Architectural Research Methods

Book Description

A practical guide to research-just for architects
From searching for the best glass to prevent glare to determining how clients might react to color choice for restaurant walls, research is a crucial tool that architects must master in order to effectively address the technical, aesthetic, and behavioral issues that arise in their work.
This book's unique coverage of research methods is specifically targeted to help professional designers and researchers better conduct and understand research. Part I explores basic research issues and concepts, and includes chapters on relating theory to method and design to research. Part II gives a comprehensive treatment of specific strategies for investigating built forms. In all, the book covers seven types of research, including historical, qualitative, correlational, experimental, simulation and modeling, logical argumentation, and case study and mixed methods.
Complete with real-life examples of how good research can be used from project inception to completion, Architectural Research Methods is an essential reference for architecture students and researchers as well as architects, interior designers, landscape architects, and building product manufacturers.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book.......2007-06-29

This is a great book that fills a gap in architectural education. it tries to cover a wide range of issues. The effort is appreciated and to a great extend successful

Architectural Research Methods.......2006-03-26

This is a good overall text for anyone working in or towards a graduate degree in architecture or landscape architecture.

Uphill Reading.......2003-04-21

As a graduate student taking my first official course in research methods, I was disappointed. The language and structure of this book could have been made a lot easier to follow. I would have appreciated, for example, more frequent subheadings and listing of points. Because of the lack of, the book is difficult to skim or pick and choose sections to read; expect to read thoroughly. Some of the examples in the book were questionable -especially the chapter on experimental and quasi-experimental research. The frequent diagrams were also lacking in clarity. I think that the text could have been half as long and still conveyed the same amount of information. Redundancy aside, I did (with much caffeinated effort) gain a broad understanding of several research strategies and tactics. The book is not a comprehensive guidebook for conducting research based on particular research methods; it is merely a broad introduction or clarification of various strategies. However, it frequently suggests comprehensive texts for further reading if you are so inclined.

Cohesive and comprehensive.......2002-04-12

I found this book to be excellent: comprehensive and approachable, eclectic and interdisciplinary. It should save any student, researcher or instructor much time and can serve as a text book and/or a comprehensive reference manual. It also adds to the body of knowledge by freshly demonstrating the application of the research methods of many other disciplines in the specific context of architecture (including many cases and examples), all within a nice, logical, unifying philosophical framework.

Arc hitectural Research Methods.......2002-04-07

The text is relevent for those interested in "Evidence based architectural design". It is excellent for both a beginning researcher in acadamia or an experienced practitioner involved with architecture research. It provides a broad research background as well as specific application to architecture. It is well organized and usable as an office reference or classroom text. It is written with jargon and graphics familiar to architects.

Human Factors Research: Methods and Applications for Architects and Interior Designers

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Human Factors Research: Methods and Applications for Architects and Interior Designers
John E. Harrigan
Manufacturer: Elsevier Science Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0444427465

Book Description

Hardbound. In order to succeed, human factors research must blend the subjective and objective aspects of the client's situation, applying both argument and evidence. How to accomplish this complex and very necessary goal is the subject of this book in which information systems, research methods, and evaluation procedures have been formulated as elements in an application strategy that makes possible the blending of research and design. Three main themes are maintained throughout the book: the concern to ensure that designers know how to conduct human factors research in an effective and efficient manner; the emphasis on obtaining the benefits possible when designer and client work in collaboration; and the possibility that what is presented should stimulate thoughtful ideas about new computer applications or database features.

Human factors research is fundamentally a problem of information development. Using the standardized information system pres

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Architectural Fabric Structures: The Use of Tensioned Fabric Structures by Federal Agencies
National Research Council (U. S.)
Manufacturer: University Press of the Pacific
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Materials | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1410203913

Book Description

This reprint of the 1985 architectural classic discusses a technology that offers an important alternative to conventional construction, having unique properties that make it useful for certain applications. Due to improvements in materials, structural analysis, and environmental control, these structures can often be considered permanent buildings. The membrane is the principal structural component of a tensioned fabric structure. Under certain circumstances, a tensioned fabric structure can reduce energy consumption in a building. The natural light from the translucent surface reduces requirements for artificial lighting, the reflectivity of the skin reduces heat gain, and the radiation of waste heat from the warm fabric surface to cool sky results in an energy-efficient building in warm climates. In cold climates, a second skin or liner is often used, often with glass fiber insulation in the cavity to further reduce heat loss. In general, as permanent structures, tensioned fabric technology is underutilized. There are many projects or parts of projects that could employ this system.

