Special edition: engaging architectural science: meeting the challenges of higher density

Architectural science as a discipline has always successfully straddled the breadth and depth of both design and the sciences. In the context of design informed and guided by the sciences, there would be the clear understanding and nuanced consideration of the site, the climate and surrounding environments. For the built environment, architectural science is not limited to the physics of buildings, but it extends to the quantitative and qualitative aspects of its effects on human conditions and behaviours. The science of buildings (building performance, indoor environmental quality, interactions between indoor and outdoor spaces) is inextricably linked to the human world of social science (behavioural basis of design and policy), health science (public health) and business science (energy efficiency, climate change and productivity). Evolving with the times and ever dynamic, the discourse of architectural science has ably adopted smart and digital technologies (Internet-of-Things, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)).

This Special Edition of Architectural Science Review features articles selected from the 52nd International Conference of the Architectural Science Association on Engaging Architectural Science: Meeting the Challenges of Higher Density, held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 28 November to 1 December 2018. From the 91 peer-reviewed papers presented at the conference, 6 have been extensively developed to full papers. These papers in this special issue offer a sampling of the range of topics addressing the conference theme which emphasizes the issue of built environments for growing cities. Cities have been viewed as sustainability problems rather than solutions. What is the outlook on urban futures and densification? As concerns about urban sprawl, densification, shanty towns and climate change grew, so did the awareness for high-performance, energy-efficient building and walkable neighbourhoods make cities liveable and offer far greater benefits for the global environment. For example, high-density living has been viewed as a key strategy to manage urban growth and is increasingly becoming a feature in city planning. By 2030, 60% of the world’s population will live in cities (Bouton, Cis, and Mendonca 2013). Globally, cities have seen a rapid increase of construction which generates, among others, a discussion on planning controls in inner cities.

The first paper in this edition, Nath, Dewsbury and Douwes echoes the role of architectural science in informing regulatory policies as well as public health. This paper on ‘Has a singular focus of building regulations created unhealthy homes’ presents the position of on bridging the gap between architectural and medical science perspectives. The enhancement of energy efficiency performance requirements in Australia’s National Construction Code to reduce the contribution of the built environment on greenhouse gas emissions could have inadvertently affected indoor conditions in homes. This study reports on the investigation of indoor air moisture content, moisture accumulation and mould growth in new buildings in Tasmania, Australia which supports the links between damp housing and occupant respiratory symptoms. The second paper by Ackley, Donn and Thomas, ‘Measuring the Lighting Performance in a National School Property Portfolio’, is a case study on visual quality as an aspect of indoor environmental quality in school classrooms. It reports on an approach to measure lighting performance of classrooms using a single sensor to assist education providers with large school property portfolio to prioritize remediation works and inform design, assessment management and evidence-based policy decisions. This study demonstrates the role and impact of scientific and empirical investigations on policy formation and business science.

Building performance, particularly the effect of outdoor conditions on specific building envelope designed is investigated by Pokhrel, Anderson and Lie in the following paper on ‘The effect of wind on the convective heat transfer from the floor of single-sided naturally ventilated cubical enclosures’. The authors used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to understand the effect of varying wind conditions and to examine single-sided partly open enclosures. Their findings show that including the effects of outdoor conditions, there is scope for improving the prediction of convective heat transfer from the floor of naturally ventilated buildings. Empirical studies employing ever-improving digital technologies have broadened the scope of building performance evaluation.

The impacts of urban microclimate and outdoor thermal conditions on the built environment are addressed in the paper by Haddad, Ulpiani, Paolini, Synnefa and Santamouris. In ‘Experimental and theoretical analysis of the urban overshading and its mitigation potential in a hot arid city – Alice Springs’, the authors conducted fields measurements to assess the magnitude and characteristics of urban heat island. Using microclimate simulations, models were developed to assess the influence of mitigation strategies. The authors put forward recommendations that would decrease maximum ambient temperatures which would have significant impacts on building energy consumption and indoor and outdoor comfort conditions.

Advancements in architectural science investigations in the employment of virtual reality and smart technologies are addressed in the final two papers. The article by Moloney, Globa, Wang and Khoo on ‘Principles for the application of mixed reality as pre-occupancy evaluation tools (P-OET) at the early design stages’ demonstrate the feasibility of mixed reality, i.e. specification of VR prototypes and use of AR technology in comparing design options. The authors propose a methodology of extending approached to the pre-occupancy evaluation of architectural design using mixed reality technology. In the same vein, in the paper by Chowdhury and Schnabel entitled ‘Virtual environments as a medium for laypeople to communicate and collaborate in urban design’, the use of immersive virtual environment instruments is used in improving participatory process in urban design. The authors outline a procedure which engages lay-people as co-designers in neighbourhood planning and design.

In summary, the diverse range of themes reflected in this special edition shows how ‘engaging architectural science’ broadens the scope of the discipline to effectively address the expanding dimensions or frontiers of urban sustainability.

Acknowledgment

The studies reported in this Edition are extensions of conference papers submitted to ‘Engaging Architectural Science: Meeting the Challenges of Higher Density: 52nd International Conference of the Architectural Science Association,’ P. Rajagopalan and M.M Andamon (eds.), 2018, pp. 71–78. ©2018, The Architectural Science Association and RMIT University, Australia. The authors would like to thank all the reviewers for their diligent review of the papers, all of the authors for their eagerness in addressing the reviews and recommendations, and most especially to the editorial team, Richard Hyde and Peter Smith for their patience and efficiency in organizing this Special Issue. The authors also acknowledge and thank the conference organizers’ and contributors to these papers and associated researchers for their contributions to the ASA conference papers.