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The primary objective of this article, an architectural forecasting opinion piece written by a design expert, is to investigate the various models of public library buildings and explore the continuous evolution of library design (presenting valuable information for anyone planning a library). The main question explored in this article is: What will be the design characteristics of the next-generation library? Methods used include precedent analysis, cases selected from an international list of 50 libraries built between 2010–2023 following a web search using the phrase "public library architecture" and analyzing these cases for repeated thematic similarities. Three similarities are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Methods in Urban Design: A Framework for Researching the Performance and Resilience of Places † Urban design is, by nature, an interdisciplinary activity, and the challenges of cross-disciplinary design research can inform any design process positively. In the context of urban design, it is common for design research studios to be devoted to an in-depth investigation of a defined design research project of the student's conception through an iterative structured methodology common in most graduate programmes. The growing role and importance of research in the field of urban design have been widely acknowledged [[2], [4], [6]] (Hensel & Nilsson, 2016; Lucas, 2016; Aksamija, 2021; Lehmann, 2021, 155f), and the strategic use of research in the urban design process will most likely lead to more effective and better-performing design solutions. [Extracted from the article]

This study aims to analyse the transformation of urban greenery into greenfield housing development from 2019 to 2023 in the medium-sized city of Rzeszow (Poland) by evaluating the validity of references to the greenery in advertising texts on the developers' websites. Furthermore, to assess the impact of the proposed greenery-related changes on urban green infrastructure. Through web-based research, 13 greenfield housing developments were identified. Changes in land use of areas that were allocated to urban green infrastructure were highlighted by applying GIS spatial analysis. The written and visual content analysis identified references to greenery in advertising campaigns. Finally, status relations analysis was performed to assess whether the specific advertising website presents an added ecological asset that can be considered as a nature-based solution or should be interpreted as greenwashing. The study revealed that the advertising websites for greenfield housing development constructed from 2019 to 2023 in Rzeszow do not represent an additional ecological asset, but committed greenwashing. All analysed housing estates trigger irretrievable environmental damage. The advertising material does not define the environmental indicators of the housing estates, including how the new construction would compensate for the destruction of natural habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the self-heating effect for multi-finger fully depleted SOI nMOSFETs is investigated. The layout parameters of the transistor are varied, and the conductance-based method is used for the extraction of the thermal resistance. An empirical-based scalable thermal resistance model that accounts for geometrical layout parameters is developed. Further, hot carrier stress degradation is examined, and a correlation between self-heating and hot carrier degradation is established. The associated self-heating with geometrical dimension influences the amount of hot carrier degradation and should be taken into account for accurate degradation modeling. It is found that with the increase of temperature, the contribution of the parasitic bias temperature instability effect increases the drift of the threshold voltage. Improved thermal and reliability performance is achieved for the device structures where a continuous active area is divided into multiple smaller active regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motor imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (MI-BCI) have been proposed as a means for stroke rehabilitation, which combined with virtual reality allows for introducing game-based interactions into rehabilitation. However, the control of the MI-BCI may be difficult to obtain and users may face poor performance which frustrates them and potentially affects their motivation to use the technology. Decreases in motivation could be reduced by increasing the users' sense of agency over the system. The aim of this study was to understand whether embodiment (ownership) of a hand depicted in virtual reality can enhance the sense of agency to reduce frustration in an MI-BCI task. Twenty-two healthy participants participated in a within-subject study where their sense of agency was compared in two different embodiment experiences: 1) avatar hand (with body), or 2) abstract blocks. Both representations closed with a similar motion for spatial congruency and popped a balloon as a result. The hand/blocks were controlled through an online MI-BCI. Each condition consisted of 30 trials of MI-activation of the avatar hand/blocks. After each condition a questionnaire probed the participants' sense of agency, ownership, and frustration. Afterwards, a semi-structured interview was performed where the participants elaborated on their ratings. Both conditions supported similar levels of MI-BCI performance. A significant correlation between ownership and agency was