VIII, 2007/1
Editorial
The new issue of AR is almost a typical one: it brings research reports and articles. By the decision of the Research Committee we should refrain from publishing reports about completed research and instead, publish contributions in the form of articles. However, this neither increased the number of articles, nor the quantity of research reports submitted to our library.
Of course we are not implying that there are no interesting articles in the magazine and that they don't expand horizons in an architect's mind.
In the article Shaded Japan and comprehensive perception of entities our colleague Peter Marolt writes about the significance of mystical shadows in traditional Japan, thus also about spatial design. Proof is provided from comprehensive analysis of characters that inherently encompass all dimensions of particular entities and whose comprehensiveness substitutes the imperfection of terms. He claims that perception of emptiness is the fundamental starting point for the design of the traditional Japanese room, whose autonomous walls predominantly enclose or encircle this mysterious space, contrary to the western world where tectonics are in the forefront.
Our Spanish colleagues, architects Camilla Mileto and Fernando Vegas Manzanares, both professors at the Universidad de Valencia, disclose their work in discovering old knowledge and ideas that they integrate in new projects: from renewals and publishing books to layouts of new residential neighbourhoods in old city cores (example of Valencia). In the latter they included old layouts (preserving external walls or backs, life in the internal courtyards and socialisation of the inhabitants of old quarters) in new spatial arrangements, living necessities and possibilities, but also provided social housing for the local community. In the article Architecture related to the existing city or Architecture, stretched onto the city, they present some of their achievements. They state that the importance of character of historical cores isn't conditioned by the quantity of large or famous monuments, but by the stamp given by housing quarters. They argue that the most important deficiency in safeguarding of monuments is deficient transformation of load-bearing structures that can cause the complete disappearance of urban character. This is a tempting hypothesis worth thinking about, although it will attract as many supporters as opponents for any intervention in the old.
In the article Public space as a local development opportunity, assist. prof. Alenka Fikfak presents tourism as the alternative for ensuring economic well-being in former agrarian households and as a substitute for filling in the void caused by the demise of collective employment in large companies of the former centrally planned economies. She argues that the system has to ensure professionally acceptable integration and marketing of public spaces and public infrastructure facilities, which is based on use of local and regional physical specifics. It has to stimulate search for local specifics while emphasising their preservation.
Dr Lara Slivnik concludes her showcasing of world fairs, which started as a research titled Innovative structural systems at the world fairs, where she dealt with structural aspects of the one hundred fifty year history of world fairs. The topic is the relation between structure and architectural design with emphasis on the development of building technology and ecological materials in the recent years.
Dr. Manja Kitek Kuzman writes about the issue of timber in Slovene engineering in the article Guidelines and potentials of timber construction in Slovenia. She states that in the contemporary architectural design process building should be based on increased use of recyclable resources, increased use of wood composites and higher share of prefabricated structural elements. In Slovenia the share of housing built from wood is negligible, which was the rationale of her research in which she wanted to discover, why the share was so low. With the public opinion poll Slovene pubic opinion concerning timber construction, she inquired about knowledge about timber structures and their advantages. This is a topic that demands special attention, especially in view of the fact that export of uncut timber is increasing (cheap for buyers, precious for us). Instead, we should increase the value of timber by adding Slovene expertise, thus transforming timber construction into a value that could also be used to improve Slovenia’s distinctness.
Our colleagues from the Faculty of mechanical engineering, Mirko Čudina and Jurij Prezelj bring an article titled The intelligibility of speech in classrooms and lecture theatres, an issue that is very important for architects, yet fairly unknown: acoustics. The article deals with intelligibility of speech in classrooms and lecture theatres. Several important parameters conditioning legibility of speech are described. Objectively and subjectively they measured intelligibility of speech in five lecture rooms at the Faculty of mechanical engineering in Ljubljana and graded them according to measured reverberation times and the relation between speech volume and background noise. We would however expect more practical results for architects, which could be used when designing public spaces. Hereby I am thinking about materials, their treatment, form, positioning and in relation to full or empty lecture rooms of various types, of course where speech is concerned and not artificially produced sounds. Only such presentation would provide a real value up our, architect’s alley.
Tomaž Slak, Vojko Kilar and David Koren wrote two articles, titled Seismic architecture as a pendant of seismic engineering and Earthquake resistant insulation and irregular layouts in architecture. The articles are strictly scientific and from the field of civil engineering. The intention of the first article is to promote new principles of architecture in these areas since technology, legal regulations and participation with civil engineers alone are neither the only nor the adequate solution for properly designed cultural landscapes. Seismic engineering has developed several basic concepts of designing earthquake resistant buildings. The second article analyses the effectiveness of earthquake insulation systems for reducing negative torsion effects in asymmetrical structures, which we often see in contemporary architecture. It gives a detailed account of how the system of earthquake insulation absorbs structural irregularities.
The Dean, Peter Gabrijelčič, brings a report about the project Detailed concept of spatial development in the Slovene coastal belt. The research project “Detailed concept of spatial development in the Slovene coastal belt” is one of the eight tasks within the research project CAMP and an integral part of the preparation framework for the Regional concept of spatial development of the Slovene coast. Several common tasks that have strategic significance and can be financed by European structural funds are also proposed in the project. A proposal of the spatial development concept for the immediate coastal belt was also undertaken, and four key projects defined.
Tadeja Zupančič continues with her quest in the field of education. In the article The advantages and pitfalls of architectural e-education she claims that the experience of complementing traditional architectural teaching with abstract and experiential education interfaces in the e-Learning European project VIPA show different levels of effectiveness of e-learning for different education contents in the field of architecture. The most interesting issue is that students that exclusively work with computers are losing their understanding of scale in architecture and urban design. We will probably be seeing the practical results of such education in the future.
The next edition will be thematic: alongside the usual articles there will be a review of books, which were published by the Faculty of architecture during the last five years. The selection will be quite interesting.
I wish you pleasant reading.
Editor