Modern Chinese landscape architectural history has largely emphasized humanistic and tradition-oriented narratives, leaving engineering-driven trajectories underexplored. This study examines one such trajectory in Changchun, between 1906 and 1945. Using a qualitative historical-documentary approach, it combines multilingual archival materials, historical maps, planning documents, scholarship, and comparative planning history to investigate how this technological lineage formed, how global planning ideas were translated into local practice, and how its heritage implications should be assessed. The study argues that Changchun's landscape system emerged through a dual-force mechanism combining colonial institutional mobilization with the environmental constraints of Northeast China's cold-region conditions. Under these conditions, landscape practice shifted from isolated park design to an integrated landscape-infrastructural system incorporating topography-based low-intervention design, stormwater management, waterway–park networks, parkways, greenbelts, and cold-climate planting techniques. These practices represented an instrumental translation of Garden City, City Beautiful, Parkway, and sanitary engineering concepts into a colonial spatial project. Although technically sophisticated, the system also reinforced hierarchy, segregation, and exclusionary governance. By distinguishing technical modernization from public modernity, the study contributes to modern Chinese landscape architectural history, comparative planning history, critical heritage studies, and debates on resilient urban infrastructure and climate adaptation.
Existing landscape perception studies have increasingly incorporated semantic attributes and spatial depth, yet their layer-specific coupling within the visual field remains insufficiently examined. This study proposes a depth–semantic fusion representation that integrates semantic elements with depth layers within a unified visual field. Using Chinese classical private gardens as the empirical context, we combined semantic segmentation, monocular depth estimation, XGBoost, SHAP, and ALE analyses to examine how depth–semantic fusion features relate to four perceptual dimensions: coherence, complexity, legibility, and mystery. The results show that the same semantic element can produce different perceptual effects across depth layers. For example, far-background buildings enhanced perceived complexity, whereas foreground and midground buildings reduced it. Fusion features also showed nonlinear and depth-layer-dependent responses. For rockery in relation to perceived complexity, the main interval of positive ALE change varied across layers: approximately 0–50% in the foreground, 0–25% in the midground, and 0–10% in the background. In screening-view compositions, foreground rockery showed a stronger local contribution than foreground shrub, with mean absolute local SHAP values of 0.131 and 0.037, respectively. These findings demonstrate the explanatory potential of depth–semantic fusion features and provide a quantifiable approach for interpreting perceptual mechanisms in Chinese classical private gardens.
The decarbonization of the construction sector and the valorization of industrial solid waste are two sustainability challenges that are rarely addressed within a single, place-based design strategy. This study proposes and demonstrates a localized, waste-material-based framework for Sustainable Building Design and Construction (SBDC) that converts locally stockpiled steel slag—a high-volume by-product of steelmaking—into building components and site-specific architectural interventions. The framework is bounded deliberately: it is a design-research methodology for the localized reuse of a waste feedstock, rather than a standardized materials-engineering qualification of structural products. It was developed and tested through a case study of Yangxing Village (Shanxi, China), a settlement adjacent to one of the world's largest steelmaking complexes, where decades of slag disposal have driven soil erosion and landslides. The methodology integrates (i) characterization of the basic-oxygen-furnace (BOF) steel slag feedstock, drawing on plant data and the literature; (ii) two laboratory material routes—lithium-tetraborate flux fusion to obtain cast glass-like elements, and recycled-glass-powder-bound sintering to obtain slag bricks (optimal slag-to-glass mass ratio 3:1, fired at 1100 °C); and (iii) a computational, site-responsive design that deploys the resulting components as roads, retaining walls, and integrated roofs to arrest erosion while minimizing material-transport emissions. The work contributes a transferable, low-carbon model for rural waste valorization that couples circular-economy principles with context-specific design. Quantitative mechanical qualification (compressive and flexural strength, durability, leaching, and life-cycle assessment) is identified as the principal boundary of the present study and the priority for subsequent work.