observed (r = 0.47, p = 0.001). As intended, the avatar hand yielded much higher ownership than the blocks. When controlling for performance, ownership increased sense of agency. In conclusion, designers of BCI-based rehabilitation applications can draw on anthropomorphic avatars for the visual mapping of the trained limb to improve ownership. While not While not reducing frustration ownership can improve perceived agency given sufficient BCI performance. In future studies the findings should be validated in stroke patients since they may perceive agency and ownership differently than able-bodied users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we study and characterize the layout-induced device strain and its impact on RF performance of 22-nm-ultrathin body and buried oxide fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (UTBB FDSOI) P-channel field-effect transistor (PFET). This will help in boosting and optimizing the RF performance for the targeted application. With shrinking device dimensions, conventional stress liners and embedded stressors used in strain-engineered CMOS devices become less effective. Therefore, intrinsically strained materials, such as compressively strained SiGe, are widely used to boost the holes’ mobility in the channel. The stress level depends on both the manufacturing process and device geometry, and the optimization of these leads to improved dc and RF performances of PFET devices. We hereby study various layout parameters, such as width and length of the active region, contacted poly pitch, number of fingers, and source/drain contact, to maximize the channel uniaxial strain parallel to the current flow direction and, thus, improve the electrical performances. The studied layout parameters are then applied on sliced-active (RX) structures, which enables to achieve up to 30% improvement of both ƒT and ƒMAX parameters of SiGe PFET with respect to a reference device. This also allows reducing the parasitic capacitance without significantly degrading the dc performance. The device strain modeling and physical characterization were conducted through the finite-element method (FEM) and nanobeam electron diffraction (NBED) in the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a systematic empirical modeling approach in fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) CMOS for large-signal simulation in power amplifier applications. The model is constructed from multibias S-parameter measurements up to 67 GHz. The frequency dispersions in transconductance and output conductance are addressed by two independent radio frequency (RF) current sources. Angelov’s current formula is modified to adapt to the FDSOI transistors. Load-pull measurements are performed for the large-signal verification in a non-50-Ω environment. The model accurately predicts the nonlinear characteristics of the device under test and the harmonic components. The time-domain waveforms also show excellent agreement to the simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The future direction of transport and new global concepts of low-carbon mobility are likely to increase the number of obsolete inner-city multi-storey car-parking structures. The adaptive reuse of these garages is challenged through the continuity of urban change and the need for new mixed-use typologies. The development of technologically advanced farming in these structures could become an innovative strategy that as an interim solution justifies renovation versus demolition and new construction. The paper presents findings from the first stage of the multiple-site case study research on car-parking structures strategically selected in 3 UK cities (Portsmouth, Bristol and Brighton). In order to develop a better understanding of the conditions that enable the implementation of urban hydroponic farming in selected structures planning and technical limitations and opportunities have been identified through the analysis of policies, exploration of layouts using Revit software, field observation and photography. The analysis demonstrated that there is a range of possible uses that may be developed in the process of up-cycling of inner-city car-parking structures, of which one might be hydroponics. Looking at three multi-storey garages has shown that these have similar problems for adaptive reuse, which can be overcome with appropriate architectural strategies. Converting these structures for farming could support addressing social, environmental and economic problems. However, the proposed development requires innovations in planning documents. Further analysis needs to be conducted to assess whether the amount of food that could be produced in such a structure is efficient and comparable with other means of achieving it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporary appropriation (TA) is a re-emerging concept which occurs in the urban social landscape as a multidimensional phenomenon. Intended as multi-disciplinary and multi-scalar research, the present paper explores the way in which temporary appropriation could be interpreted as an assemblage product of other assemblages within the urban landscape. It, therefore, seeks to unravel and to re-think the nature of temporary appropriation through interconnected theoretical frameworks such as assemblage theory. Derived from the seminal work of Deleuze and Guattari (1989) and developed further by Manuel DeLanda (2016), assemblage theory focuses on the relations produced by the components of a whole rather than the components themselves. Thus, in the present paper, a