Automation Based Creative Design - Research and Perspectives

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Automation Based Creative Design - Research and Perspectives

Manufacturer: Elsevier Science
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Materials | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Buildings & Construction | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0444898700

Book Description

Computer technology has revolutionized many aspects of building design, such as drafting, management, construction - even building with robots. This revolution has expanded into the field of design creativity. Presented in this book is an up-to-date, comprehensive picture of research advances in the fast-growing field of informatics applied to conceptual stages in the generation of artifacts - in particular, buildings. It addresses the question how far and in what ways creative design can be intelligently automated.

Among the topics covered are: the use of precedents; the relations between case-based, rule-based, and principle-based architectural design reasoning; product typology; artifact thesauruses; the inputting and retrieval of architectural knowledge; the visual representation and understanding of existing or projected built forms; empirical and analytical models of the design process and the design product; desktop design toolkits; grammars of shape and of function; multiple-perspective building data structures; design as a multi-agent collaborative process; the integration of heterogeneous engineering information; and foundations for a systematic approach to the development of knowledge-based design systems.

The papers provide a link between basic and practical issues: - fundamental questions in the theory of artifact design, artifical intelligence, and the cognitive science of imagination and reasoning; - problems in the computerization of building data and design facilities; - the practical tasks of building conception, construction and evaluation. The automation of creative design is itself considered as an engineering design problem.

Book Description

Architects often employ design methods to help them find more creative forms. These methods make it possible to break free of the traditional canon of forms and established paradigms. At the same time, there must be enough leeway for a functional, systematic design conception to take shape. This volume focuses in depth on the design methods that have decisively shaped current architectural practice.

Themes are - Diagrammatic methods (using drawings and schematic representations), -Mimetic methods (imitative), - Parametric methods (using a characteristic quantity), - Automated and digital design methods of the contemporary avant-garde, e.g. scaling, datascapes, folding, and morphing.

Epoxy Resins in Stone Consolidation (Research in Conservation, 7)

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Epoxy Resins in Stone Consolidation (Research in Conservation, 7)
Charles Selwitz
Manufacturer: Getty Trust Publications: Getty Conservation Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Materials | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Historic Preservation | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Preservation of Art | Reference | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0892362383

Book Description

Major improvements in the durability and mechanical strength of deteriorating stone can be achieved through the use of epoxy resins as consolidants. The research presented in this volume shows that the proper use of solvents avoids problems of discoloration and crust formation. Two
distinctly different approaches are explored. In the European model, treatment is done primarily on small objects using methods that maintain the resin solutions against the stone surface. In the United States, large surface areas of buildings are treated by spraying or brushing.

Facility Programming: Methods and Applications (Community Development Series)

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Facility Programming: Methods and Applications (Community Development Series)

Manufacturer: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0879333103

Methods of Architectural Programming (Community development series ; 29)

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Methods of Architectural Programming (Community development series ; 29)
Henry Sanoff
Manufacturer: Van Nostrand Reinhold
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0879332530

Quantitative Methods for Planning and Urban Studies

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Quantitative Methods for Planning and Urban Studies
Barry J. Simpson
Manufacturer: Gower Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0566008432

Research Methods in Urban and Regional Planning (Tsinghua University Texts)

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Research Methods in Urban and Regional Planning (Tsinghua University Texts)
Xinhao Wang , and Rainer vom Hofe
Manufacturer: Tsinghua University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Accessories:

ASIN: 3540496572

Book Description

A new challenge for stained glass craftsmen: 60 new designs framed in the shape of an oval. Enjoy greater complexity and challenge with sinuous cats, birds, mandalas, much more, all framed in an antique shape. 60 black-and-white patterns.

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oval stained glass pattern book
eaton
Manufacturer: dover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V8W7D4

Book Description

The everyday practice of photography by millions of amateur photographers may seem to be a spontaneous and highly personal activity. But France’s leading sociologist and cultural theorist shows that few cultural activities are more structured and systematic than photography.

Book Description

This thought-provoking story is told almost completely without words, relying on Kochalka's expressive illustrations of the title characters. For all the book's humorous and charming appearance, beneath the entertaining veneer lies a stirring examination of the dual nature of existence, the dichotomy within the human mind, and our profound effect on the ecological environment. A modern day fable for readers of all ages, based on the age-old struggle between nature and technology.