Accurate and scalable estimation of urban green-space carbon storage is essential for green infrastructure assessment, yet heterogeneity in vegetation types and community structures complicates modeling. This study developed a fractional vegetation cover (FVC)-stratified framework integrating Sentinel-2 imagery and backpack LiDAR for the central urban area of Nanjing, China. A database comprising 406 field plots, each measuring 20 m × 20 m, was established. LiDAR-derived tree height and diameter at breast height were used to estimate plot-level carbon storage, while NDVI, RVI, and SAVI were evaluated as predictors in FVC-specific regression models. Summer-derived vegetation indices correlated more strongly with carbon storage than winter-derived indices. Based on the combined model evaluation, NDVI was selected for low-coverage plots and SAVI for medium- and high-coverage plots. Compared with unified models, stratification improved predictive R2 by an average of 49.5%. The optimized models were then applied to map carbon storage density within the vegetation modeling domain, revealing pronounced spatial differences among FVC classes and green-space structures. By integrating two-dimensional satellite imagery with three-dimensional LiDAR data and introducing an FVC-based stratification strategy, the framework provides a scalable pathway from plot-level estimation to urban-scale carbon mapping, supporting green infrastructure evaluation and low-carbon urban planning.
To address insufficient indoor lighting, poor thermal comfort, and high energy consumption in movable cultural and tourism pods (MCTP) due to their lightweight structure and high window-to-wall ratio, this study proposes using electrochromic windows (ECW) instead of conventional glazing. A multi-objective performance optimization was conducted under representative climatic conditions. A baseline MCTP model was developed based on surveys of spatial forms, functional layouts, and parameter ranges. Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) assessed the impact of 22 parameters on daylighting, energy consumption, thermal comfort, and carbon emissions, identifying 12 key parameters for further optimization through multi-objective optimization (MOO) and TOPSIS. Results show that toilet width mainly affects overall performance. ECW control strategies for west, south, and east facades greatly influence daylighting; meanwhile, window U-value is critical for energy use, thermal comfort, and greenhouse gas emissions. The TOPSIS method provided recommended key parameter values for hot summer-cold winter regions. Compared to the basic design, Pareto-optimal solutions achieved a 106%–228% growth in useful daylight illuminance, a 10%–18% decrease in energy use intensity, a 15%–19% decrease in predicted percentage dissatisfied, and up to a 43% reduction in life cycle assessment. This offers scientific guidance for enhancing MCTP performance in design decisions.
A coherent understanding of structural systems and design principles behind tall mass timber buildings is still missing. This study focused on 258 finished mass timber projects worldwide. It examined the definitions of low-, mid- and high-rise timber buildings, structural classifications, core system designs, geographic distribution, link between regional practice and structural choice, functional uses, link among structural typologies, core systems and architectural design trends. A more sophisticated classification framework was proposed for tall mass timber buildings, which identified core material (i.e., timber, concrete or steel) as the main factor governing structural solutions and viewed concrete podiums as essential extensions of the building foundation system from an architectural and urban planning perspective. Core materials play a decisive role in enabling the height of timber buildings. Concrete cores were used in most of those projects to achieve heights above 60 m. Three main structural classifications dominate those 258 mass timber projects: All-Timber (49.2%), Hybrid Timber–Concrete Core (44.2%), and Hybrid Timber–Steel (6.6%). Using timber–concrete core hybrids in high-rise buildings (>25 m) particularly over 60 m, a wider adoption of all-timber systems in mid-rise buildings (≤25 m) and high-rise buildings but below 60 m are the anticipated future development trends.