diverse range of theories is combined together to conceptualise temporary appropriation as part of the urban landscape and as an emerging product of other assemblages such as culture, legal framework and urban design. These approaches are drawn together by illustrating Mexico City Centre as an example of a highly coded city in which these assemblages emerge. A representative sample street was selected as a case-study to analyse TA in relation to the streetscape design through participant observation and image analysis of the visual complexity of the streetscape. The paper concludes that assemblage theory could be used as a theoretical framework investigating urban-social phenomena. In addition, the study identified the visual complexity of the assemblage of the urban landscape that supports the greater diversity of TA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the work and presents a portrait of Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. His designs and buildings span six decades and it is suggested that these can be categorised into four distinctively different phases. As a former collaborator of Isozaki during the 1990s, the author is able to draw from first-hand observations and knowledge to explain relevant projects. As the discussion points out, Isozaki's work is highly unusual, original, complex and personal in its absorption of a multitude of influences and its interdisciplinary approach; thus, one could say that he has created ideas and concepts for spaces that defy characterisation as belonging to any single school of thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of density is closely connected to urbanization and how our cities may evolve in the future. Density and compactness are two closely related but different criteria, both relevant for sustainable urban development and the transformation of cities; however, their relationship is not always well understood. While a high degree of compactness is desirable, too much density can be detrimental to liveability, health and urban well-being. The purpose of this article is to report first on an extreme case of hyper-density: the Kowloon Walled City (demolished in 1993), where 50,000 residents led a grim life in one of the most densely populated precincts in the world with intolerable sanitary conditions. While the Walled City was a truly mixed-use and extremely compact precinct, it was neither a 'liveable neighbourhood' nor sustainable. The article then explores some more recent cases of optimized quality density in developments in Singapore, Sydney and Vancouver. This article sets out to answer the question: Since density is key to sustainable urbanism, what are the drivers and different planning approaches in relation to establishing an optimal density? And what is the ideal density model for tomorrow's sustainable cities? Some of the critical thinking around the high-density cases is replicable and could translate to other cities to inform new approaches to quality density. Medium to high-density living is acceptable to residents as long as these developments also provide at the same time an increase in quality green spaces close by. The article explores which density types could help us to create highly liveable, economically vibrant, mixed-use and resilient neighbourhoods of the future. It concludes that every development requires a careful optimization process adapted to the conditions of each site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – A large number of benefits have been reported when reverse logistics (RL) is fully implemented in the construction industry. However, RL is yet to become common place in the construction sector, particularly in Australia. The particular sub-sector in which RL operates is small and weak and the remainder of the sector must embrace and accommodate it comfortably. Research is lacking on how to promoting RL in the construction industry. Very little has been done to identify the current practices that have the potential to promote RL industry-wide. The purpose of this paper is to identify the practices that work well in the sector, a strategy could be mapped out to promote RL to all stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – In order to fill the above gap, the present study used a mixed method approach to gather and evaluate current practices and their potential to promote RL in South Australia’s construction industry. Practices that were identified using a comprehensive literature review were evaluated with a questionnaire survey and series of interviews involving construction professionals. Findings – The findings are that practices facilitating deconstruction is the most important, followed by practices facilitating the use of salvaged materials in new construction to promote RL in South Australia. Awareness of deconstruction benefits, challenges and procedures at the organisation level and facilities and services at industry level were associated with RL implementation. Availability of salvaged materials in the market was found to influence its use in new construction and as a consequence its demand. Designing for reverse logistics is another practice that could facilitate deconstruction and the onus of its promotion lies mainly with the designers. Research limitations/implications – This research was confined to one state in Australia. As such the generalisation to other states and other countries should be treated cautiously. Practical implications – The findings of this study can help inform the industry and its stakeholders on areas that they need