Abstract

This study explores architectural design by examining air, fluid mechanics, and the natural ventilation of buildings. In this context, this research introduces a new way of dealing with the process of architectural synthesis. The proposed way can be used either to create new architectural projects or to rethink existing ones. This study is supported by previous investigation into the natural ventilation of buildings via computational and laboratory simulation (Stavridou, 2011, Stavridou and Prinos, 2013 ). The investigation into the natural ventilation of buildings provides information and data that affect architectural design through various parameters. The parameters of architectural synthesis that are influenced and discussed in this paper are the following: (i) inspiration and analogical transfer, (ii) initial conception of the main idea using computational fluid dynamics (digital design), (iii) development of the main idea through an investigatory process toward building form optimization, and (iv) form configuration, shape investigation, and other morphogenetic prospects. This study illustrates the effect of natural ventilation research on architectural design and thus produces a new approach to the architectural design process. This approach leads to an innovative kind of architecture called “breathing architecture.”

Abstract

From Homage to Quevedo (1969) of the Mexican artist Jose Luis Cuevas, I present the question of the game in Francisco de Quevedo, and, especially, in the illustrations that have inspired J. L. Cuevas. I put special attention in the rewritings of Quevedo’s universe in the drawings of J. L. Cuevas. I use critical and methodological references inspired in structuralism, formalism and constructivism, to that I add the contributions of Hans Belting, George Didi-Hubermann, W. J. T. Mitchell, and of the philosophers of postmodernism like G. Deleuze or J. Derrida.

Abstract

This study uses Twitter data to provide a more nuanced understanding of the public reaction to the 2011 reform to the propane gas subsidy in El Salvador. By soliciting a small sample of manually tagged tweets, the study identifies the subject matter and sentiment of all tweets during six one-month periods over three years that concern the subsidy reform. The paper shows that such an analysis using Twitter data can provide a useful complement to existing household survey data and even potentially replace survey data if none were available. The finding show that when people tweet about the subsidy, they almost always do so in a negative manner; and there is a decline in discussion of topics about the reform subsidy, which coincides with increase in support for the subsidy as reported elsewhere. Therefore, the study concludes that decreasing discussion of the subsidy reform indicates an increase in support for the reform. In addition, the gas distributor strikes of May 2011 may have contributed to public perception of the reform more than previously acknowledged. This study is used as an opportunity to provide methodological guidance for researchers who wish to undertake similar studies, documenting the steps in the analysis pipeline with detail and noting the challenges inherent in obtaining data, classification, and inference. Document type: Book