or irregularly cut stone (riash"), used in the construction of the vault before the "qasharah" plaster (a mixture of equal parts of stone powder, lime, and ashes process. these stones are carefully placed in a tightly bonded arrangement with a layer of mud to ensure the cohesion and strengthening of the vault. this process is an essential part of traditional construction techniques and contributes to the strength and stability of the vault, followed by the placement of stones with mud, creating a tightly bonded layer with the mud. care must be taken to ensure that the gaps between the reeds are filled with mud. the builder continues to construct the vault's layers until it reaches the top of the vault figure (15) represents. closure installation: this is the area where the reinforced vault arches intersect, and it marks the closure of the vault. there are various methods for closing the closure, including the use of a "sahn qashani" (hamdan, 1996, p. 625), which was commonly used during the ottoman period. the open side of the "sahn" is oriented downwards. it serves both aesthetic and functional purposes. once the closure installation is completed, it signifies the completion of the vault. truss dismantling: the process of dismantling the truss occurs after ensuring that the mud within the vault has dried to ensure the vault's strength and cohesion. this process may take 25-30 days in summer. dismantling the supports is done gradually, with the main support being the "arousa". (alja'ba. 2007) remaining until the final stage of dismantling to ensure the strength and cohesion of the vault (see figure 17). afterward, cleaning is carried out to prepare for finishing touches such as "qasharah" lime mortar was used as a binding material between the soft stone (alriash) and for plastering the ceilings and walls. it is worth noting the presence of some decorations in the large room's vaults on the first floor, with the intersections of the four vaults forming an inverted dish shape.) al-ja'ba. 2007) if the interior walls are made of stones that do not require "qasharah," (see figure 14.15). kohla’castle of old building stones is a traditional technique used to enhance the appearance of stones in historic structures and give them a clean, uniform look. this process involves several steps (hamdan, 1996, p. 627) figure 16: shows the final shape of the vault after the decoding of the bricks (rehabilitation comity in hebron 2020) figure.17: final finishing of the internal and external walls and ‘kohla’ and their types of wall stone (hard stones for the outer courses, and soft stone for the inner courses (drawing by the author 2023) flooring work: after completing the roof construction, attention is directed toward the floors, which are cleaned of impurities before laying the flooring material. "al-muballit" (tiler) is responsible for flooring works. the types of flooring used in traditional houses in hebron varied. "qasara" or "mudah" floors were commonly found, typically used in kitchens or shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 15 rooms. these floors were made by spreading mud or lime mortar, and they were popular due to their relatively low cost (ahmad, 2008, 86). stone tiles, a common choice for interior finishing, involve the meticulous arrangement of individual stone units on the floor, seamlessly integrating them into the overall flooring. these units are carefully placed and securely affixed to the ground using stones or similar materials, often bound together with adhesive. hebron's builders displayed remarkable craftsmanship in crafting a variety of tiles designed for house flooring (rizq, 2000, 27). throughout different historical periods in hebron, distinct flooring patterns gained popularity within its houses. one prevalent style featured rectangular stone flooring, meticulously cut from stones of a uniform color. the thickness of these stones varied, with larger pieces typically being thicker. they were typically placed atop a substantial layer of densely compacted soft soil known as "munah." these stones boasted a straightforward shape and found common usage in paving courtyards, passageways, and occasionally alcoves (ahmad, 2008, p. 86). another flooring option consisted of ceramic tiles crafted from clay or clay-like materials. these tiles underwent a firing process to transform into pottery, subsequently receiving a glass layer before undergoing a second firing process to achieve a porcelain finish. important note: it was noted that in the case of installation of a second floor above the vault, the spaces that form the dome from above are filled with dirt, stones, ‘al-sheed’, water, and other filling materials to make a bench in the upper layers, and other domes are made. in this case, it must be ensured that the dome bears the other layers in terms of wall thickness (malya arabic word means wall) and the materials used in the construction process and that the upper surface is established to be the roof of the second floor, where tiles and other types of floors can be installed. figure. 15 shows a section between the two floors. figure. 16 sections of the load-bearing walls support the jack-vault superstructures, showcasing traditional construction methods in detail. (drawing by author 2020) 3. conclusions and recommendations the study of traditional buildings and their history is essential for their preservation and continuation for future generations. it provides additional information to bridge the gap resulting from the scarcity of historical sources in this field. this source serves as an analytical tool and study of the history of traditional buildings. the subject of traditional housing requires further research to improve its understanding, focusing on all aspects of construction, architecture, and interior design, which play a vital role in the preservation and development of these dwellings. studying and analyzing residential buildings comprehensively, following scientific approaches, can help find solutions to all the problems and obstacles that hinder the preservation of their structural, constructional, and aesthetic elements without compromising their inherent beauty. this can be achieved by following these steps: shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 16 conduct a historical study of the building and gather all the information that helps understand its cultural significance. study the building materials and loading methods specific to residential buildings. if traditional building materials are not available, new materials can be used in a way that does not harm or diminish the building's value, importance, or structural integrity. study the architectural elements and create plans to understand the residential building. conduct an in-depth study of the aesthetic components and preserve these from distortion and alteration. pay attention to the structural and architectural aspects of traditional residential buildings and building materials by raising awareness about the importance of preserving these buildings. this can be achieved by raising residential buildings and creating engineering plans that study the spatial arrangement, entrances, rooms, and courtyards to document them. architectural plans should also be created to study the spaces and components of residential buildings, including precise and studied measurements, as well as sections and facades. structural plans should be developed to study the loads specific to residential buildings and identify areas that need reinforcement to ensure their preservation and prevent collapse. historical studies should also be conducted to understand the timeline of residential buildings' construction in order to properly preserve their historical structure. support scientific and academic research focused on ancient residential buildings to increase awareness and attention to these dwellings and their occupants. this can be done by dedicating more advanced studies to research the general evolution of housing, specifically the old town's residences. these studies are of great importance to academic researchers and those interested in cultural, civilizational, and interior design components. field studies and documentation of residential buildings should be conducted to develop engineering and design solutions for the problems they face. acknowledgments in conclusion, a big thank you to everyone who had a clear impact on this paper, and this important study on furniture in traditional dwellings, especially to the ladies and gentlemen who live in traditional homes, the engineers, and the hebron reconstruction committee for the effective cooperation in writing and collecting information. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references ahmed, tareq dawood. (2008). "analysis of architectural styles of residential buildings in palestine during the ottoman period: a case study of nablus city." master's thesis. published study. an-najah university. al-asadi, khair al-din. kamal, mohammed (february 1983). encyclopedia of aleppo comparative study and analysis. volume/issue: volume 21, issue 25. publisher, ministry of culture. syria. abuarkub mumen and faiq. m. s zwainy. al (september 2018) architectural and historical development in palestine". international journal of civil engineering and technology (ijciet), volume 9, issue 9. abuarkub, mumen. )2018 ("architectural and decorative elements in traditional palestinian houses." new design ideas, vol. 2, no. 2, 2018, pp. 97-117. january. abdelhadi, mohamed. "conservation and restoration science." (2008) unpublished lectures. jerusalem, palestine. university of jerusalem. institute of archaeology. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 17 al-hayek, mondher. (2012). "mohammed maki bin abdul baqi al-khanqah: daily events in homs, 1100-1136 ah/1688-1723 ad." publisher: safahat for studies, publishing, and distribution. damascus. al-ja'ba, nazmi et al. (2007). "al-khalil al-qadima: the charm of a city and historical architecture." printed in palestine. al-qawasmi, khaled, et al. hebron rehabilitation committee. 2016. comprehensive guide for the restoration of historic buildings. palestine. abu ganima ali, mufeed hadad, and abdelsalam al-shbool .(2013) .reviving islamic architectural heritage in jordan: a case study of courtyard usage in residential buildings.the jordanian journal of islamic studies. volume ninth. issue 3. abu-hilal, ashraf. (february 2009). "the changing architectural style realized in the palestinian domestic vernacular architecture during the end of 19th / beginning of 20th centuries case study from hebron." volume i. phd thesis, middle east technical university. el-masry, majd najdi naji. "evaluating restoration methods and techniques in palestine: a case study of nablus" (2010). master's thesis, annajah national university, graduate studies college. hariri, majdi abdul rahman. (1991). "the dwelling in islamic architecture: courtyard of the house and aspiration towards the sky." first edition, march publisher, author's address: mansour street, p.o. box 899, mecca, saudi arabia. hariri, majdi abdul rahman. (1989). "principles of dwelling design in islamic architecture." first edition, march publisher, author's address: mansour street, p.o. box 899, mecca, saudi arabia. distributed by saudi distribution company. hassan, noubi. (2003). "principles of architectural design for buildings with inner courtyards." journal of king saud university, architecture, and planning branch, volume 5, riyadh. hirschfeld, yizhar. (1995). "the palestinian dwelling in the roman-byzantine period franciscan printing press-israel exploration society. intermediate dictionary. osman, mohamed abdel sattar. (august 1988). "the islamic city." cultural books series, monthly cultural, arts, and literature council of kuwait. rizk, asim muhammad. (2000). "glossary of architecture and islamic arts terminology." madbouli library, first edition. 6 talat harb square, egypt. carabelli, romeo. )2019("architecture and ways of living: traditional and modern palestinian villages and cities." phd in geography. research engineer at the mixed research unit citeres (cnrs and university of tours – france), suad, amiry. (2017). "peasant architecture in palestine space kinship and gender." riwaq. torroja, eduardo. (1962). philosophy of structure. berkeley and los angeles: university of california press, december. "origin of the language blog" (11/3/2011) [url: http://3ala9ldawar.blogspot.com]. hebron reconstruction committee (2011) wafa agency https://info.wafa.ps/ar_page.aspx?id=10802. dweik .ghassan j.( september 2014). urban heritage and its role in the development of the tourism of two cities – hebron and bethlehem, palestine. conference paper wit transactions on ecology and the environment, vol 191, www.witpress.com, issn 1743-3541 appendix a. glossary architectural terminology mentioned in the study: "al-tawbar": a wooden structure used to support the roof beams or ceilings of the dwelling. the process of installing these wooden beams is called "tastiif." these beams are strong and well-reinforced (hamdan, 1996, p. 616). "al-karistah": it refers to the tools and materials used in the construction process. "al-qasramil,": is a traditional building material used in constructing traditional buildings in hebron, and other palestinian regions. it is a mixture of ash and lime, used as a binding material between the layers of walls or in plasterwork. the term "qasramil" is derived from the arabic word "qasr," which means what remains in the sieve of the waste ash, collected from the chimneys of the public baths. (al-asadi, 1983.p.211). it is a natural form of plaster that is created by combining the ash, often collected from the chimneys of public baths, with lime. this mixture is then used as a binding material to connect the layers of walls or in plasterwork. (al-ja'ba, 2007, p. 47) . this material is distinctive for its high calcium content and clay-like consistency, making it ideal for covering walls and ceilings in traditional buildings. it is mixed with water to form a paste and is then applied to provide the final appearance and appropriate finish. the use of qasramil is a part of the traditional building practices in the region and reflects the traditional palestinian architectural heritage. "zibar mixture": it is a mixture made from the remnants of olives after pressing. "al-kayzan" is a term used in traditional palestinian architecture. the singular form is "koz," and a "koz" is a container, typically made of pottery or other materials, with a handle, which is used for drinking from or pouring liquids. the pottery vessel is usually around 20-30 cm in height and has a diameter of about 10 cm. it was used for various purposes, including reducing the weight of the roof, as found on the upper parts of buildings https://info.wafa.ps/ar_page.aspx?id=10802 shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 18 surrounding the building's roof. additionally, it served for ventilation and the intake of air. source: al-mu'jam al-wasit dictionary ."al-shaid" also known as "gypsum" lime serves as an alternative to cement and is used in various applications. it is used for bonding stones together and in foundation casting. additionally, it is utilized in plastering and basic construction works (hamdan, 1996, p. 513). "al-arousa": a crucial component of the wooden structure. it is a vertical wooden leg placed at the intersection point of arches. its dimensions vary depending on the size of the intended roof, with a length ranging from 3 to 5 meters and a width of 20 to 25 cm. the "al-arousa" is supported by inclined and leveled wooden supports to stabilize it (hamdan, 1996, p. 616). “al-qaffa” is a leather pouch with two handles used to transport dirt and other. "al-rukub": al-rakab is the corner support that caresses the roof. they are established in the four corners and are constructed simultaneously with the walls. there are different types of al-rakab, some starting from the foundation, while others have side projections. the construction of these al-rakab depends on the size and height of the roof. for smaller roofs with dimensions of around 3x3 meters and a height of fewer than 5 meters, the alrakab begins at a height of approximately 1 meter from the floor level of the architectural space, and the corners are elevated above the ground. "al-fanah" (courtyard): the courtyard is defined as an open space surrounded by walls. some courtyards have areas for planting trees and plants, and some may have a water fountain. the courtyard can be enclosed by four walls or three. note: please note that the translations provided here are approximate, as the terms mentioned may have specific cultural or historical connotations that may not have direct equivalents in english http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 75 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i1.735 storm water sustainable solutions in new cairo using landscape elements omar alshnawi1, germin el-gohary2, sherouk mohamed3 1 student at the architecture department british university in egypt. 2 professor at urban planning and design department faculty of engineering ain shams university/ current the british university in egypt. 3 teacher assistant at the architecture department british university in egypt. abstract sustainability is one of the most important requirements and standards that is taken into consideration when establishing or developing a project. it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to urban planning and study. this involves a structured form of the city and the establishment of its own cities, connecting them with different communities, providing all social and economic services for the population as well as improving the performance of the city in accordance with international standards of urban planning. storm water is the water that remains after rain, melted snow or floods. the effects of storm water is devastating on the environment, the economy and the social environment, especially in cities. in new cairo, this problem is still ongoing with no implemented solution and receiving insufficient attention. new cairo has faced the risk of flooding and major traffic disruptions in most of its main roads in 2018. in this research, an attempt is made to arrive at a merger between the elements of the landscape and the infrastructure to find sustainable solutions. this solution can limit or prevent the existence of storm water problems and discusses the possibility of developing existing cities that have problems. this will be done through analysis, study of the problem, analysis of the case study and the soil, study the elements of the landscape. take in consideration that the data is up to date and the solution is possible to implement to solve the problem. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords storm water, landscape elements, planning new cities, effect of the landscape. 1. introduction since ancient times, humanity has faced problems caused by stormwater, such as precipitation, thawing or flood. the combination of this water affects the lives of people negatively when not dealt with well. humans have long since begun to develop ways to get rid of this water efficiently and have now come to reuse it for useful purposes and not merely reduce its damage. 1.1. stormwater background stormwater management has a long history and a number of ancient drains still exist today, such as the cloaca maxima in rome, dated at around 600 bce. (mohan, 2019). http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 76 for the greater part of the historical backdrop of urban drainage, stormwater and waste water have been managed together and have been jointly considered a hazard to be removed from urban centers as quickly as possible to reduce flood risk. underground stormwater pipe networks were common to most cities in europe and north america and were constructed in the mid-19th century, following rapid urbanization due to the industrial revolution. (niwa, 2018). fig.1: historical stormwater management. (atlas obscura, 2018) 1.2. city’s background when old cities get crowded with people, it is inevitable for the situation to escalate. the country moves to plan and identify new cities that meet the current needs of the people and predict problems that cities can face in the future, in order to implement solutions in the proper planning from the beginning. fig. 2: madinty streets. (madinty.com,2018) alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 77 new cairo city is located in the eastern part of cairo governorate and was established by presidential decree no. (191) in the year 2000 on an area of 70 thousand acres. it contains the areas (the fifth assembly the first assembly – the third assembly al rehab – madinaty – el-sherouk city) and these cities are considered the newest cities established on egyptian land. (cambanis, 2010) fig. 3: madinty entrance fountains. (madinty.com,2018) new cairo city is surrounded by a network of main roads; suez road, ring road, katameya road, ein el sokhna, the regional ring, and al mashir axis, that provide easy access from the city to the rest of cairo. (new cities government of egypt, 2016) the state was seeking good futuristic planning for these cities; meeting the current needs of people, taking inconsideration the increase of the population density and the varying social classes. part of this plan was for these new cities to be sustainable, which means minimizing the negative environmental impacts and best use of the materials, energy and the ecosystem at large. this would provide a high quality of life along with the lowest environmental footprint, whilst ensuring that the needs of future generations are not compromised. (baharash, 2018) the nature and geography of these new cities are characterized by large areas, planning was characterized by large green spaces and wide ways are supposed to meet the purpose. fig.4: madinty streets. (madinty.com,2018) alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 78 2. problem statement due to ongoing climate change, the rain map had shifted to different countries and, specifically in egypt, new cities suffer from poor planning for that regard. despite the amount of money that was spent on them, no precautions were implemented to prepare these cities to face the problems of rain, floods or other natural disasters that have increased with the climate crisis. on october 7th and 8th of 1994, the governorates of assiut, sohag and qena were hit by torrential floods that swept through a large number of houses and archaeological sites as a result, more than 15,000 houses were destroyed and 250,000 agricultural acres were drowned along with over 500 people dead in upper egypt alone. the reasoning for this was down to poor planning in the placement of homes and facilities in flood surges. fig. 5: sinking of mall. (masrawy.com, 2018) most recently, new cairo has faced the risk of flooding and major traffic disruptions in most of its main roads in 2018, that proved defects in planning as well as defects in the maintenance work and non observance of the standards. fig. 6: sinking of main street. (masrawy.com, 2018) alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 79 fig.7: a high level of water. (masrawy.com, 2018) fig.8: sinking cars and homes. (masrawy.com, 2018) this problem has had a negative impact on the economy, the environment, and the society of new cairo. economically, the sinking of the streets was a reason to disrupt the traffic, a large number of sidewalks were alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 80 destroyed, which led to the closure of many shops and commercial malls, causing large financial losses as well as damaging many facilities and cars. the high level of water caused the sinking of many basements and damaged many electricity wires. losses are highly valued. environmental wise, a large part of the landscape components were damaged and water could be polluted. the increase in the water level led to the destruction of some of the infrastructure pipes, electric lines and others. and finally socially, people were diasabled from their work, many suffered financial damage. the crisis prevented people from leaving their homes which had psychological consequences. 3. conclusion in conclusion, stormwater is an issue that has existed for a long time and climate change has made the problem even bigger overtime. the total paralysis that hit new cairo in 2018 after the rain and the gathering of water was a dangerous warning, as the city has not exceeded the age of 18 years. there is a fundamental importance and great use for landscape elements to raise the performance of cities in order to tackle stormwater. by gathering data, information and analysis for case studies, this paper aims to find a sustainable solution to this problem. 4. storm water climate is the overall weather in an area for a long period of time. scientists describe the state of the climate on the basis of monthly and annual averages of temperature and fall. it includes rainfall, snow and other forms of moisture falling on the ground. they also describe changes in it from year to year and cause wet periods and dry periods. the weather may change from day to day, and the day may be stormy and cold while the next is bright and warm. to determine the climate in a particular area, scientists rely on the study of daily weather conditions for a long time to take several years. each area on the earth's surface, however shrinking, has its own climate. differing countries may share a similar climate, and the climate may also vary between a high mountainous area and a low adjacent area. climate change is one of the major challenges of our time, adding great stress to our societies and environment. the global impacts of climate change are vast and unprecedented in magnitude, from changing weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic floods. adapting to these impacts will be more difficult and costly in the future if radical action is not taken immediately. (un.org, 2018) recently, scientists have related climate change to the rise in anthropogenic activity of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. it is the prevailing state of the atmosphere in an area for a certain period of time and there are many reasons for the phenomenon of climate change like; pollution of land, air and sea; human activities such as cutting forests and burning trees; volcanic eruptions and large industrial development as a result of the increasing number of factories. so the resultant is that the map of the world changes in parallel to it and therefore countries change their priorities and plans, as well as their vision and preparations. stormwater is considered one of the most dangerous environmental reactions to this phenomenon. it is water that arises during natural events, in which humans do not intervene directly such as precipitation, snow, ice melt or flood. in addition to the strong storms that may cause the destruction of cities at a time. it will be clarified as a result of rainfall, stages of its formation and factors affecting it. (un.org, 2018) 4.1. stages of rain formation • the high temperature: of the sun together with the movement of air near the water's surface, which evaporates and rises up in the form of gas atoms. spaces between the air carry a number of atoms of water near its surface and lifted due to its lightweight. • the formation of the clouds: as soon as water vapour and water atoms rise up to the sky, they gather around the dust particles and steamed salts forming clouds. • rain phase: clouds condense around each other increasing its weight clearly, so that the density of combined water atoms is greater than the density of the air allowing it to fall to the ground as rain. alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 81 4.2. types of rain • convectional rainfall: occurs with warm moist air being heated from the ground surface. as a result of heating of the surface air, the air expands and forced to rise to great heights. as the air rises, it cools and becomes saturated and dew point temperature (the temperature at which water vapor in the air condenses (gas-liquid) is attained and then clouds will form. by further cooling, precipitation takes place. it needs intense heating of the surface which causes the air to expand and rise and an abundant supply of moisture in the air to produce a very high relative humidity. turbulence in the atmosphere and obstructions like mountains, provide the inciting upward push for the air. this type of rainfall can happen throughout the year in areas near the equator daily, typically during the afternoon. in middle latitudes, convectional rainfall occurs in early summer, in continental interiors. • cyclonic/frontal rainfall: a type of precipitation linked to cyclonic activity and occurs along the frontal zone (front is a narrow zone of transition, dividing two air masses of differing temperature and humidity characteristics, intersecting the earth's surface. fronts are most clearly developed in areas where are masses converge) of convergence particularly at the itcz (inter tropical convergence zone) and at the polar fronts. in a zone of horizontal wind divergence, the warm air forced up over the colder air. in this slow ascend pressure decreases, air expands and cools, condensation and cooling produce a precipitation. • orographic/relief rainfall: when large mass of air is forced to rise across landform barriers, such as high mountain ranges, plateaus, escarpment. the leeward side of such mountain barrier where the air is ascending and warming are characteristically drier are called rain shadow region. it's most common on the windward slopes of the mountain where the on-shore moisture laden-winds come from sea. the ideal condition for heavy orographic rainfall is a high relatively continuous mountain frontier (boundary) close to the coast and the winds from off a warm ocean meet the barrier at right angles. 4.3. factors affecting the rain process • wind direction, the wind direction plays an important role in determining the amount of rain carried by clouds. if the wind moves from the sea and ocean areas to the land areas, it is loaded with large amounts of steam and water atoms, which helps in forming clouds and rain and vice versa. • temperature, high temperatures on water bodies help raise water evaporation rate and load air with water droplets, which fall in the form of rain in their destination areas, and vice versa. • geographic location, the areas near the water bodies are more likely to have rainfalls, and areas far from the water bodies are experiencing less rainfall. • the mountains and highlands, have a greater chance of precipitation on the plains and valleys, where the mountains act as a barrier to prevent the passage of rain-laden winds into those areas. 5. storm water in egypt the climate in egypt is generally a desert climate; hot dry summers with moderate rainy winters. the prevailing winds towards the mediterranean are constantly blowing over the northern coast without any obstruction of a mountain range. these winds make temperatures moderate throughout the year. due to climate change over time, every 10 years the temperature increases by 3 to 5 degrees in summer and decreases by 3 to 5 degrees in winter. although temperatures are moderate along the coasts, the situation in the interior of the country is far from moderate northern winds and is currently changing. in the more southern parts of egypt, daytime temperatures are generally hotter, especially in the summer where temperatures can rise above 40 celsius (104 fahrenheit) in cities such as aswan, luxor, assiut and sohag. some mountainous sites in sinai, such as st. catherine, have cold night temperatures due to high altitudes. every year, sometime in march to may, very hot, dry and dusty winds blow from the south or south-west. these winds are called the “pentagons”. when dry winds blow continuously across the vast desert region, they pick up soft alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 82 sand and dust particles that ultimately lead to the dusty winds that generally appear in the desert suburbs. as soon as these winds blow over egypt, the temperature rises temporarily to dangerous levels, usually more than 45 celsius (113 fahrenheit) with relative humidity levels that fall below 5%. the precipitates cause sudden early heat waves and the absolute highest temperature records in egypt. 5.1. in cairo the capital of egypt, cairo is 110 miles (180 kilometer) away from the sea and it is located at the boundaries of the huge nile delta. cairo’s climate is considered a transitional one, between the desert and the mediterranean climate. therefore, the summer temperature is higher than the coast line, but lower than that of the desert area. the highs are around 95f (35 c) in august and july with a high degree of moisture, which can be stifling. in summer the maximum temperature rises above 82 f (30 c) in the time interval from may till the middle of october. the “urban heat island effect” increases the obnoxious sensation of heat in the city. the “urban heat island effect” can be created in big cities and by pollution. table 1. cairo average temperatures cairo average temperatures month jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec min (°c) 9 10 12 15 18 20 22 22 21 17 14 10 max (°c) 19 20 24 28 32 34 35 34 33 29 25 20 min (°f) 48 50 54 59 64 68 72 72 70 63 57 50 max (°f) 66 68 75 82 90 93 95 93 91 84 77 68 in cairo the rainfall is very low, it piles to only 1 in. (25 mm) each year and in the summer rainfall vanishes. in fact, it is essentially a desert from the point of view of rainfall. meanwhile, in winter the climate of cairo is reciprocal to that of the north coast. the highs are around 64/68 f (18/20 c) in the interval between december and february. despite some clouds and cold days that may arise when the northern currents overrule, the sun shines regularly throughout the seasons of the year and it practically shines consistently in the period from spring to autumn. table 2. cairo sunshine cairo sunshine month jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec hours 7 8 9 10 10 12 12 11 10 9 8 6 6. sustainability sustainability is one of the latest topics that bridges social science with civil engineering and environmental science with future technology. it is a broad area in most aspects of the human world from business to technology to the environment and social sciences. the modern world is looking to dramatically reduce carbon emissions, discovering and developing future technologies. sustainability depends on politics, economics, philosophy and other social sciences, as well as hard sciences. sustainability and environmental awareness skills are now priorities in many corporate functions. the most common area is in urban planning and environmental consulting (built and natural environment), agriculture, corporate strategies and health assessment. it focuses on renewable sources of fuel, reducing carbon emissions, protecting the environment in order to maintain the sensitive ecosystems of our planet in balance. it protects our natural environment, our human, ecological health and at the same time stimulates innovation without compromising our way of life. it alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 83 calls for a diverse biological environment, organisms and natural factors that sustain their existence for the longest possible time. it maintains our quality of life by adapting to the environment via exploiting natural resources for the longest possible time to sustain life. (mason, 2019) 6.1. principles of sustainability the application of sustainability in any dynamic environment depends on four principles; • scope of sustainability: is the domain or community in which sustainability is applied at home, and its existence is usually associated with a combination of social, economic and environmental factors that together constitute full support for sustainability across all its components. • consumption: the rate of utilization of natural ingredients that are an important catalyst for the sustainability of living organisms, and the higher the consumption rate, the more sustainable the life, and vice versa. • resources: all natural and industrial resources that contribute to sustaining sustainability. when resources are adequate and appropriate to the number of living organisms, this will help sustain their life as long as possible. 6.2. sustainability objectives the sustainability scale is a tool that uses a set of numerical scales contributing to the management of sustainability components by relying on an understanding of human knowledge. the sustainability measure measures the nature of sustainability in different forms of life, by providing a set of vital indicators that provide accurate measurements. it helps to implement many biomedical studies related to the concept of sustainability. the most important types of sustainability measures are: population scale, urban scale, urban planning, and other measures. provide a range of solutions to maintain global food ratios. reducing poverty rates and trying to find alternative ways to deal with economic crises that provide equal financial stakes to individuals. ensure that comprehensive, adequate and sustainable education is provided through the emergence of new studies providing ideas for adequate support for sustainability. take advantage of natural, industrial sources of energy to provide reliable materials at affordable prices and within the financial capabilities of people. ensure the provision of a health sector capable of reducing the prevalence of diseases, and provide appropriate remedies to reduce the global health crises. 6.3. green infrastructure green infrastructure is an approach to water management that aims to protect, restore, or recreate the naturally occurring water cycle. it incorporates both the natural environment and engineered systems to provide clean water and conserve ecosystem values. (american rivers, 2019). it is a general culmination of technologies used to reduce surface runoff from causing flooding and dispersing pollutants. it consists of the retention, or provision of a discharge point for rainwater that can be reused or infiltrated into groundwater. it should maintain or replicate the natural hydrological cycle and fit the capacity of the existing infrastructure. (wanielista, 2019) it is also an effort to reduce runoff from rain and snow melts in streets, meadows and other sites and raise water quality. rainwater is absorbed into the soil, the aquifers are eventually filtered and fed into streams or rivers. however, when rainwater strikes heavily, the waterlogged soil creates excess moisture that extends across the surface into storm surges and trenches. these waters often carry debris, chemicals, bacteria, decaying soil and other contaminants, and carry them to streams, rivers, lakes or wetlands. (wanielista, 2019) stormwater management helps in urban, non-resilient surfaces such as paving and ceilings prevent rainfall naturally on the ground. instead, water flows quickly to storm banks, sewage systems and drainage trenches, and can cause flooding, erosion, turbidity, hurricane and sewage flows, and infrastructure damage. stormwater design and "green infrastructure" capture and reuse stormwater to maintain or restore natural water resources. retaining rainwater and removing contaminants is the main objective of rainwater management. the porous back surfaces allow for precipitation, snow in the soil, gray infrastructure such as canals, gutters, storm surges, traditional pipe drainage, and alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 84 blue / green infrastructure that protect or restore or mimic the natural water cycle, all play a role in rainwater management. (eec ; wanielista, 2019). 7. sustainable landscape solutions to manage stormwater 7.1. bioswale in bioswale systems, the water running off from roofs and roads does not flow into the sewers, but is instead led into the bioswale via above-ground gutters and/or ditches. bio-swales can be incorporated into the green infrastructure and can help enhance biodiversity and quality of life. a bioswale is a ditch with vegetation and a porous bottom. fig.9: section scheme of a bioswale when it is dry. (boogaard et al, 2006) fig.10: section scheme of bioswale when it is wet. (boogaard et al, 2006) the top layer contains enhanced soil with plants and the layer underneath is made of gravel, scoria or baked clay pellets that is packed in geotextile. these are materials that have large empty spaces that allow rainwater to drain. the geotextile wrapping the layer prevents it clogging by sludge or roots that may seep through. an infiltration drainpipe is placed below the second layer, in order to stop the bioswale from overflowing during heavy rainfall. overflows are added that are connected directly to the infiltration pipe/drainpipe. rainfall infiltrates into the ground by way of the ditch and the packed layer and should the water rises above the level of the overflow, the water runs through it to the drainpipe. the bioswale’s dimensions should be made to ensure that this occurs no more than once alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 85 every two years. if the drain and the overflow both fill up, the bioswale acts as an above-ground drainage system and leads the water directly to surface water. 7.2. rain garden rain garden are called bioretention facilities, are one of a variety of practices designed to treat polluted stormwater runoff. rain gardens are a designed depressed area in the landscape that store runoff from impervious urban areas like walkways, driveways, roofs,compacted lawn areas and parking lots. fig. 11: rain gardens in university of minnesota. ( minnesota, 2019) 7.3. rain barrels these can contain large amounts of rainwater, thus reducing the damage that can be caused by rain, such as mud accumulation, infrastructure damage and contamination of clean water supplies. and can be covered with drums, leaving a hole in the barrel to allow the rainwater to enter, and can be connected to long hoses of these barrels, these hoses contribute to the transfer of water equally for the irrigation of the garden and plants and trees, especially in the dry classes. (bogaard, 2019) the purpose of the design of rain barrel garden is to help capture rainwater and stop its use for reuse in agricultural land. these gardens are built on low elevation land. the best places to build these gardens are near the houses, about 3 meters from the pipes drainage coming from water gutters connected to the roofs of houses. these farms can be built away from houses. regardless of the surrounding areas, the garden must be built in a lower area than the surrounding areas. these gardens are usually long and narrow. gardens with water quantity which can absorb them after 24 hours of rain, and the types of plants that can be planted in these gardens, plants, shrubs and long-rooted plants that absorb a large amount of water, which gives a wonderful vegetable appearance, and contribute to this method of preserving the plants. (bogaard, 2019) 7.4. wells rainwater can be exploited by constructing dry wells for collecting rainwater. these wells are built in the soil and are around 3 meters below ground. it is poured with a special texture that reduces water permeability in the soil. the idea of these wells is to accumulate a large amount of precipitation, then to penetrate it slowly in the soil, which helps in minimizing the erosion process and helps keep the soil moist. (woods, 2019) 7.5. vertical garden vertical gardens is the name for a technique used to grow plants on a vertically suspended panel using hydroponics. these unique structures can be either stand-alone or wall-related. vertical gardens have been used in ancient civilizations such as in the hanging gardens of babylon. modern vertical gardens can last for decades and give a pop of nature in urban environments. many buildings throughout the country and the world have vertical gardens installed on the outside. many outdoor gardens contain moss, vineyards and other plants often used on vertical gardens installed outdoors. outdoor vertical gardens feature direct natural sunlight that makes them thrive. (ambius, 2018) https://home.howstuffworks.com/rain-barrel.htm alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 86 fig. 12: outdoor vertical garden (gsky, 2019) the external vertical gardens on buildings provide great protection and insulation from temperature, ultraviolet and heavy rain fluctuations. in the summer, outdoor vertical gardens use the process of evaporation to help to cool the surrounding air. the plants that are installed in external walls are chosen by the region's climate. the vertical plants absorb any extra rainwater and reduce its intensity. (ambius, 2018) 7.6. roof garden roof gardens are diverse in their functions, they may be designed to grow production, provide play space, give shade and shelter, or simply be there as a lively, green area. a great advantage of roof gardens is their ability to manage rainfall, making them cleaner while minimizing their amounts and thus relieving the burden on local sewer systems. when the canadians compared surface runoff from an exposed roof to a rooftop garden; the roof garden reduced the runoff by 75 percent in the run time of 45 minutes. although researchers have not measured water quality in runoff, defenders of green roofs and roof gardens claim that rainfall on a bare surface contains many contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (vocs). (lallanilla, 2019). fig. 13: hotel metropolitan 5th floor roof garden, bologna. (gianclaudio, 2016) https://www.hotelmetropolitan.com/blog/en/blog/author/gianclaudio/ alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 87 7.7. porous pavement a porous pavement is designed to allow percolation or infiltration of storm #water through the surface into the soil below, where the water is naturally filtered and pollutants are removed. in contrast normal pavement is an impervious surface that sheds rainfall and associated surface pollutants forcing the water to run off paved surfaces directly into nearby storm drains and then into streams and lakes (selbig, 2019). fig. 14: aggregates porous pavement. (presto, 2016) fig. 15: permeable paving. 8. egyptian road rules based on what is mentioned in the egyptian code of road leaders established by the permanent committee to prepare the basis for the design and requirements of roads by ministerial resolution no. 159 of 1998. roads are alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 88 classified according to the size and type of traffic expected on the roads and the average length of the journey served by the road and the location of the road in relation to the roads adjacent to the network. 8.1. types of roads the main roads and free roads: they serve mainly the volumes of traffic dense and connect areas of transportation main and distant. sub-roads: it is a network that connects the main or free roads and local roads, which is the average in its design elements commensurate with the size of traffic. local roads: it is between residential neighborhoods and within it to serve local traffic. fig. 16: cross section in divided roads. egyptian rule no. 159 of 1998. (the author) fig. 17: cross section in non divided roads. egyptian rule no. 159 of 1998. (the author) fig. 18: cross section in non divided roads. egyptian rule no. 159 of 1998. (the author) fig. 19: cross section in main roads, egyptian rule no. 159 of 1998. (the author) 8.2. inclinations of pavement: the lateral inclination provides an effective method for discharging the surface water to keep it away from the road lanes because of its danger to the safety of the cayenne, and should not increase the accidental inclination of 2% so as not to drive the vehicle in the direction of inclination, the driver must make a remarkable effort on the steering wheel to maintain the presence of the vehicle. the roads are hot and it varies if the roads are paved or unpaved; paved roads ranges from 1.5% to 2%, coarse paved surface ranges from 2% to 3% and unpaved roads can be increased slope alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 89 of about 3%. in roads with more than two widths and a one-way cross-section, the lateral slope of the outer lane is increased by 0.5% to 1% for each lane; lower width of the sidewalk. taking into account that appropriate tendency for the pavement to drain the surface water. table 3.width of the sidewalks in different roads type of road free road main road sub-road local road sidewalk width (m) 2.5 2.5 1.5 1.5 8.3. the central part of the road the central part of the road, which separates the directional movement in the divided roads, provides a view that enables the commander of the vehicle to regain control in emergency situations and allows the display to provide an area with which to change the speed of the lanes, or the lanes of the left and the future expansions of the roads and reduce the island center of influence. the headlights of the car are shown on the driver's side. table 4. central part width of the different roads types of road highway road main road sub-road local road lowest width of the island (m) 4 2 2 8.4. drainage channels and lateral tendencies the drainage channels are placed on the sides of roads and on the central island for the drainage of rainwater. they are suspended on the rainfall rates and quantity and on the type of soil adjacent to the road. the lowest tendencies of the sides of the channel are 3: 1. there are two types of drainage pipes. the width of the channel should not be less than 1.20 m and the length of the channel no less than 0.5 m. the channel sector should be designed according to the amount of rain, the slope of the channel and the speed of water in the channel. in the case of discharge of rainwater in the central island is used side tendencies estimated at 6: 1 or less. fig 20: drainage channels, egyptian rule no. 159 of 1998. (the author) 9. international case studies the exploration strategies directed add to accomplishing the examination point and destinations. table 5 shows the connection between techniques for research and the four targets of exploration mentioned previously. (kothari, 2019). alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 90 table 5.concluded table. (the authors) case study 1 case study 2 proposal types of stormwater rain floods types of rain convectional rainfall cyclonic/frontal rainfall orographic/relief rainfall factors affecting the rain wind direction temperature geographic location the mountains and highlands sustainable landscape solutions to manage stormwater bio-swales rain garden rain barrels wells . vertical garden roof garden porous pavement table 6.the relationship between methods of research and objectives. (the authors) research methods research objectives 1 2 3 4 data collection literature review √ √ case studies √ survey questionnaire √ data analysis quantitative √ √ qualitative √ √ √ √ action required proposes framework √ a case study is an exploration strategy dependent on information accumulation and examination. it enables complex issues to be very much investigated and comprehended. it is typically required when a top to bottom examination is required and gives proof and clarification by using quantitative and qualitative techniques. yin (1984) characterized case studies as the device to research a specific marvel, all things considered, where confirmations are not clear enough in this way a case studies is utilized to give enough proof to demonstrate this wonder. a case studies gives an alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 91 orderly method to watch a specific occasion by gathering information, analyzing, and revealing outcomes over prolonged stretch of time (yin, 1984). it is an exceptional technique for watching wonders; as it looks at information in itemized territory of intrigue not at all like full scale information examination, a contextual analysis watches information in smaller scale level (zainal, 2019). it is recommended the application of the specific conclusion to any new city or case study, for achieving sustainability and stormwater management. it was applied into two international case studies and a local egyptian one in the 90th street, the fifth settlement, new cairo, egypt. 9.1. augustenborg, malmö , sweden: a governmental project and with the objective of transforming the district of augustenborg and malmö into sustainable neighborhoods through several factors, including the establishment of an open stormwater network connected to the sewage network. water is collected in an environmental drainage system and rainwater is directed to the surfaces towards the collection sites, thereby reducing the flow of rainwater. the aim was to address the problems of floods and heavy rains, and to eliminate those problems completely. the main purpose of the new stormwater system in the region was as an open system in which water was visible, contributing to the aesthetic and positive environment of the community. the goal was to have 70% or more of the new rainwater system routed. one of the targets was to test several different techniques in the same area; the augustenborg botanical roof garden. with an area of 10,000 square meters of plant surfaces, it has an effective role in reducing and retaining rainwater and has an insulating effect on buildings. stormwater is transported from the storage area below the road to the canal and open drainage system through the pond. the neighborhood is conveyed in a concrete canal bioswales. the water is allowed to spread out in this wetland. these ”onion gutters” are found in a lot of places around augustenborg. they were designed to create movement in the water, which brings about a degree of self-purification. the water’s path continues in this ”cube canal”, designed as a stylized brook. there are ponds with a varied view in many of the neighborhood squares for rain water to be collected. (klamméus, 2019). fig.21: roof gardens. (klamméus, 2019) alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 92 fig. 22: bioswales. (klamméus, 2019) fig, 23: onion gutter. (klamméus, 2019) fig. 24: cube canal. (klamméus, 2019) 9.2. malaysia a governmental project in malaysia, its objective provide a practical model for the application of water management concepts and the role of landscape elements in solving the problems of stormwater, floods, and properly directing water. the approach of urban stormwater management was monitored between 1971 and 2001. it was discovered that the problem is increasing as well as the frequency and intensity of the floods, therefore greatly increasing the budget of flood relief. the area was introduced the sustainable [usw] management manual in malaysia to limit the problems of flood, rainwater drainage and management. based on the adoption of the rapid approach to the elimination of runoff, the focus was on the evolution of river improvement works in urban rivers as the city grows; the urbanization and its effects on the amount of runoff and increasing the intensity of floods and the sustainable usw management manual. (jin, 2019). alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 93 fig. 25: new branch steps. (edited by the author, source: jin, 2019). 9.3. case study conclusion it was found that factors affecting the amount of rainfall are very similar, but the elements of landscape used to reducing rainfall differs from one place to another. in malizia, preference was in using bioswales, rain barrels, wells, roof garden and porous pavement. in sweden they used bioswales, rain gardens, rain barrels, wells and roof garden. the elements used were based on the amount of rainfall in the area. the following table compares the two case studies in terms of the factors that affect rainfall amount and the landscape elements used to control them. the table also uses the model to examine the case the paper is currently tackling, 90th street in egypt, in order to determine the applicable solutions for the area. table 7. comparison in sustainable applications between the 2 cases and the proposed solutions. (source: the authors) case study 1 case study 2 proposal types of stormwater rain ✓ ✓ ✓ floods ✓ types of rain convectional rainfall ✓ ✓ cyclonic/frontal rainfall ✓ orographic/relief rainfall ✓ factors affecting the rain wind direction ✓ ✓ temperature ✓ ✓ ✓ geographic location ✓ ✓ ✓ the mountains and highlands ✓ sustainable landscape solutions to manage storm water bio-swales ✓ ✓ ✓ rain garden ✓ ✓ rain barrels ✓ ✓ wells ✓ ✓ . vertical garden ✓ roof garden ✓ ✓ ✓ porous pavement ✓ ✓ alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 94 10. the 5th settlement this is a design solution proposal for 90th street in 5th settlement, new cairo in egypt in response to the 2018 flood of the area. although not the largest stormwater based disaster to occur in the region, it is taken as a case study due to the large interval between the previous disaster (one in 1994 and this one 2018) and the fact that the state has not learned from the mistakes of the past and repeats its errors in newer cities being built. should this pattern continue, the escalation of climate changes and rain map shifting over time will insure the repetition of disasters in current and future cities with greater risk and greater losses over time. it is imperative to realize that this scenario is a strong possibility and to prepare for it. this paper seeks to solve this problem and to insure 90th street is able to absorb the ratios of rain water later and not face the same problems again. 10.1. landscape solution process the paving of 90th street to fit as a main road had not taken into consideration that it is a cone of the torrent. the street was poorly installed in order to save money and pavement. (abdeltawab, 2019). lack of studies related to soil, as well as the poor quality of implementation, led to pumps in pavements’ asphalt and the inability of the infrastructure (drainage system) to absorb large quantities of water (ahmed, 2019). the absence of special rain drainage was due to the assumption that egypt’s desert climate would scarcely rain. poor landscape element installation, from paving or plantation, led to sandy soil areas that could lead to crisis. fig. 26: pavement damage. (source: the authors) fig. 27: absence of special rain drainage. (source: the authors) alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 95 fig. 28 poor landscape. (source: the authors) 10.2. proposed landscape elements solutions • reconstruction or repair of the infrastructure and the placement of outlets for water drain on the side of the road as shown in fig. 29. • re-paving the roads and adjusting their angles towards the outlets of the water drains. • exchange the existing flooring of the sidewalks to porous pavement that can absorb water and direct it to the drainage network. • construction of bioswales in the street islands in order to retain water when the rain fall see fig. 30. • the exploitation of normal roofs of buildings to create roof gardens to absorb rain, heat and contribute in reducing co2. • the implementation of vertical gardens into some buildings facades to reduce heat and pollution and help in stormwater management see fig. 34. fig. 29: 90th street before drain installment. (source: the authors) alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 96 fig. 30: after side drainage. (source: the authors) fig. 31: street island before proposed landscape elements. fig. 32: street island after landscape alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 97 fig 33: building facades before vertical garden. fig. 34: building facades with vertical gardens. alshnawi / the academic research community publication pg. 98 11. conclusion climate changes occur everywhere in the world, be the causes natural or man-made. this paper has depicted the environmental conditions and its changes in egypt. the concept of storm water has been clarified in general, as well as its types and reasons that lead to its formation and methods. briefly the concept of sustainability was the main purpose of this paper; adding concepts of constitution management, storm water management and the means of conserving water. the factors affecting and solutions that were used in the three cases were studied and compared and the percentage of sustainability and proportion of the use of different solutions is shown in the following table (table 8). table 8.the percentage of sustainability and factor usage. (source: the authors) malaysia augustenborg, sweden 90th street, egypt ratio of factors usage sustainable landscape solutions to manage storm water bio-swales ✓ ✓ ✓ 100% rain garden ✓ ✓ 66.66% rain barrels ✓ ✓ 66.66% wells ✓ ✓ . 66.66% vertical garden ✓ 33.33 roof garden ✓ ✓ ✓ 100% porous pavement ✓ ✓ 66.66% ratio of sustainability 71.42% 71.42% 71.42% based on the comparison between the three previous cases namely; malaysia, sweden and egypt. the following chart shows the importance of landscape items used in the studies cases. this research contributes to the current knowledge of stormwater problems, and helps develop sustainable solutions by using landscape elements to solve them. the results are keen to open a debate for awareness and widen the scope of using landscape elements in solving environmental problems. fig.35: factors of landscape commonly used in sustainable landscape projects. 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[online] psyking.net. available at: http://psyking.net/htmlobj-3837/case_study_as_a_research_method.pdf [accessed 20 mar. 2019]. https://extension.umn.edu/landscape-design/rain-gardens https://extension.umn.edu/landscape-design/rain-gardens http://www.newcities.gov.eg/english/new_communities/cairo/default.aspx https://www.prestogeo.com/ https://www.prestogeo.com/gallery_presto/products/porous-pavements/geopave-aggregate-porous-pavement/ https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 62 doi: 10.21625/archive.v5i1.814 design of sustainable smart bus station; case study of bilecik, turkey parisa göker1, özlem candan hergül2 1 fine arts and design faculty, department of interior architecture and environmental design, bilecik şeyh edebali university, turkey 2 fine arts and design faculty, department of interior architecture and environmental design, bilecik şeyh edebali university, turkey abstract the urbanization rate has increased with the emerging fact of rural-to-urban immigration after the industrial revolution, thus causing various urban problems based on rapid population growth. today, transportation and traffic problems in cities are becoming more prominent, growing with each passing day. along with the rapid population growth in cities, as leading to an increase in the number of vehicles, preference of east-to-implement & shallow measures, instead of drastic and radical solutions in the infrastructure, operation, administration and controlling of the unplanned urbanization. public transportation vehicles play a critical role in the lives of many, living in cities. the city-dwellers generally use public transportation vehicles as they leave their homes in order to get to the workplaces or schools. facing with certain problems in transportation due to the buses being delayed while waiting at the bus stops, they may be late for where they are expected to arrive due to the delay of buses. in other words, it is a critical fact that people know where the bus they take is and how long it will take until they arrive at the bus stop. © 2021 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban aesthetic; smart stop; sustainable design; urban furniture design 1. introduction providing a more comfortable living space to users in urban areas is important for the development of the urban furniture industry which is not yet sufficient in our country. bulut et al. (2008) the reinforcement elements define the properties and objects that facilitate the life of the person in the urban fabric and provide the communication between the users, give the space a certain meaning in terms of functionality and aesthetics, having different qualities and quantities, defining and completing the space. for this reason, in addition to functionality, urban reinforcement elements are of great importance in terms of their revitalizing effects that make the urban landscape dynamic (akyol 2006; aksu 2013). in addition to urban reinforcement elements, “as bus stops seating elements, billboards, etc.” many factors such as artificial environment, architecture, lifestyle, and culture of the city are effective in giving cities an identity. the concept of urban identity expresses different characteristics of cities rather than similar ones and reveals the original and different aspects of cities (lynch, 1960). urban reinforcement elements come to the fore in the presentation of the original publication of the cities. instead of standardizing urban reinforcement elements, it is important to make original designs that consider the features and functions of each space (bayazıt and kısakürek, 2020). unsustainable http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 63 mobility is introduced as a major challenge in cities. urban designers can offer certain solutions for the mitigation of the environmental issues introduced by the increased vehicle circulation and urban sprawl such as creating urban forms encouraging walking and increasing the use of public transportation (stojanovski, 2020). public transport stops are commonly considered merely as the functional elements of the transport system. the design thereof is based on technical parameters and standardization. however, public transports can find themselves an important spot in the urban environment. moreover, they are in concurrence with the generation and enhancement of the public spaces. nevertheless, the idea of transportation infrastructures as urban spaces is primarily referred to as major railway, subway, or intermodal stations in all respects (brovarone, 2020). the urbanization rate has increased with the emerging fact of rural-to-urban immigration after the industrial revolution, thus causing various urban problems based on rapid population growth. today, transportation and traffic problems in cities are becoming more prominent, growing with each passing day. along with the rapid population growth in cities, as leading to an increase in the number of vehicles, preference of east-to-implement & shallow measures, instead of drastic and radical solutions in the infrastructure, operation, administration and controlling of the unplanned urbanization. public transportation vehicles play a critical role in the lives of many, living in cities. thanks to developing technology, urban furniture situated in transportation transfer centers can be designed with smart systems and performed and designed with functions aim to inform, interaction and recreation. (najafidashtape, 2018). bus stops are areas where one or more bus loading areas take place, depending on the number of buses that will simultaneously use the stop. optimal positioning of bus stops for passengers and operators, which constitute an important part of public transport arrangements; determining the location, number and intervals of stops in this direction has a significant effect on the performance of public transportation services and the demand for public transportation. it is important to provide safe direct access to bus stops for passengers coming from all directions, minimize vehicle waiting times, create waiting areas that are comfortable, safe and do not interfere with traffic, eliminate the obstacles in the stops, bus landing and boarding for the disabled, and to make the stops that are easy to identify (url 1, 2018). technology, the course of time, has advanced with quite a high pace and therefore, the lifestyle of the population, as well as the services available in cities ranging from competitiveness to the quality of life of the urbanites, have been modernized accordingly. smart cities (kummitha et al, 2017), considered as the new urban space, integrate the vision of development by means of using the information regarding every aspect of the city and the technologies and trends arisen such as automation, machine learning and the internet of things (iot) for the purpose of managing every asset of the city is highly intelligent and innovative means (tostado, 2017). smart transportation systems (sts) are simply referred to as the advanced applications that aim to offer innovative services with respect to various transportation modes and traffic management without externalizing the intelligence and enabling the users to be further informed and render safer, more coordinated and “smarter” use of the networks of the transportation (nathanail et al, 2016). public transportation vehicles are, without doubt, one of the most critical constituents of our lives. the majority of the society generally prefers using their personal vehicles for going to work, school, etc. instead of public transportation vehicles. with the globally increasing population, this leads not only to traffic jam but also to the increase in the emission of harmful gases to nature with the increasing number of vehicles. therefore, it can be clearly said that encouraging people to use public transportation vehicles plays a critical role in the reduction of carbon emissions. in today’s world, we face various problems concerning the public transportation systems. the time spent while waiting at the bus stops, including the insufficient and misinformation, uncomfortable waiting areas, as the most significant problems, lead the public transportation vehicles not to be preferred. within the scope of this research, a sustainable smart-stop design sample has been developed, by generating solutions in terms of the effective usage of public transportation vehicles (american public transportation association, 2012). stop spacing adverts to the distance between the stops along a certain route and thus, serves as a trade-off between the accessibility of transit (convenience of access to frequent stops) and the efficiency of operation. briefly, thanks to the additional stops along a certain route, the route becomes more accessible by the walk-up riders, on the other hand, the routes operate more göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 64 slowly for the riders already in the vehicle. thus, this impairs the efficiency of the transit service and the costeffectiveness and therefore, makes it less attractive for the riders (septa, 2013). 2. background of contextual framework general design principles in addition to making bus stops accessible to everyone, safety should always be a primary concern. the guidelines provide methods to increase the safety of people, whether they are boarding, alighting, waiting for, or riding the bus. whenever possible, far-side stops (after the intersection) are preferred since this encourages pedestrians to cross behind the bus and not in front of it. additional general principles include: (rosenfeld, 2020). bus stops should be located in convenient and comfortable locations: first and foremost, bus stops should be located in places that are convenient to where people are traveling to and from, including concentrations of residences or jobs and major destinations such as social services or shopping destinations. ideally, stops should also provide shelter-either through the installation of a bus shelter or through the use of existing buildings or awnings. bus stops must be positioned in safe locations: in addition, passengers must be placed in locations that will be able to feel comfortable, which is a location with enough people/activity/lights to not feel isolated. in addition, the location of the stop itself should be well lit, and the stop should provide adequate space for waiting riders to sit or stand, away from other pedestrian flow and street traffic. bus stops should be visible and easily identifiable: bus stops should be located in easily identifiable places, so they can be found without difficulty, and where bus drivers can clearly see whether there are waiting passengers. stops should be identified by the mata brand so that they are a recognizable component of the transit infrastructure. even if the facilities at the stops differ from each other, the elements at the public transport stop must be suitable for the users. bus stops should provide information about services provided: all transit customers need basic information about the service, such as: can i get to where i want to go from this stop, is the route running at this time of day, and when will it arrive? this type of information is available to passengers using a cell phone (real-time) or by contacting mata’s call center. higher volume stops should have schedule and route information at the stop. bus stops should have good pedestrian and bicycle access: bus stops should be located at sites that provide safe, ada-accessible pedestrian access to the surrounding area, especially to the other side of the street. this should include well-defined and contiguous pathways to and from the stop, as well as crosswalks. this is currently a major challenge in parts of the greater memphis region. as pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure develops, the responsible agencies will need to encourage pedestrian pathways, especially pathways to/from high volume bus stops. bus stops should be well integrated with their surroundings: to the extent possible, bus stops should be integrated with their surroundings. when new developments are constructed, the stops should be designed as part of the overall project, rather than placed as an afterthought. similarly, when roads and/or sidewalks are reconstructed, bus stops should be developed as part of the overall design. bus stops should provide users with comfortable facilities during the waiting period: providing amenities, comfortable. for many reasons, including cost, it is not an easy process to provide all facilities at each stop. generally, more extensive facilities are provided in the places where the station is used most intensively. 3. material and method the study has been structured as a design proposal for the province of bilecik, turkey. bilecik is located in the southeastern part of the marmara region and on the intersection point of the regions of marmara, black sea, central anatolia and aegean. as for the coordinates, the province is located between 39°39' and 40°31' north latitudes and 29°43' and 30°40' east longitudes. the province is neighbored by the provinces of bolu and eskişehir to the east and kütahya to the south, while bursa lies to the west and sakarya to the north. bilecik, with its area of 4,302 km², is among the provinces with considerably smaller areas in turkey. it is ranked 65th in terms of the area. the total population of the province is 204,116 and the population density of the province is (person/ km²) is recorded as 47. göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 65 the first settlement in the province of bilecik province in history dates back to 3000 bc. the first name of the province was belekoma. bilecik hosted many civilizations and dominions in history, served as the foundation center of ottoman state after the kayı tribe’s arrival to söğüt from central asia with 400 yurts. bilecik, positioned at an average altitude of 600 m above the sea level, experiences the climate transitions due to its location at the intersection point of 4 geographical regions (marmara, black sea, central anatolia and the aegean region) of the asia minor (bursa eskişehir bilecik development agency, 2018; ocak et al. 2017). the reinforcement elements within the urban texture comprise a certain part of the urban constituents, and besides the fulfillment of the increased requirement of use, establish a bond between the urban life and societal life. it plays an important role in the realization of the safety, comfort, aesthetic value judgments of the users and ensuring the functionality of the space and the economy in practice. in this study, a project proposal has been drawn up for the province of bilecik, in accordance with the smart station design, by considering ergonomic features, aesthetics and functionality offered to the users. the main material of the work consists of the smart bus stops which are urban furniture designed by junior students of the department of industrial design. the aim of the process-based design approach is to ensure the development of the best part possible from the viewpoint of functionality, production, support and operation. the process-based design contains the six-step defined procedure. • develop the design goals for producibility, • develop a plan for product and process, • set off design components for mountability, • redesign the elements taking the ease of manufacturing in consideration, • apply optimization and adjust the design, the team concentrated mainly on the development of a product and process plan for the design and improvement of a smart bus stop, and carried out activities stated below (translink, 2007): • to limit the material processes for the basic component • product architecture • assembly concept within the scope of this study, the design of smart bus stops will be studied and examined thoroughly from various aspects, taking the key stages in product development into consideration. these stages are as follows: • a general research is done concerning the design and the product to be developed. • the consumer needs are identified. • transforming the voice of consumer (voc) into the needs of consumer, • developing metrics (product specifications) in order to discuss the consumer needs in terms of technological aspects, • developing the relationship between need & metric, • utilizing the quality function deployment as a tool for building the quality room, • creating the concept, • choosing the concepts with the help of a concept scoring matrix, • process-based design, • product architecture, • design for manufacturing, göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 66 • reflecting the result and the process. a questionnaire study was carried out in the central area of bilecik and bilecik şeyh edebali university in order to identify the consumers needs. additionally, the one-to-one interview methods were utilized for obtaining healthier data. the questions of the survey were answered by 100 individuals (male: 58, female: 42). 4. finding of the study the designs of the bus stops located in the province of bilecik have been evaluated in terms of functionality, aesthetics, and ergonomics within the scope of the study. bus stops made of aluminum-pvc construction are located throughout the city. as the images presented the figures a2 and a4 indicates, the bus stops are designed within the framework of the universal design criteria. advertising billboards and information on the stops are also available. atatürk boulevard hosts smart bus stops (a1). a covered area has been put into practice at the stops for the purpose of protecting the people from the external factors and providing a more comfortable waiting area for the local people during the hot/cold weather conditions. however, in consideration of the design criteria and aesthetics, it has been identified that the stops offer insufficient features, and it is noteworthy to point out that they are highly dependent on the infrastructure and there is a lack of technology features. a1smart bus stop a2-bus stop with aluminumpvc construction a3bus stop with aluminumpvc construction a4bus stop with aluminumpvc construction figure 1. bus stops in bilecik (original, 2020) in this section, the findings of the research, the results obtained, and the design stages are given. 4.1. identification of user needs identification of the process of user needs is an inseparable part of the products development. to identify the user needs; • collecting raw user data (voc) • commenting on the raw data from the point of user needs • to determine the importance of need-relative • to reflect the duration and conclusion are required. 4.2. identification of users the local people of bilecik and the university students who live in the city were interviewed and carried out a survey to determine the user needs. the sample size is limited to 100 people and the survey is conducted with 58 males and 42 females. göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 67 figure 2. the gender and age diagram of the people who participated in survey. figure 3. the scatter diagram of the items predicted to be needed as a result of the conducted surveys, the expectations of the users from the bus stop are determined. according to this, %82 of the users answered as “there should be usb/charging/electricity station”. the least needed item was determined as the library with 32%. effective communication is needed between all the parties to produce sustainable products and human needs should be taken into consideration. a well-established process is needed for matching human needs (ergonomics) with the characteristics of the product. a way of carrying out this well-established process is to use quality function deployment (qfd). also, one of the main targets is to ensure incorporating the customer needs (voice of customer or voc) in the design. figure 4. the preferable scatter diagram of quality function deployment (qfd) according to user needs göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 68 the preferable scatter diagram according to user needs of quality function deployment (qfd) shows that the primary elements preferred by the users are the existence of smart display, provision of power supply and wi-fi network router. secondarily, there are provisions of shelter and food containers, temperature control and air-conditioner. the least preferred features are the provision of billboards and a smoke-free air zone. qfd is based upon a range of standard matrixes. the most applied one is the house of quality (hoq is similar to a house). hoq associates the requirements of a design with the means by which these requirements are met. in this way, it allows identifying the priorities before the technical requirements are applied to the product. in the simplest form, hoq is a matrix that defines the relationship between the design requirements (it is determined by the perspective of the customer.) and the product characteristics (from a technical aspect). the relationship is identified on a simple scale based on the user approaches. in the application phase, the hoq matrix is worked through. the core of the matrix does not change fundamentally but there are some important additives; • user perception: this box defines the user's perception of use on a 5-point likert scale (1 = very negative, 5 = very positive). the perception of the competitors is overlapped. • upper limit matrix: upper limit matrix indicates the relationship between different product designs characteristics. • importance: the importance level is a figure that is dedicated subjectively to customer requirements 1-10 (most important is 10) or 1-5 (most important is 5) on the scale. • technical evaluation and target values: this section provides technical information about the characteristics of the product. this section, also, presents the target values in regard to product characteristics with a focus on improvement. • creating concept and concept and focus design process concept creation, evaluation of concepts according to consumer needs and requirements criteria, comparison of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the concepts and for the following stages; is the process of evaluating one or more selections for review, testing or development. the method of choosing a concept in this section is based on the evaluation of each concept according to a set of selection criteria and the use of the decision matrix. for the design and development of a smart bus stop, the following selection criteria have been completed considering the needs of the customer. these are; a) ergonomic b) ease of use c) performance d) cost e) stability f) design for assembly g) safety in accordance with the focus design processes for smart bus stop design and development, the team focused on developing a product and process plan and carried out the following activities: • limiting material processes for the basic component selecting the proper material and the process for the primary components plays a key role in developing a successful and process plan. • development of product architecture product architecture is a diagram in which the functional elements of the product are organized into logical groups of physical elements called parts. functional elements are the individual processes and conversions that contribute to the general performance of the product. physical elements are the standard designed parts that carry out product functions. a carefully planned product structure can be easily customized and developed to meet customer requirements. preparation of product architecture consists of the following steps: step 1: creation of product scheme in smart bus stop design, electrical energy is provided by solar panels and floor tiles that convert motion energy into electrical energy. the electrical system produced in the places is sent to operate electricity billboards, information göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 69 screens, chip bike system, heated seats, electric chair charging system, phone charging systems, clock, road route screens and drip water system. step 2: grouping of schematic elements grouping of elements for smart bus stop design and development involves the following processes: a) sharing the function, b) the similarity of production technology, c) portability of interfaces step 3. creating the geometrical regularity the geometric regularity is created to find the relationship between the applicable basic relationships and the parts. step 4: identifying the basic and possible interactions basic interactions are interactions that correspond to the lines that connect schemes together. possible interactions are interactions resulting from the physical application of functional elements or geometric arrangement of parts. figure 5. smart bus stop interaction set diagram in the urban furniture • assembly concept the assembly concept determines the way the components are assembled to form the final product. this assembly consists of two parts including the assembly structure and the assembly plan. in smart bus stop design, the assembly structure is established as a frame-based assembly. the assembly plan consists of the order in which the components/parts are assembled and the processing, assembly and revision of the components during assembly. • production parts the designed smart bus system is not unsuitable to use in one part. it is required to produce as parts and subjected to integration. technological screens, solar panels and other systems should be assembled accordingly. göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 70 figure 6 smart bus stop system design sample (original, 2018) figure 7. smart stop system dimensioning presentation board (original, 2018) göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 71 figure 8. design of sustainable smart bus station (original, 2018) 5. conclusion urban furniture makes positive contributions to social life as the elements that make urban life more enjoyable and meaningful, creating urban comfort and urban aesthetics and they should be examined on social, cultural, psychological, economic, anthropometric, ergonomic and demographic aspects by considering the differences in the needs and cultures of the people living in the cities (akyol 2006). damages to the environment caused by the use of petroleum and its derivatives in automobiles, which cannot be renewed in the new century, cannot be ignored. designing the smart bus system is a way to direct people to public transportation smart stop systems in order to eliminate the deformation caused by the carbon gases emitted by the vehicles in the air and on the other hand, to construct new roads to meet the increasing need for vehicles. in this way, people in different seasons will have taken the first step for a comfortable and pleasant journey without being chilled or sweating, bored, thanks to smart stops. göker/ the academic research community publication pg. 72 figure 9. presentation sheet of the completed project acknowledgements this research was prepared within the scope of the research project course with my students in bilecik seyh edebali university, fine arts and design faculty, department of industrial products design. göker/ the 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http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 research paper received: 22 august 2023, accepted: 23 october 2023, published online: 31 october 2023 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i3.1006 palestine hotel in the old city of hebron, between modernity and traditional dwelling architecture during the 19th-20 century wisam h. shaded1 1assistant professor of interior architecture at palestine polytechnic university, palestine abstract this paper delves into the cultural, architectural, and aesthetic transformations in traditional palestinian dwellings during the transition from the 19th to the 20th century. the chosen timeframe holds immense significance as it witnessed a profound shift in palestinian systems, legislation, and housing patterns, including alterations in housing infrastructure. the study identifies pivotal turning points in palestine attributed to european western missions and zionist migration, resulting in the introduction of concrete housing and its discernible influence on traditional palestinian building structures. in particular, the focus is placed on the palestine hotel, situated in hebron's historic old city and constructed in the early 1900s. this hotel serves as a compelling example of the coexistence and mutual influence of modernity and traditional architecture. the hybrid design of the hotel reflects the intricate relationship between western-style modernity and traditional palestinian architectural elements. employing an analytical and documentary methodology, this paper recommends several measures, including the preservation of cultural assets due to their profound impact on future generations and the safeguarding of our civilizational and cultural heritage. © 2023 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords modernism; western influence; hebron museum; cultural identity; decorative elements; stylistic changes 1. introduction the evolution of architectural techniques and forms in palestine has traversed various phases, starting from prehistoric times and extending through the era of islamic architecture (ghadban, 2008). this architectural journey was shaped by distinct construction methods and materials, giving rise to a unique style known as "palestinian folk architecture." this style was characterized by its distinctive building techniques, materials, layouts, and residential designs, which serve as a testament to the evolution of palestinian architecture. the cultural significance of building materials became more pronounced in palestine at a later stage (al-ju’beh, 2019). as the era of modernity made its way into palestine, often dated to the aftermath of muhammad ali pasha's campaign from 1805 to 1848 in the levant, significant transformations unfolded. western ambassadors and delegates, in collaboration with local palestinian residents and construction workers, introduced new regulations and ideas (tamari, 2012). these developments marked the onset of a new era in the political, social, and economic landscape of palestinian societies (ghadban, 2008). these shifts were closely tied to historical events, particularly british influence, which became evident in 1841 with the opening of britain's first consulate in jerusalem (roberto, 2020, p. 232). the subsequent establishment of additional consulates between 1841 and 1858 catalyzed radical changes in palestinian society, impacting its economic, social, political, and architectural systems (abuarkub, al-zwainy, 2018). http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 the issuance of the ottoman land regulations in 1858-1878 aimed at transitioning from community landownership to individual private property ownership, significantly affecting urban planning. during this period, the ottoman empire introduced several laws, including the state administration act of 1871, which approved the building licensing system and established rules for land ownership (ali shaban, 2009). this legislative framework coincided with the emergence of a national jewish homeland, contributing to the erosion of elements of the islamic city (alkhalidi, 2016). the years 1878-1919 witnessed an increase in european influence, particularly in infrastructure, communications, education, and government administration. in 1917, british rule commenced in palestine, with ottoman law still in force. this era marked the emergence of "mandate architecture," which extended the previous architectural period by reshaping prevailing building structures and construction methods. ottoman laws remained in effect until 1921, with the issuance of the mandate for palestine in 1922 (bishara, 2018). this mandate introduced a new system of institutions, including local governance, and placed the mandatory power in charge of the country's administration. it also laid the groundwork for the establishment of a national home for jews,(ghadban, 2008) from 1933 until the mid-twentieth century, the influence of the german bauhaus school became evident due to the arrival of painters and architects who promoted modern architecture.) jawabrah, 2020.p1-2 (this period saw the emergence of simple rectangular houses and suburban planning in old cities. some houses incorporated classical influences, featuring corinthian columns, arched windows, and exposed concrete beams (michael, 1988, p. 39). with the strengthening of zionism and the desire of new immigrants to create a distinct jewish culture, traditional arab architecture experienced a revival. efforts were made to blend the culture of new immigrants with the local culture to create a unique hebrew culture through this fusion (michael, 1988). cement construction played a central role in building both zionist and palestinian nations, and cement consumption and production became indicators of the ability to construct modern buildings and communities (ben zeev, 2019). substantial changes in architecture and style occurred in the early twentieth century, shifting away from orientalism towards modernism (nitzan-shiftan, 2009) 1.1. problem statement there is a limited body of academic research addressing the multifaceted changes and influences that have shaped palestinian housing prior to modernity. existing studies have sought answers to the following critical questions: 1-stages and spaces of palestinian architecture: few studies have delved into the examination of the key stages and spatial elements within palestinian architecture that have directly influenced the configuration of traditional palestinian residences. 2emerging features in palestinian architecture (late 19th to mid-20th century): another significant inquiry pertains to identifying the most noteworthy architectural features that have surfaced within palestinian architecture during the period spanning from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. 3historical, social, and architectural significance of the hotel palestine: furthermore, it is imperative to elucidate the historical, social, and architectural significance inherent in the hotel palestine, which currently functions as the museum of hebron. this entails a comprehensive exploration of its most prominent aesthetic components. in essence, the existing academic literature is limited in its capacity to comprehensively address the evolution of palestinian housing, its origins, and the manifold influences it has undergone. to bridge this knowledge gap, this study aims to provide comprehensive insights into these critical aspects of palestinian architectural history. 1.2. objectives the study has the following objectives: 1-to document, study, and analyze the aesthetic and architectural values inherent in the hotels in palestine. this will be achieved through methods such as lifting, documentation, drawing, and analysis. the primary aim is to identify specific patterns in the aesthetic and decorative components of these hotels and establish connections to similar palaces that emerged during the same historical period. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 2to shed light on pre-modern palestinian homes, exploring their origins and developmental trajectory. additionally, the study aims to investigate the external factors that influenced traditional palestinian architecture. 3to focus on a pivotal era in the history of palestine, with a particular emphasis on the housing structures within the old city. this era played a significant role in altering construction methods and design principles due to the incorporation of western architectural influences. in summary, this study seeks to comprehensively examine the aesthetic and architectural aspects of hotels in palestine, trace the evolution of palestinian homes, and analyze the impact of external influences on traditional palestinian architecture, with a special focus on the transformative era in the old city. 1.3. research methodology, materials and methods the research methodology encompasses three distinct approaches: 1. theoretical and contextual foundations: this initial approach delves into the intricate relationship between modernity and traditional palestinian architecture in the city of hebron, with a focus on housing 2. analytical approach: the second facet of the methodology is the stylistic changes in traditional palestinian architecture, especially in the city of hebron, which can be classified into stages, with examples from the city of hebron, analysis palestine hotel building, structure architectural description and detail, decorative elements. 3. data sources: to support the research, various data sources are utilized, including references from books, theses, published scientific research, and other accessible written materials. additionally, basic observation tools and photography play pivotal roles in data collection and analysis. 2. the development of hebron and its old town between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and its characteristics the old city of hebron is characterized by a homogeneous texture characterized by simple local architecture, consisting of cubic and rectangular stone blocks with arches and domes. these complexes are linked to each other by corridors, alleys, lanes, and small courtyards with gates and entrances that limit the entry of strangers to them. the origins of these houses date back to the ayyubid and mamluk periods, with their first foundations, and then the ottoman period, which came to complete the fabric, (al-ju'beh, and others 2007). in the early 19th century, hebron began to develop, and the old town was divided into three connected areas, and the largest part of it was in the eastern, western, and southern regions of the ibrahimi mosque, which are the neighborhoods of al-masharqa al-fawqa, almasharqa al-tahta, and the second, haret qaytoun, which is located in mamluk neighborhoods, and the third is alsheikh lane, which remained separate from the rest (abu hilal, 2009), the neighborhoods in the city of hebron continued to develop horizontally by covering all the voids in the old town, then the development moved to the vertical levels, and bab al-zawiya neighborhood was established, which was linked with the rest of the fabris of the old town at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and a number of modern neighborhoods were also established, and in the fifties of the century in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, construction activities began to appear that spread outside the old city of hebron, and middle-class neighborhoods with nuclear families began to appear (abu hilal, 2009). its front (yards), which were inhabited by extended families, also began in this period the emergence of what is called the house of the hallway, where the hallway is like a balcony (verandah) open on two or three sides, and the fourth side is the front facade of the house in which the main door of the house is located. it may be located in the basement or on the upper floor, and it may be used for living during the day and a place for sleeping at night, especially in the summer (abuarkub, 2018) this modern house, built of stone, began to appear in the city of hebron, rich in its architectural characteristics and details, and the diversity of its construction techniques and choices of stones, which include a mixture of white and pink stones. the main hall of the house (salon) was distinguished by its beautiful and decorative tiles. a carpet was used in this room while the rest of the facilities in the house, especially the kitchens and bathrooms, used black and white tiles to tile their floors (al-amiri, 2000). shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 the british mandate accelerated the transformations in palestinian societies and left a clear western influence on life in general and the architectural environment in particular. new methods (such as neo-classical) and new technology (such as reinforced concrete) began to dominate construction (bishara, 2015). a class of merchants and owners of money appeared at this stage, who began to build houses showing signs of wealth. these types of housing spread in the old city of hebron. its most important feature is that the presence of the courtyard is no longer a necessity in the construction of this type of housing, and the emergence of the iwan system as an alternative to the courtyard with an open courtyard, as well as increased attention to the presence of the kitchen and enlarging its area as well as the bathrooms, (bishara, 2015). and interest in the facade appeared with the presence of architectural openings on the ground floors with attention to its height slightly to achieve privacy starting with the use of modern building materials and changing the roofing system while maintaining the arch system in these buildings (ben zeev, 2019, 40)s. the establishment of the nachil polk cement company in 1923 played a role in the spread of cement construction, including the palestinian cement company (nitzan-shiftan, 2009). 2.1. the impact of modernity on traditional palestinian architecture in the city of hebron, with a focus on housing the researcher faces difficulty identifying specific time intervals that indicate the stages of development and transformation of palestinian architecture into modernity. however, several historical periods in palestine have prompted reflections, considering the local architecture's influence by various historical, social, and political factors, as previously determined (shaded. 2020). it appears that the local dimension of traditional palestinian architecture was achieved in residential buildings and some religious and public structures. the stylistic changes in traditional palestinian architecture, especially in the city of hebron, can be classified and examined in the following stages, with examples from the city of hebron. 2.1.1. local renaissance era: the period between 1805 and 1848 witnessed a development in the local building style through the utilization of modern materials and technology in construction (al-ju'beh. 2007). a particular housing style emerged in rural areas and the outskirts of cities, incorporating the characteristics of traditional palestinian architecture. woodwork, in general, played a significant role, with the use of domes and vaults as roofing patterns. tiles were used for decoration and interior wall cladding, while limestone was commonly used for exterior surfaces. decorative columns and unique stone formations indicating wealth also emerged (ahmed, 2008). example: duwik palace is located in the old town near the ibrahimi mosque, and is distinguished by its design, especially its front façade and interior courtyard. the building was constructed in three historical stages. the ground floor considered the initial nucleus of the building, was built in the early 19th century (1820). the second stage took place at the end of the 19th century (1870), with the construction of the ground floor. the first floor was added at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century (1890) (hebron reconstruction committee, 2020). the basement levels (-1) contain two storage rooms, believed to be the original core of the building, as well as a water well. the storage rooms faced the street and were used as animal shelters, providing access to the ground floor. the entrance features a hidden broken-helix staircase, leading directly to the ground floor from the stairwell entrance. from there, we reach the enclosed courtyard surrounded by four rooms and a bathroom. the stone staircase, consisting of a single inverted flight, connects to the first level, which has two entrances. the traditional building system with domes can be observed, while the kitchen receives less attention, and there is no bathroom. the newer levels of the building align with the transformations that occurred in housing, introducing essential facilities (hebron reconstruction committee, 2020). figure 1 illustrates the horizontal layout of the residence and the eastern front façade. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 1: first level plan of the dweik building, then the main eastern façade photo and drawing by the author 2020 2.1.2. ottoman-influenced renaissance era (1848-1870): this stage witnessed a development in the building style using new materials and technology, as well as a wide application of elements inspired by ottoman architecture. it was characterized by the presence of both open and enclosed courtyards. there was also an expansion of architectural openings and increased attention to the façade's design. changes in the horizontal layout emerged, including the addition of kitchens and bathrooms at the beginning of the residence. the broken-helix entrance was no longer a mandatory requirement in housing construction. the traditional roofing system with vaults continued, and stone staircases remained for access to the upper floors. there was no requirement for housing to be within the old neighborhoods. (shaded.2020.159) (rizk, 2000) example: al-siyaj residence: this building, known as the "al-siyaj building," is located on al-shuhada street and occupies an area of 106 square meters. it consists of three floors: the ground floor, the first floor, and the second floor. access to the ground floor is through the entrance on the eastern side facing the street, which has an external staircase. the first part of the ground floor was constructed in the ottoman style by the late abdul-mo'ti suleiman siyaj in 1850. the front courtyard is divided and includes a kitchen (majli) and a bathroom (arabic-style toilet). figure 2 illustrates the plan and distribution of facilities, entrance from the main street located on the eastern front façade. figure 2: from the right a horizontal plan of the ground level of al siyaj dwelling and then the eastern front façade (source photo and drawing by the author 2009) 2.1.3. stage of new romantic and transferred architecture (1870-1903) during this period, architectural styles in certain mediterranean regions underwent a significant transformation due to the influence of missionary expeditions and the presence of palestinian immigrants. european architectural elements served as a major source of inspiration during this stage(al-ju'beh. 2007). this era witnessed the emergence of distinct architectural designs that reflected the affluence of their owners and incorporated modern decorative elements that deviated from traditional architectural norms. this architectural phase is often referred to as the eclectic stage, characterized by a focus on elaborate façade decorations. notably, this period featured classical ornaments, marking an evolution in architectural style that is recognized worldwide as art deco. this shift is evident in the use of embellished floors and colorful wall designs (al-khalidi, 2016). shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 as an illustrative example, the al-shahada residence, situated in the al-shahada neighborhood and facing cordoba school, stands out as a prominent architectural masterpiece. distinguished by its graceful arches, this residence occupies a central location on the eastern slope of tel rumeida, commanding a significant presence within the alshahada neighborhood. it offers a commanding view of the historic town of hebron. notably, the residence is characterized by its decorative arches adorning windows and doors, lending it a distinct aesthetic charm. structurally, the residence comprises two floors: the ground floor and the first floor. while the ground floor and a section of the first floor were constructed by muhammad ali shihada, his son ali was responsible for completing the remaining portions of the first floor. although the building's original core dates back to the mid-19th century, the most significant architectural influence on the residence can be attributed to this particular stage. in 1890, during the construction of the residence, the building method employed cross-shaped stone masonry with fired bricks and utilized two types of stone with earth filling. the construction process unfolded a decade after the initial rooms were built, owing to the family's expansion needs and one of the sons' marriages, which led them to establish their residence within the building (sahouri, 2008). see figure 3. figure 3. the plan of the al shehadeh dwelling and eastern front façade source sahouri, 2008 2.1.4. stage of colonial settlement architecture resulting from zionist jewish immigration to palestine (1903-1917) the main style of this stage was influenced by the bauhaus and expressionist architecture schools. it was constructed by palestinian hands and extensively incorporated elements inspired by european architecture. as a result, a group of simple rectangular residences emerged, and planning for construction began in the suburbs of old cities. alongside this style of buildings, some classical influences were found in the construction of certain residences, including corinthian columns, arched windows, and exposed concrete beams (michael, 1988). example: al-qufaysha residence is part of the al-harbawi complex, located in the heart of the old city of hebron at the intersection of two main streets: al-qasbah market, which extends from ain al-askar square in the northwest to the area of the ibrahim mosque in the south, and the laban market, which extends to the skafia market area. the residence was built in three stages. the ground floor was constructed at the end of the 19th century during the ottoman era, and the first level was built at the beginning of the 20th century. the second level was also constructed at the beginning of the 20th century( maraqa, 2022). the windows feature a twin-opening system, which became popular in the late 19th century as openness to the outside world increased, leading to wider architectural openings and facade designs (ghadban, 2008). figure.4 the qafisha,1 plan, 2 and 3 show the southern front façade of the dwelling source photo and drawing by the author 2020 3. 2 . 1. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 2.1.5. stage of mandate architecture: this stage began with the entry of the british into palestine (1917-1948). in the 1920s and 1930s, this stage emerged due to the increase in economic growth in palestine, and the expansion and prosperity of the urban movement. as a result, numerous, new residential neighborhoods were built away from the centers of the old cities (al-ju’beh, 2007). after world war ii, buildings opened to the outside without consideration for environmental conditions or adherence to the region's cultural values (al-rousan, 2009). this style can be seen as a continuation of the bauhaus and expressionist architecture schools. during this period, multi-story residential styles started to appear, with each floor having an independent dwelling with a central hall opening onto the rooms (shadid.2020). the use of concrete and bricks became common, and residential buildings resembling villas emerged, including detached houses and mansions. modern construction materials were also introduced, and roofing systems changed while some buildings retained the traditional vault system figure (5). example: al-hammouri residence was built in the early 20th century, specifically in the 1930s, during a period of stability in the region and the british mandate in palestine. it is located in the ain sara area near al-waha roundabout. the residence was constructed in 1931, (hebron reconstruction committee. 2020) and is considered an architectural masterpiece in terms of design. the building consists of three floors, characterized by multiple levels within each floor, reflecting the diverse construction periods. the initial structure of the residence started from the ground floor, which is currently used as a storage space. additionally, a private garage for cars was found at the entrance (ali shaban, 2009). the remaining floors were built in the 1930s ( maraqa, 2022), as mentioned later. figure 5. al-hammouri residence. 1 the plan, 2 the front façade, and the western façade, and 3 shows the entrance r. source photo and drawing by the author 2020 figure 6. internal and external details of hammouri's palace source, photography author. 2020. 2.2. palestine hotel building (hebron museum) 2.2.1. the site: the building is situated at the entrance to the old city of hebron, occupying a strategically significant location that serves as a pivotal juncture between the heart of the historic town, centered around the revered ibrahimi mosque, a prominent cultural landmark. this location also marks the transitional point from the late ottoman empire era to the early british mandate period. it is positioned at the crossroads of the old shalala street and the newer shalala street, facing what is now known as ain al-askar, a site that has gained recognition as a security point overseeing several structures and israeli military positions, including beit romanin. (maraqa, 2022). 3 c 2 b 1 a shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 administratively, the building falls under the jurisdiction of the palestinian authority in the h1 area. historically, this area once served as a wheat cultivation field, dotted with a number of singular wells. the name "ain al-askar" derives from the copious water supply that flowed akin to waterfalls, as it served as a gathering point for water originating from the surrounding mountains enveloping the old city of hebron (maraqa, 2022). this edifice holds the distinction of being the first hotel established in hebron. its construction was primarily influenced during the late ottoman era in the 19th century. ownership of the building is attributed to the al-harbaoui family, with mr. rafiq and ahmad al-harbaoui, who own commercial shops on the building's ground floor. this is suggested by indications and semantics (bronzino, 2010). originally, the structure was built as a residential dwelling, with the first floor erected in the late 19th century. subsequently, it transformed into a hotel between 1943 and 1963. from 1963 to 2002, the building was leased as a shoe factory to the natsheh family before being temporarily closed during the second intifada. it remained shuttered and neglected until the hebron reconstruction committee embarked on its restoration and rehabilitation, ultimately transforming it into the hebron museum in 2020 (al-quds newspaper, 2020). the second level was added in the early 20th century, as indicated by an iron inscription at the main entrance (see figure 7). in the 1920s, the building encountered various structural issues, including a weak connection between its foundation levels. this weakness stemmed from the absence of adequate connectivity between the foundations. to address this, two cement layers were injected and reinforced to bolster the structural integrity between the beams. this reinforcement was conducted primarily on the final level to enhance the interconnection between the beams after a thorough examination of the metal beams. the primary objective of this endeavor was to provide insulation and protection for the building's surfaces(helmy maraqa, 2022). figure 7. the aerial map of the palestine hotel hebron source reconstruction committee(2020) 1 2 3 4 figure 8. old photos of the palestine hotel building appear in the background of 1+2 palestine disturbances in 1936. body of a hebronite shot in the old city, being transported by car. 1936, 3+4 west bank, hebron of the photo since 1969 source photographer: israel press and photo agency (i.p.p.a.) / dan hadani collection. 2.2.2. architectural description and detail: first level: also known as the ground floor, of the building exhibits distinctive characteristics owing to its diverse construction methods, likely attributed to the different eras in which the structure was built. its design conforms to the contours of the land, resulting in a sloping polygonal shape that resembles a triangle. this ground floor accommodates a total of 13 commercial shops, each varying in depth. all of these shops share a roofing system featuring barrel and groin vaults, originally intended for storage and various commercial activities. the smallest shop, numbered 6, boasts an area of 13.9 square meters, while the average-sized shops, numbered 11, have an area of approximately 18.1 square meters. the largest shop numbered 3, spans a generous 25.7 square meters. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 9 in a conversation with mr. fawaz mohammad na'man al-dweik, one of the longstanding tenants of these commercial spaces, he recounted that his grandmother, hajj na'man al-dweik, had leased the store in 1918. this first level of the building is predominantly occupied by commercial establishments, as depicted in figure 9. figure 9 ground floor with some details of the spaces in it and the zoning author photography and drawing 2022. (note the author utilized the sketches and preliminary drawings documenting the specific plans of the palestine hotel provided to her by the hebron reconstruction committee in drawing and documenting the building) second level first floor: this level is reached through the narrow stone staircase connected from the street to the second level and then reaches a rectangular hall with a floor consisting of colored cement tiles from the hall extending along it overlooks four openings from the right side representing the rooms and at the end of the hall to the right we find another hall located on the right of four rooms and a room in the middle to the left figure. 10. illustrates this and represents room no. 1 figure 10. the second level of the first floor with some details of the spaces in it and the zoning author's photography 2022( note the author utilized the sketches and preliminary drawings documenting the specific plans of the palestine hotel provided to her by the hebron reconstruction committee in drawing and documenting the building) room. 1 represents the management room, and this room contains an original stone floor with an area of 24 square meters there are windows number (2) with circular arches with inlays for stained glass. room 2 is located next to room number 1 and opposite the second central hall, with an area of approximately 16.5 square meters. the floor of this room is decorated with geometric and gilded patterns that contain circular shapes in beige and white colors with a decorated frame table 1. the walls of this room tell a story of rare decorations and shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 10 drawings in the old townhouses of hebron, with two windows in the shape of a half-circle with colored glass. the cabinets contain a decorated wooden frame made of red swedish wood with moorish patterns. there are also two upper cabinets, one of which leads to the first dam that represents the store located next to the room, and the second is located above the kitchen area. room 3 is located in front of the first central lounge with an area of about 17 square meters. it contains distinctive cabinets with unique designs and shapes. the first cabinet is located to the right of the entrance and takes the form of a rectangular wardrobe with a crown decoration at the top and glass shelves. the other two cabinets to the left of the entrance take the shape of a semi-circle from the top and resemble the traditional designs of cabinets and niches found in traditional homes in the old town of hebron. they also have wooden shelves and two glass shelves in the middle. this room also contains two windows with the same design as the windows in the building with a semi-circle shape and colored glass. the floor of this room is decorated with circular and square patterns and floral motifs with blended colors between gray, white, and burgundy. room 4 and room 5, along with the adjacent rooms, were originally separate rooms. the wall between them was demolished, and they are now located opposite the second central lounge, with a total area of 17.3 x 2 square meters. the rooms have decorative cement floors in shades of gray and white. there are two cabinets with wooden frames that have been replaced with glass frames to create display cases for museum artifacts. the cabinets have a rectangular shape with wooden decorations on top and a distinctive frame made of red pine wood, with drawers at the bottom. there are windows and a wooden door leading to a balcony overlooking the street, and the stone frame surrounding the rooms from above serves as a decoration. the floor is decorated with geometric patterns in gray and white, as shown in table 1. room 6. is accessed through the main entrance overlooking the second central hall, with an area of 19.9 square meters. this room is considered one of the most beautiful rooms due to the presence of the stone corridor, i.e., the stone balcony, which we reach from the room through a wooden door designed as part of a wall cabinet located within the overall shape of the entrance. the balcony contains three windows, one single and two twins, with the same design based on the semi-circular shape and colored glass. the floor is decorated with a concrete pattern resembling a colorful carpet between shades of grayish blue, burgundy red, and white. see table 1. table 1 architectural description and detail author 2022 the divisions of the rooms and their pictures on the first floor of the palestine hotel room no. room 1 room 2 room 3 shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 11 room (5+4 room 6 2.3. decorative elements analysis: front view elevation: differences were observed in the façade designs of the palestine hotel building, which may be attributed to the common style of each historical period. the building consists of three main facades: the first overlooks the old shalalah street from the west, the second overlooks the new shalalah street and contains the main entrance leading to the first floor of the building, while the third is located on both the old and new shalalah streets and is considered a small façade with an entrance to a commercial store. the ground floor features several commercial shops with arched designs and large metal doors, while the second floor has several architectural openings decorated with various ornamental units and engravings, mostly located in the arcade overlooking the street from the east side of the façade. stone was used in the facades, cornices, and protruding edges, some of which featured frame designs surrounding the architectural formations. the stone used in the design was mostly limestone and royal stone, which is weaker than other types. on the first floor, sandstone was used, and for the first time, a stone cornice was used inside and outside the building. the hebron reconstruction committee cleaned the interior cornices, revealing the building's architectural style. kizan: which was used on the roofs of residential buildings was designed to raise the height of the wall surrounding the building and for ventilation and air renewal. the adopted design in the old city of hebron relied on triangular shapes for the kizan, and areas without kizan were covered with a special type of roofing. maintenance and restoration work was carried out on the kizan using the same ancient techniques while preserving the original appearance of the building see figure 11. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 12 figure 11. the facades of the hotel, namely the northern, eastern, and western facades. (bronzino, 2010) figure.12. section c-c and section c-c of palestine hotel. ( hebron reconstruction committee .2022) 2.3.1. architectural openings and interior design and their designs in the palestine hotel building the design of arches and domes is reflected in the architectural openings in palestinian architecture, which adopted the arch shape as a building pattern and appeared clearly in the design of the palestine hotel building as follows: internal doors: typically, internal doors are constructed using wooden panels divided into rectangular squares, sometimes with double panels. these panels are commonly joined using a tongue and groove method. many of these doors have suffered damage over time due to exposure to weather conditions and misuse. internal doors come in various shapes and styles, with some featuring a glass skylight above them. some doors have arched wooden or nonwooden motifs. wooden doors often consist of recognizable panels found in many houses, varying in size and arrangement. additionally, there are straight doors with square tops, which may have a rectangular stone block covering one or more pieces. these stone blocks can be arranged in a staggered pattern and adorned with geometric or floral designs. exterior doors: exterior door jambs are typically made of stone, while the door panel's attachments and additions are crafted from metal, known as "razat." the design of exterior doors is distinctive, often resembling a dissected knot comprised of a series of small knots or continuous semicircular arches, referred to as "fassa." these circular javascript:audio1_output(); shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 13 knots have a single center, with legs terminating in straight lines, while the arches conclude in semicircular, keystone, or mocarnas shapes (al-quds newspaper, 2020). windows and their patterns: the window design in the palestine hotel building exhibits a traditional style characterized by two prevalent designs. the first design features motorized arched windows located at the top. these windows can be singular, paired, or arranged in groups of three, each with a circular arch. additionally, there might be multiple windows placed side by side. some of these windows are adorned with a glass lunette, as indicated in table (2). these windows were typically crafted from wood and comprised one or two fixed frames along with two movable ones, depending on their size. colored glass was incorporated into these lunettes, which were positioned above doors. these lunettes could be independent and found above both doors and windows, sometimes covered with metal mesh or glass. these decorative elements were known for their colored glass and intricate metal ornamentation, sharing a similar design but varying in distribution. the right side often featured paired windows, followed by triple windows, a single window adjacent to a balcony-accessible door, two paired windows, and a corridor supported by corbelled stone pillars with islamic-style paired columns adorned with distinctive metal designs. balcony: the building incorporates protruding balconies on street-facing facades, supported by metal cantilevers either within the facade or within the wall. these cantilevers, referred to as "dawamer" or railway iron, are constructed from painted iron. they are positioned beneath balconies or terraces, as illustrated in table 2. to alleviate the structural load on the building, the cement on balconies adjacent to metal cantilevers has been replaced with wooden beams. these wooden beams serve to safeguard the building's foundation by reducing the primary load. the pillars have undergone restoration in a similar style and have been whitewashed, utilizing limestone. floors: the palestine hotel boasts a variety of floor designs and materials. some rooms feature stone floors, such as room no. 1, as mentioned earlier, while others showcase decorative concrete floors. the floors have been wellmaintained, with any deficiencies addressed by replacing damaged sections and making necessary repairs. four rooms have preserved their original tiles without alteration. wooden cabinets: wooden cabinets in the palestine hotel exhibit diverse forms, present in most rooms, and have served various functions based on the available space. during the restoration of the hotel, damaged components of these cabinets, such as shutters, were replaced while retaining the essential structure and display areas. the wood was refurbished, maintaining the original color and design of certain pieces to suit their new function, such as window displays known as "vitrinas." table 2. the aesthetic formations and interior design in the old palestine hotel building. source author's 2022 aesthetic compositions and interior design at the palestine hotel item colored concrete tiles and stone floors f lo o ri n g room.no.2 room .no.1 central hall fram in room.no.3 room.no.4+5 centrall hall room.no.3 cetral hall shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 14 t h e in te ri o r ce il in g s in a h o te l b u il d in g "the wooden cabinets in question serve two distinct purposes: one as a straightforward form of storage, and the other as fixed wooden wardrobes designed for safeguarding clothing and personal items. these wardrobes are often referred to as 'vitrinas'. w o o d en c a b in et s a n d f ix ed w o o d e n w a rd ro b es fo u n d a t th e h o te l "the doors in the palestine hotel come in two distinct architectural styles: round arches and segmental arches, each showcasing unique designs." t y p es o f d o o rs a n d s h a p es l o ca te d i n t h e p a le st in e h o te l b u il d in g room.no.2 centrall hall centrall hall room.no.4+5 room.no.3 store.no.8 shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 15 "windows are installed throughout the building, with the majority being crafted from wood and featuring colorful glass panels." t y p es a n d s h ap es o f w in d o w s in t h e p al es ti n e h o te l b u il d in g t y p es a n d s h ap es o f o p en in g s fr o m th e o u ts id e "numerous aesthetic and decorative elements adorn the structure. beginning from the right, there are drawings or fragments of murals, followed by stone embellishments in the shape of cornices, and metal accents on the architectural openings. a es th et ic a n d d ec o ra ti v e el em en ts i n t h e p al es ti n e h o te l b u il d in g 3. conclusions and recommendations the study provides the following key findings, addressing the research questions: 1. evolution of palestinian architecture in modern times: palestinian architecture and housing development experienced significant stages and transformations in the modern era, notably commencing in the early 19th century, characterized by globalization and the introduction of foreign architectural influences. by the late 19th century, radical changes were witnessed in the architectural landscape, including shifts in construction methods, alterations in architectural forms, the emergence of individual buildings and palaces, and the transformation of traditional courtyards into wider streets. the 20th century, marked by the british mandate and associated laws, saw the adoption of the middle hall system, the introduction of cement in construction techniques, the use of metal bridges, the retention of domes in ceilings, and the appearance of balconies in residences. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 16 2. notable features of palestinian architecture (late 19th to mid-20th century): the middle hall system emerged, coexisting with traditional iwan designs. a distinctive feature was the presence of arcades in design, often featuring metal bridge ceilings. multiple entrances within one dwelling and the implementation of multi-level staircases became prevalent, with many entrances located on the front facade. modern building materials, particularly cement, were employed for roofing, while domes remained a common roofing style. the favored stone used in facades was the pink (red) bethlehem stone, known locally as "the cross." facades became more intricate with decorative elements and reliefs, and the appearance of metal protrusions became noticeable. 3. significance of the palestine hotel (hebron museum) building: the palestine hotel building, situated in hebron's old town, holds historical, social, and architectural significance. it serves as a tangible witness to the transformative changes in palestinian housing, reflected in its architectural form, internal layout, and construction materials. cement played a pivotal role in its construction, symbolizing a crucial aspect of modern palestinian history. in conclusion, this study sheds light on the evolution of palestinian architecture, particularly during the modern era, highlighting key architectural features and the historical importance of the palestine hotel building. it underscores the significance of preserving such cultural heritage for future generations. to sum up studying the evolution of residential buildings is an important topic that contributes to the study of traditional building history, and is a fundamental basis for preserving, and transmitting it to future generations. the importance of this topic is manifested in its provision of an additional source of information that helps to fill the gap resulting from the scarcity of historical sources in this field. academic studies, such as this study, are considered a source of information that contributes to understanding, analyzing, and studying the history of traditional buildings. the subject of evolution requires further studies that help to better understand it by focusing on all aspects of housing, including construction, architecture, and interior design, which plays a major role in adaptation but is often not extensively discussed. recommendations the study proposes the following recommendations: historical scientific studies: conduct in-depth historical scientific studies to uncover the unique histories of historical buildings. these studies should investigate architectural patterns, components, and the influence of external factors in shaping these patterns. academic engagement: promote and facilitate visits by university students and researchers to the old city. encourage academic research that contributes to the documentation of aesthetic and cultural elements within the area. support for cultural heritage: advocate for increased support and funding from universities, institutes, and cultural heritage enthusiasts to bolster research and preservation efforts. historical building projects: initiate projects and activities aimed at preserving and studying historical buildings. consider repurposing structures like the palestine hotel in hebron into museums, thereby preserving their historical significance and symbolism. educational initiatives: foster educational experiences for school students by encouraging visits to historical buildings. museums can serve as repositories of illustrated and living history, helping students learn about the rich history of cities like hebron. shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 17 by implementing these recommendations, efforts can be made to safeguard cultural heritage, encourage scholarly exploration, and create educational opportunities for future generations. acknowledgments not applicable. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the author declares that there is no competing interest. references ghadban, s. 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(2016). analytical study of the impact of contemporary building technology on the architectural character of residential buildings (the case of gaza city) (master's thesis). the islamic university of gaza. abuarkub, a. m., & s., f. m. (2018, september). architectural and historical development in palestine. journal of civil engineering and technology (ijciet), 9(9), 1217–1233. ben zeev, n. (2019). the politics of cement in mandate palestine: building to survive. jerusalem quarterly, (79), 40. nitzan shiftan, a. (2009). concrete and stone: shifts and conflicts in israeli architecture. traditional dwelling and settlements review, 21, 52. abu hilal, a. (2009, february). the changing architecture realized in the palestinian domestic vernacular architecture during the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th centuries: a case study from hebron (ph.d. dissertation, department of architecture, middle east technical university). abuarkub, m. (2018). classify traditional houses in the rural areas in palestine. international journal of civil engineering and technology (ijciet), 9(12), 1141-1161. al-amiri, s. (2000). traditional tiles in palestine: a series of rituals in the history of architecture in palestine. gallery publishing. bishara, k. (2018). architecture and urban planning in palestine caught between domination, devastation and mismanagement. palestinian journeys. retrieved from https://www.paljourneys.org/ar/timeline nitzan-shiftan, a. (2009). shifts and conflicts in israeli architecture: special article on concrete and stone. traditional dwelling and settlements review, tdsr, 21, january. ahmed, t. d. (2008). analyzing the architectural styles of residential buildings in palestine during the ottoman period: a case study of the city of nablus (master's thesis). an-najah university. hebron reconstruction committee. (2020). unpublished study. al-khalidi, w. a. 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(2009/2010). historical centers and identity: enhancement and restoration between italy and palestine. the case of hebron (diploma thesis, school of specialization in architectural and landscape heritage, university of naples "federico ii"). https://www.paljourneys.org/ar/timeline https://www.hisour.com/ar/architecture-of-israel-31445 shaded/ the academic research community publication pg. 18 al-quds newspaper. (2020, august). the hebron reconstruction committee renovated the palestine hotel to turn it into a museum. retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20200923060659/https://t.me/samanewsagency. roberto, m. (2020, march 24). the opening of consulates in jerusalem the case of italian diplomacy middle east insights. rizk, a. m. (2000). a dictionary of terms of architecture and islamic arts. madbouly library. shaded, w. (2020). the extent of the development of the internal spaces in the residences of the old city of hebron (doctoral dissertation, university of sudan, khartoum). michael and julie seelig. (1988, spring). architecture and politics in israel: 1920 to the present. the journal of architectural and planning research, 39. hadani, d. (1969). hebron photographer, israel press and photo agency (i.p.p.a.) / collection, the national library of israel / cc by 4.0 of the photo since (1969). library of congress. palestine disturbances (1936). body of a hebronite shot in the old city, being transported by car digital id: (digital file from original) matpc 18064. jawabrah, m. a., muain, q., & badawy, u. (2020, may). the influence of bauhaus architecture: ramallah as a case study in the west bank, palestine. international journal of science and research (ijsr), doi: 10.21275/sr20516134011. issn: 2319-7064. maraqa, h. (2022). personal interview. the engineer was responsible for several reconstruction and rehabilitation projects at the hebron reconstruction committee. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 16 october 2024, accepted: 28 january 2025, published online: 31 january 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1137 cultural tourism management: advanced tools and technologies bojana milenović1 1student of master academic studies in cultural tourism and cultural heritage management, university of novi sad, serbia abstract in today's world, technology plays a crucial role in almost every business sector, and its development significantly influences tourism. considering that innovation is recognized as a key factor of competitive advantage in the global market, organizations are increasingly adopting new tools, techniques, and strategies that shape specific marketing activity programs. this research focuses on analyzing modern digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (ai), blockchain, and virtual reality (vr), which have the potential to significantly enhance cultural tourism. innovations in technology offer opportunities to improve visitor experiences through personalized content, interactive tours, and the digitization of cultural heritage, while also enabling more efficient management of tourist destinations. the paper examines how ai tools can enhance user experiences through interactive guides, visit recommendations, and behavioral analysis of visitors. the role of ai in preserving cultural heritage is also highlighted, including digitization, restoration, and reconstruction of monuments. the second is the role of blockchain technology's potential for ensuring transparency, automating processes (such as smart contracts), verifying the authenticity of artifacts, and creating innovative systems for managing tourism activities. also, the paper examines technological solutions for cultural tourism, which include the use of digital platforms and virtual reality to enable interactive and accessible presentation of cultural content to a wider audience. the focus of the research is on serbia as a case study, with comparisons to examples from other european and global destinations. this study aims to demonstrate how the innovative application of technologies can contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage, enhance visitor experiences, and create a competitive advantage in the field of cultural tourism. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords cultural tourism; cultural heritage; information and communication technologies; digitization; artificial intelligence; blockchain technology 1. introduction the concept of cultural tourism emerged in academic literature between the 1970s and 1980s, defined as travel to visit famous landmarks, view artworks, or participate in events. (adams, 2008). until two decades ago, cultural tourism was a small 'niche' in the tourism market, focused on visits to well-known locations, sightseeing historical buildings, artworks, and cultural events. today, cultural tourism is recognized as one of the main subtypes of tourism. cultural tourism has existed since ancient times, and herodotus of halicarnassus in his work "histories" describes the nature, cities, population, and customs of babylon, syria, egypt, and asia minor (dinić, 1990). over the centuries, the concept of cultural tourism has evolved. in the book "voyage to italy" by richard lasek, published in 1670, the term "grand tour" was introduced. during the 17th and 18th centuries, this tour was considered an important experience for the https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1137&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 education of young aristocrats. tourists embarked on these extensive journeys with a clear motivation: acquiring new knowledge and skills for careers in diplomacy and banking. thomas cook is particularly significant for developing tourism, as he organized "package tours" to european cities. the main motivation for these trips was culture, so these packages are equated with today's cultural routes. cultural tourism is most often defined as a form of tourism in which cultural attractions are the main reason for visiting a destination, offering the tourist the opportunity to understand and appreciate the essence of the place. (richards, 2010). today, according to the world tourism organization, cultural tourism will continue to grow and evolve in the future, adapting to changes in technology, society, and traveler preferences. digital technologies already play a significant role in cultural tourism, enabling virtual tours, interactive content, and personalized travel experiences. nowadays, we cannot imagine any aspect of life without the use of computers, smartphones, and other digital devices. gradually, digital technologies have found their way into the domain of cultural tourism and have become an indispensable part of trip planning, during the journey itself, and after the trip. can digital technologies determine the value of cultural tourism, or is the value of cultural tourism determined by digital technologies? with the rise and increasingly intensive use of smartphones and tablets in everyday life, new methods of presenting cultural material are being demanded. for instance, innovative techniques can transform the restrictive environment of museums, turning passive objects that visitors merely observe into active subjects that can provide new information. digital tools enhance the accessibility of cultural heritage while simultaneously bridging the gap between people and cultural-historical monuments. the development of information and communication technologies has empowered tourists to independently explore destinations, reserve, and purchase services. (porter& heppelmann, 2014). the integration of culture and technology is now a fundamental aspect of tourism destination strategies. "cultural capital in a city acts as a magnet for tourism, a trend that is further intensified through the use of digital technology.” (kourtit, 2019). technologies in the field of cultural and heritage tourism are significant in both applied projects and academic research on current and future trends in cultural tourism (richard, 2018). 2. methodology relevant literature, including academic papers, professional books, monographs, and publications, will be used in this research. the research methodology is grounded in three key areas: • virtual cultural tourism: expert literature was primarily used to define this term, and examples of virtual cultural tourism in serbia and other european countries were provided. additionally, the descriptive method was employed to thoroughly present the characteristics and functions of the technologies used, offering insights into their practical applications. • artificial intelligence: the research utilized the methods of observation and comparison to examine various examples in different contexts, highlighting both positive and negative effects. • blockchain technology: relevant literature from universities, along with scientific and research papers by scholars and researchers, was used. the research adopted the method of deduction, allowing the author to derive new conclusions based on established findings according to a defined procedure. the research and data collection process spanned several months to ensure relevant and valid results. two primary methods were employed in writing this research paper: • primary method: this involved collecting and analyzing data through observation techniques, interviews, and literature studies to gain an in-depth understanding of the subject. the research data was further reinforced by discussions with experts in the fields of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. • secondary data: obtained through literature studies, including scientific references related to cultural tourism. this approach enabled a deeper understanding of current trends, challenges, and practices in the industry, as well as the identification of relevant information that supports or further explains the primary research findings. milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 after data collection, a detailed analysis was conducted to identify trends, patterns, and conclusions regarding the application of modern tools in cultural tourism. additionally, the conclusion discusses the impact of the research, indicating how the author's findings can contribute to improving the comparative and competitive advantages of cultural tourism. (see figure 1) virtual cultural tourism 64% artificial intelligence 25% blockchain technology 11% figure 1: a diagram representing the presence of technology in cultural tourism today (made be the author) 3. results the research findings are divided into three key areas: virtual cultural tourism, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology, highlighting their roles, applications, and implications in cultural tourism. 3.1. virtual cultural tourism the research results reveal that virtual cultural tourism has emerged as a powerful tool for enhancing accessibility and engagement with cultural heritage. key findings include: • technological innovations: examples of virtual cultural tourism in serbia and across europe demonstrate the successful use of 3d modeling, virtual tours, and augmented reality (ar) in preserving and promoting cultural heritage. • practical applications: descriptive analysis identified that virtual platforms provide users with immersive experiences, bridging geographical distances and offering a new form of interaction with cultural sites. • key advantages: the adoption of these technologies improves educational outreach, promotes sustainable tourism, and attracts a broader audience, particularly younger generations. 3.2. artificial intelligence (ai) the study demonstrates that artificial intelligence is reshaping the cultural tourism sector through observation and comparative analysis of various ai applications: positive impacts: • enhanced user experience: ai chatbots and recommendation systems improve visitor engagement by offering personalized cultural itineraries and real-time information. • data-driven insights: ai-powered analytics enable cultural institutions to monitor visitor preferences and optimize their offerings. milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 negative impacts: • job displacement: automation of certain tasks, such as guided tours, may reduce human involvement in cultural tourism. • ethical concerns: issues related to data privacy and biases in ai systems were identified as significant drawbacks. 3.3. blockchain technology some institutions have adopted blockchain-powered loyalty programs, where visitors earn tokens for participating in cultural activities. these tokens can be redeemed for discounts or exclusive experiences, fostering repeat visits and deeper engagement. the research identified the following key results regarding the application of blockchain technology in cultural tourism: • provenance verification of cultural artifacts blockchain is effectively used to verify the authenticity and provenance of cultural artifacts and artworks. museums and cultural institutions utilize blockchain records to ensure transparency and traceability in the acquisition process, preventing illegal trade and forgery. • decentralized ticketing systems blockchain-based ticketing systems are being implemented to reduce fraud and ensure secure transactions. these systems provide tamper-proof digital tickets, increasing trust between cultural institutions and visitors while reducing administrative costs. • smart contracts for cultural events smart contracts are applied to manage agreements for cultural events, exhibitions, and partnerships. these contracts ensure that funds are released only when predefined conditions are met, improving accountability and efficiency. • digital asset management blockchain is used to manage and safeguard digital representations of cultural heritage, such as virtual tours, 3d models, and digital archives. it provides a decentralized and secure platform for storing and sharing cultural assets, ensuring their preservation and protection from unauthorized use. 4. discussion several authors and non-governmental organizations (ngos) argue that cultural tourists are driven by distinct motivations compared to other tourists. therefore, they emphasize the importance of considering motivation as a key element in defining cultural tourism. cultural tourism is inherently experiential, providing tourists with educational opportunities to learn about the significance of a place and its connections to the local community (mckercher & cros, 2002). the 21st century has witnessed numerous innovations and technological advancements that have profoundly influenced the evolution of trends in cultural tourism. this type of tourism is increasingly significant each year and plays a pivotal role in driving revolutionary shifts in societal development. virtual cultural tourism stands out as one of the most significant trends in the tourism industry. while virtual reality (vr) has been used in tourism since the 1990s, it was not until the early 2010s that virtual cultural tourism gained prominence. tourism experts consider vr a powerful marketing tool that offers potential tourists a "try before you buy" experience, allowing them to preview destinations virtually. moreover, vr is hailed for its sustainability benefits, enabling tourists to explore destinations without causing physical damage or degradation to the actual locations (guttentag, 2010). in addition to its marketing and sustainability advantages, vr platforms like second life (sl) have emerged as influential internet-based environments. these platforms facilitate a wide range of activities, including virtual tourism, where users can interact with simulated environments and cultural sites. second life exemplifies how virtual environments can enrich cultural tourism experiences by providing immersive interactions and educational milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 opportunities about historical and cultural landmarks. this evolution underscores the transformative impact of digital technologies on cultural tourism, reshaping how destinations are marketed and experienced in the 21st century. second life (sl) allows people to explore various destinations created and promoted by individuals and companies. these virtual destinations can be simulated versions of real-world places like venice, paris, or london, or they can be entirely imaginary locations. virtual tourists in sl can visit a diverse range of sites categorized into themes such as romantic places, beaches, artistic venues, bars, and natural parks. there are virtually no limitations on residents in creating or visiting destinations, leading to the proliferation of replicas—such as at least seven different versions of the eiffel tower. a notable aspect of sl is the potential for destinations to 'expire' and disappear under certain conditions, such as nonpayment of rent, expired contracts, or termination of land access due to legal issues. for example, the virtual city of amsterdam in sl offers a variety of experiences including flower stalls, cafes, bicycles, and boat rides. dublin virtual live hosts approximately 35 weekly events ranging from concerts and performances to lectures, while new berlin provides german language classes and diverse cultural events. these virtual environments offer a unique opportunity to experience destinations without physical travel, which is particularly beneficial for individuals with limited travel opportunities. this aspect underscores the role of virtual platforms like sl in democratizing access to cultural and educational experiences worldwide. for example, women in iran, according to islamic law, can’t travel without their husband's permission if they are married, and if they are unmarried, without their parent or guardian's permission. rokhshad tavakoli and paolo mura in ‘journeys in second life’ – iranian muslim women's behaviour in virtual tourist destinations explained how iranian muslim women "traveled". as second life provides opportunities for people to create ‘customized’ avatars before they enter the virtual world, part of the findings of this study unveils how the women interviewed chose their avatars before they traveled to virtual tourist destinations. for all the respondents the choice of the avatar involved a long and complex decisional process. one woman, for example, spent 5 h selecting her avatar and finding the ‘proper’ dress for it. iranian women attempted to avoid imperfections in their representations of their selves and refused to select non-human avatars as they did not (tavakoli & mura, 2015). 4.1. what is the situation in the balkans with virtual reality in tourism? specifically, in serbia, virtual reality projects have been implemented for the manasija monastery and the ravanica monastery, both of which are categorized as immovable cultural properties of exceptional significance (see figure 2&3). the monasteries are unique historical and cultural monuments that bear witness to centuries of tradition, culture, and history of the serbian people. in fact, 54 monasteries have been declared cultural monuments, and there are also sanctuaries that are protected at the international level. the witch mare's house in svetvinčenat, croatia, is an excellent example of how a former small town is becoming a center of cultural tourism in the istria region. the center is dedicated to diverse material and intangible cultural heritage, interpreted through modern technologies: 3d mapping, and virtual, and augmented reality. in addition to virtual reality, virtual tours are emerging as an effective tool for presenting serbia’s cultural heritage to a global audience. virtual tours offer immersive and interactive experiences, allowing users to "walk through" monasteries, museums, and historical sites from anywhere in the world. these tours often incorporate high-resolution 3d models, panoramic views, and detailed information about the site, providing a comprehensive experience for users. here are some examples of virtual tours showcasing serbia's cultural heritage: kalemegdan and belgrade fortress, smederevo fortress, viminacium, and golubac fortress. milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 figure 2: ravanica monastery (taken by the author) figure 3: smederevo fortress (taken by the author) virtual reality (vr) is an innovative technology that has made substantial contributions to the advancement, management, and sustainability of cultural tourism. increasingly, tourism companies are integrating vr and augmented reality (ar) to offer tourists immersive and interactive experiences. these technologies provide innovative ways for tourists to gather information and experience specific attractions or destinations both before and after their trips (winkler & ohlei, 2019). an interesting example is the camino de santiago 360 app. this application allows users to experience the pilgrimage route in an immersive way, using interactive vr technology. by wearing vr glasses, users can step into the shoes of a pilgrim, enhancing their understanding and engagement with the journey. the app functions as an interactive guide, combining documentary-style information with interactive features (paolis & bourdot, 2020). as technology advances rapidly, mixed reality (mr) is gaining popularity, especially for co-creating cultural heritage and tourism experiences, appealing particularly to generation z. the key distinction between augmented reality (ar) and mixed reality lies in their interaction with the physical world. in ar, digital elements are overlaid onto the physical environment in real-time but typically do not interact with it directly. this technology enhances real-world views with additional digital information, enriching user perception. on the other hand, mr goes further by integrating digital elements that not only overlay but also interact with the physical environment. this interaction allows for more immersive and dynamic experiences where virtual objects can respond to and interact with real-world surroundings in real-time. unlike virtual reality (vr), which completely immerses users in a virtual environment isolated from the physical world, mr seamlessly blends digital content with the real world to varying extents, enhancing the user's perception and engagement with their surroundings. this evolution in technology not only transforms how cultural heritage and tourism are experienced but also caters to the preferences and expectations of modern audiences, particularly those belonging to generation z, who value interactive and immersive digital experiences. therefore, vr technology completely ignores the environment in which the user is in, whereas mr experiences process the environment in which the user is in and include it in the experience. similarly, in a vr experience, the user only interacts with the virtual environment, whereas in an mr experience, the user interacts with both virtual and physical elements (stienmetz, ferrer-rosell & massimo, 2022). the most popular example of mr is the city vr experience, which is an immersive virtual reality experience. it allows gamers to discover new perspectives to look upon the world we live in like never have done before. dozens of roads, structures, cars, and diverse metropolitan areas are available in the game, each of which has a real-life counterpart. city vr is milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 more than just a 3d planit provides a revolutionary way to design environments using a range of perspectives. gamers may wander through the city like a giant, see objects from above and below, scale in and out, alter the climate, and take great photos. it provides a thorough glimpse of any location the player desires to visit (stienmetz, ferrerrosell & massimo, 2022). video games have garnered attention in education, health, and various non-gaming sectors, including tourism. their appeal lies in the unique ability to allow players to freely explore virtual worlds, simulating the experience of leisurely strolling through new environments like tourists (dubois, griffin & gibbs, 2021). in video games, gamers are called to adventure to explore in-game locations (sajid, 2018), thus, player-tourists have the opportunity to learn about the destination and its tourist attractions through entertainment. in serbia, a significant example is the archaeological site felix romuliana, for which a mobile application has been created for android and ios operating systems. the application presents an interactive game called "felix romuliana legacy of conquest," through which visitors explore the site and get closer to the way of life in the roman empire. upon arriving at a certain point, visitors receive information related to that place via bluetooth beacons, and to move on to the next point, they must answer a question correctly. this innovative approach not only engages visitors in a fun and educational manner but also ensures a deeper understanding and appreciation of the historical and cultural significance of felix romuliana. the game includes various challenges and tasks that mimic the daily life, architecture, and military strategies of the roman empire, making the experience both immersive and informative. additionally, the application provides detailed historical context and high-quality visuals, enhancing the overall visitor experience. an interesting example is assassin’s creed odyssey, an action role-playing video game set in the years 431–422 bc. the story centers on the peloponnesian war, an ancient greek conflict between athens and sparta. within the game, players can virtually explore the culture, history, and beauty of the ancient greek world. the ‘i was there when that happened’ experience is what differentiates assassin’s creed odyssey from other games (politopoulos, 2019). another notable example is microsoft flight simulator 2024, an upcoming flight simulation video game. this version supports virtual reality (vr) through head mounted displays (hmd), bringing a new level of immersion to the simulator. additionally, other video games like akhenaton, the mont-aiguille, and similar titles allow gamers to explore various destinations with a higher level of interactivity and immersion. these games are becoming increasingly integral elements of communication between cultural attractions and tourists, conveying information in an engaging and enjoyable way. the way of traveling, as well as the concept of "cultural tourism," has changed over time. each era has its own characteristics, and the 21st century is a time of innovation, technological development, and progress. today, cultural tourism does not only involve physical presence at certain destinations but also virtual travel through digital platforms and interactive applications. in the era of digital technologies and technological revolution, artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming part of our everyday lives and has infiltrated the field of tourism and the way we experience heritage. chatgpt represents one of the latest models in the gpt series, known for its ability to generate natural and coherent text. chatgpt is specifically designed for conversation with users, capable of answering almost any question and providing necessary information to the user on a specific topic. a variety of capabilities, for which chatgpt may be used in e-tourism, which we know can only be partial, include: ▪ identification of new target markets, e.g., for a mature destination or a new tourism product; ▪ development of new products, e.g., to deal with climate change challenging ski resorts; ▪ design and implementation of marketing strategies and campaigns, e.g., to promote new tourism destinations; ▪ support to operational and management activities, e.g., supporting hotels to deal with human resources shortages; ▪ improved customer services, e.g., offering more customized travel advice, ▪ personalize customer experience, e.g., identifying original events during the holiday based on the expectations of the tourist; milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 ▪ innovate business processes, e.g., otas have to change their services by integrating or revising holiday plans created by conversations with chatgpt (werthner alzua-sorzabal, cantoni, 2015). in tourism, ai plays numerous roles and significantly shapes smart tourism destinations (stds) by enhancing visitor experiences. smart tourist destinations differ from conventional ones by utilizing cutting-edge technology and leveraging vast amounts of data to create connections among stakeholders, make informed decisions, and ultimately provide tourists with improved travel opportunities while boosting the competitiveness of destinations (femenia-serra, neuhofer, & ivars-baidal, 2019). the application of ai in tourism includes various aspects, such as personalized recommendations of tourist attractions and activities, optimization of routes, provision of real-time support through virtual assistants, as well as analysis of visitor data to improve services and experiences. ai also makes it possible to predict tourism trends and create customized marketing campaigns, which helps destinations attract more visitors and better respond to their needs. thanks to advanced analytical tools, tourism organizations can identify and solve potential problems faster and more efficiently. for example, seville has implemented projects such as “sevilla smart accessibility tourist & events” to improve accessibility and urban space management through ict-based actions (gis technology and ai tools) analyzing and processing all information by establishing corrective actions and designing accessible routes between neighbourhoods, all of which is available for users through the seville accessible app. an interesting example is dublin, also a smart destination, which created the “culture near you map”, an interactive experience that offers visitors and residents the opportunity to view up-to-date information on entertainment and events, culture, people, and places which can be accessed through the web app and reveals the city's wealth of attractions (la rocca, 2023). when talking about smart cities, dubrovnik cannot be overlooked, as it is undoubtedly the most popular holiday destination in croatia, and one of the most popular examples of overtourism, after venice. dubrovnik is famous for its project ‘ respect the city’, which uses ict technologies to measure tourists' presence and impacts and then collects the data and insight into visitor movements and point of interest preferences-providing information and redirecting visitor flows. on that note, the cultural heritage of the city is preserved, the quality of everyday life for citizens is enhanced, and tourists are enabled to have a better experience of dubrovnik. in 2020, gothenburg was nominated as the european capital of smart tourism by the european commission, recognizing it as one of the most popular smart tourism destinations. the digital twin of gothenburg project, initiated in 2021, allows historical data to be used to view, analyze, and understand the city and its functioning. an example of this is the living atlas indicators provided by arcgis urban (pasquinelli & trunfio, 2021). gothenburg's digital twin is an innovative approach that leverages advanced technology to create a virtual replica of the city. this digital model integrates various data sources, including historical, real-time, and predictive data, to offer a comprehensive understanding of urban dynamics. by utilizing the digital twin, city planners, policymakers, and stakeholders can make informed decisions to enhance urban development, optimize resource management, and improve the overall quality of life for residents and visitors. in china, the 'city brain' is a prime example of a smart tourism destination and how ai works. the application of “city brain” has improved the quality and efficiency of tourism emergency rescue and tourism services. this application enables users to share data about landmarks in the city while directing tourist companies to participate in data collection and exchange results in cultural tourism. based on data analysis results, the authorities can provide services such as “find vacancies within 10 s”, “enter the scenic spots within 20 s”, and “annual card for cultural tourism in the yangtze river delta” now. taking the “enter the scenic spots within 20 s” as an example, tourists go to the attraction and open alipay, scan the payment code, and enter the park directly, reducing time spent in the queue for ticket purchase (wörndl, koo & stienmetz, 2021). according to unwto, since 1996, venice has become one of the most cited cases for describing the growing problem of overtourism. smart technologies are considered the most effective solution to tackle the effect of overtourism (visentin & bertocchi, 2019). the most significant cities and locations affected by overtourism, also, are: amsterdam, dubrovnik, machu picchu, forbidden city, kyoto, paris, and barcelona. these places (barcelona, venice, berlin, amsterdam) have already developed smart measures to combat the negative impact of overtourism and ensure responsible and sustainable tourism (séraphin, gladkikh & thanh, 2020). milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 blockchain technology is a distributed, replicated, and immutable digital ledger, that enables various parties to conduct business with greater trust and transparency, eliminating the need for a central authority to oversee and control transactions (kumar & liu, 2019). this innovative system works by recording transactions across multiple computers, ensuring that the data is consistently replicated and protected from tampering. each transaction is securely linked to the previous one, forming a chain of blocks that is virtually impossible to alter. as a result, blockchain provides a reliable and transparent platform for conducting business, fostering trust among participants by guaranteeing the integrity and authenticity of the information. (lemieux, 2016). the key turning point in the evolution of tourism comes with the development of blockchain technology, which has the potential to integrate various tourism services and transform how travelers book their arrangements. this technological advancement has spurred the emergence of startup projects in the tourism sector, leveraging blockchain to create innovative business models. examples include companies like webjet, concierge.io, and tourist agencies that accept cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin for payments. blockchain-based cryptocurrencies enable simple, direct, and safe peer-to-peer transactions without the need for trusted third parties. moreover, blockchain technology can make transactions more equal and distribute similar powers to both providers and consumers of tourism services. blockchain-based cryptocurrencies facilitate simple, direct, and secure peer-to-peer transactions, eliminating the need for trusted third parties. additionally, blockchain technology can create a more equitable transaction environment by distributing similar powers to both providers and consumers of tourism services. this decentralization ensures that all parties involved have equal access to transaction information and the ability to verify data independently. moreover, blockchain can enhance transparency and trust in the tourism industry by providing a tamper-proof record of transactions. this can help reduce fraud and disputes, as every transaction is recorded on an immutable ledger that can be easily audited. furthermore, smart contracts—self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into code—can automate and streamline various processes, such as bookings and payments, further increasing efficiency and reducing costs. by virtue of these characteristics of blockchain technology, new players, both small companies and local tourism service providers, would appear in the tourism and hospitality market. as a result, the locals could sell tourism products to the tourists, and in turn, the tourists would access authentic travel experiences (filimonau & naumova, 2020). through blockchain systems, the local businesses that conserve cultural heritage and traditional values as well as small businesses that sell local goods could offer their services and goods directly to the tourists and visitors. blockchain ensures the transparency, quality, and origin of the data, so the tourists can verify the authenticity of the purchased product and can be sure of its originality. besides, they could be assured that the prices for goods and services are the same for all. also, rather than staying at a hotel, the tourists could have an opportunity to stay at some local’s house and receive advice on authentic restaurants and/or sacred places to visit. moreover, since blockchain technology allows to design and create digital currencies, the local community could create their own money. the tourists could use local money to pay for goods and services at the destination, and thus boost the local economy (tyan & guevara-plaza, 2021). an interesting example is the alastria project in spain developing digital id aims to simplify tourist operations by having all the information available about an individual in one place. blockchain technology has broader applications in the aviation industry, encompassing almost all areas. it can increase the efficiency of passenger identification and verification, prevent overbooking through the use of smart contracts, and facilitate ticket payments. several companies are leveraging blockchain technology for travel organization and airline ticket planning, including travelblock, travelgrid, travelchain, aeron, and windingtree. winding tree, a non-profit organization based in switzerland, has created a specialized blockchain platform that allows users to communicate and make travel-related deals without incurring third-party fees. this platform enables direct interaction between service providers and consumers, fostering a more transparent and cost-effective marketplace. additionally, by utilizing blockchain's immutable ledger, winding tree ensures that all transactions are secure and verifiable, significantly reducing the risk of fraud and enhancing trust among users. the russian project travelchai is a platform that allows its users to store personal data in encrypted form, and the digital footprint (countries and places s/he visits, restaurants and cafes s/he eats at, and what kind of recreation s/he prefers) in the open from (angelova, 2019). blockchain technology in cultural heritage can be used to create a registry that includes the type and category of cultural assets and all activities performed on cultural assets (type of ownership, technical protection milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 10 measures). in this way, blockchain becomes an efficient tool for the protection and creation of digital archives of cultural heritage with documents, photographs, and other important information about cultural assets. blockchain technology in cultural heritage can ensure a higher level of protection, transparency, authenticity, and immutability. when data for a specific cultural asset (for example, memorial park "kragujevački oktobar" at kragujevac) are entered using blockchain technology, they can’t be deleted, altered, or falsified. immutability prevents data tampering within the network, whereas blockchain for business uses a shared and immutable ledger that members can only access with permission. today, centralized databases or paper documents are still used for the cataloging of cultural heritage. these tools can easily be subject to falsification or cancellation, but with blockchain technology that isn’t possible (bacciu, 2019). when visiting a new tourist destination, cultural tourists often visit museums to better acquaint themselves with the culture, tradition, and history of a city, state, or people. it often happens that tourists, when visiting museums, find that some museum objects or collections are currently unavailable due to being exhibited in another museum for an exhibition. it is not uncommon for an object to be damaged during transportation, and theft/misappropriation of cultural objects also frequently occurs. in this case, as well, blockchain technology plays an important role. how? for museums, blockchain technology offers a way to also monitor the location and lending of objects to other institutions (mucchi, 2022). also, to prevent fraud, blockchain technology verifies whether the object/item has been obtained through a legally compliant process, which ensures its provenance. the badges would be numerical designations ranging from 1–5. in this case, ’1’ would mean the item(s) obtained followed clear and well-established guidelines in the acquisition or how it was obtained in its life history. the designation ’2’ indicates the object(s) appear to be legal and/or ethical, but documentation is not completely clear, and some doubt is evident in its life history. the designation ’3’ means there is unclear documentation, and the objects are reasonably likely to have been obtained unethically or illegally. for a designation of ’4’, the objects are not ethically obtained, at least using given standards, and could be illegally obtained. for items with ’5’, the objects have clear evidence that they were obtained illegally (association, 2004). 5. conclusion in short, cultural tourism is one of the most important and simultaneously fastest-growing segments in tourism. the definition of cultural tourism has evolved from its initial vision, which was limited to the movement of people driven by visiting cultural attractions outside their place of residence, to encompassing a broader spectrum of cultural, historical, and natural assets, such as intangible cultural elements, sites, attractions, and events. with the development of the internet, particularly with the evolution of modern technology and smart contracts, tourism has undergone significant transformations. with the emergence of the first websites, many travel agencies showcased their packages about tourist destinations, as well as information about cultural attractions. gradually, with the advancement of technology, especially in recent years, tourism, particularly cultural tourism, has become increasingly digitized and interconnected with online platforms. technological progress has led to the development of virtual tours, augmented and virtual realities, and more recently, mixed reality, allowing tourists to explore cultural attractions even when they are not physically present at the destination. social media platforms such as facebook, instagram, and tiktok play a significant role in promoting cultural tourism, but video games are increasingly gaining attention in the promotion and interpretation of cultural tourism. why? video games provide a virtual experience of visiting cultural destinations and historical sites around the world. through games like adventure games or city-building simulations, players can explore various aspects of cultural heritage and learn more about the history, architecture, and traditions of different cultures. through entertainment and interaction with innovative examples of cultural attractions, tourists/players are educated, and such games also serve as a marketing strategy. the use of video games allows players to freely roam the virtual world and wander through the destination like real tourists. similar to virtual tours, players/tourists can learn a lot about the destination (its history, tradition, origin), and assess whether they really want to visit the destination. chatgpt is another product of the rapid development of modern technology that can be used in the field of tourism. however, chatgpt has its shortcomings. for example, it doesn't have access to important travel-related data that can change from moment to moment, such as airline schedules and weather forecasts. additionally, the software doesn't milenović/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 11 always distinguish between reliable and unreliable information on the internet, so it may provide untrue answers. despite these drawbacks, chatgpt has its advantages, and there will definitely be work in the future on developing more advanced versions that can assist in many areas, including tourism. the significance of blockchain technology lies in its ability to ensure the authenticity of digital data. furthermore, it provides a permanent record of all transactions, with each transaction being verified by a consensus of participants in the system, thereby acquiring the attribute of immutability. once data is entered, it cannot be deleted or changed, which is important for preserving validity and authenticity not only in the field of cultural tourism but also in other domains. with the help of smart contract, tourism enterprises and their stakeholders can automatically implement the contract content without human interference. additionally, this can enhance trust among participants in the cultural tourism industry by enabling transparent tracking of costs, revenue, and other relevant information. ultimately, technological advancements, including social media, virtual reality, video games, and blockchain technology, are transforming cultural tourism in ways that promise a better experience for tourists and encourage the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the cultural sustainable tourism (cst) conference – 6th edition which was held on the 28th-30th of may 2024. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references adams. m.k. 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(2018), video gaming a new face of inducement tourism: main attractors for juvenile gamers. int j soc stud 4:52–56. werthner h, alzua-sorzabal a, cantoni l, et al (2015) future research issues in it and tourism. information, technology & tourism.15:1–15. wolfgang wörndl, chulmo koo, jason l. stienmetz, information and communication technologies in tourism, how artificial intell igence will change the future of tourism industry: the practice in china, springer, 2021.88. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) pg. 1 proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences research paper received: 7 august 2024, accepted: 3 march 2025, published online: 31 july 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1110 urban heritage revitalization: significance of cultural heritage: attributes of sense of places for kuala lumpur saidatul haziah ramli1, zalina samadi2, aidatul fadzlin bakri2 1architecture phd student, school of architecture and interior architecture, college of built environment, universiti teknologi mara selangor, malaysia 2senior lecturer, school of architecture and interior architecture, college of built environment, universiti teknologi mara selangor, malaysia abstract heritage conservation has been a growing phenomenon in urban regeneration initiatives in the recent decade, playing a key role in meeting sustainable development goal 2030. goal 11 aims to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. it highlights the association of the new urban agenda in the context of urban development and cultural heritage by “reinforcing efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cultural and natural heritage”, forming part of section 11.4. the conservation of heritage significance and cultural values requires exceptional attentiveness through its elements and attributes. the objective of this study is to devise a technique for evaluating the formation of the basis for determining and portraying the historical significance of characteristics with adequate precision to appraise the historical influence of kuala lumpur's urban renewal. (“heritage significance and the identification of attributes to preserve the sense of places”) this is by providing a set of attributing variables to establish an ultimate benchmark for kuala lumpur’s urban heritage revitalisation performance and succession level.. more excellent socio-economic status and tourism would be the advantages holistically. the paper presents the findings on attributes within the aspects of the physical dimension, senses dimension, and functional dimension that have a holistic direct impact towards place attachment, place identity, and place memory, and its categorisation of rating significantly contributes to the preservation of sense of place. the result of the established attributes framework is considered the basis for assessing and guiding design, which substantially supports designers to achieve two main pillars: revitalise heritage enclave and demonstrate basic principles for any heritage enclave design, redevelopment, and activation. a practical framework that includes an unobtrusive method of content analysis deployed as the primary method, developed through an analysis of content and evaluation of the recent developments of the heritage preservation discourse, and observation as a research method. the research concluded that altogether sense of places dimensions are essential in activating livability, and a sort of balance between the main dimensions. this can further be used as an assessment indicator for the future regeneration of kuala lumpur's urban heritage enclave and benefiting in conservation, eventually securing significant heritage place identity while continually sustaining its attraction. this article adopts a practical framework as a research method. the research concluded that dimensions in the realm of sense of places are essential in activating the heritage place, and finding the balance between the emerging dimensions. the more pragmatic strategies, the higher the sense of place to revitalise the heritage place should be. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1110&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 keywords urban revitalization; attributes, cultural heritage, heritage conservation, sense of place; place attachment; kuala lumpur, malaysia; 1. introduction the imbalance and non-coherence between urban regeneration and heritage conservation plans in many developing countries raises a debate over development or demolition decisions, which have now become a new phenomenon in the capital city of kuala lumpur in recent years. multicultural factors further complicate the progression of conserving one’s unique heritage over another within the overall urban regeneration holistic inclusion decision, leading to the extinction of city identity. many new urban developments, such as the construction of shopping malls or modern city numerous recent urban changes, such as the building of retail centers and contemporary city precincts on the outskirts of towns, have frequently interfered with the originality of the city's traditional purpose on the fringes of the town disrupted the originality of the city traditional function in many cases. this directly impacts the original tangible and intangible aspects of the cultural setting of one place and poses a risk to preserving the city's built heritage. many original historic places have already lost significant historic fabric, adding to the negative city outlook. notwithstanding the laws protecting cultural heritage, heritage conservation still seems to be understated and is seeking to remain a significant value. countless heritage conservation debates and discussions among the orchestra of urban planning parties, guidelines being adopted in the kuala lumpur local structure plan and backed by local heritage conservation bodies and international charters, such as badan warisan malaysia and icomos, respectively, to ensure preservation of the heritage place revitalisation and urban regeneration is aligned. an industry-wide orchestra of experts and research involvements holistically associated with city and community cultural values, uniformity of tangible and intangible assets, and a broader perspective encompassed by heritage values are all intensified by the widespread understanding of "heritage." placemaking philosophy is rooted in the knowledge that place is inextricably linked to cultural values. it is an increasingly popular best practices method for transforming public spaces or development visions into vital, thriving places. to instill and maintain a sense of character, this technique is strongly tied to the history and legacy of the local area. (jeleński, 2018) if the heritage roots of the site are not considered, a squandered opportunity could surpass the building of the specific strategic historical location. it is necessary to maintain, alter, restore, or even rebuild both tangible and intangible parts of history in parallel to support the revitalisation process. accurate ways to preserve the attributes cause comprehension, significance, reason, and consistency to take precedence over aesthetic pleasure. visual and sensible, tangible, and intangible attributes can be further categorised as a way of perceiving the quality and context of heritage space, function, and values of its socio-cultural and economic setting through specific timeline dimensions, past, present, and future, from various perspectives of identifying urban indoor and outdoor elements. the proposed strategy for the holistic integration of the urban community's culture will become evident if these traits are identified, as opposed to only focusing on generic design strategies and planning principles that were initially parallel with the intent to preserve the built legacy passively. when these qualities are harmonious, it will be easier to create better places through the successful production of distinctive heritage site features and a feeling of place. additionally, the resulting heritage real estate’s lease is to be extended, and the commercial property valuation will rise eventually through its property value creation. (šćitaroci & šćitaroci, 2019a) emphasized the lack of research papers contributing towards enhancing cultural heritage from different and specific approaches. there is still a gap in the literature and research on measures and models of heritage revitalisation and enhancement that would initiate the activation of passive heritage and its longterm survival in parallel to ambitious urban regeneration. havinga et al., (2020) discussed on the highlight of association of “heritage significant”, it is still lacking identification of the clear attributes (the “what”) that is perceived as heritage values compared with the research done on the identification of values (the “why”) where values have resulted in a broader range of frameworks and typologies studies in much research. identification and evaluation of the qualities that contribute to a place's worth to the community and us constitute the goal of a significance assessment. (havinga et al., 2020) ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 this research paper is organised into several steps: the first part, to determine the key elements that influence heritage place restoration and increase its space activation, will explore and expand on the dimensions offered by theories of sense of place put forth by scholars, urban theorists, and designers. the introduction, the first section, discusses the significance of comprehending heritage place values, inter-relation with sense of place, and the problems with examining the attribution dimensions of heritage. simultaneosly integrated heritage placemaking approaches will also be assessed as part of the attributing factors to discover its impact to heritage place activation and its viability as well as aims to adopt the practical framework as a resources to check the level of execution strategies, in addition to being a basis for the revitalisation design of the heritage place in kuala lumpur in the future. the second parts depicts the auxiliary supported dimensions and factors augmenting the fundamental principles discovered in theories presented earlier the third following step is to determine theorists’ opinions regarding essential dimensions to raise the heritage place value through the significant assessment of place authenticity which contemplating the sense of place and place attachment which encourage the feeling of belonging to the place and result in enriching of individual’s memories over the place through the time dimension. hence, resulting in a strong identification of coherence heritage place identity. thus, this research will focus on the “what” attribute perceived as heritage significant values indicators in threefold: 1. physical attributes, 2. space functionalities dimension attribute and 3. sensation & emotional attributes that have a direct impact on the understanding of multicultural heritage accentuations. in the fourth part, based on the abovementioned three steps and significant value indicators, an integrated strategy (framework) was extracted for assessing cultural heritage attributes in the context of sense of place. a new theoretical and practical framework will be proposed to determine the heritage attributes’ impact on the sense of place context.. the proposed theoretical framework shall be applied to the following research pilot study to determine the rating application of the cultural heritage attributes strategy in the context of sense of places to the heritage place – urban heritage revitalisation index (uhri). the final part presents a case study discussion, results, conclusions, and recommendations. these attributes should be included in the heritage manager’s guidelines for revitalizing kuala lumpur's urban heritage spaces. 2. literature review urban architectural heritage gained traction among urban planners, heritage experts, and the public. heritage revitalisation signifies conservation as the most practised approach in urban heritage development. identity, energy, and unity among individuals and groups are fundamentally rooted in cultural legacy. the process of preserving ties to our pasts, identifying our shared and unique characteristics, and ensuring that these things continue for future generations is known as heritage. the urban revitalisation concept has been widely discussed in the past ten years as a principal approach to supporting urban regeneration and development of the city centre (ramlee et al., 2018). throughout urban revitalisation history, urban revitalisation has been highlighted in the industrialised nations after world war ii, and the mention of “the cities are to be made livable and sustainable” highlighted the two essential dogmas for fast urbanisation cities to reach globalisation and optimise their potential as the engines of economic growth in more recent years. ramlee et al. (2015) discussed the revitalisation program to be conceptualised in creating the urbanisation solution to the city, which includes people, natural resources, amenities, and facilities provision, which indirectly imply physical space, socio-cultural, socio-economic, and community dimensions. in reference to the collective heritage conservation and preservation guidelines and policies as per figure 1, it is shown that conservation has been regarded as an essential element in urban heritage development as the primary best practice approach to address urban heritage revitalization. from a globalization perspective, revitalization is the most resilient approach to heritage particularization within the existing heritage settings (samadi & mohd yunus, 2018) and has risen to prominence among industry experts who collectively agreed. from a diverse perspective (pendlebury & porfyriou, 2017), iterated urban heritage is seen as a mechanism to achieve urban regeneration, which was perceived to be very broadly conceived. it is well conceived that heritage can serve many purposes and involves processes undertaken consciously or unconsciously by many different agencies, including urban planners, managers, and political decision makers (pendlebury & porfyriou, 2017). dameria et al. (2018) acknowledged that a broader stance now focused on the place conservation rather than ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 on a single building or object has elevated place as an essential subject matter, thus highlighting the change in heritage revitalization and conservation approach. figure 1: analysis of guidelines and policies (source: by authors) samadi & mohd yunus (2018) further discussed heritage street revitalization as an urban heritage revitalisation approach focusing on the public space where the outdoor space between heritage buildings rich with significant culture is generally revived. creating a livable heritage street shall not jeopardise the original cultural and architectural built but rather the strategy to focus on its attributes' revitalisation as the key attraction of the social and economic setting, where it needs a full commitment and involvement by the city users. this concurs that the ambitious and rapid development must be balanced by conserving intangible factors such as an urban identity, culture, and tradition to support the manifestation of revitalisation. studies by ramlee et al. (2018) stated that urban revitalization should aspire to maintain the heritage value in historic cities as its significant change values rather than just generally revitalising urban public space. government and stakeholders play an important role in the collaborative measures in designing and implementing the policy aligned with user preferences. this would then provide solid support to make it a successful plan. 2.1. significance of cultural heritage heritage is most frequently used as a catalyst in urban regeneration and has been overtly mobilised over the past decades. in economic development, the ‘regeneration ’terminology is often applied hand in hand for its sheer similarity. the understanding of heritage meaning and its interconnecting factors is further illustrated in figure 2-4. contemporarily, the use of imagined pasts, heritage further mobilised for various present purposes and public policy goals (pendlebury & porfyriou, 2017; šćitaroci & šćitaroci, 2019). "heritage urbanism" refers to the revival and improvement of cultural heritage in spatial, urban, and landscape contexts and models. in the context of heritage urbanism, heritage means the "enrichment of heritage place and as an activation space instead of perceiving it as a stagnant and still space.” in this context, heritage will now be reviewed holistically as part of the cultural and built environment. while formulating the heritage, new uses and repurposing will affect the environment and its development. the context between the environment and the space function’s connection is to enhance heritage space more sustainably. urban and spatial planning measures the survival of heritage values where the integrity of space and its cultural heritage are fully considered. collaborative action from various sectors, such as regional development, ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 economy, tourism, transportation, and infrastructure, is necessary to establish a vital view of cultural heritage from a broader perspective within its significant values. cultural heritage enriches cultural diversity, fosters social cohesion at a regional level, and depicts tourist potential, as stated (knippschild & zöllter, 2021). it plays a significant role in delivering sustainable development based on its high potential for economic, social, and environmental development. (jeleński, 2018) stressed on the challenges in this present life to create a livable city from the perspective of healthy, inclusive, functional, meaningful, and productive, but natural and cultural heritage are the two effective tools of values to guarantee a consistent context for place-based strategy to stimulate specific communities or neighbourhoods with an open culture perspective. figure 2: heritage place classification module (source: by authors) figure 3: heritage association to cultural values (source: by authors) 2.2. cultural heritage identification brâncoveanu (2018) mentioned the definition of cultural heritage as classified by unesco as being tangible and intangible. further descriptions are interpreted in the following ; “cultural heritage” is the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes of a group or society inherited from past generations, maintained in the present, and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. “tangible cultural heritage” includes buildings and historic places, monuments, artefacts, etc., that are considered worthy of preservation for the future. these include objects significant to archaeology, communities, groups, and individuals, as well as to sustainable development. (text of the convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage intangible heritage culture sector unesco, n.d.) “intangible cultural heritage” is manifested inter alia in the following domains: oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage; ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 performing arts; social practices, rituals, and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; traditional craftsmanship. “safeguarding” means measures aimed at ensuring the viability of the intangible cultural heritage, including the identification, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement, and transmission, particularly through formal and non-formal education, as well as the revitalisation of the various aspects of such heritage.” (why safeguard cultural heritage? answers by states… intangible heritage culture sector unesco, n.d.). (see figure 4) figure 4: cultural heritage attributes (source: by authors) 2.3. attributes feature a list of the tangible characteristics of the heritage in question is typically included in statements of heritage significance, along with an explanation of why each is valuable, as illustrated in figure 5. havinga et al. (2020) highlighted a predefined list of attributes method proposed in the energy efficiency for eu historic districts sustainability (effesus) where the experts will be asked to assign quantitative heritage significance levels to a predefined ’checklist’ of individual building components which found to be undesirable as it may lead to the missing of opportunity to enhance richness of the attributes assessment. as tangible attributes remained the focus aspect in the effesus method, the intangible attributes (e.g., the social value of the ritual, tradition, or the urban interconnection within a society) are not considered attributes. the predetermined checklist limits the expert’s holistic views in determining all levels and scales of heritage attributes. instead, they are to freely determine what tangible or intangible attributes they feel need revitalisation or preservation. (havinga et al., 2020) ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 figure 5: attributes significant assessment (source: by authors) 2.4. the lack of heritage revitalization attributes indicator ujang (2012) constructs the three components of sense of place in the context of place attachment attribute by explaining (1) physical setting (such as: accessibility, legibility-physical); (2) activity (such as: vitality, diversity, transaction); and (3) image (such as: legibility, comfort, distinctiveness, security and safety) as result of cognition, perception, and information. the study focused on identifying the significant role of functional form in creating a distinctive environment, how users perceive in using the space, and validating the emotional impact on psychological contribution to creating a successful place identity. samadi, z. & mohd yunus, r. (2018) conducted research based on content analysis and pilot study methodology, pursuing various past research conducted, which concluded with research findings on 2 significant attributes: physical attributes and spiritual attributes. there were nine attributes found in the physical attributes: façade, transport, streetscape, landscape, safety, accessibility, activity, advertisement, and density, whilst the spiritual attributes were sensory, vitality, vibrancy, livability, aura, magneticity, user-friendly, and volubility attributes found in the research. the findings discussed the highly dependent aura of physical space, spiritual and psychological attachment, and visual experience attributes as the catalyst contributing factors and magnets to the studied streets in end-users' participation in assessing the authenticity of the heritage-built environment. havinga et al. (2020) used the enhanced “attribute significance assessment” of the effesus project, in which steps were taken to develop the assessment through an interview. the interview is structured by the cases, and consequently, discussed randomly. the attribute significance assessment is structured around four key elements: the “1scale levels, 2attributes, 3heritage significance levels, and 4aspects”. the interviewer refers to the various scale levels offered for each case, beginning at a higher, more general scale level and progressively advancing to the lower, more specific scale levels. in their most recent study, yang et al., (2022) developed an affective system for researching emotions in public spaces for urban planning (asp system) proven as a helpful supplement to urban planning and public participation practice by gathering and analysing emotional, affective and physiological states, arousal and valence (maps) of passersby, weather conditions, pollution and other data. this special combination of maps data can help city stakeholders start implementing practical planning solutions centred around the residents' needs. further dependable integrated data analysis and interpretation, such as the affective method for analyzing emotions in public spaces for urban planning, mentions rationally performed, quantitative, and qualitative data analysis and interpretation in supporting worldwide research. users’ experience in a place's physical, social, and psychological dimensions shall be well incorporated to ensure continuity of place identity. evaluation of physical elements and characters of its three-dimensional (3d) space in heritage buildings as physical form attributes shall be studied, whilst the inhabitants’ perceptions and experiences are assessed in perceiving the emotional context of the existing physical setting. multi-sourced references ranging from architectural heritage and urban design to city authorities’ guidelines were mainly referred to in search of developing attributing variables for kuala lumpur urban heritage space. in terms of methodology, the study used the unobtrusive ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 method along with document, content analysis, and literature review activities. attributes and characteristics of heritage places can be identified and influenced by the three (3) significant factors: 1quality of the physical elements. 2intensity in socio-economic activities through the timeline dimension. 3the users’ experience (psychological, spiritual, emotional, and sensory) of the places in association with place attachment. 2.5. sense of places in connection with place culture is an underlying factor that will successfully drive the placemaking and enhance the significance value of historical cultural elements and emotions. the urban elements' meanings and identities were partly maintained by a sense of place, self-identity, and community. within the city's traditional setting, place meanings and attachment embedded in the existing social and cultural setting are seen as being transformed by the new development. uniform planning, adding to place modifications, has led to the loss of the city’s original identity (ujang, 2012). experience and the perception of people who use and inhabit places are factors in curating memorable and meaningful heritage places. psychological sense of place goes hand in hand with the physical components of a place in securing the place identity of the cities. ujang (2012) concluded that place attachment contributes to creating city identity, which can then become a memorable space for the users who inhabit the space. the quality of the built environment has a psychological, well-being, and spiritual impact on the users. functional and emotional attachment have been established as the two significant attributes in shaping space and place. psychological needs are fulfilled as the emotions evoked show the ability of places to fuel emotional attachment. it is further discussed that a stronger sense of place and continuity of place identity both significantly contribute to a successful functional and emotional attachment. places positive identification and recognition, satisfactory feeling, amusement, and safety generate a sense of place identity. space functions are another factor contributing to a sense of place and its identity, linked to functional attachment. space functions in the context of its enriching activities, assists in cultivating the vibrancy and aura of the space, which can then spark emotional and spiritual attachment. szpakowska-loranc (2021) suggested how important it is to create cultural spaces in the city and linked the surrounding public realm with a range of revitalised and new activities related to the revitalisation of heritage buildings or heritage places. this is further supported by seeing that the existing town centre of krakow, poland, has been redeveloped and revitalized, and that those neglected spaces of cultural facilities inscribed on the unesco world heritage list and in its buffer zone that were built on degraded, disused plots of land are now being revitalized by introducing new functions. as an example, the mocak (the museum of contemporary art in krakow) building turned out to be one of the focal points of the now trendy district of krakow, and the space around the ice congress centre is gradually changing from neglected wasteland to new and renewed plots. socio-economic patterns have increased the population density through transforming existing neighborhoods into the nucleus of new enterprising towns and cultural and entertainment spaces, and raised the city's capability to be self-sustained. yang et al. (2022) mentioned a positive emotional charge able to make city spaces attractive to all stakeholders: “developers, community leaders, architects, business people, contractors, environmentalists, consultants, and landowners” and residents. whilst positively charged locations will then develop into well-visited recreational sites and attractive business segments. the rise of business competition can be seen in the area with high visitor numbers, especially in the opening of the economic centre. 3. methodology in addressing the effects of globalisation, revitalisation is thought to be the most resilient strategy for preserving heritage in its current context (samadi & mohd yunus, 2018). reviving a culturally relevant outdoor space between historic buildings is known as urban heritage street regeneration. the active involvement of the management, developers, and end users in the designated area without sacrificing the existing heritage setting was the foundation for the liveability of heritage street. the authors think that the enhancement of the revitalisation attributes of the ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 heritage place and its correlation with the impact of sense of place dimensions have been identified as the significant elements of the city revitalization approach. in terms of nature, the current research approach is qualitative. the dimensions of the sense of place have been identified via the application of the content analysis approach. the method presents the models adopted to identify the influential and frequent dimensions to address heritage place revitalisation and its impact on sense of place. the following steps comprise the research paper: first, outlines the sense of place models and dimensions that theorists and researchers have discovered. the additional dimensions and elements that enhance the theoretical sense of place model are described in the following stage. this will be followed by the findings of what theorists think about the key dimensions that will enhance the place's worth, foster a sense of belonging, heighten the psychological impact and memories, and result in place identity cohesion is the phase. the three components indicated above led to the extraction of the sense of place framework, outlining comprehensive heritage places’ revitalization attributes. secondly, it is important to identify appropriate study measures for both the sense of place evaluation, monitoring, and analysis. (gokce & chen, 2013) researched and reviewed that it is possible for an individual to be extremely satisfied with the physical structure of the building, but at the same time find the surrounding place, both in physical and/or social terms, to be unacceptable. such a situation could result in dissatisfaction with the total environment. thus, sense of place should be discussed at different levels, such as at the individual, neighbourhood and city, or regional levels. two main scales of the built environment, which are building and street scales, are proposed by the authors to be followed in empirical research using the aforementioned framework, established later in a more detailed expansion of dimensions. in addition, it is also important that the research design should have adequate control over the impact of the aforementioned attributes of socio-economic, cultural, and demographic variables on sense of place. in the context of successful of kuala lumpur, one measure is to select case study neighbourhoods with similar sociocultural, demographic status, and similar heritage place identification in the city of kuala lumpur. in the next wider research works, the significant elements of sense of place in historic districts in kuala lumpur are planned to be determined using the delphi approach in order to gain an overview from the experts as well. in the suggested sense of place framework (a quadruple framework that incorporates physical, activity, individual-social, cultural, and people impact meanings dimensions), it is also utilized to rank and validate the components of the dimensions in investigating the research questions. (okoli & pawlowski, 2022; yazdanfar, 2020) moreover, with regard to the future survey, the influence of personal status could be minimized by seeking consensus on research survey questions among the heritage place visitors or the residents. another measure could be the use of statistical tools such as the statistical package for the social (andrews, 1976) to make sure that the majority of results regarding the differences in sense of place are derived from changes in building environment and typology due to its change in use over the time rather than differences in socio-economic and demographic variables only. after the application of these measures, the results of the sense of place assessment should be compared, at the three scales, between the heritage places that have undergone a revitalization process that has indirectly involved the typological process and the rest. we believe in the importance and significance of physical built and environment, and these should be treated as a point of departure in the heritage place revitalization design process. thus, there is a need to verify the common belief in the field of urban studies that continuity in urban heritage revitalization helps to maintain a sense of place and therefore benefits neighbourhood residents and the visitors of the tourism industry. this is necessary to understand the reasons why the future needs to be linked with the past and what characteristics or forms in the past are worth maintaining. the authors’ ongoing research is based on the rationale and conceptual framework established in this initial stage of wider research. future pilot projects, research samples, or future heritage revitalization projects will be subjected to the suggested theoretical framework in order to determine the proportion of the sense of place strategy. findings, conclusions, and suggestions are presented in the last section. to determine the basic dimensions on which the cultural heritage sense of place’s attributes theoretical framework was erected, the research has applied the following: ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 10 3.1. model review of the sense of place the following methodology was applied in order to obtain the research findings. a literature review of pertinent, current, and reliable english-language publications was the first stage. the content analysis in table 1 was rigorously conducted on multiple literature sources to compare the attributing factors comprehensively and extensively. the secondary data were sourced from global and local research publications. the following figure 6 is a summary of the research literature review in each segmentation. the findings were extracted from an unobtrusive research typology to examine comparatively the unstructured material in light of its expressive contents, symbolic properties, and meanings. as a result, the content analysis (ca) method's consequential conduct of non-intrusive or unobtrusive research was established to form the cultural heritage attributes framework's which includes physical, functional, and emotional attributes, and other supporting and additional dimensions were expanded to examine further, as compiled in figure 6-8. table 1 shows the matrix of the employed methods for this research activity. in identifying the pluralist attributes of the heritage place in kuala lumpur, a continuation of the research methods in analysing multiple sources of secondary data, i.e., data search engine and content analysis, was employed to identify all possible revitalising attributes. table 1: research activities and phases in a matrix (source: by authors) research field unobtrusive research techniques year 2020-2023 list of methods content analysis, document analysis, field research, and literature. review of the authors’ published descriptions and articles source multi-sourced data from secondary data analysis + index review of critical studies of heritage place revitalization in the context of sense of place strategies type of research theorist sense of place components/principles figure 6: literature review analysis about the sense of place (source: by the authors) ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 11 figure 7: literature review analysis about the heritage placemaking (source: by the authors) figure 8: literature review analysis about people’s influence in placemaking (source: by the authors) 3.2. sense of place attribute conceptual framework the creation of the conceptual framework was the last phase, concluded at the end of the paper. the variables identified in the earlier steps were used to construct this attributes framework. the first challenge this framework must overcome is the absence of a well-accepted definition and a set of sense of place measurement indicators. sense of place indicators that are crucial to evaluate the meaning of the heritage place to successfully revitalize kuala lumpur were thoroughly examined. ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 12 3.3. performance index numerous sense of place evaluation methods are well-established, but none have been comprehensively connected between place and people measures (gokce & chen, 2013). the performance rating models, which numerous scholars had purposefully created or altered in accordance with the needs, environment, and research situation they encountered, were reviewed to outline the evaluation strategy in this paper. the next stage was to identify the performance-critical factor. besides investigating the dimensions of physical attributes, space function attributes, and psychological sensory attributes, the dimension performance’s rating indexes were explored to evaluate its strengths and advantages, which can be concluded in the following main index: • importances • satisfaction the study included a thorough examination of theoretical sources pertaining to place theory and sense of place. based on the previously determined dimensions, a thorough knowledge base for the sense of place’s attributes evaluation techniques was developed. every dimension in the model has elements intended to enhance its performance in relation to the other dimensions. the physical built and environmental design, social economy, and cultural characteristics were explained by a set of potential values contained in this framework. each set of indicators has a result that is linked to one of the components, which in turn leads to the specific dimensions. the list is used to assess the heritage place revitalization efforts since it is believed that the more revitalization attributes steps used in assessing the heritage place, the greater the impact of positive sense of place impact will be. further, detail three-level likert scale was used to characterize each importance and satisfactory “rating and ranking” value for the framework to be reliable in assessment. (shehata et al., 2015) 3.4. the delphi method the delphi approach has gained popularity as a means of determining and ranking challenges for administrative decision-making and as a structured communication approach (grande & kaczorowski, 2023). but a lot of earlier research hasn't used a methodical approach to a delphi investigation. okoli & pawlowski (2022) have studied the rigorous guidelines for choosing the right experts in any research study and provide comprehensive rules for making design decisions that guarantee a legitimate study. it has illustrated the various ways in which a delphi survey may be used as a research instrument to support the theorizing process. delphi researchers fundamentally utilize a series of surveys interspersed with controlled opinion feedback, and they use this approach mostly when judging that information is essential. applying the delphi method to a wide range of scenarios as a tool for expert problem solving has several benefits, one of which is that it avoids direct confrontation of the experts. additionally, they have created variants of the approach that are suited to particular issue categories and desired results. in delphi polls, two distinct methods are frequently employed to measure respondents' opinions: rating and ranking. in a delphi survey designed to determine priorities for the arrangement of primary data, the impact of employing a rating or ranking strategy on item prioritization (principal outcome), questionnaire completion time, and assessment of issues complexity was investigated (proshansky et al., 1983). the "ranking-type" delphi is one variation that has been used extensively to foster group consensus over the relative importance of topics. thorough explanation of how to carry out this kind of delphi survey, including instructions for gathering data, analyzing it using non-parametric statistical techniques, and reporting the results. applying the delphi method to a wide range of scenarios as a tool for expert problem solving has several benefits, one of which is that it avoids direct confrontation of the experts. additionally, they have created variants of the approach that are suited to particular issue categories and desired results. (okoli & pawlowski, 2022) ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 13 3.5. site observation 3.5.1. heritage place selecting index the selection of the future research sample will follow a methodical process that was based on the findings of earlier studies, as well as the heritage place streets and municipal setting. the first stage is to identify several heritage streets which associated with the surrounding heritage place and context to which the cultural heritage attributes apply. • the research planned for the observation to be done on the main connector streets has the categorization of a set of characteristics that qualify it to be the place of tangible and intangible heritage attributes. • pilot study to be conducted in which visitors and residents of the neighbourhood will be asked about their opinion of the most significant attributes and how those attributes are connected with the sense of place satisfaction. • jalan panggung street and jalan tun h.s.lee are planned to be adopted as a research sample and comparison to apply the urban heritage revitalization framework, and assess its attributes and sense of place impact. in conclusion, the dimensions of attributes described in the literature were identified, and their performance interrelationships will be determined in the field observation result and questionnaire result, which will be implemented in the next author’s further research study. 4. findings and discussion 4.1. place and sense of place terminology, approaches, and dimensions 4.1.1. place relph's book, place and placelessness (relph et al., 2014), makes the case that without a thorough grasp of "place," it would be hard to determine what makes a location unique and impossible to figure out how to fix existing locations that require changes. as a result, the studies have been looking for the definitions and distinctions between the terms location, public place, space, place, and sense of place per table 2. people engage with several degrees of spatial context in their daily lives, which facilitates communication with their surroundings. people are changing the environment around them by applying their cultural complexes to it, transforming it from a space to a place. 4.1.2. sense of place a sense of place is a crucial element in the conservation and management of cultural heritage, as it significantly contributes to understanding the connection between individuals and the places they occupy. as a sense of place is closely linked to cultural identity and heritage, cultivating a sense of place is a process and approach that may be comprehended, assessed, and incorporated into heritage practices in the increasingly democratic management of change. (ramkissoon et al., 2013) analyzed numerous terms that have been used in the literature to describe the relationship between people and spatial settings. to comprehend the connection between a heritage site and the people who use it for activities, one must have a solid understanding of the sense of place idea. relph et al. (2014) explore the idea of authentic and inauthentic experiences of place, where placelessness results from standardized environments that lack distinctiveness. an authentic sense of place involves a genuine engagement with the environment that is not mediated by arbitrary social or intellectual fashions. relph emphasizes the need for a "progressive" sense of place that adapts to modern realities while retaining its essential human function. a solid awareness of the human dimension is one of the keys to accomplishing sustainable heritage conservation. sense of place is familiarly being associated in the vast spatial studies in contemplating the place-people connection, yet experts cannot agree on how to interpret the notion of sense of place(dameria et al., 2020). the term "sense of place" is widely used, yet it often refers to slightly different conceptualizations of place(shamai & ilatov, 2019). (graham et al., 2009) emphasized two main interpretations of "sense of place." the first interpretation, familiarly called genius loci, explores various aspects such as topography, built environment, and personal experiences, which largely contribute to the unique character or local distinctiveness of a specific place. the second interpretation ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 14 emphasizes how people experience, use, and understand a place, leading to various conceptual subsets like "place identity," "place attachment," "place dependency," and "insiderness."in the in-depth dimensions, sense of place describes the connections people form with the environments they inhabit. it can be viewed from several perspectives: anthropological, focusing on symbolic relationships with land; environmental, emphasizing personal experiences in a setting; geographical, related to emotional and sensory bonds with places; historical, concerning connections formed through repeated events; and sociological, considering community attachment and local sentiment. the national academy of sciences highlights the importance of creating a sense of place as it fosters community and enhances quality of life. (ellery & ellery, 2019). table 2: terminology dimensions, approaches and pragmatism of sense of place on places. (source: by authors) dimensions/approach conceptual chart and modules theorist, philosopher, and researcher components of sense of place identity of place (relph et al., 2014) canter 1977 edward relph activity physical attributes concept the place aspect of the sense of place punter, 1991 activity physical setting meaning policy direction to foster placemaking montgomery, 1998 activity forms image venn diagram (erfani, 2022) erfani, goran social psychological ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 15 4.2. construction of the sense of places morphology one important measure of quality of life as studied in (gokce & chen, 2013) is sense of place and many elements, including the duration of residency, ownership, personal qualities, societal relations, cultural variations, ethnic and religious origins, money, education, age, gender, and marital status, are thought to have an impact on sense of place, according to research. this emphasized the dominance of inter-relation between the place qualities dimensions through time scale, economic and social dimensions in parallel to the impact of people's experience holistically as illustrated in figure 9. 4.2.1. sense of place dimension in heritage context a summary of sense of place variables may be found in the concept of location dependency principles discussed in the preceding section. the theory of sense of place in the context of heritage might be investigated using these factors. the detailed interpretation in the sections below provides an overview of the concepts and factors that interlink the tangible and intangible values that have a holistic, significant impact on society, encompassing how several variables are related to one another. attributes and characteristics of heritage places are identifiable and influenced by the significant factors of physical (tangible), socio-economic (space functionality through time dimension-intangible), and people’s experience through time (emotional & memory dimensions-intangible as illustrated in figure 10. place identification from a cognitive standpoint, an emotive viewpoint, and a conative perspective are the three components of the idea of sense of place as analysed by dameria et al. (2018). it is a significant thought to research the sense of place impact in the context of heritage, in which this research will be initiating a conceptual framework for the links generated when characterizing the place and impact towards place identity, place attachment, experiences, and the connections between sense of place1 and human wellbeing (poe & donatuto, 2015) jamie donatuto melissa r. poe, activities heritage social personal impact of typomorphological changes of residential environments on residents’ sense of place. (analytics et al., 2019) gokce, d., & chen, f. place identity place attachment place dependency sop monitoring at 3 scale (gokce & chen, 2013) gokce, d., & chen, f. house layout street layout neighborhood layout ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 16 principles that underlie it. studying the historic environment is still crucial, even though this conceptual sense of place framework may reveal links that were previously unknown (graham et al., 2009). place and built-environment dimensions evaluation of physical elements and characters of its three-dimensional (3d) space in heritage buildings as physical form attributes shall be studied, whilst the inhabitants’ perceptions and experiences are assessed in perceiving the emotional context of the existing physical setting. multi-sourced references ranging from architectural heritage and urban design to city authorities’ guidelines were mainly referred to in search of developing attributing variables for kuala lumpur urban heritage space. meanings and values, both personal and collective, are what establish and preserve people's ties to certain regions. via social interaction and behaviors, place values are etched onto specific locations, bringing history to life in the environment via the ongoing presence of human groups. a location is influenced by connections, social histories, and personal biographies in addition to its aesthetic attributes and biogeographic features. it is not just the sum of its material components (poe & donatuto, 2015). when it comes to a place's outside look, peng et al. (2020) highlight that it usually begins by finding it on a map literally. the bounds of the map give it a distinct geographic location and contour, making it easier for others to locate it on the globe. other physical components, such as place names, structures, land use, people, landscapes, landmarks, governments, cultures, and organizations, also contribute to a place's outward look. these components may be broadly divided into three divisions, according to paasi (1986): institutional shape, symbolic shape, and physical shape. one or more of these material components are typically cited when discussing a place as factors that contribute to its identity. see figure (gokce & chen, 2013) discovered that many have disregarded how important a good physical environment is to developing a place connection and achieving a place's meaning. given how crucial the physical environment is to fulfilling people's wants and goals and creating chances for social contact, it is important to pay attention to how diverse spatial connections, as offered by different building typologies, including housing across time, affect the sense of place. lynch (the image of the city, n.d.) points out that an atmosphere that is "well-organized," "poetic," and "symbolic" improves locals' feeling of location. as a result, the ongoing changes to the built environment could be advantageous for preserving the sense of place. economic dimensions a way of life captures the core of how people and communities create and maintain their means of subsistence. this includes having the capacity to access and make use of material resources. it also encompasses qualities that come from intangible resources like direction, knowledge, skills, and social networks that sustain an individual or group. in addition to being "ends" (such as a job or money), the everyday routines of economic activities that constitute a way of life are also "means" (i.e., the way of life, identity, practices, and relationships). these include both official and informal economic sectors' subsistence, domestic, and commercial producing activities. social and cultural dimensions individual involvement in community and cultural events greatly improves a place's reputation. this engagement enhances the region's character, particularly with regard to cultural variety, which fortifies the area's genuineness and, thus, creates a feeling of connection and inclusion for both locals and tourists. by doing this, people provide social groupings with their expertise, experience, and abilities, adding to the body of knowledge and, consequently, to a common identity. recognizing and integrating characteristics that distinguish people in social groups and the community, as well as in significant places, is how community identity is created (rezeg & roche, 2025). proshansky et al. (1983) emphasized that the conceptual foundation for comprehending how self-identity develops via the lifelong process of socialization is provided by social roles and social traits. in this way, we have directly linked the same conceptual framework to our theoretical formulation and study of place-identity. place-identity cognitions articulate and represent the physical environments and their characteristics that underpin and are intimately related to the social roles and characteristics that establish an individual's identity, behavior, and values. at the core ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 17 of shifts in place-identity cognitions are shifts in the social roles and social characteristics of the individual, regardless of the initial cause of change, the lifecycle itself, shifting societal ideals, or significant personal changes. figure 9: heritage place physical and functional dimensions (source: by authors) 4.2.2. personal experience on memory and sense attributes place identity place identity involves the self-categorization process related to one's sense of belonging to a particular place (bernardo et al., 2013). users’ experience in a place's physical, social, and psychological dimensions shall be well incorporated to ensure continuity of place identity. previous studies have established that place identity is established through users’ sense of place (khakzad & griffith, 2016). these studies suggest some characteristics of the fishing village’s culture and cultural entities with reference to socio-cultural memory, place attachment, and place identity, and are used in connection with and to gauge the importance of material culture in the fishing villages. (relph et al., 2014)describes the identity of a place as its "persistent sameness and unity", which differentiates it from other places. this insideness and outsideness: these are modes of experiencing place, where "insideness" refers to a deep sense of being within and connected to a place, while "outsidenesshese are modes of experiencing place, where "insideness" refers to a deep sense of being within and connected to a place, while "outsideness" denotes a feeling of alienation or separation from a place. brookfield (1984) and proshansky, h. m. (1978) studied one particular element, or sub-identity, of each person's selfidentity is their place-identity. through a complex pattern of conscious and unconscious ideas, feelings, values, goals, preferences, skills, and behavioral tendencies relevant to a particular environment, place-identity is defined as those aspects of the self that define an individual's personal identity in relation to the physical environment. one simply needs to compare the physical realities of growing up in an urban slum and a remote, impoverished farming town to understand the theoretical implications that place identity has for personal or self-identity. its actual importance in this regard, however, goes beyond these striking and striking socialization contrasts. in essence, the urban environment is a constructed environment that not only reflects human behavior and experience but also reflects and shapes these behaviors and experiences. the place-identity of the individual is a crucial analytical tool for environmental psychologists since it both determines and is altered by the individual's surroundings. furthermore, the physical environment, whether constructed or natural, is intertwined with psychological, social, and cultural contexts; the concept of place identity is essential for understanding the development and expression of an individual's various sub-identities. some proposed dimensions of place identity may be useful in preliminary theoretical analyses of the concept. place-based identities are intimately tied to cultural practices and resource use (poe & donatuto, 2015), encompass expansive pre‐colonial settlement areas and resources that form part of communities’ long-term place-based identities. ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 18 people and places depend on each other. although people and locations have different identities, a holistic approach that takes into account the people, places, and processes that influence both identities (peng et al., 2020). it was also highlighted that the complex relationships among people, place, and place identity often perplex researchers attempting to unravel the meanings of place identity. another study (proshansky et al., 1983) also emphasises that place-identity cognitions articulate and represent the physical environments and their characteristics that underpin and are intimately related to the social roles and characteristics that establish an individual's identity, behaviour, and values. place attachment the cognitive and affective bond that a person develops with a particular setting or situation is known as place attachment. in a broader sense, it describes the deep emotional connection particular to a specific location and the changing meanings that go along with it. as this relationship gradually cultivates a sense of belonging (escalerareyes, 2020). although place attachment significantly contributes to understanding place, it is rarely explored (shamsuddin & ujang, 2008). the quality of the built environment has a psychological, well-being, and spiritual impact on the users. functional and emotional attachment have been established as the two significant attributes in shaping the space and place. psychological needs are fulfilled as emotions evoke the ability of places to fuel the emotional attachment. it is further discussed that a stronger sense of place and continuity of place identity are significantly contributed to through a successful functional and emotional attachment. places positive identification and recognition, satisfactory feeling, amusement, and safety generate a sense of place identity. in poe & donatuto's (2015) study, heritage-based place attachments encompass reflections and memories about their family ancestry and the histories of families as they relate to specific locations. these attachments highlight how places contribute to one's identity, as exemplified by sentiments like, "the shoreline is part of me, it’s in my blood." additionally, traditional and local ecological knowledge were identified as the key aspects, which are developed and passed down through stories and experiences with parents, grandparents, and ancestors. this knowledge details relationships and protocols for respecting, using, and sharing resources. furthermore, work heritage and histories connect personal, family, and local maritime livelihoods with a sense of place. brown et al. (2011) emphasized the positive relationships that people have with places. these relationships are the result of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive connections that people or groups have with their sociophysical environments. people usually develop strong bonds with their houses and neighborhoods throughout their lives, which promote stability, identity, and happy memories. as new attachments develop and existing attachments alter or are disturbed, place attachments also shift. it is anticipated that environmental and sociological changes brought on by global climate change, as well as other natural and sociopolitical calamities, would pose a growing danger to place attachments and encourage more research into how place attachments might contribute to place preservation. place memory and personal dimensions "place memory" serves as a convenient umbrella term encompassing a range of phenomena. one of the most popular ways to describe a sense of place in literature is through its aesthetic impressions (poe & donatuto, 2015), including the admiration of wilderness and beauty. people frequently point to a place's distinctiveness as a differentiator. as an example, the surrounding mountains, trees, and wildlife are all part of this splendor, in addition to the water. by strengthening our biological resources within the cognitive-affective ecosystems of individuals in particular locales, places can frequently play a crucial role in a distributed network of memory and emotion that extends across the brain, body, and environment. places actively contribute to these intricate ecosystems by amassing their histories across various periods, even if they each have distinctive qualities of their own. (sutton, 2024) ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 19 figure 10: attributes and characteristics of heritage places are identifiable and influenced by the significant factors of physical (tangible), socio-economy (space functionality through time dimension-intangible), and people’s experience through time (emotional & memory dimensions-intangible) (source: by authors) 4.3. developing a conceptual framework for heritage place sense of place dimensions, attributes, and significance valuation the part of the paper presents the findings on attributes within the physical, functional, and sense dimensions as illustrated in table 3 and table 4 that have a holistic direct impact on place attachment, place identity, and place memory, and their categorization of rating. figure 11 conceptualizing the combined theory in examining the sense of place in the context of heritage entails examining how interactions with the environment shape people's perceptions of cultural sites. figure 11: coherence of place identity interrelation with sense of place and sense of belonging (source: by authors) table 3: formulating the matrix of research focus, findings, and rating indicator (source: by authors) focus and findings focus specific purpose findings unobtrusive method sense of place indication of the degree of fulfilling urban revitalization multilayer attributes determinants analysis identification of: -physical attributes -sense attributes -functional (socioeconomy) attributes ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 20 table 4: result of attributes components used in the present research to evaluate and formulate further variables heritage revitalisation attributes from three sense of place viewpoints discovered in the previous findings. heritage place focus & aim key factor of place-people connection subset component and dimensions material culture and cultural entities values sense of place genius loci/place spirit physical attributes connection with the heritage urban landscape outdoor connection with heritage built-environment indoor connection with the heritage values (tangible and intangible) functional attributes socio-economic as a way of life: contribution of the historical activities in shaping community identity socio-economic influences place character through special materials, symbols, decoration, buildings, etc. personal and collective experience memory and sense of belonging attributes place memory memory of the past art, ritual, and cultural activities memory of the past traditions in socio-economic places place attachment place identity figure 12 illustrates the cohesion of the sense of place elements and how they relate to the authenticity qualities. this shows the characteristics that could be brought up in a conversation about these elements of a sense of place and its cultural material values. each dimension of place quality is associated with "attributes" relevant to the case's historical significance. more in-depth attribute classification can be covered, depending on the heritage asset to be studied in the future. the comprehensive assessment was considered because this study aims to define the input for decisions about heritage buildings and place revitalisation. ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 21 figure 12: authors analyze the place authenticity components through significant assessment analysis in connection to sense of place, place identity, and place attachment (source: by authors) following this review, the paper introduces a conceptual model illustrated in figure 13 that outlines and clarifies the various potential components and connections within the sense of place concept while highlighting existing relational interchange. central to this sense of place model are the two significant notions of 'place' and “people” that strongly determine the meaning of sense of place, which serves as the foundational core of the composition. it begins with the idea that place serves as a location where activities, events, and social interactions occur, shaping both individual and collective experiences and the people or community that are being affected by the evolution of a place. ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 22 figure 13: author’s proposed conceptual unified sense of place framework model for kuala lumpur heritage place’s revitalization (source: by authors) the extracted revitalising attributes and their impact on the sense of place dimension result are further coded into various elements: built environment & building component, space function, and sensory, as shown in figure 14. ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 23 there shall be a further breakdown classification of dimension components, attributes, and their detailed elements, respectively, established in the research. the next phase of research on sense of place in a heritage environment, which involves developing hypotheses and operational definitions for quantitative studies or directing semi-structured interviews for qualitative investigations, could benefit from this conceptual framework. additionally, conceptual frameworks may be utilized to inspire the next research development to identify the comprehensive evaluation, rating, and ranking factors. these dimensions are chosen with the consideration that the nature of each dimension is able to explain the relationship of people with aspects of tangible-intangible heritage and the physical and social environment, which tend to be influenced by the element of the scale of time value. it is an advantage to compile the complex but structured dimension from the results of subsequent studies that could further enrich the concept of sense of place impact in the context of urban heritage revitalization initiatives. sense of place as an attitude element provides an illustration of significant place identity with cognitive potential and potentially a strong predictor of the formation of heritage sense of place, given that this dimension is antecedent to the rest of the identified dimensions. in the context of heritage, the uniqueness of heritage places, including the influence of the element of history through time, contributes as the main cognitive component in identifying ‘solid’ place identity. one strength of place identity is based on people’s length of association with the location and their significant attachment, memories, and personal experience, as mentioned previously.(a sense of place: significance of emotional connections and identity in heritage conservation, n.d.) figure 14: author’s breakdown classification of dimension components, attributes, and their detailed elemental identification “significance rating and ranking” (source: by authors) ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 24 according to the eu standard en 16883:2017 "conservation of cultural heritage" and the icomos guidelines, there is no agreement on how to restore heritage value that has been lost. the "opportunity or potential to reinstate lost or hidden character-defining elements" is one of the guidelines in "guidelines for improving the energy performance of historic buildings (havinga et al., 2020). a three-step scale based on whether the attribute is heritage significant from its apparent, evident and resulting needs to be preserved or enhanced further to retain its identity, to enhance its value proposition from the aspect of real-estate valuation, and extend the lease of life of the heritage building indirectly creating a lively space and place (see table 5). table 5: the suggested historic significance level of rate measure (source: by authors) significant level rating value high 100 mid-high 75 medium 50 low 25 5. conclusion 5.1. recognizing what matters in revitalizing heritage places evaluation of the spatial-functional potential and physical identical values of historical and cultural buildings in kuala lumpur's urban fabric intensifies the sustainable development priority agenda by demonstrating the relationship between revitalisation attributes and the revival of recognition and attractiveness, lifting end user esteem, positive perception, and the dynamism influence in using the adjacent space around the heritage buildings. heritage owns its’ holistic dimension strengths. the history of the past will be a story of the future. it will be communicated or cascaded down from one generation to another. in contrast, from the built-environment perspective, the architectural characteristic shall be able to determine the originality of its design and to whom it originally belonged (see figure 15) examining a sense of place in the context of heritage place entails examining how interactions with the built environment, social, economic, and cultural dimensions shape people's perceptions of the cultural sites. context has an impact on the sense of place that is created as place-people bonding is a social construction that is shaped by the physical, economic, and cultural-social surroundings. it is crucial to consider the setting's character since the location itself is arguably the most significant aspect of sense of place. a legacy location is an environment whose distinctiveness is implied in both tangible and intangible elements and heritage-related activities, all of which are impacted by time. when examining the three aspects of the sense of self, its uniqueness needs to be taken into account and analysed. (dameria et al., 2020) a thorough or methodical assessment of the cultural heritage importance is absent from the majority of studies on the revitalisation of heritage districts, places, and assets (havinga et al., 2020). the created attribute significance evaluation offers a systematic way to determine an asset's heritage importance in enough depth to guide revitalization choices. as a result, it seeks to further scholarly discussions on heritage importance evaluations and heritage renovation choices. the goal is to make heritage importance assessments more open and methodical so that the results may be shared and perhaps examined. the study indicates the significance of the heritage attributes enhancement and revitalisation to nurture place attachment in sustaining historical places and heritage building identity. as illustrated in figure 15, the success of a place is compounded by its lively ambience that binds society and community back to its dominant, glamorous era. heritage places are capable of fulfilling the user’s psychological needs and stimulating their emotion. this emotional attachment developed because of the meaningfulness and significance of places, values ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 25 translated and interpreted to the users. a stronger place identity and continuity are facilitated by both functional and emotional attachment. positive user identifications with the locations, as well as a sense of contentment, enjoyment, and security, all contribute to establishing the place's identity. immediate users will be able to holistically identify the significance of place value through these merged place, emotional, and functional attachment values. edward relph's "place and placelessness" (relph et al., 2014) provides a foundational exploration of place as a core aspect of human life. through examining the depth of place experiences and the threats of placelessness, relph underscores the need for a nuanced understanding of place in shaping identity, culture, and human interaction with environments. the work encourages further discourse which can be adopted on how heritage places can be preserved and revitalized in the modern world. the distinctive atmosphere is largely shaped by the functional form of attachment. therefore, improvement programs should consider the dominant function of the place perceived by the users, which is translated into the way they are involved in the activities. in sustaining the sense of identity, further improvement is suggested in this research on the legibility, comfort, and safety of traditional heritage buildings and places. attachment to the place shall be improved by enhancing the physical attributes to support heritage spaces activities. heritage assets and values are then reflected from the perspective and response from the users, depending on the emotional attachment and literally an indicator of their identity. therefore, the emotional connection with place attributes and characteristics is no longer isolated, and heritage places value assessment should be reviewed from a holistic perspective rather than just a physical attribute contributor. a proper revitalisation strategy, as illustrated in figure 15, significant factors can only be programmed when the attributor factors and characteristics are well identified to retain the qualities and values of heritage buildings and places. we face a major risk of building deterioration if no major aspect of revitalization through conservation or a place activation approach is taken to magnetize the heritage enclave again and reminisce about its memory. in conclusion, physical elements, activities, and emotional attachment play a significant role in influencing the attributes and features of the place identification process. 5.2. future application of the heritage attribute significance indicator the work described in this paper is part of a larger study on the kuala lumpur heritage revitalization and its impact on heritage place sense of place, even though its primary goal is the establishment of the proper framework of the cultural heritage attribute and its significance evaluation. the cultural heritage attribute significance evaluation is aimed to be used in future expert interviews per the delphi methods as part of this larger study. in order to evaluate the heritage effect of kuala lumpur heritage urban revitalization, the purpose of these future interviews was to determine the cultural heritage importance to the selected heritage site and its impact on the sense of place. it is also envisioned that the work presented in this paper to strictly focus on the development of the attribute significance identification and indicator assessment. this research aimed to identify the heritage significance attributes in such a way that the results could be used as an input to assess the heritage impact of revitalization strategies. the overall outcomes of the assessment are presented in relation to a review of literature on the heritage significance that building, spaces that are the attributes with the highest heritage rating indicator should be preserved and continue to be enhanced to become the best heritage place contributing to socio, economic and environmental beneficial values to the city of kuala lumpur. following this paper, the authors are aiming to carry out further field observations to observe the attributes identified in this research paper on the selected site of the heritage place for kuala lumpur and develop a survey to identify the rating and ranking. ramli/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 26 figure 15: heritage placemaking attribute significant factors aiming for city revitalization (source: by authors) acknowledgement the abstract of this paper was presented at the cities’ identity through architecture & arts (citaa) conference – 8th edition, which was held on the 17th 19th of september 2024. the authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to dr.zalina samadi for providing helpful comments on an early version of the manuscript. they also thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback. funding declaration this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals under this section, if your manuscript didn’t receive any external funding. ethics approval not applicable. conflict of interest the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. reference analytics, p. b. u., gokce, d., & chen, f. 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(2020). exploring the sense of place components in historic districts : a strategy for urban designers and arch itects. 30(june), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.22068/ijaup.30.1.30 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104406 https://doi.org/10.22068/ijaup.30.1.30 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 10 doi: 10.21625/archive.v5i1.808 understanding elderly’s place attachment in urban parks setting kavitha a/p meganathan1, muhammad farid azizul bin azizui1 1faculty of built environment and surveying, universiti teknologi malaysia, johor, malaysia. abstract urban designers, planners and policy-makers are working together to meet the emerging demands as cities in the developed countries are growing at an increased speed and intensity. therefore, a socio-economic conception is needed to be conceived and more deliberately assimilated in terms of urban planning and in regards to designing urban areas in order to develop cities sustainably so they are planned well. since parks are public space they have a great importance in creating a social environment for people, particularly for those who live in cities. this is in addition to the, physical and ecological impacts of parks. those who live in the city spend a little time in the edge of everyday life with their friends and families and, as such, they are distracted from social life. this situation adversely affects the elderly who need the most care in our busy daily life. this article seeks to address the gap in the field by exploring the phenomenon of the bonding between elderly people and place in urban parks in an analytical context and focuses on the core concept of place attachment which has gained traction over the past three decades because of the role it plays in explaining the consequences of the connection between people and place in term of predicting behaviors. this article aims to explore how elderly people who have exposed themselves to an environment develop place satisfaction and place attachment in the urban parks and to create more sustainable, civic and environmentally conscientious communities. based on literature reviewed, this study proposes a conceptual framework of elderly’s source, dimension of place attachment in urban parks. it is anticipated that place satisfaction and place attachment contribute to elderly behavior and might improve their behavior in the urban park environment. this article further evaluates the affective and cognitive views as well as the commitment of the elderly to sustainable development. © 2021 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords place attachment; place satisfaction; elderly; urban park 1. introduction the urban space is a place for the public where thought emerges and revitalizes; it is the most significant hub of human development for communities, serving social and individual’s needs (sadri, 2006). firstly, the current green areas are part of urban open space from the other side, these are mentioned as potential areas for people’s social development by a wide variety of users (bahman poor & salajegheh, 2008). in this situation, urban parks are public resting areas and people can access them to use these areas (saeidinia, 2000). these spaces can be used by all social groups. thus, the creation of appropriate and desirable spaces for everyone and different age groups, particularly the elderly, is considered as an important part of urban planning. despite an increase in the number of older people, the lack of urban open areas and environments or their inadequate condition remains one of the major issues for elderly people. by changing individual ability levels over time, their requirements and their places can become undesirable and unavailable to them the same way they were in use some time ago. the goal of the article was to explore the needs and preferences of the elderly in public open areas. the responsible of architects, landscape designers, and http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 11 urban developers are at the core of creating a place. in terms of this article, the early study indicates that positive emotional connections between individuals or communities, places or place attachments are an important part of the connection between people and place and these connections are of vital significance as the relate to the task of planners and designers. fostering positive emotional connections between elderly people and their environment has been emphasized as one of the most significant environmental design objectives. nevertheless, this phenomenon and the effects it has in terms of the architecture and planning literature have not been studied sufficiently. in the context of the urban public park, this phenomenon is discussed, where local areas are generally developed with low priorities, where the advantages and benefits of the open area have still not been thoroughly studied for the elderly so more discussions on the validity of open area development are needed. furthermore, urban spaces are rapidly becoming urbanised, adapted and mitigated, so it is necessary to implement an operable sustainable development paradigm that takes decisions to achieve a balance in term of the natural, cultural, social, and economic aspects. far too often, many urban sustainability projects dilute the inclusion of the social and cultural factors and concentrate on the relatively predictable results of the tangible evidence that can easily be explained through the economic and environmental aspects. place attachment, a social dimension that should be taken into account, has gained traction over the past three decades because of the role it plays in explaining the consequences of the connection between people and place as it relates to the effect it has on the prediction of behaviours. it also enables communities to be resilient and sustainable to mitigate potential risks, economic factors and social pressures. meanwhile, the economic, environmental and social concerns of sustainable growth should have equal attention. social sustainability as the frequently ignored dimension of sustainability, is “a process for creating sustainable successful places that promote wellbeing, by understanding what people need from the places they live and work. social sustainability combines the design of the physical realm with the design of the social world as– infrastructure to support social and cultural life, social amenities, systems for citizen engagement, and space for people and places to evolve” (bacon & arendar, 2014). sustainable development is established based on ethical factors and contributes to determining the establishment of social sustainability quotients and differences between various nations, cultures, and also between individuals. based on a review of the literature the evidence shows that a deep attachment with our environment can be a source of affection (tuan, 1974). the relation between people and their significant environment is referred to as place attachment (scannell & gifford, 2010a, 2010b). these relationships develop over time through repeated experiences with an environment (oh et al., 2012), and remind us of our sense of belonging, bring meaning to life, build communities and influence our behavior (manzo & devine-wright, 2013). the majority of the latest literature on place attachment is devoted to place attachment predictors (lewicka, 2011). although certain place attachment predictors are yet to be discovered, the research shows that close social relations (lewicka, 2010, 2011) and a considerable amount of time spent in a place is one of the most prominent predictors of place attachment (oh et al., 2012). the identification of place attachment predictors is not the same as the identification of the place attachment process (lewicka, 2010, 2011). even though place attachment predictors can help to guide the identification of potential place attachment processes, they do not clarify how individuals become attached to places. in terms of the research on place attachment, less time has been spent on the development and process and more research is needed to understand how place attachment is formed (lewicka, 2011), (quinn & halfacre, 2014), (williams & vaske, 2003). place attachment has been integrated into a variety of “decision-making models”, based on the theory of human attachment (bowlby, 1969). it was perceived to be an outcome variable for the satisfaction of the people (halpenny, 2006), (petrick et al., 1999) or factors predicting the satisfaction of people, (ramkissoon, graham smith, et al., 2013; ramkissoon, smith, et al., 2013; veasna et al., 2013). both the satisfaction of people (crilley et al., 2012) and place attachment (ramkissoon, graham smith, et al., 2013; ramkissoon, smith, et al., 2013) are explored in the literature. this article further explored the link between place satisfaction, and behavior to create more sustainable, civic and environmentally conscientious communities. it proposes that place attachment (with dimensions of place identity and dependence) mediates the relationship between place satisfaction and behavior. this article has intended to address the gap in this field by exploring the phenomenon between people and place bonding at urban parks empirically. meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 12 place attachment as an antecedent to behavioral intentions was proposed by (ramkissoon & mavondo, 2015; veasna et al., 2013). this article indicates that behavior is one of the main mediators between place attachment and place satisfaction. understanding the relationship between place attachment and place satisfaction as it relates to the elderly, would allow decision-makers, planners, designers, and resource managers to improve their efforts in planning, designing, and managing the outdoor spaces. the expectation is that this article will lead to development of urban open areas that meet the physical and psychological needs of the elderly, foster various social experiences, establish a distinguished place identity and evoke a strong identification with the meanings attributed to the environment. therefore, it can develop a positive emotional connection between the elderly and open space, foster a strong sense of belonging and improve the quality of community life. a comman thread arising from a review of the literacture is a conceptual approach that underlines the significant comprehension of the “cognitive origins, affective nature, and conative implication” phenomenon that is connected to the place. to move forward, a conceptual framework is proposed to capture these various dimensions and to the process of place examination. this could contribute to a more robust inquiry to the phenomenon through distinguishing between what kind of emotional place attachment ultimately encompasses, the root of place attachment, how attachment forms, the impacts, as well as the effects of place attachment. 2. literature review 2.1. why do the elderly need parks? parks, as valuable assets for communities, offer leisure facilities and social interactions and provide urban residents with a natural respite. parks can benefit older adults, in particular, those at risk for “social isolation”. the world health organization lists the overall characteristics of the "age-friendly”cognitive origins, the affective nature, and conativity" (the cognitive aspects) of cities in tems of “transportation, outdoor spaces and buildings, community supports and health services, communication and information, civic participation and employment, and social inclusion, social participation, and housing, including parks and open areas”. figure 1: “age-friendly city elements”. “world health organization, 2007” parks decrease the prevailing “social isolation” and offer inter-generational connection opportunities and build attachment. parks provide more than just an outdoor place. these settings give an opportunity for elders to interact with other elderly people, exercise or connect with their families. people are emotionally attached to places other than their home often called "third places" (garvin et al., 2013). older adults have long been in a particular place and therefore seem to be more attached to it than younger adults (rowles, 1983). when parks and other open areas for community elders became part of their third space, they may help them connect with their surroundings and become part of their community. meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 13 at the same time, the relationship between humans and nature is a strong bond that has been connected to healing processes for thousands of years (ulrich et al., 1991). nature's healing power extends to mental and physical health. hospitals have found that less stressed people healed more quickly (broadbent et al., 2003). the brain releases cortisol if people are under stress. high levels of cortisol in elderly people can lead to decreased memory and learning and increases the possibility of dementia and other cognitive problems (kiraly, 2011). nature exposure can reduce stress and therefore enhance cognitive function and performance (pappas, a., 2009). since the elderly are at the greatest risk for these disorders, it is vital to have areas such as parks and greenery to help them relax and reduce stress. the elderly represent the most inactive part of the population despite the strong connection between physical activity and wellbeing. even the oldest and most frail elders will benefit from physical activity tailored to participants ' needs (pahor et al., 2006). the aging process may even be slowed by a tailored physical activity regime(sun et al., 2010). it is therefore important to ensure that parks are established as safe and welcoming places for the elderly. 2.2. why does it matter to get outside? elderly people's independence must be preserved to allow them to live as long as possible in their own homes. current research shows that staying in a familiar home and neighborhood is increasingly important as people age. if an elderly person stays at home, he or she will require a larger environment, including their local neighborhood, to be able to continue to use them and go out, otherwise, they will essentially be isolated. in terms of independence, the outdoor environment is important as well as influencing the daily experience of the elderly. any commitment to the ability and wellbeing of individuals should take into consideration the emotional, physical, and psychological effects and obstacles that impact their quality of life in the environment (price & stoneham, 2001). the physical, sociological, and psychological advantages for the elderly involve getting outside. the main factor involved in illness and impairment is physical inactivity (who, 2003). despite ample scientific findings of numerous physical fitness advantages and lifestyle approaches, most elderly people were not adequately active to stay healthy. as physical inactivity prevents risk, it has proved one of the most important health initiatives to help people to maintain their active lifestyle and it has been shown that to be outdoors is indeed the best option to stay healthy. an outdoor environment that is supportive and easy to use for older people will lead to a more active way of life and is related to the satisfaction and health of older people (sugiyama & thompson, 2007). the benefits of being outside includes getting to the shops or the post office, visiting friends, and having informal contact with neighbors, which are all of the social advantages of getting outdoors. open space activities are related to increasing community engagement and strengthened neighbourhood community networks (coley et al., 1997) and less fear or crime (kweon et al., 1998). an exploration of the psychological effects of outdoor activities reveals that the outdoor environment reduces mental fatigue and thus helps regain attention (r. kaplan & kaplan, 1989; s. kaplan, 1995), relieve stress through positive emotional conditions (ulrich et al., 1991) and support other factors, such as, contemplation, especially as the favorite places of people are often natural environments (k. korpela & hartig, 1996). 2.3. the outdoor environment and place attachment the outdoor environment has advantages by serving numerous important functions. outdoor spaces could influence the surroundings, landscape-oriented outdoor environments can provide recreational opportunities for their users as relief from crowds and a friendly environment which can improve health. the enhanced psychological performance of each elderly person as a result of their contacts with nature may produce healthier social patterns, such as, better relations with those in the community, and improved psychological ability to deal with life (kuo, 2001). the outdoor environments that are properly designed can be attractive to the elderly in terms of urban public parks and therefore enhance the utilization of outside areas and the interaction between people will increase the informal surveillance, control over the outdoor environment as well as foster social ties and the satisfaction of people with the community (coley et al., 1997). moreover, (feldman & westphal, 1992) suggested that an intensive communityoriented outdoor space helps build a strong sense of community. meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 14 nevertheless, there’s, a concern about the current prospect of the research related to the outdoor environment and practices that tends to view these spaces as consumer goods, which are merely the number of features and attributes that are interchangeable or reproducible experienced by various people and which overlooks the importance of the place's significance since the quality is seldom reduced to tangible characteristics or activities (williams et al., 1992). in this regard, the research task is restricted to identifying the conditions necessary to support certain activities or experiences for older people. further, (williams et al., 1992) mentioned that the correlation between the significance of the place and the replacement ability of the place is not positive, but negative. that is what it means he or she is less likely to replace a different place if an individual had a greater attachment to a place. the instrumental perspective was criticized by researchers in terms of the relationship between the peopleenvironment since they see the physical environment as an instrument to attain only the behavioral and economic objectives. therefore, (stokols, 1990) claimed the environmental quality of its psycho-social aspects should also be evaluated by the criteria of convenience, security, and performance. the research task is therefore to determine the identification in terms of the physical and social characteristics which may contribute to the spiritual enrichment of elderly people's experience. the sense of being closely linked with a place, for example place attachment which could transcend the sense of place immediately, was constantly underlined as one of the most important psychological structures in the research, as it relates to the spiritual enrichment experiences, such as, feelings of appreciation, independence, rehabilitation, and belonging. as for the other types of outdoor environments, the outside space is not only a physical entity consisting of the specific design functionalities, equipment, and the recreational functionality is also an environment full of the perceptions of people, and their experiences, assessments, thoughts, and feelings. in other words, the open area in the urban public park is one of the best places for people to develop attachments throughout their lives. this includes young and old, and it includes the elderly. therefore, in the process of the routine experiences of older people in these settings in their everyday life, it is claimed that the nearby outdoor space in an urban public park can be transformed and regarded as an important place where people do appreciate the physical and social environment characteristics, and they also recognize the embedded meaning of these spaces. in regards to the interaction between people and place, elderly people can develop an attachment, a positive emotional connection, to this setting. even so, as (keller, 1968) has stated, in fact, elder people only occasionally relate to this outdoor environment, have a special feeling for a certain place, and while they feel the pride of living near there, it is still possible to foster a sense of attachment that transcends physical or social discomfort. therefore, understanding the attachment of elder people to nearby outdoor spaces is relevant and important. 2.4. outdoor environment the older people have great physical opportunities, to have contact with nature, and meet with friends and neighbors in the outdoor environment. there are also different barriers preventing them from going outside. in their study (shumway-cook et al., 2003) mentioned that external activities are often the activities that the elderly find difficult to do because of their increased fragility due to their age and obstacles in the environment. the resulting sedentary lifestyle is often seen as a serious risk to the health of the elderly (who, 2003). this means that an outdoor environment that makes it easier for the elderly is important for enhancing wellbeing in their later years. some studies have discussed the "mobility" of older people in the outdoor setting and its impact on their wellbeing (metz, 2000; mollenkopf et al., n.d.). 2.4.1. urban park the cities are especially important as they have become the home for many peoples and majority of the world's population live in cities and will for years to come. the well-designed and planned urban park at the broadest level is vital terms of enhancing the quality of life for urban populations as they help to enhance the health and well-being, and the general living environment and help people achieve full life satisfaction. parks in the urban environment are meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 15 beneficial for people and for the city as well. urban nature plays a significant part in contributing to the sustainability of a city by improving the well-being of its population, according to (chiesura, 2004). an urban park or open area as it is generally known is defined as a public space that can be used for leisure activities that is free of charge, and may be evaluated daily by the public (town and regional planning department, 2000). the psychological advantages that are gained by people, include a feeling of open space, scenery changes, and a place to escape from their busy life, (ulrich & addoms, 1981). in their study, (teal et al., 1998) claim that stresses that correlate with the environmental quality, may be due to the chronic problem of urban poverty. in the study by (bakar et al., 2016) they states that recreational time in the park is important for city dwellers, particularly in terms of their psychosocial well-being. an urban park is an ideal place for the elderly to remain socially involved, contact nature, and meets friends and neighbors. therefore, an urban park that makes it easy for the elderly is important to maintain and enhance their quality of life in their later years. 2.4.2. the benefits outdoor environment of the urban park for the elderly the literature reveals various types of involvement with the outdoor environment that are benefit to elderly people. as they engage in their physical outdoor activity, they are exposed to the natural features of the place, and they have social interactions with friends and with those in the community (bowling et al., 2003; nezlek et al., 2002). the following section briefly examines how outdoor environments contribute to wellbeing for those of an older age. benefits from physical activities. daily involvement in moderate exercise has significant health benefits for the elderly. according to (singh, 2002) a physical, active lifestyle reduces the age-related physiological changes and can avert or prevent the development of common chronic conditions. in their review, (keysor & jette, 2001) have also demonstrated that the physical activity of the elderly improves their fitness, muscle strength, including their aerobic ability, equilibrium, and flexibility. these improvements are known to aid in decreasing the risk of falling, which is an important cause of elderly disability (skelton, 2001). regular physical activity offers psychological benefits for seniors besides the health benefits. a study has identified that to decrease the risk of depression, physical activity is helpful, for example walking for a long period of time (moore-colyer & scott, 2005), (strawbridge et al., 2002). physical activities have also shown to benefit cognitive functioning. a study by (weuve et al., 2004) showed that cognitive performance and older women’s memory are related to greater physical activity, such as, walking, is effective if done more than half an hour in a week. benefits contact with nature. the restorative impacts of the natural environment were proven in extensive research (s. kaplan, 1995). a 10-minute video of the natural environment by (ulrich et al., 1991) in his study (with stressful films viewed) shows that the stress recovery was more rapid and complete compared with the video of urban environments of the same length.in their study (grahn & stigsdotter, 2003) have discovered that spending on open green spaces is related to a lower risk for those with diseases associated with stress. likewise in their study (hartig et al., 2003) pointed out that walkers who walk through natural settings have more positive impacts and less anger compared to those who walk in built-up urban settings. various researches studies have investigated the health consequences that result from the green spaces of the neighborhood. the association of the longevity of older people with the presence of nearby green spaces that are easily accessible was researched in a longitudinal study in japan (takano et al., 2002). the authors demonstrated the proportion of older persons living in a green space for five years is much higher than those who live without those areas. a study in the netherlands by (de vries et al., 2003) has shown that green areas in a neighborhood are related positively to the health of the elderly by the number of recent diseases. the authors mentioned that green areas have a greater effect on the health of elderly people, who have a greater chance to have restricted outdoor exposure to their environments. benefits from social interaction. the outdoor environments provide social interaction. the green area in an open space has been shown to encourage more people to use the space more frequently and strengthen the social links between them (coley et al., 1997). the planning and design has an affect on people's informal interactions in outdoor spaces, the quantity or quality of the informal and social relations between people have significant environmental impacts (coley et al., 1997). meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 16 the benefits of social interaction benefits for elderly people is well documented. the fact that fewer social connections in later life is connected with a reduction in physical health and pose a risk to their life is shown in a study by (bennett, 2002). in terms of social relations and social involvement, diversity is a protection against the beginning of mobility impairment (avlund et al., 2004). however, this kind of social interaction is significant for the elderly as they probably spend more time in their living area. indeed, in a uk study, older people were found to believe that good neighborhood relations are a major component of their quality of life (bowling et al., 2003). 2.4.3. what makes a community sustainable? sustainable development is a common concept that has been particularly important in recent years in housing, environment and in terms of policy. discussions on sustainability not only regard sustainability as a environmental issue, they also consider the economic and social aspects. while there is wide acceptance for the social element of sustainability, precisely what it implies was not established or agreed upon very clearly. the connection between urban formation and social sustainability is examined and the sustainability of the community itself is the key aspect of social sustainability. it is claimed that sustainable urban design and development seek to dissolve the physical and political dichotomy, to enable communities to become environmentally sustainable, socially equal and economically stable, and to help people react better to social and environment changes. in recent decades several projects and planning researchers in the field of urban open-space revitalization have depreciated centralised plans and a planed community and have proposed a more decentralised community planning approach (handler,1990). in the growth of the community, the representation of a community as a "decision maker" operates in relation to the setting as an entity a "decision recipient" and inspires the community (freire,1985). the development of social capital and a communitybased governance structure is more sustainable for communities and it is more effective, this is recognised by many planners. while, various researchers have proposed a criteria for the development of sustainable communities in various ways, they all focus on achieving the contextually complex objectives of the main foundations of sustainability, social, environment and economy. the goal is to emphasise the advantages of contextually nuanced solutions for the development of sustainable environments and communities as it relates to the urban open space. 2.5 place attachment and its nature there are two different dimensions of place attachment that is “place identity” and “place dependence” both of which functionally and emotionally / symbolically include the significance that attributes the people-place concept (kaltenborn, 1997; moore & graefe, 1994; schreyer et al., 1981; williams et al., 1992). these are the dimension that are highly focused and are recognized as one of the most important and relevant dimensions of the nature of place attachment. in empirical studies in different contexts of the research, their validity and reliability have been systematically reviewed and examined. 2.5.1. place dependence place dependence was described as “the subjective characteristics of the connection between the people and the places” and “the perceived strength of an occupant's connection with certain places” (stokols & shumaker, 1981). by mentioning place dependence, it is a kind of emotional feeling that is linked to a specific place's potential to satisfy the requirements and objectives of a person through comparison with the previous place, which is called comparison level (cl), using a reference to a study by (thibaut & kelly, 1986) that researched comparison level for alternative models (stokols & shumaker, 1981) and evaluating the comparison of the present place with other existing settings which may meet the same requirements that are, the comparison level of the alternatives (clalt), meaning the place dependence degree of a place is the result of comparisons between the current place and the previous place and the current place against the current viable alternative places, which determines how well those places have met their needs in terms of how they are being treated (shumaker & taylor, 1983). their suggestion was that the cl and cl alt could be influenced by the number and the scale of needs within the present context that are met by features like the quality of prior places and the resource quality within the current environment, and the extent to which needs are met, thus to which extent a person depends on a particular place (shumaker & taylor, 1983). meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 17 however, factors that cause a person to depend on a specific place instead of an attachment model that (stokols & shumaker, 1981) have suggested in their research is mentioned by (shumaker & taylor, 1983) in their study. in the first instance, dependence on the place can be negatively distinguished to the degree that a place limits the valued results based on the comparison between place dependence and attachment, and secondly, the social actor's "strength of the relationship" with the environment can be based on the particular behavioral objectives instead of the general impact (jorgensen & stedman, 2001). this means that an individual probably could develop negative places because the present place is better than the previous place, but greater or better than the last one, yet could not meet his requirements and there are no viable compensation alternatives. this person can therefore be conceived as place dependent. however, the fundamental dimension of the attachment concept has no positive effect on the environment according to a study by (shumaker & taylor, 1983). 2.5.2. place identity place identity is a notion developed through the conception of selected problems about the cognitive links between the environment and people. the theory from self-identity development included a broader range of analyses that includes the social and environmental aspects of self-identity in which such development takes place (proshansky, 1978; proshansky et al., 1983). “the dimensions of oneself that define the personal identity of the person with regards to the physical environment are represented by a complex pattern of conscious and unconscious thoughts, beliefs, preferences, emotions, values, aims and behavior tendencies and competencies relevant to that environment” (proshansky, 1978) are also described as “a substructure of the individual's self-identity which consists, widely conceived, of cognitions of the physical world in which the person lives” (proshansky et al., 1983). this is why the feeling of self-subjectivity is described and manifested through the relationship with others, but also through the relationships with the various physical conditions, which define and organize everyday life (proshansky et al., 1983). the place offers a significant framework to build identity, and is maintained and transformed by place identity and local people and it is filled with personal, cultural, and social significations (cuba & hummon, 1993). to regulate social interactions, the environment is not only a mediator, it is a means to create and support oneself. the individual's physical environment is important in this sense (korpela, 1989). therefore, the feeling of attachment experienced by people goes over and above the utility of a specific place or environment for a specific activity (proshansky et al., 1983). a place can also be considered as an important part of oneself conceiving, and leading to a strong emotional relationship with places other than as an aid in achieving our intentional behavioral or experiential objectives (kyle et al., 2003). thus the creation of a sense of belonging and identity is one of the principal functions of place (sime, 1986). as regards the role of “place identity”, it has a range of intrinsic functions, including expressing, controlling, personalizing, meaning, defending, and anxiety reduction. briefly, it helps us to organize our experiences with the different physical environments. the place identity functions are expressed in two broad aspects which have been summarized by (cuba & hummon, 1993) in their study. place identity as an exposition, refers to the way a person utilizes places to convey the self-quality to oneself or others, and puts place identity as an affiliation, meaning how they make use of places to build an attachment or a home. this means that places not only can serve as tools for differentiating the self from others, they provide opportunities for expressing and affirming the identity of the individuals (kyle et al., 2003). however, emotional links between oneself and significant localities may also help to catalyze the links. functional significances relate to opportunities the environment offers in terms of special needs for activities while the emotional/symbolic significance is related to the importance an individual has for a place as the situation it represents and symbolizes reminds them of an affiliation they have for the place. the meanings of both seem to be comparable to the concepts of place identity and place dependence, as (williams & roggenbuck, 1989) pointed out in their study. 2.5.3. place satisfaction and place attachment the concept of “place attachment” and “place satisfaction” in general has been distinguished by past research. according to a study by (giuliani, 2003), attachment varies with satisfaction by an indispensable existence. he pointed out, “what qualifies attachment is not the positive valence of effects, but that it is perceived as a bond, with meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 18 an enduring quality, directed toward a specific target, not interchangeable with another with the same functional quality.” (p. 148) according to a study by (guest & lee, 1983), their interpretation, that an evaluation or satisfaction of the group will arise from the congruence of needs and requirements, is a specific place-based assessment and place-based feelings, while the meaning is not so much of a logical analysis but is a reversal of a social-emotional nature. for instance, they found that people-interaction or human-interactive facilities contribute greatly to sentiment, and better evaluation predictors were factors, such as, safety that are more centered on basic needs in a community. besides, sentiments were strongly linked to the use of local areas, which encourages connection, and satisfaction was linked to specific factors, which indicate the entire overall comfort with the environment. also, sentiments appeared to have a more important effect on human behavioral actions than evaluations. these findings indicate the sentiment is not as universal as the satisfaction. in the context of the connection of “place satisfaction” and “place attachment”, a few studies proposed that “place satisfaction” could influence “place attachment”. in their analysis of the factors of place attachment, for instance, (mesch & manor, 1998) found that both social relations and environmental satisfaction are connected to the evolution of place attachment. the degree of satisfaction of a person with the physical and social qualities of their environment was positively linked to their degree of attachment to place (p. 514). there are also varying views in previous studies on the connection between “place satisfaction” and “place attachment”. in a study by (stedman, 2003) it was pointed out that the quality of a place can be satisfied, even if the person is unattached to it. besides, one may be really dissatisfied with a place and yet still be strongly attached to it. in his study, (kaltenborn, 1998) found that a sense of place appears to be better in predicting impact responses and less able to predict environmental conditions perceptions, as measured by the degree to which respondents agree to statements on the status of the natural settings. the result may therefore be part of a causal connection in the study by (kaltenborn, 1998) between “the sense of place” and the assessment on the environmental quality, as the present study argues that individual evaluations of environmental characteristics of a place should not be seen as the results of a sense of place rather as potential contributions to the development of the place. in general, “place satisfaction” and “place attachment” must be differentiated conceptually and its measurement must be operationalized differently. the connection between “place satisfaction” and “place attachment” to the place and their various effects on behaviors also require further investigation. 2.5.4. place characteristics and place attachment the physical aspects of an environment are related to the notion of place concept, as discussed in the literature review. some have expressed concern that the current studies on people place attachment are usually treated only as the product of common behavior and experimental learning while they overlook the importance of the physical surroundings (hidalgo & hernández, 2001; stedman, 2003). in a study by (stedman, 2003) it investigates the impact on the development of place attachments and on the other place-related constructs of the characteristics of the physical environment. however, in stedman's study, only the physical environment characteristics of the research setting were objectively evaluated. previous surveys have shown that the objective characteristics of the environment and people's perception of the environmental quality of life are imperfectly matched (mesch & manor, 1998). thus, individual cognition in the same area can differ greatly. the perception of the qualities of the outdoor environment depends on the objective environment but is far from it, as stated in a study by (marans & rodgers, 1975). objective environmental measures can therefore not be sufficient indicators of environmental quality, and objective measures may only take on human meaning and provide accurate guidelines for public policy through an appreciation of their relationship to the subjective indicators (ladewig & mccann, 1980). likewise in a study by (guest & lee, 1983) it stated the personal perception of the environment by individuals is determined by rational circumstances and environmental perceptions; thus “the objective conditions will take on a variety of meanings to individuals depending on what types of expectations they hold” (p. 172). meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 19 therefore, in the evaluation of their impact on the assessment related to place and feeling, guest and lee differentiated between the subjective perception of the individual and the actual objective conditions of the environment. in the past four decades, for example, substantial empirical data emerges from landscape perception research that indicates that various landscapes cause diverse reactions through various group of people, and qualitative and quantitative analysis can contribute to explaining how different types of landscapes and landscape characteristics have been viewed by people (r. kaplan & kaplan, 1989; zube et al., 1982). research on the landscape can therefore provide a chance to discover how the cognitive orientation of individuals of their physical environments can impact their effective responses to that place and how landscapes and place can be designed, planned, and managed. in the current research, it is argued that the psychological results of place attachment derive from individual understanding, perception, experience, and belief of the place. the preference for a particular kind of landscape in a place can therefore be believed to be a tendency to support past experiences or perceived perceptions on how this type of landscape reflects or signifies significance to individuals and communities. the landscape preference may therefore contribute rather than the other way around to the development of the place attachment. this implies that it may influence developing place attachment by the perceived attractiveness of the particular types of the local landscape, as it can have an impact on the significance of the landscape. therefore, landscape preferences need to be analyzed rather than the results of the people-place bonds of place attachment. in summary, the relations between place attachment and its major element need to be explored in terms of the physical environment characteristics that are perceived by the individual. it was mentioned that, the perceived physical environment characteristics should be used to analyses the possible relationships between the perception of the environmental features and place-based assessment and condition, such as, the “place satisfaction” and “place attachment”, and the effects of environmental expectations on behaviors instead of the “objective” features of the physical setting as reflected in several previous research studies. 2.5.5. impact of place attachment studies revealed that the degree of attachment of people has a considerable impact on their attitudes towards the management of the environment and its subsequent behavior and action. place attachment between various people in groups can be a result of different influences and can mean there will be various opinions and views regarding or related to a place's environment. some, therefore, suggested that emotional attachment should be integrated into the management of natural resources and the public land as a significant approach to understanding the importance of personal attribute to the environment and how different strategies of the environment can affect or improve the bonding between people and place (eisenhauer et al., 2000; williams & stewart, 1998). for instance, in a study by (williams et al., 1992) it noted that attached visitors can be environmentally sensitive to environmental effects, for example, litter and the loss of vegetation. in research by (guest & lee, 1983) they discovered that the independence and impressiveness influence on activities such as movements of political action and propensity show the degree of satisfaction with the environment. there has been a feeling of the sentiments on both the thoughts of movement and the willingness to remain in that place. the more sentiment one has, the more likely the need to respond to the problems facing the community and in a study by (vorkinn & riese, 2001) they found that a much more important predictor for the community in the area, that could be affected by the development of hydropower to their approach to the proposal compared with the other sociodemographic variables. they, therefore, suggested that place attachment as an important factor should be taken into consideration in conducting public studies and providing answers to a specific area-related environmental questions. 2.5.6. place attachment dimensionality a literary review has shown the most recognized and examined aspect of place attachment include place dependence and place identity. scholars believed “place dependence” and “place identity” implies place attachment from the “appraisal of the congruence between physical and psychological needs and characteristics of the environment” (giuliani, 2003). some will however ask “are they the only salient and meaningful dimensions?” the lack of empirical research and theoretical discussion to examine other possible dimensions of attachment has already been meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 20 raised and the need to rigorously consider the hypothesized dimension of place attachment across a broader number of places and contexts (williams & vaske, 2003). this is to develop “new dimensions” and “new models” of place attachment to be constructed. besides, others claim, place forms a meaningful connection, so an attachment that socially derived links should be taken into account. in some research, however, a dimension of social bonding has been proposed to highlight the psychological dimension of place attachment (g. kyle et al., 2005; g. t. kyle et al., 2004). therefore, in previous research, this dimension was not good, and more empirical evidence is required to confirm its validity. the questionable theoretical basis is even more worrying. the current study has indicated that social bonding is a greater source of place attachment rather than a sub-dimension. this is consistent with past studies (hidalgo & hernández, 2001; mesch & manor, 1998), that have shown strong social participation can lead to feelings of attachment. in other words, one can more thoroughly consider social bonding or social tie as an indicator of attachment, rather than as a fundamental feature of attachment. research from the past shows that persons who have a deep attachment to a place can be very careful and concerned with that place, and these feelings are at the heart of people who are implying place dependence and place identity dimensions and are going beyond its functional and symbolic meaning. for example, in a study by (relph, 1976) it has observed that attachment forms the root of our place, and “the familiarity that this involves is not just a detailed knowledge, but a sense of deep care and concern for that place” (p. 37). this means place attachment can indicate an awareness of that place. relph thought that "fields of care" are the places we are attached to. for him, care for a place does not only mean concerns for a place based on previous experience and future aspirations, it represents “a real responsibility and respect for that place both for itself and for what it is to yourself and others” (p. 38). according to a study by (carr et al., 1992) the importance of places is that they “resonate with people’s lives and evoke patterns of use that create bonds with space” (p. 188) and “evoke strong feelings of concern, affiliation, and caring” (p. 189). furthermore, (kyle et al., 2004),explained that “identifying with a setting may further inspire curiosity about its prior history” (p. 451). therefore, individuals who are attached effectively to the place can be interested in knowing all about the place. besides, (shamai, 1991) states that identification with a place, means “there is a devotion, allegiance, and loyalty to a place” (p. 350) are those who meet the objective of the place. a greater degree of sense of place follows the identification of a place marked by participation in community as it relates to that place because of their involvement to the place. the willingness of people to contribute their skills, time or money, in local activities or organizations is reflected in this. (relph, 1976) noted, place attachment is “a complete commitment to that place, a commitment that is as profound as any that a person can make, for caretaking is true ‘the basis of man’s relation to the world’.” (p. 38) therefore, it has been stated that with a strong thought to understand the past, the condition, and the future of the place, positive responsibilities, and determination and to devote oneself to the place can be a matter of deep interest and caring about the condition of the place. the connection between people and place isn't just a reflection toward which he or she develops an emotional link, it is also a predictor of the behavioral intentions of the lace deliberately held by persons. the effectiveness and esteem of the aspect of place satisfaction and place attachment must be tested, and other attachment dimensions and other factors related to the prediction of the other predictive variables and their behavioral consequences could be examined as well. secondly, the essential structural factors must be differentiated from the factors, such as, place experience, place satisfaction, and to the theorizing of the causal relations among them, including the socioeconomic aspects, the people and the physical characteristics of the place. the causal connections between them must be theorized accordingly. finally, the effect of place attachment on the behaviors of the person related to the place needs to be explored. in summary, the literary review indicates that place attachment research has to be structured more consistently and comprehensively to enable us to better understand what the essence of attachment is, its source and development, and how it can influence the theoretical framework of place attachment and to determines the level of elderly place attachment and the degree of place satisfaction. meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 21 2.5.7. a conceptual framework for understanding elderly’s place attachment in urban parks setting a conceptual framework (figure 2) on place attachment is proposed to lead the existing research by reviewing the place literature and research needs. the phenomenon of place attachment, according to this framework, comprise three closely-associated components: the affective, cognitive, and behavioral components, which correspond to the relationship between and environment. the concern with the affective component, in particular, the aspect of the nature of the place attachment is manifest in the effects, and the emotions, and feelings it has. the cognitive component concerns the potential sources of place attachment as well as the structural factor that is exogenous, such as, the physical characteristics of the place. the knowledge, satisfaction, thought and belief that is manifested and in connection with the place result from the interaction of people and place, and the behavioral component affects the resulting impact and is manifested via the place attachment that is in place and the related behaviors and action. figure 2 : a conceptual framework of place attachment and elderly’s behaviors the framework highlights that the integration of exploration in its nature, sources, and impacts allows for a thorough comprehension of place attachment. exploring the people-place relationship phenomena “move beyond quasi-poetic statements” (stedman, 2000) and the internal structure, external origins, and subsequent effects are addressed coherently to allow for the systematic analysis of the dimension of the attachment to the position and by understanding the causes and processes behind its development mechanism and the behavioral effects. from the review, we synthesize, the place attachment is defined according to this conceptual framework as an emotionally positive relationship that creates a space for the elderly and a geographic locality as a consequence of identifying with the significance attributed to that spatial context, in both the physical and social-cultural aspects, deriving from the experiences, the physical characteristics of a place and the identification with place satisfaction. in addition to strong self-identity as regards place (place identity) and the continuous functional reliance on place (place dependence), and it also has significant implications for the place-related behaviors associated with the settings. 3. conclusions this can be seen as the first step in the development of a conceptual framework that helps us to understand how elderly experiences are shaped by environmental psychological constructs. it develops and proposes a conceptual framework that extends the conceptual relationships between place satisfaction, place attachment (identity and dependence), and behavior among the elderly. the conceptual framework provides a solid foundation with a hope meganathan/ the academic research community publication pg. 22 place attachment, a phenomenon based on “place meaning, indeed contribute to all attachment dimensions strongly and significantly, and also mediates, either partially or completely, the impact of other predictor variables of place attachment, so it highlights the importance of understanding the responses of people to the meanings of a place to understand their attachment to the place. furthermore, to foster higher levels of place attachment and behavior, open space creators must give more importance to elderly leisure, and to the need to preserve and reinforce their attachment to outdoor spaces. this enables elderly people to develop deeper emotional relationships with their natural environments. to be more effective in fostering place attachment, it is necessary to involve the elderly in creating open spaces in urban parks and to the utility of the study of place attachment in this process. it is proposed that an effective way of strengthening the emotional bond between elderly people and urban parks is by their direct involvement in designing and managing the community garden activities. in addition, social sustainability is not only recognized as a condition for central government to reform its operating style, it is also as a general order for more stakeholders to be involved in urban development. finally, a way of investigating the link between sustainability and placement, it can form the basis for stewardship strategies by developing and focusing on the attachment that people experience in specific places. acknowledgements thanks to god for giving me the strength and ability to learn and complete this paper. most importantly, none of this could have happened without my family. my heartfelt thanks to my husband, my parents, brother, mother in law and my adorable children for their moral support and encouragement. references bacon, n. & arendar, l.c. 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(1982). landscape perception: research, application and theory. landscape planning, 9(1), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3924(82)90009-0 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 1 research paper received: 29 january 2025, accepted:22 june 2025, published online: 31 october 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i4.1180 potential of rehabilitating benghazi historical buildings challenges and strategies aziza a. safour1, eman m. elmazek2, zakeia a. benmoussa3, najwa a. alteer 4 1 professor, architecture and urban planning department, university of benghazi, benghazi, libya 2 assistant professor, architecture and urban planning department, university of benghazi, benghazi, libya 3 lecturer, architecture and urban planning department, university of benghazi, benghazi, libya 4 assistant lecturer, architecture and urban planning department, university of benghazi, benghazi, libya abstract preservation of the urban context and heritage buildings is crucial for conserving the cultural identity of a city and preserving its architectural heritage, which forms its urban character and memory. in benghazi, numerous buildings of historical, heritage, and architectural value define its identity and require preservation, revitalization, and protection by conserving all their distinguished architectural and urban elements and utilizing these elements to their full potential. heritage preservation also necessitates maintaining the overall character, which means preserving these buildings within their neighboring urban contexts. today, historical and heritage buildings form a significant part of benghazi's memory and urban fabric. however, the current state of this heritage has suffered from neglect and destruction. among the important landmarks in benghazi that still hold potential for rehabilitation and utilization and play important roles in the mental image of the city are the qeshla building (al-baraka palace), al-manar palace, and benghazi municipality building. the qeshla building is a prominent historical landmark in the city and is known for its grandeur. al-manar palace, with its architectural significance dating back to the italian period, also holds high sentimental value among the city's residents. the benghazi municipality building from the ottoman period is a historical landmark in the main square of the old city. this study focuses on the challenges faced by heritage buildings in historical cities by documenting the components of these architectural and urban landmarks. furthermore, a general framework was developed for the systematic rehabilitation of these buildings by studying their current situation, conducting field surveys, identifying their potential, and establishing strategies that govern their revitalization. this study concludes that protecting benghazi's architectural heritage is essential, as these landmarks shape the urban identity of the city and constitute a significant part of its cultural and social heritage. this emphasizes the importance of developing plans that help preserve and rehabilitate these buildings and reuse them with adaptive functions to achieve cultural, economic, and social benefits for the community. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i4.1180&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 keywords conservation; architectural heritage; qeshla, rehabitation strategies, identity. 1. introduction the preservation of the urban context and heritage buildings is essential for maintaining the cultural identity and architectural heritage of cities, which constitute their urban character and memory. this issue has garnered increasing attention in international discourse, particularly concerning the united nations sustainable development goals (sdgs), specifically sdg 11, which seeks to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. (vaidya & chatterji, 2019) the conservation of historical buildings significantly contributes to this goal by preserving cultural heritage and promoting sustainable urban development. the necessity of conserving historical buildings extends beyond the mere preservation of the past. these structures represent the cultural, social, and architectural evolution of cities, serving as tangible links to history and collective memory. this also necessitates maintaining the overall character, which involves preserving these buildings within the surrounding urban context. in benghazi, numerous buildings of historical, heritage, and architectural value define a city's identity and require preservation, revitalization, and protection. safour and elmazek (2018) asserted that various benefits can be achieved by preserving the architectural and urban character of historical areas and buildings, such as preserving the continuity of architectural and urban character of the heritage, protecting the distinctive visual character of the areas, safeguarding their values, and maintaining the continuity of heritage elements, thereby avoiding disparities in the relationship between architectural heritage. failure to rehabilitate these historical buildings creates several challenges, such as cultural identity, damage to the urban fabric, and missing opportunities for sustainable urban development. parts of the city's history would be completely deleted if heritage buildings physically deteriorated to the point where they collapsed due to neglect. in addition, historical buildings, when they become centers of urban decay, negatively impact nearby neighborhoods. previous studies have emphasized the significance of heritage preservation in maintaining the overall urban character. urban heritage conservation is not only about preserving individual buildings, but also includes a comprehensive approach that considers the entire urban fabric with all its different elements (huq & puthuvayi, 2024; serranoestrada et al., 2024). this study focused on the challenges faced by heritage buildings in the historical city of benghazi by documenting the components of these architectural and urban landmarks. furthermore, a general framework is being developed for the systematic rehabilitation of these buildings by studying their current situation, conducting field surveys, identifying their potential, and establishing strategies to regulate their revitalization. this study aims to implement a thorough strategy for conserving benghazi's architectural legacy, as these iconic structures continue to influence the city's urban identity and constitute a significant part of its cultural and social legacies. this study emphasizes the importance of developing policies that support the preservation and rehabilitation of historic structures, reusing them with adaptive functions, and acquiring cultural, economic, and social advantages for the community. it looks at the most important agreements globally regarding historical site restoration and preservation. this approach is consistent with international best practices for cultural protection and sustainable urban development and offers useful information for similar projects in other ancient cities with comparable problems. architectural heritage serves as a benchmark for national progress and as a living testament to diverse traditions and cultures throughout history. owing to numerous deterioration factors that threaten to erase its features, it is crucial to establish international and local regulations for its protection during both peace and war. the foundation for subsequent charters and declarations addressing the protection of built heritage and urban areas was established by the venice charter of 1964, which focuses on architectural historical monuments. these include the washington charter (1987) for historic cities and towns, the florence charter (1981) for historic gardens, the lahore charter (1980) for islamic monuments, and the unesco recommendations for the protection of historic areas (1976). charters on vernacular-built heritage (1999), conservation of wall murals (2003), structural study and restoration (2003), and preservation of the spirit of place (2008) are examples of other advancements. recent additions include the valletta principles for historic cities (2011), the paris declaration on heritage as a driver of development (2011), safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 and the salalah guidelines for the management of public archaeological sites (2017). together, these international charters collectively form a comprehensive framework for preserving architectural heritage across various contexts and periods. after reviewing the main international charters related to architectural preservation, the next section addresses the methods used to preserve architectural heritage. 2. rehabilitation strategies rehabilitation strategies for historical buildings are a complicated process that seeks to maintain cultural and architectural history while modifying structures to meet today's requirements. almahari (2017), al-jassim (2018), and friska and andria (2023) have stated these strategies as follows: 1. prevention, which is one of the most important processes in heritage preservation, aims to protect heritage sites from harmful factors by controlling the surrounding environment. this process covers several aspects such as environmental control, security measures, regular maintenance, and visitor management. 2. conservation focuses on maintaining the site or building by conducting necessary repairs to prevent further deterioration, while preserving the original character. in addition, ongoing maintenance includes the limited replacement of damaged materials and the avoidance of modern additions. 3. reinforcement or consolidation is a technique used to strengthen weakened building materials in historical structures. this involves introducing adhesives or reinforcing materials directly into the original fabric of the material to improve its durability and safety. this is typically achieved when the material is deemed to be unable to withstand future deterioration. 4. restoration is a specialized process dedicated to preserving and highlighting the aesthetic and historical significance of monuments. guided by respect for the original materials and reliable documentation, restoration aims to return a site to a known earlier state. the process involves the careful removal or reassembly of existing elements, avoiding the introduction of foreign materials. work must cease when conjecture replaces evidence, and any essential addition should be clearly distinguishable and contemporary in design. 5. rehabilitation aims to adapt a site for appropriate use by repairing, altering, and adding to it while carefully preserving its historical, cultural, and architectural values. the objective is to reuse the site, either for its original purpose or for a new, compatible function that respects these values. reconstructing lost architectural elements during rehabilitation is encouraged when sufficient material, documentary, and photographic evidence exist to accurately recreate the missing part and contribute to the site's historical character. 6. reproduction serves two main purposes: first, to recreate damaged parts of the artwork, such as paintings, to preserve their visual harmony; and second, to copy cultural properties facing threats to their survival, allowing for their transfer to safer locations. 7. reconstruction: this is the step or process in which new construction work is carried out, either completely or for parts or features that are not present in the archaeological site due to its exposure to certain conditions that led to its destruction. the aim is to replicate its appearance, which characterizes it at a specific historical period and in the same old location. it can be concluded that heritage preservation strategies require a delicate balance between protection, maintenance, and resource management to ensure the sustainability of heritage sites for future generations. these strategies collectively ensure that historical buildings are preserved for future generations and serve functional, economic, and sustainable roles in modern society. 3. research methodology: this study employs a mixed-methods approach to investigate the potential for rehabilitating historical buildings in benghazi, libya, the challenges involved, and potential strategies for successful revitalization. the research safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 methodology comprises a number of key stages, starting with the literature review, as a comprehensive review of the existing literature was conducted to understand heritage preservation, rehabilitation strategies, and international best practices. this review includes academic articles, international charters, and relevant publications from organizations such as unesco. the literature review revealed the study's approach to defining rehabilitation strategies and identifying relevant international precedents. three significant historical buildings in benghazi were selected as case studies: the qishla building (al-baraka palace), the benghazi municipality building, and al-manar palace. these buildings were chosen based on their historical, architectural, and cultural significance to the city as well as their current state of neglect and potential for rehabilitation. data collection involved a combination of primary and secondary sources, such as on-site visits and field surveys, to document the current conditions of the selected buildings. this includes visual inspections, photographic documentation of architectural details and structural issues, and observations of the surrounding urban context. the second tool was archival research, in which historical documents, architectural plans, and photographs related to the selected buildings were gathered from local archives and historical authorities. this information was used to understand the original design, construction history, and past use of the buildings. the collected data were analyzed using a comparative analysis of the characteristics, conditions, and potential of each case study building to identify common challenges and opportunities for rehabilitation. a general framework for the systematic rehabilitation of historical buildings in benghazi was developed based on a literature review, case study analysis, and international precedents. this framework outlines the key principles, strategies, and considerations for successful revitalization projects. the next part of the research will present several historical architectural examples that have been preserved through reconstruction, restoration, and revitalization, ensuring their continued relevance and functionality. 4. international success stories of rehabilitation to explore the potential of rehabilitating historical buildings, it is necessary to examine successful attempts that have tackled similar challenges and employed innovative strategies. this paper presents four outstanding precedents for historical building rehabilitation: the qishla and saray of baghdad in iraq, the modernization of the lourcine barracks in france, the daoíz y velarde cultural centre in spain, and the la remunta project in spain. each project provides valuable insights into the complexities and opportunities presented by the reuse of heritage buildings. the daoíz y velarde cultural centre in spain represents the successful renewal of military barracks into cultural hubs. this example is particularly remarkable for its method of conserving the external historical envelope while redesigning the interior to adapt to different cultural activities and integrate sustainable technologies. the la remunta project in spain illustrates the potential of rehabilitating historical buildings to boost the urban environment. this project faced the challenges of structural deterioration and unclear future functions, using strategies of careful structural consolidation and adaptable design to create a remarkable public space. the qishla and saray of baghdad were selected for their success in preserving iraq's cultural heritage, while adapting to modern functions. this example features the challenges of rehabilitation buildings that have experienced multiple functional changes over time and illustrates strategies for balancing historical preservation with modern functions. lastly, the modernization of the lourcine barracks in paris demonstrates a careful approach to adapting historical military barracks for educational purposes. this project, transforming 19th-century barracks into university facilities, displays contemporary methods of harmonizing modern academic requirements within a heritage background while preserving the site's historical features. 4.1. the daoíz y velarde cultural centre, spain the rehabilitation of the daoíz y velarde cultural centre in madrid, spain, presents a good precedent in the potential and challenges of adapting historical buildings for modern use. the daoiz and velarde barracks, constructed in the 1880s on a 23,000 square meter land area known as "los docks," have two distinct barracks for infantry and artillery. it was designed as a complex of military factories with direct access to atocha station and was capable of housing 3,500 soldiers and 500 horses, and the carriages of a mounted artillery regiment (ugc, 2024). safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 the rehabilitation plan was designed by rafael de la-hoz arquitectos and was completed in 2013. the project transformed 19th-century military barracks into a lively cultural hub using innovative strategies to preserve architectural heritage while meeting modern needs (valenzuela, 2024). the primary challenge lies in balancing the preservation of the building's historical features and fulfilling the requirements of contemporary cultural functions. this was achieved by preserving the original brick facade and special sawtooth metal roof, while creating an interior to create flexible, multi-purpose spaces for different cultural activities (valenzuela, 2024). the architects used a strategy of "selective intervention," preserving the external shell while emptying the interior to form open, adaptable spaces (figure 1). a new concrete structure has been inserted within the historical envelope, providing modern structural support and integrating advanced sustainable technologies (mansanrod, 2017). figure 1 : building model (daoíz y velarde cultural centre / rafael de la-hoz, 2024) this method preserved the building's urban personality and historical excellence while implementing a comprehensive functional transformation. the design also addressed sustainability concepts, integrating geothermal energy systems for heating and cooling, thermo-activated concrete structures for climate control, and optimized natural lighting and ventilation (daoíz y velarde cultural centre / rafael de la-hoz, 2024). these systems enhance a building's energy efficiency and represent a model of how historical structures can be adapted to meet modern environmental standards. the cultural center includes two distinct theater halls, each with its own unique layout. one follows the traditional italian design, whereas the other adopts a more versatile cruciform configuration that can be adapted to various arrangements. this flexibility allows for a wide range of performance styles and audience settings. the design further enhances flexibility, with open floor plans and movable elements allowing for easy reshaping of spaces to fit different events and functions (valenzuela, 2024) (figures 2, 3, 4, and 5). this flexibility establishes the building's long-term viability, as a cultural center can evolve with changing community needs. figure 2: first floor (valenzuela 2024). safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 figure 3 : ground floor (valenzuela, 2024). figure 4 : building section (valenzuela, 2024). figure 5 : building section (valenzuela, 2024). another key aspect of rehabilitation is the enhancement of public spaces. the renovation extended the adjacent plaza into the building, creating a covered public gathering area that served as a transitional space between the urban environment and the cultural center. this strategy enhanced the building's integration with its surroundings and increased its value as a community center. the ground floor included the main entrance and functioned as a common area. it is designed to work as a covered agora or plaza, and is used as a meeting place, information center, and exhibition space. the design allows for an open, fluid, and visual connection with the exterior. the basement hosts cultural activities and includes an auditorium for conferences and performances. a project's success lies in the balance between preservation and innovation. figure 6 : building shell and new structure (valenzuela, 2024). safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 figure 7 : roof sawtooth (valenzuela, 2024). by clearly distinguishing between historical elements and modern interventions, the architects created a dialogue between the past and present, allowing visitors to appreciate both the building's heritage and its contemporary function (valenzuela, 2024). the daoíz y velarde cultural center rehabilitation is an example of the potential of the adaptive reuse of historical buildings without negatively affecting their architectural significance through solid, innovative design and sustainable technologies that can convert vintage buildings into productive, environmentally responsible spaces that meet modern needs while appreciating historical heritage (figures 6 & 7). the project not only preserved a piece of madrid's architectural heritage but also established a cultural asset for the community, demonstrating that with the right methodology, historical buildings can be successfully adapted to play important roles in modern urban life (mansanrod, 2017). 4.2. the la remunta project, spain the la remunta project in hospitalet de llobregat, barcelona, is considered an outstanding case study for the rehabilitation of historical buildings, demonstrating both the threats faced and the opportunities employed in such efforts. this former army barracks, originally devoted to horse breeding, presented a unique opportunity to conserve a piece of local history while modifying it to meet modern urban needs (la remunta ravetllat arquitectura, n.d.) (figure 8). the renovation project focused on four of the six buildings in the old barrack complex: building 1 (singlestory stables, a hall, and dormitories), buildings 3 and 4 (used for horses), and building 5 (formerly an infirmary and laboratory). the remaining two structures, an old farmhouse and building 2, were designated for different developments as nurseries (figure 9). figure 8: old building (villa, 2019). figure 9: master plan: four restoration buildings (villa, 2019). the project undertaken by ravetllat ribas arquitectes confronted several significant challenges that are common in historical building rehabilitation. first, the structural deterioration of the buildings needed careful consolidation and rehabilitation work to avoid further degradation (la remunta: consolidation of barrack buildings urbannext, 2024). this threat was compounded by the unclear future use of the buildings, necessitating an adaptable concept that would conserve the buildings while leaving them adaptable for possible future functions (consolidation of “la safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 remunta” barrack buildings | ravetllat ribas arquitectes | archello, 2024) (figures 10, 11). moreover, the project had to handle the complex task of integrating these historical buildings into a new urban context as part of the site was being altered into a public park (villa, 2019). these challenges echo the broader concerns often confronted in historical building restoration, such as balancing preservation with adaptation, working with unclear future functions, and integrating historical structures into growing urban landscapes (figures 12,13). figure 10: building 1(villa, 2019) (translated by author). figure 11: buildings 3 and 4 (villa, 2019) (translated by author). safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 figure 12: ground floor orthographic views (villa 2019). figure 13: ground floor orthographic views (villa, 2019) the strategies employed in the la remunta project provide valuable insights into these challenges. the architects conducted selective dismantling and rehabilitation of existing structural buildings, avoiding more invasive interventions, such as reinforcing the supporting structure of the foundations where possible. this method is responsible for conserving the original structural principle of buildings while ensuring their stability for future use. the rehabilitation of the building envelopes was achieved with care for historical integrity, utilizing materials and techniques that matched the original building. facades were restored using lime mortar and mineral silicate paint, while roofs were rebuilt while conserving current trusses and beams. this attention to detail in material selection and application is necessary to maintain the historical features and credibility of the restored buildings. mainly, the project demonstrated a sustainable approach to rehabilitation (la remunta: consolidation of barrack buildings – urbannext, 2024) (figures 14 and 15), respectively. existing materials were reused where possible, such as recovering tiles from demolition for roof restoration. this strategy not only conserves the historical fabric of the buildings but also adjusts to modern sustainability goals, reducing waste and the need for new materials (figures 16, 17). the conservation of original elements such as floors, troughs, and animal feeders serves a dual purpose: it maintains the buildings' historical value, allowing future users to connect with the site's past while highlighting the exact features of the restored structures. this method highlights the significance of employing tangible links to the history of a building in rehabilitation projects. figure 14: exterior view of building after renovation (villa, 2019). figure 15: exterior view of building after renovation (villa, 2019). safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 10 figure 16: before restoration (villa, 2019). figure 17: after restoration (villa, 2019). most notably, the la remunta project shows the potential for restoring historical buildings to improve urban environments. by successfully integrating rehabilitated barracks with a new public park, the project created a unique space that mixes historical preservation with modern urban needs. this result shows that restored historical buildings can serve as catalysts for urban regeneration, creating spaces that are both historically rich and suited to modern city life. the project was recognized by different organizations, including selections for the catalunya construction awards and the european award for architectural heritage intervention aadipa in 2017, which highlights the success of the rehabilitation strategies used (la remunta-ravetllat arquitectura, n.d.). these awards validate the proposed method and provide a model for future historical building rehabilitation projects. in conclusion, the la remunta project exemplifies the complexities and multifaceted benefits of historical building rehabilitation. it demonstrates how such projects can overcome important challenges through careful planning, innovative design strategies, and commitment to both historical preservation and contemporary relevance. the success of this project in preserving cultural heritage, improving the urban environment, adapting historical buildings for contemporary contexts, and contributing to sustainable urban development serves as a testament to the potential of rehabilitating historical buildings. as cities worldwide grapple with the commitment to conserve their architectural heritage while meeting the needs of urban growth, projects such as la remunta offer useful lessons and insights for architects, urban planners, and stakeholders. 4.3. qishla and saray of baghdad, iraq the documentation and restoration of historical monuments such as the qishla and saray of baghdad face challenges due to erosion, vandalism, and changes in construction over time. the preservation of cultural heritage is important for educating younger generations and preserving the history of society. “in 1831, central rule returned to baghdad after the fall of the mamluks. at that time, there was serious consideration of constructing buildings, some with a civilian character, and others with a military character. among them was the qishla, which was erected next to the saray (palace) as part of a complex housing all the departments related to the military institution in baghdad.” (munshed & ashour, 2024). in 1855, al-qishla was built near al-serail to be within a large complex; it was constructed to be used as a school under the name of "al-mawfakia school,” but later on, the ottomans turned this building into barracks (aksulu and almukhtar, 2021). al-qishla is located near al-mutanabi street in central baghdad and overlooks the banks of the eastern tigris river. see figure 18. the saray buildings, including the qishla, were constructed during the rule of wali namik pasha (1851–1852). namik pasha erected the qishla with a single story to house numerous infantrymen during the winter. the upper level was later constructed within muddhat pasha's leadership (1869-1872 ad) when the work was finished. “muddhat pasha demolished the eastern wall of baghdad to fund the construction. he also installed a clock in the middle of its courtyard to wake up the soldiers; it was carried on a tall tower (al-azzi 1978). in 1917, during the british invasion, the qishla became an accommodation for british officers and their families; following that, the qishla served various governmental functions. safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 11 figure 18: study area of jaded hasan basha district and qushla (aksulu and almukhtar, 2021). in 1991, a decision was made to use the qishla building as a museum, collecting documents related to the reconstruction efforts after the 1991 gulf war; therefore, to maintain the quality of the building, it must be occupied with a unified functional program that suits the building and its neighborhood. the qishla were in good condition and had few problems due to the restoration that took place in 1989. in addition, the saray gate is structurally sound under good conditions (aksulu and almukhtar, 2021). figure 19 shows the open spaces and the inner eastern façade of qishla and saray in baghdad. figure 19: inner eastern facade (aksulu and almukhtar, 2021). after two decades, it was decided to include the restoration of al-qashla in the baghdad governorate plan, as it had been looted by negligence and waste until some of its historical parts had almost fallen. however, the restoration involved removing the inner partition to create large halls that could be used for exhibitions (aksulu and almukhtar, 2021). “interventions and adaptive reuse of the new expansion for the purpose of reuse included the construction of a new floor above the single-story building with the same ground floor system consisting of a corridor opening onto a series of rooms; it is natural for the corridor on the ground floor to differ from that on the upper floor because they are not synchronized in history’ ( munshed, ashour, 2024). figure 20 shows the ground floor spaces of qishla, and figure 21 displays the eastern wing section. nonetheless, “currently, the qishla and saray doors are open to tourists and citizens for cultural and recreational purposes” (munshed and ashour, 2024). safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 12 figure 20: ground floor space of qishla (aksulu and almukhtar, 2021). figure 21: eastern wing section (aksulu and almukhtar, 2021). to elucidate the importance of preserving the historical and heritage remnants of these buildings, which serve as evidence of various eras and play a crucial role in the urban fabric of the city, it is imperative to document them using appropriate scientific methods to ensure their proper maintenance. to sustain these buildings, they must be operated and reused in a way that reflects their value and the urban, political, and military history they embody, thereby preserving them as a living monument. 4.4. modernization of lourcine barracks, france the lourcine barracks, presently a law university that completed its modernization in 2019, is the result of a modern approach to restoring architectural heritage and introducing new methods. this project is located within the old military barracks in the 13th arrondissement of paris and is organized around a parade ground with its military buildings built in 1875 (chartierdalix, 2023) (see figure 22). figure 22: the location of the project within old military barracks (university of law paris i, paris 13 chartierdalix, n.d.) the lourcine barracks have been considerably altered, yet they keep the original design around the historic courtyard and the main north-south orientation. the two military buildings were preserved with respect to their overall space and the majority of their interior layouts. see figure 23. safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 13 figure 23: the original design around the historic courtyard and the main north-south orientation (university of law paris i, paris 13 chartierdalix, n.d.). the idea proposes that parts of the university of paris be installed within the old buildings and in the basement levels under the parade ground. see figure 24. it aims to make the most of this parisian heritage, taking a precise approach that will retain existing spaces and preserve the historic character of the site as much as possible. figure 24: the idea was proposed to be installed within the old buildings and in the basement levels under the parade ground. (university of law paris i, paris 13 chartierdalix, n.d.) the new activities integrate with buildings while preserving their antiquity. the parade ground retains its fundamental, unifying, and symbolic function as a landscaped forecourt leading down to define the new entry to the gallery, which required the installation of a library, a 500-seat lecture theater, 27 classrooms, a 2,000 m² library, 1,500 m² offices, and two service apartments, all incorporated into existing structures, embracing their spatial characteristics. see figure 25 (fundació mies van der rohe, 2022). figure 25: the new activities integrated with buildings while preserving their antiquity. (university of law paris i, paris 13 chartierdalix, n.d.) the central courtyard of the complex is bounded by large structures, each with a main portion and wings. “the strategic urban function of the central courtyard is restored: once more, it is a place where flows of people come together and disperse again, and where the overall coherence of the place must be preserved, avoiding conflict between different users.” (dalix, chartier. paysages, d&h, 2022). safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 14 figure 26: the continuity and relation that architecture can establish between the past and the future. (university of law paris i, paris 13 chartierdalix, n.d.) the rehabilitated lourcine barracks stand as a modern address on continuity and the relationship that architecture can establish between the past and the future, and develop in such a way that it accommodates the existing without driving the building to shift into conflicting configurations. see figure 26. the project received several awards, including nominations for the equerre d’argent 2021, laureate prix amo 2021, nomination to new into old awards 2021, frame awards 2020, audience and jury prize, and nomination for the mies van der rohe award 2022. (chartierdalix, 2023). 4.5. learning lessons from the international success of rehabilitation approaches rehabilitation approaches to revitalize historical buildings should be based on studied examples and previous experiences, as observed in our study. in baghdad's qishla, the approach focused on maintaining and preserving the building with all its external elements, while changing its functional nature. it was adopted as a cultural hub in baghdad city, keeping the internal spaces as much as possible and modifying some to suit new functional needs. some internal partitions were adjusted for certain parts. the inner courtyard of the qishla was also revitalized to host cultural and community activities. this approach was also followed in two examples from spain, which were also adopted as cultural centers. the project focused on documentation and restoration, addressing issues of erosion and vandalism, while adapting spaces for new uses. as for the lourcine barracks in paris, its function was changed to a university, which necessitated the construction of a new building, including an amphitheater, library, and public space. this new structure was built partially underground, ensuring that it did not interfere with the historical appearance of the barracks while remaining harmonious with the site and solving functional problems for new use. the modernization of the lourcine barracks utilized a precision approach, carefully adapting new functions to existing spaces and preserving the site's historic character. in the barcelona barracks in spain, the building was restored to its original state, entirely preserving four of the six buildings. the building was not assigned any specific functions; instead, it was given flexible uses, ranging from cultural to training purposes, including music and theater facilities. historical elements such as horse stables were preserved. the central courtyard has become a community garden for cultural and social festivals. the new project contains various functions that are mostly compatible with the current building without altering its form or layout, including art halls, conference centers, training centers, and cultural centers. the la remunta project emphasized the sustainable reuse of materials and integration with the surrounding urban context. for the madrid barracks in spain, the external envelope was preserved, while a new, modern internal structure was created, clearly separating the old from the new. the new building includes a large theater, a small theater, and an exhibition hall. notable additions to this project include focusing on the external garden, preparing it for open cultural events, and adding sustainability elements to modern buildings. the daoíz y velarde centre employed a strategy of safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 15 "selective intervention," preserving the exterior while radically transforming the interior and incorporating sustainable technologies. 5. samples of architectural heritage in libya. in this section, we discuss some of the most prominent historical and architectural landmarks in benghazi. among these examples is the ottoman qishla building in benghazi, which dates back to the second ottoman rule during the era of rashid pasha, who constructed it in 1893 as a barrack for soldiers (elsahli, 2013). the current building consists of three parts or wings: the central section dates to the ottoman period, while the parts on either side were built during italian occupation in 1914. the municipality building in benghazi, dating back to the ottoman period, was further developed during the italian colonial period. another notable building dating back to the italian occupation is the manar palace, or the palace of governor cursiani, located opposite al-khalisa square. this building has historical and symbolic significance for the residents of benghazi. 5.1. the qishla of benghazi the term 'qishla' is a turkish word meaning a military barracks where soldiers were stationed and not sent to war during the winter season. today, most ottoman-era qishla buildings have fallen into disrepair and decay, either because of the passage of time or human encroachment. this is sometimes due to the lack of awareness among those in charge of urban development agencies in our arab and islamic cities about the importance of preserving such heritage buildings and the value of rehabilitating and repurposing them culturally as centers, forums, museums, and cultural exhibitions. of the few remaining examples of 19th-century ottoman qishla buildings influenced by modern european architectural styles, there are very few–one can count them on the fingers of one hand, such as the qishla in baghdad, damascus, sana'a, and benghazi (khashbour, 2022). benghazi qishla is located in the center of the alburka neighborhood, which has become associated with the name of the qishla, also known as the burka palace. today, the qishla are situated in the heart of benghazi, surrounded by residential communities, vital facilities, and a network of major roads. historically, the location of the qasr has been distinctive and serves as a notable defensive element. the qishla in benghazi, libya, still stands in its place, resisting the ravages of time and struggling with the schemes of those who covet their land for investment. the historical significance of the qishla al-burka lies in the fact that it was the largest urban project implemented by the ottomans, not only in the city of benghazi but across libya. it is also a part of the history of the city and some of its cultural heritage. the qishla is a prominent architectural landmark in the fabric of the city, and for its significance, it deserves research, study, preservation, and attention. by tracing the current state of the qishla, we find that the original building dates back to the ottoman period, with additions made during subsequent periods, including italian and british times, and the latest libyan additions (khashbour, 2022). it should be noted that there were several initiatives aimed at developing the qishla; one of the initiatives undertaken by the libyan state was the formation of a committee in 1993 to maintain the qishla and convert it into a historical museum. the field study and proposal preparation stages were completed, but the work was halted. governor rashid pasha began the construction of the camp during his second term (1889-1892), which was completed in 1896 during tahir pasha's rule. traveler pedretti mentioned the camp when he visited benghazi in 1901, noting that the building was in its final stages of construction (khashbour, 2022). 5.1.1. description of the qishla building the camp was designed in the form of a strip measuring 155 m long and 9.90 meters wide internally, consisting of two floors. the facade features three prominent sections: two at the ends and one in the middle, which also has a projection to highlight the entrance, topped by three windows. these projections help to reduce the perception of the length of a building. the façade has numerous large rectangular windows arranged in a repetitive rhythm. the main entrance is located in the center of the facade on a platform that rises above the rest of the camp structure and is crowned by a massive semicircular arch. similarly, there is an entrance to the rear. the height of the entrance ceiling is six meters, the ground floor is five meters tall, and the upper floor is four meters tall. figure 27) shows the court and main entrance from the court of the qishla. the wall thickness was approximately one meter, with the walls safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 16 supporting the ceilings in addition to stone columns situated in the middle of the halls. figure 28 displays the ground floor consisting of two large halls, with a row of columns made of limestone and lime mortar in the center. these columns have a square cross-section measuring 130 × 130 cm, topped with massive wooden beams that are six meters long, and have a rectangular cross-section of 20 × 30 cm. the front façade, especially the entrance and the section to its west, suffered significant damage due to shelling by italian warships on october 19, 1911. the camp was restored and maintained by libyan experts and italian construction technicians who came from tunisia, and it was named "moccagatta" after the colonel, who successfully captured it during the attack on benghazi (khashbour, 2022). the restoration and maintenance works did not preserve the original form of the old entrance, including its front projection from the facade, the cornice above, and the number of windows above the entrance. figure 27: the court and main entrance of the qishla (source authors, 2024). figure 28: the ground floor of the qishla. (khashbour,2022). figure (5) the main elevation of the qishla figure 29: the side elevation of the qishla (khashbour, 2022). 5.1.2. addition of the eastern and western sections military work began in mid-april 1912 to construct the eastern and western sections of the qishla after the wall around benghazi was completed. their exterior design closely matched the existing buildings to the extent that the additions appeared as if they belonged to the ottoman period. each of the two new sections measures 202.50 meters in length and 11.50 meters in width, making the total length of the camp exceed half a kilometer, with more than 800 windows, as shown in figure 29. the two sections were constructed in a manner that complemented the original facade. the area around them is landscaped with plants, trees, sidewalks, and roads. the western section was designated for aviation, with an aircraft landing area located southeast of the camp. figure 30 describes the composition of the building in 3d, as well as the ottoman and italian parts. safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 17 figure 30: the 3d of the benghazi qishla (source authors, 2024). 5.2. benghazi municipal hall, 1882 and 1923. the benghazi municipal hall is located in the municipal square, which is the main hub of the old city of benghazi, featuring the most important commercial, religious, administrative, and banking buildings. municipal buildings are considered the heart of benghazi and serve as a central reference point for measuring distances to other areas, as shown in figures 31 and 32 show the municipal square and municipal hall buildings. figure 31: the municipal square and elatig mosque (source authors, 2022). figure 32: benghazi municipal hall (source authors, 2022). 5.2.1. description of the municipal hall building. in 1882, the municipal building was a single hall located in the center of the current building. mayor ahmed almahdawi, with the approval of the ottoman mutasarrif (rashid pasha), purchased one of the neighboring houses, demolished it, and constructed a three-story building as shown in figure 33. the ground floor was designated as a pharmacy, the first floor as a reception hall, and the last floor as administrative offices. this new construction became the central part of the current building (al faqih, a. 2021). figure 33: benghazi municipal hall, ottoman and the italian parts (historic cities management authority, n.d.). safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 18 today, historical sources and archaeological studies related to the architectural style of the benghazi municipal building confirm that the middle part of the building dates back to the second ottoman period, specifically during the first term of the turkish mutasarrif, rashid pasha, from 1882 to 1885. later, between 1923 and 1925, the italian authorities executed a new building, or more accurately, developed an old municipal building. the redesign concept involves new additions to existing structures. the new construction preserved the existing street, resulting in a ground floor consisting of two separate parts, whereas the sections of the first floor were connected, creating a covered street. the narrow rooms disappeared and were replaced with well-ventilated rooms. figure 34 displays the ground floor and first floor of the italian construction. the tiring wooden stairs were also replaced by marble stairs in the center, with one side leading to the mayor's office and the other side leading to other administrative offices. these excellentquality italian marble stairs are still present in the building today, and figure 35 shows the interior of the first floor and stairs of the municipal hall (manzoni,2009). the municipal building features a classical style, with elements derived from the old municipal building and decorations inspired by andalusian architecture. the architect ivo lebboroni was responsible for designing the facade, and marcello piacentini designed the front colonnade as well as the interior layout and furnishings. the artist guido cadorin executed the murals featuring botanical shapes related to the local environment, such as the silphium plant, along with geometric decorative designs, and umberto bellotto created innovative designs for the chandeliers and was the first to incorporate glass into metalwork (al faqih, a. 2021). figure 34: ground floor and first floor of benghazi municipal hall (historic cities management authority, n.d.). municipal buildings are considered one of the finest italian colonial buildings in libya. the building was redesigned in a neo-moorish style that was popular at the time in italy, and the costs for its interior decoration were high.(al faqih, a. 2021(. figure 35: the interior of the first floor and stairs of benghazi municipal hall (manzoni,2009). additionally, the new architectural style respected the existing building and incorporated many of its architectural elements, giving it a grander and more elaborate composition. it is also important to note that the rational approach adopted by italian architects in libya was successful because they benefited from the local architecture that was safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 19 already in place. he also followed the same orientation based on an inward-looking design, simple facades, and semicircular arches. architect lebboroni excelled in designing the façade of the municipal building in the style of the old structure by replicating the existing façade and preserved the existing street, while artist cadorin used geometric decorations and plant shapes, avoiding the depiction of people, which is common in his works from italian cities, also adorned the ceiling in a manner typical of the old houses in benghazi (manzoni, 2009), figure 36 explains the main features of the elevation of benghazi municipal hall. figure 36: the main elevation of benghazi municipal hall (historic cities management authority, n.d.). 5.3. almanar palace in benghazi (the graziani palace: governor's residence) almanar palace, the governor's residence, or the graziani palace is a historic building located in the city of benghazi, libya. it was constructed in 1928 and 1930. the palace is situated in the center of benghazi in an area known as alkhalsa square. architect piacentini designed a square with a large fountain located in front of the palace. the palace is built in the italian architectural style and is characterized by its magnificent facades adorned with carvings and decorations. it contains numerous spacious rooms and halls. the classic style of the governor’s residence was designed by three talented architects, capitati, alpagio, and ferintsa. pirazza supervised the execution of construction work (al faqih 2021). figure 37: almanar palace, front and back entrances, and building tower (historic cities management authority, n.d.). it should be mentioned that the italian architecture during the italian colonial period dealt with the local architectural heritage in a way that took into account homogeneity, integration, and continuity. this architectural output was in line with existing urban formations in a way that achieved the desired beauty (safour & elmazek, 2023). the design safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 20 concept aimed to create a building suitable for the governor's residence, while ensuring protection, security, and ease of access and egress. it is also important for the building to harmonize with the local architecture and environment. the architects skillfully embodied these ideas, evident in the building's horizontal orientation, simple façades, arches, and prominent main entrance, reminiscent of the doors of benghazi that dominate the façades of residences. there is complete harmony between the front facade and the buildings constructed at the end of the ottoman era along corso italia. figure 37 shows that the composition of the palace includes the main, and the elevations of the building also illustrate the key entrance and the back entrance. 5.3.1. description of the almanar palace graziani palace the governor's residence consisted of two floors and a lower section. the ground floor features a corridor (hall) connected to a grand hall, allowing vehicle access from south to north, along with rooms and offices for guards and building management, as well as the main staircase leading to the first floor. the first floor includes a large reception area for ceremonies, the governor's residence, and the family's quarters. additionally, there are several rooms for building employees, a long terrace overlooking the sea, and a small terrace on the main façade that offers views of corso italia, designed for greeting crowds during celebrations and military parades. figure 38 contains the first and second floors of the palace. marble powder was used in the plastering of walls, and the interior floors and walls of the building were clad with famous types of italian marble in various forms, such as cipolfigureil gillo di siena, il bianco venato, il verdi tinos, and il nero di belgio (al faqih, 2021). a massive tower dominated the main façade and was constructed after the building was completed. it is the only tower in benghazi that is connected to a residential building, featuring a square cross-section, and is approximately 25 m tall. its symbolic function represents power and authority. similar square-shaped towers can be found in some buildings in italian cities, like the tower of the governor's residence in benghazi. figure 39 includes the main elevation and main entrance, and the back elevation of the palace. figure 38: almanar palace, ground floor, and first floor (historic cities management authority, n.d.). figure 39: almanar palace, the main elevation, main entrance, and back elevation ((historic cities management authority, n.d.). safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 21 after 2011, the palace was renovated and converted into a museum that displayed the artifacts and history of the region. it is an important tourist landmark in benghazi. the almanar palace is considered an important architectural and historical landmark in the city of benghazi. 6. rehabilitation approaches, methodologies, and ideas for historical libyan buildings rehabilitation approaches to revitalize historical buildings should be based on the examples studied and previous experiences, which can be observed in our study. the revitalization of historical buildings, as seen in examples such as baghdad's qishla and projects in spain, involves maintaining and preserving external elements while adapting internal spaces for new functions, often as cultural hubs. this approach includes documentation, restoration, and addressing issues such as erosion and vandalism, with modifications made to suit new functional needs, while preserving the original character as much as possible. for libyan examples, and based on the analysis of the case studies, international precedents, and specific strategies for the rehabilitation of each building were proposed, considering their unique characteristics, potential uses, and the needs of the community. the municipality building could adopt the madrid barracks approach, preserving the exterior facade while inserting a new internal structure and separating the old and new. this is because municipal buildings suffer from structural problems, and their original internal divisions are restrictive and difficult to use for cultural or other purposes. in this case, the building could be repurposed as a museum or exhibition space with a new internal structure aligned with this new function. for the almanar palace, the barcelona barracks approach could be beneficial, preserving the building inside and out entirely. it can be repurposed with functions suitable for its varied spaces, as it contains both large and small areas. this diversity of spaces facilitates its repurpose, and some free functions that can change over time can be added, mostly cultural, training, exhibitions, or heritage museums. regarding the turkish barracks, the building is relatively large and contains various elements from different historical periods, including turkish and italian wings. some areas were structurally sound, whereas others were partially or completely collapsed. therefore, it can incorporate multiple ideas or approaches to revitalization. the turkish part, owing to its historical and architectural value, should preferably be restored to its original state, as it contains large spaces that can be used for flexible functions such as workshops. for italian wings, there is a structurally sound part where the layouts can be preserved, especially because removing partitions is difficult owing to the load-bearing wall system. therefore, this function should be modified to suit its existence. the collapsed part presents an opportunity to build a new block that provides a function that the old design cannot accommodate, but is needed for the building's new purpose. the large courtyard in the barracks can be utilized as an open cultural square for cultural and social activities, as seen in the three cultural examples of the baghdad, madrid, and barcelona barracks. it is also possible to benefit from the paris barracks approach by adding a structure like a theater or library, partially underground, to harmonize with the site and the building without disrupting the architectural values of the historical building. 7. conclusion. this study illustrates the importance of safeguarding benghazi's architectural heritage and its urban cultural identity. it advocates comprehensive planning to conserve and rehabilitate historic structures as an absolute necessity and suggests that adaptive reuse might be the best approach for conservation efforts to support social, economic, and cultural aspects in the community. detailing actions for restoration, reuse, and rehabilitation takes precedence in the restoration of benghazi's urban identity. importantly, urban heritage and architectural inheritance are representations of the distinctiveness and collective memory of a city, and how often interrelated urban and social fabric and cultural identity need to be preserved. by prioritizing these initiatives for preservation, the city can preserve unique architectural and urban characteristics, unaltered plans of neighborhoods, and productive renewal of existing spaces, which will benefit the city today. taking the time to examine and analyze other plans that will maintain some of the history and cultural significance while allowing for urban growth will be a sustainable and socially responsible means of looking after benghazi's rich culture. safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 22 the study illustrates how important a few historical monuments and significant architecture have become embedded and woven into the cultural memory and urban fabric of benghazi, in addition to bringing to light the urgency of the missed opportunity and the need for stabilization and protection for other significant parts of a city comprising both antiquities and other significant architecture. this approach aimed to protect preservation goals in a successful and culturally appropriate manner. acknowledging that the world is going to notice that a portion of its urban heritage and history is presently in disrepair, and in a position of being lost or fading. this study suggests using lessons learned from examples and previous experiences to guide future rehabilitation strategies for historic libyan buildings. this approach aims to ensure that preservation initiatives are both successful and compatible with the culture. ultimately, the preservation of the architecture of benghazi is not only about preventing buildings from being destroyed or entering a state of dilapidated conditions, but also about saving the city's unique identity and cultural continuity. 7.1. implications for rehabilitation the rehabilitation strategies applied to historic buildings should be based on the experience of other historic buildings and their outcomes. the evidential basis for rehabilitation will help ensure that the work is effective and treats built specialism for its historical value and meaning, and any best practice approach being undertaken. in the rehabilitation approach, there is a wealth of previous projects that contribute to the evidence base of their use. architects and the conservation profession are well placed and able to reach informed decisions about the properties of the place, about the other functions, safety requirements, and still provide their conservation purpose. in terms of rehabilitation, these approaches should be developed based on the unique properties of the building. every historic building has a unique set of conditions, issues, challenges, characteristics, specific function requirements, and cultural values. for instance, the municipality building could have an approach of keeping its main building's external character but allowing the implementation of a new structure using the internal area of this significant heritage building. this would allow it to maintain the historical character of the municipality building as a key contributor to the urban landscape, and it could modernize today's necessary internal uses of a complex building. in contrast, we may need a more extensive preservation approach for the almanar palace. to consider this building, our strategy may be twofold: to preserve both the interior and exterior, including the outer landscape, and then adaptively reuse the building, implementing functions that are appropriate for utilizing the space. this approach preserves the breadth of historical and architectural values and adapts them for reasonable use. turkish barracks suggest an opportunity for a multilayered approach to rehabilitation. the complex structure of military buildings means that barracks can only be partially preserved, fully adapted, or not deemed to have significance either to their form or to their historic value in the community. it might make sense to acknowledge the best-preserved part of the barracks by restoring it, keeping other parts of it preserved for their significance, and making decisions about building anew where it would replace things that were so far gone or damaged that they no longer existed. in this scenario, we would aim to retain the essence of barracks' history while making decisions about its structural integrity and future use. 7.2. limitations of the study this study does not explicitly state its limitations. however, it appears to focus on a limited number of case studies in benghazi and does not cover all the potential rehabilitation approaches or challenges. 7.3. recommendations. • develop comprehensive plans for preserving and rehabilitating historical buildings in benghazi. • adopt flexible approaches to rehabilitation tailored to each building's specific needs and potential uses. • consider adaptive reuse strategies that can provide cultural, economic, and social benefits to the community. safour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 23 7.4. areas for further research: while not explicitly stated in the conclusion, potential areas for further research could include detailed structural assessments of historical buildings in benghazi and economic feasibility studies for various adaptive reuse scenarios. moreover, future research might include community impact studies to understand the social implications of rehabilitation projects and comparative studies with other cities facing similar challenges in preserving architectural heritage. acknowledgment the abstract of this paper was presented at the conservation of architectural heritage (cah) conference –8th edition, which was held on the 17th 19th of september 2024. funding declaration. this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval. not applicable. conflict of interest. the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. references munshed, z. a., & ashour, a. s. 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publication pg. 74 doi: 10.21625/archive.v6i1. 881 world heritage monuments management planning in the light of un sustainable development goals: the case of the old town of corfu sofia maria poulimenou1, polyxeni kaimara2, ioannis deliyannis2 1 department of archives, library science and museology, ionian university, i.. 7, 49100 corfu-greece 2 department of audiovisual arts, ionian university, corfu greece abstract this paper focuses on the topic of world heritage monuments tourism planning and more specifically at the area of strategic management design, as the integration of the 17 united nations sustainable development goals “sdgs”, described in the agenda 2030 introduces a wide range of conditions that affect the policy design. with the introduction of sustainable goal 11, countries have pledged to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. within this goal, target 11.4 aims to “strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage”. the main goal of our research is to determine whether a tourism promotion methodology, experientially used in the case of the old town of corfu, may assist in the monitoring of the existing management plan of the site, providing with data and metrics that allow its adaptation according to the 17 sdgs. our proposed methodology has been applied within the “hologrammatic corfu” project, a digital tourist guide designed specifially to enable exploration of the site covering user requirements before, during and after the trip, with the use of transmedia content such as photos, 360-degree videos, augmented reality and hologrammatic videos. here data collected regarding the travellers’ visits to specific points of interest are actively utilized for dynamic re-rooting during their visit, safeguarding sustainability and accessibility along the entire tourism cycle. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer-review under responsibility of archive’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords cultural heritage; sdgs; sustainable corfu; world heritage monuments; holograms 1. introduction world heritage (tangible and intangible) has been for a long time the subject of research and discussion, especially in terms of content, concepts and the driving forces behind its management (fredholm, 2015). sustainable management of world heritage and especially world cultural heritage presupposes the clear application of specific procedures for its economic, social and environmental sustainability (nocca, 2017), creating the necessary management dimensions. in this framework, it is essential that the design and planning of world heritage management plans is as a top priority for heritage managers, in order to ensure and preserve the outstanding universal value of a world heritage monument. the complexity of a monument (pendlebury et al, 2009) along with the multiple factors, actors and institutions involved in its management (hirsenberger al, 2019; seyfi et al, 2019; ringbeck, 2017) make the procedure more challenging and multi parametric. especially in the cases of monuments that are historic centres, these http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ poulimenou / the academic research community publication pg. 75 procedures becomes even complexier as the sustainable management of the monument depends not on one but on all the factors described above. the large number of differantiated users of the monument with their individual needs, combined with the increased tourism flow caused by the characterisation of a monument as world heritage site affect the monument and its management even more. the international developments in terms of new technologies and management priorities create a greater need for a regular updating of management plans, and systematic evaluation of the described objectives and proposed actions, so that the management of the monument can be carried out in a timely manner and can ensure, at least in terms of design, the desired sustainability for a long time. a detailed, thorough and flexible management process is therefore needed in order to create stronger commitments on the part of heritage managers to protect the monuments in perpetuity as well as greater prospects for preserving their values for future generations. 2. sustainable management of world heritage sites-correlate 2.1 the outstanding universal value of a world heritage site world heritage sites include a wide range of cultural entities (archaeological sites, buildings, urban complexes, historical cities, industrial heritage, etc.) and represent a large part of human activity. the basis of their nomination and inscription on unesco’s world heritage list is the display of outstanding universal value (ouv), which according to unesco (2019)“……… means cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity. as such, the permanent protection of this heritage is of the highest importance to the international community as a whole”. the statement of ouv lies also on the management procedures and plans for every world heritage site. during the research, the integrated planning and implementation of actions aimed at the protection, preservation and promotion of world heritage sites was highlighted but also the achievement of goals related to their sustainability. the structure of management plans usually follow already established managerial models, such as: the description of a monument and its importance, the existance of a specific legislative, administrative and procedural framework, the creation of a management infrastructure, the formation of local managers’ visions and goals for a site. the degree of their complexity also relatively affects the complexity of the management. as each case of is unique, the management requirements differ and it is particularly important that the processes involved in the formation of the management have objectivity and are commonly accepted by the majority of the actors involved in the management procedure. as a result of the plurality of actors and parameters involed cross-sectoral cooperation in order to achieve not only promotion and protection, but mainly sustainable development. 2.2 the 17 un sustainable development goals and the local goals on 25 september 2015, in the framework of the 70th general assembly of the united nations, the agenda for sustainable development (agenda 2030) was adopted along with the related 17 sustainable development goals (sdgs) and their 169 targets. the sdgs have an initial implementation schedule until 2030 and they consist of a general model of implementation worldwide, as they create commitments for every country, regardless of their level of development, policies and priorities. agenda 2030 promotes the integration of all three dimensions of sustainable development social, environmental and economic into all sectoral policies and at the same time promotes the interconnection and coherence of the sdgs with related policies and legislative frameworks. goal 11 "sustainable cities and communities" includes the target 11.4. “ strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage” which is the only one of the 169 targets directly and inextricably linked to the protection of the world heritage. the connection of the 17 sdgs with world heritage is not however limited to the delimitation of an exclusive target as there are a number of management issues of the world heritage sites that are related to other sdgs and targets. in the case of historic centres, the satisfaction of many of the sdgs (eg. affordable housing options, building restoration, urbanization, energy management issues) is fundamental as they relate to important functional requirements of the monument as a whole. in addition to theoretical assessments of the changing terminology about culture (ranging from cultural property, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, cultural goods or products), the role of culture in society is constantly being redefined through its connection to other areas of knowledge and learning: poulimenou / the academic research community publication pg. 76 from the development of the cultural economy to the interest in the creative industries and the recent debate on the role of culture in sustainable development (sabatini, 2019). figure 1 the un 17 sustainable goals (un, 2020) 2.3 local goals and correlate framework in view of the above, it is obvious that the evolution of the process of design and implementation of the management plans for world heritage sites requires redesign and reorganization in order to cover the current developments in terms of sustainability but also in order to cope with the unpredictable parameters that may affect sustainability. this process could be achieved by adopting a new framework that does not abandon the traditional and historically accepted methodologies for designing, monitoring, evaluating and reviewing management plans. the proposed framework that is called correlate (interactive framework for sustainable world heritage site management) evolves this process by introducing the sdgs as building blocks for evaluating the successful implementation of local goals at monument level. this framework is being introduced for the first time and defines the relationships between the factors and parameters involved in achieving the strategic objectives of both the unesco world heritage center and the designated sites, covering the need for implementation of the conditions set by the 17 (today) sdgs. its innovation is based on the manner that different actors interact, through the introduction of a new process of redefining needs by systematically investigating the effectiveness of the local objectives. those local objectives are evaluated in relation to the most relevant sdgs so that each proposed action of a management plan fulfills the maximum of requirements of sustainability. correlate uses a management procedure that results in understanding whether the objectives and actions proposed by local managers effectively solve the identified problems without creating new ones and introduces the necessary amendements that need to be included in management plans for the sustainability of the momunents according to un goals. figure 2 shows schematically this top-down approach: in order to ensure and preserve the outstanding universal value of a world heritage site (khalif, 2019; unesco, 2020) (1st level), the management of local objectives as described in the monument’s management plan (3rd level) should be evaluated according to the 17 un sustainable development goals (level 2). this means that the 3rd level is implemented according to the requirements of the 2nd level, in order to achieve the 1st level. in the context of correlate, the primary goal of management plans is the protection of all those elements related to the preservation of the outstanding universal value of the monument and for this reason it is placed at the top of the figure as it is not subject to revision or adjustment in any case. poulimenou / the academic research community publication pg. 77 figure 2 the top-down approach of correlate in the middle of the figure the 17 sdgs are placed as the basic level of evaluation and classification for the local goals which are placed at the bottom of the figure. for each monument the implementation of each local goal must be first evaluated according to the sdgs so that the higher goal can be achieved and the sustainability of the monument can be ensured. the achievement of this goal is inextricably linked to the satisfaction of every individual goal, as they are reflected in the case-appropriate management plans and they must be reviewed and updated accordingly with current circumstances and developments. the use of in the context of cultural management of world heritage monuments uses their structural characteristics and the completeness of the categorization they offer, covering every aspect and condition for prosperity and improvement of the quality of life as well as measurable indicators for each goal which are described in their sub-objectives (labadi, 2019). the most important contribution of this proposed framework is that it places cultural heritage at the heart of sustainability. the use of the framework can compose a different solution every time, depending on the specifics of each monument and by utilizing the interconnected relationships between the different sdgs that may not seem to be related at first glance. 3. transmedia content as "preservator" of cultural heritage sustainable management of world heritage sites also involves tourism management, especially cultural and creative tourism and by focusing on activities that relate to the memory and identity of local communities (ferreira et al, 2019). the corelation between visitors and local experiences in enhanced by the perspective of transmedia storytelling as part of marketing strategies that reinforce the value of destinations and as a key element in the construction of the world heritage sites brand (campillo-alhama et al, 2019). transmedia means “across media” and describes any combination of narrative and non-narrative media elements that are spread systematically across multiple platforms. examples of “narrative elements include plot, setting, and characters, while non-narrative elements tend to be modes of participation in an online community or types of actions in a video game or design features such as menu structure in an e-book or instructional design in an in-person activity” (herr-stephenson et al., 2013). although the term "transmedia" was coined by media researcher marsha kinder in 1991 (as cited in jenkins, 2015), the concept was first used in the artistic field in the 60s in the united states (scolari, 2019). the most significant conceptual contribution to transmedia was created by jenkins and his successful suggestion for using the term “transmedia storytelling” (jenkins, 2003; scolari, 2019). humans have the capability to tell stories using a variety of tools. even though transmedia is at the heart of modern storytelling and creativity, however, there is evidence that the notion of transmedia has its roots in ancient greece. an equivalent term poulimenou / the academic research community publication pg. 78 "ekphrasis" (in greek, ekphrasis means expression) was used to describe skills that could simultaneously convey an artistic content or a mythological narrative in different forms, such as painting, sculpture, drama, oral poetry, writing, dance, performance, art in pottery, etc. (lópez-varela azcárate, 2015). in a digital world, transmedia comprises analogue or digital media, e.g. images, photos, text, video clips, audio narration, music, animation, comic books, games and their combination (robin & mcneil, 2012). with ever-evolving technology, transmedia storytelling embraces cutting-edge technologies, for instance, 360-degree interactive videos, virtual and augmented reality and holograms. these modern technology platforms showcase analogue and digital content that can flow both individually, i.e., through a medium and in combination. figure 3 shows pratten's transition from the old to the new world of transmedia (figure 1) (pratten, 2011). figure 3 what is transmedia? source: pratten (2011, p. 2) alongside, the content of cutting-edge technology media is not distributed exclusively by industry but spreads through consumers which shape, share, reshape and mix multimedia content using the multiple benefits of networked communication platform (gordon & lim, 2016). typical examples of such content are museums exhibits, archaeological sites, city monuments and libraries. digital material could be the trigger of transforming an ordinary poulimenou / the academic research community publication pg. 79 traveller to a cultural heritage content creator (kaimara et al., 2020). by providing content to an already existing point of interest, travellers who are initially consumers of the tourism product become producers and therefore acquire a dual role and are now called "prosumers". this process, that is, traveller's engagement with the content, promotes incidental learning, that was not intentional and planned in the first place (poulimenou, kaimara, papadopoulou, et al., 2018). an unplanned learning process is a type of informal learning based on constructive theories and especially on activity theory (deliyannis, 2012). in general, in the first, learning arises from learners' (travellers) participation, and in the second emphasis is given to changing nature of the objects by travellers. simply put, people interact with tools designed and developed by other people, create news, decide to become active constructors of their knowledge, and they share the content they have created. this possibility called "participatory culture" is due to the human instinct to share and suggest content (gordon & lim, 2016). the advent of technology innovation has given to travellers more possibilities by providing expression opportunities on websites, social media platforms, and media sharing services. forms of participatory culture include affiliations i.e. memberships, formal and informal, in online communities, expressions, i.e. producing new creative forms, collaborative problem-solving, i.e. working together in teams to develop new knowledge and circulations, i.e. shaping the flow of media (jenkins et al., 2009). in this participatory culture, prosumers become hunters and gatherers by collecting information from multiple sources to create a new synthesis. transmedia navigation represents the traveller's ability to meet the same information, same stories, same characters and worlds across multiple modes of representation. besides, through transmedia storytelling, travellers understand that the stories could be continued and expanded by themselves and/or changed and not just presented on different platforms (fiorelli, 2013). travellers, through this transmedia participatory process, experience pleasure by providing a micro-narrative piece to a larger macro-narrative, that is the full story (basaraba et al., 2019). the most common digital applications for cultural heritage promotion are found in museums, where the first attempts were made (e.g., audio guides and digital displays). however, a visitor who is familiar with interacting with the environment and remote users is no longer motivated by these applications. new technologies that support transmedia content offer an interactive experience through various digital devices available to visitors. primarily, several media will soon be inaccessible, as compatible devices will cease to be available. thus, the only possibility of preserving cultural heritage is data transfer from the oldest to the most modern storage device and systems (kraemer & kanter, 2014). 3d printing, virtual, augmented or mixed reality, virtual guides, animated picture albums, digitized exhibits and collections, hologrammatic videos and augmented reality applications are a few examples that have been utilised in art history classes, museums, archives, and libraries (kraemer & kanter, 2014; poulimenou, kaimara, & deliyannis, 2018). museums, as typical educational places, which are designed on the principles of constructivist theories are dynamic. through new forms of interactive communication, such as transmedia, augmented reality and hologrammatic videos, museums have the potential to be important transmitters of cultural heritage. smartphone-tablet applications based on augmented reality technology allow visitors to target an exhibit, a photo or a qr code and then additional information are displayed. visitors also could add their own information. augmented reality technology relies on transmedia storytelling, by reusing the collected data and expanding the information (kraemer & kanter, 2014). however, these possibilities are not limited to the narrow confines of a museum. technology turns every smart city into a living museum. 4. the project “hologrammatic corfu” “hologrammatic corfu” is an on going european project, co-funded by the operational program “ionian islands 2014-2020” and the european union, which applies cutting edge technologies for the promotion and sustainable management of the touristic flow in the old town of corfu, a world heritage monument inscribed on unesco’s list from 2007. the project attempts to address a deficit gap in the flow of touristic information by creating a system of dynamic, personalized digital tours for the visitors of the monument. the created system presents basic information about the monument for all visitors regardless of the level of acquaintance they wish to experience. the use of the system allows the visitor to receive interactively reliable and verified information for several points of interest, in the form of augmented reality, holograms and interactive 360o video. through the placement of the most important points of interest on a map, it is possible to design, create and propose innovative interactive narrative tours intended for poulimenou / the academic research community publication pg. 80 different user categories. the transmedia content modeling methodology presented within this work describes the process used to create an easy-to-use application that include locating historical-tourist points of interest, providing multimedia content and using augmentation, while allowing the visitor to be informed about the availability of points of interest in order to plan or dynamically alter their visiting experience, where data dynamically adapt to the current conditions prevailing in the tourist destination. hence, typical content-delivery is replaced by active visitor management by enabling them to follow dynamic paths which adapt according to their interests, abilities and conditions of the visiting site, including congested areas where high-waiting time is detected. hence distribution of the volume of visitors in alternative locations, is proposed as a method for the reduction of the anthropogenic burden and the adaptation of the tourist influx to the carrying capacity of the monument. figure 4: a map of the old town of corfu showing several points of interest (photo via http://xeee.web.auth.gr/icaheritage/corfu/whattosee.html) the implementation of the project, which is carried out by the interactive arts laboratory of the department of arts, sound and vision of the ionian university and by the ephorate of antiquities of corfu. at first the system envisages the creation of an easy-to-use application that will offer services for locating points of historical-tourist interest, providing multimedia content. the application allows the visitor to be informed about the availability of points of interest and to voluntarily plan his own historical-cultural routes. as far as people with mobility issues is concerned, the system provides information about the accessibility of the points of interest and suggestions for alternative routes. the points of interest are documented with historical information and two different documentation texts were created, one with communicative character that includes brief information about each point of interest and a more extensive one, with reference to sources and bibliography addressed to those who wish access to further information. points of interest are displayed on a map (geolocation) with the ability to search for other nearby locations and show a suggested route. the points of interest that offer an interactive tour are highlighted. the content of the application beyond the important multimedia material of historical-tourist interest includes information about the structure, organization and operation of the city, such as store opening hours, local holidays and celebrations, important events, emergency telephones, accessibility, public spaces, parking, etc. this kind of information helps a visitor to acquire a poulimenou / the academic research community publication pg. 81 complete idea of the monument’s cultural and operational details and to better plan their visit, avoiding choices that could lead to a deterioration of the experience. the project also foresees the creation of holographic content shown at custon made pyramids. four pyramid systems have been developed (one for the region of ionian islands, one for the municipality of corfu and one for the corfu port authority) in order to be used for the tourism promotion activities and one has been developed for ionian university for further research. visitors are also able to view the holographic content on their mobile devices if they have the appropriate equipment. also small individual pyramids (100 pcs) have been procured to be distributed to users on a trial base for the evaluation of the project. the main innovation of the project "hologrammatic corfu" lies on the technological tools that it uses (360o videoaugmented reality holograms) for the presentation, dissemination, and transfer of cultural information. at technological level, the combination of interactive storytelling with the use of multimedia and geographic information systems (gis) technologies, augmented reality (ar) technologies and mobile devices is an innovative endeavour as it combines modern and multi-sensory technologies, adaptive to the needs of users. in the case of the old town of corfu, this kind of technology has only been implemented in specific cultural sites and has not been applied at any level of tourism promotion as an overall application. 5. conclusions world heritage sites management is a multiparametric problem with multiple extensions, as it is called upon to combine national and international legislation and procedures, to face different problems and challenges on a caseby-case basis, to connect different categories of users, while at the same time it is influenced and co-shaped by the data related to tourism development. the sustainability of world heritage sites is inextricably linked to their management methodology and management implementation requires the utilization cutting-edge technologies. our research has shown that the already applied management methodologies do not sufficiently take into consideration the conditions for achieving sustainability goals, as defined and described by the agenda 2030. on the other hand, agenda 2030 and the 17 un sdgs are a very recent development in the global community, therefore management plans that were formulated or updated before this development could not consider the directions of the sdgs. thus, the elaboration of a framework that completed this managerial gap has been a challenge and necessity. as far as cultural information is concerned, it is obvious that transmedia stories are complex (combination of various media), immersive (advantages of cutting-edge technologies) and engaging (participatory culture). cultural tourists require unique experiences that satisfy their interests (basaraba et al., 2019). a cultural heritage system that employs transmedia content, presents local history, traditional myths, destroyed or even remote monuments. the power and contribution of each medium, depending on the content, to attract visitors, lead them to explore other aspects of the story and turn them into content creators, is the challenge when designing transmedia systems. acknowledgements the research implemented for the project “hologrammatic corfu” has been supported by the operational program “ionian islands 2014-2020” and the european union. the presented framework «correlate: 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(2019). transmedia is dead. long live transmedia!(or life, passion and the decline of a concept). lis letra. imagen. sonido. ciudad mediatizada, 20, 69–92. https://publicaciones.sociales.uba.ar/index.php/lis/article/viewfile/5388/4405 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 21 january 2025, accepted: 23 april 2025, published online: 30 april 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive privacy and gendered domestic spaces in the 21st century: mapping sociocultural continuity in the community led-housing project of ksar tafilelt, algeria hadjer messabih a , federico wulff b aphd student at the welsh school of architecture, cardiff university. cardiff, uk bsenior lecturer of architecture and urban design, and ma ad course director at the welsh school of architecture, cardiff university. cardiff, uk abstract as a sociocultural product, the home is shaped by specific sociocultural norms and values. economic development and modernisation have significantly affected the architecture of many muslim homes, resulting in a disconnection from islamic culture. this paper explores two sociocultural factors in muslim housing: privacy and gender segregation. the analysis highlights how the principles of traditional islamic architecture are still woven into contemporary designs, using ksar tafilelt in algeria as a case study. the aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the mozabite house in ksar tafilelt continues to uphold the social customs and religious beliefs of its residents despite the influences of modernisation. through fieldwork and comparative analysis, both the traditional house in the original mozabite settlement and the contemporary house in ksar tafilelt are examined in terms of user zones rather than functional zones. this approach investigates how these homes uphold traditional mozabite architectural patterns while accommodating contemporary comfort needs. the study methodology also includes a combination of questionnaires and interviews conducted with a sample of 70 residents from ksar tafilelt. the findings reveal factors that have enabled the mozabite community to maintain its islamic identity. they also emphasise a notably conservative, family-oriented culture, which is reflected in the organisation of household spaces. this research study highlights the significance of involving the community in housing projects and comprehending the sociocultural principles of the local population throughout the construction process. this research was conducted as part of a phd project funded by cardiff university. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords architectural heritage; privacy; gendered spaces; domestic spaces; socio-cultural continuity 1. introduction residents from diverse cultures design their living spaces in ways that adapt to and fulfil their sociocultural needs (rapoport, 1991; al-homoud, 2009). due to economic development and modernisation, cultural values and considerations, along with social performance and sustainability, have often been understudied. this has led to architectural designs being significantly shaped by western architecture (sani & mahasti, 2013; hegazy, 2015). the push for rapid development has resulted in the standardisation of architectural styles and building technologies, particularly impacting housing design in the developing world, especially in islamic arab countries. moreover, the https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i2.1174&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 influence of sociocultural factors on the design of houses in these countries has been insufficiently explored, complicating efforts to uphold social and cultural sustainability. such conditions have led to the loss of the distinctive identity of muslim arab architecture and have disrupted the continuity of local sociocultural values within muslim communities. currently, some architects and designers prioritise aesthetics, economic factors, and technological construction methods, often overlooking social and cultural needs (al thahab et al., 2016; al husban et al., 2021). several scholars advocate for a more integrative and interdisciplinary approach that connects the physical, sociocultural, psychological, and economic dimensions of housing (despres, 1991; somerville, 1997; shabani et al., 2011). furthermore, many authors emphasise the necessity for flexibility and adaptability in housing, an issue that has become increasingly pressing due to the evolving needs of residents (magdziak, 2019). hassan fathy asserted that vernacular and traditional architecture are vibrant sources that infuse a place with social vitality. he promoted a greater respect for integrating tradition into architecture, interpreting it as a social reflection of personal habits. fathy contended that architects are responsible for cultivating a heightened awareness of the importance of incorporating the culture and local identity of the community into their designs. thus, a suitable approach to constructing modern housing should respect contemporary needs and cultural requests by merging traditional housing principles with modern elements (sani & mahasti, 2013). this paper investigates the continuity of two sociocultural factors in muslim households: privacy and gender segregation. it employs the community-led housing project of ksar tafilelt as a case study to illustrate how the mozabite houses in this settlement adhere to their community's sociocultural principles and religious beliefs. furthermore, it emphasises how these homes replicate traditional architectural patterns, particularly concerning privacy and gender segregation, while accommodating contemporary lifestyles. the study underscores the significance of understanding and integrating the social and cultural values of the local community into building construction. through fieldwork observations and comparative analysis, the traditional houses in the original mozabite settlement and the contemporary homes in ksar tafilelt are examined. this analysis focuses on user zones rather than functional zones, exploring how these residences preserve traditional mozabite architectural patterns while meeting the demands of contemporary living and expected comfort. the study's methodology also incorporates a combination of questionnaires and interviews conducted with a sample of 70 residents from ksar tafilelt. 2. literature review islamic arab countries are among the regions that embrace a rich architectural heritage; however, during the twentieth century, numerous traditional buildings and heritage symbols faced deterioration and destruction due to the impacts of modernisation and globalisation (salman, 2018). this has resulted in a globalised built environment that lacks reference to the islamic local character (beynon, 2010; zalloom & aboutorabi, 2014; zetter & watson, 2006). moreover, these changes have led to the loss of the identity of muslim arab architecture and disrupted the continuity of local socio-cultural values within the communities, such as privacy and gender segregation (zetter & watson, 2006). findings from previous studies indicate that gender segregation and privacy are among the essential sociocultural factors that shape the design parameters of the typical traditional islamic house (al-rostomani, 1997; lewcok & freeth, 1978; majida et al., 2012). these two factors also influence the internal layout transformations and the construction and design of houses in islamic arab countries (hosseini & ali, 2015; othmann et al., 2015; abed et al., 2022). a review of the literature has highlighted a shift in these two traditional islamic principles (al-mohannadi & furlan, 2022). some research studies have indicated that privacy is not upheld in modern houses, and there is a lack of the islamic housing concept due to the limited awareness of islamic knowledge among the younger muslim generation, who may have been influenced by western culture (alitajern & nojoumi, 2016; sana & beenish, 2016). it has also been suggested that the importance of privacy diminishes daily in muslim homes due to western lifestyles (bekleyen & dalkiliç, 2011). azhani et al. (2019) argued that there is a need for greater awareness of islamic and cultural traditions in constructing houses that meet muslims' needs. babangida and sani-katsina (2018) state that messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 privacy can be significantly enhanced when considered at the initial design stage, particularly through the integration of design elements informed by islamic design principles. sociocultural factors are recognised as having a strong relationship with the built environment, making it essential to design dwellings that are culturally responsive to residents’ needs. khemri (2020) argued that many sustainable projects fail in developing countries due to their designs lacking environmental, economic, social, and cultural contextual considerations. these projects do not encourage residents' participation in decision-making, which must consider people’s social and cultural values to create a housing environment that adequately meets residents’ needs. furthermore, architects are encouraged to design buildings that cater to people’s sociocultural needs through a deeper understanding of them and how they interpret the use of their housing and cultural identity (hekmat ismail, 2015; al husban et al., 2021). moreover, scholars assert that sociocultural factors significantly affect a house's long-term social and cultural sustainability (shehab & kandar, 2021). djermouli (2019) explains that when the community is involved in housing projects, the resulting urban settlements provide better living conditions because they address the residents’ requirements. thus, encouraging residents' participation and considering their sociocultural needs during the design of houses tends to enhance residential satisfaction and improve environmental quality (shehab & kandar, 2021). several scholars have argued that a more integrative and interdisciplinary approach is needed, in which the physical, sociocultural, psychological, and economic dimensions are interrelated (despres, 1991; somerville, 1997; shabani et al., 2011). they also emphasised the necessity for flexibility and adaptability in the housing sector due to the changing needs of residents (magdziak, 2019). sani and mahasti (2013) contend that respecting both the contemporary and sociocultural needs of residents can be one of the best solutions for successfully designing and constructing modern housing. they explain that this can be accomplished by merging the essential criteria of traditional vernacular architecture with the new elements of contemporary houses. furthermore, abuorf and wafi (2020) advocate for creating hybrid architecture by integrating traditional and modern technologies in house design. with regard to the case study of this research, algeria has undergone rapid urban growth that does not adhere to the country’s traditional urban planning principles (kedissa and mezhoud, 2023). kedissa and mezhoud (2023) assert that housing designs in algeria have overlooked one of the most significant sociocultural factors in traditional islamic architecture—privacy—and have placed greater emphasis on aesthetic values instead. consequently, housing has been influenced by western architecture, which lacks local cultural value and fails to meet the needs of the local community (djermouli, 2019). in this context, this research highlights the significance of addressing residents’ sociocultural needs during the decision-making phase, as well as the importance of community engagement and an understanding of social and cultural principles in building construction, with ksar tafilelt serving as a case study. 3. the traditional settlements of the m’zab valley the m’zab valley is a region in the northern algerian sahara, approximately 600 km south of the capital city of algiers (see figure 1). the area features a vast rocky plateau and is renowned for its seven traditional settlements, known as ‘ksour,’ along with their respective palm groves. the mozabite traditional settlements were urbanised by the ibadis, who sought refuge in the valley around the early 11th century (chabbi, 1988; bouchaira & dupagne, 2003). these mozabite ksour were designated as world heritage sites by unesco in 1982 (unesco world heritage convention, 1982). they developed in extremely harsh climatic conditions amidst political conflicts. the ibadis found in this region the conditions for safety and physical and moral isolation after being hunted and persecuted for centuries. these circumstances enabled these refugees to maintain their community cohesion and cultural identity for a prolonged period. messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 figure 1: geographical location of the m’zab valley (source: google earth) 3.1. urban and architectural characteristics of the mozabite traditional settlements the mozabite traditional settlements consist of three main elements: the ksar, palm grove, and cemetery (see figure. 2). they were constructed in response to several factors, including military defence, the climatic conditions of the area, and the religious and sociocultural needs of the inhabitants (chaabi, 1988; cataldi et al., 1996; bouchaira & dupagne, 2003; rezaei, 2021). figure 2: organisation of a mozabite ksar (source: rezaie, 2021) a massive wall surrounds the ksar to protect it from winds and sandstorms (bouchaira & dupagne, 2003; solieman, 1988). this defensive wall was also constructed to delineate the boundaries of the settlement. additionally, the ksar boasts watchtowers situated at elevated positions to safeguard the settlement, cemeteries, and palm groves, while also regulating valley water levels during the rainy seasons (bouchaira & dupagne, 2003). the traditional mozabite settlements were hierarchically organised, beginning with the mosque at the central and highest point of the hill. surrounding the mosque, houses were progressively built close together in an orderly fashion, forming concentric circles (see figure 3). subsequently, the market was established at the lowest level of the ksar (cataldi, 1996; bouchaira & dupagne, 2003). messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 figure 3: image of a traditional mozabite ksar with a mosque and minaret at the peak (cataldi et al., 1996) the traditional settlements are characterised by a compact, contiguous urban fabric with a tightly-knit street hierarchy (see figure 4) (rezaei, 2021). streets are generally winding and narrow to mitigate the impact of wind and sandstorms, creating shaded areas. they are hierarchically arranged from public to semi-public, semi-private, and finally private. the width of the streets corresponds to an increase in privacy, and there is also a transition and specialisation in the functions of the streets, moving from the economic space to the residential area. cemeteries and palm groves are situated outside the old ksar. every ksar features its own cemetery and palm grove. figure 4: mozabite traditional settlement, ksar bounoura (source: azil and vicario, 2022) 3.2. the traditional mozabite house mozabite houses reflect the construction and building traditions of the mediterranean in general and north africa in particular (see figure 5). the design adapts to the harsh climatic conditions of the sahara desert as well as the strict religious and socio-cultural principles of the ibadi community (cataldi et al., 1996). these religious and socio-cultural guidelines encompass several elements, such as spatial organisation, openings, height, and orientation of the house, to meet the needs of residents, particularly regarding the socio-cultural aspect of privacy. messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 figure 5: plans of a traditional mozabite house (source: rezig 2021. modified by the researcher) 4. case study: ksar tafilelt the housing crisis in the m'zab valley has resulted in uncontrolled urban growth, resulting in the construction of poorly designed and haphazardly located homes. this expansion has encroached upon the traditional mozabite ksour and intruded into the palm groves that once provided refuge from the intense summer heat; these areas now resemble a residential subdivision (gueliane 2019). consequently, this situation has undermined the sociocultural and natural values of the tangible and intangible heritage of the m'zab valley (bouali-messahel 2011; souidi and bestandji 2019). the ongoing housing crisis in the region and the challenges brought about by uncontrolled urban growth has heightened awareness among the mozabites regarding the importance of returning to their traditions. this consciousness has prompted the establishment of new extensions in the m’zab valley, referred to as the new ksour. these developments seek to meet the urgent demand for housing, preserve the ksourien ecosystem, and harmonise tradition with modernity. each new ksar in these settlements is situated close to the traditional settlements, ensuring a connection in population and architectural style (gueliane 2015, 2019). ksar tafilelt is a community-led housing project initiated by amidoul association. the residents are at the heart of the settlement's development in this endeavour. houses were constructed by the community, for the community, and designed to meet the community’s needs. it comprises 1,050 housing units spread over 22.5 hectares, situated on a hill within an extensive set of ridges that overlook the m’zab valley (see figure 6 and 7) (diafat & madani, 2019). the tafilelt project reinterprets the urban planning principles of traditional settlements and adapts them to the needs of contemporary life (addad, 2012). it replicates the primary principles of composition and spatial organisation found in traditional settlements. while taking the traditional settlement as an urban reference, it also develops specific modern criteria, integrating them with the traditional ones. the project aims to provide affordable housing for low and average-income households—particularly young families—to preserve the palm grove of the traditional settlement, which is threatened by uncontrolled urban expansion, and to rehabilitate the endangered ecosystem of the palm groves (rezaei, 2021). messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 amidoul association is a collective of mozabite individuals from the traditional ksar of beni isguen. established in 1993 as a small association, it evolved in 2011 into a real estate promotion company. amidoul is a non-profit association that acquired the rocky hill where ksar tafilelt is situated. it sells houses at cost price with zero interest, covering only the construction expenses. amidoul association is now responsible for managing the entire settlement of tafilelt. they receive assistance from the azzaba of the traditional settlement of ksar beni isguen and the residents of ksar tafilelt. their goal is to ensure that the settlement remains safe, secure, and clean, addressing the needs of the residents and providing essential services. figure 6: site plan of the traditional settlement of beni isguen (top) and ksar tafilelt (bottom) figure 7: site plan of ksar tafilelt according to the responses from amidoul association, funding for the project was shared among the government, the association, and the local inhabitants. the government's contribution was primarily in the form of a discount on the land price, which was sold to the association at 20% of its market value. the project of tafilelt benefited from the psh (participative social housing) scheme. there were three primary conditions attached to this scheme. the houses were allocated to individuals under three conditions (bouali-messahel, 2011): messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 • residents should have no other house • only families can have a house, not single individuals • families should not have received any previous government support for their housing once the beneficiaries met these conditions, they were required to pay one-third of the house cost at the beginning of the construction process; thereafter, payments could be made in instalments (rezaie, 2021). beneficiaries were permitted to move into their houses after two-thirds had been paid. data gathered from interviews and questionnaires indicated that the mozabite community was actively involved in every stage of the housing development process of the project. they were pivotal in identifying their housing needs, planning and designing their homes, raising funds, managing the development, and relocating to the newly constructed housing. the co-production process commenced with the engagement of intellectuals, including the project manager and administrators, to supervise the project's execution. initially, the architects convened with the beneficiaries to discuss their housing needs and clarify the project's procedures. following this, regular meetings were scheduled to assess progress, updates, and challenges, facilitating collective decision-making. the architects ensured that all parties were aligned and actively involved throughout the process. architects, engineers, and builders collaborated to design and construct the houses, ensuring that the proposed design aesthetically reflected mozabite architecture while structurally fulfilling the residents' requirements. participants confirmed that the construction site remained accessible to beneficiaries outside of working hours. members of amidoul, particularly the architect, noted that key meetings between architects and beneficiaries were held during religious festivals, as well as during traditional events and at various stages of house handovers. during these meetings, beneficiaries were invited to share their ideas, suggest modifications, and raise any concerns. additionally, beneficiaries were encouraged to visit the site every weekend, primarily on fridays (the first day of the weekend in algeria), to assist with activities requested by the association. mr. mustapha tellai, a member of the association, stated that the primary objective for beneficiaries participating each weekend is to strengthen their relationships, as they all live in the same settlement. furthermore, beneficiaries were encouraged to show solidarity by assisting one another. once the construction process was complete, amidoul association created a contract for the residents. this contract specified a list of rules and conditions that residents were required to sign before moving into their houses and living in the ksar. the rules in this contract were familiar to the mozabites, drawing inspiration from the traditions and principles of the indigenous mozabite community, ensuring that everyone comprehended these guidelines. 