to concentrate more on to make the South Australian construction industry a fully RL integrated one. To that end the authors propose some recommendations arising from the findings reported here. Originality/value – This study makes a contribution to the body of knowledge on reserve logistics within a previously unexplored South Australian context. In addition, the study provides valuable insights into the contribution of RL practices to the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the start of the 21st century, humanity has been a predominantly urban species. This Special Issue is about the future of cities and how urbanization will develop when based on principles of sustainability. It explores the underlying dimensions of the transformation of existing cities and the design of low carbon green precincts and their urban systems. The view of the papers presented in this Special Issue is holistic and takes questions of social sustainability into account. This editorial highlights the contents and methodologies of 13 selected papers, while presenting diverse issues in strategies, concepts and policies for sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse logistics in construction refers to the movement of products and materials from salvaged buildings to a new construction site. While there is a plethora of studies looking at various aspects of the reverse logistics chain, there is no systematic review of literature on this important subject as applied to the construction industry. Therefore, the objective of this study is to integrate the fragmented body of knowledge on reverse logistics in construction, with the aim of promoting the concept among industry stakeholders and the wider construction community. Through a qualitative meta-analysis, the study synthesises the findings of previous studies and presents some actions needed by industry stakeholders to promote this concept within the real-life context. First, the trend of research and terminology related with reverse logistics is introduced. Second, it unearths the main advantages and barriers of reverse logistics in construction while providing some suggestions to harness the advantages and mitigate these barriers. Finally, it provides a future research direction based on the review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose-This paper aims to present a survey of the perceptions of the barriers to implementing reverse logistics (RL) practices in South Australian (SA) construction organisations. Despite the extensive research on forward logistics and RL, there is a paucity of studies that examine the barriers to implementing RL particularly within the Australian construction industry. This study builds on the ongoing research being undertaken by the authors, entitled Designing for reverse logistics (DfRL) within the building life cycle: practices, drivers and barriers, which is examining the best practices and drivers that could be used as a road map for developing appropriate solutions for the successful implementation of RL. Design/methodology/approach-Data were collected by utilising a triangulated data collection approach, a literature review and 49 questionnaires. The review of the literature identified 16 barriers to implementing RL. The quantitative survey data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics with correlation analysis to examine the relationships between different pairs of variables comprising RL's critical barriers. Findings-The following barriers were indicated as most significant: lack of incorporation of salvaged materials by designers; regulation restrictions to usage of recovered materials and components; potential legal liabilities; higher costs; and longer-time association with deconstructing buildings. The least ranked barriers were mostly drawn from the operational and industrial categories as being: organisational lack of support for deconstruction due to incompatible design; lack of organisational support for deconstructing buildings due to higher health and safety risks; and inadequate skills and experience for deconstruction (operational). The industrial barrier was related to higher costs of salvaged materials in comparison to virgin products. Research limitations/implications-First, the reported findings are focussed on one study that used questionnaire surveys within the construction industry; therefore, the results may not be generalisable to other contexts. Further, studies should be conducted and extended to other industrial sectors beyond the construction industry. Second, the quantitative study (n = 49) used a smaller sample, and the survey items were based on the review of the literature. Practical implications-The identified barriers could be used as a road map for the development of appropriate solutions for the successful implementation of RL, and to improve the environment-related decision-making processes of contractors. Originality/value-This study makes a contribution to the body of knowledge on the subject of RL within a previously unexplored SA context. In addition, the study provides some insights on the contributory effects of the barriers to the implementation of RL. It is the first work undertaken to determine the barriers to the adoption of RL within the SA construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strategy for compact modeling the static thermal coupling between the emitter fingers of SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (SiGe-HBTs) is described. An extraction methodology that includes the nonlinear temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity is introduced and applied to suitable test structures. The experimental results are used for calibrating a 3-D numerical solution of the equation for heat conduction based on a Green’s function approach. The latter can then be employed for generating thermal coupling networks for arbitrary transistor configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste is a symbol of inefficiency in modern society and represents misallocated resources. This paper outlines an on-going interdisciplinary research project entitled -Integrated ETWW demand forecasting and scenario planning for low-carbon precincts and reports on first findings and a literature review. This large multi-stakeholder research project develops a shared platform for integrated ETWW (energy, transport, waste and water) planning in a low-carbon urban future, focusing on synergies and alternative approaches to urban planning. The aim of the project is to develop a holistic integrated software tool for demand forecasting and scenario evaluation for residential precincts, covering the four domains, ETWW, using identified commonalities in data requirements and model formulation. The authors of this paper are overseeing the waste domain. A major component of the project will be developing a method for including the impacts of household behavior change in demand forecasting, as well as assessing the overall carbon impacts of urban developments or redevelopments of existing precincts. The resulting tool will allow urban planners, municipalities and developers to assess the future total demands for energy, transport, waste and water whilst in the planning phase. The tool will also help to assess waste management performance and materials flow in relation to energy and water consumption and travel behavior, supporting the design and management of urban systems in different city contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable waste management requires an integrated planning and design strategy for reliable forecasting of waste generation, collection, recycling, treatment and disposal for the successful development of future residential precincts. The success of the future development and management of waste relies to a high extent on the accuracy of the prediction and on a comprehensive understanding of the overall waste management systems. This study defies the traditional concepts of waste, in which waste was considered as the last phase of production and services, by putting forward the new concept of waste as an intermediate phase of production and services. The study aims to develop a demand forecasting tool called ‘zero waste index’ (ZWI) for measuring the natural resources recouped from municipal solid waste. The ZWI (ZWI demand forecasting tool) quantifies the amount of virgin materials recovered from solid waste and subsequently reduces extraction of natural resources. In addition, the tool estimates the potential amount of energy, water and emissions avoided or saved by the improved waste management system. The ZWI is tested in a case study of waste management systems in two developed cities: Adelaide (Australia) and Stockholm (Sweden). The ZWI of waste management systems in Adelaide and Stockholm is 0.33 and 0.17 respectively. The study also enumerates per capita energy savings of 2.9 GJ and 2.83 GJ, greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 0.39 tonnes (CO2e) and 0.33 tonnes (CO2e), as well as water savings of 2.8 kL and 0.92 kL in Adelaide and Stockholm respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article outlines an ongoing interdisciplinary research project entitled ‘Integrated ETWW demand forecasting and scenario planning for low-carbon precincts' and reports on first findings and a literature review. This large multi-stakeholder research project has been designed to develop a shared platform for integrated ETWW (energy, transport, waste, and water) planning in a low-carbon urban future, focusing on synergies and alternative approaches to urban planning.

Prefabricated engineered solid wood panel construction systems can sequester and store CO2. Modular cross-laminated timber (CLT, also called cross-lam) panels form the basis of low-carbon, engineered construction systems using solid wood panels that can be used to build residential infill developments of 10 storeys or higher. Multi-apartment buildings of 4 to 10 storeys constructed entirely in timber, such as recently in Europe, are innovative, but their social and cultural acceptance in Australia and North America is at this stage still uncertain. Future commercial utilisation is only possible if there is a user acceptance. The author is part of a research team that aims to study two problems: first models of urban infill; then focus on how the use of the CLT systems can play an important role in facilitating a more livable city with better models of infill housing. Wood is an important contemporary building resource due to its low embodied energy and unique attributes. The potential of prefabricated engineered solid wood panel systems, such as CLT, as a sustainable building material and system is only just being realised around the globe. Since timber is one of the few materials that has the capacity to store carbon in large quantities over a long period of time, solid wood panel construction offers the opportunity of carbon engineering, to turn buildings into 'carbon sinks'. Thus some of the historically negative environmental impact of urban development and construction can be turned around with CLT