‘To Go Beyond or Not to Be’ Unsolicited Architecture: An Interview with Ole Bourman

The complex dynamics of today's architecture require a deep intellectual freedom. This is something that Dutch architectural critic Ole Bouman espouses through his provocative writings and lectures and his advocacy of ‘unsolicited architecture’. Luca Guido invited Bouman to reflect on what it means to be an architect today and how it might be possible to pursue critical practice beyond the conventional construction processes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spaces of Freedom

The predicaments of the current global climate bring a new poignancy and focus to architecture. Emiliano Gandolfi , the curator of the much lauded ‘Experimental Architecture’ exhibition in the Padiglione Italia at the 2008 Venice Biennale, outlines how an emerging group of designers are redefining architecture as they seek to provide solutions that identify people's needs and address the exigencies of global warning, the environmental crisis and migration. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

99.7 Per Cent Pure

The HEPA air filter is only capable of processing 99.7 per cent of airborne particles, leaving 0.3 per cent unaccounted for. Mason White describes the work of Canadian installation artist An Te Liu who made air-filtration appliances his main subject. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecomasterplanning

Best known as the pioneer of the green skyscraper, Ken Yeang is now applying his innovative, ecological thinking to the urban masterplan. Here he outlines how the introduction of an ecoinfrastructure can bring multiple benefits to a city, encouraging connectivity between green spaces, providing natural habitats for wildlife and alleviating the impact of climate change by offsetting CO2 emissions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

现代网络数据中心的设计应用——基于对TIA-942及GB50174-2008的理解

通过一个省级异地容灾备份数据中心机房工程设计案例,综合理解和实践应用ANSI/TIA-942-2005<数据中心电信基础设施标准>及GB 50174-2008<电子信息系统机房设计规范>.     

The Metropolis as Integral Substance

l'AUC Architects and Urbanists (François Decoster, Caroline Poulin and Djamel Klouche) advocate an approach to typological urbanism that they refer to as ‘urbanism of substance’. Here they describe three projects for Paris in which they have developed this strategy for maximising the intensity between local, metropolitan and global conditions.     

Accurate experimental (p, ρ, T) data of natural gas mixtures for the assessment of reference equations of state when dealing with hydrogen-enriched natural gas

The GERG-2008 equation of state is the approved ISO standard (ISO 20765-2) for the calculation of thermophysical properties of natural gas mixtures. The composition of natural gas can vary considerably due to the diversity of origin. Further diversification was generated by adding hydrogen, biogas, or other non-conventional energy gases. In this work, high-precision experimental (p, ρ, T) data for two gravimetrically prepared synthetic natural gas mixtures are reported. One mixture resembled a conventional natural gas of 11 components (11 M) with a nominal mixture composition (amount-of-substance fraction) of 0.8845 for methane as the matrix compound with the other compounds being 0.005 for oxygen, 0.04 for nitrogen, 0.015 for carbon dioxide, 0.04 for ethane, 0.01 for propane, 0.002 each for n- and isobutane, and ultimately 0.0005 each for isopentane, n-pentane, and n-hexane. The other mixture was a 13-component hydrogen-enriched natural gas with a low calorific value featuring a nominal composition of 0.7885 for methane, 0.03 for hydrogen, 0.005 for helium, 0.12 for nitrogen, 0.04 for carbon dioxide, 0.0075 for ethane, 0.003 for propane, 0.002 each for n- and isobutane, and 0.0005 each for neopentane, isopentane, n-pentane, and n-hexane. Density measurements were performed in an isothermal operational mode at temperatures between 260 and 350 K and at pressures up to 20 MPa by using a single-sinker densimeter with magnetic suspension coupling. The data were compared with the corresponding densities calculated from both GERG-2008 and AGA8-DC92 equations of state to test their performance on real mixtures. The average absolute deviation from GERG-2008 (AGA8-DC92) is 0.027% (0.078%) for 11 M and 0.095% (0.062%) for the 13-component H₂-enriched mixture, respectively. The corresponding maximum relative deviation from GERG-2008 (AGA8-DC92) amounts to 0.095% (0.127%) for 11 M and 0.291% (0.193%) for the H₂-enriched mixture.     

Optimum sizing of photovoltaic battery systems incorporating uncertainty through design space approach

Photovoltaic-battery system is an option for decentralized power generation for isolated locations receiving abundant sunshine. A methodology for the optimum sizing of photovoltaic-battery system for remote electrification incorporating the uncertainty associated with solar insolation is proposed in this paper. The proposed methodology is based on the design space approach involving a time series simulation of the entire system. The design space approach was originally proposed for sizing of the system with deterministic resource and demand. In the present paper, chance constrained programming approach has been utilized for incorporating the resource uncertainty in the system sizing and the concept of design space is extended to incorporate resource uncertainty. The set of all feasible design configurations is represented by a sizing curve. The sizing curve for a given confidence level, connects the combinations of the photovoltaic array ratings and the corresponding minimum battery capacities capable of meeting the specified load, plotted on an array rating vs. battery capacity diagram.The methodology is validated using a sequential Monte Carlo simulation approach with illustrative examples. It is shown that for the case of constant coefficient of variation of solar insolation, the set of sizing curves for different confidence levels may be represented by a generalized curve. Selection of optimum system configuration for different reliability levels based on the minimum cost of energy is also presented. The effect of ambient temperature on sizing a stand-alone photovoltaic-battery system is also illustrated through a representative example.     

基于.Net平台的自动点名模块的设计

随着社会的发展,监狱内服刑人员数量不断增加,人员成分也日趋复杂,警员数量明显不足,用传统的点名系统已无法满足需求.针对监狱点名难的问题,使用开发语言C#,基于.Net开发平台,利用开发工具Visual Studio 2010以及SQL2008进行了自动点名模块的设计与开发,并对该模块进行测试,测试结果表明该模块运行稳定,界面美观,有较高的实用价值.