Chloride penetration in concrete under marine atmospheric environment – analysis of the influencing factors

Marine atmospheric exposure conditions provide a severe environment for reinforced concrete structures, mainly due to the occurrence of chloride-induced reinforcement corrosion. This procedure was influenced by many parameters related to the concrete properties and to the environmental condition. In this paper, cubic concrete specimens with 150-mm edge, different types of cementitious material and different strengths, were arranged on a structure, which exposed them to a natural marine atmospheric environment. The purpose was to evaluate quantitatively the influence of different exposure conditions on the durability of concrete, measured in terms of chloride penetration into concrete. Both relative humidity (RH) and temperature were monitored in the experiment. The results indicated that the surface RH and temperature of the concrete were much different from that of the air. The diffusion coefficient and surface chloride concentration were time- and location-dependent, and were influenced by the RH, temperature, and the concrete strength. The results also indicate that error results would be made when using constant diffusion coefficient and surface chloride concentration with the air RH and temperature to predict long-term chloride penetration.     

Mass housing and urbanization: on the road to modernization in Santiago,Chile, 1930–60

The creation of the Caja de la Habitación Popular [Popular Housing Fund] in 1936 was largely a quest for the design of a model home and a modern city for Chile, a country emerging from colonialism. The Caja operated for twenty‐six years until 1952, building 43 310 houses during three different presidential administrations. It soon became the major way to reflect the country’s development, modernize society, bolster the economy, support national industry and signal what role housing programmes would play in public policy for the rest of the twentieth century. While previous administrations were motivated primarily by partisan politics, the new era of public administration was based upon an objective planning system. This paper focuses on the Caja’s affordable housing struggle and how it shaped large portions of Santiago between the 1930s and 1960s. It also explores the transformation in public housing programmes and agencies from their amateur beginnings to their later professionalized approach. It examines a number of the public and private housing schemes built during different political regimes in Santiago’s history, the planners and architects making persistent efforts to modernize and develop the city. These projects explored both the potentialities and limitations of urban design in housing and made a profound impact on housing design in Chile, as well as on the morphology of its cities.     

The organicists: planners,planning, and the environment in Czechoslovakia (1914–1949)

This article takes a brief look at the history of modern Central European planning, especially spatial planning in Czechoslovakia. It is primarily focused on urban and regional planners, planning ideas, concepts, and projects that can be considered ‘organic’. Several important planners (all males) who kept pace with the most current European and US trends (e.g. Vladimír Zákrejs, Jind?ich Kumpo?t, Bohuslav Fuchs, Alois Miku?kovic, Ladislav ?ák, Karel Honzík, and Emanuel Hru?ka) are discussed. The text also mentions some of the driving forces of the time, which had a fundamental impact on organic approaches in planning, including the institutionalization of urban and regional planning. Attention is also given to various international influences and the transfer of ideas that have not yet been adequately analysed. In conclusion, there are some reflections on the significance of organic modernity that succinctly express the atmosphere of that time as well as the efforts of the mentioned planners and thinkers. The main message is to show the close connection between early modern urban planning and the phenomenon of organicism, or rather, organic modernity.     

Meaningful architecture: Zanjón de Granados,San Telmo,Buenos Aires

The Zanjón de Granados complex is one of the most inspiring architectural experiences recently finished in Buenos Aires. It is difficult to describe it constrained by orthodox definition, to classify the action carried out as conservation, restoration or conversion, but there is no doubt about its remarkable qualities, full of references to high-quality, even timeless, architecture.     

From the Feast Day in Belén to the Museum in Salta: Three-Dimensional Images of St. James the Apostle in Two Different Contexts

This article offers a reflection on the different ways in which woodcarvings of Santiago Apóstol, St. James the Apostle, have been used and treated in various contexts of the so-called Andean World. The article focuses on the context of active devotion in a small rural community as well as the context of museum activity in a larger town. The perspective follows a logic that is symbolic rather than chronological, given that these two phenomena exist on parallel planes, not in opposition to each other, as practices that are taking place in contemporary Latin America. The article elucidates the different values that different communities ascribe to votive figures that, in the past, belonged to a common cultural space. An appraisal of the changes that have occurred in the way these objects are used sheds light on a number of different aspects of the people who use and/or relate to these objects.     

