Weishun Xu

Green roofs (GRs) play an important role in urban sustainability initiatives, offering reduced building energy consumption and enhanced ecological performance through additional growing medium and vegetation layers. Nevertheless, these functional components introduce challenges such as extra structural load, greater slab thickness, and increased construction complexity. This research proposes a design-fabrication method for a thin-vaulted green roof prototype, featuring a compression-only surface and upstand ribs along unevenly distributed stress lines to achieve both lightweight properties and material efficiency compared to a conventional flat roof with GR systems. To realize such a non-standard and multifunctional structure, a hybrid formwork system combining 3D clay printed (3DCP) molds and a reusable, doubly curved foam base is proposed to handle geometric complexity and functional integration by incorporating stay-in-place formwork as the growing medium. An empirical construction experiment, conducted at a 1:5 scale, validates the proposed method with optimized fabrication procedures for a proposed application scenario in a community renovation project.

As a critical element in urban sustainability efforts, green roofs (GRs) can reduce building energy use and enhance ecological performance via additional growing medium and plant layers. However, the extra building components result in increased load and structural thickness as well as construction complexity. This paper proposes a design-fabrication method for a thin-vaulted green roof prototype with a compressive-only surface and upstand ribs along unevenly distributed stress lines for a lightweight and material-efficient structure. The structural efficiency of the proposed roof has been proven high compared to conventional flat roof through simulation. To realize such a non-standard and multifunctional structure, a hybrid formwork system is presented to deal with geometric complexity and functional integration by treating stay-in-place formwork as a function part. In particular, 3D clay printing (3DCP) is selected as eco-friendly formwork staying in the GRs to integrate with plant growth substrate, leading to a more simplified and sustainable fabrication. An empirical construction experiment is conducted to validate the proposed method on a 1:5 scale.

Indoor openness offers a critical reference to how users perceive an interior space. Past studies have accumulated a diverse range of impacting factors based on visual evidence and empirical data through simulated simplistic environments, yet have failed to associate such evidence with complex real-world spaces to provide evaluations. This study introduces a framework that combines computer vision and machine learning to quantitatively assess perceptions of openness in office spaces based on digitally generated visual data, feature extraction, and perception rating data. Machine learning models are trained to predict openness ratings based on the proportions of different elements. Our results demonstrate a method to integrate multiple elements for evaluating the perception of openness, and highlight that collective understanding of the concept of openness influences users’ perception.

Despite emerging empirical findings and computational tools that extend city image research to include social dimensions beyond visual perception, methodologies for effectively identifying and analyzing the relationships between the five city image elements remain underdeveloped. This paper addresses the gap by proposing a big data-driven method, integrating Weibo check-in data, Baidu Map POI, and ArcGIS algorithms to identify city image elements and further reveal a city’s overall morphological characteristics. Based on different modes of observation, city image elements are categorized as spatial descriptors (“districts”, “nodes”, and “paths”) and symbolic descriptors (“landmarks” and “edges”). Taking Hangzhou as a case study, the findings show a strong alignment between urban development achievements and the distribution patterns of city image elements. “Districts” and “landmarks” stand out as the most prominent, reflecting functional zoning and urban maturity, while “nodes” emphasize the city’s polycentric structure. “Paths” offer clear insight into the city’s development trajectory, while “edges” appear to be legible only in relation to other elements. This method innovates cognitive mapping by merging real-world perceptions with algorithmic precision, offering a valuable tool for understanding urban morphology, monitoring development changes, and fostering participatory urban design.

Single-function industrial parks are transforming into innovation districts which combine innovation elements with urban elements. As one of the urban elements, the urban commercial nodes (UCNs) have exhibited a co-evolution phenomenon with sci-tech enterprises (STEs) in innovation districts. However, the urban planning practice of many innovation districts still falls behind in converting industrial land to commercial land use after construction, and the problem of mismatching commercial resources with consumer demand persists. This study aimed to explore how to rationalize the planning of UCNs to make them better fulfill the mission of serving economic growth by analyzing the correlation between UCNs and the development of STEs. The Hangzhou West High-Tech Corridor was adopted as a typical research sample which represents the latest development trend occurring in China’s most innovative districts and leads China in the coordinated development of sci-tech industries and urban life. Using point-of-interest data, Internet assessment data, and corporate business information data, a spatial correlation test and partial least squares regression analysis were performed. The results show that there was a significant spatial correlation between UCNs and STEs. The scale of UCNs had a significant positive correlation with the degree of agglomeration, development scale, and comprehensive development level of the STEs. The catering; hotel; and culture, sports, and entertainment industries correlated the most with STE development. The commercial complex was one of the physical forms that were conducive to the development of surrounding STEs. This study provides references for rational planning of UCNs and STE clusters, and for optimizing the allocation of commercial resources and physical commercial forms in the urban planning process of innovation districts.