5. results based on fieldwork observations, the findings indicate that the houses in ksar tafilelt have a layout similar to that of traditional mozabite homes. while the original spatial hierarchy of the ksar has largely been preserved, some houses have undergone adaptations due to instances where their locations were unsuitable. the traditional mozabite house served as a model for the dwellings in ksar tafilelt, which are larger and feature more intricate spatial designs, while also incorporating contemporary living conveniences. in traditional settlements, a clear distinction exists between private life within the home and the outside world, with mobility being highly regulated. ksar tafilelt follows construction principles similar to those found in traditional settlements. its streets are organised hierarchically, transitioning from public to semi-public to semi-private areas. access to the house from the street is through a taskift, which prevents any direct view of the interior from the outside. the taskift is a curved entrance designed to preserve the house's intimacy. it leads to the patio and then to the centre of the house,west eddar, an open living space surrounded by rooms. west eddar features a skylight in the ceiling called a shebbek to ensure air and light reach the ground floor. the houdjrate serves as the male reception room on the ground floor, typically segregated from other rooms to shield west eddar from potential male visitors. a staircase connects the ground floor to the first floor, which comprises bedrooms and a bathroom. another staircase provides access from the upper floor to the terrace. the terrace walls are sufficiently high to maintain family intimacy while allowing for good ventilation. the analysis of fieldwork observations and participant responses regarding the house indicates that several elements related to dwelling design and spatial planning are still being upheld (see figures 8, 9 messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 and 10). the spatial hierarchy of the house in the traditional settlement has remained almost identical to that of the houses in tafilelt. figure 8: plan of ground flour of a traditional mozabite house (left) and a contemporary house in tafilelt (right) (source 1: rezig 2021. source 2: amidoul association website. modified by the researcher) figure 9: plan of first flour of a traditional mozabite house (left) and a contemporary house in tafilelt (right) (source: rezig 2021. source: amidoul association website. modified by the researcher) figure 10: plan of roof terraceof a traditional mozabite house (left) and a contemporary house in tafilelt (right) (source: rezig 2021. source: amidoul association website. modified by the researcher) the taskift, west eddar, houdjrate, shebbek, and tizefri remained present in the inward-looking interior of the house. a reduced number of openings was also adopted to maintain the privacy of the house. the height and orientation of messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 10 the house and openings adhere to regulations that preserve the neighbours’ privacy within their dwellings and allow them to receive their share of sunlight. conversely, fieldwork data and analysis revealed that contemporary and traditional space use patterns coexist. furthermore, new cultural values have emerged, alongside adaptive changes in social relationships and space use, in response to the demands of contemporary life. ksar beni isguen has been regarded as a reference model; however, ksar tafilelt has developed its own distinct characteristics and does not strictly adhere to all aspects of traditional architectural and urban morphology. as societies continually evolve, adaptation and innovation become essential. architects in tafilelt have adapted traditional architectural and urban designs to meet the contemporary needs of residents. ksar tafilelt has introduced new facilities, including a sports centre, stadium, and a wedding hall. regarding the houses in tafilelt, three types were introduced to accommodate residents’ financial situations: small, medium, and large. the house in tafilelt features larger, regularly shaped rooms, a laundry room on the roof terrace, and garages. the arrangement of spaces within different communities varies according to their distinct sociocultural and religious needs. in the mozabite community of tafilelt, the structure of the mozabite house comprises spaces designated for use by specific individuals at particular times. the use of these spaces is primarily governed by time and the users' identities, reflecting the sociocultural and religious characteristics of the mozabite community. fieldwork observations revealed that the interior organisation of the mozabite house in tafilelt divides the space into different areas designated for specific users based on gender. these areas consist of a male space and a female space. the male space is primarily used for receiving non-mahram male visitors—men who are not directly related to the household by blood. this room, known as the "houdjrate," serves as the guest room for male visitors, akin to those found in traditional houses. it is positioned at the entrance of the house, without encroaching on the private life of the domestic spaces. the female area is secluded from the male reception room. specific spaces are exclusively used by female family members, such as the tizifri (women’s reception room), the kitchen, and the terrace. the tizifri is a family sitting area and a guestroom for female visitors. according to participants’ responses, women predominantly occupy the house, and its use varies based on the presence or absence of men, who mainly spend their time outside, using the house chiefly as a place to rest. respondents indicate that a woman's responsibility for managing the family lies primarily within the home, encompassing responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking, laundry, and childcare. gender segregation is prominent in mozabite households, where women tend to be somewhat secluded. the design of these homes aims to limit interactions between women residing in the house and male visitors, whether they are strangers or non-mahram relatives. the use of space within the homes varies based on the presence of men. for instance, the domestic areas are used much more during the day when only women are at home. when male guests are present, the use of domestic spaces shifts. women tend to avoid the room designated for receiving male guests, and this area is kept separate from those used by women. the entrance to the room is sometimes covered by a curtain for added privacy. conversely, men in households avoid the women's reception room when female visitors are present. as a result, the house is typically divided into distinct spaces assigned to specific users, primarily categorised by gender and time. additionally, the process for visitors entering and moving through the interior of a ksar tafilelt house follows the same principles and guidelines found in traditional homes. the design thoughtfully addresses the privacy needs of occupants. based on this, participants were asked whether their houses met their privacy needs (see figure 11). the majority of respondents, 96%, indicated that their homes did satisfy their privacy requirements. only a small minority, 4%, reported that their homes were somewhat overlooked; however, this issue did not present a significant problem. residents who expressed concerns about their houses being overlooked were primarily those facing the main street connecting ksar tafilelt to the traditional settlement, as well as individuals living in studio apartments. these participants, mainly women, noted that they could be seen from their terraces due to their proximity to the mosque. the respondents did not consider this a substantial issue, as they found ways to manage the situation. women in studio flats mentioned they attempted to avoid using their roof terrace during prayer times. in contrast, those living on the main street reported installing double doors and/or curtains at the main entrance. consequently, privacy is a vital cultural element that has influenced the design of settlements and homes, and the inhabitants of ksar tafilelt hold it in high regard. messabih /proceedings of academic research community pg. 11 figure 11: dwellings in ksar tafilelt fulfill residents’ privacy needs 6. discussion and conclusion the high degree of modernisation in the west has significantly impacted the islamic arab countries; however, findings indicate that urbanisation and economic development in ksar tafilelt have not resulted in a substantial change in housing design. observations from fieldwork confirmed the continued influence of mozabite sociocultural principles in ksar tafilelt, particularly regarding privacy and gendered spaces. these enduring principles are rooted in the strong sociocultural values of the indigenous ibadi community and remain evident in the 21st century. the internal layout and space use patterns of houses are significantly shaped by these sociocultural and religious factors, which are crucial in influencing housing in ksar tafilelt. the traditional mozabite house is designed to fulfil specific privacy requirements that are distinctly defined within this community. this mozabite planning strategy incorporates a spatial configuration where various areas inside the house are allocated for use by particular individuals at specific times. furthermore, the findings indicated that the enduring nature of these two sociocultural principles depends on the collaborative process embraced by the mozabite community. as previously noted, ksar tafilelt is a community-led housing project where residents buil their own homes. this cooperative approach is not an unfamiliar practice for the mozabite community; rather, it is a cultural expression of collaboration grounded in strong religious ties and a profound sense of community that has been passed down through generations. therefore, as residents were engaged from the early stages of the housing project, their needs, particularly sociocultural ones, were considered. the persistence of these principles assists in bridging the gap between the need to uphold a sociocultural identity within the indigenous ibadi community and the increasing demands of contemporary life in the country. an effective design solution should respect both the necessities of modern living and the sociocultural needs of the residents. furthermore, given that sociocultural change is inevitable, it is vital to take into account the sociocultural needs of residents during the decision-making phase of the project when addressing contemporary issues lifestyles. consequently, this research study underscores the importance of comprehending the social and cultural principles of the local community and engaging residents in building projects, particularly in the decision-making process. references abed, a., obeidat, b., gharaibeh, i. 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(r. zetter & g. b. watson, eds.), ashgate. ashgate. zulkeplee, o., aird, r., buys, l., (2015). privacy, modesty, hospitality, and the design of muslim homes: a literature review. frontiers of architectural research volume 4, issue 1, pages 12-23. doi:10.1016/j.foar.2014.12.001 https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2018.4706 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/zulkeplee-othman?_tp=eyjjb250zxh0ijp7imzpcnn0ugfnzsi6il9kaxjly3qilcjwywdlijoichvibgljyxrpb24ifx0 https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/frontiers-of-architectural-research https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/frontiers-of-architectural-research https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/frontiers-of-architectural-research/vol/4/issue/1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2014.12.001 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i1.929 the advent of upgrading schemes in urbanizing traditional settlements of botswana: case of kanye village mutakela kingsley minyoi1 1university of botswana abstract botswana is a country with one of the fastest urbanizing population in sub-saharan africa with over 60% of its population living in cities, towns and urban villages. botswana consists of several urbanizing traditional settlements within its settlement system, which have over the years transformed in terms of size, morphology and economic structures. the policy intervention processes and the resultant physical configuration within these urbanizing traditional settlements is testimony to the political economy of botswana’s history. contemporary planning as a key policy intervention process, in these urbanizing traditional settlements, however, provides the space for contest between formal planning based on ‘northern-derived theory’ and indigenous planning practices. thus, the advent of upgrading schemes, as part of this contemporary planning, brings to the fore this contestation. this paper traces the case of an upgrading scheme for kanye village, articulating its relevance, shortcomings and limitations to effect change, and so proposes a policy framework within which the upgrading schemes could be formulated and undertaken in botswana. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords indigenous planning practices; kanye village; upgrading schemes; urbanizing traditional settlements; botswana 1. introduction 1.1. background context with an estimated urban population of 70%, botswana is one of the most urbanised countries in southern africa (statistics botswana, 2022). apart from rural-to-urban migration, the increase in urban population is accounted for by in-situ urbanisation of rural settlements (molebatsi, 2013). besides conventional urbanisation in the form of increasing urban populations due to rural-urban migration and establishment of new townships (e.g., selibe-phikwe, jwaneng, orapa and sowa), numerous rural settlements appear to have acquired ‘urban’ traits. included under urban centres in botswana are urbanised rural settlements, most of which date back to the pre-colonial and colonial periods. many of the traditional villages in botswana (e.g., tlokweng, ramotswa, kanye, maun and serowe) and peri-urban settlements (e.g., mogoditshane and mmopane) are currently dominated by urban characteristics such as rapid population growth, dependence on non-agricultural employment, widespread rental accommodation, high building densities and ‘modern’ housing. although the transformation offers opportunities for socio-economic development, it also appears to have caused cultural challenges and unprecedented problems including inadequate infrastructure services (sanitation, water and electricity), unemployment and high levels of crime (kalabamu, 2013). http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ author name / the academic research community publication pg. 2 1.2. spatial planning practice in botswana as noted by acioly jr. (2010) many countries have an intricate institutional framework regulating land use at the local level that involves locally based town and country planning and land administration units operating alongside a variety of central government agencies, including a ministry of lands and national land administration systems. local governments are often subordinate to a ministry of local government, which limits municipal autonomy and adversely affects local capacity responses to tackle urbanization challenges. spatial planning in botswana has experienced major shifts in terms of models that govern and guide space organisation. the changes revolve around two contending space organisation models, namely the indigenous model and modernist model. indigenous models are found in the country’s urban villages where they are more pronounced in the oldest and usually central parts of these settlements. for their part, modernist models are found normally on the urban village peripheries and are the most prominently used in the expansion areas of these villages. modernist planning principles were first introduced in the towns of botswana. despite the fact that these were in line with the values of the predominantly european inhabitants, these planning principles were presented by both the colonial government and the post-independence government as universal planning principles to be emulated in endogenous settlements. the design principles and resultant morphological structure of the towns differed from those that shaped endogenous settlements. whereas endogenous designs were founded on the communal, the towns were products of modernist planning founded on private ownership of property, individualism and motorised circulation systems. more importantly, as products of the developmentalist narrative, the design concepts of these towns were to be extended to the traditional settlements. the emergence of the towns and the continued existence of endogenous urban centres meant that the colonial urban system in bechuanaland comprised of two morphologically distinct settlements. this resulted in a morphological duality that continues to cause planning challenges in the urban villages. contrary to the collective design and management practices on which endogenous settlements were founded, modernist planning was a vocation for professionals formally schooled in the subject. in addition, modernist design principles practiced separate land-use zoning and segregated residential areas. once imported to the global south, urban planning became a vehicle for modernisation and more specifically, a westernization project. local and indigenous planning knowledge, standards and building materials were replaced by western planning standards founded, allegedly, on scientific rationality (njoh, 2009). concepts of space organisation informed by the values and cultural traditions of resident communities in urban villages and the remaining non-urban settlements are not adequately catered for in extant planning legislation (molebatsi and kalabamu, 2016). this is the argument advanced in this paper that current spatial planning and space organisation models in botswana do not adequately embrace the country’s rich cultural identity. 1.3. urbanizing traditional settlements in botswana a historicized account of the traditional settlements is central to an understanding and appreciation of space organisation of these settlements. the country’s urban areas comprise diverse settlements that include urbanised endogenous settlements. in botswana’s urban parlance, the oxymoron ‘urban villages’ is used in reference to endogenous settlements that have urbanised in situ. urban villages reflect the settlements’ foundation on the communal as a political and social organising ideology. the physical layout of tswana settlements was to a large extent a reflection of the socio – political structures that characterised tswana societies. author name / the academic research community publication pg. 3 a distinctive feature of urban villages is the existence of the bogosi and kgotla as governance structures alongside modernist structures charged with administrative and physical planning responsibilities (molebatsi, 2011). bogosi and the kgotla greatly influenced the general morphology of endogenous tswana settlements. in their original form tswana settlements were compact and nucleated – a feature which graeme hardie (1980) says distinguished the tswana from other peoples of southern africa. hardie contends that tswana settlements were ‘not organized geometrically according to physical elements such as roads, central square etc., but rather its form was generated from the conceptual model of the society following traditional rules and precedence’ (1980, 31). residential plots within each ward were arranged around the plot of the ward head resulting in a horseshoe formation. central to the layout of a tswana settlement was the ward – the basic political and administrative unit in a tswana society. wards were made up of relatives who communally owned the land and, as such, individual members could not dispose of their land through sale. as shown later in this article, modernist planning in the colonial and postindependence periods has successfully eroded these attributes of endogenous tswana settlements, resulting in extralegal land transactions that have made access to land a challenge in botswana. 2. understanding upgrading schemes in the botswana context there is now a realization amongst planners worldwide that, for settlements to perform well, it is necessary to pay attention to the quality of “place”, particularly the physical image and identity which a settlement presents to the outside world. there is also realization that for settlements to perform economically, what counts is not just a good economic policy, sound infrastructure, or an efficient transport system (although these are important in their own right), but it is the way in which these various aspects of the settlement work together to create a particular social and economic milieu that makes it attractive to investors. what both investors and residents of a settlement seek is a meshing of the various functional aspects of a settlement to create particular place qualities which make both good living environments and a good place to do business. this requires co-ordination around the kind of place which the public authorities are helping to shape. senior project manager at amc international in 2014 at a critical infrastructure development & renewal summit held in gaborone, which looked at the key challenges and solutions in the upgrade and construction of critical infrastructure including pipelines, roads, electricity generation and transmission infrastructure and more pointed out that fast-tracking urban renewal for sustainable economic development in emerging economies is necessary. he pointed out that expanding and diversifying botswana’s economy has led to an increase in investment for infrastructure development from government who has in the past decade initiated various projects in the aim to improve the level of service and the competitiveness of botswana’s economy. the construction and renewal of transport systems, boosted by the growing coal industry, has been plagued with many challenges most of which stem from poor planning and inefficient use of financial resources. upgrading emerged as a concept applied to sanitize declined areas, improve the quality of life and to create/enhance economic vitality. upgrading leads to the resolution of built environment problems and seeks to bring about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and environmental conditions of an area that has been subject to change. upgrading goes well beyond efforts to put vacant land and buildings to use, but rather that it is more about implementing policies in existing areas with the aim of building upon sustainability objectives, with commitment to economic, social and environmental problems. over time upgrading has been led by several key foci: retail, transport, culture; heritage, housing; tourism; public spaces; and public art as anchor activities (drivers). there are instances where the upgrading focus covers one or more drivers. participatory approach is now considered more beneficial compared to authoritative decisions in upgrading schemes. the upgrading process that is based on dwellers choices and participation will obviously work better as this will enhance their motivation (roy and abduallah, 2005). author name / the academic research community publication pg. 4 it is worth distinguishing between upgrading driven by households or community-neighbourhood investment and by external programmes, which may or may not support household and community investment (satterthwaite, 2010). as noted by satterthwaite (2010) in many instances, households improve the quality and size of their housing. but upgrading driven by household investment does not address the need for settlement-wide infrastructure – water pipes, sewers and drains, paved roads and paths, electricity, educational and healthcare facilities and public space. on the other hand, external programmes focus on providing roads, paths, water, drainage and sanitation and designed by professionals with little involvement by local residents (ibid). 3. theoretical framework as argued by molebatsi and morobolo (2021) in its homogenising element, modernist planning advocates universal standards in terms of design, building codes, development control and governance structures. these homogenising and universal planning instruments sit uncomfortably with the evidently diverse conditions at local levels. the principle of universalism resulted in the claims that standards were the same everywhere (natrasony & alexander, 2005), and that some standards and values represented civilisation and any departure from this reflected backwardness and barbarism. one of the enduring critique of universalism and the civilisation claims of the colonial project is the subject of what has been dubbed southern theories (comaroff & comaroff, 2012; connell, 2013). because of the significance of southern theories in proposals given in this paper, it is important to briefly look at the theory. it is argued that southern theory perspective provides a framework within which planning models that are more culturally sensitive can be developed. the contention is that ‘southern theory’ offers an opportunity to understand different settlement genres in botswana and the corresponding, indigenous planning methods rooted in local realities. southern theory is an emerging theory that challenges the universalism claims in dominant urban thought. at the core of the southern urbanism thought is the view that, instead of universalistic claims, the dominant theories were in actual fact founded on intellectual traditions that developed in the lived experiences of people in the global north. these were now used to understand and even guide policy interventions in populations located in the global south. this universalism has been viewed as inappropriate, inadequate and in most cases denigrating when applied to other cities. adherents of southern theory draw attention to the fact that western intellectual traditions and practices had subalternised non-western ways of thinking and forms of knowledge (molebatsi, 2014). consequently, there has been a search for theories or perspectives that could provide a wider spectrum on urban theory. “in order to challenge and contest the global pattern of universality there must be an assertion of alternative knowledge systems” (connell, 2013). the essential argument to note is that “southern theory is not a fixed set of propositions but a challenge to develop new knowledge projects and new ways of learning with globally expanded resources” (connell, 2013). these methods of theory production and assertion of multiple and conflicting rationalities is further elaborated by ananya roy in arguing for what she called “new geographies of theory” through a discussion of the different geographical areas and various empirical and theoretical structures that underpin how each of these different cities are viewed and conceptualized by authors from those regions. southern theory is essential for a refocus and critique of dominant models in planning and cautions against the blind and unquestioned acceptance and utilization of western planning models by planners in the south (watson, 2009). author name / the academic research community publication pg. 5 4. the case study 4.1 morphology of kanye kanye built up area covers a total of 8 617.8 hectares. the existing land use within the built-up area is comprised of residential, commercial, industrial, civic and community, general agricultural, recreational/open space and roads. the built form of kanye within these residential clusters is based on the traditional settlement pattern, and is characterized by irregular sized and shaped residential plots, with winding roads and footpaths often without a defined hierarchy. the built-up area has the physical form of a traditional rural village, with foot paths linking various land use activities. the residential clusters display a horse shoe formation around open spaces. kanye has developed in two predominate forms. the first is the traditional and organic pattern, while the second is the conventional layout pattern. kanye is also characterised by residential developments in newly developed areas based on conventional layout plans in the periphery of the settlement. thus, residential developments within kanye are concentrated in the old traditional part of the settlement. the plots within this part are arranged in a horse shoe pattern with a common space known as “patlelo” at the centre. the road hierarchy within the traditional part is not well defined. the traditional or horseshoe style consists of plots with common boundaries, or plots with and without well-defined boundaries, or free-standing plots around a ‘patlelo.’ the patlelo is an open space used for meetings by ward residents, and usually has a kraal attached to it, for small stock keeping. these spaces play a vital role in community relationships. however, some of the spaces are not well kept and there is need to develop them into well kept open spaces. some of these open spaces are used as waste dump sites while others are used informally for car washes and driving school businesses. the older part of the built-up area is dominated by the traditional “horse shoe” pattern, which is characterised by irregular sized and shaped residential plots around a patlelo (small open space). this traditional spatial structure with winding roads and footpaths is perceived to be uneconomic utilization of land resulting in high costs in the provision of infrastructure services. however, this “horse shoe” pattern has cultural and social significance. the patlelo is normally used for social gatherings. land in kanye is predominantly under tribal or customary land tenure. this land is under the jurisdiction of ngwaketse land board (nlb) and kanye subordinate land board (kslb). usage rights for this land tenure are granted either communally, or to individuals. given that this is customary land, land is not supposed to be sold and thus there is no de jure land market as such in kanye, only the sale of properties (i.e. improvements to the land). customary land tenure allocations are to citizens only for residential purposes, ploughing purposes and/or borehole purposes. these types of allocation may only be transferred to non-citizens after conversion to a common law land holding. common law land tenure allocations are to either citizens or non-citizens, for residential and commercial uses. common law land is leased from the land board, only the improvements on the land are owned by the plot holder. in its land allocations, the land board has traditionally been allocating residential plots in the range of 1600m2. the residents have always preferred larger residential plots in order to accommodate such activities as gardening and chicken runs. the drawback of large plots sizes and irregular shape is that infrastructure provision becomes costly and a smaller number of plots is delivered. in the existing built-up area, land allocations were not based on detailed layout plans but were made largely on the choices of the applicants. this has resulted in haphazard developments and sprawl within the village. author name / the academic research community publication pg. 6 4.2 the upgrading scheme the kanye development plan recommended an upgrading scheme for the kanye planning area. the upgrading scheme or master plan built on the policies and objectives set out in the revised kanye development plan of 2017. the intention was to formulate an urban design framework for upgrading of central kanye. the kanye upgrading scheme, however, focused on transport (circulation and road network), retail (economic nodes and zones) and culture/heritage led regeneration. the upgrading scheme identified two alternative conceptual plans, viz: 1. linear development 2. nodal development nodal concept was adopted as the most practical option given the development level of kanye, and the plan period (remaining 18 years). the scheme identified 6 precincts along the activity spine. the current central business district and the gaborone-jwaneng junction serve as the 2 main nodes while the other 4 areas serve as the sub-nodes. the approach moves towards a philosophy based on urban restructuring principles that seek to integrate people, space, activity and movement. to achieve this the scheme proposed the enhancement of urban generator nodes through appropriate land use development and controls, which required creative spatial restructuring of the current fragmented landscape and creation of an integrated environment. the development of each node will leverage on the existing developments, building on the existing infrastructure and built environment and restructuring the land acquired from residential establishments to establish a strong & cohesive urban pattern. the key structuring elements of the scheme included: 1. establishment of nodes and sub-nodes with residential inliers connecting the nodes. 2. creative development of mixed-use developments exhibiting a strong urban form and quality. 3. facilitation and improvement of access and efficient movement for non-motorized movement and public transport users, addressed through universal access design. 4. creation of safe zones and secure environments, whilst providing viable public spaces that encourage social and economic interaction. 5. creation of a clear and legible hierarchy of land uses & movement framework. 6. development of short-term investment opportunities to ensure long-term socio-economic growth. the scheme proposed an urban structure focusing on the pattern/arrangement of development blocks, streets, buildings, open space and landscape which make up urban areas. it was envisaged that the interrelationship between all these elements, rather than their particular characteristics will bond together to turn the area into a successful place. the envisaged urban structure would apply equally to the nodes and sub-nodes, and eventually influence developments in between, and immediately outside the plan area boundary. the proposed urban structure would provide the foundations for detailed design of the constituent elements. it was proposed to create a coherent framework, which will form the basis of the design of individual developments furthermore heritage/cultural activities formed another driving force for upgrading and regeneration of kanye. cultural activities represent a powerful engine to drive residents forward and help communities meet the challenges of economic decline, as they represent an important step towards knowledge-based economy as important knowledge activities in their own right, and by establishing a climate of creativity that will generate innovation in other economic sectors. heritage can play a key role in upgrading and regeneration of an area, and can bring new life to run down areas. heritage conservation is a ‘growth industry’ and heritage assets can play a central role in achieving successful upgrading because they represent an opportunity rather than a constraint. there is a strong economic case for regenerating historic buildings. the benefits relate not only to the individual building, but also to the wider area and community. the inclusion of heritage assets in regeneration schemes provides a focus and catalyst for sustainable change. even when vacant and in poor condition, listed buildings, and all other forms of built heritage, remain ‘assets’ author name / the academic research community publication pg. 7 with the ability to truly enrich one’s experience of the environment through their physical qualities and/or their historic or community associations. in the case of kanye, the heritage conservation strategy was to create a heritage route linking the kanye central business district as the focal point and interchange with the identified cultural heritage sites and natural heritage sites. the importance of this heritage conservation would: help the young generation to know their own cultural identity. bridge the gap between people of different ages (generation gap) re-define the cultural significance and integrity of the heritage sites create some work opportunities for those who will be responsible for the heritage sites the heritage route consisted of heritage sites gazetted by the department of national museum and monuments, heritage sites recognised by the community, and key landmarks in kanye. 4.3 planning considerations for the upgrading scheme: the political economy of the area in this case entails those attributes and value systems which constitute the core identity and quality of life characteristics which create a community and these include the following: a. maintenance of traditional values as a traditional settlement, kanye’s spatial structure is in essence based upon non-segregation and non-polarization of socio-economic groups. the scheme should aim to maintain and develop this aspect of the traditional culture. the importance of maintaining the traditional characteristics of kanye should be recognized by the scheme. existing developments within the older part should be treated with care. the centrally located open spaces found in each ward where social interaction and various cultural activities take place should be maintained. as much as possible elements in the traditional settlement structure should be harmoniously merged with modern planning as new development areas are planned. b. infill potential in the existing built-up areas the kanye planning area development plan (1997-2021) had recommended an infill exercise within the old part of kanye. there are potential problems and ramifications that can be experienced with regard to the implementation of this exercise. the scheme thus had to adopt this recommendation. the council and land board would come up with strategies to resolve the anticipated problems and undertake an extensive infill exercise. c. spatial growth approach the major thrust of the spatial growth approach is to plan kanye as a compact traditional tswana village hosting urban services. this will be achieved through making provisions for facilities that characterize urban centres, while maintaining the traditional village core character. the approach identifies local tourism opportunities to be harnessed, notably the rich traditional heritage and the conservation areas. the challenge therefore is for the scheme to propose innovative spatial growth strategies. adopting the aforementioned spatial development strategies for kanye assumes transforming the existing settlement’s structure from a low density and dispersed development pattern to compact, mixed land use and intensified development. this will yield an urban character and enhanced economically viable activities. author name / the academic research community publication pg. 8 5. some ideas on the way forward as noted by satterthwaite (2010) upgrading initiatives are important in addressing some aspects of deprivation faced by communities. but he argues that it is when the upgrading becomes an integral part of local governments ongoing investment programmes, with strong partnerships with the inhabitants of the settlements being upgraded, that they are most large-scale and effective. 6. conclusion the stumbling block seems to be the absence of collective formulation of planning instruments that are more relevant to urban villages and their subsequent enforcement. furthermore, africa’s post-colonial institutional and organizational structures must coexist with customary rules and systems of land ownership. references acioly jr. claudio (2010) “the informal city and the phenomenon of slums: the challenges of slum upgrading and slum prevention”, in international new town institute (2010) new towns for the 21st century. the planned vs. the unplanned city. amsterdam: sun architecture, pp. 222-231. chadzimula molebatsi & seabo b morobolo (2021) reading the place and role of endogenous governance structures in modernist physical planning: the case of the bogosi and the kgotla in botswana, african studies, 80:2, 134-152, doi: 10.1080/00020184.2021.1937057 a. j. njoh, (2009) “urban planning as a tool of power and social control in colonial africa”, planning perspectives, pp. 301-317. roy g.s. and abduallah a.q.m. (2005) assessing needs and scopes of upgrading urban squatters in bangladesh. brac university journal, vol. ii, no. 1, pp. 33-41 seabo b. morobolo, chadzimula molebatsi and ofentse moatshe (2018) cultural identity and physical planning in botswana challenges and opportunities, botswana journal of technology, vol 23 no 1: 39-59 republic of botswana (1990), introduction of town and country planning act to major villages in botswana, consultation report, ministry of lands and housing, gaborone, p. 3. molebatsi, c. (2013) participatory development planning in botswana: exploring the utilisation of spaces for participation, town and regional planning journal (special issues), (2013), pp. 9-14. molebatsi c.o. and kalabamu f.t. (2016) planning legislation in botswana and the quest for inclusive human settlements, university of botswana law journal satterthwaite d (2010) upgrading slums: with and for slum-dwellers. economic and political weekly. vol 45 no 10, pp12-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2021.1937057 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 8 january 2025, accepted: 7 april 2025, published online: 30 april 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i2.1169 preserve and reuse or destroy and rebuild? losing the uk’s twentieth-century building legacy and sustainable ways to save and repurpose it celia clark1 1independent researcher, portsmouth, united kingdom abstract useful, reusable buildings that embody communities’ history, identity and aspirations are currently being lost, and their embodied carbon wasted by demolition. key twentieth-century buildings that could be reused are being destroyed by a combination of factors that need reform if their potential for adaptive reuse as contributions to sustainability and progress towards carbon neutrality is to be acknowledged. it is hoped that this paper, based on uk experience, has a wider relevance since the reuse of buildings is a worldwide contribution to achieving net carbon zero. it is time to take demolition off the table, but currently, there are uk legislative hurdles unfavourable to this change of direction. historic buildings are lost as a result of the narrowness of historic england’s preservation criteria for listing. the widening of permitted development rights facilitates demolition without consultation or planning permission. there is weakness in the underfunded local authority planning system, while tax inequity charges 20% vat on restoration but not on new building. we need to change our throw-away culture and remove these obstacles to reusing our historic building stock to the benefit of both the climate and the sustainable future of our communities. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords embodied energy, twentieth-century historic buildings; adaptive reuse; taxation; sustainability 1. introduction new build versus reuse nearly 40% of global carbon emissions come from the built environment, with new construction responsible for about a quarter of that. emissions from construction and the use of buildings are now a “bigger existential threat than nuclear war, just a lot less obvious or immediate.” (sturgis, 2024) every year, 50,000 buildings in the uk are demolished, and in 2022, 222m tonnes of waste were produced, of which 138m tonnes, or 62%, was construction, demolition and excavation waste. (hurst, 2024) there is widespread agreement that this disposable culture needs to be swiftly addressed. the president of the royal institute of british architects says, “experts predict that 80% of our current building stock will still be in use in 2050, the year we want to be net zero. we need to make a concerted effort to realise the full potential of these buildings and take retrofit seriously. reducing the built environment’s impact is one of the most effective ways of helping the uk reach its legal commitment to be a net-zero community by 2050. it’s a case of thinking about yesterday’s building, putting in today’s technology so we can use it tomorrow.” (muyiwa 2024) the riba’s 2023 built for the environment report with the slogan ‘system change not climate change’ https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i2.1169&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ clark/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 makes the case that the built environment must drastically reduce its carbon emissions to work towards net zero, sharing best practices, with social justice at the heart of action. existing buildings are an untapped economic and social opportunity. in response to the climate emergency, the uk is the only major economy to have set a target of 77% for 2035 and 100% from 1990 levels to net zero by 2050. (ukgovernment, 2023) this graph describes the uk’s legally binding trajectory to net zero, showing the requirement for 2025. figure 1: uk trajectory to net zero. (source: don’t waste buildings national policy planning framework consultation response, september 2024) as carl elefante said, “the greenest building is the one that is already built.”(elefante, 2025) buildings represent enormous investments in energy, material, and financial resources. they contribute to global warming from the manufacture of their materials, their transport to the site and their construction (embodied emissions) as well as consuming non-renewable energy for heating, cooling, lighting, and equipment (operational emissions). for many buildings, embodied emissions are equivalent to two decades or more of operational emissions. “thousands of viable buildings are destroyed every year in the name of progress. the scale of such wastefulness is even more troubling as the world confronts climate change and the need for rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. retrofitting existing buildings to improve their performance can achieve energy efficiencies equivalent to new buildings, substantially reducing operational emissions while avoiding the immense embodied emissions from constructing a new building. occupying, maintaining, renewing, and adapting existing buildings is the greenest approach and is especially crucial for renewing and adapting existing buildings is the greenest approach and is especially crucial for meeting emissions reduction targets in the paris agreement on climate change.” as the climate emergency deepens, changes in the planning framework and in our behaviour to reduce our carbon imprint become ever more urgent. relevant uk regulations need updating to reflect this. in conservation and sustainability in historic cities, dennis rodwell sets out the theoretical and practical background to architectural conservation and how its perceived relevance and level of attainment can be extended when harnessed to wider agendas of sustainability and cultural identity. (rodwell, 2017) this paper examines the legislative barriers preventing implementation of this urgent task – in particular, the reuse of twentieth-century buildings in the context of rodwell’s definition of unesco’s term ‘cultural landscapes’ in the creation of sustainable futures. to him, it signifies an inclusive approach to “inheritance” which does not create “the many separations and divisions that hamper, impede, if not prevent, rational, common-sense approaches to safeguarding what we have inherited, use, and take forward.” (de olivera, 2025) as i examine below, these barriers include regulations which allow demolition without planning permission, the narrowness of the uk’s listing criteria which exclude twentieth-century buildings adapted over time and the unequal tax regime between reuse and newbuild. if this important and vital change is to be implemented, the local authority planning system also needs strengthening as the town and country planning association says, “the result of the intense reform of the planning system driven by the tension between the ideological and the practical is a planning system which is now highly complex but also desperately ineffective. underfunded, demoralised, and lacking public trust, the system is clearly on its knees. and clark/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 that matters enormously because the planning system is central to any government who has ambitions for an efficient and democratic system producing healthy and climate-resilient communities.” (town and country planning association, 2024) the government’s zero carbon targets acknowledge the importance of responding to the climate emergency, but several current regulations outlined in this paper facilitate demolition and prevent reuse. indications that this dichotomy might be addressed are beginning to appear. in september 2024, the department for culture, media & sport acknowledged that standing buildings, including those identified as ‘heritage’, can be reused and repurposed. “heritage-led regeneration can return buildings to commercial, community, and residential use. it attracts businesses, visitors and investment to a place, increasing employment, providing opportunities for the local community, supporting the visitor economy and creating locally generated income. it can also reduce carbon emissions through the protection of embodied carbon, supporting the net zero mission.”(dcms, 2024) a survey examining “how national planning policy and guidance might be updated around the demolition and redevelopment or retrofit of buildings” invited public responses in autumn 2024. building conservation groups, including the twentieth century society, don’t waste buildings, the heritage alliance, save britain’s heritage and civic voice as well as the architects’ professional body, the royal institute of british architects are making the case for saving and reusing existing buildings as a vital element in reducing carbon emissions. the 2022/23 public inquiry into the proposed demolition and redevelopment of the marks and spencer building in oxford street london opposed by save britain’s heritage marked a watershed moment for the planning and construction industry because it was the first time a planning inquiry had sustainability and heritage as its joint focus. ”however efficient this proposed new building would have been, retrofitting the existing buildings to contemporary standards would have a much smaller carbon cost – as well as being cheaper, quicker and less damaging for oxford street. it challenged our laissez faire attitude to demolition and loss as simply being necessary for economic growth, and invites us to consider the townscape and environmental consequences.” (save, 2023) ‘when the minister blocked the demolition plan in 2023, he said he wanted to use the national planning policy framework to highlight the need for repurposing and reusing buildings, introducing a presumption in favour of this change. “this case has focused widespread public attention on the wasteful knock it down and build again process that has dominated our construction sector for the last 100 years.” demolition would “fail to support the transition to a lowcarbon future, and would overall fail to encourage the reuse of existing resources, including the conversion of existing buildings.” (ellis, 2024) 2. legislative obstacles to reuse and retrofit; proposals for change in the uk, there are legislative hurdles unfavourable to this change of direction. as well as ‘disposable culture’, two current regulations result in the loss of reusable buildings: the narrowness of historic england’s listing criteria, which are confined to ‘architectural or historic interest’ as well as excluding buildings which have been altered over time. this particularly applies to commercial and industrial structures. the widening of permitted development rights also allows property owners to demolish buildings on their sites without planning permission. two other factors are the weakness of the local authority planning system and the inequity of the uk’s buildings taxation, which work actively against the conversion of existing structures by charging 20% vat on refurbishment works – while new builds are vat-free. (rodwell, 2017) useful, reusable buildings that embody communities’ history and aspirations, including those constructed in the twentieth century, are currently being lost, and their embodied carbon wasted by demolition as a consequence of these narrow rules. much of the government’s current consultations such as that on revisions to the national policy planning framework is driven by the need to address the severe national shortage of housing, which appears to exclude any other building types apart from ‘housing stock’ – leading to the loss of commercial, industrial and mixed-use structures which are likely to have been upgraded as their function changed, particularly those from the mid-twentieth century. this paper makes the case for widening the definition of listing protection by adding considerations of sustainability and prevention of losses of embodied energy; also by introducing a presumption against demolition for otherwise unlisted buildings by identifying those of local significance in upgraded local lists which are maintained clark/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 and updated by local planning authorities with knowledgable input from local communities – perhaps as a revived grade iii listing. examples cited here are important twentieth-century buildings: useful, reusable buildings that embody communities’ history and aspirations, providing character, historic value and amenity to their local areas. these are currently being lost and their embodied carbon wasted by demolition as a consequence of these narrow rules. if the uk is to meet its zero carbon targets, they should instead be protected from demolition and repaired, retrofitted and reused. there’s also a gap in legislation in scotland which leaves even listed buildings vulnerable to demolition by local councils under emergency public safety powers in section 29 of the building (scotland) act 2003, without local planning authorities being required to provide evidence to justify their actions, including making public reports or surveys or evidence that alternatives to total demolition have been explored. while recognising the paramount importance of making dangerous buildings safe, in june 2024 save britain’s heritage called for enhanced guidance to address before demolition on public safety grounds, including consultation of the national heritage advisor historic environment scotland to ensure that only the minimum demolition necessary takes place to make the building safe, avoiding excessive or total demolition. their petition to the scottish parliament called for enhanced policy guidance setting out the minimum evidence and processes required by local planning authorities before making decisions on the demolition of listed buildings under emergency powers and a mandatory requirement for them to engage conservation-accredited engineers in all cases involving listed buildings. the petition was supported by the chair of the architectural heritage society of scotland and the scottish civic trust. (private eye, 2024) 3. what’s being lost or is vulnerable to demolition? in london, several well-loved pioneering london county council social housing developments where listing has been refused have either been demolished or are under threat. historic england’s twentieth-century expert, elain harwood, recommended the listing of portsmouth’s civic offices designed in 1974-6 by teggin and taylor. they enclose two sides of the guildhall square, but the bronze glass curtain wall needs replacing, as well as renewal of the building’s internal services. harwood identified the wider risk to postwar town halls and civic centres, many of which have been poorly maintained or haphazardly altered to keep pace with the changing needs of local councils. the hexagonal sunderland civic centre by sir basil spence in 1965 was demolished because it was said to be too big and expensive to maintain. in 2023, harrow council decided to demolish its large concrete civic centre of 1970 by eric broughton associates. (jenkins, 2023) historic england refused to list portsmouth’s civic offices, and they might be demolished. figure 2: portsmouth civic offices, guildhall square(by authors) 4. closing the loophole in permitted development rights in 2021 to remove the need to apply for planning permission for minor developments or changes within an existing development and to facilitate the thousands of much needed new homes, the uk government deregulated permitted development rights to boost housing provision via the demolition of vacant shops, offices and other commercial clark/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 building on high streets and brownfields or already used land. owners were given the right to demolish unlisted buildings which are not on lists of local significance or within a conservation area within 28 days of posting an intention to do so. (ukgovernment, 2024) this measure had unintended consequences, leading to the unforeseen loss of reusable buildings including key historic ones. “as with all property owners in similar circumstances, the site owners enjoy 'permitted development' (pd) rights, effectively granting approval for the demolition of the building. as such, the principle of its removal was not a matter for the consideration or determination of the planning authority.” (cracknell, 2023) figure 3: news centre portsmouth. editorial offices, lake and landscaping. (celia clark 2022) this paper includes examples of buildings demolished as the result of pdr and historic england’s refusal to list them. the news centre at the entrance to portsmouth was designed by edward cogswell of local firm ae cogswell & sons in 1966-7 for the local newspaper: “an iconic landmark at the entrance to the city. (private eye, 2023) ae cogswell & sons designed many locally notable landmark buildings, monumental pubs, schools, churches, cinemas, blocks of flats, hospitals and the prison, some of which are already listed. the dramatic curved frontage building housed the newspaper’s editorial offices in a three-storey crescent set in its original landscaped lawn, lake, trees and railings. the exposed concrete frame was decorated with blue mosaic and a large gold central panel proclaiming its function. behind were the distribution centre and print hall with crinkly roofed canopies which incorporated decorative cast concrete abstract panels by well-known sculptor william mitchell (1925-2020). in the riba library, the twentieth century society researched the innovative concrete dyform used to create the spacious interiors. the news centre remained in the same use: editorial, printing and distribution of local and national newspapers for fifty years. in 2023, advised by the university estates team and local estate agent vail williams, the building’s owners first hampshire & dorset bus applied on 6 july to demolish the whole building under permitted development in order to construct a single-storey storage shed for their electric buses. (portsmouth city council, 2023) they justified these applications on the grounds that the building was deteriorating, being damaged by vandals, the heavy cost of security and that it was in “poor condition”. local people and the twentieth century society said there was no evidence that it was in a dangerous state or beyond repair. the sustainable conservation trust (sct) began to prepare reuse plans and applied to historic england to list it, which is especially appropriate since saving postwar landscapes is one of he’s stated objectives. sct made the case that its thousands of tons of embodied carbon would be thrown away by demolition and that the building could be repurposed to accommodate this new use. despite support from the twentieth century society, from dr. dawn pereira, an expert on william mitchell and from the hampshire buildings preservation and sculpture trusts, historic england refused to list it because the building had been altered. (historic england, 2023) demolition began in a few short weeks, even before the sustainable conservation trust’s application to historic england to list the building was being considered. the sct subsequently asked the department of culture, media and sport for a review of the refusal to save it by listing it. (ukgovernment, 2013) it was demolished between october 2023 and march 2024 while the dcms took several months to review historic england’s refusal to list it, which they eventually confirmed. the site is now a heap of rubble – and for sale, since only a small area is needed for the bus garage. clark/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 the heritage alliance, england’s largest coalition of independent heritage interests which includes more than 200 organisations with over 7 million members, volunteers, trustees and staff who own, manage and care for the vast majority of england’s historic environment set out pdr’s impact on the historic environment in detail in their consultation response to the changes to various permitted development rights in april 2024. (heritage alliance, 2023) “facilitating the demolition and rebuild of structures without considering environmental impact clearly goes against the government’s sustainability and net-zero goals. this is not just an issue of heritage protection, it’s also about the adaptation and reuse of all buildings. allowing very modern buildings to be demolished in the same breath as protecting old ones is not a ‘win’ in sustainability terms. this pdr ignores circular economy principles and the wealth of evidence which demonstrates that retrofitting or renovating existing buildings is almost always less carbonintensive than rebuilding them. in some cases, demolition is justified, but the planning system and local planning authorities exist to carry out those assessments.” their heritage manifesto (june 2024) says, “it is also vital that the permitted development right (pdr) for demolition is abolished to encourage reuse over unnecessary waste and that the use of pdr in the planning system is taken under review. retrofitting just half of all historic buildings over a 25year period will reduce carbon by 39 million tons of co2, and result in savings of £3.4 billion.” 5. updating the c20th uk listing system in the 21st century the traditional 20th-century approach to architectural heritage focused on attributed cultural values. the current planning (listed buildings and conservation act) 1990 requires the secretary of state to compile “a list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest for preservation for future generations. bringing it under the consideration of the planning system, so that it can be protected for future generations,” (historic england 2025) “even if the architect is not known, it may be possible to show that a building is a good example of a particular style; this may be particularly relevant if the style is characteristic of a town or district. architectural importance includes technology and both materials and the method of construction may contribute very much to a building's interest and special character.” (burton 2019) in 2024, there were 379,176 listed buildings on the national heritage list for england. however, this number does not differentiate between single buildings and groups of buildings, so this total is by no means comprehensive. only 'selected' buildings after 1914 were normally listed, but in 1987, the department of the environment circular 8/87 adopted a ‘30-year rule,’ which brought post-war buildings within the ambit of listing designation. the protection of more recent buildings has moved forward ever since, “though controversially in many cases and with uneven result” (allen 2022) excluding ‘unpopular’ works of brutalism. an example was the pioneering multi-use tricorn centre portsmouth. owen luder’s tricorn centre portsmouth was refused listing and demolished in 2004. the site has remained empty for twenty years. figure 4: tricorn centre portsmouth original perspective owen luder cbe past president riba department of culture, media and sport’s principles of selection for listed buildings were subsequently enlarged: instead of the “relatively simple criteria, namely age, the more elusive criterion of ‘significance’ became paramount.” clark/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 (historic england 2020) once added to the list, which has three grades: i, ii* and iii, a listed building is protected by law, and its demolition or alteration without consent is a criminal offence. change, alteration or even demolition of a listed building must be applied for to the local planning authority which is why their professional capacity is so critical. the national planning policy framework (2012 and subsequently updated) “introduced the explicit presumption in favour of ‘sustainable development’, which as far as the historic environment is concerned requires planning authorities to weigh up the public benefits that such development would deliver in compensation for potential harm to heritage assets. (historic england, 2020) the resulting, somewhat elastic, concept of ‘less than substantial harm’ whereby on occasion considerable intervention is authorised, is one on which many conservationists have their misgivings.” (rodwell 2024) the case studies in this paper did not make it onto the list, so they did not even have this protection – or the lesser status of protection as ‘non-designated heritage assets’. this narrow selection of buildings to be preserved conflicts with today’s agendas of sustainable development and climate change, which embrace wider societal, cultural and environmental issues and recognise additional, complementary values, including community, resource and usefulness. historic england emphasises the link between restoring historic buildings and the green interest in reducing carbon emissions and protecting diminishing resources – and also that preservation gives people hope, purpose, identity, community spirit, optimism and courage to take control of their future.” (historic england, 2020) they acknowledge that a response is needed to the climate emergency and that as buildings account for approximately 40% of the u.k.’s carbon footprint, there cannot be a way to carbon neutrality without sustainable built environment strategies. stressing the importance of embodied carbon, their 2020 heritage counts report states that “we cannot new-build our way out of climate change. the repair and re-use of historic buildings is materially less carbon intensive than either demolition and rebuild.” “the manufacturing of building materials, their transportation and the construction process are all responsible for creating significant carbon emissions. retaining buildings places value on the carbon spent during their construction, further avoiding the additional emissions associated with demolish and rebuild. this, therefore, sees conservation align with the principles of sustainability: that preserving and sustaining the historic environment has social, economic and environmental benefits.” “as we fast approach the second quarter of the 21st century, he et al. largely remain in the third quarter of the 20th. he is indeed historic!” (rodwell, 2024) while historic england increasingly makes the link between reusing buildings and saving carbon, this acknowledgement has not been translated into actual policy on listing which might prevent well-loved and significant reusable buildings from being demolished, instead giving them renewed sustainable life. listing solely on architectural or historic merit no longer makes sense in the face of the climate emergency at the historic england level or indeed at the relevant government department, the department of culture, media and sport, which establishes the listing criteria. in the face of the climate emergency, the continuing loss of reusable but unlisted buildings has led national conservation organisations to campaign for legislative acknowledgement that reusing existing buildings should be the norm. emphasising the value of standing buildings is now acknowledged by the department of culture, media and sport: “the department for culture, media and sport (dcms) is committed to working with other government departments, including the department for energy security and net zero (desnz) as well as the ministry of housing, communities and local government (mhclg), to ensure that future energy strategies are sympathetic to our historic housing stock”. (dcms, 2024) in autumn 2024, the ministry of housing, communities & local government conducted a national survey asking for opinions and experience about demolition, redevelopment and retrofit of buildings as part of the updating of the national planning policy framework. (civic voice, 2024) civic voice, to which local civic societies and community groups belong, urged their members to respond and share their experiences to ensure that national planning policies support both environmental sustainability and heritage conservation. (civic voice, 2024) the proposal to revive the grade iii listing linked to local authorities’ lists of buildings of local significance with a presumption against demolition is gaining traction. in 2018, civic voice, local societies’ central body published a guide for communities on how to develop a local heritage list with help from historic england, to inform developers, owners, council officers and councillors about buildings within the local authority boundary that are clark/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 desirable to retain and protect, to offer specialist advice to owners to protect the buildings’ character and setting and to help the council in its decision making. (civic voice, 2024) in 2020, the ministry of housing, communities & local government encouraged communities to nominate locally important historic buildings which they value most for inclusion in their local authority’s list, helping to protect them through the planning system; offering ten councils funding to develop new or updated local lists to engage civic/heritage groups and local historic building societies. (mhclg, 2020). in 2024, new forest national park invited residents to nominate heritage assets to the local list, offering specific criteria: examples of national or local trends/practices/ways of life representative of a historic period that changes over time, intrinsic design and aesthetic value relating to local/national styles, materials, construction or craft techniques, group value, archaeological or historic interest, landmark status or community/social value. (nfnp, n.d.) these criteria are reflected in nine of the thirteen local authorities in the county of hampshire who have local lists, although not all of them invite new nominations from their communities. several lists have not been revised for many years. local authorities’ resources have been severely depleted long-term, so keeping these vital local lists up to date to protect valued buildings capable of reuse and repurposing from demolition would beneficially be a shared task between the council and its community. 6. vat the imbalance of our buildings' taxation system actively works against the adaptation and reuse of standing buildings. charging vat on restoration and repair while newbuild is not charged if buildings are demolished and entirely new constructions are built also needs to be urgently addressed – as voluntary conservation organisations have been stressing to government for many years. the heritage alliance’s election manifesto (june 2024) says, “we need a simpler tax regime which promotes repair and reuse over demolition and waste. reforming the vat regime on repair and maintenance will promote the long-term sustainability of our nation’s irreplaceable heritage assets and tackle carbon emissions. repairs are currently subject to 20% vat, yet no vat at all is charged on demolition or new builds. this creates a perverse incentive to demolish old buildings rather than repair or reuse them. we ultimately support a 0% equalisation of vat for repair and maintenance, demonstrated initially through a targeted, time-limited intervention to demonstrate impact. even temporary five-year vat equalisation would generate an economic stimulus of £51 billion (royal institute of chartered surveyors). this would release investment, boost skilled jobs, reduce the carbon effects of demolition and rebuild, and help the next government meet net zero targets.” (heritage allance, 2024) lobby groups, including the green register, are challenging the inequality between new build and renovation with representations to the uk tax authority hmrc, also identifying which elements of a retrofit can be zero-rated in projects that include both zero-rated installations of energy-saving materials and renovation. (the green register, 2024). 7. repurposed twentieth-century buildings some ‘iconic’ mid-twentieth-century buildings have survived, creatively repurposed via a radical overhaul by visionary developers and specific grant aid. an unlisted brutalist example is the 1967 camden town hall annexe in euston road london designed by borough architect sydney cook with a reinforced frame, pre-cast concrete panels and bronze windows: six floors of offices, a reception and basement carpark and a restaurant and recreation space on the top. in 2014, when repairs were estimated at £15m, staff were moved to a purpose-built office in the nearby kings cross development. there were fears that it would be replaced by an intrusive tower block, but instead, in 2019, it opened as ‘london’s hippest hotel’, the standard. the interiors of the 266 hotel rooms and the public spaces retain a seventies-style aesthetic. three new floors were added on the top with floor-to-ceiling windows and private terraces with epic views. the architect ian chalk’s design, supported by the twentieth century society, added an external red tubular lift in homage to london’s routemaster buses to the front façade, offering direct access to a restaurant, bar and roof terrace as part of the building’s ambitious regeneration. (the standard, 2019) after standing empty for more than 25 years and falling into a state of decay, the brutalist high point building in bradford, west yorkshire, has been rehabilitated by a residential conversion scheme. built in 1972 to designs by john brunton partnership as headquarters for the huddersfield and bradford building society, high point was considered to be a ‘beacon of modernity’ in the mostly victorian city centre and remains one of the tallest buildings https://www.johncadefilmandphotography.co.uk/single-post/insidethehighpoint clark/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 on the city skyline. locally based developer radii and architects beckwith design associates ltd accommodated 87 rental flats within the 8 storeys of former office space, supported by the award of a £2.9m bradford heritage buildings grant by west yorkshire combined authority, towards the total project cost of £11 million. the fluted concrete facade has mostly been retained and cleaned, with the horizontal and vertical bands of ribbon windows re-glazed throughout. the podium building has had its concrete facade panels replaced with curtain glazing, representing the biggest visual change to the building. negotiations are currently ongoing with a potential cultural tenant to occupy this prominent space. bradford will be uk city of culture in 2025. (the twentieth century society, 2024) 8. conclusion in the current process of updating the national planning policy framework, the uk government needs to acknowledge the imperatives of the climate crisis. save britain’s heritage says, “we need a fresh positive approach to re-using historic buildings and saving precious resources. we also urgently need a robust national planning policy on retrofit that aligns with the uk government's law on net zero targets." (save, 2024) it is clear that historic england’s policy in the space between conservation theory and practice is evolving in response to the climate emergency, but a link between their advocy of building reuse and retrofit and their listing criteria now needs to be made explicit if the country’s building stock including twentieth century buildings is to make a greater contribution to saving embodied energy. local people’s knowledge of and attachment to valued local buildings should be acknowledged and added to the planning system by working with hard pressed planning authorities to keep up to date lists of buildings of local importance. the loophole in permitted development which leads to premature demolition needs to be closed, and vat charges on development should be equalised. this paper adopts dennis rodwell’s approach to the historic urban landscape: that cities are places where people live and work; they “were not built for 21st-century people to decide that they were cultural heritage – they were built to function” (de oliveira, 2025) urban settlements are dynamic, and their built fabric is constantly changing. the adaption and reuse of the existing stock of standing buildings is a key factor in the building industry’s response to the increasingly urgent need to reduce carbon. the presumption against demolition and towards reuse needs to be explicit in legislation and actual practice. citing an admittedly small selection of examples from the uk, this paper illustrates how declarations of intent to work towards sustainability need to align with revised governance mechanisms, which are currently obstacles to the achievement of this vital task. this paper is a contribution to the discussion of legislative change which enables rather than obstructs the reuse of the embodied energy of twentieth-century buildings, contributing to urban settlements’ sustainable futures across the world. acknowledgements the abstract of this paper was presented at the conservation of architectural heritage (cah) conference—8th edition, which was held on the 17th – 19th of september 2024. funding not applicable. ethics approval not applicable. conflict of interest the author declares that there is no competing interest. references sturgis simon 2024 https://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/architects-should-take-hippocratic-oath-to-protect-the-environment-sturgissays/5122153.article hurst will 2024: how a simple change to the nppf can help the planning process support green energy and the environment. co-founder of don’t waste buildings, september final submission.pdf muyiwa oki 2024 ‘we can’t build our way out of the climate emergency’ save britain’s heritage newsletter winter 2023 p.13; riba built for the environment report may 2023 https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/built-for-thehttps://radiiliving.com/ https://beckwithdesign.co.uk/demolition-is-set-to-lighten-the-blocky-bradford-high-point/ https://bradford2025.co.uk/ 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new buildings more efficient? rodwell dennis 2017 conservation and sustainability in historic cities blackwell publishing oxford de oliveira guarnieri mariana 2025 journal of european landscapes 6.1.001 beyond the boxes: a dialogue on historic cities, cultural landscapesm and sustainable futures with dennis rodwell p.4 town and country planning association 2024 proposed reforms to the nppf and other changes to the planning system a responsee to the consulation by mhclg by the pcpa september 2024 https://www.tcpa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240920-final-tcparesponse-to-the-planning-reforms-consultation-sept-2024.pdf dcms letter to celia clark, hampshire buildings preservation trust, 24 september 2024 save britain’s heritage 2023 ’watershed moment as gove throws out m&s plans’ save britain’s heritage newsletter winter 2023 pp.10-11 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permitted development rights https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-variouspermitted-development-rightsconsultation/changes-to-various-permitted-development-rights-consultation cracknell ben 2023 portsmouth city council conservation officer email to celia clark 21 august 2023 private eye nooks and corners issue 1605, 25 august 2023, p.22 portsmouth city counci 2023 planning ref reference ct535067446 application to demolish the news centre hilsea and its associated ancillary buildings and also prior notification of proposed demolition under schedule 2, part 11, class b of the town & country planning (general permitted development) (england) order 2015 (as amended) ltd. historic england 2023 reject at initial assessment report 11 august 2023 uk government 2013 how to challenge our decision to list or not list a building https://www.gov.uk/how-to-challenge-our-decision-to-list-ornot-list-a-building the heritage alliance 2023 heritage manifesto. valuing carbon in pre-1919 residential housing; https://www.theheritagealliance.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2023/07/heritage-manifesto-2023.pdf historic england 2025 what are listed buildings? https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/listed-buildings/ burton neil 2019 building conservation.com directory https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/listit/listit.html#:~:text=only%20'selected'%20buildings%20after%201914,at%20grade%20 i%20or%20ii* allen john 2022 revaluing modern architecture changing conservation culture riba publishing 2022 p.11 historic england 2020 – know your home, know your carbon https://historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/2020-know-yourcarbon/#:~:text=heritage%20counts%202020%20focuses%20on,in%20our%20pre%2d1919%20homes.&text=how%20behaviour%20changes %2c%20repair%20and,carbon%20emissions%20from%20traditional%20homes historic england 2020 https://historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/ rodwell dennis 2024 email to celia clark 7 february 2024 dcms letter to celia clark hampshire buildings preservation trust and portsmouth society 24 september 2024 civic voice press release 10 september 2024 civic voice 2024 https://www.civicvoice.org.uk/uploads/files/civic_voice_local_heritage_list_guide.pdf minstry of housing, communities & local government (2018 to 2021) 2020 local heritage list campaign; announcement of successful areas https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-heritage-list-campaign-call-for-expressions-of-interest. new forest national park n.d local list of heritage assets https://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/planning/heritage-conservation/buildings-localinterest/ the heritage alliance 2024 the heritage manifesto 2024 https://www.theheritagealliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/heritagemanifesto-2023.pdf https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/built-for-the-environment-report?srsltid=afmbooosr9kscqfw4iz1pg_ezhbmxshloo8bq1a_b-l40amqv0dr8kaz https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-recommits-uk-to-net-zero-by-2050-and-pledges-a-%20fairer-path-to-achieving-target-to-ease-the-financial-burden-on-british-families#:~:text=the%20uk%20has%20set%20the,target%20of%2077%25%20for%202035 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-recommits-uk-to-net-zero-by-2050-and-pledges-a-%20fairer-path-to-achieving-target-to-ease-the-financial-burden-on-british-families#:~:text=the%20uk%20has%20set%20the,target%20of%2077%25%20for%202035 https://www.tcpa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240920-final-tcpa-response-to-the-planning-reforms-consultation-sept-2024.pdf https://www.tcpa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240920-final-tcpa-response-to-the-planning-reforms-consultation-sept-2024.pdf https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/01/m-and-s-marks-spencer-michael-gove-oxford-street-store#:~:text=the%20m%26s%20operations%20director%2c%20sacha,was%20unlawful%2c https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/01/m-and-s-marks-spencer-michael-gove-oxford-street-store#:~:text=the%20m%26s%20operations%20director%2c%20sacha,was%20unlawful%2c https://www.gov.uk/how-to-challenge-our-decision-to-list-or-not-list-a-building https://www.gov.uk/how-to-challenge-our-decision-to-list-or-not-list-a-building https://www.theheritagealliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/heritage-manifesto-2023.pdf https://www.theheritagealliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/heritage-manifesto-2023.pdf https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/listed-buildings/ https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/listit/listit.html#:~:text=only%20'selected'%20buildings%20after%201914,at%20grade%20i%20or%20ii* https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/listit/listit.html#:~:text=only%20'selected'%20buildings%20after%201914,at%20grade%20i%20or%20ii* https://historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/2020-know-your-carbon/#:~:text=heritage%20counts%202020%20focuses%20on,in%20our%20pre%2d1919%20homes.&text=how%20behaviour%20changes%2c%20repair%20and,carbon%20emissions%20from%20traditional%20homes https://historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/2020-know-your-carbon/#:~:text=heritage%20counts%202020%20focuses%20on,in%20our%20pre%2d1919%20homes.&text=how%20behaviour%20changes%2c%20repair%20and,carbon%20emissions%20from%20traditional%20homes https://historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/2020-know-your-carbon/#:~:text=heritage%20counts%202020%20focuses%20on,in%20our%20pre%2d1919%20homes.&text=how%20behaviour%20changes%2c%20repair%20and,carbon%20emissions%20from%20traditional%20homes https://historicengland.org.uk/research/heritage-counts/ https://www.civicvoice.org.uk/uploads/files/civic_voice_local_heritage_list_guide.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-heritage-list-campaign-call-for-expressions-of-interest https://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/planning/heritage-conservation/buildings-local-interest/ https://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/planning/heritage-conservation/buildings-local-interest/ https://www.theheritagealliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/heritage-manifesto-2023.pdf https://www.theheritagealliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/heritage-manifesto-2023.pdf clark/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 11 the green register 2024 vat in retrofit: maximosing zero rating opportunities https://www.greenregister.org.uk/events/event/vat-in-retrofit/ accessed 24 june 202 the standard 2019 open house festival london 2019 https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/9211 the twentieth century society 2024 residential conversion rehabilitiates bradford’s brutalist high point https://c20society.org.uk/news/residential-conversion-rehabilitates-bradfords-brutalist-high-point save britain’s heritage 2024 press release: highly controversial m&s demolition plas to be re-determined by secretary of state https://www.savebritainsheritage.org/campaigns/article/974/press-release-highly-controversial-ms-demolition-plans-to-be-re-determinedby-secretary-of-state 1 march 2024 https://www.greenregister.org.uk/events/event/vat-in-retrofit/ https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/9211 https://c20society.org.uk/news/residential-conversion-rehabilitates-bradfords-brutalist-high-point https://www.savebritainsheritage.org/campaigns/article/974/press-release-highly-controversial-ms-demolition-plans-to-be-re-determined-by-secretary-of-state https://www.savebritainsheritage.org/campaigns/article/974/press-release-highly-controversial-ms-demolition-plans-to-be-re-determined-by-secretary-of-state http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 1 research paper received:8 may 2025, accepted: 29 july 2025, published online: 31 july doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1213 heritage in real life: between appreciation and contempt: why are modern egyptians continuously losing their heritage? medhat wassef 1 1m.a., anhalt university of applied sciences abstract since unesco adopted the task of preserving the world's tangible and intangible heritage, the term "cultural heritage" has become known worldwide. however, there seems to be a gap between cultural heritage as a construct made by academic scholars and adopted by unesco on one side, and the popular perception of heritage and its significance in daily life on the other side. this phenomenon could not be seen clearer than in the case of egypt: for while the unesco initiative is achieving positive results in europe and the developed world, and while more heritage assets are being added to the world heritage list every year, egypt is facing a continuous decline in its tangible cultural heritage (hanna, 2013), as "less appreciated" or "undesired" historical sites are continually being demolished by the government or private owners to make way for other functions (middle east eye, 2023) & (zakaria, 2019), and other heritage sites are looted in search of treasures to be sold on the black market (hanna, 2013). on the official level, the egyptian authorities express their keen interest in the preservation of “monuments and antiquities”, and many projects are being implemented by the government in that direction (ikram, 2010). yet many heritage assets are being disregarded and lost, sometimes because of negligence, and sometimes because of intended destruction. this research is trying to investigate this case of double standards in dealing with heritage, assuming that it is caused by problems and misconceptions in the collective mindset of egyptian society, specifically in the aspects of perception and understanding of the value and use of heritage and of history in general. to achieve that goal, i have been researching literary and academic resources in the fields of heritage studies and national identity for the roots of these misconceptions, and trying to connect them with the everyday life of society. being a part of the community myself and through direct contact with the people, i detected and extracted aspects of the egyptian mindset on the grassroots level that played a significant role in the problem of heritage. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. architectural heritage; egyptian history; cultural identity; monument preservation; collective memory 1. introduction. in 1881, khedive tawfik founded the first committee for the conservation of monuments in cairo. this committee was dominated by european scholars from its founding till its dissolution in 1952 (rabbat 2016), and it played a crucial role in defining the meaning of heritage and the scope of preservation of monuments for most of the 20th century. the committee that was mostly under the influence of french romanticism prioritised the stylistic restoration approach for monuments to be displayed for western visitors (reid, 2002), hence monumentalising heritage objects https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1213&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 and separating them from their surroundings (sanders, 2008). this approach to heritage preservation is still dominant to this day, and the schism between people and their heritage is growing wider. in order to analyze the problem of the continuous loss of heritage in egypt, this research aims to investigate the political, social, and economic conditions specific to the egyptian case. the proposed hypothesis is that there are specific paradigms or beliefs particular to egypt’s collective persona that have affected the mindset of egyptians and their behavior towards their cultural heritage. according to the analysis of academic resources and case studies these paradigms are: the concept of value; the religious view of culture; the economics of building activities; the geohistoric uniqueness of the land; and the political manipulation of history. this research will explore these. paradigms step by step, and detect their effect on the perception of history and heritage in egypt, in order to clarify the deeply embedded problems and bring them to light in the hope that a good diagnosis of the illness will be the first step towards remedy. the goal is not to propose strategies or policies to curb the trend of continuous loss of value and heritage, but to expose the implicit reasons of this trend, and to begin the process of self-reflection, revision, and reconsideration of the negative attitude towards heritage. this process should be the first step towards reaching a practical, comprehensive plan of heritage preservation in egypt. 2. research methodology this research is based on the theoretical background that suggests that the colonial roots of the emergence of egyptology have, till this day, affected the perspective of native egyptians towards their history (reid, 2002), as well as the religious factor pointed out by other researchers (meskell, 2006), and also tries to explore the hypothesis proposed by dr. gamal hemdan that egypt has a special “persona” that was carved by its historical and geographical unique conditions (osman, 2023). the modern definitions of heritage and their evolution from objective to environmental and social constructs (konsa, 2013) are also considered as a base of analysis. the research also references several egyptian literary figures who have pointed out certain qualities in the egyptian case in dealing with their material legacy, including naguib mahfouz and ahmad k. tawfik. case studies reporting the loss or destruction of certain heritage assets are also utilized to measure the severity of the problem, and statistical data was collected from specialist publications to contextualise important factors such as economy and education. 3. the concept of value first of all, the term cultural heritage needs to be clearly defined. unesco defines it as follows: cultural heritage includes artefacts, monuments, a group of buildings and sites, museums that have a diversity of values including symbolic, historic, artistic, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological, scientific and social significance. it includes tangible heritage (movable, immobile, and underwater), intangible cultural heritage (ich) embedded in cultural and natural heritage artefacts, sites, or monuments.1 this definition draws a direct correlation between cultural heritage and the values embedded in the artifacts or monuments, which puts forward an important question regarding the concept of “value” and how it could be calculated or evaluated. the definition introduces historic, artistic, and scientific values as abstract or constant values, while in actuality, value is a concept relative to the society and is a function of place and time. meaning that the value system of a given society with a certain historical and geographical background is unique, and also changes and evolves over time, and accumulation of historical and anthropological factors. this is where heritage becomes a blurred concept in the subconscious perception of egyptians. the definition of “value” is a historical philosophical argument: karl marx pointed out that, beginning from the industrial revolution, nothing can have value without being an object of utility (marx, 1887), and that seems to be the dominant paradigm in our modern industrialized world including developing countries like egypt: value is associated with “usage”. if something cannot be used, then it has no value. especially in the case of architectural heritage, old structures that are no use are regarded as a waste of valuable assets. only if 1 unesco institute for statistics, 2009 unesco framework for cultural statistics, p25 colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 it attracts visitors or tourists it is regarded as valuable; otherwise, it should be demolished to clear the way for apartment buildings or roads, or other usable functions. reducing the value of architectural heritage to a tourist attraction only shifts the focus from the importance of heritage to the national identity, to its capability to attract attention, especially foreign attention, and alienates the rightful descendants from the legacy of their predecessors (rabbat, 2016). this could be seen in the difference in the treatment of foreigners and egyptians in touristic sites. for instance, there are geographically separate entrances for both groups to the giza plateau. this was justified by the site manager, alleging that egyptians behaved disrespectfully toward their ancient heritage (shenker, 2016). most of the heritage sites in luxor had, until very recently, only english description texts. (hanna, 2013) adopting the objective point of view towards heritage assets isolates them from their environment and disregards their socio-cultural role as parts of the collective identity of the nation (konsa, 2013). 4. heritage as a burden! as a result of this trend of touristification or musealization, which is a term describing the current obsession with the tourism industry and the culture of the museum, another hostile trend towards less popular or less touristic sites develops. in the last few years, for example, the egyptian government launched a massive infrastructure program in cairo, egypt’s capital and largest city, in order to reorganize the traffic flow in the huge metropolis and its surrounding areas. the newly constructed network of highways necessitated the removal of some of the “old” areas of the city, especially a vast necropolis at the foot of the mokkattam hill. this necropolis was, until recently, a burial site for scholars, cultural figures, and members of egypt’s royal and elite families dating back to the mameluk era around the late middle ages (15th-16th century), which is known to represent the peak of islamic art and architecture, the impressive array of historic mausoleums and cemeteries contained irreplaceable pieces of islamic calligraphy and carving, as well as decorative mosaic work and ceramics, all in atrium-style buildings usually topped by brick domes supported by decorative squinche formations, which made the whole complex a showcase of islamic medieval architecture. nevertheless, construction plans did not consider the preservation of these treasures, nor the sanctity of the dead, or their historical or cultural value. everything was demolished under the general argument that the past must not be prioritized over the present. this example is not a unique case of dealing with egypt’s heritage. this policy of demolishing the old to make way for the new is deeply ingrained in the shared cultural dna of egyptians., especially because of a distorted definition of heritage itself. 5. public perception of heritage: for a country with more than 5000 years of recorded history, most people understand the definition of “history” only as ancient history, which means that “history”, for modern egyptians, is a very far place in the mysteries of the past. as a result, people have no real connection with their ancient ancestors (meskell, 2006); they do not know which period to connect their roots to, and what value does it represent. even the government authority responsible for heritage is called the ministry of “antiquities”, not heritage as a part of national identity, only antiquities, as in material left-overs or treasures from the past. the whole science of egyptology, which is concerned with studying ancient egypt, was almost entirely developed by western “treasure hunters”. beginning from the french invasion in 1798 until the mid-20th century, all egyptological knowledge was produced by foreigners, many of whom were merely interested in selling precious artifacts stolen or extracted from egypt (langer, 2017). egyptians were not included in archaeological expeditions, and the “true/old egypt” became a field of european interest, while islamic/modern egypt was left to its people (riggs, 2013). one way of measuring the perception of heritage of a nation is to look at its listed monumental sites on the unesco list, since entries to this list must be suggested by the country first before approval. in the case of egypt, there are https://english.ahram.org.eg/newscontent/32/99/375587/heritage/heritage-special/cairo%25e2%2580%2599s-city-of-the-dead-a-thousand-years-of-archi.aspx colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 only six cultural heritage sites, which is a shockingly small number, especially for the country with the longest continual civilisation on earth. this small number expresses a lack of enthusiasm for heritage acknowledgement and preservation. in fact, the egyptian government has asked unesco officials during its conference in september 2023 to minimize the area of the heritage site of historic cairo listed by the international organization!! (middle east eye, 2023). religion is an important constituent of the national identity and plays an important role in the perception of history as a whole. despite religious zeal playing an important role in protecting valuable spiritual monuments, some islamic ideologies regard the revered status of some monuments, especially the mausoleums of sultans and shrines of holy people, as a deviation from the righteous worship practices that should be devoted to god alone. these extremist (salafi) ideologies do not represent mainstream islam, but have slowly proliferated into the culture, resulting in a negative view towards monuments from the ancient egyptian period, which is regarded as a pagan civilization, which justifies using them as assets but with no real respect. a religious leader in egypt has issued a ruling on islamic law, a fatwa, saying that any person who finds gold or treasure on his land has the right to keep it, so long as he gives a tithe of the value to charity (fitz-gibbon, 2017). however, this ruling has less to do with religion than with the egyptian understanding of “heritage”: it is, more or less, something that is left to this generation from its predecessors, and therefore one has the right to use it to their benefit. in an interview with some school students about the validity of learning ancient egyptian history, many expressed their dissatisfaction, considering the ancient egyptian belief system less morally and ethically evolved than monotheistic religions (abdou, 2018). religious extremism is therefore blocking the connection with most of egyptian history and dismisses it as the atheistic dark ages (jahiliya). 6. loopholes in the legal framework a look at the legal framework of heritage preservation in egypt sheds more light on the previously discussed concerns of value and perception.. up until the 1950s, monument preservation was supervised by a committee of scientists, which was mainly composed of foreign orientalists occupied with the ancient egyptian (pharaonic) legacy (rababat, 2016). in the constitution of 1971, cultural heritage is defined simply as “the historical heritage of the people”. in the 2013 constitution, the definition has been further clarified to encompass “all types of cultural heritage from the pharaonic, islamic, coptic, and modern periods”. this language reflects the attitude of the state towards heritage as it privileges pharaonic, islamic, and coptic monuments over other greco-roman, medieval, and modern monuments. in practice, the state has directed the vast majority of its resources towards preserving and promoting artifacts and monuments that fall under these three categories (tadamun, 2019). the laws particularly outfitted towards protecting egypt’s built heritage (laws no. 117/1983 & no. 178/1961 & no.144/2006) do not function properly due to ambiguous legal jargon. antiquities in general are protected by law no. 117 of 1983, which classifies buildings as ‘‘historic” if they can be attributed to one of egypt’s essential cultural influences (greek, christian, islamic, or ancient egyptian), and buildings of architectural value and historical importance are protected by law no. 178 of 1961. on the other hand, law no. 144 of 2006 regulates demolition licenses and is concerned with protecting buildings of recognized architectural value. only here ‘‘heritage” classification is much more ambiguous, and it defines no ministry or state institution explicitly responsible for the official classification or protection of heritage buildings. because of this loophole, property owners who aim to demolish a heritage building need only to request consent from a heritage committee consisting of specialists and representatives from the governorate and the ministry of housing. these rulings essentially remove all legal barriers that protect these buildings from demolition and leave them in danger of corrupt officials (tadamun, 2019). the bureaucratic mentality adds to the problem of corruption another factor, which is neglect; many heritage buildings are under the supervision of local authorities that do not want a lot of pressure coming from conservation experts or real estate developers, and try to get rid of the problem by procrastination and delaying till time takes care of it. http://gate.ahram.org.eg/news/1578297.aspx colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 here, once again, objectifying heritage assets rather than looking at them as indivisible parts of an ecosystem leaves many pieces, especially from the relatively modern eras, isolated and vulnerable to exploitation. 7. economics of building activities: the detachment between modern egyptians and their heritage has an economic aspect as well. egypt has been a nation of builders since the dawn of history; it comes with the nature of agricultural societies as well as the specific conditions of the nile river that floods its valley every year. egyptians had to build temporary accommodations that would get flooded each year and be rebuilt again. in modern times, buildings have come to be considered as prime economic assets, and a storage of value that can endure high inflation rates. recently, construction became one of the leading economic activities in egypt. this is mainly because of two reasons: first, the urgent need for housing facilities to accommodate the high-speed growth of population (world bank, 2024), where about 1.5 million people are added to its population annually. the construction industry recently comprises 14% of the national gdp of egypt (mordor intelligence, 2024), which is the largest sector in the nation’s economy. the second reason is related to the lack of regulationsor at least applied regulationsthat can control the construction activities and urban expansion into agricultural land. since the 2011 revolution, nearly 85,000 acres of farmland have been lost to illegal construction, according to data from the ministry of agriculture (dijwi, 2018). most of these unlicensed structures were carried out by local contractors, not major construction companies, which has become a driving force for local economies and the low-income workforce. however, this highly energized construction activity proved to be dangerous for heritage buildings (rabbat, 2016). heritage conservation requires different sets of expertise than regular construction. as an example of this potentially destructive construction frenzy, the ministry of antiquities proposed a project in 2024 to apply granite cladding to the 5000-year-old menkaure pyramid (jankowitz & makhoul, 2024), thinking it would restore its past glory! many monuments lost their authentic value in what were meant to be “renovation projects”, such as the beautiful parks of heliopolis neighborhood, featured in several 1950s romantic movies, that were stripped of their trees to provide a car parking lot (ahram online, 2015). in alexandria, the second largest city in egypt, which takes pride in having a cosmopolitan history and architectural marvels, there has been an increase in the demolition of the city’s historic villas. many attribute this to the activity of alexandria’s real estate mafia, a complex network of landlords, corrupt officials, and developers that has collectively contributed to the erasure of most of the city’s built cultural heritage. the mafia is known to “pay off residents or intimidate them into leaving their heritage homes, tear out doors and windows and flood entire buildings with water” so that the state will declare them fit for demolition. in their place, developers erect high apartment blocks. however, rarely do these developers face any legal repercussions. as a result, the residents of alexandria are being slowly stripped of their right to their city’s cultural heritage (tadamun, 2019). it is estimated that 70% of the city’s neo-classical architecture was lost during the past two decades (zenobia, 2014). villa ambron was one of the fulcrums of alexandria's cultural life. built and owned by architect aldo ambron. the house has been home to dignitaries, including italy's exiled king vittorio emanuele iii, and leading egyptian painters saad el-khadim and effat nagui. after fleeing nazi-occupied greece, lawrence durrell, the british author twice shortlisted for the nobel prize for literature, lived on the villa's top floor for much of the second world war with his wife. durrell left egypt after the war, and the ambron family sold the house in 1996 to a local developer, who had already built two apartment blocks in the villa's garden. although the house was legally protected by the 2006 protection order, the real-estate developer, after neglecting it for years to turn it into unrecognizable ruins, finally demolished the villa in september 2017 (shalabi, 2017). if the real estate construction activities remain unorganized and unregulated, the architectural heritage will always be under threat of exploitation unless its socio-cultural importance is acknowledged and respected. 8. cycles of life and death the geography of the nile valley also plays its role in the collective egyptian mentality and its connection with the past. in his book “the character of egypt: a study in the genius of place”, the egyptian geologist gamal hamdan http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/egypt-activists-protect-heritage-alexandria.html http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/12/alexandria-historic-demolish-buildings-crumbling-collapse.html http://michaelhaag.blogspot.com/2013/09/lawrence-durrells-house-in-alexandria.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/egypt colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 points out a specific characteristic of life along the nile river, which is the continuous cycles of death and rebirth that go on from the ancient pharaonic past till this day. just as the river floods and retreats every year, and in its excess destroys the villages on its bank, only to be rebuilt again when it retreats to its original position, so have the cities along the nile valley; they have gone through several cycles of construction and destruction throughout their history. it is a well-known fact in the villages of upper egypt that if anyone digs deep enough under his house, one might find ancient relics or treasures from the village’s past lives. there is actually a large underground trade market for relics and historic artifacts found in this specific way: simply “dig under your house!” the egyptian interior ministry has reported 8,960 cases of illegal digging in several provinces in the south of egypt from march to the end of november in 2020, against 4,115 in the previous year,” (xinhuanet, 2020). this fact signifies a rooted tradition of “destroying the old to build the new” mentality in egypt. there is a famous proverb that seems to give the moral justification for that process, it translates “the living is more important than the dead.” tawfiq, who is a famous writer and novelist, describes this phenomenon as an addiction: "we love to destroy what we built so that we can rebuild it once again” (tawfiq, 2014) egyptians believed in death and resurrection since the dawn of time; they learned the lesson by observing the cycles of nature. building over the ruins of past lives is deeply ingrained in their cultural dna, but as ancient egyptians separated between the daily and the eternal, their predecessors must resolve what can be destroyed and what should be preserved. 9. the effects of disruption also, worth noting that this long thread of life cycles is not a homogeneous continuum; major disruptive conditions have occurred that affected the people’s collective memory. during the last 200 years alone, there have been some major political and societal disruptions. every transitional condition that occurred during that period has tried to change the perception of the past state of affairs, which left the nation's collective memory shredded and its sense of identity distorted. in the event of a major break or disruption in the history of a nation, one that separates the past order of events from the new one, a certain pause should occur to absorb the consequences of these events, people should be able to look back and evaluate the past and arrive to conclusions regarding it, or lessons to be learned and digested from their history. in short, the past should be put to rest before embracing the future. in egyptian modern history, this has never happened properly: one of the most powerful and disruptive events in recent years, which is the 2011 revolution, is still to this day lacking proper understanding and evaluation in the collective memory of the society. was it justified or not? was it a revolution or chaos? was it planned or spontaneous? and many other questions are left unanswered and unapproached because the current government does not want to face them. similarly, many other major events or major disruptions were left undigested or incomprehensible. a major step towards reconciling egyptians with their heritage would be to achieve a comprehensive understanding of history. 10. treasure hunter mentality: a direct result of not understanding a nation's history is a broken sense of identity and objectification of heritage. the result could be seen clearly in the organized criminal web of looting archaeological sites and smuggling their artifacts to be sold in auctions abroad. in the om al-dabadeb area of the kharga oasis in the western desert, there is an ancient roman village located on 60,000 acres of land. this remote archaeological site is completely ruined: the ancient coptic church that was built on the eastern side of the fortress was destroyed and buried under the sand in 1998 when thieves dug for treasures, using a crane and a forklift. later, the main temple of the village was also destroyed in the same way in 2004 (almasry, 2015). at the site abu sir al-maleq, a burial ground about 70 miles from cairo, there are piles of bones and mummy wrappings that have been hastily discarded as looters pick through on the hunt for quick cash (smarthistory, 2018). this phenomenon is a direct result of objectifying heritage assets as material treasures with no sense of personal or emotional attachment, which is possibly the same “treasure hunt” mentality that began with the beginning of colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 egyptology 200 years ago, and seems to be still active. the theft network even extends beyond local egyptians to include foreign academic institutions and museums that benefit from researching and exhibiting the stolen goods. although the government has adopted a policy of demanding the retrieval of the lost historical objects, the behavior of people in authority towards these heritage assets is apparently indifferent. for example, mamdouh al-damaty, the former minister of antiquities (2012-2014), said, “that the egyptian government’s policy is counterproductive, discouraging positive international relations and tourism,” which indicates that he doesn’t want to bear responsibility for these invaluable assets and is content to get rid of the problem altogether. (cultural property news, 2017) 11. political manipulation of history foucault pointed out that power structures of modern nations are built on the concept of discipline, and that these institutions have the same principles of a prison, regulating the functions of their subordinates (foucault, 1977), and consequently, applying boundaries between the individual and other institutions. as a result, the political leadership of a country tries to stress on a certain part of the nation’s history and romanticize it, and disregard other parts. this is usually connected to a certain character or event that fits the political agenda of the leading person or party. mussolini, for example, tried to revive the ancient roman legacy of italy in order to support his imperial dreams. in china, the years before the communist revolution are considered “the dark ages”. in the arabic world, the historical figure of “saladin” was revived from medieval times to encourage resistance against the israeli invasion of palestine. however, this phenomenon has negative effects on the forgotten or disregarded parts of history, such as neglect of tangible heritage, such as monuments, books, or artifacts, or loss of intangible assets such as stories, songs, or indigenous languages. in egypt, about 700 years of christian history are rarely mentioned or recognized in schools and universities; only islamic history is taught, because the political compass is tuned towards belonging to the arab and islamic world. even the ancient “pharaonic” history was discarded until the last decades of the 20th century, when its huge potential for attracting tourism was discovered and exploited. the christian minority in egypt has repeatedly voiced its concern over the negligence of the christian component of the egyptian identity with little or no success (associated press, 2013). this highlights the danger of manipulating a nation's history for political gains: it creates cracks in the society’s sense of identity that can jeopardize social cohesion. after all, the problem of religious extremism that plagued egypt for decades is a byproduct of glorifying one part of history without a proper understanding of its precedents, context, and background. since it is presumed that heritage is not a universal constant phenomenon (kaplan, 2006), it should be acknowledged that various groups have different approaches to history. instead of enforcing a single politically charged viewpoint, a diversity of socio-cultural approaches is to be accepted (smith, 2006). 12. passive adaptability throughout its history, egypt has been governed by different regimes and countless dynasties, mostly from foreign origins. some of them tried to radically change the land and the people, but the majority found it more peaceful and successful to leave the land untouched and the people’s way of life unchanged. in both cases, the egyptians managed to continue their daily life the same way their ancestors did since ancient times, regardless of the policies of the faraway king or sultan, or viceroy. since the greek invasion in the 4th century bc, and for more than two thousand years, the land was under foreign government control, mostly situated outside of egypt, in rome or constantinople, or baghdad. even when other dynasties took cairo as their capital city, those were also foreigners who did not want to change the successful formula of peaceful coexistence with the native civilization. they saw the perfect harmony that existed for thousands of years between the land and people living on it, the delicate balance between nature and human activities, and they chose not to disturb it. even though the modern state is governed by native egyptians, people still keep away from government business or from meddling in politics, which is the public affairs in general. meddling in politics is taboo in the egyptian mindset. (tawfiq, 2010) colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 although heritage is not a public or state affair, modern governments always try to make it so, pursuing policies that have served to physically separate monuments from their surrounding communities, developing plans to gentrify these areas for foreign tourists to generate valuable revenue. thus, it widens the gap between urban heritage and the surrounding communities. (tabikha, 2024) modern egyptians are usually skeptical when it comes to archaeology or monument preservation; they feel the danger of separating them from their lands or houses. whenever relics or monuments are found in their vicinity, they fear government control and gentrification projects (reid, 2002). unless the whole ecosystem, including the natural environment and local community, is seen as integral parts of the monumental heritage, this negative attitude will continue. 13. community engagement to combat the loss of tangible heritage, members of both the private and public sectors should join forces. athar lina, a participatory conservation initiative run by the built environment collective-megawra (athar-lina, 2023), is an example of how things can be done differently. the initiative that focuses on the neighborhood of al-khalifa in historic cairo asked the question of the relationship between heritage sites and their surroundings, and how heritage sites can become useful for communities. as opposed to the concept of “enclave tourism”, may al-ibrashy, co-founder of megawra, believes that while heritage sites are important, they cannot be viewed in isolation from their surroundings and the communities they’re integrated in. athar lina believes that in order for communities to participate in conservation efforts, cultural heritage has to be beneficial to them; heritage has to be viewed “as a resource, not a burden”. (tadamun, 2019) tourism-based development projects can instigate violent reactions from the local population, especially if it is oriented mainly towards foreign markets, and even more so if these projects are implemented by foreign companies that do not include the local communities. instead of short-term revenue-based planning, a strategy of long-term planning of heritage sites must be adopted that ensures social cohesion, simply by including the local community in the development plans of these sites, which will solidify the sense of identity and link the community to their heritage (ashworth, 2008). the importance of history education cannot be overestimated here, provided that it aims to raise awareness not only: in a previously mentioned survey among primary school students about the importance of studying history (abdou, 2018), one student said: “why do we have to learn that history? i felt no connection with it whatsoever.” and another said “those ancient people are not like us”. because egypt’s history (written and taught history) is mostly about kings and sultans in their wars and conquests, not about the ordinary people, our ancestors. perhaps this is the simplest definition of the society’s behavior towards heritage, and also the simplest, most direct solution: understanding the connection modern egyptians have with ancient ones, understanding that they are (like us), and that by knowledge of their history, one gets to better know oneself. 14. discussion and conclusion the problems of egypt’s tangible and intangible heritage are much deeper than preservation and protection policies, since the public behavior towards heritage is rooted in the skewed or distorted sense of identity and collective belief system of the society. there is no clear ideological relationship between the modern egyptian state and its pharaonic or coptic past (meskell, 2006). rescuing the cultural heritage of egypt needs more educational and scientific work than planning and management, and while long-term inclusive participatory planning is badly needed, the problem of national identity has to be addressed first, since the national identity affects the people’s perception of their past and, accordingly, of their heritage. scientific and cultural research projects should be adopted by universities and research organizations in the direction of connecting the past to the present, shedding light on the forgotten or neglected parts of egypt’s very long history, and in many cases reconciling with past traumas. the general goal is to free the national identity from political and religious agendas, so that egyptians can understand, forgive, and connect with their rich legacy. http://www.atharlina.com/en http://www.atharlina.com/en http://www.madamasr.com/en/2017/03/07/feature/culture/megawra-making-sure-heritage-is-a-resource-not-a-burden/ http://www.madamasr.com/en/2017/03/07/feature/culture/megawra-making-sure-heritage-is-a-resource-not-a-burden/ http://www.madamasr.com/en/2017/03/07/feature/culture/megawra-making-sure-heritage-is-a-resource-not-a-burden/ colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 many strategies could be adopted to achieve such a prospect. for example, recontextualizing or providing a balanced understanding of the historical context of the less glorious or turbulent episodes of history (lowenthal, 2017), as well as applying inclusive storytelling, through encouraging different perspectives from the marginalized or underrepresented groups (hall, 2005). most importantly, addressing the ongoing legacies that were rooted in history and still manifest in the present could help the community empathize with its predecessors and establish a connection with its heritage. “the problem of our neighborhood is forgetting,” said nobel prize winner naguib mahfouz, in his most celebrated work, “awlad haretna.” the danger of losing a nation's heritage equals losing one's memory; turbulence and disorientation are sure to follow, and although there are many misconceptions regarding heritage in egypt, they are not yet beyond remedy, and although a lot is already lost, much more is still standing. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the landscapes across the mediterranean (crossmed) conference –1st edition, which was held on the 11th – 13th of december 2024. funding declaration. this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sector/ individuals. ethics approval. not applicable. conflict of interest. the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. references. abdou e. 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https://egyptianstreets.com/2017/09/26/historic-alexandria-villa-demolished-amid-continued-erasure-of-citys-cultural-heritage/ https://smarthistory.org/cultural-heritage-egypt/ https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2024/04/01/egypt-cairo-al-warraq-nile-island/ http://www.tadamun.co/?post_type=initiative&p=9149&lang=en&lang=en%23.w13iznizzdg https://aktowfik.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post_05.html https://aktowfik.blogspot.com/ https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/sp.pop.grow?locations=eg http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-12/28/c_139622582.htm https://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2014/02/saving-villaaghion-saving-alexandria.html http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 23 doi: 10.21625/archive.v6i1.877 carbon neutral district project for regenerating a suburban area within the reinventing cities c40 framework lavinia chiara tagliabue1, jacopo muzio treccani2,3, antonio della bella4 1 university of turin, computer science department,turin, italy 2 politecnico di milano, department of architecture and urban studies dastu milan, italy, 3 studio jam architecture, milan, italy/london, uk 4 r4m engineering s.r.l., italy abstract a multidisciplinary approach to urban regeneration is crucial when the project of suburban areas provides a functional program that includes the combination of technological, environmental, and social innovation. the reinventing cities c40 design contest represents an opportunity for designers to deal with the crossing topics of innovation, sustainability, and circular economy. the project proposals focus on the regeneration of urban areas with specific needs, ranging from the reconstruction of urban ecosystems to the re-weaving of fragile and damaged urbanity, to the promotion of areas devalued by functional empty. the reinventing cities c40 framework is supporting worldwide the cities in the renovation process, oriented in developing the abandoned areas with the aim of social, energy, and environmental resilience. the framework promotes the link between the municipalities, the designers, and the local communities to create innovation on multiple levels, in the design process, in the architectural product, in the validation tools based furthermore on the new contractual definition of business models for social support. the renovation of the crescenzago area in milan, italy, is based on an architectural project that entails an integrated mixed-use system of tower and line buildings ensuring an adequate social and housing mix and connection with the surrounding points of interest and green areas. the architectural project relates to the existing context with a synthesis between macro and micro-urban scale: territory, neighborhood, and the new district. the project moves by the definition of the open spaces that imprints the built ones and defines a direct connection with the green system, which pledges the carbon neutrality of the intervention. the site-specific proposal results from the matrix of strategic and technological transferable solutions that provide solar electricity for 82% of the energy needs and the green capture allows to achieve the zero-carbon goal of the district. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer-review under responsibility of archive’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords carbon zero district; urban regeneration; housing mix; nzeb; green absorption; resilient built environment 1. introduction the challenge of reinventing cities (sedova & balakina, 2020; strippoli 2020), is widely integrated in the airclimate plan (pac) (bringault at al., 2016; poupeau 2014) of which the municipality of milan has recently started the expansion process aimed at the reduction of air pollution (ripple at al., 2019), to protect health and the environment and thus responding to the climate emergency (crichton at al., 2009) in a certain and planned time. the challenge expands the perspective of urban regeneration action (bamdad at al., 2021) in a concrete environmental http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 24 sense (huovila, 2007). this challenge, together with the strong emerging demand for new generation of social, collaborative and sustainable housing (power, 2010), effectively aligns the city to a redevelopment prospect (carli et al., 2015). this prospect is being pursued concretely by many cities, not only in europe (gong at al., 2018; harding et al., 2004; dwikardana, 2020). the redevelopment is achieved both through the adaptation of the instruments of the plan and therefore normative (boddy & parkinson, 2004), and through the facilitation of private interventions oriented in this direction (kline, 2000). these strategic objectives, naturally integrated with the morphological characteristics of the area of intervention by invitation to tender, are the guidelines of the presented project. the area is located in a suburban area to the northeast of the city of milan, aligned on the radial route of viale palmanova. in this area the building density is soon interrupted by the green section of the lambro park and by proximity agricultural residues linked to the ancient rural system (toccolini at al., 2006). in fact, there are farmsteads and irrigation ditches. the area participates in that morphological complexity made up of fragments traditional fabric, open building and large single-functional complexes separated in a rather drastic way from the palmanova/surface metro system just like a river from the historical agglomeration to the north, that is the core of the village of crescenzago (ambrosiani & quadri, 2020). this subway represents one of the main resources for both banks, however they are connected to each other only by a cycle/pedestrian underpass. as in many suburban areas, this 'shore' seems to lack a centre for the social and daily life of its inhabitants (dalton et al., 2008). although it has multiple services and connections, in fact, there is a lack of places of aggregation (graham and aurigi, 1997) and the whole area appears dominated by a peripheral tranquillity at the limit of anonymity (mcquire, 2017). the main goals of the project are to reconnect the territorial fragments, provide quality architectural spaces, promote a new concept of green as a social enabler and boost sustainability of the intervention by achiving the carbon neutral district. 2. methodology the poject methodology can be organized in fondamental steps that are used to create the space and the services in a coodinated and oriented way towards sustainability and efficiency based on archetipical local and cultural factors: • study of the exisitng green system and morphology: the project stares at the system of farmsteads and ancient irrigation ditches emerging in the morphology of the lambro park. today's farmsteads are characterized by super local social services partly linked to the production of proximity. in many ways, these farmsteads are a resource for the area, nevertheless they are also, and above all, a settlement and functional reference point for the organization of the intervention. the intervention is developed around the concept of community. • creating space for social interaciton and community growth: community means in particular an idea of mixed development, which provides a typological variety of housing. it is oriented to include not only a greater variety from a social point of view, a prerequisite of a community, however, it includes the different activities of a collective nature, varied in different commercial, productive or service types. in this sense the project is generated precisely by the relationship between open space and the buildings that contain it, namely the square or the open hand, that gives the name to the renovation project. this relationship defines the different degrees of fruition, public, semi-public, social and private. it outlines the flow of activity between and within the built margins, in relation to the transit generated by the interchange system between the bicycle and fast transport (the underground mm). • definition of the connections with the city: the transit considered also comes from the pedestrian cycle connection with the historical fabric through the existing underpass, which has been upgraded through its connection with new hypogeous square. the square also intercepts the flow between the built city and the transition city scattered in the green milanese metropolitan area, towards the neighbouring villages and the san raffaele system. in short, an idea of flow that gives shape and quality to the internal and external spaces of the new complex. • funcional segmentation and integration: the idea favours the integration between social services and commercial and productive functions located at the bottom, even on a larger scale between the community to be settled in the upper residential floors and the neighbourhood. in the centre of the large pedestrian public space is the weekly market, a symbol of the social, environemental and economic sustainability pursued by tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 25 the project. furthermore, the market is a symbol of the civil and cultural value of sharing, it is a meeting place, together with personal services and other commercial activities of proximity. next to it, the daily flow of connection to the crescenzago stop of the mm, correspondingly participated by various public spaces and services that overlook it, also coming from the other side. putting cycling, intermodal and zero-emission mobility at the centre of the intervention allows to combine the most significant challenges with the issue of community and social housing. • green infrastructure to connect the intevention to the city and support the carbon zero target: alongside it, there is a strong forestation action through the requalification of the more or less spontaneous greenery existing inside the former car park. this action is integrated to the new constitution of urban vegetable gardens linked both to the social residence and to the district with the character of rotation, with the various services that these involve. 3. case study: la main ouverte project as described above, the project la main ouverte is located in an area characterized by the mixture of the historical mesh of the agricultural fields, the orthogonal mesh of the most recent development coming from via padova. the partly artificial and partly natural sediments of the martesana and the lambro rivers are added to this mix. from this system emerge the 18th century holiday homes on the martesana, such as villa lecchi, the romanesque church of santa maria rossa and the lambro park. the park, in this part, with its farmsteads and its waterway, certainly offers suggestive views. the history of the eastern area of milan is linked over time to avant-garde phenomena: it was visited in the mid-19th century by partisans of the risorgimento (who found themselves in a trattoria in turro, now piazza del governo provvisorio), a destination of pilgrimages by realist artists of the 1940s. moreover, destination of libertarian happenings in the 70s for the "naked king". zone of commitment and underground creativity in the 90s with leoncavallo and transiti social centers. today, this area of milan is similarly frequented by well-known rappers and street artists, although it is a residential area. it appears to be an important resource for milan, consequently, to be enhanced. the proposed "social housing" project catches its main reason in the presence of the lambro park, in the overcoming of the "great river" consisting of via palmanova and the connection with the milanese underground. the project focuses in particular on three objectives on an urban scale. the first objective is the creation of a centrality for crescenzago east, now missing, through the creation of a green axis towards the lambro park. the second objective aims to give shape to a fabric of link with the existing building and natural segment. therefore, the third objective supports the fluid connection with the "old" crescenzago through the enhancement of the existing cycle and pedestrian underpasses, offering visual references consistent with the milan bergamo road axis. the closest existing urban fabric is composed in a rather rhapsodic way of 4, 5 and 7 storey residential buildings from the 1970s. it likewise includes a 2-storey terraced economic buildings. the urban pattern contains besides a more recent cluster system of 5 and 9 floors which is the result of a more recent design competition wanted and realized by the municipality of milan. the reading of the fabric is further complicated by the large production and tertiary buildings in the north-east of the former rizzoli, defining, a morphological complexity made up of fragments – traditional urban fabric, open building and large single-functional complexes (figure 1). the envisaged community settled in this context is gathered around a court emblematically called la main ouverte, the open hand. the courtyard is defined by the volumes of the three buildings (units a, b and c set back from via palmanova by 30 m) developed on an open plan which find reason and measure in the relationship with the surroundings (figure 2). they rise four floors above ground, from which stand out as many towers of nine floors. tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 26 figure 1 (a) concept design figure 2 (b) project definition for renovation of crescenzago area the towers are in dialogue with the overlooking tower house on via civitavecchia, thus forming a protective riverbed of the internal open space. the internal open space is organized on different dimensions that are divided into two elements for descriptive simplicity, even though it is a single reservoir. the first, the market square, where the weekly municipal market takes place, overlooked by bodies b and c (figure 3). in these, the semi-public and service activities are contained on the ground floor, equipped with gardens, and reception areas raised by +1.2 m. the second, the hypogeous square, at an altitude of -3.50 m, which opens to transit to the north-east towards the metro, to the northwest towards the underpass and to the south towards the park. it constitutes a proposal to the city that involves a small area outside the perimeter of the project area. this area is connected to the mm stop and especially to the underpass, surrounded by commercial and service areas. it is connected by a gentle slope of about 3% towards via civitavecchia along which there are several shops or alternatively personal services under a large porch in body a (figure 3). the services are in continuity with the market square through a staircase with variable steps, dotted with mulberry trees. all the external paving, integrated with green tree-lined areas adjacent to the shops overlooking the public space, or to the tree-lined rows in the junction between the two squares, where even the existing trees are recovered and integrated in the design, prosperous and of greater interest, are made of permeable material such as beaten calcestre and characterized by a design consisting of curbs and stairs in light-colored hard stone, for a total of 6’029 square meters, which together with the green areas of the gardens and the green appurtenant add up to 10’455 square meters, or over 70% of the surface between green and permeable. 3.1 open and close space organisation the outdoor open space, apart from the related gardens, which mostly constitute small private vegetable gardens of the residences in front, is instead made up of green areas. in general, they are equipped with urban vegetable gardens for the district use, with different possible management expressions. for example, urban farming, or vegetable tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 27 gardens in rotation, equipped with huts, greenhouses, possible nurseries crossed by bicycle and pedestrian paths. in this sense, similarly here it would seem important and consistent with its function, to involve for similar use the disused state-owned riverbed located south-west of the area to ban, therefore outside the project area. in this area there could be more space for the vegetable gardens, but correspondingly equipped with pergolas. in this way a design imprint born from the context is underlined, oriented to critical regionalism and aimed at a de-globalized architecture. as we have said, the ground floors of the buildings overlooking the inner courtyard are, in principle, all service activities. in this way, buildings b and c overlooking the market square and equipped with reception areas raised by +1.2m. this threshold reconciles public space and private or service space and at the same time acts as an inhabited garrison of the square and its surroundings. in particular, building c near the underground square will contain social activities connecting the two levels. on the opposite side, outside the square of the two buildings, that is, towards the portions of greenery used as public vegetable gardens, there are instead particular social residences. the latter, being on the ground floor, can more easily accommodate homes for the elderly. or, since they are easily accessible, they can host particular study houses or laboratories on two levels, always with an open green space or private vegetable garden in front of them. the base of building a, on the other hand, consists of a 4.5m "illuminated floor" on the street front towards via civitavecchia, intended for commercial activities of different sizes. for example, a medium shopping mall, finger food, neighbourhood businesses such as newsagents, housewares, clothing, grocery store, wine shop, tavern / bookshop, etc. in general, of interest at the scale of the neighbourhood. it is also possible to imagine, depending on the emerging demand, that these activities can be alternated with productive activities with an aggregative nature. for example, coworking spaces, art workshops, workshop/coffee shop cycle, but as well small crafts such as barbershop, laundry, shoemaker, ice-cream shop/pastry shop. towards the courtyard, on the other hand, under the porch along the sloping hypogeous square and connecting to the mm and the underpass (figure 4), there are commercial businesses, enabled by the traffic induced by transit to and from the metro, but which can also easily be sized for social functions. the basement of the foundation of all the buildings is occupied by parking lots, cellars and connected by internal ramps and elevators. since it is based on the idea of a settlement mixité, even the conceived residential system allows to manage the distribution inside the buildings with extreme ease. the accommodation between social and free residences is located on the three lower floors and in the towers with very flexible and variable housing sizes. the housing units are connected by illuminated and ventilated staircases, with a maximum of four accesses for each one. assuming that body a is assigned to the free and b and c to the social housing, 8’205 m2 of sl social residence are obtained, in the different forms of agreed or moderate rental. in addition to the 1’230 m2 of personal services, located on the square floor. these spaces are at the service of the elderly, children, immigrants and disabilities. these areas can also be at the service of possible workshops and student services to be configured in different possible forms, compared to 2’892 m2 of sl free residence, and 1.397sqm of sl between commercial and free production that fund substantially the operation. the 30% of the total volume built, is in fact equal to only 0.31 ut, index of use. each apartment is equipped with a loggia of about 6 m2, a sort of small room to live outside that offers feedback of natural air often double and triple exposure. other accommodations can always be easily merged into larger accommodations. principles that allows to imagine more or less pushed forms of cohousing, with the placement of common service spaces to give more space for private use, even for social housing. they can be for example: laundry, reception/lobby room, living/ guest house/common kitchen, study room/library, utensils, gym, swimming pool lounge, common room, music room, etc.). last but not least, the settlement of different generations, young and old, allows to trigger ways of mutual support in the care and distribution of individual times. the roofs of the buildings naturally host some elements of planting, but for the most part, they are common space configured as a roof garden, with spaces for games and vegetable gardens. they are protected by a crowning canopy projecting outward of 1,6 m to support a circle of photovoltaic panels. in terms of construction, the design was based on a buildings’ structural framework of 6,4x6,4m. the structural mesh is designed to allow all spaces to be modulated both in the traditional way, with ordinary 30x40cm pillars and thick reinforced concrete beams, and in x-lam or drywall. however, in buildings with a social purpose, where a rather intense turnover of guests is desirable, the flexibility of the traditional structure is relevant. the use of lightweight internal partitions therefore remains the solution even with the most competitive economic balance sheet. tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 28 figure 3 (a) uses in the different units figure 4 (b) underpass and connection with the city. finally, the external cladding of buildings is naturally based on the principles and materials of bio-architecture. they are composed of bush-hammered brick facades, with reference to the nearby romanesque church of santa maria tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 29 rossa or the glorious buildings in the feltre district. the inserts of the window compartments are equipped with external sliding shutters, coloured in bright colours like the window frames, protected by flashings. 3.2 sustainability and energy aspects the residential portion accounts for a majority share of the built area of 78% while services account for 9% and the trade section covers a share of 13%. considering also the green areas that are an integral part of the functional program of the project, however, the distribution is 58% for the residence, 26% of green areas distributed on the ground and on buildings, 10% for commercial areas and 6% for services for social housing. these account for 74% of the share of residences, while 26% is free building. the energy uses of the various functions weigh more from the point of view of electricity consumption as the building will be thermally efficient thanks to insulation and thermal mass (uav,op = 0.16 w/m2k; uw = 1.1 w/m2k) and will use low energy content materials in lca (life cycle assessment) and equipped with epd and the use of efficient systems. the buildings will in fact be equipped with heat pump systems powered by electricity from solar renewable energy. the heat pump systems will be of the vertical geothermal probe type or with active foundations for the production of heating, cooling and domestic hot water. a centralised vmc (controlled mechanical ventilation) system will be used in commercial spaces while for the residential section natural ventilation will be maximised, possibly integrated locally. 57% of energy uses will therefore be for electrical uses, including kitchens, while 20% will be used for the preparation of domestic hot water, 14% for space heating and 9% for cooling. the use of the green system as a characterising element will also reduce the need for local air conditioning thanks to wind protection (in winter) and solar shading (in summer), with energy savings of up to 15%. in the calculation of the potential of the site, a conservative estimate has been used considering the co2 assimilated and stored by the plant apparatus and not the co2 avoided thanks to the reduction of the temperature of the site and therefore for cooling, which in any case will benefit the project. below are the key performance indicators (kpis) of the project (figure 5, figure 6)). figure 5 (a) key perfformance indicators figure 6 (b) uses and consumption distribution diagrams tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 30 in order to carry out a zero-impact project, the energy consumed for winter and summer air conditioning, ventilation, domestic hot water preparation and electrical uses was considered. this energy is produced by high-efficiency plants powered by renewable sources for the pursuit of a near-zero energy settlement whose emissions are absorbed by the plant that is part of the project and that allows to achieve a neutral and indeed positive balance, i.e. to provide oxygen to the city as well as making the project zero impact. therefore, the absorption by the green areas on the roof and in the square has been calculated, in addition to the planned plant essences, to connect the new settlement to the lambro park using native or naturalized essences and paying attention to the seasonal and maintenance effects of the greenery as well as the ornamental value and the effects from the point of view of co2 absorption. water saving has also been included among the kpis and the use of rainwater for compatible uses is expected. 3.3 strategies for the 10 climate challenges the project is the result of the analysis of the specificity of the site with respect to the built, natural and biological and social context. the project has in fact considered the social support activities present in the territory as an integral part for the inputs of the project proposal. the project provides strategies and actions for all the proposed challenges with respect to the specificity of the area of intervention. it enhances the resources and constraints of the territory that in this case allow a strong relationship of the intervention with three areas. the first is represented by the public park. the second is the infrastructure for the connection and distribution of public transport passenger flows that is reorganized and implemented, correlating the activities included in the buildings in the community social fabric that allows to promote inclusive actions that operate in parallel. the third is the activities of the local onlus that deal with culture, pedagogical methodologies oriented to the recovery of social discomfort and work for the protection and social cohesion at wide range. the 10 climate challenges proposed by the call are the basis of the reflection on the project. from these challenges develops the configuration of the proposed settlement for the crescenzago site even before a morpho-typical concept (figure 7). compared to the 10 challenges, therefore, the reduction of the environmental impact generated by carbon emissions from all proposed activities was considered in the first instance. in the second instance, high efficiency buildings were considered with regard to the energy containment carried out by the building-plant system. below is the relational model that shows the transversal of the strategies and technologies adopted. they make it possible to respond to several challenges at the same time, placing the user and the promotion of sustainable behaviour at the centre. figure 7 (a) the reinventing cities challenges and the project strategies. tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 31 in the diagram (figure 8) the largest nodes are the ones that have the most connections. it can be seen that many strategies of the project support the mandatory challenges of energy efficiency and sustainable materials management and circular economy while the connection between the two themes is represented by the central action of promoting sustainable behaviour in the smart community (red dots). the strong environmental and social footprint of the la main ouverte project are evident in the diagram. figure 8 (a) relational diagram of the strategies adopted considering the 10 climate challenges. it shows how most of the proposed strategies and actions respond to the challenges of resilience and adaptation, biodiversity-urban biodiversity and agriculture, through actions related to innovative architecture and design, smart cities, inclusive strategies and new ecological systems. the proposed strategies, actions and technologies make it possible to respond simultaneously to several challenges by showing the systemic vision that has guided the project that addresses all the challenges of the call for proposals. 3.4 smart technologies and renewable energies a system of photovoltaic sunshades, to protect the facades, will be installed on the perimeter of the green roof that allows a low reflection index (to reduce the heat island): the roof also allows a high permeability power of the surface (to counteract washout and excesses of extreme weather events. i.e. resilience of the system from the point of view of weather events). the green roof will be of the extensive type with high thermal and acoustic insulation and with the possibility of rainwater drainage. the water is partly absorbed by the soil and partly returned to the natural cycle through transpiration. the photovoltaic system is expected to have a peak power of 292 kwp, with cradle to cradle certified panels from an environmental point of view and maximum efficiency of conversion of solar radiation into useful energy. tablthe system will be of the mixed type connected to the grid but equipped with a storage system that allows to mitigate production peaks due to climate change. in this way the grid is not totally burdened and a strategy for electricity continuity is proposed in the direction of security of energy supply (resilience and climate adaptation). in consideration of the new version of the european directive epbd 844/2018 for the containment of energy in buildings, the project pursues energy optimization through the “sensorisation” of environments in a smart way. this promotes virtuous attitudes and awareness of the energy effects of their lifestyle for users. users will have the possibility to monitor the internal consumption of homes, detecting the internal conditions through significant parameters for the characterization of ieq (indoor environmental quality). these are temperature and humidity, in order to maximize savings and ensure thermo-hygrometric comfort, the illuminance, to allow to modulate the indoor tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 32 lighting compared to daylighting saving electricity, co2 and pm10 sensor for ventilation control and air pollution reduction (figure 9, figure 10). figure 9 (a) green roofing surfaces for co2 capture figure 10 (b) pv panels ans smart technologies scheme. 4. results 4.1. acoustic design the intervention is within the framework of the acoustic standards prescribed by the dpcm of 5 december 1997, which indicates the passive performance limits of the casing, internal and external partitions and system noise limits. the dpcm also indicates the performances relative to the internal acoustic comfort of all spaces used for collective activities, as well as those for residential use. for these spaces in particular, the requirements relating to standardised façade sound insulation [d2mn,nt,w], airborne sound insulation [rw] and footfall sound insulation [ln,w] between different building units and the levels of discontinuous cycle [lasmax] and continuous cycle [laeq] systems will have to be verified, also due to the design forecast in conjunction with residential and commercial functions and small laboratories and neighbourhood activities. it is also necessary to verify, according to the common procedure of the acoustic climate assessment, the respect of the emission and emission limits. for the verifications, reference is made to the provisions of art.8 of law 447/95 and in compliance with the piano di zonizzazione acustica of milan. these checks are also important in view of the presence of the via palmanova (type b main suburban roads) as well as the mm2 line on the surface, relative to the cascina gobba milan axis. this line extends along the entire via palmanova as far as the border with the municipality of vimodrone (for the purposes of drawing up the soundproofing plan, surface underground sections are assimilated to railways), coinciding with the cascina gobba station. the intervention site is identified in class iv (areas of intense human activity) by the acoustic classification of the municipality of milan, with laeq limits of 65 db(a) diurnal and 55 db(a) at night and quality values (art.7 dpcm 14.11.97) laeq 62 db(a) diurnal and 52 db(a) at night. the input limit values are extended to 70 db(a) diurnal and 60 db(a) nocturnal since the area is included in band a, referred to in article 3, subparagraph 1, letter a) of dpr no. tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 33 459 of 18/11/1998. with reference to the piano di azione 2013 for the milan agglomeration dl 194/2005 "implementation of directive 2003/49/ec relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise", the part relating to the area of interest that shows the mapping of day-night and night noise related to road and rail traffic (mm2) is deleted, verifying graphically the variations following the inclusion of the project plan. the diagrams exemplify the acoustic criteria that partly guide the positioning and sizing of the new building curtains. in particular, the body of the building on the side of via palmanova, whose facade wire placed about 45m from the axis of the underground line tracks and about 53m from the road axis of via palmanova, is prudentially spaced from the two environmental noise generators. it also shields the rest of the settlement (figure 11, figure 12). figure 11 (a) acoustic situation of the area lden (dba) railway infrastructure h 4 m sdf; lden (dba) railway infrastructure h 4 m prg lnight (dba) ) railway infrastructure h 4 m sdf; lnight (dba) ) railway infrastructure h 4 m prg lden (dba) road infrastructureh 4 m sdf; lden (dba) road infrastructure h 4 m prg lnight (dba) road infrastructure h 4 m sdf; lnight (dba) road infrastructure h 4 m prg figure 12 (b) acoustic analyses related to the main roads and railway. tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 34 the design configuration promotes a significant reduction in noise pressure in correspondence with the new square. it is planned on a double level and extends to a lower level as far as the entrance to the pedestrian underpass in via palmanova with access to the underground station. in this way it offers a precious opportunity for the creation of protected collective spaces characterized by low sound input levels within better standards of environmental comfort. in compliance with the input, emission and differential limits provided for by the regulations and the acoustic zoning plan, all the necessary measures must also be taken to ensure that the sum of the sound levels due to the anthropic contribution, the plant engineering contribution (u.t.a.) and the contribution from road traffic induced by the new activities installed do not exceed the permitted limits. finally, with regard to the above-ground underground section, atm has drawn up the piano d’azione pursuant to legislative decree 194/05 "implementation of directive 2002/49/ec relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise". for the above-ground underground section between the udine cimiano crescenzago stops, vertical soundproofing barriers will be installed to replace the current rail fence. for the area of interest, this plan provides for the construction of a barrier 300m long and 4m high, which is expected to be completed within the twelfth year of implementation of the plan (2024). 4.2. green design in general, to widespread greenery has a great importance in the project. the roofs of the new buildings, almost 3’000 m2, are configured as extensive roof gardens. they include some intensive inserts that make it possible to integrate both vegetable gardens available to condominiums and more decorative plants in the subdivision given by the walkways equipped with playful neighbourhood functions. above is the reason for the constructive benefits in terms of insulation and induced energy savings. no less, in the public spaces of squares and gardens we think it is crucial to maintain a balance of the microclimate through the insertion of rows of vines. in particular in the squares where there are many activities related to services and exercises located on the ground floor of all buildings. for this reason, we have inserted, where possible, rows of morus nigra in the tiered areas, characterized by relatively high foliage and also edible red fruits. in the parking areas, on the other hand, where the design of the ground is enriched with additional greenery and equipment for administration or work, we have introduced large celtis australis, solid and of great urban and milanese tradition, partly taken from the existing greenery design. for the private and rotational vegetable gardens in treated soil along the western border, on the other hand, the design is built from the projections of the shadows of the buildings during the solstice periods, characterized by the easily manageable modular design of 1.60m and service corridors between them (figure 13). figure 13 (a) architectural configuration and activities/strategies. tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 35 4.3. site potential calculation model a calculation model for the energy balance of the la main ouverte project was used from the very first phases of the functional distribution in order to verify in real time the impact and the resources to be deployed to meet the objectives of energy efficiency and reduction of environmental impacts. indeed, the energy needs for heating, cooling, ventilation, domestic hot water production and consumption for electrical equipment and distribution spaces (service uses) for the various sectors were considered. the thermal, electrical and primary energy shares of the project have been calculated (table 1). the building integrated photovoltaic (bipv building integrated photovoltaic) system allows to produce 82.5% of the electrical needs of buildings that include all uses, while 17.5% of the energy will be taken from the grid or stored; in the calculation in any case the grid is conservatively used as a reservoir and therefore a share of emissions that must be absorbed by the green system (table 2). the photovoltaic system optimizes the positioning using a horizontal inclination so that it can become extensive on the perimeter of the roofs of buildings without distinction of orientation and in order to simultaneously perform a building function of protection of the facades from rainwater. as far as water saving is concerned, there will be a reduction of 30-50% of white water and 100% of grey water, using rainwater for compatible uses in buildings and for irrigation (table 3). table 1. energy consumption of the project energy consumption unit housing services commercial thermal energy heating cooling dhw kwh kwh kwh 221’940 110’970 355’884 12’300 24’600 7’580 18’260 36’520 electricity appliances services kwh kwh 110’910 18’904 7’296 35’420 total eletrical energy kwh 406’304 total primary energy kwh 983’257 specific primary energy kwh/m2 69.68 60.58 64.53 total specific primary energy kwh/m2 69.47 table 2. energy production of the project energy production unit housing services commercial nominal pv power kwp 292 pv surface /project surface m2/m2 0.091 pv production kwh 335’036 solar fraction % 82.5 tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 36 table 3. water saving of the project water saving unit housing services commercial clear water saving % 50 30 grey water saving % 100 100 100 the green absorption will take place through green roofs and the planting of an urban forest of trees and shrubs (≤10% single species, ≤20% same genus, ≤30% species of the same family) chosen with respect to the compatibility with the uses of the square, maintenance and durability of the systems in addition to the specific absorption capacity and it will be possible to absorb all the co2 resulting from the share not covered by solar fraction (share of electricity from photovoltaic sources) and also to absorb a greater share of co2 serving the area and the city (table 4). in this configuration the new intervention and the green infrastructure are creating a zero carbon settlement and a system that can improve significanlty beyond the border of the intervention area and it is beneficial for a brader city context. the approch and the calculation model can be adopted and replicated for achiving the eficiency targets in similar renovation actions and the results can raise awarness about the energy impact of different building uses. ths can be remakable when new mixed uses settlements are required and critically approached. table 4. co2 emissions capture by greenery green capture unit housing services commercial co2e emissions to capture tco2 30.87 green surface (square, green rooftops) m2 5104.4 project green surface / m2 m2/m2 0.36 trees for carbon absorption n. 30 co2e emissions compensated tco2 34.28 5. inclusive actions, social benefits, community involvement for a community, the involvement of the wider physical and social territory in which it is located is intrinsic to its existence. systemic actions involve neighbourhood relations at the most diverse scales -local or neighbourhoodas well as time in the short or long term. the weekly market linked to the farmsteads, the local social, cultural or recreational associations, the subsistence groups linked to services to the person already rooted in the territory, will be able to guide in a more concrete way the choice of services and equipment to be installed. therefore some actions starting from the various realities already existing, combined with the potential of space and functions existing in the project la main ouverte are listed (table 5). table 5. actions for community cultural growth. sector activities and cultural renovation culture and art a programme of artist residencies, mentorship projects and musical, artistic, cultural and multimedia workshops. on the long term, actions already experienced as a festival of participated music, protagonists the citizens and that, starting from the central square, extends throughout mano aperta until the original settlement of crescenzago, the metro station and beyond. tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 37 table 5 continued nature and sustainability an annual calendar of workshops for different age groups with cascina library on garden culture and sustainability, zero-kilometre agricultural production, gardening. knowledge and memory fostering mutual support between the different components of the community, through support actions involving young people, teachers, neighbourhood associations and parents, promoting the meeting between "memory bearers" (adults and seniors) and young people. the result can be a "participated" documentation that can give life to blogs, web radio or community podcasts in the neighbourhood. an exchange of knowledge between generations that is of skills and "know-how": by the elderly linked to more traditional and artisan activities, by young people to technological and digital practices: a perfect definition of community of co-workers and workshops. associations and companies the exchange of knowledge on a larger scale, with the locally already active associations -cyclotourism associations or local craftsmento create a ciclofficina or a social carpentry shop that becomes a meeting point and a space for collaboration of the inhabitants. particular attention will be paid to developing, together with the private companies present e.g. rcs and sony incubation of activities and training courses that provide the skills needed to enter the world of work. 6. conclusions the project promoted the development of a social housing with services and mixed use in the area of crescenzago, milan, using the public space and the community aggregator of the local market as a key activity for social development and design enhancement. the climate challenges adopted to define the guidelines of the reinventing cities contest are used in the project to shape the morphology of the architectural intervention. the project la main ouverte recalls the open hand and the space of the square as a fiduciary environment where social interaction are promoted and sustained to create a strong sense of belonging and community. the sustainability aspect has a key role in the project choices, the three pillar of environmental protection, economic affordability and social progress are all strongly included in the design, and strategies for the carbon zero intervention. the cooperation between built environment and natural environment achieves the goal to propose a zero carbon settlement with a buffer of co2 absorption, which can be seen as a contribution for the city beyond the housing settlement and boundaries. the calculation model developed and tested in previous c40 competitions, has been adopted to outline the energy needs and environmental impacts related to the project framing a robust methodology for organizing a zero carbon new development while the social aspects are boosted and implemented. measures of energy efficiency, materials’ choices, renewable energy production, water saving and green systems are interconnected to organize a structured systemic approach replicable and scalable in renovation interventions that are improving our cities and abandoned areas in need of a advanced paradigm shift. sustainability and the zero carbon goal are now part of the architectural quality that is not more only defined by refined design and morphology nevertheless it includes the principles of the sdgs (sustainable development goals). acknowledgements the authors want to acknowledge the following colleagues and partners for their crucial contribution to the project phase: francesco de agostini founder of deagostiniarchitetti, international laboratory of architecture and urban design ilaud, milan and lorenzo serafin for the acoustic focus. moreover, the authors want to mention: h+ s.r.l. for the integrated socio-cultural activities design, alberto campolongo of immobiliare porpora loreto s.r.l., alberto lunghini of reddy’s group s.r.l. for their support and enlightening discussion. tagliabue/ the academic research community publication pg. 38 references sedova, a., & balakina, a. (2020) reinventing cities towards being smarter. in iop conference series: materials science and engineering, , vol. 869, no. 2, p. 022023. iop publishing, https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899x/869/2/022023 strippoli, v. (2020) project role for climate change in the urban regeneration. reinventing cities winning projects in milan and rome. temajournal of land use, mobility and environment, 13(3), 375-388, https://doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/7158 bringault, a., eisermann, m. and lacassagne, s. (2016). cities heading towards 100% renewable energy by controlling their consumption, food for thought and action, pag 1-28, isbn : 978-2-919083-09-1 poupeau, h. 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(2006) greenways planning in italy: the lambro river valley greenways system. landscape and urban planning, 76(1-4), 98-111, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2004.09.038 https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz088 https://wedocs.unep.org/20.500.11822/7783 https://www.jstor.org/publisher/bristolup https://doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2019.1571155 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 7 july 2024, accepted: 20 august 2024, published online: 29 august 2024 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v8i2.1095 the importance of stakeholder involvement in promoting the cherchell aqueducts as tourist attractions: current situation and prospects youcef chennaoui1 1full professor, director of research, ville-architecture et patrimoine laboratory (lvap), ecole polytechnique d'architecture et d'urbanisme (epau), algeria abstract the roman aqueducts in cherchell, built in the second century ad, are a remarkable engineering achievement that spans over 130 kilometers and has historical significance. today, the aqueducts have five easily accessible bridges. however, there is a lack of coordination among stakeholders involved in managing the cultural heritage in cherchell. the 2014 strategic plan aimed to safeguard and enhance archaeological monuments and historic buildings by promoting and advertising the cherchell aqueducts. the protection and enhancement plan for archaeological sites with their protected zones (ppmvsazp) focuses on tackling tourism through various measures and attributes. two methodological techniques were used for this case study: researching accounting values through design (rtd) and the historic urban landscape (hul) approach. consulting examples of gallo-roman aqueducts in france allowed for a critical comparison of strategies required for managing development projects with all stakeholders. the main focus of this paper is to establish a critical analysis of the current situation by situating dysfunctions in the collaborative relationships between different stakeholders. the paper aims to emphasize how stakeholders, community organizations, and professionals can work together to designate, enhance, and manage the case study, proposing an efficient collaborative assessment as a potential opportunity for the future. © 2024 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords heritage values; stakeholders; citizen participation; decision–making 1. introduction since algeria became independent in 1962, territorial and urban planning has prioritized development criteria related to housing and productive economic sectors. the institutions mentioned above were completely separate from any conservation policy regarding historical heritage, resulting in a conflicting correlation between environmental preservation and urban planning. (chennaoui. y, 2014). during the period from 1962 up to 1998, the actions known as "conservation and enhancement of the monuments and historic sites" remained sterile because they were related to an isolated episode, being limited only to the identification, indexing, and classification of the property. these actions remain extremely essential from the point of view of conservation; no work has been done towards the urban requalification of this listed heritage. the placement of archaeological remains on fallow land in algeria had a negative effect: it separated the historical https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v8i2.1095&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 property from its reference context, which led to incomplete testimonies. the people expressed a lack of interest in the relationship between the site or monument and its global environment, which are equally important as the property's intrinsic qualities. the property was separated from its reference context due to this attitude. these archaeological remains became incomprehensible fragments, incapable of enhancing the present or, particularly, providing the contemporary with a character that could make them recognizable. (chennaoui. y, 2014). archaeological zones can be managed through the protective and enhancement plan for archaeological sites and their protected zones (ppmvsazp). this issue is defined in executive decree n°03-323 dated october 5th, 2003, and it involves the creation of the protection and enhancement plan for archaeological sites and their protected zones. the ppmvsazp creates a regulation that governs the development and protection of archaeological sites and their zones of protection. the conservation goals and context form of the historic site are both taken into account by this preservation plan. (aoudia benali. l, chennaoui. y; 2017). the 2014 plan for the protection and enhancement of the archaeological sites and monuments of cherchell included a project to promote and present the aqueducts to the public. the current policy emphasizes integrated conservation of the archaeological sites within the territorial, social, and economic levels, as outlined in the directing plan for archaeological and historical zones for the horizon 2025 and the related laws and decrees. (schéma directeur des zones archéologiques et historiques, 2007). the executive decree n: 03324 of october 5th, 2003, related to law 98/04 of june 15th, 1998, establishes the methods for the protective and enhancement plan of the archaeological sites and their zone of protection, known as ppmvsa. (aoudia benali. l, chennaoui. y; 2015). in order to address the issue of tourism, the protective and enhancement plan of archaeological sites (ppmvsaz) incorporates a range of strategies and attributes into its guidelines: (see figure 1) 1. cultural tourism management: the objective of the strategy is to manage cultural tourism in a manner that maximizes the attraction of archaeological sites while promoting sustainability practices and conservation. 2. tourism development regulation includes guidelines for assigning land for tourism projects, with a particular focus on conducting thorough studies around archaeological monuments, which are considered sensitive locations. this approach aims to promote sustainable tourism development. 3. preservation of landscapes and views: this approach underscores the significance of protecting landscape and visual integrity, acknowledging the visual component’s significant role in the conservation of the site as well as its cultural heritage. 4. integrated conservation and development: this plan aims to align activities on the site in a manner that promotes its utilization for socio-cultural and economic growth while also protecting the integrity of the monument and its landscape for future generations. figure 1: a diagram representing the connections between the various aims of ppmvsazp. (chennaoui. y; 2024) chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 the ppmvsazp is a tool for managing cultural tourism, regulating tourism development, and conserving archaeological sites' landscapes and visual integrity. these measures are designed to balance the benefits of tourism with the preservation and sustainable management of archaeological sites and their environs. (aoudia benali. l; 2008). our paper is organized into six points. in this introduction, we have presented the background information of our research. the second chapter focuses on the major issue with the aqueduct of chabet ilelouine. the methodology framework is addressed in the third chapter. the fourth chapter is dedicated to discussing the analysis and interpretation of the results. finally, we propose an efficient collaborative assessment in the fifth chapter. in conclusion, we will be given some potential prospects for the future. five bridges of the aqueduct are easy to visit: the tizi n'franco bridge; 2. the oued ilelouine bridge; 3, the oued bellah bridge; 4, the pointe riad bridge; 5. the oued n'sara bridge. the chabet ilelouine aqueduct in cherchell offers a unique opportunity to relive the past and serve the present. known for their historical value and integrity, the aqueducts can be repurposed for recreational purposes. (see figures 2 & 3). figure 2: view of the chabet ilelouine aqueduct in its rural area figure 3: geographical map showing the localization of the chabet ilelouine aqueduct. (ammari, a, remini b, 2019). chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 2. the main issue of the aqueduct of chabet ilelouine the roman aqueducts in cherchell, algeria were built in the 2nd century ad during the reign of the roman empire in the region. the purpose of their construction was to supply water to cherchell (ancient caeserea of mauretania) from the zaccar mountain range, which is 90 kilometers to the south. the aqueducts were a remarkable engineering feat, with a total length exceeding 130 kilometers and an elevation of up to 120 meters in certain areas. (leveau. ph, paillet j. l ,1976). the construction of the initial aqueduct in caesarea (cherchell) can be associated with juba ii's reign from 25 bc to 23 ad. the aqueduct, which spans a length of at least 45 kilometers, suffered recurrent structural damage due to the unstable terrain. (ammari, a, remini b, 2019). thus, in the early part of the second century ad, several bridges were built, including the oued el-bellaa and chabet ilelouine bridges located within the oued ilelouine canyons. the chabet ilelouine aqueduct, a 3-storeyed structure measuring 35 meters high and 137 meters long, is remarkably wellpreserved, except for the collapse of two arches. (leveau. ph, paillet j. l ,1979). at the same time, the oued elbellaa aqueduct is in need of repair. the aqueduct of chabet ilelouine in our case study enables us to increase our understanding of the distant past of our forefathers, bring their memories back, and serve the present and future. the aqueducts of cherchell are known for their significant historical value and high degree of integrity. their physical presence is proof of the greatness of juba ii. (leveau. ph,1979). today, we can attribute a recreational value to the aqueducts if we make them a place of enjoyment and relaxation. by exploiting and animating the site, their values can be promoted. by restoring the aqueducts, they can regain their status as primary landmarks in the countryside of cherchell. (see figure 4). today, the remains of the chabet ilelouine aqueduct are visible in the rural area of cherchell. the tourist destination is well-liked. the aqueducts of cherchell contain great heritage and landscape resources that should be brought together within comprehensive and integrated socio-cultural development strategies. figure 4: mind map of the different values of the roman aqueducts of cherchell. (chennaoui. y; 2024) the ppmvsazp is aimed at managing cultural tourism, promoting sustainable practices, and conserving archaeological sites. the guidelines cover land allocation for tourism projects, with a particular emphasis on sensitive locations like archaeological monuments. the plan also emphasizes the importance of protecting landscapes and views, acknowledging their role in the site's cultural heritage. the plan for conservation and development is designed chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 to promote socio-cultural and economic growth and preserve the monument's landscape for future generations. the ppmvsazp aims to balance the advantages of tourism with the conservation and sustainable management of archaeological sites and their surroundings. (see figure 5). our purpose will focus on identifying the main actions to recommend within a global and integrated strategy. integration is the process of involving and participating all stakeholders in the management of cultural heritage, as well as the association movement, through consultation and citizen participation. the city has ambitious plans for further urban development in the future. one of the primary objectives is to attract more investment and tourism to the city, which will aid in the creation of new jobs and enhance the local economy. the proposed projects involve building new hotels, shopping centers, and cultural centers. cherchell's identity is characterized by its rich cultural heritage and traditional architecture. the cultural heritage is valued by the local authorities and they have taken measures to preserve and promote it. (collectif. aa. vv, 1994). the intrinsic values of the aqueducts of cherchell and the numerous possibilities offered by their use make it impossible to circumvent the question of their presentation to the public. (see figure 4). cherchell's ppmvsazp plan has practical stakes in areas such as economics, culture, social issues, and education. we explain them as follows: increasing the added value of the site: the exploitation of the archaeological site as a tourist resource is regarded here as a valuable resource. this action will certainly bring tangible economic benefits to the local communities. by playing an educational role, it leads to increased profitable business activity. the cultural heritage has been enhanced by the growth of cultural tourism, which replaces largely balneal tourism developed during the seventies. as a provider of employment and wealth, it is indeed an economic factor of development. cultural heritage protection as a societal pillar is crucial. the display of archaeological sites helps preserve the community's cultural identity. society perceives and establishes its identity through the reflection of heritage, which functions as a ‘reflective mirror'. the archaeological site incorporates the sociocultural dynamics of users by meaningfully defining entertaining and enlightening activities. heritage values will be spread through this educational endeavor. figure 5: museographic project for the oued el bellah aqueduct. (cneru, 2014. p 128) chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 3. the methodology we decided to combine the approaches of "research through design" (rtd) (conversano et al., 2019) for the evaluation of values in the design of projects-actions of tourism development of our aqueduct with that related to the recommendations on the "historic urban landscape" (hul). (unesco, n d) & (icomos, 2011). it was essential to follow an integrative methodology that takes into account the specificities of each approach while promoting synergy between them. by combining these two approaches, it was possible to better take into account the dimension of values in the design of historic urban landscapes, by involving all stakeholders and using design as a research and mediation tool. this had enriched the hul approach by integrating the contributions of research through design. we note that the methodological approach of “research through design” (rtd) (conversano et al., 2019) focuses on the design process as a means of research. it involves the creation of project-actions through experiments by participation in workshops that allow for the exploration of values, significance, and impacts in project design. related to the literature review of this subject, the values that we can recognize for our aqueducts of cherchell are: (conversano, i. del conte l., mulder, i. 2019). 1. value of human well-being. 2. value of presence. 3. value of responsibility. 4. value of sustainability. 5. value of trust. 6. value of accountability and transparency. 7. value of inclusiveness. in this context, the accounting values in the design of our action proposal can be understood as elements that influence design decisions, such as sustainability, aesthetics, and social impact. the various recommendations made during the meetings of the people's assembly of the commune of cherchell with the associative movement were collected for the years 2010 to 2019. they were used as a working basis for the organization of an educational brainstorming workshop at the beginning of 2020 at the epau (ecole polytechnique d’architecture et d’urbanisme). in sum, the combination of the two approaches ensured that these steps were completed on this timeline: 1. the identification of the values of the aqueduct of chabet ilelouine began with the recognition of the main values that are derived from both approaches. what had included in preponderance aesthetic, cultural, social, and landscape values for our case study. 2. comparative analysis with other foreign aqueducts located in france allowed us to establish points of convergence between the situations and thus recognize the positive points of good practices. current initiatives for the valorization of roman aqueducts are multiplying through several significant projects in france. the choice had been made to consult the case of the project for upgrading the aqueducts of saintes in charentes-maritimes in aquitaine. the community of saintes had worked on an ambitious project to promote tourism in the gallo-roman aqueducts. the second case concerned the aqueduct of vorgium at carhaix in finisterre. the latter contributed to the understanding of roman construction techniques and the development of these infrastructures. this project involved collaborations between researchers and local institutions to document and promote the history of aqueducts. this stage of our project allowed us to discern in these initiatives the collective commitment to preserve and enhance the heritage of roman aqueducts, integrating tourism, education, and environmental aspects. 3. the proposal of project-actions through evaluation and feedback was possible thanks to the implementation of evaluation mechanisms to collect feedback on opinions given on the projects-stocks. the different opinions were confronted by the exchange and the debate during the participatory workshops in brainstorming organized with the chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 main stakeholders. this was a privileged step in our reflection because we had to ensure that the solutions proposed met the expectations and values of the local communities. by integrating these two approaches, it was possible to develop solutions for designing coordination actions between the different stakeholders that not only had to meet contemporary requirements but also respect the cultural and historical heritage of our aqueduct. 4. the analysis and interpretation of the results the combination of the approach (rtd) and the approach (hul) in a design project required a carefully planned methodological approach, taking into account the challenges already mentioned. as a reminder, the practical objective of this combination of these two approaches was for us a means to better take into account the dimension of values in the design of historical urban landscapes, by involving the stakeholders and using design as a research and mediation tool. our research's initial goal was to designate a dashboard for the various stakeholders who contributed directly or indirectly to the tourism valuation of our case study. (see figures 6 & 7) algeria’s cultural heritage is being protected by a diverse set of stakeholders with varied functions and responsibilities. notable stakeholders included: 1. the ministry of culture and arts is responsible for ensuring the maintenance and enhancement of cultural properties in algeria. the establishment of laws, legislation, and strategies is intended to safeguard and preserve cultural heritage sites and monuments. 2. ogebc is the algerian government agency responsible for overseeing the management of protected cultural heritage properties. the ogebc, which falls under the ministry of culture’s jurisdiction, is in charge of managing and conserving listed archaeological and historical monuments and sites, which are situated inside protected areas. 3. the national centre for archaeological research (cnra) is tasked with conducting archaeological research, carrying out excavations, and safeguarding archaeological sites and artifacts. this institution is responsible for conducting field surveys, excavations, and documentation of archaeological sites in algeria. 4. local authorities, including municipalities and regional authorities (apc and apw), are responsible for managing and conserving cultural resources in their specific regions. their collaboration with national institutions involves overseeing the maintenance, preservation, and development of local heritage monuments. 5. in algeria, there are many non-governmental organizations (ngos) that work diligently to preserve and advance cultural heritage. it is necessary to mention the difficulties we encountered in our combined methodological approach, which need to be improved in the future. we bring them here through the following points: 1. the different objectives of each approach: we have noticed that the objectives of the (rtd), which focus on experimentation and innovation through the design process, may sometimes conflict with the hul’s objectives of preserving and preserving historical and cultural values. it was therefore crucial to find a balance between the attributes of heritage conservation and economic development through tourism for our case study. 2. complexity in integrating values with each other: the integration of book values in design (rtd) with cultural and historical values (hul) requires a thorough understanding of these values. this proved to be difficult for us to explain to stakeholders. thus, cultural values can be subjective and vary between communities according to their degree of aspiration and affect or instructive level, while design values (rtd) can be more technical and functionality-oriented. chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 3. the participation of all stakeholders: the engagement of different stakeholders, including local communities, cultural heritage protection authorities, architects, and tour operators, is essential but has been difficult to manage. each of these parties had different expectations and priorities, which complicated the collaborative process. 4. time and resource constraints: we noticed later, that the projects that combine the (rtd) and the (hul) required more time credit and more human and financial resources than we had been able to organize in a single brainstorming workshop in 2020. this is motivated by the need for extensive research and continuous iteration that we must organize in several participation workshops. this has been an obstacle for us, especially in our academic context which had not allowed us to design several participatory workshops at this given the tight deadlines or limited budgets related to our project research. assessing the impact of solutions developed within this combined framework proved difficult, as we did not have the means to evaluate results ex-post. we also found that the success criteria could vary between the two approaches, making the evaluation of results complex and subjective. following our comparative analysis undertaken between our case study and some examples of tourist valorization projects of the gallo-roman aqueducts in france, we recognized that the success is based on several key stakeholders, such as: local communities: entities such as the saintes agglomeration community play a crucial role in launching ambitious valorization projects. these initiatives aim to discover the historical heritage and to integrate the remains into attractive tourist paths. heritage preservation associations: organizations such as the society of archaeology and history of charente-maritime contribute to the research and documentation of aqueducts, enhancing their visibility and historical importance. researchers and academics: academic studies on aqueducts, such as those on their impact on urban and social development during the roman era, enrich the understanding of their value and facilitate their promotion. tourism stakeholders: tourism professionals, including guides and travel agencies, participate in the promotion of aqueducts by integrating them into a variety of tourist offerings, thereby attracting a wider audience. implementation projects: specific initiatives, such as the integration of aqueducts into golf courses or hiking trails, offer an innovative approach to attracting visitors while preserving the heritage. these stakeholders work together to transform the gallo-roman aqueducts into attractive tourist destinations while preserving their history and integrity in the landscape. the promotion of aqueduct-related tourist sites, as well as their facilitated accessibility thanks to tourist infrastructure, contribute to their attractiveness. by combining these different aspects, the gallo-roman aqueducts in france have succeeded in becoming popular tourist destinations, attracting a wide audience in search of history, culture, and discovery. (gauchon ch, 2010). in relation to our study case, we posit that the lack of appreciation for the cherchell aqueducts can be attributed to various factors, such as the lack of financial resources and political determination to carry out restoration and tourism development projects. this has been the case since the implementation of the strategic plan of the ppmvsazp in 2014. in recent years, it has been recognized that public authorities in algeria have prioritized traditions and customs over archaeological legacy, which belongs to a different category of intangible cultural assets. in addition, we have seen that the general public shows minimal interest in these remains of the cherchell aqueducts, primarily because of the challenges associated with accessing and incorporating them into the local tourism offerings. (schéma d’aménagement touristique – وزارة السیاحة والصناعة التقلیدیـة, n.d.) chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 furthermore, the absence of media promotion and advertising activities across several platforms of information and communication exacerbates the marginalization of the cherchell aqueducts. figure 6: mind map of the identification of the various stakeholder’s connections (chennaoui. y, 2024) figure 7: metro map showing the different stakeholder’s connections. (chennaoui. y, 2024). 5. for an efficient collaborative assessment the case study of the chabet ilelouine aqueduct highlights how important it is to coordinate with the different stakeholders in cultural tourism. establishing cohesive policies and strategies for cultural tourism requires chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 10 collaboration between private businesses, local communities, government authorities, and local and regional authorities. the preservation of cultural heritage and the promotion of its socio-cultural significance necessitate collaboration among the directorate of the culture of the wilaya of tipaza, the two museums of cherchell, and the ogebc's cherchell office, which is responsible for the management of historic and archaeological sites and monuments. the promotion and provision of services related to cultural tourism must be undertaken by private stakeholders, such as hotels, travel agencies, tour guides, and tourism enterprises. there is a possibility that this could lead to the creation of a variety of high-quality tourism services and the encouragement of a positive visitor experience. the preservation of cultural authenticity, the equitable distribution of economic benefits from tourism, and the preservation of a harmonious relationship between visitors and the local community are all significantly influenced by the local communities that reside in close proximity to the archaeological site of the chabet ilelouine aqueduct. it is important to involve the national observatory of civil society (onsc) when establishing a comprehensive coordination approach between tourism promotion and cultural heritage conservation organizations. the promotion of cultural tourist destinations requires the involvement of the tourism offices of cherchell and tipaza, as well as mass media. in order to achieve common objectives, cooperation and collaboration are necessary for heritage conservation. the key to having effective and open communication is communication and engagement, which also ensures that all stakeholders participate in the decision-making process and establish trust. in order to conserve heritage, stakeholders need to show mutual respect for each other's roles, knowledge, and expertise by acknowledging their contributions and valuing their input. the shared responsibility of heritage conservation should be acknowledged by all stakeholders, including government agencies, local communities, ngos, and experts. to guarantee that every perspective and voice is acknowledged and valued, it is crucial to prioritize inclusivity and diversity in relationships. the preservation of heritage often calls for a long-term commitment, and stakeholders need to be adaptable and flexible in their strategies. through cultivating these relationships, it is possible to ensure that heritage is preserved in a sustainable manner for both present and future generations, knowledge is shared, and diverse perspectives are considered. 6. conclusion local communities that live near cultural heritage sites are important stakeholders in regional or nearby communities. their active participation and engagement greatly contribute to the long-term preservation and effective management of cultural resources. in addition to helping to preserve intangible cultural treasures, they also facilitate the dissemination of local knowledge and traditional customs. algeria's cultural heritage is protected, conserved, and enhanced through collaboration and cooperation between these stakeholders. finally, we would say that any strategy of valorization of the archaeological sites is in fact a dynamic type for which the shutter of identification then of management must be equipped with capacities and tools that remain necessary to the realization of its territorial and economic enhancement. as a conclusion, it seems that any strategy of enhancement of archaeological sites is a fact of dynamic type for which the identification and management sections must have the powers and tools that are still necessary to achieve its territorial and economic requalification. all parties involved in the archaeological site must engage in ongoing consultation and participation. to maximize the cultural, environmental, and tourism resources of an area, it is necessary to involve economic and social stakeholders in creating significant offers. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the 6th edition of the cultural sustainable tourism (cst) conference which was held on the 28th-30th of may 2024. chennaoui/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 11 funding declaration this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval not applicable. conflict of interest the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references ammari, a., & remini, b. 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(n.d.). https://whc.unesco.org/en/hul/ pcu – vorgium aqueduct (carhaix-plouguer) (n.d.). #2792997 |. (2021, july 20). https://www.carhaixpohertourisme.bzh/offres/laqueduc-devorgium-carhaix-plouguer-fr-2792997/ research through design for accounting values in design (n.d.). | tu delft repository. (n.d.). https://repository.tudelft.nl/record/uuid:0c67dcc0b912-4151-bf6f-5aa5c5a7ee61 schéma d’aménagement touristique – وزارة السیاحة والصناعة التقلیدیـة. (n.d.). https://www.mta.gov.dz/schema-damenagement-touristique/?lang=fr valorisation des aqueducs gallo-romains. (n.d.). https://www.agglo-saintes.fr/les-projets/73-valorisation-des-aqueducs-gallo-romains.html https://epau-bibliotheque.blogspot.com/2014/01/memoires-de-magistere.html https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343808620_pour_une_conservation_integree_et_soutenable_des_sites_archeologiques_etat_de_la_question_et_perspectives_methodologiques https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343808620_pour_une_conservation_integree_et_soutenable_des_sites_archeologiques_etat_de_la_question_et_perspectives_methodologiques https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47292942.pdf https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/architectural-community/a9897-what-is-historic-urban-landscape-approach/ https://www.icomos.org/images/documents/working_groups/sdg/unesco_2011_historic_urban_landscape_hul_recommendation.pdf%20/ https://www.icomos.org/images/documents/working_groups/sdg/unesco_2011_historic_urban_landscape_hul_recommendation.pdf%20/ https://www.m-culture.gov.dz/images/pdf/schema-directeur-des-zones-archeologiques-et-historiques.pdf https://www.m-culture.gov.dz/images/pdf/schema-directeur-des-zones-archeologiques-et-historiques.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329312269_the_historic_urban_landscape_approach_to_urban_management_a_systematic_review https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329312269_the_historic_urban_landscape_approach_to_urban_management_a_systematic_review https://whc.unesco.org/en/hul/ https://repository.tudelft.nl/record/uuid:0c67dcc0-b912-4151-bf6f-5aa5c5a7ee61 https://repository.tudelft.nl/record/uuid:0c67dcc0-b912-4151-bf6f-5aa5c5a7ee61 https://www.mta.gov.dz/schema-damenagement-touristique/?lang=fr https://www.agglo-saintes.fr/les-projets/73-valorisation-des-aqueducs-gallo-romains.html http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 17 july 2024, accepted: 28 july 2024, published online: 29 august 2024 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v8i2.1101 investigating ai's role in enhancing multi-sensory experiences in public spaces imad hanna1, poupak parvaresh2 1associate professor, department of interior design, school of architecture, art & design, american university in dubai, united arab emirates 2assistant professor, department of interior design, school of architecture, art & design, american university in dubai, united arab emirates abstract this research paper investigated the integration of artificial intelligence (ai) in public spaces, focusing on enhancing multi-sensory experiences that augment psychological comfort and foster social interactions. ai's revolutionary application in public environments, from smart city initiatives to interactive art displays, transforms these spaces into dynamic, responsive environments that adapt to human needs and presence. this study examines how ai can significantly enhance the sensory richness of public spaces in dubai, uae, making them more engaging, accessible, and efficient. it reflects a profound understanding of user behaviors and needs. employing a structured survey to investigate the public's views on ai's influence on city life, the expected outcomes included a deeper understanding of how immersive environments altered human multi-sensory experiences in dubai public spaces. the paper highlights the importance of multi-sensory experiences in public spaces, where interactions through touch, sight, sound, and scent contribute to a sense of belonging, enhance well-being, and strengthen community bonds. it argues for a human-centric design that prioritizes multi-sensory engagement, offering insights into how ai integration can further enrich these experiences, making public spaces more adaptable and sensitive to users' requirements. the findings of this research will enrich the existing body of knowledge in the professional field of architecture and urban design. it will present practical insights for architects and designers to develop innovative spatial designs that promote the multi-sensory experience of the users in public spaces. © 2024 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords artificial intelligence (ai); urban public environment; multi-sensory experience; environmental psychology. 1. introduction this structured research paper offers a comprehensive exploration of how ai can optimize the sensory dimensions of public spaces to augment psychological comfort and social interactions. artificial intelligence (ai) is revolutionizing how we interact with public spaces, turning them into responsive and adaptive environments adjusted to human presence and needs, becoming the fabric of our urban existence today. artificial intelligence (ai) integration into public spaces is evident through various innovative initiatives and interactive installations. these range from smart city projects that optimize traffic flows and improve public safety to digital art displays that change based on audience reactions. ai-enabled features in urban areas are designed to make public spaces more engaging, accessible, and https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v8i2.1101&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 efficient, reflecting a deep understanding of the needs and behaviors of those who use them (çağdaş & sunar., 2010; pan et al., 2019). as ai continues to evolve, its role in public spaces expands, offering new ways to facilitate interactions, provide information, and ensure safety. this ongoing integration signals a fundamental change in the landscape of urban public life, where technology and humanity intersect more seamlessly than ever (ratti et al., 2010). ai is reshaping our urban landscapes into more responsive and adaptive spaces by offering innovative solutions to enhance efficiency, safety, and the overall user experience. integrating artificial intelligence (ai) into public spaces is fundamentally transforming the user experience, promising a future where urban environments are more interconnected, intelligent, and tailored to the needs of their inhabitants. this shift marks a significant evolution in our interaction with communal environments, bridging technology and human-centric design to ensure that our shared spaces adapt and respond to contemporary life's rhythms and demands more effectively (cugurullo et al., 2024). 2. literature review 2.1. the evolving history of immersive environments the evolution of immersive environments is a journey through technology and human desire for more engaging experiences. it begins with the dawn of the 20th century when immersive experiences were predominantly analogue. the history of immersive environments is dotted with significant milestones, marked by the contributions of numerous innovators and technologies that have shaped its course. the first planetarium, designed by walther bauersfeld, opened in 1923 in germany. this creation allowed people to immerse themselves in a simulated night sky, a concept fundamental to immersive learning and entertainment. the evolution of flight simulators, such as the link trainer in 1929, showcased the early integration of motion and visual cues to train pilots. this practical application of immersive technology in professional training laid the groundwork for more sophisticated systems that would later become standard in pilot training, illustrating a pivotal use of immersive environments in high-stakes applications. fast forward to the 1950s, morton heilig, a cinematographer, developed the sensorama in 1962, which was one of the earliest examples of multi-sensory, immersive machine technology. it offered visual and auditory immersion and olfactory and tactile feedback. during the same period, flight simulators began to take advantage of immersive technology, with the link trainer in 1929 being a precursor. these simulators used motion and visual cues to train pilots, combining various technologies to create a convincing facsimile of flying. the 1980s represented a pivotal era for immersive environments, as jaron lanier, founder of vpl research, popularised the term "virtual reality." his company pioneered the industry with innovations like the dataglove and the eyephone hmd, leading to the debut of commercial vr systems. this period set the stage for the subsequent integration of vr into various sectors, significantly shaping the revolution of interactive technology (heggde et al. 2024). the period after 2000 has been characterized by significant innovations in virtual reality (vr), augmented reality (ar), mixed reality (mr), and extended reality (xr), each contributing to more engaging and interactive user experiences. quantitatively, the post-2000 era is characterized by significant metrics: vr headset sales skyrocketed, with millions of units sold globally, demonstrating a steep curve in consumer and professional adoption. innovations in ar and mr followed, with applications expanding beyond gaming into sectors like education, where immersive technologies offered a 30% increase in learning retention rates compared to traditional methods (papanastasiou et al. 2020), and healthcare, where simulation-based training improved surgical precision by 23% (khor. et al. (2016). in the retail sector, vr and ar have revolutionized customer experiences, leading to a 40% increase in conversion rates for products viewed in ar. this ongoing evolution underscores the significant economic impact of immersive technologies, projected to reach a market size of over $30 billion by 2025 (gartner, 2021; wu, 2023). the impact of these developments extends well beyond gaming and entertainment. education, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail sectors leverage immersive technologies for training, therapy, simulation, and enhancing customer experiences. this ongoing evolution promises to redefine our digital interactions, facilitating new modes of hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 communication, learning, and exploration. as immersive technologies continue to advance, they promise a future where the fusion of digital and physical realities becomes increasingly seamless, reshaping our everyday experiences and interactions with the digital world (sanchez, 2023). 2.2. multi-sensory spatial experiences: public spaces are dynamic settings that provide a variety of sensory experiences, enabling individuals to connect with their surroundings through touch, sight, sound, and smell. these rich, multi-sensory interactions do more than please the eye; they promote a sense of community, improve our overall well-being, and build the social connections that tie us together. in such context, diverse elements come together to create enduring connections, turning locations into treasured parts of our personal and collective identities. by stimulating multiple senses, public areas become more than mere transit points; they evolve into environments that encourage interaction, education, and community engagement. when individuals encounter public spaces that resonate on multiple sensory levels, they develop a profound attachment, fostering a vibrant community spirit. such design principles enhance the sensory richness of the environment and are critical to encouraging the formation of lasting memories and a strong sense of community identity. this multisensory design is vital for creating memorable experiences and fostering a robust community identity. furthermore, such experiences can have health benefits, such as lowering stress and improving mental well-being. spaces incorporating elements of nature, green spaces, water features, and pleasing aesthetics offer a haven for relaxation and a departure from the bustle of city life. they can also inspire physical activity, prompt exploration and participation in community events, and support physical health and a lively, engaged community laurier, e., et al. (2018). research demonstrates significant benefits from engaging multi-sensory design in public spaces. for instance, environments that stimulate multiple senses are shown to increase dwell time by up to 40%, enhancing local business revenues and promoting a vibrant community spirit (rathod & wagner, 2021). moreover, studies have indicated that such designs can improve mental well-being, reducing stress levels by approximately 25% in urban populations that have regular access to well-designed green spaces with natural elements (muleya & campbell 2020). advancements in technology have furthered the capability to create detailed and effective sensory experiences. ai, for example, plays a pivotal role in optimizing the design and functionality of these spaces. ai-driven analysis of foot traffic and user interaction within public spaces allows for real-time adjustments in lighting and sound, enhancing the sensory experience based on current conditions and crowd dynamics. additionally, ai facilitates the personalization of urban experiences, with systems recommending paths and attractions tailored to visitors' preferences, improving satisfaction and engagement (szpilko, et al. 2023). cognitive engagement represents another critical element of multi-sensory design in public spaces, with the capacity to kindle creativity and innovation. public spaces that challenge the senses through interactive installations, public art, or unique architectural designs inspire individuals to think creatively and contribute to a culture of innovation within the community. for instance, tactile and auditory features in gardens and exhibits significantly enhance learning outcomes, with interactive environments shown to boost creative output and cognitive retention rates by over 30% (erel, 2022). furthermore, spaces that offer sensory discovery, including botanical gardens, interactive exhibits, or auditory installations, transform into arenas of informal education. these environments invite individuals of all ages to participate in continuous, hands-on learning that broadens their knowledge and enhances their perception of the world (çağdaş & sunar, 2010). on the other hand, inclusive design is where multi-sensory design enhances accessibility for individuals with diverse abilities. features like tactile pathways and audio cues, supported by ai for navigation and information, have made public spaces more accessible, increasing participation by people with disabilities by over 50% (bhowmick & hazarika, 2017; he & chen, 2024). acknowledging cultural diversity is also integral to inclusive design, as public spaces often serve as meeting points for diverse communities. designing spaces catering to various sensory preferences reflects an awareness of cultural diversity, creating environments where people from different backgrounds feel welcome and represented (diep, 2019). research on combining artificial intelligence with multi-sensory design elements to enhance accessibility in public spaces shows hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 that these integrations significantly improve navigation and interaction for individuals with diverse abilities. this notably boosts their independence and engagement in public environments, highlighting the transformative impact of these adaptive designs with a 70% improvement in navigational ease for visually impaired individuals and a 60% increase in engagement for those with auditory limitations, demonstrating substantial benefit (esenkaya, t. et al. 2020). understanding the importance of multi-sensory experiences in public spaces becomes fundamental as we explore the integration of ai into these environments. acknowledging and prioritizing multi-sensory design ensures that the integration of ai enhances the functionality, holistic well-being, and connectedness of the communities these spaces serve. 