Customer Reviews:

Not as good as the first..........2004-06-21

I was so disappointed with the monkies talking in this book! I don't know what but this one little detail made is so much less realistic. The same themes are present in this book as in the last and it did make me smile, and left me thinking (until i fell asleep) but quite honestly this book did not live up to the first. I bought this at a used book store for quite cheap and I am happy I read the sequel to MvR, but overall it was a little disappointing.

I WANTED to love it, but..............2004-03-14

Mr. Kochalka is a wonderful guy who has done some fun stuff, but....this was a disappointment, to say the least. Monkey vs. Robot is the concept of a lifetime, for an artist, because it's the whole basic yin/yang thing. Yin is yielding, Yang is firm, the two both interact to create everything, etc. etc. Monkeys are yin, Robots, yang. There is yin within the yang and vice versa. The two forces can clash, but also depend on each other in another way. What is just as, if not more important is how the concept is USED. The author is known for his thing for video games, and well, sadly, it shows in this. Although I don't play them, I DO understand that video games have their place, and I have nothing against them. The problem is, that they just don't usually translate well into another medium, at least I didn't feel that they did here. I read the page, but didn't FEEL anything. Maybe that's why most video game-movies are horrible. Unlike some of Mr. Kochalka's OTHER comics, this one just didn't leave any shrapnel in me like his good ones did. ah well.

A minimalist approach to the graphic novel.......2004-01-26

For those used to spending a tremendous amount of time reading through a given graphic novel due to the complexities of the text and artwork, James Kochalka offers a minimalist approach in Monkey vs. Robot & the Crystal of Power. The robots are gathering a number of items in nature to analyze in their computer, which ultimately results in the destruction or death of the item (i.e. a flower). When a monkey is taken, he narrowly escapes, but not before being injured and simultaneously damaging part of the computer. As the robots seek to fix it, they discover that the only way it can repair itself is through a crystal, which in turn, is honored by the monkeys. Let the monumental struggle begin! Technology vs. nature, survival of the fittest, the old quote from the English Romantics, "We murder to dissect."

Even though it is a quick read, I encourage you to read through it a number of times and enjoy Kochalka's work and its thought provoking story. Fans of Nicholson Baker's concise approach to fiction would enjoy Kochalka and the issues he explores.

Customer Reviews:

All the news that shaped Minnesota in the last 40 years.......1999-11-22

This is the inside story of a newspaper and how Jim Klobuchar helped tell some of the more important events which shaped Minnesota during the Cold War period. This book is a must for the shelves of persons like myself who treasure the history of our beloved Land of Sky Blue Waters. If you are a native of Minnesota's Iron Range like the author, you will find a homey treatise on the roots of your modern heritage, and some secret recipes from its Slavic kitchens. Klobuchar also explores the mystery of why us Minnesotans, unlike any others, take such pride in our State. A lot of the book is about politics, but skim that part and go to Jim's youth, his military service, his relationship with the Vikings and his passion for mountain climbing. The chapter on Jim's recovery from alcoholism is worth the price of the book alone. If you have a problem with alcohol, you will see yourself in this revealing vignette. One of the most powerful and painful narratives I have ever read, is Klobuchar's telling of his daughter Amy's testimony at his DUI hearing.

Amazon.com

In April of 1989, a young woman was brutally assaulted and raped while jogging in New York's Central Park. The attack captured headlines around the world as the anonymous "Central Park Jogger" fought to recover from massive injuries that left her near death. Fourteen years later, in this first person account, Trisha Meili broke her silence to discuss the incident in her own words and reveal who she was before the attack and who she became as a result of it. Meili tells the story of a competitive and driven young executive at a finance firm whose life was destroyed, and how she ultimately rebuilt it. Passages where Meili is reunited years later with the doctors and nurses who saved her life are especially compelling, as are her accounts of testifying in court and her first run after the incident. While her candor is remarkable and certainly moving, it's worth noting what this book does not include. Meili can provide no detail of the actual attacks (she has no memory of them), she has little to say about the racial controversy her case ignited, and she only briefly mentions the fact that, during the writing of this book, the convictions of her attackers were vacated after another man confessed to the crime. But these are not necessarily omissions; they are simply not central to Trisha Meili's highly readable story of tragedy and, ultimately, triumph. I Am The Central Park Jogger is not just a book for New Yorkers curious to finally hear from "The Jogger"; it's an inspirational tale of overcoming enormous obstacles and getting back on the road again. --John Moe

Book Description

Shortly after 9:00 P.M. on April 19, 1989, a young woman jogs alone near 102nd Street in New York City's Central Park.