This study investigates how spatial configuration supports children's proactive learning behaviors within the classroom-units of Education Campus Attemsgasse in Vienna, an early and representative example of the Campus Plus. Drawing on the concept of affordances, the study adopts an architectural planning approach, in which affordances are examined through measurable spatial parameters.Based on field observations conducted over five days across two seasons, the research employs behavioral mapping and spatial analysis to examine the use of general classrooms (Bildungsräume in German, BRs) and adjoining multipurpose spaces (MSs). Learning activities observed in the MS were classified according to learning format, group size, furniture use, and spatial relationships, and were analyzed in relation to the spatial characteristics of the MS, particularly its width.The results show that BRs support flexible furniture arrangements that evolve by grade level, while the MS consists of interconnected subspaces. These subspaces were classified into four spatial types, each associated with distinct patterns of learning behavior and furniture configuration. The findings demonstrate that spatial width functions as a behavioral threshold influencing circulation, furniture placement, and the emergence of proactive learning activities. This study provides empirically grounded planning insights for the integrated design of classroom-units and shared learning spaces.
Urban shrinkage is a global challenge, yet research has largely overlooked how decline is visually interpreted through everyday streetscapes, focusing instead on socioeconomic data. Drawing on an external observer–based visual appraisal approach, this study examines which physical street elements shape perceptions of shrinkage in formally organized commercial streets, and how their relative influence shifts across stages of decline. Using the AI image generator Midjourney, 50 controlled street images representing five levels of shrinkage were created. A Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) survey was administered to 263 online respondents to measure image-based perceived shrinkage, which was analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. The results suggest a stage-dependent perceptual shift in how urban shrinkage is visually interpreted in formally organized commercial street images, with the most influential spatial cues changing as decline progresses. In early stages, functional indicators such as commercial closures and emerging vacant space are most salient, whereas in later stages, physical deterioration—especially road damage and unmanaged abandoned lots—becomes strongly linked to perceived decline. Pedestrian presence mitigates negative perceptions across all stages, with its buffering effect strengthening as shrinkage deepens. These findings highlight the need for stage-specific urban management strategies that respond to how visual cues of decline are interpreted in commercial streetscapes.
The combined effects of global warming and the urban heat island intensify outdoor thermal exposure, with pedestrian heat stress particularly pronounced in hot and humid coastal regions. A main campus street of a university in coastal China was selected, and summer field measurements were conducted at 27 sites. Based on the measured data, thermal indices were evaluated using the RayMan model, and the sky view factor and tree view factor were extracted from pedestrian-view images via semantic segmentation. Diurnal thermal variations under different shading conditions were analyzed, and the coupled regulatory effects were quantified using a nonlinear regression model with time interaction terms. The results show that most thermal indices peak around 12:00, with shading effects strongest between 11:00 and 14:00 and exhibiting clear spatial asymmetry. The maximum differences in air temperature and globe temperature reach 7.04 °C and 8.45 °C, respectively. The tree view factor shows the strongest regulation of radiant heat load, with a reduction slope of −35.79 for mean radiant temperature. The time and TVF model explains nearly 70 percent of the thermal variation, outperforming the linear model and providing a computable basis for shading configuration and renewal of campus streets.
This research addresses the challenge of reconstructing Mosul’s historic urban landscape in the aftermath of conflict by linking physical dimensions to narratives, memory, and justice. An analytical framework was developed that integrates the Narrative Dissonance Index (NDI), Spatial Narrative (SN), Collective Memory Vitality (CMV), Heritage Justice Index (HJI), and Morphological Continuity Index (MCI) to measure Reconstruction Quality (RMQ). A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative, qualitative, and spatial data was employed to integrate results across the three dimensions. Some relationships between indicators were statistically significant, such as SN→CMV with a β value of 0.128, and CMV→RMQ with a β value of 0.141 and p = 0.027, with inverse effects of NDI on SN at β = 0.280. In the full model, HJI was the only variable with a direct effect on quality at β = 0.127. Spatially, morphological continuity recorded very low values of 0.00, with a relative dominance of the Great Mosque at 0.30 and a collapse of other sites. The findings confirm that the quality of reconstruction is linked to the site’s ability to reclaim its logical place by activating the role of memory within a just framework, rather than through mere formal restoration.