2.3. ai's integration into urban environments artificial intelligence (ai) applications in public environments are a transformative wave, reshaping how we interact and experience shared spaces. from urban landscapes to cultural institutions, ai has woven itself into public environments, introducing innovations that enhance efficiency, sustainability, and overall user experience. this paper explores the diverse applications of ai in public spaces, highlighting the multifaceted impact of intelligent technologies on our communal surroundings. the application of ai across various aspects of city life is not only improving functionality but also enhancing the quality of life for its inhabitants. the chronicle of ai's integration into urban environments began with its application in traffic management systems, initially providing fundamental automation for controlling traffic flows and public transportation schedules. by leveraging real-time data and predictive analytics, ai helps significantly reduce traffic congestion. studies have shown that ai-driven traffic management can decrease congestion by up to 30%, a testament to its efficiency in optimizing traffic flows and reducing travel times. this eases daily commutes and contributes to lower vehicular emissions, aligning with sustainability goals (ajayi & kumkale, 2023; ratti et al., 2010). another area where ai makes a substantial difference is in the management of urban energy systems. smart lighting, which uses ai to adjust based on human presence and natural light levels and enable real-time adaptability in lighting and sound to pedestrian density, can reduce energy consumption by up to 25%. this technology not only conserves energy but also cuts costs and significantly reduces the carbon footprint of urban centers, providing a reassuring path toward sustainable urban development. (muhammad et al, 2019). as ai technology advanced, public safety has also improved and ai began to be used for more sophisticated security and surveillance tasks in urban environments. ai has been instrumental in decreasing urban crime rates by approximately 20% by analyzing vast amounts of data to predict potential incidents and allocate resources more effectively, enhancing public safety and security (delgado & castro toledo,2020). the crucial role of ai in the emergence of smart cities includes using facial recognition to identify individuals and anomaly detection systems to spot unusual activities that might indicate security threats (yigitcanlar t. et al., 2020). governance, too, began to rely on ai for policy-making insights from public data (shazly & marwa,2023). however, as ai entangles deeper into the urban fabric, there's a growing emphasis on ethical and unbiased implementations to ensure its benefits reach every corner of the urban population, signaling a commitment to a more inclusive and adaptive future. 2.4. ai's role in evolving public space dynamics the academic literature provides comprehensive insights into the intersection of artificial intelligence (ai) and the design and functionality of public spaces. early studies on ai integration in urban communal spaces, such as those by pfeifer (1988), laid the groundwork for understanding the potential impact on multi-sensory spatial experiences. this study examined the role of ai in recognizing and responding to human emotions, hinting at the possibilities of ai creating emotionally resonant environments within communal spaces. further exploration into interactive installations and sensory engagement in public settings revealed how ai-driven interactive installations could transform public spaces, creating dynamic and participatory experiences. for instance, a recent case study in seoul, south korea, demonstrated a 40% increase in public engagement in areas with ai-driven interactive art installations (minjun et al., 2023). augusto et al. (2013) provided evidence that such systems could adapt to both user hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 presence and ambient conditions, enhancing energy efficiency by up to 30% and improving user satisfaction by tailoring environmental responses to real-time scenarios. the exploration of sensory experience in the auditory dimension led us to the realm of ai-enhanced soundscapes for public spaces. sanchez (2023) demonstrated how ai algorithms could dynamically modify environmental sounds based on various stimuli, including user movement and environmental factors. this not only enriches the auditory landscape of public areas but also highlights ai's potential to refine and redefine the multi-sensory experience of space, enhancing both the visual and auditory facets of public spaces. pisoni et al. (2021) addressed inclusive design principles, particularly ai-driven accessibility. their studies highlighted ai's instrumental role in developing environments that are aware of diverse sensory needs and preferences. they reported that ai-enabled systems had improved accessibility for individuals with disabilities by 50%, facilitating greater independence and integration into urban life. it stated that inclusive design in ai isn't only about improving functionality but also about creating systems that are accessible to all, respecting differences in ability, age, gender, and cultural background. this is essential to prevent ai from replicating societal biases, which could otherwise lead to exclusion or discrimination. furthermore, involving users in ai development ensures the resulting technology is technically proficient and socially relevant. such an approach ensures that ai systems align with the real-world needs and values of those they serve. a concrete example of how ai can be integrated to align with societal needs and values is an urban sensing project deployed across chicago, initiated in 2016, called the array of things (aot). it involves a network of interactive, modular sensor boxes installed around the city to collect real-time data on the urban environment, infrastructure, and activity for research and public use. the project stands out for its significant emphasis on community engagement and inclusivity. post-implementation surveys indicated a 60% increase in public approval ratings for urban projects, attributing this to transparent data practices and community involvement. the sensors helped reduce response times to urban flooding and air quality hazards by 40%, thanks to the accurate, localized data provided, which was directly influenced by initial community feedback on environmental concerns. the data collected has influenced over 20 urban policies related to traffic, public health, and environmental planning since the project's inception, reflecting its alignment with real-world needs. the aot project has served as a model for other cities on the importance of involving citizens in the early stages of technological development. this approach ensures that the technology is technically sound, socially relevant, and accepted by those it aims to serve. by embedding ai technologies in a framework of community engagement and inclusivity, the aot project illustrates how ai can enhance urban living conditions while respecting and responding to the community's diverse needs. this commitment to inclusive design makes the implementation ethically sound and maximizes the technology's applicability and acceptance, fostering a model where technology truly serves all members of society (catlett et al., 2022). emphasizing inclusivity in ai promotes a holistic vision of success that marries innovation with societal benefit, moving towards a future where technology serves all members of society equally and enriches human development without bias. this commitment to inclusive design is not only ethically sound but also enhances the broader applicability and acceptance of ai technologies. it's about crafting ai solutions that resonate with user needs and experiences, fostering technology that is by the people, for the people. 3. methodology and analysis 3.1. research design and population study given the complex nature of exploring the impact of artificial intelligence (ai) on multi-sensory spatial experiences, this study adopts a survey methodology for several strategic reasons. firstly, as (esmaeilzadeh, 2020) states, surveys are remarkably competent at capturing subjective user experiences and opinions across a broad population. this is critical for assessing the subtle effects of ai on individual sensory engagement within varied public environments. moreover, the standardized format of surveys ensures that the multifaceted aspects of ai interactions can be systematically explored and quantified, providing a rich dataset from which to draw statistically significant insights. furthermore, surveys' scalable nature makes them well-suited to studying the complex layers of public hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 perception. this research allows it to account for many variables, from individual demographic differences to distinct interactions with technology and users' diverse experiences in public spaces (aoki, 2020). in this study, respondents were asked about the multisensory experiences available in public places in dubai, the aipowered features that positively impact their urban experience, and their ethical concerns regarding using ai in creating multisensory experiences in public spaces. moreover, they were asked about their perception of the integration (ai) at alserkal avenue and the potential benefits ai integration could bring to creative spaces like alserkal avenue. in addition, respondents were asked to provide demographic data, including age, gender, educational level, and familiarity with artificial intelligence technology (table 1). over four months, from may to september 2023, a diverse group of 250 individuals was randomly chosen to participate in a survey conducted at alserkal avenue. the survey was administered on various dates and at multiple events to ensure a representative sample selection. they responded using a five-point likert-type scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree," with an option for neutrality. most respondents were undergraduate (41.6%), followed by graduate (30.8%), high school diploma (17.2%), and professional (10.4%). males outnumbered female respondents by (52%), and (48%), respectively. table 1: respondents profile category count percentage (%) gender male 130 52 female 120 48 age range 18-24 52 20.8 25-34 70 28 35-44 64 25.6 45-54 46 18.4 55+ 18 7.2 educational level high school diploma 43 17.2 undergraduate 104 41.6 graduate 77 30.8 professional 26 10.4 ai technology literacy very familiar 50 20 moderately familiar 75 30 somewhat familiar 100 40 not familiar 25 10 hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 3.2. study area this research will focus on alserkal avenue, known for its contemporary art scene. it offers a unique setting for examining the intersection of technology and art, providing valuable insights into the creative potential of ai in public spaces. alserkal avenue is a dynamic cultural hub within the al quoz industrial area of dubai. originally an industrial compound with numerous warehouses, this locale has transformed into a vibrant district dedicated to arts and culture1. it boasts a diverse array of galleries, creative facilities, and platforms, offering residencies to local and international artists. (figure 1) today, alserkal avenue presents a unique fusion of industrial operations and creative enterprises. with over 60 venues dedicated to art, design, and creative expression, it encompasses an array of foundations, private collections, and community initiatives. remarkably, it hosts twenty-five contemporary art galleries and artistic spaces within a single block, making it the location with the region's highest engagement of art galleries. this transformation has established alserkal avenue as a central node in the cultural fabric of the city of dubai.2 for this study, alserkal avenue emerges as an exemplary choice due to its vibrant intersection of cultural and creative practices. this venue presents an ideal microcosm for observing the integration of ai in enhancing multi-sensory experiences in public spaces. alserkal avenue, as an industrial and inventive setting, is a place where the convergence of diverse audiences offers a rich collection of data. this is aligned with the goal of this study, which is particularly interested in the dialogue between ai and the public in such a dynamic environment. the avenue's creative community, known for its engagement with avant-garde concepts and technology, provides a fertile ground for exploring innovative perspectives on ai's role in public interactions. the urban context of this area also suggests a technologically literate population that is potentially better receptive to ai. this characteristic could lead to more meaningful interactions and acceptance of ai-driven initiatives, offering our study subtle insights into ai's potential applications and benefits in public spaces. additionally, by situating our research in a space already a hub for contemporary art, this study can examine how ai might blend into and enhance the creative landscape. figure 1: alserkal avenu map (alserkal arts foundation art-agenda, retreived 23-06-2020) hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 the potential for ai to contribute to personalized experiences, such as tailored art tours or interactive installations, is especially relevant in such a context. alserkal avenue's openness to experiment assures this study that the ai-related initiatives will be met with curiosity and engagement essential for comprehensive research. the district's creative nature suggests a general openness to experimentation, making it an ideal location to test out unconventional or cutting-edge applications of ai. figure 2: alserkal avenue, dubai, uae (source: alserkal avenue 3.3. research ethical considerations • participant consent: before participating, all the participants were informed of the study's purpose, data collection methods, and their rights to withdraw at any stage. • privacy protection: all required measures are implemented to safeguard participants' privacy. any personally identifiable information is anonymized, and data storage and transmission adhere to best practices for privacy protection. the survey carried out at alserkal avenue has certain constraints. its location at a hub of artistic and commercial exchange means that most participants were likely to be engaged in or appreciative of the arts. this predisposition may result in an overrepresentation of individuals with a strong interest in cultural experiences, which could skew the survey results. hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 4. results 4.1.the integration of ai in everyday urban experience the survey conducted on alserkal avenue provides significant insights into public preferences and reactions to aipowered experiences in urban settings. desired ai-powered experiences (figure 3): prompt notifications on crowd density and waiting times: a majority of 38.6% of the participants preferred ai solutions that offer real-time updates on crowd densities and waiting times. this preference indicates urban dwellers' desire for efficiency and streamlined experiences in crowded or popular locations the percentages (38.6% and 12.1%) you referred to are essential to understanding different aspects of ai integration in urban spaces, each representing distinct user feedback on various ai applications. the apparent gap between these figures is critical as it highlights areas of success and improvement in ai technology applications. context-relevant suggestions: the second most popular category highlights the significant value placed on contextrelevant suggestions in enhancing multisensory urban experiences, particularly in the study area of alserkal avenue in dubai. according to figure 1, 23.4% of respondents identified context-relevant suggestions as a desired aipowered experience. this indicates a strong interest in ai systems that can provide personalized and timely recommendations based on an individual's current context, such as their location, preferences, and ongoing activities. in the dynamic and culturally vibrant setting of alserkal avenue, such ai-driven suggestions can greatly enhance visitor engagement by offering tailored information about nearby events, exhibits, and activities. fully immersive experiences: the survey results, garnering 14.4% of responses, were for fully immersive experiences. participants showed a strong interest in ai that could enhance their interaction with environments through augmented reality or virtual reality, suggesting a trend towards deeper, more engaging digital integration. conversational ai: despite its widespread presence in various consumer technologies, conversational ai received only 12.1% of the votes. this suggests that while there is some interest, there may be a gap in perceived usefulness or satisfaction with current implementations of this technology in urban settings. benefits of ai in creative spaces ai's potential benefits in creative spaces (figure 4): innovative creations: leading the potential benefits, 36.0% of participants acknowledged that ai could lead to innovative creations in arts and design. this indicates an expectation that ai can play a substantial role in pioneering new artistic expressions and enhancing creativity. increased accessibility: with 25.9% of the vote, increased accessibility through ai points to a strong demand for making creative spaces more accessible to diverse populations. this could involve adaptive technologies that tailor experiences to individual needs or simpler navigation aids in complex environments. efficient management: noted by 17.6% of respondents, efficient management through ai suggests a need for smarter, more efficient operational tools that could streamline various organizational tasks within creative domains. personalized experiences: although it attracted the least interest at 8.8%, a smaller group of participants recognizes the potential for ai to provide personalized experiences. this lower interest might highlight a need for a better demonstration of how ai can enhance personalization without compromising privacy or authenticity. satisfaction with multi-sensor experiences (figure 5): high satisfaction: a combined 61.2% of respondents reported being satisfied (20.5%) or very satisfied (40.7%) with ai's ability to integrate multiple sensory inputs, such as visual, auditory, and possibly tactile sensations, indicating a successful application of ai in creating enriched multi-sensory environments. hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 10 dissatisfaction and neutrality: conversely, a small percentage (14.6%) expressed dissatisfaction or significant dissatisfaction. this group likely encountered issues with the integration or execution of multi-sensory technologies which could involve the cohesion of sensory elements or the overall quality of the experience. the neutrality observed in 20.5% of participants suggests an area ripe for further investigation, possibly pointing to a lack of exposure or the need for more impactful experiences. integration of ai in art and design (figure 6): positive and negative reactions: the data shows a mixed but generally positive outlook on ai in art and design, with a predominantly positive outlook, with 20.6% of respondents feeling 'very positive' and 24.3% feeling 'somewhat positive'. this suggests that a significant proportion of individuals are enthusiastic about the potential for ai to contribute to these fields, possibly bringing new tools for creativity and innovation. however, not everyone is convinced—10.4% of respondents are 'very negative' and 15.2% are 'somewhat negative' about the integration of ai in art and design. these figures highlight that a segment of the population remains skeptical, perhaps due to concerns about authenticity, the fear of ai replacing human creativity, or simply a preference for traditional methods. the 'neutral' stance taken by 29.5% could indicate a wait-and-see approach, uncertainty, or insufficient information to form a solid opinion on the matter. it indicates that while there is interest, there's also a significant amount of uncertainty or lack of engagement with ai-related topics. figure 3: desired ai-powered experiences figure 4: ai's potential benefits in creative spaces figure 5: satisfaction with multi-sensor experiences hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 11 figures 7-10, represent the responses to specific applications of ai in creative spaces. in figure 7, 70.1% agree with using dynamic art on walls, signaling a wide acceptance of ai's role in enhancing environments in a novel and interactive way. the relatively small neutrality and disagreement percentages show that dynamic art is a well-received concept. figure 8 illustrates the integration of touch-sensitive surfaces in public spaces, as reflected by the data collected at alserkal avenue. it shows that it has been received positively, with 60.2% of respondents affirming the technology. this substantial majority signifies a community receptive to engaging with their environment in more interactive and tactile ways. it also underscores the increasing interest in multisensory experiences within public art and cultural expressions, where touch is essential to the perception and enjoyment of art. the tendency towards dynamic, aiaugmented art installations reveals an exciting frontier for alserkal avenue, where the intersection of technology and traditional art forms can co-create novel expressions and experiences. it also presents an opportunity to engage with neutral and unorthodox voices, potentially through educational initiatives that provide deeper insights into how ai can serve as a tool for artistic enhancement rather than replacement. this significant support for dynamic art implies the potential for expanding ai's role in public art installations, inviting a reimagining of cultural spaces as interactive, living entities that reflect the vitality and diversity of the community. figure 9 shows a slightly more reserved response to engaging games, with 50.9% in agreement. while still a majority, this may reflect concerns about the balance between technology and human interaction or highlight a preference for traditional gaming experiences. the preference for engaging games suggests such applications may be less integral to the cultural experience or more niche in their appeal. figure 6: integration of ai in art and design figure 7: dynamic art on walls figure 8: touch-sensitive surfaces hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 12 figure 10 reflects great support (80.6%) for personalized assistance, demonstrating a high level of acceptance and appreciation for ai-driven customization in enhancing user experiences. these findings collectively suggest a strong and positive outlook on the integration of ai in various aspects of art and design, with particular enthusiasm for interactive displays, and personalized experiences in terms of customized tours, navigation aids and exhibitions, workshops, and performance recommendations. frequency of visits to art exhibitions (figure 11) yearly and monthly visits: most survey participants indicated visiting art exhibitions yearly (51.8%) or monthly (35.7%), highlighting a sustained interest in cultural activities. this distribution suggests a regular engagement with the art scene, though with varying frequency, likely influenced by personal schedules and the availability of exhibitions. figure 9: engaging games figure 10: directional assistance figure 11: frequency of visits to art exhibitions hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 13 concerns regarding ai in cultural venues concerns about ai in cultural venues (figure 12): loss of human touch: the primary concern at 40.4% indicates a significant apprehension that ai might reduce cultural engagements' personal, human-centric nature. this concern highlights the need for ai applications to complement rather than replace the human elements of cultural experiences. privacy and data security: echoed by 32.6% of respondents, this concern underscores the importance of addressing privacy and security in deploying ai technologies in public and cultural spaces. ai and the future of the cultural landscape (figure 13): the largest proportion of visitors agree that ai has the potential to revolutionize the cultural scene, with over 70.7% expressing agreement or strong agreement. this reflects a forward-looking audience that perceives ai as a catalyst for innovative change in the cultural sector. however, a sizable portion remains 'neutral' (19.6%), which might indicate either uncertainty or a lack of knowledge about what ai can offer, indicating a spectrum of readiness and acceptance of ai integration into cultural practices. those who 'disagree' (5.3%) or 'strongly disagree' (4.4%) represent the sceptics who may doubt ai's ability to contribute positively or fear its impact on cultural authenticity. balancing technological innovation with the authenticity of the art experience is key to maintaining a space that honors tradition while embracing the future. taken together, these responses emphasize a community balanced to embrace ai's integration, provided it is thoughtfully implemented to enhance, rather than overshadow, the human-centered cultural experience. there is a real appreciation for ai's potential to contribute meaningfully to the cultural milieu, with a call for balancing technological innovation with preserving alserkal avenue's unique artistic and cultural identity. figure 12: concerns about ai in cultural venues figure 13: ai and the future of the cultural landscape hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 14 5. discussion 5.1. technological and cultural integration the survey results from alserkal avenue indicate a substantial enthusiasm for ai-enhanced experiences within urban and cultural contexts, marking a broad acceptance of ai's role in promoting interaction and creativity in public spaces. this acceptance is particularly pronounced in areas such as immersive experiences and creative innovation, where ai is perceived not just as a technological tool but as a catalyst for pioneering new forms of art and interaction. this enthusiasm underscores a growing trend where public spaces and cultural institutions leverage ai to offer novel and enriched experiences that could transform traditional engagements with art and the environment. however, alongside this optimistic embrace of ai's capabilities, there is a noticeable scepticism concerning its impact on cultural authenticity and the deeply human elements integral to artistic expression. many respondents expressed concerns that ai might seize traditional artistic processes, diminishing the human touch that is often synonymous with creating and enjoying art. this paradox between acceptance and skepticism highlights the complexity of integrating technology into deeply human-centric domains such as art and culture. addressing these varied responses requires a careful balance when deploying ai technologies. stakeholders— technologists, artists, and cultural leaders—must ensure that ai acts as an enhancer rather than a challenge in cultural spaces. the goal should be to foster a strong relationship where ai supports and amplifies human creativity and interaction, augmenting the artistic process without overshadowing it. this involves advancing ai's capabilities to provide immersive and innovative experiences and safeguard the authenticity and emotional resonance core to cultural and artistic engagements. moreover, as ai becomes increasingly predominant in public and cultural spaces, engaging with the community to address concerns about technology's potential overreach is crucial. ensuring transparency in how ai is implemented, maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the public about their expectations and fears, and demonstrating how ai can enhance rather than replace the human aspects of culture are essential. these efforts can build trust and acceptance, ensuring that ai contributes positively to the cultural landscape and enriches experiences while respecting and preserving the irreplaceable value of human creativity and touch. in summary, while integrating ai into cultural venues offers exciting possibilities for innovation and enhanced engagement, it must be pursued with a deep sensitivity to the public's concerns and expectations. by striking the right balance, ai can genuinely improve the richness of cultural experiences, fostering an environment where technology and tradition coexist in harmony, each amplifying the strengths of the other. 5.2. barriers to broader adoption of ai the findings from our survey, particularly regarding conversational ai and personalized experiences, underscore a critical challenge in integrating artificial intelligence in urban settings. the data reveals a marked disinterest and dissatisfaction among users, pointing to a significant twist between current ai implementations and urban users' expectations. this gap is further exacerbated by prevailing privacy concerns, highlighting a critical barrier to the acceptance and practical application of ai-driven personalization. conversational ai, while promising in theory, appears to struggle to meet user expectations in practice. this suggests that current models and interfaces may not yet be sophisticated enough to handle the nuances of human interaction or may be perceived as invasive rather than helpful. similarly, personalized experiences, which rely heavily on datadriven insights, are viewed with suspicion, reflecting a broader discomfort with data privacy and the potential misuse of personal information. developers and urban planners must prioritize transparency when employing ai technologies to bridge these gaps. clear communication about how ai systems operate, the data they use, and the benefits they offer is essential. this transparency should be complemented by strong data protection measures that secure user information and demonstrate this security to the public. furthermore, enhancing user engagement through improved design and interaction could shift public perception. by involving users in the development process and tailoring ai systems more closely to their needs and contexts, developers can foster a more intuitive and less invasive user experience. public engagement initiatives that educate users about ai's potential benefits and the safeguards in place can also mitigate fears and build trust. in conclusion, hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 15 while ai holds the potential to enhance urban living significantly, its successful integration depends on a careful consideration of user concerns and expectations. by focusing on transparency, user engagement, and thoughtful application, we can ensure that ai is a beneficial tool in urban environments, enhancing rather than detracting from the user experience. this balanced approach will be essential for achieving widespread acceptance and optimizing the benefits of ai in our cities. 5.3. social and accessibility implications the survey findings clearly illustrate the significant potential of artificial intelligence to enhance accessibility in public spaces, which the respondents have well received. this reflects a growing agreement on the need for technologies that cater to a broad spectrum of physical and sensory abilities and enhance the inclusivity of urban environments. by leveraging ai to facilitate navigation, provide sensory enhancements, and tailor experiences to individual needs, there is a real opportunity to democratize access and transform public spaces into environments that are genuinely accessible to everyone. however, while ai's capacity to improve accessibility is recognized, implementing such technologies poses its own challenges. one of the principal concerns is ensuring that these ai solutions do not accidentally exclude those who are not tech-savvy or who may be suspicious of digital interactions. as urban spaces become increasingly digitized, a crucial need is to address the digital divide that could deepen social inequalities. to mitigate these risks, developing ai technologies must proceed alongside solid initiatives to enhance digital literacy across all segments of society. these technological advancements must be accompanied by educational programs that empower individuals to engage confidently and effectively with ai-enhanced environments. moreover, there must be a concerted effort to ensure that ai solutions are designed with universal accessibility, providing userfriendly interfaces that facilitate rather than complicate the user experience. furthermore, policymakers and developers must engage with diverse communities to ensure that the deployment of ai technologies reflects and serves their needs. this involves consulting with individuals with disabilities, older adults, people from various socioeconomic backgrounds, and others who might be impacted differently by integrating ai into public spaces. in conclusion, while ai offers profound possibilities for enhancing accessibility and inclusivity in public spaces, its successful integration requires a thoughtful approach prioritizing fair access and broad usability. by embracing these principles, we can harness ai's full potential to create public spaces that are not only more accessible but also more welcoming to everyone, thereby fostering a more inclusive urban future. 5.4. balancing personalization with community engagement the potential of artificial intelligence (ai) to enhance accessibility in public spaces has been well received, highlighting a significant shift towards inclusivity and the elimination of barriers in both public and cultural domains. this acceptance underscores the need for technologies that support diverse abilities and needs, ensuring that all individuals can engage fully with urban environments. simultaneously, ai offers immense possibilities for personalizing experiences in these spaces, from customized art tours to tailored event notifications, which cater to individual preferences and enhance user interaction with their surroundings. however, there is a critical balance that must be maintained. while personalization can significantly improve individual experiences, ensuring that these efforts lead to a cohesive urban fabric where communal spaces retain their role as venues for social interaction and collective experiences is essential. instead, ai should be leveraged to foster community connections and enhance cultural engagements through ai-facilitated social interactions or community-based art projects. by focusing on developing ai tools that bridge rather than widen gaps between individuals, future developments can enhance the communal essence of urban settings, ensuring that personalization enriches the collective urban experience without creating isolating digital bubbles. 5.5. addressing technological skepticism in a collaborative effort, educational initiatives and public engagement play a crucial role in addressing skepticism and building trust in ai technologies, particularly in cultural contexts where the fear of technology replacing human creativity persists. by actively demonstrating how ai can complement human efforts— such as augmenting artistic processes and enhancing visitor experiences—cultural institutions and technology hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 16 developers can help relieve concerns. this involves not only showcasing how ai acts as an augmentation to human roles in art and design but also providing clear examples through successful case studies. platforms facilitating open dialogue between technologists, artists, and the public are essential. such interactions demystify ai's capabilities and promote its benefits, educating and empowering communities to actively shape how ai is integrated into their cultural and urban landscapes. these efforts ensure that technological advancements are perceived as enhancements that work alongside human creativity rather than replacements, thereby fostering a more informed and accepting public. 5.6. ethical considerations and community engagement finally, as ai becomes more embedded in public spaces, ethical considerations must be addressed, particularly regarding data privacy and the potential for surveillance. public acceptance of ai technologies relies heavily on trust—trust that the technology is used responsibly and with respect for privacy. engaging the community in discussions about how ai is used in public spaces can help moderate concerns and build trust. 5.7. future directions integrating ai into urban cultural spaces is an ongoing journey that requires continuous evaluation and adaptation. as ai technologies evolve, so too should the strategies for their implementation. future research should focus on longitudinal studies that assess the long-term impacts of ai on urban life, exploring both the positive outcomes and the challenges encountered. collaboration across disciplines—combining insights from technology, urban planning, sociology, and the arts—will be crucial in developing ai applications that are both innovative and sensitive to the complex dynamics of urban environments. only through a multidisciplinary approach can we ensure that ai enhances urban life, respecting the rich tapestry of human experience that defines our cities. 6. conclusion the survey conducted at alserkal avenue vividly highlights a community poised at the intersection of tradition and technological innovation, eagerly integrating artificial intelligence into its cultural framework. the data demonstrates a robust inclination towards ai applications that not only enhance the efficiency and accessibility of art and design experiences but also optimize visitor engagement and time management. a substantial audience segment expresses a strong interest in immersive experiences, signaling a potential shift towards more profound and interactive engagements with the arts. ai is increasingly recognized for its ability to drive a creative space renaissance, fostering innovative creations that leverage technological advancements. however, alongside these positive prospects, the survey uncovers a cautious perspective regarding ai's ability to preserve the human touch within creative expressions and safeguard personal data. these concerns underline the need for a balanced approach to ai integration that harmoniously blends human creativity with technological progress while upholding stringent privacy standards. the enthusiastic reception of multi-sensor experiences and dynamic art installations indicates a readiness among the public for a more interactive and responsive cultural landscape. yet, the subdued interest in highly personalized experiences and persistent scepticism about ai's role in art and design underscores the critical importance of progressing with ai applications that are attuned to public sentiments and the diverse needs of cultural consumers. for ai to realize its full potential in enriching cultural experiences, it must be developed with a strong emphasis on inclusivity, transparency, and a steadfast commitment to augmenting—rather than replacing—the human elements of creativity. this approach will ensure that cultural institutions like alserkal avenue stay relevant and emerge as pioneering spaces where art is experienced in innovative, profound, and universally accessible ways. the insights from alserkal avenue serve as a microcosm for understanding how ai can impact environmental sustainability, social accessibility, and sustainable urban design in broader contexts. this integration heralds a future where urban spaces are technologically advanced, socially inclusive, and environmentally responsible. as we venture forward, these technologies must be developed and deployed to foster comprehensive urban improvement, ensuring that cities like dubai continue to thrive as vibrant, inclusive, and livable environments for all residents. hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 17 7. future prospects integrating artificial intelligence in urban environments holds promising prospects for enhancing public spaces' functionality and aesthetic appeal. ai technologies can dynamically adjust urban features such as lighting, sound, and interactive components based on user presence and behavior, significantly improving the overall quality of life and user satisfaction. furthermore, ai's potential to optimize energy use and waste management systems presents a significant opportunity for increasing sustainability. innovative systems capable of real-time adjustments to environmental conditions based on occupancy and weather can significantly enhance efficiency. additionally, ai can foster inclusivity by making public spaces more accessible to people with disabilities, offering navigational aids and personalized interactions tailored to individual needs, thus ensuring that these environments are welcoming and usable for all community members. 8. challenges the deployment of ai in public spaces has its challenges. privacy and data security are significant concerns, as ai integration often involves collecting and processing large volumes of data, including sensitive personal information. ensuring the security of this data is critical to maintaining public trust and preventing potential breaches. technological and infrastructure compatibility also poses a significant limitation, as urban areas vary widely in their existing infrastructures. ai technologies must be adapted to avoid integration issues leading to system inefficiencies or failures. additionally, there is a risk of ai systems perpetuating biases in their training data, leading to unfair outcomes in service requirements or interactions. ensuring these systems are trained on diverse and representative datasets is essential for fairness. moreover, public acceptance and ethical concerns regarding ai surveillance and monitoring, often perceived as invasive, require transparent communication and ethical strategies to gain public approval. as ai continues to engage in various aspects of urban life, its application in urban-spatial settings presents both vast opportunities and significant challenges. its success will depend on maintaining a subtle approach adaptable to different cultural contexts and urban dynamics, ensuring that ai solutions are effective, culturally sensitive, and environmentally sustainable. addressing scalability issues and the continuous evolution of ai technologies will be crucial. engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders—including urban planners, policymakers, technologists, and community members—is essential to ensure that ai implementations are grounded in urban populations' real-world needs and aspirations. this ongoing process will help mitigate potential risks and maximize the benefits of ai in creating more sustainable, inclusive, and vibrant urban spaces globally. 9. generalized truth and applicability 1. scalability across diverse settings: the success of ai applications in one urban setting offers a prototype for others, though customization will be necessary based on specific cultural, social, and infrastructural contexts. 2. replication of successful models: by learning from successful implementations like those in dubai, cities can develop guidelines for integrating ai that respects local culture while enhancing public space utility and engagement. 3. continuous improvement and adaptation: as ai technology advances, its integration into urban spaces must evolve to leverage new capabilities and address emerging challenges, ensuring that these environments remain dynamic and responsive to human needs. acknowledgments parts of this paper were presented at the environmental design, material science, and engineering technologies (edmset) conference which was held on the 22nd-24th of apr 2024. funding declaration this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals hanna/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 18 ethics approval the authors have received ethics approval from the ethics committee of the american university in dubai, for the interviews and surveys that were conducted by the authors. conflict of interest the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references ajayi, adeola & kumkale, harshvardhan. 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(2020). contributions and risks of artificial intelligence (ai) in building smarter cities: insights from a systematic review of the literature, energies, 13(6), 1473. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication an economic assessment for manufacturing of insulating fire-bricks using bagasse with 1% polystyrene h. b. g. ghazal1, h. moselhy2, ali m. hassan2 1assistant professor at the higher institute of engineering, chemical engineering department, shorouk, cairo, egypt 2professor at the higher institute of engineering, chemical engineering department, shorouk, cairo, egypt abstract this paper deals with the addition of bagasse with 1% polystyrene (p.s.) as an organic matter to kaolin and grog in a kneader mixer to produce insulating fire-bricks (ifb) with adequate physical and thermal properties. clay and grog were mixed in a kneader mixer on a plant scale for twenty minutes to give a paste of ~ 18-20% moisture content. the paste was hand moulded into shapes and dried. the shapes were then fired according to a certain schedule so as to avoid the rapid evolution of gases which causes cracks and destruction of the bricks. physical properties such as water absorption, apparent porosity and bulk density were performed according to astm. the mechanical properties of these bricks were also determined. also, the author was able to construct a simple apparatus to measure the thermal conductivity by the comparative method. it was found that 3 % of bagasse with addition of 1% p.s. is accompanied by an increase in the water absorption and apparent porosity of the fired bricks. it also causes a decrease in cold crushing strength as well as thermal conductivity. mathematical relations were developed to relate thermal conductivity to apparent porosity, and thermal conductivity to temperature. finally, an economic study was performed for a product of bulk density 1.06 g/cm3 which showed that the use of 3 % of bagasse with 1% p.s. gives the maximum saving. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords insulating fire-bricksbagasse; polystyrenethermal conductivity economic assessment. 1. introduction insulating fire-bricks (ifb) are high porosity refractories of low thermal conductivity. it is suitable for minimizing heat losses in industrial furnaces and that is done by adjusting the ratio, the size of solid particles and pore spaces. in egypt, the most common raw material used for the production of insulating refractories is fire-clay with a suitable grade to meet the required temperature and other working conditions. locally, kaolin is mixed with the appropriate amounts of bagasse and foamed polystyrene as a combustible matter. mixtures of clay, grog and bagasse with foamed polystyrene as a paste are moulded into shapes by hand mouldling and then dried and fired at a temperature of about 1300oc. the combustible matter burns and the products of combustion are expelled from pg. 71 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i3.524 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ghazal / the academic research community publication the refractory shapes, which are generally in the form of bricks, and result in a light product having the desired porous structure. a study on the effect of bagasse and foamed polystyrene to the mixture of clays and grog on the fired properties of i fb has been carried out in details to obtain the most economic mix, from the point of view of sum of cost of additive and that of heat loss. some physical and thermal properties of the produced ifb have been investigated. 2. experimental techniques: 2.1. raw materials 2.1.1. clays 2.1.1.1. chemical composition of clay as obtained from xrf, the clay used yielded the following chemical analysis (table 1). the loss on ignition (loi) observed (11.35%) is high enough to classify this clay as kaolinitic as this value is fairly close to the hypothetical value of weight loss for kaolinite dehydroxylation (13.9%). table 1. chemical analysis of clay used oxide % by weight sio2 49.24 al2o3 33.41 fe2o3 0.33 cao 2.68 so3 0.54 na2o 0.12 k2o 0.08 tio2 1.45 p2o5 0.33 sro 0.21 cl 0.16 loi 11.35 total 99.86 2.1.1.2. mineralogical composition of clay fig. (1) shows the xrd pattern of the clay used. as expected, only lines of kaolinite (al2o3.2sio2.2h2o) and quartz (sio2). the latter lines are due to the presence of free silica with kaolin. despite the fact that calcium oxide appeared in xrf, no lines of any calcium compound were obtained, presumably because of the low level of occurrence of these compounds with clay. pg. 72 ghazal / the academic research community publication figure 1. xrd pattern of clay 2.1.1.3. thermogravimetric analysis of kaolin the tga curve for kaolin used in that study is illustrated in figure (2) at heating rate = 10oc.min−1 in air. figure 2. tga of kaolin after an initial loss in weight due to loss of physical water, a main peak related to the loss of chemical water and formation of metakaolin takes place. it starts at about 400 oc and ends at 700oc. the loss in weight associated with that step is 11.6% which is in good agreement with the loi of a dry sample (11.35%) indicated in table (1). 2.1.1.4. particle size distribution of clay the particle size distribution of clay used was determined using a set of standard sieves. the result is illustrated in figure (3). it indicates that the value of median particle size (d50) is about 0.2 mm. pg. 73 ghazal / the academic research community publication 2.1.2. grog: grog was simply prepared by firing part of the used clay to 1200oc. the produced powder was shown on xrd analysis quartz, mullite (3al2o3.2sio2) and minor lines of cristobalite. on the other hand, although sintering did take place upon firing, the particle size distribution of grog was relatively close to that of the parent clay with a median particle size (d50) is about 0.33 mm. see (figure 3). figure 3. particle size distribution of clay and grog 2.1.3. bagasse bagasse is the fibrous waste from sugar cane. it wa s supplied from sugar refinery factories, south of cairo. it was first dried underneath the sun until totally dried. then, dry bagasse was ground and shredded into small pieces using a size reduction shredder. it was then screened to pass 16 mesh display screen (0.991 mm). the chemical analysis of bagasse, as obtained from xrf analysis, displayed the components indicated in table 2. table 2. chemical composition of sugarcane bagasse waste waste wt. % sio2 61.59 al2o3 5.92 fe2o3 7.36 mno 0.1 tio2 1.46 cao 5.00 mgo 1.17 k2o 6.22 p2o5 0.98 so3 0.42 loi 9.05 total 99.27 pg. 74 ghazal / the academic research community publication 2.1.3.1. properties of bagasse bagasse mainly consists of celluloses, hemicelluloses, lignin and ashes with an ash content that may reach 4% (carvalho, canilha, castro, barbosa, 2009). the thermal degradation of bagasse has been studied by (mohomane, motaung & revaprasadu, 2017) who found out that it loses 85% of its mass at 380oc after which no more loss was observed. 2.1.3.2. thermal behavior of a bagasse containing brick it was interesting before starting investigations concerning the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of the fired bricks to follow up the thermal degradation of the brick components. the corresponding tg performed at a heating rate of 10oc.min−1for a sample containing 1% ps and 3% bagasse is shown in figure (4). in that figure, it appears 5 peaks that can be interpreted as follows: – two small peaks that end at 100 and 140 oc are due to the evolution of physical water. – two consecutive peaks ending at about 410 oc presumably due to the decomposition of bagasse and polystyrene (xuemei & hao, 2013). – a large peak starting at about 500 and ending at 700oc associated with the dehydroxylation of kaolin. figure 4. thermogravimetric analysis of a brick containing 1% ps and 3% bagasse 2.1.4. water water was used with clay to impart the required plasticity. in order to limit any possible efflorescence, the following recommendations concerning the salt contents in water to be used for clay bricks manufacture were reported by (arafat, alam, islam, das, 2016). as shown in table (3), tap water contains a maximum of 1000 mg.l−1 total pg. 75 ghazal / the academic research community publication dissolved solids (tds), 200 mg.l−1 chlorides, 300 mg.l−1 sulfates and practically no carbonates, it was safely used in the present work. table 3. recommended chemical limitations for water to be mixed with clay chemical species max. conc. limit chlorides as c1 250 mg/l sulfates as so3 350 mg/l alkali carbonates and bicarbonates 500 mg/l total dissolved ions, including 1, 2 & 3 above 2,000 mg/l 2.1.5. polystyrene polystyrene beads were purchased from sigma – aldrich. they passed 6 mesh screens (3.327 mm) and were retained over 10 mesh screen (1.651 mm). the bulk density was determined experimentally to be 0.035g.cm−3 2.1.5.1. properties of polystyrene (p.s.) (xuemi & hao, 2013) showed that polystyrene totally decomposes at about 445oc through one large endothermic peak starting at about 360oc. following 700 oc, no further weight losses were observed. 2.1.5.2. thermal analysis of foamed polystyrene as evidenced from thermal analysis, foamed polystyrene is completely eliminated above 400oc. oxidation and decomposition start at about 280oc and is completed at about 375oc. a small loss in weight is also observed at 540oc as shown in fig.(5).this has to be taken care of during firing of samples so as to minimize the risk of brick shuttering due to too rapid evolution of gases (sokov, 1995; wendlandt, 1977). figure 5. thermal analysis (tg) for polystyrene till 800oc pg. 76 ghazal / the academic research community publication 3. schedule of firing firing of specimens containing foamed polystyrene requires great control to avoid cracks in the bricks due to evolution of great amount of gases. sokov (5) stated that if the temperature of the green body was raised above 100◦c, it may exhibits explosion like cracks. the disruption can be pictured as follows : * above 100oc vapour is formed in the central part of the green body, its over heating leads to the appearance of strong tensile stresses in the mixture. from 370 to 500oc the loss of mass in the specimens increases markedly. this is clear from the curves describing the loss of mass. the dta curve in the same temperature interval indicates a great change in the heat content of the tested specimens. this is compatible with the author’s finding that above 400oc the polystyrene is pyrolytically decomposed and completely burnt off. the schedule of heating and firing is as shown in table(4). table 4. schedule of heating and firing in a muffle furnace temp.oc 100 140 180 200 225 300 350 450 650 soaking period min. 10 10 10 20 20 20 150 60 20 no gases evolved at the end of heating, so the muffle temperature was adjusted at 1300oc for 5h (de jonghe, chu, & lin, 1989; monshi & chahouki, 1993). 4. construction of a simple apparatus for the measurement of thermal conductivity by the comparative method: most apparatuses used for the determination of thermal conductivities at high temperatures use the comparative technique. this consists of using a specimen of known thermal conductivity to compare with that of the unknown specimen. the method used in that work is that used and detailed by (tye, 1992). the apparatus shown in figure (6) consists of a box made of steel 600×600×700 mm3 in dimensions. the box is internally lined with insulating fire bricks with bulk density of 0.6 gm.cm−3 and a thermal conductivity about 0.29 watt.m−1k−1 at 560oc. there is a narrow space between the brick lining and the steel surface of the box filled with glass wool as loose insulation. centered inside the box is located a horizontal electric heater of 1.5 kw power. above the heater a thermocouple (k type) is connected to a temperature controller of maximum working temperature of 10000c. the sensor of the thermocouple is embedded in a groove on the hot side of the test specimen. the groove depth is 1.5 mm with 100 mm long along the longitudinal section. the reading of the thermocouple is t1 oc which can be adjusted by the temperature controller. the test sample is laid horizontally above the heater and a thermocouple k type of 2mm diameter is fixed in a groove similar, to that described above on its cold surface. this thermocouple indicates a temperature t2 oc. this is followed by a reference sample rs1 on the cold face of the sample in which a thermocouple (k type) is fixed and indicates t3 oc. at steady state, the three readings stabilize and the thermal conductivity of the test sample can be obtained from the following equation using the values of thermal conductivity at various temperatures for the reference sample using the following equations: pg. 77 ghazal / the academic research community publication q = ks a ( t1−t2) xs , for test sample (s) q = kr a (t2−t3) xr , for reference sample (r) equating the two equations yields: ks = kr ∗ xs xr ∗ (t2−t3) (t1−t2) (1) figure 6. an apparatus to measure thermal conductivity by the comparative method 5. results 5.1. physical properties: water absorption, apparent porosity and bulk density, mechanical properties of cold crushing strength and thermal properties these properties are determined according to astm c20-87 (astm, 2010). for each test, the average values obtained with at least five specimens should be reported. cold crushing strength is determined according to astm c-133 (wagh, 1993). pg. 78 ghazal / the academic research community publication 5.1.1. water absorption percent water absorption (% w.a) was determined for samples containing varying amounts of bagasse and polystyrene. the results are illustrated in figure (7). figure 7. effect of percent ps andbagasse addition to percent water absorption it was possible to correlate percent water absorption to percent ps and bagasse (b) addition in the following linear expression: %wa = 14.68 + 27.68 %ps + 3.62 %b (r2 = 0.971) (2) the relative dependence of percent water absorption on both percent ps and bagasse can be viewed in table (5) which assigns correlation coefficients to each variable. table 5. correlation table for wa of bagasse based bricks % ps % b % wa 0.915 0.365 it is therefore clear that the effect of ps addition on percent wa is higher than that of bagasse. 5.1.2. porosity figure (8) shows the combined effect of adding ps and bagasse to the brick. values of porosity start from 30% for plain bricks containing no addition to reach about 64% at maximum additions of 1.5% ps and 5% bagasse. a linear regression equation relating percent porosity to percentage addition of the two pore creators was obtained in the form: % p = 34.42 + 15.06 % ps + 2.03 % b (r2 = 0.941) (3) as in the case with water absorption, the effect of adding ps on porosity is higher than that of bagasse. this can be seen from the values of correlation coefficients indicating the relative effect of varying both levels of addition on variations in porosity. (table 6) table 6. correlation table for porosity of bagasse based bricks % ps % b % porosity 0.897 0.370 pg. 79 ghazal / the academic research community publication figure 8. effect of percent ps and bagasse addition to percent porosity a plot of the reciprocal of fractional porosity against the reciprocal of fractional water absorption should yield a straight line of slope = ρw ρs and intercept = 1. actually such a plot when performed resulted in a straight line as shown in figure (9). figure 9. relation between reciprocals of porosity and w.a for bagasse based bricks the equation of that line takes the form: 1 p = 0.36 wa +1.088 (4) equation (4) reveals that the intercept is close to unity and that the solid density = 1 0.36 = 2.77 g.cm−3, a figure fairly close to the experimentally determined value of 2.63 5.1.3. bulk density when the bulk density of fired bricks containing ps and bagasse was determined, its dependence on the two types of addition showed an expected decrease upon adding any of the two materials as can be seen in ffigure (10).the figure indicates that adding 1.5% ps with any percentage of bagasse will result in bricks of bulk density<1.03 g.cm−3. if 1% ps is added, the minimum percentage of bagasse should be 3%. the correlation table for bulk density was also determined. table 7 reveals that the effect of adding ps on bulk density is higher than that of bagasse. pg. 80 ghazal / the academic research community publication table 7. correlation table for bulk density of bagasse based bricks % ps % ws density – 0.919 – 0.334 on the other hand, the regression equation relating bulk density to both percent additions takes the form: ρb = 1.747 − 0.467 %ps − 0.056 %b (r2 = 0.956) (5) figure 10. effect of percent ps and bagasse addition on bulk density 5.1.4. cold crushing strength (ccs) of bagasse based bricks figure (11) shows the expected decrease in cold crushing strength following adding any of the two pore formers (ps and bagasse), although as evidenced by table (8), the effect of adding ps is more pronounced than that of bagasse. figure 11. effect of percent ps and bagasse addition on cold crushing strength table 8. correlation table for ccs of bagasse based bricks % ps % bagasse ccs – 0.770 – 0.419 here, it was possible, to correlate ccs to porosity by the relation: ccs = 95.54 e−6p (6) pg. 81 ghazal / the academic research community publication figure (11) reveals that the maximum percent ps to be added is 1% coupled with at most 3% bagasse in order to exceed the minimum value of 2.5 mpa. coupling this condition with that related to bulk density, it seems that the only possible combination fulfilling a maximum bulk of 1.03 g.cm−3 together with a minimum ccs of 2.5 mpa, would be 1% ps and 3% bagasse. 5.1.5. thermal conductivity of bagasse based bricks 5.1.5.1. thermal conductivity at 400 oc the thermal conductivity of insulating bricks samples was determined at 400oc as function of addition levels of ps and bagasse. as can be seen from figure (12), all compositions tested yielded thermal conductivities less than the maximum allowed value of 0.4 w.k−1.m−1 figure 12. effect of percent ps and bagasse addition on thermal conductivity at 400oc the relation between thermal conductivity and porosity outlined by equation: k=ko(1-p) was tested in case of bagasse based bricks. the relation illustrated in figure (13) takes the form: k = 0.529−0.506 p (7) as can be noticed, the coefficient of p and the constant term are very close with a mean value of 0.518, which allows writing the previous equation in the approximate form: k = 0.518(1 −p) (8) figure 13. relation between thermal conductivity (at 400 oc) and porosity of bagasse based bricks pg. 82 ghazal / the academic research community publication 5.1.5.2. thermal conductivity at 600 oc the results obtained at 600oc and displayed in figure (14) show an increase in the value of thermal conductivity presumably because of pore radiation. while at 400 oc, the composition with 1%ps and 3% bagasse, for example, yielded a thermal conductivity of about 0.22 w.k−1.m−1, its value at 600 oc reached 0.28. figure (14) also shows that all investigated compositions produce insulating bodies having a thermal conductivity <0.43 w.k−1.m−1 which is the allowable value at 600 oc for c–30 insulating fire bricks. figure 14. effect of percent ps and bagasse addition on thermal conductivity at 600oc 5.1.5.3. thermal conductivity at 800 oc similarly, thermal conductivities of prepared bricks were determined at 800 oc. the results displayed in figure (15) show that, with few exceptions, most of the mixtures investigated resulted in thermal conductivities less than 0.44 w.k−1.m−1, which represents the maximum allowable value at 800oc. figure 15. effect of percent ps and bagasse addition on thermal conductivity at 800oc 6. simple economic assessment to summarize the previous findings, it must be borne in mind that the three main properties that have to be fulfilled for the chosen type of insulating fire bricks are the bulk density, cold crushing strength and thermal conductivity. the following table reviews the standard properties of c–30 insulating bricks and the corresponding obtained values for bricks prepared with 1% ps only mixed with 3% of bagasse gives bricks fulfilling the bulk density (1.06 g.cm−3) as shown in table 9. pg. 83 ghazal / the academic research community publication table 9. properties of chosen composition of insulating refractory brick property bulk density g.cm−3 ccs mpa kw.m−1k−1(800oc) brick with 1% ps + 3% bagasse 1.06 4.08 0.42 brick with 1% ps 1.24 3.1 0.42 standards max 1.03 min 2.5 max 0.44 k values were used to establish a linear relation of the form: k = a + bt (9) the values of thermal conductivity at a brick mean temperature of 1000◦c, for bagasse and 1% p.s were estimated from equations (9) . with this mean temperature, a temperature gradient of 2.5◦c/ mm and a brick thickness of 23 cm, the corresponding maximum, brick face, temperature is estimated to be 1288◦c (2350 of). although this value exceeds the value of 2000 of, it is still well below the value of 2800 ◦f and there is no indication, that the temperature gradient is not linear for bcks used to stand temperatures up to 2350 ◦f. it is reasonable to believe that any departure from linearity, at this temperature, is only slight, and that equations of the form of equation (9) are still valid. b = k8000c−k5000c 800−500 & a = 800 k5000c− 500 k8000c 800−500 we consider now a temperature gradient of 2.5◦c/mm (which is close to industrial conditions using the tested ifb) through an existing tunnel kiln, at helwan plant for refractories, when lined with the tested ifb with thickness 23 cm. the longitudinal section of the firing zone to be lined in the tunnel kiln consists of two walls 50 m long, of height 3.50 m, and with 23 cm thick lining (this requires 46823 bricks of dimensions 23xll.5x6.5 cm3, of total weight 88.55 ton), corresponding to a bulk density of 1.06 g/cm3. the life time of such bricks is about 1 year, so that basic calculations on one year seams a reasonable choice. from actual data taken at the aforementioned factory site, it was found that the manufacturing cost of p. s. free fired bricks, having the same % age of alumina and the same dimensions as the i fb under study, is about 12 le/brick. to this, should be added the cost of p.s. used which will depend on the percent added. p.s. of different size fractions costs 35.000 le/ton .since the average weight of a brick is about 1.82 kg for ((23 x 11.5 x 6.5 cm3) x 1.06)/1000, hence an addition of, say, x% of p.s. would cost: 1.82 x 100 . 35000 1000 = 0.637x le/brick so that the cost of a brick : = 12 + 0.637 x le/brick considering a net benefit of 30% for such bricks made by hand molding, the selling price is: =15.6 + 0.828 x le/brick for our case of using 1% p.s and 3% bagasse which is priceless waste , the bricks should be sold at a price of 16.5 l.e/brick. the rate or heat loss per brick can be calculated as follows: q = k.a4t 4x q = k(0.115xo.065)2.5x103 = 18.69 k watt / brick where: k = the mean thermal conductivity measured at (t1 + t2)/2 4t = t 1 − t 2 ∆x = thickness of insulating fire-brick. consider now the cost of heat loss per year using 3% bagasse and 1% p.s using the conservative figure of 1.5l.e. pg. 84 ghazal / the academic research community publication for kw.h, we get: cost of heat loss per year per brick = 18.69 x 24 x 30 x 12 x 1.5x 10−3 k = 242.2 k l.e./brick (10) hence, the total annual cost of purchasing one brick + heat loss = 16.5 + 242.2 k, for 3% bagasse and 1% p.s the total annual cost for the whole wall is, hence : 46823 x (16.5+ 242.2 k) le/year at 500◦c, for instance, k = 0.389 hence: total cost = 5,184,045.9 le. a similar calculation was performed at temperature of 800◦c gives 5,535,602.e. the results are presented in table 10. table 10. total annual cost associated with a brick wall lined with ifb 88.55 ton (ρb = 1.06 g/cm3) in le average brick temperature fraction cost of bricks cost of heat loss total 500◦c 3%b. +1%p.s 772,579 5,184,045.9 le 5,956,624 800◦c 3%b. +1%p.s 772,579 5,535,602.e 6,308,181 we can therefore conclude that it is more profitable for the customer to buy type 1.06 g/cm3 insulating bricks despite its higher purchasing cost, since, in the long run, the total expenditure will be lower. it will therefore be recommended, for future production, that only such types of bricks be produced, and that the customer must be made aware of the reasons for the change in the company policy. total selling price / year = 46823 x 16.5 =772,579 le we assume now that the value of the conductivity of such bricks (at 800◦c) is equal to the value reported in table (10). this gives an annual cost of heat loss equal to 5,535,602.e le. the total cost is, therefore, 772,579 le +5,535,602=6,308,181le. if the customer chooses to buy this type, as recommended, then, as is clear from table 10, this will cost 772,579 le/year, meaning a saving of 5,535,602 l.e year, despite the lower initial purchase cost of the type brick (16.5 le/brick). 7. conclusion the economic study was performed for a product of bulk density 1.06 g/cm3 showed that the use of bagasse 3% with 1% p.s. gives adequate saving. 8. references 1. carvalho,w., canilha, l., castro, p. f. & barbosa, l.d.f.o. (2009). chemical composition of the sugarcane bagasse, 31st symposium on biofuels and materials, san francisco, us. 2. mohomane, s.m., motaung t.e. & revaprasadu n. (2017). thermal degradation kinetics of sugarcane bagasse and soft wood cellulose materials,10(11), 1246 – 1252. 3. xuemei, h., & hao, y. (2013). fabrication of polystyrene/detonation nanographite composite microspheres with the core/shell structure via pickering emulsion polymerization. journal of nanomaterials, 2013, 8. pg. 85 ghazal / the academic research community publication 4. arafat e., alam a., islam m., das s. (2016). effect of salinity on brick clay. in proceedings of the 3rd international conference on civil engineering for sustainable development,12-14 february 2016, kuet, khulna, bangladesh 5. sokov, v.n. (1995). modified heat-insulating refractories from clay-polystyrene mixtures ”refractories, vol. 6, 5-6, pp. 144-148. 6. wendlandt, w. m. (1977). thermal methods of analysis. a wiley interscience publication, john wiley and sons, new york, london, pp. 283-289. 7. de jonghe, l. c., chu, m. y., & lin, m. k. (1989). pore size distribution, grain growth, and the sintering stress. journal of materials science, 24(12), 4403-4408. 8. monshi, a. and chahouki, m. (1993). investigation of sintering in a chamotte refractory. third euro ceram 3, pp. 2716 . 9. tye r.p. (1992) “the measurement of thermal conductivity by the comparative method” in: maglić k.d., cezairliyan a., peletsky v.e. (editors) compendium of thermophysical property measurement methods. springer, boston, ma, pp. 77–97. 10. astm c-20 “standard test methods for apparent porosity, water absorption, apparent specific gravity, and bulk density of burned refractory brick and shapes by boiling water” re-approved 2010. 11. wagh a.s. (1993).porosity dependence of thermal conductivity of ceramics and sedimentary rocks. j. mater. sci. 28. pp. 3715 – 3721. 12. ali m. hassan .(2018). the use of some agricultural waste in the preparation of insulting fire bricks. phd thesis, cairo university. pg. 86 introduction experimental techniques: raw materials clays grog: bagasse water polystyrene schedule of firing construction of a simple apparatus for the measurement of thermal conductivity by the comparative method: results physical properties: water absorption, apparent porosity and bulk density, mechanical properties of cold crushing strength and thermal properties water absorption porosity bulk density cold crushing strength (ccs) of bagasse based bricks thermal conductivity of bagasse based bricks simple economic assessment conclusion references http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 received: 21 november 2023, accepted: 17 january 2024, published online: 31 january 2024 doi: 10.21625/archive.v8i1.1049 the digital paradox when future and tradition co-exist: contemporary fashion with augmented reality olivia gondoputranto1, i gede mugi raharja2, tjok istri ratna c.s3, nyoman dewi pebryani3 1doctor of art study program, postgraduate doctoral faculty, institut seni indonesia denpasar nusa indah street, denpasar bali, 80236, indonesia 1fashion design and business department, faculty of creative industry, universitas ciputra citraland cbd boulevard, made, surabaya east java 60219, indonesia 2interior design study program, faculty of visual art & design, institut seni indonesia denpasar nusa indah street, denpasar bali, 80236, indonesia 3fashion design major, faculty of fine arts and design, institut seni indonesia denpasar nusa indah street, denpasar bali, 80236, indonesia abstract nowadays, the fashion world has undergone significant transformations in the digital era, with technology playing a crucial role in various aspects. the digital era has transformed the fashion industry by redefining how fashion is produced, marketed, and consumed. technology has opened up new opportunities for creativity and innovation within the fashion landscape. this research explores the intersection of digital technology and traditional fashion by examining the paradoxical coexistence of the future and tradition in the realm of contemporary fashion, specifically through the integration of augmented reality (ar) experiences. the importance of this study lies in understanding how fashion, as a reflection of culture, adapts and evolves in the digital era while still preserving its historical and cultural significance. by addressing this paradox, the research aims to shed light on the potential solutions and implications for the fashion industry. the primary problem addressed in this work is the tension between embracing technological advancements and maintaining the authenticity and heritage associated with fashion. through a qualitative approach, including observation, interviews, and literature studies, the methodology aims to investigate the various ways in which ar is currently being integrated into fashion. the results of this study provide insights into the benefits and challenges of incorporating ar in fashion, including enhanced consumer engagement, personalized experiences, and increased value. by examining the coexistence of the future and tradition, this study aims to bridge the gap between technological advancements and the preservation of cultural heritage in the dynamic landscape of fashion. © 2023 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords augmented reality fashion; fashion technology; cultural heritage; digital technology; preservation 1. introduction the fourth industrial revolution (4ir) has brought about changes in various sectors and fields. the rapid and revolutionary development of technology has had a global impact. especially since the covid-19 pandemic that occurred around the world has brought dominant changes, and changed the lifestyle of people around the world. the pandemic has also brought a vital role for technology and digitalization to become the pivot in turning the wheels of http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 industry and economy globally. this has also led people to quickly adopt digital technology as an increasingly integral part of their daily lives. the influence of this technology has become inevitable. peter h diamandis and stephen kotler (2020) in their book "the future is faster than you think" state; that in this new decade, we will witness a process of technological acceleration that is much faster than 100 years ago. the use of artificial intelligence (ai), machine learning, big data, computer-aided design (cad), 3d printing, and extended reality (xr) is no longer a concept out of a science fiction book but has become a real necessity in various sectors and industries. there is a major change in the habits and mindset of people around the world, which is shown by people appreciating the value of digital technology in their lives. on the other hand, the 4ir also often has a dangerous side as it can shift local cultures and traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. this causes degradation so that many younger generations do not understand or understand the traditional and cultural values of their ancestors (azima, purnamasari & dewi, 2021; bahrudin, masrukhi & atmaja, 2017; gondoputranto & dibia, 2022). but even though it is stated that the 4ir has a role in fading existing local traditions and cultural values, the acceleration and advancement of technology brought in the presence of the 4ir can also open up many potential opportunities. one of them is utilizing technology and digitalization to preserve local traditions and values that are already fading. the acceleration of technology and digitalization has a paradoxical nature so although it is often considered dangerous because it can shift local culture and traditions, this technology and digitalization can also be used to preserve and tell the values and traditions of local cultures that are threatened with extinction. this will also be in line with what housley & yong (2021) said that digital technology will also be very useful in protecting and improving ecology, rebuilding global systems, and providing new possibilities for self-expression and community action in future societies. as we enter society 5.0, digital technology will be integrated into every sector and will be influenced by how the reaction of society and the resilience of the sector can adapt digital technology to be able to have a positive impact on forming an innovative and strategic global ecosystem. piliang (2018) states that we currently live in the reality of a trans-cultural society with digital networks that are connected to each other. this view is in line with what is the concept in society 5.0 which emphasizes two kinds of relationships that are connected. namely the relationship between technology and society, where technology mediates the relationship between individuals and society (deguchi et al, 2020). when viewed in this relationship and relationship, it can be depicted in the figure below. figure 1. integration of the global world and society in a trans-cultural interconnected digital society it can be seen in figure 1 above that in the 4ir where technology has become part of society and reality is increasingly blurred until the transition of unification between the cyber world (cyberspace) and the real world, which affects the system, lifestyle, and economy of the community. so digital technology can finally be integrated with the social life of society into an integrative holistic when entering 4ir, many sectors are forced to adapt by implementing digital technology to survive in this situation by forming an adaptive ecosystem. one of the sectors that is quite adaptive and resilient in the 4ir flow is the fashion sector. fashion analysts of the world business "business of fashion (bof)" in collaboration with mckinsey company, a global company of social economic observers and consultants stated; that in 2021 the world's major gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 fashion companies and brands invested 1.6 1.8% of their total revenue in technology. it is projected that by 2030 the percentage will increase to 3 3.5%. digital technology is expected to be very influential in the fashion sector, from internal processes to customer experiences (2022). another thing that is increasingly in demand is the use of digital technology in communicating various messages such as one of them is the use of extended reality (xr). extended realities (xr) refers to all real and virtual environments, the existence of combined environments, and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearable devices. extended reality (xr) refers to an understanding of the use of a spectrum of reality that uses various immersive technologies, one of which is augmented reality (ar). communicating messages through augmented reality (ar) can provide an interactive and immersive multisensory experience. this sensory experience is increasingly in demand because it can convey messages, provide experiences that function all human senses and produce impressions through visual, feeling, touching, hearing, and kinesthetic. this is interesting because it provides value from the user experience. in addition, it also adds to the attractiveness of a product because this experience can provide influence and new cognitive and perceptual experiences for users (nguyen & bednarz, 2020). furthermore, the concept of wearable interactive clothing integrated with technological imagery will be an issue based on human-centered design which will focus on the interactivity of users and audiences to communicate a certain message both verbally and non-verbally (giacomin, j, 2014). 1.2 aim and scope this research aims to demonstrate the paradoxical nature of digital technology and show a framework to utilize the paradoxical nature in a creative process. for this reason, the process will be described through the implementation of an example of the application of ar technology in the form of contemporary fashion to promote culture. the traditional culture taken is the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe in lombok indonesia. the research will focus on the cultural traditions of the sasak sade tribe in lombok, especially the weaving culture which has a distinctive socio-cultural value in the sasak sade tribe. the research will identify motifs, symbols, and weaving techniques that are characteristic of the sasak sade weaving culture. the use of augmented reality technology will be integrated into contemporary fashion inspired by the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe. in the process, it will be shown that ar technology allows users to provide messages or information and the audience can also receive and capture information through the design and ar technology displayed. the paradoxical aspects of digital technology will be explained and presented, and it will also be highlighted how technology that is often considered disruptive and destructive can be transformed into a creative process in promoting the cultural traditions of the sasak sade tribe through contemporary fashion with ar technology. within the scope of this research, the creative process of using ar technology to promote the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe will be shown. this research has a strong goal of preserving and raising awareness about the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe. in addition to promotion, this research will also highlight the importance of preserving local wisdom and developing a sustainable creative economy within the sasak sade tribe community. 1.2 leveraging the paradoxical nature of digital technology in this research, the message to be communicated and raised is the introduction and promotion of a local tradition and wisdom using the adaptive nature of technology. departing from the paradoxical nature of technology, although it is often blamed as one of the causes of the erosion of a local tradition and culture, technology is a powerful medium that can be used in promoting a local culture, which of course will provide benefits in maintaining the continuity of a tradition and culture through the promotion of the culture. digital technology can provide a great opportunity to preserve and introduce local culture and wisdom to the world. by using technology adaptively, by seeing, and utilizing the conditions and needs to promote local culture, this paradox can be overcome. technology is not only a tool or a machine, but it is also a whole set of relationships between people, equipment, and fields of knowledge. digital technology also affects communication because it brings new elements to reconstruct and recreate a subject, a form, or an imaginary world. this technology also tends to integrate and change its form and contextual meaning in the process of formation (appadurai, 2013). there is an assumption that the rapid advancement of digital technology is considered to shift culture and tradition because technology is considered disruptive and has a destructive nature. the gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 acceleration of technology through globalization brings pressure and disruption to local traditions and cultures (mubah, 2011). to be able to utilize the paradoxical nature of technology, there needs to be a different process and context of thinking to be able to change the disruptive and destructive image caused by the acceleration of technology in this 4ir era. piliang (2019) suggests the need to change this view in a new framework that will reconstruct the disruptive and destructive nature of technology. the need for them to rethink involves a way of thinking where innovation and creative processes need to be embedded. the figure below is a reconstruction framework that involves the creative process and innovation that will be used in utilizing the paradoxical nature of technology. figure 2. reconstruction framework in utilizing the paradoxical nature of digital technology looking at figure 2. above, it can be seen that when digital technology is considered to have a disruptive nature. the occurrence of disruption is a phenomenon that brings a new order, a big leap from what existed before. it is undeniable that digital technology does bring phenomena and major changes in the existing order of society. where it is feared that it will eliminate or shift the previously existing order including local culture and traditions. however, when the disruptive nature of this technology is given a different thought that contains innovation in it, it will produce a disruptive innovation (innovative disruptive) that provides a new value from digital technology. furthermore, digital technology is also known to have a destructive nature and can destroy, and bring conflict that threatens the existence of local culture and traditions. however, when the destructive nature of digital technology is given a creative thought process (creative destructive), it will produce new thoughts and new ways that have more value (schumpeter in purnomo, 2021). by incorporating the reconstruction framework above, it can be seen that the paradoxical nature of digital technology can be utilized to achieve a holistic integration with society. 1.3 fashion as communication and its relation to technology for promoting indigenous culture furthermore, it can be seen that culture itself is a set of communicative actions. where communication is something that allows groups and individuals to represent themselves and interact with the world through norms and values (combi. 2016). starting from the view that humans can utilize technology to be more about their cultural origins, culture, and expectations imaginatively (markusen & krogh, 2008). therefore, this research will raise the local culture and tradition of one of the tribes in indonesia. the multicultural potential of the indonesian nation is strongly reflected in the various ethnic and cultural diversity of each tribe that inhabits various regions in the archipelago of indonesia. one of indonesia's indigenous tribes is the sasak sade who inhabit the island of lombok. the sasak sade tribe has received special attention from the indonesian government because it has pristine cultural conditions and local perspectives, and is indeed one of the nation's local potentials. the sasak sade tribe was chosen as the focus of gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 research because it has unique local potential and reflects one of the cultural strengths of the indonesian nation. this tribe has been in the spotlight of the government for maintaining its distinctive cultural conditions and local perspectives, despite challenges from modernization and globalization. therefore, this research seeks to promote one of the local wisdom of the sasak sade tribe so that the traditions to be promoted will be appreciated by the wider community, including the younger generation, through the use of technology. fashion and clothing in their context as cultural phenomena. fashion can be used as a communication tool and explain the conception of communication. the conception is illustrated through the embodiment of fashion products. fashion as communication by showing various things that fashion and clothing may be used as communication, namely sending or receiving a message (barnard, 2020). fashion can communicate a message through various things. fashion can evoke meaning and communication. this communication through fashion will express messages culturally and can be conveyed through the form and visual appearance of the product. in this case, digital technology will be used to add value and deliver and receive messages through the visual appearance of fashion products. furthermore, it can be seen that culture itself is a set of communicative actions. where communication is something that allows groups and individuals to represent themselves and interact with the world through norms and values (combi. 2016). starting from the view that humans can utilize technology to be more about their cultural origins, culture, and expectations imaginatively (markusen & krogh, 2008). therefore, this research will raise the local culture and tradition of one of the tribes in indonesia. the multicultural potential of the indonesian nation is strongly reflected in the various ethnic and cultural diversity of each tribe that inhabits various regions in the archipelago of indonesia. one of indonesia's indigenous tribes is the sasak sade who inhabit the island of lombok. the sasak sade tribe has received special attention from the indonesian government because it has pristine cultural conditions and local perspectives, and is indeed one of the nation's local potentials. the sasak sade tribe was chosen as the focus of research because it has unique local potential and reflects one of the cultural strengths of the indonesian nation. this tribe has been in the spotlight of the government for maintaining its distinctive cultural conditions and local perspectives, despite challenges from modernization and globalization. therefore, this research seeks to promote one of the local wisdom of the sasak sade tribe so that the traditions to be promoted will be appreciated by the wider community, including the younger generation, through the use of technology. one of the prominent cultural traditions of the sasak sade tribe is the culture of weaving. according to nur alam (in mardiyati & ismadi, 2016), weaving is a creative culture for sasak women, where weaving is an ability that must be mastered for sasak women because it is an indicator of maturity for sasak women, along with the development of this habit is gradually fading, but in the sasak sade village, this weaving tradition is still firmly maintained. the tradition of weaving, techniques, and traditional fabrics produced can also describe customs, traditions, as well as cultural habits, which ultimately lead to the national identity of indonesian society (budiwanti, 2000: 11). every woman in the village of sade has been required to learn to weave from a very young age, namely at the age of 10 years. the sasak people have a tradition and belief that if a woman is not yet skilled in weaving then she cannot get married because she is considered not to have reached maturity, which is why the weaving tradition is a philosophical tradition that has socio-cultural values that are still believed and applied today. this message will be conveyed through the embodiment of contemporary fashion with augmented reality technology, it is hoped that this tradition can also be introduced and promoted to the wider community and the younger generation so that it will help maintain and preserve this cultural tradition. in addition, it is also expected that the weaving of the sasak sade community will be more widely known when realized in the form of fashionable and interactive contemporary fashion. 1.4 augmented reality in contemporary fashion to promote indigenous culture augmented reality (ar) is a technology that allows a person to be able to blend with objects virtually, so this makes the existing reality also blend with the presence of virtual objects in the real world. this provides an interactive experience of immersive funds. the blending of virtual space in the real world is getting closer to people's daily lives due to the influence of the internet in people's daily lives. the use and interaction generated through online or offline experiences such as in photos, videos, avatars, and the use of filters is something that is constantly used today (logaldo, 2016). augmented reality has become a technology that is increasingly in demand today, because of its interactive nature, augmented reality can be used in various ways such as to provide education and information, it gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 can also be a media and advertising tool that leads to hypermedia experiences that are far more interactive and provide sensory experiences than traditional advertising media (roxo & brito, 2020). the presence of virtual artifacts and elements in the real world can create a new impression and sensation that is immersive and interactive for users. in relation to cultural preservation efforts, ar has become one of the technologies widely adapted for museums to display virtual representations of a historical building or cultural site, and its use is increasing and popular in line with the 4ir era. pietroni and adami (2014) stated that the many efforts that have been made in displaying virtual and augmented representation images in digital environments are quite complex work. however, because ar is a suitable technology for conveying information in an interactive and interesting way, the adaptation of the use of ar technology is also getting wider (pedersen et al, 2017). in the fashion field, ar is not a new technology either. ar is often used in the field of fashion retail to provide a better user experience such as magic mirrors for virtual try-ons of fashion apparel products, where many fashion brands have also utilized this technology to expand the market and to maintain interaction with their consumers (boardman et al, 2020). but ar can also open up a more interactive and immersive fashion experience, which will create a deep and interesting impression. in this research, ar is realized in the form of clothing where the message to be conveyed is the promotion of the local culture of the sasak sade tribe, namely the weaving culture. this will bring a form of preservation of cultural heritage and traditions, which when this preservation is carried out will increase the strength and standard of living for the area which indirectly also increases the resilience and identity of a nation. 2. methodology relevant literature will be used in this research. literature studies with a qualitative approach will be used to obtain syntheses obtained from various existing literacy sources, where later these sources will be processed to show the results of the data used (synder, 2019). qualitative approaches refer to non-statistical methods of collecting data, usually used in the study of phenomena that cannot be calculated such as language, history, or culture of a society (bhangu et al, 2023). in this study, data were gathered through observation, depth interviews, and documentation. observations were conducted as an instrument to explore more deeply the weaving culture of sasak sade. in qualitative research, the term sample is called an informant, namely a person who is a source of information. in determining this informant, the researcher used a purposive sampling technique. according to sugiyono (2021), purposive sampling is a technique of taking data sources with certain considerations. this particular consideration, for example, is the person who is considered to know best about what we expect, or maybe he is the leader of a certain community who will make it easier for researchers to explore the object / social situation under study. the purposive sample technique was used to identify the informants, whereby researchers selected the informants for interview based on representative criteria (mulyana, 2013). in this study, the informant criteria include: the heir of the sasak sade tribe chief, the head of the sasak sade tribe cultural association dan two women as weavers of sasak sade. also to gain feedback for the product prototype, five people of gen z representative are collected to test and give feedback for the product. interviews and documentation were recorded using a camera and written notes. interview results from various sources of informants were reduced according to the need to answer research questions. further data was obtained through unstructured interviews to collect and study the philosophical values of the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe. the kind of data gathered for this study is qualitative, meaning that due to the characteristics of the society under investigation, the data helps to clarify social phenomena or symptoms. the two types of data sources that were used in this study are as follows: primary data: primary data is a variety of information and descriptions obtained directly from the source, namely the parties used as research informants. the parties used as research informants are the heir of the sasak sade tribe chief, the head of the sasak sade tribe cultural association, and two women as weavers of sasak sade as representatives of the sasak sade tribe weaving community. secondary data was also obtained. secondary data are various theories and information obtained indirectly from the source, namely from various documents and forms of writing, books, and literature, as well as articles also other data relevant to the needs and objectives of the research. secondary data: secondary data are gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 various theories and information obtained indirectly from the source, namely from various documents and forms of writing, books, literature, and articles, as well as from internet sites and also other data relevant to the needs and objectives of the research. the qualitative method approach, using observation resulted in data collection carried out by the researcher by observing and recording phenomena related to the object of research directly at the research site of sasak sade tribe. using observation to understand more about the weaving culture in sasak sade village. as well as the role of women weavers, the views and the values regarding the weaving culture in sade village from the perspective of the heir of the sasak sade tribe chief, and also the views of the weaving culture from the head of the sasak sade tribe cultural association. the interview technique is used to collect data obtained by asking several questions to informants in depth. interviews were conducted by meeting face-to-face and asking questions orally to these informants. the documentation method was employed to bolster data and facts associated with the study, through documenting and gathering information from books, records, and archives kept by the village chief and the community. the data analysis method refers to the statement of kaelan (2005). the steps in applying the analysis method are 1) data reduction, 2) data display, and 3) interpretation and drawing conclusions. in the data reduction stage, the researcher selects the main things and focuses on the important things in the research. then conduct a sharp analysis, classify, and direct research on the indicators that have been made before. in the data display phase, the data that has been organized and data obtained from the field. while presenting the data, the information that has been compiled is drawn to a conclusion and actions that must be taken. the interpretation (conclusion) phase is to interpret, and at the same time make interpretations of the data collected. guidelines developed based on observable aspects serve as a framework for data-gathering activities derived from interviews and documentation. the process of observation, interview, and documentation will provide the necessary data related to the symbolism and views on the sasak sade weaving culture, which will also lead to the expectations of the promotion and preservation of sasak sade weaving culture in the form of contemporary interactive fashion that elevated by digital technology. furthermore, a framework will be developed that utilizes the paradoxical nature of digital technology, namely innovation disruptive & creative destructive, where the resulting hybridization produces a new value and value for digital technology. 2.1 study analysis in the preliminary stages of this research, an intricate analytical study unfolded, navigating the intricate interplay between culture and technology. traditionally viewed as two distinct domains, culture, and technology sometimes seem incompatible, each firmly established in a niche with few points of interaction. this inherent tension arises from the perception that technology, particularly in its disruptive and rapidly evolving nature, might erode the foundations of traditional cultural practices. this paradox—the seeming inconsistency between tradition and technology—is acknowledged and addressed in the conceptual framework of this study. the study delves deeply into the nuances of this connection, recognizing that technology may be an effective instrument for cultural preservation, especially when used effectively. this research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how these seemingly contradictory forces may not only coexist but also work in concert to advance cultural traditions into the digital era, as opposed to maintaining the binary narrative of culture versus technology. gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure 3. creating an intersection between culture and technology to encounter the digital paradox in figure 3 above, this research can depart from two very opposite things, namely culture, and technology, where technology is often considered as one of the causes of the erosion of a culture. however, this research takes the approach that culture and technology can have intersections which will be able to produce a proposed framework. this research delves into the intricate relationship between fashion, communication, and technology, particularly augmented reality (ar), as a means to promote and preserve the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe in indonesia. the research is grounded in the knowledge that culture functions as a kind of communication since it allows people and communities to express who they are via norms and values. this perspective sees fashion as a means of communication since it embodies cultural meanings that are both transmittable and receptive. the choice of the sasak sade tribe, residing in lombok, indonesia, to focus on their weaving culture as the main point of research is deliberate. the tribe's unique cultural conditions and local perspectives make it a significant representation of indonesia's rich cultural diversity. the sasak sade tribe's weaving heritage is highlighted in particular as a fundamental component of their culture, expressing social values, rituals, and traditions. this tradition, deeply embedded in the maturing process of sasak women, is not just a talent but also a philosophical exercise. with the use of augmented reality technology and the creative prism of contemporary fashion, the research seeks to maintain and promote this legacy. one innovative method of preserving and promoting culture is the use of augmented reality in fashion. with the use of ar technology, things may be virtually blended with reality to create an engaging and dynamic experience. its extensive application in fields including education, information sharing, and hypermedia advertising highlights its versatility. other previous research shows that virtual reproductions of historical and cultural relics have been displayed virtually in museums using augmented reality. the research methodology adopts a qualitative approach, leveraging literature studies, interviews, and documentation. purposive sampling is utilized to acquire primary data from important informants, including the chief of the sasak sade tribe's heir, the head of the tribe's cultural association, and two female weavers. secondary data, comprising theories and information from various sources, supplements the primary data. the qualitative method, including observation, interviews, and documentation, is employed to gain insights into the weaving culture and its philosophical values. with an emphasis on augmented reality, the research is distinguished by a thorough examination of the intersection between fashion, communication, and technology. based on a thorough cultural analysis that explores the subtleties of indigenous culture and customs, the framework provides practical guidance rather than just a theoretical construct. it unfolds in stages, commencing with the identification and exploration of the local culture's unique facets. the subsequent phases seamlessly blend creativity and technology, aligning with the paradoxical nature of digital technology: innovative disruptive, and creative destructive. the power of the framework continues throughout the design and development phase when the complex gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 9 aspects of fashion are used to capture the spirit of the weaving heritage. testing and prototyping are crucial milestones that ensure the intended result is in line with the goals of cultural promotion. 2.2 framework: digital paradox through fashion design this framework will originate from an existing local culture or tradition. data through literacy studies and qualitative approaches through interviews will be summarized, then brainstorming and ideation will be carried out to develop a concept of the study data that has been carried out. the next stage is technology integration. this integration is done by incorporating the new value of digital technology, namely innovation disruptive and creative destructive so that at this point technology with its paradoxical nature has a value or value that will be useful for a local culture or tradition. the implementation of technology through this framework can be used and adjusted to the needs, only in this research will ar technology be used. ar is used because it is considered to be used as a good promotional and storytelling tool for a local culture or tradition. the following figure below is a description of the framework used in this research: figure 4. framework digital paradox through fashion design in figure 3 above, it can be seen that this framework will depart from a culture or tradition that will be raised. the following is a description of the stages of the framework above; the first stage is culture research analysis. at this stage, identification is carried out on the local culture or tradition that will be raised. in-depth research and supporting literature studies are carried out to see the uniqueness of the culture raised and from which point of view the culture can be raised. then an exploration of the culture and a study of the customs and values that exist. this stage needs to be considered because it is related to the representation of culture that has become a tradition which includes physical aspects of cultural heritage such as clothing, architecture, or traditional artwork. there are also non-physical aspects such as customs, beliefs and also language, and oral stories (roy. 2015). in the second stage, brainstorm and ideation were conducted. in this section, brainstorming and conceptualizing ideation based on the results of the cultural research analysis carried out in the previous section. creating a concept that can appropriately raise or promote a cultural tradition while maintaining the essence of the local cultural tradition. in this ideation stage, it is also identified the form of product output that will be produced, and what technology implementation is suitable and can accommodate and be suitable for its application. the third stage is the implementation of technology that is considered appropriate to be able to tell or promote the culture. the selection of the right technology at this stage also needs to take into account what results will be achieved whether in the form of physical products or digital artifacts. at this stage, we will apply the concept of new value gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 10 from digital technology, namely innovation disruptive and creative destructive. the concept of innovation disruptive is how a new concept idea disrupts the old concept, but when there is an element of innovation, the new ideas and concepts can be used to introduce a new value idea that is innovative, radical, and far more developed than the previous concept. furthermore, in creative destructive, the creative element at this stage is important. the creative element through design is the main key to creative destructive value at this stage (piliang, 2019). with the right application of digital technology, it can also maximize better opportunities to communicate messages innovatively and have a high aesthetic side. integrating appropriate technology will provide more contemporary aesthetic, experiential, and interaction opportunities that can create a new paradigm (chatzichristodoulo et al, 2009). the fourth stage is design development where the fashion design process will be used. the fashion design process includes design research, design collection, production process (pattern making), and making product prototypes. at this stage, several appropriate design elements are implemented such as; line, proportion, color, material, and image/print (sinha in gwilt, 2012). it is also necessary to pay attention to contemporary trends, target markets, and fashion genres (seivewright, 2007). the fifth stage is prototyping and testing the prototype. prototypes are made and tested to be able to determine whether the product produced can be in accordance with the purpose of product creation, to determine how the product is used, and also before the product can later be mass-produced (isa & liem, 2014). at this stage, it can also be seen whether there are considerations for product improvement or whether it can accommodate the purpose of creating the product. the sixth stage is the evaluation stage to see the final results obtained from the prototype and the results of the prototype trial so that conclusions are made about the product. from this conclusion can produce various syntheses of the design process carried out and connected with the purpose of creation whether the results can be in accordance with the objectives or can still be developed or improved for the next. this process is not a closure but a foundation that can also be used for further product development or the possibility of further research. 2.3 application of framework to promote the weaving culture of sasak sade tribe this section will describe the application of the framework through fashion design in stages and its application to create the final result in the form of contemporary fashion products that promote the weaving traditions of the sasak sade tribe of lombok. the first stage is to conduct a culture research analysis. at this stage, a literature study was conducted about the sasak sade tribe, especially about their weaving culture. then interviews were conducted with cultural experts of the sasak sade tribe. those informants are the heir of the sasak sade tribe chief, the head of the sasak sade tribe cultural association, also two artisans weaving as representatives of weaving communities from the sasak sade tribe. figure 5. informants interview process (from left to right: the heir of sasak sade tribe chief the head of sasak sade tribe cultural association – sasak sade women artisans weaving representatives depth interviews were conducted to obtain information from the heir of the sasak sade tribe chief, the head of the sasak sade tribe cultural association, and two women of sasak sade artisans weaving about the history of weaving gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 11 culture, meaning, views, and philosophy of weaving culture for the sasak sade tribe. they also asked about the weaving process and the meaning and value of their woven fabric products in cultural and social aspects. from the results of the literature study and interviews, it was found that weaving is a hereditary tradition for sasak women. the main actors of weaving culture in sasak sade village are women. they painstakingly weave exquisite fabrics with basic, age-old tools. in order to create an appealing ikat woven fabric, materials for weaving fabrics are typically found in the nearby area and then prepared independently using a lengthy traditional procedure. weaving is a skill that must be mastered by sasak women and all sasak sade women must start learning to weave from the age of 10. for the sasak sade tribe, weaving is not just a practical activity to make cloth for daily wear but also has its own symbolic value (nur alam in mardiyati & ismadi, 2016). this process is an integral part of the education and socialization carried out by mothers and grandmothers to their daughters. during this learning process, the values of customs, traditions, and cultural habits inherent in weaving are also taught, shaping the identity and uniqueness of the sasak sade tribe. weaving culture also reflects the social system of the sasak people. in this community, weaving plays an important role in marriage and the achievement of maturity. a woman is considered not ready for marriage if she is not proficient in weaving. therefore, the ability to weave becomes more than just a skill, but also a measure of a woman's readiness to enter a new phase in her life. figure 6. weaving culture of sasak sade tribe women weaving also plays a role in maintaining and preserving the cultural identity of the sasak tribe. the fabrics produced from weaving have distinctive motifs and designs that come from the traditions of their ancestors. based on the results of interviews with cultural experts and sasak sade weavers, they have several distinctive motifs. the typical motifs of the sade village are more geometric motifs such as lines, or plaid. weaving also serves as a form of preserving history and valuable stories for the sade community. the weaving tradition remains a steadfast part of the sasak sade tribe's life. the women continue to teach this skill to the next generation, keeping their culture and local wisdom alive and thriving. more than just an art form, weaving is a symbol of cultural resilience and a link between the past, present, and future of the sasak sade people. therefore, this research aims to promote the beauty of the weaving tradition in the form of contemporary fashion with a technological image. the second stage is concept and ideation. the concept of creation is an interactive fashion with a technological image that raises elements of local tradition or culture, namely the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe. the creation of this fashion will have an interactive aspect, which is realized with the implementation of technology. clothing is considered to be one of the artifacts that can express and communicate stimuli from the dimensions of cultural and historical experience through the five senses, therefore in clothing with the implementation of this technology, interactivity is a manifestation of the cultural message to be conveyed. interactive clothing contains the potential as a link between the past and the future, as a medium of reality and virtual, so that in this creation interactive clothing gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 12 can be an active mediator and not just a container. through this fashion, the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe, which has beauty, meaning, and philosophy, can be mediated in a form that is more fashionable, contemporary, and contains elements of tradition-future. the third stage is the technology selection stage. at this stage, augmented reality (ar) technology is used because ar can unite virtual reality with the real world (tabusca, 2014). because the form of the product created is contemporary fashion. then the idea of the body as a tool and technological media will be used as an extension through the implementation of ar. digital content about culture is displayed through the body of the fashion wearer. where the environment and the audience who see it can interact through the display of the projected virtual environment so that there is interaction between humans and the hybrid ecosystem that appears through ar. ar means the fusion of real-life objects and facts with virtual reality. ar generally uses two different approaches to realize this fusion: marker-based responses in the form of images that will be recognized by special detection devices. in this case, the image recognition will be connected through the device positioning system via 3g/4g/5g cellular data network or via wi-fi to match a specific location that is connected to the filter on social media 'instagram' and display information or promotion about the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe. this information or promotion is arranged to lead to the display through the social media filter 'instagram' because the target market of the younger generation who are tech-savvy and close to social media, it is hoped that with the application of this interactive filter, it will be easy to capture and distribute to networks and contacts that exist on social media users or audiences. next is the process of making surface design illustrations that will later become part of this fashion design and will also function as markers in ar projections. the selected design illustration will be adapted into a virtual object. so that the design displayed must be able to represent the culture raised, namely the sasak sade tribe weaving culture. the following is the process of developing and creating sketches and alternative illustrations of weaving culture where the literacy data obtained is applied in several choices of illustration adaptations. figure 7. design illustration process of sasak sade woman weaving tradition figure 5 above shows the process of creation and adaptation of the figure of a weaver woman in the sasak sade tribe. several alternative sketches were made. the visual form of the woman wears 'baju lambung' which is the traditional clothes of sasak women, the black color is also a characteristic of baju lambung, and wears a woven shawl that dangles on the shoulder. in the illustration sketches made, the ones chosen are those that use cleaner, neater, and simpler strokes. from the final illustration, the image of the weaving woman will be made into an animation using 2d spine software and applied as a marker on meta spark ar to be projected in the form of virtual reality which when the marker image is recognized will detect and connect with the existing network, and connect to the user's social media. ar in this creation will appear when triggered through illustrations contained in clothing and will gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 13 manifest an interactive picture that can be enjoyed by the audience. the virtual object that appears is an animation of sasak sade women who are weaving, added with the sound effect of the sesek loom they use. each swing of this tool gives an impression to the listener so that they can feel a closer experience with this weaver through the virtual object display. added typical music from the sasak tribe and narration to introduce and promote this weaving busaya, so that this information can be forwarded through the ar filter display through the user's social media. the ar technology displayed will give the impression of mixing the virtual world with the real world because it will present the appearance of virtual objects in the real world, this is what causes blurring between the virtual world and the real world, and produces a hybrid ecosystem (mixed environment) that will stimulate the human senses through sight, sound, and interactivity. figure 8. interaction process from figure 6 about the interaction picture shown above, it can be seen that there is an implementation of the new value of technology, namely creative destructive and innovative disruptive. ar technology is used through a creative process to elevate the local culture of sasak sade tribal weaving through the creation of contemporary clothing, bringing this cultural tradition into a virtual reality element that blurs the boundaries of the real and virtual worlds and brings the wearer and his audience to an immersive and interactive dimension. stage four is the design development process in the fashion design process. the target market of this product is young people who are energetic, tech-savvy, and creative. the fashion design applies illustrations as the point of interest, using a combination of navy blue and bold magenta colors. the fashion form uses a crop top and a combination of a puffy mid-length skirt to give a young impression and a little feminine touch. figure 9. fashion design details & flat drawings on this creation the picture in figure 7 shows the illustration of weaving also used as a design element that is used as a print on clothing and adds elements of unraveling threads to add the impression of the description of the weaver woman's thread in the illustration. besides that, the unraveled threads also imply the woven fabric as a lifeline for the sasak sade tribe who make woven fabrics as one of their daily sources of income. gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 14 the fifth stage is the prototype and test stage. at this stage, the clothes produced are tried on the intended target market to test the effectiveness of applying ar technology in promoting the sasak sade tribe's weaving culture as well as seeing whether it has appeal in terms of fashion design application. figure 10. prototype view figure 11. test ar dan gain feedback dari target market figure 8 is the prototype view taken from various sides. while figure 9 is a test conducted on the target market, namely the tech-savvy young generation. the results of the prototype and ar test were tested on 10 target market people. from a total of 10 respondents who tried it, most of them thought that this product was very interesting and interactive. most of them who have never known the culture of the sasak sade tribe before feel interested in finding out more about the sasak sade tribe and its uniqueness, some of them even want to try to visit sade hamlet village directly to see the culture firsthand. some suggested a continuation of this research into a fashion collection featuring the various cultures of the sasak sade tribe because it will definitely be able to further promote the diverse cultures of the sasak sade tribe. the sixth stage is the evaluation stage of the creative process that has been carried out. the evaluation is taken by considering the input and opinions obtained from respondents who are the target market. overall, the process of data collection and culture analysis has been able to accommodate the culture raised. then the ideation to the implementation of technology to instill new value from digital technology through the creative process of making interactive clothing with ar has been able to communicate and promote the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe well. so if you look at the implementation of the framework created, the objectives of this research have been achieved and have the possibility to be developed further. 3. conclusion this research departs by raising the issue that technology is often blamed for the loss of local culture and tradition, where it turns out that technology has a paradoxical nature that can be used to preserve and promote a culture, where the example of local culture raised is the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe of lombok. it can be seen that through this research, the weaving culture of the sasak sade tribe through the creation of contemporary clothing with ar technology can be used to communicate messages and knowledge about the local culture of weaving in the sasak sade tribe. by using a framework that utilizes the paradoxical nature of digital technology in the implementation of ar, and creative elements in the design process to produce technology-imaged contemporary clothing that promotes the typical weaving tradition of the sasak sade tribe of lombok with interactive and visual elements generated from ar technology. through the digital paradox approach that combines innovative disruptive and creative destructive aspects, this contemporary fashion outfit can convey messages and promote the local wisdom of sasak sade weaving. the results of the implementation of this framework show that contemporary fashion with ar provides a unique and immersive experience for users. users can feel the beauty and cultural values of weaving promoted through ar technology, thus creating a higher appreciation for the original culture of the sasak sade tribe. in addition, this fashion design also succeeds in creating awareness of the importance of preserving local traditions and culture, as well as opening up economic opportunities for the sasak sade tribe community in the fashion industry. gondoputranto/ the academic research community publication pg. 15 as an additional finding, this study accomplishes a well-balanced synthesis of theoretical nuance and real-world application, which serves as the foundation for the framework. the framework navigates the complexities of cultural preservation, communication through fashion, and the transformative power of technology, all of which converge to breathe new life into the cultural heritage of the sasak sade tribe. this framework, with its nuanced understanding and innovative approach, not only contributes to academic discourse but also serves as a beacon for future initiatives that seek to marry tradition with the possibilities of the digital age. the limitations of this research are that the culture raised is still limited to only one culture in sasak sade lombok, so it is still possible for further research to explore various other local wisdom of the sasak sade tribe which also needs to be promoted. there can also be a study on the creative adaptation of ar technology to be used in preserving culture so that technology can be maximally utilized in efforts to preserve cultural heritage that is threatened by globalization and modernization. overall, this research can make a positive contribution in combining ar technology with the original cultural elements of the sasak sade tribe in the form of interactive contemporary clothing. in addition, through the digital paradox approach, the contemporary fashion produced succeeded in creating a harmonious relationship between technological innovation and local wisdom, which is expected to encourage more appreciation and preservation of the valuable weaving culture. so that there will be more research and similar initiatives so that various indonesian local cultures and other local traditions can continue to be appreciated, promoted, and preserved for future generations. acknowledgments: the abstract of this paper was presented at the sustainability in creative industries (sci) conference – 2nd edition which was held on the 7th-9th of november 2023. funding declaration: this research was supported by the institute of research and community development, universitas ciputra surabaya, indonesia under the international research internal funding scheme 025-uc lppm/dip/sp3h/ii/2023 ethics approval: all subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study. the protocol of this study was approved by the ethics committee school of creative industry universitas ciputra surabaya no. 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(2014). augmented reality need, opportunity or fashion. journal of information systems & operations management, 1. https://link.springer.com/bookseries/558 https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/fh7nv http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 research paper received: 19 june 2023, accepted: 22 july 2023, published online: 31 july 2023 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i2.968 postwar remnants in the periurban forest of thessaloniki, greece a two paths proposal for tourism and environmental education aphrodite tsiouri phd at department of forestry and natural environment, aristotle university of thessaloniki, thessaloniki, greece email:af_ro_di_ti@yahoo.gr abstract wars, in the classical sense of term, have negative effects on the landscape and leave various traces above or below the ground surface or in the bottom of the sea. today, many of the postwar landscapes are the result of natural ecological succession, while others, after an appropriate landscape design, present touristic and educationa l interest. tourism in the postwar landscapes can be considered as cultural tourism, appealing mainly to tourists -pilgrims. thessaloniki, during its long history, has been a field of military operations. some of them, especially the most recent ones, have left their remnants on the surrounding forest landscape. during the first world war, the allied powers (entente) for example, built various infrastructures such as trenches, concrete fortifications etc. many of these installations, despite their deterioration over time, can still be seen today. the postwar landscape in the periurban forest of thessaloniki has partially recovered. however, heavy constructions remain in their original place and can be a pole of attraction for visitors. this paper recommends two paths, 2,500 m and 2,200 m long respectively, connecting visible elements from the first world war, which are located in the northeastern part of the periurban forest of thessaloniki. these paths can connect a military cemetery, with four cylindrical co ncrete fortifications (pill boxes) of this war, scattered in the forest. in this cemetery soldiers of the commonwealth nations have been buried, during the war. this postwar landscape could contribute to the development of battlefield tourism or tourism re lated to the postwar landscapes and it can also be used in the implementation of relevant environmental education programs. postwar landscapes require very careful planning and proper management in order to be functional and effective. © 2023 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords postwar landscapes; cultural tourism; dark tourism; forest paths; environmental trail. 1. introduction all wars, in the classic sense of term, at all stages, have a direct and indirect impact on the landscape, where they leave various traces above or below the surface (tsiouri, 2015). the postwar landscapes have largely regained their former state in the form of farms, villages and towns or in the forms of wetlands, rangelands, and forests, under natural ecological succession. in some cases, natural vegetation has covered the war traces (hupy & koehler, 2012). charlesworth & addis (2002) characteristically state that natural ecological succession threatens to erase history. http://www.press.ierek.com/ mailto:af_ro_di_ti@yahoo.gr https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ tsiouri / the academic research community publication pg. 2 nevertheless, in some battlefields various traces or heavy constructions above or below the ground surface or in the bottom of the sea can be found (tsiouri, 2015, tsiouri et al., 2018). some postwar landscapes, after an appropriate landscape design and management, present touristic (kavrečič, 2017, hadas zahavi, 2022) and educational interest (tsiouri et al., 2017, tsiouri et al., 2020). tourism in the postwar landscapes can be considered from the prospective of cultural tourism as a form of dark tourism, appealing mainly to tourists-pilgrims (collins-kreiner, 2010, olson & korstanje, 2019). postwar landscapes can also be used in the implementation of relevant environmental and peace education programs (tsiouri et al., 2020, tsiouri, 2022). the city of thessaloniki, during its long history (2,338 years), was many times a field of military operations. some of them, especially the most recent ones, have left their traces mainly on the periurban landscape. during the first world war (great war), the allied troops (entente) supported the macedonian front, also known as the salonica front (after thessaloniki). these troops built infrastructures such as bridges, roads, airports, hospitals and various defense works such as trenches, concrete installations etc (mann, 2010, hekimoglou, 2010, mourelos et al., 2018). the defensive fortifications, built on the hills surrounding thessaloniki, are known in the relevant literature as "birdcage". this name is due to the huge amounts of barbed wire, that were used for their construction. many of these facilities, despite their deterioration over time, are still visible today, 100 years after the war. the postwar landscape in the periurban forest of thessaloniki has partially recovered. however, heavy constructions such as concrete fortifications (pill boxes), remain in their original position (rouka, 2014, tsiouri, 2022). 2. problem statement and study aim the periurban forest of thessaloniki hosts today various cultural landscapes, some of which are related to issues of war and peace and all of them are of ecological interest. in the context of the present research, war remnants were discovered in the periurban forest and the problem is that they have not been studied and utilized until today. the aim of the present study is to describe and recommend forest paths, connecting elements from the first world war, which are located in the northeastern part of the periurban forest of thessaloniki. these paths can connect a military cemetery, with four cylindrical concrete fortifications (pill boxes) of this war, scattered in the forest, which is under natural ecological succession. these war remnants, with appropriate architectural planning and management, could receive visitors, interested in historical tourism and schools, implementing environmental education programs (tsiouri, 2015, tsiouri, 2020, tsiouri, 2022). historical-pilgrimage tourism and environmental education have great growth prospects in greece. the two recommended paths, connect visible postwar elements with invisible to ordinary visitors war remnants, as the latter have partially covered by diverse vegetation. these paths, with nature -friendly clearing and proper signage, could contribute to the development of battlefield tourism and they can also be used in the implementation of relevant environmental education programs. 3. review of the literature until recently, many scholars studied wars and postwar landscapes by focusing on military, social, economic and legal issues, rather than on tourism and peace education (papadopoulou, 1990, olson & korstanje, 2019). an ever increasing number of visitors are becoming interested in postwar landscapes. tourism related to postwar landscapes can be considered as cultural tourism. for the sustainability of tourism in postwar landscapes, the existence and understanding the authenticity of the offered touristic product, is essential (charlesworth & addis, 2002). there is of course the need to take into account the special interest of the visitors (target groups). different categories of people visit the postwar landscapes, according to their motivation, and the type of visitors changes over time. according to lloyd (2014), there were three distinct groups of visitors to the postwar landscapes of the western front, between 1919-1939: a) travelers, who hold a real interest and appreciate the meaning of battlefields or relevant monuments, b) tourists, who do not show much interest in the battlefield or the monuments, but consider them as tourist attractions and c) pilgrims, who express special feelings or religious devotion. visitors to postwar landscapes are usually pilgrims rather than tourists. pilgrimage travel is a journey resulting from religious causes, externally to a holy site, internally for spiritual purposes and understanding (barber, 1993). pilgrims are usually widows, veterans and close relatives, descendants of war victims who are interested in their family history. tsiouri / the academic research community publication pg. 3 the tour in a postwar battlefield requires a charismatic guide who can clarify what exactly happened in this landscape and why. mention the exact time, persons, possible causes and results of the previous conflict. such tours are of interest to veterans, history lovers, peacemakers, military men and educators. the local and economic development of postwar landscapes and surrounding areas is referred to as a postwar development engine in the international literature (van mispelaar, 2013) and it is a mixture of education, environmental protection and profit. for a more complete study and understanding of humanity's war behavior and the acquisition of relevant lessons, among others, it is necessary to preserve, to show off and to improve public access to the material and spiritual heritage of wars. visits, not only to the relevant museums and monuments, but also to the battlegrounds of the past, help visitors to perceive these fields as historical cultural landscapes of multiple significance. the presentation of these landscapes with the appropriate narrative design help the tourists to understand history and appreciate the true dimensions and consequences of wars. the preservation of postwar landscapes and their promotion (birbaum, 2006) is an extremely difficult and painful task for people, because the borderline between injustice and justice is often indiscernible. many of the postwar landscapes keep alive the memories of the traumatic past and it is extremely dangerous politically, because the constant reminder of the events, that happened there, can bring certain groups into conflict and threaten the social cohesion of the people. however, these landscapes can also function as means of teaching and raising pub lic awareness, to students or to historical tourism visitors (tsiouri et al., 2017), aiming at avoiding ethnocentrism and any form of violence and highlighting the world peace by preventing future conflicts (kester, 2008). but to promote a culture of peace, we need to teach the modern concept of peace (sloan, 1983, papadopoulou, 1990, burns & aspeslagh, 1996, papadopoulou, 2004), which, of course, is not just a state of non -war, but something broader. this teaching will contain understanding, cooperation, quality of life, freedom, individual rights, dignity, mutual respect, intercultural communication and a general return to humanity (mathaioudaki, 2004, moschona & efstathiou, 2004, un, 2015). sloan (1983) had written that peace which ignores the ecological crisis is not sustainable. reardon & nordland (1994) suggest the violence of armed conflict, the violence of oppression and poverty and ecological violence are part of the framework and driving force of peace education. similarly, toh & floresca -cawagas (1987), bjerdstedt (1990), castro (2001) include violence against the earth in their studies of violent tendencies that humans face on a planetary and interpersonal level. definitions of peace proposed by relevant educators included the concept of peaceful coexistence of man with nature, suggesting, for example, that ecological balance must underpin any definition of peace (hicks, 1998). the absence of environmental impacts due to pollution and radiation is considered one of the dimensions of peace. biodiversity and ecological well-being is the foundation of a positive and sustainable peace. according to castro (2001) a cross-cultural definition of the international peace of peoples is linked to the sustainability of the earth ecosystem. based on these expanded definitions of peace, environmental issues were included in the concepts of holistic peace education (toh & floresca -cawagas, 1987, vriens, 1990, bjerdstedt, 1990, reardon, 1999). many of the postwar landscapes, both in greece and in other countries, are places for educational excursions, in the context of learning the local history, combined with peace and environmental education, especially if the narrative of the landscape is careful and not propagandistic. after such experiences the visitor of a postwar landscape, goes over various issues such as the meaning of wars, related emotions, prejudices and human potential and limits (bormanis, 2010). visits in postwar landscapes are part of the secondary school curriculum in some countries. in the uk the great war is taught to children, visiting the beaumont hamel newfoundland memorial park in france, where a history teacher stays with the students for at least an hour and participates in action in a field survey of this postwar landscape. a path has been integrated into the landscape, which evokes to the movement of soldiers during the war and offers the visitor a new way of understanding the war landscape (gough, 2004). a highly visited postwar landscape is the peninsula national park in gelibolu, turkey (yilmaz, 2008). the declaration of the area as a national park was a first step in the effective preservation of the monuments of the local first world war battles, which contribute to the development of postwar cultural landscape tourism. another example of a n interesting postwar landscape is the historic region of italy venezia giulia. friuli venezia giulia is – also known in english as the julian tsiouri / the academic research community publication pg. 4 march. during the 19th century this area developed some diverse touristic destinations as seaside and thermal hea lth resorts, rock climbing and cave tours. after the first world war these forms of tourism continued to develop along with a new form, which included visiting former battlefields (šuligoj, 2016, kavrečič, 2017). tourists visit, war landscapes, war cemeteries, concentration camps etc. in this area is the monfalcone theme park, which opened to the public in 2005. visitors of this park can explore a historic war zone, where several battles took place. in this park there are many war remnants such as fortifica tions, trenches, artillery positions, memorial stones etc. in addition to ordinary touristic purposes, postwar landscapes can be used in relevant environmental education programs. the environmental education that includes holistic approach in peace education is most effective, particularly when it takes place in the countryside. well-informed and properly trained tour guides or teachers have a duty not only to increase the number of visitors to post-war landscapes, but also to contribute to the sustainability of the natural ecosystems and peoples' peace. 4. methodology the present case study could help other people to discover, understand and learn the unknown postwar remnants in the periurban forest of thessaloniki. these remnants help visitors to appreciate history and the true dimensions and consequences of wars. the method used in this research was literature review and field research. in the literature review related terms and subjects were studied. postwar well-managed landscapes in other countries, which attract visitors were also identified. in the context of the ph.d. field research (tsiouri, 2022), many visits to the periurban forest of thessaloniki were made in order to search for interesting topics, suitable for environmental education, some of which were also of touristic interest as the topic of the present paper is. during the field research, google maps and wikiloc navigation applications were used. the wikiloc map provided the most information due to the app's ability to map routes, during field research. during these visits, the exact location of the paths, the length and the variation in elevation along each route, were captured through these mobile phone navigation applications. the geographic coordinates of the common entrance of the trails were also recorded. along the routes, the current state of individual landscapes, including natural and cultural elements, was photographed. the final map resulted from a synthesis of the national land registry and the google maps combined with im ages sourced from the wikiloc application. 5. results and discussion the proposed paths (a and b) for tourism and environmental education are located in the northeastern part of the periurban forest of thessaloniki (tsiouri, 2022). the entrance to both paths is from the village exochi, a community of the pylaia -chortiatis municipality. the particularity of the two paths is that they contain postwar elements, which are a military cemetery and four cylindrical concrete fortifications (pill boxes) of the first wo rld war (fig. 1). in this well-managed military cemetery (fig. 2), soldiers of the commonwealth nations have been buried, during the war. the vegetation in many places of the paths is low with a dominant species the kermes oak (quercus coccifera). figure 1 the two paths (a and b) and some characteristic sites tsiouri / the academic research community publication pg. 5 the 2,500 m long trail (a) starts from the northeast side of the periurban forest. the starting point has coordinates (40°37'31.3"n 23°02'58.7"e). at this location there is a postwar memorial element, the kirechkoi-hortakoi cemetery (fig. 2). the trail then heads west. on this route there are two cylindrical concrete fortifications (figs. 3 -4). the proposed path ends at the second concrete fortification in the kostantinos or dinovo area. at this point there are some old buildings. this location is also the highest point of this route (532 m). from this point it has an amazing panoramic view heading south, towards the city of thessaloniki. figure 2 the post-war memorial element, the kirechkoi-hortakoi cemetery figure 3 cylindrical concrete fortification figure 4 cylindrical concrete fortification in kostantinos area the 2,200 m long trail (b) has the same starting point as the (a) path, where the cemetery is located. this path has a southwest direction and on this route there are two more cylindrical concrete fortifications. one is on the hill called tusla (fig. 5), which cannot be distinguished due to dense vegetation and there is no suitable access path. the next concrete fortification is on the hill called agios panteleimon (fig. 6). this location has also a panoramic view heading south, towards the city of thessaloniki. trail (b) ends at this point. tsiouri / the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 5 concrete fortification on the hill tusla figure 6 concrete fortification on the hill agios panteleimon parts of the forest paths, described in this work, have not been highlighted until today and the general public does not have access to the corresponding postwar landscapes. the war remnants have been left to the ravages of time and they are more or less invisible, as they have been partially covered by diverse vegetation due to natural ecological succession. it is suggested that the landscape architect, includes the war traces in the local ecosystem and makes sure that the visitors understand what exactly happened in this landscape and why. the recommended paths, after appropriate architectural planning, with nature-friendly clearing, proper signage and sustainable management, could contribute to the development of tourism and environmental education. by improving accessibility tourists, pilgrims or students, with the help of a tour guide or environmental education teacher, will be able to gain social sensitivity, to realize the necessity of the sustainability of the cultural landscape of the forest and the need to protect and highlight it, with an ultimate goal the peaceful coexistence of nature and people (wenden, 2004, tsiouri et al., 2020). the planning and highlighting of postwar landscapes, with the corresponding elements of memory, is quite a common phenomenon in various countries. the goal is to enable the visitor of a monument or a postwar landscape, in the absence of a previous memory, to develop an experience that will turn into a memory. to disc over the totality of memories, present in the human brain, which represent the collective war experiences and to discover one's deepest self and transform himself. efforts to raise public awareness on issues of war, peace and natural environment, should start from childhood with a participatory method, which will actively involve students in the learning process and think critically (wells & lekies, 2006). the relevant activities are proposed to be student-centered and not teacher-centered or book-centered and based on the active and continuous participation of students in all phases of the teaching process. teachers and students together become active explorers of the world and not passive recipients of knowledge (daskolia et al., 2020 , bierle & singletary, 2008). experiential-communicative teaching emphasizes the exercise of children's ability to deal with various social situations. it favors discussion about genuine social phenomena and often requires the transfer of educational activity outside the school (bierle & singletary, 2008). in an education, in which experiential learning is sought and consequently the development of initiative, communication and participation, the place where all these happen must be the right one (georgopoulos, 2014). visitors' contact with such places helps them realize their own place in the global space, their values, rights and responsibilities towards other peoples and the environment. it helps them understand that the equal cooperation of peoples and the sustainable management of natural resources are necessary for the survival of all organisms on the planet (matthaioudaki, 2004). tsiouri / the academic research community publication pg. 7 6. conclusions − the city of thessaloniki, during its long history, was many times a field of military operations. these operations have left their traces, mainly on the periurban landscape. − these war remnants with a strong emotional significance, together with the landscape biodiversity, can be a pole of attraction for visitors. − two paths, connecting war remnants in the northeastern part of the periurban forest of thessaloniki are recommended, which have not been highlighted until today. − the purpose of the recommended trails is to connect a military cemetery, with four cylindrical concrete fortifications (pill boxes), scattered in the forest landscape. − these fortifications were built by the allied troops of the salonica front, during the first world war. − both trails start from a cemetery, where soldiers from different nationalities have been buried during the war. − these trails, after appropriate architectural planning, could contribute to the development of tourism and environmental education. − improving accessibility, people will be able to gain social sensitivity, to realize the necessity of the sustainability of the cultural landscape and the need to protect and highlight it, with an ultimate goal the peaceful coexistence of nature and people. − visitors to the postwar landscape of the periurban forest of thessaloniki can be tourists, history lovers, military men, peacemakers, educators and descendants of war victims, who are interested in their family history. − these trails can also be used in the implementation of relevant environmental education programs. it is necessary for young people to come across with material and spiritual heritage of wars. − for a more complete study and understanding of humanity's war behavior and the acquisition of relevant lessons, it is necessary to preserve, to show off and to improve public access to the postwar landscapes. − well-informed and properly trained tour guides or teachers have a duty not only to increase the number of visitors to post-war landscapes, but also to contribute to the sustainability of the natural ecosystems and peoples' peace. acknowledgements the research work was supported by the hellenic foundation for research and innovation (hfri) under the hfri phd fellowship grant (fellowship number: 726). funding the research work was supported by the hellenic foundation for research and innovation (hfri) under the hfri phd fellowship grant (fellowship number: 726). ethics approval not applicable. conflict of interest the author declares no conflict of interst. tsiouri / the academic research community publication pg. 8 references barber, r. 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(2013). the post war engine; post military landscapes for regional economic development. parklaam (landschapsarchitecten) peace conference 2013. vriens, l. (1990). peace education in the nineties: a reappraisal of values and options. pp. 7–23. in bjerdstedt a. (ed.). education for peace in the nineties. school of education, lund university. malmo, sweden. wells, n. m. & lekies, k. s. (2006). nature and the life course: pathways from childhood nature experiences to adult environmentalism. children youth and environments 16(1), 1-24. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.16.1.0001 wenden, l.a. (2004). educating for a culture of social and ecological peace. suny press. new york. 220 p. yilmaz, a. (2008). architectural memorialisation of war: ars memoriae and the landscape of gallipoli battles. doctoral thesis in architecture. the graduate school of engineering and sciences of izmir institute of technology 264 p. http://ikee.lib.auth.gr/record/278180?ln=el http://ikee.lib.auth.gr/record/320923?ln=el http://www.elet.gr/pages/wphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.16.1.0001 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 received: 7 december 2023, accepted: 21 january 2024, published online: 31 january 2024 doi: 10.21625/archive.v8i1.1053 impact of biophilic design on supporting metacognitive thinking in early childhood in childcare centers a multidisciplinary study liza edward william1, shaimaa mohamed kamel2, laila mohamed khodeir3 1master's degree student, architecture department, faculty of engineering, ain shams university, egypt 2,3professor, architecture department, faculty of engineering, ain shams university, egypt abstract it is widely known how modern life from activities, games, and technologies has consumed children’s lives and attention, distracting them from the natural environment and its benefits. moreover, although childcare centers are nowadays considered one of the primary environments where children spend most of their time, a child-nature connection is not much considered in their designs, giving more attention to technologies and artificial life. environmental psychology theories declare that children are greatly affected by the surrounding physical environments, emphasizing nature as the richest environment that can feed their cognition and enhance their thinking skills, creativity, and development. a wealth of research studied the effect of nature-connected environments through biophilic design on children’s physical and psychological developmental aspects (226,975 articles since 2000). however, less concern is given to the cognitive development aspect (only 18.75% of the total), with a gap in terms of metacognition as a kind of high-order thinking. metacognition enhances children's behavior and high-order thinking skills such as reflective thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. hence, this paper aims to investigate the role of biophilic design in supporting metacognition in young children by conducting a multidisciplinary study that addresses the four theories biophilic, attention restoration, froebel’s theory, and metacognition. the aim of this paper was achieved, firstly, by conducting a structured literature review in a multidisciplinary approach in architectural, environmental psychology, educational, and cognitive psychology fields using academic databases such as elsevier, scopus, research gate, and academia. secondly, analyzing the gathered data and the interrelations between the previously mentioned four selected theories. this paper’s findings show three conclusions; firstly, a restorative environment supports metacognition by stimulating reflective thinking and developing skills. secondly, biophilic design’s attributes fulfill the factors for creating a restorative environment. thirdly, specific metacognitive skills are supported by certain biophilic attributes. this paper revisits the design criteria for childcare centers providing a framework and a guideline abstracted from the biophilic approach for supporting children’s development and metacognition. © 2024 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords childcare centers; metacognitive development; early years’ children; environmental psychology;biophilic design 1. introduction pedagogical and educational systems have recently followed the child-centered approach considering the child as the focal point and designing the learning strategies and activities according to his needs. children’s spaces should also follow this approach by considering the factors that participate in developing children and be applied to the design criteria and vision. children nowadays spend most of their time in childcare arrangements. the us census bureau mentioned that 35 hours per week is the average number of hours that 61% of children under five years spend in children’s institutes (liu, 2020). although architects and designers work on studying the various needs of different groups of pupils and the environments they use, children's environments do not have as much attention as needed. even more so, childcare centers nowadays are much concerned with preparing the children’s environment to be fully http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 equipped with technological devices more than strengthening the child-nature connection (park & lee, 2019; wells, 2000). the 19th-century educator froebel friedrich (1830) is the first founder of an institute for children’s development, which he called “kindergarten” – “children’s garden” in german as a term that declares his belief that children should be nurtured and developed in connection to nature through providing gardens and outdoor activities. therefore, this was shown in his kindergarten design and the goals he worked to achieve through playing activities in the garden and practicing gardening. the playing tools named “froebel gift” that he designed have also worked on enhancing the child-nature connection through recognizing the patterns and forms found in nature (brosterman, 1997). although many studies provided evidence on how nature through biophilic design has a huge role in young children’s mental, physical, psychological, physiological, and cognitive development (kellert et al., 2013), most of the studies considered the children’s physical (number) and social development with less attention to the psychological aspect. additionally, cognitive development is considered the least explored aspect, with no studies on metacognition, as shown in figure 2 (scopus). metacognition is “thinking about thinking,” which refers to the mental activities in children's minds reflective thinking, monitoring, and directing cognitive strategies (cherry, 2019; fisher, 1998). educational studies support metacognition’s role in academics and behavioral development in life (fisher, 1998; flavell, 1979; nazarieh, 2016; spalding, 2020; veenman et al., 2006). it emphasizes that metacognition provides children with high-order thinking skills needed nowadays as solving problems, creativity, and imagination, all of which support their character-building and development (cherry, 2019; fisher, 1998; hulbig, 2020). gustafson & bernet (2002) mentioned that external factors – such as the physical environment may influence supporting reflective thinking. so, this emphasizes the need for designers and architects to evaluate the design approaches for childcare centers in supporting metacognition and high-order thinking skills in young children. morgan et al. (2021) believe that the complexity of these internal processes makes them difficult to measure, which may be a reason for the decline of other fields in exploring them. environmental psychology theories can be a tool to overcome this gap and bring an initial light to this aim. this field studies the relationship between the human and the environment he occupies, whether physical – natural or built, social or virtual (journal of environmental psychology, elsevier). attention restoration theory (art) by kaplans (1989) is considered one of the interesting theories in this field – and it is the core pillar of this study. the theory explains how the brain – in a natural environment – experiences four states to reach full attention restoration. through the first two states, the mind in nature gets more relaxed, provided with a chance to reflect which is the third state called the “reflection state.” finally, reaching the fourth state, “restoration,” where the brain – due to some rest to its direct attention – is restored, performing better in high-order cognitive skills such as problem-solving and creativity. kaplans (1989) also added that an environment could be restorative for human attention restoration. however, nature proved to be the most restorative environment (liu, 2020; wells, 2000). how considering this theory in designing childcare centers would greatly benefit young children and their metacognitive skills. the biophilic design approach – as a child-nature connection tool is an ideal tool for designing childcare centers to support metacognition in young children. it is a recent approach that considers the human-nature connection in built environments. it is a response to the human’s need to connect with nature whether directly or indirectly through several attributes and elements (browning et al., 2014). several studies have shown the positive effects of biophilic design on adults' and children’s physical, physiological, psychological, and social development. some studies have mentioned the beneficial effects of biophilic design in children’s environments in providing them with opportunities for developing their creativity. however, more studies on this approach can bring more understanding of how to use each attribute to fulfill a specific cognitive value. how can biophilic attributes be applied so that architects make the most of nature’s benefit to support metacognition in children? this paper investigates the biophilic approach’s role in supporting metacognition in young children. through conducting a literature review in four fields; architecture, environmental psychology, educational, and cognitive psychology, this paper studied the interrelations of four selected theories; biophilic, attention restoration theory, froebel theory, and metacognition. it provides a theoretical framework that declares the specific natural features and biophilic design attributes that significantly contribute to supporting metacognition in terms of reflective thinking, edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 creativity, and problem-solving. this study is considered a key for future research exploring biophilic designs and metacognition interrelation. 2. research method, scope, and objectives: this paper conducted a literature review on various theories in four fields as a multidisciplinary study; architecture, environmental psychology, cognitive psychology, and education and pedagogy. a detailed description of the structured literature is as follows: as shown in the diagram of figure 1, nature, built environment, and metacognition formed the initial interrelations that directed the study to address the three theories: biophilia hypothesis (for the effect of nature on cognition and metacognition) in the architectural field, attention restoration theory (for the effect of the built environment on cognition and metacognition) in environmental psychology field, and finally metacognition in cognitive psychology field. in addition to that, by focusing on children’s environments, frobel’s theory in the education and pedagogy field is also considered in the literature. by this, the five main keywords that formed the literature review structure are; biophilic design, attention restoration theory, metacognition, early childhood, and childcare centers. ninety published papers and thesis were selected out of 500 papers using the following selection criteria: (a) recently published papers, thesis, books, and articles, starting from the year 2000 up till 2022, and (b) focusing on the aspect: cognition and metacognition, age: early years’ children, design approach: biophilic design, institute: children’s environments. the research’s aim is achieved through the following secondary objectives: (1) identifying cognitive behavioral theory and metacognition in young children, (2) investigating the effect of nature and physical environment on metacognition, (3) identifying the biophilic design approach, and its attributes, examples of applying it in children’s environments, and its effects on children, (4) investigating the interrelations between a restorative environment supporting metacognition and biophilic design attributes, (5) analyzing the vision and criteria of the first-founded kindergarten, with respect to nature, metacognitive development and biophilic approach and finally, (6) revisiting the design criteria for childcare centers by providing a proposed design guideline abstracted from the biophilic approach. figure 1. literature review keywords & theories (author) edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 3. literature review: 3.1 children’s cognition and metacognition a wealth of studies in the educational field took place over a vast period, all of which have emphasized the same conclusion that providing a good experience for children in their early years is necessary. the children’s experiences shape their whole character, positively or negatively affecting the whole community in the long term (kaplan, 1995; lee & park, 2018; liu, 2020). early childhood experiences are engraved in the child’s personality and character, from which the psychological, mental, emotional, or cognitive attitudes are affected. that is why developmental, educational, and cognitive psychologists worked hard to study cognitive development in young children, its definitions, categories and types, and the factors that affect it. in the very beginnings of cognitive development as a science, jean piaget (1936) introduced the clt (cognitive learning theory), which was divided later into sct (social cognitive theory) and cbt (cognitive behavior theory), where cbt mainly focuses on the behavior of the human being as a result of the inner thoughts or cognitive processes. from this point, psychologists and educators believed in the valuable effect of metacognitive thinking – as a tool for monitoring and controlling inner processes for better outer behaviors (nazarieh, 2016). metacognition, as a recently coined term by the developmental psychologist john flavell (1976), is an intense form of self-awareness, reflecting thinking, and self-regulating, all of which would have a significant effect on monitoring one’s self-knowledge, values, or thinking process, evaluating them, directing them and re-directing them, which in turn would affect on the outer behavior on the long term, leading to more developed and thriving communities (akturk & sahin, 2011; scott, 2008; bonner, 1988; fisher, 1998). metacognition has a role in developing high-order cognitive skills in children, such as problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking (kogut, 1996; fisher, 1998; choy & cheah, 2009; jea et al., 2019; cherry, 2019), which in turn would have a beneficial effect on their academic life (fisher, 1998; magno, 2010; meijer et al., 2012) and on their behavioral attitudes on the long term (han, 2003; liu, 2020; spalding, 2020). studies from variant resources provided some preliminary suggestions about the external factors that may affect reflection practice as time (gustafson & bernet, 2002), guidance, instructional methods, personal knowledge, and training dedicated to metacognition and the physical environment. it indicates that not considering factors like these may act as an obstacle to reflective thinking (denton, 2009). now comes the turn for architects to examine their design approaches for the physical environments, especially children’s environments. 3.2 attention restoration theory (art) in children environmental psychology is the science that studies the relationship between humans and the environment and how the environment would affect positively or negatively the human's physical, cognitive, and psychological development. the term “environment” in this science means the physical environment (natural or built), social, or virtual one (journal of environmental psychology, elsevier). studies in this field declared the enormous effects of the physical environment on children’s cognitive, behavioral, social, physical, and physiological aspects (kellert, 2006; farhanah nik et al., 2014; lee & park, 2018, 2019; moore et al., 2018). one of the environmental psychology theories adopted in this study is art (attention restoration theory), described by stephen and rachel kaplan (1989) as the mechanism that occurs in our mind in which attention capabilities are restored when interacting with a restorative physical environment. the attention restoration theory describes the gradual states that happen to the mind in nature – as the most restorative environment to reach a reflective thinking state and restore attention. this restoration is witnessed especially after “mental fatigue” or “directed attention fatigue,” which happens due to mentally loaded tasks or distractions around (wells, 2000). in this theory, kaplan (1989) mentions that this process of attention restoration includes four states called “cognitive states” or “states of attention,” where the mind starts to release its tension and worries naturally, not forcedly; therefore, the mind’s directed attention starts to return to normal levels, then the involuntary attention is naturally stimulated – through what is named soft fascination which in return give time and space for the directed attention to have rest. this allowance for rest provides the mind with two main things: a chance edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 and ability to practice reflective thinking on life, goals, and actions; secondly, refreshing it for a new restart with a better and higher performance. this is the last state in which the mind is in its most profound restorative state, named the "reflection and restoration" state (han, 2003). so, a restorative environment is an environment that can support reflective thinking in metacognition and restore the mind's attention for better performance. kaplans (1995) mentioned four characteristics of a restorative environment: extent, being away, soft fascination, and compatibility, as shown in error! reference source not found.. they believed that nature is the most restorative environment and that the soft fascination that nature provides allows a more reflective mode for children. they added that while observing nature, children create curiosity, which drives them to ask deep questions and try to find answers while digging in the spirit of nature (kahn, 1997; park & lee, 2019; wells, 2000). nancy m. wells (2000) also added that nature provides play and reflection for children. this shows how nature-connected environments could strongly promote and strengthen the way of practicing metacognition in young children. 3.3 child-nature connection a large number of studies explored the beneficial effects of nature on human development, especially from the year 2000 to 2021, where studies reached a range of 226,975 articles on this topic. however, studies focused on nature's effect on children were only 22.42% (50,893 articles), with only (18.75% = 9,542 articles) on cognitive development, and with no studies on metacognition. as shown in the below diagram figure 2, the cognitive aspect in these types of studies took the least place compared to other aspects such as the physical, psychological, physiological, and social (scopus). the studies that focused on the effect of nature on children’s cognitive development – though their limited quantity – have agreed that nature has a role in creating better attentional capacities, cognitive restoration, and performance in children (dadvand et al., 2015; gillis & gatersleben, 2015; schertz & berman, 2019; schutte et al., 2015; wells, 2000). this is compatible with what the attention restoration theory (art) states regarding nature being the most restorative environment that helps restore attention for better performance in children (wells, 2000). worrall (2017) conducted a study that seeks empirical evidence on nature’s effect on the brain. researchers and scientists in this experiment used technological evidence to monitor these effects. using portable eeg (electroencephalogram) units, they found that the brain reacts differently to different environments. for participants who spent time in nature, their brain activities’ results differed from those who spent the experiment time in an urban setting. it was shown that “alpha waves” in the brain become more active in a natural environment, where these waves indicate calmness of the mind, unlike beta brain waves that work against alpha ones, which indicate mind stress or tension. also, in nature, the frontal lobe deactivates. figure 2. studies on child-nature connection's effects on different aspects (scopus) edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 it is part of the brain that gets highly engaged when participating in modern life duties that need focus and exhausted mental activities. these results support the attention restoration theory previously stated by kaplans (1989) in terms of the effect of nature in relaxing the mind and releasing its stress. nature is then proved to be a great reason for that abundance of benefits on children’s cognitive development and an essential factor for providing the mind an opportunity for reflection and restoration for better performance in high-order thinking skills. the architecture and designing field adopted the biophilic design approach as the recently developed design tool to provide nature in the designed architectural spaces. 3.4 biophilic design in childcare centers as a reflection of these psychological studies, the architectural design field started to follow this approach investigating the impact of nature-connected environments on adults and children. studies from year 2000 to 2021 on biophilic design as a nature connection approach in architectural designs started to exist, although increasing over time, however, the cognitive aspect in these studies is still one of the least explored ones as shown in figure 4 and figure 3. moreover, their methodological methods to examine it lack the empirical evidence on high-order cognitive skills as those in metacognition. this is considered an unexplored area, yet needs to be studied in the field of cognitive psychology in synergy with architecture and spatial design. thus, this research works on studying this approach addressing this gap in the literature, and investigating the impact of biophilic design in childcare centers – as a nature connectedness approach on enhancing metacognitive skills and reflective thinking in young children. 3.4.1 concept and patterns of biophilic design biophilic design is the approach that supports human-nature connection through several elements and attributes designed to connect humans with nature, directly or indirectly (browning et al., 2014). kellert et al. (2013) defined the biophilic approach through two basic dimensions; the naturalistic dimension and the place-based dimension, which contains six elements; each element contains several attributes, as per error! reference source not found.. more than 70 attributes are in the biophilic approach; however, this number and classification are still in progress, whereas modifications may occur over time as knowledge about this approach increases. table 1: biophilic design elements and attributes (kellert et al., 2013) environmental features natural shapes and forms natural patterns and processes  color  water  air  sunlight  plants  animals  botanical motifs  trees & columnar supports  animal & motifs  shells & spirals  egg, oval, & tubular forms  arches, vaults, domes  sensory variability  information richness  age, change, & the patina of time  growth & efflorescence  central focal point  patterned wholes figure 4: studies on biophilic design’s effect on different aspects (scopus) figure 3: studies on biophilic design in children's environments and its effects on different aspects (scopus) edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 7  natural materials  views & vistas  façade greening  geology & landscape  habitats & ecosystems  fire  shapes resisting straight lines & right angels  simulation of natural features  biomorphy  geomorphology  biomimicry  bounded spaces  transitional spaces  linked series & chains  integration of parts to wholes  complementary contrasts  dynamic balance & tension  fractals  hierarchy organized ratios & scales light and space place-based relationship evolved human-nature relationships  natural light  filtered & diffused light  light & shadow  reflected light  light pools  warm light  light as shape & form  spaciousness  spatial variability  space as shape & form  spatial harmony inside-outside spaces  geographic connection to place  historic connection to place  ecological connection to place  cultural connection to place  indigenous materials  landscape orientation  landscape features that define building form  landscape ecology  integration of culture & ecology  spirit of place avoiding placelessness  prospect & refuge  order & complexity  curiosity & enticement  change & metamorphosis  security & protection  mastery & control  affection & attachment  attraction & beauty  exploration & discovery  information & cognition  fear & awe reverence & spirituality 3.4.2 effects of biophilic design on cognition and metacognition many studies on biophilic design have mentioned its beneficial effect on humans in several aspects. ulrich (1993) as an architect had performed a lot of studies on nature connection effects. one of the general responses to nature that he mentioned is the “restoration responses (stress recovery)”. empirical evidence has shown that natural elements like water, open spaces (such as grassy meadows and valleys), and trees greatly help in recovering from mental fatigue and stress compared to the restorative experience that a human can try to have when not connected to nature in an urban context, measured through verbal and physiological tests (ulrich et al., 1991). ulrich (1993) also mentioned another response in which connecting with nature enhances high-order cognitive functioning as long-term memory, problem-solving, and creativity (atchley, 2012). this is also approved by kaplan’s (1989) attention restoration theory in which the last stage for reaching a restorative state was mentioned to be a way for reflective thinking (kaplans, 1995). park and lee (2019) have gathered in a study of the effects of nature on children. they mentioned that outdoor spaces in nature make children feel free and relaxed, adding that interacting with living things in nature fills them with a sense of amazement and mystery. they also highlighted the great effect of nature on children in stimulating their in-depth questions and curiosity when observing it. a recent study by park & lee (2019) shows the biological responses for biophilic design patterns gathered from different studies as shown in below error! reference source not found.. in their study, they show how certain biophilic attributes can engage in stress relief through lowering blood pressure, decreasing heart rate, increasing comfort, and therefore happiness and productivity. also, material connection with nature promotes relaxed feelings. they added that biophilic attributes have positive effects on cognitive skills. this research by park & lee (2019) also shows that advanced studies in the biophilic approach can lead to knowing the specific biophilic attributes that the designers can use to target some specific benefits. as for kellert (2001), the best biophilic design is the one that edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 creates a natural connection that helps in decreasing anxiety and stress and provides physical, mental, and behavioral benefits (kellert 2015). browning et al. (2014) mentioned health, culture, social background, and people’s experiences as conditions for a good biophilic design, and to form a kind of nature-based place that helps in restoration and inspiration (browning et al., 2014). table 2: biophilic design patterns and biological responses (park & lee, 2019) childcare centers that have biophilic playgrounds provide their children with opportunities for natural play and its benefits. fjortoft and segeie (2000) in their study emphasized that children playing in biophilic playgrounds have better motor skills, balance, and coordination than children playing in traditional playgrounds. also, the various materials, textures, and spatial characteristics of biophilic playgrounds compared to those of traditional ones enthuse different skills in children that lead to fewer behavioral problems and positive impacts on children’s evaluation skills (cengiz & ozge, 2019). moreover, due to the transformability and convertibility of natural materials, children develop their creativity and imagination skills. this is clear in the idea that the children can form shapes from rocks, pebbles, sand, leaves, and many more materials provided by nature. froebel in his kindergarten has provided this activity for the children believing in its role in developing their imagination and creativity as well as strengthening their bond with nature (tovey, 2017, 2022). in another study, researchers found that the participants had lower levels of psychological stress and higher creativity scores when they were in biophilic spaces of different levels compared to their base case (yin et al., 2019). biophilic design brings benefits to adults and children as improvements in their self-esteem level, and increase in cognitive functioning and attention capacity (wells et al., 2003). one study was carried out to measure the biophilic design in childcare centers as related to the developmental outcomes of children aged 34 to 38 months, this study came out with a conclusion that children in childcare centers with high application to the biophilic approach had significantly better outcomes in a creativity assessment. though it showed a correlation between applying biophilic design and achieving great scores in health, cognitive, social, and physical outcomes, moreover, the creativity outcomes surpassed the threshold of statistical significance (cerezo, 2013). 3.4.3 biophilic elements in childcare centers’ design as per a study by park and lee (2019) which was built on a literature review and case study of 20 childcare centers in japan, they determined the biophilic elements and patterns applied in the selected facilities as per the following: (1) providing sandbox indoor, using natural materials in indoor spaces’ finishing to stimulate tactile nature connection; (2) using natural forms and shapes as trees, mountains, waves, and caves; (3) many nurseries had considered incorporating daylight and its dynamicity in their spaces; (4) providing a sandbox in the outdoor area; (5) biophilic design pattern stress relief cognitive skills visual connection with nature lowering blood pressure and decreasing heart rate increasing work engagement and concentration non-visual connection with nature lowering systolic blood pressure and relieving stress positive effects on cognitive skills dynamic and diffuse light increasing comfort, happiness, and productivity positive effects on increased concentration connection with natural systems relieving stress biomorphic forms and patterns material connection with nature lowering diastolic pressure complexity and order relieving psychological stress prospect relieving stress reducing boredom and fatigue refuge improving concentration edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 9 providing waterway around playing area or water bodies of gravel for stimulating tactile and auditory nature connection; (6) providing an outdoor natural environment that can be viewed from inside the childcare center, this help children to observe the changes in the ecosystem during the day. for (nfb nursery and km kindergarten and nursery), they worked to provide this in the cafeteria and study room since they are the most spaces the children spend time in. however, in (takeno nursery) they were able to the courtyard design in the center of the childcare center to provide visual access to the outdoor view from anywhere in the building. widely opening the exterior space of the playroom to allow as much possible view of the outdoors was applied by (hanazono kindergarten) (park & lee, 2019). park and lee (2019) in their study also came up with some conclusions depending on the results of the case study and survey conducted with caregivers. they mentioned that childcare facilities should have a view from the inside to the natural environment outside which mainly provides them with the chance to observe the seasonal and various daytime changes in a natural ecosystem. this was the most important factor to be applied in childcare centers from guardians’ point of view measured through a questionnaire conducted by them. regarding this element, they recommended that architects and designers can early plan for this in the childcare centers’ planning phase. they also mentioned the importance of considering using natural elements and providing the children with the various sensory experiences needed relating to nature as the visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile ones, adding to that, nature is the element where designers can find its way to serve the various senses of children. in this point, they mentioned using water bodies made up of water and gravel and building green pedestrian paths. also, open spaces should be considered in childcare centers since they are a source of relaxation and free movement. finally, incorporating hiding places for children with respect to their stage of development. they added that further research should be conducted in which children’s satisfaction shall be measured (park & lee, 2019). 3.5 early foundations of children’s institutes believing in nature to be a rich environment for children’s development has been raised since the early foundation of children’s institutes. even more so, children’s institutes were founded based on the idea that nature is the teacher of children’s creativity, playing, imagination, and reflective thinking. 3.5.1 froebel kindergarten & nature connection the foundation of childcare centers refers to the year 1830 when a french educator called froebel friedrich was the first to create an institute for children's development. he named it "kindergarten," a german-driven name for the meaning "children's garden." froebel believed that nature is the mother and teacher for developing children’s knowledge and creativity, and for that, they should be nurtured in gardens. through the activities and the playing items “froebel gift” that he designed, he introduced nature into the children’s lives, drawing their attention to its patterns and forms (brosterman, 1997). 3.5.2 froebel kindergarten supports children’s metacognition in nature designs and art before and after froebel's kindergarten have changed due to including a child-nature connection in its approach. this first childcare center is considered a world-changing educational institute that supported creativity, reflective thinking, and imagination in young children through providing nature connection. many of those who attended kindergarten have grown as adults impacting the world with their creativity, imagination, and thinking skills. as said by brosterman: "frank lloyd wright, the american architect, is the great child of the kindergarten. you can see the kindergarten in everything wright ever did." wright has mentioned that in his early childhood, his mother brought him a set of froebel’s gifts. she also used to attend classes for kindergarten education (brosterman, 1997). 4. discussion this paper reached its aim by studying the interrelations between selected theories in different fields, as shown in the below diagram figure 5. the selected theories are metacognitive development theory, biophilia hypothesis, edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 10 attention restoration theory, and froebel theory in the different fields: cognitive psychology, architecture, environmental psychology, and education field. nature, reflective thinking, and high-order thinking skills in children are the common keywords between theories, which were the reason behind the interrelations between them, which led to the research’s hypothesis about the relation between metacognition (represented in reflection and high-order thinking skills) and biophilic design (represented in nature-connected spaces). 4.1 the restorative environment supports metacognition as mentioned in attention restoration theory (art) in section 0, the child in nature reaches four attention states the final one is the state of reaching the most restoration of his mind, and therefore, being able to reflect and perform better in high-order thinking skills. metacognition is reflective thinking and it is responsible for developing highorder thinking skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and evaluating. therefore, providing nature as the richest restorative environment leads to enthusing metacognition in young children. therefore, this paper concludes its first conclusion: a restorative environment supports metacognition in young children. the below diagram figure 6 shows the effect of nature – as the most restorative environment on children according to attention restoration theory (art). from this, the question is: does the biophilic approach – as a nature connection approach – create a restorative environment? figure 5: literature revie theories and keywords diagram (author) edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 11 4.2 biophilic design: a way for a restorative environment by studying the art theory and biophilic approach, this paper shows the interrelations between the characteristics of a restorative environment and biophilic design attributes, emphasizing the ability of a biophilic designed space to meet the restorative environment’s criteria, and therefore, enhance metacognitive skills in children. firstly, and most importantly, the biophilic approach, through its attributes, supports the human-nature connection, and according to kaplan et al. (1989) and nancy m. wells (2000), nature is considered the most restorative environment. therefore, the vision of a biophilic approach to connect humans with nature is the main reason biophilic design supports metacognition in children. most clear through the "environmental features element" in the biophilic approach, as shown in error! reference source not found., in which all of its attributes provide a human-nature connection through natural features such as; water, air, sunlight, plants, animals, and natural materials. therefore, a direct connection with nature takes the first position in this interrelation list, as it is the authentic and deepest form of connection with nature through its features and processes. following this, the outdoor areas in children’s environments and providing natural views and elements in their indoor spaces also take place in first positions. below error! reference source not found. shows the interrelations between the four characteristics of a restorative environment provided by kaplans (1995) and the biophilic design attributes, showing the capability of a biophilic designed space to be a restorative environment that supports metacognition in children. figure 6: attention restoration theory in environmental psychology and architecture field (author) edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 12 table 3: restorative environment and biophilic design. source: author based on (kaplan, 1995; kellert et al., 2013) a restorative environment’s characteristics (kaplan, 1995) an explanation for the characteristic (as per kaplan, 1995) terms concerning a physical environment (by the author) biophilic design approach (as nature-connected spaces) (kellert et al., 2013) attribute element extent ▪ feel immersed in the environment ▪ large environment to be explored ▪ depth of the experience an environment of: ▪ attentive area ▪ rich area ▪ variable experiences ▪ information richness ▪ order and complexity ▪ exploration and discovery ▪ sensory variability ▪ natural patterns and processes ▪ evolved humannature relationship ▪ evolved humannature relationship ▪ natural patterns and processes being away away from habitual activities and daily concerns example: a look of a window to the outdoor natural element or setting, having a walk an environment for relaxing the state of mind ▪ view and vistas ▪ geology and landscape ▪ environmental features soft fascination capturing the mind effortlessly through the environment’s elements example: the sound of birds, the movement of leaves with the wind an environment of attractive, enchantment, and adoration elements (smoothly effortlessly) ▪ natural features ▪ mimicking natural features ▪ fractals ▪ dynamicity, complexity, and stimulation of nature (schutte et al., 2015) ▪ environmental features ▪ natural shapes and forms ▪ natural patterns and processes compatibility the desire of users to interact with it and appreciate it harmonic relation with the environment ▪ avoiding placelessness ▪ affection and attachment ▪ attraction and beauty ▪ curiosity and enticement ▪ place-based relationships ▪ evolved humannature relationship ▪ evolved humannature relationship ▪ evolved humannature relationship edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 13 error! reference source not found. shows the four characteristics of a restorative environment with the corresponding biophilic attribute. on the one hand, for an environment to be restorative, the first factor is its “extent," which means that the environment is much bigger than the user, far from the user’s ability to contain or realize its limits. it also means that the user would always need to re-discover; however, the environment still holds information to be yet explored. on the other hand, the biophilic design approach believes in creating a space that is rich in information (information richness), a space of a complexity that stimulates the viewer (order and complexity), and rich enough in its design and zones that enthuses the user to explore and discover it more (exploration and discovery). also, a space that stimulates more than one or two of the human senses, providing richness to the variable senses (sensor variability). biophilic attributes strongly stimulate the human senses visually by light, colors, proportions, sizes, shapes, and patterns of natural elements; and acoustically by the sounds of natural features such as water flows, birds singing, wind, leaves, trees, and movement of pets. also, the odors in nature as the flowers' fragrance and the smell of leaves, wind, and water, stimulate the sense of smell, and the different textures in natural materials stimulate the touch sense. the second factor for an environment to be restorative is its ability to help the user "get away” from stressful and noisy environments. the biophilic approach achieves this by providing physical or visual access to natural areas (vistas and views, landscape and geology). the third factor is the ability of the environment to stimulate the user’s “soft fascination." soft fascination occurs when involuntary attention is attracted by soft stimulators, giving the mind’s directed attention a chance to rest. a lot of things in nature stimulate soft fascination in the mind, such as the sounds of birds, water, soft movements of green leaves, flowers and trees, curvy lines, patterns, and the variety of colors in nature (element: environmental features). even using shapes, patterns, and fractals from nature to include in the design of the space can softly enthusiast the mind to meditate in it, and thus the soft fascination is stimulated (element: natural shapes and forms, natural patterns and processes). lastly, a restorative environment is an environment that the user can have “compatibility” with, which means having harmony with, appreciating it, wanting to interact with and it is not repulsive to him. as the biophilic approach values the human-nature connection, it also assures the necessity to have harmony between the human and the environment (place-based relationships), avoid placelessness, and have a space that attracts the user to enjoy its beauty and interact with (avoiding placelessness, attraction and beauty, affection and attachment, and curiosity and enticement) (kellert et al., 2013). the previous error! reference source not found. shows that the biophilic approach fulfills the four factors for having a restorative environment, which means that children's environments if applied these biophilic attributes in their designs, would create an environment suitable for supporting metacognition in young children. biophilic attributes mentioned in this table represent almost 50% of the total attributes in biophilic design (37 attributes out of a total of 72 attributes). as this study focuses on supporting metacognition through biophilic design in childcare centers, it is necessary to look back to the origins of early childhood institutes and nature's position in them and their vision towards developing high-order thinking skills, reflective thinking, and creativity. 4.3 metacognition, nature, and biophilic design are in froebel's kindergarten approach froebel’s kindergarten –the first childcare center foundedhas gathered the three factors (children’s institutes, childnature connection, and metacognitive skills). he believed that nature should be provided in children's environments and that a child's interaction with nature enthuses his reflecting and thinking skills. regarding reflective thinking in metacognition, froebel also cited in herford (1916) saying “it is first and weighted point of education is to lead children early to reflect”. he added that outdoor nature offers endless opportunities for symbolic and reflective thinking. therefore, froebel believes in developing high-order thinking skills in young children, which he believes to happen most through gardening (physical interaction with nature) (lilley, 1967; tovey, 2022). below, edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 14 table 4 shows the interrelations between metacognition models and froebel's kindergarten approach for developing children's thinking skills through interacting with nature. table 4: the interrelation between the froebel kindergarten approach and metacognition. source: (lilley, 1967; fisher, 1998; whitebread et al., 2007; robson, 2010; magno, 2010; nazarieh, 2016; spalding, 2020; tovey, 2022) modified by the author. thinking process froebel kindergarten approach (thinking skills develop through child-nature connection) metacognition questioning through observing the plants growing, they develop a sense of wonder, asking questions about how? why? when? and what for? (lilley, 1967). curiosity brings children to explore and ask more questions, which motivates problemsolving techniques and develops them (spalding, 2020). evaluating each child has his own plot of land to plant, water, and harvest, which brings up a sense of responsibility and learning from mistakes (tovey, 2022). reflecting on the previous tasks and evaluating them is a part of metacognitive thinking (fisher, 1998; spalding, 2020). discussing and reflecting besides gardening the child's own plot, he also shares in caring for the communal garden working with other adults, and interacting with them through talking, discussing, and reflecting (tovey, 2022). metacognitive thinking is better developed in a social context and through peer discussions and adults’ guidance. social interaction is a good environment for developing metacognition (whitebread et al., 2007; robson, 2010). building knowledge frobel’s approach assured the benefits of connecting children’s previous knowledge to new ones, as the new connection they create when seeing natural elements such as leaves, worms, and soil (tovey, 2022). knowledge about cognition is one of the two models for metacognition, where the child is aware of his knowledge and can reflect and build on it (magno, 2010; nazarieh, 2016). this shows that froebel in his first founded childcare center has greatly intended to enrich the children’s high-order thinking skills in his institute through their interaction with nature. direct interaction with nature through observing its growth, and its life process, and having a sense of responsibility for a living orgasm brings development to a child’s thinking skills in metacognition as questioning, evaluating, and reflecting. froebel supported children’s direct interaction with nature in his institute through its vision, architectural zones and designs, activities, and more. digging deeper into this, froebel was able to define specific characteristics in nature and the corresponding beneficial effect it has on children’s high-order thinking skills. from this, researchers, educators, and caregivers can easily investigate how biophilic design – as a child-nature approach in architecture – when applied, would greatly support the children’s metacognition. furthermore, this information provided by froebel could be a way for them to identify the specific elements and attributes in the biophilic approach that they may include in their childcare centers’ design to support their children’s metacognition and thinking skills. the below table 5 shows the specific characteristics in nature described by froebel, their effect on a child's thinking skills, and the biophilic attributes that interrelate with them. edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 15 table 5: froebel and biophilic design approach to nature. source: (kellert et al., 2013; tovey, 2017, 2022; d’ascoli and hunter, 2022) modified by author. nature in froebel’s approach child’s thinking skill development biophilic design approach (kellert et al., 2013) attribute element ever-changing environment connecting children’s previous knowledge to new ones (observing the growth of plants, animals, and different seasons) (tovey, 2017, 2022). age, change, and the patina of time natural patterns and processes rich sensory environment learning about their senses experiencing new colors, smells, shapes, substances, and energies which tickle their creativity. gaining knowledge and synthesizing it into their understanding of their world (observing) (d'ascoli & hunter, 2022). sensory variability natural patterns and processes information richness natural patterns and processes information and cognition evolved humannature relationships full of exciting features stimulate exploration through active learning, play, and talk (interaction). 1. (tovey, 2022) curiosity and enticement evolved humannature relationships exploration and discovery evolved humannature relationships open-ended (transformatio nal) materials increase imaginative skills in play creativity (endless opportunities to form shapes and patterns) (tovey, 2017, 2022) change and metamorphosis evolved humannature relationships wild areas provide an opportunity for exploration and imagination (tovey, 2017) exploration and discovery evolved humannature relationships places to hide in creating their small world or kingdom by themselves (tovey, 2017) mastery and control evolved humannature relationships 4.4 biophilic design attributes for metacognition’s support as previously mentioned, the previously shown tables (error! reference source not found.) and (table 5: froebel and biophilic design approach to nature) show certain characteristics in nature, and therefore, the corresponding biophilic attributes that stimulate reflective thinking and high-order thinking skills in metacognition. the below table 6 is a guideline reference for all the biophilic attributes gathered in this study that showed an interrelation in supporting metacognition. table 6: biophilic design attributes for metacognition support (author) element attributes environmental features all attributes natural shapes and forms all attributes edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 16 natural patterns and processes sensory variability/information richness/age, change, and the patina of time /fractals light and space all light attributes place-based relationship spirit of place / avoid placelessness evolved human-nature relationships order and complexity/curiosity and enticement/change and metamorphosis/ mastery and control/affection and attachment/attraction and beauty/exploration and discovery/information and cognition the interrelations between froebel theory, metacognition, and biophilic design discussed in table 5 reveal some preliminary insights about certain characteristics in nature and the corresponding biophilic attributes that stimulate specific thinking skills in children. the below table 7 below shows children’s thinking skills and the biophilic attribute that stimulates each. table 7: biophilic design attributes and metacognitive skills (multiple documents modified by author). biophilic design approach child’s thinking skill development element attribute environmental features * direct connection with a purely natural environment allows the child to be exposed to nature’s several characteristics affecting “several aspects in child’s thinking skills and development” natural shapes and forms * stimulating and mimicking natural features considering their curvature and softness, saturation degree of colors, and variability can be a source for a soft fascination state, providing “some rest and relaxation, refreshment and restoration for child’s mind.” natural patterns and processes age, change, and the patina of time connecting children’s previous knowledge to new ones (tovey, 2017, 2022). sensory variability tickling their creative side (d'ascoli & hunter, 2022). information richness gaining more knowledge and synthesizing it to their own understanding of the world (d'ascoli & hunter, 2022). evolved human-nature relationships information & cognition curiosity & enticement stimulate exploration (tovey, 2022) change & metamorphosis increase imaginative skills (symbolic play) creativity (tovey, 2017, 2022) exploration & discovery provide an opportunity for exploration and imagination (tovey, 2017) mastery & control creating their own small world or kingdom by themselves (tovey, 2017) 4.5 design guideline for childcare centers – dgcc (extracted from biophilic design elements) designing children’s centers should not be limited to designing the building that the children occupy and just having an outdoor area with artificial playing instruments. as it happens in many cases, the childcare center starts from a villa that is no longer used as a residential building. instead, it is transformed to use the building for the children's academic lessons and the villa's garden as the outdoor area, without much studying the site’s aspects and re-plan it to satisfy the new usage. edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 17 the childcare center's design should start outside to the inside. children’s outdoor natural area is considered the direct form of connection with nature, which carries the depth of nature's benefits. therefore, providing an outdoor area with natural features for children is on top of the design criteria for their physical environments. these concerns raise the question of whether there is a need to revisit the design criteria of childcare centers, considering planning the site area from the beginning up to the details of the interior furniture and materials. biophilic design attributes have triggered all the design phases of physical environments, considering the relation between nature, space, and user from the very early designing phase (place-based relationship) until the details of the interior materials, patterns, shapes, and light. as shown in the below diagram figure 7, the proposed "design guideline for childcare error! reference source not found.centers dgcc" is inspired by biophilic design attributes that triggered several aspects in the design phases. it includes four phases for designing children's environments that start from the theme phase, pass by the planning and design phases, and end with the quality phase. the "design guideline for childcare centers dgcc" starts with the “theme phase" for the childcare center, where the designers, in collaboration with the educational leaders and decision-makers, design the environmental experience for the children. children should be provided with a positive environmental experience. besides that, designers can provide ideas for a specific theme (e.g., jungle theme, aquarium theme, desert theme, space theme) or variable themes (e.g., weather seasons themes) for the design theme of the environment. this phase is inspired by the (human-nature relationship element) in the biophilic approach. the second phase is the “planning phase”, where the land's zones and areas are considered in functionality and placement, as well as considering other perspectives regarding the relationship with the surrounding places as in privacy, safety, and noise. the planning phase is inspired by the (place-based relationship element) in the biophilic approach, considering its attributes (as the cultural, historical, and ecological connection to the place / landscape orientation / spirit of place / avoiding placelessness) would add more strength to the relation of the childcare center site to the environment's context. the following diagram figure 8 introduces more factors that specifically target the needs of childhood environments in this "planning phase." figure 7: proposed design guideline for childcare centers dgcc (author) edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 18 the planning phase starts with site characteristics, and this factor, should be considered the type of environment in which the childcare center will be placed; this varies between urban and rural contexts. however, in both types, the quality of the environment should be well selected for the providence of an ideal environment for the children to be raised in. also, the context's naturalness will affect the quantity of nature we provide for children. nature should be considered either way; however, in urban contexts – where hardscape is widely used it is more necessary that the childcare center’s site provides a more richly natural environment for the children. another factor is the availability of services, considering the emergent services availability in case of an emergency need for any injury or health conditions. also, the availability of natural sites and places for activities around the site would add more livability, such as parks, science theaters, and educational gardens. the second factor in the planning phase is the functional program, where zones and subzones are listed according to the activities and services needed, considering the relation between zones and subzones. thirdly, the comfort and well-being of the site, this is regarding the site's privacy, safety, and noise. things like these should be studied from the early stages of design and considering the alternatives in case of lacking, such as vision and noise barriers and locating the children's entrance regarding their safety and security. fourthly, studying the needed area for outdoor space, its orientation, and location in the site area, its functional program, its zoning and sub-zoning, and the relation between subzones, children, and capacity. a well-studied outdoor area should contain all the children's needs for exploring, movement, gardening, playing, and security. the last factor in the planning phase is studying the children’s indoor area and this includes the indoor area concerning children and capacity, functional program, the position and orientation of the building would affect the quality of the indoor environment for children and could create the most child-nature connection possible in the site. adding to that, considering the outdoor and indoor connection by providing the indoor a view to the outside as a visual access and designing physical access to the outdoor. following this is the "design phase," where the applications for the selected theme take place, and the ideas to reach that theme develop into practical ones. in this phase, the ideas for nature-connection can be applied using the (environmental feauters element) for actual natural features and the natural shapes and forms element) for the symbolic natural ones. finally, the "quality phase” is the fourth phase, which assures achieving the desired aim in the design theme line. for example, not every pattern taken from nature and repeated can resonate with the real one, nor can copying a shape from nature mimic the same real one. colors, patterns, shapes, and light in nature have variable equations in patterns' rhythms, proportions, richness, and saturation degrees of colors that need more study. not every lightening can be considered close to the natural light properties. fortunately, some institutes have already begun to explore this approach, especially in terms of light. some electric light institutes mention the beneficial effect figure 8: factors in the planning phase for children's environments (author) edward/ the academic research community publication pg. 19 of daylight on humans and therefore try to get closer to its properties in manufacturing artificial lamps. (natural patterns and processes element), (light and space elements) in the biophilic approach are used in this phase. 5. conclusion this study aimed to investigate the biophilic approach in supporting children‘s metacognition in childcare institutes. results show that biophilic attributes create a restorative environment that supports metacognition. based on a multidisciplinary literature review, this paper studied the interrelations between: (1) restorative environment & metacognition, (2) restorative environment & biophilic approach, and (3) nature-connected environments & children’s metacognition in froebel‘s approach. this paper‘s findings show three conclusions: firstly, a restorative environment supports reflective thinking and high-order thinking skills in metacognition; secondly, a restorative environment‘s criteria are fulfilled in biophilic design attributes; and thirdly, specific metacognitive skills are supported by certain biophilic attributes. the interrelations analyzed and the concluded findings in this study provide a proposed design guideline for childcare centers, that is abstracted from the biophilic elements and their attributes. finally, this study helps to better understand how to use a biophilic design approach in childcare centers‘ design to support children‘s metacognition through natural connection. 6. recommendations additional key stakeholders, including government bodies, community groups, and organizations, should actively implement the child-nature connection approach by incorporating biophilic elements. they can develop nature grounds in childcare centers and school districts beside the park systems. the growing body of studies consistently highlights the significant negative impacts of children's disconnection from nature, underscoring the need for government intervention. consequently, there is a compelling case for authorities to establish minimum standards for nature-connection in childcare centers through licensing regulations. recognizing the characteristics of children’s physical environment and their effects on children could provide more insights to decision-makers from educators, architects, and planners to participate in developing better environments for them. this collaboration can lead to developing better environments for children that prioritize and enhance the child-nature connection. acknowledgments: the abstract of this paper was presented at the green urbanism (gu) conference – 7th edition which was held on the 11th-13th of december 2023. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references akturk, a. o., & sahin, i. 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(2000b). effects of “ greenness ” on children’s cognitive. environment and behavior, 32(6), 775–795. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 received: 23 november 2023, accepted: 29 january 2024, published online: 31 january 2024 doi: 10.21625/archive.v8i1.1050 perceptions and reuse of concrete building structures efcharis balodimou1, joseph p. rizzuto2, ibrahim g. shabaan3 1senior lecturer in built environment, school of computing and engineering, university of west london, ealing, london, united kingdom 2head of school of the built environment and geography, professor of civil engineering, faculty of engineering, computing and the environment, kingston university, london, united kingdom 3head of civil engineering, associate professor of civil engineering, school of computing and engineering, university of west london, ealing, london, united kingdom abstract concrete has gone through significant changes in popularity in the united kingdom. this paper explores factors associated with shifts in the perception and reuse of concrete buildings. and how these changes have influenced the use of concrete in architecture and design in the uk. the popularity of concrete has fluctuated over the past few decades. this is driven by a combination of cultural, aesthetic, and sustainability factors. in the 1980’s and 90’s fairfaced, textured, bush-hammered concrete acquired a reputation that took some three decades to reverse. uk public opinion on concrete ‘brutalist’ buildings of these decades is mixed, but tends to often be negative, where terms used include ‘depressing’, ‘hideous’, ‘monstrosities’, and ‘eyesores’. there is currently a growing appreciation for the history and cultural significance of concrete and specifically ‘brutalist’ architecture. although these buildings were previously despised, they are now recognized as part of the uk’s architectural heritage and efforts are made to preserve them for future generations. buildings and complexes, which were once run-down urban environments, are now changed into more desirable housing complexes often leading to drastic social changes in the area. concrete has been generally seen as a material that has a significant environmental impact, especially in terms of carbon emissions. concrete’s durability, thermal mass, and fire protection properties paired with advances in technology that can improve the appearance and consistency of finishes, have all improved the popularity of concrete. strides are also being made to improve the sustainability of concrete constituent materials. the positioning of concrete as a sustainable, energy-efficient building material that can also have an aesthetic appeal, combined with its versatility and durability, makes concrete once again a popular choice for contemporary architecture and interior design. © 2024 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords architecture; concrete buildings; aesthetics; sustainability 1. introduction concrete has gone through significant changes in popularity over the past few decades. these changes are particularly evident in the united kingdom. the popularity of concrete has fluctuated over the past few decades. this is driven by a combination of cultural, aesthetic, and sustainability factors. although concrete buildings were previously despised by many, they are now recognized as part of the uk’s architectural heritage and efforts are made to preserve them for future generations. http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ balodimou/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 2. methodology and research design this paper explores the factors associated with shifts in the perception of concrete buildings by the british public and how these changes have influenced the use of concrete in architecture and design. the uk’s architectural use of concrete and heritage will be studied. different aesthetic and sustainability approaches will be looked at through case study examples. these focus on ‘brutalist’ architecture and how perceptions have changed. 2.1 architectural use of concrete concrete is a versatile material that has been used in construction for thousands of years. however, until the twentieth century, it was considered to have no aesthetic qualities and was used mainly in utilitarian structures, such as water reservoirs and foundations (smith 1993, p.2). the millbank penitentiary, built between 1817 and 1822 by sir robert smirke, was one of the first known major uses of concrete. a unique raft concrete foundation was constructed on muddy, marshy land to eliminate subsidence (rics, 2019; historific 2023). reinforcing concrete helped make the material more widely used in the construction of buildings and structures. concrete is very good under compression but does not perform well under tension. a key person in the development of reinforced concrete was francois hennebique. his system introduced steel rods within concrete thus giving the composite material tensile strength. the ‘hennebique’ system became very successful in europe at the start of the 20th century. he used this system to construct his own home, ‘la maison hennebique’, between 1901 and 1903 as well as buildings in england, for example –weaver’s flour mill in wales (historic england 2022). (figures 1, 2) figure 1. la maison hennebique 1901-1903 (historic england 2022) figure 2. hennebique building in england; weaver company 1898 (historic england 2022) one of the advantages of the use of concrete is that it can be used to form any required architectural shape and is finished to provide a variety of textures and colors. however, concrete is not always used ‘fairfaced’ but often covered or disguised. 2.2 disguising and covering concrete widespread use of concrete increased in the early 20th century. initially, it was used in houses, factories, and churches. the expressive potential of the material was demonstrated but nevertheless, the concrete structures were disguised to look like other materials such as stone or brick, or covered using other materials. for example, august perret’s rue franklin apartment block was clad with terracotta tiles [giedion 1941] so the concrete structure, using the ‘hennebique’ system was not exposed. the tiles however were not just for decoration but were there to cover the concrete surfaces which perret believed were more susceptible to damage and decay [invisible paris 2013]. (figure 3) balodimou/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 figure 3. perret's rue franklin reinforced concrete building clad with terracotta tiles (invisible paris 2013) 2.3 rendering and painting concrete new ideas about architecture started to emerge in europe after the first world war, arising from a desire for the creation of an architectural movement not based on styles of the past. the ‘new’ world required a ‘new’ architecture. concrete provided the tool for the creation of an architectural language that tried to demonstrate the superiority of the future to the past. streamlined designs and the introduction of curves and shapes started appearing using the potential of reinforced concrete and introducing new aesthetics and designs. however, at this time concrete surfaces were usually either rendered or painted [frampton 1996] main representatives of this expression were swiss architect le corbusier with villa savoye in 1931 while in the uk architects such as mendelsohn and chermayeff with de la warr pavillion 1935, lubetkin /tecton penguin pool in 1934 and finsbury health centre in 1938 were advocates of this new aesthetic [balodimou 1998] (figures 4, 5 and 6) figure 4. le corbusier's villa savoye 1931 (archdaily 2023) figure 5. de la warr pavilion by mendelsohn and chermayeff 1935 (sussex modern 2023) figure 6. penguin pool, london by lubetkin / tecton 1934 (victoria and albert museum 2023) 2.4 exposing concrete during the second world war, mass and reinforced concrete was extensively used for the construction of air raid centers and airfield runways. after the war ended further new architectural ideas developed in europe and the uk due to the need for fast and economical re-construction of war-affected zones (system building). concrete in the 1950s to ’70s began to be used in the plainest state, untreated and unrendered (brutalism) the term ‘brutalism’ derived from the french term ‘beton brut’ which refers to concrete that is not smoothed down after casting and is left showing the patterns of the formwork and often blemishes and imperfections. examples of brutalism include the unite d ’habitation in marseille by le-corbusier and in the uk the national theatre on south bank by sir denys lasdun (1964-68). architects allison and peter smithson created ‘brutalist’ buildings in the ’50s and 60’s that have now been recognized as important buildings (harwood 2022) (figures 7, 8, 9). balodimou/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 7, (8, 9) royal national theatre (1969-76) sir denys lasdun listed grade ii* (harwood 2023) figure 8. surfaces figure 9. textures 3. negative perception of concrete building structures – ‘concrete jungle’ social pressures in britain for re-housing that took priority after the war associated concrete with council estates and mass housing. especially in britain, those living in high-rise buildings and estates were those who had no choice (balodimou 1998). although a great number of council estates in britain have a brick finish, it is concrete which is associated with the ‘inhuman’ nature of these estates. the phrase ‘concrete jungle’ is widely used to describe an urban context that involves concrete in tower blocks, council estates, deck access, or ‘sky roads’ and the absence of any color. the strong dislike people have for these environments and the various social problems that seem to stem from them in a way condemned concrete, although in most cases problems were due to the mismanagement and planning of these buildings and complexes (moustaka 2023, balodimou 1998). examples of how ‘brutalism’ was seen in the 1970s are clearly depicted in films such as ‘a clockwork orange’ (1971) and ‘get carter’ (1971) where brutalist complexes appear as a background to “dystopian, violent and malevolent associations” (smith 2022) (figures 10, 11) figure 10. ‘brutalist’ lecture theatre at brunel university designed in 1966 by john heywood. figure 11. ludovico medical clinic, a clockwork orange. building in the background is the ‘brutalist’ lecture theatre at brunel university designed in 1966 by john heywood. now grade ii listed (movielocations.com, 2023, historic england 2023) in the 1980’s and 90’s this negative association extended to public buildings, such as the south bank centre and later the barbican, even though those operated in a different social and cultural context. (figure 12) fairfaced, textured, bush-hammered concrete had acquired a ‘bad name’ that took around three decades to shed. even nowadays, when the public is asked about their opinion on concrete ‘brutalist’ buildings the reaction is very mixed but more often negative, using words such as ‘depressing’, ‘hideous’, ‘monstrosity’, ‘eyesore’ (harwood 2023) (figure 13) balodimou/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 12. barbican center chamberlin, powell, and bon –grade ii listed (barbican 2023) figure 13. park hill estate, sheffield – roads in the sky (moustaka 2023) 4. concrete and the rise of ‘minimalism’ and ‘sustainable chic’ 4.1. design and aesthetics in recent years, there has been a renewed interest in concrete as a building material. contemporary architects such as tadao ando, frank gehry, zaha hadid, and daniel liebeskind have used the structural potential of concrete to create unique, and highly expressive forms and spaces. concrete is also increasingly used in interior design to provide a minimal and industrial aesthetic in the form of polished concrete floors, countertops, and walls or exposed ceilings. (figure 14) figure 14. trellick tower, kensington erno goldfinger (1968-73) grade ii* listed (harwood 2023) figure 15. barbican centre interiors (harwood 2023) 4.2 sustainability of concrete buildings concrete has been generally seen as a material that has a significant environmental impact, especially in terms of carbon emissions (shaaban et al., 2020). however, it is now recognized that it can be used in more sustainable ways, i.e. made of recycled materials or mixed with materials that reduce its carbon footprint. concrete’s durability, thermal mass and fire protection properties paired with advances in technology that can improve the appearance and consistency of finishes have all improved the popularity of concrete in the past couple of decades (jahren & sui 2014). the sustainable civil and structural engineering research group at the university of west london (uwl) is currently active in research work towards producing durable and sustainable concrete buildings. several studies were carried out towards using waste materials in concrete mixes, replacement of cement with friendly environment materials, and producing self-healing concrete (shaaban et al., 2020; rizzuto et al., 2020; paschalis et al., 2023) (figure 17) this research and developments can help the considerate and sustainable repair and reuse of existing concrete buildings. figure 16. trellick tower, kensington erno goldfinger (1968-73) (harwood 2023) balodimou/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 17. self-healing concrete samples (shaaban et. al 2023) 4.3 appreciation of the past / listing, protecting, and improving concrete buildings there is a growing appreciation for the history and cultural significance of concrete and specifically ‘brutalist’ architecture. although these buildings were previously despised, they are now recognized as part of the uk’s architectural heritage and efforts are made to preserve them for future generations [harwood and davies 2015, hopkins 2017]. additionally, buildings and complexes, which were once run-down urban environments, i.e., council estates, are now revamped into more desirable housing complexes and even ‘high-end’ apartments, often leading to drastic social changes in the area. good examples of such transformation are park hill in sheffield, and erno goldfinger’s trellick tower in kensington (figure 16) changing the function of concrete structures may need retrofitting and repair of such buildings. strengthening using advanced composites or fiber-reinforced polymers (frp) is a promising approach to improve or regain the loadcarrying capacity of structures to extend their serviceability (shaaban and seoud, 2018). frp gained wide acceptance as a promising technique for retrofitting structural members for its high strength-to-weight ratio, its damping capabilities, its high resistance to corrosion, its fatigue resistance, and the short time scale for repair (panahi et al., 2021). glass fiber reinforced polymer (gfrp) and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (cfrp) are the widely explored types of frp which have been used in strengthening of structural elements (montaser et al., 2022). an international example of successful repurposing and giving a brutalist building a new life is the pirelli tyre building in new haven connecticut, originally designed by bauhaus-educated marcel breuer in 1969 and owned by ‘armstrong rubber’ (forre n.d.; stouhi 2021) (figure 18) it was later sold to tyre company ‘pirelli’ in 1988 and to furniture company ikea in 2003. during the following two decades, it was neglected, and part of the ground floor building was demolished to create a car park. in 2019 it was acquired by the architecture and development company becker+becker associates, who converted the building into a 165-room, passive design hotel and conference center (feniak 2023; stouhi 2021). (figure 19) balodimou/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure 18. pirelli tire building original form (forre n.d.) figure 19. the building under refurbishment (stouhi 2021) it is interesting to note that the brutalist pirelli tyre building, voted in 2018 as the ‘state’s ugliest building’, was transformed into the first passiv haus hotel with more than 100 rooms, and upon its completion in 2022 received the highest leed (leadership in energy and environmental design) platinum certification. this was achieved by using locally sourced, recycled materials for the refurbishment of the building, providing airtight construction, and using 100% solar energy for electricity, heating, and hot water requirements. (atlasobscura 2021; stories from hilton 2023). (figure 19) however, a critical factor in this success was the reuse of the existing concrete structure, which saved a vast amount of embodied carbon. considering the discussions regarding concrete’s high carbon footprint, it is a great achievement for a brutalist concrete structure, to become exemplary on the grounds of sustainability. 5. conclusions the popularity of concrete has fluctuated over the past few decades. this is driven by a combination of cultural, aesthetic, and environmental factors. the positioning of concrete as a sustainable, energy-efficient building material that can also have an aesthetic appeal when used fair-faced, combined with its versatility and durability, make concrete once again a popular choice for contemporary architecture and interior design. changing the function of concrete structures may need retrofitting and repair. strengthening using advanced composites or fiber-reinforced polymers (frp) is a promising approach to improve or regain the load-carrying capacity of structures to extend their serviceability. a critical factor to this success is the reuse of existing concrete structures, saving a substantial amount of embodied carbon. brutalist concrete structures with their high carbon footprint become exemplary on the grounds of sustainability when reused. changes in how concrete buildings are perceived can be also reflected in the recent growing appreciation of concrete buildings which are now seen as an important part of the uk’s architectural heritage. acknowledgments: the abstract of this paper was presented at the urban planning & architectural design for sustainable development (upadsd) conference – 8th edition which was held on the 24th-26th of october 2023. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. balodimou/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references archdaily (2023) architecture classics; villa savoye / le corbusier available at: https://www.archdaily.com/84524/ad-classics-villa-savoye-lecorbusier (accessed 25th july 2023) atlas obscura (2021) pirelli building, new haven connecticut. available at: pirelli building – new haven, connecticut atlas obscura (accessed: 16 december 2023) balodimou, e (1998) prediction of weathering effects on concrete buildings using computational methods. phd thesis. oxford school of architecture, oxford brookes university. barbican (2023) our building; our architecture. available at: https://www.barbican.org.uk/our-story/our-building/our-architecture (accessed 23rd april 2023) feniak, h. 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2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 64 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i1.700 sustainable architectural design education: an improved experimental method in a 3rd year design studio kamal eldin mohamed1 1department of architecture, izmir institute of technology abstract the design studio is a unique class format within the architectural curriculum education, in which learning is based on student-instructor interaction and learning by experiences while architectural design is the collective of knowledge and skills to accomplish a unique expectation of a product. sustainable design has been incorporated into many architecture curriculum education programs but there has been lack of merging in design studio project. this study introduces an improved method of the first experimental sustainable architectural design studio (sads) with restructured teaching tools for integrating sustainability principles in design studio along with the studio outcome. in additional, it presents the evaluation and the assessment of the improved method as well as the finding along with the recommendations for the future experimental. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords architectural education; design studio pedagogy; sustainability. 1. introduction architecture plays a major role in providing basic human needs for shelter. the challenge for modern architects is to incorporate the principles of sustainability into their designs, without compromising their utility or style. this will require a fundamental reorientation of architectural education to emphasize the conservation of energy and natural resources in new and existing buildings and facilities (taleghani, ansari, & jennings, 2011). architectural education has a special core subject, which is the design. the reorientation of architectural education consists of three categories. the first includes basic courses in the liberal arts such as humanities, social science and creative arts. the second includes technical courses covering important aspects of architectural design such as materials and construction, building structures and environmental control systems, and the third consists of learning through practicing design, i.e. “apprenticeship” in the architecture studio, which is the special core subject in architectural education. design is known as a complex and multi-dimensional activity that embody various skills and tendency such as communication, interpretation, research, knowledge integration, and problem-framing (kahvecioglu, 2007). meanwhile, design studio is a place where designs is making under the periodic guidance of the design instructor who intervenes in the student's designing, generally in reaction to the student's explicit design (oxman, 1999). design studio as a special working place requires a space that has good light quality, natural ventilation, drawing tables with flexible movable chairs, tables for model making, group meeting area, panels, lecture space, and space for rest and beverages (attoe & mugerauer, 1991). sustainable design considers resources and efficiency, ecologically and socially sensitive land use, healthy buildings and materials, and aesthetic sensitivity (unesco, 2011), while sustainability has been defined as fulfilling the http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 65 demands of the present without discounting the ability of future generations to fulfill their own demands. sustainability education is an emanate imperative that requires a paradigm shift in academic and professional training (united-nations, 1987) (altomonte, reimer, rutherford, & wilson, 2014). buildings are the most heavily energy consuming sector therefore, it shall be priority for government policies makers. “the united nations environment program (unep), 2007 reported that between 30-40% of global energy consumption is used by building sector” (tommerup, rose, & svendsen, 2007). there is need to adopt some principles to improve the undergraduate education, which can be used to come over some of the integration of sustainability into design studio (chickering & gamson, 1987). meanwhile, integrating sustainability into design studio required great consideration of restructure of both traditional studio culture and modules (nikolic, messner, lee, & anumba, 2010) (sarhan & rutherford, 2014). it is essential to use innovative design process techniques that follow time module structure and varies teaching tools to be able to integrate sustainability principles into architectural design project (mohamed & elias-ozkan, 2017) (mohamed & elias-ozkan, 2019). 2. problems and objectives published research pointed out various obstacles facing the integration of sustainability in architectural education as follows: − outdated pedagogy of architectural education that focuses mainly on the form and artistic (lofthouse, 2013). − architectural schools use digital technology as a cad tool. while digital technology should be fully integrated into the whole design process (yu, 2014). − the studio instructors do not possess the required knowledgebase nor the practical professional experience (altomonte, rutherford, & wilson, 2014). − lack of clear teaching pedagogy and instructive teaching tool for sustainable design studio (mohamed & elias-ozkan, 2017). the objective is to integrate the sustainability principles into design studios producing a sustainable design solution for the student’s architecture project. while the study aims to: − create an integration method of sustainability principles in design studio project. − assess the integration method. − evaluate the method’s impact on the student learning level and the level of integration on the designed projects. 3. methodology the sustainable architectural design studio (sads) strategy meant to focus on the design process along the semester period rather than the final produced designed project. in additional, it considered all recommendations of the first experimental of sads study, which reflected on modification of pedagogy structure and the improved of instructorteaching method. teaching method guidelines the method references of second sads experimental studio were similar to first sads in additional to the recommendations of first sads study, which are presented as follow: − the three principles of ecole education: freedom, competition, and variety (carlhian, 1979). − the bauhaus prime education objectives depended on integrating theory and application (whitford, 1992). − constructivist design studio concepts (kurt, 2012). − integrated public interest design studio concept (anderson, 2012). mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 66 − charrette design studio technique (pernice, 2013). − embracing deep learning approach for principles and practices of sustainability (sarhan & rutherford, 2014). − learning pyramid principles that supported deep leaning not service learning. therefore, the questions were started with; explain, compare, and construct not describe (wood, 2004). − the recommendations of the first experimental of sustainable architectural design studio (sads) (mohamed & elias-ozkan, 2017). the design process was divided into four periods; four weeks for conceptual idea, four weeks for project development, four weeks for materials and testing, and two weeks for finishing and presentation. each period ended with an open jury. 4. materials and method the study took place at the architecture department in izmir institute of technology, in turkey. the research was conducted in the third year design studio (ar 301 architectural design iii) in the fall term in 2015, with 25 students (16 female and 9 male). two instructors conducted the design studio as a team supervising all students with the help of one teaching assistant. the class had twelve working hours per week in the studio. the teaching methods mentioned above were included in the sads as well as the restructure of the method which was recommended from the first experimental (mohamed & elias-ozkan, 2017) (mohamed & elias-ozkan, 2019), as it is shown in table 1. the environmental aspect of the sustainability principles was the only concern for the second sads experimental studio. the other two, i.e. social and economic aspects of sustainability were not considered. the entire evaluation of the students’ work was divided into two parts. first was design process evaluation, embracing the sustainability integration (40% of total grade), with 5% increase over first experimental to emphasize on design process issue. second, was finished project evaluation (60% of total grade); of which is 60% was dedicated purely to the design aspect and 40% for the degree of integration of the sustainability principles in the project table 2. table 1. sads’s instructor teaching method of second experimental studio modified elements that are shown in red. learning technique reference to the learning pyramid of (wood, 2004). no learning technique second experimental teaching method of sads fall 2015 1 learning by teaching others. one case study was presented by each students (25 case studies). finished in the first 6 weeks. case studies presentation had 5% of total class grade. 2 practice by doing and group discussion students were required to write the project program individually then in a small group of three then in a group of eight. the project size was reduced by 30%. 3 practice by doing students were required to construct study models during the project design development process (6 models) with various scales. 4 deep learning weekly panel reviews were conducted (9 panel reviews) in two formats: group discussion a) group discussion of the design process and project development were conducted learning by demonstration b) students criticized each other's project by asking each student to present his her project to the group 5 technical trips to practice by doing a) the project site and surrounding area. existing exemplary' project owned by the client. learning by demonstration b) existing exemplary' projects mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 67 table 1 continued 6 practice by doing instructors conducted weekly charrette design assignments during the design process (6 assignments) 7 practice by doing various digital technologies were used throughout the design process a) conceptual design period; climate consultant and sketchup b) design development period; revit, auto cad: and sketchup c) design evaluation period; rivet only d) final drawing and presentation; rivet auto cad: 3d max, designbuilder: and sketchup 8 pubic interest/immediate use practice project owner(s)/user(s) were incited to discuss the project and provide presentation and workshop (2 visits) 9 learning by demonstration monthly outside expert(s) were invited for workshop (3 workshops) practice by doing a) instructors assigned homework related assignment ahead of each workshop studio 10 learning by demonstration instructors conducted individual and small group desk critics (8 desk critics) 11 learning by visual, audio, and lecture class instructors offered lectures about the project topics that included visuals and audios materials focusing on the low score elements from first pilot recommendation (6 lectures) 12 juries learning by demonstration a) instructors conducted midterm juries (3 midterm juries) learning by teaching others b) instructors hosted a final jury that included bornova municipality' president. university rector, experts, and academic members. the grade distribution was modified. table 2. initial experimental of sustainable design studio grading system. total class grade 100 points design process 40 points final jury 60 points site analysis & group model cass studies assignments & charrette work attendance & class performance first midterm jury second midterm jury third midterm jury portfolio sustainability checklist & energy simulation test 40% design evaluation 60% (5 points) (5 points) (5 points) (5 points) (5 points) (5 points) (5 points) (5 points) (24 points) (36 points) mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 68 figure 1. the conceived sustainable concept of culture park by “ece güleç” was about creating a building like a park in a gated community-housing neighborhood that lacked green spaces. the open courtyard provided interactive atmosphere open and semi open space as well as natural light and natural ventilation into the building. the sustainable design was enhanced by the use of green roof, rainwater harvesting, and pv panels. the design offered 23% in annual energy saving and 23% in co2 emission reduction. the student managed to collect 19 points of the total 19 points from the sustainability checklist elements. figure 2. bornova culture center by “ezgi çam” was exploit the idea of a center mass that included the major program spaces while it was surrounded by lower mass that included other spaces. this strategy provided good quality of natural light and natural ventilation throughout the open space created between the two masses as well as various open and semi open spaces. furthermore, the orientation, height, and size of masses considered the natural resources such as wind, natural light, rainwater, etc. as well as the choice of sustainable materials and various shading elements. the design expected to save 25% in annual energy consumption and 30% in co2 emission. the project collected 19 points of the total 19 points of the sustainability checklist elements. mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 69 figure 3. in this project, the student managed to collect 8 points of the total 19 points of the sustainability checklist elements. the project did not consider natural air ventilation, shading façade elements, sustainable material and local material, rainwater collection as well as the lack of use heat insulation. there were spaces that did not have natural light. the project did not have the correct test for energy consumption nor co2 emission. 5. studio outcome instructors reviewed all projects after the final jury, similar to the first experimental sads studio. figures 1 and 2, illustrate two successful students’ final projects proposed design work of bornova municipality culture center that demonstrated positive integration of sustainability principles into the design starting from the project concept to the finished design as well as the energy simulation test showed the saving in energy consumption and reduction in co2 emission (mohamed & durmuş arsan, 2016). meanwhile, figures 3 illustrate an unsatisfactory students’ project that neglected to include the major elements of sustainability principles such as natural light, natural ventilation, mass orientation, the use of sustainable and natural materials etc. table 3.sustainability checklist elements and grading system main elements / points points distribution elements students no. energy (10 points) 6 elements or more (10) 4 to 5 elements (7) 2 to 3 elements (5) one element (2) none (0) reducing the energy used for lighting 80% of spaces benefits from natural light sky-gardens, skylights, atriums, light shelves reducing the energy used for ventilation adjustable windows, air-holes natural ventilation by channels (wind catcher) reducing energy used for heating and cooling reduce heating loads (high insulation glass systen (low-e glass), double-wall application, double skin reduce cooling loads (sunshades, movable blinds between glass layers, etc.) passive recovery to reduce heating and cooling loads (thermal mass, etc.) mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 70 table 3 continued use of renewable energy sources low emission but non-renewable energy sources renewable energy sources like sun, and wind materials (5 points) 2 to 3 elements (5) one element (2) none (0) flexible design of interior space and interior furniture use of eco-friendly material and equipment reducing waste water (5 points) 2 to 3 elements (5) one element (2) none (0) recollection and reuse of water: grey water and rail water the use of rain water in interior and exterior space to reduce the cooling load during summer the use of water in landscape to enhance the natural light in the building health (5 points) 4 elements (5) 2 to 3 elements (4) one element (2) none (0) natural light and flesh air for working area indoor glare effect control by using facade’s solar shading eco friendly tian spoliation to the site (bicycles, electric cars, etc.) selection of noil-harmful materials total 25 points total elements 19 energy simulation tests (15 points) (5 points) base case result (6 points) modified case with selected materials and shading elements. reduction of 10% or less in energy and cdemission (10 points) modified case with selected materials and shading elements. reduction of more than 10% in energy and cbemission 6. evaluation and assessment evaluation of the level of sustainability principles into students’ projects were done by the studio’s instructors while the students assessed the studio structure method and teaching tools. 6.1. evaluation by the instructors the sustainability principles checklist of first experimental sads studio (mohamed & elias-ozkan, 2017) were explained to the students as well as the demonstration of the integration of each element in the design project. all projects were evaluated against the sustainability checklist (40% of the final project evaluation grades). table 3 illustrates the checklist elements. mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 71 figure 4. the correlation between the number of sustainable elements each student used in his/her project and the final sads’s grades. figure 5. the trend result between design process grades and final sads studio grades 6.2. assessment by the students after the final jury, the grades were announced. instructors invited the students for an open colloquium. students were handed out a questionnaire form that had various questions regarding studio structure and format, jury style and format, sustainability issues, as well as their own comments about studio aspects. before attending the studio, 70% of the students had no knowledge about sustainable design where 30% attended the first sads studio. 95% of the students confirmed practice sustainable design in their professional life as well as it will be their preference for graduate education study subject. r² = 0.8355 0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00 90.00 100.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00 40.00 f in a l g ra d es design process grades the trend between design process grades and final grades mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 72 figure 6. pedagogy structure elements average scored points. figure 7. the average scored points of principles design elements of the initial experimental studio. figure 6 illustrated that the technical trip scored the highest points among the studio tasks (pedagogy elements) while the use of digital media in benefitting the students design scored the least points. on the other hand, figure 7 showed that natural light scored the highest points among the sustainable design elements and the eco transportation was least within the students’ consideration. the few students who had the sads in previous semester were comfortable working in the project. some students said that instructors were organized and helpful in coaching us to produce the project that we want. one student comment was that the class content has been organized efficiently. other said that the studio were fruitful. another said, “the instructors were well qualified. i am thankful to them, it was very good studio”. 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00 9.28 8.33 8.22 8.06 7.11 6.72 6.61 6.11 5.50 4.50 4.44 3.11 s co re d p o ın ts sads pedagogy structure elements sads pedagogy elements scored points average 0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 6.95 6.05 5.05 5.05 3.55 3.45 3.25 2.65 s co re d p o ın ts desıgn elements sads principles design elements' scored points average mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 73 7. conclusions and recommendations the improved method along with the modified pedagogy structure and teaching method introduced new grade distribution system of sustainable checklist elements and simulation energy test table 3. this grade system reflected positively on the integration of sustainability principles into the final project results as well as it did better evaluation work accuracy. the use of one software program (revit) reflected positively to achieve the energy simulation test of the project. only two students were not able to complete the simulation test due to their slow design progress. there was a parallel trend result between students design process grades and final sads grades figure 4 with rsquared value of (0.7348) represented strong data that were fitted to the regression line, which was stronger than the pilot experimental studio. there was positive correlation between the numbers of sustainable design elements each student use in his/her project and final sads grades figure 5 with strong r-squared value of (0.8355). there was no major change of order of the pedagogy elements by the students from first experimental. however, the standard deviation score among the elements was less scoring 1.85, which referred to the extra effort that was given to the elements on the bottom list by instructors figure 6. natural light and natural ventilation had the top score among students choice for sads design principles elements while eco-friendly transportation scored the least points. however, the standard deviation between the elements was 1.51, which reflected that the gap was less between the top and lower elements figure 7. afterwards, the conclusions led to a number of recommendations that had been applied to change or modify the sads pedagogy structure of the third and final sads experimental studio (ar 302 sads-spring of 2016). these recommendations were: the grade distribution points of sustainability design shall emphasize more on the energy consumption saving and co2 emission reduction. moreover, attention could be given to the low scores elements of sads pedagogy structure as well as the sustainable design principles elements by providing more lectures and inviting outside experts. the project size (meter square) shall be reduced in order for the students to focus more in the sustainable design issues. in addition, the students would present all case studies within the first five weeks of the design process to get the most benefits of it. simulation shall be used not only for energy test but also for the evaluation of natural light quality of the space. in additional, instructors shall invite more outside experts for midterm juries, presentations, and workshops. there should be design consideration of all sustainability aspects; environmental, economical, and social. acknowledgements the author would like to thank instructor dr. zeynep durmuş arsan at izmir institute of technology for her contribution to the studio as well as the teaching assistant mümine gerçek for her help and hard work. the author would like to thank the students of sustainable design studio class ar 301 of fall 2015 at izmir institute of technology figure 8. figure 8. the students of sads class of ar 301 fall of 2015 mohamed / the academic research community publication pg. 74 references altomonte, s., reimer, h., rutherford, p., & wilson, r. 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(2014). impact of digital technology on architectural design teaching. in advanced materials research (vol. 989, pp. 5390-5393). trans tech publications ltd. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 26 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i2.753 3d based visualization tool to analyze the influential topics via hashtags on instagram platform guo xinyi1, liu cuiting1, wang ruisi1, raja majid mehmood*,1 1 school of electrical and computer engineering, information & communication department, xiamen university malaysia *corresponding author: raja majid mehmood (rmeex07@gmail.com) abstract this paper intends to develop an interactive, comprehensive information visualization platform of instagram hashtag analysis. instagram hashtags has developed themselves into all different kinds of group or communities for users to share hobbies and find similar friends. in order to analyze topic influence and user interest trend from instagram, which contains billions of end-users and has worldwide influence, hashtag analysis is necessary to gather such information and compare the proportion of people involving in each tags and rank them to visualize. the visualization is developed in 3d space and consists of time-varying data flow of tags, together with tag comparison analysis, as well as event researches. in the rest of the paper, we mainly discuss the design idea and the development process of the system. an example of the system design work will be shown in the discussion, which involves 4 popular hashtags discussed on instagram and are shown on the system, displayed as an 3d histogram, together with another comparison histogram to compare different tags, as well as an event view in the back. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords information visualization; instagram; interactive 3d visualization; social media; topic analysis 1. introducation instagram is one of the most influential social media in the world. various types of contents such as texts, images and short videos are uploaded on this platform. users can upload their photos, or videos with description, and give each post corresponding hashtags. it can easily achieve people’s reaction from one certain event or topic through posts under hashtag. it’s really important to analysis people’s reaction of different topics especially in such a huge social media platform, using information visualization method to show the clout of one topic by amount of posts though the timeline. in instagram, a hashtag under the topic actually show different perspective of this topic. therefore, when calculating the clout of one topic, all the posts which are under hashtags related to this subject will be considered in the visualization model. to some extent, these hashtags will show the reason why clout of this topics suddenly increased. for example, when analyzing the clout of football, the hashtag #worldcup will be considered. in world cup period, the clout of football must have a significant increase because of the clout of the world cup. therefore, these relative hashtags of certain topic of each should be also included in the visualization system. each topic must have a peak clout, in somehow these peak values reflects the influence of the topics, which should also be considered in the visualization model. http://www.press.ierek.com/ mailto:rmeex07@gmail.com https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 27 this paper will be based on this data introduces system for visualizing clout of topics via hashtags in instagram, explain the detailed of system design. then some example cases applying that visualization system will be presented in the paper, to directly show how the visualization systems visualizing these data. 2. literature review brandmap (de_campos filho et al., 2012) is a visualization platform which uses a novel approach to visualize complex data. this paper proposes a case study using brandmap as a visualization tool to measure the distribution of brands in the blogosphere. as many bloggers mentioned their brands, products and services, a huge resource of data requires to be organized. the methodology of visualization is to use objects with different characteristics like colour, size and shapes to represent the key brand dimensions like product attributes, features and themes. the objects are placed in circles with certain angles between them and distances from the centre. the angle between the terms around the centre is computed by hierarchy clustering technique according to their similarities. if two terms are closer to each other, they may be often mentioned and related together in the blog. the distance between the centre and term is calculated depends on the frequency that the term is cited in the blog. the more a term is mentioned in the blog, the closer it is to the centre of circles. this visualization method helps people quickly observe the information about brand dissemination over the internet. in masahiko itoh (itoh et al., 2013), social media has been one of the most popular sources for people to acquire information. the goal of this paper is to analyse changes in people’s idea, experience and interests through information visualization. a 3d visualization system is introduced in this paper to visualize time-varying topics in multiple media and analyse their future trends. the system design enables people to observe the begin time of the topic, changes in trend of the topic, bursting points, and its lifetime. different images and events related to the topics are also considered as part of the visualization contents. this visualization system consists of two main part which are image flow view and event view. to visualize the image flow, a three-dimension histogram including stacking images are created. the images are arranged according to their topics and publish time. for the event view, timeslice which is a 2d plane is placed in the 3d space to summarize events on the topic keywords. once a visitor selects a time window, a tree presentation will be displayed on the timeslice. in all, this 3d visualization system can be used to explore trends and events in social media. in chen et al. (chen et al., 2016), as social media becomes more and more popular, a large number of messages are spread over medias every day. this paper aims to explore and analyse social behaviours during the process of message diffusion and propagation. in this case, d-map which is a comprehensive visualization system is proposed. in dmap system, social media users are represented by hexagonal nodes with colour and size indicating their behaviours and roles. the users are grouped into different communities according to their behaviours, forming a map metaphor which can visually show the social influence of the centre user. each community is represented by one colour, and the centre user is highlighted with an outside hexagon. there is also an inside hexagon in each node indicating the number of user’s blogs. a centre user with high inner-community influence will be represented with a big size of node. a user with a large number of blogs will be assigned with a large dark hexagon inside the node. this paper collects data from one single user of sina weibo with all the reposting blogs, originates all these blogs and then use d-map to visualize the diffusion process of these blogs. in conclusion, d-map visualizes users’ social behaviours and their influence regarding spreading information on social media during the diffusion process. 3. critical review masahiko itoh (itoh et al., 2013) has provided a relatively reliable 3d visualization method by combining image stacked histograms from multiple events together with corresponding line charts, as well as an interactive event view displaying aside in 3d space. (figure 1) some essential attributes need to be evaluated in its research. the most fundamental one is timeline, which is organized according to the development process of the specific topic stacking with related images and contains proper time interval such as a month, a week, a day. besides, the stacked images (figure 2) represent the amount of discussion on social media in terms of this topic, which enables us to find the birth timing, bursting points, changes in popular content, and the lifetime of trends for each topic. another attribute is topic, displayed by different histograms to classify various topics being discussed, explore differences in bursting timing mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 28 for every topic, their chronological order, and events with the same timing on different topics. comparison on reports between mass media and social media are also evaluated as well showing in the difference between histograms and line charts layered together. in addition to the image flow view, event view (figure 3) is also an indispensable attribute for evaluation, represents by timeslices and timefluxes, which visualize respectively summarized events on the topic keyword during a selected time window as a tree representation, and changes in the amount of information such as the number of events within a given period of time. figure 1 3d visualization system of time-varying information figure 2 stacked images clustered on timeline mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 29 figure 3 event view showing via timeslice similar research in terms of social media content analysis has developed multiple methodologies with respect to provide clear user visual experience. brandmap method uses a set of layered circles together with variously shaped notations in evaluating angles and distances in between. this method is only helpful in observing topic classification, rather than analyzing trends in information via time-varying data flow, for no time attribute is displayed in brandmap, and no topic relations is visible in 3d visualization system. d-map, on the other hand, an easy-visualized form of reposting tree that consist of clustered nodes represented in uniformed colour in the same group, summarizes the diffusion process to illustrate the spreading of messages across different groups of people and reveal the social impact of a central user, while the 3d visualization system only focusing on messages spreading effects--clustered messages forming information trends. in this case, the proposed topic will only become clearer to visualize when applying the 3d model (itoh et al., 2013). limitation of the cited system is quite obvious though. using stacked image flow is a convenient and plausible method to consist the histogram classify different topics, however, the layered and clustered images will only mess up the visual experience as the number of topics increases. in terms of improving visual effect, the stacked images will be replaced with stacked cubes in a uniformed colour for each single topic in the proposed visualization system. meanwhile, timefluxes that summarizes events on the topic keyword during a selected time window seems to be less meaningful as for timeslices will show the appearances every subtopic on selected time. therefore, the proposed system is going to remove it in order to simplify the visualization. the proposed 3d visualization system will demonstrate hashtag information only on instagram. since no related similar social media is going to be analysed as comparison, line charts (figure 1) will be removed in order to focusing on the data flow of histograms. as we intend to enhance the analysis of hashtags to illustrate users’ interest distribution, a new histogram on y-z plane about comparison between every topic will be summarized by gathering mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 30 all highest data flow point in each topic and noting the exact time of the occurrence. specific visualization realization will be mainly discussed in the next phase. 4. proposed method the method we want to use is 3d visualization method. in the visualization model, we want to have a timeline to record the clout (amount of posts) of each topic. therefore, there will be billions of timelines in such a widely-used social media. if we just use different colored timeline to represent different topics, it will be in a mess. in this situation, using 3d visualization method is a good choice to design the visualization model. we can construct a 3d coordinate, using topics and timeline as x-axis and y-axis, the clouts of each topics following time as z-axis. what’s more, to differentiate the topics in visual effect, we will use different colors for different topics. the projection of clout for each topic on x-z plane will be shown as histogram. and corresponding related hashtags will be shown when clicking certain topic at certain time in y-z plane as tree structure. in a world, we will sufficiently use the 3d system to visualize the clout of topics in instagram in different perspectives. figure 4 sample model to explain the proposed visualization system contains 3 main parts, hashtag time-varying view, event view, and hashtag comparison view. (figure 5). users can observe the trend of the hashtag in time sequence, in the meantime to explore the related interesting hashtags, as well as to compare the popularity between each irrelevant hashtag in order to explore majority users’ interests. in the hashtag time-varying view, we utilized 3d space with 3d histogram and stacked them on a timeline, which makes visualizing the heat of the hashtags easier and simultaneously see the 3 views feasible. users can zoom, rotate, and pan the 3d space to interactively change the region being focused on and to avoid problems with occlusion. figure 5 3d visualization system model of hashtag analysis platform mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 31 4.1. visualizing hashtag time-varying view visualizing hashtag time-varying flow is adapted to multiple 3d histograms divided according to the hashtags, resembling to the representation of bitmap in 3d form. (figure 6) in the y-axis, timeline is presented in a selected time interval, which can be a year, a month, a week, or even a day. users can determine how long they would like to visualize for the heat of the discussion. we then arrange multiple histogram flows in the 3d space to compare multiple hashtags. in the x-axis, hashtags represented by the 3d histograms are arranged, labelled by the name of hashtags. users can manually or automatically define the order of hashtags on the x-axis by using their rankings if they have them, whether it is on alphabetic or categorizing order. this allows us to explore differences in bursting timing for every hashtag, their chronological order, and hashtags with the same timing on different topics. in the z-axis, the amount of discussion in the selected hashtag of corresponding time is represented. it is clearer to visualize with gradient colour so that the levels of heat (discussion amount) in the selected hashtag are presented by the shade of the colour, which provides easy comparison among the heat between different hashtags in different time. the system supports the interaction to explore the detail information and exact content of the selected hashtags. users can access the original hashtag page by clicking the tag name, and the original webpage from the web browser will pop out automatically and show all the information included in it and related side topics. figure 6 visualization of the hashtag time-varying view in 3d space 4.2. visualizing hashtag comparison view in this section, each hashtag will be gathered in the same dimension to be analysed for comparison on summarized all highest data flow point in each hashtag and represented as a 2d histogram displayed on the x-z plane. (figure 7) we display each summarized hashtag in the position aligning to the xarrangement of hashtags on x-axis in hashtag time-varying view. as each highest data will be presented in this view, it is easier to generate the most representative data in each hashtags and deal with their comparison using these high data, and generalized people’s most interested topics and their tendency of focusing area. the colour of this histogram will be distinguished from the one on hashtag time-varying view, in gradient representation also in order to differentiate the level of the information amount. labels on each attribute will not be provided since the presentation has already been displayed in 3d histogram, and they have matched with each other distinctly. this view provides a further conclusion of the discussion heat comparison among every available hashtag. it not relatively easy to generalize the highest amount of the discussion in each tag though the gradient colour in 3d mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 32 histogram directly, therefore conclude the heat level between tags. however, with this viewport by putting every heat level conclusion into the same dimension and analyse them together, users will have better and easier user experience during the research. figure 7 visualization of the hashtag comparison view on x-z plane 4.3. visualizing event view the event view is adapted from masahiko itoh (itoh et al., 2013), which could be a good visualization of exploring related interests and is defined as a set of dependency relations on the name of hashtags, to explore detailed information about a selected hashtag and timing. user will need to choose a hashtag in the hashtag time-varying view, and select a specific time point, the event view retrieves tags related to the main hashtag and automatically moves to the point of timing on the timeline to display events belonging to the time window. users can hide it if it is not necessary. the visualization that is going to be implemented is word cloud chart. it is a very simple, clear visualization for the displacement of all the tags together comparing to the tree chart or any other method. it provides relations in between each tag as well as their discussion heat comparison, in which the most frequently researched hashtags will be displayed in the largest size of the word, and the size will reduce accordingly due to the rank of the heat of the tags. the chosen hashtag is placed in the middle with the most eye-catching size and colour, and the title of the chart (in figure 8, showing as “donaldtrump related tags”) is placed on the top of the view as well as the exact amount of its posts. this event view allows users to explore the real-time events happened to the corresponding tags. for example, in the hashtag “donaldtrump”, we can tell all the related tags from the event view is about donald trump, and the recent behavior he did, like the one “trumpamerica” that shows him participating 2020 american president campaign; as well as people’s attitude towards him, such as the one “gotrump”, which shows people’s resistance to donald trump and wish him goes off stage. figure 8 visualization of the event view on y-z plane mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 33 5. results & discussion the final result of our proposed visualization method is shown at figure 9. compared with the visualization prototype at figure 10, we have already improved all the three main sections of the model. figure 9 final visualization model figure 10 visualization prototype 5.1. hashtag time-varying view improvement firstly, the gradient colour of columns were changed. for the prototype, we only used different levels of blue colour to represent different amounts of discussion which was confusing to distinguish. thus, we decided to apply two different colours which were light yellow and dark red to the gradient colour range so that the levels of heat (discussion amount) could be identified quickly. the top view of the 3d histogram at figure 11 was also more convenient for users to compare the levels of heat among topics. figure 11 bit-map from top view then, we enlarged the dataset. at first, we only used a week to display the discussion amount of each hashtag. however, we found that seven days were not enough to show obvious changes in trend of topic discussion. therefore, we increased the evaluate time from 7 days to 15 days. the changes of discussion amounts could be clearer compared with before. the dataset collected on instagram platform is shown at figure 12. figure 12 dataset for 4 topics during 15 days 5.2. hashtag comparison view improvement at first, we used a 2d bar chart placed at the left side of the model for comparison of the highest data flow points of each hashtag. anyway, the columns of the bar chart were similar to those of the 3d histogram. in order to distinguish these two sections, the bar chart was replaced with a line chart in figure 13. what’s more, the colors of points referred to the same gradient color criterion of 3d histogram. the number of discussion amount at each point were marked. mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 34 figure 13 line chart of peak value 5.3. event view improvement the event view we used at first showing the relationships of the hashtag and its related tags was shown at figure 14. the visualization randomly displayed all the related words of tags, and used the size of words to represent for the discussion amounts. however, this visualization method looked so messy that users were difficult to understand the randomly-placed words soon. different sizes of words also made the view not so nice, and some tags were too small to recognize. what’s more, this view was too colourful to be placed in the visualization model. the colours which were redundant may catch users’ attentions. figure 14 event view of visualization prototype consequently, we chose to use a bubble chart to present the event view. the tags were divided into three different layers according to their degrees of relevance indicated by bubble colors. take topic “disney” as an example, the event view is shown as figure 15. the root hashtag “#disney” was placed as the first layer in the middle in darkest color with largest text. for the second layer, “#mulan”, “#lionking”, “#ariel” and “#maleficent2” were put in lighter color with smaller text. these four tags respectively represented for four films produced by disney company. thus, mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 35 they belong to direct relative tags of “#disney” and should be put in the second layer. the remaining tags put in lightest color with smallest text were the third layer. these tags were related topic with those four films in the second layer instead of directly deriving from “#disney” hashtag. what’s more, tags in the third layer were put near to their parent tag in the second layer. for example, “#mushu” was the main character of film mulan and “#liuyifei” was the one who acted mushu. both of these two tags were directly related to tag “#mulan”, so these two bubbles were placed near bubble “#mulan”. figure 15 event view of final visualization model compared with the first visualization, the outlook of bubble chart was neater and clearer to understand. tags were represented with bubbles in gradient color placed in order, and size of texts were fixed for each layer. what’s more, users can easily realize the relationship like parent or grandparent between tags. the dataset collected on instagram platform for event view of “#disney” harshtag is shown at figure 16. figure 16 dataset of event view 6. evaluation the visualization method we used is inspired from masahiko itoh (itoh et al., 2013). but we choose different topics, we focus on the instagram a huge social media platform, trying to represent the clout of topics in same time-vary to analyse the trend of different topics, and represent the reason why these topics was mentioned in user’s instagram. masahiko itoh (itoh et al., 2013) focused on multiple media, such as tv, blog and so on, trying to represent the clout of topics in same time varying in different platforms, and represent the topics keyword in different time. comparing visualization model, our visualization model consists of 3 part: hashtag time varying view, hashtag comparison view and event view, their visualization model contains 2 part: image flow view and event view. the hashtag comparison view that we have directly represents the peak value of different topics using line chart. the image flow view and our hashtag time varying view are quite similar, and the both event view actually has similar functionalities. mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 36 6.1. hashtag time varying view & image flow view masahiko itoh (itoh et al., 2013) use histogram diagram to represent the trend of different topics in blog, but they use the image square sequence instead of the square in traditional histogram, which not only shows how many blogs related to this topic, and also the images inside. but they ignore the number of blogs, if the highest number of blogs related to one topic is more than 1 hundred, the size of image square unit will be extremely small. therefore, these images won’t be received by users. otherwise, there are million users in a huge social media, there is no possibilities that hottest topic has less than 1 hundred blogs. the image histogram is not really useful in this scenario. their image flow view also contains the line chart to represent the trend of different topics in other media. our hashtag time varying view (figure 17) also uses the histogram diagram. we use the traditional one-color cube instead of the image design. furthermore, we differentiate the number of posts by color. it will be more clearly to represent the difference of amount. the original histogram just differentiate amount by the height of square, we can also represent it by color. we also change the 2d square in traditional histogram into 3d cube, considering the characteristics of 3d visualization model to avoid no information presented from other angles, especially top view. the different color cube design will make a bit-map from the top view (figure 18), which also timevarying shows the clout of different topics. figure 17 hashtag time varying view figure 18 bit-map from top view 6.2. comparison between 2 event view the event view of masahiko itoh (itoh et al., 2013) uses the tree diagram (figure 19), which only shows the related words. but we also want to show the amount of each subtopic of one topic to analyzing the main reason that this topic was suddenly hot in these days in our scenario. we use bubble chart instead of the tree diagram (figure 20). figure 19 event view (itoh et al., 2013) figure 20 event view of our model mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 37 6.3. test by questionnaire in this section, we intend to use the user evaluation method, questionnaire, to conduct the research on how the 3d visualization model performs. we have found 10 people who are not related to the development of the visualization system at all to the finish 2 questionnaires displayed down below (figure 21 & 22), and the results are concluded as well. in the development of the first questionnaire, 24 questions are composed and are considered the most comprehensive, representative ones that can fully reflect the problem of the amended system. the second questionnaire is designed for analysing people’s view about the comparison between the model created initially and the one amended, and is consist of 7 questions in order to give an objective analysis about whether the changes is worth it or not. figure 21 brief overview of the questionnaire 1 figure 22 brief overview of the questionnaire 2 mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 38 the completed result as the degree of satisfaction for the questionnaire experiment is displayed below (figure 23). the calculation is based on the average of the value that the number of people in each degree multiply the degree value, which is represented by 0, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% corresponding to strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree respectively. here are some aspects that we have concluded from the result. the model performs generally well in organization, complexity and accusation. the first 2 questions reflect the superiority by giving the result of exceeding 80% from the feedback. for the hashtag time-varying view, the general performance is 85%, which is considered fairly well in visualization in general. however, there is still a relatively low result in telling the trend of each tags, which will be better in visualizing it by replacing the 3d histogram into line chart, which is not a better solution in this case. in hashtag comparison view, the result is still a pleasant one in general performance especially in organization and differentiating data trends. in the meantime, the line chart is considered a good representation method for this view. nevertheless, the difficulty of telling people’s interested topics is still exist, which may be resolved by providing more hints through the diagram. in event view, the general performance is fair enough to be considered as an indispensable part of the model, and bubble chart can make the visualization much easier. the colour and size selection are helpful for visualizing heat differences among each tag. figure 23 results of questionnaire 1 figure 24 model 1 figure 25 model 2 in questionnaire 2 result (figure 26) that are displayed below using the same calculation method as the previous one, the overall comparison between the initial model and the amended one is quite obvious: the latter one is better in mehmood/ the academic research community publication pg. 39 general visualization absolutely, especially in organization aspect, which has clearly been a huge development in revising the model. besides, the hashtag time-varying view and the event view both display significant improvement. however, most people that have conducted the research considered that the finalized model does not convey more information than the initial one, which is reasonable since the amendment did not focus much on the information supplement. moreover, many people think using line chart rather than histogram on hashtag comparison view does not seem to be a significant improvement because both can convey the trend among tags fairly well. figure 26 result of questionnaire 2 7. conclusion above all, the visualization method proposed in this study is mainly used for evaluating the levels of heat (discussion amount) of topics and related information. there may be still some weaknesses that the visualization has, anyway, these approaches will be improved in the future work. references chen, s., chen, s., wang, z., liang, j., yuan, x., cao, n., & wu, y. (2016, october). d-map: visual analysis of ego-centric information diffusion patterns in social media. in 2016 ieee conference on visual analytics science and technology (vast) (pp. 41-50). ieee. de_campos filho, a. s., freitas, f., gomes, a. s., & vitorino, j. (2012, july). brandmap: an information visualization platform for brand association in blogosphere. in 2012 16th international conference on information visualisation (pp. 316-320). ieee. finch, j. l., & flenner, a. r. (2016). using data visualization to examine an academic library collection. college & research libraries, 77(6), 765-778. hong, s., wang, f., & zeng, z. (2016, october). design and implementation of data visualization in media manuscripts transmission system. in 2016 first ieee international conference on computer communication and the internet (iccci) (pp. 32-36). ieee. itoh, m., toyoda, m., & kitsuregawa, m. (2013, july). visualizing time-varying topics via images and texts for inter-media analysis. in 2013 17th international conference on information visualisation (pp. 568-576). ieee. windhager, f., federico, p., schreder, g., glinka, k., dörk, m., miksch, s., & mayr, e. (2018). visualization of cultural heritage collection data: state of the art and future challenges. ieee transactions on visualization and computer graphics, 25(6), 2311-2330. proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) pg. 1 research paper received: 29 january 2025, accepted: 22 june 2025, published online: 31 july 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1179 furniture design in historic residences: balancing modernity and cultural heritage respect (case study: old town of hebron). wisam shaded1 1assistant professor. palestine polytechnic university, palestine abstract this study explores the aspects of interior design in traditional homes, focusing on the challenge of balancing contemporary needs with original architectural layouts while adapting to current lifestyle demands. by examining selected residential models, the study evaluates existing spatial configurations, addresses the needs of modern occupants, and proposes interior furniture designs that align with sustainability principles and the conservation of cultural and heritage assets, all while maintaining architectural integrity. the central research question investigates the feasibility of harmonizing furniture design to meet 21st-century living standards without compromising heritage preservation values. the study employs a descriptive and analytical methodology, emphasizing documentation and design within a practical research framework. the findings reveal that integrating historical preservation with contemporary needs is achievable through furniture design that respects and enhances architectural authenticity. the case studies demonstrate that modern functional requirements can be fulfilled without undermining historical identity. the analysis highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing authenticity with modern functionality, particularly in material selection, ergonomics, and technological integration. furthermore, the study uncovers differing user perspectives—some residents favor minimal intervention to preserve historical character, while others welcome broader modifications for comfort and usability. the results underscore the importance of careful maintenance and restoration practices for original furniture and architectural elements and emphasize the need for furniture designs that promote both material and cultural sustainability. ultimately, the study aims to meet the aspirations of hebron’s old city residents for improved living conditions while inspiring younger generations to embrace heritage homes as vital components of a sustainable future grounded in tangible cultural identity © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords cultural heritage; sustainable furniture; reuse, redesign; cultural preservation; human-centered design; adaptive interiors; 1. introduction historical cities play a fundamental role in shaping cultural identity and preserving collective memory (uslu & bölükbaşı ertürk, 2019). in palestine, this role becomes even more critical due to ongoing political instability and the threats posed to the continuity of architectural and urban heritage (al-ja'ba et al., 2007, p. 18). among these cities, hebron stands out for its historical depth and cultural significance, yet it has suffered from severe urban and social degradation. neglect, insufficient infrastructure, and weak policy support have contributed to a decline in both the built environment and the quality of life of its residents (qawasmi et al., 2016). many inhabitants have left the old https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1179&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 city in search of safer and more livable conditions, resulting in further demographic and physical deterioration (sellick, 1994). in response to this urban crisis, the hebron rehabilitation committee (hrc) was established in 1996 by a presidential decree issued by the late president yasser arafat. the committee's mission extends beyond architectural restoration; it aims to safeguard hebron’s cultural heritage, revive its historic core, and promote reinhabitation through sensitive and integrated urban strategies (awad, 2008, pp. 23–24; atmeh, 2007, p. 48). restoration and adaptive reuse projects led by the hrc have reflected a comprehensive vision that merges conservation with social revitalization (qawasmi et al., 2016, p. 204). rather than viewing rehabilitation as mere technical repair, the committee has promoted a proactive cultural strategy rooted in the continuity of arab-islamic urban values (al-hadi, 2017). this culturally sensitive approach has led to improvements in living conditions and better integration between historic and contemporary urban fabrics, all while preserving hebron’s distinctive architectural character (qawasmi et al., 2016, p. 16). a pivotal development occurred in 2017, when hebron was officially inscribed on the unesco world heritage list, underscoring the need for design guidelines that respect heritage values while addressing modern housing challenges (hebron rehabilitation committee, https://www.hrc.ps/ar/node/249). as al-ja'ba (2008) emphasizes, identity is not a fixed or homogenous concept but rather a dynamic and evolving construct shaped by historical experience, shared memory, and societal change. thus, design in heritage contexts like hebron must move beyond functional requirements, engaging meaningfully with the cultural narratives and architectural symbolism embedded in these spaces (al-ja'ba, 2008, pp. 205–231). one of the central challenges in this regard lies in furniture design within historic homes. as noted by shadeed (2023a), designing furniture in the old city of hebron involves striking a delicate balance between preserving historical authenticity and meeting modern standards of comfort, functionality, and family life. this study, developed in collaboration with the hrc and informed by local voices, addresses these tensions through a focused examination of design strategies in historical residential interiors. the traditional architecture of palestinian towns—particularly hebron—is deeply rooted in communal living, agricultural lifestyles, and environmental adaptation. as ghadban (2000) explains, spatial configurations in traditional houses were based on extended family needs and climatic responsiveness, values that continue to inform furniture and interior design today. preserving these principles while adapting to contemporary needs is key to sustaining both cultural and functional integrity (magento commerce, 2024). understanding and reinterpreting traditional spatial layouts is fundamental to this process. as katiba (2018, p. 170) highlights, analyzing the original distribution of space and comparing it with current domestic functions provides critical insight for informed interventions. typically, historic hebron homes include two to three floors (al-ja'ba, 2007, p. 44), featuring narrow passageways, elevated entrances, and internal courtyards—all reflecting a cultural commitment to privacy and social hierarchy (abu salem, k. m., & dandis, h. y., 2008). gendered spatial divisions were also central to domestic life, separating public male reception areas from private family quarters (al-amad, 1998, p. 1). courtyards (al-hosh) formed the heart of the dwelling, organizing rooms around them in fluid yet meaningful ways (abu hilal, 2009, p. 303). these elements continue to inform how contemporary designers approach interior layout and furniture placement in heritage buildings. interior finishes and materials are equally significant. traditional homes employed finishes like qasara or madda in kitchens and bedrooms (ahmed, 2008, p. 86), while stone tiles were used to create durable and integrated floor structures (rizq, 2000, p. 27). entrances were often accessed through vaulted passages leading to shared courtyards that included wells, stables, and storage (al-ju'beh, 2007, p. 45). architectural details such as arched doorways, internal vaults, and built-in seating conveyed both functional and symbolic meaning (katiba, 2018, p. 171). modest, multifunctional furnishings—such as carpets, cushions, and stained-glass windows—added to the aesthetic and cultural richness of the home (al-ju'beh, 2007, p. 52). in this context, historic preservation becomes more than a technical endeavor—it is a pathway to reinforce cultural identity and sustainability. as briney (2020) notes, reusing historic buildings instead of demolishing them contributes shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 to environmentally conscious planning and enhances the uniqueness of historic cities in contrast to the monotony of modern construction. this perspective is especially relevant in hebron, where heritage-based design must respond simultaneously to historical meaning and contemporary needs. 1.1. problem statement this study explores the role of interior and furniture design in achieving a balance between preserving the historical identity of old homes and meeting modern lifestyle needs. the core research questions are as follows: • how can furniture design respect the historical character of a space while addressing contemporary living requirements? • what are the best practices and methods that integrate historical authenticity with modern functional and aesthetic demands? • how can interior design enhance the aesthetic value of historical homes without compromising their original features or traditional materials? • what is the role of technological innovation and modern materials in supporting the integration of authenticity and modernity? the study seeks to provide a theoretical and practical framework for understanding how to harmonize heritage preservation with contemporary design solutions in historical homes. 2. methodology this research adopts a qualitative, human-centered, and site-specific methodology to investigate how adaptive furniture design can contribute to preserving the cultural identity of historical homes while enhancing their functionality for contemporary living. the methodology integrates the following steps: 2.1. literature review a critical review of academic and professional sources on: • cultural heritage preservation. • interior architecture and sustainable furniture design. • the integration of traditional and contemporary design principles. • theories of human-centered and context-sensitive design. 2.2. documentary and archival analysis analysis of: • historical documents, architectural surveys, and conservation reports. • prior studies on the evolution of historical homes in palestine, particularly in hebron. 2.3. case study analysis (multiple sites) fieldwork conducted in four historical homes within the old city of hebron, using: • manual measurements and 3d documentation (where applicable). • architectural surveys of space functionality and constraints. • photographic and material documentation. • selection criteria focused on varied room types (e.g., kitchen, bedroom, reception). shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 2.4. participatory interviews and observations engagement with: • residents (to assess needs, routines, and emotional attachment to the space). • local heritage experts (such as the hebron rehabilitation committee). • furniture and interior design professionals. this stage emphasized the co-creation of design solutions based on lived experience. 2.5. design proposals and evaluation development of adaptive furniture and interior layout proposals, including: • scaled drawings and material suggestions. • sustainable and culturally coherent design strategies. • presentation of proposals to residents for feedback and refinement. • evaluation of outcomes in terms of usability, heritage compatibility, and user satisfaction. this research adopts a structured methodology to explore how furniture design in historical homes can integrate historical preservation with contemporary needs. the following steps will be employed: 2.5.1. literature review a comprehensive review of scholarly sources on: historical preservation. interior and furniture design. integration of traditional and modern design elements. 2.5.2. documentary analysis examination of: archival materials, documents, and reports. case-specific data on historically significant homes and their furniture. 2.5.3. case study approach selection and analysis of multiple historical homes (especially in palestine) to investigate: varied design strategies. the impact of design on preserving authenticity and addressing modern requirements. 2.5.4. expert and resident interviews conversations with: professionals in preservation, interior, and furniture design homeowners and residents of historical houses to gather insights on practical experiences, challenges, and integration strategies. shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 2.6. research objectives 2.6.1. rehabilitate furniture while preserving historical character and improving functionality: modify and restore old furniture to align with the house's character. enhance practical function and user comfort. 2.6.2. establish design criteria for balancing heritage and modern needs: develop guiding principles for interior and furniture design. ensure a balance between conservation and present-day requirements. 2.6.3. create space-sensitive designs: design furniture that fits the available space. consider architectural constraints and heritage aspects. 3. design criteria and principles for furniture in old towns researchers may face challenges in locating specialized catalogues for furniture and interior design in old towns due to the distinctive characteristics, historical phases, and unique functional requirements of these homes. nevertheless, collaboration with design professionals and architectural heritage experts can aid in formulating general design principles suitable for such heritage dwellings. historical interior design serves as a reflection of human development, showcasing advanced design techniques alongside modern innovations, such as electricity and central air conditioning, while emphasizing the artistic value and craftsmanship of furniture (hannon, jena gayle, 2011, p. 4). a deep understanding of the importance of aligning furniture with the spatial character of historical cities, as highlighted by uslu and bölükbaşı (uslu & bölükbaşı ertürk, 2019, p. 1844), reinforces the necessity of considering architectural and social identity when designing furniture for historical homes in palestine. historical interior architecture plays a pivotal role in expressing cultural identity and serves as a rich visual and historical resource that must be preserved. rashdan and ashour (rashdan, w., & ashour, a. f., 2023) emphasize that integrating heritage values into contemporary interior design requires thoughtful strategies that balance authenticity with modern functional needs. respecting the original architectural character is considered a fundamental principle in the design of furniture for traditional homes. furniture must harmonize with the historical architectural style and the time period that the space represents. this includes careful attention to original decorative details such as traditional woodwork, spatial proportions, and interior finishes. such alignment enhances both the visual coherence and functional integration between the furniture and the built environment (brooker & stone, 2010, p. 120). moreover, designing furniture for heritage residences requires the use of materials that closely resemble those originally used—such as treated natural wood and fabrics that reflect the historical and cultural setting of the place. these materials not only help preserve the authentic character of the space but also promote environmental and economic sustainability by relying on locally sourced resources with a clear cultural identity (brooker & stone, 2010, p. 123). to address these challenges, it is crucial to consider the unique context and specific design characteristics of traditional homes when proposing any interior interventions. thoughtful design strategies should aim to enhance both aesthetic and functional qualities, ensuring that the outcome respects the spirit of the original structure. according to white (white, m., 2023, july 10). maintaining visual balance within the space allows for furniture solutions that are both cohesive and expressive of traditional character, ultimately enriching the beauty and cultural value of historic residencesrather than concealing architectural features, designers should highlight and celebrate them as central elements of the interior experience. ( dandis, n., 2023, october ). moreover, selecting styles and design elements that harmonize with historical features while remaining practical for modern living can draw inspiration from 19thand early 20th-century design traditions, periods known for their craftsmanship and detailed ornamentation (white, m., 2023, july 10). leveraging historical imagery and shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 documentation, designers can adapt interiors in a way that reflects the heritage of the space while accommodating contemporary needs. carefully chosen furniture with intricate patterns and decorative features can help bridge the past and present, reinforcing the historical identity of the home and supporting efforts toward cultural preservation. building on the significance of preserving the character of historical interiors, it becomes essential to consider practical strategies that allow for the integration of traditional elements with contemporary needs. one effective approach involves the deliberate use of natural materials, which not only reflects the authenticity of historical design but also supports modern environmental and aesthetic standards. in traditional interior settings, natural wood has historically served as a fundamental component in furniture design. according to brooker and stone (2010), the use of solid wood reflects not only a practical material choice but also a cultural expression rooted in craftsmanship and permanence. materials such as hardwoods were commonly selected for their durability and aesthetic contribution to the integrity of historical interiors (brooker & stone, 2010, p. 118). similarly, fabrics like linen and traditional textiles can be paired with contemporary elements to preserve the cultural character while introducing simplicity and comfort. the use of rich fabrics such as velvet or modern textile blends can further enhance the home’s historical ambience while meeting the standards of modern comfort (think interior, 2024, february 18). another key strategy involves the adaptive reuse of antique furniture. redesigning older pieces to suit contemporary functions contributes to cultural sustainability by preserving the identity of traditional furniture while reducing the need for new material production and lowering carbon emissions (hughes, luke, 2022, november 30). this adaptive approach can include refinishing existing pieces, such as sanding down to bare wood and applying a new stain to rejuvenate their visual appeal without erasing their historical essence (blenkinsop, p., 2022). moreover, thoughtful furniture design must address functionality. historical pieces can be adapted for modern use by ensuring they provide comfort and practicality, such as incorporating hidden storage solutions or transforming seating into multi-functional elements. while preserving the authenticity of space is vital, ensuring that furniture is suited for daily life helps foster continued use and appreciation. in efforts to maintain authenticity, sourcing original period pieces whenever possible adds significant historical value. where original pieces are unavailable, traditionally manufactured furniture—produced using historical techniques— can serve as appropriate alternatives that honor the spirit of the past (blenkinsop, p., 2022). finally, a balanced integration of old and new is key to achieving a coherent and livable design. pairing traditional furniture with modern accents—such as placing a contemporary table next to an antique chair or combining modern lighting with classic furnishings—creates a dynamic yet respectful dialogue between eras (blenkinsop, p., 2022). the strategic use of color coordination supports the balance between traditional and modern aesthetics by blending tones that create visual harmony and spatial unity within the interior environment (brooker & stone, 2013, p. 112)." these strategies align with the broader objective of preserving the aesthetic and cultural integrity of historical homes while adapting them to suit contemporary lifestyles—a goal that lies at the heart of sustainable and culturally sensitive interior design. 4. practical side of research and case studies this research focuses on furniture and interior space design in historic residential buildings located in the old town of hebron, palestine. it draws on a foundation of reports related to property maintenance, adaptive reuse, and heritage preservation. a previous study by the researcher (shadeed, 2023b) highlighted the daily challenges faced by families living in these old houses, particularly the mismatch between traditional spatial layouts and furniture and the functional needs of contemporary life. this gap underscores the need for thoughtful design solutions that respect the historical context while supporting the current lifestyles of the inhabitants. the selection of case studies was guided by clear and deliberate criteria to ensure methodological rigor and practical relevance. all selected houses are situated within the historic core of the old city and are still inhabited by families, providing a genuine context for exploring how interior design interventions can enhance daily life. these homes were shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 chosen based on actual requests from residents seeking redesign solutions that could make their heritage homes more comfortable and adaptable to modern living. each house showcases distinctive architectural and cultural features— such as thick stone walls, arches, traditional flooring, built-in niches, and remnants of heritage furniture—that express the tangible and intangible values of local identity (al-amiry, 2000). the selection process was carried out in coordination with the hebron rehabilitation committee, ensuring alignment with local conservation guidelines and access to valuable technical documentation. to develop interior solutions suited to this unique context, the research followed a systematic process structured around three main phases: • initial preparation and analysis phase: detailed data collection and analysis were conducted to document the current state of each house. this included manual surveys, 3d laser scanning, and photographic documentation. special attention was given to understanding traditional spatial planning and the design standards historically used in the old town, including materials and the original functions of interior elements such as bedrooms, living spaces, kitchens, and storage areas. residents’ specific functional and psychological needs were identified through in-depth interviews, and comprehensive twodimensional and three-dimensional drawings were prepared to record interior walls, floors, and any remaining builtin features. the impact of the surrounding urban environment on interior comfort was also considered. • short-term time analysis: this phase focused on evaluating the existing furniture and interior layouts to identify constraints and possibilities for adaptive reuse. the performance of current layouts was analyzed in terms of circulation, storage efficiency, and daily functionality. materials were selected with care to ensure compatibility with the historic fabric, while also meeting modern standards for comfort, durability, and ease of maintenance. • design and development phase: based on the insights gained, a series of context-sensitive design proposals were developed. these focused on creating practical, flexible, and human-centered layouts that improve the usability of spaces while preserving the architectural identity of each home. the redesigns addressed essential interior elements such as sleeping areas, seating arrangements for family gatherings, study spaces for students, kitchens that optimize available space, and integrated storage solutions to reduce clutter. contemporary furniture and finishes were chosen to respect the original character of each space, ensuring that upgrades—such as improved lighting, better circulation, and more efficient zoning—do not compromise heritage value. modern tools and amenities were thoughtfully integrated to support a comfortable and functional lifestyle within a historic setting. in all case studies, the residents’ voices played an essential role in shaping the redesigns. their input ensured that the solutions were not just theoretical but responsive to real daily routines, needs, and aspirations for a better quality of life. by aligning innovative interior design strategies with heritage-sensitive practices, this research offers practical guidance for enhancing the livability of historic houses while safeguarding their cultural significance. 4.1. research sample 1: qafisheh family house the qafisheh family house is an architecturally significant heritage residence that contributes to the distinctive character and authenticity of hebron’s old city. it reflects the aesthetic principles of traditional arab-islamic architecture through its thick stone walls and original spatial divisions that embody local cultural identity. inherited by mrs. um hani qafisheh from her late father, the house consists of three levels: the ground floor dates back to the late 19th century during the ottoman era, while the upper levels were added in the early 20th century. like many historic homes of its time, the original structure did not include a dedicated kitchen or bathroom, as families traditionally cooked in open courtyards (ḥawsh) and used shared or remote bath facilities. over time, the family adapted the space by converting one of the interior rooms into a small kitchen and constructing a bathroom adjacent to its entrance. however, this solution created new spatial challenges: the kitchen remains extremely small, poorly organized, and constrained by irregular walls, while the bathroom lacks sufficient privacy and functional zoning. shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 today, the second level—currently inhabited by the family’s son—serves as the primary focus of this case study. an on-site investigation, including manual measurements, photographic documentation, and detailed interviews with the residents, identified the key functional problems: limited and inefficient storage, lack of clear kitchen zones, poor finishes and outdated fixtures, and the difficulty of integrating modern appliances. these challenges reflect a broader issue faced by many families living in historical dwellings: the need to adapt heritage interiors to modern lifestyles without compromising their cultural value. the proposed redesign aims to address these shortcomings by optimizing the available space through clear functional zoning, custom-built storage solutions, and the sensitive introduction of modern kitchen and bathroom fixtures. this includes adding a proper sink, oven, stove, refrigerator, and sufficient cabinets and shelving units while maintaining respect for the original stone structure and irregular spatial geometry. these solutions intend to improve daily comfort, hygiene, and thermal conditions, making the space more livable for the current and future generations. (see figure 1 for floor plans and photos showing the existing conditions.) figure 1: shows floor plans and photos showing the existing conditions. (source: by the author, 2023). 4.1.1. analysis of kitchen problems and proposed solutions: redesigning a kitchen and bathroom in a historical residence demands balancing heritage preservation with practical, contemporary upgrades. the qafisheh house highlights how adapting one of the original rooms for cooking and washing, without proper planning, can result in cramped, inefficient spaces that fail to meet modern needs. the proposed interventions are designed to respect the original walls while using lightweight partitions and customized furniture to maximize every available corner. table 2 summarizes the main problems identified and the corresponding design solutions. (see figure 2)illustrates the proposed design solutions for the qafisheh house kitchen and bathroom, showing how storage cabinets, materials, and finishes have been selected and arranged to respect the historic character of the house while meeting the family’s modern living needs. the designs aim to improve daily usability and comfort without compromising the architectural integrity of the heritage structure. see table 1: qafisheh house – kitchen and bathroom problem analysis and proposed solutions. shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 figure 2 illustrates the proposed design solutions for the qafisheh house kitchen and bathroom (source: by the author, 2024). table 1: qafisheh house – kitchen and bathroom problem analysis and proposed solutions(source: by the author, 2024) problem description (before) impact proposed solution (after) illustrative images original lack of facilities the house was not originally designed with a kitchen or bathroom. limits usability and comfort in daily life. sensitively integrate modern kitchen and bathroom spaces within the existing structure. small kitchen size the converted room is very small and irregular in shape. restricts movement and storage capacity. reorganize the layout, add built-in cabinets, and utilize corners effectively. insufficient storage lack of dedicated cupboards or shelving units. causes clutter and inefficiency. install modular storage units and overhead cabinets to maximize space. poor functional zoning the kitchen and bathroom lack clear divisions and zones. reduces usability and hygiene. use lightweight partitions to separate wet and dry areas and define circulation. outdated fixtures & finishes old finishes and basic plumbing fixtures limit functionality. lowers hygiene and thermal comfort. upgrade finishes, install modern plumbing and electrical points. irregular wall geometry original walls create awkward corners and dead spaces. makes furniture placement inefficient. custom-fit furniture solutions to suit the irregular layout. 4.2. research sample 2: al-dweik house located in the old town of hebron, near shalala street, see figure 2, al-dweik house is a representative example of traditional palestinian residential architecture. currently inhabited by mr. tariq dweik and his family, the house displays characteristic architectural features such as narrow doorways, elevated thresholds, and compact interior spaces. like many homes in the old city, its spatial layout has evolved to meet changing family needs, but it still faces limitations due to its historical structure. ( see figure 3) shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 10 figure 3: illustrates the location of al-dweik house. (source: by the author, 2023) one of the most pressing challenges identified in this case is the adaptation of a former storage room to serve as a functional bedroom for the family’s daughter. through site visits and a detailed architectural survey, including manual measurements and photographic documentation, the researcher assessed the room’s physical constraints, including limited dimensions, poor insulation, and difficult access. the research process also involved direct interviews with family members, particularly focusing on the daughter’s spatial and emotional needs. a set of design interventions was proposed to achieve a balance between the preservation of historical character and the enhancement of livability. these included the integration of lightweight insulation materials that protect the original stone walls while improving thermal comfort, as well as the introduction of multifunctional furniture, such as a bed with integrated storage and a foldable desk suited for study and relaxation. the interior layout was reorganized to maximize the use of vertical space, enabling the incorporation of shelving and compact storage. where structurally feasible, minor adjustments to the room’s entrance were proposed to improve circulation and furniture access. ( see figure 4) figure 4: presents examples of multifunctional furniture that were adopted in the design of the daughter's room, suitable for limited spaces. (source: by the author, 2023) lighting was another critical consideration. a lighting plan was developed to combine natural and artificial sources, enhancing both spatial quality and psychological comfort. these strategies align with broader conservation goals and contribute to redefining the use of heritage interiors without compromising their identity. this case underscores the broader potential of furniture-focused design interventions in revitalizing traditional homes, especially when addressing the needs of younger generations within historically constrained spaces. as follows, table 2: shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 11 table 2: al-dweik house bedroom for the daughter – problem analysis and proposed solutions. (source: by the author, 2025). problem description (before) impact proposed solution (after) illustrative images narrow door and high steps narrow main door and elevated steps hinder moving in modern furniture. incompatibility with modern furniture and inconvenience. design custom-built, onsite furniture; improve stair layout; install handrails for safety. poor window insulation windows allow air leakage and cold drafts. discomfort during winter: potential health concerns. reinforce window and door seals to improve insulation and indoor comfort. limited movement & low ceiling the entrance platform restricts movement; some areas have low ceilings (2m). reduced comfort and inefficient use of space. redesign the layout to allow fluid movement and adjust the lighting to enhance the spatial experience. inefficient use of space (storage use) the room is used as storage due to layout and structural issues. prevents the space from serving its intended purpose as a bedroom. transform the room into a functional space with a warm color palette, wood flooring, and versatile furniture. lack of multifunctional design absence of tailored furniture for the girl's daily needs. limits comfort, usability, and personal expression. incorporate multi-use elements: vanity, cushioned window seat, movable desk, and compact storage. the design adopted simplicity and a color scheme suitable for the room. the flooring was changed to wood to suit both cold and hot climates. multi-purpose furniture was designed for various uses, including a vanity area, a cushioned seating area by the window, and a movable desk in the storage area next to the window. ( see figure 5) figure 5: shows the al-dweik house before and after the redesign, highlighting the implemented solutions and innovative design approaches applied to adapt the historical space. (source: by the author, 2023) shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 12 4.3. research sample 3: saada al-rajabi house (abu fawzi) the al-rajabi family residence, located in the bani dar neighborhood of the old city of hebron, represents a historical structure that evolved over multiple building phases. based on its location and architectural typology, the house likely dates back to the early 19th century or earlier, with some elements reflecting the mamluk period (shadeed, 2023). the original entrance is accessed through the al-kayyal family courtyard, a typical spatial configuration in hebron’s historic housing fabric. ( see figure 6) figure 6: section of al-rajabi house (source: author, 2023), site location via google earth, and floor plan drawn and documented by the author (2023). 4.3.1. redesign of a historic bedroom for the al-rajbi family’s daughter to meet university study requirements the analysis, supported by in-depth interviews with the parents—um fawzi al-rujbi and abu fawzi al-rujbi— revealed several spatial and usability challenges that directly affected their daughter’s comfort, privacy, and daily productivity. as shared by the parents during the interviews, the original furniture layout restricted circulation and limited her sense of personal space, especially due to the bed being positioned directly opposite the door. the lack of dedicated storage near the entrance contributed to visual clutter, while the absence of a proper clothes hanger, a fulllength mirror, and an ergonomic study area further hindered her daily routine and study focus. additionally, the adjacent storage room remained underutilized, creating a missed opportunity for functionality. the dominant yellow-toned lighting, described by the family as harsh and tiring, created an unpleasant atmosphere, while the cold tiled flooring reduced overall thermal comfort, particularly in winter. these observations, grounded in the lived experiences of the family, guided the design process toward a more responsive and personalized solution. in response, a holistic and sensitive redesign was proposed to better meet the needs of the young daughter. the bed will be repositioned to a more secluded area of the room to ensure privacy, and a dedicated shoe storage unit will be added at the entrance to improve organization. the adjacent storage room will be transformed into a walk-in closet with shelves and a clothing rack, maximizing storage and accessibility. lighting will be upgraded to include natural or white led tones to improve visual comfort and create a more inviting atmosphere. the existing elevated platform will be redesigned either with hidden storage compartments or with wood cladding, to enhance both insulation and aesthetic appeal. an ergonomically designed study desk will be installed to support her academic activities, and a full-length mirror will be added to meet daily grooming needs. replacing the tiled flooring with wooden materials will add warmth and increase thermal comfort throughout the space. this redesign exemplifies how thoughtful furniture solutions and interior design interventions—rooted in direct dialogue with the residents—can significantly enhance the livability and functionality of spaces within historic homes. by responding to the daughter’s unique lifestyle and developmental needs while preserving the architectural character of the house, the project achieves a balanced, heritage-sensitive approach to interior transformation. for a visual representation of the proposed changes, see figure 7 and table 3 for detailed specifications. (see figure 7; table 3 for detailed specifications). shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 13 table 3: historic girl’s room – problem analysis and proposed solutions. (source: by the author, 2025). problem description (before) impact proposed solution (after) illustrative images inappropriate furniture layout furniture is placed without consideration of circulation and comfort. hinders movement and causes discomfort. rearrange furniture to optimize space and enhance comfort. no shoe storage no designated area for storing shoes. causes clutter and disorganization. add a shoe storage unit near the room entrance. bed lacks privacy the bed is directly opposite the door. reduces privacy and comfort. move the bed to a more secluded area within the room. poor use of storage room the storage room is not effectively utilized. wasted space. convert it into a walk-in closet with racks and shelving. uncomfortable yellow lighting existing lighting creates a harsh, warm ambience. affects mood and comfort. replace with white or natural lighting. no clothes hanger no fixed place to hang clothes. disorganization of clothing items. install a clothes hanger inside the storage room. underused platform the platform space is not utilized functionally. missed storage or functional use opportunity. cover the platform with wood or convert it into hidden storage. inadequate study desk the desk is not ergonomic or suitable for study. reduces study comfort and productivity. replace with a functional, studentfriendly desk. no full-length mirror only a small handheld mirror is available. difficulties with daily routines. add a full-length mirror in a convenient location. uncomfortable floor tiles the existing tiles are hard and cold. discomfort when walking barefoot. replace tiles with wooden flooring for comfort and warmth. shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 14 figure 7: illustrates the redesign of a university student’s room in the al-rajbi family house and the proposed design solutions that meet contemporary needs. (source: by the author, 2023). 4.3.2. redesigning the reception and seating in the al-rajabi family home this case examines the main reception and seating area in the al-rajabi family residence, distinguished by its fanvaulted ceiling dating back to the mamluk period—an architectural element that reflects the islamic heritage and aesthetic traditions of historic hebron. despite the room’s cultural and historical significance, its current interior design undermines both function and atmosphere. the existing furniture is disproportionate to the spatial scale, restricting circulation and reducing guest comfort. wall colors are misaligned with the historical identity of the space, and structural protrusions challenge the efficient arrangement of furnishings. additionally, open wall recesses and the absence of stylistic cohesion further diminish the room’s character as a welcoming social space. to address these issues, the proposed redesign strategy focuses on selecting furniture that complements the room’s proportions, introducing color schemes and wall treatments inspired by islamic motifs, and incorporating traditional materials to reinforce heritage values. furniture placement was carefully adapted to work around structural constraints, and interventions aimed to restore harmony between the room’s functional role and its architectural legacy. this case demonstrates the potential of context-sensitive interior interventions to enhance the usability of historic reception areas while preserving their cultural and spatial identity. (see figure 8) (see table 4) shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 15 table 4: the reception and seating design – problem analysis and proposed solutions. (source: by the author, 2025). problem description (before) impact proposed solution (after) illustrative images mismatch between the existing sofa set design and the given space the current furniture is unsuitable for the room size, and its arrangement hinders movement and reduces guest comfort. improves room coherence and comfort, providing more space for movement. choose a sofa set that matches the room's dimensions and space, while ensuring the furniture arrangement allows free movement and comfort for guests. inappropriate wall colors and paint the wall colors do not match the islamic style, and the tones are not soothing or harmonious with the room's purpose. adds aesthetic appeal and creates a warm, comfortable atmosphere in the room. select paint colors that match the islamic style (warm and natural tones) or use wallpaper with islamic patterns. structural protrusions in the original room design hindering high furniture placement structural protrusions prevent the placement of high furniture and restrict the free flow of the space. facilitates furniture placement without obstacles, enhancing space utilization. design low-level furniture that fits with the original structural protrusions, or rearrange the furniture to avoid these protrusions. presence of openings in the walls and the need for a roomsuitable design openings in the walls are not aesthetically pleasing and create unnecessary gaps in the space. enhances aesthetics and utilizes openings for additional storage or display space. use furniture or decor to conceal openings or transform them into shelves or display areas. need for a design that reflects the historical period and islamic style in terms of designs, materials, and colors the room design lacks elements that reflect the islamic style, and the materials and colors used are not traditional. creates a traditional and aesthetic ambience that reflects the islamic style, adding a sense of heritage and warmth to the room. incorporate islamic designs, traditional materials (wood, velvet), and classic colors (blue, green). shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 16 figure 8: presents a comparison between the current condition of a room in al-rajabi house and the proposed design interventions aimed at enhancing its functionality and preserving its heritage features. (source: by the author, 2023). 5. discussion 5.1. integrated design approach in historical homes although furniture design may appear secondary in the restoration of historical homes, it plays a vital role in shaping spatial efficiency, residents’ emotional well-being, and cultural continuity. the arrangement and thoughtful selection of furniture directly influence daily routines, comfort levels, and the sense of belonging to the place, especially in heritage houses where every element carries cultural and historical value. this research explored four functional spaces within traditional dwellings: kitchens, converted bedrooms, students’ rooms, and reception salons. the analysis combined detailed site measurements, spatial assessments, and interviews with residents to understand their daily practices and evolving needs. for example, kitchens—such as in the qafisheh house—highlight how many old houses were not originally built with integrated kitchens or bathrooms, resulting in spatial limitations that require sensitive redesign. similarly, student rooms, family bedrooms, and traditional salons demonstrate how carefully planned furniture, storage solutions, and respectful material choices can address modern needs while maintaining historical character. residents’ feedback across all case studies confirmed that these furniture and interior design interventions added functional value and enhanced their emotional connection to their homes. the collaboration with local heritage stakeholders helped align these solutions with broader conservation goals, ensuring that practical upgrades support long-term preservation. 5.2. coordination with the hebron rehabilitation committee as part of the practical phase of this research, the researcher coordinated with the hebron rehabilitation committee to ensure that proposed solutions align with local heritage preservation standards and community needs. a dedicated meeting was held with the committee’s director, mr. imad hamdan, and a group of engineers at the committee’s headquarters in the old town of hebron. this meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the feasibility of implementing the proposed designs as part of future funded restoration projects and to exchange professional insights on how to balance adaptive reuse with cultural conservation. this professional exchange emphasized the potential for integrated interior design to complement structural conservation efforts and to make historic homes more livable for contemporary families. (figure 9) shows a part of this meeting with the hebron rehabilitation committee and several engineers in their office in the old city of hebron, documenting the collaborative spirit and context of these discussions. shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 17 figure 9: shows a part of this meeting with the hebron rehabilitation committee and several engineers in their office in the old city of hebron. (source: by the author, 2024) 5.3. shared analysis points integrated into the discussion 5.3.1. space and layout challenges: all spaces shared a common issue of inefficient furniture arrangement due to either space limitations or a mismatch between existing furniture and room dimensions. across all cases, solutions centered on optimized layouts, built-in units, and proportionally scaled furniture to support circulation and comfort. 5.3.2. privacy consideration: privacy, especially in bedrooms used by university students, emerged as a significant concern. in the daughter's room and converted bedroom, bed placement, partitioning, and storage layout were revised to foster a sense of personal space, critical for comfort, focus, and self-care. while less prominent in kitchen and salon areas, layout adjustments still supported subtle visual and spatial privacy. 5.3.3. design reflecting cultural context: a culturally grounded approach was vital, especially in the reception salon, where islamic aesthetics guided the design. in all rooms, efforts were made to reflect identity using arabesque patterns, natural tones, and traditional materials, enhancing the sense of place and reinforcing heritage. 5.4. material selection: sustainability and authenticity informed material choices. wood, velvet, and eco-friendly finishes were favored for their natural appeal and historical resonance, aligning the interiors with both environmental and cultural values. 5.5. ventilation and lighting improvements: ventilation and lighting were key in enhancing comfort and functionality. from repositioning windows to replacing harsh lighting with natural or neutral-toned alternatives, each intervention supported both physical health and mood improvement. the reception and salon space exemplified the complex challenge of integrating contemporary functionality into historically rooted environments. structural protrusions, mismatched furniture, and disjointed design elements were harmonized through adaptive furniture, islamic ornamentation, and material consistency, transforming the area into a welcoming social hub. (see figure 8) overall, the interventions succeeded in blending emotional, practical, and cultural dimensions of design. the rooms were not simply redesigned; they were reimagined as human-centered environments respectful of their past and responsive to the present. however, it is important to acknowledge that while these design strategies proved effective within the specific cultural and architectural context of hebron’s historical homes, their direct application to other regions may be limited. differences in cultural living habits, material availability, aesthetic preferences, and heritage regulations could affect the success of similar interventions elsewhere. therefore, any transfer of these solutions shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 18 requires careful adaptation to local norms, regulatory frameworks, and the specific characteristics of historical buildings in each context. (see table 5) table 5: challenges and design responses in historical home interiors (source: by the author, 2025) key challenge impact design response inefficient furniture layout hindered movement and comfort optimized layouts with built-in or scaled furniture lack of privacy in bedrooms reduced comfort and personal well-being reoriented beds, added partitions, and utilized storage for zoning cultural disconnection in aesthetics loss of identity and heritage value islamic motifs, traditional materials, harmonious color palettes poor lighting and ventilation affected mood, hygiene, and usability introduced natural lighting and improved ventilation sources absence of storage solutions clutter and disorganization added multifunctional furniture, walk-in closets, and concealed storage underutilized architectural features wasted potential and awkward space converted niches and platforms into functional or display areas inappropriate materials and finishes discomfort and loss of authenticity introduced wood, eco-materials, and historically sympathetic finishes 6. conclusions and recommendations based on the information provided and the case study approach for researching furniture in historical homes, here are potential results and recommendations that can be derived: 6.1. conclusions 6.1.1. harmonizing historical preservation with modern needs the study demonstrates that historical homes greatly benefit when furniture design honors architectural authenticity while thoughtfully integrating contemporary living requirements. the case studies reveal successful examples where traditional aesthetics are skillfully combined with functional modernity. 6.1.2. challenges in furniture design for heritage homes balancing the preservation of historical integrity with the demands of modern comfort and technology poses significant challenges. these include careful material selection, maintaining comfort standards, and sensitively upgrading features without compromising original elements. restoring and preserving original furniture requires a delicate, well-informed approach. 6.1.3. user perspectives and diversity of needs residents of heritage homes value designs that preserve the cultural atmosphere while enhancing everyday usability. however, user preferences differ: some favor minimal interventions to retain authenticity, while others embrace more extensive modifications aimed at comfort and practicality. shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 19 6.1.4. broader applicability of findings though this research focuses on the old city of hebron, many insights and design solutions are relevant to other historical cities and traditional dwellings worldwide facing similar spatial and cultural challenges. common issues such as inefficient furniture layouts, privacy concerns, and the preservation of cultural identity are shared across heritage sites in the arab world, the mediterranean, europe, and beyond. the integrated design approach—anchored in adaptive reuse, cultural sensitivity, and user-centered solutions—provides a valuable framework for future interventions in diverse historical contexts. 6.2. recommendations • promote adaptive reuse and creative reinterpretation of historical interiors by balancing respect for tradition with innovative design approaches. • encourage furniture solutions that are sensitive to cultural, environmental, and ergonomic factors, ensuring they harmonize with the historical context. • maintain design flexibility to allow users to personalize their spaces according to evolving lifestyles, while safeguarding core heritage values. • increase community awareness about the importance of sustainable design practices that align with cultural heritage conservation goals. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the cities’ identity through architecture & art (citaa) conference – 8th edition, which was held on the 17th 19th of september 2024. i would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of this research. special thanks go to engineer hilmi marqa, who supervised the restoration works of the houses studied, and to engineer nuha dandis for her valuable cooperation and insight throughout the study. i am deeply grateful to the hebron rehabilitation committee, represented by its president, mr. emad hamdan, for their continuous support and openness to the proposed ideas. my heartfelt appreciation also goes to the residents and homeowners who generously opened their homes and shared their experiences, enabling a deeper understanding of the real challenges and needs. i would also like to thank the palestine polytechnic university for providing the academic environment and support that made this study possible. finally, my appreciation goes to the students and colleagues whose efforts and input enriched the research process with thoughtful perspectives and dedication. funding declaration this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval this study was conducted independently and did not involve any procedures requiring formal institutional ethics approval. all participants were informed about the nature of the research and participated voluntarily. no personally identifiable information was collected, and all data were gathered anonymously. the research was carried out in accordance with recognized ethical standards and posed no risk to participants. conflict of interest the author declares that there is no competing interest. shaded/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 20 references abu hilal, a. 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(2019). analyzed and the missing urban furniture was found in the historical environment, and original design proposals were introduced to highlight the identity of the city. turkish studies social sciences, 14(4). wit transactions on ecology and the environment, vol 191, the sustainable city ix, vol. 2. www.witpress.com, issn 1743-3541 (online), © 2014 wit press. white, m. (2023, july 10). what’s historically appropriate for your house? here are 7 ways to find out. preservation tips and tools. https://savingplaces.org/stories/7-tips-to-determine-what-is-historically-appropriate-for-your-house-when-redecorating list of interviews (primary sources) dandis, n. (2023, october). structural consultation, hebron rehabilitation committee. dweik, t. (2023, october). interview on repurposing interior space, al-dweik house. hamdan, i. (2024, march). feasibility and implementation discussion, hebron rehabilitation committee. maraqah, h. (2023, may). early structural insights, hebron rehabilitation committee. um hani qafisheh and husband. personal interview. conducted by the author, hebron, 2023. al-rujbi, um fawzi. personal interview. hebron, (2023, september). technical and spatial design consultation, hebron rehabilitation committee al-rujbi, abu fawzi. personal interview. hebron, (2023, september). interview on spatial adaptation needs, al-shallala street house http://www.witpress.com/ http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 received: 7 november 2023, accepted: 18 january 2024, published online: 31 january 2024 doi: 10.21625/archive.v8i1.1046 gender and culture inclusivity in the story of hope fashion collection dewa made weda githapradana1, i gede mugi raharja 2, tjok istri ratna c.s 3, nyoman dewi pebryani3 1department of fashion design product and business, school of creative industries, ciputra university of surabaya, indonesia 2lecturer, department of interior design, art and design faculty, indonesia institute of the art denpasar, indonesia 3department of fashion design, art and design faculty, indonesia institute of the art denpasar, indonesia abstract discrimination against minority groups often still occurs and becomes a global problem. the problem of discrimination, such as minority gender and cultural minorities, is a social issue that needs to be exposed to get awareness. inclusivity is one of the methods used to increase awareness of issues of gender and cultural discrimination. inclusivity is one of the discourses to answer the challenges of sustainable development goals related to the topic of gender equality and reducing inequality. fashion is a branch of design that often presents the context of inclusivity through works. the discourse of glocalization in the fashion industry also provides an opportunity to raise local content related to minority culture and gender as inspiration and communication through fashion works. the story of hope collection is an example of a fashion creation with the theme of gender and minority culture. the problem discussed in this paper is how gender and cultural inclusivity are communicated through fashion stories of hope. the study applied qualitative methods with primary data collection techniques through observation and interviews. the secondary data was obtained through literature studies. the theory used in analyzing the data uses a barthes semiotic approach and postmodern aesthetic of bricolage. the story of hope collection is a fashion creation that adapts gender-fluid trends and applies traditional fabrics to represent culture in contemporary clothing. story of hope collection can be used as a communication tool in conveying inclusive discourse through its constituent visual elements. © 2024 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords inclusivity; fashion; gender; culture 1. introduction globalization frequently makes power disparities that already exist worse by promoting gender and cultural inequality. diverse cultural manifestations may be marginalized by cultural hegemony, which is fueled by prevailing international norms. gender disparities may be exacerbated by the exploitation of gender minorities, particularly in developing nations, in globalization-related industries. furthermore, western values imposed on indigenous civilizations have the potential to weaken them. in order to ensure that globalization benefits everyone rather than escalating already-existing inequities, efforts to resolve these discrepancies must place a high priority on inclusive policies that empower excluded groups and foster cultural diversity. fashion is a potent medium for communication that both shapes and reflects cultural variety. clothing takes on the role of a visual language, representing cultural norms, identity, and values. different looks and traditional attire http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ githapradana/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 highlight cultural diversity and promote appreciation. fashion crosses boundaries in today's globalized society, enabling people to convey their own cultural narratives. designers that promote inclusivity by combining elements from many cultures. in the end, fashion serves as a vital tool for fostering intercultural communication and understanding in addition to reflecting the beauty of cultural diversity. the gender context is a subject that frequently comes up, particularly when it comes to gender minority groups. currently, the third gender category is also affected by the issue of gender discrimination, in addition to women. one of the primary concerns regarding gender issues is still discrimination. third gender issues, particularly those affecting communities of minority men, are complex and have many facets. scientific studies have shown that discrimination causes differences in a variety of facets of minority groups' lives. these include third-gender people's experiences with assault, mental health issues, inadequate healthcare, and legal difficulties (bränström & pachankis, 2018). lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, and transgender (lgbt) people encounter prejudice, discrimination, hate crimes, and other types of victimization on a global scale (chan & mak, 2021). non-binary gender or genderqueer are other terms for the third gender. this gender minority group questions the conventional binary conception of gender as either male or female. people who identify as third gender may have a gender identification that is neither purely male nor exclusively female, or they may completely reject the idea of gender. in recent years, third-gender issues, particularly in minority male groups, have drawn more attention, which has prompted scientific studies to better understand and address the particular difficulties these people confront. men are placed in a higher position because of the negative stigma of masculinity and heteronormative culture (chatmon, 2020). this widespread stigma leads to prejudice against minority populations. a collection of cultural expectations and norms known as toxic masculinity promotes traditional masculine behaviors including violence, dominance, and the repression of emotions that are normally associated with femininity. as it fosters prejudice and marginalization of those who don't fit typical male or female gender norms, this idea has important consequences for third-gender minorities. through a number of methods, toxic masculinity can result in discrimination toward third-gender people. first, people who don't fit into traditional gender roles are frequently seen as undermining the existing gender order, which causes strong reactions from those who do (puckett et al., 2020). the second mechanism is that discrimination can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including physical harm, verbal harassment, and social exclusion. furthermore, toxic masculinity perpetuates misconceptions about third-gender people, depicting them as weak, uncharacteristic, or morally reprehensible (chatmon, 2020). third-gender minorities are further marginalized by these assumptions, which further fuel discrimination, preventing them from fully participating in both the social and professional sectors. minority cultures are not exempt from discrimination issues. on the one hand, globalization fosters cross-national communication and cultural exchange, but it may also stifle minority cultures, creating issues with prejudice (mutalibovna, 2020). the impact of globalization on identity, cultural preservation, and power dynamics has made discrimination against minority cultures a problematic issue. with the growth and adoption of dominant cultures from powerful nations due to globalization, cultural manifestations frequently become homogenized. as a result of the erosion or devaluation of their distinctive practices and traditions, minority cultures risk marginalization and persecution. according to research, globalization may result in a decline in cultural diversity, which may diminish the independence and resiliency of minority cultures (sassen, 2014). modern information technology advancements give rise to a perspective known as the global dilemma. local cultures are at risk because of globalization, yet because of the accessibility of information, there are also opportunities for these minority cultures to be known to a larger audience. one strategy for promoting minority cultures is to raise awareness of and respect for them. this is one way the sdgs are being implemented in relation to the sociocultural context's equality movement (leal filho et al., 2022). the gender equality component of sdg objective 5 strives to empower women and girls for sustainable development. according to scientific data, gender equality has a good effect on outcomes in the areas of economic growth, health, and education (susan solomon et al., 2021). the growth of the idea of gender identity variety leads the equality movement to extend its concern for other gender minority groups beyond just women. sdg goal 10 on the other githapradana/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 hand focuses on eliminating inequality within and between nations while fostering social, economic, and political inclusion for all. in order to achieve other sdgs and advance sustainable development, reducing inequalities is essential (leal filho et al., 2022). creating an environment that values and encourages variety is referred to as inclusivity. the idea of inclusion makes certain that people of various cultures and genders experience respect, acceptance, and empowerment to fully engage in various social elements (smith & bamberger, 2021). by valuing each person's distinctive contributions and viewpoints, inclusivity develops a feeling of community and advances equality. in order to promote social cohesion, well-being, and sustainable development, the scientific study emphasizes the significance of inclusivity in culture and gender. the practical aspect of inclusivity is to emphasize the significance of defending the rights of indigenous peoples and members of minority cultural and linguistic groups (hatzikidi et al., 2021). there are several ways to communicate inclusive movements towards minority groups and cultures. through the medium of art and design, expressions of inclusivity of minority cultures and gender groups are frequently made. in order to convey inclusivity, artists and designers use works of art and design goods. one of the design disciplines that can be utilized to express social issues nonverbally is fashion (linfante, 2021). fashion is an interdisciplinary media that can depict cultural issues as a type of nonverbal communication (castaldo lundén, 2020). therefore, by being represented through fashion, marginalized communities, and minority cultures can be more understood and respected. story of hope is a fashion collection that is the subject of this research. the apparel for men from this collection embodies the idea of gender-fluid fashion in a dramatically eclectic design. the issue raised in this essay is: how is the story of hope fashion design work inclusive of local culture and gender minority groups? how is the concept of inclusion translated into a visual language through the composition of design elements the subject of this paper? how are meanings conveyed through symbols in the visual arts? the purpose of the research is to find out how inclusivity can be communicated through fashion through visual symbols that are contained in the composition of design elements and trends. another goal is to make fashion a powerful communication tool in promoting the inclusivity movement related to minority cultures and gender groups so as to increase audience awareness of the importance of the concept in a social system that upholds diversity. 2. literature review in his book the language of fashion, roland barthes expanded on saussure's thesis and discussed fashion as a symbol system. language is dress, while parole is dressing, according to barthes, who expanded on this idea to include the world of fashion. fashion, in the language of fashion, refers to the social norms that define clothes, including the model/type of clothing and the social norms that support it. in contrast, dressing or the expression of each individual through the clothes they choose to wear is known as parole (barthes, 2005). according to barthes, there are two levels of semiology for signs: denotation, which is the first level, and connotation, which is the second level. the clear meaning is called denotation, which can also be said to be a specific description of a sign. connotation is the meaning connected to social and cultural values or it can be said that the meaning implied by a sign. the foundation of postmodern aesthetics that is used as the basis for the approach in the preparation of the design concept is fashion as a bricolage product. the creation of the design takes from various stylistic elements, both past and present. however, unlike the pastiche approach which is meaningless, the hybrid style born from this design concept has meaning and purpose (piliang, 2012). another aesthetic approach used as the basis of the study is deconstruction aesthetics. the concept of deconstruction is part of postmodern philosophy. deconstruction theory was introduced by jaques derrida as a method of reading a text. furthermore, deconstruction theory is also used as a foundation for analyzing an art and design object. piliang revealed that derrida's concept of deconstruction is an analytical method to dismantle the structure of binary opposition to bring up an endless game of signs and final meaning (piliang, 2012). deconstruction aesthetics has principles such as anti-logocentric, anti-synthesis, antifunctional, and anti-order. the deconstruction approach can articulate philosophical concepts with many sides, so there is no absolute truth. the anti-synthesis deconstruction principle provides space for the visualization of intuition. the concept of deconstruction provides space to creatively develop the relationship between form and function (geczy & karaminas, 2020). githapradana/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 3. method this paper is the result of qualitative research. writing the research results with descriptive-qualitative methods. the descriptive qualitative method is used as a research approach that focuses on providing a detailed and thorough description of the concept of cultural and gender minority inclusivity through fashion design. this method involves collecting and analyzing data through observation techniques, interviews, and analyzing literature studies to gain an in-depth understanding of the subject of interest. primary research was conducted using direct observation and expert interviews. the observation method was carried out by direct observation of the 'story of hope' design product object. the data obtained was in the form of visual data recordings related to shape, color, motif, texture, and sense-impression both physically and psychologically. the research data was also strengthened by the results of interviews with experts in the field of fashion. the interview technique was carried out using the in-depth interview method, namely digging up the necessary information/data by face-to-face interviews with informants. secondary data was obtained through literature studies through scientific references related to the topic of cultural inclusiveness and gender minorities, as well as fashion studies as a medium of communication. the theoretical approach used in analyzing the research data is barthes' semiotics of fashion as language and parole, as well as the study of denotation-connotation meaning. the second approach is postmodern aesthetic studies related to deconstruction and bricolage. the object of research in this paper is story of hope's gender-fluid menswear collection. the research variables are related to the context of inclusivity, culture, and gender fluidity. the research limitation is the study of inclusivity in the story of hope collection through visual analysis of the design elements based on the perspective of creation based on the results of observations and interviews. 4. discussion story of hope is a fashion collection resulting from a collaborative project between indonesian and south african designers driven by the embassy of the republic of indonesia pretoria. the collaboration aims to improve diplomatic relations through cross-cultural and creative industries, especially fashion. the fashion work reviewed in this paper is the work of indonesian designer weda githa, namely ready-to-wear deluxe menswear with a gender-fluid concept. fashion can be used as a medium of communication to convey history, identity, status, function, and social role (barnard, 2011). the story of hope collection represents inclusivity through visual indicators of its constituent design elements. the term "inclusivity" describes the action of valuing and welcoming variety. through inclusive practices, everyone can feel accepted, respected, and empowered to fully engage in their social environment, regardless of their background, identity, or other qualities. the practice of inclusivity entails developing settings, regulations, and procedures that support equity in access, representation, and opportunity for all persons. a sense of belonging and unity within communities and organizations is fostered by inclusivity, which acknowledges and celebrates the distinctive contributions and perspectives of every individual. the idea of inclusiveness aims to dismantle barriers, advance social justice, and build a more equitable society where everyone may prosper and receive respect and dignity. the idea of inclusivity is something that can be seen throughout weda githa's story of hope collection, related to culture and gender. semiotician roland barthes sees fashion as a language and a method of communication that manifests itself in parole. according to barthes, fashion may function as a language, communicating ideas and concepts via symbolic components, personal style, and cultural allusions. fashion uses signs and symbols, just like spoken or written language, to convey ideas and express identities. clothing, accessories, colors, patterns, and styles are just a few examples of the many indicators that are used in fashion as a language to communicate unique meanings and cultural customs. these symbols can be understood in certain social and historical settings since they are dynamic and constantly changing. wearing traditional attire, for githapradana/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 instance, might symbolize cultural heritage and identity. several visual indications in the form of iconography, materials, and forms can be used to analyze the degree of cultural inclusion in story of hope works. figure 1: batik and shweshwe traditional textile as a cultural indicator figure 1 shows the contemporary ready-to-wear menswear collection. there are several visual indicators used as signs to convey meaning and messages related to culture. the materials used in the design are batik cloth and shweshwe. batik fabric is one of indonesia's cultural icons while shweshwe is a south african cultural icon. based on barthes' semiotic approach, the meaning contained in the visual of figure 1 can be analyzed through denotation and connotation meanings. the denotation meaning of the fashion work in figure 1 is men's fashion that uses traditional fabric materials. however, the representation of the symbolic meaning of the fashion work in the picture is the second level of meaning analysis, namely connotation meaning. the use of batik and shweshwe fabric has a development of meaning. the connotation meaning can develop as follows; the historical relationship between the two countries of indonesia and south africa that has occurred since the 18th century. the relationship occurred because of the history of slavery and the exile of indonesians by the dutch to the south african region. the merging of the two cultural icons signifies an ongoing relationship of diplomacy and collaboration. the next development of connotation is representing local culture through contemporary fashion. indonesia and south africa are not major players on the global fashion stage (adebayo, 2019). this work represents that minority cultures can be promoted to a global audience through fashion products. the use of traditional materials can also be interpreted as an effort to preserve culture through a new form, namely contemporary fashion. thus, the local culture can be recognized by a wider audience and younger generation, thus supporting the sustainability of batik and shweshwe fabrics themselves. another cultural icon is the use of the sarong as an indonesian fashion identity. figure 1 shows the contemporary use of the sarong as a trendy fashion item. just like traditional cloth, the sarong icon shows cultural identity, but on the other hand, the shape of the sarong that has been modified into a contemporary style has created novelty in the image of the sarong itself. the second level of connotation is campaigning for the 'sarong is my new style' movement and also introducing the sarong to the global fashion scene. it implies an inclusive effort towards local culture through fashion as a global language. on the other hand, barthes' parole theory perspective speaks of the unique manifestation or expression of fashion within the more general language of fashion. parole is the practice of expressing one's identity, ideas, and personal preferences through dress. people utilize fashion to express their individual style, fusing various components to githapradana/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 develop their fashion identity and spread it to others. parole enables people to experiment with fashion, question conventions, and develop fresh interpretations of the language of fashion. figure 2: fashion as parole fashion as parole can be observed through how the clothes are used. figure 2 is used to analyze the symbolic meaning through the fashion as parole approach. the analysis of the design work is not only observed through the shape and details of the clothes, but supporting factors such as; how the clothes are used, body language, and the expression of the user in the picture are also used to communicate meaning. the denotative meaning analysis of figure 2 shows two men wearing exotic dramatic-style clothing consisting of tops, bottoms, and outers. what is more interesting is the analysis of the connotation meaning associated with fashion as parole. the second-level connotation meaning of the design work in figure 2 shows a connection to the context of gender minority inclusivity. the symbolic meanings communicated through visual indicators and how fashion products are used are efforts to foster awareness of the existence of gender minority groups, acceptance of the concept of gender diversity, and reconstruction of gender identity. these concepts are communicated through fashion. gender inclusivity in figures 1 and 2 is shown with gender-fluid fashion, which is the borrowing of feminine characters in menswear. feminine characteristics such as the shape of the crop top cut, the wide flare silhouette on the pants, the high slit of the sarong, and the use of accessories such as earrings are stereotypes of feminine fashion. the borrowing of feminine characters is a challenge to conventional men's fashion styles (eum & an, 2022). the gender-fluid context breaks down the binary gender boundaries of male and female fashion stereotypes. the results of an interview with expert photographer ajung parawira, the photography in figure 2 depicts emotional intimacy between two men known as the popular term bromance. the model's gimmicks, poses, and expressions in presenting the clothes create a fluid impression between feminine and masculine characters. the concept of bromance in figure 2 is in line with the provocative gender-fluid fashion character in challenging the stigma of toxic masculinity and heteronormativity. figure 2 shows the overhaul of heteronormative values through fashion and how the fashion is presented through the gimmicks and expressions of its users. analysis of figure 2 shows a campaign related to minority gender inclusivity communicated through fashion. gender inclusivity through gender-fluid fashion in menswear is a progressive movement that aims to challenge traditional norms and stereotypes associated with clothing and gender roles. this emerging trend celebrates the idea that clothing should not be confined to rigid gender boundaries, but rather be a means of self-expression, allowing everyone to explore and embrace their unique identity. githapradana/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 the beauty of gender-fluid menswear lies in the context of the versatility and freedom it gives to its wearers. it challenges pre-existing notions of how men should dress and encourages a more inclusive and open-minded approach to fashion. according to an interview with ali charisma, chairman of fashion chamber indonesia, gender-fluid fashion frees individuals from the confines of societal expectations, where everyone can mix and match styles, materials, and silhouettes to create ensembles that fit who they are. the gender inclusion movement also has the potential to foster a more accepting society, as it encourages dialog and understanding of the complexities of gender identity. accepting gender-fluid fashion in menswear signifies the fashion industry's consistency and commitment to progress and equality. figure 2's examination of the parole notion by barthes can also be read as demonstrating an effort to promote gender inclusion through menswear that embraces gender fluidity, encourages acceptance, and challenges outmoded preconceptions. as the movement gains strength, it opens the door to a more sympathetic and understanding society where everyone is valued and allowed to express themselves freely. to fully comprehend the significance of the story of hope design work, analysis utilizing the deconstruction and bricolage aesthetic method is also applied. a revolutionary strategy that contests long-standing conventions and constructions in the fashion business is the deconstruction of aesthetics in gender-fluid fashion. deconstruction, which has its roots in postmodern philosophy, aims to overthrow preexisting notions and hierarchies in order to create space for a more inclusive and fluid view of gender and clothing. in order to promote a more open and liberated approach to self-expression, deconstruction aesthetics in gender-fluid fashion strives to dismantle the strict binary divide between men's and women's apparel. by disassembling and reinventing clothing, story of hope's work blurs the boundaries between typically masculine and feminine aspects. deconstruction can be used to produce clothing that defies classification by combining different textiles, experimenting with proportions, and using asymmetry. figure 3: eclectic style in the story of hope collection figure 3 shows the aesthetics of bricolage and deconstruction used as the basis for the creation of the story of hope artwork. bricolage in fashion, related to the context of postmodernism, is a creative and innovative approach that involves using different and diverse elements to build a new and unique style. bricolage in fashion emphasizes resourcefulness and the ability to reuse existing materials and ideas in unconventional ways. the story of hope fashion works in figures 1, 2, and 3 clearly apply the concept of bricolage by combining traditional styles with contemporary trends. figure 3 shows a modified sarong paired with a top in the form of a long western-style outer. in figure 3, it can be seen that the modern western style meets the exotic eastern style. githapradana/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 bricolage, a concept that questions the notion of a single, unified style in the postmodern fashion environment, celebrates the fusion of allusions and influences from other cultures, historical eras, and styles. by using this technique, fashion designers and consumers can challenge conventional fashion standards and adopt a more inclusive and flexible view of style. the concept is consistent with the connotative meaning that is revealed at the second level of meaning, which is cooperation and bilateral ties between the two countries symbolized by fashion design pieces. the concept of bricolage in fashion has a close relationship with eclecticism. eclectic fashion refers to the practice of combining different elements or styles that may seem unrelated at first glance, creating visually captivating and unconventional ensembles. bricolage can be seen as a manifestation of eclecticism in action, as it involves assembling diverse and often unexpected components into a harmonious whole. this statement is implemented in the use of different materials between batik and shweshwe, a fusion of traditional and contemporary styles. the composition of diverse elements such as colors, motifs, and shapes are also combined to bring novelty to the work. the symbolic meaning of the bricolage concept is an inclusive movement for the diversity of minority cultures to be shown to the global fashion scene. through this, it is hoped that awareness of these minority cultures and gender groups will increase in a more positive direction. 5. conclusion fashion encompasses a complex web of meanings, symbols, and expressions in addition to the actual materiality of clothing. as people interpret and develop their fashion identities by the choices they make regarding their attire and personal style, fashion enables them to take part in the continuing conversation between cultural and social codes. in the end, fashion turns into a potent medium for cultural expression, social identification, and self-expression. a freeing and transforming movement, deconstruction aesthetics in gender-fluid fashion enables people to express themselves in their truest form. this design offers the way to a more diverse, inventive, and sustainable fashion business that appreciates each person's uniqueness by challenging conventional norms and embracing fluidity. in addition to increasing acceptance and understanding of the complexity of gender and identity, it is a significant factor in bringing about positive change in the fashion industry. the celebration of creative freedom, inclusion, and sustainability in postmodern fashion and the idea of eclecticism are intertwined. designers and consumers can develop distinctive and expressive looks that subvert established conventions and advance a more progressive and open-minded fashion industry by embracing a variety of influences and trends. by empowering people to actively participate in shaping their own personal fashion narrative, this strategy promotes a more diverse and ethical industry. the results show that the story of hope design collection can be used as a communication medium to raise readers' awareness of the context of inclusiveness in minority cultures and marginalized gender groups. advances in information technology in the era of globalization have provided opportunities for local cultures and gender minority groups to be better known. the gender-fluid fashion collection story of hope is an example of work that can represent fashion can serve as a vehicle for advancing and increasing awareness of cultural inclusion and gender diversity movements, as demonstrated by the story of hope collaboration project. the story of hope collection was developed as a potent medium for representing and elevating gender diversity and inclusivity in minority cultures, rather than merely as a means of self-expression or trend-driven design work. story of hope fashion has the power to change lives by going beyond the domain of tangible goods and into the social commentary and cultural dialogue that it touches. benefits to society include the ability to use the story of hope fashion collection as a vehicle for activism that actively advocates tolerance, acts as a spark for a larger conversation about diversity and acceptance, and pushes for a more understanding and tolerant society. the story of hope joint effort can fundamentally represent the dynamically changing nature of culture. this fashion line has the ability to upend preconceived notions about beauty, dispel prejudices, and honor the diverse range of identities that comprise our international society. through this lens of transformation, fashion becomes a dynamic force for change, igniting discussions and clearing the path for a more tolerant and inclusive society. githapradana/ the academic research community publication pg. 9 one useful outcome of the story of hope collaborative effort is that it encourages the reintroduction and conservation of traditional fabrics to ensure their sustainability. the idea can help traditional fabric industry companies and artisans thrive in the modern fashion sector. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the sustainability in creative industries (sci) conference – 2nd edition which was held on the 7th-9th of november 2023. funding declaration: this research was supported by the institute of research and community development, universitas ciputra surabaya, indonesia under the international research internal funding scheme 025-uc lppm/dip/sp3h/ii/2023 ethics approval: all subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study. the protocol of this study was approved by the ethics committee school of creative industry universitas ciputra surabaya no. 038/ucsci/skel/xi/202. conflict of interest: the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references adebayo, a. o. 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(2021). examining the outcomes of urban adaptation interventions on gender equality using sdg 5. climate and development, 13(9), 830–841. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2021.1939643 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 doi: 10.21625/archive.v4i2.751 3d spatial development of historic urban landscape to promote a historical spatial data system herry santosa1*, syamsun ramli1, faisal bahar1 1 architecture department, faculty of engineering, university of brawijaya *corresponding author: harry santosa (herrysantosa@ub.ac.id ) abstract spatial experience in historical street corridors is essential to encourage a continuously satisfying experience of a historical aesthetic leading to a better quality of the historic urban landscape, which is significant for making precious memory of the city's history. 3d spatial formation along the historic street corridor fosters the generation of historical memory of the urban space. both tangible and intangible aspects attached to the historic street corridors' spatial configuration have significant meaning that forms the integrity of the valuable historical urban space. the research area is in kayutangan street as one of the historical street corridors in malang city, east java, indonesia. the study aims to develop the historical spatial data system of the kayutangan corridor to construct an online digital spatial database and enforce it as a policy decision reference by the government in managing the urban development in historical areas, especially in the kayutangan street corridors. the 3d spatial development of historic urban landscape performed the combination of 3d modeling software, 3d visualization software, and 3d spatial multimedia application authoring platforms. the collaboration of three systems generated three spatial data types, namely a 3d spatial-passive observation data, a 3d spatial-active observation data, and 3d spatial-interactive simulation data. as a result, this study produces 3d spatial multimedia contained the 3d spatial of historical data of kayutangan streetscape, which performs as a historical spatial data system to reference the smart development of cultural tourism and heritage cities in malang. © 2020 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords urban modeling; historic streetscape; historical spatial data; online-spatial multimedia; kayutangan street 1. introduction the aesthetic experience is commonly defined as the experience of a human being to the environment that gives a sense of pleasure, desire, life value, and meaning. a cultural context and human locality are born to build a specific characteristic that will provide identifiers for every human experience. awareness and aesthetic taste will be dependent on human memory traces in the aesthetic experience. according to leder et al. (2004), aesthetic processing relies on some implicit memory effects, and the results of this do not have to become conscious to affect aesthetic processing. on the other hand, historic streetscape as one of the valuable parts of urban spaces becomes a space medium that is responsive to the heritage values existing in human beings with the perception values generated by urban space formation. well-designed historic streetscapes contribute to the visual quality and livability of the communities. historic streetscapes make a significant contribution to the urban character and overall legibility of settlements since http://www.press.ierek.com/ mailto:herrysantosa@ub.ac.id https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 they are the primary way to travel through and experience different areas. the historic streetscapes must create a suitable environment for people to visit and gather to be the center of urban image. in order to encourage the improvement of the good governance framework and support the 2011 unesco plan, the essential steps of the historic urban landscape approach are recommended to the member countries and relevant local authorities. so, one of the critical consensuses that need to be examined is the importance of building appropriate partnerships and local management frameworks in identifying buildings and conserved landscapes and developing conservation control mechanisms to coordinate various activities between different public and private actors. furthermore, the development of a multimedia spatial system is very much needed. it will refer to the rules of developing digital platforms to manage urban heritage (digital platform for urban heritage management). therefore, the spatial multimedia system development requires spatial data containing three crucial information, namely historical layer data, present situation data, and future planning data, as supporting materials. malang is one of the historic cities in indonesia, with many beautiful urban landscapes built during the dutch colonial period. one of the city's beautiful historical landscapes in malang is the kayutangan street corridor. this study aims to construct the 3d historical spatial data system for the kayutangan street corridor in malang, indonesia. 2. literature review 2.1. site history and background malang earned the nickname parijs van oost-java because the city's beauty is like the city of "paris" in the east of java. moreover, malang also earned the nickname zwitserland van java because of its city's beauty, surrounded by mountains and neat city layout, matching the swiss country in europe. in the early development, the kayutangan region in the dutch colonial era, around the 1900s, the kayutangan region was intended as a trading area. around the 1960-1970s, the shopping area of kayutangan became a lively trade center in the malang city, through a diversity of commercial operations, i.e., general trade function, office, movie theaters, clothing stores, grocery, and others. at first, the kayutangan area was reserved for europeans. the building's characteristic shape in the kayutangan region is an elongated-shaped building on an extensive streetside, cube-shaped, and has a small street or alley to the rear for easy oversee the surrounding environment. the natives used the building's arrangement as a place to lean back in the crowded mall, looking for opportunities to get closer to the business as an employee working at kayutangan street. the europeans living in the streetside of the kayutangan area required business opportunities as the employee at kayutangan street. the condition was eventually changed as well as a place to live. in recent days, trade and services still dominate the building functions along the kayutangan street corridor. the trade function totaled 50%, whereas the function of services totaled 48% (santosa et al., 2013). the trading function is dominated by banking, restaurants and cafes, travel and tour agencies, clothing stores, groceries, and motorcycle dealers and services (see figure 1.). santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 figure 1. the historic urban landscape in kayutangan street the characteristics of the building facade in kayutangan street is mostly a legacy of the dutch colonial architecture. according to soehargo (1996), the development of dutch colonial architecture in malang city, especially in kayutangan street, is closely related to the development of the colonial in the dutch indies at that time. there are three periods of development classification: the development of colonial architecture in the 19th century (1850-1900), the development of early colonial architecture in the 20th century (1900-1915), and the development of colonial architecture 1916 – 1940. dutch colonial architectural style developed in this period, the indische empire style, was taken from a french architectural style, i.e., empire style. this style extends to all levels of society, applied to residential buildings and in public buildings. the indies empire style characteristic is as follows: full symmetry shaped of the floor plan, thick walls, high ceilings, and marble floors. colonial architecture that spread in 1900-1915 is an architecture style of early modern colonial, in which a building floor plan still has a stable pattern of symmetry. their architectural elements are commonly used in the netherlands in many buildings. the architectural elements often used in many building design cases were building detail and tower (soehargo, 1996). meanwhile, the colonial architecture style developed in 1915-1940 has thoroughly modern architecture named nieuwe bouwen, which has characteristics: the use of a variety flat-shaped on the building roof, flat roof, horizontal gevel, the volume of a cubeshaped building, and white painted. the beauty of the kayutangan road corridor's historic landscape is a valuable historic asset to be preserved. kayutangan street corridor is strived to become a historic urban landscape that can become one of the tourism destinations of malang heritage tourism and bring historic spatial experience. on the other hand, spatial experience in historical street corridors is essential to encourage a continuously satisfying experience of a historical aesthetic leading to a better quality of the historic urban landscape, which is significant for making precious memory of the city's history. 3d spatial formation along the historic street corridor fosters the generation of historical memory of the urban space. both tangible and intangible aspects attached to the historic street corridors' spatial configuration have significant meaning that forms the integrity of the valuable historical urban space. 2.2. related previous studies there are various methods used to build historical spatial data in many studies, such as physical data recording using photogrammetry (demetrescu et al., 2020; aicardi et al., 2018; andrés et al., 2012), 3d modeling development (demetrescu et al., 2020; georgoula et al., 2013; alsadik et al., 2013), heritage building interaction modeling santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 (hbim) (khodeir et al., 2016), and virtual tour (jacobson et al., 2009; mah et al., 2019; napolitano et al., 2018). on the other hand, the process of historical spatial data making required at least six essential stages that consist of 3d visualization scenario, data collection, 3d modeling, geometry optimization, texture application, and the entity object (santosa et al., 2014). 3d visualization scenario is the fundamental stages in preparing the basic concept of creating a visualization type. there are four essential considerations for constructing 3d visualization, as follows: estimation of the final form of 3d models historic streetscapes, detailing the level of geometry model polygon which affects the amount of digital data, type of interactive visualization of the historic 3d spatial data object needed, and the navigation method that determines the navigation control system for handling interactions on the virtual environment. these considerations will determine the strategy of presenting a form of historical exploration of spatial data to users. the development of digital data visualization that can be accessed by the wider community also leads to the development of interactive 3d spatial data visualization techniques. 3d interactive visualization development as a tool in the decision-making process in urban visual landscape planning demands the importance of observation and navigation activities in the passive-interaction level to active-interaction level in the virtual environment (santosa et al., 2014; wu et al., 2010). gaps in the level of interactivity in the visualization of historical spatial data systems aim to accommodate various levels of the importance of data system access while accommodating the diversity of knowledge and people's ability to understand spatial data technology. the passive interaction level aims to bring passive observation that directs users to a predefined 3d visualization animation and may be perfectly adequate for virtual tourism experiences. at the same time, the active interaction level delivers the ability to take control of the navigation of a virtual model that might lead to a deeper and richer understanding of the modeled space, since people tend to experience the real world through self-determined movement through it (santosa et al. , 2014). on the other hand, some researchers have conducted studies related to the use of 3d interactive visualization combined with the development of user interface design as spatial multimedia for building consensus through public participation (honjo & lim, 2001; kawakami & shen, 2006; koga et al., 2008; shen & kawakami, 2010; takiguchi et al., 2003). there are various techniques used to develop spatial multimedia, such as web multimedia development (doyle et al., 1998; orland et al., 2001), interaction in the virtual environment (howard & gaborit, 2007; ibanez & delgado-mata, 2011), navigation technique setting on the web (martens & antonenko, 2012; burigat & chittaro, 2007; conniff et al., 2010; laing et al., 2007), and simulation technique on the web (dykes, 2000; parush & berman, 2004; marini et al., 1997; huang & claramunt, 2004; munzer et al., 2009). recently, the development of 3d historical spatial data as a digital database and even for the decision-making support system in the planning process began to flourish and was widely used in urban planning (burigat & chittaro, 2007). the use of a digital spatial data system in a multimedia manner is intended as a medium of interaction between the conservation management of the historic urban landscape by the government and the community. moreover, developing a 3d spatial data system involves the scripting language to construct a 3d interactive visualization in web interface design (santosa et al., 2014). 3. methodology as shown in figure 2, the location of the study illustrates the area of kayutangan starting from the oro-oro dowo tjunction in front of the national electric company to the south, which is precisely in the north of malang city square. santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 figure 2. map of the research location in kayutangan street figure 3. the development framework of a 3d historical spatial data system the research focuses on developing the online digital data visualization system to promote a spatial multimedia system of the historic urban landscape to boost public engagement on a sense of belonging to the historic city space. this study method involves four primary stages consisting of the production of 3d historic street corridor modeling, the processing of 3d modeling data that collaborates with the 3d visualization software and 3d object-oriented programming (oop) language, the production of 3d spatial data types, and the development of 3d spatial multimedia of historical spatial data types consisting of predefined 3d visualization and 3d interactive visualization (see figure 3.) santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 3.1. the 3d modeling of a historic street corridor the technical process of the visualization stage of making a 3d modeling of a historic street corridor requires a relatively long step. manufacture stages depending on the complexity and diversity of 3d models that must be arranged. in principle, four elements must be arranged in a 3d visualization composed of topography elements, building elements, landscape elements, and environmental settings. the wider the area of 3d visualization objects, the more involved the work will be, which takes more time and considerable effort. the making process of landscape 3d modeling of a historical corridor on kayutangan street begins with the preparation of modeling scenarios based on the ultimate goal of the expected visualization form. 3d modeling is a fundamental stage that determines the level of detail of the object geometry that will be presented later on in the visualization. this stage also affects the 3d digital data load that will be generated, which indirectly affects the development of multimedia system application models that will be created. making 3d models on a reasonably broad corridor scale requires a 3d modeling strategy that is lightweight and easy to run in online applications. the 3d modeling stage also requires an extended time depending on the number of objects and elements that must be made in a single corridor. therefore, the strategy used is to divide the 3d modeling of the kayutangan road corridor into three sections of the road corridor. each element's modeling technique in the road corridor uses a low polygon technique and optimizes an image-based approach. thus, it needs to set the level of detail of building objects and other road corridor elements that are quite optimal. the spatial data visualization results will still have a representative level of precision and accuracy to be presented in the virtual environment. on the other hand, it is essential to set the number of object entities and the types of elements in each 3d object for visualization purposes at the level of active observation and active interaction. at the stage of acquisition of object data in the field uses the close-range photogrammetry technique combining grid mission type and circular mission type on drone mapping techniques (see figure 4). simultaneously, the 3d mapping process from drone mapping results uses a combination of image matching and 3d montage methods. the process of 3d mapping in photogrammetry software is done by dividing the stages of image matching per area to lighten the 3d mapping process and improve the results' accuracy. while the 3d montage stage is used to combine image matching results from the results of the photogrammetry process with 3d modeling (see figure 5.) figure 4. the data acquisition of 3d historical data using a drone (uav) santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 figure 5. the production stage of 3d historic building modeling in kayutangan street 3.2. the processing of 3d modeling data the final process of 3d modeling produces 3d modeling data in three types (see figure 6.). the first type is 3d modeling data, where all elements of the street corridor are integrated into a unified spatial data unit in a single corridor. this type of data is exported to the 3d visualization software application for predefined walkthrough animation (passive observation), which is the visualization content at the necessary level of user interactivity on the system. the second type is 3d modeling data that is divided into each entity element of the road corridor object. each of these 3d object element entities is incorporated into a multimedia application authoring platform to embed the 3d object programming language to produce two types of interactivity levels produced, namely active observation and active interaction. visualization of the active observation type produces a 3d simulation product of the kayutangan road corridor in the virtual environment, giving users access to conducting 3d spatial exploration. moreover, the visualization of the active interaction type results in a 3d interactive simulation product of the kayutangan road corridor in a virtual environment, which gives users access to being able to perform 3d spatial exploration and perform modification interaction on 3d objects along the road corridor. active interaction also means that the user has control to direct the movement simulation (active navigation) and the interaction of 3d objects in the world of 3d models (virtual environment). the ability to take control of a virtual model's navigation might lead to a deeper and richer understanding of the modeled space since people tend to experience the real world through self-determined movement through it. figure 6. the collaboration of three application software in the 3d data processing 4. result 4.1. types of 3d historical spatial data the development of an interactive leveling scenario of the historical spatial data system is based on the fact that the community has a different level of knowledge and understanding of interactive simulation systems in the virtual environment. this leveling is based on the fundamental consideration that every human being has seven different santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 intellectual abilities: intelligence figures, verbal understanding, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory. this scenario also aimed to create a gradual learning concept for people to utilize the spatial data system for historic urban landscape conservation. thus, the community is allowed to use the system that can be easily adjusted to each understanding level. 3d modeling data processing results deliver three types of 3d historical spatial data covering 3d spatial-passive observation data, 3d spatial-active observation data, and 3d spatial-interactive simulation data. all the 3d modeling data processing results are composed in a user interface design (uid) programmed with a multimedia application authoring platform. there are several essential components embedded in the uid of each type, namely the instruction map per section of the kayutangan road corridor, the control panel for modification and selection, 3d spatial visualization content, and application system operating instructions. the specification of each 3d historical spatial data type is as follows. first, the 3d spatial-passive observation data is historical spatial data in the form of predefined walkthrough animation. the development of predefined walkthrough animation is required to provide an overview of the threedimensional space corresponding to the sight of the human eye. visualization through the walkthrough animation requires a high-quality 3d object modeling and a representative finishing capable of approaching the real condition. users can only observe the spatial visualization of the kayutangan corridor by running the mp4 data file that has been provided. the user interface design (uid) in this spatial multimedia has also been equipped with a panel feature for animation operations along with four alternative animation options, which include an animation of the existing conditions of kayutangan streetscape and three options for viewing an animation of design modifications of kayutangan streetscape corridor. the form of spatial multimedia design in this data type can be seen in figure 7. second, the 3d spatial-active observation data is historical spatial data in the form of a virtual environment (ve) simulation. users can perform the spatial exploration of the kayutangan corridor freely with the help of active navigation. this form of active navigation is in the form of a walkthrough exploration and view a motion along the street corridor in each section of kayutangan street with the directional arrow keys on the computer keyboard. this navigation system uses 3d programming languages provided in a multimedia application authoring platform. user interface design (uid) in this spatial multimedia has also been equipped with a selection panel feature of streetscape modification in each section of kayutangan street. the form of spatial multimedia design in this data type can be seen in figure 8. third, the 3d spatial-interactive simulation data is historical spatial data, which is also in the form of a virtual environment (ve) simulation but has a higher interactivity capability for 3d data objects. the most important key in developing application systems-based interactivity is to provide convenience to the user in the access, manipulation, and navigation through the content material. besides being able to conduct the spatial exploration of kayutangan corridors freely with the help of active navigation, users also have the opportunity to interact with 3d spatial data on each element of the kayutangan corridor. the types of interactions offered are separated into two zones: the free zone and the private zone. the public-zone is an open space area between rows of buildings along the kayutangan road corridor. the private-zone is a building area located along the kayutangan corridor. the uid for each zone is created separately so that the number of panel features is not too complicated and reduces the application system's workload. the interactivity system was also built using 3d programming languages provided in a multimedia application authoring platform. the user interface design (uid) in the multimedia spatial built-in the two corridor space zones has also been equipped with features to modify each element of the road corridor. the form of spatial multimedia design in this data type can be seen in figure 9. active navigation is better than passive observation, and an active interaction much better than just active navigation. a passive observation does appear to be sufficient for creating a sense of place and maybe perfectly adequate for virtual tourism experiences. the method of an active interaction performs as well as an active exploration, and it should be initiated and established for built environment evaluation. the user interface design of active interaction should accommodate the active exploration in a virtual learning environment gradually. the user is recommended to have plenty of exercises to ensure public engagement successfully utilizing the system. santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 9 figure 7. the development of 3d spatial-passive observation data figure 8. the development of 3d spatial-active observation data santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 10 figure 9. the development of 3d spatial-interactive simulation data 4.2. the 3d spatial multimedia of historical spatial data the development of online spatial multimedia involves the design of an appropriate user interface. the user interface should be designed by taking into account various characteristics of users or the public to be involved in online public engagement. ease of people's understanding of the user interface design, greatly influenced by the quality and accuracy of the interface design in understanding the community's customs and culture. ease of people accessing the system is part of a familiarization aspect. moreover, the online system development's failure is associated with public access to the system, frequently caused by unsuccessful interface design to the use of cultural symbols or applying the targeted community. excellent consideration of cultural factors can improve the interaction web site usage better. therefore, the user interface design for the benefit of the development of the historical spatial data system should consider cultural symbols that are familiar to the target communities. the development of online spatial multimedia involves the planning and designing a suitable and appropriate graphical user interface (gui). graphical user interface (gui) uses multimedia elements (such as images, sound, video) to interact with users. guis provide benefits such as quickly learned by users that experience in using a santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 11 computer is relatively minimal. on the other hand, the objective of designing a spatial multimedia system is to communicate user interface system features that are available to allow users to understand and be able to use the system. in this case, the most potent use of language is to help the understanding because language is the second oldest gesture communication tool used by people to communicate daily. designing the gui is also related to the use of color. effective use of color can make the user interface of spatial data systems more effective. color can help users understand particular meanings and complete the application system appear more aesthetically pleasing and refined. figure 10. the overall uid development of historical spatial data in the spatial multimedia system overall, historical spatial data is developed from three types of 3d historical spatial data consisting of 3d spatialpassive observation data, 3d spatial-active observation data, and 3d spatial-interactive simulation data. a single graphical user interface (gui) is designed to accommodate a spatial multimedia package of the historical spatial data system in the kayutangan street corridor (see figure 10.). the user interface design organization is divided into four types, namely uid main interface, uid passive observation, uid active observation, and uid active interaction. the uid main interface is divided into three user interfaces, which include the opening user interface, the kayutangan street corridor historical information data user interface, as well as the user interface of a gateway to each of the three types of historical spatial data systems. the composition of the main user interface design also incorporates elements of cultural symbols and identity and historical landmark symbols of the city of malang to increase appreciation and awareness of the community towards malang's cultural heritage and building aspects of familiarization of the application system. santosa/ the academic research community publication pg. 12 5. conclusion in summary, this paper's outcome is the online historical spatial data system development of the 3d historic urban landscape for the community. this study emphasizes the four essential stages of 3d historical spatial data making that consist of 3d historic street corridor modeling production. first, the processing of 3d modeling data that collaborates with the 3d visualization software and 3d object-oriented programming (oop) language. second, the construction of 3d spatial data types. third, the development of 3d spatial multimedia of historical spatial data types consisting of predefined 3d visualization and 3d interactive visualization. the process of data acquisition of a historic building and overall historic landscape component requires drone equipment (also known as unoccupied aerial vehicle (uav)) to enhance the accuracy and precision of 3d spatial data. the use of 3d drone mapping and uav photogrammetry for large scale buildings and areas requires a lot of photo data recording and a burdensome 3d mapping process. therefore, using a 3d mapping method is divided per field object on photogrammetry software to lighten the 3d mapping process and improve the accuracy of the results. this study also emphasizes developing a historic 3d spatial data system that presents three types of data visualization that are capable of supporting the interactivity level of spatial data delivery. these strategies cover 3d spatial-passive observation data, 3d spatial-active observation data, and 3d spatial-interactive simulation data. therefore, it recommends employing a collaboration of four software applications to produce the development of 3d spatial data of historic urban landscape, i.e., 3d modeling software, 3d visualization software, photogrammetry software, and 3d spatial multimedia application authoring platforms. for further research, a combination of close-range photogrammetry methods with grid and circular mission methods in historic buildings needs to be tested in various cases in order to produce a more effective and better 3d mapping, especially in areas of buildings with lacking sufficient space for drone mapping. on the other hand, the low cost and effective technique to produce 3d mapping data of a single building or small area can be recommended using a combination of close-range photogrammetry methods and 3d montage techniques. hence, the development of the historical spatial data system is still a prototype 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(2010). a virtual globe-based 3d visualization and interactive framework for public participation in urban planning processes. computers, environment and urban systems, 34(4), 291-298. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 1 research paper received: 26 may 2025, accepted: 26 august 2025, published online: 31 october 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i4.1215 architectural heritage and universal accessibility: integrating inclusive design in historic buildings and patrimonial environments rana hatmal, phd1 1 visiting professor of architecture, arab international university (aiu), syria 1doctoral researcher (interdisciplinary phd in semiotic studies), university of quebec in montreal, canada abstract historic buildings and patrimonial environments often offer noteworthy challenges regarding accessibility for individuals with disabilities, predominantly for those using wheelchairs or with visual impairments. these sites, while rich in cultural and architectural value, commonly lack the essential accommodations to guarantee inclusivity for all users. the physical spaces of these environments are often incompatible with the needs of contemporary accessibility, creating barriers that prevent comprehensive participation by people with diverse abilities. to preserve and enhance the cultural and historical implications of these buildings and monuments, it is decisive to approach renovation and restoration projects with a focus on universal accessibility. this process involves not only meeting up-to-date accessibility standards but also ensuring that the interventions respect and maintain the historical and architectural identities of these milieus. the fundamental question this article addresses is whether it is possible to reconcile the need for universal design with the preservation of the unique characteristics that define these historic sites. through an identification and analysis of universal accessibility requirements, and by presenting carefully chosen examples, this article aims to explore how historic buildings and patrimonial sites can be adapted to be universally accessible while keeping their architectural heritage and formal identity. the discussion highlights the chosen approach for incorporating accessibility within the framework of historic buildings and patrimonial environments. the research constitutes a working agenda designed to identify the essential needs that cannot be disregarded or substituted for rehabilitating historic buildings and patrimonial sites and making them universally accessible. it also outlines the appropriate approach to the style of architectural interventions and the design of added architectural elements, based on the vision of the researcher. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords accessibility, universal accessibility, architectural heritage, historic buildings, patrimonial environments, patrimonial sites, inclusive design. https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i4.1215&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 1. introduction the purpose of this article is to present a perspective regarding the rehabilitation of patrimonial buildings and sites, aiming to introduce universal accessibility without altering their identity and formal characteristics within acceptable limits, according to the vision of the researcher. the theoretical section will highlight, define, and demonstrate the importance of universal accessibility with a precise attention to addressing the needs of people with different limitations, including mobility restrictions, low vision, hearing deficiencies, and neurodivergent conditions (mental health hotline, n.d.), while respecting the features and historical value of these sites and buildings. the practical part will examine chosen examples of patrimonial buildings and sites that have been rehabilitated to be universally accessible and inclusive. this analysis necessitates defining the concepts of accessibility and inclusion in the built environment and their integration into the context of historical sites and buildings. the approaches to rehabilitating patrimonial built environments will be analyzed through selected examples, with the aim of establishing the findings of the article presented. the offered perspective establishes the researcher's vision regarding the connection between heritage preservation with universal accessibility, contemporary criteria. it's about responding, on one hand, to contemporary spatial requirements and intervention methods to integrate universal accessibility criteria, while, on the other hand, preserving the identity of the architectural form related to these patrimonial places. 2. definitions of universal design and patrimonial buildings and sites 2.1. universal design universal design means that the products which designers produce are universally accommodating (goldsmith, 2000, p. 1), that they provide conveniently for all their users. the center for universal design defines universal design as follows: "universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design." (aslaksen, bergh, bringa, & heggem, 1997). 2.2. patrimonial buildings and sites heritage can be understood as a “past–present”, a continuum that exists within our contemporary world, privileging the quality or antiquity of human works (rautenberg, 2024, p. 13). in academic literature, the term patrimonial refers to the governance, protection, and transmission of cultural assets forming part of a community’s inherited legacy. these assets include both tangible and intangible elements that shape collective identity and require specialized approaches for their conservation and safeguarding (rautenberg, 2024, pp. 15–20). under the cultural heritage act (loi sur le patrimoine culturel – lpc), immovable cultural heritage is classified into two main categories: patrimonial buildings and patrimonial sites. a patrimonial building is defined as “any immovable property presenting interest for its archaeological, architectural, artistic, emblematic, ethnological, historical, landscape, scientific, social, urbanistic, or technological value, including a building […]” (lpc, art. 2). likewise, a patrimonial site is defined as “a place or a group of immovables […] presenting interest for its archaeological, architectural, artistic […] value” (lpc, art. 2). an example of a patrimonial site could be an archaeological location (government of quebec, 2023). lexicographic sources describe a patrimonial building as “an edifice considered a model representative of a past style or way of life, recognized as such by the community” (office québécois de la langue française, 2025). for this paper, the adapted definition of patrimonial buildings and sites refers to ensembles of built environments that represent past periods and are valued for their archaeological, architectural, artistic, or historical significance. such hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 assets are protected under specific legal frameworks, such as the cultural heritage act (lpc), to ensure their conservation and safeguarding for future generations. 3. integrating universal accessibility into historic buildings and patrimonial environments universal design in the built environment, urban design, and architecture aims to develop theories, principles, and solutions that enable all individuals to use the same physical spaces to the greatest extent possible. this approach applies to both indoor and outdoor environments, regardless of whether these spaces were originally designed for people with disabilities or other population groups. the core principles of universal design emphasize equal status, equal treatment, and universal accessibility for all users. in the context of historic buildings, ensuring accessibility is essential for promoting an inclusive society. these sites hold significant cultural, social, and economic values, reflecting the identity and heritage of past societies. it is therefore necessary to make all heritage facilities, regardless of their location, accessible to all individuals, including persons with disabilities. however, physical barriers can restrict access for certain individuals, consequently limiting their participation in cultural and everyday activities. enhancing accessibility sensitively and appropriately not only raises awareness and appreciation of built heritage but also stabilizes the need for heritage conservation with the imperative of equal access for all. to achieve this balance, stakeholders responsible for historic properties must guarantee the highest level of accessibility possible without compromising or altering key features and materials that define the historical significance of the site (u.s. department of the interior, 1992). 4. the considerations of essential accessibility for different user groups and their potential applications in historic buildings and patrimonial environments the principles of universal design were developed by the center for universal design at north carolina state university, usa, in order to clarify the concept of "design for all," which is largely synonymous with universal design. these principles intend to create inclusive environments that accommodate individuals of all ages, sizes, and abilities, including children, older adults, and both disabled and non-disabled individuals. to embody these principles, the center for universal design established seven fundamental principles (north carolina state university, 1995). these principles serve as essential guidelines for designers in establishing accessibility criteria for the built environment.: 1. equitable use 2. flexibility in use 3. simple and intuitive use 4. perceptible information 5. tolerance for error 6. low physical effort 7. size and space for approach and use in general, the needs of people with different disabilities can be categorized into four main groups: motor disabilities (including wheelchair users), neurodivergence, visual impairment, and hearing impairment. the needs of these groups must be taken into consideration when ensuring universal accessibility in historic buildings. however, due to the necessity of preserving heritage features, some accessibility measures may not be fully implemented, thereby minimizing the footprint of any probable interventions (jester & park, 2004). in all cases, any interventions, additions, or modifications aimed at ensuring accessibility must be cautiously evaluated, considering the sensitive nature of historic buildings and sites. this involves identifying essential needs hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 that cannot be overlooked and determining the most appropriate way to address them, which will be discussed later. simultaneously, it is crucial to identify interventions or elements that can be replaced with alternative solutions that do not require significant alterations to the existing built environment. the goal is to achieve the highest possible level of accessibility while still respecting the sensitive nature of historic structures. it is important to plan the necessary level of intervention, if any, to ensure universal accessibility. consideration should also be given to whether the proposed solution should be temporary or permanent. these decisions must be made within the context of an overall accessibility strategy for the built environment. in all scenarios proposed, it is advisable to consult with existing users with disabilities, disability organizations, and relevant local authorities before finalizing an approach. (national disability authority, 2011). this evaluation process leads to the classification of the needs and requirements for integrating universal accessibility into two categories: • requirements that can be addressed through alternative solutions that do not involve architectural or landscape modifications. • critical requirements that need to be addressed and that necessitate architectural interventions or landscape modifications. this classification reflects the researcher's perspective and serves as the basis for the subsequent sections of this article. however, it is important to clarify that the article does not focus on identifying the level of accessibility in historic buildings but rather emphasizes how their identity can be preserved while integrating the principles of universal design. 4.1. motor disabilities (including wheelchair users) • accessible outdoor pathways leading to building entrances (the americans with disabilities act (ada), 1990 -2005). • designated transport drop-off areas connected to accessible routes. • step-free access or ramps with appropriate slopes. • accessible entrances. • vertical circulation through elevators. • universal toilet facilities. 4.1.1. critical requirements for motor disabilities individuals: the needs of individuals with limited mobility, including wheelchair users, must not be ignored when considering the accessibility of historic buildings. these requirements are critical as they often necessitate architectural interventions such as ramps and elevators. additionally, modifications to interior layouts may be required, particularly when incorporating accessible toilets with adequate space and specifications. 4.2. neurodivergent individuals • availability of quiet rooms or sensory refuges in historic buildings. • use of calming colors (e.g., blue tones) while avoiding highly stimulating colors like red and bright orangered (mostafa, 2021, p. 59 – 103). • presence of trained personnel to assist individuals with autism spectrum disorders (asd) in cases of sensory overload. hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 • adequate lighting, avoiding fluorescent lamps or other glaring light sources, with dimmable lighting devices to control illuminance levels. 4.2.1. requirements for neurodivergent individuals: in practice, the possibility of integrating a space to accommodate potential sensory overload episodes for neurodivergent individuals may be restricted due to the challenges of integrating quiet rooms within patrimonial buildings. in such cases, the presence of trained staff to assist visitors in distress could serve as an alternative solution. moreover, the use of calming, non-saturated colors — such as light blue or green — may be difficult to implement so as to respect the historical character of the site and minimize alterations. therefore, the application of nonstimulating colors could be limited to signage and informational panels, in order to preserve the visual identity of the place. 4.3. visual impairment • use of color contrast for better orientation and wayfinding. • clear warnings through the addition of podotactile plaques for level changes. • availability of staff to provide orientation assistance. • accessible signage, including braille, tactile, and auditory features. • adequate lighting with minimal glare.(toronto accessibility design guidelines. (2021) 4.4. hearing impairment • use of sound-absorbing materials to minimize sound reverberations (david, 2008; british standards institution, 2021). • visual representation of auditory signals. • provision of hearing aid devices. • availability of staff trained in sign language. (veterans affairs canada, 2019) 4.4.1. requirements for individuals with visual and hearing impairment: to address the needs of individuals with visual and auditory deficiencies, it could be argued that accommodating individuals with visual impairments may require altering the color schemes used in patrimonial buildings and sites. however, such an approach is discouraged, as it compromises the visual identity and heritage value of the site. in this context, technology plays a vital role. mobile applications can support wayfinding both within and around the site, without necessitating any physical modifications. an example is the blindsquare application, which provides wayfinding information through pre-programmed beacons, offering an alternative to traditional tactile signage. regarding acoustic considerations, historic buildings and patrimonial environments often feature architectural designs that naturally isolate interior spaces from ambient noise. a notable example is the clear audibility of speakers in historic churches, where architectural form and materiality support concentrated sound and minimize reverberation. furthermore, audio messages used for conveying information should be complemented by visual signage, and vice versa, ensuring accessibility across different sensory modalities. this redundant communication system enhances inclusivity while well-preserving the existing architectural features and styles. 5. intervention features and characteristics for historic buildings and patrimonial environments: selected examples after identifying architectural or landscape interventions that are critical—meaning they necessitate significant modifications—the following elements must be considered: external or internal changes to address level differences hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 through the integration of ramps and elevators, and modifications to accommodate accessible toilets, which often require architectural modifications, interventions, or the addition of new architectural elements. these interventions primarily address the needs of individuals with motor disabilities, including wheelchair users (see paragraph 4.1.1. critical requirements for motor disabilities individuals). returning to the core research question—how can accessible elements be integrated without compromising the formal identity of historic buildings and sites? —a key aspect to highlight is the commonly adopted approaches for ensuring universal accessibility. the first is a consistent approach, in which the architectural features of adapted areas—or newly added architectural elements—remain harmonious with the formal identity of the historic site and patrimonial buildings. the second is a contrasting approach, where interventions are deliberately designed to stand out from the architectural style or original historical character of the building or site. in both cases, the goal is to provide a broad perspective through concrete examples that reflect the diversity of contexts and countries represented. the selected examples illustrate these two main approaches to improving accessibility, representing sites from across the world and spanning a wide range of historical periods. as discussed earlier, critical interventions in the context of historic buildings and patrimonial sites refer to modifications specifically intended to address the needs of people with motor disabilities, particularly wheelchair users. these needs are considered the most critical (compared to those of the other three user groups) because they often require substantial architectural interventions and the addition of new elements. therefore, the examples presented for both approaches demonstrate architectural solutions designed specifically to meet this user group’s needs. in contrast, accessibility requirements for people with visual impairments, hearing loss, or neurodivergent individuals may not require significant architectural modifications. for example, at the palace of versailles, reception counters are equipped with induction loops to assist visitors with hearing difficulties, and trained staff are continuously available to provide support for neurodivergent visitors when needed (palace of versailles, n.d). similarly, at the smithsonian institution—the world’s largest museum complex—technological solutions have been implemented to assist visitors with visual impairments, such as the aira access mobile information and verbal description service, which connects users to an aira agent who provides real-time guidance and information during their visit (smithsonian institution, n.d.). in both cases, the interventions are not considered critical because they do not involve spatial alterations, architectural interventions, or modifications to the spatial character of historic buildings and patrimonial sites. this distinction explains why the examples that follow focus on interventions where the architectural character and style of the modifications play a central role in improving accessibility within historic buildings and patrimonial environments. 5.1. intervention features / characteristics that match the historic built style the first approach to integrating universal accessibility emphasizes the necessity of adding invisible, removable, or temporary elements to ensure that interventions remain reversible whenever needed (national disability authority, 2011, p. 18). if permanent solutions are required, the design should ensure compatibility with the existing built environment. this approach advocates for matching or imitating the original style, colors, and themes or designing elements that remain sympathetic to the historic environment. according to this perspective, any added elements—such as ramps, elevators, platforms, and directional signs —should replicate the existing architectural style and harmonize with it (standards and guidelines for the conservation of historic places in canada, 2003, p.161), ensuring visual coherence with the surrounding environment. hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 5.1. 