She is attacked, raped, savagely beaten, and left for dead. Hours later she arrives at the emergency room -- comatose -- with a fractured skull, an 85-degree body temperature, and she has lost so much blood that her doctors believe it's a miracle she's still alive.

Meet Trisha Meili, the Central Park Jogger.

It was a crime that stunned New Yorkers, the nation, the world. Even today, more than a decade after the attack, the Central Park Jogger -- who disclosed her name upon publication of this book -- is still in the news as startling new information about the perpetrators develops. Because of the nature of her injuries, Trisha Meili remembers nothing of the attack. But for Meili, the crime was not the climax but the beginning of an extraordinary journey.

I Am the Central Park Jogger recounts the mesmerizing, inspiring, often wrenching story of human strength and transcendent recovery. Meili tells us who she was before the attack -- a young Wall Street professional with a promising future -- and who she has become: a woman who learned how to read, write, walk, talk, and love again...and turn horrifying violence and certain death into extraordinary healing and victorious life.

Download Description

"For the first time since the brutal assault in 1989 -- a crime that stunned New Yorkers, the nation, and the world -- the Central Park Jogger reveals her identity and tells the story you haven't heard, the journey of a young woman who turned horrifying violence and certain death into extraordinary healing and triumphant life. It is the end of a long workday and she is out for a run. Shortly after 9:00 P.M. on April 19, 1989, a young woman jogs alone near 102nd Street in New York City's Central Park. She is attacked, raped, savagely beaten, and left for dead. Many hours later, she is found lying in the mud, her body thrashing violently. When the young woman -- soon to be known around the world simply as the Central Park Jogger -- arrives in the emergency room, her body temperature is 85 degrees, she is comatose, and she cannot breathe on her own. She has a fractured skull and has lost so much blood that the doctors can't understand why she is still alive. I Am the Central Park Jogger recounts the mesmerizing, inspiring, often wrenching story of human strength and transcendent recovery that involved a family, a hospital, a city -- in fact, an entire nation -- of supporters.

Customer Reviews:

Never hate, just dialogue.......2007-07-05

I, too, lived in New York when this happened and we all wondered who this brave girl was. This book is amazing - Trisha writes with skill, humor and deftness. I completely understand her strength and grace. She shows how you can deal with tragedy and still have a powerful voice. She rose above hate, began a dialogue and refused to let those people who blamed her for going running let her down. What a journey and a portrait of courage and strength from such a senseless act of evil.

Gripping.......2007-04-29

A difficult book to read. I followed this story from day one and found myself feeling the same feelings all over again. Well written with unbelieveable objectivity, the author has overcome so much. It makes me want to meet her and tell her I am proud.

An easy afternoon read.......2007-03-10

After I read this book, I passed it on to several friends, all of whom finished it in under two days. It is so uplifting, and her strength and positivism is truly inspiring. Instead of dwelling on the attack itself, the author focuses on her recovery and her lessons learned. I highly recommend it!

A Hopeful Book.......2006-12-29

Yes, this book is courageous and inspiring. Many reviewers have already said that & they are accurate. I, like many others, wondered who "the jogger" was. She has come forward in this honest autobiography and revealed herself to be a person of exceptional strength. One would think a story like hers would be filled with sadness and fear. There is not one ounce of self pity in her tale of recovery. Instead this book is very positive. Full of hope. Brimming with gratitude for those who helped her along the way. Ms. Meili does not for one moment dwell on the depravity and cruelty that led to her attack. Instead she focuses on humanity's goodness. Unbelievable for someone who has endured such suffering at the hands of her fellow human beings! I was especially heartened by her tales celebrating the kindness of strangers. People she never even met who wrote to her, sent her gifts and prayed for her recovery. All in all, a very positive and hopeful story of an amazing recovery.

No one understands TBI like another Survivor!.......2006-05-12

I am so happy that Trisha Meili finally reached a point in her recovery where she could write this book. There are so many pages in this memoir where I could go, "yes!! Me too! I can relate!"
I sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury in an automobile accident several years ago- like Trisha. Our injuries, the "way" we were injured, are different but the recovery is similar. I struggle with the same things she does.

If YOU have a TBI, you may also relate.

Here are my favorite words from this book: "More and more of this miraculous thing called recovery was now up to me."

This is true of recovery from a physical injury, an emotional injury, depression or ANYTHING you are trying to overcome.

GOOD LUCK TRISHA!!!! I GET IT!!!

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