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Alternative path to modernization: Research on three construction types in wartime Chongqing
The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931–1945) witnessed the relocation of China's Construction Center from downstream Yangtze River cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing to the inland city of Chongqing. This study examines three construction types undertaken by the Kwan, Chu and Yang Architects & Engineers (Kitai) in wartime Chongqing, revealing their adaptive strategies amid constraints of material scarcity, population surge, and wartime bombing, as well as the developmental modes behind these approaches. Within the brick-timber system, the strategies of structural reduction, enclosure grafting, and appearance imitation were explored to achieve cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing buildings. In the single-story timber (bamboo) system, the integration of Western-style trusses with local construction methods enabled the creation of stable structures and column-free interior spaces. In reinforced concrete air-raid shelters, the strategic placement of steel reinforcements balanced structural solidness with spatial efficiency. These construction strategies exemplified three predominant technical patterns: “transplantation-grafting,” “grafting-integration,” and “transplantation-tracking.” These construction types illustrated an alternative modernization path for Chinese architecture, distinct from that of the coastal regions, driven by regional interactions within China rather than external Western influence. The study enriches the understanding of the diversity in China's architectural modernization and offers insights into the adaptability and innovation of construction in late-developing regions.
Journal Article
Professionalism for the built environment
In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, this new book provides thought provoking commentary on the nature of the relationship between society, the prevailing economic system and professionalism in the built environment. It is both an introduction to and an examination of professionalism and professional bodies in the sector, including a view of the future of professionalism and the organisations serving it. Simon Foxell outlines the history of professionalism in the sector, comparing and contrasting the development of the three major historic professions working in the construction industry: civil engineering, architecture and surveying. He examines how their systems have developed over time, where they are currently and some options for the future, whilst asking difficult questions about ethics, training, education, public trust and expectation from within and outside the industry. The book concludes with a six-point plan to help, if not ensure, that the professions remain an effective and essential part of both society and the economy; a part that allows the system to operate smoothly and easily, but also fairly and to the benefit of all. Essential reading for built environment professionals and students doing the professional studies elements of their training or in the process of applying for chartership or registration. The issues and lessons are applicable across all building professions-- Provided by publisher.
Book
KCY’s University-Campus-Planning Practice: “Compositionalism” and Its Sino-American Cross-Cultural Knowledge Pathway
This study examines the campus-planning projects (1920–1937) of Kwan, Chu & Yang, Architects & Engineers (KCY), a major Chinese firm, against the backdrop of Sino-American cross-cultural knowledge transfer. It argues that their work exhibited a distinct compositional tendency derived from the partners’ U.S. Beaux-Arts education and contemporary American planning theory. Through historical analysis and case studies of four university projects, this research examines how composition-based spatial unity engaged with specific Chinese site conditions. The results indicate that early projects negotiated irregular boundaries, while later ones grappled with complex topography, such as historic gardens and hills. Although often unrealized, these grand schemes embodied a scientific planning methodology and served as aspirational blueprints. This study concludes that compositional practice was a significant part of China’s architectural modernization, representing both a professional design approach and a cultural response to the quest for modernity and national identity.
Journal Article
FIRST STEPS IN URBAN PLANNING OF BULGARIAN CITIES WITH PARTICIPATION OF CZECH ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS AT THE TURN OF 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES
This article focuses on beginnings of the urban planning and first organized planning activities of Bulgarian cities at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries when many Czech engineers and architects participated in significantly. A common feature of all Bulgarian cities was irregular structure and build-up area. The main task of the Czech engineers was to cope with this situation and to design modern cities. In general, the original structure did not make planning easy and unambiguous. Planning of the cities destroyed in the Russian-Turkish war in 1877-78 was easier. A possibility to apply a new city structure freely existed in Stara Zagora and partially in Nova Zagora. A usual principle was straightening of the streets where the engineers used original street network and the new modern streets were built according to it, e.g. the centre of Kystendil and the old part of Nova Zagora. These principles were used also in some central parts of Sofia and Plovdiv. The city of Sofia itself is a distinctive example. Although the original structure was preserved during the war and in the first steps the principle of straightening of the streets in the centre was applied, the other parts of Sofia were designed with a new structure and the old city disappeared. Plovdiv is in contrary to Sofia and its original structure was preserved as an old city and the new one was joined to it in neighbourhoods.