1. examples of universal accessibility integration with consistent intervention features below are selected examples where elements of universal accessibility have been integrated in ways that either harmonize with or intentionally contrast against the historic fabric of the site. • the hugh lane gallery was founded in 1908 in dublin, ireland. the hugh lane gallery, dublin’s first public gallery of modern art, was founded in 1908 and remains one of the city’s most significant cultural institutions (hugh lane gallery, n.d.). in 2006, a ramp was installed at the side of the principal entrance podium to enhance accessibility (national disability authority, 2011, p. 83). the materials, colors, and style of the ramp were designed in complete harmony with the original architectural style. (figure 1). figure 1 – adding a ramp to make the entrance accessible.the hugh lane gallery(source: https://hughlane.ie/accessibility-2/) • the collegio cairoli, historic student accommodation in pavia, italy (1948) collegio cairoli is a historic student residence in pavia, offering accommodation, facilities, and cultural activities. it houses 95 single rooms with shared bathrooms and provides a library, dining hall, study rooms, and recreational spaces. in 2015, a lifting platform was installed to provide access to the first floor (elevatori magazine, n.d.), matching the colors and style of the existing entrance materials. a temporary ramp was also introduced to provide access to the entrance level. (figure 2) figure 2 – architectural intervention to add a lifting platform with a temporary ramp. the collegio cairoli (elevatori magazine, n.d.) hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 • province house historic site in charlottetown, canada (built in 1847) province house has been the seat of prince edward island’s legislative assembly since 1847 and is canada’s secondoldest active legislative building. built in the neo-classical style (parks canada, n.d). it underwent accessibility improvements in 2012, including landscape assessment and rehabilitation. light slopes were introduced to address grade changes, respecting the building’s original approach (standards and guidelines for the conservation of historic places in canada, 2003, p. 71). (figure 3) figure 3 – new paths with light slopes to resolve level differences. parks canada source (https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/pe/provincehouse) the following table, table 1, summarizes the provided examples, highlighting historical sites and patrimonial buildings where added accessibility elements are consistent with both the historic sites and the original architectural style. table 1: examples of matching interventions to integrate universal accessibility. (source: author) photo historic site / building place period accessibility intervention year of intervention the hugh lane gallery dublin, ireland 1908 ramp with matching materials and colors 2006 the collegio cairoli pavia, italy 1948 lifting platform with consistent colours and materials temporary ramp 2015 province house historic site charlottetown, canada 1847 rehabilitation with light slopes respecting the original building approach 2012 5.2. intervention features/characteristics that contrast with the historic built style rather than imitating historical elements, this approach familiarizes accessibility features as contemporary additions that contrast with the historic built environment, both externally and internally. accessibility interventions—such as ramps, bollards, and architectural modifications for accessible washrooms— should be designed in a contemporary style that contrasts with the architectural language and characteristics of the existing built environment. this deliberate contrast ensures a clear distinction between new and historic elements. hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 note: it is important to distinguish between new additions and replacements. damaged or deteriorated elements should be replaced or restored using identical materials and methods, following the same principles applied in the restoration of patrimonial sites and buildings. 5.2.1. examples of integrating universal accessibility with contrasting intervention features below are some examples where elements of universal accessibility have been integrated in a way that contrasts with the historic built style. • the acropolis museum and site, athens, greece (accessibility intervention in 2020) the acropolis of athens, a unesco world heritage site, is an ancient citadel that served as a religious, political, and cultural center of ancient greece since the 6th century bc. in 2020, a panoramic elevator was installed to provide free wheelchair access to the summit (disabledaccessibletravel.com). its contemporary design, colors, and materials create a deliberate contrast with the historic built environment. figure 4 (a), (b). figure 4a: panoramic elevator installed at the acropolis museum site. source: (disabled accessible travel, n.d.). figure 4b: inside the installed panoramic elevator. source: (disabled accessible travel, n.d). hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 10 • fakhri al-baroudi house, old damascus, syria (early 19th century) the fakhri al-baroudi house, located in the qanawat district of damascus outside the old city walls, is one of the most prominent damascene houses beyond the ancient city (syrian arab encyclopedia, n.d), likely built in the early 19th century (syrian treasures, n.d.). in 2022, an elevator was added to improve accessibility to the second floor for wheelchair users. the contemporary structure contrasts distinctly with the traditional damascene architectural style. figure 5. a and 5b • the grand louvre and the pyramid (1983–1989) the louvre, france’s national museum and the world’s most-visited art museum, is housed in part of a palace complex dating back to the 12th century. as part of the grand louvre project, the iconic glass and metal pyramid was constructed between 1983 and 1989, serving as a central underground lobby that connects the museum’s three wings (louve official website). this intervention improved circulation and accessibility (louvre museum, n.d.) while intentionally contrasting with the historic architecture of the palace. functioning as a navigational hub for all sections of the museum, the pyramid integrates key circulation pathways, connecting the exterior, such as universally accessible metro stations figure 6b, with the interior at the level of the main museum lobby. it also houses a vast array of auxiliary services and features a central accessible lift (the ‘tube’), figure 6d, which is linked to the reception area. the concept design is inspired by the pyramids in giza, egypt, with new materials, featuring a glass covering over the entire area and metal grid beams forming the structural system, in complete contrast with the style of the louvre museum, whose architectural style spans several historical periods, with various architectural interventions occurring between 1380-1681. however, it can be primarily classified under french classicism (palazzo, 2012, p.235). figure 6a regarding the reception of the pyramid, one of the opinions about the project is that the pyramid presents a metamorphosis that modernizes and expands the premises (according to the louvre website), figure 6c. this demonstrates that the pyramid extension project has gained admiration and acceptance. figure 5. (a) – added elevator with a contemporary design. fakhri al-baroudi house (source: @ arch khalef alfahd – university of damascus) figure 5. (b) – fakhri al-baroudi house floor plan.the arrow indicates the location of the added elevator. (source: fakhri al-baroudi house plans university of damascus) hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 11 figure 6. (a) – the pyramid with a design contrasting the historic architectural style of the louvre museum. source: louvre museum. (n.d-a) figure 6. (b) – level -2 of the pyramid, and the accessible lift (the tube). source: louvre museum. (n.d-b) figure 6. (c) – the central accessible lift (the 'tube') in the pyramid. source: [link] figure 6. (d) – the central accessible lift (the ‘tube’) in the pyramid. source: [link] the following table, table 2, summarizes the examples provided, highlighting historical sites and patrimonial buildings where added accessibility elements deliberately contrast with the original architectural style. table 2: examples of contrasting interventions to integrate universal accessibility. source: author photo historic site / building place period accessibility intervention year of intervention the acropolis museum and site athens, greece 6th century bc panoramic elevator 2020 fakhri albaroudi house old damascus, syria early 19th century elevator with contemporary design 2022 the louvre museum paris, france 1380-1681 the pyramid with contemporary design and hightech materials 1980s 5.3. adapted approach of intervention for integrating universal accessibility in historical sites and patrimonial built environments: the discussion remains ongoing regarding how to define the features and characteristics of universal accessibility elements that either harmonize or contrast with the historic built style, as perceived by the researcher. https://blushrougette.com/travel/european-destinations/visiting-the-louvre-what-to-see/ https://www.louvre.fr/en/visit/accessibility hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 12 in reference to the venice charter (icomos, 1964), which establishes international guidelines for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings, article 9 (on restoration) states that, in cases of conjecture, any indispensable additional work must be distinguishable from the original architectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp. this clearly indicates that any intervention should be visibly differentiated from the original architectural characteristics. in this regard, when introducing architectural elements without compromising the identity of patrimonial sites—and based on examples where modifications have been made to historical and patrimonial buildings—the researcher highlights the fruitful architectural intervention at the louvre museum with the integration of the pyramid to resolve universal accessibility in the axis circulation. the monumental glass pyramid, constructed using modern materials at the time, contrasts sharply with the original architectural style of the museum. this addition represents a distinct architectural approach, creating a clear visual contrast that differentiates the new structure from the existing patrimonial building. through this evident contrast, the expansion is visually distinguished from the older historical building, allowing for a clear classification of architectural elements from different periods. through this evident contrast, the new addition is visually set apart from the older historical building, allowing for a clear classification of architectural elements from different periods. in a certain way, and from the researcher’s point of view, this approach reflects the philosophy of modernism, in which form expresses the function of the built space—“form follows function,” as articulated by louis sullivan (1896). in this context, the architectural intervention demonstrates a form of functional honesty, where its design and materiality convey its role as a recent addition that provides new functional value within the historical and patrimonial setting. the resulting distinction between the original characteristics and those of the contrasting intervention reflects, on one hand, the added contemporary accessibility value through contrasting architectural features, and on the other, preserves the identity and authenticity of the original historical environment. such an approach facilitates the identification of each architectural component’s origin and period, thereby improving chronological classification. in doing so, the patrimonial identity of the site is maintained by ensuring a clear distinction between the original building and the new addition. 6. conclusion revisiting the fundamental research question of how to integrate universal accessibility into patrimonial sites and buildings while preserving their formal identity, it was previously argued that interventions should be kept to a minimum. to guide this process, key elements that cannot be overlooked or replaced by alternative solutions were identified, such as accessible vertical circulation (ramps and elevators, when necessary), accessible sanitary facilities, and proper lighting and signage, as discussed in section 4. when planning potential interventions, it is essential to strike a balance between the necessary modifications for universal accessibility and the sensitive nature of patrimonial built environments. this balance ensures that any new elements are carefully considered before being added. successful interventions are those cases where contemporary materials and technologies are used, creating a clear contrast between the original and the new structures. this contrast allows for the distinct classification of architectural elements from two different periods. it is through this visible distinction—rather than imitation or replication of the original style—that the true identity and origin of each architectural component are preserved. as a result, the patrimonial identity of the site is maintained by ensuring a contrast between historical features and modern additions, enabling the site to evolve while still honoring its heritage. hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 13 acknowledgements the abstract of this paper was presented at the environmental design, material science, and engineering technologies (edmset) conference –2nd edition, which was held on the 22nd 24th of april 2025. the article benefited from translation from arabic and french into english, as well as language editing and clarity improvements using ai-based writing assistance tools. all ideas and results presented are original and produced by the author. the article does not focus on identifying the level of accessibility in historic buildings but rather emphasizes how their identity can be preserved while integrating the principles of universal design. funding declaration. this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals.” ethics approval. not applicable. conflict of interest. the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. references a federal, provincial and territorial collaboration (2003). standards and guidelines for the conservation of historic places in canada, canada’s historic places. aslaksen, f., bergh, s., bringa, o.r., & heggem, e.k. translated by ingrid bugge from norwegian. 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(2000). universal design a manual of practical guidance for architects, architectural press. government of quebec (2023). patrimonial des immeubles et sites patrimoniaux, la direction des politiques et de l’évaluation patrimoniale en collaboration avec la direction des communications et des affaires publiques du ministère de la culture et des communications. hugh lane gallery. (n.d.). about. https://hughlane.ie/about/ icomos. (1964). the venice charter: international charter for the conservation and restoration of monuments and sites. international congress of architects and technicians of historic monuments, venice. https://icahm.icomos.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1964-venicecharter.pdf jester, t.c. & park, s.c. (2004). making historic properties accessible. preservation u.s. department of the interior national park service cultural resourcesheritage preservation services brief no. 32. washington, d.c. louvre museum. 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(2024). l’imaginaire patrimonial. presses universitaires de rennes, https://doi.org.proxy.bibliotheques.uqam.ca/10.4000/13isl. smithsonian institution. (n.d.). accessibility at the smithsonian. https://www.si.edu/visit/accessibility sullivan, l. (1896). the tall office building is artistically considered. lippincott’s magazine. syrian arab encyclopedia. (n.d.). archaeology overview. https://mail.arab-ency.com.sy/archeology/overview/170716 syrian treasures. (n.d.). fakhri al-baroudi house. https://syrian-treasures.com/en/al-baroudi-house/ the americans with disabilities act (ada) 1990 -2005paralyzed veterans of america toronto accessibility design guidelines. (2021). u.s. department of the interior, national park service, cultural resources. (1992). preserving the past and making it accessible for people with disabilities. veterans affairs canada. (2019). hearing loss guidelines. https://public.cdn.cloud.veterans.gc.ca/pdf/dispen/eeg/hearing-loss-2019-02-finalen.pdf appendix a. principles of universal design the following principles were developed by the center for universal design at north carolina state university to guide the design of environments, products, and communications: 1. equitable use: the design is useful and marketable to any group of users. 2. flexibility in use: the design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities. 3. simple and intuitive use: use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level. 4. perceptible information: the design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities. 5. tolerance for error: the design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions. 6. low physical effort: the design can be used efficiently and comfortably, and with a minimum of fatigue. 7. size and space for approach and use: appropriate size and space are provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of the user's body size, posture, or mobility. 7. appendix b. summary of accessibility needs and solutions for various user groups in historic buildings and patrimonial environments appendix b provides an overview of the previously discussed accessibility considerations for different user groups and their potential applications in historic buildings and patrimonial environments. these considerations are consolidated in a table corresponding to the discussion in paragraph 4.1.1, critical requirements for individuals with motor disabilities. (source: author). regarding the term "neurodivergent" (group b in table 3), it refers to individuals whose brain function differs from the typical neurological pattern, affecting perception, language processing, behavior, and other cognitive functions. this includes individuals on the autism spectrum, among others. https://www.si.edu/visit/accessibility https://mail.arab-ency.com.sy/archeology/overview/170716 https://syrian-treasures.com/en/al-baroudi-house/ https://public.cdn.cloud.veterans.gc.ca/pdf/dispen/eeg/hearing-loss-2019-02-final-en.pdf https://public.cdn.cloud.veterans.gc.ca/pdf/dispen/eeg/hearing-loss-2019-02-final-en.pdf hatmal / proceedings of academic research community pg. 15 many conditions fall under this category, including autism spectrum disorder (asd), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd), dyslexia, tourette syndrome, dyscalculia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (ocd). https://mentalhealthhotline.org/neurodivergent-vs-neuroatypical/ table 3: accessibility considerations and requirements for different user groups in heritage or built environments main user groups accessibility essential considerations requirements addressed through alternative solutions (without architectural or landscape modifications) critical requirements necessitating architectural or site interventions a – motor disabilities accessible outdoor pathways step-free access or ramps accessible entrances elevators universal toilets no alternative solutions — architectural or site interventions. incorporation of ramps and elevators necessitates architectural modifications. adding accessible toilets requires interior design adjustments. b neurodivergent individuals availability of quiet rooms or sensory refuges use of calming colours, avoiding stimulating colours (e.g., red) avoidance of glaring light sources repainting walls and architectural elements in historic settings is discouraged to maintain their original character. creating quiet rooms may be impractical; trained staff can assist visitors in distress. adjusting lighting levels is feasible and beneficial. the style and integration of lighting sources are to be defined. c – visual impairment use of colour contrast for orientation installation of podotactile (tactile paving) markers for level changes availability of staff to provide orientation assistance accessible signage incorporating braille, tactile, and auditory features adequate lighting with minimal glare implementing colour contrasts and tactile signage to assist navigation. ensure staff are trained to assist visually impaired visitors. provide signage with braille and auditory components. use appropriate lighting to enhance visibility without causing glare. the placement and style of screens and electronic equipment are to be defined. the style of lighting sources is to be defined. d – hearing impairment use of sound-absorbing materials to minimize reverberation visual representation of auditory signals provision of hearing aid devices availability of staff trained in sign language incorporate visual cues for auditory signals. provide hearing assistance devices ensure staff are trained in sign language. adding sound-absorbing materials may be unnecessary if the spaces are already acoustically isolated. the placement and style of screens and electronic equipment are to be defined. https://mentalhealthhotline.org/neurodivergent-vs-neuroatypical/ http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 1 research paper received: 17 december 2024, accepted: 4 june 2025, published online: 31 july 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1159 the city as a multicultural project: the case of the city of lviv (ukraine) svitlana linda1,2 1professor, faculty of civil engineering and architecture, opole university of technology, opole, poland 2department of architecture and design lviv polytechnic national university, lviv, ukraine abstract there are few monocultural cities, especially in areas that have always been in the crosshairs of global geopolitical change. new political realities have sometimes completely changed the ethnic composition of the city, but the memory of the former inhabitants remains alive in the planning, architecture of buildings, and monuments. the city of lviv, located in western ukraine, is one of those cities whose ethnic composition was very diverse: the city was inhabited by ukrainians, poles, jews, italians, armenians, and other nationalities. however, the ethnic composition of lviv was changing. the most dramatic changes were associated with the events of world war ii in 1939-1945. however, immediately after gaining independence in 1991, lviv ’s community chose to restore the representation of multiculturalism and demonstrate its rich past. in this regard, over the past 30 years, many urban planning, architectural, and design projects have been implemented in lviv aimed at restoring and visualizing the historical memory of not only poles and jews, but also representatives of other nationalities, such as armenians and italians. today, the identity of lviv is enriched by a new ethnic group the crimean tatars, who arrived in the city after the occupation of crimea in 2014. today, lviv’s architectural space has regained its multicultural dimension. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open -access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of essd’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords multiculturalism; identity; lviv; architecture; city 1. introduction lviv has long been a multinational city, where the traditions of the indigenous ukrainian population have coexisted with various cultures of both european nations (polish, austrian, italian) and eastern peoples (jewish, armenian). lviv has gone through several periods when this diversity was altered either by cataclysms and wars or by assimilation processes. the most numerous and rapid transformations of political regimes took place in the 20 th century, when the city's state affiliation changed 7 times: the city first belonged to the habsburg empire, the western ukrainian people's republic, the polish republic, the soviet union, nazi germany, the soviet union, and finally the ukrainian state. the two world wars dramatically changed the ethnic composition of lviv and affected the city's architectural identity, which was clearly demonstrated in the soviet era. however, immediately after gaining independence in 1991, lviv’s community decided to restore the representation of multiculturalism and demonstrate its rich past. in http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 this regard, over the past 30 years, many urban planning, architectural, and design projects have been implemented in lviv to restore and visualise the historical memory of the city's former inhabitants. today, lviv ’s identity is enriched by a new ethnic group, the crimean tatars, who arrived in the city after the occupation of crimea in 2014. the architectural space of lviv has regained its multicultural dimension. the purpose of the article is to demonstrate how the identity of the city has changed under the influence of geopolitical transformations and new socio-cultural realities. 2. materials and methods methodologically, the article is based on the synchronic method of analysing demographic changes in lviv's population and analysing the reflection of these processes in the city's architectural identity. the article uses the statistical method, the method of comparative analysis, and elements of semantic and art historical analysis. the main period of research is the period after the second world war. the author focuses on the topic of visualising the traces of lviv’s lost multiculturalism. the periodisation is based on historically determined geopolitical events: the period before 1939 the interwar period of the second polish republic, 1939-1945, and 1945-1991 – the second world war and the soviet era, and the period after 1991 – the achievement of independence. the article uses the statistical method to determine how the demographic structure of the population has changed and analyzes how this has influenced the change in the city’s identity. the identity of the city in this article is understood in the architectural and city planning dimension, which is expressed in the urban changes of the city, in the construction or dismantling of individual buildings and monuments, and the memorialization of lviv’s space. the materials of the article are based primarily on the research of ukrainian and polish scholars who deal with the identity of urban spaces. visual surveys and photographic documentation were carried out by the author personally. 3. results 3.1. lviv’s historical multiculturalism lviv’s location on an important trans-european trade route led to its development as a multinational city. in the princely times of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the majority of lviv’s population was ruthenians (ukrainians), but the city was also home to germans, armenians, tatars, jews, karaites, and from the 15th century onwards, poles and jews were the dominant ethnic groups. traces of the historical presence of these ethnic groups can be found today not only in the city ’s toponymy (e.g., ruska, armenian, staroyevreiska streets), but also in the preserved architectural monuments. lviv’s central square, rynok square, as well as the city centre buildings, are priceless examples of italian renaissance architecture (see figure 1). in 1527, a great fire destroyed the entire gothic lviv, and the city was rebuilt in the new renaissance style. the first renaissance master is considered to be peter the italian from lugano ; other prominent architects of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were pa olo romano, peter barbon, peter krasovsky, and others (architecture of lviv..., pp. 88-90). lviv was built according to the european model, with a central square surrounded by a continuous front of stone buildings. the facade decoration was based on italian order schemes. although the order as such was relatively rarely used in the architecture of lviv, it was common to build a facade composition based on the proportional relations inherent in the order. complicated cornices, attic elements, interfloor division, corner pilasters, and carved window frames were widely used to decorate the facades (architecture of lviv..., pp. 90-94). the visual dominants were the town hall located in the centre of rynok square (not preserved to this day) and the latin cathedral, which dates back to the fourteenth century (see figure 2). (kozubska, 2000) linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 lviv’s renaissance sacred architecture is represented by the ensemble of the assumption church, the korniakt tower, and the chapel of the three saints (second half of the sixteenth century). this is a unique example of the synthesis of the western european renaissance and the local old ukrainian tradition (for instance, the use of a typical composition of a three-part and three-domed church, traditional for ukrainian folk architecture), which created a coherent and aesthetically perfect composition (kos & fedyna, 1996, pp. 36-58) (as seen in figures 3, 4). there was an armenian quarter within the built-up area of medieval lviv. the bell tower for the armenian cathedral was built by the italian architect petro krasovsky in the second half of the 16 th century (see figure 5). the architecture of the bell tower used techniques typical of ancient armenian architecture: the construction of towers with steep ends in the corners of the tent roof of the bell tower. the architectural decoration of the bell tower and inscriptions refer to armenian identity (architecture of lviv, pp. 94-95 ). figure 1: renaissance building of rynok square in lviv (source: by the author) figure 2: the latin cathedral in lviv (source: by the author) figure 3: the ensemble of the assumption church and the korniakt tower in lviv (source: by the author) figure 4: the chapel of the three saints in lviv (source: by the author) linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 in addition to christian churches, jewish synagogues were also built in lviv at this time. the best of them was the golden rose / turei zahav synagogue, the construction of which began in the jewish quarter in 1582. this building was the centre of social life in the medieval jewish quarter and one of the most beautiful synagogues in eastern europe (architecture of lviv..., pp. 99-100) (see figure 6). the renaissance building was destroyed by the nazis in 1941. in 1772, lviv became the capital of the largest province of the habsburg monarchy. according to the constitution of 1848, all subjects of the monarchy were granted equal rights. this was reaffirmed after the transformation of the monarchy into a dualistic empire in 1867 and guaranteed all citizens, regardless of recognition, the same rights and freedoms (szuchta , 2015, p. 115). as a result, a special atmosphere of tolerance between people was created in lviv. in parallel, there was a process of national self -awareness and the emergence of political nations. lviv was the „capital” of national revivals because the atmosphere here was freer than in prussia or the russian empire. polish and ukrainian national revivals took place here, and zionism was born in lviv (monolatij, 2012). the city of lviv began the 20th century as a significant austrian imperial city, being the centre of polish, jewish, and ukrainian communities that coexisted, although in conflict, and mutually enriched. at that time, lviv was actively developing. the architecture of the city in the second half of the 19th century is dominated by the influence of vienna, which was one of the main european architectural centres at the time. however, the typology of buildings testified to a new political stage of the city’s development, as it was often associated with the theme of the autonomy of the province of galicia within the austro-hungarian empire. one such example is the building of the galician sejm, which was built specifically for the needs of the newly formed elected regional body. the building was constructed in the popular viennese neo-renaissance style by the german architect j. hochberger in 1877-1881 (architecture of lviv..., p. 271) (see figure 7). figure 5: the bell tower for the armenian cathedral in lviv (source: by the authors) figure 6: the golden rose / turei zahav synagogue in lviv (no exist) (source: architecture of lviv..., p. 99) linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 figure 7: the building of the galician sejm in lviv, 1877-1881, arch. j. hochberger (source: by the author) one hundred years ago, from 1920 to 1939, lviv was the capital of a voivodeship within the second polish republic, an independent polish state. the new geopolitical significance of the young state, the strategic and cultural role of lviv within it led to the rapid development of the city, including its architecture. the spatial development of the city in the interwar period was associated with the implementation of the concept of „greater lviv”, which was first clearly formulated by ignacy drexler in 1920 in his monograph of the same name , “wielki lwów. le grand léopol”. (architecture of lviv…, pp. 528-529) it was the first to address the issue of the city's long-term development on the scale of suburban areas, to use the principle of functional zoning of urban areas for the first time, and to outline a programme of greening streets and squares. linked to the idea of greater lviv was the concept of placing many sacred catholic objects in the newly annexed suburban areas, which would mark polish identity (bohdanova & linda, 2016). the idea of „greater lviv” in the context of the city being returned to poland required other means of implementation, which was expressed primarily through the construction of monuments. the first wave of monuments, which most clearly semantically marked the environment as belonging to a certain national community, namely the polish community, was erected in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. at that time, about 15 monuments were erected in many of lviv’s focal points. this first wave of monument construction was associated with romantic visions of polishness in lviv, which was still under habsburg rule. in the interwar period, this theme was replaced by the glorification of the struggle for lviv and eastern galicia during the first world war. (sereda, 2008) two monuments were erected to these soldiers. the first one was erected not far from the train station, where numerous battles took place, and the other in the courtyard of the polytechnic, where polish soldiers buried their comrades during the war. the most important place of worship for the fallen heroes, the lviv eagles memorial, was built by rudolf indruch near the lychakiv cemetery in 1936 . (nicieja , 2006) there was a lot of evidence of the presence of jews in lviv: about a hundred synagogues and houses of learning, a jewish cemetery in the very centre of the city, and the open and active work of numerous jewish societies. ukrainian identity in the public space of the city was reflected in the characteristic silhouettes of churches and forms of ukrainian architectural modernism of the beginning of the 20th century. (cherkes & linda, 2022) at the beginning of the second world war, about 50% of the population of lviv was polish, 35% was jewish, and ukrainians formed the third largest ethnic group, accounting for about 13%. the objects marking the city's multiethnic identity were presented in proportion to their share in the ethnic composition of lviv. 3.2. transformations of the city’s image during the second world war for lviv, world war ii began on 1 september 1939 with the bombing of the main railway station by luftwaffe aircraft. on 12 september, the scherner motorised military group under the command of frederick scherner, created to capture lviv, received an order to seize lviv, and at 14:00 , the assault on the city began. despite the https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorid=57207307024 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorid=57207312735 linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 hopes of the nazi command for a quick capture of lviv, the city held its defence for almost ten days under the command of general władysław längner. it is worth noting that, despite the complicated interethnic relations that developed in the city in the interwar period, the majority of the city ’s citizens – poles, ukrainians, and jews – defended the city and the state against the nazis. according to various estimates, between 150,000 and 200,000 ukrainians fought in the ranks of the polish army, including in the defence of lviv, against the wehrmacht in september 1939. (hromenko, 2014) on 17 september 1939, soviet troops entered lviv, and on 22 september, general w. längner was forced to sign the „protocol on the transfer of lviv to soviet troops”. the first soviet occupation of lviv began. at the time of the red army’s arrival in lviv, according to soviet statistics, 345 thousand people lived there. soviet rule and the outbreak of the second world war brought a huge wave of emigration from both the west and the east. jews fleeing the nazis came from the west, and russians from the east. the same soviet statistics state that in the pre war period, the population reached even 500 thousand people. (cherkes, 1993) the soviet government began with repression. between 1939 and 1941 (before the nazi occupation of lviv), deportations were carried out in several stages. in lviv, the first to be deported were poles: prisoners of war from camps, former capitalists – landowners, manufacturers, and high-ranking officials. this category of the population was deported to kazakhstan for a standard period of 10 years. at dawn on 20 june 1940, about 22,000 refugees from western europe (poles and jews) were taken beyond the urals. almost 80 % of them were jews. before the outbreak of war with germany, in may 1941, the soviet authorities managed to carry out another deportation. at that time, several hundred members of ukrainian and polish underground organisations and their families were deported from lviv. the deportees were sentenced to 20 years of resettlement in western siberia and kazakhstan (from occupation to occupation, 2009). changes in the ethnic composition were accompanied by changes in the architectural life of the city. after the arrival of soviet troops, a group of architects from soviet ukraine was sent to lviv and immediately began work on the first soviet master plan for the city. the first, incomplete general plan of lviv in 1939 proposed several ideas according to which the „strong hand of the bolsheviks” was to transform the city from a „consumerist” city into an ‘industrial’ and ‘socialist’ city. in terms of implementing the ideas of the first soviet master plan for lviv, only two were implemented due to the lack of time: the city was divided into four administrative districts, and a temporary monument to „reunification’ was erected on the former legion street (now svobody avenue). both implementations, especially the monument, were primarily propaganda. the newly formed districts were named, for example: stalinsky (central), krasnoarmeysky (district of the red army), zaliznychnodorozhny (district of the main railway station), and shevchenkivsky (district in hounor of taras shevchenko a prominent ukrainian poet). (cherkes & kulyk, 1990; cherkes, 1993) lviv was reoccupied by the nazis on 30 june 1941, and the occupation lasted until 27 july 1944. during this time, the city underwent dramatic changes. first of all, this affected the urban space: a separate area was allocated for the forced isolation of the jewish population, the ghetto, the janowska camp and other places of forced labour, and a camp for soviet prisoners of war were created; a system of deportation of jews from the galician region through lviv to death camps was also established, and controlling and executive bodies (occupation and jewish) were organised, which worked under the constant supervision of the nazis (kruglov, umanskij et al, 2017). at the same time, the nazis destroyed visual traces of the presence of jews in lviv: during the german occupation, almost all synagogues were destroyed, and only 2 out of more than a hundred survived . (linda, 2021) in addition, the german occupation administration considered it necessary to emphasise the importance of the ‘new government’ through urban planning and architecture. the model for german urbanists was the 1942 plan for the redevelopment of the centre of berlin, developed by albert speer. based on the berlin model, lviv was to receive a new urban axis – ringstrasse, for the construction of which it was necessary to destroy part of the historical buildings. it was also proposed to build several significant public buildings that were to change the architectural image of lviv. due to a lack of time, the project has not even begun. the only thing that the german occupation authorities were ready to implement was to erect a monument to hitler on the site of the former soviet monument to „reunification” (see figure 8). (architecture of lviv…, pp. 580-581) linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 after the surrender of nazi germany and the reincorporation of lviv into the soviet union, serious changes in the city’s life took place. the new arrival of the soviet administration in july 1944 was accompanied by a wave of new repressions and arrests. over five days, from 3 to 8 january, about 17,300 people were arrested (kulczyńska , 1945). thus, the second world war was a huge tragedy for the ethnic composition of lviv. according to historians, between 1939 and 1945, lviv lost 80% of its indigenous population. lviv's jews were killed in the nazi holocaust (in july 1944). the red army entered lviv, a city where, in 1931, there were about 100,000 jews; only 3,400 remained. poles were deported to poland in 1946 by the stalinist regime. soviet totalitarianism affected thousands of ukrainians, who were deported to siberia in echelons, killed in prisons, and taken for forced labour in germany. 3.3. “red lviv”: monoculturalism in the soviet version the second world war also had catastrophic consequences for lviv’s multiculturalism. the expulsion and elimination of the largest national groups of historic lviv, the poles and jews, led to the demise of its traditional multinationality, which was oriented towards european culture. stalin's iron curtain only completed the subsequent isolation and devastation of historic lviv. the demographic composition of the city changed significantly: during the first ten years of the postwar period, about 270,000 new residents from russia, eastern ukraine, and local peasants moved to lviv. (bodnar, 2010) on 13 april 1945, the council of people’s commissars of the ussr adopted a resolution “on the reconstruction and development of industry, transport, and municipal services in the city of lviv”. according to this resolution, lviv was turning into the largest industrial centre in western ukraine. workers from the east of ukraine were sent to the city to build a completely different lviv. the issue of planning lviv during the heyday of stalin ’s dictatorship could not help but aim to transform its image. in the new post-war master plan for the reorganisation of the city centre, the authors proposed the so-called “urban compositional axis”. it was also proposed to build a new central square in lviv (the city did not have a large enough area for communist parades and rallies), which was to be located immediately behind the opera house on the site of jewish ghetto buildings partially destroyed during the german occupation. the compositional basis of the square was to be a monument to stalin, which was to be placed on the axis of the new building of party and soviet bodies, designed in the architectural forms of classicism. perpendicular to the new central square and the main compositional axis of the city in the north -south direction, the main ‘boulevard highway’ in the west-east direction was laid out, leading to the high castle mountain. the “boulevard highway” was supposed to end with a grandiose monument to lenin. this was hindered by stalin’s death in 1953 and nikita khrushchev’s subsequent struggle against both the cult of stalin’s personality and his architecture (see figure 9). the grandiose axes remained only on paper. (cherkes, 1993, 1999) a b figure 8: proposals for architectural and urban changes in lviv during the nazi occupation, 1942 -1944 aproject of a new urban axis (not implemented); b a monument to hitler, erected in the center of lviv (source: architecture of lviv..., pp. 580 – 581) linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 the intensive “sovietisation” of lviv continued. in 1952, the first monument representing the new regime was erected. it was a monument to lenin on the main boulevard in front of the opera house, which had been laid before the war (see figure 10). in the same year, a memorial to soviet soldiers who died in world war ii, “hill of glory”, was unveiled, which also served as a memorial complex. the memorial became a venue for numerous soviet holidays. (cherkes, 1999) figure 9: the proposal of the first post-war general plan of lviv for the creation of a new axis, which began with a monument to stalin and ended with a monument to lenin, 1946 (not implemented) (source: cherkes, b., 1999). traces of the polish and ukrainian presence were systematically removed (all polish and ukrainian pre -war memorial plaques were destroyed). instead, 80 new plaques were installed: 21 of them are dedicated to soviet figures (whose nationality, in accordance with soviet ideology, was hardly mentioned in the inscriptions); 47 to soviet events. a proportionally small number of plaques were dedicated to ukrainian historical figures. other ethnic groups remained virtually invisible in the urban landscape during the soviet era . (sereda, 2008) in the 1960s and 1980s, numerous soviet monuments were erected in lviv. among them, in 1962, a monument to the hero of the soviet union, nikolai kuznetsov, was unveiled, and in 1970, the most remarkable monument – the monument to the glory of the soviet army was erected (see figure 11). in addition, monuments were erected that combined sovietism with elements of local western ukrainian culture. (rossoliński-liebe, 2009) undoubtedly, lviv was developing in the architectural aspect: new residential neighbourhoods, public buildings, and service facilities were built. however, in a totalitarian society, architecture and art also become tools of ideological propaganda. monumental art became widespread: the walls of major public buildings were covered with numerous mosaics and graffiti on the theme of a happy life in the soviet union, eternal friendship between peoples, and a bright communist future. the city was red with numerous flags, posters, and slogans. soviet manipulations led to the almost complete destruction of polish and partially ukrainian memorials and the root identity of lviv, which has virtually lost its historical multinationality. on the eve of independence, according figure 10: the monument to lenin, erected in 1952, in front of the opera house (source: https://uma.lvivcenter.org/uk/photos/4414) figure 11: the monument to the glory of the soviet army, erected in 1970 (source: https://uma.lvivcenter.org/uk/photos/3632) https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorid=57207307024 linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 to the 1989 census, 786.9 thousand people lived in lviv. ukrainians were the dominant ethnic group – 79.1%, russians – 16.1%, jews – 1.6%, and poles – 1.2%. a small share was also made up of belarusians (0.7%), moldovans (0.2%), armenians (0.1%), tatars (0.1%), and other nationalities (0.8%). the city has effectively become mono-national, with the presence of other ethnic groups not significantly affecting the ethnic pattern of the city. however, most importantly, despite the dominance of ukrainians, lviv was not a ukrainian city. it was a russified environment typical of soviet cities, representing soviet identity . (cherkes, 1993) 3.4. the revival of national identity and the glorification of the present: ukrainian lviv the collapse of the soviet union in 1991 and ukraine’s independence affected the ethnic composition of lviv: the city became even more mono-national. poles and jews actively emigrated during the unstable period of the collapse of the soviet empire. thus, in 2001, almost 89% of the population identified themselves as ukrainians, with 9% of the remaining russians, only 0.3% identified themselves as jews, and 0.6% as poles. however, immediately after the declaration of independence, the city’s public set out to revive traditional multiethnicity in the public space of lviv and return it to the bosom of western civilisation. first of all, it concerned the revival of the idea of ukrainian identity in lviv, as well as polish and jewish identity as the main pre-war ethnic groups. (cherkes, 1993) the process of ideological decolonisation of the memory of the soviet past took place through the dismantling of symbolic markers, the first of which was the monument to lenin, which was dismantled before the declaration of independence. the personality of the leader of the world proletariat was the most significant in the struggle for state independence. therefore, this monument was the first among those dismantled with the sanction of the local authorities in september 1990. over time, other monuments to the military and public figures loyal to the soviet government were also dismantled. however, an exception was made for soviet cemeteries and memorials to the second world war. for example, the “hill of glory”, founded in 1952, still stands in its original form . (sereda, 2008) at the same time, a new identity, the ukrainian identity, was being formed. the ukrainisation of lviv ’s public space began with the renaming of streets and squares, the elimination of soviet functions of buildings, the demolition of old monuments, and the construction of new ones. an interesting experience was the wide involvement of the public in the renaming process. for example, students’ appeal for john lennon street. other renamings were heatedly debated in the local media, such as the renaming of lermontov street, previously dedicated to the famous russian writer, to dudayev street, named after the chechen leader killed during the first russian-chechen conflict. (sereda, 2008) the most significant new monument is the monument to taras shevchenko, a prominent ukrainian poet and national hero, erected on svobody avenue and unveiled in 1996 (see figure 12). to the left of the poet’s figure is the wave of national revival, a 12-metre-high symbolic stele with figurative bas-reliefs. after its construction, the overall sculptural composition was completed: the figured reliefs on it symbolically depict the history of ukraine from the times of kyivan rus to the early 20 th century on the front side and the history of ukraine in the 20 th century on the back side. (architecture of lviv..., p. 673 ) the statue of the mother of god, which had been erected there in the late nineteenth century and removed during the soviet era, was returned to its original place on svobody avenue. there was a triumphant rehabilitation of the ukrainian greek catholic church, which had been repressed by the soviet regime and functioned underground. the ukrainian greek catholic church proved to be one of the most successful institutions that preserved and transmitted western ukrainian national identity. (cherkes & linda, 2022) https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorid=57207307024 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorid=57207307024 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorid=57207307024 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorid=57207312735 linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 10 the construction of the monument to king danylo, the legendary founder of lviv and an outstanding military leader, in 2001 became another symbol of national revival (as seen in figure 13). he is one of the most famous and at the same time the most iconic figures of ukraine’s medieval history – prince of galicia, volyn, and the grand duke of kyiv. on 7 october 1253, prince danylo romanovych of galicia and volhynia accepted the royal crown from the pope's ambassadors and became a full-fledged european monarch – the king of rus. the monument reads ‘king danylo’ and thus emphasises the city's european orientation, while the historical figure is interpreted as an integrator of ukraine into western civilisation. (architecture of lviv..., p. 675) alongside the main narrative of showcasing the ukrainian image of the city, there is another strong trend that can be described as an attempt to symbolically ‘write’ the city back into the wider european historical past. the narrative of lviv’s “europeanness” is articulated in different ways, most notably in the use of ‘european’ names for restaurants or cafes (e.g., vienna coffee house). the new geopolitical realities and tragic events that ukraine has faced in the twenty -first century are reflected in the images of public space. on 23 august 2019, the memorial to the heroes of the heavenly hundred, ukrainian citizens who were shot dead on independence square in kyiv in the winter of 2014 during the revolution of dignity, was unveiled in lviv. the authors of the competition project were young lviv architects: a. lesiuk, m. yastrubchak, and h. pundak. this space conveys the spirit of modernity and perpetuates memory. it is a complex structure, a linear square on different levels, organically integrated into the urban landscape. the main material of the project is corten, which changes its texture over time and has a special symbolism of struggle and burning fire. the memorial is filled with cereal plants that will resemble ears of wheat, which is a symbol of the ukrainian people (the memorial to the heroes of the heavenly hundred in lviv , n.d), (or a place of memory of our time) (see figure 14). figure 12: the monument to shevchenko, a prominent ukrainian poet and national hero, erected on svobody avenue and unveiled in 1996 (source: by the author) figure 13: the monument to king danylo, the legendary founder of lviv and an outstanding military leader, erected in 2001 (source: by the author) linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 11 figure 14: the memorial to the heroes of the heavenly hundred in lviv, opened in 2019 (source: by the author) 3.5. the return of the polish past to the space of lviv poles and jews, who are now a national minority in the city, occupied a dominant position in symbolic lviv and shaped its identity. today, their memory is represented in different ways in the city's urban landscape. an example is the advertising inscriptions on the walls in polish and hebrew. some of them are authentic and some are new, created specifically to emphasise the city’s multinational past. lviv is a significant symbolic city for the polish community. it is one of the founding cities of poland, a centre of culture, history, and science. it was in lviv that dozens of scientific societies began their activities, including the lviv school of mathematics, the lviv–warsaw school of philosophy, the polish historical and geographical societies, and the school of art history. therefore, the revival of polish identity in the public space of the city is of great importance both in the context of restoring multiculturalism and in the context of the search for historical truth. the most important place of worship for the polish community is the memorial to the fallen heroes, the lviv eagles memorial (see figure 15). the necropolis was not destroyed during the second world war, and in soviet times, it slowly fell into disrepair. in 1956, the tomb of the unknown soldier’s tombstone was taken to poland. in the 1970s, the colonnade and most of the tombs were destroyed by tanks and bulldozers. only the pylons survived, their foundations having been securely reinforced during construction. in 1991, the memorial was rebuilt and inaugurated with the participation of the president of poland , a. kwasniewski, and the president of ukraine, v. yushchenko. (nicieja, 2006) figure 15: the lviv eagles memorial, destroyed in soviet times and rebuilt in 1991. (source: by the author) figure 16: the memorial to murdered polish professors was opened in 2011. (source: by the author) linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 12 the destruction by the nazis of prominent representatives of the polish intellectual elite in lviv in july 1941 is one of the most dramatic events of the second world war. on the night of 4 july 1941, the gestapo executed 36 professors of lviv universities, including world-class scholars. according to the results of an international competition in 2010 for the best monument to the victims, the joint polish -ukrainian project by sculptor o. śliwa (kraków) and architects o. trofymenko and d. sorokevych (lviv) won. the monument is a kind of arch consisting of 10 stones symbolising the 10 commandments of god. the fifth commandment – „thou shalt not kill!” is significantly broken, as if it were knocked down. this symbolises that when a person breaks a commandment of god, there is a threat to destroy the integrity of the world (see figure 16). in 2011, a monument was inaugurated at the site of the shooting. (cherkes & linda, 2019) the life of today’s lviv is inextricably linked to its polish past. this is evident in all aspects of public life: in the specific galician dialect, street names, and cafes. an informal reminder of the city ’s multicultural and multilingual past is the inscriptions on the walls of buildings, primarily in polish (but also in hebrew and german). these are mostly advertising texts. they were created at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and in the interwar period. often, such inscriptions are accidentally discovered during facade restoration and are carefully preserved and displayed, as they are also important witnesses to lviv’s rich history (see figure 17). figure 17: the inscriptions on the walls of buildings in polish and hebrew in lviv (source: by the author) 3.6. perpetuating the memory of death and sacrifice: memorializing the jewish past of lviv in soviet times, the topic of the jews of lviv and their culture and architecture was banned. there were practically no jews left in the city: by 1944, their number was only 1.1% of the total number of residents. in 1962, the jewish community was liquidated. only on the eve of the declaration of the independence of ukraine, the public organization lviv society of jewish culture named after sholom aleichem, the purpose of which was the preservation of jewish heritage, the maintenance of traditions, and charitable activities. the architectural space of lviv is full of monuments of the jewish past. we can trace this in the names of streets and squares. near the entrances to many tenement houses in the city center, we can see traces of mezuzahs, visual traces of the former presence of buildings (marking the contours of the great city synagogue and the “house of wisdom” on staroyevreyska street), memorial signs on the sites of destroyed buildings (on the site of the synagogue “temple”) (the space of synagogues: jewish history, common heritage and responsibility ). in 1989, the society of jewish culture named after sholom -aleichem took the initiative to build a monument to the victims of the lviv ghetto. at that time, the project of the monument had already been proposed, and its author was a former lviv woman, resident of jerusalem, sculptor louise shterenstein. despite the difficulties (economic and https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorid=57207307024 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorid=57207312735 linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 13 political), the construction was completed successfully, and on august 23, 1992, the memorial complex in honor of the victims of the lviv ghetto (1941-1943) was solemnly opened (see figure 18). it is symbolic that the monument is cast as an image of an old man in grief and prayer, who raises his head and hands to the sky. the marble path that leads to it imitates the “road of death”. symbolic tombstones are located to the right of the monument, and behind it is a tree planted as a sign of peace and continuation of life. a massive black menorah symbolizes eternal respect for the dead. next to the monument, in 2015, the memorial museum “territory of terror” was opened on the site of the former jewish ghetto (1941-1943) and transit prison (1944-1955), which is dedicated to the memory of hundreds of thousands of people murdered in this place, including jews (see figure 19). on the territory of the museum barracks, watchtowers, barricades, and other infrastructure objects have been recreated (memorial museum of totalitarian regimes. territory of terror). to preserve the jewish cultural heritage and the memory of its creators, the city authorities and the public of the city, as well as in cooperation with the center for the urban history of central and eastern europe and the german society for international cooperation (deutsche gesellshaft für internationalle zusammenarbeit, giz), organized an international competition to perpetuate the memory jewish places in lviv. the competition lasted from august to december 2010. the proposal of the berlin architect franz reschke to arrange the memorial “synagogue space” in such a way as to “interpret emptiness as the main concept” was recognized as the best. since then, a team made up of several institutions, including the franz reschke landschaftsarchitektur office, has developed and implemented the project. on september 4, 2016, the first part of the project was opened to the general public. it includes the conservation of the remains of the golden rose synagogue, the marking of the foundation of the jewish house of learning, beit hamidrash, and the installation of the memorial installation “immortization” (see figure 20). the spaces should symbolize and reveal the historical traditions of each building and give this public space a new quality in the daily life of the city (the space of synagogues: jewish history, common heritage and responsibility). figure 18: the memorial complex in honor of the victims of the lviv ghetto, 1992 (source: by the author) figure 19: the memorial museum “territory of terror”, opened in 2015 (source: by the author) linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 14 figure 20: the memorial “synagogue space”, opened in 2016 (source: by the author) 3.7. new identity of the city: crimean-tatar lviv according to the reports of the commissioners for the affairs of religious cults, until the end of the 1980s, there was not a single muslim community or registered group of muslims in western ukraine. only after ukraine became independent in 1991, muslim believers gain the opportunity to practice their religion freely. in 1993, the lviv muslim religious community was officially registered. during the years of independence, the religious community of muslims in lviv created a spiritual school for studying the basics of islam, the koran , and the arabic language for adults and teenagers, and obtained from the lviv authorities the allocation of a plot for the burial of the dead. in lviv, the tatar cultural and educational society “tugan tel”, the youth public organization “en nebras” , and others launched their activities (muslims celebrate the prophet muhammad’s birthday, 2020). the aggression of the russian federation against our state in 2014, the occupation of crimea, and the outbreak of the bloody russian-ukrainian war on february 24, 2022, led to the appearance in ukraine of such a new and tragic phenomenon for our country as internal refugees. more than 2,000 people arrived in the lviv region from crimea alone, among them many muslims. now their number is greater, but, unfortunately, there are no exact statistics. the muslim community is not numerous, but it is extremely active (prokip, 2018). in 2015, the islamic cultural center was named after muhammad asad. at the opening of the center, sheikh said ismagilov, mufti of the spiritual administration of the muslims of ukraine “umma” said that: “we say that without a doubt lviv is a great european, christian city. the city ’s muslim community is not large, but we really want it to be integrated into lviv society”. the first ukrainian translation of the koran from arabic was also presented at the opening of the center (antoshevskyy, 2015). currently, there are already four mosques operating in lviv. mosques are visited not only by muslim residents of lviv, who are no more than 2-3%, but also by many muslims from the number of visiting students: arabs, africans (lviv’s multiculturism...). one of these mosques, opened in 2022, has a minaret it is the first minaret in the architectural image of lviv, which enriches the identity of a multicultural city (see figure 21). linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 15 figure 21: one of the lviv mosques, opened in 2022 a general view with the minaret, b – interior (source: by the author) 4. discussion stormy historical events left behind important myths, which became reference points for the formation of today's multiculturalism in lviv. the ancient russian period left the myth of the ancient city, king danylo, the lion king, which was completely ukrainian. the myth of “austrian lviv” lives in the mentality of lviv residents the capital of the largest province of austria -hungary in the 19th century. the myths about “polish lviv” and “jewish lviv” are important, since poles and jews were the main ethnic groups of lviv until 1939. ukraine's independence in 1991 led to the activation of the polish and jewish communities, whose historical heritage is today positioned as an integral part of lviv’s heritage. and the complex political processes of the last two decades (the annexation of crimea in 2014 and the large-scale russian-ukrainian war that began on february 24, 2022) caused new changes in the ethnic composition of lviv's population: a new active part of lviv society appeared – the crimean tatars. according to the current principles of multiculturalism policy, it is necessary to recognise cultural pluralism, which implies that people of different ethnicities, religions, and races should learn to live and interact with each other without giving up their cultural characteristics. this principle of cultural diversity is the basis of public policy. the multicultural model of urban space is based on the recognition of the right of individuals and groups to maintain their own identity. therefore, multiculturalism in this context is seen as one of the possible ways of adapting to the polyethnic past. it is understood as one of the forms of a stable, urban community and at the same time a way of building it (gordijenko & yurina, 2013). the cornerstone of multiculturalism is the need for people to overcome the limits of their identity and recognise the values of other cultures. (mykhajlych, 2015) lviv today is a city with a dominant ukrainian population. the large ethnic communities of poles and jews, who were the majority in lviv before the second world war, now make up barely a few per cent of the city’s total population. therefore, the activity of visualising the multicultural past is reflected primarily in the construction of monuments and memorials that remind us of our rich cultural past. this is of great importance to the residents of modern lviv. the modern interpretation of lviv’s multiculturalism is considered an asset of great value, the preservation of which is the only way for our future development. multiculturalism involves the recognition of values, ways of life , and symbolic representations of different ethnic and religious communities. therefore, one of our main goals, along with acquiring knowledge about our nation, is the formation of a positive attitude towards the cultural heritage of other nations. in this context, lviv is a good example to follow, as historical multiculturalism, embodied in the form of memorials and monuments, is being restored in the city’s public spaces with the use of architectural means. linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 16 the topic of multiculturalism became the main one in the formation of the city ’s brand. the slogan “lviv – open to the world” chosen in 2006 demonstrates the city’s desire to join the european discourse, to become a full-fledged part of it. the multinational architectural heritage of the city is an extremely valuable asset. separately, it should be mentioned that lviv has the largest number of architectural monuments among all ukrainian cities. the vast majority of them are concentrated in the historical center, which was included in the unesco world heritage list in 1998. figure 22: promotional logo of lviv, developed in 2007 (updated in 2011) a – the ukrainian version; b – the english version (source: https://www8.cityadm.lviv.ua/pool/info/doclmr_1.nsf/0/32fca5da0e297bedc22578d30051ab87/$file/%d0%91%d1%80%d0%b5%d0%bd%d0%b4 %d0%b1%d1%83%d0%ba.pdf) the architectural image of lviv became the basis for the formation of the promotional logo of the city, which was approved by the decision of the executive committee of the lviv city council no. 105 dated march 9, 2007. in 2011, the logo was updated (see figure 22). the main theme of the logo became the towers, which demonstrate the most iconic architectural monuments of lviv. so, the bell tower of the armenian cathedral (green): symbolizes the armenian diaspora of lviv, the armenian apostolic church; in terms of architecture – renaissance; kornyakta tower – bell tower of the dormition church (red color): symbolizes ukrainian lviv, the orthodox church; in terms of architecture – renaissance; the tower of the city hall (orange color): symbolizes the unity of the city, ancient traditions and history; in architectural terms – classicism; the tower of the latin cathedral (blue): symbolizes the polish lviv, the catholic church; architecturally – baroque; the belfry of the bernardine monastery (purple color): symbolizes the inheritance of city traditions, polish lviv, which became ukrainian following the example of the bernardine monastery, which, being roman catholic before the war, resumed its activities as a greek catholic church; in architectural terms – italiandutch mannerism. the idea of the image of city towers was taken from „hogenberg’s panoramas” – the first known image of lviv, which is dominated by defensive walls and towers (see figure 23). linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 17 figure 23: hohenberg's panorama is a miderite depicting a panorama of lviv. (source: https://photo-lviv.in.ua/yaki-budivli-lvova-zobrazhenona-vidomij-panorami-hohenberha/) the multi-colored towers symbolize “the rich architectural heritage of lviv, the multi-nationality of cultures and confessions that have developed harmoniously in the city since its foundation”. under the image of the towers is the inscription “lviv is open to the world”, which is the city’s unofficial motto (lviv brand, n.d) ; (lviv is open for tourists...). 5. conclusions multiculturalism in architecture is undoubtedly a complex phenomenon that has its own logic and dynamics of development. this development cannot be separated from global political transformations that reinforce the importance of cultural differences and cultural identities. lviv is an example of a city whose complex historical path demonstrates different versions of multiculturalism, the development of which was associated with dramatic historical changes. the most dramatic turning point for lviv ’s multiculturalism was associated with the events of the second world war. an important element of it was the change in the city's population, which was caused by evictions, the holocaust, and the arrival of new residents. the city became monocultural and, moreover, soviet. the revival of ukrainian statehood is accompanied by a process of returning to traditional multiculturalism. lviv is still a city with a clear dominance of the ukrainian population, but the desire to return to the ‘multicultural idyll’ is manifested in the formation of spaces that are clearly associated with other identities: polish, jewish, and crimean tatar, as a new ethnic group. modern lviv is presented as a complex mosaic construction of a city that simultaneously belongs to a number of cultures and nations. the multicultural history of the city encompasses not only our shared past, but also means that we bear a great responsibility for our shared future. therefore, our main task now is to form a positive attitude toward the cultural heritage of other nations, along with learning about our people. today, lviv appears before us as a complex mosaic structure – a city that simultaneously belongs to many cultures and peoples. the multicultural history of lviv is not only our shared past, but also a great responsibility and a shared future. implementation of the policy of multiculturalism in the ukrainian context will contribute to further democratisation of society and ukraine’s entry into the international community. the management of ethno-cultural diversity based on this policy is a prerequisite for the social integration of ukrainian society, support for its cultural diversity, preservation of the identity of ethno-cultural groups, and development of a national culture that will ensure the formation of a national identity common to all citizens. acknowledgment the abstract of this paper was presented at the cities’ identity through architecture & art (citaa) conference – 8th edition, which was held on the 17th 19th of september 2024. linda/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 18 funding this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not -for-profit sector/ individuals. ethics approval all visual surveys and other human-related interactions were conducted under the supervision and with the approval of the institute of architecture at the national university "lviv polytechnic", by its ethical research guidelines. conflict of interest the authors declare there is no conflict. references antoshevskyy, t. (2015, august 06). the first islamic religious and cultural center in western ukraine was opened in lviv. religious information service of ukraine. https://risu.ua/u-lvovi-vidkrili-pershiy-u-zahidniy-ukrajini-islamskiy-religiyno-kulturniy-centr_n74642 (in ukrainian). architecture of lviv. time and styles: 13th – 19th cc., center of europe, lviv (in ukrainian). bodnar, h. 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https://www.iwm.at/transit-online/politics-of-memory-and-urban-landscape-the-case-of-lviv-after-world-war http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 1 research paper received: 8 april 2025, accepted: 23 july 2025, published online: 31 july 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1204 digital survey and representation for built historical heritage protection. the case of gerace (reggio calabria) daniele colistra1, francesca fatta2, lorella pizzonia3 1full professor of representation, mediterranea university of reggio calabria, italy 2full professor of representation, mediterranea university of reggio calabria, italy 3phd in architecture, mediterranea university of reggio calabria, italy abstract historic centers contain a large amount of unquantified cultural heritage that today is often considered at risk. due to their nature and intrinsic characteristics, they require protection and safeguard interventions. this article describes how representation, considered as a knowledge process based on architectural survey and 3d modeling, constitutes a fundamental instrument of investigation. digital survey allowed to collect and systematize a large amount of information related to the oldest part of the historic center of gerace, a medieval historic centre located in the province of reggio calabria (italy). the work is part of a larger research project, called genesis (acronym for seismic risk management for the tourist enhancement of the historic centers of southern italy), promoted by several research groups from numerous italian universities. the main goal of the project is to promote safe and informed use of cultural heritage, starting from a deep understanding of their history and characteristics, and to encourage accessibility to places and monuments by visitors, scholars, and tourists through innovative forms of management and dissemination. the work conducted in gerace concerns urban, architectural, and detailed scales. in this context, we present the work carried out using aerial photogrammetry by uavs, and its possible developments. the instrumental survey, carried out at different levels of detail (entire historic center, urban area, single building, morphostructural and decorative elements), was a fundamental tool for starting subsequent investigations, in particular: • analyses related to the seismic risk of the settlement; • structural assessment of single buildings; • study of the characteristics of the materials used for construction, and study of degradation. the graphic representations of the surveys were essential for the implementation of the platform that collects all the project data (https://genesis.tabsrl.com/) and for the creation of virtual tours of the historic center and the main monuments within it. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1204&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 keywords digital survey; photogrammetry; cultural heritage dissemination; three-dimensional urban model, architectural database. 1. introduction this essay describes a multi-scalar investigation process applied to the historical center of gerace (reggio calabria). the work is part of a larger research project (genesis seismic risk management for the touristic enhancement of the historical centers of southern italy). the main objective of the project is to support the safe and conscious visits of cultural heritage in seismic areas, starting from the knowledge of their history, morphological and construction characteristics of the architectural and artistic heritage, of the potential on which to leverage also through innovative forms of management, based on the use of new media to insert them into wider tourist circuits. the studies carried out in different fields (both in terms of representation scales and thematic insights) have been merged into an it platform capable of systematizing the collected data, simulating damage scenarios useful for managing emergencies, and promoting new ways of enjoying them based on the renewal of the offer and the valorization of new historicalartistic destinations. the workflow can be schematically divided into three phases: 1. acquisition of morphological and metric data; 2. processing of surveys and graphic restitution for seismic studies and the purposes of valorization of the architectural and urban heritage; 3. configuration of the communication system. these are three closely interconnected phases; however, in this paper, only the first is described. the safety and valorization of the architectural heritage are strategic choices for the economic revitalization of a territory; therefore, they must refer to documentation based on solid scientific and methodological bases, which, in this case, have the instrumental survey as a cornerstone. the scientific documentation of the actual state is essential to prepare correct protection interventions and to make certain and structured data available to the scientific community in an open, replicable, implementable, and integrable system with different knowledge. as previously stated, in the following, we will focus on the urban scale survey of the historic centre of gerace. the aerial photogrammetric survey of the centre was carried out using a remotely piloted aircraft aimed at drafting documentation and analysis documents of the building fabric. an initial survey of the historic centre was carried out, aimed at understanding the internal urban distribution, the relationship between architecture and reference context, and creating an initial contact with the object to be surveyed. in this preliminary phase, the take-off and landing points of the aircraft were identified, and a flight mission was planned. a flight test was then conducted (take-off point: latitude 38°16'24.15" n and longitude 16°12'55.99" e) aimed at defining the schemes and suitable flight altitudes at which to operate. the survey operations involved an area of approximately 13 hectares. a point cloud from aerial photogrammetry was developed, georeferenced in the wgs 84 reference system (epsg: 4326). the photogrammetric survey, integrated with direct surveys and the historical-critical analysis of the individual artifacts, constitutes the basis for reconstructing the construction phases, modifications, transformations and alterations, and damage suffered over time. in particular, two key parameters will be identified for defining vulnerability using simplified methods, in particular those relating to the quality of the walls and structural regularity. 2. cultural heritage: history, representation, and project our country is a continuous discovery of artistic and historical treasures, an inestimable wealth that has its roots in time. however, this heritage is fragile, subject to deterioration, at the risk of catastrophic events, and to the pressure of unprepared tourist use. a static vision of the knowledge of the existing heritage is anchored to its conservation, while the projection desired by sustainable development promotes, alongside an indispensable colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 knowledge/conservation, its use, enhancement, and management understood with a critical spirit, regardless of scalar and chronological factors. digitalization has emerged as a powerful tool capable of preserving this heritage, making it accessible and enhancing it. it is not just a matter of ‘conserving’ works of art and artefacts, but of ‘safeguarding’ our identity, culture, and history through their memory. digital, indirect detection practices, modeling, and prototyping represent an investment in the field of knowledge, an opportunity to create new models of cultural fruition and territorial development. the digitalization of cultural heritage has been considered for over twenty years a crucial activity to promote accessibility to historical, artistic, and documentary heritage, preparing it to face the countless opportunities offered by new technologies. through digital technologies and methodologies, whose possibilities in recent years have entered even more forcefully into research experiences and everyday practices, scientific research is experimenting with the possibility of making extraordinary leaps in spatial and dimensional scale and of verifying increasingly sophisticated vision and representation systems: from augmented, mixed, immersive reality, we can measure and appreciate the material consistency of things through the immaterial of the virtual, we can enjoy a condition of identification with the works and artifacts of art, we can generate other and further types of reality for the works of our historical-artistic heritage, we can project the memory and knowledge of our cultural assets into the production of a new and original heritage. with digital tools, we can all enter a 'place of everywhere' where all art becomes accessible and culture is transformed into an instrument of open, inclusive, and democratic knowledge. our discipline deals historically with drawings, surveys, representations, visual translations of concepts, projects, narratives, as drawing is an expression of nonverbal languages, and for this reason it is called to confront the human sciences and the hard sciences, between digital worlds and analogical traditions, between signs and history, between semiotics and technology, between archaeology and computer science. reporting our reflections on drawing for cultural heritage, the connection between knowledge therefore appears to be a necessity to bring reasoning back into the framework of global processes that highlight its reticularity, complexity, but also the richness and potential that they can assume in the context of the cognitive heritage that we have available and that we can use. the ancient and always necessary relationship with history is a prerequisite for the contents of analysis, and is a preparatory tool for recovery, restoration, and design. cultural heritage is a field that requires rigorous research on complex issues that involve human cognitive processes, and the possible ways of relating their immaterial and material products, it requires an interdisciplinary approach, a connection between knowledge understood as valorization of the contribution that different disciplines can offer for the reading of problems that cannot be understood in their complexity if not through the convergence of different points of view, adequately articulated among themselves; an interdisciplinarity of concepts for which research and project models are born with more complete and in-depth interpretation keys, with the risk (or opportunity) that these models can be partially reinterpreted and modified. 3. multiscalar study of the historical center of gerace. analysis methods, tools, techniques the town of gerace is made up of four historical nuclei, called: the compact historical nucleus (in red); borgo maggiore (in blue); borgo minore (in yellow); castle (in green) (figure 1). this study focuses exclusively on the compact historical nucleus, located in a higher position; the portion of the historical center thus identified appears recognizable by homogeneous characteristics, with the residences that lie compactly on the morphology of the territory. inside the compact historical nucleus, it is possible to identify the main crossing roads – via duomo-via zaleuco and via caduti sul lavoro – with the ancient city gates at their ends, and directly connected to the main external routes, to the inhabited core, and to the car parks. these roads, in addition to dividing the urban core into fairly homogeneous sectors from a morphological and construction point of view, represent the main escape routes in the event of a seismic event (figure 2). the first operation carried out consists of the aerial photogrammetric survey of the compact historical nucleus, aimed at producing documentation and analysis graphs. the survey allowed us to obtain a 2d/3d, multi-scale, multicolistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 precision model, navigable with different visualization modes (point cloud, mesh, solid model, and textured model). it also allows for the detailed analysis of numerous aspects: metric data (volume-area-length), elevations and differences in level, georeferencing, orthogonal views, horizontal and vertical sections. the model can also be implemented with gis data and can be integrated with additional data from different sources (geospatial, topographic, orthophotographic, from sensors, etc.); this integration allows us to obtain, again through vector-type information, a database of topologically structured and georeferenced data, which is constantly updateable. integrating point cloud data with gis enables better planning across various applications and provides a combination of spatial analysis, visualization, and decision support, enabling more informed and efficient workflows. in the next phase, the compact historical nucleus was divided into five sections, delimited by the main routes that cross the town. this subdivision, in addition to the possible implications in the event of evacuation following an earthquake, is functional for subsequent survey operations. in each sector, the structural building units have been identified, understood as a homogeneous or non-homogeneous set of single units, interconnected with each other with a structural connection, or even simply in mutual adherence. furthermore, the five sectors were the basic units for the detailed architectural scale survey of the individual building units (which is not described here) (figure 3). for each building-structural unit, a sheet was filled out. the building-structural units were further divided into subunits with homogeneous characteristics from an architectural, morpho-typological, and structural point of view. figure 1: subdivision of the historic center of gerace into homogeneous areas. compact historical nucleus (red); borgo maggiore (blue); borgo minore (yellow); castle (green). (graphic elaboration by d. colistra.) the next step consisted of a detailed survey of two architectural emergencies taken into consideration for further investigation: the church and convent of s. francesco, and the church of s. giovannello. these two medieval monuments, different in size, construction, and structural characteristics, have been the subject of highly detailed seismic, structural, and construction analyses, and have therefore been the subject of particularly accurate instrumental surveys which have not been documented in this section (figure 4). the surveys were carried out using range-based and image-based techniques (terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry). the detailed phases of the survey are described in the next paragraph. the graphic restitution, carried out at different representation scales (1:100, 1:50, 1:20, with morpho-structural insights at 1:10 scale), was developed using two representation techniques: black and white wireframe; grayscale wireframe overlaid on the point cloud. the first mode ensures the best readability of quantitative data (thickness, dimensions, etc.) and morpho-structural elements. it also allows a comparison with the restitution of surveys already carried out previously ( direct and colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 instrumental methods). the second mode favors the interpretation of qualitative data (materials, degradation, colors, etc.), maintaining metric rigor and an easier reading of the constituent elements of the monument. furthermore, volumetric modelling was carried out at a scale of 1:100 of the church and convent of s. francesco and at a scale of 1:20 of s. giovannello, aimed at a reading of the volumetry and the morpho-structural elements, and parametric modelling (bim model, georeferenced model integrated with physical, performance, material and functional data) of san giovannello. figure 4: the convent and the church of s. francesco (left), the church of s. giovannello (center). view of the textured mesh obtained by the union of different survey techniques (terrestrial photogrammetry, aerial photogrammetry, laser scanner). (graphic elaboration by l. pizzonia.) the 3d textured mesh, derived from the point cloud of the two monuments, has been made available for dynamic and interactive visualization. starting from the textured mesh data, a system is currently being implemented, based on software/apps already available and applied to the church and convent of s. francesco and the church of s. giovannello. with this device, it will be possible to: take a remote virtual tour of the internal and external spaces of the two monuments, both on the genesis project it platform and via a multi-platform mobile app; figure 2: main crossing roads of the compact historical nucleus. (graphic elaboration by d. colistra) figure 3: the sections that comprise the historical nucleus.(graphic elaboration by d. colistra) colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 view additional information (texts, images) of a historical-informative nature on the 3d model, via a multi-platform app in virtual reality and augmented reality; explore the model in mixed reality, with the possibility of viewing hypotheses of the original configuration of the monuments. 4. digital aerial survey and integrated techniques the survey operations were conducted at multiple scales. at the territorial scale, the aerial photogrammetric technique was employed with a uav. “the uav platforms are a very important alternative and solution for studying and exploring our environment, in particular for heritage locations or rapid response applications” (nex et al., 2014, p. 2). the “flexibility of use and the ability to acquire images from inaccessible viewpoints make them a critical instrument in multiple fields of application at both urban and architectural scales” (russo et al., 2022, p. 1). a workflow was followed for this process (figure 5), organized in several phases, from the acquisition to the post-processing of data. for a territorial extension, photomodeling has allowed us to obtain high results in terms of accuracy in a short time. it consists of extracting directly from the photographs all the information necessary for these different phases: coordinates, distances, characteristic points, for the two-dimensional restitution of plans and elevations; vertices and profiles for the three-dimensional reconstruction of the elements; textures to visually enrich the volumes created (de luca, 2011, p.20) a plan was produced starting from the aerial photogrammetric survey of the urban fabric (figure 6). from this general survey of the città alta, it is possible to obtain data relating to the measurement and more generally useful information for various sectors involved in the research project. the aerial photogrammetric survey of the center of gerace is aimed at documenting and analyzing the urban and building fabric (grubesic & nelson, 2020, p. 25), with respect to issues relating to seismic risk management and tourism promotion, and it is functional to give an overall view. in the survey project, some aspects related to the territory were preliminarily considered. the morphology of gerace is imprinted on the surrounding environment as a recognizable visual point. the city stands on a flat part of a cliff, 150m high, in the castle area. (balbo et al.,1993, p.1129). the upper city (città alta) is densely built up and is the result of a profound historical stratification. figure 5: workflow of the operations carried out for the gerace case study, at the territorial level. (graphic elaboration by l. pizzonia.) an initial site inspection of the historic center was carried out, aimed at understanding the internal urban distribution, the relationship between architecture and the reference context, mostly concentrated in the areas surrounding the case studies of san francesco and san giovannello, and creating an initial contact with the object to be surveyed. in this preliminary phase, the take-off and landing points of the aircraft were identified, and a flight mission was planned. the survey operations carried out in the urban center of gerace involved an area of approximately 13 hectares. after colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 consulting the current regulations regarding the flight area, we proceeded with the operational phases. the photographic shots were taken following a double grid scheme: a first for the acquisition of nadir photogrammetric images and a second, aimed at a better definition of the architectural elevations, with the optical axis inclined by 45°. the entire area of the center was covered with an overlapping degree of approximately 70%, in order to achieve a good level of accuracy, and avoid the presence of gaps in the documents produced. the acquired data were processed using the agisoft metashape software. it was chosen for precision and versatility. following the canonical processing steps, point clouds, mesh viewable both in wireframe and solid mode, and textures were developed (figure 7). in total, 489 cameras were acquired and subsequently processed. the first phase involved the calculation of the tie points, equal to 211,593. a dense cloud composed of 32,423,737 points was therefore processed. the processed data allowed the development of a 3d mesh model of the tin triangulated irregular network type. in the case of the 3d model, it is possible to visualize it according to the solid and wireframe modes. thanks to the presence of photographic acquisitions, the mesh model has been textured. the texture allows photorealistic visualization of the color on the model. the model is being integrated with other types of acquisitions, such as range-based laser scanning and detailed terrestrial photogrammetry. survey operations executed with uas “shares the advantage of effective data acquisitions while enabling the survey of complementary parts of the building: the roofs” (perfetti et al., 2023, p. 1217). the integration between the survey techniques allows for moving from the general of the urban grid to the detail of the significant architectures identified in a complex, irregular urban fabric. “those spatial characteristics imply the definition of a strategy for a detailed photographic close-range acquisition from the ground. the sfm acquisition will be aimed at the optimization of slr camera movement to generate chunks of high-density points and completeness of each surface” (parrinello & picchio, 2019, p.590). detailed point clouds acquired through terrestrial photogrammetry are aligned to the point cloud produced by laser scanners. the range-based point cloud ensures better metric precision, with millimetric tolerances. the integrated cloud is, in turn, aligned to the aerial photogrammetric survey, which instead preserves better geospatial characteristics. this process led to a geolocalized and metrically correct final product. this model has been prepared to be integrated into a gis platform; it allows the execution of metric, morphological, qualitative, and quantitative analyses related to both the current state and predictive ones. the point cloud can also be integrated into a bim environment for the execution of heritage-bim procedures. the produced documents are useful for communicating the investigated heritage. they can be integrated and explored in ar/vr environments, or can give rise to the production of videos and other illustrative materials useful for disseminating the project. interoperability allows the use of the models by the various operators involved; point clouds and three-dimensional mesh models are functional for the development of analyses and operational proposals relating to conservation, to the study of climate impact, to structural analysis, and a multiplicity of others intentions. “also, 3d models help to protect the architectural heritage of cities by analyzing the impact of new developments on historic buildings or areas of cultural interest” (vangu et al. 2025, p. 169). figure 6: aerial photogrammetric plan of the surveyed urban fabric, point cloud. gerace, città alta. (graphic elaboration by l. pizzonia.) colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 figure 7: digital survey, processing phases. from top to bottom: point cloud, tin mesh, solid mesh, textured mesh. (graphic elaboration by l. pizzonia.) 5. conclusions the work carried out is related to research still in the development phase and shows some of the potential offered by the tools currently used for the survey and representation of monuments and historical heritage. the integrated system of surveys at multiple scale levels, performed with different techniques and integrated with detailed survey sheets on individual buildings, constitutes an integrated knowledge process in reference to the construction phases, modifications (expansion, transformation, and/or alterations), and damage suffered by the artifacts over time. the “raw” data of the survey (point clouds) represented the documentary starting point from which to draw up graphic restitutions aimed at the two main objectives of the research: the mitigation of seismic risk and the enhancement of the architectural and urban heritage. with reference to this last objective, an explorable three-dimensional model is being developed (zoom-in and zoom out functions, orbit functions), aimed at an exploration at the overall level and of the main morphostructural elements of the historic center and of the two churches being studied in depth. the models constitute digital twins of the real context, in reference to the geometries and materials. furthermore, starting from the survey data, the bim model of the church of s. giovannello was implemented (georeferenced threedimensional model integrated with physical, performance, material, and functional data). alongside the potential more closely connected with survey and representation, there are also those offered by the dissemination and communication tools, which will be the subject of the next phase of the research. artificial intelligence, the diffusion of digital archives, and access to open data further expand an already complex scenario, allowing an ever greater interaction between those who process the information and those who are intended to use it. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the landscapes across the mediterranean (crossmed) conference –1st edition, which was held on the 11th – 13th of december 2024. the paper is the result of a shared work of the authors; in particular, francesca fatta wrote the paragraph “cultural heritage: history, representation and project”; daniele colistra wrote the paragraphs “introduction” and “multiscalar study of the historical center of gerace. analysis methods, tools, techniques”; lorella pizzonia wrote the paragraph “digital aerial survey and integrated techniques”. figures 1-2-3 are by d. colistra. figures 5-6-7 are by l. pizzonia. funding declaration: this research is supported by the genesis (seismic risk management for the touristic development of historic centers in southern italy) project, code ars01_00883. colistra/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 ethics approval. not applicable. conflict of interest. the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. references balbo, p. p., bianchi, a., cervellini, f., d’orsi villani, f., & giovannini, m. (1993). gerace. in balbo, p. p., bianchi, a., cervellini, f., d’orsi villani, f., & giovannini, m. (eds.), per un atlante della calabria. territorio, insediamenti storici, manufatti architettonici e beni culturali [for an atlas of calabria. territory, historical settlements, architectural structures, and cultural heritage (pp. 1127–1265). gangemi editore. de luca, l. (2011). la fotomodellazione architettonica [architectural photomodelling]. flaccovio. grubesic, t.h. & nelson, j.r. (2020). uavs and urban spatial analysis. springer nature. nex, f. & remondino, f. (2014). uav for 3d mapping applications: a review. applied geomatics 6 (1), 1-15. parrinello, s., & picchio, f. (2019). integration and comparison of close-range sfm methodologies for the analysis and development of the historical city center of bethlehem. the international archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, xlii-2/w9, 589–595. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-2-w9-589-2019 perfetti, l., vassena, g. p. m. & fassi, f. (2023). preliminary survey of historic buildings with wearable mobile mapping systems and uav photogrammetry. the international archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, volume xlviii-m2-2023. 29th cipa symposium “documenting, understanding, preserving cultural heritage: humanities and digital technologies for shaping the future”, 25–30 june 2023, florence, italy. russo, m., panarotto, f., flenghi, g., russo, v. & pellegrinelli, a. (2022). ultralight uav for steep-hill archaeological 3d survey. disegnarecon, vol. 15 n.29, dw.1-dw.17.https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.29.2022.3 vangu, g.m., miluț, m. & croitoru, a.c. (2025). use of modern technologies such as uav, photogrammetry, 3d modeling, and gis for urban planning. journal of applied engineering sciences, 15(28), 165-174. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-2-w9-589-2019 https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.29.2022.3 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 260 doi: 10.21625/archive.v3i1.709 informal settlements sustainable development: comfort level enhancements through the micro-scale intervention, metamorphic shutters, and its effect on the built environment of cairo yasser, f1 1 nottingham trent university, architecture design and the built environment department abstract the sustainable development of the built environment through informal settlements may introduce itself through micro-scale architectural interventions. this research’s aim is to inspect whether the metamorphic shutters intervention can have a positive effect on the built environment through improving thermal comfort levels. the consideration of the residents’ socio-economic dimensions was foundational to try and improve their overall quality of life using this simple intervention. the literature suggests that the key problem with these interventions which have been designed before is the lack of economic and practical efficiency for informal settlement users due to them using expensive and inaccessible materials whilst using complicated construction methods. this makes it difficult for the interventions to be realized and repeated in informal settlements. moreover, they concentrate solely on the lighting level enhancements rather than the effect of that on thermal comfort levels. the metamorphic shutters (ms) are rotatable horizontal louvers installed in window draft casements. the intervention's 2 main objective was to quantitatively test the possible thermal comfort and lighting level outcomes of the ms by controlling the amount of direct light which enters the room. the second objective was to qualitatively understand the end user’s subjective perception of the intervention’s practicality, lighting and thermal comfort outcomes. finally, the final objective was to test the ms after particular modifications were made based on the end users’ request to increase the amount of daylight entering the rooms. both an experimental and mixed method approach-with both quantitative and subtle and subsidiary qualitative data-were used to carry out the research. the qualitative data was gathered by interviewing a sample of informal residents before and after the intervention’s construction and installation whilst the quantitative data was gathered by monitoring the metamorphic shutters’ performance. it is important to mention that the conclusions found that the metamorphic shutters had high and mediocre levels of thermal comfort level improvements which varied for both summer and winter due to the amount of direct sun light which the experiment room received. these are not solely a result of the residents’ control over the shutters but alsoto a large extent-an effect of the building orientation and of the neighboring buildings’ heights which obscure sunlight during certain time periods of the day and during different periods of the year. © 2019 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords sustainable development; settlments; metamorphic shutters; built environment; http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 261 1. literature review many interventions have surfaced throughout the past few years to help solve the problem of daylight and sunlight within poor lit spaces using different methodologies and materials. vlachokostas and madamopoulos (2015) developed a liquid filled prismatic louver (lfpl), which is an equilateral cross section prismatic configuration filled with water. its particular shape was chosen because of its construction’s simplicity and the equilateral triangle’s potential to redirect light through refraction or reflection. its triangular cross section had side lengths of 7.62 cm and a cross section thickness of 0.32 cm. it also performed both daylight and thermal energy harvesting. it allowed for better uniformity and higher illuminance levels whilst actively managed infrared radiation heat within the water volume and used it to assist in secondary thermal energy applications such as room heating. the lighting levels it provided lived up to the iso/tc 274 (2005) indoor lighting standards for office buildings. the complication this intervention presented is that it did not handle overheating or take the topic into consideration from inception as the refracted sun light rays are a sure method to increase heat gain within a space. as demonstrated in figure 1, the bottom panel provides viewing from the inside to the outside thus takes into consideration the occupants self-comfort but this still does not explain how the occupants feel about their vulnerability to outside gazes. in terms of practicality its manufacturing and use would be costly due to its acrylic boards, motor installation and detailed assembly. it would also prove as less practical due to maintenance given that it will be used in informal settlements where appliance maintenance is an extreme financial burden. figure 1.a. the figure shoes the inflow and movement of water from one prism to the other. figure 1.b. the cross section demonstrates how the natural light beams are redirected through the lfpl. figure 1.c. a rendering of the mechanism rotating the lfpl. figure 1.d. dimensions of the room and lfpl intervention. figure 1.e. cross sections of the room demonstrating the resulting outcome of the lfpl installation (vlachokostas and madamopoulos, 2015). the recent development of high rise buildings in informal settlements has deprived the buildings with lower heights and alleys from sunlight causing health problems. to tackle this predicament, a sine wave-based panel was designed by el-henawy et al. (2014) to redirect or diverge light downward to enhance the level of illumination by 200% and 400% in autumn and winter respectively. both experimental and simulation results conformed these results. the designed structure was manufactured using the compression molding technique on a flat pmma sheet of 6 mm thickness. a hydraulic thermal press was used for both upper and lower platens (see figure 2). figure 2.a. the rendering shows the form and dimension ratios of the intervention. figure 2.b. the cross section of the street demonstrated the effect of the panel on natural street lighting. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (a) (b) yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 262 the problems of the mentioned methodology is that it needs the use of acrylic which is expensive and rare to find within the egyptian market. also, common press machines are not available to all informal inhabitants nor can each inhabitant ensure that the design will turn out with the requested angles in absence of a professional engineer. furthermore, the panels need to be installed across wide spans of roof top parapets to ensure that the light will be refracted enough to have the prospected effect on the alleyway. since this would require a community-based initiative, its level of success would be dependent on their willingness to cooperate and share costs which would make this intervention highly unlikely to succeed without proper marketing and engagement. a paper by wagdy, hegazy and abdelghany (2015) was conducted to improve the possibilities of lighting conditions in informal settlement apartments. this paper aimed to identify the most reasonable retrofit window dimensions modifications in relatively narrow street widths (4, 6 and 8 meters wide) based on the amount of light reaching the ground floor level in order to receive more light (see figure 3).the plugin diva-for-rhino, rhinoceros 3d modelling software and grasshopper were used to generate a parametric urban model based on a generic case study taken in cairo, egypt which would present radiance and daylighting. the simulation took into consideration 3 factors which were window sizes and positions, street widths (ranging from 4 to 8 meters) and building heights ranging from zero to 9 floors. the results were that solutions included either changing window sizes or demolishing a couple of floors at the top of the building as suitable retrofits for increasing the natural lighting levels. figure 3.a. the different variables which are changed to provide different lighting results. figure 3.b. the resulting lighting results for different factor settings. the south façade was examined, and a comparison was illustrated showing the difference between the daylight performance of one window ratio on the same street width but with different heights of opposite buildings. the tests revealed that the amount of sunlight exposure increases when decreasing the number opposite storeys and also the same happens with larger street widths. although the previous study provides a simple and feasible intervention, it does not address the fact that the larger window ratios would decrease the levels of privacy within the household requiring more curtain devices. also, increasing the window ratios would definitely increase the amount of heat gain within apartments which would cause thermal comfort dissatisfaction. the suggestion to remove floors for buildings which obscure the sun’s light is extremely controversial as owners are very keen on keeping each floor as an investment and asset that cannot go to waste for any reason whatsoever. 2. methodology since the case study objective needed both quantitative and qualitative data to be fulfilled, a mixed method approach of both action and quantitative data collection research approaches were used in order to provide positivist and (a) (b) yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 263 interpretive approaches. the use of the positivist approach presented results as fixed truths and objective facts whilst the interpretive approach studied the sample respondents’ subjective views through semistructured interviews (crotty, 1998, cited in gray, 2004). both descriptive and analytical surveys were used to provide a more positivist approach using the descriptive survey and an interpretive approach using the analytical survey. this allowed for both nomothetic and idiographic findings to be obtained. by selecting the case study approach, it was possible to focus on a single sample which provided abundant amounts of information both before and after the ms’ design, construction and installation to ensure an effective design of the shutters and accurate onsite measurement readings after their realization. after which 2 apartments were selected to act as control and experiment rooms for measuring the outcome temperature and lighting readings. both apartments were located in the same building and on the same floor. the rooms were opposite to each other (see figure 4.a). the sample respondents chosen were in the flat towards the south which is highlighted in yellow within the figure. the respondents living in the flat were a purposively non-random sample in which the sample’s economic, social and residential status was known in order to be an almost even and appropriate representation of the greater target population-informal settlement residents in southwest cairo-whilst providing in depth and detailed data and responses on the fieldwork carried out. figure 4 (a) the figure is a plan describing the experiment and control flats that were used (author, 2017). figure 4 (b) an image from google maps of the building location (google maps, 2017). the sample was a nuclear family with a 45 year old painter (respondent b) and his-once nurse-25 year old housewife (respondent a) with 3 children ages 4,3 and 2. the bedroom in the neighboring apartment was used as a control sample. the tenant of the neighboring apartment was the sister of the painter, which allowed further cooperation on allowing the author to take readings during the mentioned 2 main seasons of the year at which the readings were taken for comparison. this also allowed for respondent a to visit the flat regularly and experience first hand the lighting and temperature differences between the control room and the experiment room allowing her to make comparisons. the person that was interviewed extensively was respondent a as she was the one using the ms daily whilst respondent b (respondent a’s husband) was out during that time at work. the local carpenter (respondent c), aged 50 of whom which owns his own modest workshop 2 streets away from the building’s location, was selected to build the ms. he was interviewed before and after the construction process to provide information on how practical the intervention’s realization is. the control room had conventional shutters which prevented the light from entering in, although they were left open during most of the reading measurements. the reason for this will be explained in the next paragraph. the experiment room had the ms installed with the appropriate angle needed for the desired effect for each season. the mentioned respondent sample said in a semi structured interview conducted before the ms construction that the current conventional window shutters are left open all year long to allow for ventilation throughout the hot months 3 storey building in the south 29.983795, 31.199851 (a) (b) yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 264 and to allow light throughout the winter months and that she only closes them in the evening or when needed for privacy except during the summer in which the shutters are closed at noon to prevent the sun’s direct light from entering the bedroom causing the room temperature to raise up to even higher temperatures. this was taken into consideration during the monitoring process by leaving the shutters in the control room closed for half an hour before taking the light and temperature readings for both rooms but then they were left completely open form 12:30 pm to 4:00pm. the ms post construction phase required readings to be taken during certain intervals of the year. the readings were taken onsite in the sample respondent’s home for a week during the 2 main climatic periods of the year, the 20th of january (coldest week of the year) and the 6th of june (hottest week of the year). the outdoor ambient temperature readings of the street were taken 1 m outside of either bedroom’s window. this was possible my means of attaching the digital thermometer to an extension rod. in each room, the temperature and light intensity measurements were measured at 1 m and 3 m away from the window towards the inside of the room and then an average was calculated for both readings. the author made sure that the direct light rays did not touch the light meter in order for the results to strictly present the daylight results. 3. results 3.1. quantitative results at the ms pre construction stage the table values present the sun’s angles of incidence from 1pm to 4 pm during the presumed hottest and coldest times of the year (see figure 5.a). these angles were used to then determine the angle that will be used to allow the maximum amount of direct sunlight in winter by calculating the average angle for each month. the second angle calculated was one that ensured no direct sunlight would enter the experiment room in the summer time during the time frame used, also an average for each moth was calculated. this was done so that the users could rotate the louvres to the optimum angles during the time periods where the author was not present so as to provide qualitative feedback that was as valid as possible of their experience with the ms. a decision was made that the glass panels in both rooms were to be closed from 12:30 pm to 4:15 pm ensuring the prevention of heat loss or gain through ventilation so as not to effect the resulting differences in temperature due to lighting levels. this was secondary to the precaution taken of leaving the shutter drafts wide open from 12:30pm to 4:15pm in the control room. an online shading and lighting calculation site was then used in a trial and error process after the calculation of both average elevation angles were calculated. the site was used to test the subtle differences in the percentage of direct light penetration after using the appropriate angle for each season. the louver summer angle was set to 5 degrees inwards towards the experiment room on a horizontal axis to ensure the prevention of any direct sunlight from entering but also allowing for indirect light to enter in june. the louver winter angle was set at 32 degrees inwardly and on a horizontal axis as well as that was the angle that was guaranteed to let the most amount of direct light in from 1 pm to 4pm in january. the location’s latitude and orientation were inserted into the online simulator (see figure 5.b). it is important to mention that the apartment which had the experiment room had its south facing wall exposed to direct sun exposure all day long since the adjacent building to the south wall was only 3 storeys high thus leaving the outer side of the apartments living room wall exposed to the sun. at the start of the experiment, both the experiment and control rooms were examined with both windows casements closed and the shutters wide open to reveal if there were any temperature differences between them before installing the ms. the readings showed that the experiment room was always 0.3°c to 0.5°c warmer than the controlled room, this could have attributed to the apartment’s south wall exposure to the sun thus gaining more heat. this difference in temperature was taken into consideration when the temperature results were presented in tables by reducing each value in the experiment room by a value of 0.4°c (the average of 0.3 and 0.5 degrees) in order for the comparisons between the rooms to be as valid as possible. yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 265 figure 5 (a) snapshots of the elevation angles for the sun’s rays during the hottest and coldest times of the year which were used to calculate the average needed angle for preventing and allowing the maximum amount of direct light from 1 pm to 4 pm in the winter and summer receptively using the ms (sunearthtools.com, 2019). figure 5 (b) snapshots show the outcomes of the used ms louvers’ tilt angles for both maximum or minimum direct light outcomes (sundesign.com, 2016). 3.2. qualitative results at the ms pre construction stage before the construction of the ms, a 1:20 model of the ms was made and shown to the selected sample respondents. the model was an exact replica of the image rendering in figure 6. it was made clear to the respondent that this was only a prototype. the model was made realistic by means of laying the foam louvers in a foam board and by providing a 1:20 human figure which attracted the attention of the sample respondent and made the ms much clearer and understandable. respondents a and b made it clear-after a long discussion-that they wanted the ms to be installed in the form of 3 window drafts dividing the whole elevation and not 3 openable and 3 fixed drafts. respondent a made clear that she would prefer the drafts to open horizontally and not vertically requiring much less physical energy and also providing much more entry of light when needed. the vertical rotation at the top of the window casement and at the middle did not appeal to her (see figure 6). she saw them as requiring too much effort to change every time sunlight was needed and also she saw it as too much of an amendment to the classic window casement therefore keeping the drafts as convenient as possible was needed for her to volitionally use the ms louvers which she was not sure of whether she would like the outcome of or not but was open to the idea due to its hypothesized benefits. these changes surfaced and a rendering of the aspired model was made (see figure 7.c). respondent c (the onsite carpenter) collaborated in the design phase by providing advice on the required louver section thicknesses and groove options to enhance the initial computer modelled design of the ms. the design of the window was originally made so that if the shutters were kept at a horizontal level, the glass panels of the window casements would not collide with them when the casements were closed. this was very obvious to respondent c (a) (b) http://sunearthtools.com/ http://sundesign.com/ yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 266 when he was shown the 3d design of the window on a laptop and was allowed to explore it. the proposed dimensions by the author was a window frame that was originally 8 cm in width and 4 cm in depth, and the casements’ frame width was also 8 cm width and 4 cm depth. it was made clear that this was only a prototype design and that the metamorphic shutter window as a whole needed to cost less in materials than the conventional shutters window casement. following this clarification, respondent c then suggested that both the window and casement frames be slimmer in width and depth, he suggested 5 cm and 2.5 cm respectively. he also suggested that the shutters be only 1.25 cm in depth instead of 2 cm which would make the metamorphic shutters rigid and withstand bending. the suggested modifications by respondent c resulted in the constructed ms frame and drafts casement of being lighter than the conventional static shutters window. it was capable of being carried with 1 arm without any hassle and more importantly the cost was reduced by 100 egp from 300 to 200 egp including labor charges (see figure 8). figure 6. the figure shows the proposed metamorphic shutters at the concept stage presented at the uic competition held in cairo (author, 2019). figure 7.a, b, c, the figures show the renderings of the proposed modifications to the original ms design in (fig. 6). figure 7.d. shows the components of the ms in an axonometric diagram which are the window frame casement, the 3 drafts casements with grooves and the ms louvers (author, 2019). a b c d yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 267 figure 8. photos of the ms installation onsite (author,2017). the top 4 photos show the effect of direct lighting on the experiment room and the bottom 4 photos show the effect natural lighting on the experiment room. the bottom photo shows the ms from the outside of the building with the conventional shutters left wide open. yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 268 3.3. quantitative results at the ms post installation stage it is important to note that during the two times of the year which the readings were taken for a week by the author, the glass panels were closed from 12:30 pm to 4:15 pm ensuring the prevention of heat loss or gain through ventilation so as not to affect the resulting temperature difference results due to ventilation. the temperature readings were taken in the middle of the room using a digital thermometer whilst the lighting readings were taken at 1 m and 4 m away from the window and an average value was calculated, also 2 readings were taken consequently from the light meter at both measuring points followed by an average calculation to settle the fluctuating readings on the screen. both the thermometer and light meter were placed outside of the window using an extension rod to take the temperature and light readings outside the room. for the lighting level readings. 3.3.1. temperature results during the winter, it was noted that the average ambient temperature of the experiment room was cooler than that of the control room by an average temperature range of 1.2 to 2.75 °c. the minimum temperature values for both rooms were 11.8 and 12.5 °c, and the maximum temperature values were 17.45 °c and 19.15 °c respectively. however, in the summer, the temperature difference between the experiment room and the control room in the summer ranged from 4 to 7 °c, making the experiment room the cooler room. the minimum temperature values for the experiment and control rooms were 25.3 °c and 30.5 °c, and the maximum temperature values were 36.4 °c and 41.9 °c respectively. figure 9. the figure represents the temperature outcomes for both the control room and experiment room during the hottest and coldest times of the year 3.3.2. lighting results the lighting results were extremely diverse in the winter. the ms window lighting results conferred to the standards set by the lighting of work places — part 1: indoor (2005) for writing, typing, reading and circulation which are set at 500 lux, but only at 1 m distance from the metamorphic shutters at 4pm. however, this was not the case with any of the other 3 readings which were 1 m away at 1pm and 4 m away at 1 pm and 4pm. on the other hand the control day of the t e m p e ra tu re day of the t e m p e ra tu re ( °c ,) yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 269 room results were always 50 to 200 lux more than the required lux level at 1 m away from the window at 1pm and 4pm. however, at 4 m distance that was not the case. in general, the lighting levels in the experiment room had lower values throughout the week by 50 to 300 lux, with the experiment room sometimes showing half of the lighting levels that were present in the control room. the lowest temperatures in the experiment and control rooms were 87 lux and 213 lux, and highest temperatures were 1505 and 2305 respectively. during the summer, the experiment room had high levels of lighting ranging from 500 to 1200 lux, but the control room had higher levels of lighting with values which were between 1000 to 2000 lux due to the entry of direct sunlight without any interruption. the lowest lighting results in the experiment and control rooms were 267 lux and 430 lux, and the highest lighting results were 1282 and 2014 respectively. figure 10. the figure represents the lighting outcomes in both the control room and experiment rooms in both the warmest and coolest times of the year. 3.4. qualitative results at the post ms installation stage a decision was made to leave respondent a to test out the louver angles and change them to her convenience between the peak coldest and hottest times of the year whilst the author was not taking onsite measurements. this allowed for a much more extensive and deeper study of the ms through gaining qualitative information from the respondents. day of the year l ig h ti n g l e v e ls ( lu x ) day of the year l ig h ti n g l e v e ls ( lu x ) yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 270 the author provided colored marks and labels on the ms casement frames representing the needed angles for each month which would either allow for the maximum amount of direct light to either enter the room or to be obstructed according to the needs of the respondent for each month. this was done by comparing the incidence angles at each hour from 1 pm to 4 pm and an average angle was taken to either hinder or allow as much direct light as possible. this was crucial to ensure that the ms would serve their function for the respondents in the absence of the author. during the december 2016 to april 2019 period, the ms had angle tilt marks for maximum direct light penetration, and during the period of april 2019 to june 2019, the ms had marks for maximum direct light prevention throughout the day. this also allowed the respondents to explore the untested capabilities of the metamorphic shutters such as allowing ventilation from the top louvers by keeping them horizontally aligned, and also tested their capability to allow complete privacy from the street by keeping the louvers vertically aligned. they also needed to open the drafts freely to hang laundry, look on to the street and-occasionally-allow for maximum amounts of ventilation or light entry. the residents of the flat with the experiment room stated that the ms were very helpful for providing various lighting levels and privacy, they also noted that the ms allowed heat to escape the room and a breeze to penetrate every now and then. the ms also proved efficient in maintaining the functional benefits of the conventional shutter drafts which were the ability to allow respondent a to hang the laundry, look at the street for social engagement and leave the drafts completely open for stronger levels of ventilation. the temperature differences were obvious to the respondents in the summer but they were not that tangible in the winter to the respondents. respondent a was asked to what level would you rate the temperature difference the ms provided in both seasons, with 0 representing the weak temperature difference and 10 being the strong temperature difference? respondent a stated “3 out of 10 for the winter and 9 out of 10 for the summer”. both respondents, a and b, commented on the usefulness of the of the lighting levels configuration through the colored marks for the self-use phase. 3.4.1. temperature results during the winter, respondent a made clear that the presence of the ms showed how partially obstructing the direct sunlight gain would cause both a slight difference in temperature-making the experiment room cooler-and a major or minor difference in natural light making the experiment room slightly dimmer or almost half as bright as the control room. although the ms installation caused a slight drop in the interior temperature when compared to the control room, this difference could have been much greater in the presence of classical shutters which almost totally obstructed sunlight penetration throughout the day. respondent a commented on the temperature by stating that she did not recognize much of a difference in the temperature between both rooms. this could have partly been due to the fact that the difference was minute and also because the difference in temperature might have emerged slowly throughout the day making it unrecognizable to her. during the summer though, respondent a made it clear that the temperature difference between both rooms was extremely recognizable, and that the experiment room needed much less cooling and passive ventilation than the control room. “the stand-up fan was open from only 4 pm to 6 pm as this was the peak time for overheating to occur”, stated respondent a. the control room however needed the use of the standup fan from 1pm to 2pm and also from 3pm to 6pm with the door kept open for heat loss which caused disturbance to whomever was occupying the room. she compared this to the experiment room and explained that its door did not have to be opened and that one could close the door for sleeping and seclusion when needed as the stand-up fan was sufficient 3.4.2. lighting results as for lighting satisfaction, respondent a made it clear that throughout the winter months, from early november to late december, the experiment room did not have as much light as it used to before the installation of the ms stating that the experiment room portrayed high levels of lighting from approximately 11.45 am to 2 pm each day. this direct light could not enter for longer due to the building on the opposite side of the street (the west side) being too high and thus obstructing the direct light from reaching the room. respondent a stated that she had to open 1 or 2 drafts in the experiment room to allow more natural light in to compensate for the lower lighting levels. however, she said yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 271 that she ultimately preferred the sunlight in the experiment room as it was more than enough to see properly in order to carry out most of the activities which she would occasionally perform in the bedroom such as studying for the children whilst enjoying privacy through the ms from neighboring eyes, whereas the control room had too much light and did not provide any privacy making the gained direct light unnecessary. however, she did mention that she needed to turn on a light bulb every now and then in the experiment room when the light levels were not sufficient enough and privacy was needed even though the recommended tilt angles were in place. the respondent only opened the drafts in the experiment room from 8 am till noon to allow for sufficient day light to enter in to the room. however, the drafts were left closed for the rest of the day with the recommended ms angle tilt to allow maximum sun light in, “i did this because not much light was needed in the afternoon period as it was usually a time for sleeping or resting and privacy was needed during those times as well as a minimum amount of daylight for reading with my children but not complete darkness”, explained respondent a. however, during the summer respondent a made clear that the lighting levels between 11:30 am till approximately 2:30 pm were the highest in the experiment room despite the ms being tilted in such a way that allowed for daylight but prevented sunlight. she also made clear that the control room had very high levels of lighting throughout the whole day which were mostly unneeded except during the early morning from 8 am to 10 am and in the late afternoon from 6 pm to 7 pm. she said that during those times she usually opened the window casements to their fullest in the experiment room to allow the maximum amount of light in, but other than those given times the drafts proved very efficient in preventing direct sunlight whilst receiving sufficient levels of daylight. 3.5. quantitative results after modifying the ms using reflective snack wrappers before the measurements for the winter lighting and temperature levels where taken during the peak coldest time of the year, the respondents were interviewed and made clear that they needed the ms to allow more light in to the experiment room than before. this provided sufficient time for preparation and for initial thoughts on how to develop the ms. respondent a clearly stated that she would have preferred the ms to give more daylight throughout the day just as it was during the summer. a plan to use reused snack wrappers “metallized plastic” as natural light level multipliers was at hand. by inverting the snack wrappers and adhering them to the top and bottom of each louver, their reflective inner surfaces would reflect the light entering the experiment room thus providing higher levels of natural light. the experiment was executed between january 27th, 2019 and february 2nd, 2019 right after taking the measurements for the coldest weak between january 20th 2019 and january 26th 2019 before the installation of the snack wrappers. this was then carried out for the month of june as well by installing the wrappers and testing their results from june 14th, 2019 to june 20th 2019, after the hottest week in which the lighting and temperature readings were taken from june 7th to june 13th 2019. figure 11. the figure showcases photos of the ms installation after the application of the reflective snack wrappers. yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 272 3.5.1. temperature results the temperature difference results between the experiment and control room were more or less the same as the results before the installation of the reflective wrappers for both summer and winter. however, in winter the average temperature differences were the same as the pre reflective wrappers installation phase for 3 days in the experiment room and differed on 4 days with a 0.2 °c to 0.4 °c warmer average temperature difference than in the pre installation phase of the wrappers.(figure 12) figure 12. the figure represents the temperature outcomes in both the control room and experiment rooms in both the winter and summer after the installation of the reflective wrappers. day of the year t e m p e ra tu re ( °c ,) day of the year t e m p e ra tu re ( °c ,) yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 273 3.5.2. lighting results the results were surprising in that during the winter the experiment room day lighting levels (with the reflective wrappers on each louver installed) were above the control room lighting levels by a range of 70 lux to 700 lux with an average of 280 lux despite the absence of any shutters in the control room window. the measurements were taken at both 1pm and 4pm and an average value was then calculated. although during the summer, the lighting levels of the reflective wrappers did not give the experiment room an advantage over the control room. in the summer, the lighting levels in the control room were higher ranging from 100 lux to 250lux with an average of 176 lux (figure 13). a summary of the differences in results between the control experiment and the ms both before and after the installation of the reflective wrappers is presented in the table below (table 1). figure 13. the figure represents the lighting outcomes in both the control room and experiment rooms in both the winter and summer after the installation of the reflective wrappers. (lux) (lux) day of the year l ig h ti n g l e v e ls ( lu x ) (lux) (lux) day of the year l ig h ti n g l e v e ls ( lu x ) (lux) yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 274 3.6. qualitative results after the snack wrapper aluminum foil wrappers to the metamorphic shutters both respondents a and b experienced the ms with the reflective wrappers modification in february and august 2019 and then used them in their original form without the wrappers later on wards from march 2019 to the end of may 2019 and from august till september 2019. they made it clear that the natural light levels increased drastically during the installation of the wrappers installation, and this made trivial the need to open the drafts completely for light, although the overall experience of having the window void of the traditional shutters and of the ms in the control room seemed more comfortable in terms of them feeling more connected to the outdoors, as mentioned by respondent a. the ms with the reflective wrappers also made the use of light bulbs unnecessary throughout the day whilst also providing full privacy, this was evident in the respondents not having to switch on any lightbulbs or open any drafts to allow more light in. this was contrary to how the respondents had to switch on 1 light bulb from 1 pm to 4 pm in winter before the installation of the reflective wrappers to get enough light into the room. they were also bewildered by how the snack wrappers-which they always regarded as obsolete-proved useful in a way that they did not imagine before. a summary of the results are presented in table 1. table 1. represents the concluding average temperature and lighting differences between the modified ms , the ms and the experiment room outcomes. 4. conclusions it is important to mention that this research has proven the intervention as a successful enhancer for thermal comfort levels during the summer but less so during the winter. the outcomes of the ms differed for each of the tested time periods in both temperature differences and natural lighting levels. they proved to be of practical use for the residents especially after the snack wrapper modifications were installed, making them more efficient and utilitarian to a certain extent. 4.1. objective 1 the first objective was to quantitatively test the possible thermal comfort and lighting level outcomes of the ms by controlling the amount of direct light which enters the room. the results showed that the temperature differences between the experiment and control room in january and june were cooler by 1.35 °c to 2.75 °c and 1.1 °c to 4.4 °c receptively. the average lighting differences between the experiment room and control room were 44 to 939 lux and 127 to 732 lux respectively with the control room having higher results. the fact that the lighting differences in june were higher than the lighting differences in january and concurrently the higher temperature differences being in june than in january showed that an increase of daylight in spaces was correlative with temperature increase, and that controlling the amount of day lighting using the ms also meant controlling the thermal comfort levels however unmethodically. average results variations of the metamorphic experimental shutters in respect to the control room type of shutters temp. results (°c) lighting results (lux) winter metamorphic shutters 1.35 – 2.75 cooler 44 939 dimmer modified metamorphic shutters 0.7 – 2.05 cooler 35 – 633 brighter summer metamorphic shutters 1.1 – 4 cooler 127 – 732 dimmer modified metamorphic shutters 0.4 2.9 cooler 108 – 251 dimmer yasser/ the academic research community publication pg. 275 4.2. objective 2 the second objective was to qualitatively understand the end users subjective perception of the ms. both respondents a and b made it clear that the ms were functional in that they provided sufficient privacy and natural light synchronously. their statements made clear that it was easy to maneuver the ms due to them being fixed but easily rotatable. respondent a explained that them being installed in window drafts allowed the respondents to open the window drafts to allow direct sunlight in if needed just as their former window casement did but allowed for new and improved functions. respondent c (the carpenter) was of the opinion that the ms could easily spread throughout informal settlement residents due to them being more practical than conventional shutters due to there louvers’ larger sizes (making them easier to make and assemble), their lite weight, their conventional window casement drafts, their useful louvers and most of all their cost efficiency due to their slim wood cross sections. 4.3. objective 3 the third and final objective was to test the ms after particular modifications were made to enhance the possible outcomes. despite that the ms proved functional in terms of privacy, thermal comfort and the adjustment of direct light entry, they were also preventing sufficient amounts of day light to enter the experiment room occasionally. the reused reflective wrappers installed onto the top and bottom of each louver to multiply the natural lighting levels by means of refraction proved as an efficient solution for allowing adequate levels of day light in the experiment room whilst upholding the mss’ functionality of privacy provision but not so much in hindering direct light in this particular case. the increase of lighting levels in the experiment room during the winter after the wrappers’ installation. had an average temperature increase of only 0.2 °c to 0.4 °c in the winter during most of the tested days. the modifications had a very subtle effect on the temperature differences unaffecting the thermal comfort levels, although the lighting levels were higher than they were in the absence of the snack wrappers. 4.4. limitations the temperature increase difference between the control room and experiment room after the installation of the reflective wrapper’s modification could not be measured during the same dates in which the measurements were taken during the coldest and hottest weeks of the year. although the dates are in close proximity being the week which followed the winter and summer measurements, this still does not replace the need to take the measurements at the same time during the coldest week of the year. the equinox periods data could not be included in the research due to the sample respondent not being available during both equinox periods which would have contributed considerably to the research findings. due to the impracticality of visiting the 2 apartments arbitrarily on days with very cloudy skies, it wasn't possible to measure the lighting readings on random days throughout the year on days with cloudy skies to further test the capability of the reflective wrapper modifications and know whether they increased the natural light provision in the experiment room amidst cloudy weather conditions or not using accurate readings. references: el-henawy, s., mohamed, m., mashaly, i., mohamed, o., galal, o., taha, i., nassar, k. and safwat, a., 2014. illumination of dense urban areas by light redirecting panels. optics express, 22(s3), p.a895. gray, d., 2004. doing research in the real world. 2nd ed. sage publication. lighting of work places — part 1: indoor. iso/tc 274 light and lighting (2005). [online] international organization for standardization. available at: <https://www.iso.org/standard/28857.html> susdesign.com (2016), [online] available at: http://www.susdesign.com/louver_shading/index.php yasser, f. (2019) photos of the author installing the ms onsite. sunearthtools.com (2016) [online] available at: https://www.sunearthtools.com. vlachokostas, a. and madamopoulos, n., 2015. liquid filled prismatic louver façade for enhanced daylighting in high-rise commercial buildings. optics express, 23(15), p.a805. wagdy, a., amer, m. and abdelghany morsi, a., 2015. daylighting optimization for informal settlements in cairo, egypt. in: building simulation applications bsa 2015. https://www.sunearthtools.com/ http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 research paper received: 22 june 2023, accepted: 24 july 2023, published online: 31 july 2023 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i2.970 regeneration strategy of rural architecture promoting tourism from the perspective of narrative architecture jiaqi meng graduate student, school of architecture and urban planning, chongqing university, china abstract with the rapid development of the construction of beautiful villages in china, traditional settlements of natural growth have been replaced by neatly planned new villages, which seem to improve the living quality of residents but destroy the original village texture. most of them take advantage of the common cultural tourism developm ent means in china, which leads to other ancient villages scrambling to follow suit, the emergence of thousands of villages, and other problems that need to be solved urgently. this paper first reviews the development history and operational practice of sp atial narrative design, extracts the relevance and transformability between narratology and architecture through theoretical research and analysis, and summarizes the methods of rational use of narrative space organization and arrangement according to diff erent narrative themes. this paper tries to innovate the narrative elements according to the village unit scale, explore a new way of village reconstruction and renewal of narrative architecture, break the situation that the strategy is mostly used for the design of a single building, and then by means of an update practice of jingxing county lvjia village, summarize the traditional village renewal path under the perspective of narrative architecture. © 2023 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords narrative architecture, rural tourism, traditional settlement, village renewal, lvjia village; 1. introduction in the context of the information society, the fourth type of economy mainly focuses on information technology and cultural and creative services, a dvocating the experiential economy and further promoting it on the basis of the tertiary industry. how to develop creative tourism in the context of the experiential economy and broaden the boundary of urban-rural tourism is exactly a question that needs to be considered in rural construction, which is an important part of china's current rural revitalization strategy and the frontier of architectural practice (wang, 2019). although "narrative architecture" is a new product in the field of modern narratology, they have a long history. narrative, to some extent, establishes the relationship between architecture, time, and image. narrative architecture first originated in the greek period, and the spatial narrative of the acropolis in athens, greece, reflects the scene narrative of buildings organized in a streamlined line (fig.1). "his model of shot design, switching, and length is one of the most perfect ancient films" (eisenstein, c.m., 1937). based on the basic concept of narrative and its extended function, architecture has a more constructive and integrated path and strategy in its methodology. narrative architectural design has developed in both theory and practice, and it was first applied as an architectural design method in the 1980s. bernard tschumi a nd nigel koutes, faculty members of the architectural alliance college in the united kingdom, spearheaded the interdisciplinary exploration of narrative between architecture and http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ meng / the academic research community publication pg. 2 literary, film, and performance spaces (zhou, 2019). since then, many scholars have explored the application and practice of narrative in architecture. sophia from the university of michigan in the united states has systematically clarified the relationship between narrative and architecture and expounded the value of narrative in a rchitecture (tang, 2016). her book architecture and narrative: the construction of space and its cultural significance, published in 2009, has become an important milestone in the maturity of narrative architecture. the use of visual dynamics as a basis for narrative architecture can be seen in le corbusier's acropolis, influenced by towards the new architecture, and in a series of residential designs, notably villa la roche and villa savoy (lu, 2008). wander from le corbusier's architecture to louis kahn's idea of architectural order to bernard tschumi's la villette park. narrative architecture is advancing with the times to open up new fields in various types of architecture, especially in the exhibition hall, museum, and memorial hall of the continuous em ergence of exploration, such as the jewish holocaust memorial hall and dante's memorial hall. architects have also tried to study spatial narrative (dai et al., 2014) and film architecture (lu, 2015) in their teaching courses. figure 1 the acropolis narrative route figure 2 psychological commonality narrative, as a relatively independent branch of architecture, provides a new research paradigm for the diversified development of architecture (lu, 2012). however, most of the previous spatial narrative and architectural narrative used a single building as the narrative carrier, and its application value in ancient village tourism has not been deeply realized. this paper attempts to explore the spatial narrative of community scale, and construct the narrative design technique of village or community scale by controlling the narrative space construction of building monomers, public spaces, and street scale. the rational use of narrative method in the regeneration design strategy of lujia village in jingxing county provides a new attempt to develop the rural experiential tourism economy, suggesting a new perspective of literary narrative shaping the place spirit to promote sustainable tourism. 2. overview of narrative architecture 2.1 concepts "cities are theaters of human events, and certain spaces are created by certain events that take place in them, and certain spaces are filled with emotions and memories that are passed down from generation to generation." (rossi, 2006) therefore, the purpose of narrative architecture is to use space with regional characteristics to trigger related activities, shape cultural connotations through space experience, and reshape the interdependence between people and architecture. architectural narrative is a creative way of thinking that can be understood as the story expressed in the place with architectural language. this way of thinking makes the space where tourists are present the storyteller and the medium for the viewer's perception and connection with the place. through various sensory experiences such meng / the academic research community publication pg. 3 as vision and touch, the viewer's emotional experience and collective consciousness can be stimulated. thus, the purpose of conveying the spatial theme to tourists is achieved, simila r to the shaping of the spirit of place (li et al., 2020). the translation of architecture into the essence of language is the process of reverse -establishing the symbolic meaning of space, structural relations, and architectural language. "narrative" pays more attention to the "poetic" organization and spatial characteristics and goes beyond the technical content, such as the conversion of light and dark space and the transition and integration of space. (hu et al., 2008) 2.2 the analogy between narrative structure and architectural structure "in order to use the above narrative techniques, we must first master the structural correlation between textual narrative and architectural narrative. the basis of their mutual transformation is, firstly, t he commonality of psychology (fig. 2); secondly, the same creative context and similar scene narrative mode (lu, 2015); architecture and narrative have a clear time and space structure, obvious publicity, and a common logic system (fig.3). we can see that narratology and architecture have similar expression structures. in general, the concepts in narrative works give the abstract space dimension to discourse, while architectural creation is responsible for creating the order between concrete spaces. therefore, how to express time and space and how to customize the experience of time and space are common topics in architecture and literature. figure 3 logical system similarity comparison bernard tschumi defines architecture as a narrative: "when you enter a building, it's like entering a whole new story." you go through the parts of the building in an orderly fashion, like a sequence in a movie, and the parts come together to form the story." (rasmussen, s. e., 2003) in tschumi's view, architecture should be a reaction and enclosure to this series of "events", so it is not difficult to use architectural narrative integration. 2.3 relationship between architectural narrative and the updated design of village the architectural narrative of this paper is the design method of rural renewal under the leadership of sustainable tourism. the narrative nature of the village groups and individual units in lujiacun, the plot and life experience based on the story, and the scene of spontaneous performance of the public make its architecture a choreographed art. people's mental journeys before traveling can be roughly divided into the following two kinds.(fig.4) from the perspective of sustainable rural tourism, the key step in determining whether tourists will return is between the"original/initial impression" and the "enhanced/revised impression". architects use architectural narrative techniques to establish spatial interface, form, and sequence, while also shaping spatial themes and scenes. if history, culture, and other sustainable elements are taken as the starting point to describe the scene, to create a unique spatial experience for tourists, or to awaken old memories or explore new memories, to focus on sustainable rural renewal design based on sustainable human activities. meng / the academic research community publication pg. 4 figure 4 narrative architecture construction and interpretation figure 5 steps to determine the topic 3. methods and strategies 3.1 theme of narrative scene the creation and innovation of the theme tone of an architectural narrative should come from the experience and anatomy of life. the steps to determine the topic are as above (fig.5). designers or planners should conduct market research in combination with local industries, cultural characteristics, and natural resources, excavate village characteristics, and carefully determine narrative themes. (zheng, 2020) once the theme tone is determined, it will become the compass for architects to construct basic elements, scenes, and structures. only by creating a tone around the theme can the imagined narrative plot be generated, and finally, the emotional experience is given to people. 3.2 narrative space design elements space design elements include five points: path, interactive interface, regional tone, node function, and building monomer. paths connect each homogeneous or heterogeneous space and are the basis of spatial sequence expansion. the path design is developed around the narrative, based on the viewer's observation of the space, and does not strictly follow the space sequence or traffic flow preset by the designer. the interface refers to the interface between the village and the surrounding environment, which generally includes the following types: village + mountain, village + hydrology, village + farmland, or village + village. the initial feeling of the village is largely derived from the interfaces that define the space. the regional tone takes squares, architectural complexes, and natural locations as the main objects, and does not necessarily revolve around the main theme. just as the theme of emotion dominates the whole narrative content of narrative works, a single narrative statement may not involve the expression of emotion. the complete composition of rural tourism consists of many nodes, including village reception, theater, square, historical buildings, and so on. each node is the core of each area and is an independent scene unit. in the co nstruction of nodes, space should be combined with the topic of the region to deepen. the proportion and scale, color and material, light, and temperature of individual buildings impress visitors and are the basis for the emotional memory of the countryside. the spatial scale of design can be used to create emotion. architectural light can also affect the expansion and contraction of space experience. as an architectural vocabulary, the psychological implication and emotional sustenance implied by architectural materials are an important part of rural spatial narrative. meng / the academic research community publication pg. 5 .3.3 narrative path and rhythm the narrative path can be divided into multi-direction, single-direction, crossover, or disorder. in other words, narrative text can interpret both "a single event" and "a collection of many events". figure 6 three narrative lines of yad vashem jerusalem figure 7 the asian cultural complex multi-direction narrative, also known as parallel narrative, is the expression of the juxtaposition of a variety of themes. in terms of time structure, it is manifested as different spatial lines at the same time or different time lines in the same space. different narrative events maintain their independence, and when combined, multiple events convey the same meaning. for example, in the berlin holocaust memorial museum (fig.6), three parallel spatial plots express t he different fates of the jews in berlin (zhou, 2019). coincidentally, unsangdong architects + kim woo il designed the asian cultural complex (fig.7) reproduces an urban landscape of historical traces and memories, integrating events and stages of activity. one direction includes sequential narration and flashback narration. chronology follows the chronological order in which things begin, develop, and end. arrange the space in series according to the time order; divide the space logically while guiding the flow of people. according to the needs of the expression of space atmosphere, flashback shows the key plot in advance, or highlights the nodes, or delays the original scene, paving the way for the subsequent space atmosphere, creating suspense, and making the bland plot full of drama. liu jiakun's west village courtyard uses architecture to construct a complete network of story plot space. (fig. 8,9) figure 8 narrative events contained in the west village courtyard figure 9 reappearance narrative of the former scenes of the courtyard meng / the academic research community publication pg. 6 disordered narration has episodic narration, which is to place a heterogeneous narrative space into a group of homogeneous narrative spaces (wu,2022). heterogeneous space cannot dominate but can create twists and turns in the space experience and visual changes in the original space, presenting rich spatial effects. crossover can be understood as text narration, while spatial narration means that scenes presented in two spatio -temporal situations appear in the same spatio-temporal situation at the same time and become scene nodes in the space side by side, without leading visitors. the classic case of disordered and cross-narrative is the parc de la villette in paris, designed by bernard tschumi, which arranges a three-dimensional spatial narrative system with the help of montage in the three systems of point, line, and surface. each "collision event" of the plot is repeated, reversed, replaced, and inserted like a montage, which is perceived and remem bered in continuous motion. the rhythm of the space controls the narrative mood of the whole exhibition space. the key to mastering narrative rhythm lies in the consideration of walking time and length to achieve control of frequency. (li et al., 2020) the setting of the rhythm should be based on the narrative theme of the exhibition space. through the regular visual changes in the space, we can always feel the sense of rhythm and hierarchy of the space throughout the tour. 4. jingxing county lvjia village tourism promotion practice 4.1 narrative background lujia village is located in the taihang mountains, but the outside traffic is convenient. the village is close to traditional historical villages and natural scenic spots (fig.10,11). the mountain, as a natural barrier, strengthens the military defense; here since ancient times, the ji-jin throat and strategic location. there are still relics of the antiaggression revolution. in recent years, lvjiacun has gradually developed a tourism industry that focuses on art teaching and red revolution melodramas (fig.12). in the process of investigation, it was found that the problems of tourism development in lujiacun mainly include: lujiacun lacks tourism characteristics and clear positioning, which require the intervention of unique ideas and distinct themes; the architectural decay of the ancient village is serious: the architectural style is uniform but monotonous, and the architectural color is dull. in particular, some houses in the ancient village collapse, and tourists can see the architectural decay scene. imperfect tourism -supporting facilities: lvjia village's tourism supporting facilities are not perfect and cannot meet people's basic needs. 4.2 practice 4.2.1 macro narrative context -jingxing county the good development of lvjia village cannot be separated from jingxing county's large tourism environment; village planning should consider the multi-line narrative planning strategy of "connecting areas into a piece". jingxing county has several traditional ancient villages with natural factors, joint with the surrounding villages horizontal development, jingxing county tour scope traditional village reserve features advantages to explore, by a single tour point series into a regional tour, each village tells their own story and drives the development of the village, to better realize the whole area of rural revitalization. (zhang et al., 2019). figure 10 aerial view of lujia village figure 11 stone architecture of lu family figure 12 revolutionary live action drama meng / the academic research community publication pg. 7 4.2.2 meso narrative context --lujia village (1) emotional introduction -narrative theme the jingxing county survey found that revolutionary memory is the narrative background of a few villages, so the use of the revolutionary culture of lujia village, the focus of the revolutionary culture, is to be able to see red movies and dramas to improve the core competitiveness of lujia village. aiming at the specific story background of lujiacun, we adopt the dual narrative theme of "one main story and one pair of two-line narratives." the main narrative thread is "revolutionary theater", creating a narrative experience route of the red revolution and deepening the narrative impression on the basis of the melod rama of the spontaneous revolution in lujia village. another hidden narrative line is "reproducing lv's family", which puts forward deeper suggestions on the renovation and updating of art teaching and cultural and creative handicraft . (fig.13) figure 13 two-line narrative figure 14 three kinds of narrative sequences figure 15 single frame -architecture (2) narrative structure -narrative spatial sequence organization taking the whole village as an exhibition ground and integrating the village scene to promote the narrative process of the revolutionary story of lujia village, the story content needs to be organized and arranged, from observing the scene to thinking about the significance of each spatial arrangement (xu, 2021). there are three kinds of narrative sequences in lvjiacun: linear, centralized, and group (fig.14). as the main guide for visitors to carry out activities, the linear narrative of lujia village—revolutionary melodrama almost runs through the whole village. centralized narration creates a theme-based cultural experience area for film and television. the main and secondary themes of group narrative appear at the same time with strong independence. the development of the narrative sequence uses the road in the village as the track. in order to ensure that tourists can appear at the expected narrative points, it is necessary to clarify the village structure and road lev el and adjust and repair the village roads (fig.16,17). meng / the academic research community publication pg. 8 figure 16 overall planning map figure 17 the narrative structure unravels (3) single frame -building construction an architectural narrative on a single frame should be targeted to awaken the memory of specific segments. (fig. 13,15) in the narrative line of "revolutionary theater", a theater appears in the prologue. after visitors enter the entrance of the village, the outdoor theater on a high level is fascinating and creates suspense. the red theater is located in the northernmost part of the village and was built on the site of the original outdoor theater. since the original theater embodies the architectural characteristics of the soviet union in the last century, its wall is kept embedded in the new theater. after entering the ancient village, as the first memory point, it will first impact the tourists' initial impression of the building volume and environment. with the question of why the grand theater is built in the mountain and why there is such a residual wall in the interior, we will take the next step. at the same time, the terrace on the north side of the theater will be rebuilt to provide shade for villagers and tourists to hold wed ding and funeral activities. the narrative segment is set between mountains and rivers and surrounded by ploughed fields. it is very pleasant for villagers and tourists to sit here in the summer evening to experience farming culture, enjoy the wheat fragrance, watch the starry sky, and listen to the babbling water. the development part of the narrative story is the red revolution film and television base, which is the centralized narrative of the area volume. multiple space plots in the scene revolve around the central content of film and television shooting, forming a narrative structure. the story ends at the end of the village, where visitors are ushered into a revolutionary culture-themed hotel for a rest. the building is designed in a modern way, but the building materials and other architectural vocabulary still use local elements such as stone, wood, and glass. the courtyard of the hotel and the roof of the homestays are open to the new and the old to create the red cultural development area. another hidden narrative line also focuses on experience (fig.13,15), starting from the martyrs' memorial stele pavilion at the entrance of the village, creating suspense and laying the revolutionary tone. the climax of the narrative is the party cultural center across the river. using the height difference of the site to form a zigzag ramp up the building block, meaning the new china through the difficult zigzag road. watchtowers, also on the other side of the river, bring visitors into the role of sentinels defending the village. with a height of 8m, the tower is an excellent scenic lookout for the whole village. you can get the whole picture of the village without climbing the mountain, which greatly improves the viewing experience of the ancient village. the end of the narrative gets rid of the serious atmosphere of the early stages and turns into a relaxed and casual style. located at the southern end of the village, the handmade creative experience pavilion is located at the southern end of the village. visitors can experience the meng / the academic research community publication pg. 9 fun of local handmade weaving and dough sculpture, taste the food, and participate in the production of food ingredients. this narrative route gives visitors a deep sense that even through war and even without wealth, one can live a colorful and interesting life. to achieve the ultimate goal of tourism: to heal the heart and look forward to a better future. two narrative lines, one main and the other, cross each other on the pedestrian sightseeing flow line because of the road structure in the village. each plays a role in producing a superimposed effect to deepen people's experiences of visiting life in the village. in terms of geographical location, due to the dense layout of the buildings in the village, the transformed monomer and area are located outside the village and distributed in all directions, showing a radial shape centered on eight historic protected buildings. (4) enhanced modification -detailed narrative description the description of architectural details is in line with the narrative theme of revolutionary culture, not only to provide a brief sense of viewing, but also to provide a narrative plot theme closely related to the scene, props, order, materials, etc.; that is, the detail has the ability to express the theme tone of narrative architecture. (xu, 2021) the main part of the building follows the form and materials of the original building. in the atmosphere rendering, the design elements of the black and white viewboard frame, steel, glass, leather, and other materials are used to form a sharp contrast with the closed and solid old buildings. the color and style are still designed in black and white gray, so as to integrate the old and new buildings as far as possible. architectural colors and lighting details attempt to create a sense of the old modern, allowing users to be immersed in the square inch of each frame of the viewfinder frame, immersed in the so -called old golden age of film. the viewfinder frame in the architectural space can also be used to "record" the behavior of different people in the space, so that those dramatic moments in life become the inspiration for film creation and the charm of the film. as night falls, warm yellow light spills through the glass from the somewhat dilapidated stone house, elevating the level of the building and the feeling of use while also providing a good view of the village at night. 5. summarize: the revelation of "narrative" tschumi bernard once said, "no event, no architecture." (tschumi bernard,1981) events produce meaningful buildings and places through spatial narrative. (li,2022) based on this theoretical basis, the tourism strategy of lujia village discussed in this paper can deepen the tourists' memory to a certain extent and seize repeat customers by applying architectural narrative to the rural scale, regenerating the theater narrative scene of revolutionary memory, and reexperiencing the folk narrative atmosphere of lujia. at the same time, this discussion aims to clarify the industrial positioning of lujia village, shape a new economic and industrial structure for the village, attract young people who struggle outside to "go home", and completely activate the regeneration of lujia village. in the process of applying narrative architecture, we find that, first, in the renewal design of ancient villages, attention should be paid to its particularity, to explore its characteristics, and to pay attention to the differences in narrative theme, structure, media, and scale between rural architectural groups and individual buildings. second, the application of narrative architecture is closely related to sustainable architecture. the definition of sustainability is not limited to the reduction of environmental resource consumption but extends to various leve ls such as society, economy, and culture. (chu et al.,2021) however, the focus of sustainable architecture on these aspects is still in the initial stages of research. the narrative technique combines the natural environment and building materials to achieve the sustainability of green technology, and the spatial scene mining of memory points can achieve the sustainability of cultural economy. thirdly, the method itself has certain limitations and is suitable for villages with their own characteristics. suc h as natural environmental resources, historical and cultural memory, architectural decoration features, or folk food characteristics. however, there are many villages in china that do not have their own distinct characteristics, so it is difficult to construct spatial scenes by organizing narrative texts. meng / the academic research community publication pg. 10 in addition, the depth of the narrative and the integrity of tourism planning need to be improved. due to the complexity of the monomer design part, there is no complete presentation. limited by the autho r's own practical experience, this paper only discusses the initial planning and design levels, and there will be many problems and challenges in the practice process. designers, managers, and villagers need to work together to make adjustments. the applic ation of narrative architecture on rural roads requires constant learning and revision. acknowledgments not applicable. funding this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not -for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval not applicable. conflict of interest the author declare no conflict of interst. references wang rong, huang pengtao, hu jing, li yajuan (2019) a study on rural tourism experience in wuyuan county based on online travel notes, resources science, 41 (02), 372-380 eisenstein. c. m. 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(2022). a strategic study on the plot construction of architectural space based on film narrative techniques. architecture&culture, (02), 61-62. http://doi.org/10.19875/j.cnki.jzywh.2022.02.025 zhang yan, wang xi, zhang xiaodong, ma qixing (2019). the country revitalization of multimodal que global tourism in jingxing county as an example, dynamic good habitat,2019 annual meeting of china's urban planning urban and rural areas on rural planning,(18),11, http://doi.org/10.26914/c.cnkihy.2019.028103 xu haiwen (2021). the rural experience home stay facility design based on the theory of the construction of narrative study. master degree, southeast university, http://doi.org/10.27014/d.cnki.gdnau.2021.004519 tschumi bernard (1981). the manhattan transcripts. academy editions:new york li zhenmin (2022). "event" architecture: textual construction of architectural space narrative . architecture technique, s1, 230-233. http://doi.org/10.19953/j.at.2022.s1.037 chu yingnan, sun jingfen, chen xiaojuan, xie dan, song yehao (2021). exploration of narrative design method on sustainable architecture. zhuangshi, 09, 12-17. http://doi.org/10.16272/j.cnki.cn11-1392/j.2021.09.043 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 21 december 2024, accepted: 23 april 2025, published online: 30 april 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i2.1160 unveiling the olfactory architectural design: a sensory voyage yusuf ariyanto 1 , dyah kusuma wardhani1 , jason santoso1, albert jonathan tandiary1, helen saphira wibowo1, gwyneth jolin lie1, amellisa billienda1, andhika rasya1 1architecture department, school of creative industry, universitas ciputra surabaya, indonesia abstract understanding sensory encounters in built environment requires a holistic approach that considers individual differences, contextual factors, and psychological states. while design features play a crucial role in shaping these experiences, they interact with a complex web of personal, social, and environmental factors. the olfactory architecture design is an innovative approach that integrates the sense of smell into the architectural experience. this concept goes beyond traditional visual and tactile elements, creating spaces that engage occupants through carefully curated smells. factors to be considered in the science of smell and space through olfactory perception and behavior, applications in architecture, designing with smell including anchoring in mind and challenges in application. this study wants to revealing and exploring the essentials of how olfactory design is transforming the built environment based on sensory experience. several tools and techniques are used for a captivating theories and approach in designing architecture by shaping smell sensory experiences and evoking specific feelings. from the results of this study, the olfactory architecture design offers a new dimension to the way we experience spaces, enhancing our emotional and psychological connection to our environment. as the field grows, architects and designers will continue to explore innovative ways to integrate smell, creating spaces that are not only visually and functionally appealing but also emotionally resonant. the future of built environment lies in these multi-sensory experiences, where the invisible power of smell plays a crucial role. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords built environment; emotional connection; olfactory architecture; sensory experience; smell perception 1. introduction sense experiences play a pivotal role in how individuals interact with their environment, serving as trigger points for feelings, thoughts, and meanings. adopting a holistic approach that considers these sensory inputs, along with individual differences and psychological factors, can significantly enhance occupant well-being and performance. clements-croome (2005) proposes that intelligent buildings should provide multi-sensory experiences, recognizing that the environment affects people beyond health and safety. incorporating elements that engage multiple senses can create more enriching and immersive environments, include visual aesthetics, acoustics, tactile materials, scents, and even flavors. barrett & barrett (2010) emphasize the importance of naturalness, individualization, and stimulation in design, based on neuroscience theories. recognizing that each person has unique sensory preferences and sensitivities https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i2.1160&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ariyanto / proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 is key. for instance, some individuals may be more sensitive to noise, while others might respond strongly to lighting conditions. personalized spaces can help accommodate these differences. the psychological impact of the built environment on occupants is profound. factors such as natural light, color schemes, biophilic design elements (integration of nature), and spatial layouts can influence mood, stress levels, and cognitive function. lara-moreno et al. (2021) identified three distinct psycho-architectural profiles, demonstrating how individual characteristics influence architectural preferences and well-being. incorporating programs and amenities that promote physical and mental well-being, such as fitness centers, meditation rooms, and green spaces, can support overall health. pluess (2015) highlights the concept of environmental sensitivity, noting that individuals differ in their responsiveness to external factors. involving occupants in the design process to understand their preferences and needs can lead to more effective and satisfactory outcomes. by designing adaptable spaces that can be easily reconstruct to meet different needs and user preferences can enhance the value of functionality and comfort. the design spaces that consider sensory experiences, individual differences, and psychological states can lead to more positive outcomes for occupants, emphasizing the need for a transdisciplinary approach in creating healthier and more sustainable environments. space design in sensory experiences involves two key factors that work simultaneously: the overall given ambience of the place and the internal response of an individual to the atmosphere. both factors are crucial for creating environments that enhance well-being and performance. the environment can communicate with the human body as we walk through the spaces, feel the texture with our hands, and hear the sounds around us as we walk, feel the breeze and even smell the air. it is thus the combination of all the senses together, which gives a holistic experience of the space. a person's physical state significantly influences their sensitivity and reaction to the smell. for example, the food aroma can be enticing to someone who is hungry but off-putting to someone who has just eaten a heavy meal. in the other hand, when we went at the spa or wellness center, identically, we smelling the aromatherapy in every particular space, it can be relaxing and calming our feeling. nowadays, aroma therapy is widely accepted for its benefits for human physiology and psychology. this variability highlights the importance of thoughtful olfactory design in functional spaces, particularly concerning the placement, navigate and guidance our activities inside these room. olfactory design is an innovative approach that integrates the sense of smell into the architectural experience. this concept goes beyond traditional visual and tactile elements, creating spaces that engage occupants through carefully curated smells. olfactory design, strategic use of smell in architectural and interior design, is transforming the built environment by influencing how spaces are perceived and experienced. this sensory approach goes beyond aesthetics, impacting emotional well-being, productivity, and even physical health, that can be transforming the built environment. 2. literature review 2.1. the human smell the olfactory system is highly sensitive, allowing us to detect a wide range of odors at very low concentrations. our sense of smell is closely linked to the brain's limbic system, which is responsible for emotions and memory. every human is provided with a fairly identical olfactory epithelium which gives us a first hint that individual differences in olfactory sensitivity and preferences are located beyond the actual organ of smell. this connection makes smell a powerful tool in shaping experiences and evoking specific feelings. the human nasal passages contain approximately 50 million primary sensory receptor cells within a small area of about 2.5 sq.cm (bowman, 2017). the olfactory epithelium is covered by a mucous layer secreted primarily by bowman's glands, which are present in all vertebrates except fish (m. l. getchell & t. getchell, 1992). this mucus contains important proteins, including odorant-binding proteins (obps) that may transport odorants to olfactory receptors, and xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes involved in odorant transformation and degradation (heydel et al., 2013). here, the molecules interaction with olfactory receptors and produce the signals that our brain interprets as “odour”. research indicates that certain smell can influence mood, productivity, and behavior. for example, lavender promotes relaxation, while citrus smell can enhance alertness and energy, there are eight categories to determining the smell (figure 1). people are encouraged to share their experiences while they smell and associating with their emotions, become a tool to develop and strengthen social bonds. ariyanto / proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 figure 1 the smellwheel (linborg, 2021) 2.2. sense of smell in architecture the sense of smell plays a significant role in architectural design, gives another dimension of design process, and contributing to the creation of unique spatial experiences and identities. figure 2 the relationship topic in smell and design (author, 2024) by using the vos viewer application (figure 2), the bibliographic diagram suggests that the topic of smell frequently intersects with design, particularly in relation to human perception and sensory responses. while design is most commonly associated with visual aspects, the integration of smell in design allows for a more holistic sensory experience, expanding beyond visual aesthetics to engage people on deeper emotional and psychological levels. historically, olfactory elements have also been integrated into design, including architectural designs, highlighting the importance of scent in shaping human experiences of space, but the 20th century saw a trend towards sterilizing indoor air (barbara & perliss, 2006). however, demonstrate a renewed interest in utilizing scent in architecture, such as interactive smell systems that create configurable fragrance zones (haque, 2004). different smells can influence emotions and mood, enhancing the psychological comfort and satisfaction of occupants. smells can reflect cultural https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718172/full#b37 ariyanto / proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 or personal meanings, contributing to a space’s unique identity and making it more meaningful and engaging for its users. traditional buildings, like the osing tribe's houses, showcase how building materials, vegetation, and geographical conditions contribute to characteristic aromas, enhancing visitor comfort (ariyanto et al., 2024). contemporary architectural practice is increasingly recognizing the importance of multisensory design, incorporating not only visual elements but also sound, touch, smell, and occasionally taste. this approach aims to create spaces that better promote social, cognitive, and emotional development by leveraging cross modal interactions and multisensory integration (spence, 2020). smell is closely linked to memory and emotion. by carefully selecting and integrating scents, architects and designers can create spaces that evoke specific memories or feelings, making the experience more personal and impactful. a well-designed olfactory experience can enhance the overall quality of a space, making it more inviting, comfortable, and memorable. 2.3. designing with smell a) aesthetical intuitive: embed microcapsules of fragrance in materials used for art installations. when viewers approach or interact with the piece, the scent is gently released. materials such as wood, stone, and textiles can be chosen for their natural smell or their ability to retain and diffuse added fragrances. figure 3 capturing aromas, tempa-artjog (author, 2024) aroma exists as a medium that mediates the structure of imagination regarding the scope of past and future events. aroma is a medium that is fragile and ephemeral but at the same time capable of generating atmospheric tension. smell can be very personal and subjective, but it also exists as a sensory, aesthetic experience. through the distinctive aroma of fragrances from rai (rumah atsiri indonesia), visual stimulation to see and reread writings from data that is still stored in the rai museum became harmonious. there, tempa interprets our memory of smelling an aroma will be very sensitive to our subjective imagination in visually projecting the aroma as a representation that is open to wider public understanding. b) smell as the space navigation: humans have long relied on visual cues to navigate and make sense of their surroundings. studies have shown that humans can use odors as landmarks for wayfinding, performing well in odor-based navigation tasks (hamburger & knauff, 2019). smell, in particular, has a unique relationship with memory and emotion, potentially offering a rich and underexplored avenue for enhancing our understanding of how individuals perceive and interact with their environments. the concept of smell-scape is built upon the relationship between human experiences of smell, the physical environment, and the context of a place. perception plays a central role in shaping the smell-scape. (xiao, 2020) ariyanto / proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 figure 4 smell-scape mapping marseille (williams, 2019) noailles marketplace, often referred to as the "soul of marseille," is a vibrant microcosm of the city's diverse and multicultural identity (williams, 2019). the bustling streets and stalls of thisr4 iconic market immerse visitors in a sensory symphony where smells and sights converge in an authentic expression of daily life. c) play with nature: incorporating natural elements, particularly plants and water features, into urban and indoor environments can significantly enhance sensory experiences and well-being. fragrant plants and water features in public spaces can improve urban smell-scape, contributing to positive emotions and place-making (xiao et al., 2017). the subtle smells from flowers, herbs, or even the earthy scent of soil can evoke feelings of relaxation and connection to nature, making the space feel more inviting and serene. similarly, the use of natural materials in building design, such as wood, stone, or clay, introduces distinct organic smells that enhance the sensory appeal of a space. wood, stone, and other organic materials are often perceived as more natural and appealing than synthetic alternatives. these materials can emit distinct odors that contribute to the sensory appeal of a space (wilkins et al., 2007). these materials also age and change over time, continuing to release subtle, evolving smells that can make the environment feel alive and dynamic. by integrating plants and natural materials, designers can create spaces that not only look beautiful but also engage the sense of smell, promoting a deeper, multi-sensory connection to the environment. this approach can reduce stress, enhance comfort, and even boost cognitive function by creating a more holistic and immersive experience. figure 5 scented sphere, sentosa sensory-scape (archdaily, 2024) the "scented sphere" showcases an arrangement of concentric "stalks and buds" designed to suspend aromatic flowers. its structure features a grid shell formed by four interwoven steel strips, creating the stalk-and-bud framework. the garden's plant species are carefully chosen for their therapeutic flower fragrances (rose, chamomile, lavender, etc.) and curated to maintain a diverse, year-round olfactory experience. ariyanto / proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 d) anchoring in mind: designing spaces with varied smell in different areas can create distinct memory anchors. smells have the power to influence emotions, recall memories, and enrich our understanding of places (xiao et al., 2022). designers can use fragrances to create configurable soft zones and boundaries, moving beyond simple branding purposes to develop evocative and memorable experiences (haque, 2004). by integrating olfactory elements into various environments, designers and architects can create spaces that are not only visually and functionally appealing but also rich with memorable experiences. understanding the science behind smell and memory allows for innovative applications that enhance well-being, learning, and emotional connections, making olfactory design an exciting frontier in architecture and beyond. 3. practical evidence: olfactory cues and architectural typologies smell often marks our memory of a place more powerfully than sight. across architectural typologies residential, commercial, religious, and public olfactory cues not only enhance the experience but also deepen our emotional connection to space. here, practical examples illustrate how smell interacts with function in built environments. 3.1. residential: the smell of materials and memory at fogo island inn in newfoundland, canada, designed by architect todd saunders, the use of untreated timber in both interior and exterior cladding allows the building to retain the smell of the forest and the ocean mist. the natural smell becomes part of the guest experience evoking a connection with place and memory, especially for local residents who associate the smells with their upbringing in the region (saunders, 2015). the smell reinforces the typology of the home or inn as a site of comfort, retreat, and belonging. 3.2. market: olfactory identity of urban food spaces the tsukiji fish market in tokyo, once the world’s largest wholesale fish market, had a distinct and unforgettable smell raw seafood, seawater, and ice. although pungent to some, it embodied the identity and function of the market. as ashmore (2020) notes, the olfactory character of tsukiji was not incidental but integral to its authenticity and social function. its smell was a form of informal signage that told you exactly where you were and what the space was for. 3.3. religious: smell as ritual and sacred atmosphere the church of the holy sepulchre in jerusalem provides a striking example of how smell creates spiritual atmosphere. the regular use of frankincense and myrrh during ceremonies gives the space a dense, layered aroma that contributes to the sacredness of the site. smell becomes part of the liturgical experience enhancing the building's function as a place of prayer, reverence, and reflection (bille & sørensen, 2007). 3.4. public space: nature and familiarity in urban design in parque biblioteca españa in medellín, colombia, the surrounding public park is filled with native flowering plants like guayacanes and jasmine, chosen not only for their color but their smell. these plants create a calming, welcoming olfactory environment for local residents, reinforcing the function of the space as both a public library and a community gathering point (brand, 2013). this strategy ties olfaction to public life, memory, and cultural recognition. 3. results olfactory architectural design opens up a new dimension in how we perceive and interact with spaces, enriching our emotional and psychological connection to the environment. as this field evolves, architects and designers are increasingly exploring innovative ways to incorporate smell, crafting spaces that not only offer visual and functional appeal but also resonate emotionally. the future of architecture lies in creating multi-sensory experiences, where the often overlooked, yet powerful, sense of smell plays a pivotal role. smell becomes a form of "aesthetic intuition," subtly guiding how people move through and experience spaces. whether it’s smell-inspired navigation, where certain smells lead people through environments, or playing with nature's organic aromas to evoke a sense of tranquility, olfactory design can anchor memories and emotions, leaving a lasting imprint on the mind. ariyanto / proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 in practical terms, smell plays a crucial role across different architectural typologies, enriching how we experience and remember space. in residential, natural materials like timber carry familiar scents that evoke comfort and identity. markets such as tokyo’s tsukiji use strong olfactory cues like the smell of seafood to define their function and authenticity. religious spaces often rely on ritualistic aromas, such as incense, to create a sacred atmosphere, while public areas benefit from fragrant plants that foster a sense of place and emotional connection. these examples show that smell is not merely a sensory detail, but an essential part of how architecture supports human function, memory, and cultural meaning. by incorporating smell into architectural design, spaces can become immersive, dynamic, and more deeply connected to the people who inhabit them. this multi-sensory approach, where the invisible element of smell is seamlessly woven into the design, allows for richer, more intuitive interactions with the built environment. acknowledgments the extended abstract of this paper was presented at the sustainability in creative industries(sci) conference –3rd edition which was held on the 6th 7th of november 2024. funding 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(2019). smellscape mapping marseille (exhibition). national library of scotland – manchester university library. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.22735 https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12120 https://saunders.no/projects/fogo-island-inn https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-020-00243-4 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315666273-8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2020.100710 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.880701 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2006.00462.x http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences research paper received: 26 march 2025, accepted:14 july 2025, published online: 31 july 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1197 the scan-to-bim process for the enhancement of architectural heritage. the church of san giovannello in gerace. marinella arena a , serena buglisi b , daniele colistra c , angela quattrocchi c aprofessor of representation, mediterranea university of reggio calabria, italy. bphd student in architecture and territory, mediterranea university of reggio calabria, italy. cprofessor of representation, mediterranea university of reggio calabria, italy. dprofessor of restoration, mediterranea university of reggio calabria, italy abstract the study we present is related to a scan-to-bim process carried out on the romanesque-byzantine church of san giovannello, located in the historic center of gerace (reggio calabria, italy). the work is part of a broader research project, called genesis (acronym for seismic risk management for the tourist enhancement of the historic centers of southern italy), promoted by various research groups from numerous italian universities and aimed at managing seismic risk for the tourist enhancement of the historic centers of southern italy. the scan to bim process constitutes the central phase of a flow of actions that begins with the study of historical sources, proceeds with the analysis of the current conditions of the buildings and concludes with a series of design proposals aimed both at mitigating the consequences of any actions seismic, and the implementation of innovative systems for remote and in-person use (vr, ar). the proposed valorization strategy embraces different fields: it develops starting from the historical knowledge of the building, rests on the solid scientific foundations of the instrumental survey, and it exploits the information coordination potential offered by bim-based methodology and tools. finally, the communicative aspect involves both the morphology, identifying the underlying geometric structure, and the iconological and iconographic aspects. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords scan to bim, church of san giovannello in gerace, church of san francesco in gerace, hbim, seismic risk management, heritage enhancement. 1. introduction the presented study describes a scan-to-bim process relating to the romanesque-byzantine church of san giovannello, located in the historic center of gerace (reggio calabria). the work is part of a larger research project (genesis gestione del rischio sismico per la valorizzazione turistico dei centri storico del mezzogiorno), whose objective is to offer support for the safe and aware use of cultural heritage, starting from the knowledge of its history and characteristics, and to improve the methods of use through innovative forms of management. in this project, the studies carried out in different fields are inserted into an it platform capable of collecting the investigations carried out at different levels of accuracy (from the territorial and urban scale to that of individual artefacts), of simulating https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1197&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ arena/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 damage scenarios useful for managing emergencies, of making access to information available by promoting new ways of use based on the renewal of the offer and the valorization of new tourist destinations. the research group of the mediterranean university of reggio calabria, is investigating on an urban scale the historic center of gerace, a medieval village in the province of reggio calabria and, more specifically, the monumental complex of s. francesco and the small church of s. giovannello, located in the so-called "square of the three churches" (figure 1). the structural safety conditions are the basis of a stable and sustainable development based on the tourist use of the calabrian territory, unfortunately characterized by a high seismic risk. the project, therefore, represents an opportunity to aim at the conservation, enhancement, and use of the heritage of gerace and to experiment with a good practice to export to other similar contexts. the objectives, in detail, are: • verify the static safety and vulnerability of the two monuments. • identify suitable systems to improve their behaviour in the event of an earthquake. • define new methodologies for the protection, safeguard, and conservation, developing technologies useful for the correct management/conservation of the historical-cultural heritage; • provide a reference to companies operating in the sector of restoration and safety of historic-monumental buildings; • enable multi-level access to information: guided tours, thematic insights, direct access to sources, development of innovative systems for remote and face-to-face use (vr, ar). this last point, in particular, will be able to promote the attractiveness and competitiveness of tourism and culture according to the objectives indicated by the strategic plan for tourism 2017-2022 of the ministry of cultural heritage and activities, as it promotes new ways of enjoying the area based on the renewal and expansion of the offer. in this scenario, as we will see later, the scan to bim process represents the crucial phase of a path that allows the digital model to be associated with a multilevel system of information that can be used for the purposes indicated above. the modeling, based on the semantic decomposition of the architectural organism, facilitated the coding and transmission of information through the ifc format, also thanks to the small size and recognizability of the typological elements that characterize the church of san giovannello. 2. on the restoration of s. giovannello in september 1961, a restoration and consolidation project for the church of s. giovannello in gerace was financed by the cassa per il mezzogiorno within the implementation program for the 1960-1961 financial year for a project amount of £ 3,000,000. at that time, the place of worship, hypothetical and without flooring, had evident vertical structural lesions in the surrounding walls. the project included consolidation of the walls that were damaged in several places with consequent repainting of the plaster, restoration of the roof of the hall, excavation of an embankment in front of the entrance portal, reopening of the single-lancet windows and portals, as well as specific interventions for drainage and protection of the walls from rising damp. the execution of the works, to be completed within eight months from the approval of the project, is directed by the superintendent architect paolo paolini of the superintendence of monuments and galleries for calabria. a subsequent variant project is approved during the works following some important on-site checks. during the excavation works in the church hall, at a depth of 1.50 m, some burials on the ground are found, while close to the south wall, a deep cistern is located, which was later emptied. traces of frescoes emerge during the plastering, leading to their consequent restoration. the identification of precise traces of the original roof level leads the designer to modify the project to reach the height necessary for the positioning of the trusses, reconstructing the surrounding masonry with the same traditional stone construction technique without creating the previously planned reinforced concrete curb (paolini, 1969). a subsequent restoration project was carried out in october 1997 by the orthodox archdiocese of italy, which was the concessionaire of the building for its worship. the intervention consisted of the removal of a wall made of inconsistent stone masonry that blocked the opening located on the western façade, while at the same time, through arena/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 a “stitch and unstitch” operation, restoring the structural functionality of a stone arch above the reopened space. on the internal façade of the same wall, an isolated non-passing lesion is expected to be repaired (minuto, 1993). in november 2011, as part of the 2010-2013 ordinary programming of the ministry of cultural heritage and activities, the superintendency for architectural and landscape heritage for the provinces of reggio calabria and vibo valentia financed further restoration work on the church following the widespread deterioration of the materials constituting the mortar for setting the masonry and the external finish due to the significant presence of nitrates in the lime-based mortar which promotes crumbling and subsequent detachment. before starting work, a seismic safety assessment was carried out in accordance with opcm 12.12.07. to eliminate the humidity present in the environment, the main cause of the deterioration, an aerated crawl space was created on which the existing flooring was relocated, and constant thermo-hygrometric monitoring was programmed. finally, an electrical system was created to enhance the value of the architectural work (naymo, 1998). 3. scan-to-bim process: general principles and applications to the case studies the bim methodology applied to historical heritage requires a different workflow compared to the one used for design. the process began with the documentation and survey phase and the subsequent encoding of the data in distinct formats, analog and digital. the information acquisition, in the dual qualitative and quantitative components, was carried out through different methods and techniques. the modeling approach was based on a semantic decomposition of the architectural organism (attenni, rossi, 2022), a key step, essential to associate and transmit data while minimizing ambiguities. it also facilitated the information encoding and transmission through the ifc format. in the case of san giovannello, the small scale of the structure and the recognizable typological elements simplified the semantic breakdown phase. thus, the representation as-is involved the application of reverse engineering techniques (lumini, 2023). the scanto-bim process included these phases: (i) acquisition of point clouds, (ii) interpretation of the raw data, (iii) modeling, and (iv) semantic enrichment. the last step, in particular, represents a critical and strategic moment for the enhancement of cultural heritage, as it enables the association of information useful for preservation and management. this is because bim is based on the construction of a language (the model). the models are made up of parametric components, self-aware of their architectural identity and their mutual semantic interactions (bolognesi, garagnani, 2018) (figure 2). the software autodesk revit was used for the three-dimensional reconstruction, and the coding was affected by its standard. from a geometric point of view, a "tracing" operation was used based on the point cloud guide; the result of this is the control of the coherence between what was detected and what is modelled. however, challenges were encountered in managing the geometric complexity and irregular surfaces, which required an interpretative effort. the information exchange is obtained through the use of the open format (ifc industry foundation classes). since a scientific gap is recognized in the immaturity and lack of exhaustiveness of the ifc standards (della torre, pili, 2020). in order to optimize the results and the movement of knowledge, we focused on key issues. the first is the level of detail, consistent with the objectives. they are the generation of an archiving document intended for the exchange of information between the actors involved in the genesis project and the insertion into its platform, where the model data supports the content of the survey sheets. the second was the structuring of an adequate semantic dictionary in which each element was recognizable starting from appropriate nomenclature and functional and relational attributes. it was fundamental for the control and organization of the information process. another important element was the information content. it was structured on three orders of semantic classification to manage and share information on different levels of granularity: • building: the work in its entirety; • objects: the individual technological components; • point elements: parts for which a higher modeling detail was expected (e.g., materials). arena/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 the integration of data related to the states of conservation and interventions carried out during time was essential for improving knowledge and developing coherent and targeted strategies for heritage protection. these data are valuable for companies specialized in restoration and structural safety, as they provide direct access to technical documentation, conservation status, materials used, and potential structural weaknesses. 4. enhancement of heritage with video projection techniques the church of san giovannello is practically invisible in the context in which it stands. the city of gerace is full of architectural works of great value and impact, while san giovannello, as the name indicates, is a small, bare, and austere church, located in a square where all the attention is for the magnificent medieval portal of the church of san francesco (figure 1 on the left). however, the small church is a historically central testimony for the understanding of italo-gracian architecture in calabria (placanica, 2001; minuto, 1985; venditti, 1967). for this reason, it was analyzed and detected with digital techniques. the instrumental survey was conducted in september 2023 with the faro focus 3d x330 laser scanner. 5 internal and 12 external scans were performed. the precision of the instrument for each single scan is equal to ucranging = 0.496 m, the point cloud that describes the church is formed by the alignment of the individual scans, therefore the precision of the land survey is lower than that of the instrument; nevertheless, the average value of the tensions reported in the alignment, given the nature of the walls and the irregularity of the path, is negligible. furthermore, the terrestrial survey was integrated with a photogrammetric survey that used drone images. the two point clouds were aligned using the recap management software. the complete restitution of the building, the creation of a real digital twin, allow for the experimentation and graphic verification of some communication strategies. first of all, it was imagined to project, even if partially, the iconographic apparatus that covers the interior of the sacred architecture of italo-greek origin. the byzantine decorative canon is strongly codified and represents a true and proper story that guided the faithful in the ascent towards the divine. the iconographic representation of the saints was widespread, and the faithful recognized the name of the saints from small codified details: the length of the beard, the color, or the receding hairline. the iconographic apparatus told the story of the saint by indicating the main moments and connecting, without the use of the written word, the human to the divine. the restitution could occur by reporting effigies of the saints that were supposed to be present inside the church, with video projection systems activated by a motion sensor. the video projection system could be extended, for example, also to the representation of abstract elements, difficult to perceive during the use of the sacred space. one could imagine representing the complex system of tracing and proportioning of san giovannello (zanetto, 2017). to do this, a luminous grid could divide the space in the unit of measurement of the time, the byzantine foot, and represent the modules used to proportion the width and depth of the church. the system could therefore show the visitor the founding traces, demonstrating the correspondence between the golden rectangle and the currently existing wall structures. (figure 3) 5. conclusions in conclusion, the hypotheses put forward can certainly foresee further improvements related to the processing of ifcs and the management and design of apps. in this project, in fact, it is assumed to use the data produced by instrumental and photogrammetric surveys through completely different procedures and software. in the case of bim, the implementation of the data is aimed at technicians and scholars. the performance of the software is guaranteed by the expertise of the users. as regards the valorization and communication of cultural elements, sometimes neglected, invisible, and immaterial, such as regulatory routes, ancient units of measurement, and proportional relationships, the design of video mapping and 3d mapping is imagined that illustrate the compositional and decorative motifs of the architecture in question. even if one were to imagine reproducing the construction geometry on the point cloud, the latter, freed from the need for precision and detail related to documentation, could be decimated and adapted to use on a mobile app. arena/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 there are also some platforms for semantic enrichment, such as aïoli. with the latter, we are trying to create a link between users and scholars for the ontological definition of architectural elements. the process is still in its infancy and has numerous elements of difficulty, such as the clear definition of the intellectual property of the data, the complexity of interoperability operations, and the dissemination and advertising of the platforms. the digital documentation obtained from the instrumental survey, and even more so from photogrammetry, was essential for the reconstruction, after the disastrous fire of 2019, of the notre dame cathedral, rebuilt using aïoli (abergel, 2023). figure 1 gerace (rc), three churches square. axonometric view of the point cloud (top), of the tin mesh (center), of the textured mesh (bottom) (graphic elaboration by lorella pizzonia). figure 2: internal views of the san giovannello. form left to right: a view of the model (autodesk revit) and a photograph of the inside of the church (graphic elaboration by serena buglisi). arena/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 figure 3 simulation of the video projection of the geometric regulatory paths inside the church of san giovannello (graphic elaboration by marinella arena). acknowledgements the abstract of this paper was presented at the landscapes across the mediterranean (crossmed) conference –1st edition, which was held on the 11th – 13th of december 2024. this research is supported by the genesis (gestione del rischio sismico per la valorizzazione turistica dei centri storici del mezzogiorno) project, code ars01_00883. paragraph n 1, introduction, was written by daniele colistra; paragraph n 2, on the restoration of s. giovannello, was written by angela quattrocchi, paragraph n 3, scan-to-bim process: general principles and applications to the case studies was written by serena buglisi; paragraph n 4, enhancement of heritage with video projection techniques was written by marinella arena. funding declaration. this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals.” ethics approval. not applicable. conflict of interest. the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. arena/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 references abergel, v., manuel, a., pamart, a., cao, i., & de luca, l. 