University students are vulnerable to psychological distress under intense academic and social pressure. Although campus spaces are recognized as relevant to student well-being, evidence for campus-square environments remains limited. This study investigated emotional responses in 12 squares at Tsinghua University through 516 multimodal field experiment sessions. Physiological monitoring, PANAS emotion scales, questionnaires, and first-person visual recordings captured both session-level emotional change and momentary visual exposure. A two-scale framework was applied: session-level OLS models assessed associations between spatial characteristics and emotional changes, while within-session centered XGBoost models tested whether 5-s visual-scene deviations explained short-term SCL fluctuations. Long-term models identified significant associations involving road density, floor area ratio, car-related visual composition, and participant characteristics. Appraisal-augmented models showed that subjective evaluations offered complementary explanations for self-reported valence. Short-term analyses revealed strong session-level dependence in relative SCL; current visual elements added limited predictive value, but sky view factor and green view index were significantly and negatively associated with relative SCL after accounting for participant and square clustering. Overall, under real campus field conditions, emotional responses were shaped mainly by broader spatial context, while momentary visual exposure provided modest, interpretable physiological signals for emotionally supportive campus design.
This paper presents an approach to virtual water heritage undertaken at the Quinta de São Paulo in Setúbal, Portugal, where two conventual hydraulic systems survive in a state of ruin. Amid increasing regional water scarcity, these systems have gained renewed relevance both as historical models for diversified water management and as a basis for re-narrating conventual heritage. To support their historic interpretation and eventual rehabilitation planning, a Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) environment is being used to coordinate survey data from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), ground-penetrating radar (GPR), analogue surveys and comparative case studies. Two interconnected lines of investigation were explored: firstly, evidence-based virtual reconstructions and secondly, as-found modelling of existing conditions. Across these lines of investigation, dissemination prototypes were developed through a range of tools, including extended reality (XR) and 3D printed artefacts to communicate ongoing research to expert evaluators and publics. Framed within a larger research project, this approach identifies best practices and gaps that can support the site’s ongoing interpretation, rehabilitation, and heritage programming.
The influence of non-visual sensory conditions on affective responses in high-density temporary urban events remains limited, particularly beyond laboratory-based studies. This study examines the effects of perceived auditory and olfactory comfort on perceived crowd stress, event attractiveness, and affective valence during temporary urban events in Macao. Using survey data from 1945 participants and structural equation modelling with mediation analysis, the study estimates both direct and indirect pathways linking sensory appraisal to emotional outcomes. Results indicate that perceived auditory comfort exerts the strongest total effect on affective valence, primarily through perceived event attractiveness, whereas perceived olfactory comfort contributes more selectively through perceived crowd-stress appraisal. These findings identify differentiated roles of sensory modalities in shaping affective responses and extend multisensory integration research from controlled environments to real-world, high-density temporary urban contexts, providing implications for soundscape, smellscape, and crowd-flow management.
This paper aims to critically reassess the Beaux-Arts system not as a historical curiosity but as a persistent epistemological framework in architectural education. While the École des Beaux-Arts has often been dismissed as a conservative, formalist pedagogy, recent scholarship has revealed its intellectual complexity. Building on these reassessments, this study interprets its central exercises, analytique, esquisse, and composition, as tools of knowledge production rather than mere technical drills. Through comparative and interpretive analysis, the paper situates these practices within broader theoretical debates, linking them to modernist criticism, post-critical diagrammatic culture, and contemporary computational and phenomenological pedagogy. The findings demonstrate that the analytique functioned as a system of analysis and modular reasoning, the esquisse as a method of projection and diagrammatic abstraction, and the composition as a form of synthesis that mediated between part and whole. These epistemologies persist in design education, as evidenced by component-based modeling, rapid prototyping, and integrative digital workflows. Furthermore, the study highlights the transnational diffusion of the Beaux-Arts system, showing its adaptability in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. By reframing the Beaux-Arts as a transhistorical and global framework, the paper argues that its legacy continues to provide critical resources for rethinking architectural pedagogy. While the study is primarily theoretical, it establishes a framework for future empirical investigations into contemporary architectural pedagogy.