construction on brownfield sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prefabricated engineered solid wood panel construction systems can sequester and store CO2. Modular cross-laminated timber (CLT, also called cross-lam) panels form the basis of low-carbon, engineered construction systems using solid wood panels that can be used to build residential infill developments of 10 storeys or higher. Multi-apartment buildings of 4 to 10 storeys constructed entirely in timber, such as recently in Europe, are innovative, but their social and cultural acceptance in Australia and North America is at this stage still uncertain. Commercial utilisation is only possible if there is a demand and user acceptance. This paper explores the opportunities offered by an innovative low carbon construction system using cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels to improve the design and delivery of urban infill housing. CLT construction has been developed around 1996 in Austria: layers of timber boards are glued crosswise in different directions to increase loadbearing capacity. The paper describes a multi-disciplinary research project into cross-laminated timber panels which aims to transform the Australian construction and development industry, involving a range of key partners. This project will introduce cross-laminated timber panels as a way to build with a lightweight prefabricated lowcarbon construction system that is advantageous for urban infill and residential buildings in the range of 4 to 8 stories height. The challenges, research questions and advantages of this new engineered timber system are explained, and a detailed research methodology for further research is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The currently consumption-driven society produces an enormous volume of waste every day. Continuous depletion of natural finite resources by urban populations is leading the globe to an uncertain future. Therefore, to prevent further depletion of global resources, sustainable consumption and a strategic waste management system would be required. It is evident that a significant number of global non-renewable resources such as cadmium, mercury and tellurium will experience permanent shortfall in global supply within the next two to three decades. Astonishingly, the current recycling rate of these very scarce metals is significantly low in all cities around the globe. The concept of the zero waste city includes a 100% recycling of municipal solid waste and a 100% recovery of all resources from waste materials. However, transforming currently over-consuming cities into zero waste cities is challenging. Therefore, this study aims to understand the key factors waste management systems in cities such as consumption, resource depletion and possible decoupling opportunity through implementing the "zero waste city" concept. The study proposes five significant principles for transforming current cities into zero waste cities in the context of long-term sustainability. A simultaneous and harmonized application of sustainable behaviour and consumption, product stewardship, a 100% recycling and recovery of resources, legislated zero landfill and incineration are required to transform current city into a zero waste city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond energy efficiency, there are now urgent challenges around the supply of resources, materials, food and water. After debating energy-efficiency for the last decade, the focus has shifted to include resource and material-efficiency. In this context, urban farming has emerged as a valid urban design strategy in Europe, where food is produced and consumed locally within city boundaries, turning disused sites into productive urban landscapes and community gardens. Agricultural activities allow for effective composting of organic waste, returning nutrients to the soil and improving biodiversity in the urban environment. Urban farming will help to feed the 9 billion by 2050 (predicted population growth, UN-Habitat forecast 2009). This paper reports on best practice of urban design principles in regard to materials flow, material recovery, adaptive re-use of building elements and components ('design for disassembly'; prefabrication of modular building components), and other relevant strategies to implement zero waste by avoiding waste creation, reducing harmful consumption and changing behaviour. The paper touches on two important issues in regard to the rapid depletion of the world's natural resources: the construction sector and the education of architects and designers. The construction sector: Prefabricated multi-story timber buildings for inner-city living can set new benchmarks for minimizing construction wastage and for sustainable on-site assembly. Today, the construction and demolition (C&D) sector is one of the main producers of waste; it does not engage enough with waste minimization, waste avoidance and recycling. Education and research: It's still unclear how best to introduce a holistic understanding of these challenges and to better teach practical and affordable solutions to architects, urban designers, industrial designers, and so on. One of the findings of this paper is that embedding 'zero-waste' requires strong industry leadership, new policies and effective education curricula, as well as raising awareness (education) and refocusing research agendas to bring about attitudinal change and the reduction of wasteful consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will first look at the timeline of important