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(1998). chiese e monasteri greci di gerace dall’xi al xvi secolo [greek churches and monasteries of gerace from the 11th to the 16th century]. in calabria bizantina. civiltà bizantina nei territori di gerace e stilo [byzantine calabria. byzantine civilization in the territories of gerace and stilo] (pp. 165–244). rubbettino. paolini, p. (1969). la chiesa basiliana di san giovannello in gerace (reggio calabria) dopo l’intervento di consolidamento e restauro [the basilian church of san giovannello in gerace (reggio calabria) after consolidation and restoration work]. in atti del 4° congresso storico calabrese [proceedings of the 4th calabrian historical congress] (pp. 301–306). fausto fiorentino editore. placanica, a. (ed.). (2001). storia della calabria medievale [history of medieval calabria] (2 vols.). gangemi. venditti, a. (1967). architettura bizantina nell’italia meridionale [byzantine architecture in southern italy]. esi. zanetto, s. (2017). tradizioni costruttive nell’alto e medio adriatico (secoli vii-xi). eredità e innovazione nell’alto medioevo [construction traditions in the upper and middle adriatic (7th–11th centuries). heritage and innovation in the early middle ages]. all’insegna del giglio. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 7 july 2024, accepted: 28 january 2025, published online: 31 january 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1096 the demise of modernist buildings in khor dubai: a case study on the fncb building rasha ahmad saffarini1 1ma in architecture and historic urban environments, university college london, united kingdom abstract khor dubai, or dubai creek, is the historic district that went through the first layer of development before the urban expansion to the desert. it witnessed profound architectural transformations in three economic phases: the pearl trade, oil discovery, and real estate. today, early modernist buildings have been replaced with high-rise buildings to meet the financial demands of real estate. this replacement has been a rapid process, making it difficult for the modern heritage initiative of dubai (mhid) to cease it. in the creek, the first national city bank building (fncb) is one of the buildings that marked modernity yet failed the test of time. this study aims to illustrate the economy’s impact on dubai’s modern heritage, focusing on the fncb. it also identifies the issues that hinder preserving the architectural heritage of smaller buildings. a descriptive research methodology is employed for this study using visual analysis, site visits, and conversations to illustrate the rise and fall of modernist structures. the findings establish that due to dubai’s fast-paced growth, replacing heritage is more profitable to sustain the ever-growing demands of dubai as a real estate hub. it also discusses the importance of immaterial and material values historic buildings hold despite how insignificant they seem now. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords khor dubai; first national city bank building; modernist buildings; modern heritage initiative of dubai 1. introduction khor dubai, being the predecessor of the economy, carries layers of periodic events that are preserved through its architecture. it specifically went through a swift cultural and socio-economic change that defined the skyline of the creek, but it placed architectural heritage in continuous danger of neglect and demolition (bandarin & van oers, 2012). these urban transformations were affected by the pearl trade, oil, and real estate, beginning with the uncontrollable removal of traditional heritage and continuing with modern heritage. pre-oil dubai was a small trade coast that witnessed an increase in traditional settlements from the pearl trade. once oil was discovered in 1966, the introduction of concrete buildings replaced the existing settlements (damluji,2006). at the same time, a stronger interest was taken in uae internationally for its oil field. today, this phenomenon repeats as high-rise towers replace early modernist buildings to meet the hegemony of corporate sectors. following that, the uae launched a campaign for the protection of heritage and modern heritage in 2011, the modern heritage preservation initiative. although that was well established, surveys and recordings of lost dubai heritage and their locations have not been accessible. this analysis traces the rise and fall of modernist buildings by creating a visual https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1096&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ saffarini/ proceeding of academic research community pg. 2 reference. it also uses an open archive of one of the buildings to urge for the preservation and reuse of the remaining modernist structure that would revive the lost urban character in dubai creek. 2. materials and methods the rationale of this study is to investigate heritage demolition by looking at khor dubai and focusing on the case of the first national city bank building (fncb). the methods used to study the pattern of heritage demolition include literature reviews, collecting photographs of khor dubai, site visits, and pilot interviews with a vital member of the mhid, dr. ahmad mahmoud, the director of the architectural heritage department as well as al wasl properties, the owners of the preserved heritage building the fncb. other than that, this study analyzes the preservation challenges of the area by drawing a visual diagram that traces the location of lost and remaining heritage. the visual diagram is a map of old dubai that highlights the names of lost and remaining heritage as well as the approximate demolition date of these buildings. for that, photographic data was collected from residents, newspapers, articles, and archives. one of the vital visual references used is len chapman’s website, called “dubai as it used to be”, which archived the images she captured of old dubai. 3. results the following body of work discusses the most vital economic phases that affected dubai’s urban character in detail, tracing the demolition of heritage in each stage through the methods discussed earlier. the phases begin with the pearl trade, oil discovery, and finally the real estate demand. the research methods record khor dubai’s buildings to find data that would remain invisible if not documented. such data includes finding the function and program of lost and remaining modernist buildings, and estimating the year they were built and demolished. this also reveals the lack of accessible archival data and surveys on dubai. finally, the research uses the fncb as a case study that provides an example of the struggle modernist heritage witnesses in the real estate demands of dubai. the documentation presented in this paper highlights the preservation of intangible heritage through tangible heritage. 3.1. pearl trade in the 1800s, britain’s affairs with dubai increased to secure the trade route connected to india as well as the wealth of its pearl trade sector, leading to a maritime truce (zahlan, 1978). dubai, in the early 1900s, was recognized as a small trading center located only in the arabian gulf (elsheshtawy, 2004). pearling encouraged people from around the region to settle there in pursuit of securing their wealth in the cash economy, and the influx of people led to the expansion of coastal settlements (damluji, 2006). between 1900-1950, dubai was dependent on marine trade but went through minimal urban growth because of economic constraints as seen in figure 1. the pearling industry declined from the invention of cultivated pearls in japan, and the effects of wwii led to impoverishment (damluji, 2006). at the time, settlements included temporary palm-frond shelters or permanent mud and coral wind-tower houses. by engaging in more than one form of trade, permanent dwellings began to grow as dubai’s trade flourished, adapting to the social and climate needs of the rising population (zahlan, 1978). figure 1: dubai in the 1950s (monovisions, n.d) figure 2: dubai creek in the 2000s (jacobs, 2018). saffarini/ proceeding of academic research community pg. 3 3.2. oil discovery and international exposure the second phase emphasized early infrastructural developments in the creek in relation to the active monopoly of british entities on the gulf’s oil-related financial affairs. this stage played a vital role in “establishing a modern nationstate” (national pavilion, 2024, 1:51) promoting the creation of british and american bank institutions (reisz, 2020). other than that, british political entities assisted in the dredging project of the creek and the initial establishment of the baladiya, or municipality. as a result, many of the architects commissioned to design some of the early modernist buildings were of international connections such as tony irving, gordon jones, and john r. harris, drawn by clean canvas fields and the new oil wealth of the gulf. architects from neighboring countries as well as western connections would travel to take part in the modernization of the uae. in the 1960s, concrete was initially imported from japan, and the living conditions began to transform as it was no longer dependent on scarce local materials. a modest appearance of public concrete buildings took place by the creek, most of which were initially banks, offices, hotels, and oil company services for the international clientele and their families (damluji, 2006). likewise, his highness sheikh rashid bin maktoum encouraged the establishment of international bank and hotel buildings to “further attract trade and diversify financial possibilities” (ramos, 2009). during that period, the momentum of expansion gradually consumed the coastal settlements. the local population adapted to the new material, moved out of their settlements and replaced them with concrete business centers (damluji, 2006). modernist buildings were increasing in number while wind towers were disappearing. by the 1970s, most of the existing dwellings had been replaced by modernist buildings. concerns were raised over the uncontrollable rapid growth and inability of ‘old’ and ‘new’ to coexist in the creek, and the master plan was reviewed by john harris to preserve the remaining pre-oil sites and to control building regulations in the area (hadjiri & boussa, 2007, p.18). kevin mitchell, a professor at the american university of sharjah, claimed that the accelerated construction sold the past to marketable photographs in exchange for futuristic investments (2008, pp.49-50). it was only after most of the wind tower sites disappeared that the residents began to recollect its cultural heritage. consequently, the municipality established the architecture heritage and antiquities department in 1991 to protect the remaining pre-oil settlements and later reconstruct lost heritage sites (dubai municipality, n.d). 3.3. real estate by the 21st century, dubai has been constructing towers to constantly refine its representation and removing smaller buildings that are of no use to the corporate economy as shown in figure 2. it appeared to be a never-ending process at play, and it has been controlled privately by real estate parties concerned with profitable and branding hegemony, overlooking the contextual significance these sites might hold. the luxury of demolishing and rebuilding owes to the fact that 45% of the urban area is controlled by private real estate (alawadi et al., 2018) and that a law hindering the demolishment of modern heritage has not been established yet (mahmoud, 2021). in a conversation with ahmad mahmoud, the director of the architectural heritage department, he further stated that, interestingly, the economic recession in 2008 helped modern heritage advocates prevent several demolishments since resources were reduced. the accelerated pattern that then resumed led to the formation of the modern heritage initiative in 2018. the initiative preserved multiple modernist buildings, starting with the iconic ones. however, ahmad mahmoud stated that the initiative faced difficulties in protecting smaller modernist buildings because of private ownership. therefore, many were not saved because of the fast-paced renewal pattern and the slow process of establishing laws to prevent demolition, but the initiative might still be a trend, but it formed an initial listing system that would keep updating as a starting point for introducing laws. saffarini/ proceeding of academic research community pg. 4 figure 3 (left): deiraside in the 1960s, showing the old carlton hotel (albawaba, n.d). figure 4 (right): deiraside in 1979, showing the old carlton hotel and the construction of new high-rise towers (jacobs, 2018). this renewal trend is a problem embedded in young cities that emerged to facilitate their wealth from oil revenues without having a strong pre-industrial and historic base (damluji, 2006, p.23). it is a competition between monuments, measured by height and consumer culture. damluji further stated that despite having available land, lower buildings were constantly being replaced with higher and newer ones. other than that, uae’s wealth, obtained from phenomenal oil reserves, caused an attitude that devalues the permanency of buildings (2006, pp.123). the resources to demolish and rebuild are sufficient that buildings are no longer perceived as permanent spaces. khaled alawadi argued that dubai’s infrastructural development is a form of urban violence “that failed to consider the existing settlements and fabric” (alawadi, 2014, p.352). evident examples are the buildings surrounding al sabkha station on the deira side of khor dubai, as seen in figures 3 and 4. the buildings were heavily replaced by towers. the carlton hotel, for instance, was altered multiple times until it was rebuilt nearby. figure 5: deiraside in 2011, showing the new carlton tower hotel (no. 11) and high-rise buildings (huber, 2011). while demolishing modernist buildings, dubai has been rigorously reconstructing simulacrums of its lost heritage as educational and cultural tools to counter the impact developments had on tradition and to reconnect its people with their history (bold et al., 2017, pp.3-5). one of the recent simulacrums is al-shindagha museum, which is a reconstructed site near al fahidi historical district. in fact, ahmad mahmoud commented that al-shindagha settlement was reconstructed as a cultural museum that sentimentalizes the creek’s lost pre-oil tradition while idealizing its rapid expansion, and it was the largest reconstructed heritage site in the uae (2021). 3.4. modernist buildings in khor dubai the following diagrams illustrate the urban change performed on khor dubai’s early concrete buildings. figure 5 highlights some of the early modernist buildings around the two marine stations that were the focal passage points in the 1900s, and it was generated based on the collection of photographs and satellite images from the 1960s-2000s, locating lost modernist buildings, including but not limited to the images in figure 6 and 7, to draft an initial counter map that was inaccessible and undocumented in open recordings. central modernist buildings are few, so the removal of one building erased a substantial amount of dubai’s history. table 1 and figure 9 highlight the demolished versus 11 11 11 saffarini/ proceeding of academic research community pg. 5 the remaining modernist buildings in the creek. despite that, most of the architects were foreign to the economic and climatic conditions, and many exemplified a sophisticated level of consciousness in their projects (mitchell, 2008). figure 6 (left): deira creek in 1994 by al sabkha station. 16. ninja group building. 15. alkhor building (parker, 2017). figure 7 (right): bur dubai in 1971 by al ghibaiba station showing the chartered bank (chapman, dubai as it used to be). table 1: table of modernist buildings labeling each building numerically in relation to figures 8 and 9. the names of the buildings are found based on data collection through images, site visits, and satellite images. the year built and demolished is approximated from the data collected and should not be used as accurate information. year label building name year built estimated demolition year 1960 – 1970 1 riviera hotel bani yas 1962 2 unknown building unknown 3 bbme building 1960s unknown 4 ali bin abi talib mosque 1960s 5 the charted bank late 1960s unknown 6 first national city bank 1967 7 ambassador hotel 1968 8 plaza cinema 1972 2017 9 old petrol station unknown 2020 10 postal office 1960s unknown 1970 1980 11 new carlton hotel 1978 unknown 12 emirates islamic bank mid 1970s 13 unknown 1970s 1980 14 national bank of dubai 1971 1990s 15 alkhor building 1970s 16 ninja group building 1970s 17 unknown building 1960s 18 bank of baroda 1974-78 19 astoria hotel 1978 1990 2000 20 deira + bani yas towers 1980s 21 dewan of the emir 1984 22 al ras souq 1980s not known 23 unknown building unknown 2014 24 unknown building unknown 2010 25 unknown building unknown 2017 26 unknown building unknown 2012 16 15 13 5 10 saffarini/ proceeding of academic research community pg. 6 figure 8: map of several modernist buildings in khor dubai and the year they were estimated to have been built overlayed on a satellite image. base image captured from google maps. figure 9: comparative diagram of several demolished and remaining modernist buildings overlayed on a satellite image. base image captured from google maps. figures 8 and 9 were generated through the collection of photographs and the date they were taken. these modernist buildings demonstrate a sustainable response to the hot climate in contrast to contemporary curtain walls that exhaust the use of air conditioning. the buildings surrounding al-sabkha station were heavily replaced by towers. the carlton hotel, for instance, was altered multiple times until it was rebuilt nearby to increase height and rooms as seen in figures 3 and 5. the structures that did not fail the test of time were mostly towers or monolithic ones, but many were demolished in that area, including the national bank of dubai designed by john r. harris, as seen in figure 11. the buildings illustrate a strategy that is contextually aware of the climate, proportion, and scale of the surroundings (mitchell, 2008) while implementing imported design features. saffarini/ proceeding of academic research community pg. 7 figure 10: plaza cinema (google maps, 2016) figure 11: national bank of dubai in 1971 (chapman, n.d) al ghubaiba station also witnessed recent activity in demolishment and replacement. one main example is the first and last stand-alone cinema in dubai, plaza cinema which was demolished in 2017, as seen in figure 10 and building number 9 in table 1. ahmad mahmoud stated that the previous director of dubai municipality discussed the possibility of preserving the cinema with the owner of the building, but the owner needed the land to be used more efficiently with another building. other structures, as seen in table 1, that also disappeared include the bbme building, the chartered bank, and the dubai postal office. amongst these, some scattered buildings survived, such as the ambassador hotel and fncb. today, the fncb is considered an ordinary building except that it holds a historical significance to khor dubai’s urban character. 3.5. first national city bank of dubai the us-based fncb in dubai commissioned tony irving and gordon jones to design a bank building in 1964, two years before the discovery of oil, and was built in 1967 (ragette, 1972) as seen in figures 12 and 13. the architects also designed the crescent petroleum building (1976-1994) in sharjah, as well as the gulf bank of kuwait in 1963 (alqassemi, 2016). the fncb was the third international bank established in the creek, alongside bbme and nbd. it then continued as a branch for bank companies until 2019. by 2020, it was evacuated. being one of the early banks, the building appeared in a british advertisement in dubai. the film, by john huntley, promoted the wealth of dubai’s oil fields and its harbor. it previewed the more modern buildings built by the 1970s, concentrating on the fncb several times (huntley, 1970s, 0:15-0:25). in 1972, it was also mentioned in aramco world magazine as one of the distinctive buildings that blended modern with traditional in new gulf cities (ragette, 1972). friedrich ragette provided a brief description of the building: “the bank, completed in 1967, reflects the vertical columns, divided bays, and strong entablatures of the traditional wind towers of dubai which still rise above many of the old houses around the site. the building is of concrete (some precast), with exposed surfaces left unplastered. patterned screens on all elevations provide sun shading, as well as acting as security barriers. the angled arms at the top hold gold-anodized aluminum cylinders, which contain floodlights for security and decorative lighting” … “because groundwater was found very near the surface, the building is raised on a platform to strengthen the foundations. the platform also provides space for planting”. figures 12 & 13: fncb bank in the 1970s (aramco world magazine archive) saffarini/ proceeding of academic research community pg. 8 although this building did not compete with the architectural complexity of international buildings, ragette praised the dynamic approach of producing a transformative element in relation to dubai’s limited material resources and economic constraints. hence, his description indicates the importance of the building at the time as it was a tangible record of the commencement of newly imported materials and structural advancement. in addition, damluji stated that concrete also offered opportunities to introduce higher structures evident in the fncb, and it led to the on-site production of cement breezeblocks that were used abundantly in the early modernist buildings (damluji, 2006, p.15). the patterned breezeblocks of the building illustrate the urban character of deira in the 20th century and exhibit it in the ever-changing city. figure 14 & 15: fncb breeze-blocks in 2020 (courtesy of author). the claustra were not celebrated as a mashrabiya since windows were minimized to insulate dubai’s unkind climate. instead, the breezeblocks and the high columns were iconic elements that exemplified wealth to neighboring settlements. since the bank served international companies and not the local population, the spaces did not carry any value to residents, but the façade’s features affected the periphery of the creek. specifically, the fish market took place right in front of the building by the water as residents automatically used the landmark as a market gathering point, as seen in figure 16. yet, the importance given to the façade questions its location today. ragette (1972) described that it was originally designated “for the picturesque waterfront of old dubai, the creek” as an icon. the later construction of the road and taller buildings that suited the newer representations of modernity in the waterfront hid the building. the fragmented and disconnected nature of the buildings around and including the fncb is one of the consequences of dubai’s renewal phenomenon, as seen in figure 17. figure 16 (left): fish market held in front of fncb (courtesy of aramco world magazine archive). figure 17 (right): the fncb building in 2020 (courtesy of the author, 2020). saffarini/ proceeding of academic research community pg. 9 upon briefly entering the building in december 2020, details of the interior that were described by ragette (1972) were nowhere to be found. he described the interior of the bank in detail, stating that it was “finished in bright colors and the public lobby features a mural formed from perforated, decorative white cement panels similar to those used as ventilation openings in traditional dubai houses”. instead, a window made of glass blocks found in the lobby might have replaced the mural. the plan and interior photos are not shared in this paper for confidentiality requested by the owner. other evident alterations included the addition of an atm room made up of aluminum cladding, a ramp, an extended lobby, a private parking space, and an elevator that emulates a massive minaret on the exterior as shown in figures 18 and 19. these additions might have improved the building’s function, but they symbolize the building’s demise in the face of large and smart companies. the size of the vaults and offices cannot adapt to today’s corporate needs. nevertheless, the building’s structure, age, façade, and material manifested the transition between traditional and contemporary in a location that celebrated dubai’s first layer of development. it desperately tried to satisfy the real estate when adaptive reuse would ensure the communal reconnection of the immaterial values it carried with a program that would enliven the plan of the building. figure 18 (left): the elevator shaft addition that is visible from the outside (courtesy of the author, 2020). figure 19 (right): the fncb atm addition (courtesy of the author, 2020). despite the recent interest in preserving modernist buildings, this building has yet to grab the attention of the open archive on modernist buildings, unlike john harris’ first nbd bank in 1971. ironically, the interest in the nbd building increased as a landmark of modernity shortly after its demolition. the fncb, however, was surprisingly preserved since it has been owned by the real estate firm, wasl properties, which shared the interest in preserving heritage (wasl, nd). the community, however, has been invested in preserving photographs of demolished and remaining heritage sites as a way of recording the history of the uae. at the 2014 venice biennale, the national pavilion of uae titled this form of documentation as ‘structures of memory’ where buildings are found in photographs (national pavilion, 2018). although vital, the movement focused on documentation, and a movement is yet to focus on the potential of repurposing early modernist heritage in creative ways that maintain the architectural essence. these efforts are evident in iconic structures like the dubai world trade centre, dubai municipality building, and dubai hospital. the soaring buildings preserve a historic event in the form of a building and affect the skyline of the city. if the smaller modernist structures were to be repurposed as galleries and public centers, they could reconnect with the community and consequently revitalize the urban character that has been fragmented profoundly as stated by mahmoud. therefore, saving the historical layers of modern architecture would preserve the collective memory of the community that has been constantly erased bit by bit in khor dubai (national pavilion, 2014). 4. conclusion modernist structures, specifically in dubai creek, carried an important layer of historical events including oil discovery and the consequent formation of international financial relations. this period, although short, marked the beginning of dubai’s wealth today. however, the creek’s architecture was repeatedly renewed to adapt to the commercial hegemony of corporate sectors. the dubai heritage initiative managed to preserve these smaller buildings saffarini/ proceeding of academic research community pg. 10 but faced difficulties with the private ownership of these landmarks. in addition to that, communities have been raising awareness of the demise of modernist buildings, but most of them, similar to this paper, delved into collecting and idealizing photographs of lost memories since they accurately capture habits, activities, and cultures that were practiced in correlation to the landmark. an example of that is the residents’ use of the fncb as the façade of a fish market more than a bank since it was used by expats more than the local population. thus, early modernist structures that are barely gaining the attention of the community preserve the urban character of dubai, such as the fncb. since the building failed to adapt to today’s bank corporations, activating it as a repurposed program would revive its spaces and subsequently revive the urban character of the historic district of dubai. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the cities’ identities through architecture and arts (citaa) conference – 8th edition which was held on the 17th-19th of september 2024. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references alawadi, k. 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(2017). the creek is just one reason why i like living in old dubai, khaleeji times. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/dubai/thecreek-is-just-one-reason-why-i-like-living-in-old-dubai, [accessed december 01, 2020]. ragette, f. (1972). “building on tradition”. saudi aramco world magazine. 2(1): https://archive.aramco world.com/issue/197201/building.on.tradition.3.htm ramos, s. j. (2009). the blueprint: a history of dubai's spatial development through oil discovery. belfer center for science and international affairs, harvard kennedy school. reisz, t. (2020). showpiece city: how architecture made dubai. stanford university press. wasl properties. (n.d.) find a property. accessed january 01, 2021. https://www.waslproperties.com/property/propertylist.php?unitinfo=select%20unit%20type&pd=1&lang=en. zahlan, r. s. (1978) the origins of the united arab emirates: a political and social history of the trucial states. london: macmillan. http://www.youtube.com/ https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/197201/building.on.tradition.3.htm https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/197201/building.on.tradition.3.htm http://www.waslproperties.com/property/ http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) pg. 1 proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences research paper received:17 february 2025, accepted: 28 may 2025, published online: 31 july 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1189 adaptive reuse of historic dwellings into cafés: design challenges and planning issues in hebron wisam shaded 1 1assistant professor. palestine polytechnic university, palestine abstract this research examines a phenomenon that has emerged recently: the trend of young people frequenting cafes and restaurants as a social practice that became prominent in the early 21st century in the city of hebron. it has been observed that some historically significant old dwellings have been chosen as subjects for redesigning and transforming them into cafes and restaurants. the research problem revolves around the design challenges and issues that may arise in redesigning historical dwellings, the success of the transformation process, and the design principles necessary to preserve cultural property and protect it from damage and alterations to its historical features, cultural heritage, and identity. it delves into preserving such properties through reuse, especially for dwellings that have been redesigned. the study included analyzing several models in the old city of hebron. this region was chosen due to the rapid transformation in social thoughts and customs and the presence of the old town, along with historically significant dwellings utilized in the process of reuse and redesign. this research follows a scientific analytical and documentary methodology, involving the review of several dwelling models, literature, materials, books, and scientific research. information was gathered through interviews and surveys to collect sufficient data for analysis and result extraction. the study concluded by emphasizing the value of integrating traditional architectural features into interior design when adapting old dwellings into cultural cafés. it demonstrated that adaptive reuse enhances both aesthetics and functionality, especially when using local materials and sustainable solutions. the reuse of existing elements—such as niches and cabinets—combined with thoughtful interventions addressed common issues like humidity and outdated infrastructure, while preserving cultural identity and reducing costs. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords heritage preservation; reuse; redesign; old town hebron; old town bethlehem; interior design; architectural rehabilitation 1. introduction people today increasingly acknowledge the shared value of historical sites, recognizing them not merely as relics of the past but as a collective human heritage. this sense of shared responsibility for preserving cultural landmarks has been firmly endorsed by the venice charter of 1964, which emphasizes the importance of maintaining historical monuments as living records of human civilization and tradition (feilden, 2003, p. 361). preserving such sites is vital for strengthening community identity, fostering a tangible link between past and present, and ensuring that cultural authenticity is transmitted to future generations (ahmed, 2022). https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1189&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 as urban environments continue to evolve and the need for modern workspaces and specialized functions increases, heritage conservation has undergone a significant conceptual shift. preservation today is not solely about protecting old buildings but also about maintaining the dynamic relationship between architectural heritage, the community, and cultural continuity (briney, 2020). a compelling example of this dynamic is found in nidal katiba’s field study, which documented the traditional quarters of hebron between 1967 and 1987. his research demonstrates how the architectural design of residential buildings was intricately tied to the social practices of the families living within them. spatial arrangements were not arbitrary; they directly reflected cultural values, daily routines, and intergenerational interactions, embodying a living heritage that responded to the city's social and physical context (katiba, 2018, p. 47).in response to contemporary needs, the concept of architectural rehabilitation has emerged. it refers to the process of adapting historical buildings for new, relevant uses while retaining their cultural and architectural significance. this approach allows heritage structures to remain functional and integrated within the fabric of modern life (al-hanish & al-mih, 2017). architectural rehabilitation encompasses several key aspects. physical rehabilitation involves procedures aimed at reinforcing and stabilizing deteriorated structural elements, sometimes replacing damaged components with modern materials to ensure the safety of both the building and its occupants (atmeh, 2007, p. 82). another important aspect is adaptive reuse, which entails modifying the building or site for new functions, thereby extending its lifespan by adapting it to current practical requirements (abu-alfudl, h. f. 1998). this approach has also been effectively applied internationally. for example, ryńska (2008, p. 12) explores the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings in poland, highlighting the critical role of integrating environmental sustainability principles with heritage conservation. the study demonstrates how the use of sustainable materials and modern techniques can be carefully balanced with preserving the architectural and cultural integrity of historic structures—an approach that aligns closely with the objectives of the al-zaru house project. in this regard, awad (2008, p. 45) emphasizes the delicate balance required in preserving the architectural heritage in palestine, highlighting the need to maintain the authenticity of original features while integrating modern uses that respond to contemporary social and commercial needs. this balance is further supported by employing sustainable materials and techniques that preserve cultural integrity, and the concept of environmentally sustainable rehabilitation has emerged, emphasizing the use of sustainable resources while enhancing occupant comfort and health by addressing environmental factors (basir, 2004). recent studies have emphasized that successful rehabilitation of heritage buildings must also adhere to comprehensive design standards that balance heritage conservation with sustainability goals. for example, mohsen (2019) highlights the case of the al-ghouri complex in cairo, illustrating how adapting historical buildings to modern uses requires careful consideration of spatial organization, environmental responsiveness, and energy efficiency to maintain their cultural identity while meeting contemporary needs (mohsen, 2019, p. 94). two main approaches exist regarding the preservation of the civilizational heritage surrounding historical architecture: one advocates maintaining continuous occupancy of the areas around heritage buildings, while the other supports vacating these surrounding spaces to better protect the monument itself (raba’ 2004, p. 19). these approaches are influenced by various factors, including the historical building’s location and its representation of a specific era within the city’s development. heritage buildings evolve alongside successive historical periods, and their external forms and relationships with people and nature reflect an accumulated cultural identity unique to their region (pasha, 2021). therefore, it is essential to preserve historical buildings within their original urban context, maintaining their spatial relationships with surrounding structures and spaces to reveal their aesthetic and cultural value as they have been experienced since their inception (raba’, 2004, p. 19). 1.1. planning for the preservation of heritage buildings effective planning for the preservation of traditional architectural styles is a fundamental step in conserving heritage buildings (briney, a., 2020, january 22). in today’s globalized world, facilitated by advanced communication technologies, expertise can be shared across borders more easily than ever. however, designing a successful maintenance and rehabilitation plan requires a deep understanding of the specific architectural character of each historical building. these buildings possess unique features, such as doors, windows, roofs, and decorative details, that provide valuable insights into their era of construction, original purpose, and sometimes even their designers and shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 original owners. the loss or alteration of these distinctive elements compromises the building’s architectural and historical integrity (babor & plian, 2008). the rehabilitation process generally involves several essential stages. it begins with comprehensive research and documentation, gathering information from historical texts, government archives, photographs, and original plans to assess the building’s historical and architectural significance. in this context, the use of 3d digital modeling based on archival documentation has been identified as a powerful method for reconstructing and visualizing lost or damaged elements, enhancing authenticity and guiding restoration efforts (shams el-din, 2021, p. 70). this is followed by a thorough evaluation of the building’s current structural condition, noting weaknesses such as cracks or material deterioration. the final phase includes preparing detailed rehabilitation plans and their implementation (stationery office, dublin, 2004). furthermore, the rehabilitation plan must comply with local laws and municipal regulations. it should identify and preserve key architectural elements, remove incongruous additions that detract from the building’s authenticity, and address reconstruction needs. interior redesign efforts may involve removing inappropriate partitions or restoring historically significant features like internal staircases. the plan also considers functional requirements by incorporating missing spaces such as bathrooms and maintenance rooms to meet modern standards while respecting the building’s heritage (atmeh, 2007, p. 23). 1.2. research hypothesis re-purposing heritage buildings ensures their continuity and achieves sustainability principles. additionally, reusing the interior spaces of heritage buildings in ways that align with their internal spaces, location, and cultural character, without compromising their value and uniqueness, guarantees increased awareness, adherence, and preservation for future generations. 1.3. research objectives understand the necessity of rehabilitating heritage buildings and protecting them from deterioration factors. highlight experiences with buildings that have been repurposed and analyze the positive and negative outcomes of the methodologies applied in these buildings. 1.4. research problem many heritage buildings of historical value in palestine, particularly in the city of hebron, are deteriorating, being vandalized, or demolished, leading to the disappearance of some sites and the alteration of their identity. some sites experience partial demolition yet are preserved due to urban encroachment, causing them to lose their original architectural features. additionally, some sites exist but are in a state of neglect or deterioration due to environmental factors and various structural issues. therefore, it is necessary to find design and functional solutions in the process of redesigning some residential buildings that have been repurposed into restaurants and cafes. 1.5. research methodology and tools this research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach by gathering information from available sources and references. it includes analyzing several traditional houses through field studies of multiple café models in the city of hebron. the methodology involves interviews with experts and engineers, documenting and photographing observations, and creating maps with proposed solutions to develop a plan for converting a heritage house into a café and restaurant. the selected houses were analyzed through direct site visits, during which architectural elements, spatial organization, structural condition, and historical value were recorded. documentation included high-resolution photographs, schematic architectural drawings, and field notes addressing materials, decorative details, and usage patterns. interviews were conducted with property owners, local architects, and municipal engineers to gather historical background, identify renovation challenges, and understand applied design strategies. in addition, maps were produced using google earth and gis tools to locate each house within the urban fabric, supporting analysis of shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 accessibility, surrounding functions, and visual prominence—critical factors in café design. the collected data was then comparatively analyzed to identify shared challenges and successful interventions, which informed the proposed adaptive reuse model. 2. hebron city and the phases of historical building rehabilitation hebron, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, holds a rich architectural and cultural heritage. in recognition of its outstanding universal value, the old town of hebron was inscribed on the unesco world heritage list in 2017 under criteria (ii), (iv), and (vi), and was simultaneously classified as a world heritage site in danger (palestinian ministry of tourism and antiquities, 2021). figure 1 provides an aerial image showing the location of hebron city in palestine and its proximity to jerusalem. a second image offers an aerial view of ein sarah street, highlighting several cafés that animate the street’s character (source: google maps). the city is composed of multiple neighborhoods, each reflecting distinct historical periods based on their development timelines (al-ja’ba et al., 2007). during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, hebron began expanding gradually northward toward ain sara and westward toward wadi al-tuffah, with further extensions along beersheba street reaching the al-hawooz district (al-ju’beh et al., 2007, p. 30). this phase of urban expansion was accompanied by the relocation of affluent residents and business owners from the densely populated old town to these newer neighborhoods, where they built remarkable homes showcasing distinctive architectural styles (abu hilal, 2009, p. 44). however, as housing demand increased over time, many of these buildings were demolished and replaced by modern, multi-story constructions that often lacked architectural identity or heritage protection (bshara, k. 2015, may 10). figure 1: aerial views of hebron city’s location near jerusalem and ein sarah street, highlighting cafés along the street. (source: google maps) while the old town is protected under specific heritage conservation regulations, the neighborhoods developed at the turn of the 20th century—such as bab al-zawiya, ain sara, and others—remain largely outside these preservation frameworks (bshara, k. 2015, may 10. a number of houses from these areas have been monitored, documented, and studied to analyze the strategies applied in their adaptive reuse, particularly in converting residential buildings into restaurants, cafés, and other commercial venues (al-ja’ba et al., 2007). this article highlights four examples of repurposed houses in hebron, particularly within the ain sara neighborhood, that have been successfully transformed into hospitality venues. additionally, it presents the al-zaru house as a case study for adaptive reuse, proposing its conversion into a restaurant and café. the study aims to assess the area’s developmental context, evaluate the impact of such transformations on architectural preservation, and ensure that any interventions adhere to established heritage conservation principles. shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 building on this, badran (2017, p. 85) emphasizes the vital role of architectural space design and tectonics in palestinian heritage as expressions of cultural resistance within contested environments. his research demonstrates that preserving and adapting historic buildings goes beyond safeguarding their physical form—it also strengthens cultural identity and fosters community resilience. this perspective closely aligns with the objectives of rehabilitating heritage sites in hebron, where maintaining architectural authenticity is crucial for preserving collective memory and reinforcing national identity. 2.1 case study 1 zekra café zekra cafe is in the ain sara area of hebron, opposite sara al-janidi, owned by mr. zaid al-rajabi. the building was constructed about 90 years ago, and the land area is one dunam. discussions with the owner revealed three main rooms, an external garden, sanitary units, and a kitchen. the building, which had been abandoned for a very long time, faced several issues during the renovation, primarily dampness. the owner decided to utilize the building to create a profitable project and concluded that a cafe would succeed due to its excellent location, ease of access, and the scarcity of similar projects. the cafe can accommodate 50 customers at a time.figure 2 represents the location of zikra café, with a google maps aerial view indicating its position relative to ein sarah street in hebron figure 2 represents the location of zikra café, with a google maps aerial view indicating its position relative to ein sarah street in hebron (author, 2024) the renovation faced challenges with the installation of electricity, water, and sewage systems, as the old building was susceptible to collapse if not handled properly. the owner preserved the character and features of the place, maintaining its spirit. electrical heating was installed inside the building, and an outdoor wood stove was added. during the day, the large windows provide enough sunlight and air, while at night, the cafe is illuminated with electric outdoor lighting, old-style lamps, soft lighting, and decorative lights, making the ambiance cozy and pleasant for the eyes. another major issue was the dampness and water seepage since the building is situated at the base of a mountain, causing all the mountain water to collect in the cafe due to inadequate sewage drainage. regarding furniture, the building, being abandoned, lacked any, so the owner furnished it with antique and old wooden arabic furniture, reflecting the old place and authentic palestinian heritage. the owner expressed the beauty and tranquility of the place, enhancing the atmosphere with many trees and plants, giving the impression of entering a public garden with an old design and authentic stonework. an analysis of the design and renovation elements is summarized in table 1 shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 table 1: analysis of design and renovation elements in zekra café project (author, 2024) image description renovation aspect difficulties with the installation of electricity, water, and sewage systems due to the fragility of the old structure and the risk of collapse renovation challenges (basic systems) the original features and identity of the place were preserved, maintaining its authentic spirit preservation of historical character electrical heating is installed inside, and a wood-burning stove is placed outside heating and cooling systems large windows allow natural sunlight and airflow during the day natural ventilation and lighting use of electric outdoor lights, vintagestyle lamps, soft ambient lighting, and decorative fixtures that create a cozy atmosphere night lighting water seepage due to the café's location at the base of a mountain, with poor sewage drainage humidity and water seepage furnished with antique and old wooden arabic furniture that reflects the heritage of palestine furniture many trees and plants were added, giving the place the feel of a public garden environmental and garden character the combination of the old design and authentic stonework creates a beautiful and tranquil setting overall atmosphere 2.2 case study 2: fairuz café fairuz cafe is in the city of hebron, near the first ain sarah and next to the hebron municipality building. built in 1932 during the british mandate, it was originally a family home. in 2016, the building was converted into a modern cafe. the building features old natural stone walls and architectural openings with arches. the interior has a vaulted ceiling made up of several arches. the total area of the site is approximately 125 square meters, consisting of a single floor divided into eight spaces: three seating areas for visitors, a kitchen, a room for hookahs, two bathrooms, and a storage room. shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 the decision to convert the building into a cafe was made by the heirs, who wanted to preserve the identity, history, and rich character of the place, especially since they lived abroad. the cafe officially opened on 20/9/2016. about 40 years ago, a new seating area was added to the house, which is now the third visitor seating space. partial maintenance and restoration were carried out when it was decided to convert the building into a cafe. this included cleaning the stone walls and reinforcing them with white cement between the stones. two bathrooms were also added during this period. figure 3 represents the location according to google, including the front facade of fairouz café, author, 2024 the current condition of the café, detailed in table 2, reveals several challenges and features: it suffers from insufficient electrical capacity, limited balcony load-bearing, and minor maintenance needs in furniture and finishes. despite storage limitations and its sensitive proximity to the municipality, the café maintains strong architectural integrity and provides a comfortable layout for 64 visitors. table 2: analysis current condition challenges and features of fairuz café image description design and renovation element the café requires more than one phase of electricity, but the municipality has not approved the upgrade, causing power limitations in some areas. electricity issues the balcony cannot bear the weight of glass; it has been covered with reinforced plastic for safety. balcony condition some furniture elements, such as the counter and wood ceiling color, require refurbishment; certain walls need repainting. furniture and maintenance needs the storage room cannot include drainage or ventilation openings to avoid moisture-related damage. storage limitations proximity to the municipal building makes the café accessible but sometimes creates conflict with neighboring administrative functions. proximity to municipality maintains original design elements that give the space both strength and beauty, making it historically and aesthetically valuable. architectural integrity the café includes 16 tables with four seats each, accommodating 64 guests. the layout allows for good circulation and comfort. visitor capacity and comfort shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 table 3 highlights the café’s rich artistic and heritage elements, including antique furniture, musical instruments, old household tools, and decorative paintings that reflect the building’s historical identity and personal stories of its past residents. these features transform the café into a culturally immersive and nostalgic space. table 3: artistic elements and heritage contents in fairuz café cultural or architectural element description image artistic paintings the café features many artistic and cultural paintings that attract attention and reflect various stages in the life of the place. childhood home the house belonged to one of the heirs during their childhood. it still retains the same layout with an interior section and a service section. modern bathrooms when the house was converted into a café, modern bathrooms were added using standard gray ceramic tiles with a traditional local character and modern chinese basins. kitchen the kitchen needs rearrangement and reorganization in terms of flooring, storage, and workspaces. heritage furniture pieces the café includes old heritage furniture pieces that enhance the site's historical value, such as an old piano, a large vintage radio, a wooden television cabinet, a gramophone, and a manual sewing machine. antique devices and utensils the space retains items like a coffee grinder, meat mincer, and bread mill, enriching the place with inherited objects from the past. books and personal belongings the café displays old medical and iraqi books, notebooks, and traditional household items, turning it into a living museum that tells the stories of past inhabitants. 2.3. case study 3: bouvardio café this project involves the adaptive reuse of a 95-year-old building (originally built in 1350 ah) located in al-haras, hebron. over its history, the building has served multiple purposes: initially as a residence, later converted into an office, then an institution, and now transformed into a café. the café occupies the upper floor only, covering approximately 100 square meters, with plans for future expansion. the ground floor, part of the original structure, is currently unused. the layout includes a reception area, two seating sections separated by a partition wall, two bathrooms, and an outdoor courtyard with designated parking. after several unsuccessful attempts to revive the neglected building, the owners, mona abu senineh and yasser dweik, decided to convert it into a public space welcoming both residents and tourists. this led to a comprehensive renovation aimed at restoring the building’s historical value while adapting it to contemporary needsfigure 4 illustrates the main façade of the bouvardio café, with its location verified through google maps. shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 figure 4 shows the main façade of the bouvardio café, with its location confirmed via google maps (author, 2024). table 4 summarizes the renovation and design features, highlighting the project’s goal to transform the historic building into a vibrant, functional space. traditional elements were preserved and enhanced—for example, original geometric tiles were replaced with new ones that replicate traditional patterns. the ceiling was structurally reinforced and finished with plaster for both aesthetic appeal and moisture resistance. exterior walls were treated for dampness with insulating layers and finished using classical plaster designs, elevating the building’s visual charm. modern comfort was introduced through contemporary furniture carefully selected for style and ergonomics. the café, currently in excellent condition, serves italian cuisine and accommodates approximately 50 guests. the interior design features a thoughtful color palette: green to evoke calm and nature, yellow to inspire joy and spontaneity, and brown to add warmth and comfort. these colors together create a welcoming atmosphere that harmonizes heritage with modern café culture. a comparative summary of three case studies, aimed at supporting analysis and result integration, is presented in table 5. table 4: cultural and architectural elements of the renovated bouvardio café project image description cultural or architectural element renovated with traditional geometric patterns to match the original design style. geometric floor tiles supported and plastered to enhance structure and aesthetics while preventing dampness. reinforced ceiling treated with insulation and finished using classic plaster motifs to revive historic charm. exterior wall treatment emphasized to enhance user comfort and sustainability, supplemented with artificial light. natural lighting fully updated to provide comfort for long sitting periods, yet chosen to harmonize with the theme. modern furniture green evokes nature, yellow stimulates happiness, and brown provides warmth and earthiness. color scheme: green, yellow, brown the café serves italian food, reflecting the name and providing a cultural dining experience. italian culinary theme shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 10 table 5 comparative summary of three case studies to support analysis and result integration item zekra café fairuz café bouvardio café location ain sara, hebron hebron – next to hebron municipality hebron – al-haras area owner(s) zaid al-rajabi heirs living abroad mona abu senineh and yasser dweik approximate building age 90 years built in 1932 (over 90 years old) built in 1350 ah (approximately 95 years old) previous uses abandoned for a long period family house house > office > institution > café area 1 dunam (building accommodates 50 customers) 125 m² 100 m² (with future expansion plans) current function café serving 50 customers modern café since 2016 café offering italian cuisine for 50 guests spatial layout 3 rooms, kitchen, sanitary units, outdoor garden 3 seating areas, kitchen, shisha room, 2 bathrooms, storage reception, 2 seating areas, 2 bathrooms, outdoor courtyard condition before renovation abandoned, severe dampness, drainage issues needed maintenance, weak electrical load abandoned, dampness, the roof, and the walls required strengthening renovation works installed electricity, drainage, heating, and traditional furniture stone wall cleaning and reinforcement with white cement ceiling reinforcement, dampproofing, traditional tiling design identity old arabic furniture, trees, and plants preserved stones and arches, partial restoration modern comfort blended with historical character aesthetic considerations soft lighting, natural, and relaxing scenery vaulted ceilings, old stone coordinated color palette (green, yellow, brown) cultural/heritage value focus on the old palestinian character preserving building identity and history merging heritage with a modern café experience challenges dampness, drainage, weak structure limited electrical capacity, balcony load issues complete restoration needed, adapting for new function 3. practical application of the research: adaptive reuse proposal for al-zaru house as a café project phases overview: al-zaru house adaptive reuse study the process of studying and redesigning al-zaru house for its adaptive reuse as a heritage café was conducted through a series of structured and interrelated phases. each phase was designed to ensure that the intervention respects the historical, architectural, and cultural value of the house, while also responding to the functional and aesthetic needs of its new use. the methodology followed in this study allowed for a systematic approach to documentation, analysis, problem identification, and design implementation. the project unfolded in three main phases. together, these phases created a clear framework for a heritage-conscious design intervention that blends authenticity with adaptive reuse principles 3.1. historical and contextual background the al-zaru house was selected for this adaptive reuse project due to its prime location and its distinct architectural character, particularly evident on its façades. originally built during the british mandate period, the house first served as the residence of the district commissioner, who lived there with his family for several years. it was later inhabited shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 11 by mr. al-zaru—the grandfather of the current owners—who made it his family home. over time, the building witnessed various phases of occupation and use, including serving as a plastic factory before being abandoned in 2015. the heirs of the al-zaru family now seek to benefit from the property’s location and historical value by converting it into a heritage café. at the beginning of the process, the owners lacked the necessary knowledge regarding the design systems and regulatory steps required for such a transformation. as a result, a design team was consulted to explore creative ways to repurpose the house while preserving its architectural and aesthetic integrity. the ultimate goal is to create a rich cultural space that attracts visitors through its unique atmosphere, figure 7. figure 5 presents key images highlighting the architectural and historical significance of al-zaru house, including its current façade, a 1960 archival photo featuring abu talib al-zaru, an aerial view from google maps, and a portrait of talib al-zaru, the second grandfather. (sources: author documentation and google maps, 2024) 3.2 aesthetic and architectural character assessment the al-zaru house is a prominent example of palestinian domestic architecture, representing a fusion of local craftsmanship, structural innovation, and aesthetic sophistication. the house was built in several stages, and this is evident in its exterior appearance, the type of stone used, and the varying construction techniques. this two-story structure includes a basement, with each floor approximately 226 square meters in area. the architectural differences in the building's exterior highlight its gradual construction, showcasing a blend of materials and styles that reflect the evolution of the house over time. constructed during the british mandate period, the al-zaru house reflects the preferences of the upper-middle class at the time. the overall design is elegant and spacious, with features such as arched doorways, twin windows, and recessed frames, offering a unique aesthetic value to the structure. the central hall, corridors, and rooms are adorned with patterned stone tiles, each one reflecting intricate craftsmanship and geometric arrangements. however, due to age and wear, the flooring has suffered damage and needs to be replaced with custom-made tiles that mirror the original design. a detailed assessment of the existing floors and the proposed interventions is provided in table 6. the house also features a rich diversity of architectural openings, including arched doors, twin windows, and recessed frames, each with a distinct visual impact and material quality. over time, many of these openings have deteriorated or been altered, requiring rehabilitation to restore the spatial flow and symmetry of the building. table 6 offers an overview of the types of openings and the recommended preservation strategies. this architectural assessment divides the evaluation into six key areas: internal walls, ceilings, flooring, historical furniture, architectural openings, and other structural elements, such as the façade, kitchen, and bathrooms. the proposed design strategies for each category prioritize the preservation of the house's historical integrity while adapting it to function as a modern café. each table outlines the aesthetic, historical, and physical condition of the respective features and presents thoughtful interventions to ensure a functional and respectful transformation of space. shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 12 table 6 provides a structured overview of the architectural features of al-zaru house. (source: author, 2024.) image description element category large room with a flat concrete ceiling, currently used for family storage. accessed by internal staircase. basement floor 1. internal spaces dates back to the british mandate period (1930). includes several rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a spacious central hall. first floor added in 1963 using concrete. mirrors the first floor but renovated into two separate apartments (3 bedrooms each, with kitchen and bathroom). second floor main interior space connecting rooms. features colorful patterned floor tiles in a "carpet" style, reflecting uppermiddle-class mandate-era homes. central hall (salon) outdoor area suitable for seating, enhancing the café experience with privacy and natural ambiance. courtyard / garden 2. external and structural elements built in the "riwaq house" style. features an arched arcade, twin arched windows, decorative columns, and cross-vaulted ceilings. shows classical influence, rare in palestinian homes. front façade walls were built with a mix of white and pink local stones. includes floral and geometric stone carvings. stonework 3. materials & aesthetic features the central hall is distinguished by vividly colored tiles arranged in an intricate “carpet-style” pattern, highlighting its decorative and cultural significance. in contrast, the kitchens and bathrooms are finished with minimalist black-and-white tiles, reflecting a more functional and understated design approach. flooring 3.3 project implementation phases 3.3.1 phase one: documentation, analysis, and surveying: the initial stage of the project focused on gathering historical data and conducting a comprehensive survey of the alzaru house. this began with an interview session with mr. taleb mohammad taleb al-zaru, aged 76, who was born and raised in the house. his detailed recollections provided valuable insight into the history and evolution of the building. he noted that the ground floor was once inhabited by the british military governor in the 1930s and remained in family use until 1995. after that, it served as a plastic factory for two decades before being abandoned in 2015. to assess the physical condition of the structure, several engineering consultations were held with the hebron rehabilitation committee. a 3d laser scan of the building was carried out using the tx5 laser scanner in collaboration with the palestine polytechnic university lab. the data collected was processed into two-dimensional and three-dimensional digital plans. these analyses revealed the architectural layout and condition of all interior and exterior spaces, providing a detailed understanding necessary for rehabilitation planning.figure 6 represents the stages of taking measurements, documenting, and drawing plans of the zaroo house shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 13 figure 6 represents the stages of taking measurements, documenting, and drawing plans of the zaroo house. (author, 2024) 3.3.2 phase two: identifying challenges and restoration strategy this phase focuses on assessing the current architectural and aesthetic conditions of the al-zaru house, identifying key challenges, and proposing strategies to transform the house into a café while preserving its heritage value. the building was originally constructed during the british mandate period and is characterized by a villa-like layout, a central hall, arched openings, decorative stonework, and a distinctive front façade inspired by traditional “riwaq” architecture. over the years, it underwent several modifications, including the addition of a second floor in 1963, which was later divided into two apartments, according to mr. taleb al-zaru. the assessment revealed several issues that require immediate attention to ensure the building’s continued use and adaptation for its new function: • cracked and missing floor tiles cause: deterioration due to age and prolonged use. solution: replace damaged tiles with custom-designed flooring that reflects traditional “carpet-style” patterns to preserve the original aesthetic. • deteriorated plaster on walls and ceilings cause: moisture and water seepage. solution: restore walls using recessed mortar techniques that respect the historic texture of the building. ceilings should be treated with breathable lime plaster or, where possible, the original stonework should be re-exposed. • humidity damage primarily affecting lower walls and flooring. solution: address the source of water infiltration, improve ventilation, and use moisture-resistant materials that are compatible with traditional construction. • outdated utility systems (electrical and plumbing) cause: obsolescence and failure to meet modern standards. solution: integrate modern systems discreetly (e.g., hidden wiring) in a way that does not interfere with the building’s heritage character. • traditional built-in features (e.g., wall niches and wardrobes) cultural and functional significance. solution: preserve and adapt these elements for use in the café, maintaining their heritage value and practical function. the structural and aesthetic evaluation of the zaroo house ceilings is summarized in table 7. the analysis confirms that certain pieces retained both structural integrity and symbolic value, supporting the reuse proposals presented in table 8. shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 14 table 7 presents ceilings – structural and aesthetic assessment of the zaroo house. source: author, 2024 feature current condition preservation and rehabilitation methods image arched stone ceiling built with intersecting arches and layered stone (“reesh”), plaster peeling, and moisture damage reinforce based on structural assessment; treat moisture; clean and restore original materials plaster finish white plaster is damaged in several areas: disorganized electrical wiring either expose “reesh” for aesthetic and ventilation, or renew lime plaster; organize and conceal wiring electrical integration unsafe visible wiring across the ceiling organize and embed wiring in concealed channels to preserve visual coherence and safety table 8: historical furniture and wardrobes – documentation and adaptive reuse in the zaroo house. source: author, 2024 feature current condition / description preservation and redesign solutions image built-in wardrobes traditional storage units used for clothing, bedding, and utensils retain historical structure; repurpose as seating benches or decorative shelves historical craftsmanship represents palestinian and armenian joinery traditions. solid wood cabinet, early 20th century, likely made by armenian carpenter in jerusalem document and integrate into the interior to reflect the home’s cultural identity. repurposed as café seating area; maintains original craftsmanship and aesthetic 3.3.3 phase three: implementation, restoration, and interior integration this final phase focuses on the execution of the proposed interventions and preparing the space for its new function as a heritage café. restoration work begins with the careful removal of damaged elements and the selection of materials that are compatible with the original architecture. flooring will be replaced with newly designed tiles reflecting historical patterns. stone walls will be stabilized and repointed, while ceilings will be structurally reinforced and treated to resolve moisture issues and support hidden electrical systems. during the implementation, built-in furniture will be adapted creatively, such as turning storage niches into display units or seating areas. the overall interior design will maintain harmony with the original aesthetics while meeting the functional requirements of a modern café. the outdoor courtyard will be transformed into a landscaped seating area that connects the building’s heritage with contemporary leisure use. by the end of this phase, the house will be fully restored and adapted, ready to welcome visitors while narrating its rich history through every architectural detail. the transformation will serve as a model for integrating heritage conservation with adaptive reuse in the context of palestinian architecture. the design process for converting the al-zaru house into zaru café followed a systematic and research-based approach grounded in both historical respect and contemporary needs. the methodology combined architectural documentation, conceptual development, functional planning, and aesthetic integration. 3.4 concept selection and design identity based on the cultural and architectural value of the site, a concept was chosen that harmonizes andalusian and ottoman influences, reflecting the rich historical character of hebron’s heritage buildings. this stage also included: choosing a fitting name for the project: "zaru café". designing a logo that visually communicates the identity of the shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 15 space using warm, traditional tones (beige and brown). developing a mood board to guide material, color, and texture choices in the later stages. figure 7 represents concept selection and design identity in the zaroo house. figure 7 represents concept selection and design identity in the zaroo house. source: author, 2024 3.5 space planning and functional analysis a thorough analysis of the house’s original floor plan was carried out, followed by: drawing and analyzing plans the spatial planning of al-zaroo house involved a comprehensive analysis of interior functions and circulation patterns. the design process began with zoning the main components of the space, allocating dedicated areas for the reception, kitchen, restrooms, and various seating zones. careful attention was given to the flow of movement, ensuring smooth and intuitive circulation paths for both customers and staff, including clearly defined entry and exit routes. the layout was developed to foster a seamless interaction between indoor and outdoor areas. seating configurations—such as individual tables, group arrangements, and window-facing seats—were designed with a focus on comfort, accessibility, and visual coherence.figure 8 presents two drawings: the first is a colored zoning layout plan illustrating the functional distribution of space, while the second shows the furniture layout plan, reflecting the proposed arrangement of seating and service elements. figure 8. the first diagram illustrates the colored zoning layout plan, while the second presents the furniture arrangement plan. source: author, 2024. 3.6 .design considerations for furniture and material furniture was custom-designed to suit the space and theme, with an emphasis on: traditional forms and durable upholstery fabrics in coordinating colors. selecting wood, stone, and tile materials that complement the house’s historical identity. creating adaptable furniture suitable for both indoor and courtyard use. description: an old cabinet, likely from the early 20th century, made of solid wood. craftsmanship: this cabinet, along with several similar pieces, was likely crafted by an armenian carpenter in jerusalem, renowned for this style. repurposing: the old cabinet has been redesigned for use as a seating area within the café, integrating its historical value into the new setting. furniture and material selection in renovation and adaptive reuse projects plays a central role in preserving the identity of historic buildings. in the transformation of the al-zaru house into a cultural café, the interior spaces were handled with sensitivity, aiming to strike a balance between contemporary function and the preservation of architectural and shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 16 structural heritage values. therefore, furniture and material choices were made to reflect the spirit of the place— through the reuse of original historic elements and the design of new furniture that integrates with the architectural character—while serving the functional needs of the space without compromising its cultural and visual essence. historical furniture: preserve the documented old cabinet and other similar pieces. usage: thoughtfully incorporate these historical pieces into the café’s design, emphasizing their historical significance and enhancing the café’s unique character. table 9 presents the proposed interior design solutions for the al-zaru house café within the zaroo house. table 9 proposed interior design solutions for al-zaru house café in the zaroo house. source: author, 2024 design element existing condition proposed design solution material selection functional & aesthetic goal 1. built-in cabinet historical the traditional wooden cabinet deteriorated but is structurally intact. reinforced and reused as a seating area with internal support and cushions. reinforced solid wood, heritage fabric cushions preserve historical value while adding cozy café seating. 2. walls niches and arched openings architectural niches and arches along interior walls. transformed into builtin seating or shelving with indirect lighting to enhance visual depth. natural stone ledges, limewashed plaster, integrated led lighting celebrate architectural heritage while creating functional spaces for seating and display. 3. kitchen design and storage small space with limited storage, existing openings in walls. designed custom cabinets that adapt to wall recesses; used openings as deep storage shelves. painted mdf, wood veneer, metal pulls, ceramic backsplash maximize storage while keeping the kitchen discreet and historically sympathetic. 4.bathroo m and wash basins lacked functionality; finishes incompatible with café standards. new layout preserving existing wall lines; installed modern, easyto-clean materials; designed freestanding basins in harmony with the house's texture. microcement, stone basins, copper or brass fixtures, anti-slip tiles ensure hygiene and function while maintaining material authenticity and stylistic coherence. 5. interior doors existing doors damaged or missing; uncoordinated with the original design. designed new doors reflecting the "al-zaru" concept, with wood carvings inspired by columnal decorative motifs found in the original house solid wood, hand-carved detailing, traditional hinges, and latches strengthen identity through symbolic decorative elements; unify spatial language. shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 17 6. furniture for café zones designed modular furniture that adapts to multiple areas; reflects traditional forms yet easy to move or stack. wood, durable fabrics, metal bases accommodate varied usage while reflecting historical aesthetics. 3.7. interior architecture and ornamentation analysis the design process incorporated: analysis of decorative elements, such as arches and domed ceilings, integrating them into the interior layout. designing the ceiling plan about plaster details and hidden infrastructure like electrical wiring. creating interior elevations and vertical sections to demonstrate spatial relationships, furniture placement, and decorative treatments. figure 9 presents a detailed study of the zaroo house’s interior architecture and ornamentation, focusing on the ceiling plan, interior elevations, and vertical sections. figure 9 interior architecture and ornamentation analysis: the ceiling plan, interior elevations, and vertical sections in the zaroo house. source: (author, 2024) 3.8. flooring and surface treatments the floors were addressed through a study and mapping of the original flooring to assess possibilities for restoration, as well as designing new flooring patterns that echo the original aesthetic in modern formats, particularly for bathrooms and the kitchen. this process was documented in the floor plan number ( 5), which also includes material suggestions. figure 10 represents the tile plan and its types in the zaroo house (source: author, 2024). additionally, table 10 provides an analysis of the aesthetic and architectural features of the al-zaru residential building within the zaroo house. figure 10 represents the tile plan and its types in the zaroo house. source: (author, 2024) shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 18 table 10: analysis of the aesthetic and architectural features of the al-zaru residential building in the zaroo house. source: author, 2024 photos of the original flooring documentation redesign proposals corridor 1 at the front entrance. room 2 room3 room4 room5 room6 3.9. elevations and visual expression detailed interior and exterior elevations were developed to illustrate the placement of arches, openings, furniture, and décor elements. facade drawings were used to emphasize how the design maintains the historical feel while introducing café functionality. figure 11 shows the cross-section and front elevation views of the proposed al-zaru café design. shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 19 figure 11 represents a cross-section and front elevation of the proposed design for al-zaru café. source: author, 2024 3.10. challenges, redesign strategies, and adaptive reuse for the highlighted project the conversion of the historic al-zaru house into a heritage café presented various architectural, functional, and environmental challenges, revealed through comprehensive site analysis. these challenges highlight the delicate balance between preserving the building’s original character and adapting it for modern commercial and social uses. table 11 summarizes the key issues encountered, alongside the proposed redesign strategies and adaptive reuse solutions, organized by architectural aspects. complementing this, figure 12 illustrates models of the proposed design for the al-zaru café, showcasing both before and after views of the transformation. table 11 challenges, redesign strategies, and adaptive reuse for the highlighted project of transforming an old house into a café: in the zaroo house. source: author, 2024 adaptive reuse strategies redesign approaches challenges and issues category use the central hall as a welcoming area or art exhibition space. emphasize traditional aesthetics such as arches and central halls. maintaining thick walls without weakening them. architectural features integrate traditional features into the café’s visual identity. improve visual distribution while preserving authenticity. dealing with traditional elements like arches and domes. humidity and insulation enhance indoor comfort for customers while preserving the building's appearance. apply engineering insulation solutions to protect walls and floors. cracks and damage caused by water seepage and humidity. infrastructure ensure a safe and healthy environment for visitors without compromising historical value. treat humidity without concealing architectural character. problems in sewage and electrical networks. decoration and lighting create a visually appealing environment that enhances customer experience. redistribute installations in a concealed and efficient way. difficulty updating systems without damaging old walls. space and design needs meet customer needs for comfort, privacy, and functionality (e.g., reading or internet zones). use non-invasive modern techniques. ineffective or outdated lighting. future expansion enable multifunctional use without harming the historic structure. distribute lighting effectively to create a welcoming ambiance. the decor is unsuitable for the new function. cost and maintenance reduce operational costs and improve long-term project sustainability. blend modern décor with historic elements. limited space. identity and authenticity shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 20 figure 12 represents models of the proposed designs for the al-zaru café, before and after. source: author, 2024 4. results the study revealed key insights into the significance of preserving and incorporating the architectural elements of traditional houses within interior design, especially when adapting these spaces into cultural cafés. the approach strongly emphasized sustainability alongside the conservation of both architectural character and material authenticity. by creatively repurposing historical features—such as transforming an old cabinet into seating and utilizing architectural niches as built-in storage or benches—the project exemplifies practical adaptive reuse. the integration of modern cabinetry designed to fit existing wall openings, combined with the use of locally sourced materials that blend traditional aesthetics with contemporary functionality, reflects a thoughtful design approach that respects both environmental and economic considerations. these strategies not only address functional needs but also uphold cultural heritage, reducing costs and resource consumption while enriching the space’s authenticity. key findings: • architectural features like thick walls, internal courtyards, and arches provide substantial aesthetic and practical value when thoughtfully reused. • traditional houses often face challenges such as humidity, aging infrastructure, and outdated lighting systems, which demand carefully crafted design solutions. • custom-designed furniture plays a crucial role in maintaining the identity of the space, with old cabinets being repurposed and wall niches converted into integrated seating. sustainability was woven throughout the design by prioritizing local, recyclable, and low-maintenance materials to minimize environmental impact and enhance durability. table 12 presents design and practical recommendations derived from the study’s findings. figure 13 represents the proposed designs for the al-zaru café before and after the redesign. (source: author, 2024) shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 21 table 12 design and practical recommendations source: author, 2024 area recommendations architectural features preserve original elements (arches, domes, thick walls) and integrate them aesthetically and functionally. furniture employ adaptive reuse of historical furniture (e.g., transforming cabinets into seating or display units); design new furniture that harmonizes with the architectural context. materials use natural, local materials (wood, stone, traditional tiles) that ensure durability, easy maintenance, and support heritage continuity. sustainability integrate sustainable design principles: minimize waste, utilize existing wall openings for storage or lighting, and strengthen rather than replace old elements. sanitary facilities design modern, easy-to-clean bathrooms and washbasins that provide user comfort while blending with the overall style. doors and decorative elements create wooden doors inspired by the home’s identity (bayt al-zaru) and its column ornamentation, reinforcing visual and cultural identity. challenges plan and estimate costs carefully, comply with local regulations, and implement structural reinforcements to ensure building safety. area recommendations architectural features preserve original elements (arches, domes, thick walls) and integrate them aesthetically and functionally. furniture employ adaptive reuse of historical furniture (e.g., transforming cabinets into seating or display units); design new furniture that harmonizes with the architectural context. figure 13 represents the proposed designs for the al-zaru café before and after the redesign. source: author, 2024 5. recommendations: a. general strategic recommendations • preserve heritage identity: emphasize the preservation of the building’s original features, forms, and character to reinforce the palestinian cultural identity. • enhance cultural value: integrate traditional aesthetics and promote local cuisine and crafts to reinforce cultural authenticity and attract tourism. • community involvement: engage local artisans and the wider community through events and programs that connect people to the cultural significance of the place. shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 22 • promote sustainability: apply principles of adaptive reuse, selecting durable, low-maintenance, and locally sourced materials to reduce environmental impact. b. architectural and technical recommendations • address humidity issues: install moisture barriers and use breathable, water-resistant plasters and finishes to protect against water infiltration and mold. • upgrade infrastructure: modernize electrical and sewage systems to meet current safety and functionality standards. • structural reinforcement: ensure the structural integrity of walls, ceilings, and roofs through targeted reinforcement while maintaining historical authenticity. • optimize lighting and layout: redistribute lighting and seating to improve spatial efficiency, ambiance, and customer comfort. c. interior design and functional recommendations • maintain design consistency: adopt a coherent interior design theme inspired by the house’s historical features, including reused furniture and decorative elements. • furniture adaptation: repurpose historical furniture (such as the old cabinet) into seating or display units, combining function with heritage preservation. • custom cabinetry: design new storage units that integrate with existing architectural features, such as wall niches or recesses. • improve ventilation and comfort: ensure natural airflow where possible, and include modern ventilation systems to enhance user experience. • routine maintenance plan: establish regular schedules for inspecting and maintaining building elements, furniture, and finishes to ensure long-term sustainability. • cost-efficient material use: choose high-quality, affordable materials for flooring, finishes, and built-ins, ensuring both durability and visual harmony. • plan for expansion: strategically utilize underused areas to allow for future additions (e.g., kitchens, service zones, or multipurpose spaces). • consult experts: involve conservation architects, structural engineers, and heritage specialists to maintain authenticity and ensure the success of the project. 6. conclusion and broader implications this study highlights the potential of adaptive reuse as a strategic tool in preserving cultural identity while revitalizing historic urban areas. by integrating traditional architectural and decorative elements into contemporary interior functions—such as transforming historical dwellings into cafés—this research demonstrates a viable path for sustainable development that respects heritage. the findings underscore how thoughtful reuse strategies can mitigate environmental impact, reduce renovation costs, and promote economic opportunities through tourism and local engagement at a broader level, the outcomes of this case study support urban policy directions that prioritize heritage conservation within development frameworks. policymakers are encouraged to adopt flexible regulations that facilitate the adaptive reuse of historic buildings while ensuring structural safety and cultural authenticity. moreover, the study advocates for community-based heritage planning that actively involves local artisans, residents, and institutions in shaping the future of historic neighborhoods. such inclusive approaches not only safeguard physical structures but also reinforce collective memory and social cohesion, ensuring that heritage remains a living, dynamic component of the urban fabric. shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 23 acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the conservation of architectural heritage (cah) conference –8th edition, which was held on the 17th 19th of september 2024. i would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of this study. special thanks are extended to palestine polytechnic university, college of engineering, for their valuable collaboration during the building survey phase and for providing technical support, including lifting equipment. i am particularly grateful to engineer ahmed al-harbawi for his generous assistance. i also acknowledge the efforts of the engineers who participated in the architectural documentation and surveying process: hatem al-karki, azzeddine ashour, and amin muharama. heartfelt thanks go to qusay abu al-feila, haroun atarda, noura al-nazir, and others who supported the data collection and field surveys. appreciation is also due to engineer nahla dandis for her valuable insights, and to the café owners who warmly welcomed us and shared essential information that enriched the research. funding declaration. this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals.” ethics approval. this study was conducted independently and did not involve any procedures requiring formal institutional ethics approval. all participants were informed about the nature of the research and participated voluntarily. no personally identifiable information was collected, and all data were gathered anonymously. the research was carried out by recognized ethical standards and posed no risk to participants. conflict of interest. the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. references abu hilal, a. (2009). the changing architectural style realized in the palestinian domestic vernacular architecture during the end of 19th / beginning of the 20th centuries – case study from hebron volume i (doctoral dissertation). middle east technical university. abu-alfudl, h. f. (1998). eadat tawzif al-mabani al-qadima [adaptive reuse of old buildings] (unpublished master’s thesis). faculty of fine arts, alexandria university. ahmed, h. t. (2022). rehabilitation and utilization of architectural heritage for preservation from deterioration factors. international design journal, 12(1). al-ja’ba et al.,. (2007). the palestinian heritage site: the old city of hebron. palestinian journeys. al-hadi, h. a.-s., & al-rumaih, r. a. j. (2017). reusing historical and archaeological buildings (with value) as an approach to preserving them. international science and technology journal, 9, 1–20. atmeh, m. (2007). rehabilitation of historic buildings in palestine: a case study: the experience of nablus city since 1994 (master's thesis). an-najah national university. awad, j. (2008). experience in preserving architectural heritage in palestine. journal of science and technology, 13(1). babor, d., & plian, d. (2008). maintenance planning for historic buildings. buletinul institutului politehnic din iași. badran, a. e. (2017). architecture in israel: space design, making, and tectonics in palestinian impacts of the israeli project (doctoral dissertation). cardiff university, welsh school of architecture. basir, n. m. (2004, december 6–8). environmental evaluation of design: comfort and suitability as a fundamental element. first international conference on heritage, globalization, and urban environment. briney, a. (2020, january 22). the importance of historic preservation. humanities – geography. bshara, k. (2015, may 10). the art of architecture and urban planning in palestine: hostage to domination, destruction, and mismanagement. published as part of the paljourneys timeline series. retrieved from https://www.paljourneys.org/ar/timeline feilden, b. m. (2003). conservation of historic buildings (3rd ed.). architectural press. katiba, n. (2018). the historic alleys in the ancient city of hebron: between the years 1967–1987 ad. hebron: hebron municipality. mohsen, f. a. (2019, march). design standards for repurposing heritage buildings to achieve sustainability principle: a case study of al-ghouri complex. journal of architecture, arts, and humanities (mjaah). shaded / proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 24 pasha, c. p. t., dewi, c., & djamaluddin, m. (2021). adaptive reuse of old houses as coffee shop: environmental and spatial aspects. the 5th international conference on rebuilding place, iop conference series: earth and environmental science, 881, 012046. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/881/1/012046 raba’, ismail hassan ibrahim. (2004). planning and rehabilitation of the historical core (old town) in al-dhahiriya (master’s thesis, supervised by dr. khaled qamhiyyeh, faculty of graduate studies, an-najah national university, nablus, palestine), p. 19. ryńska, e. d. (2008). rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings in poland. conference paper, faculty of architecture, warsaw university of technology. shams el-din, h. a. i. (2021). documentation of the custom of completing and reconstructing destroyed monuments from old documents using 3d models. journal of the general union of arab archaeologists, 24, 70–85. doi: 10.21608/cguaa.2021.60833.1077. stationery office. (2004). guidelines for planning authorities: architectural heritage protection. government of ireland. interviews engineer noha dandees, reconstruction committee, march 2024, hebron. mr. talib al-zaru, january 2024. mr. zaid al-rajabi, owner of zikra café, february 2024. mr. and mrs. mona abu asneina yasser duweik, owners of café bouvardio, february 2024 engineer hatem al-muhtasib, project engineer, february 2024. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/881/1/012046 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 1 research paper received:2 august 2025, accepted: 20 october 2025, published online: 31 october 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i4.1227 the pilot project: beirut and its port ali chahrour 1order of engineers and architects (oea) – beirut, lebanon 2université catholique de louvain – brussels, belgium abstract located in the heart of the city, the port of beirut has always been designed to be open to the city. the port-city relationship has evolved over the years, going from a phoenician village with a small coastal shipping port, to a strategic port for the ottoman city founded in beirut. after the capitalist movement, the port was privatized and disconnected from the city, working as a private entity under the supervision of the government and obstructing the city's access to the sea. after the explosion of the port of beirut in august 2020, the question of recovering the portcity relationship is once again discussed as part of a global vision for the reconstruction of the port. the pilot project consists of recovering the port-city relationship through an urban regeneration approach. the work will include intervening in the territory of the port area and studying the problems presented by this area and the different interfaces between the port and the city. the ambition is to propose a strategy that can ensure a connection between the port and the city, through an urban design proposal, and lead to the creation of a new image of the waterfront of the port area. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords port-city relationship, the port of beirut, port area, interfaces, connection, waterfront ; 1. introduction beirut, the capital of lebanon, is a dynamic mediterranean city known for its rich historical, cultural, and economic heritage. strategically located at the crossroads between east and west, beirut has served as a hub for commerce and exchange for millennia. its development has long been intertwined with that of its port, which has played a pivotal role in shaping the city's morphology, identity, and economic function. from its origins as a small phoenician settlement with a modest harbor, beirut evolved into a modern urban center, with the port continuously expanding to accommodate the city's changing needs and regional importance. throughout history, successive civilizations— phoenician, roman, ottoman, and french, among others—have left their imprint on the spatial and functional organization of the port and its adjacent urban areas. this close relationship between the city and its port fostered a mutual process of growth, where trade, migration, and infrastructure development contributed to beirut’s transformation into a key node in the mediterranean. the port was historically designed to integrate with the city: transport systems, free zones, and logistical services linked the harbor to residential and commercial districts, facilitating the flow of goods and people. however, in recent decades, this relationship has deteriorated. today, the port is physically and functionally disconnected from the urban fabric, isolated behind concrete barriers (figure 1). https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i4.1227&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ chahrour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 the devastating explosion at the port of beirut in august 2020 not only exposed the fragility of the port's infrastructure but also reopened the debate about its future role (dubeissy, sadek, daccache, 2022). in the aftermath, urban planners, architects, and policymakers have proposed various initiatives for its reconstruction, many of which highlight the need to reintegrate the port into the city and reconsider its urban role (figure. 2). this context gives rise to a central research question: how can the lost relationship between beirut and its port be reestablished through an urban regeneration approach that integrates economic function with civic and spatial integration? figure 1: beirut port, 2022. (source: dreamstime.com) figure 2: proposal for the reconstruction of the port by the order of architects. (source: britishcouncil.org.lb) 2. general overview of the city and the port the port of beirut has played a foundational role in shaping the development and identity of lebanon’s capital. strategically located on the eastern mediterranean, its naturally sheltered harbor has long attracted settlement and trade. from antiquity to the present day, the port has been both a witness to and a driver of beirut’s urban transformations. beirut’s origins are rooted in maritime tradition (verdeil, faour, hamze 2019). the site, once a modest canaanite settlement known as biruta, evolved into a key phoenician city-state. as a node in the expansive phoenician trade network, biruta’s bay became an active port, anchoring its position within the ancient mediterranean world. roman colonization in 14 bce marked a significant urban shift, as the city was restructured under the name colonia julia augusta felix berytus. the roman grid plan—with its central axes, the cardo maximus and decumanus— reflected imperial urban order (blackwell 1971) (figure 3). centuries later, under intermittent ottoman rule from the 16th to the 19th centuries, the city experienced both neglect and revival. after cycles of destruction and stagnation, it was only by the mid-19th century—particularly from 1867 onward—that the port began to modernize. the construction of the first quay in 1887, later known as the “ottoman quay” (figure 4), signaled a shift toward infrastructural investment and maritime expansion. chahrour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 following the collapse of the ottoman empire, beirut entered the french mandate period (1920–1943). this era marked accelerated urbanization and an expanding port infrastructure. the city began to stretch further toward the sea, establishing new relationships between land and water, city and port (arnaud,2013) (figures 5, figure 6). by the 1960s, beirut was at the height of its prosperity. political stability, infrastructural development (including the construction of grain silos), and modernization policies under president fouad chehab catalyzed the port’s territorial and economic expansion (mansour, 2021). yet this expansion came at a cost. the port gradually withdrew from the urban fabric, becoming an increasingly enclosed industrial zone. the construction of the charles helou viaduct in 1968 exacerbated this disconnection. what was once a space of exchange and accessibility became physically and symbolically estranged from the city it had shaped. the viaduct, now a prominent urban barrier, severed historical pedestrian and visual access between the port and beirut’s central districts. (figure 7, figure 8) the outbreak of the lebanese civil war in 1975 brought this period of growth to an abrupt end. fifteen years of conflict devastated the city, obliterating its downtown core and crippling port infrastructure. the rail system ceased operations entirely, and the port—once the city’s pulse—fell silent (laugenie, 1956). in the post-war years, the solidere reconstruction project sought to revitalize the city center. however, rather than reintegrating the port into the urban landscape, the project further marginalized it. the redevelopment occupied the first basin—the only part of the port still open to the city—and reinforced a vision of the port as a closed, monofunctional economic enclave. the waterfront became a backdrop for speculative urbanism, not a space of public engagement. (figure. 9) figure 3: berytus plan (source: persee.fr) figure 4: the port following the works of 1886 (source: author) figure 5: overview of the port and immediate clearances.(source: persee.fr) figure 6: beirut port 1967 (source: plus961.blo) chahrour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 the 2020 explosion at the port of beirut was not only a humanitarian catastrophe but also a violent revelation of the fragility, opacity, and dysfunction embedded in lebanon’s urban governance. (figure. 10) the destruction of port infrastructure, including the silos, reignited critical discourse around reconstruction, memory, and the city-port relationship ( beirut urban lab 2020). in the aftermath, a flurry of speculative proposals emerged— academic, governmental, and institutional. yet many of these visions, detached from local needs and historical continuity, were utopian in nature. they often ignored the socio-cultural complexity of the port and its surrounding neighborhoods. while some called for full-scale urban regeneration, they failed to acknowledge the symbolic and material significance of the port within beirut’s collective memory. on march 13, 2024, the lebanese state officially adopted a reconstruction plan led by a french consortium (national news agency, 2024). the project entails the rehabilitation of damaged docks, restructuring of the internal road network, and the renovation of the passenger terminal—excluding the container terminal, the first basin, and the blast zone (sallon, 2024) (figure 11). however, this approach remains deeply disappointing. it reaffirms the port’s status as a fenced-off logistics zone, disregarding the need for a renewed city-port dialogue and failing to address the broader urban and social context. yet the port, occupying nearly 1.2 km² of prime waterfront, remains inaccessible. districts such as gemmayzeh, mar mikhael, rmeil, and karantina are spatially and functionally severed from the sea. the only remaining public edge— the corniche—bears the weight of a city starved for open space. beirut suffers from a chronic lack of green and public areas. post-1950s urban growth prioritized concrete expansion over civic life. existing green spaces are largely privatized, poorly maintained, or entirely inaccessible. nowadays, cities are working to become more resilient, encouraging sustainable urban projects. a study of european capitals found paris at the very low end of green cover, with only about 9.5% of city land dedicated to public green figure 7: section showing viaduct charles helou in the 60’s source: author figure 8: viaduct charles helou source: mascontext.com figure 9: solidere plan 1992 (source: rnz.co.nz) figure 10 the port silos 2021. (source: books.openedition.org ) https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/422850/beirut-port-officials-under-house-arrest-as-rescue-efforts-continue chahrour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 space— significantly below the european average of ~30%, while paris hosts over 421 municipal parks and gardens, covering more than 3,000 hectares and featuring over 250,000 trees. the corniche remains the city's most vibrant public space—a narrow margin of breathing room in an overbuilt environment. (figure 12) transport infrastructure further compounds the city’s fragmentation. since the civil war, rail services have ceased, and public transportation has become informal, chaotic, and inefficient. the charles helou bus station, once a vital node, has declined into disuse. meanwhile, the port’s internal road network remains restricted, serving only its logistical functions. the silos, partially demolished in 2022, remain a site of contention. while political actors debate their fate— demolition versus preservation—many citizens and institutions, including the order of engineers and architects, have called for their transformation into a public memorial. as physical witnesses to the blast, the silos have acquired a symbolic gravitas that transcends their industrial function. the first basin, historically the most porous interface between the city and the port, is now occupied by the lebanese navy. once a continuation of the ottoman quay and the maritime corniche, it has become another fenced zone, closed off from public life. (figure 13) figure 11: the french reconstruction project. (source: worldcargonews.com) figure 12: beirut’s maritime corniche (source: 365daysoflebanon.com) figure 13 the first basin 2019 (source: shutterstock.com) figure 14: the piazza of beirut from the pilot project (source: author) https://www.worldcargonews.com/news/2024/03/lebanese-and-french-officials-unveil-beirut-port-reconstruction-plan/ chahrour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 3. the pilot project. the pilot project was developed as part of a master’s thesis in urban planning at the catholic university of louvain in brussels, belgium. this work is the result of a structured methodological process carried out in several stages. the research started in march 2023 with an initial study entitled “the port of beirut, the lost heart”, which provided a foundational understanding of the port’s historical development and its relationship with the city of beirut. building upon this preliminary investigation, and on bibliographic resources from the library of the catholic university of louvain in brussels as well as various online sources, a series of maps was produced to illustrate the different historical phases of the city and its port. in a subsequent phase, an on-site visit was undertaken to gain a comprehensive understanding of the urban context surrounding the port area. this fieldwork included multiple explorations of the site, the production of hand-drawn sketches based on landscape observations, and a series of interviews conducted with key stakeholders. these included representatives from the port administration, the lebanese army, the ministry of transport and public works in lebanon, and residents of the port-adjacent neighborhoods. the insights gathered through these interviews were instrumental in shaping the project's conceptual framework and deepening the understanding of the current socio-spatial dynamics. given that the port's reconstruction will follow the plan proposed by the french authorities, the pilot project seeks to respond to existing urban and infrastructural challenges by developing an intervention that addresses the city's needs while accommodating the operational realities of the port. the proposed strategy is structured around three main axes: 3.1. intervention at urban-port interfaces. the first strategy involves targeted interventions at critical urban-port interfaces, particularly in the gemmayzeh district and along the charles helou viaduct. these areas have been identified as potential connectors between the city and the port. the proposal entails the transformation of these interfaces into accessible public spaces that respond to the spatial and social needs of the adjacent dense urban fabric. additionally, the charles helou viaduct will be reconfigured to incorporate new urban functions, as identified by municipal demands, thereby enhancing its role as a transitional space between the city and the port. 3.2. activation of the port entrance and adjacent spaces. the second strategy focuses on leveraging the zones located at the entrance of the port. this includes a proposed intervention on the quay currently occupied by the military, aimed at creating a new access point linking the port, the charles helou viaduct, and the central business district. this phase envisions the conversion of abandoned or underutilized spaces into public squares, thereby laying the groundwork for an interconnected spatial network. one of the key nodes within this network is the proposed “port square,” situated in front of the main port entrance. this space will serve as a key junction, connecting the port with both the charles helou viaduct and the maritime corniche extending from beirut square. beirut square, positioned on the historic quay of the old port, is currently characterized by partial military occupation and neglected green areas. the project proposes the transformation of this space into a public park through which the maritime corniche will pass. the remaining portion, currently under military control, will be redeveloped into a multifunctional public square capable of accommodating urban events and extending the corniche. (figure.14) this intervention aims to reestablish the connection between the city center and the waterfront through beirut square. 3.3. internal port connectivity and maritime transport integration. the third strategy entails interventions within the port itself to enable pedestrian continuity and functional integration between the newly established public spaces and the existing passenger terminal. this will be achieved by repurposing segments of the port's internal road network not included in the french redevelopment plan. the long-term vision is to integrate the port into the city’s daily life and mobility systems. accordingly, the passenger terminal will no longer serve solely as a departure point for international cruise travel, but will also facilitate domestic maritime transport. chahrour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 the pilot project introduces a coastal transportation system, a network of taxi boats that will connect multiple lebanese coastal cities, enabling daily intercity commuting by sea. the section of the port through which the maritime corniche passes is designated in the french plan as an investment zone for international companies, rather than a logistical or storage area. (figure.15) consequently, security concerns previously a barrier to port-city integration are significantly mitigated in this context. the corniche is thus conceptualized as a connective spine traversing the port area and linking future commercial developments within these currently vacant plots. through the integration of the aforementioned strategies, the project establishes a comprehensive framework aimed at reconnecting the port with the broader urban context. this is achieved via the development of a continuous maritime corniche, the creation of interconnected public squares, and the rehabilitation of key infrastructural elements such as the charles helou viaduct. (figure.16) the intervention also facilitates the re-opening of the city center to the sea, a connection historically severed by the solidere embankment. the reestablished linkage between beirut square, the port square, and the maritime corniche redefines the port as an accessible and active urban interface. yet, these urban strategies could surely face obstacles from the governmental power taking over the decision of the future of the area. 4. conclusion “connect the city and its port”, “enter the port”, “recover the city-port lost relationship.” all these titles define the general intention of this project, which will aim to use potential spaces identified in the urban analysis as project levers, through which we will create the connection between the city and its port. the project will have as ambition to offer city dwellers, and especially residents of the city center area, new public spaces, as well as dynamic accessibility to the port. in other words, the project must respond to the different problems studied, such as the lack of public spaces, transportation, and the daily needs of city dwellers, in considering the french port reconstruction project. this project established a network of connections with the ultimate goal of integrating the port with the broader urban fabric through its maritime façade, newly created public squares, and the rehabilitated viaduct. it also aims to reorient the city center toward the sea, thereby revitalizing the city’s urban heritage through a renewed relationship with the port. “how to get the relationship back lost between the port and the city” remains a question with multiple dimensions. this ambitious project should be a starting point for a new way of living in the city, while encouraging the construction of public spaces and imposing new means of transportation that reduce congestion and pollution, so that the city can jump to another level. it will be the first stone of a future global planning vision of the urban territory of all cities in lebanon. this lets us see this project as the “pilot project”, while hoping that it will be followed by other projects which will serve the city. figure 15: the corniche inside the port. (source: author) figure 16: the new waterfront from the pilot project (source: author) chahrour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 acknowlegements the abstract of this paper was presented at the cities’ identity through architecture & arts (citaa) conference – 9th edition, which was held on the 8th 11th of october 2025. first of all, i would like to thank everyone who helped me develop this project. i would like to express all my gratitude to my workshop teachers, mr. jean-philippe de visscher, mr. basile descheemaeker, and mrs. chiara cavalieri, for their support and help throughout the last year of university. i would also like to express my sincere thanks to my expert, ms. rana dubeissy, for her advice, her availability, and her expertise on my subject. and finally, i would like to thank the ierek – international experts for research enrichment and knowledge exchange team for giving me the chance to present this project at this year’s cities’ identity through architecture and arts (citaa) conference, which will be held in aswan, egypt. funding declaration this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals under this section, if your manuscript didn’t receive any external funding. ethics approval the author took full ethics approval from uclouvain research ethics committee (cer uclouvain) conflict of interest the author declares that there is no competing interest references arnaud, jean-luc (2013). “beirut and its territories”. beirut: presses de l’ifpo. url: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01676661/ dubeissy rana, sadek habib et daccache maroun (2022): beirut urban declaration. beirut: order of engineers and architects. url: https://www.britishcouncil.org.lb/en/programmes/arts/ beirut-urban-declaration verdeil eric, faour ghaleb et hamze mouin (2019). atlas of lebanon. presse de l’ifpo. url: https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/13178 beirut urban lab (2020). initiatives in response to the beirut blast. beirut urban lab.:https://www.beiruturbanlab.com url:https://www.beiruturbanlab.com/en/details/680/for-an-inclusive-and-just-urban-recovery-for-post-blast-beirut blackwell wiley (1971). a companion to the hellinistic and roman near east, durham university, uk. url: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs03517033/document&ved=2ahukewjnsv_gukofaxvcgp0hhv0ldtsqfnoecbuqaq&usg=aovvaw14angsn8ewc19r608ux45z sallon hélène (2024). france unveils plan to rebuild beirut port: a proposal prepared by engineering firms artelia and egis calls for investments of between $50 million and $80 million. le monde. url:https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2024/03/14/france-unveilsplan-to-rebuild-beirut-port_6619093_19.html national news agency (2024). hamieh: beirut port reconstruction relies on port revenues, invites investments. national news agency. https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb url: https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/economy/581113/hamieh-discusses-beirut-port-s-reconstruction-plan mansour radwan (2021). beirut port over the years, plus961. url: https://plus961.blog/2021/01/29/beirut-port-over-the-years/ laugenie jean, the port of beyrouth (1956), revue de géographie de lyon, pp.271-294. url:https://www.persee.fr/doc/geoca_0035113x_1956_num_31_4_2117#geoca_0035-113x_1956_num_31_4_t1_0279_0000 list of figures sources : 1beirut port 2022. source: https://www.dreamstime.com/aerial-view-beirut-city-lebanon-drone-shot-beirutport-beirut-aerial-view-beirut-city-lebanon-drone-shot-beirut-image163510897 2proposal for the reconstruction of the port by the order of architects . source: https://www.britishcouncil.org.lb/en/programmes/arts/beirut-urban-declaration 3berytus plan. source: author 4the port following the works of 1886. source: https://www. persee.fr/doc/geoca_0035113x_1956_num_31_4_2117#geoca_0035-113x_1956_ num_31_4_t1_0279_0000 5overview of the port and immediate clearances. source: www.persee.fr/doc/geoca_0035113x_1956_num_31_4_2117#geoca_0035 113x_1956_num_31_4_t1_0279_0000 6beirut port 1967. source: https:// plus961.blog/2021/01/29/beirut-port-over-the-years/ https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/ https://www.persee.fr/doc/geoca_0035-113x_1956_num_31_4_2117#geoca_0035-113x_1956_num_31_4_t1_0279_0000 https://www.persee.fr/doc/geoca_0035-113x_1956_num_31_4_2117#geoca_0035-113x_1956_num_31_4_t1_0279_0000 chahrour/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 7section showing viaduct charles helou in the 60’s. source: author 8viaduct charles helou. source: https://mascontext.com/issues/conflict/under-the-bridge 9solidere plan 1992. source: https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/13304 10the port silos 2021. source: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/422850/beirut-port-officials-under-housearrest-as-rescue-efforts-continue 11the french reconstruction project. source: https://www.worldcargonews.com/news/2024/03/lebanese-andfrench-officials-unveil-beirut-port-reconstruction-plan/ 12beirut’s maritime corniche. source: https://365daysoflebanon.com/2016/03/17/our-beloved-corniche/ 13the first basin 2019. source: https://www.shutterstock.com/video/search/downtown-beirut-lebanon 14the piazza of beirut from the pilot project. source: author 15the corniche inside the port. source: author 16the new waterfront from the pilot project. source: author https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/422850/beirut-port-officials-under-house-arrest-as-rescue-efforts-continue https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/422850/beirut-port-officials-under-house-arrest-as-rescue-efforts-continue https://www.worldcargonews.com/news/2024/03/lebanese-and-french-officials-unveil-beirut-port-reconstruction-plan/ https://www.worldcargonews.com/news/2024/03/lebanese-and-french-officials-unveil-beirut-port-reconstruction-plan/ https://www.shutterstock.com/video/search/downtown-beirut-lebanon http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication pg. 1 implementing the use of ai for analysis and prediction in the fashion industry luri renaningtyas1, putri dwitasari2, nugrahardi ramadhani2 1head of fashion laboratory at fashion design and textile program, visual communication design department, petra christian university surabaya, indonesia 2visual communication design department, institut teknologi sepuluh nopember, surabaya, indonesia abstract the covid-19 pandemic has made all aspects of human life assisted by technology and big data. it starts from the education sector, economy, communication, health, and manufacturing to fashion. as we all know fast fashion has become one of the most significant contributors of waste. during the flow of developing a collection, for example; the production and distribution process can cause ethical issues and contradict sustainability matters. several studies from 2010 to date have initiated ai (artificial intelligent) technology, a computer vision that alleviates the use of carbon footprints in the fashion industry. ai presents robust evidence to the audience, since it is visual and statically calculated, furthermore it is less costly and energy saving. ai abstracts the similarities or differences across all clothing and collections from the dataset. its implementation can be used in many fashion careers with different purposes. by reviewing across the computer vision journals complemented with fashion management literatures, this article eventually provides insights of the implementation of ai for analysis and prediction from fashion photos or dataset. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords ai; implementation; fashion industry 1. introduction since the covid pandemic, the use of ai technology has grown rapidly and penetrated all aspects of human life, including fashion. the fashion industry is one of the most volatile and rapidly changing because it always follows trends and consumer demands. this results in a lot of fabric waste due to overproduction or under production. leanne luce explained that the use of ai in analyzing and predicting trends, stock quantities, demand forecasting, and providing recommendations can minimize overproduction or underproduction of clothing so that it becomes more environmentally friendly. this article summarizes computer science journals to explain some examples of computer science implementations sharpened by other literature in terms of fashion management. this article is explained in simple language to be understand by the commoner, and fashion industry players from fashion designers to researchers. as nishant and hilary mason explained, the existence of ai in the end does not necessarily replace humans to analyze and predict, but is able to target areas that are more complex and difficult for humans to reach (nishant, 2020). however, until now, ai technology is still being developed by researchers, so there are many approaches and methods that sometimes overlap among computer science journals which are summarized, but the efficiency of its sustainable application is the quintessence of this article. this article focuses on computer vision with machine learning. http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ luri renaningtyas, putri dwitasari, nugrahardi ramadhani/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 1.1. ai, computer vision, ml dan deep learning the terms ai, computer vision, ml and deep learning are often used interchangeably. luce stated that ai itself imitates the working of the human brain and is a part of the whole which includes machine learning and deep learning (luce, 2018). the term can be analogous to a russian egg doll, when the outermost doll is opened, inside there is a smaller doll, and when it is opened there is another doll inside, and so on (figure 1.1 point a). machine learning has the ability to produce output through training by inputting data information, hereinafter referred to as figure 1.1 knowing ai and how it works: explanation of the terms ai, ml and dl adapted from leanne luce's book p. 5(a); ml training process summary from vladimir nasteski: an overview of the supervised machine learning methods, liviu ciortuz: machine learning and budi s: machine learning model training process in general in the indonesia learning channel (b); (c) the application of image b on the deepfashion dataset (zi wei liu) adapted from https://otomasi.sv.ugm.ac.id/2018/10/11/sejarah-singkat-tangan-machine-learning/ 'model', while deep learning requires a lot of data to train the model to be able to answer the query data. computer vision is ml that use deep learning to analyze visual data. in this case, thousands of photos of people with clothes, both from online shops and street photos, can be used by cv as sample data for analysis. as stated by ayodele, ml is divided into 3 categories; supervised, unsupervised, which are commonly used for object detection, analysis and prediction. as well as reinforcement learning whose applications are often found in robot vacuum cleaners or automatic cars. cv is commonly used in the fashion industry because cv performs visual data analysis with algorithmic methods (ayodele, 2010). the way cv sees visual data is different from humans, a photo for example is seen as a pattern arrangement of algorithmic numbers. in figure 1.1 point b, the training set is used to produce a trained model, the model must be tested first to find out whether the model is able to analyze the data according to what was trained. the whole process is called machine learning. in point c, the model is able to recognize the object in a fashion photo, whether the object is skinny jeans or not, because the model receives input data (blue color) since skinny jeans have different features compared to shorts, midi skirts or t-shirts. the model subsequently capable of detecting the photo as a skinny jeans (green). 2. data collection 2.1. related works leanne luce in her book "artificial intelligence for fashion: how ai is revolutionizing the fashion industry" (luce, 2018) describes the benefits of using ai in the fashion industry, underlying this research. leanne lists areas in the fashion industry that ai can be leveraged more efficiently and economically, for example demand forecasting purposes. ai helps predict what styles consumers will prefer next year. this means manufacturers can anticipate overproduction or underproduction and save the landfill for more toxic waste. (more details in point 4). however, leanne luce talks about ai globally, such as visual search, smart mirrors, trend forecasting, virtual reality, augmented reality to robots, while this article specifically discusses cv and ml using fashion datasets (deepfashion). the author summarizes and categorizes various types of ml analysis and prediction skills started with ziad al-hala's writing. ziad al-halah mentions various ml implementations in analyzing and predicting visual data; landmark detection, learning fashion attributes, cross-domain fashion retrieval, body shape and size based fashion suggestions, virtual tryon, clothing recommendation, visual brand analysis, and discovering fashion styles (al-halah et al., 2020). ziad's writing is used as the author's reference portal to other computer science journals which are summarized to explain the implementation of ml. sometimes in one journal with another, the implementation of ml is described overlapping, considering that ml has many methods for the same output or one journal can be related to other journals because it continues or refutes the same research before. luri renaningtyas, putri dwitasari, nugrahardi ramadhani/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 − deepfashion dan data set seeing how machine learning works in figure 1.1 point b, dataset is the training material to form the model. deepfashion is a data set specifically made for fashion analytic needs, containing a collection of photos classified by type of garment or style, such as jeans, tie dye t-shirts, or baby doll dress styles. to be able to detect 'jeans' from thousands of photos on instagram, for example, a model is trained with deep fashion, then, with algorithms and the use of statistics, one can discover the next jeans trending. the use of the same data set with different algorithms and statistics can analyze and predict trends or industry needs within the management process utilize minimal human intervention, from research to distribution. − sustainable fashion the fashion industry is the largest contributor to pollution and waste in the world, therefore this industry should apply sustainability to every stage of its production process, starting from r&d, manufacturing and distribution. according to chan, sustainability initiatives are needed in every managerial step of fast fashion namely sustainable operation management or circular scm (chan et al., 2022). chan states that if trend prediction or demand forecasting is done in an inappropriate way, it will result in overproduction, prior to leanne luce previously stated. overproduction not only dissipate scarce natural resources, it is also render carbon footprint during production, and pollute water and soil. khakurel, et al. describes the implementation of ai bring out economic acceleration in the developed world, for example ml for object detection. basically object detection annotates the photos the same way humans do, but when it comes to thousands of photos, it can perform faster and more efficient than human annotation. the more data, the more accurate and vivid depicted to the public. companies can save or may no longer spend on outsourcing in service or production and employee living costs because they can take advantage of ai to replace the outsourcing, so the company gets more benefits. furthermore it should be able to make the selling price of the product turn low (khakurel et al., 2018). 3. methods this research is an introduction to ai and how it can be implemented in the fashion industry, as a green alternative compared to the prevalent one. it is necessary to review the literature from three scientific sides, namely from computer science, fashion management, and fashion and sustainability. all the literature then confirmed and extracted to reinforce ai implementation in fashion industry becoming more sustainable. one journal and one computer science book as a baseline to determine which computer science journals and books are used amongst existing computer science literature. the literatures explain how ai works, while the fashion management literatures lead to the production flow to distribution of fast fashion of which ai is implemented in the process. furthermore, with the sustainability literature, it shows to what extent the implementation of ai can be considered as a green alternative, especially for scm flow in the fast fashion businesses. luri renaningtyas, putri dwitasari, nugrahardi ramadhani/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 chart 3.1 flow of thought to describe the implementation of ai in the fashion industry as a sustainable alternative. 4. cv implementation for a more sustainable fashion industry chart 4.1 scm fashion flow chart adapted from edit dr. csanák in his writing entitled eco-friendly concepts and ethical movement in the fashion industry. ai helps on the bolded process. the following is the implementation of cv as a more sustainable alternative from the producer and consumer perspective by looking at the fast fashion supply chain management workflow above (csanák, 2014). − object detection cv model is tested to be able to analyze photos of someone wearing clothes or accessories. as a result, it is able to recognize the similarities or disperancy in the garments and clothing collections found among the photos adequately (jia et al., 2018) why is a skirt different from a t-shirt, for instance. researchers can even add text to the training set to increase the model's ability to detect the object, for example a photo of a skirt with a text description (berg et al., 2010) shown in figure 4.1 point b. machine learning algorithms are also able to recognize faux leather skirts by their attributes and are able to distinguish them from t-shirts or shoes. the model can also detect where the skirt is based on the area, the ratio of the length or the width based on the area of the upper and lower body (bossard et al., 2012). at the same time the model can display the level of confidence or how accurately the model recognizes the skirt, good image quality will certainly increase the level of accuracy of ml in detecting an object, compared to low res photos. example: google lens or pinterest in figure 4.3 point b. image to sentences ml or vice versa (farhadi et al., 2010) can be used for image search engines when customers want to find the clothes they want. customers only need to enter the query in the search engine, as soon as recommendations for the desired clothing photos appear, the results of the ml analysis process (more on style luri renaningtyas, putri dwitasari, nugrahardi ramadhani/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 prediction in the next point). in chart 4.1 of the design process, object detection helps the r&d of a collection, detecting the most emerging and trending styles, as well as style live cycle over a certain period of time. aside from being a trend forecaster, this is also one of the feedback analyzes needed by designer and manufacturer to take the next anticipation from underproduction or overproduction. the company's anticipatory steps will have an effect on costing (more on point 2 of the sustainable fashion section). figure 4.1 simulation of object detection recognizing faux leather skirt and its attributes (a). text descriptions are added to the training set to improve the model's ability to detect objects in more detail (b) and figure c is an example of implementing style prediction, namely baby doll dress style and wedding style. image source: deepfashion − clothing category and classification deepfashion is used by liu (liu et al., 2016) to train a model that can perform robust analysis in categoryzing and classifiying objects. models sort by category, from thousands of photos into 5 categories of clothing such as rompers, hoodies, skirts, jackets, jeans with their attributes. there are 5 groups of attributes, namely texture, fabric, style, shape and part. examples for textures are striped, floral, polka-dotted. example for baseball style; sporty, girly, etc. the combination based on the type of clothing with its attributes, is a romper with lace, a loose hoodie with graphic writing, and so on. − style prediction & clothing recommendation similar to what liu did, the model from lukas and chen (chen et al., 2012) the model predict what the user wants, for example, someone wants to find a suitable clothes for a wedding, then ai will display photos a fashion photo with a wedding label with a combination of style and attributes, namely “white dress” because it refers to a “wedding event.” this is implemented on search engines like google, even further users are allowed to modify search keywords, immediately the image that appears will adjust. users may remove words from the keyword set that are not used and replace them with others as they wish, so that the search can be more interactive, as explained by zhao (zhao et al., 2017). there are many ways of object detection, other model developed by vasileios choutas named shapy combine semantic description according to body shape such as pear, muscular, tall, skinny arms to improve 3d annotation to get a fine grain object detection, sometimes in photos people wearing clothes that covers the body, make it difficult to provide shape cues (choutas et al., 2022), as well as the model developed by al-halah called ‘style dynamic’ which is able to find and analyze style cycles within a certain time (al-halah et al., 2020). what styles are trends and what no longer popular (figure 4.2). this historical data that is very important for fashion brands or manufacturer to determine the design of the next collection. this anticipation is considered as a sustainable step. a green step for the fashion industry is to leverage ml's ability to recommend new items into a mix of outfits to bridge fashion designers and manufacturers. ml is a model that visualizes consumer fashion tastes where the sample making process by producers is usually done manually with great effort but ml can be automated, faster and cut a lot of production costs, for example trendage.com (zou et al., 2018). consumers shopping at online shops get automatic recommendations about the most suitable piece to wear and the mix and match seems personal. ml is able to map the 'latent' appearance of the user (yu et al., 2019), this works well as a marketing strategy for fashion brands to target their consumers. luri renaningtyas, putri dwitasari, nugrahardi ramadhani/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 figure 4.2 simulation of fashion style cycle analysis results and trend prediction from ai. adapted from ziad al hala's research [5]. ai shows data about certain styles over time, which styles are outdated (a), classic (b), in fashion(c), trending(d), unpopular(e), or (f)re-emerging styles. image source: deepfashion[4] − consumer to shop kiapor and huang (kiapor et al., 2015), made a model that looks for similarities from consumer photos compare to online shop photos (huang et al.,2015). figure 4.3 is an example of its implementation, if someone searches for a product from online shopping with a photo reference from their cellphone, the user will know where to buy the piece from the shop they are aiming for, considering that the online shop image is photographed in adequate lighting conditions, while photos of users were taken under uncontrolled situation. relying on ai like the viral zara jeans phenomenon in the picture is one of the efficient marketing strategies because it saves promotion costs. figure 4.3 an example of implementation from consumer to shop (a) zara high waisted ripped jeans far left is a photo from an online shop while the next two photos are from consumers, and (b) is an example of implementing a clothing recommendation from google lens looking for similar jeans. image source: google.com − virtual try on when the consumer is in the store, there is a large mirror he looks into that guides him to choose the clothes and size he wants by displaying it in the mirror as if the consumer is wearing it. at the same time, brands will use it to market their products within the available stocks in the store. this new way of marketing easily invites consumers to make a purchase, for example the amazon echo look. this made possible by leveraging kripashindu’s model that can rerender from one image to another, with different poses, even from still images to moving images or can be in the form of game applications as discussed earlier in style prediction and clothing recommendation (sarkar et al., 2020). − brand a model can be trained to analyze how the brand is associated by consumers (kim et al., 2013). what consumers think about the brand that influences their decision to buy products or services from that brand. for example, if a consumer wants to find a jacket, he will definitely buy a louis vuitton jacket among other brand, because in the consumer's mind lv is his number one. usually, to discover brand associations, research need to be done manually by distributing questionnaires filled out by consumers as feedback. this method not time efficient and costly, while luri renaningtyas, putri dwitasari, nugrahardi ramadhani/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 with the help of ai it can be done quickly with minimal costs. kim in his article shows that ai provides visual analysis that is easier to imagine than conventional textual analysis. this feedback is very useful for the brand to develop the design of the next collection that will make it stands out and be the number one in the minds of consumers among other brands. how does the brand do it? the model developed by m hadi kiapor detects logo or design cues from fashion photos of several bag brands. it discovers how brands can be recognized by consumers, by showing their logos such as supreme, displaying monograms (logo repetition) such as lv or through designs and color compositions such as bottega veneta (kiapor et al., 2018). 5. conclusions in this era of big data, the use of ai in the fashion industry is still growing in the future. this means that what is written now may have not included developing implementations, but the explanation in this article can provide basic insights about cv or ml in analyzing and predicting. not only for commercial purposes but also as a green alternative. designers or producers can avoid overproduction or under-production because they know what style the next consumer will be interested in. at the same time, the process become more sustainable because it does not need to hire human analytics for r&d or collect feedback from consumer which usually costs time, money and environment destructive. however, since this technology will continue to develop and be premature, for research and engineer created and developed ai responsibly is obligatory to prevent unwanted negative impacts in the future. 6. acknowledge this paper was sponsored by humaniora and creative industry faculty and petra christian university. image data sets are from deepfashion developed by zi wei liu and team. appendix a. deepfashion deepfashion is a dataset developed by zi wei liu from his research in 2016. it consists of a large-scale clothes database and it is non commercial research proposed only. deepfashion contains more than 800,000 fashion images start from enviable shop images to uncontroled consumer photos. deepfashion comprise rich annotation of clothing items. in this dataset, each image is labeled with 50 categories, 1,000 descriptive attributes. deepfashion also have contents over 300,000 cross-domain image pairs. here are the example of deepfashion, some are used in this article in figure 1.1, 4.1, 4.2 shown below: appendix b. shapy shapy is a ml that combines linguistic attributes with 3d shape reconstruction by adding sentences for example “muscular”, “skinny arms”, “long legs”, or “pear shaped”, to capture the real human shape. this model will map different shape representation of human body and can be used in many applications. please visit https://shapy.is.tue.mpg.de/ to find out more. https://shapy.is.tue.mpg.de/ luri renaningtyas, putri dwitasari, nugrahardi ramadhani/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 appendix c. trendage trendage is a company that offers analytical service for brands and retailers by leveraging ml in order to increase their average order values, and upgrade shopping experience. consumers will have the best ecommerce experience with ‘complete the look’ solutions, the automated clothing recommendation with large collection across brands and retails. it cuts off the long process of r&d for brands or retailers that previously done with great effort. trendage provides cross-selling data, also an instant mix and match outfit source for manufacturer to start to build the collection,automates all the marketing strategy to become more efficient and economical. appendix d. other sources a.1. discussion the manufacturing and distribution’s step within the fashion management workflow that potential to ai are discussed and confirmed by practitioner dibya hodi. dibya is a ceo at interim clothing company, and vice chirman of indonesian fashion chamber (ifc). ifc is a non-profit organization that invigorate the fundamental of fashion as part of the creative industry and deliver it to the government, business people, fashion communities, institutions, through workshops, seminars, discussions, or trade fairs. a.2. references from youtube computer science explained by hillary mason in “wired” from entrance to advance level; from an eight years old kid, a teen, a college student, a grad student and an expert. the computer scientist and hidden door cofounder and ceo explained that ml is able to detect and recognized object just like human when trained with information about the object feature, for example to detect a cat or a dog in a picture, ml may learn that a cat usually has particular features than the dog, such as pointy ears, or lean body. furthermore, she mentioned supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement in ml. she also compared ml with human. the explaination in this video provides a vivid picture to understand ml and how it works, this source of information enrich the literture review in section 2. please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q87k1waofi to find out more the general ml training model within a flow chart is explained in indonesia belajar. this channel initiated by setia budi, a lecturer and phd in computer science. the chart showed how ml works in a simple manner that is easier to imagine by commoner. visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykovaq6tyv8 for more information. references khakurel, j., penzenstadler, b., porras, j., knutas, a., & zhang, w. (2018). the rise of artificial intelligence under the lens of sustainability. technologies, 6(4), 100. https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies6040100 nishant, r., kennedy, m., & corbett, j. (2020). artificial intelligence for sustainability: challenges, opportunities, and a research agenda. international journal of information management, 53, 102104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102104 ayodele, t. o. (2010). types of machine learning algorithms. new advances in machine learning. intech. chan, h. l., ren, s., & liu, n. (2022). overview and research agenda for sustainable operations management in fast-fashion era. operations management in the era of fast fashion. springer. luce, l. (2018). artificial intelligence for fashion: how ai is revolutionizing the fashion industry. san fransisco: apress. al-halah, z., & grauman, k. 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(2014). eco-friendly concepts and ethical movements in the fashion industry. in international textile, clothing and design conference—magic world of textiles (pp.1-7). dubrownik, croatia. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283211577_ecofriendly_concepts_and_ethical_movements_in_the_fashion_industry farhadi, a., hejrati, m., sadeghi, m. a., young, p., rashtchian, c., hockenmaier, j., & forsyth, d. (2010). every picture tells a story: generating sentences from images. in european conference on computer vision (pp. 15-29). springer, berlin, heidelberg. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-15561-1_2 hadi kiapour, m., han, x., lazebnik, s., berg, a. c., & berg, t. l. 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(2018). a deep-learning-based fashion attributes detection model. arxiv preprint arxiv:1810.10148. https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.10148 kiapour, m. h., & piramuthu, r. (2018). brand> logo: visual analysis of fashion brands. arxiv preprint arxiv:1810.09941. https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content_eccvw_2018/papers/11131/kiapour_brand__logo_visual_analysis_of_fashion_brands_eccv w_2018_paper.pdf kavlakoglu, e. (2020, may 27). learning vs. deep learning vs. neural networks: what’s the difference?. ibm.com. https://www.ibm.com/cloud/blog/ai-vs-machine-learning-vs-deep-learning-vs-neural-networks liu, z., luo, p., qiu, s., wang, x., & tang, x. (2016). deepfashion: powering robust clothes recognition and retrieval with rich annotations. in proceedings of the ieee conference on computer vision and pattern recognition (pp. 1096-1104). https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content_cvpr_2016/html/liu_deepfashion_powering_robust_cvpr_2016_paper.html nasteski, v. (2017). an overview of the supervised machine learning methods. horizons. b, 4, pp.51-62. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328146111_an_overview_of_the_supervised_machine_learning_methods sarkar, k., mehta, d., xu, w., golyanik, v., & theobalt, c. (2020, august). neural re-rendering of humans from a single image. in european conference on computer vision (pp. 596-613). springer, cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-58621-8_35 wired. (2021, august 18). computer scientist explains machine learning in 5 levels of difficulty [video]. youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q87k1waofi yu, c., hu, y., chen, y., & zeng, b. (2019). personalized fashion design. in proceedings of the ieee/cvf international conference on computer vision (pp. 9046-9055). https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content_iccv_2019/html/yu_personalized_fashion_design_iccv_2019_paper.html zhao, b., feng, j., wu, x., & yan, s. (2017). memory-augmented attribute manipulation networks for interactive fashion search. in proceedings of the ieee conference on computer vision and pattern recognition (pp. 1520-1528). https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content_cvpr_2017/html/zhao_memory-augmented_attribute_manipulation_cvpr_2017_paper.html zou, x., wong, w. k., & mo, d. (2018, june). fashion meets ai technology. in international conference on artificial intelligence on textile and apparel (pp. 255-267). springer, cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-99695-0_31 http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 review article received: 30 october 2024, accepted: 15 january 2025, published online: 31 january 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1145 historic preservation, complexity, and the shadow of monumentality: the case of lutyens’ delhi cem s. kayatekin1 1assistant professor, ie university, school of architecture and design, segovia, spain abstract over the years, the central administrative district of new delhi, known colloquially as lutyens’ delhi, dominantly shaped under the authorship of sir edwin lutyens and sir herbert baker, has been repeatedly called upon to support a wider range of uses and a higher range of densities than it currently houses. in reaction to such calls, arguments of historic preservation and conservation have been recycled in defense of the built environmental status quo within the area. one of the more layered arguments given for such a manner of preservation is that presented by buch (2003) which pulls from a wide breadth of perspectives, ranging from basic arguments of architectural legacy to those which extrapolate connections between the vastu purusha and the masterplan inherent to lutyens’ delhi. this paper is framed as an intrinsic case study into the argument of buch (2003), offering a detailed cross-examination, and by extension refutation, of the various historical and ideological assertions found therein. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords edwin lutyens; lutyens’ delhi; new delhi; built environment; mixed-use 1. introduction approximately six decades ago, jacobs (1961) framed the critical role played by mixed-use conditions within the urban fabric, and the oft-observed bias against them via the conventional discursive domain of urbanism at that time: "‘mixed uses look ugly. they cause traffic congestion. they invite ruinous uses.’ these are some of the bugbears that cause cities to combat diversity. […] they have helped rationalize city rebuilding into the sterile, regimented, empty thing it is. they stand in the way of planning that could deliberately encourage spontaneous diversity by providing the conditions necessary for its growth. intricate minglings of different uses in cities are not a form of chaos. on the contrary, they represent a complex and highly developed form of order” (jacobs 1961, 222). just a little over forty years following jacobs’ (1961) assertion, mahesh neelkanth (hereafter “m.n.”), an urban planner and public servant in india, offered his support of the very urban sterility noted above: “every businessman would like to do business at a location where his clients find it convenient to come, find adequate parking space, and are able to move around conveniently and comfortably from shop to shop. that is the great advantage of american shopping malls. therefore, we must try and plan for redesigning some of the areas which have been destroyed by unplanned mixed land use and create in them commercial complexes which free the rest of the land for more leisurely use” (buch, 2003, pp. 38-39). buch’s (2003) words were written in the context of the central administrative area of new delhi colloquially referred to as lutyens’ new delhi, or more commonly, lutyens’ delhi. this area encapsulates the range of built world https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1145&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 interventions, primarily authored by sir edwin lutyens and sir herbert baker in the early twentieth century— consisting of an array of institutional and residential buildings initially meant to function as a significant administrative core of the region. over the years, there have been persistent calls for the opening up of lutyens’ delhi to accommodate a wider range of uses and a higher range of densities than it currently supports (shah, 2019). in reaction to such calls, arguments of historic preservation and conservation have been recycled in defense of the status quo within the area in question. in recent years, this discourse has been overshadowed by the intense discussions surrounding the changes being implemented in luteyns’ delhi by the administration of prime minister narendra modi. however, once the dust settles surrounding these contemporary changes, it is reasonable to extrapolate that the old debate surrounding density, diversity, and uses, will re-emerge. preempting this discursive dust settling, this paper is framed as an intrinsic case study focused on offering a detailed cross-examination, and by extension refutation, of the historic-preservationist arguments put forth by buch (2003) for maintaining a homogeneity and low density of uses and inhabitants within lutyens’ delhi. 2. materials and methods this text is anchored around a historical methodology, leaning upon secondary and primary sources to frame a contrapuntal argument against the case for maintaining a monocultural range of uses and lower range of densities within lutyens’ delhi, as asserted by buch (2003). in the context of these specific and localized issues pertaining to lutyens’ delhi, the paper is shaped around an intrinsic, as opposed to instrumental, case study framework. resources utilized include: peer-reviewed academic texts; newspaper articles relating to lutyens’ delhi; seminal texts focused on the history and theory of urban form; and architectural documentation extracted from some of the works of edwin lutyens. the most significant portion of this argument unfolds in section 3.3., while sections 3.1 and 3.2 offer a historico-theoretical grounding for said argument. 3. results the following section is broken down into three areas. section 3.1., the rise of lutyens’ delhi, briefly frames the historical and ideological context within which lutyens’ delhi was authored. section 3.2., the case for monocultural conservation frames the details of the argument given for preserving a minimal number of uses within lutyens’ delhi. section 3.3., cross-examination, taps into primary and secondary source material in order to offer refutations of the argument given in the prior section. 3.1. the rise of lutyens’ delhi it was december of 1911 when the imperial capital of india was shifted from calcutta to delhi. edwin lutyens, george swinton, and john brodie were part of the group of experts called to the city to develop a plan for the new capital complex. swinton was the only one in this triad to have previously visited india (peck, 2006, p. 1). they began their survey of delhi in march, which interestingly coincided with the portion of the year when the british government was not to be based in the city, as government employees typically rode out the hot weather in northern regions of the country (peck, 2006, p. 1). while a range of built environmental professionals were invariably involved in the overarching design and execution of the central administrative area, the authorship of edwin lutyens and herbert baker is most dominantly imprinted within the zone (butler, 2023). the predominant goal of the project was to create a capital suited for the indian wing of the british empire, “which it was hoped (with less and less realism) would last many hundreds of years” (peck, 2006, p. 2). however, complications and tensions surrounding the partitioning and subsequent re-unification of bengal in the early 1900s, and the rise in local movements for sovereign independence that were “very far from wishing [that] colonial rule [should] last many more years, let alone centuries,” soon cast this initial dream of a long-lived empire in a veil of doubt (peck, 2006, p. 2). kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 figure 1: the secretariat buildings on rajpath, new delhi. (source: adaptorplug, 2009) lutyens’ delhi was not the first large-scale plan imposed by the british empire upon the city. hosagrahar (2001, p. 38) points out that in the wake of the indian rebellion of 1857, the city experienced its first wide-reaching urban interventions implemented via the hand of colonialism. namely, the royal palace was converted into a military garrison; mansions, mosques, and landmarks around the existing british fort were destroyed, demolished, and parceled out; a 450-yard landscape buffer around the fort was established; and extensive areas within the city were appropriated in order to accommodate railroad infrastructure (hosagrahar, 2001, p. 39). almost one-third of the walled city, now known as old delhi, was demolished during this time (hosagrahar, 2001, p. 39). historic garden sites, along with other properties of the indian elite, were confiscated by the british empire. the sites used by the british to lay siege to delhi during the rebellion were reformatted to showcase the british victory; sites associated with the rebellion were altered to showcase the subordination of the rebelling forces—the most potent example being the clearing of royal orchards in order to free up space for a shooting range (sharma, 2007, pp. 213-214+217). hosagrahar (2001, p. 31) argues that the british punished “conspirators and mutineers by confiscating their land” and bestowed “titles, land, and property [to] those natives who had been loyal to them.” for instance, the nawab of jhajjar, a leading official under mughal rule was hanged due to his alleged mutiny, and his property was subsequently subdivided and distributed among those who supported the british (hosagrahar, 2001, p. 31). in this time period, the civil lines were established. these differentiated the areas deemed safe for the british military, civilian, and governmental population in delhi (sharma, 2007, p. 212). “europeans, particularly troops” were told to keep interaction with the “indigenous settlements” to a bare minimum, on account that such areas were said to be prone to disease due to overcrowding, poor building stock, lack of building regulations, poor air circulation, and deficient sanitation (sharma, 2007, pp. 212-213). the local labor force which british imperialism innately relied upon on a day-to-day basis however, composed of indian servants, maids, staff, coachmen, persons working in dairies and larders, brewers, bakers, household accountants, and so on, were permitted to breach this zone of imperial exclusivity, due to the nature of their daily work. as hosagrahar (2001, p. 38) argues, “a more complex interdependency between the ‘black’ landscape of the indigenes and the ‘white’ world” was established. kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 this oft-veiled intermingling of local and imperial, micro and macro socioeconomic networks, formed an inherently diversified mixed-use condition within lutyens’ delhi—one very much submerged by the shadow of the monolithically monumental built world conditions found therein. counter to this innate mingling of populations and socioeconomic networks, within lutyens’ design for the central administrative area, a vocabulary of supremacy and segregation was ever-present. the viceroy’s palace for instance, designed on a scale to “defy man and nature” (irving, 1982, p. 9) was intended to “brood over the city […] like the [helmet] of a british soldier, district officer, missionary, or viceroy, while great arms below grasp to subdue in their embrace an alien land and culture” (irving, 1982, p. 14). figure 2: viceroy’s residence / rashtrapati bhavan. (source: adaptorplug, 2009) this approach, wherein the built environments of the colonized and colonizer are segregated, and the latter often looms over the latter, was in fact in line with newer waves of colonial-built environmental discourse of the time. while in prior generations of imperial rule, there had been haussmanian efforts to transcribe european urban ideals upon existing portions of colonized settlement structures, a transition was observed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century wherein a clear separation of european and non-european populations, and built environments, was advocated (kostof, 1992, p. 86). on the one hand, this shift in the discourse arose as an expanding reconsideration and revaluation of vernacular and indigenous settlement patterns overtook prior transcriptionand erasure-oriented tendencies (kostof, 1992, p. 86). on the other hand, this shift towards a two-city approach to colonized regions, one city for the colonizer and one for the colonized set up the fertile grounds upon which apartheid-oriented ideologies could readily take root (kostof, 1992, p. 86). as will be noted in the subsequent sections, this ideological legacy is still observable in the current day, with the active political class in lutyens’ delhi maintaining their separation from the broader populace, even while purportedly operating under liberated post-colonial ideological structures. kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 3.2. the case for monocultural conservation the original central features of lutyens’ delhi consisted of: (1) the imperial complex, consisting of the viceroy’s house, the imperial secretariat, and the central legislative assembly complex; (2) the three-kilometer-long central axis, lined with lawns, trees, and artificial canals; (3) the lutyens bungalow zone, composed of standalone residential typologies, segregated and stratified (in regard to proximity to the secretariat and size) based on rank; (4) churches, schools, and hospitals, meant to serve the residential areas; (5) connaught place, meant to be the primary commercial hub of new delhi; (6) and wide, tree-lined streets, intended to mimic the layout of washington and paris (nath, 1993, pp. 172-174). since his 2019 prime-ministerial campaign, narendra modi has mobilized a significant effort to reshape the central administrative area (ray, 2021). with this project, which for the purposes of brevity this paper cannot outline in depth, portions of the inherited built environment within lutyens´ delhi are being significantly reshaped, with most of the alterations focused on the east-west central vista and its immediate environs. while the scope of critiques leveled against the redevelopment is varied, both poles of the discourse actively recognize that there is a clear manipulation of the built world around discursive or ideological lines. on one end of the spectrum, the modi administration is seen as fulfilling “an unfinished agenda of free india” (bhattacharya, 2023) and the subversion of societal hierarchies anchored in lutyens’ delhi (ray, 2021). on the other end of the spectrum, a strategic rewriting of the national historical narrative is noted, one which systematically erases the islamic heritage of the country, subtly overwrites its legacy of nonviolence (i.e., transforming the visages within the lion capital of ashoka from serene to slightly-grimacing), and is seemingly aimed at highlighting the inefficiencies and potential obsolescence of parliamentary structures (brook, 2023). since their onset, discussions surrounding the modi administration’s interventions within lutyens’ delhi have taken center stage in the overarching discourse concerning the central administrative area. there is however an older debate surrounding the area, submerged slightly since 2019, which will predictably re-emerge once the dust surrounding the modi masterplan settles. the central administrative area is an anomalously sparsely settled area in the otherwise significantly dense national capital territory of delhi; and since the 1990s there have been repeated, albeit broadly failed, calls for bringing higher densities and greater mixes of uses to this area. in june of 1998 for instance, the municipality of new delhi organized a committee to review the built environmental potentials of the lutyens bungalow zone. the proposal put forth by the ministry of urban development at the time recommended that the lutyens bungalow zone be “brought under high density, high-rise development in order to make the most economical use of the land, promote housing and generally bring about an egalitarian culture in what was deemed to be an elitist city with an imperial hangover” (buch, 2003, pp. 34-35). m.n. buch, chairman of the lutyens bungalow zone committee noted in the introductory portion of this article, sought to counteract what he saw as “a powerful lobby of builders and developers who greedily eyed the 550 hectares of prime land” (buch, 2003, pp. 34-35). his final recommendation was that lutyens’ delhi should be placed under strict conservation—an argument that rested on four main points. first: lutyens’ delhi functions as a critical manifestation of the sovereign narrative of india, casting a shadow of grandeur that even “washington cannot make on the same scale” (buch, 2003, p. 29); even further, that “new delhi is the saving grace of the national capital […] the symbol of its pride, the showcase of everything that is beautiful,” and that it should be treated as “hallowed ground” (buch, 2003, p. 32). buch (2003) also stresses that such administrative districts, shaped around city beautiful and grand manner principles, play critical roles in the longterm maintenance of legitimacy and socio-cultural anchoring of national capitals (buch, 2003, p. 41). second: lutyens’ design for the area mimics the “exact shape” of the traditional vastu purusha, with its head lying on the raisina hill, and its feet on the purana qila, or more specifically, that “this symbol of the british empire […] is in fact edwin landseer lutyens’ homage to india” (buch, 2003, p. 30)—the vastu purusha being a diagrammatic kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 analytical tool for making massing and programming decisions in-built environmental design, operable from the scale of the building to the scale of the city (venugopal, 2012). third: that new delhi is a “very compact city” designed to accommodate “vehicular traffic, pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders in their own segregated spaces [enabling] modern town planners to widen roads to eight lanes without having to cut down a single tree” (buch, 2003, p. 30-31); that the part of the lutyens bungalow zone currently zoned for government and private residences, when placed in the broader context of the larger fabric of delhi, is but a mere “0.37 percent of the entire union territory of delhi” (buch, 2003, p. 31); and that even if all 550 hectares of lutyens’ new delhi were given over to higher density construction, the housing problem in delhi would not be solved, but that the “finest, most beautifully designed urban form in india, or, for that matter, anywhere in the world” would be destroyed (buch, 2003, p. 32). fourth: the residences within the lutyens bungalow zone, while not praiseworthy historic monuments by themselves, are part of the larger urban fabric of lutyens’ delhi, giving them “a value which makes them worthy of conservation” (buch, 2003, pp. 34-35). “these wide expanses of green obviously have to remain inviolate, not only because they give new delhi an almost unique urban character, but also because they are now an oasis of nature in the midst of a vast urban desert” (buch, 2003, pp. 40-41). buch (2003, pp. 32-33) also points out that uncontrolled urban development or poor urban decision-making, has critically altered several areas of lutyens’ delhi, and only managed to create not just built environmental “rot,” but also “some of the ugliest buildings in delhi.” buch (2003) mourns the construction of new commercial structures, major offices, banks, municipal complexes, as well as the replacement of bungalows by “institutions and offices and hospitals,” arguing that this new mixed-use urban fabric has changed the traffic pattern of the radial roads designed by lutyens, in that they no longer function as rapid transit roads, but as roads carrying “a huge load of terminating and originating traffic” (buch, 2003, p. 33). 3.3. cross-examination on the subject of the built environment and sovereign narratives. it is quite a difficult task to re-brand an architectural remnant of the colonial era as a symbol of the post-colonial era that proceeds it. this proves all the more complicated when the relationship between ruler and ruled leftover from the colonial era has not been subverted, but in fact strengthened, in the post-colonial day. “the [bungalow zone] was imperial and exclusive then. today, it seems to have become even more exclusive and excluding. the low walls around the old white bungalows are higher, extended, and topped with barbed or razor wire. the old wooden gates are now barricades guarded by armed sentries, some of whom even man-sandbagged machine gun posts. guns have, in fact, become a status symbol for the elected elite. they underline separateness and successfully enforce a division that, in the raj days, had been a matter of internalized custom” (sharma, 2006, p. 35). the redevelopment efforts in lutyens’ delhi, which have taken on a renewed vitality since 2019 (ray, 2021), appear to engage the discourse of post-colonialism more directly than in prior years. however, this engagement is still dominantly undertaken via the context of architectural phenomena inherent to the built environment. while there is a sustained effort to transcribe post-colonial narratives upon the legacy of lutyens’ delhi, the overarching effort is focused on an aesthetic rewriting of the area. in terms of functionality, the relationship between colonizer and colonized, and between lutyens’ delhi and old delhi, initially established within the colonial era, is only being reinforced. while this is indicative of a certain type of sovereign narrative in development, it is regrettably not a narrative of postcolonial liberation from inherited colonial structures. on the subject of the vastu purusha. lutyens was not coy about expressing his disparagement for the indian sociocultural fabric. he openly commented on what he considered to be the “low intellect” of the “natives,” underscoring his open relegation of the indian citizenry to societal strata beneath his standing (sharma, 2006, p. 35). while it is well documented that lutyens laced portions of his designs for the central administrative area with vernacular architectural motifs (butler, 2023), the idea that he would have allowed his grand intervention in new delhi to be influenced at such a large scale by such a distinctly indian element, seems quite unlikely. kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 there is also the basic structure of the vastu purusha to consider. it is traditionally portrayed by a dominant northeastsouthwest axis, whereas the dominant axis of lutyens’ delhi, currently occupied by kartavya path, previously known as rajpath, and prior to that as kingsway (bhattacharya, 2023), is strictly east-west. the vastu purusha is used to allocate massing and programming on a given site in the most auspicious way possible, based significantly on orientation (sharma and sharma, 2011). it cannot be rotated and still maintain its presumed utility as an analytical and design tool (venugopal, 2012). that this isn’t mentioned in the case for conservation put forth by buch (2003) is a significant oversight at best. at worst, it resembles the type of oversight that would take place in a colonial misrepresentation of an indigenous sociocultural practice. on the purported compactness of lutyens’ delhi. when lutyens’ delhi was initially constructed, the “new imperial city was twice the size of the older, indigenous city, but had only 640 residential units while old delhi housed 250,000 people” (sharma, 2006, pp. 35-36). buch (2003) attempts to de-contextualize and de-historicize this reality by comparing the size of lutyens’ delhi to the current acreage of the national capital territory of delhi, leading to the less-than-one-percent figure noted previously. this distorted storyline however is difficult to maintain, even within the buch (2003) text itself. the author praises lutyens’ delhi for its grandeur and for being open enough to have its roads expanded to eight lanes without having to “cut down a single tree”, while at the same time claiming it is compact (buch, 2003, pp. 30-31). it cannot be both. a similarly vulnerable effort at rationalizing the large, sprawling bungalows is given by the lutyens bungalow zone committee report, attempting to cast civil officials as the unfortunate victims of a profession which by nature necessitates the bungalow typology: “when a study was made of how ministers live, it was found that on the one hand, they have no privacy because of the constant stream of visitors and on the other they only use a small portion of the bungalows, the rest being given over to visitors and guests. […] an indian minister is virtually under siege, not only on account of people seeking favours but also on account of constituents visiting him with genuine complaints. therefore, in bhopal the bungalows for ministers were designed to have a built area of about 4500 square feet for the personal part of the house and another 2500 square feet for the bungalow office, visitor reception area, and dormitory for constituents who might want to stay overnight. accommodation also had to be provided for personal staff and police personnel on guard duty, in addition to the above. naturally, the bungalow compounds had to be large in order to accommodate these buildings. the permissible ground coverage and far are somewhat higher than in new delhi, but nevertheless, there has been no escaping large compounds and large bungalows. the nature of the job almost mandates this” (buch, 2003, pp. 35-36). this justification, when placed next to the shrinking minimum plot sizes of resettlement projects for informal settlements over the decades—from eighty-nine square yards proposed by the delhi improvement trust to twentyfive square yards implemented by the delhi development authority (priya, 1993, p. 828)—sheds light on how the same system that subordinates the impoverished, while also favoring the elite, can do so all in the name of necessity, and within the confines of an overarching, and silently contradictory, functionalist rationale. on the subject of low-density monocultures versus high-density polycultures. the ideological crux of m.n. buch’s argument lies within this territory. within buch’s (2003, pp. 32-33) criticisms of the “rot” of the mixed-use, highdensity urban fabric encroaching upon the monolithic, segregated functions of lutyens’ delhi, there lies a vocabulary that intermingles high modernist principles promoting programmatically hyper-segregated cities, with orientalist worldviews tending to glorify the west at the cost of the east. the climactic point for this is the author’s extolling of the “american shopping mall” as an ideal urban condition (buch, 2003, pp. 38-39), that a highly layered and complex city such as delhi should look to the programmatically monocultural american shopping mall as a praiseworthy example of built environmental design, particularly when contemporary conceptual frameworks such as the fifteenminute city are endeavoring to achieve the complexity and density innate to cities such as delhi, is once more a significant oversight. an in-depth reading of lutyens’ works also provides a counterpoint to this glorification of monocultural uses. figures 3-6 show excerpts from plans from lutyens’ reginald mckenna house, constructed in 1911 (figure 3), the crooksbury house, constructed in 1899 (figure 4), greywalls, constructed in 1901 (figure 5), and papillon hall, renovated by lutyens in 1903 (figure 6). in all of these excerpts, the commonplace domestic programming of dining rooms, bedrooms, living rooms, etc., are observed within the residential confines, however there is also a range of kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 less noticeable functions, either allocated to back-of-house wings or ground floors, which make the architecture much more mixed-use than would be expected—e.g., spaces for dairies, larders, sculleries, servant halls, various storage facilities, rooms for housekeepers and butlers, and so forth. figures 3-6: excerpts from the ground floor plan of reginald mckenna house (figure 3, top left), the ground floor plan of crooksbury house (figure 4, top middle), the ground floor plan of greywalls (figure 5, top right), and the ground floor plan of papillon hall (figure 6, bottom), depicting the hidden mixtures of uses required for residential architecture at the time. plan excerpts extracted from weaver (1921). within the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, these were functions required to run most residential typologies supporting families of high socioeconomic standing. such historic residences were not mere unified and monolithic villas—rather an aggregation of residential and non-residential functions also supporting mixtures of demographics. this mingling of uses and inhabitants was echoed in comparable havelis of old delhi, which effectively operated as functionally fine-grained and diverse microcities (hosagrahar, 2001, pp. 28-29). incidentally, the same socioeconomic density and diversity can be seen in lutyens’ designs for the viceroy’s house, completed in 1929 in the central administrative area, now known as the rashtrapati bhavan. although the basement floors of this iconic structure are often painted over as forming “a plateau, some 17 feet above the level of the surrounding plain,” these plinth floors were composed of a range of socioeconomic elements (greenberg, 1969, p. 138). in the lower basement in particular, a wide variety of functions can be found, including but not limited to: wine and beer cellars, a storeroom for burlap items, a furniture storeroom, a camp equipment store room, linen rooms, kitchen storage rooms, a main kitchen, a chef’s office, larders, a confectionary room, pastry rooms, an ice-making room, a bakery, a tinman’s workshop, a pot scullery room, storage rooms for wood and coal, dairies, a tailor’s shop, kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 a carpet storage room, a stationary room, a box shop, a furniture workshop, a tent storage room, and so forth (butler, 2023, plate xxxvii). in the literature that analyzes lutyens’ work, very little focus is given to this programmatic diversity embedded into his residential projects. in lutyens’ delhi, this habit is once more mirrored, with the presumption of monolithic programming maintained. lutyens most likely incorporated mixtures of functions (and by extension, persons) into his work not due to some theoretical appreciation for mixed-use conditions, but rather due to the practical requirements of the day. regardless of intention, however, the historical reality remains that a far wider range of socioeconomic networks were intermingled within the historic built environment of lutyens’ delhi than the popular and academic literature on the topic conveys. in the case of the central administrative area, this intermingling and diversity of uses is easy to lose sight of in the shadows cast by the monumental architecture of the district. within the viceroy’s house for instance, much if not all the diversity of functions supported by the built world is relegated to the lower basement floor. phenomenologically from the exterior, this floor behaves as the neutral plinth upon which lutyens’ imperial architectural language begins to grow. figure 7: viceroy’s residence / rashtrapati bhavan. note the individual sweeping the grounds in the foreground, easy to overlook in the context of the monument in the background. the bottom floors of the viceroy’s residence which support the range of functions mentioned prior, are comparably easy to overlook, buried in the proverbial “plinth” upon which the more-visible architectural language rests. (source: adaptorplug, 2009) architecture in this case, while supporting a diversity of uses and socioeconomic classes, also aids in the phenomenological erasure of said diversity. this erasure in turn supports the myth of a monocultural lutyens’ delhi, upon which a distorted historical-preservation framework, concerned with how the area should be permitted to change and grow in the modern day, is developed. a more rigorous reading of architectural and urban history in this context, focused not only upon the exterior, phenomenological language of the built environment, but also upon the uses, functions, and dynamics supported by the built world, would offer a much more fine-grained approach to the pursuit of historic stewardship in lutyens’ delhi. 4. conclusion lutyens’ delhi is a significant architectural and urban site, with a significant historic legacy. in the details of this legacy, however, there is a clear and reasonable argument for promoting a much more complex mingling of uses in the sprawling site, than is currently maintained. kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 10 as calls for the diversification and connected densification for lutyens’ delhi have been brought to the forefront, however, persistent calls for preserving the status quo have served as rebuttals. this paper attempts to offer a counterpoint to these latter rebuttals. if the goal is to truly preserve lutyens’ delhi, the initial complexity and diversity of functions lutyens embedded within the area must be taken into account, not simply the imagery of the monumental that veiled them. if the maintenance of segregated zoning, and a strictly monocultural approach to urbanism is assumed to be necessary in keeping lutyens’ new delhi true to its original form, then the viceroy’s house in its initial state must in itself be recognized as a point of historic non-conformity. as the plans for the viceroy’s house show, historically there was an immense complexity of on-site uses required for the day-to-day maintenance of large-scale complexes. lutyens’ delhi today supports the functions of elected and appointed public officials and servants, however, there is also still a vast network of service staff, food providers, builders, contractors, repairmen, technicians, craftsmen, distributors, procurers, mechanics, etc., deeply intertwined with the operation of this area. the discourse concerning the historic stewardship of lutyens’ delhi historically and contemporaneously skims over this fact and uses this oversight as a foundation for supporting the monocultural programming of this area. this monocultural approach however is neither historically accurate nor is it fitting with some of the basic ideological ambitions of the post-colonial narrative—e.g., overcoming structures of segregation and exclusion between ruler and ruled, between the political class and the public citizenry. while variances have been granted for new construction to occur in lutyens’ delhi over the years, they have been granted to projects promoting monolithic high-rise residential uses, supporting monolithic socioeconomic classes (gruen, 2013). a range of seminal works within the contemporary urban discourse—e.g., works of jacobs (1961), alexander (1965), alexander (1965 and 1977), duany (1991), cruz (2012), davis (2012 and 2020), and moreno et al (2021)—has pushed back against such monocultural tendencies, underscoring rather the complexity and layering required for cities to feel and function as robust urban systems. the defense of a monolithic lutyens’ delhi on the fundament of functionality, once more falls to frailty. it is a discursive oddity that while the proverbial west often looks to older cities in south and southeast asia to understand how dense minglings of uses can be accommodated and supported within the urban fabric, the proverbial east should be looking to the proverbial west to mimic some of the most sterilized examples of built environmental monocultures that have ever been produced therein (e.g., the american shopping mall). in the case of lutyens’ delhi, this westward gaze has been combined with distorted or falsified historic narratives to establish an argument for maintaining the purported monocultural nature of the central administrative area of new delhi and shield it from the density and diversity of socioeconomic functions found within the vast urban fabric immediately beyond the boundaries of lutyens’ delhi. although currently overwhelmed by the discourse surrounding the modi administration’s alterations to the central administrative area, there has been a persistent call for breaking the exclusivity and monocultural programming of lutyens’ delhi. once the current discussion dies down, it is predictable that the monocultural and sprawling area, anomalous in the context of the broader urban fabric of delhi, will be called upon once more to begin to support a higher complexity and density than it currently does. this text offers a preemptive re-entry into that discussion, countering the range of historical, theoretical, and ideological arguments oft given in support of the maintenance of a monocultural urban fabric within lutyens’ delhi. acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the conservation of architectural heritage (cah) conference – 8th edition which was held on the 17th-19th of september 2024. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. kayatekin/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 11 ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the authors declare that there is no competing interest. references alexander, christopher. “the city is not a tree.” architectural forum, vol 122, no. 1, april 1965, 58-62 alexander, christopher. a pattern language. oxford: oxford university press, 1977. bhattacharya, shubhabrata. “modi’s kartavya path 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https://youtu.be/nmvwhdfvpce https://www.archpaper.com/2013/05/land-crisis-puts-pressure-on-lutyens-housing-quarter-in-new-delhi/ https://www.apollo-magazine.com/new-delhi-architecture-narendra-modi/ https://www.apollo-magazine.com/new-delhi-architecture-narendra-modi/ http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) pg. 1 proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences research paper received:17 february 2025, accepted:28 may 2025, published online: 31 july 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1189 the key role of community archaeology in enhancing local identity and territorial bonds in turkey and jordan ilda faiella phd student in heritage science at the university “sapienza” of rome, italy abstract the present research study, part of an ongoing doctoral project, is an interpretative-comparative analysis conducted considering two geographically distinct contexts: the archaeological site of arslantepe with its village of orduzu (malatya) in turkey, and the archaeological site of tell hisban with its village of hisban (amman), in jordan. in both cases, the site is situated almost at the centre of the anthropic and natural landscape, forming a historical and natural monument. a qualitative research survey was carried out through interviews with semi-structured questions directed towards the resident population, to understand: the vision of the site, the level of involvement, the impact on society, and the relationship with the archaeological team. the research aims to understand whether community archaeology applications can contribute to increasing the recognition of the archaeological site as a fundamental part of their territory. the result is that such practices can foster a stronger connection with the past and the contemporary landscape, contributing to the transformation of the area by enhancing local well-being and benefits in sustainable development. this study is entered into the field of community archaeology that, by establishing continuous communication between archaeologists, the local community, and their cultural heritage, and incorporating the local perspective into the interpretation of the past, aims to contribute to increasing awareness of the cultural heritage and its incorporation within the local identity. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords community archaeology, qualitative evaluation, local identity, local involvement, gender-inclusive engagement 1. introduction archaeological sites and artifacts are often deeply intertwined with the landscapes where people live today. this relationship between heritage and place is crucial, as it connects the past with contemporary life through the people who have inhabited the territory over time. furthermore, the definition of heritage and landscapes is not an objective practice. they are shaped by the perspectives and values of those involved. community archaeology, by including local communities in these processes, aims to transform them no longer into mere passive observers, but into active participants in the documentation, interpretation, and management of their cultural heritage. this approach enriches archaeological studies by integrating local knowledge and contemporary perspectives, deepening the understanding of past landscapes, and ensuring a more inclusive and relevant interpretation of history (álvarez larrain & mccall, 2019). according to this perspective, cultural heritage, including archaeological sites, gains significance and a future only if its social value is maintained. preservation involves more than protecting physical remains; it requires https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i3.1190&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ faiella/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 awareness by the community of the cultural significance, which must actively participate in its preservation and promotion (manacorda, 2007). this study, through the analysis of qualitative survey data, demonstrates how community archaeology and the active involvement of residents can increase the recognition of the archaeological site as a fundamental component of their local landscape. 2. literature review the present study falls within the field of community archaeology, a multifaceted discipline encompassing various aspects of archaeological theory and practice. its primary goal is to establish an active relationship with contemporary society, which goes beyond mere communication and the transmission of knowledge by specialists. rather, it is based on constant interaction, active involvement, and the participation of local communities in the definition and interpretation of their own past (corbishley, 2011; moser et al., 2002). community archaeology is thus central to the critical evaluation of archaeology in the modern world, particularly in how archaeologists engage with the public, encompassing themes of economic, social, political, religious, and environmental relevance (moshenska, 2017). the community has both the duty and the right to express curiosity, passion, and pride toward its cultural heritage, which is a fundamental part of its territory (roberts, 2017). this identification and strengthening of the connection with heritage is only achievable through multi-layered communication between archaeologists and the local community, and the creation of a direct, bidirectional dialogue. this dialogue must be based on the sharing of knowledge and the integration of local wisdom with archaeological expertise, achieved through inclusive and collaborative practices. the initial phase of formalized community projects dates to the 1980s, emerging from the idea of amateur involvement in archaeological research in the united kingdom. as it developed further, this original concept of "community-led" archaeology sparked intense debate regarding its definition (thomas, 2017). over time, archaeologists around the world have engaged with many different communities and sectors of society, following a wide variety of theoretical models and/or applied methods, depending on local traditions, economic, political, and social realities, as well as how archaeology is perceived in each nation. in some cases, it refers to a collaborative research method between communities and professionals, while in others, it describes a practice facilitated and guided by professionals, where the public is not necessarily the creator of the information provided. in other cases, the concept of community archaeology is framed as "archaeology by the people for the people" (moshenska and dhanjal, 2012) or “archaeology from below” (faulkner, 2000). these expressions have been misappropriated over time, misrepresenting the scholarly understanding behind them. in fact, the interpretation of community archaeology is the result of continuous and distinct development in the various countries where it is applied (thomas, 2017). it responds to specific needs and motivations within each individual context, which frequently lead to different nuances in its theoretical and methodological definition (indigenous archaeology, community-based participatory research, collaborative archeology, co-creation archaeology, civic engagement). as a consequence, some researchers have stressed the necessity of developing a global perspective to understand how each country has incorporated and implemented community archeology in its projects. okamura and mastuda (matsuda, 2011) proposed an implementation of the merriman’s and holtorf’s earlier theories on public archaeology (2004; 2007), termed the multiple perspective model with a multivocal approach. this more theory-oriented approach considers the public as a subject, possessing its own agency that interacts with the past according to its beliefs, interests, and needs. the added multivocal approach aims to identify and recognize the various interpretations of archaeological materials made by different social groups or individuals across various contemporary contexts (matsuda, 2016). it is essential to assess the extent to which community archeology has been adopted and applied in different countries and how it has become integrated into archaeological practice in each context. this model with its perspective serves as the theoretical foundation of the present research on community archaeology, acknowledging the diversity of interests, attitudes, demands, and needs expressed by various individuals and accepting multiple forms of engagement with the past. it is important to highlight how, in many archaeological excavations, although not always in a formalized manner, contact with the community has played a crucial role in archaeological activities since the beginning of the excavation experience. conversely, the recent need to formalize community engagement in archaeology projects has, in some cases, led to a shift in priorities that potentially diminishes the significance of this interaction. in some contexts where faiella/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 this research attitude has only recently developed, common challenges include practice-driven approaches and descriptive publications lacking clear research questions, data, evaluative frameworks, and relying on anecdotal evidence. instead, community archeology must be conceived of as an ongoing, dynamic study comprising different research attempts. as mastuda underline, public archaeology consists of an evolving process that includes two cyclical and interconnected phases research and practice: “first, there is research into the archaeology-public relationship, which is then followed by action to improve that relationship, and there is again research, followed by action, and so on”. the present research study considers this cyclical process essential for fully exploring the complexity of existing challenges and addressing them within the context of the relationship between communities and archaeological sites. this approach constitutes an attempt to fully understand the territory, moving beyond purely theoretical, marginalized, anecdotal, or under-explored conditions (mastuda, 2016). within this complex framework, the aforementioned theoretical consideration intertwines with isherwood's definition of community archaeology, which is conceptualized not as a set of practices or specific methods, but as a network of relationships between three key actors: archaeological remains, the community, and heritage professionals. the proposed framework positions the concept of place at its core, a distinctive feature of every community project and the space where all interactions between these actors take place (isherwood, 2011). moreover, community involvement and participation represent fundamental elements of community archaeology, extensively discussed in the literature (atalay 2012; atalay et al. 2016; little and shackel 2007; mcdavid 2014; marshall 2002). this study highlights the multiple ways in which empowerment and engagement can be interpreted. participation may manifest as physical involvement, but, more crucially, can take the form of emotional or intellectual engagement. these manifestations vary according to context, culture, social, political, and economic conditions, the sensitivity and specificity of archaeological properties, and the research team's methodological approaches and operational practices. finally, beyond examining the modes of audience engagement, exploring participation is crucial as it facilitates the capturing and addressing of different perspectives on the meaning of cultural heritage for each individual or group. this emphasis on assessing the pivotal elements of participation has enabled the study to evolve in understanding and enhancing the relationship and awareness that individuals have and develop with their own cultural heritage. 3. research objectives the present study aims to understand whether the local community's involvement and participation in their cultural heritage can contribute to increasing the recognition of the archaeological site as a fundamental part of their territory. through an interpretive-comparative analysis of the two chosen contexts, the focus is to capture their critical issues and evaluate the negative and positive aspects of the two experiences of community archaeology. it is hoped that its critical application could serve as a starting point for reflection and action aimed at strengthening the connection between the past and the contemporary landscape. this, in turn, may contribute to the positive development of the local area by enhancing community well-being and promoting sustainable development from economic, social, and cultural perspectives. 4. study object contexts community archaeology has developed in different ways globally, with practices varying according to the specific context. to analyse and evaluate its potential in strengthening the relationship with the territory, it is essential to compare different realities with a global approach, as expressed above (matsuda, 2016). the first site under investigation is the turkish site of arslantepe, excavated by sapienza university of rome for over 60 years. this site features a tell over 30 meters high with a dense stratigraphic sequence covering approximately 6 millennia. at arslantepe, the best-preserved and oldest palace complex ever discovered, dating back to the final centuries of the 4th millennium bce, provides evidence of the emergence of the first hierarchical societies in the mesopotamian world (frangipane, 2018). the study focused on the rural village of orduzu (malatya), which surrounds the archaeological site and acts as a protective buffer through its inhabitants. the choice of this context stems from the deep communication, trust, and respect established between archaeologists and the local population over decades of work at the archaeological site. this makes it an exemplary case for applying community archaeology and fostering faiella/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 mutual understanding and collaboration aimed at future social, economic, and cultural sustainability. the second case, selected in jordan, concerns the village of hisban, located 10 km north of madaba, which has a long settlement history. its archaeological evidence is characterized by a tell (tell hisban), with remains ranging from the iron age (c. 1200 bce) to the late ottoman period. excavations, conducted by andrews university (usa) since the late 1960s, were closely linked to ethnoarchaeological research activities, pioneering the development of community archaeology in jordan (labianca, 2022; 2017). 5. research methodology the data were collected through conducting a qualitative research survey through interviews with semi-structured questions directed towards the resident population of the two villages. for both hisban and orduzu, the questions involved residents occupying areas at different distances from the archaeological site, but within 1.5-1.7 km. in fact, the analysis revealed that as the distance from the archaeological site increased, both the sense of attachment and awareness of the site declined. this outer zone was therefore identified as a temporary boundary of the current investigation and a point of decreasing engagement. at the same time, it should be considered a starting point for future actions aimed at strengthening the relationship between the site and the broader community. people of all age groups were interviewed, from the 10-20 age category to the 80-90 age range. both women and men have been surveyed to get information from both genders, as they tend to have different perspectives and ideas. specifically, in hisban, 23 women and 15 men were interviewed, while in orduzu, 25 women and 16 men were interviewed. the interviews consisted of 10 questions divided into five categories, each addressing a different objective: 1. understand the community's vision of the archaeological site within their territory, and what it means to them. 2. assess local participation in the archaeological site and their interest in contributing to its protection, enhancement, and management. 3. capture local cultural heritage, focusing on behaviours, traditions, customs, and everyday craft tools. 4. analyse the societal, economic, and intellectual impact of archaeological activities. 5. understand the community's relationship with the research team, including expectations and desires for improved communication. 6. results the qualitative data analysis process followed a structured approach based on the method proposed by saldaña (2015) in the coding manual for qualitative researchers. first, all interviews were transcribed verbatim to ensure accuracy. after familiarizing oneself with the material, a two-cycle coding process was conducted. in the first cycle, descriptive codes were applied to meaningful excerpts from the transcripts through a line-by-line analysis of the transcripts. in the second cycle, related codes were consolidated into broader conceptual categories through constant comparison, allowing for the identification of recurring patterns, relationships, and hierarchies. this inductive and iterative process enabled the organization of participants' perspectives into coherent analytical units. the categories generated through the second cycle formed the basis of the results discussed in this section and were selected according to both the frequency and the intensity of participants’ accounts. based on this systematic analysis of participants’ responses, the following core themes were identified: mixed knowledge and connection: interviewees showed varied awareness of archaeological sites, depending on age, education, and distance. those living beyond 1.5/1.7 km from the archaeological site, especially in arslantepe, feel disconnected from it. community involvement: in hisban, respondents frequently highlighted the presence of community activities organized by sela – a national association, which operates throughout jordan, aiming to develop the capacity of communities living around archaeological sites and promote their active involvement in its protection and andrews faiella/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 university, which fosters engagement and long-term commitment to heritage preservation. conversely, in orduzu, community archaeology activities are limited, mainly limited to school visits, leaving the community less involved. traditional practices and habits: traditional activities related to agriculture and local craftsmanship remain important in both communities. in turkey, objects like ocak and tandır ovens are still in use. the preservation of kerpiç houses, made of mud bricks, is emphasized in orduzu as part of local heritage, drawing an analogy with the architecture of the 4th-millennium bce palace complex at the arslantepe archaeological site (balossi restelli et al., 2017). in hisban, hospitality and traditional customs are central values. impact of archaeology and communication: archaeology is seen as beneficial for the knowledge gained and economic opportunities created. however, in hisban, economic benefits are seen as insufficient, complaining about fewer job opportunities. in both places, locals feel a lack of communication about excavation work, leading to some negative perceptions. relationship with research teams: in orduzu, the maiao team from sapienza university has established a strong relationship with the community, particularly with families who have worked at arslantepe, reflecting high engagement due to more than 60 years of continuous research. however, this connection diminishes among those living more than 1.5 km from the archaeological site. in hisban, familiarity with andrews university and sela is common among older residents, but interaction has decreased due to a reduction in excavation duration from three months annually to two weeks every two years. this infrequent contact has led to a less consistent relationship with the research teams. 7. discussion critically examining these results, one of the key observations of this study is the sense of awareness and perceived significance attributed to the archaeological site by residents of the two villages. the assessment of awareness levels was based on a systematic analysis of interview data and focused on three main indicators: (1) participants’ ability to describe the archaeological site’s history, significance, and features in detail, beyond surface-level information; (2) the frequency and nature of their interactions with the archaeological site, and the extent to which it was integrated into their personal and communal narratives; and (3) their ability to articulate this relationship with the site —either individually or collectively—through communitarian participation or an expressed desire for engagement, whether physical or emotional. in hisban, the tell is regarded by everyone as a central part of the village, whether as a place of transit or as a prominent feature of the landscape. the development of this understanding is closely tied to the intensive work carried out over the years by sela and the archaeologists from andrews university, who, from the beginning, practiced community archaeology to bring the local population closer to the archaeological site. participants frequently demonstrated a nuanced understanding of the archaeological site, referring to cultural and historical information and personal and communal experiences tied to it. this demonstrated how important it is for the community to recognize local identity through cultural heritage. these efforts have led, over the years, to the creation of local associations, particularly the committee for tourism and heritage, founded by abdullah abdulazeez al-masha’lah, and the women's center, which includes a significant number of residents committed to the enhancement of the archaeological site and heritage, as for the interviewee 31 (figure 1). faiella/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 in orduzu, despite the population’s growing awareness and knowledge of the archaeological site, it is still predominantly perceived as 'an ancient place linked to the origins of the territory,' as stated by interviewee 25 (figure 2). this recognition is primarily linked to the intense and continuous excavation work conducted by sapienza university, which has always involved the active participation of the male population of the village through their employment as labourers during the excavation seasons. consequently, the archaeological site is largely associated with its economic value, being seen as a source of sustainable economic benefits for the local people. at arslantepe, a significant observation was the limited involvement of women about the archaeological site, despite their desire to learn more about it. a further consideration is that several methodological challenges emerged during the research process, particularly in relation to cross-cultural fieldwork related to language and cultural barriers. in both the villages, linguistic mediation required double translation (italian – english – local language), which may have limited the conveyance of subtle cultural nuances and affected the interpretation of qualitative data. while efforts were made to include a demographically diverse sample in both contexts, achieving a perfect balance in representation or sampling proved difficult, especially among young participants, who were less accessible during the fieldwork period. to address these methodological challenges, several strategies were implemented to mitigate linguistic and cultural limitations and ensure rigorous data collection despite sampling difficulties. the use of semi-structured interviews enabled the collection of rich, contextualised data, allowing participants to express complex and multifaceted perspectives in their own terms. to ensure analytical robustness, interviews were conducted until data saturation, that is, when no substantially new insights were emerging (saunders et al., 2023). furthermore, the adoption of a twocycle coding strategy, based on saldaña’s (2015) framework, facilitated the identification of meaningful patterns and thematic structures through a systematic, iterative, and transparent process. to address the linguistic barriers must be underlined how the analysis was further strengthened by ongoing dialogue with local researchers and professionals involved in the archaeological projects in both turkey and jordan. nevertheless, as kersel and chesson (2013) argue in tomato season in ghor e-safi, qualitative fieldwork often unfolds under imperfect and context-specific conditions. in this study, these challenges were reflected in the limited availability of young participants, hindering a fully balanced demographic sample. such complexity is a fundamental feature of qualitative inquiry, where these constraints must be recognised as an inherent part of the broader complexity of the research process. 8. recommendations and conclusion based on the outcomes, the study offers the following critical recommendations for enhancing the relationship between local communities and archaeological sites: 1. gender inclusive engagement: in hisban, the responses indicate a growing involvement of women in community archaeology activities related to the archaeological site. in contrast, in orduzu, targeted initiatives are needed to figure 1 interviewee 31 is among the citizens actively engaged in the enhancement of hisban’s local heritage – (source: author) figure 2 interviewee 25 is among the citizens of orduzu who describe the archaeological site as an ancient place connected to local origins. – (source: silvia festuccia) faiella/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 actively engage women and strengthen their connection with it. his is particularly important given women’s crucial role in educating future generations and transmitting cultural identity. 