As the birthplace of Chinese landscape poetry, the Ou River Basin provides a representative case for examining the evolution of regional cultural imagery across historical and digital media. This study compares 523 ancient poems and 42,744 valid social media comments via text mining, semantic analysis, sentiment analysis, and spatial mapping. Three major changes have been identified. First, imagery shifts from natural-landscape-centered aesthetic expression to activity-oriented and functional tourism narratives. Second, spatial perception becomes more fragmented and node-focused, with specific scenic spots replacing the holistic mountain–water setting prominent in ancient poetry. Third, emotional expression has shifted from the implicit, scenery-based affective structure of ancient poetry to the explicit evaluative discourse of the modern tourism experience. It is confirmed that traditional cultural genes have not disappeared; rather, they have been integrated into modern functional perception in a resilient and nested manner. Although cultural heritage still drives modern positive emotions, lagging infrastructure causes the most negative evaluations. The spatiotemporal evolution of cultural heritage elements is identified, offering a scientific data paradigm and planning guidance to balance regional cultural authenticity and cultural tourism perceptual continuity in the digital age.
Against the backdrop of global carbon reduction, timber shell structures are experiencing a renaissance driven by their structural efficiency and sustainability. While innovative practices continue to emerge, academia still lacks a systematic framework to clarify the underlying logical connections between diverse structural forms (such as gridshells and plate shells) and essential technical stages (including form-finding, discretization, joint design, fabrication, and assembly). This paper provides a systematic and critical review of the state-of-the-art in digital design and construction of timber shells. First, a classification framework based on tectonic logic is established to clarify the coupling mechanisms between form-finding, discretization, and joint design for both Timber Grid Shells (TGS) and Segmented Timber Shells (STS). Second, the study deconstructs the construction process into digital fabrication and digital assembly, analyzing the application of automated equipment within the construction workflow. Crucially, this review identifies three evolutionary paradigms of the integrated design-construction workflow: Digital Enablement, Construction-Driven Design, and Co-Evolution. The analysis demonstrates that the “Co-Evolution” paradigm, characterized by cross-project technological iteration and feedback, is essential for breaking the current “technological island” effect. The paper concludes by outlining critical future challenges regarding environmental impact assessment, technological reusability, and resilient human-robot collaboration.
With the continuous advancement of Human-centered design concepts, increasing attention to mental health issues, and the promotion of healthy city initiatives, research on urban space emotion perception has developed rapidly. Following the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, this study examines 288 Chinese and English publications published between January 2015 and March 2025. It provides a comprehensive review of the overall developmental characteristics of this field and its evolution in Chinese and English context, in terms of research objects, influencing factors, mechanisms of action, and research methods. The results indicate that: research objects have gradually evolved from the early binary comparison of “natural versus urban” environments to a more refined focus on multiple spatial types; influencing factors remain centered on the spatial environment, while increasing attention has been paid to multisensory factors and differentiated emotional experiences among diverse population groups; understanding of the underlying mechanisms has deepened, revealing the nonlinear relationships between spatial elements and emotional responses, as well as the mediating role of psychological appraisal; and, methodologically, the application of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and multimodal data integration has increased significantly. Future research trends include further promoting methodological integration, expanding the coverage of spatial types and population groups, and strengthening the exploration of pathways for translating emotional data into urban design and planning practice.
