Heritage dwelling buildings in urban change: The change process of the quadrangle during the reform and opening-up period of China

focus on a type of heritage residential building from China called the Quadrangle Courtyard, and examine the challenges and opportunities involved in preserving and adapting these buildings to meet the needs of contemporary urban transformation as the Reform and Opening-up(1978-date) in China.

Historic development of policies and regulations concerning residential heritage in the Old City of Aleppo

Purpose: Housing interventions carried out in accordance with current regulations in the Old City of Aleppo, both before and after the Syrian war, are minor in comparison to those carried out without a license and illegally. This suggests current policies are inadequate and needs upgrading. Design/methodology/approach: This article critically...

Lessons From Yazd: Rethinking Iranian Traditional Courtyard Houses for Indoor Climate Comfort in Educational Buildings

In current times sustainability is a major priority in the building industry which contributes largely to country’s total energy consumption. Additionally, educational buildings make up a large part of building stocks around the world and these buildings are responsible for large part of energy consumption especially by heating, cooling, and...

The Chinese Courtyard: An Encomium

Xing Ruan’s 'Confucius’ Courtyard: Architecture, Philosophy and the Good Life in China' is authoritative, erudite, and enjoyable. And it is about so much more than architecture, encompassing as it does culture, gardens, literature, and calligraphy in its exploration of this most significant of Chinese spaces: the courtyard. Divided into three...

Post-Syrian War Residential Heritage Transformations in the Old City of Aleppo: Socio-Cultural Sustainability Aspects

The rehabilitation and sustainable transformation of residential heritage of the Old City of Aleppo (Syria) is one of the most pressing issues to regain the livability of this city. This research paper aims to gain insight into the residents’ conditions and needs by studying/mapping/analyzing the status of the residential heritage and the...

Urban Oases: Dutch Hofjes as Hidden Architectural Gems

Urban Oases is an ode to the architecture of Dutch hofjes. It explains why hofjes have been a natural and attractive part of the urban fabric of the Netherlands for six centuries and why they continue to appeal to new generations. The appeal of hofje architecture lies in its ability to renew its medieval archetype - an enclosed living...

Making a Living: Integrating informal income generation schemes into formal urban housing redevelopment as foundation for future economic growth and urban densification

Ethiopia is forecast to be the fastest growing economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Partly due to this economic growth, the urban population is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. In the group of urban migrants, more than half comes from rural areas, indicating a large sum of poorly educated, low skilled workers as major part of...

Respite: A Breathing Space in a City of Acrimony - Addis Ababa Living Lab Affordable Housing

The main objective of the project “Addis Ababa Living Lab” is to improve the livelihood of Addis Ababa’s urban dwellers using transdisciplinary approaches of analysis, planning and design. The approach incorporated in-depth understanding of social, economic and technological needs of the inner city neighbourhoods. To achieve this goal, the...

See you at heritage: A new urban regeneration approach based on heritage revitalization for South Luogu Lane area, Beijing

The story of this project starts with the bad relationship between resident, tourists and the heritage sites. Firstly, local residents’ existence is not being acknowledged as part of the heritage. Secondly, tourists cannot find open heritage site easily because of excessive commercialization and unreadable space. Thirdly, there is a bad social...

Communal Space and Degree of Sharing: The Legacy and Inspiration of Juer Hutong Neighborhood Project