Journal Article
External Curing of Cast-in-Place Concrete-Specification (ACI SPEC-308.1-23)
This reference specification provides requirements for curing concrete that the architect/engineer can apply to any construction project by citing it in the project specification. Checklists are provided to assist the architect/ engineer in supplementing the provisions of this reference specification as needed by designating or specifying customized project requirements. This specification provides requirements for various methods for the external curing of concrete. These methods are not necessarily equal in effectiveness, cost, effect on the project schedule, or impact on other aspects of the project. Provisions governing initial, final, and termination of curing are included. This specification addresses external curing methods applied after the placement of cast-in-place concrete. While internal curing (use of saturated lightweight aggregate or other materials to provide supplemental water) and accelerated curing (heat curing) shall also use external curing methods, not all aspects of internal and accelerated curing are included.
Journal Article
Concrete Parking Lots and Site Paving-Specification (ACI SPEC-330.1-24)
This reference specification for the architect/ engineer can be applied to projects providing minimum requirements for construction of concrete parking lots and site paving by citing it in the project specification. A mandatory requirements checklist and an optional requirements checklist are provided to assist the architect/engineer in supplementing the provisions of this specification as required or needed by designating or specifying individual project requirements. Included are requirements for submittals, testing and inspection, concrete materials, distributed steel, embedded steel at joints, jointing and sealant material, forms, subgrade preparation, subbase, placing, texturing, curing, jointing, tolerances, and opening to traffic. The materials, processes, quality control measures, and inspection described in this document should be tested, monitored, or performed as applicable only by individuals holding the appropriate ACI certification or equivalent.
Journal Article
External Curing of Cast-in-Place Concrete-Specification (ACI SPEC-308.1-23)
This reference specification provides requirements for curing concrete that the architect/engineer can apply to any constraction project by citing it in the project specification. Checklists are provided to assist the architect/ engineer in supplementing the provisions of this reference specification as needed by designating or specifying customized project requirements. This specification provides requirements for various methods for the external curing of concrete. These methods are not necessarily equal in effectiveness, cost, effect on project schedule, or impact on other aspects of the project. Provisions governing initial, final, and termination of curing are included. This specification addresses external curing methods applied after placement of cast-in-place concrete. While internal curing (use of satmated lightweight aggregate or other materials to provide supplemental water) and accelerated curing (heat curing) shall also use external curing methods, not all aspects of internal and accelerated curing are included.
Trade Publication Article
From Measuring to Estimation
In From Measuring to Estimation: Definitions of Geometry and Architect-Engineer in Early Modern Ottoman Architecture, Gül Kale examines various definitions and uses of geometry in the Ottoman world through a close reading of a unique book on architecture written around 1614 by the scholar Caʿfer Efendi, a friend and associate of the Ottoman chief architect Mehmed Agha. A contextual analysis of Caʿfer’s remarks on various definitions of geometry and the architect-engineer, and the connotations of these terms for early seventeenth-century readers, sheds light on the different degrees of geometrical knowledge then seen as required for sound architectural and artistic practice. Further, Kale argues that the links Caʿfer and his associates established among estimation, reason, and proportion offer insights into the role of cognitive faculties in Ottoman architectural and artistic processes.
Journal Article
Design Efficacy and Exploration Behavior of Student Architect-Engineer Design Teams in Shared Parametric Environments
Increasingly, architects and building engineers use parametric modeling programs to explore design solutions as professionals and as students. However, little is known about their combined efficacy and exploration in these tools when working in mixed design teams. While disciplinarily diverse teams of designers have been shown to develop more creative design solutions, this occurs primarily when there is a conducive environment and a shared understanding of design goals. Because architects and engineers are traditionally taught to use different tools and processes to address their professional goals, indicators of students’ combined efficacy in parametric tools are unclear. In response, this research uses a conceptual design experiment to study aspects of design efficacy and the exploration behavior of student architect-architect, engineer-engineer, and architect-engineer pairs within a live parametric modeling tool. The dimensions of their collaborative exploration within the tool were recorded, and their success at achieving the desired criteria was rated by professionals. Noticeable performance differences between team types were expected, including that the mixed design teams would better balance all goals and that the homogenous teams would better address their own disciplinary criteria. However, this was not the case when working in a shared, multidisciplinary digital environment, as the teams performed similarly despite having different member composition. We discuss several factors, such as the effect of digital design feedback and the still-developing student design process, which may have relationships with the design efficacy of the teams when using the study’s parametric modeling tool. Future research can further investigate the effect of mutually approachable working environments on design team performance.
Journal Article