Settlements offer critical insights into the historical development of human societies through their spatial morphology. In the digital era, morphometrics enables more precise and comparable analysis across regions. However, many regions still face significant challenges in acquiring high-quality morphological data and applying digital techniques. These constraints have hindered the advancement of quantitative morphology studies, particularly in traditional settlements. To address these challenges, this study proposes an integrated framework that establishes a systematic data foundation for spatial morphology analysis. The framework employs machine learning models to identify building footprints, applies graphical algorithms to perform spatial computation, and develops modules to automate index calculation. It is applied to a large-scale case study of 8155 traditional Chinese villages, from which morphological images, spatial features, and quantitative indicators were extracted. On one hand, the statistical analysis of indicator values establishes a unified, national-level quantitative standard for morphological assessment. On the other hand, this study identifies three distinct evolutionary patterns of morphological characteristics, contributing to more refined and differentiated strategies for spatial renewal. Overall, the proposed framework provides a new data-driven approach for understanding the morphological evolution of traditional settlements amid modernization, offering methodological support for intelligent management and resilient development of cultural heritage.
Woven timber arch bridges are a traditional bridge type found only in the mountainous regions of southeastern China, and they constitute an important material carrier of the Traditional construction techniques of Chinese wooden arch bridges. This study focuses on a key historical discontinuity in the technological lineage of this bridge type. The Hongqiao depicted in Qingming Shanghe Tu (ca. 1100) is generally regarded as the earliest pictorial evidence of this technology, whereas the earliest reliably dated surviving woven timber arch beam bridge in the Fujian-Zhejiang region can only be traced back to the late Ming dynasty, namely Rulong Bridge (1625). This creates a documentary gap of nearly five centuries and has given rise to different scholarly interpretations, including the “Hongqiao continuity” hypothesis and the “independent mountain origin” hypothesis. By analyzing bridge forms in Song–Yuan paintings such as Qingming Shanghe Tu, Qianli Jiangshan Tu, and Jiangshan Qiuse Tu, and combining this evidence with the ten county maps in the 1482 Chenghua Gazetteer of Chuzhou Prefecture, field survey data from extant Ming-Qing woven timber arch beam bridges, and 3D digital reconstruction models, this study attempts to identify evidence for the continuation and evolution of woven timber arch bridges between the Song and Ming periods. The results show that the “Minor Hongqiao” at the end of Jiangshan Qiuse Tu already displays relatively clear proto characteristics of a woven timber arch bridge, while the mountain landforms, vegetation ecology, and architectural features represented in the scene closely correspond to the mountain societies of present-day southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian. At the same time, the correspondence between the distribution of silver mines and the number of covered bridges shown in the Gazetteer of Chuzhou Prefecture, suggests that mountain bridge construction in the mid-Ming period may already have been related to mining development, transport organization, and local governance needs. Based on this, the study proposes a hypothesis that woven timber arch bridge technology did not suddenly emerge in the Ming-Qing period, but was more likely the result of continuous transmission, gradual adaptation to mountain environments, and progressive maturation between the Song and Ming dynasties.
In the era of stock-based urban development, functional restructuring within existing buildings has increasingly replaced large-scale demolition as a key mode of urban transformation. In this context, mixed-use regeneration has emerged as a prominent yet underexplored form of such restructuring, with commercial–residential buildings (CRBs) representing a typical spatial carrier. Focusing on CRBs in central Nanjing, this study develops a building-level framework to identify and characterize the current state of mixed-use regeneration and examines its spatial patterns across multiple spatial scales. The results reveal a polarized overall pattern, with most buildings exhibiting limited regeneration and a small number forming high-strength, high-mix nodes. The observed spatial pattern is characterized by urban-scale clustering and building-level independence. The spatial distribution is closely associated with the urban center system, with dominant functional types corresponding to different center functions and regeneration patterns exhibiting a structured gradient from center intensification to new-center differentiation and peripheral incubation. Overall, the observed spatial patterns reflect the combined influence of urban structure, platform-mediated organization, and different stages of urban development. By revealing the spatial patterns of mixed-use regeneration from a building-scale perspective and incorporating vertical dimensions, this study advances research on mixed-use regeneration and adaptive reuse.