publications that have been published on sustainable design and have emerged from different schools of thought, to exemplify how gradually the notion of Green Urbanism evolved. It then identifies the intertwined principles for achieving Green Urbanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond energy efficiency, there are now urgent challenges around the supply of resources, materials, energy, food and water. After debating energy efficiency for the last decade, the focus has shifted to include further resources and material efficiency. In this context, urban farming has emerged as a valid urban design strategy, where food is produced and consumed locally within city boundaries, turning disused sites and underutilized public space into productive urban landscapes and community gardens. Furthermore, such agricultural activities allow for effective composting of organic waste, returning nutrients to the soil and improving biodiversity in the urban environment. Urban farming and resource recovery will help to feed the 9 billion by 2050 (predicted population growth, UN-Habitat forecast 2009). This paper reports on best practice of urban design principles in regard to materials flow, material recovery, adaptive re-use of entire building elements and components ('design for disassembly'; prefabrication of modular building components), and other relevant strategies to implement zero waste by avoiding waste creation, reducing wasteful consumption and changing behaviour in the design and construction sectors. The paper touches on two important issues in regard to the rapid depletion of the world's natural resources: the built environment and the education of architects and designers (both topics of further research). The construction and demolition (C&D) sector: Prefabricated multi-story buildings for inner-city living can set new benchmarks for minimizing construction wastage and for modular on-site assembly. Today, the C&D sector is one of the main producers of waste; it does not engage enough with waste minimization, waste avoidance and recycling. Education and research: It's still unclear how best to introduce a holistic understanding of these challenges and to better teach practical and affordable solutions to architects, urban designers, industrial designers, and so on. How must urban development and construction change and evolve to automatically embed sustainability in the way we design, build, operate, maintain and renew/recycle cities? One of the findings of this paper is that embedding zero-waste requires strong industry leadership, new policies and effective education curricula, as well as raising awareness (through research and education) and refocusing research agendas to bring about attitudinal change and the reduction of wasteful consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of resource recovery and materials flow in cities in the creation of sustainable urban development principles and the implementation of zero waste policies. Topics include the link between waste, consumption, and urban growth, the minimization of landfill runoff and leachate from organic wastes, the environmental impact of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste), and innovative approaches to waste reduction and management.

Arup, the global design, engineering, and business consultancy, is the creative force behind many of the world's most innovative and sustainable buildings and transport and civil engineering projects. Founded over 60 years ago, Arup has operated in China for more than three decades, and almost a quarter of their worldwide staff of 9,000 is based in Hong Kong and China. Arup was initially commissioned by the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation in 2006 to put forward concept proposals for a new sustainable city: Wanzhuang Eco-City, located in Hebei Province. Plans for the 80 sq km site are now being guided by a Development Strategy, the Preliminary Control Plan and Sustainability Design Guidelines. British engineer Peter Head has been a director at Arup since 2004 and is based in London. He is chairman of global planning and leads the company's planning and integrated urbanism business, which includes development planning, economics and policy, integrated urbanism, transport and environmental consulting and sustainable development. In his early career, Peter worked at the forefront of steel bridge technology, and in 1998 he was awarded an OBE for his services to bridge engineering. He is also chairman of the Steel Construction Institute. Peter was appointed a Commissioner on the London Sustainable Development Commission in 2002, representing the construction sector. There, he was a member of the group that drafted the Sustainable Development Framework for London, which led an initiative to create a voluntary code of practice for sustainable planning, design, and construction of London's built environment. For the last decade or so, Peter has been dedicated to overthrowing the notion that urbanization is inevitably the fast track to environmental collapse. Specifically, he is fighting to ensure that a growing number of the world's mega cities, and the associated mega projects, embrace sustainability principles from the outset. From 2004 to 2008 he was project director for the Dongtan Eco-City project near Shanghai, a project that has recently stalled. Over the last five years, Peter Head has lectured all over the world on sustainable development and the transformation of cities. He gave the 2008-9 Brunel Lecture Series for the Institution of Civil