2. economic benefits and sustainability: in orduzu, interviewees often associated the archaeological site with economic benefits, especially through the annual employment of local workers during excavation campaigns. this contributes to a form of local sustainability. in hisban, however, archaeological projects would benefit from stronger economic integration strategies, such as the development of heritage tourism and small-scale enterprise initiatives. these could generate year-round opportunities and extend benefits beyond seasonal excavation work. 3. knowledge sharing and transparency: interviews highlighted the need to provide more detailed information about the site and ongoing excavations, to address community concerns about limited knowledge and to strengthen local engagement. additionally, in hisban, the widespread demand for formalized knowledge-sharing should be addressed by communicating curated information about the archaeological site and excavations in an accessible way and local language. 4. youth engagement strategy: in both contexts, targeted strategies should be developed to engage younger generations through experiential activities that foster interest and involvement by combining practical and educational components (e.g., traditional re-enactments of archaeological excavations, hands-on experiences). these initiatives should also reflect suggestions emerging from young adult interviewees, such as the integration of new technologies that appeal to younger audiences (e.g., digital platforms or 3d models of the excavation). considering these findings, future initiatives should focus involve local communities at all stages of archaeological work, encouraging cultural heritage awareness and interdisciplinary collaboration to support sustainable archaeological site management. in this approach, communities are not passive recipients of knowledge but active participants in its interpretation, both physically and emotionally. reframing the relationship between the three key actors (isherwood, r., 2011) communities, archaeological sites, and researchers as a dynamic and balanced partnership can strengthen local connections to the archaeological site, promote mutual cultural exchange. this reconfiguration helps ensure that heritage continues to support local identity, sustainable development, and cultural resilience (forte et al. 2021). acknowledgments the abstract of this paper was presented at the landscapes across the mediterranean (crossmed) conference –1st edition, which was held on the 11th – 13th of december 2024. funding declaration. this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals.” ethics approval. i am phd candidate in heritage science at sapienza university of rome, hereby declare that my research project titled "the key role of community archaeology in enhancing local identity and territorial bonds in turkey and jordan”, conducted as part of my phd studies in heritage science at sapienza university of rome, adheres to high ethical standards as outlined below. i confirm that, according to the current regulations of sapienza university of rome, formal ethical approval is not required for studies involving non-invasive, non-clinical interviews with adult participants, as confirmed by cert sapienza, on 10/05/2024. nevertheless, ethical rigor has been maintained throughout the research process. conflict of interest. the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. faiella/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 references álvarez larrain, a., & mccall, m. k. 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(2017). community archaeology. in g. moshenska (ed.), key concepts in public archaeology, 14–30. appendix i: semi-structured interview questions the following questions were used to guide the semi-structured interviews conducted with residents in both hisban and orduzu. while maintaining consistency in core themes, minor adaptations were made to accommodate cultural and contextual differences between the two locations. general questions information 1. what is your name? 2. how old are you? 3. what is your job? category a: the vision of the archaeological site faiella/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 1. what can you tell us about ...? 2. how do you feel connected to ...? 3. what does the archaeological site represent for you? category b: community archaeology activities and local participation 1. are there any community activities at ...? can you describe them? 2. would you like to participate in these events? what activities would you suggest? 3. what would you like to tell visitors about the people of the archaeological site and your village? category c: local cultural heritage 1. which daily habits reflect your family’s traditions? 2. are there any traditional behaviours or tools specific to your area or family in daily, weekly, or annual activities? category d: archaeological activities impact 1. what do you think about the excavation work at ...? 2. how have the archaeological works changed life in your village? what do you think about these changes? category e: relationship with research team and future hopes 1. what is your relationship with the archaeological team like? what suggestions do you have to develop this relationship and the connection with the archaeological site? 2. what are your hopes for the future of the people of the archaeological site and your village? note: these questions were translated into turkish and arabic for the respective field sites. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 review article received: 15 december 2024, accepted: 20 february 2025, published online: 30 april 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i2.1158 the role of philosophical values in the lontong cap go meh celebration in fantasy novel writing shienny megawati sutanto1 1universitas ciputra surabaya, indonesia abstract this research explores the potential of fantasy fiction to reintroduce chinese-indonesian youths to their cultural heritage, specifically focusing on the philosophical significance of lontong cap go meh, a traditional dish associated with the cap go meh celebration. through a qualitative study combining observation, interviews, and documentary analysis, this research identifies core philosophical values embedded in lontong cap go meh and examines how these values can be integrated into a fantasy narrative. utilizing the ethnic food identity theory, the study analyzes how lontong cap go meh embodies core philosophical values within the chinese-indonesian tradition. visual picture of the story and structural-affect theory of stories are then applied to examine how these values can be effectively incorporated into the narrative structure of a fantasy novel. a prototype fantasy fiction novel was created and tested with target readers to assess its effectiveness in fostering cultural understanding and appreciation. the study found that lontong cap go meh is rich in philosophical values, including hope for prosperity, respect for tradition, and integration into indonesian culture. these values were successfully integrated into the fantasy novel's narrative through plot, theme, character development, and the core message. user testing revealed a positive impact on target readers' understanding and appreciation of chinese-indonesian culture. this research offers valuable insights for creators seeking to use fantasy fiction to bridge cultural gaps and promote cultural understanding. it emphasizes the importance of accurately portraying cultural essence while crafting engaging narratives that resonate with young readers. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords chinese-indonesian youths; fantasy fiction; cultural heritage revitalization; ethnic food identity; narrative integration 1. introduction chinese-indonesian youths often face a disconnect with their cultural heritage, which can be attributed to various factors. one significant contributing factor to this disconnect is the suppression of chinese cultural expression during the suharto regime led to a loss of cultural identity among chinese indonesians (ling, 2016). this caused many chinese indonesians to lose their cultural identity. this is despite the fact that cultural diversity is an important asset that becomes the identity of the nation and wealth that should be preserved and maintained (ikhsan, and giwangsa, 2019). following the end of the new order regime, presidential decree no. 6 of 2000 by president abdurrahman wahid lifted the ban on chinese cultural practices in indonesia (fikri & hasudungan, 2022). this marked a significant shift, as chinese culture was once again recognized as part of the national identity. the abolishment of the ban https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i2.1158&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ sutanto/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 triggered a visible resurgence of chinese cultural expressions in public spaces, highlighting the enduring resilience and adaptability of chinese culture within indonesian society (matondang & butsi, 2019). three decades of new order rule resulted in the suppression of various chinese cultures and traditions, leading to a significant cultural gap among those born during this period. as a result, many individuals from this generation lack familiarity with their heritage, contributing to a "lost generation" disconnected from their cultural roots (cangianto, 2021). a preliminary survey of 30 chinese-indonesian teenagers in surabaya, indonesia, found that 92.6% did not identify with their cultural roots, which shows that the majority of the young chinese-indonesian have lost their cultural identity (aryodiguno, 2019). this disconnection is a multifaceted issue, exacerbated by the rising influence of modern pop culture. addressing this challenge requires a careful balance between preserving cultural traditions and embracing innovation (bratakusumah, 2023). to address the need for revitalizing appreciation for chinese culture among indonesian youth, this research proposes developing popular literature inspired by this rich heritage. this approach aims to foster a sense of pride in their diverse cultural background, including chinese influences, and to empower them as future custodians of indonesia's unique cultural tapestry. popular literature, valuing storytelling and engaging narratives, was chosen to reintroduce chinese culture in indonesia due to its capacity to engage and shape the mindsets of younger generations (wolny, 2017). this medium resonates as cultural traditions are best understood through a framework that prioritizes storytelling, rituals, and shared narratives that form our identities (davies et al., 2019). exposure to diverse cultures, including minority cultures, enriches understanding within pluralistic societies. popular literature offers a valuable avenue for fostering such exposure (kidd, 2016). therefore, accurate representations of chinese culture in indonesian popular literature empower indonesian youth to engage with their nation's diversity and expand their cultural literacy. fantasy literature, popular among younger audiences for its engaging and imaginative narratives, has significant potential for promoting intercultural understanding. by integrating diverse cultural values into fictional worlds, authors can bridge cultural divides and counteract prejudice (evseev, 2019). additionally, the growing interest in fantasy science storytelling underscores its effectiveness in conveying complex scientific concepts through compelling narratives (joubert et al., 2019). therefore, fantasy narratives that incorporate cultural contexts, structural qualities, and engaging formats can illuminate cultural concepts for readers, thereby enhancing both intercultural understanding and cultural literacy. by delving into the philosophical values of lontong cap go meh, we can create captivating stories that not only entertain but also foster a deeper appreciation for chinese-indonesian heritage. stories have long served as powerful tools for exploring cultural identity. this research seeks to craft a fantasy novel that captures the essence of lontong cap go meh and its cultural significance, promoting cultural understanding and highlighting the enriching impact of chinese-indonesian cultural interactions xxxxthe introduction should briefly place the study in a broad context and highlight why it is important. it should define the purpose of the work and its significance. the current state of the research field should be carefully reviewed and key publications cited. please highlight controversial and diverging hypotheses when necessary. finally, briefly mention the main aim of the work and highlight the principal conclusions. as far as possible, please keep the introduction comprehensible to scientists outside your particular field of research. 2. literature review lontong cap go meh, a unique java-based tradition of chinese-indonesian origin, embodies diverse philosophical values rooted in chinese culture. the dish was created among chinese immigrants who settled in port cities on the north coast of java, such as semarang, lasem and surabaya (jiwanto, 2016). lontong cap go meh, estimated to have originated in indonesia over 250 years ago, remains a staple dish served during the annual cap go meh celebration (marcus, 2009). this culinary tradition is unique to the chinese-indonesian communities of java and betawi and is notably absent in both peninsular malaysia and sumatra (saraswati, and wardhani, 2012). sutanto/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 the lantern festival celebrated on the first full moon of spring, marks the conclusion of the chinese new year festivities. this significant event, rooted in both religious and cultural traditions, signifies the beginning of a new year and resonates with chinese communities worldwide. the chinese calendar, a lunisolar system, integrates the moon phases with a 12-year animal zodiac known as "shio" (x. lu, 2022). the "shio" cycle includes the rat, buffalo, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, and pig (waru, d., et al, 2022). chinese new year, which heralds the arrival of spring, is a multi-day holiday. yuan xiao jie, or the lantern festival, takes place on the fifteenth day after the new year. this occasion marks the end of the chinese new year. with its deep cultural and religious roots, yuan xiao jie is a unique celebration with a rich and diverse history that has been passed down through generations (feng, 2022). yuan xiao jie, the lantern festival, is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. it is a time for families to gather, share meals, and illuminate their homes and public spaces with lanterns. a traditional dish associated with this festival is yuánxiāo, glutinous rice balls served in a sweet ginger soup. chinese-indonesian communities have preserved the tradition of yuan xiao jie, known locally as "cap go meh." (saraswati and wardhani, 2012). this term, derived from the tiociu/hokkien dialect, signifies the "fifteenth night" and marks the conclusion of the chinese new year celebrations (tan, 2002). according to wenshi yudhi, a religious leader at tjoe tik kiong confucian temple, cap go meh holds dual significance for chinese indonesians. he explains that the celebration serves as both a moment of reflection on past blessings and an expression of hope for the future. beyond its religious significance, cap go meh serves as a powerful tool for affirming cultural identity. shared rituals and traditions strengthen community bonds and foster a sense of collective belonging (callinicos, 2010). chineseindonesian communities on java have adapted the cap go meh celebration, replacing tiociu with lontong, reflecting their integration into javanese culture (erll and nünning, 2008). this culinary tradition is unique to chineseindonesian communities in java and betawi (saraswati and wardhani, 2012). while lontong cap go meh shares similarities with lontong opor served by muslim families during lebaran ketupat (graaf, 1984), it offers a more complex and flavorful experience due to its diverse ingredients (maria, et al.2022 ). lontong cap go meh is a testament to the culinary exchange between chinese and indonesian cultures. its similarities to javanese lontong opor suggest a long history of mutual influence. while determining the initial direction of this influence is challenging due to the complexities of acculturation, it is clear that lontong cap go meh has become a deeply ingrained part of indonesian culture. harjanti halim, a leader in both the boen hian tong social organization and the semarang chinatown tourism community, highlights that lontong cap go meh serves as a symbol of indonesia’s rich multicultural heritage. 3. materials and methods this qualitative descriptive study adopts a multifaceted methodology, integrating observation, interviews, and documentation to examine the making of lontong cap go meh and its cultural and philosophical significance. grounded in established qualitative research frameworks, this approach aligns with methodologies used in cultural studies (mason, 2017), emphasizing triangulation to enhance depth and reliability. direct observation is conducted to analyze the preparation process of lontong cap go meh, providing an in-depth understanding of the cultural practices and rituals associated with the dish. additionally, workshops and lectures by renowned fiction authors are documented to explore the storytelling process. this ethnographic approach is crucial for capturing contextual and procedural details (robey, d. and taylor, 2018). semi-structured interviews with chinese cultural specialists offer insights into the historical and symbolic meanings of lontong cap go meh. these discussions explore its embedded philosophical values, while interviews with fiction editors examine how these cultural narratives can be adapted into storytelling. the interview framework follows cultural anthropology methodologies, ensuring open-ended and exploratory inquiries (bayeck, 2021). archival research gathers historical and cultural data, including culinary records, historical texts, and cultural artifacts. this method complements primary data collection, aligning with historical-cultural research methodologies (howard, 2019). sutanto/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 collected data are analyzed using the ethnic food identity (efi) framework, which examines the influence of cultural identity, beliefs, and social norms on food choices. prior studies affirm the significance of understanding ethnic food within its cultural context (mardatillah, 2020). furthermore, the findings contribute to the development of a fictional novel, guided by the structural affect theory of stories (sats) and visual picture of stories (vps) frameworks, both validated in narrative construction studies (murray, s. and holmes, 1994). 4. results exploring the cultural identity of lontong cap go meh through fantasy fiction requires understanding the intricate link between cuisine, customs, and identity. this necessitates employing the ethnic food identity (efi) framework. shared beliefs, skills, and social norms within ethnic groups foster a distinct food identity, highlighting the intricate link between cuisine and identity formation (ishak, et al., 2019). the ethnic food identity framework acknowledges the enduring significance of ethnic/culinary dishes, even when enjoyed outside their traditional cultural context (camarena & sanjuan, 2009). cultural identity dictates a group's food choices (carrus et al., 2011), with ethnic minorities further shaping their identity through shared food practices (brown, 1984). beyond ingredients, preparation methods weave culture, tradition, and environment into cuisine (chapman, 2013), shaping unique signature dishes across ethnicities. this research examines how the preparation and serving of food in chineseindonesian communities transmitted cultural identity during the new order era, utilizing the efi framework to unravel the link between cultural identity and food consumption behaviors. lontong cap go meh's philosophical values will be woven into a fictional narrative, employing both structural affect theory of stories (sats) and visual picture of stories (vps) frameworks for analysis and construction. these frameworks facilitate identifying themes and constructing engaging, yet meaningful, story structures within the subjective mental representations formed by episodic, contextual, prospective, and fictional narratives (akimoto, 2018). the sats theory proposes that chronological narratives influence emotions through surprise, excitement, and curiosity (brewer & lichtenstein, 1982). this order-sensitive framework argues that altering event sequencing can impact cognitive processing and emotional engagement, highlighting its application for crafting impactful fictional narratives (albuquerque et al., 2011). literary fiction relies on readers' imagination to create vivid mental images, fostering engagement and diverse perspectives (brosch, 2018). however, writers benefit from clearly visualizing their narrative before crafting it. vps facilitates this process (dillingham, 2005), transforming abstract concepts into concrete maps that guide story development and enhance reader comprehension (huang, 2013). lontong cap go meh is a traditional indonesian dish characterized by its diverse ingredients, including opor ayam kampung, lontong, beef rendang, boiled eggs, sambal goreng ati ampela, tempe, peanuts, bamboo shoot, manisa vegetables, shrimp, serundeng, koya soybean powder, fried onions, and sambal (maria et al, 2022 ). to delve deeper into the cultural significance of this dish, the ethnic food identity (efi) theory provides a valuable framework. efi suggests that the identity of a dish extends beyond its ingredients to encompass its preparation, cooking methods, and consumption practices (utami, 2004). this theory highlights four key elements that differentiate ethnic foods: 1) type of food, 2) cooking methods, 3) ingredient selection, and 4) eating decorum. 4.1. types of food to adapt to javanese culture, chinese immigrants replace ronde, their traditional sticky rice. (boyd & richerson, 2006), with paddy rice which is easier to find in java (erll and nünning, 2008). this adaptation reflects both respect for local culture and a desire to maintain the cap go meh tradition. 4.2. cooking method despite sharing processed rice as a base, lontong is favored over congee by chinese-indonesian for festive occasions like cap go meh. this preference likely stems from both practical (abundance of banana leaves for lontong steamcooking) and cultural symbolism. conversely, congee's historical association with poverty in china might contribute to its lesser preference for celebrations (ryan, l & choi, 2015). this case exemplifies the interplay of local resources and cultural interpretations influencing cooking methods within diasporic communities. sutanto/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 4.3. ingredient selection chinese immigrants in indonesia transformed local ingredients and spices into distinct culinary creations, imbuing them with symbolic and aesthetic significance. lontong's length signifies longevity, while turmeric-infused opor's golden hue evokes wealth and prosperity. sambal goreng ati ampela's red color echoes chinese new year customs, complemented by the auspicious symbolism of an accompanying egg (figure 1) figure 1: lontong cap go meh ingredients (made by the authors) 4.4. eating decorum lontong cap go meh, play a role in the acculturation and assimilation of culinary traditions within the chineseindonesian community (aprilia, 2023). it transcends mere food, embodying cultural practices and identity. serving and consuming it becomes a spiritual and social act, expressing heritage and strengthening familial and communal bonds (listiyani, 2011). adapting lontong cap go meh's philosophical values into a fantasy novel informed by the philosophical analysis of lontong cap go meh, this research now focuses on crafting a fictional novel. key philosophical values were identified through initial research. to guide the novel's development, in-depth interviews were conducted with mrs. endah budi heryani, head of the east java region xi cultural preservation center, and ms. grace situngkir, fiction editor at kompas gramedia publishing group indonesia. these interviews emphasized the importance of balancing factual accuracy with creative elements in lontong cap go meh-themed fantasy novels to ensure both cultural authenticity and reader engagement. (excerpts below). local fantasy rarely explores the fascinating blend of indonesian and chinese cultures. this novel, with its clear, engaging writing and authentic portrayal of their combined heritage, offers readers a unique window into cap go meh, a vibrant celebration of chinese culture in indonesia. (grace rosy situngkir, personal communication, november 4, 2023). teenagers actively engage with popular culture, making it a valuable tool for introducing them to indonesian traditions. i applaud the researcher's use of a fictional novel to bring chinese culture in indonesia to life for teenagers. as a fan of popular fiction, i believe novels can effectively showcase the lontong cap go meh tradition, a beautiful example of chinese cultural adaptation in java (endah budi heryani, personal communication, november 3, 2023). in a recent webinar, acclaimed author dewi dee lestari emphasized the importance of well-crafted narratives, highlighting three key elements: a unique premise, a clear theme, and a natural structure (lestari, 2023). these elements guide readers through the story, fostering emotional connection and maintaining interest. to map out the emotional flow of the story, the researcher utilized sats and vps. the classic structure was chosen for its familiarity and appeal to a wider audience (luhn, 2013). the novel unfolds in a forward plot, allowing for a clear and sequential sutanto/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 presentation of chinese-indonesian cultural values while also creating curiosity, suspense, and surprise for readers. the plot follows the classic structure, divided into three stages: beginning, change, and end (luhn, 2013). these stages can be further divided into six phases: exposition, inciting incident, progressive complication, crisis, climax, and resolution. by strategically employing sats at each stage, writers can evoke readers' emotions and maintain their engagement (figure 2). figure 2: visual portrait of the story (ohler, 2006) in frameworks like sats and vps, a strong premise and theme are key to building a compelling story. the premise, like a movie trailer in one sentence, captures the story's core idea. it's the message the author wants their readers to remember after reading. but the plot needs more than just an idea. that's where the theme comes in. it's the underlying message, the constant thread that weaves through the story, giving it depth and meaning. analysis through the ethnic food identity framework reveals that lontong cap go meh originated from chinese immigrants in java's desire to both preserve traditions and integrate with local culture. this reflects their aspirations to maintain both vertical (ancestral reverence and symbolic prayers) and horizontal (family, community, and javanese society) relationships. despite the inherent tension between preserving tradition and embracing modernity, chinese indonesians achieve a harmonious balance through lontong cap go meh, a practice embodying the philosophical value of "embracing life without forgetting your roots." this value will be explored as a fantasy fiction novel premise. the process of interpreting the philosophical values of the lontong cap go meh tradition to formulate the premise of a fantasy fiction novel can be seen in figure 3. figure 3: process of interpreting philosophical values into premises (made by the authors) luhn (pixar's head of story department), in a writing workshop, emphasized the importance of a "controlling idea" for crafting complete stories. this concise statement encapsulates the narrative arc, outlining the beginning, middle, and end, while defining the main character's challenges, setting, genre, and thematic exploration (luhn, 2013). character arcs, driven by conflict, unfold across three narrative stages (lu, a. 2015). beginning establishing the journey, middle growth and change, end resolution. internal conflict (psychological struggles) and external conflict (obstacles faced) drive the character's development and the story's core. sutanto/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 drawing on philosophical values, creative purpose, and target audience analysis, the fantasy fiction novel's controlling idea is formulated as follows. "when aileen / ai lian (爱莲) helps her grandmother serve lontong cap go meh, she gets into mischief at the temple and is transported to another world. to return home, she must recreate the lontong cap go meh based on her grandmother's teachings." the controlling idea reveals narrative core elements: protagonist, plot & development, setting, genre, and point of view as stated di table 1 below. table 1: fantasy fiction novel development (made by the authors) protagonist aileen / ai lian (爱莲), a 15-year-old third-generation chinese indonesian, struggles to connect with her cultural heritage despite strong family values. this reflects a common challenge faced by many teenagers today, who may prioritize contemporary identities over their ancestral roots. plot and development the novel explores aileen's journey of rediscovering her chinese roots and heritage, particularly the philosophical values embedded in the lontong cap go meh tradition. aileen learns these life lessons through her adventures in preparing and cooking lontong cap go meh in an imaginary world. setting the novel employs a dual-setting approach: a kelenteng, symbolizing chinese cultural values in indonesia, and a captivating imaginary world populated by mythical creatures drawn from chinese beliefs, particularly those associated with the cap go meh festival. genre this novel aligns with the fantasy genre, employing an imaginary setting to cater to the younger audience's preference for imaginative narratives exceeding real-world limitations (sturm, 2009). point of view the story unfolds entirely through aileen's eyes, drawing readers intimately into her journey as she confronts challenges and discovers life lessons relevant to the narrative's core themes. after considering the core elements above, the philosophical values that need to be communicated, the purpose of creation, and the target audience, the formulation of the controlling idea for the fantasy fiction novel to be designed is as follows. based on this explanation and the application of vps and sats, the following is the development of the controlling idea into a synopsis for a fantasy fiction novel: table 2: fantasy fiction novel development (made by the authors) vps description sats beginning exposition introduction of the story setting (time and place), as well as the main character of the story. aileen, a 15-year-old chinese-indonesian teenager, has become detached from her cultural roots and is more familiar with popular culture. curiosity inciting incident the event that changes the main character's life aileen's privileged life abruptly shifts as she's deposited in her grandmother's chinatown home. thrust into unfamiliar territory, she accompanies her grandmother (ama) to prepare lontong cap go meh at the temple. however, a fleeting rebellion leads to a sudden accident, leaving aileen unconscious and her journey of self-discovery suspended. change progressive complications the protagonist's attempt to return to the aileen woke up in a strange world, greeted by two lion guardians. they explained that she was brought there for misbehaving in a real-world temple. aileen attempted to escape but collided with the rabbit and tiger, two of the surprise sutanto/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 status quo only made things worse. twelve shio (chinese zodiacs) who governed this world. they were preparing sticky rice balls (ronde) for the lantern festival. crisis the protagonist decides to do the right thing. aileen was tasked with creating a new dish imbued with meaning for all twelve shio to judge. recalling her ama's lontong cap go meh, aileen decided to recreate this dish. suspense climax the culmination of all conflicts experienced by the main character. recreating the dish proved more challenging than aileen anticipated. she borrowed ingredients and, with the villagers' help, finally prepared the lontong cap go meh. after a day of hard work, aileen deeply grasped the significance of the dish as a fusion of ancestral traditions and local cuisine. end resolution end of the story, the conflict is resolved as the main character grows ultimately pardoned, aileen returned home, her heart brimming with gratitude for her grandmother's legacy of lontong cap go meh. curiosity the researcher chose the title "warisan dua dunia" ("inheritance of two worlds") for this novel. the title represents the main character, aileen, a chinese-indonesian teenager who inherits cultures from two worlds: chinese and indonesian. aileen lives between two worlds: one that has been influenced by popular culture and one that still holds fast to tradition. the title is also an allegory of the lontong cap go meh tradition, which is a result of the fusion of two cultures, javanese and chinese, and has become a cultural heritage among the chinese-indonesian. the synopsis of "warisan dua dunia" developed into a 250-page novel prototype. this prototype was then tested with the target audience of teenagers (generation z) to assess whether the novel and its accompanying illustrations could both entertain and enhance their understanding of the philosophical values underlying the lontong cap go meh tradition. thirty surabaya teenagers aged 16-19 from diverse religious, ethnic, and educational backgrounds participated in the evaluation. prior to the reading, a pre-test was administered to gauge their existing knowledge of chinese cultural values, particularly the lontong cap go meh tradition (table 3). table 3: pre-test result (made by the authors) score statement i know when and why cap go meh is celebrated. i know what distinguishes cap go meh celebrations in indonesia from those in other countries. i am familiar with the lontong cap go meh tradition. i know the ingredients commonly used in lontong cap go meh. strongly agree 5 0 10 0 agree 72 16 48 32 rather disagree 24 39 30 42 disagree 2 22 10 10 totally disagree 3 3 2 4 total 106 80 100 88 (%) index 71% 53% 67% 59% interpretation fairly good poor fairly good poor the pre-test results indicated a general lack of prior knowledge among the target audience regarding the lontong cap go meh tradition. following their reading of "warisan dua dunia," a post-test was administered to measure any increase in their understanding (table 4). sutanto/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 table 4: post-test result (made by the author) score statement i know when and why cap go meh is celebrated. i know what distinguishes cap go meh celebrations in indonesia from those in other countries. i am familiar with the lontong cap go meh tradition. i know the ingredients commonly used in lontong cap go meh. strongly agree 80 85 75 70 agree 44 48 56 60 rather disagree 9 3 3 3 disagree 0 0 0 0 totally disagree 0 0 0 0 total 133 136 134 133 (%) index 89% 91% 89% 89% interpretation very good very good very good very good post-test results indicated a significant increase in respondents' understanding of the lontong cap go meh tradition. all post-test statements achieved an average agreement rate of at least 89%, indicating a substantial improvement compared to the pre-test results (table 2). this significant increase demonstrates the novel "warisan dua dunia"' effectiveness in educating young people, particularly in surabaya, about the lontong cap go meh tradition. 5. conclusions this study explores the intersection of cultural values and fantasy narratives, employing the structural affect theory of stories (sats) and visual picture of stories (vps) frameworks, validated in narrative construction studies, to integrate cultural elements into fictional storytelling. using the ethnic food identity (efi) framework, the study identifies hope, tradition, and adaptability as central philosophical values embodied in lontong cap go meh. these values are effectively structured through the sats framework in the novel "warisan dua dunia", evoking emotional responses and enhancing reader engagement and cultural appreciation. the findings highlight cultural practices as a medium for expressing identity and heritage, translating these into narratives that resonate with both local and diasporic audiences. this aligns with the novel's role as a vehicle for cultural expression and identity reinforcement among indonesian youth. post-test results further validate the novel's effectiveness, showing an improved understanding of the lontong cap go meh tradition and its ability to bridge cultural gaps. by subverting the 'other world' trope and focusing on embodied cultural adaptation and rediscovery of tradition, warisan dua dunia offers a meaningful narrative that reflects the cultural heritage and identity of indonesian youth. in conclusion, the study's findings are supported by the theoretical frameworks and methodologies reviewed in the literature. the sats and vps frameworks enable the novel to effectively integrate cultural values into a compelling narrative, fostering cultural 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(2017). hyperreality and simulacrum: jean baudrillard and european postmodernism. european journal of interdisciplinary studies, 3(3), 75-79. https://doi.org/10.26417/ejis.v8i1.p76-80.no title. http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) international journal on: the academic research community publication doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i1.941 interior design and furniture in traditional dwellings in the old towns between modernity and preservation of cultural heritage (a special case in the old city of hebron) wisam shaded1, rawan jobran2 1assistant professor. palestine polytechnic university, wisam_shaded@yahoo.com 2msc researcher at al-ahliyya amman university, rawan.jubran6@gmail.com abstract this paper discusses the repercussions, challenges, and conditions imposed by the living occupancy in traditional dwellings with the signature spatial organization in the old cities in general and in the old city of hebron/palestine in particular. moreover, this paper examines the interior design of these dwellings in terms of wooden furniture fixed or movable, facilities such as bathrooms and kitchens, the distribution of furniture and its shape, and design, furthermore, illustrate the problem that is caused by living in traditional dwellings built in ancient time, containing patterns of spatial designs that were of use in the past but no longer suit the current needs of the inhabitants and modernity. many building foundations in this paper go back to the mamluk period, however, the rest of them goes back to the ottoman period. this paper aims to study the possibility of adapting the characteristics and components of traditional dwellings and formulate new models and solutions that enable the inhabitants of these dwellings to live in them while providing comfort and well-being without having to resort to the destruction and total removal of the internal components or replacing them with the modern style, which may not suit the aesthetics and structural feature. in addition, maintain its heritage value, by applying several measures that ensure the best results, within an objective analytical methodology including identifying a few selected models of traditional dwellings, conducting a study, and inheriting it, to reach results advancing the preservation of the cultural heritage and achieving sustainability. © 2022 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords interior components of the dwelling; wooden furniture; traditional dwelling; hebron old city; heritage value. 1. introduction the subject of residential buildings relates to the daily details of housing including the special needs of the inhabitants. each dwelling has a classification upon some factors such as social, economic, and religious, these factors form a special bond that completes each other. these factors are shown in the walls, floors, and ceilings with many purposes that meet the needs of the family that inhabits the dwelling, which is a part of the adaptataion process to modern life routines and habits. the interior decoration of traditional residences receives a great deal of attention which are the subject of this research, with the tendency to rehabilitate historical buildings, residential dwellings in particular, instates the need to repurpose the internal and functional components, and in order to find new functions that are as similar to the original function as possible, we need to find common and close factors for modern living patterns that take into account an acceptable adaptation, and ensure the continuation of the maintenance process and periodic preservation of residential buildings, (ahmad . hatem .1 january 2022. p 267 ). the process of readjustment, maintenance, and restoration must take into account the nature of the surrounding neighborhood and its inhabitants to create its own spatial identity, in which they can live within the cultural, social, and religion life they recognize, so http://www.press.ierek.com/ mailto:wisam_shaded@yahoo.com https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 2 it is an important factor for the success of any restoration process and reusing the space. there is no doubt that the study of successful models around the world is an important factor to study the methods of restoration and reuse in a way that suits modernity and contemporary design, some of these successful cases experiences are as in the next examples below. the first case is an italian country house, dating back to the seventeenth century, which was used in the past as a mill. the dwelling maintained distinctive architectural elements including arches and the use of stones in construction, it has been abandoned for thirty years before designer palumba serafini did a specialized study on the interior design of the building. followed by a restoration of the dwelling to a more modern space to suit the current use and the era's requirements while preserving the original essence of the building. this was done in the following steps: first cleaning the stone walls and then painting them white, the stone floors were remodeled, the skylights were opened to bring natural lighting into the interior, and the furniture chosen was characterized by simplicity and modernity in earthy colors, using simple carpets that fit the traditional dwelling, finally the accessories that added vitality to the place such as side lighting and the use of natural wood, (est magazine issue 27. rayner, melia.2017) figure 1. figure 1 an italian country house design by palomba serafini photographed by francisco polisio est magazine issue 27.2017. in the second case, the interior design might follow the philosophy of the designer as in this example from japan, in this example, a dwelling built in the fifteenth century in the ancient village of ushisar, a site of an ancient monastery, characterized by the construction of arches and stone walls, the interior design of this building has tended to restore simplicity and originality within a philosophical concept called wabi-sabi. which is inspired by nature, its materials differ from luxury, by heading towards rural elegance using simple materials that serve the place, with some accessories such as pottery and vases (rizzoli. 2018) figure 2. figure 2 wabi-sabi japanese house. rizzoli. (2018) https://assets.hiphotels.com elsewhere in lebanon where the third example is located in the area of msaytbeh, a house once known as the tower of musaytbeh named after the land where it stands figure 3. the history of this family house dates back to 1845 when the ground floor was built. as was customary in important houses at the time, it also included stables for the horses. a new floor was added in 1871, and restoration work started in 2017 by the architect and interior designer rabih geha, in the interior design of this restored dwelling that was inhabited by a family, we can notice the richness in details, interior furniture, and the treatment of interior walls, accessories, and antiques, with attention to lighting and air conditioning keeping up with a contemporary design in some important aspects whether in the interior design or the mechanics of the dwelling’s electrical and sanitary extensions, to create a house that suites the inhabitants, moreover respect the building’s originality and heritage status. many models may study the integration of the historical building and contemporary design through restoration and treatment, followed by the study of suitable furniture (sarup. april 11, 2022). https://assets.hiphotels.com/attachments/5e9d85769c0e1543720000ba/hd.jpg https://assets.hiphotels.com/attachments/5e9d85769c0e1543720000b9/hd.jpg https://assets.hiphotels.com/attachments/5e9d85769c0e1543720000b7/hd.jpg wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 3 figure 3. 200-year-old beirut mansion(april 11, 2022 ) . by pratyush sarup. photography cherine jokhdar 1.1. problem statement old towns in general and the old town of hebron, in particular, are characterized by the diversity of historical periods, which extends for over 400 years. this cultural diversity arises some difficulties that affect the lifestyle of the inhabitants, which needs to be studied to come up with the proper solution that preserves the cultural and aesthetic identity of these dwellings without losing their authentic heritage. this paper aims to answer the following questions:  are there problems and needs facing the inhabitants of traditional dwellings in terms of the interior design of their own homes?  what are the most important steps that must be followed to preserve the aesthetic components in the design of fixed and mobile interior furniture in traditional dwellings in which the people still inhabitant? 1.2. methodology this paper follows the descriptive and analytical scientific method through various means of interviewing, observation, and using various photography tools, computer drawings, documentation, drawing architectural plans, and detailed drawings and studies by scanning and documenting the houses used as examples in this paper. 2. comparative analysis of case studies this section of the research presents a qualitative analysis of some case studies. these cases are selected according to a number of principles that encompass conservation, and heritage building. a study was made on four models of the old city of hebron. these dwelling plans will be explained and clarified with the following pictures, the factors and selection criteria that the case studies are based on include:  the selected dwellings contain distinct aesthetic elements of islamic architecture.  all the previous dwellings are located within the old town and their origins go back to the ottoman period with mamluk origins extended to the british mandate era.  all the housing units in which the study was conducted, had no previous studies or plans made, therefore, this study is considered original research that benefits researchers and the inhabitants of the old town.  the selected dwellings are divided into two parts: a part that the owners have lived in since ancient times, and a part of the inhabitants who rent these dwellings.  the dwellings that have been studied have been restored by the hebron reconstruction committee and still require further maintenance and rehabilitation.  the old town of hebron is characterized by the diversity of the components of aesthetics and interior design, which gives distinction to it, and the most important feature is the diversity of fixed and mobile furniture. note. a special key icon was used to number the spaces and zoning of the dwelling to make it easy to follow the description and cabinet and niche coding by location and use as follows: g. for the ground floor, f . for the first floor, r. for rooms, a,b, c, . front elevation wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 4 2.1 case 1: al-rajbi family residence the residential dwelling consists of a group of superimposed floors that were formed during different stages of the dwelling’s life, which is likely to date back to the beginning of the nineteenth century or before. arches and two types of domes were used, including the fan-shaped dome known in the mamluk and ottoman periods. design is shown in figure 4. let's start with the bedrooms, room 1. consists of the bed, cabinets, and their accessories, we note the presence of curves and arches that do not fit the furniture in the room as a traditional dwelling, and the quality of modern wood such as formica used in the bedroom did not fit the traditional dwelling in terms of interior design table 1, the salon in room 1, located on a three-step platform and consists of a number of wall cabinets, most of them without shutters, as well as a mattress closet (mutawa) and allwejaq, the living room indicates a change in the use of the room, which was most likely the living room of the family in the past, and room 2 is used as a kitchen. we note the presence of the arched wall and untreated curves with furniture that suits it in terms of shape and purpose and in contrast with the design of the kitchen which leads to deformation in its shape, a recommendation to make a suitable design for storage. table 1. figure 4 .plan and section of al-rajbi family residence detailing rooms source author 2022 table 1 current use of the room and cabinets and niche in al-rajbi dwelling place source author 2022 cabinet and niche coding by location and use the current use of the room and cabinet the problem image plan gr1a wall niche gr1b mattress closet (almatawa) gr1c wall cabinets gr1d wall cabinets gr1e wejaq currently used as a salon guest room all wall cabinets were taken off and left untreated, while another niche was left without use, and the wejaq was turned into a storage area. wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 5 gr2ia wall cabinet gr1b wall cabinet currently used as a kitchen for the family and the openings were used as a sink with cabinets placed in front of the open arches the inconsistency of the used furniture, wall cabinets, and the original vaults shapes in the room, led to the loss of the aesthetic value of historece room f1r3a wall cabinet currently used as a bedroom with the bed placed in front of the closet opening the bed in the bedroom does not fit the design of the arched wall behind the head of the bed, as well as the fixed side of the dresser next to the bed-covered vaults, 2.2 case 2: salhab family residence the dwelling was built over several periods dating back to the middle of the nineteenth century. the entrance, which is a semi-broken main stone staircase, leads through a semi-roofed arch, and through the stone entrance, which leads to the main covered courtyard, which can be accessed directly from the entrance. the construction method of the dwelling is based on traditional construction, which is the vaulted fan arch system. it starts with, room 2, the bedrooms consist of separate beds, wardrobes, and accessories, there aren’t many details about the bedrooms. room 1, the living room (al-liwan), located in front of the main entrance and next to the kitchen, where the vaulted ceiling and you can not that the furniture pieces in this room are mineless. then salon room 3, where the wooden wall cabinet (al namliya, which is used to store the requirements and needs of the household utensils, with painted light wood, and glass on the upper shelves of the cabinet, and drawers in the lower area table 2, then the kitchen, which has been built in the balcony, the lack of cupboards results from with the small space of the kitchen, which needs more studies to design a solution to set up sanitary fittings, as for the newly added bathroom, it needs extensions to suit its purpose, table 2. figure 4 plan and section of residence of the salhab family residence source author 2022 wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 6 table 2 current use of the room and niches in all salhab's dwelling source author 2022 cabinet and niche coding by location and use the current use of the room the problem image plan gr1 no cabinets currently used as a living space for the family liwan and the balcony is used as a space for the kitchen the lack of proper design of furnitthat suits the shape of arches in the room and kitchen creates a special design of wall cabinets and niches, including their unsuitability for modern use. gr2 no wall cabinet currently used as a space for sleeping the room does not contain furniture and does need redesigning to cope with the need of the inhabitanttant gr3a wall cabinet (namlia) gr3b wall niche currently used as a saloon room the inconsistency of the shape of the cabinets with the interior space of the room led to the loss of the aesthetic value of the shape of the niche. 2.3 case 3: the qufaishah residence the dwelling consists of three levels: ground level (built at the end of the nineteenth century -ottoman erafirst level -built at the beginning of the twentieth centurysecond level -built at the beginning of the twentieth century-, the design of the qafisha’s dwelling has a beautiful design with a variety of architectural model's and details, this diversity is due to a number of reasons, one of them is that the dwelling was built in stages in which the construction methods and models varied, second the richness of its first owner that reflected on its way of construction. the traditional construction method depends on the presence of the arch system as approved in the roofing using corner bends and dispensing with the fan-domes system, which is a different stage from the first stages for the construction figure 5 for the interior design we start with the bedrooms, rooms 1, 2, 3, and 4, where we notice several spaces that were used as bedrooms, due to the presence of two families living in them. notice the arches in the walls and ceilings, and the replacement of cupboards and accessories in the room, one of the most important problems that appear in most rooms is the presence of a number of arches in several rooms. the arches and domes wall cabinets with a depth of 37 cm. as a result of the lack of attention to maintenance, damages appeared including the loss of some of its shutters, as well as the instability of its drawers, paint damage, and rotting of the wall behind it, which is not currently in use, besides its inconsistency with its size and shape table .3 .which needs to be re-designed to suit it, then the kitchen and its accessories from spaces for cooking, storage, and refrigeration, the problem of repurposing the room to become a kitchen, as it wasn’t studied by a designer, the kitchen accessories and equipment are crowded because they do not find a suitable space in the design, also the need to add new tiles to some walls behind the sink to meet the modern needs, table 3. as for the bathroom, it was added to the residential building using a new system of construction and materials. wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 7 , source author 2022nicheqafisha family residence encoding of the rooms and plan of figure 5 table 3 current use of the room and niches in qafisha family dwelling source author 2022 cabinet and niche coding by location and use the current use of the room the problem image plan f1r1a mattress niche (almatawa) f1r1bwall cabinet currently used as a salon guest room with 2 wall niches all wall cabinets were taken off and left untreated, and some furniture covered the almatawa niche changing its original use, so it needs to reuse cabinets and niches to suit the residents' special needs f1r2ia wall cabinets currently used as a kitchen for the family and the openings were used as a sink with cabinets placed in front of the open arches the loss of the beauty of the arches in the cabinets and their inconsistency led to the loss of their aesthetic value create a special design of wall cabinets and niches, including their unsuitability for modern use. f1r3a wall cabinet currently used as a bedroom for boys the contradiction of furniture in the interior design of the room, which is based on the design of arches in the walls, as well as in the design of the bed, which comes in the form of a cover on the original arch. f1r4a mattress closet (almatawa) f1r4b wall niche currently used as a multi-purpose room and children's sleeping room the traditional (wall niche) design, suffers from drawers damage and needs a redesign for better reuse, and the cabinet does not cop with the style furniture of the room. so it needs to reuse cabinets and niches to suit the residents' special needs wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 8 f1r5 no wall niches and have arches currently used as a master bedroom the bedroom does not fit the arches in the room. f1k1ia wall cabinet f1kb wall niche currently used as a kitchen the use of wall cabinets as a niche for supplies doesn’t cope with the current design and space, and the walls need s tilling and more cabinets and space for creating a special design of wall cabinets and niches, including their unsuitability for modern use. f1ki2 no wall cabinets currently used as a kitchen there is difficulty in using the kitchen because of the lack of cabinets and the presence of arches in the ceiling with side knees. it needs to create a special design of wall cabinets and niches, including their unsuitability for modern use 2.4 case 4: fawzi al-rajbi's residence the dwelling expresses the arab-islamic architecture at the beginning of the ottoman era and continued for a number of periods. the exact date of the original construction is not known, but from a study of the history of the neighborhood, we find that the origins of its construction are the mamluk era, and the historical eras followed it with a number of modifications for each era, which expresses the aesthetics of islamic architecture. the access to the alrajbi family dwelling is from one of the courtyards of the neighborhood of bani dar, connected through an arch with a half-barrel arch that leads to a rectangular courtyard, by observing the sectors in fawzy’s residence, we find a number of arches in some of the rooms with the disappearance of the wooden wall cabinets figure 6, the distribution of rooms and the interior design comes in succession. it was inconsistent with the room as in table 4, then the living rooms. as there is not much furniture in it, and it was suitable with the old dwelling, table. 4, then the kitchen area, as the room was converted into a kitchen, which was originally designed as a bedroom, that includes spaces for cooking, storage, and refrigeration, where we notice poor organization in a way that does not fit the requirements of the dwelling’s modern housing, that originates the need to re-design it to suit the measurements and the situation of the old dwelling. wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 9 source author 2022 rajbi's residence-fawzi als and section of plan figure 6 table . 4 current use of the room and niches in fawzi al, rajabi residence source author 2022 cabinet and niche coding by location and use the current use of the room the problem image plan gr1awall cabinets g r1b wall niches mattress closet (almatawa) current use as a salon guest room with 2 wall niches all wall cabinets were taken off and left untreated. so it needs to reuse cabinets and niches to suit the residents' special needs g r 2 a wall niches (almatawa) mattress closet g r 2 b wall niche gr2c allwejaq gr2dwall nich current use as a multi-purpose room. all wooden shelves were taken off and a curtain was used in a, b adapting and maintaining the current design of the cabinets and niche without changing their original design. gr3a wall niche gr3b allwejaq current use as a kitchen. create a special design of wall cabinets and niches, including their unsuitability for modern use. of the stove, refrigerator, and the rest of the kitchen accessories or tools. f1r1a wall niche f1r1b wall niches (almatawa) mattress closet f1r1c wall niches current use as a master bedroom arches in the interior facades and their conflict with the bed and wall niches and their conflict with the niches of the bedrooms and (almatawa) wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 10 3. analysis of case studies this part of the study deals with a statistical study of several dwellings in the old city of hebron, within an analytical study, a questionnaire, to study and understand the situation of furniture and the interior design in the traditional dwellings, and the way the resident of their houses react and deal with their own homes, the number of this sample is 19. the following statistical methods were used to verify the study's objectives and verify its hypotheses. frequent distribution of answers and percentages, graphs; all of which were collected by the authors of the paper. the study samples were selected based on several criteria, including: 1place of residence: where a study was conducted on 10 different areas in the old city of hebron, table. 5. table 5 frequency distribution of study subjects conducted in 10 different areas in the old city of hebron source author 2022 place of residence number percentage al, shallala street 3 15.8% al-qazzazin lane 5 26.3% bani dar quarter 2 10.5% qaitoun lane 1 5.3% al-mashareqah lane 2 10.5% al-aqaba lane 1 5.3% al, dabouya 2 10.5% the mouse pierced 1 5.3% milk market 1 5.3% khalat hadour 1 5.3% total 19 100% 2age of the dwelling: figure 6 frequency distribution of study subjects according to the age of the dwelling source author 2022 mamluki and less ottoman beginning of the twentieth century up to date wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 11 3number of rooms: table 6 frequency distribution of study subjects by the number of rooms source author 2022 number of rooms number percentage 1 – 3 rooms 6 31.6% 4 – 7 rooms 5 26.3% 8 rooms and above 8 42.1% total 19 100% 4number of niches in the housing: table 7 frequency distribution of study personnel according to the number of niches source author 2022 number of cabinets and niches number percentage 1 – 3 cabinets and niche 10 52.6% 4 – 7 cabinets and niche 2 10.5% 8 cabinets above 7 36.8% total 19 100% 5kitchen mode: table 8 studies subjects' frequency distribution according to the kitchen situation source author 2022 kitchen mode number percentage traditional cabinets and niche 10 52.6% modern cabinets and niche 9 47.4% total 19 100% it is clear from table 8 that the situation of kitchen cabinets and niches for most of the study members is (traditional cabinets) where they reached 10 individuals and constitute (52.6%), while the number of those who put the place for kitchen cabinets upon self-choice (modern cabinets) was 9 individuals constituting (47.4%). 4. survey results as a part of this paper, a survey of inhabitants was distributed, focusing on the following questions: do you use wall niches regularly? do you find obstacles when buying furniture in your traditional home? do you suffer from constant moisture in the walls of old cupboards? wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 12 do you keep the current design of the cabinets and niche unchanged? do you reuse cabinets and niche to suit your own needs? do you re-repair the damaged cabinets and niche as soon as any damage occurs to them? • the first statement came do you use wall niches regularly? frequency distribution of the answers for the study sample members to the first statement it is clear from figure 7 that the answer for the majority of the study members is (agree), as their number reached (9) individuals and constituted (47.4%), followed by those whose answer is (agree). strongly) with (5) individuals at a rate of (26.3%), while the number of those who answered (neutral) was (4) individuals at a rate of (21.1%). figure 7 first statement. source author 2022 • the second statement came: do you find obstacles when buying furniture in your traditional home? frequent distribution of the answers of the study sample members to the it is clear in figure 18 that the answer for the majority of the study members is (i agree), as their number reached (11) individuals and constituted (57.9). %), followed by those who answered (strongly agree) with (6) individuals at a rate of (31.6%), while the number of those who answered (neutral) reached two individuals at a rate of (10.5%). figure 8 second statement .source author 2022 • the third statement: do you suffer from constant moisture in the walls of old cupboards? the frequency distribution of the answers of the study sample members is clear from figure 9 that the answer for the majority of the study members is (strongly agree), as their number reached (12) individuals and constituted (63.2%), they followed by those who answered (agree) with (4) individuals at a rate of (21.1%), while the number of those who answered (neutral, disagree and strongly disagree) reached one individual at a rate of (5.3%) for each of them. figure 9. the third statement .source author 2022 wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 13 • the fourth statement: do you keep the current design of the cabinets and niche unchanged? frequency distribution of the answers of the study sample members, it is clear from figure 10, that the answer for the majority of the study members is (neutral), as their number reached (12) individuals and constituted (63.2%), followed by those whose answers (agree) with (5) individuals at a rate of (26.3%), while the number of those who answered (strongly agree) was two individuals at a rate of (10.5%). figure 10. the fourth statement source author 2022 •the fifth statement. do you reuse cabinets and niche to suit your own needs? frequency distribution of the answers of the study sample members, it is clear from figure 11, that the answer for the majority of the study members is (i agree), as their number reached (11) individuals and constituted (57.9%), followed by those who answer (strongly agree) (5) individuals at a rate of (26.3%), while the number of those who answered (neutral) was (3) individuals at a rate of (15.8)% . figure 11. the fifth statement source author 2022 • the sixth statement. do you re-repair the damaged cabinets and niche as soon as any damage occurs to them? frequency distribution of the answers of the study sample members, it is clear from figure 12 that the answer for the majority of the study members is (agree), as their number reached (7) individuals and constitutes (36.8%) while the number of those who answered (strongly agree and neutral) was (6) individuals, at a rate of (31.6%) for each of them. figure 12 the sixth statement. source author 2022 5. discussion the questionnaires and case studies of houses in the old city were meant to answer certain questions, studying several traditional dwellings inhabited by their owners leads to many questions, including the difficulty they may examine in unifying and finding a design link for the furniture and the internal space to maintain the way of life that may lead to modernity in all its aspects and needs, and also the difficulties that face the process of moving furniture to the residential building, as well as the difficulty of finding furniture that suits the design of the traditional dwelling, wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 14 especially with the presence of arches and volts which may not help to arrange a suitable and practical contemporary design. on the other hand, a need to re-design traditional furniture and find spaces for the requirements of modern life, which constitute modern needs that were not present in traditional housing, which is represented by their presence and use in the dwelling, including the kitchen requirements of a place for cooking, the presence of ovens and cooking gases, refrigerators, microwaves, washing machines, and dishwashers, and it also requires the work of sanitary installations for these electrical appliances. also, finding a suitable space in the bedroom requirements, including beds, wardrobes, and accessories for modern bedrooms, and designing bedrooms that fit the vaulted space, in a way that suits the spirit of the place and use. among the spaces imposed by contemporary and current modernity are the living rooms and salons, which require a design for seating that fits the arches and domes in the ceilings and walls, and that is suitable for the traditional design of the dwelling, and by using materials close to the spirit of the studied space. the most important points raised in this study and the most important recommendations can be summarized as follows:  suffering when buying furniture pieces in the old dwelling.  suffering from dampness in the walls of old cupboards.  adapting and maintaining the current design of the cabinets and niche without changing their original design.  reuse cabinets and niches to suit the residents' special needs.  create a special design of wall cabinets and niches, including their unsuitability for modern use. 6. recommendations studying the history of traditional buildings and their materials and design to preserve and reuse them without losing their identity and to reach advancing results of preservation of the cultural heritage and achieving sustainability. and by preserving cultural heritage and its preserving identity, we can preserve it without losing its true essence, spirit, and face, and this passes through applying a number of means in order to reach modernity and contemporary in the past spirit and vision, this can be summarized by:  developing methods dealing with cultural heritage and providing an opportunity for experimentation and innovation to develop creative capabilities and achieve innovative solutions in interior design and furniture design.  blending traditional and contemporary furniture design to enrich furniture styles.  conducting more research and studies to benefit from the traditional heritage.  finding a relationship between the original uses of the residential furniture and linking them with the new use as much as possible.  attempting to adapt local environment with its raw materials and integrate it into the furniture design in their traditional houses.  continuing the periodic maintenance of the residential building to ensure the process of preservation and use.  special courses should be introduced in universities and institutes that study the methods of manufacturing furniture suitable for traditional housing so that they are trained to root the originality of traditional buildings in a way that suits modernity and serves the inhabitants of these housing. in the end, more research is required to take care of the cultural heritage and maintain the condition of the dwelling, making a change that suits their living and does not affect the basic design of the traditional furniture. acknowledgements in conclusion, a big thanks to everyone who had a clear impact on this paper, and this important study on furniture in traditional dwellings, especially to the ladies and gentlemen who live in traditional homes, the engineers, and the hebron reconstruction committee for the effective cooperation in writing and collecting information. wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 15 appendix a. glossary al-khorangالخورنق: it is the small cabinets called wall cabinets and their measurement varies greatly, including the very small, which is in the lower area of the wall, and from them, it is found in the upper places table 8. almatawaالمطوى: mattress cabinets the word matawa came from folding bedding and other sleeping supplies and the folded is used to place the mattress and is also called the mattress arch and masfat) مسفط( (hamdan 1996. 631) and there are shelves in the mattress closet and there may be some secret cabinets (hajj um safwat. 2019 personal interview) table 8. namliaنملية: are wooden cabinets that use several uses, including what is placed in the kitchen, where types of dry foods, pickles, and others are stored, as well as used to put household items, and some of them are placed in the hall where the family's belongings of glass and tools are placed, and the ant is the kitchen cabinet in which dishes and others are placed and sometimes called lattice table 8. wejaqوجاق: the stove, they call it on everything related to cooking supplies, where the wajaq was used for cooking and a means of heating, and its measurements varied from one dwelling to another, where it consisted of a rectangle or square where it contained a house of fire and an upper opening that reaches the top of the dwelling, which is called dakhon. the phenomenon of wajaq is widespread in most palestinian dwellings, as the use of fire in heating is common in most dwellings (hamdan, 1996, 631). figure 7. alsambuskah كهالسمبوس : a triangular wooden shelf for placing the housing supplies (katibih, 2017. 3). table 8. tableطاولة: there are different types of tables and depend on their size and use (hamdan. 1996. 658) local names for the small table used in hospitality are called iskamla or tarbiza (ahlam. of personal interview 2019) table 8. altablia wood pallet الطبلية : it is a type of short table and has many uses, including for food or study as well as food preparation its session is the dushk, which is a long wooden bench, and some of it is wooden and some of it is upholstered, and when upholstered it is called the sijlon (hamdan. 658.1996) table 8. the bride's box صندوق العروس: the bride at that time was preparing the box as a device to take from her parent’s house and go astray with her, which is made of wood and was fed with slices of copper (sharif, 2004) figure 7. altakht (bed) التخت: it is used for sleeping and the bed usually was made of wood. cradle المهد: small bed which is placed next to the bed for children(rogers, 2013.109) the sijilon السجلون (hamdan. 658.1996) is a long wooden bench with mattresses or mattresses stuffed with wool and the bed is decorated with decorated sheets and embroidered in table 8. chairs and sofas الكراسى والصوفا: varied in shapes, including inlaid and shell sofas, which contain inscriptions and geometric and leafy decorations, as well as carved wooden sofas, and sofas upholstered with dark burgundy velvet. as for the chairs, they were usually made of beech wood (hamdan. 658.1996) and used to sit on them, whether in the salon or the living rooms. chairs are made of wood and its seat is made of thick hemp threads in the form of weaving upholstery the types vary. table 8 shows examples of furniture used in the traditional dwelling in the city of hebron al-khorang almatawa namlia wejaq alsambuskah f ix ed f u rn it u re wisam shadeed/ the academic research ierek press pg. 16 table altablia bride box altakht (bed) cradle chairs and sofas m o b il e f u rn it u re references ahmad, hatem tawfeeq. (1 january 2022) .rehabilitation and providing functionality for preserving architectural monuments from damage.factors international design journal, volume 12, issue. dundis, noha azmi. ( 2018) . analysis of the layers of buildings towards a tool to study the historical development of traditional hebron buildings palestine. unpublished master's thesis.jerusalem palestine hatem sharbati. ( 21,4, 2012 am 11:57 ) a city whose people do not know hunger hebron forum: http://www.sharabati.org hamed, muhannad. (2011) heritage industries in the palestinian territories investment opportunities and prospects for micro, small and medium industries jerusalem ramallah palestinian economic policy research institute. palestine. hamdan, omar. (1996). popular architecture in palestine. edited by abd al-jabbar, thalji, abu khalaf marwan. first edition by hassan abu dalu beit safafa press copyright reserved to the family recovery association, al-bireh. palestine. rogers, mary elissa. (2013). life in the homes of palestine mary eliza rogers' travels in palestine and its interior (1855-1859). arab foundation for studies and publishing beirut. rayner, melia. ( 2017). an italian country house design by palomba serafini. est living magazine out of the box. issue27.https://www.estliving.com/magazine/est-magazine-issue-27 rizzoli, linda leigh paul. ( 2018). stone houses: natural forms in historic and modern homes by, new york house. https://assets.hiphotels.com. sarup, pratyush.(april 11, 2022). old beirut mansion.homesarchitecture & interiors. sharif, ghada samih. (march 6, 2005) what is said about the joys and sorrows in the hebron governorate? field study of bride forums. interview eng. ahlam al-muhtaseb several interviews (july and august 2019) information about palestinian housing over the phone. hajj um safwat jabari (july 2019) 75 years old residents of the old city over the phone nedaa monotonous muhtaseb um omran (july 2019) age 83 years old residents of the old city over the phone hajj um adnan al-batsh (july 2019) age 70 old city residents over the phone ms. zulekha al-muhtaseb (july 2019) master of english language resident of shuhada street and runs a center and has experience in the history of housing in the old city over the phone. eng. noha dundis (2018-2020) is an expert architect and specialist in the residences of the old city working in the hebron reconstruction committee and was met at the headquarters of the hebron reconstruction committee. mr. mohammed al-housh (2/2015)conducted by al-quds tv) http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of academic research community pg. 1 research paper received: 23 december 2024, accepted: 27 january 2025, published online: 31 january 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1161 the head-mounted displays (hmds): towards a playful approach to architectural space. case study of augmented grounds by hahm, jung, and lee kamoun sami1 1assistant professor, the higher school of science and technology of design, tunisia abstract this study explores the use of head-mounted displays (hmds) as augmented fabrication interfaces within the fields of architecture and landscape design. it focuses on the analysis of augmented grounds, a landscape installation designed by soomeen hahm, jaeheon jung, and yumi lee. the research is based on an in-depth literature review of this project and the art of gardens, particularly in the context of the métis international garden festival, which serves as the backdrop for this creation. to enhance the analysis, photographic and video materials, as well as data obtained from online interviews, were incorporated. the installation innovatively combines the traditional craft of hand-weaving with the digital precision enabled by hmds. it offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the textile heritage of the north american métis nation by applying a parametric design approach to architecture and landscape. this pioneering approach opens up new horizons in landscape art design by leveraging an innovative fabrication method that redefines the role of interfaces particularly hmds beyond their conventional use in architecture, integrating them seamlessly into artistic and landscape creation. © 2024 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords head-mounted displays; landscape; architecture; augmented reality 1. introduction the concept of an interface refers in the field of computing to a device that facilitates the transfer of information from one point to another (giroud, 2021: 2). according to le petit robert, the term is defined as a “surface of separation” (rey, 1984: 1020). in other words, it signifies an intermediary zone, as implied by the prefix inter-: a “universal medium” (chazal, 2017: 6), a sort of “mirror” (chazal, 1995), an intermediary or boundary between two entities. it is also a shared limit, a place of interaction, coupling, separation, connection, or junction between the user and the software (desjardins & plante, 2022: 96). beyond computing contexts, the interface is understood as something that “connects while separating” (hookway, 2014: 4 & chazal, 2002: 269). generally speaking, it “neither links nor delinks but resides at the core of every connection” (giroud, 2021: 3). it is neither “a place” nor a “middle” nor a “mid-place” in the sense of moderation between two different spaces (jullien, 2012: 61). as defined by dictionaries and various authors, the interface https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i1.1161&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 2 represents a shared boundary, an intermittent separation, and a point of connection between two distinct spaces, regardless of their nature or form. in our study, we focus on the relationship between real architectural space and its virtual equivalent as an example of such differentiation. specifically, we will examine the augmented reality headset as an interfacing device that connects the human body equipped with the interface to the visualized digital world. the headset is a portable sensory interface based on immersing the observer’s gaze. also known as a head-mounted display (hmd), this device provides a stereoscopic view and simulates either virtual or augmented reality.1. this sophisticated headset covers the user’s entire head, isolating them from the physical world and enabling interaction with a dreamlike environment. equipped with a mini stereoscopic screen, an optical system adjusted to accommodate the eyes, and various motion-tracking sensors, the headset offers a unique immersive experience. these sensors include an accelerometer for detecting spatial movement, a gyroscope for angular displacement, and a magnetometer for tracking the head’s position relative to the ground. the device also integrates immersive audio components and a processor for data processing, all housed in a compact and ergonomic design. the headset can operate autonomously using an integrated battery or connect to a computer, gaming console, or smartphone via wired or wireless connections (fig. 1). although the idea of being immersed in an immersive environment is difficult to date precisely, devices such as the telesphere mask, patented in 1960, or the sensorama, patented in 1962, are among the first to be developed. the telesphere mask (fig. 2-1), resembling modern headsets, is considered a reference point or even a precursor. meanwhile, the sensorama (fig. 2-2) enhanced realism by simulating experiences such as a bike ride through a brooklyn neighborhood in the united states. the modern headset as we know it today appeared in the 1980s. its development has been relatively slow, and currently, two main technologies dominate the market: cathode-ray tube (crt)-based screens and liquid crystal displays (lcd). today, augmented reality headsets have successfully entered many fields, including architecture and landscape design, areas we intend to explore further. for nearly half a century, architecture has been influenced by spaces designed to be explored through immersive headsets. among the leading figures was marcos novak and his theory of transarchitecture, described as a “hybrid connection” (novak, 1997) or a “continuum” (roussel, 2012) that links the real and virtual worlds, creating a kind of spatial interface that transcends the limits of our imagination. today, the augmented reality headset remains a viable technology, increasingly permeating our daily lives. in 1998, asymptote architecture developed virtual nyse (fig. 3-1), featuring “data scapes” virtual landscapes saturated with stock market data, information flows, statistics, and interactive immersive correlations designed for traders to explore using advanced sensory devices. similarly, starting in 2010, keiichi matsuda envisioned fictional scenarios in his short films, such as augmented (hyper) reality (fig. 3-2), where he anticipated an augmented reality, sometimes dystopian and distinctly gamified, made visible through augmented reality headsets in a near future. along the same lines, the scanlab projects team used 3d scanning lasers in exhibitions like italy’s invisible cities (fig. 3-3), offering heritage immersion through life-sized landscape holograms with millimeter precision that create the sensation of being inside an immersive headset. today, augmented reality headsets have become more accessible and are widely used in art, design, and architecture, as exemplified by the work of soomeen hahm. in projects like augmented grounds (fig. 3-4), created in 2020, hahm successfully integrated this technology to merge the physical and virtual worlds within handcrafted architectural installations. similarly, in the real virtuality pavilion (fig. 3-5), designed in 2019, gilles retsin combined augmented reality technology with the assembly of plywood modules to create a complex interlocking wooden structure. meanwhile, japanese author reki kawahara explores the intersection of reality and virtuality through his light novels, imagining a science-fiction neural interface called nerve gear design (fig. 3-6). this fictional virtual reality headset connects directly to the user’s nervous system, enabling full immersion in a fantastical, gamified universe. kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 3 figure 1: illustration of the internal components of the augmented reality headset. (barrial, 2015) left, figure 2-1: the telesphere mask, invented by morton heilig in 1960. right, figure 2-2: the sensorama, built in 1962, was an immersive device designed to simulate a bike ride. (scheinerman, 2009) left, figure 3-1: virtual nyse, a virtual stock exchange project designed in new york in 1998 by asymptote architecture. (brayer & migayrou, 2000) right, figure 3-2: augmented (hyper) reality, a short film challenging the use of digital technology, especially smartphones. kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 4 * top left, figure 3-3: italy’s invisible cities is an audio-visual documentary revealing, through virtual models, the hidden remains of naples, venice, and florence. (bbc taster, 2017) top right, figure 3-4: augmented grounds is a landscape installation made of colorful ropes assembled using an augmented reality headset. (bühlbecker, 2020) bottom left, figure 3-5: real virtuality, by gilles retsin, is an installation built using an immersive headset inside the architecture gallery of the royal academy. (delpech & caruana, 2019) bottom right, figure 3-6: image of nerve gear design. (nervegear) 2. materials and methods this research explores augmented grounds, an installation created by soomeen hahm, jaeheon jung, and yumi lee. developed in quebec during an international landscape design festival in 2020, this installation utilized an augmented reality headset as a fabrication tool. our methodology follows a qualitative and descriptive approach, structured around several axes of analysis: the historical and cultural dimension associated with the métis nation of canada, the use of miscegenation techniques in the creation process, as well as its spatial, aesthetic, and technological approach, defined by the adoption of the parametric paradigm in architecture. to this end, we conducted an analysis of graphical documents, spatial and aesthetic descriptions from official sources, as well as open-access video recordings documenting the fabrication stages, prototyping, and in-situ testing. finally, our approach aims to shed light on the synthesis and results obtained by intertwining aesthetic, architectural, and technological perspectives. what form of architecture might emerge from this singular interplay between the real and virtual worlds in augmented grounds? what spatial, playful, and aesthetic dualities might result from this particular and constructive conceptual approach? what theses and antitheses might arise from such a coexistence of craftsmanship and digital technology? finally, what risks and challenges, does this intersection between the tangible and the virtual pose for the future of architecture, landscape, and design? 3. results 3.1. augmented grounds: an inherited symbol and a landscape festival installation augmented grounds (fig. 4) is a landscape installation created for the 2020 edition of the international garden festival of the métis, centered on the theme of miscegenation. since its creation in 2000, this festival has been considered an open-air laboratory for landscape experimentation. held annually in the gaspésie region, within one of north america’s largest gardens, the event showcases avant-garde installations that provide spectators with kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 5 innovative ways to connect with nature. horticulturists, designers, and landscape architects from around the world participate, creating singular and original works each year. a canadian national historic site and a quebec heritage site, the métis gardens are located at the confluence of the st. lawrence river and the mitis river. these gardens were designed between 1926 and 1958 by elsie reford, a montreal horticulturist and philanthropist, who devoted her time and energy to this charitable work during a period when british-influenced ornamental gardens were already well-established in the region (von baeyer, 1984: 100). it should be noted that the fashion for gardens in canada in the early twentieth century was associated with social reform movements, which gave these spaces a psychological, moral and social mission in addition to their artistic vocation (hébert, 2009: 302). in this sense, the métis gardens were not just an aesthetic space of beauty and harmony, but also “a remedy for the ills of society, a vehicle for moral and material progress” (von baeyer, 1984: 1 & 2). among the 200 submissions received, augmented grounds was selected as one of five winning proposals, alongside: corps de résonance (fig. 4-2), an interactive musical folly that resonates with the sounds of the forest; entwine (fig. 4-3), an immersive spiral integrating hybridized plants to encourage horticultural exploration; forêt corallienne (fig. 4-4), a coral reef-inspired installation rooted in the woodland, creating a strikingly unusual landscape; and (mé)tissages (fig. 4-5), an experimental garden embodied in an arrangement of colorful ropes. due to the covid19 pandemic, the designers of these projects were unable to visit the site. however, the festival team managed the construction of all the installations, including augmented grounds. augmented grounds draws inspiration from the traditional sash of the métis nation of canada’s plains, a symbol of “pride and identity” (collectif). according to le petit robert, the term métis is defined as a mix, an alloy, a crossbreed, or as being part of something, more precisely, of a culture or race (rey, 1984: 1192). in the north american context, particularly in canada, it refers to people of mixed heritage, typically indigenous and european (lebel, 2003: 76). the origins of canada’s métis are commonly traced back to the 19th century, though miscegenation is a much older phenomenon that began “nine months after the first europeans set foot in america” (lebel, 2003: 77). the métis are also renowned for their red river carts ingeniously multifunctional vehicles and shelters and their vividly colored, handwoven wool sashes, which hold deep historical and artistic significance. though unable to visit the installation in person, we can appreciate how augmented grounds reinterprets the métis sash’s vibrant chromatic palette, translating it into a striking composition of intricately intertwined and sculpted ropes displayed on the exhibition site. as shown in a video by the designers, this space offers a unique and calming experience for spectators seeking to interact with the installation while reconnecting with nature. the métis sash, also known as the arrow sash or the colored wool belt, is a quebec creation intimately tied to the province’s history (fig. 5). in 1924, historian édouard-zotique massicotte described it as a “masterpiece of domestic industry in french canada” (massicotte, 1924), while ethnologist marius barbeau celebrated it in a dedicated work in 1973 (barbeau, 1973). in 2016, the métis sash was officially recognized as an intangible heritage of quebec by the ministry of culture and communications. today, it is considered an iconic and widely recognized symbol of quebecois culture. its enduring influence lies in its aesthetic qualities, practicality, and versatility. traditionally, the sash served multiple purposes, functioning as a scarf, a rope, or a fastening tool for coats (chartrand, and al., 2006: 173). artisans crafted it from colorful wool, often incorporating materials such as silk, horsehair, plant fibers, or even human hair, using a finger-weaving technique. its design featured intricate patterns, including arrowshaped motifs that extended to its fringed ends. it also served as a marker of social distinction and prestige, even becoming “a quasi-ceremonial gesture widely practised in métis political assemblies” (simard & rousseau, 2004: 15). kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 6 figure 4-1: general view of the augmented grounds installation. (hahm, 2020) top left, figure 4-2: corps de résonance by charlotte barbeau, leila desrosiers, félix roy, and jean-benoit trudelle. top right, figure 4-3: entwine by waiyee chou and carlos portillo. bottom left, figure 4-4: forêt corallienne by lucie bulot and dylan collins. bottom right, figure 4-5: (mé)tissages by french architect duc truong. (jardins des métis, 2020) kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 7 figure 5: the métis sash of canada. (barbeau, 2016) 3.2. parametrism in the work of augmented grounds augmented grounds is the product of teamwork involving three designers specializing in design and computing: soomeen hahm, jaeheon jung, and yumi lee. soomeen hahm, an architect trained at the architectural association design research lab (drl), is also a lecturer and robotics researcher at the southern california institute of architecture. her work reflects a concern for a symbiotic relationship or “ecology”, as she describes it between human intuition and the computational power of machines (hahm, 2020). in 2016, she founded soomeenhahm design ltd, a london-based design agency where she explores new architectural paradigms through innovative generative and algorithmic design approaches. jaeheon jung, the second co-designer of this project, is an architect and urban planner who graduated in 2011 from the architecture program at the southern california institute of architecture and, in 2009, from the m.s. in urban design and planning program at the university of seoul in south korea. in 2013, he founded slz inc., a company specializing in designing and constructing architectural and landscape projects using augmented reality. in 2020, he co-founded koh sx studio, a second company focused on software development in architecture, robotics, and pataphysics a science exploring exceptions and imagination in collaboration with yumi lee. yumi lee, the third co-designer, holds a master of fine arts from boston university (1998) and a master of landscape architecture from the university of pennsylvania (2001). she has worked as a landscape architect in the united states and has lectured at the university of california, los angeles. for the international garden festival installation, hahm, jung, and lee explored the use of parametrically designed curves and counter-curves, a process that required precise coordination between human intervention and machine automation. inspired by the traditional métis sash of canada, augmented grounds creates a chromatic and playful topographic experience. the term “playful,” derived from the latin ludus, refers to “official or ritual games” (rey, 2022: 1151) or “distracting activities pursued for enjoyment” (souriau, 2010: 960), evoking feelings of joy, pride, and recreational pleasure. however, beyond its entertaining qualities, the installation embodies, in the words of its designers, “the miscegenation of cultural pride and innovation” (hahm, 2020). in augmented grounds, the métis sash traditionally crafted through the art of finger weaving has been reimagined as colorful ropes, twisted and layered into intricate patterns that harmonize with the topography of the surrounding gardens. these ropes are meticulously arranged across the terrain, creating a flow of curved lines, bubbles, and geometric contours that follow the existing landforms. they also reflect various layers of the cultural history of canada’s indigenous peoples. within this unique landscape installation, visitors are invited to move, walk, crawl, dance, run across the mounds and pools, jump along the ropes, turn, sit, or recline on the coiled seating of this giant, interactive instrument, which comes alive in resonance with the surrounding forest. kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 8 the designers of augmented grounds explore a singular collaboration between humans and computers, employing an avant-garde methodology to generate intricate forms achievable exclusively through computational tools. this approach, commonly referred to as parametricism, establishes itself as the successor to modernism in architectural innovation. parametricism transcends postmodernism and deconstructivism, movements often considered transitional and insufficient in addressing the increasing complexity of contemporary society (schumacher, 2009: 15). modernism, which emerged in architecture in the early 20th century, marked a radical departure from past traditions, championing principles such as rationalization, standardization, and functionalism. postmodernism, which arose in the 1970s, was a reaction against modernism, primarily from an aesthetic standpoint, critiquing its excessive simplicity and lack of nuance (loyer, 1981: 380). deconstructivism represented another form of dissent, transgressing modernist architectural archetypes to recombine them “according to their formal genealogy” (wigley, 1993). finally, parametricism, a product of the digital revolution, enables the creation of flexible forms, where altering one parameter triggers progressive transformations across the entire architectural design (woodbury, 2010: 226). this paradigm prioritizes fluid, adaptable forms generated through parametric algorithms rather than fixed, standardized models (alazzawi & al-majidi, 2020). a wide range of design software tools has been developed to support this approach, often leading to aesthetic uniformity due to their shared manipulation techniques. for augmented grounds, the installation’s forms were parametrically designed using mathematical algorithms such as metaball and boids (fig. 6-1, 6-2). metaballs, which can be described as convolution surfaces, are spherical shapes notable for their ability to cluster and merge fluidly. boids, derived from the term “bird-oid”, simulates the collective movements of a flock of birds. both algorithms are ideally suited to creating curved, fluid aesthetics, favoring continuous variations that align with the formalism of parametric design. this formal language also resonates with the dynamics of bodily movement during playful activities, evoking the rhythmic gymnastics of a flexible, sinuous human body in motion within a play space. the playful experience embodied in augmented grounds engages the body in a state of dynamic balance and constant rebalancing, enabling choreographic expressions through both deliberate and spontaneous gestures. figure 6-2: a parametrically adjustable metaball component. (ananthram, 2020) 3.3. head-mounted displays in service of parametric architecture on a conceptual level, the augmented grounds work was designed using parametric modeling software such as grasshopper, an extension module of the rhinoceros 3d computer-aided design software (fig. 7-1, 7-2). grasshopper allows iterative adjustments of parameters while visualizing their effects on the modeled form. the virtual models generated through this parametric approach to architecture were then projected using a holographic program named fologram, which connects them to microsoft’s augmented reality headset, the hololens (fig. 7-3). this interface, instantly connected to a computer, includes one or two small screens positioned in front of the user’s eyes, creating a panoramic virtual environment while remaining grounded in the real world. it is equipped with a battery for mobility and a motion detector that simulates movements and enhances the optical thickness of real-world appearances. figure 6-1: simulation of a bird flock’s flight using the boids algorithm. (parametric house, 2024) kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 9 the first perception provided by this device is a pre-programmed grid serving as a holographic guide to facilitate the assembly of the installation throughout its realization. while these holograms are instructional, they also challenge corporeality and natural human sensory perceptions by providing an interactive, multimodal immersion. numerous anthropological and sociological studies emphasize the profound impact of the rise of computing particularly augmented reality on spatial perception, human behavior, and worldviews, fostering a life increasingly mediated “on screen” (turkle, 1995). due to health constraints, the realization of augmented grounds was carried out remotely, simultaneously, and through close collaboration. festival volunteers, serving as builders, wore head-mounted displays that projected holograms made of light in arbitrary locations. these holograms, integrated as semi-transparent, customizable images into the physical environment, allowed users to visualize occlusion phenomena between real and virtual elements. acting as a medium, the holograms enhanced the builders’ perception, improved their sensory-motor and cognitive activities, and enriched the collaborative fabrication experience between humans and machines. fully engaged in the construction of the project, the builders of augmented grounds, equipped with their headsets, were guided by virtual and adjustable images to perform the complex and meticulous assembly of the ropes. the advantage of this interface lies in its precise guidance regarding the placement and assembly of the ropes. the device displays virtual models on a stereoscopic screen, making them appear in real space, particularly at the exact spots where the ropes will be positioned (fig. 8). meanwhile, hahm, jung, and lee monitored the fabrication process remotely using a digital replica of the site based on cloud computing technology (fig. 9). this allowed them to control the process and instantly transmit necessary instructions to the construction site via remote servers, regardless of their location or time. in craftsmanship, even the simplest gestures of the artisan draw upon their mind to fuel creativity. through experience, passion, and patience invested in their work, artisans learn to anticipate sensations and adjust their movements based on an intuition shaped by practice (sennett, 2010: 286). this intuition, combined with passion and experience, is at the heart of the creative act, including in the field of landscaping. it remains essential even in the age of machines and automation. from this perspective, augmented grounds, created by hahm, jung, and lee, represents a unique symbiosis between the human gestures of the builders considered as creative artisans and the computational precision of machines. the intricate forms emerging from this installation cannot be entirely created by either digital automation or manual labor alone; they are the result of a curious and harmonious collaboration between human skill and technological power. in an article titled augmenting human designers and builders: augmentation discussed, soomeen hahm highlights two critical aspects of this human-machine coexistence, which allow greater tolerance in the fabrication process. first, there is the unpredictability inherent in manual craftsmanship, stemming from the artisans’ intuitive decisions when confronting unexpected errors during the assembly and tracking of holographic models (hahm, 2021: 139). second, there is the computer’s ability to react immediately and adapt to changes in parametric models. this leads to the creation of what hahm calls “calculated unpredictability” (hahm, 2021: 117). as noted by mattia santi, this conceptual approach facilitates intuitive and rapid communication between designers and builders, simplifies the fabrication process, reduces construction costs and time, and encourages the adoption of flexible parametric geometries that can adapt to unforeseen modifications (santi, 2021). ultimately, the success of augmented grounds was underscored when it was revisited and reinterpreted with a certain mannerism at the 2021 seoul biennale of architecture and urbanism, whose theme was crossroads. kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 10 top left, figure 7-1 and top right, figure 7-2: 3d simulation created using the grasshopper parametric modeling software. figure 7-3: image of the hololens augmented reality headset. (tillinac, 2017) figure 8: images illustrating the in-situ fabrication process of augmented grounds. kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 11 figure 9: image showing the use of cloud computing technology. 4. conclusion this study explored the integration of a unique interface technology within a renowned festive landscape experience at the métis gardens in canada. the augmented grounds installation reimagines the cultural heritage of the métis nation of north america by merging augmented reality technologies with traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge parametric fabrication. the work of hahm, jung, and lee is characterized by a supple, curvilinear formalism, adaptable through gradual modifications, and inscribed in the dynamic gestures of the body during playful activities. during the fabrication process, the builders’ actions and movements were reflected in real-time within the virtual environment through a program and holograms pre-designed by hahm, jung, and lee, who remotely supervised the construction. this groundbreaking approach paves the way for alternative methods, divergent ideas, and novel perspectives on manufacturing, challenging the notion of the interface as merely a headset and integrated screen while transcending the traditional boundaries of architectural artefacts. we emphasize that the fabrication technique itself is a source of fascination in this project and is likely to be further refined in the near future, potentially creating a library of construction technologies that leverage augmented reality headsets in artistic and architectural projects. these findings invite reflection on the broader implications for recreational spaces and architecture as both a lived experience and an applied discipline. what might be the impact of the widespread adoption of portable, disposable, and affordable augmented reality headsets on architectural fabrication processes? how could such technologies reshape the parametric design movement and the aesthetics it promotes? what new avenues might architectural research pursue with this form of interfacing? lastly, what forms of reconciliation or tension-might emerge between handcrafted and artificial fabrication through today’s headset-wearing creators? acknowledgements not applicable. funding declaration this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval not applicable. kamoun/ proceedings of academic research community pg. 12 conflict of interest the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. references giroud g. l’interface de la représentation, représentations de l’interface. interfaces numériques, 2021;1(10). https://www.unilim.fr rey a. petit robert 1. france: le robert; 1984. rey a. dictionnaire historique de la langue française. france: le robert; 2022. chazal g. introduction. l’espace du numérique comme lieu de débat. in: chazal g, editor. le 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grounds: introducing smart construction technology using augmented reality. in: data aided design, 2021. https://dataidedesign.com http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) the academic research community publication pg. 1 research paper received: 29 september 2023, accepted: 30 october 2023, published online: 31 october 2023 doi: 10.21625/archive.v7i3.1028 public space as an urban cultural and tourism education facility with a historical atmosphere (case study: old city area of jakarta) silviana amanda a tahalea1, erlina novianti1 1department of photography faculty of art and design universitas trisakti, jakarta, indonesia abstract the old city area, which is a part of jakarta city has become the symbol of batavia's historical greatness. batavia is also known as the queen of the east due to its beauty (brill, 1993). from its long historical record and the abundant number of historical heritages, old city area revitalization efforts have become a priority in dki jakarta governor’s work programs. based on law number 26 year 2007 regarding landscapes, jakarta should own 30% of green open spaces in its administrative area. however, jakarta only provides 10% of green open (hariyawan et al., n.d.). the small amount can also be seen in the old city area with a small portion of green open space or public area. the old city area of jakarta is now filled with illegal dwellings and abandoned buildings which are often used by migrant communities as their residences. this situation creates irregularity and discomfort for the people. old city area is a cultural heritage area, which is often utilized as a gathering area for artists with routine activities such as photographers, mural artists, and theatrical actors. however, these communities often face difficulties due to limited facilities in the area. based on the policy analysis of historical cultural heritage preservation of the old city area in jakarta, we can conclude that revitalization efforts aim to provide public open spaces by optimizing their functions, and comforts, while also bringing back the historical heritage atmosphere. the goal of this design is to shape interaction space patterns that are in accordance with the local art communities so that they can have their own working spaces. the method utilized in this research was a qualitative descriptive and case study methods, which were implemented in the old city area. the revitalization of the old city area in jakarta has the potential to improve it as urban tourism and art education, which is also integrated with green open space that functions as social space. the involvement of communities in the area is also important in assisting the organizing, driving, and supervising efforts of public areas. © 2023 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). keywords public area; art education; urban tourism; historical heritage. 1. introduction the old city of jakarta (indonesian: kota tua jakarta) is known as a reflection of the historical heritage of the founding of the city of jakarta, the transfer of power from the two kingdoms and the colonial period left heritage buildings that should be preserved. the efforts of the dki jakarta government in maintaining historical buildings in the old city area have never stopped. revitalization is a priority for every governor of dki jakarta in charge. the old city of jakarta is located in west jakarta which is also a business center because it is adjacent to chinatown, where most of the people trade. based on data from the dki jakarta government, the old city area (old batavia) was once a symbol of glory. this area has undergone several changes in power. those that once controlled this area were the tarumanegara kingdom, the sunda-pajajaran kingdom, the banten-jayakarta sultanate, the voc, and the dutch east indies. the existence of the sunda kelapa port as the main gateway for the entry of merchant ships at that time made the old city a center of the economy. the old city was located close to the sunda kelapa port – an entry http://www.press.ierek.com/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 2 point for merchants from various countries. however, it was also the entry point of the colonizers into batavia. this area then developed towards the center of current west jakarta. the discourse to revitalize the old city of jakarta as a tourist space has been promoted for a long time. efforts to revive and make the old city a heritage tourism area have been carried out by holding various events both on a national and international scale in this area. according to the results of a preliminary study by the researchers, the old city is now experiencing serious problems. some of its areas are now disorganized, slums, and have lots of squatters. in addition, thuggery often occurs in this area. this causes inconvenience to the surrounding community because this area becomes scary and indirectly loses its beauty. referring to the results of the policy analysis, the objective of the policy to support the preservation of the historic environment of the old city of jakarta is to create a public open space by optimizing function, user comfort, and regional continuity with a maritime image because it is located in the sunda kelapa port zone surrounded by heritage buildings (dewi, 2009). according to dewi, based on the draft of the master plan of the old city of jakarta published in 2007, the area consists of 5 zones, namely as follows. a. sunda kelapa zone, b. fatahillah zone, c. chinatown zona, d. pekojan zone, and e. rejuvenation zone. special areas in these zones have a higher historical value than other areas in the radius of the old city of jakarta because those areas are highly limited in their development. the problems are that the area is disorganized & slum, has lots of illegal dwellings, and lacks public green open space that can be used for activity, education, and tourism facilities. according to data from the indonesian environmental forum (indonesian: wahana lingkungan hidup indonesia (walhi)), one of the largest environmental movement organizations in indonesia, the number of public open spaces in jakarta has only reached 9% of the minimum 30% of green land that is ideally possessed by a city. based on these data, jakarta lacks public green open space. everyone on this earth undeniably makes use of public spaces after leaving their homes. they may use sidewalks, streets, parks, and open spaces between buildings that function to connect those buildings. public space is an area where we also often spend time in everyday life. however, designers or architects in most cases only think about the main building. things outside the main building sometimes get neglected or are only considered after the main building is completed. despite that, in the current era, many changes have occurred. many people have paid attention to the comfort of public spaces and take advantage of them as areas to rest and work. according to gaventa (2006:31), public spaces include plazas, streetscapes, walkways, parks, and others that can be adapted to the needs of the local community and can be used by the general public. public space is an open space, which is a location that is planned because of the need for meeting places and joint activities in the open area. public space is part of an environment that has a pattern. principally, public space can be considered as a place that can accommodate certain activities of humans both individually and in groups. to create a city that has characteristics, humanism, and spirituality are not only limited to spatial planning and city buildings because if they are the only thing that becomes the main point, then the characteristics of a city will be lost, just creating a metropolis with silence. to realize a city that grows and develops into an education center, an information center, a growth center, a center of change, a center of appreciation, and a center for the development of moral values, its citizens must have basic human qualities. these qualities will become the main points to establishing human civilization. these basic qualities are as follows. a. the city must be inhabited by a community of philosophers whose young people formulate concepts of ideology, constitutional conceptions, and other philosophical sciences, b. whose artists have creativity and characteristics that will shape the character and characteristics of society, tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 3 c. whose technocrats will influence the development of the economy, improve the political system, and accelerate the growth of life in a better direction based on science and technology, and d. whose businessmen tend to influence the urbanization process quickly by expanding their wings in trade and services in urban areas by building offices, factories, and other business centers. urban planning is also related to spatial planning which includes economic, social, and cultural factors which are usually not related to the visual quality of the environment. activities carried out in urban areas are also diverse, and divided into formal and informal activities. the examples of formal activities are as follows. a. commercial activities, which include various trade scales, such as stalls, kiosks, markets, shops, supermarkets, and malls. b. residential activities, which include various types of housing and settlements from simple houses to luxury homes. c. industrial activities, which include small, medium, and large industries. d. public activities, which include various buildings or land used for the public interest. the intan city park area is a historic urban area. this area is still part of the old city of jakarta. this area is in the process of being revitalized by the dki jakarta government to restore the existing historical nuance. therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the design of new buildings that act as one of the conservation efforts with the concept of historic urban areas. according to alexander papageorgiou (1970) in the book “continuity and change: preservation in city planning”, there are two criteria to determine an area a historical urban area, namely as follows. a. uniqueness in its urban composition, and b. architectural quality and geographical locality. furthermore, the aspects that need to be preserved and protected from an area that is part of a cultural heritage area are aspects of historic monuments that have historical, scientific, and cultural meanings. according to sir bernhard feiden (1994) in the book “conservation of historic buildings”, in the context of conservation, several things also need to be considered, namely as follows. 1. damage prevention with good maintenance, supervision, and management. 2. efforts to preserve the original condition. thus, the construction or repair must refer to the original condition. 3. consolidation of the physical materials of a building. in principle, it is an effort to strengthen the building’s resistance to damage. 4. restoration: efforts to rebuild in line with its original forms based on evidence of the authenticity of forms, materials, and designs. 5. rehabilitation: efforts to maximize the usefulness of building functions. one of the methods is adaptively changing the building so that it can be used with new, more modern functions. 6. reproduction: attempts to replace parts of historic monuments that have been damaged or lost. 7. reconstruction: an effort to rebuild a building or place that has been lost or heavily damaged based on sufficient evidence. based on the fulfillment of city quality points and urban activities, the role of the artists is very important in terms of creativity and the characteristics that will shape the character and characteristics of the society. therefore, in this study, the authors will discuss the design of green open public spaces in the old city of jakarta so that it can be used as an area of art education and tourism for the people of jakarta. the old city of jakarta is a heritage area that continues to attract the attention of the people of jakarta to visit. however, the physical condition of this area still needs a lot of improvement in terms of facilities and infrastructure to meet the criteria of a city with excellent characteristics. in the area of the old city of jakarta, we can easily find the activities of art communities, such as painting communities, photography communities, and music & theater arts communities. however, these communities do not have the facilities to carry out their activities although they are tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 4 also the main attraction of the old city. therefore, the authors are interested in providing facilities for this active art community so that people can learn art and witness art activities. figure 1. the exciting condition of kota tua jakarta (source : https://www.atmago.com/berita-warga/relokasi-pkl-kota-tua-ditargetkan-rampung-2016_d4f4b5ba-f290-4b6b-abfd-f23becb86ae7) according to expert research, this kind of facility is necessary for urban people to remain optimistic and attached to the values that are being promoted in a place. the event that has proven this argument is the "sunday morning” event in yogyakarta. therefore, the old city area needs to be revitalized by involving the artistic community, especially those from the local community. this collaborative concept is often referred to as community-based tourism. in this concept, the community is involved in the design of the area, particularly related to earning income, job opportunities, and the preservation of the environment and local indigenous culture which in turn fosters the identity and pride of the local people (setyaningsih, 2015). to respond to this revitalization discourse to become an integrated tourist area and maintain the historical values of the glory of the city of jakarta in the batavia era, it is necessary to create a public open space by optimizing function, user comfort, and regional continuity by carrying a maritime image with its suspension bridge and the sunda kelapa port zone (euis puspita, 2009). considering many complex problems stated above, this study attempts to analyze the potential of four main aspects in revitalizing the old city. the four aspects include the role of mural painting in public space, the role of informative signage, the incorporation of vintage visual elements with colonial patterns, and green open spaces as places for art education and tourism while maintaining the colonial theme as a form of preserving heritage elements. figure 2. kali besar, kota tua, jakarta (source: https://travel.okezone.com/read/2021/02/09/406/2358996/asyiknya-berwisata-di-kota-tua-jakarta-ini-sederet-pilihan-destinasinya) https://travel.okezone.com/read/2021/02/09/406/2358996/asyiknya-berwisata-di-kota-tua-jakarta-ini-sederet-pilihan-destinasinya tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 5 the purpose of this design is to form a pattern of interaction space according to the character of the local community and the millennial generation so that this generation is interested in getting to know the culture and character of a place. in the process of designing the spatial pattern, communal characteristics, and regional patterns in the old city become the basis or inspiration for creating a public green open space concept, in which its design must be in harmony with the theme of the old city area. based on the problems identified, the research team limited the problems to the design of the area. some of the problems that become the research focus are the physical aspects of building architecture, aesthetic aspects of the design, and tourism aspects related to changing the irregular environmental functions in the old city into a tourist area. in more detail, the problem in this study is formulated in the following points: (1) how to restore the historical value of the old city by converting historical heritage buildings into new landmarks and tourist focus in jakarta? (2) how to create a public space that can facilitate the local art community? 2. public space concerning open space performance facilities that can be used for routine artistic events, the role of the public space has been further investigated based on the theory of the role of the public space, as put forward by carmona et al. (2008), namely as follows. a. economy: giving a positive value to the property value. boosting economic performance. being able to be a good business. b. health: encouraging people to be active in physical movement. providing information and formal space for sports activities. reducing stress. c. social: providing space for social interaction and learning processes for all ages. reducing the risk of crime and anti-social behavior. encouraging and improving community life. encouraging intercultural interaction. in terms of its function, public space can facilitate the need for meetings and joint activities, allowing meetings between humans to interact and carry out joint activities while bringing up a creative process. according to utami munandar (1999), one of the things that encourage the creative process can come from within us or from the surrounding environment. here, the environment is a public space that can inspire ideas for its users to do productive things in a creative process. in addition, public space must have several criteria, namely the ability to work and generate new creativity. moreover, public space must also be able to be a place to show or exhibit creative works so that these works may get direct appreciation from the public. in line with the government’s plan to make the old city area a cultural tourism destination, intan city park as a part of the old city has considerable potential to fulfill the plan. the attractiveness of the bridge in the intan city park is often expressed with the phrase “het indische bouwen” meaning a combination of modern western structures and techniques with local and traditional forms. because of being surrounded by colonial-style buildings that have beauty and splendor, the area has an attraction to be developed with a colonial-style concept. by considering the existing reality, the intan city park area is plausible to be transformed into a tourist area. by reviving this area, it is expected that it can form a pattern of interaction space that is in line with the character of the existing local community and the millennial generation so that this generation can be interested in getting to know the culture and character of a place. in the process of designing spatial patterns, communal characteristics, and regional patterns in the intan city park area become the basis or inspiration for creating a space concept, in which its design must be in harmony with the intan city park area or the location around the revitalization area. the place can be designed to introduce the culture tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 6 and character of a place through an art activity so that it can become a place for performances and education that share experiences. through this design, the introduction of tourist characteristics and visitors in a certain place can be increased. the concept of working with the community is often also called community-based tourism. in this concept, we can directly involve the community in the area design process, especially related to earning income, job opportunities, and the preservation of the environment and local indigenous culture which in turn fosters the identity and pride of the local people that grows as a result of increased tourism activities (setyaningsih, 2010:20). community-based tourism is a sustainable development by embracing the community as the main actor through community empowerment in various tourism activities. therefore, the maximum benefit of tourism is intended for the surrounding community so that it will not cause friction with the local community. the main target of the culturalbased tourism concept is the development of tourism and improving the welfare of local communities (arifin, 2017:122). the use of open space is as follows: a. private open space: an open space that only certain people can access, such as a yard. b. common open space: an open space that can be accessed by anyone. c. linear open space: an open space in the form of lines, such as boulevards, streets, and pedestrian walkways. many countries in the world are starting to increase open space or public space as part of the construction of an area or building. one of the reasons is that global warming has become a topic that is often discussed. many activities carried out by humans contribute to increasing the effects of global warming. for this reason, scientists and artists have begun to pay attention to the material in the process of making a product to be more environmentally friendly. likewise in the field of architecture, architects have begun to design buildings and use sustainable and environmentally friendly materials which are commonly referred to as eco-friendly. this eco-friendly design pays great attention to the concept of technology and space utilization for the public interest. according to edwards (2001:27), the concept of eco-friendly buildings usually supports a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally, such as paying attention to airflow, making lots of air ventilation, and getting lots of sunlight. space utilization strategies, both for cultivation areas and protected areas, need to be done creatively. this is one step to reducing temperature changes both locally and globally. according to gehl (2008), public spaces must be able to provide protection, comfort, and enjoyment. meanwhile, carr et al. (1992) provided important points for an ideal public space, namely as follows. 1. comfort: the main point that encourages a person to decide whether to use/live in a public space or not. 2. relaxation: the fulfillment of needs that include mental comfort. to achieve this need in urban areas, ecological elements (e.g., trees, plants, and water) can become the main factors that can support a person to relax. figure 3. plaza (source: https://www.archdaily.com/943348/v-plaza-urban-development-3deluxe) https://www.archdaily.com/943348/v-plaza-urban-development-3deluxe tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 7 the recommendation above depicts a casual atmosphere to enjoy an open space that has ecological elements. we may see a seating level with a modern, integrated, friendly, and eco-friendly urban atmosphere. 3. passive engagement: the need for a person to enjoy the surrounding public space without having to always be involved in direct interaction with other users. elements that support the creation of passive engagement can be in the form of performances, exhibitions, interesting murals, or other interesting activities. figure 4. kumulo 1 (source: https://manual.co.id/directory/kumulo/) the recommendation above is a facility that can be provided for the community so that they can enjoy public space without having to be involved in direct interaction with the people around them. activities that can be done are watching music practice, paying attention to the art community sketching, and others. 4. active engagement: the need to involve direct physical experience with the place and people. this need is in the form of social interaction which involves direct contact, either with friends, family, or the existing community. figure 5. kumulo 2 (source: https://manual.co.id/directory/kumulo/) figure 5 is a compound facility located in kumulo, bsd. a compound is a separate building that is located close together as a place to hold workshops or regular meetings for local communities. in this compound, the community can be actively involved in regular training or workshops organized by the existing communities. this compound can also be used as a business space for the surrounding community. tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 8 5. discovery: the desire to try new experiences provided in a place. this need can be in the form of concerts, festivals, art exhibitions, theaters, markets, community activities, and others which are usually seasonal. a good public space can invite individuals to have activities in that space. figure 6. public plaza (source: https://www.pinterest.com/ngaichuen/urban-design-public-space/) figure 7. kumulo flex space (source: https://manual.co.id/directory/kumulo/) figure 7 is a terraced open space facility that can be used to sit and watch performances or other activities organized by the local community. there is also a flex space or function room that is large enough to hold larger events, such as exhibitions, seminars, study rooms, and other community gatherings. considering the economic point of view proposed by carmona et al. (2008), an area should also give a positive value to the property and encourage economic performance. if it is associated with the science of architectural photography, the planning of buildings that are attractive and aesthetically pleasing from a photographic point of view also needs to be considered. architectural photography has an important role in the socialization and introduction of an area to the general public. if an area is built thematically, then the area can become an aesthetic photographic object. thus, the photos obtained from the area can increase property values, making the area possess the potential to become a tourist area. considering the development of digital photography and social media nowadays, the aesthetic value of a building and area has a big influence on someone’s desire to take pictures of the building object. like the old city with colonialthemed buildings that attract many tourists and become a photographic object for many communities, the intan city tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 9 park area can also be projected to be the same as the old city of jakarta. this is because the role of photography specifically architectural photography is very large in promoting an area. another example that we can analyze is the chinatown culinary area (pantjoran) pik which is a culinary area with an interesting concept. visitors can feel directly the atmosphere of chinatown which is very thick with many decorative lanterns, murals, and ornament details that represent chinese culture. some of the murals and the ornaments displayed are intended to educate the public about chinese culture. thematic buildings like this attract a lot of visitors to come either to enjoy culinary delights or just take pictures for social media purposes. figure 8. gate of pantjoran pik (source: https://www.kompas.com/food/read/2020/11/23/161412175/pantjoran-pik-resmi-dibuka-destinasi-kuliner-baru-di-jakartautara?page=all) social interaction is the essence of social life because, without interaction, there can be no life. social interaction in the public space creates a sense of community, as seen from the role of the public space based on activities in the public space. the presence of a planned public space will create the dynamics and effectiveness of the utilization of the public space. one of the activities that can bring the dynamics to life is art activities involving the art community. one component of society that can support the dynamics of public space is the art community. the art-and-culture community is one of the most active types of community, has a lot of mass, and has the potential to revive an area. for this reason, the authors need to document the art communities in the intan city park area so that these communities can help revive existing public spaces. the design of public spaces is expected to be in line with the character of the existing local community so that it can later be managed organically by the local community. some of the advantages of involving local communities in the management of public spaces are: 1. planning for the procurement of facilities is good and adequate to meet the needs of the community in the intan city park area. 2. organizing the use of public space facilities is more regular and on target because local people know best about their needs. 3. the movement of activities is easier because all activities that run should be for the entertainment and convenience of the local community. 4. supervision of the use/licensing and maintenance of public spaces is usually one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome if it is left to a supervisory unit. conversely, if it is carried out together with community involvement, it will be easier. the presence of the communities can also revive the tourism potential in the intan city park area. community-based tourism has a better chance of being able to develop sustainable and periodic small-scale tourist objects and attractions. therefore, it can be managed by local communities and entrepreneurs, making it have a minimal sociocultural impact and a greater chance of being accepted by society. with the involvement of local communities in the management of the area, it is expected that it will reduce the complicated bureaucracy and illegal fees that usually occur in many tourist attractions and public places in jakarta. eventually, this will have an impact on the enthusiasm tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 10 of other communities outside the area to organize or join local communities so that the atmosphere becomes more dynamic. empowerment of local communities in this area is very useful in increasing tourist attraction or the local community and the general public involvement through activities they carry out regularly. in addition, historical buildings around the area indirectly also empower the community through the tourism sector and contribute to improving the local community economy. according to arida (2016:35), community empowerment through the tourism sector is a process of building and restoring people’s confidence that they can build their local and cultural potential to become a tourist attraction in meeting basic needs and achieving a better life that develops continuously and sustainably. the local communities in the area around intan city park and the old city of jakarta have different backgrounds of involvement. some of them participate spontaneously. some others involve themselves due to encouragement. based on data that the authors obtained unofficially or from the results of searching on digital search engines, the local communities categorized as spontaneous participants are the manusia batu community (established in 2013), lingkar rupa community (established in 2010), pencak silat cakra buana community (established in 1978), sunda kelapa heritage community (established in 2012), chinatown art-and-culture community (established in 2015), and sahabat budaya community (established in 2011). meanwhile, the local communities categorized as encouraged participants are paguyuban onthel wisata kota tua and jelajah budaya community. the presence of paguyuban onthel wisata kota tua was encouraged by the local working group (lwg) which was established by the destination management organization (dmo) for the old city in 2012. meanwhile, the presence of the jelajah budaya community was encouraged by the mandiri museum in 2005. data on local communities that are officially registered with the dki jakarta government were not found by the authors. it would be better if these communities were officially registered with the relevant agencies. the dki jakarta government has indeed planned to make the old city a center for education and arts by revitalizing the ppi building on jalan malaka which is widely known as the cipta niaga building which has become a place for art, music, theater, and film communities by collaborating with academics from jakarta institute of arts (indonesian: institut kesenian jakarta). this collaboration with academics is to ensure that the program activities held are of high quality and sustainable. this can also be applied in the open space of the intan city park area by embracing the local art community and academics. thus, the activities held will be more focused and sustainable. for this reason, official data are highly needed, especially those concerning the art community in the intan city park area. one of the art communities is the perupa kota tua community which is a group of painters who usually paint and sell their paintings along the sidewalks in the glodok area. it will be more orderly if the community is given adequate space in the intan city park area to make the open space in this park livelier. the perupa kota tua community can collaborate with academics in the arts to create activity and training programs for the local community and the general public so that the aspects of the economy, education, and arts are fulfilled. opening public spaces to facilitate formal art classes for academics is also a good step to fulfilling discovery and active engagement points from public open spaces. 3. the concept of supporting facilities supporting facilities that may promote water recreation areas are those that make people relaxed and enjoy the surrounding view, such as the following. a. garden chairs along the river with materials that are suitable for their designation. b. garden lights with several types of shapes that match the characteristics of water recreation facilities. in addition to serving as artificial lighting at night, they also have aesthetic elements. c. the cleanliness system which requires special handling to keep the environment clean by providing trash cans at several points. d. signages that are designed to provide information, placed in a strategic location (e.g., road intersections), and made with materials that are in line with the design theme. tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 11 landscape systems for supporting water recreation facilities by providing the impression of being one with nature. it can also function as a guide and improve natural beauty at the same time (hendrawaty, 2017). 4. recommended outdoor spatial concept as discussed in the concept of open space and the criteria for green open space that meet the basic standards, the authors make recommendations for the realization of green open spaces in the intan city park area where there is idle land from pt. kai that can be used as a public green open space that can facilitate the activities of the local art community, thereby attracting tourists with routine activities from the community. the recommended locations are as follows. figure 9. location of green open space (source: personal documentation) figure 9 is the location of the green open space to be placed. green open space is set in this area because it is very close to the iconic location of the old city, namely the intan city park bridge, making people able to enjoy green open space while visiting the icons and historical relics of the old city area. the location of the open space is also set next to the kali besar canal, making it close to the ecological element in the form of water flow which is expected to meet the relaxation criteria. undeniably, the kali besar canal needs a revitalization effort by the dki jakarta government so that it is more comfortable for users of green open spaces. the extensive area of green open space also helps fulfill the percentage of green open areas that should be based on the provisions of the directorate general of spatial planning, which is 30% of the total area. the authors recommend that green open spaces must be able to facilitate the art community in the intan city park area so that the community can carry out activities in the green open space. activities in open spaces will also be more dynamic if the art community can make regular programs, not only as a means of recreation but also as a means of art education. the 10 is an image of green open space recommendations to meet the green open space standard criteria according to stephen carr: active engagement, passive engagement, and discovery. tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 12 figure 10. green open space recommendation (source: personal documentation) active engagement activities can be fulfilled by having a compound area as a secretariat or activity center for the art community. in this compound area, the art community can hold small-scale training or exhibit their work. bench areas for drawing together or learning to sketch can make green open spaces for users to interact. in jakarta, there are quite many schools or higher education institutions that have art lessons or art and drawing courses so the facilities provided by this green open space are expected to accommodate their needs. the authors also recommend having a flex space or a large multipurpose room that can be used as areas of study, seminars, and exhibitions for the art community and other art education institutions. this flex space can also be managed for commercial and educational purposes. art exhibition activities can invite people’s attention to come to appreciate artworks while enjoying green open space facilities. enjoying art exhibitions can facilitate passive engagement criteria and the art activities carried out can be an element of discovery for visitors. figure 10 is a recommendation to facilitate the stage art community and to meet the criteria of active engagement, passive engagement, and discovery. figure 11. green open space recommendation (source: personal documentation) tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 13 figure 11 is the recommended design for a mini outdoor amphitheater. this facility can accommodate the needs of the music, theater, and dance communities in the intan city park area. regular performances from the community can invite art activists and the public to visit. when not having a show, this amphitheater can be used as a seating area for visitors. in addition, this area can also be used as a drawing area for art activists. as we know, open-space performance areas are rarely found in jakarta. in other words, this facility is undoubtedly an attraction for this green open space. figure 12. green open space recommendation (source: personal documentation) figure 12 is a recommendation for green open space to meet the criteria for green open space standards according to stephen carr, namely active engagement, passive engagement, and discovery. the wall behind the compound area and flex space can be used as an open-space mural. this mural or wall painting activity is also one of the activities favored by students, young people, and art activists. mural images have also been widely used as decorations in commercial places. this open-space mural will also invite the attention of the wider community, especially as a tourist attraction. with the proliferation of selfie culture and the need to upload content on social media, a facility like this can certainly attract the attention of many visitors. this open space area can also be used as a means of education and practicing drawing murals for local communities and other art institutions in jakarta. the authors also provide recommendations to continue to include elements of architectural decoration and thematic green open-space interiors. due to the location of the intan city park which is still an integral part of the old city area, the colonial decoration elements can be used to remain united with the colonial nuance that is thick in this area. tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 14 figure 13. green open space recommendation (source: personal documentation) figure 13 is a recommendation for green open space to meet the standard criteria for green open space according to stephen carr, namely relaxation and comfort. more sitting areas, sports facilities, and playgrounds can be provided in this area. in general, exercising is one of the reasons why people go to open spaces or parks. the children’s play area is also a facility that should be provided considering the lack of a children’s play area in the intan city park area. in this area, ecological elements can be added to support the feeling of relaxation when visiting the park, such as shady trees that suit the climate in the area around intan city park. elements related to water such as fountains or fish ponds can also support feelings of relaxation. to realize an ideal green open space, it must involve many elements such as the landscaping section. if this recommendation is approved, the authors will collaborate with many qualified institutions in the field of landscaping. 5. conclusions recommendations to restore the historical value of the old city through converting historical heritage buildings into new landmarks and tourist locations in jakarta by presenting public spaces must be able to provide protection, comfort, and enjoyment for visitors and people living near the area. the recommendations are to create public spaces that can facilitate the local art community by presenting space as an area to make unforgettable experiences and evoke memories of the architectural beauty of colonial-style buildings with iconic forms of historic aesthetic visual elements. for this reason, public space planning must be carried out in an integrated manner by involving the local community. the involvement of existing communities to help organize, mobilize, and supervise the use of public spaces can make activities in public spaces occur regularly so that public spaces may become comfortable for the public to visit. the intan city park area is a historic urban area. it is still part of the old city of jakarta which is an area that is in the process of being revitalized by the dki jakarta government to restore the existing historical nuance. therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the design of new buildings, which becomes one of the conservation efforts, by considering the concept of historic urban areas. in the intan city park area, it is planned to build a mixed-use area that has the potential to become an entertainment and tourism area. here, the entertainment area is a public space that can serve as a social space that can invite many people from outside to visit. public space is an open spot, which is an area planned because of the need for meeting places and joint activities in the open air. public space is also part of an environment that has a pattern. principally, public space can be considered as a place that can accommodate certain activities of humans both individually and in groups. the development of public spaces must also pay attention to the material used, thereby making the final results more environmentally friendly. the eco-friendly design is very suitable for the concept of public facilities by taking into tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 15 account the concept of technology and space utilization for the public interest. for this reason, public space planning must be carried out carefully by involving the local community. the involvement of the existing communities is also important to help organize, mobilize, and supervise the use of public space. the community also may make activities in public spaces occur regularly so that public spaces become comfortable for the public to visit. in addition, public space must also be able to be a place to show or a place to exhibit creative works so that they get direct appreciation from the community. considering the economic point of view proposed by carmona et al. (2008), an area should also give a positive value to the property and encourage economic performance. if it is associated with the science of architectural photography, the planning of buildings that are attractive and aesthetically pleasing from a photographic point of view also needs to be considered. if an area is built thematically, then the area can become an aesthetic photographic object. thus, the photos obtained from the area can increase property values, making the area possess the potential to become a tourist area. one component of society that can support the dynamics of public space is the art community. the art-and-culture community is one of the most active types of community, has a lot of mass, and has the potential to revive an area. empowerment of local communities in an area is very useful in increasing tourist attraction or the local community and the general public involvement through activities they carry out regularly. in addition, historical buildings around the area indirectly also empower the community through the tourism sector and contribute to improving the local community economy. opening public spaces to facilitate formal art classes for academics is also a good step to fulfilling discovery and active engagement points from public open spaces. acknowledgments not applicable. funding declaration: this research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals. ethics approval: not applicable. conflict of interest: the author declares that there is no competing interest. references arida, nyoman sukma. 2016. dinamika ekowisata tri ning tri di bali. denpasar: pustaka larasan. arifin, a. p. r. (2017). pendekatan community based tourism dalam membina hubungan komunitas di kawasan kota tua jakarta. jurnal visi komunikasi, 16(01), 111-130. carmona, r. ; martins, c. r., 2010. physical quality, viability, and dormancy of recently harvested melinis minutiflora p. beauv. seeds. rev. bras. sementes carr, stephen, mark francis, leanne g. rivlin, and andrew m. stone. 1992. public space. new york: cambridge university press. edwards, brian. green architecture. johnwiley&sons.london. uk euis puspita, dewi, 2009, analisis ruang terbuka publik bersejarah dalam rangka revitalisasi kota tua jakarta, repository scientific ipb, bogor, https://repository.ipb.ac.id/handle/123456789/4352 firdaus, fauzi,et.all, 2018, revitalisasi kawasan kota tua jakarta dengan alternatif konsep tod, jakarta: universitas muhammadiyah jakarta., jurnal arsitektur purwarupa, vol. 02 no 1, maret 2018. gaventa, sarah. 2006. new public space. octopus publishing. london hendrawaty, diah, 2017, taman wisata alam di kawasan green belt,gajah mungkur, wonogiri , penekanan pada penataan fasilitas wisata dengan pendekatan arsitektur organik sebagai penunjang kegiatan wisata wonogiri, file:///e:/desain%20taman%20air%20gajah%20mungkur.pdf pengembangan perkotaan, 2011, definisi kota dan kawasan perkotaan, https://pengembanganperkotaan.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/definisikota-dan-kawasan-perkotaan/ about:blank tahalea/ the academic research community publication pg. 16 puspita, euis dewi, analisis ruang terbuka publik bersejarah dalam rengka revitalisasi kota tua jakarta, 2009, bogor: sekolah pascasarjana institut pertanian bogor. hariyawan, d., direktur, s., ruang, p., agraria, k., ruang, t., raden, j., & no, p. i. (n.d.). planning for indonesian heritage city. setyaningsih, w., 2010, food trucks yang makin digemari – community based tourism, solo: uns press – koran sindo., https://lifestyle.sindonews.com/berita/1012378/152/food-truck-yang-makin-digemari. utami munandar. 1999. pengembangan kreativitas anak berbakat. jakarta: rineka cipta. https://lifestyle.sindonews.com/berita/1012378/152/food-truck-yang-makin-digemari http://www.press.ierek.com issn (print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162) proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 1 research paper received: 31 march 2025, accepted: 22 october 2025, published online: 31 october 2025 doi: 10.21625/archive-sr.v9i4.1199 strategies for the conservation and valorization of 20th-century war landscapes: the case of the mediterranean wall ruins giancarlo sanna1, andres martínez-medina2 , andrea pirinu3 1phd candidate , department of civil-environmental and architectural engineering, university of cagliari, italy 2full professor, department of graphic expression, composition and projects, university of alicante, spain 3associate professor, department of civil-environmental and architectural engineering, university of cagliari, italy correction note: this article was corrected on 27th november 2025 to include resized figures (2, 3, 5, and 15) for improved clarity. a formal corrigendum will be published in the (volume 10, issue 1, january 2026) to formally document this change. the conclusions of the paper are unaffected. abstarct the so-called mediterranean wall—a term referring to the system of coastal defenses built between 1936 and 1945 across various mediterranean countries—exhibits distinct characteristics when compared to the atlantikwall. unlike the latter’s continuous and technologically unified design, mediterranean defenses were fragmented, heterogeneous, and closely adapted to local territorial and environmental conditions. this article analyses the morphology and geographic distribution of these military landscapes in spain and italy, approaching them as architectural and landscape heritage with specific material and perceptual features. a two-phase methodology is adopted: the first involves the identification and documentation of existing reuse interventions, supported by fieldwork and archival research; the second presents a comparative evaluation of four selected case studies based on criteria such as restoration practices, accessibility, and landscape integration. the comparative analysis highlights a wide spectrum of adaptive reuse strategies and underscores the multidimensional challenges of valorisation. rather than treating these structures as static wartime remnants, the article advocates for their reintegration into broader cultural, ecological, and touristic networks. through a holistic approach combining architectural reuse, inclusive accessibility, and civic participation, the mediterranean fortifications may be transformed into dynamic sites for memory, interpretation, and environmental awareness—reframing their legacy within contemporary territorial narratives. © 2025 the authors. published by ierek press. this is an open-access article under the cc by license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). peer review under the responsibility of archive-sr’s international scientific committee of reviewers. keywords cultural landscape; world war ii fortifications; adaptive reuse; coastal defenses; military heritage. https://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.21625/archive-sr.v9i4.1199&domain=press.ierek.com http://www.press.ierek.com/ sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 2 1. introduction: twentieth-century military architectural ruins the observation of architectural ruins—tangible vestiges of the passage of time—has long invited reflection on the past. in their fragmentary state, marked by cracks, collapses, and voids, these structures acquire both aesthetic and symbolic resonance. their visual incompleteness activates a process of temporal transposition, often rooted in a romantic imagination that attempts to reconstruct—either faithfully or idealistically—the original meaning of what once was. this phenomenon is evident in both the surviving columns of the temple of poseidon at cape sounion and the fictional ruin of the statue of liberty in planet of the apes (1968), which represent culturally charged images of loss and reinterpretation. aloïs riegl (2008, 1903) associated the aesthetic experience of decaying built forms with an “age value,” rooted in the nostalgic recognition of their temporal depth and inevitable disintegration. from this perspective, monumentality is not necessarily determined by scale or intended design, but rather by the capacity of a structure to activate historical memory and cultural meaning—a notion explored in the fields of heritage studies and memory theory (lowenthal, 1985; huyssen, 2003). the slow erosion of these ruins by natural agents transforms them into material witnesses of impermanence and continuity (figure 1). figure 1: ruins of the temple of poseidon at cape sounion (greece) and, on the right, a bunker in quartu sant’elena (italy) disguised as a rural church (photos by a. martinez-medina and g. sanna). among the architectural typologies most resistant to temporal deterioration are military fortifications. designed to withstand the destructive forces of war, they also exhibit inherent resilience against the erosive effects of time. fortresses, alcazabas, bastions, and casemates—massive constructions of masonry and concrete—embody a symbolic language of impregnability and permanence. yet even these robust structures are not immune to decay. the widespread adoption of reinforced concrete in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries marked a decisive shift in construction practices, particularly in the field of military engineering. its versatility, structural strength, and economic cost made it the preferred material for large-scale infrastructure and defensive works (forty 2012). within this vast corpus of twentieth-century military architecture, special attention must be paid to bunkers, antiaircraft sites, and coastal batteries. deployed in strategic locations along the coasts of belligerent nations, these structures remain as residual fragments ambiguously integrated into the postwar landscapes that emerged after the conflict. they now appear as ‘artificial stones’ (virilio 1975), colonized by moss and vegetation, forming heterogeneous presences within their surroundings. some protrude silently alongside roadways as mute mounds (figure 2), while others resemble petrified sentinels gazing out to sea. in certain contexts, they are so deeply assimilated into rural landscapes as to be nearly invisible; in others, their alignment along the coast evokes the image of a shipwreck—scattered relics, smoothed and recontextualized by time and tide (figure 3). this fragmented continuity has led scholars to conceptualize these remains as a “layered palimpsest of conflict” (bevan 2006), or even as a necklace of cursed stones, historically charged and materially resilient. it is important to emphasize that bunkers, casemates, batteries, observation posts, trenches, and shelters do not constitute a sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 3 disconnected collection of isolated elements. on the contrary, they are the physical expression of integrated defensive strategies—coherent systems designed to deter invasion through spatial coordination and infrastructural redundancy. although now fragmented, these systems still retain the memory of their original military logic and territorial control. one of the most emblematic manifestations of this logic is the atlantikwall, a vast network of fortifications constructed by the german army along the atlantic coast during the second world war. a comparable, though more dispersed system was developed along the shores of the mediterranean. known as the mediterranean wall, this network emerged from the spanish civil war (1936–1939) and the second world war (1939–1945), through a series of regionally executed fortifications that were adapted to diverse geopolitical and geographical contexts. today, both systems endure as imperishable witnesses of war and its territorial imprint. their presence invites critical reflection on their potential for reinterpretation within a broader strategy aimed at preserving and valorizing military heritage as a manifestation of the material and technical culture of their time. figure 2: left: a pair of bunkers along a rural road in arborea (italy); center: a tobruk bunker overlooking the atlantic at utah beach (france); right: a control bunker along the national road in monforte del cid (spain) (photos by a. martinez-medina). figure 3: left: german army bunkers scattered along the beach of løkken (denmark); right: a solitary observation bunker on the calabrian coast in italy (photos by a. martinez-medina). 2. materials and methods despite their differing ecological contexts—ranging from dunes and pine forests to brackish wetlands and mediterranean scrubland—the selected sites share a common challenge: the reactivation of a fragmented and often overlooked form of heritage through strategies that combine accessibility, interpretive communication, and landscape integration. by focusing on these extended defensive systems, rather than on singular monuments, the research addresses critical issues such as visibility, legibility, ecological compatibility, and narrative coherence—elements essential to the valorization of the so-called mediterranean wall. although the comparative analysis is intentionally limited to a small number of representative case studies—allowing for greater analytical depth—the methodological framework is designed to be replicable and scalable. it is currently being extended to a broader array of mediterranean outposts with similar typological and territorial features, with the aim of validating the proposed evaluative model in diverse contexts.the methodological approach is structured in three interrelated phases. sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 4 figure 4: flowchart of the methodological framework adopted to assess and compare requalification and valorization interventions applied to the coastal fortifications belonging to the mediterranean wall. 2.1 fieldwork and documentation since 2010, our research group has conducted an extensive field campaign on fortified sites from the spanish civil war and the second world war in italy. in this initial phase, the primary objective was the documentation of the heritage itself through systematic surveys: photographic and digital recordings, cartographic analysis, hand-drawn sketches, and descriptive field notes. these activities aimed to capture the architectural, spatial, and material characteristics of the structures, as well as their integration within mobility systems, infrastructures, and surrounding landscapes. this long-term empirical engagement provided an in-depth understanding of the defensive architectures’ physical integrity, landscape setting, and operational logic. however, the present study, while not neglecting the identification and inventory of this heritage, moves beyond heritage documentation in the strict sense: the focus here is on evaluating interventions of recovery, reuse, and valorization carried out on such sites. the analytical tools described below were therefore designed not to assess the original military assets per se, but to measure the quality and effectiveness of actions taken to conserve, interpret, and reintegrate them into contemporary cultural and social contexts. in parallel with fieldwork, a targeted literature review was undertaken to identify methodological frameworks that could inform the construction of this evaluation system. although no comprehensive or universally adopted model exists for twentieth-century military landscapes, relevant guidelines were identified in heritage sectors sharing comparable preservation challenges. of particular relevance are the icomos/icofort guidelines on fortifications and military heritage (icomos, 2021), which define a set of strategic principles relating fortifications to their tactical purpose and landscape setting. among these, the mediterranean wall fortifications in sardinia—particularly the strongholds and secondary inland lines—align most closely with the command principle (icomos 2021, art. 2º), being designed to monitor extensive 360° territorial sectors and prevent enemy forces from approaching the defended zone. their camouflaged nature excluded a primary role in deterrence, yet their configuration often incorporated flanking elements to cover blind spots and, in certain cases, depth strategies through successive coastal and inland lines. direct barrier protection of civilian activities was secondary, as these sites functioned primarily as armed coverage points within a wider defensive network. a distinctive feature highlighted by the guidelines is the external functional scope beyond physical boundaries, where the operational range of fortifications—shaped by contemporary technology—extended far into the surrounding sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 5 landscape, reinforcing their inseparable link with the cultural-territorial context (ipce, 2024). the document also outlines a broad spectrum of heritage values—architectural and technical, territorial and geographical, cultural, strategic, human and anthropological, memorial and identity-related, educational, historical, social, and economic (icomos 2021, art. 4º)—that frame the significance of such sites. while these values establish a general basis for conservation and intervention, their breadth requires adaptation to the specificities of conflict heritage. the present study builds on these principles, developing targeted criteria to evaluate recovery, reuse, and valorization actions, thus bridging the gap between theoretical guidance and operational assessment. further methodological parallels are offered by the nizhny tagil charter on industrial heritage (ticcih, 2003), whose emphasis on functionalist design, integration of built form with operational apparatus, and embedding in territorial systems is relevant to military heritage. differences remain in aspects such as camouflage versus visibility, the contested dimension of memory, and reuse patterns often restricted to commemorative purposes. given its layered and palimpsestic nature, twentieth-century military heritage intersects with multiple overarching themes in heritage studies, including cultural landscape relationships, conservation challenges, the construction of heritage meaning, collective memory, nationalism, and the socio-political dimensions of cultural identity. these interconnections call for an expanded interpretative framework that situates conflict heritage within the broader discourse on heritage values, power, and cultural narratives (graham, ashworth, tunbridge, 2016; avrami, mason, de la torre, 2000). this broader perspective complements the sector-specific frameworks discussed above, providing a conceptual foundation for the evaluative methodology outlined in the following section. 2.2 construction of analytical tools building on the dual foundation of empirical field observation and theoretical anchoring, the research developed two complementary tools for evaluating valorization strategies. the first is a presence–absence matrix, conceived as a descriptive register indicating whether specific physical and interpretive components—such as trails, signage, rest areas, lighting, or digital media—are present. the second is a qualitative evaluative framework, based on an ordinal four-level scale (absent – poor – good – excellent), applied across thematic criteria to assess how effectively each element contributes to reuse, interpretive clarity, and cultural integration. while informed by international frameworks (icofort for fortifications, ticcih for industrial heritage, unesco for cultural landscapes), the model represents a context-specific adaptation. categories such as accessibility, authenticity, integrity, and community engagement were reinterpreted in light of the operational, memorial, and environmental attributes of wartime architectures. concepts from post-industrial and difficult heritage scholarship were merged with case-based evidence from the field, ensuring methodological robustness and operational relevance. accessibility (physical and cognitive) – this criterion addresses both physical access and interpretive accessibility in relation to difficult or traumatic histories, as well as safety constraints arising from the site’s former military function. it was evaluated through direct inspection of entrances, trails, and signage, supplemented by informal user feedback. preservation of landscape values (naturalistic and artificial) – this criterion considers ecological and visual integration, and the extent to which the site retains its original mimetic camouflage or has undergone alterations that compromise this strategic design feature. it was assessed by comparing historical cartography with current topographic data and by documenting visible alterations through systematic photographic surveys. restoration, recovery and reuse – adaptive reuse strategies were evaluated in light of both functional innovation and narrative coherence, with emphasis on respecting the spatial logic of defensive design. this criterion was examined via architectural surveys of the military structures, with particular attention to material integrity and adaptive interventions. night-time valorization – this criterion considers the potential of illumination to alter the original camouflage effect, balancing aesthetic enhancement with historical authenticity. it was evaluated by documenting the presence, typology, and environmental compatibility of lighting infrastructure. sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 6 digital tools and signage – this criterion evaluates narrative clarity, accessibility, and emotional resonance, addressing both factual information and critical reflection on the legacy of war. communication tools were assessed by documenting digital media, signage, and information panels, and by testing their clarity through qualitative observations of visitor interaction. integration into cultural and tourist networks – this criterion measures connectivity with broader cultural, ecological, and memorial circuits, avoiding the isolation that often characterizes conflict heritage sites. it was established by cross-checking regional tourism guides, online platforms, and institutional brochures. community involvement and participation – this criterion measures not only the presence of community initiatives but also their role in shaping interpretive narratives, especially in contexts of contested memory. it was assessed by examining the frequency and type of participatory initiatives, verified through management plans, event calendars, and reports from local associations. educational and interpretive effectiveness – this criterion prioritizes interpretive frameworks that confront and contextualize the complex meanings of wartime heritage, moving beyond purely descriptive approaches. it was analyzed through the content and narrative coherence of interpretive devices, complemented by short conversations with visitors during field visits. these indicators ensured that even intangible dimensions—such as interpretive accessibility or community participation—were grounded in observable, replicable evidence rather than subjective impressions. together, the eight criteria form the analytical backbone of the comparative evaluation. by combining objective indicators with qualitative judgment, and by adapting established heritage principles to the specific challenges of twentieth-century military landscapes, the framework ensures both rigor and innovation. 2.3 comparative evaluation the multidimensional data gathered during the field campaign were synthesized into a comparative matrix, enabling the identification of recurrent patterns, best practices, and unresolved challenges across the case studies. this matrix also provided the empirical foundation for a systematic comparison of intervention strategies. to ensure the robustness and comparability of the evaluation process, a triangulation of data sources was adopted, including direct field observation, photographic documentation, heritage inventories, urban planning documents, and online platforms. a standardized checklist was applied across all sites to minimize subjective interpretation and maintain consistency in scoring. the result is a methodological framework that combines empirical rigor with interpretive depth, offering a robust tool for the evaluation of adaptive reuse strategies in post-war military landscapes. 3. state of art: interpreting the spatial logic of twentieth-century coastal fortifications the term mediterranean wall refers to a discontinuous system of military fortifications built along mediterranean coastlines during the first half of the twentieth century. this designation explicitly invites comparison with a more prominent system of military architecture: the atlantic wall (atlantikwall). constructed between 1942 and 1944 by the organisation todt, the atlantic wall extended from france to norway, forming a vast coastal defense network. it comprised fortified positions—including bunkers, coastal batteries, and other assorted structures—organized into over 600 typological variants, each adapted to accommodate specific types of weaponry. its primary function was to create an impenetrable barrier against allied incursions. following the end of the second world war, these engineering structures—designed with the precision of industrial artifacts—gradually fell into disuse, losing their original military function. nevertheless, their robust construction enabled them to withstand the passage of time, positioning them among the earliest examples of modern architecture resilient to natural degradation. it was precisely this material resistance that captured the attention of paul virilio. observing the bunkers scattered along the normandy coast, virilio was struck by how these relics of a recent conflict evoked a sense of monumentality comparable to that of ancient temples or funerary ruins. his exhibition bunker archeology (virilio, 2012, orig. 1975), held in paris, was a pivotal moment in the critical reception of this architectural legacy—marked by a double stigma: sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 7 its association with traumatic historical events and its ambiguous status as heritage, diverging from the traditional canon of the monument (cocroft, schofield, 2007; dolf-bonekämper, 2008). “my objective was purely archaeological. i captured these grey forms until they revealed part of their mystery…” (virilio, 1975, p. 11). virilio’s work sparked broader interest in these fortifications, leading to more systematic academic investigations. among the most notable are those of rudi rolf, who classified the fortifications according to typological and dimensional criteria (rolf, 1988, 1998, 2014) (figure 5). also significant are the research efforts led by gennaro postiglione, who proposed interpreting bunkers as expressions of the modern movement during the interwar period (postiglione, 2005, 2008), as well as components of a fragmented but coherent cultural landscape (bassanelli, postiglione, 2011). figure 5. one of rudi rolf’s diagrams showing the genealogy of atlantikwall bunkers. reproduced from rolf (1985, p. 33). by its very nature, military architecture has always represented the avant-garde of innovation in terms of technology, functional optimization, and resource efficiency. it therefore embodies, in a radical form, the famous principle articulated by louis sullivan in 1896: “form always follows function” (sullivan, 1957: 169, orig. 1901). nowhere is this principle more visible than in the design of twentieth-century bunkers. 3.1 geography and geometry of the mediterranean wall the outbreak of the spanish civil war (1936-1939)—five years before the construction of the atlantikwall and following earlier projects such as the maginot line—provided a testing ground for advanced military technologies and tactics. during the conflict, the insurgent faction used the island of mallorca as a strategic base for aerial bombing campaigns against republican territories, raising fears of amphibious attacks on the mainland. in response, the spanish republican government developed a coastal defense plan in 1937 (figure 6). this strategy pursued a dual approach (gil, galdón, 2007): on the one hand, it involved the installation of coastal artillery and elevated anti-aircraft positions to counter threats from both sea and air; on the other hand, it included the construction of a discontinuous chain of casemates along the coastline to deter amphibious landings. the bunkers— typically spaced approximately 500 meters apart, in line with the effective range of their weaponry—created a defensive mesh intended to maximize territorial control (figure 7). figure 6: (left) map of air raids on the spanish coast from the island of mallorca (1938) and (right) the coastal defense system of the santa pola coast (1940) (garcía & ruiz 2000, p. 37) sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 8 figure 7: igm map the coastal defense system of poetto beach in quartu s’elena, italy (genio militare, 1943). the siting of these structures was determined through strategic calculations aimed at maximizing operational coverage while minimizing costs and aerial visibility. camouflage techniques were employed, such as aerodynamic shaping and the use of locally sourced materials for exterior cladding, which enhanced the integration of the structures into their surroundings. although a few exceptions appeared in urban zones, the majority of the fortifications were built in sparsely inhabited rural or coastal environments. the implementation of this defensive system was delegated to local authorities, who relied on standardized typologies drawn from military engineering manuals. however, due to the urgency of wartime construction, few original plans have survived. as a result, contemporary reconstructions of this defensive system rely heavily on field studies and fragmented archival documentation. during the second world war, the francoist regime expanded and reused this existing infrastructure in anticipation of a possible allied invasion. in the 1940s, the regime began restoring earlier structures and commissioned the construction of new, more technically advanced fortifications along the pyrenees and the strait of gibraltar (atanasio, 2017). this resulted in a fortified coastal belt extending from cádiz to girona, forming what is now known as the spanish segment of the mediterranean wall. although more limited in scale than the atlantic wall, the mediterranean wall adapted as well to the challenges of the second world war. italy, in particular, presents a revealing case study. alongside the reinforcement of internal defense lines—such as the galla placidia line—the italian authorities launched a campaign to fortify coastal areas starting in may 1943 (grioni, carro, 2014, pp. 24–26). at that time, sardinia and sicily were identified as probable targets of allied amphibious operations, making the rapid development of a coastal defense system a necessity. italy’s fortification strategy involved the construction of bunkers, batteries, and other defensive facilities located at river mouths, estuaries, ports, and near critical infrastructure such as roads and railways. these interventions often overlapped with or were integrated into pre-existing defensive elements—such as coastal watchtowers from the 15th to 18th centuries and other historical military installations—thereby reinforcing existing surveillance and territorial control capacities. according to grioni and carro (2014), more than 1,500 military structures from this period are still preserved in sardinia alone, many in a relatively good state of conservation. this condition is often attributed to the widespread use of reinforced concrete (figure 8)—a material chosen for its mechanical strength, durability, and suitability for rapid construction. this stands in contrast to the spanish republican period (1936–1939), where wartime material shortages led to a more frequent use of traditional masonry techniques, unlike the later francoist bunkers (1940– 1945), which were indeed built in reinforced concrete. the centralized nature of italy’s military engineering apparatus—coordinated through the genio militare and the regia marina—also contributed to the systematic production and preservation of technical drawings and archival records. these documents are now essential for contemporary mapping and cataloging efforts. the coastal defenses of the mediterranean wall followed precise strategic and architectural principles. most structures were made of reinforced concrete and, when possible, clad with stone or local aggregates to improve camouflage. morphologically, they adapted to the rugged topography of the coast, minimizing visual impact through sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 9 chromatic and volumetric integration with the surrounding terrain. functionally, the bunkers were designed as armored shelters capable of continuously housing personnel. their internal layout typically included a rear compartment for storage or accommodation and a front area equipped with horizontal embrasures for observation and the deployment of firearms (figure 8). these features reflect a typological consistency aligned with the defensive doctrines of the time, while also accommodating specific site conditions and logistical constraints. figure 8: left: the interior of a reinforced concrete bunker used in arborea, italy; right: the interior of a bunker with a brick formwork in balsares, spain (photos by a. martinez-medina). a fundamental principle common to all these structures was the close correspondence between form and function. their geometric configurations were dictated by operational needs, giving rise to elementary forms—such as circles and squares—that could be modularly combined to generate more complex spatial solutions. this logic is particularly evident in the family of defensive typologies distributed along the coast of alicante province (spain) (martínezmedina, 2016). moreover, their construction followed principles of standardization and serial production, reflecting avant-garde architectural trends of the interwar period. these fortifications embody the rationality, functionality, and economic pragmatism characteristic of twentieth-century military design. although this analysis focuses on spain and italy, it is important to acknowledge that the mediterranean wall extended across other countries, including france, croatia, slovenia, albania (stefa, mydyti, muçaj, 2012), greece, libya, and algeria. in each of these territories, bunkers were constructed at different times but always followed similar defensive logics and compositional principles. lastly, it is worth noting that the settlement patterns of twentieth-century military architecture often echo those of coastal watchtowers built between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries to defend the mare nostrum. the key distinction lies in their visual approach: whereas earlier towers asserted their presence through large volumes and elemental geometry, many modern fortifications emphasized concealment through landscape camouflage—a tactical necessity to preserve the element of surprise (figure 9). figure 9: left: a camouflaged bunker in the settlement of el portixol, spain; right: marceddì tower (1580) with an attached and camouflaged bunker in terralba, italy (photos by a. martinez-medina). sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 10 3.2 tourism and war versus territory and landscape the defensive system of the mediterranean wall—unlike battlefields marked by epic narratives—belongs more properly to the domain of material culture and military engineering. these ruins, which have rarely witnessed major direct combat, are embedded in the landscape, often camouflaged within its morphology to avoid detection by enemy forces. in this context, an intriguing analogy arises between the soldier defending a position and the tourist exploring a territory. as diller and scofidio have pointed out, the english word “travel” originates from travail, denoting labor, hardship, and suffering. the mission of the soldier intersects with the experience of the tourist: their movements are strikingly similar, and both—albeit in very different ways—leave a visible imprint on the landscape. “tourism and war seem to represent polar opposites of cultural activity: on the one hand, the paradigm of international agreement (tourism), and on the other, that of discord (war)” (diller, scofidio, 1995, 2011, p. 39). this reflection becomes especially relevant when considering the location of most bunkers, batteries, and shelters of the mediterranean wall, which are often situated in ecologically sensitive areas such as mountains, lagoons, dunes, and coastal zones. since the early 21st century, increasing attention has been devoted in spain to the documentation and cataloguing of these fortifications. significant studies have addressed the defensive system of the pyrenees, reinforcement strategies in the gibraltar area, and wartime infrastructures in catalonia (cabezas, 2013), as well as the fortifications stretching from the murcian coast. particularly noteworthy is the comprehensive inventory of defensive structures along the southern coastline of the valencian community (martínez-medina, 2016; gil-piqueras et al., 2022), which has contributed to the inclusion of numerous sites in municipal heritage protection registries. a similar phenomenon is occurring in italy. numerous initiatives have been launched to document and catalogue bunkers along the coast of sardinia (sanna, 1999; carro, grioni, 2001; rassu, 2013; grioni, carro, 2014; fiorino, pintus, 2015; mura, sanjust, 2016; fiorino, 2018; pirinu, argiolas, paba, 2021) (figure 10), as well as in calabria (caniglia, 2023), and in inland regions such as valleys and hills, where defensive positions were often adapted from existing watchtowers. in emilia-romagna (mariotti, ugolini, zampini, 2018), some bunkers have been reappropriated by local communities and successfully integrated into the contemporary urban fabric. the creation of detailed location maps, metric and graphic documentation of these structures, and the comparative analysis of their architectural and spatial characteristics have laid the groundwork for future academic research. this has significantly advanced our understanding of the distributed defensive systems that line the mediterranean coast. however, beyond documentation, the key challenge remains the implementation of concrete interventions aimed at the recovery and reuse of this often neglected heritage, much of which is located in areas of exceptional environmental and landscape value (figure 11). figure 10: typological cataloging studies of bunkers: (left and middle) in sardinia (graphical elaborations by giancarlo sanna and andrea pirinu); right, along the valencian coast, in spain (graphical elaboration by a. martinez-medina). sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 11 figure 11: view of the mediterranean horizon from a bunker in is mortorius, sardinia, italy (photo by a. martinez-medina). 4. discussion: the “fortification park” as a case study the study of modern coastal fortifications across europe—built primarily during the tumultuous decades of the twentieth century, including the spanish civil war and the second world war—offers valuable insights into how military heritage can be reintegrated into contemporary cultural landscapes. although the so-called mediterranean wall remains less well-known and more fragmented than the atlantikwall, it nonetheless comprises a vast, territorially dispersed network of bunkers, batteries, and fortified outposts constructed by various regimes along the southern european coasts. these defensive systems—often anonymous, standardized, and mass-produced—represent a form of minor heritage, distinct from monumental architecture yet deeply embedded in the material and symbolic fabric of their environments. while their modest dimensions and functional nature may limit opportunities for interior reuse, they remain powerful spatial testimonies to historical memory, territorial control, and environmental transformation. importantly, they are not isolated artefacts, but rather parts of broader territorial systems whose interpretation requires a shift in scale and perspective. contemporary approaches to this heritage increasingly emphasize its systemic and relational value. the reinterpretation of fortifications as networks of spatially distributed elements—trenches, bunkers, artillery sites, and observation posts—has gained traction in both architectural theory and heritage practice. these are no longer seen merely as relics of conflict, but as dynamic instruments for reading the layered palimpsest of modern landscapes. the notion of the “dispersed museum”, as articulated by fredi drugman (2003), offers a compelling conceptual model: one in which memory, architecture, and landscape are integrated to create decentralized and place-specific narratives. some of the most influential examples (figure 12) come from the rehabilitation of the atlantic wall and earlier fortification systems in northern europe. the transformation of the amsterdam defence line (netherlands)—a 19thcentury military ring—into a unesco world heritage site has demonstrated the viability of connecting military heritage to ecological tourism and soft mobility infrastructures through pedestrian and cycling paths. since the late twentieth century, various european projects have reinterpreted wartime bunkers through creative reuse—ranging from early artistic interventions such as bill woodrow’s bunker mule (1985) on the beaches of blåvand, to more recent landscape-based restorations like the dramatic sectioning of bunker 599 (2010) within the new dutch waterline, and the architectural conversion of a former bunker into the tirpitz museum (2017) by big in denmark. these interventions reposition wartime structures within contemporary spatial imagination, combining historical integrity with expressive reinterpretation. although these northern precedents differ in geography and historical context, they provide valuable references for the adaptive reuse of mediterranean military landscapes. in both cases, military infrastructures have been reconceptualized as frameworks for distributed heritage, linking conservation with new functions, participatory practices, and landscape narratives. within the mediterranean context, fortifications often occupy ecologically significant areas—such as wetlands, coastal dunes, or wooded hillsides—and are deeply embedded in topographic, environmental, and strategic specificities. this spatial embeddedness makes them particularly suitable for valorization models that integrate military memory with environmental awareness, educational initiatives, and cultural tourism. sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 12 in selecting the case studies for this research, priority was given to sites located in italy and spain, two countries with extensive and diverse examples of twentieth-century coastal fortifications. the choice was guided not only by their historical and geographical relevance but also by direct fieldwork conducted by the authors, including on-site inspections, archival study, and interviews with local stakeholders. the final selection focused on fortified sites located within natural parks, where multiple well-preserved structures coexist in a coherent spatial system. these contexts offer ideal conditions for testing integrated valorization strategies: they ensure public accessibility, ecological protection, and thematic continuity. parks, by their nature, encourage slow exploration, educational programs, and open-air cultural activities—making them privileged laboratories for rethinking military heritage as a living and multifaceted territorial resource. figure 12: the bunker mule by bill woodrow (web photo by klaus funke), denmark (1985); bunker 599 (web photo by rietveld landscape), (2010); and the tirpitz museum, by big (2017) (photo: https://www.idealwork.es/proyectos/museo-tirpitz/). 4.1 application of the method to the case studies the four case studies selected for this research exemplify the proposed multidimensional and diachronic territorial methodology. they include two sites in spain—the military park of cabo de santa pola and the historicalenvironmental area of clot de galvany in elche—and two in sardinia, italy: the archaeological and naturalistic memory park of poggio dei pini in capoterra, and the fortified zones within the molentargius natural park in cagliari. each site offers a distinct configuration in terms of territorial scale, governance, and reuse strategies, providing a valuable framework for comparing how twentieth-century military heritage is reinterpreted and integrated into contemporary park environments. a key visual component of this section is figure 13, which presents a cartographic comparison for each site. on the left, aerial imagery and orthophotos—produced through systematic field surveys and gis mapping—document the distribution of wartime infrastructure such as bunkers and defensive nodes. on the right, official maps and interpretive graphics—issued by local authorities, civic associations, or displayed on-site— illustrate the spatial narratives through which these elements are framed, included, or neglected. this juxtaposition highlights discrepancies between the material reality of the heritage and its institutional representation. it also clarifies how each park conceptualizes the relationship between military remnants and other landscape components—such as ecological systems, pedestrian networks, and urban edges. as a preliminary analytical tool, figure 13 provides both a spatial and semiotic entry point for evaluating the degree of visibility, coherence, and integration of military heritage across diverse contexts. https://www.locationscout.net/@klaus-funke https://www.idealwork.es/proyectos/museo-tirpitz/ sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 13 figure 13: left: gis images highlighting the spatial layout of military structures (elaborations by giancarlo sanna). right: institutional maps issued by public authorities, from top to bottom: 1) https://pro-tectonica-s3.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/santapola_1553246671.pdf, 2) https://clotdegalvany.es and 3) cooperativa poggio dei pini e assfort, 4) https://www.parcomolentargius.it/ the following discussion builds upon this synthesis, examining how each site approaches the recovery, reuse, and activation of military structures—not merely as vestiges of the past, but as dynamic components within ecological, experiential, and educational narratives that shape the identity of the park. in this sense, the comparative figure serves as a heuristic device, revealing both the potential and the shortcomings of current valorisation practices. from the elevated ridge of cabo de santa pola to the wetlands of clot de galvany, from the wooded inland slopes of poggio dei pini to the saline plains of molentargius, these sites embody distinct topographies and degrees of integration of military remains into public memory and landscape design. https://pro-tectonica-s3.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/santapola_1553246671.pdf https://clotdegalvany.es/ https://www.parcomolentargius.it/ sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 14 while this overview offers a cross-sectional reading of territorial and representational dynamics, the following subsections present a detailed site-by-site analysis. here, the proposed evaluation method is applied to assess not only the conservation status and legibility of the military components, but also the strengths, limitations, and contradictions of the reuse strategies adopted. this structured comparison aims to identify recurring patterns, critical issues, and emerging opportunities for more coherent approaches to integrating military heritage into the landscape. 4.1.1 battery of “cabo de santa pola” (alicante, spain) cabo de santa pola is a prominent coastal promontory rising more than 100 metres above sea level and offering wide views of the mediterranean and the island of nueva tabarca. during the spanish civil war, the site hosted a major military outpost known as detachment no. 4 of the levantine coast (figure 14), composed of several heavy and medium-calibre batteries, a command bunker, tunnels, ammunition depots, and troop barracks. these structures were strategically positioned to defend the port of alicante, then the last stronghold of the republican government. although the interior of the batteries remains unused, the exterior restoration has improved their material legibility, integrating them into a broader system of interpretive trails linking natural, historical, and recreational elements. a notable drawback is the substantial alteration of the telemetric bunker, which departs from the otherwise conservative approach adopted for the rest of the structures. of particular importance is the visual and spatial connection between the military outpost, the santa pola lighthouse, and its panoramic viewpoint, which links the site to wider cultural and tourist circuits. despite some limitations—such as the absence of qr codes, night lighting, and guided services, as well as signage degraded by weather conditions—the case of santa pola exemplifies a balanced, phased, and landscape-sensitive valorisation approach (real and baile, 2018). by integrating the memory of conflict into a dynamic and interconnected environment, it illustrates key principles for the sustainable reuse of twentieth-century military heritage. this case demonstrates key features of adaptive reuse, such as landscape-sensitive integration, phased interventions, and spatial interconnection with broader cultural circuits. its main challenges relate to the lack of updated interpretive tools and interior reuse. figure 14: from left to right, battery post, bunker for telemetric device, mirador for the coastal landscape in the cabo de santa pola, in spain (photos by g. sanna, 2025-author) 4.1.2 clot de galvany natural park (elche, spain) located between el altet and los balsares in the municipality of elche, clot de galvany is a protected area covering 366 hectares of coastal dunes, wetlands, and fossil outcrops. in addition to its high ecological value, the site contains a spanish civil war (1936–1939) defensive complex of eight bunkers (figure 15), placed along the hillsides and oriented toward the mediterranean to counter amphibious threats and land-based advances. a central command structure on an island within the lagoon reflects the site’s strategic layout and military logic. unlike other locations where defensive structures remain peripheral or neglected, clot de galvany offers a notable case of integration. the restoration interventions respected the authenticity of materials through the use of local stone, while the adaptive reuse of interiors was limited to non-invasive functions: some structures were sealed to prevent damage, while others were repurposed as birdwatching observatories. elevated platforms or watchtowers facilitate access without endangering fragile ecosystems, and the fortifications are actively included in the park’s website content and interpretive totems—although descriptive and individual identification panels are missing. while advanced digital communication tools are lacking, the site maintains a high level of interpretive coherence, physical accessibility, and sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 15 ecological compatibility. here, military heritage is not a residual layer but a constitutive element of the visitor’s spatial and narrative experience. clot de galvany thus emerges as one of the most comprehensive and balanced examples within the comparative framework. it demonstrates how a multifunctional valorisation strategy— combining historical depth with environmental education—can activate the memory of conflict without compromising landscape integrity. this case illustrates a coherent model of adaptive reuse in which minimal interventions balance ecological integrity with heritage valorisation. the main challenges lie in the absence of digital tools and internal interpretation. figure 15: from left to right: small casemate connected to an underground tunnel, double casemate bunker, and wooden mirador for the landscape in clot de galvany, in spain (photos by g. sanna-author, 2025). 4.1.3 “archaeological and naturalist memory park” of poggio dei pini, mount pauliara (capoterra, italy) nestled in the forested hills southwest of cagliari, the memory park of poggio dei pini in capoterra encompasses the former military node of stronghold no. "messina", part of a broader second world war defensive system (figure 16). the complex originally included more than thirty structures—bunkers, artillery positions, trenches, and shelters—scattered and camouflaged within the natural landscape. today, the site presents a low-impact, communitydriven heritage reuse model. no formal restoration has been undertaken, but a coherent interpretive framework has emerged through initiatives led by local volunteers. unpaved trails, rope demarcations, and thematic signage panels guide visitors through the terrain, encouraging a direct archaeological engagement with the site’s spatial logic. despite the absence of advanced tools—such as digital platforms, lighting, or qr codes—the park hosts regular guided tours, maintenance activities, and educational initiatives. the strength of the project lies in its grassroots governance and the synergy between environmental integrity and historical narration. poggio dei pini thus represents a cost-effective and socially integrated approach to military heritage valorisation. while infrastructural limitations persist, the site exemplifies how conflict landscapes can be reintegrated into contemporary collective memory through local management and minimal intervention. the site highlights the success of grassroots adaptive reuse, characterized by interpretive clarity, environmental integration, and local engagement. however, it still faces limitations in terms of infrastructure and accessibility. figure 16: left and middle, bunkers built as observatories and (right) a path in the archaeological and natural park of memory in poggio dei pini, capoterra, in sardinia, italy (by the authors). sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 16 4.1.4 molentargius regional park (cagliari, italy) located between the municipalities of cagliari, quartu sant'elena, quartucciu, and selargius, the molentargiussaline regional park covers approximately 1,600 hectares of former salt pans and wetlands. recognized under the ramsar convention since 1977, it is today one of the most important bird habitats in the mediterranean, especially for flamingos (phoenicopterus roseus). the park is managed primarily with an ecological conservation approach, supported by a developed visitor infrastructure focused on environmental education. despite its historical layering— which includes early industrial salt-processing infrastructure—molentargius also contains at least six defensive outposts composed of twelve surviving bunkers built during the second world war (figure 17). however, these military remnants are physically degraded, marginal to the park’s narrative, and disconnected from its main circulation paths. only one bunker is accompanied by basic interpretive signage, while the others are unmarked, neglected, and occasionally used as informal dumping sites. although local associations have sporadically organized events to raise awareness of these elements, no comprehensive strategy of reuse, restoration, or communication has been implemented. military heritage remains in a state of passive invisibility, excluded from the park’s institutional agenda, which focuses mainly on environmental and industrial themes. this case exemplifies the consequences of systemic omission: despite its highly visible and accessible context—and despite the latent potential for integration—war heritage remains unacknowledged. figure 17: from left to right, stronghold no. 15, a double casemate bunker belonging to the stronghold no. 16, and two bunkers belonging to the stronghold in sardinia, italy (photos by g. sanna-author, 2025). 5. data-driven comparative analysis of valorisation strategies the comparative tables (tables 1-2) highlight the diverse strategies, challenges, and degrees of integration observed in the four case studies. santa pola and clot de galvany exemplify structured, phased approaches supported by institutional frameworks and landscape-sensitive interventions; poggio dei pini stands out as a grassroots initiative driven by community engagement and minimal alteration; molentargius, by contrast, illustrates the effects of institutional neglect, where valuable military remnants remain disconnected from the site’s narrative and infrastructure. the analysis confirms that successful valorisation results from the synergy of multiple factors— physical accessibility, interpretive infrastructure, environmental compatibility, and community participation—rather than from any single element. table 1. operational indicators for the assessment of reuse potential: this table presents the observable indicators used to assess the physical, spatial, and interpretive features of the fortified sites. indicators santa pola el clot de galvany poggio dei pini molentargius 1) accessibility (physical and cognitive) pedestrian paths ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ cycling infrastructure ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ rest areas ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ scenic viewpoints ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 17 access and parking ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ informative panels on the war heritage ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ informative signage ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ 2) restoration, recovery, and reuse restoration/conservation interventions ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ guided tours and services /reuse through activation ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ 3) night-time valorization (lighting and events) lighting or evening events ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ 4) digital tools and signages interactive panels ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ qr codes / digital media ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ online presence (websites, content) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 5) integration into cultural and tourist networks ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ 6) community involvement and participation presence of local associations or volunteer networks ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ participation in maintenance, promotion, and programming ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ 7) educational and interpretive effectiveness didactic (re-signification) tools ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ table 2: thematic evaluation of adaptive reuse strategies: this matrix synthesizes the qualitative assessment of reuse strategies across eight thematic criteria. criteria santa pola clot de galvany poggio dei pini molentargius 1) accessibility (physical and cognitive): good good good poor 2) preservation of landscape values: good excellent excellent good 3) restoration, recovery, and reuse: good good good absent 4) night-time valorization (lighting and events): absent absent absent absent 5) communication tools (signage and digital media): good good good poor 6) integration into cultural and tourist networks: good good good poor 7) community involvement and participation: poor good excellent poor 8) educational and interpretive effectiveness: good good excellent absent several converging trends emerge. first, the effectiveness of physical and cognitive accessibility, verified through field inspections of entrances, trails, and signage, is evident at santa pola, clot de galvany, and poggio dei pini, all equipped with adequate infrastructure to support meaningful visitor engagement. second, the preservation of landscape values, assessed by comparing historical cartography, photographic documentation, and present-day surveys, characterises all four parks. both clot de galvany and poggio dei pini achieve a particularly coherent synthesis of environmental continuity and historical legibility, enabling memory and nature to reinforce one another. as illustrated in figure 18, at clot de galvany, a restored bunker has been integrated into the visitor experience through interpretive totems and a wooden observation tower, offering shade and panoramic views that connect military remains with the surrounding landscape. by contrast, at molentargius, a comparable bunker remains isolated and degraded, excluded from visitor routes and lacking interpretive tools, which limits both accessibility and narrative integration. a common limitation concerns night-time activation, confirmed during fieldwork by the lack of lighting infrastructure. this absence, however, is partly justified by ecological concerns, as artificial illumination in natural settings may disturb fauna and is only marginally relevant to visitor experience. marked asymmetries also appear in sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 18 interpretive communication tools, recorded during site visits and supported by user feedback. santa pola, clot de galvany, and poggio dei pini employ signage, maps, and occasionally digital media, while molentargius lacks such devices, undermining cognitive engagement and marginalising its military heritage. the analysis of community participation, based on the monitoring of local initiatives and stakeholder interviews, reveals sharp contrasts. poggio dei pini exemplifies a bottom-up model of heritage care and storytelling, where grassroots associations compensate for limited institutional investment and generate a strong, locally rooted narrative. santa pola and molentargius, by contrast, show weaker community involvement. differences also emerge in integration into broader cultural and tourist networks, verified by cross-checking planning documents, regional guides, and online platforms. santa pola and clot de galvany are well incorporated into cultural programming and visitor circuits, whereas molentargius remains peripheral, reducing its visibility and ability to attract structured investment (figure 18). finally, educational and interpretive effectiveness, assessed through thematic routes and qualitative visitor feedback, aligns with these trends. poggio dei pini offers thematic itineraries and educational tools that activate the site’s historical layers; clot de galvany and santa pola also provide strong educational experiences, likely supported by institutional planning. molentargius again lacks such programming. figure 18: comparative views of two double pillbox bunkers: clot de galvany in spain (above) and molentargius in italy (below). (photos by g. sanna, 2025-author). 5. conclusions the comparative analysis confirms that natural parks offer privileged conditions for the revitalisation of military heritage, as they allow for the intersection of environmental, historical, and perceptual dimensions, which can generate significant and lasting enhancement strategies. however, the long-term effectiveness of these efforts depends on three interdependent conditions: the capacity of institutions to promote integrated and systemic approaches; the availability of clear and attractive interpretive tools; and the presence of active community participation as a driver of reuse and reinterpretation. the military architecture of the mediterranean coast now stands at the crossroads between ruin and reinvention. these fortifications, often marginalised and fragmented, have the potential not only to be preserved, but also to be reimagined: not as static memorials, but as dynamic interfaces between history, territory, and cultural tourism. what this comparative analysis reveals is that valorisation requires a multidimensional framework in which physical accessibility, interpretative clarity, environmental compatibility, restoration of architectural heritage, and citizen sanna/ proceedings of the academic research community on social and behavioral sciences pg. 19 participation operate in synergy. despite their prototypical nature—repeating similar typologies and functions in different places—the cultural impact of these structures is not determined by their material consistency, but by the way they are understood, contextualised, and given meaning. ultimately, these military structures challenge us to think both historically and spatially. they demand a vision of heritage that is neither nostalgic nor reductive, but critical, situated, and generative. as walter benjamin reminded us, ‘there is no document of civilisation that is not at the same time a document of barbarism’ (benjamin in mate, 2009, p. 130). engaging with these vestiges means navigating that tension and translating it, through thoughtful design and shared memory, into a cultural resource that fosters reflection, a sense of belonging, and environmental awareness. these are not just ruins to be protected, but platforms to be activated: palimpsests of conflict that, if reinterpreted wisely, can become agents of collective meaning. ackowledgment the abstract of this paper was presented at the conservation of architectural heritage (cah) conference –8th edition, which was held on the 17th 19th of september 2024. funding declaration. this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors/individuals.” ethics approval. not applicable. conflict of interest. the author(s) declare that there is no competing interest. references atanasio guisado, a. 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