GIS island Knowledge： Documenting and Managing Catania＇s Historic Urban Heritage

The present study shows the results of a research aimed at the knowledge of the significant features of Catania＇s urban environment. The complexity of the different features of the city, the several scales of representation, the multi-dimensional objects and the historical, anthropic, formal relations have produced different kinds of information requiring a flexible instrument that is able to transcribe images, charts, texts and symbols in a single model of representation. In the perspective of creating a fundamental cognitive framework, the research team paid attention at drawing up a GIS （Geographic Information System） for documenting and managing historic urban heritage. The idea is to have a structure able to collect data like a logic archival system or an open database, which can immediately be consulted and constantly implemented. Indeed, the aim of this GIS is to organize, manage, query and visualise the peculiar aspects which characterize Catania＇s architectures. Thanks to multi-directional ＂access-windows＂ it is possible to navigate through its contents （texts, drawings, 3D rendering, pictures, historical documents）. The system will also allow the integration of several documents in a common geo-database up to visualise the most meaningful details. Its use could assure suitable proposals of urban transformations and coherent plans in using and/or managing heritage goods for a sustainable city development.

Instruments of Urban Planning in Algerian City： Reality and Challenges

The year 1990 marks a line of rupture in the history of Algeria in general by the fundamental changes that have occurred, especially in the fields of urbanism and the land use planning, which has an important impact on space of the city and its environment. However, the absence of directives based on the reality of upstream territories and sometimes the conflict and the weakness of the instruments created at different levels： national, regional and local, have accelerated the galloping development of urbanization （the irrational consumption of land reserves inside and around the city）, often at the expense of the agricultural land. On the other hand, the involvement of new actors in the production of the framework built in the Algerian town was made without compliance with the rules of architecture and urbanism contained in the build permit and in the MPU （Master Plan of Land Use and Urbanism） and the SOP （Soil Occupation Plan） approved. The analyses conducted in the cities such as the capital Algiers and Setif illustrate this situation well. This article presents these situations of paradox, identifies their causes and suggests the recommendations to implement in the framework of studies and actions to take, to correct and regulate their mutations.

ARCHITECTURE AND HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING AT GEORGIA TECH:TEACHING DESIGN+TECHNOL OGY IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT

Integrative approaches to architectural design+environmental technology pedagogy are essential in educating future generations to respond to impending building energy use challenges.This paper will describe new approaches to incorporating building physics and building technology in the design studio via a diverse cohort of students and faculty,with strong emphasis placed on the development of innovative architectural strategies operating at the intersection of urban demographics,house and housing design,building performance,and sustainability.The United States Department of Energy reports that our buildings account for forty percent of all energy consumed nationally.Our focus on high performance buildings at the Georgia Tech College of Architecture aims to reduce that percentage and meet the rising demand for design and building performance professionals to evaluate the environmental impact of design decisions.Continuing a twenty-five-year trajectory of research leadership,Tech students and faculty are leading the way in digital design,building simulation,engineering,and construction integration.Over the past four years,students from various schools across campus have been working together in a seminar and design studio setting to expand 21st century housing options.Changing urban demographics,sustainability targets,and alternative energy requirements are investigated through smartly researched and elegantly designed housing and public space propositions.The move from an ecologically aware architecture towards an architecture immersed in the emerging debates about carbon footprint and energy consumption is in part driven by increasing international concern over resource availability and delivery.Through reduced costs of alternative energy capture,higher efficiencies,rapid evolution of upstream technologies and applications and more robust software platforms along with growing social,political and economic debate,the definition of sustainability is evolving - moving to transform integral parts of archi-tectural practice and education from a primarily aesthetic and assembly oriented tra-jectory to a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between design thinking and building performance.

The Use of Self-cleaning Materials and Study Their Impact on the Quality of the Visual Appearance of Large Industrial Cities

One of the capabilities of the architecture is to respond to growing and,in some cases,varied needs of users.However,architecture and construction industry,in comparison with other sciences,have been very slow and inadequate to implement this technology despite very suitable ground for improvement.At the moment,one of the most essential discussions in this field is how to achieve qualitative understanding of construction materials.Accordingly,one of the key sections of a construction which plays a significant role in optimizing performance is shell of the building.In this article,in addition to the utilization technique of selfcleaning materials in construction industry which will result in embellishment of urban design,an attempt has also been made to present a suitable model on how to utilize these materials in order to improve the visual appearance quality of megalopolises.The technology of self-cleaning surfaces in order to increase durability and reduce costs and required time for equipment maintenance has currently become the focal point in construction industry.Now providing one answer to the question of whether will selfcleaning,purifying facades change the future of urban architecture?The main panorama of this research is to find and establish a dynamic and sustainable balance in embellishment of urban design.The necessity of research in this field as well as finding the best and most practical solution seem.To achieve all this,an analytical and descriptive research has been utilized,data has been collected by various books and national and international websites.

Globalized Metropolises?An Issue of History and Memories…

Through specific examples of five different metropolises in globalization,New York,Paris,Rome,Prague and Bordeaux,the sources of prosperity and urbanity are not the same when urban history prevails in our memories or when our memories claim to write its history.Yet everything can be lived differently when both are brought together and when they write their space-time together.