Japan Architectural Review最新文献

Improving individuals' subjective well-being has become a focus of policymaking globally in recent times. The current study examined the association between cognition of neighborhood places and subjective well-being, with the aim of informing urban planning and community development efforts to improve the latter. An online questionnaire was distributed among residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and 2600 individuals responded. Regression analysis showed that respondents with greater neighborhood awareness and higher levels of education and household income exhibited better subjective well-being. Moreover, psychological distress, loneliness, and sense of coherence were observed to be associated with amount of cognition of neighborhood places. Another regression analysis revealed that amount of cognition of neighborhood places was associated with education levels and household income independently, suggesting the possibility of amount of cognition of neighborhood places playing a mediatory role in health disparities, a global public health concern. The findings of the current study suggest that urban planning and community development policies should aim to increase individuals' amount of cognition of neighborhood places by improving accessibility and providing information on the history, available facilities, and culture of their neighborhood. These measures should also be conducted in areas with residents from lower socioeconomic strata.

The outbreak of COVID-19 became a major problem at various facilities, and aged-care facilities were no exception. In the event of a person detected positive for the disease, outpatient facilities were suspended, but inpatient facilities could not be suspended, and it became necessary to deal with the residents and positive people. This study aimed to obtain knowledge that would lead to the prevention of the spread of COVID-19. The effects of differences in facility types were first examined on the occurrence of COVID-19 cases and then on the response after testing positive in nursing homes for the elderly.

This study aimed to employ transfer learning with a fully connected feed-forward neural network for forecasting the indoor air temperatures of adaptive buildings with electrochromic (EC) glass. This study predicted indoor air temperatures for an intermediate season requiring heating and cooling. Forecasting indoor air temperature can help control the EC glass to avoid overheating the interiors. The forecasting times for the predictions varied from 1 to 5 h between early morning and noon, which is when the interior is often overheated. The pretrained model was created using multilayer perceptron learning with the simulation data of a source building in Tokyo and transfer learning with feature-based extraction models that used datasets from the simulation of target buildings in Tokyo and Fukuoka. Further, the effects of facade orientation were investigated. The root mean squared error (RMSE) of the pretrained model varied from 0.027 to 0.935 when predicting the indoor air temperatures from 1 to 5 h. The RMSE of the transfer learning models using the pretrained model with the same and different orientations varied from 0.022 to 1.205 and from 0.9301 to 2.566. This study demonstrated that utilizing predicted indoor air temperatures to control EC glass can help protect against overheating.

We evaluated the effects of walking habits and mobility improvement on an aging population among 30 residents of a suburban residential complex with the aim of promoting sustainable health activities led by residents. The results showed a total of 911 person-days of actual walking (Mean = 30.4, Standard Deviation = 15.7) with an average of 30 days per person or a frequency of almost daily intervals over 2 months. In total, 68.4% of early- and 54.5% of late-elderly participants met the recommended criteria for healthy older adults. The results of the GLFS-25 and 2-step tests showed a significant improvement in the mobility function after the walking period compared to before the walking period. In addition to the improvements in physical mobility, there were improvements in social interactions and participation in community activities. The participants' post-walking effect showed that 85% of them were in good health, 50% had positive social interactions, and 25% had positive statements regarding community and town planning. The results verified that resident-led sustainable walking activities can establish walking habits and improve mobility.

The objective of this study was to analyze the elastic critical local buckling of cold-formed lipped channel sections using the energy method. A mechanical model and unique displacement functions simulating the local buckling behavior were proposed to consider the plate element interaction. Using the proposed mechanical mode, an analytical formula for local buckling that directly reflects the parameters of the channel member was proposed. Based on the proposed formula, the relationship between the cross-sectional geometry and local buckling behavior was investigated. In addition, a simplified design equation was proposed. The reliability and effectiveness of the proposed equations were presented by comparing with the results of eigenvalue analysis based on the finite element method.

This paper aims to analyze the merchandising (MD) of commercial facilities, clarify the basic components and essential functions, and explore the characteristics of the MD that promote “walk-around behavior.” MD was created by architects in the 1960s to attract people from different areas into commercial facilities and create a lively walk-around. MD has since been developed and utilized outside the architectural field in commercial consulting. As architects, we reexamine the MD of commercial buildings in Japan and the U.S. based on the components of these buildings at the time. We also define and add new features to further clarify the MD and provide examples of how MD has been used in applications other than commercial facilities. As a result, we will demonstrate that this planning method can be a method to create revitalization of towns other than commercial facilities.

This study seeks to clarify nationwide management status and spatial utilization characteristics of day-service-centers that can provide Chinese language service in Japan. A comprehensive survey was conducted through mail questionnaires targeting the 115 day-service-centers that can provide Chinese language service in Japan, with the objective of explicating their current operational and utilization situations. Additionally, field behavioral observation surveys were carried out in 2 day-service-centers, 1 is for Chinese people in Japan or Japanese people from China and the other is for Japanese people. The purpose was to identify the behavioral difference between Chinese users and Japanese users and identify the spatial utilization characteristics in 2 day-service-centers.

For accurate evaluation of the impact of earthquakes to structures in the vicinity of the earthquake faults, it has been required to develop appropriate calculation methods for short- and long-period ground motions and permanent displacements. The 2016 Kumamoto, Japan, earthquake provided these kinds of records, and several research papers have been published to propose methods for reproducing or predicting them. I reviewed these papers and summarized probable methods for evaluating fault parameters for broadband-period ground motions in areas very close to the faults.

Seismic retrofit has always been a very important subject in recent years. However, typical retrofit techniques such as load-resisting systems, damper devices, and seismic isolation systems will cause considerable disturbances to the structural system, such as increased force demand, and the building's occupants will need to be temporarily relocated during the construction. A design of the low-disturbance retrofit method for steel column bases that uses the advantages of the curved member has been proposed in the study to improve seismic performance and reduce the mentioned demerits above. The basic mechanism of the curved member retrofit system was first analytically evaluated by preliminary modeling, followed by a parametric study to verify the effective shape. Four curved member specimens were tested with variations in fabrication processes and boundary conditions. Several aspects, including overall behavior, strength backbones, and deformation shapes of the specimens, were examined upon measured responses. The hysteretic performance of the curved member retrofit system is verified to achieve a stable cyclic behavior with limited strength degradation. A set of physical equations for estimating the lateral loads were established and verified by developing numerical models with a good agreement that enabled them to accurately represent the measured responses in the test.

This study provides an understanding of the needs for signs identifying rooms shown in group homes for the elderly with dementia (residents' room signs) and reveals the elements for planning. The purpose of staff displaying residents' room signs is to support residents with dementia returning to their own rooms by themselves. It is appropriate for the display contents shown on the residents' room signs to be displayed with the name of the resident approximately 30 to 50 mm. The appropriate display location is near the door handle at a height of approximately 1200 to 1400 mm.