When the Everyday and the Sacred Collide: Positioning Płaszów in the Kraków Landscape

In Kraków, Poland, the sacredness of the former P?aszów concentration camp is positioned within the everyday and urban landscape. The grievous history of the site contrasts the urbanity of the busy thoroughfare along one of the site's perimeters, where commercial developments are increasing in number and size. The site's open green spaces and the paucity of formal and material monuments place it outside the ambit of more common public portrayals of collective cultural memories. In this short commentary, I unpack the positioning of memory within the everyday landscape by means of landscape reading and visual methodologies. I critically consider the challenges of representing memory in everyday settings by (de)constructing P?aszów's memory layers. Culminating around the question of how to maintain the site's sacristy amid an increasingly distractive urban landscape, these challenges position memories of the past alongside the stronger attachments we may have with places associated with our daily routines.     

Microbial polymers in the aquatic environment—III: Isolation from river,potable and underground water and analysis

Organic substances from three river waters, one tap and one underground water were concentrated by vacuum distillation and the polymers with molecular weights > 10,000 were isolated by dialysis and lyophilization. The COD of the lyophilisates amounted to 19.8, 28.9 and 23.9% of the total COD in river waters, and to 13.9 and 13.1% of the total COD in tap and underground water, respectively. All isolated polymers contained sugars, amino sugars and amino acids, which indicates their microbial origin. The sum of these compounds amounted to 5.6, 6.8, and 9.0% of all organic substances present in river waters, and to 1.9 and 0.8% of those present in tap and underground water, respectively. It is concluded that the microbial polymers are ubiquitous and form part of the organic background of the aquatic environment.     

‘This place feels authentic’: exploring experiences of authenticity of place in relation to the urban built environment in the Jewellery Quarter,Birmingham

Discourses about authenticity of place have gained relevance in recent years and are of increasing importance for urban designers. The paper discusses notions and experiences of authenticity of place in relation to the urban built environment and analyzes concepts of ‘experiential’ authenticity in the form of three key dimensions: the experience of origins, the experience of continuity, and the experience of potentiality and actuality. Drawing on qualitative informant interviews in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham (UK), the paper examines how business representatives experienced authenticity of place in relation to architecture and urban design, with a particular focus on individual identity constructions.     

Review of evidence: are endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the aquatic environment impacting fish populations?

In this paper, evidence from the current literature is presented that addresses either of two questions: 1) do EDCs in the aquatic environment have the potential to impact the reproductive health and survival of various fish species, and 2) are EDCs in the aquatic environment actually impacting the reproductive health and sustainability of indigenous populations of fish? Overall, data from laboratory experiments support the hypothesis that EDCs in the aquatic environment can impact the reproductive health of various fish species, but evidence that EDCs in the aquatic environment are actually impacting the reproductive health and sustainability of indigenous fish populations is less convincing. The scarcity of evidence linking impacts of environmental EDCs with changes in reproductive success of indigenous fish populations may reflect a critical need for a dependable method or indicator to assess reproduction of fish in situ. In addition, more studies that investigate whether fish populations routinely exposed to EDCs in situ are experiencing changes in population structure are needed. Linking endocrine disruption and reproductive impairment with an ecologically relevant impact on the sustainability of real fish populations remains, with few exceptions, an open challenge.     

Work–life strategies in the Australian construction industry: Implementation issues in a dynamic project-based work environment

A participatory work–life balance intervention was implemented in a medium-sized construction contracting organization based in Melbourne, Australia. Weekly data capturing the number of hours worked, satisfaction with work–life balance and capacity to complete required tasks at work and at home were collected for 25 consecutive weeks. Data was subjected to time series modeling procedures and weekly work hours were found to significantly predict participants' overall satisfaction with work–life balance, and capacity to complete tasks at work and at home. The occurrence of ‘long weekends’, i.e., a period of three days away from work arising as a result of a public holiday coinciding with a ‘rostered day off’, was also found to predict workers' capacity to complete tasks at home. An evaluation workshop explored workers' experiences of a work–life intervention. Participants' were generally positive about the organization's support of their work–life balance, however areas for improvement were identified, such as the need for better communication of work–life strategies and to address the ‘long hours’ culture within the organization. The research presents a participatory framework for improving the work–life balance of project-based construction workers.