Engineers, titled "Entering the Ecological Age," which he presented in twenty countries. The Brunel Lecture looked, in detail, as to whether there is a model that would enable 9 billion people to live sustainably on Earth in 2050. It asked which policies and investments would be needed to achieve this and whether it could be done without damaging the economy. In focusing on this ecological transition Peter developed retrofit scenarios for existing buildings. Steffen Lehmann met with Peter Head at the IGBC Conference in Singapore in October 2009 (where they were both speakers) that discussed the world crises caused by climate change, food and water shortages, and resource constraint problems. Steffen asked Peter what the planner's and engineer's role will be in the cities' transformation to sustainable urbanism. Particularly, how such urban concepts and technologies could be scaled to fit the world's most populous country, China?. Here are excerpts from their conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares two cases: It relates to the development of new urban sub-centres in China, and the relationship of these sub-centres to 'Network City' theory. As cities move towards more polycentric systems, the case of Potsdamer Platz Berlin, compared to Zhenru Sub-Centre in Shanghai, is discussed. Both are transport-oriented developments promoting mixed-use density and transport-oriented development. According to the documentation by Shanghai municipality, this new urban centre, which is currently in its planning phase, is supposed to become a 'sustainable sub-centre for a growing metropolis.' The author, who has intimate knowledge of the Berlin case, was asked to advice on the Chinese project, based on the Potsdamer Platz experience. After some hesitation, a series of careful recommendations were formulated for the design and development of the Zhenru Sub-Centre, knowing that it is rather difficult to translate from one case to the other. The conclusion includes five recommendations for the urban design of such sub-centres, to ensure a delivery of economical, social and environmental sustainable outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysian architect Dr. Ken Yeang is an architect-planner and is frequently described as one of the foremost ecodesigners, theoreticians, and thinkers in the field of green design. He has been described as one of the world's leading advocates in ecological and passive low-energy design. He has designed over one hundred projects, and his theory of "bio-climatic" towers has had an impact around the world, fusing high-tech with organic principles. He was born in Penang, Malaysia, in 1948, and was educated in Penang, the United States, and at the Architectural Association in London. He received his doctorate in Architecture from Cambridge University in 1974. He is the author of a number of books on the topic of ecological planning and high-rise design (e.g., The Skyscraper: Bio-climatically Considered, 1996; Eco-Masterplanning, 2009). According to Yeang, the "bioclimatic" high-rise tower is a low-energy tower that is based on bioclimatic design principles and designed as a vertical urban design typology crossed by air and light wells and protected by sun shading devices. Bio-climatic in architecture means responding to the climate with minimal reliance on fossil-fuel energy for achieving comfort. Ken Yeang's definition of bio-climatic is based on the following concepts: The integration of the grey (engineering), blue (water), red (human), and green (landscape) infrastructures in projects of all scales; the bio-integration of the building as an artificial element into the biosphere; the eco-mimesis, repeating nature's patterns such as solar energy and waste equals food; the re-linking of ecosystems by bridging the existing natural areas; and, finally, the monitoring for rectifying and improving the existing built environment. His single-minded pursuit of eco-design through his own architectural practice and writing for over 35 years has influenced countless architects around the world. Major works by Ken Yeang include: • The IBM Malaysia Tower in Kuala Lumpur (1989-1992) • The National Library Building in Singapore (2000-2005). The National Library is the first building in Singapore to obtain the Green Mark Platinum award. It incorporates many passive and active design strategies, e.g., a large naturally-ventilated and lit atrium space; the use of external sun-shading louvers; and integrated greenery for thermal benefits. The total embodiment of the building (being its first costs) was calculated to be 17GJ/m2, an impressive result achieved through carbon footprint considerations in the selection of all building materials. The author met with Ken Yeang at the SASBE Conference in Delft, in June 2009, to discuss the future of sustainable urbanism and why our cities need to change. Here are excerpts from their conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the origins of an air-condition dependency which evolved with 20th century architecture and is related to other developments that affected buildings in the last century, such as the lack of flexibility/adaptability of buildings and their short life span. It then looks at some passive design principles as frequently found in heritage buildings from the pre-air-conditioning era, which are based on heat avoidance and harnessing of natural energies. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations for a holistic pathway to zero-carbon, climate-adaptive buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]