Japan Architectural Review最新文献

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.

This study evaluates land use transformation in Kandahar's old city, also known as Ahmad Shahi city, the birthplace and first capital of modern Afghanistan. The city consists of four rectangular quarters and is surrounded by a high strong mud wall, entrance gates, and a moat. In the early 20th century, the city experienced significant and arbitrary expansion, which certainly affected the urban fabric of the area, the streets were widened, and the city wall, towers, and gates were demolished, and the area was added to the construction of new government buildings, commercial establishments, and residential plots. This study aims to evaluate the alterations in the old city's urban morphology, culture, and sociology by conducting a comparative analysis of three maps from different time periods and considering various factors within the target area.

Subjective well-being has been attracting a considerable amount of attention. Urban planning is expected to play a significant role in improving subjective well-being. This study focuses on neighborhood environmental cognition as a new intervention target of urban planning and aims to clarify its association with subjective well-being. We conducted surveys using the element-recall method to assess neighborhood environmental cognition and the Subjective Well-being Inventory. Data were collected from 104 respondents over 50 years old living in suburban area of Nara Prefecture, Japan. The results revealed the following: The ability to recall many or diverse elements is positively correlated with subjective well-being. However, the spatial distribution of the recalled elements was not correlated with subjective well-being. The components of subjective well-being, positive affect and negative affect, have different relationships with neighborhood environmental cognition. Further, sex affects the association between negative affect and neighborhood environmental cognition. The ability to recall the elements that are not meant for daily visits is positively correlated with subjective well-being. These findings suggest that, in addition to making cities walkable, creating places that are easy to be recognized and recalled by residents is also important.

This study examines and visualizes a future urban structure of local metropolitan areas that extend over prefectural borders as in the case of Sinjiko-nakaumi metropolitan areas located across Tottori prefecture and Shimane prefecture. First, we constructed an expert system based on prefectural and city administrative plans in the metropolitan urban area, showing a compact city model (Scenario 1). Second, we developed a compact city model to reflect potential development、 taking into account agricultural land conversions (Scenario 2). By comparing the results of these scenarios, we found that it is possible to visualize an intensive urban structure that takes into account the possibility of urban sprawl given that the conversion of agricultural land in suburban areas is only allowed at a certain level of development. Additionally, we identified inadequacies in existing compact-city construction plans. To plan an effective urban structure for metropolitan areas situated on prefectural borders, it is important to emphasize the necessity of collaboration between municipalities in developing master plans for urban planning in areas located at or near borders. It is also necessary to review and redesign municipal master plans to ensure mutually convenient locations for facilities near borders and to regulate development in suburban areas.

Wind-speed measurement is crucial in designing wind-resistant buildings and controlling the wind environment in urban areas. However, the current methods of measuring wind speed, such as anemometers and Doppler lidar, are associated with high costs. This study investigated an alternative approach to measuring wind speed using the eolian sound emitted from cylindrical objects in urban settings, such as electrical cables. The proposed method relies on a relationship between the frequency of Karman vortex generation, which gives rise to eolian sound, and wind speed, considering the diameter of a cylindrical object. This study addressed 2 research questions: (1) the possibility of capturing and identifying the eolian sound emitted from a cylindrical object using a generic recording device and whether the peak frequency of the recorded sound aligns with the theoretically predicted frequency; (2) the feasibility of estimating the direction of the eolian sound source to identify the object responsible for the sound emission. The authors conducted a series of experiments involving artificially generated eolian sound in an outdoor environment and analyzed the recorded sound signals. The analysis results were encouraging, confirming positive responses to both research questions. These results indicate the potential for a novel method capable of estimating wind speed.

This study is aimed to clarify the characteristics of changes and psychological evaluation in guest's personal space and solidarity spaces during the tea ceremony. (1) The personal space hardly change, while the other's personal spaces increase. The solidarity space increases in the middle and decreases after exiting the tea ceremony. (2) The most influential factor of spatial recognition is “delivery of the tea and desserts.” (3) The common psychological factors that change simultaneously among thick tea and thin tea are spatial factor, variability factor, richness factor, and impression factor, while comfortable factor, tension factor, and peculiarity factor change differently.

As previously reported, we have proposed a vertical distribution of seismic design load for seismically isolated buildings (SIBs) corresponding to diversity of seismic isolation devices such as hysteretic dampers and velocity-dependent dampers. This proposed seismic design load is obtained from the relationship between response amplification caused by higher mode responses and the isolation ratio which represents structural characteristics of SIBs. In this paper, we build a concept of the equivalent isolation ratio which has applicability to various dampers in order to simplify an evaluation formula of vertical distribution of seismic design load. Moreover, an effect of the combined application of various dampers on vertical distribution of shear force coefficient of SIBs is analyzed on the basis of the equivalent isolation ratio.

We predict that acceleration of the individualization makes needs to live with some individuals, not with traditional family that includes spousal and parent–child relationship in the future. In this regard, this paper aims to know what kind of space we need. We surveyed 27 cases in Japan that individuals live with someone who is not in spousal or parent–child relationship. As a result, we could observe many variations about way of using common room from the case effectively used to the case hardly used, and we made consideration about factual background that leads these dwellings. The background is consisted of relationship between inhabitants, the way of life and the space they live. Concretely speaking, in the cases that inhabitants in relationship of equals, we could see that they shouldered their housework, deepened exchanges and used their common rooms well. However, in the cases that we could not see inhabitants used their common rooms, they also avoid to use them alone, and instead, they used their private rooms for doing something together.

The present study developed a method for evaluating the response, damage, and repair cost of super high-rise reinforced concrete (RC) buildings subjected to large-amplitude earthquakes. The response was numerically assessed using three-dimensional 40-story RC frame models under the predicted seismic motions of earthquakes along the Sagami Trough and Nankai Trough considering the effects of slip behavior, slab cooperative width, and stud-type dampers. Even when the RC mainframe exhibited slip, the peak response deformation was effectively reduced by the friction dampers incorporated into each story. A probabilistic approach based on fragility was used to evaluate the damage and repair cost of the building models. The distributions of the damage states and repair cost for each story under the predicted seismic motions of earthquakes along the Sagami Trough and Nankai Trough were determined, and the total repair cost in relation to the total construction cost was evaluated. The occurrence of damage state 1 had a relatively large effect on the evaluated total repair cost under the evaluation conditions used in this study. A nonlinear relationship was observed between the input magnification and the total repair cost. The friction dampers reduced the damage and total repair cost.