This paper aims to improve users’ experience in affective interactive installations through the diversification of interfaces. With logically organized hierarchical experience, diverse interfaces with emotion data as inputs enhance users’ emotional interaction to be more natural and immersive. By using facial affect detection technology, an installation with diverse input interfaces was tested with an organic formal setting. Mechanical flowers and support structure based on the organic form were deployed as its physical output for a multitude of sensorial dimensions. With actions of the mechanical flowers, such as blooming, closing, rotating, glowing and blinking, a layered experiential sequence was created and the atmosphere of the installation was evaluated to be more engaging. In this way, the layered complexity of information was transferred to users’ immersive emotional experience. We believe that the practices in this work can contribute to deeper emotional engagement with users and add new layers of emotional interactivity.

After four decades of fierce urban growth driven by economic development, China recently adopted a ‘three red lines’ policy to protect its permanent farmland, vital ecosystems, and to contain urban expansion. To delineate urban growth boundaries (UGBs), current methods all employ quantitative land-use suitability indicators to define a compromise between competing spatial claims. However, ignoring site characteristics and underpinned by an increasingly dualistic conception of the urban and the rural realms, these methods often result in divisive UGBs devoid of any spatial quality. This paper explores how UGBs, rather than passive borders, can be designed as context-responsive and integrative urban-rural interfaces. A brief description of the urban growth phenomenon and the authorities’ responses at the national level is followed by more specific investigations in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region. Six representative urban-rural edges are examined in terms of historical development, planning, policies, current challenges, and opportunities. Based on the analysis, alternative design strategies are proposed to refine the definition of UGBs from a perspective of spatial quality and programmatic innovation. A final part discusses how the design explorations in the YRD can be systematized as a qualitative context-responsive method for UGB planning in China.

Sci-tech parks (STPs), as a key space carrier of urbanization, have transformed into comprehensive parks with mixed urban functions and advanced hi-tech industries. The jobs–housing relationship, which is closely related to the two major urban functions of work and residence, affects the efficiency of urban operation. This study focused on the correlation between the jobs–housing relationship and the innovative development of STPs, adopting the Hangzhou West Hi-Tech Corridor as a case study. Four indicators reflecting the jobs–housing balance index and commuting distance and ten indicators reflecting agglomeration degree, development scale, innovative ability, financial status, and comprehensive development level of enterprises were selected to perform partial least squares regression. The results show that the jobs–housing relationship was correlated with the innovative development of STPs. Relatively short commuting distance may promote the development and agglomeration of sci-tech enterprises. However, short average commuting distance was not necessarily good. The working space and living space needed to be mixed at an appropriate scale and distance—to be close but not too close. This study provides references for the future development of STPs and the application of mixed-use zoning in the urban spatial planning; additionally, it supports for the research and practice of industry–city integration and urbanization.

Innovation is an inevitable way to enhance regional competitiveness, promote urbanization and achieve sustainable development. The sci-tech park is one of the main land use types in the construction of a new town and the critical space carriers of urbanization. This study focuses on the correlation between higher education institutions (HEIs) innovation and sci-tech enterprises (STEs) development, and the Hangzhou West Hi-tech Corridor as a case study. Innovation indicators of HEIs related to teaching staff, talent cultivation, scientific research quality, academic influence, and university-enterprise cooperation, as well as development indicators of STEs related to aggregation degree, development level, and innovation level are selected. The results show that HEI innovation is significantly positively correlated with STE development. The number of senior titled teachers, average number of citations per paper, and number of invested enterprises exhibit a strong positive correlation with STE development indicators. Regarding the correlation between HEI innovation and STE development, academic research HEIs and professional application HEIs are stronger than vocational skill HEIs. This study is conducive to improving land use efficiency and a sustainable development level of urban innovative districts. Suggestions are provided to support the researches and practices of urban innovative spatial planning and advancement of the urbanization process.