Fieldwork Test Research of the Impact on Building Physical Environment on Six Types of Atrium Space in Cold Climates

Since the research on verification to passive design strategies in sustainable building is at the initial stage,and its test method and verification conclusion are not scientific enough to validate,this paper proposes the necessity of building physical environmental monitoring to quantitative optimization of passive strategies efficiency from the perspective of architecture design and building environment. Adopting comparative research method,this research chooses six types of atrium space in cold climate in China as a prototype,focusing on building physical environmental performance difference in and between atrium and building main space. Spatial parameters of the atrium space will be divided into four factors: spatial geometry,interfacial properties,internal and external related categories. With subdividing these four factors into sub-factors,this paper makes crosscomparison among the sub-factors to clarify passive strategies effectiveness in atrium. Data comparison analysis shows that Winter atrium passive strategy in cold regions from traditional view is not obvious in practical application,and test data need to be stratified refined in atrium design in case of optimizing passive strategy from building prototype perspective.

Research on Two Types of Buffer Zone Impact on Surrounding Office Space Environment in Winter in Cold Climate Zone—a Fieldwork in Architectural Design Institute Building of Tsinghua University,Beijing

Building buffer zone space is not only one of essential approaches for better mental quality of interior building space, but also an important factor that may influence interior thermal comfort and energy consumption. This study aims to analyze regulative advantages of buffer zone to the surrounding functional spaces. Based on a fieldwork test in a typical office building in cold climate zone in Beijing,China,the monitor data show interior physical performance in the Winter. The research selects two types of different buffer zones in the same building. One is a south-faced greenhouse which has large dimension with plenty of vegetation,and the other is a simple atrium in the middle of five floor building with mount of skylights. The factors and their influence to surrounding functional spaces and the whole building are found out from the comparisons of collected data by floor to floor monitor test on both buffer zones at the same time. The comparisons of two types of buffer zones conclude that the greenhouse is more effective to air quality regulation but not so clearly wellperformed to thermal buffering as expected due to the dominate active central heating in the Winter. This fieldwork test results for building performance can be helpful for both architects and engineers in the early phase of sustainable design.

Harnessing the power of immersive virtual reality-visualization and analysis of 3D earth science data sets

The availability and quantity of remotely sensed and terrestrial geospatial data sets are on the rise.Historically,these data sets have been analyzed and quarried on 2D desktop computers;however,immersive technologies and specifically immersive virtual reality(iVR)allow for the integration,visualization,analysis,and exploration of these 3D geospatial data sets.iVR can deliver remote and large-scale geospatial data sets to the laboratory,providing embodied experiences of field sites across the earth and beyond.We describe a workflow for the ingestion of geospatial data sets and the development of an iVR workbench,and present the application of these for an experience of Iceland’s Thrihnukar volcano where we:(1)combined satellite imagery with terrain elevation data to create a basic reconstruction of the physical site;(2)used terrestrial LiDAR data to provide a geo-referenced point cloud model of the magmatic-volcanic system,as well as the LiDAR intensity values for the identification of rock types;and(3)used Structure-from-Motion(SfM)to construct a photorealistic point cloud of the inside volcano.The workbench provides tools for the direct manipulation of the georeferenced data sets,including scaling,rotation,and translation,and a suite of geometric measurement tools,including length,area,and volume.Future developments will be inspired by an ongoing user study that formally evaluates the workbench’s mature components in the context of fieldwork and analyses activities.

DOING FIELDWORK ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN CHINA

This study examines fieldwork-methodology problems in China that few scholars have discussed in social science, criminology and law, and describes the author＇s experiences in conducting fieldwork for an empirical study of criminal justice in mid- and western China in three aspects： general access to the courts and procuratorates, informed consent in interviews, and access to courtroom trials and case files. It argues that researchers need to understand and exercise social, cultural and political sensitivities in overcoming various challenges and difficulties in data collection. Making use of guanxi, building up trust, and developing friendship are essential to the access to the field in China.