Returning Genius to the Place

Advocates of sustainable design since the early 1990s, HOK are intent on disseminating new research, resources and tools across their global design teams. Mary Ann Lazarus , Sustainable Design Director at HOK, and Chip Crawford , Planning Group Director at HOK, describe a particularly innovative project that the two groups have collaborated on with the essential input of the Biomimicry Guild (see p 44). Addressing critical environmental issues at the habitat scale and performance standards, they have developed ecological design tools that have been employed on masterplans for Lavasa, India, and Langfang, China. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Looking Beyond Informality

It is all too easy to be optimistic about the economic and social future of Latin America. Daniela Fabricius , the author of 100% Favela: The Informal Geographies of Rio de Janeiro (forthcoming), calls into question architects working within the realpolitik of a globalised, post-nationalist world. Could an all too ready acceptance of existing conditions and the adoption of informality leave inhabitants short-changed? For to live informally is also to live precariously - no substitute for secure and prosperous living.     

Instrumental neutron activation analysis of beachrock samples of South East Coast of Tamilnadu, India

Element profiles of some beach rock samples collected from South East Coast of Tamilnadu, India have been determined using single comparator method of INAA. The geo-chemical behavior of the elements in the region is discussed. The irradiations were done at thermal neutron flux of ~ 1011 cm-2·s-1 at 20kW power using Kalpakkam Mini Reactor (KAMINI), IGCAR, Kalpakkam, Tamilnadu, India. Around 19 elements have been determined from 15 samples by high-resolution gamma spectrometry. The accuracy and precision were evaluated by assaying the irradiated Standard Reference Material (SRM 1646a Estuarine sediment) and were found to be in good agreement with certified values.     

Manually powered manufacture of keyed bricks

The production of bricks, one of the main components in conventional construction technology, has been carried out by either a hand moulding process or by a fully mechanized process. Both processes have limitations in developing countries. An alternative solution is the use of decentralized non-power-consuming brick making units, utilizing unconventional raw materials which do not require baking to develop strength. A manually energized brick making machine (MEBM) has proven the feasibility of extruding various mixes including a lime-fly ash-sand mixture. The production of bricks with a keyed cross-section is investigated using the MEBM to establish the functional and economic viabilities of the technology to create a construction technology which relies on abundant resources, unskilled labour and zero energy input. La production de briques, l'un des elements essentiels de la construction traditionnelle, est assuree soit par moulage manuel, soit par des procedes entierement mecanises. Les deux procedes montrent leurs limites dans les pays en voie de developpement. Une solution alternative consiste a utiliser des machines decentralisees ne consommant pas d'energie, faisant appel a des matieres premieres non conventionnelles qui n'exigent pas de cuisson pour donner la resistance a la brique. Une machine a fabriquer les briques mue par la force manuelle (manually energized brick making machine - MEBM) a prouve sa capacite a extruder differents melanges comportant un melange de chaux et de sable cendre. La production de briques a section creuse au moyen de la MEBM est a l'etude, afin d'etablir la faisabilite economique et fonctionnelle de cette technique propre a creer une technologie de construction basee sur des ressources abondantes, une main-d'oeuvre non qualifiee et une depense energetique nulle.     

Estimating Regional Evapotranspiration Using Remote Sensing: Application to Sone Low Level Canal System, India

Remote sensing-derived spectral data have been used in the past to partition net radiation, soil heat, and sensible heat fluxes for estimating latent heat flux as a residual of surface energy balance, and thus regional evapotranspiration. Attempts to provide a simplified procedure for estimating sensible heat flux at a regional scale have not been successful because of the relatively strong dependence of the heat transfer coefficient on the land–atmosphere boundary condition. This paper presents a remote sensing-based procedure to estimate the sensible heat flux incorporating the local meteorological conditions, and in turn to determine the regional evapotranspiration. The model utilizes satellite-derived surface albedo, surface temperature, and leaf area index along with a very few agrometeorological data as inputs. The proposed procedure has been tested on a part of the Western Yamuna Canal system, India, and is found to be computationally simple as well as stable. For a well-watered wheat crop, the average evapotranspiration by the proposed model is estimated to be 2.05?mm?d?1 on January 30, 1996, whereas it is estimated to be 1.89?mm?d?1 using the Penman-Monteith equation, indicating a difference of less than 10%. The model is subjected to sensitivity analysis for uncertainties in the observed wind velocity and the computed leaf area index (by ±20%) to estimate sensible heat flux. Results reveal that the percentage change in mean sensible heat flux for the image is less than 5% in all cases, thus indicating the acceptability of the model against the uncertainties. Further, the model has been applied to three sets of Landsat-TM data covering the Sone Low Level Canal system, India, to demonstrate its usefulness in evaluating water delivery performance.     

Extrusion of flyash

Further research is necessary to optimize the composition of flyash, clay, sand, lime, cement and moisture content to bring the project forward to production stage. The authors invite participation in the next detailed stage.     

Building materials — The Indian scenario

Professor Deb's analysis is timely and emphasizes the need for the Indian construction industry to react in a global manner to the importation of materials, the use of scarce natural building resources in the continent and the need to be aware of the environmental damage, production of traditional materials, such as clay, can have on fertile river plains.     

Air quality monitoring in Chennai, India, in the summer of 2005

During the summer of 2005, concentrations of surface ozone (O(3)), oxides of nitrogen (NO(x)), respirrable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) and total suspended particulate matter (TSPM), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS) and wind direction (WD) were collected over successive periods of about 24 h at five sites. UV photometric ozone analyzer was used to measure the concentration of surface O(3). The study deals with the characteristics of hourly and daily mean surface O(3) under different climatic conditions, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction and other pollutant concentrations. The maximum hourly O(3) concentration reached 53 ppb on 17th May. The ground-level O(3) concentration in Chennai varied between 2 and 53 ppb. The concentration of NO(x) and O(3) were below the prescribed limits. The TSPM values were exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) at Koyambedu, Mandaveli, Taramani and Vallalar Nagar study area.     

Import demand of crude oil and economic growth: Evidence from India

This study establishes a long-run equilibrium relationship among quantity of crude oil import, income and price of the imported crude in India for the time span 1970–1971 to 2005–2006 using autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach of cointegration. Empirical results show that the long-term income elasticity of imported crude in India is 1.97 and there exists a unidirectional long-run causality running from economic growth to crude oil import. So reduction of crude oil import will not affect the future economic growth in India in the long-run. India should take various energy efficiency and demand side management measures in transport sector along with other measures like expanding and strengthening indigenous resource-base, substituting imported fuels by domestic fuels and de-controlling the price of petroleum products to reduce its import dependence.     

印度帕西刺绣的特征研究

通过文献和实物相结合的考证方法,对联合国教科文组织Parzor基金会和帕西人收藏的154件20世纪的帕西刺绣产品进行研究,得出:帕西刺绣的纹样有花卉植物纹、动物纹、人物风景纹等,排列方式有单独纹样和连续纹样的二方和四方连续,使用最多的针法是平绣,其次为打籽绣和锁绣。轻薄的绞经暗花织物最多用作满绣纱丽,平纹地暗花织物仅用作裤子局部装饰刺绣,女性和儿童上衣用素色五枚缎居多。帕西刺绣是帕西人获得身份认同,传达美好寓意,兼具实用和美的服饰。帕西刺绣在现代服饰上的创新应用,为其在当代的传承和发展注入了活力。对帕西刺绣的研究,有利于在当代的传承和发展。