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Purpose: This study aims to introduce the design and the design process for an innovative sanitary fixture to be used in public facilities for the purpose of ablution. This purpose-made fixture is needed to support the hygienic, safe and comfortable performance of this essential function in public facilities in many parts of the world. The study also clarifies the need for this function and critically reviews current designs to address it. Design/methodology/approach: The study started by critically reviewing the standard built-in models for ablution. It also identified and analyzed new approaches to designing standalone ablution fixtures. The study then specified the characteristics of a better ablution fixture and involved drafting a design based on these characteristics, making a wooden prototype to test the design and receiving users' feedback. The design was adjusted and tested again for more feedback. Finally, the study resulted in the development of a final design. It used digital fabrication to create the design prototype with improved aesthetics, tested it again and received user feedback. Findings: A survey of users showed that they found the innovative fixture more comfortable and safer than the commonly used built-in models. The main concern was the potential for water to splash on clothes from the high faucet. Originality/value: In addition to showing an innovative design for a purpose-made sanitary fixture for ablution, the study makes the reader aware of the various challenges of providing a hygienic, safe and comfortable facility for users to perform this function. This is very useful for the many designers and facility managers who deal with the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of time, people have more emotional needs for interior spaces. Interior lighting design is an extremely important part of interior design, especially in children's healthcare. In order to meet the needs of child patients and healthcare professionals for ward lighting, it is necessary to comply with various standards while also designing emotionally, emphasizing the positive effects of light on the psychology and health of the user. A literature research approach was used to combine the current status of interior lighting in healthcare spaces, culminating in the integration of the concept of emotional design into the lighting design of children's wards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does architectural thinking make a difference in interior space? Is it just a formal difference? From two-dimensional decoration to three-dimensional space experience, this should be the biggest difference between the two. In simple terms, interior design pays more attention to decoration, while architectural design is basically functional design. If architectural thinking is applied to interior design, will it make the interior space more applicable, more scientific and more infinite? This paper combines a project of integrated architecture and interior design to interpret the infinite possibilities of architectural thinking in interior design. Several types and paradigms of architectural thinking in interior design are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skewed steel I-girder bridges experience complex load distribution under live load that is not thoroughly understood, while standard design practice for such bridges consists of simplifications that should be further evaluated and verified. Commonly used line girder analysis (LGA) can estimate strong-axis bending stress through the application of a live load distribution factor (LLDF) that considers the skew effect from 30° to 60°, and it accounts for skew-related lateral response by simply adding a flange lateral bending stress for skew exceeding 20°. Since LGA calculations related to skew do not account for bridge width, and because girder lateral bending response is considered in a simplified fashion, further refinement may be possible. In addition, the widely used practices of designing exterior and interior girders with the same demand and analyzing stub and integral abutment bridges in a similar way need to be further assessed. This paper evaluates the effect of bridge geometric parameters—including skew of 0°–70°, bridge width ranging from 8 to 26 m (27–84 ft), and abutment type (stub versus integral)—on skewed steel I-girder bridge response through a numerical parametric study (using field-validated models), considering live load positioning across the width of a bridge. The distribution of girder strong-axis and lateral bending stress was analyzed, with peak stress compared to LGA calculations. Exterior girders were generally observed with larger strong-axis bending stress but smaller lateral bending stress (versus interior girders) when directly loaded; estimating girder strong-axis bending stress using LGA with a controlling LLDF for all girders can be overly conservative for interior girders. The distribution of strong-axis and lateral bending stress on a skewed bridge with either stub or integral abutments was also found to be dependent on live load positioning, with peak stress closer to bridge obtuse corners (away from bridge midspan) as skew increases. The standard practice of providing a minimum distance between the bridge end and the first intermediate cross-frame was confirmed to be important to avoid lateral bending stress concentration near bridge obtuse corners. Girder response near the bridge pier was generally less significant than that along bridge spans under live loading, except for exterior girder flange lateral bending stress. Near the pier, bottom flange lateral bending stress increases with increasing skew, while interior and exterior girders behave differently under the skew effect for strong-axis bending stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new town hall for Hainburg The new town hall building in Hainburg unites the administrations of Hainstadt and Klein‐Krotzenburg town halls under one roof. The building does not look like a classic administrative building in its design language. The generous recessing of the ground floor over a corner and the building‐high atrium behind it make the structure look more like a light, inviting pavilion with a welcoming atmosphere. The building was constructed in timber, which is not only part of the structure but also a design element in the interior. Only the ground floor and the stiffening core were built in solid construction. The town hall's energy concept uses sustainable materials and fulfils the most modern requirements. A photovoltaic system on the roof completely covers the power supply for the entire building and the operation of the air/water heat pumps for the underfloor heating. The vertically structured façade was clad in bronzed metal sheets. The daylight falling on it enhances the impression of a building of high architectural quality. This article describes the project's planning constraints and the attempt to consistently realise the architectural idea in the supporting structure. It also focuses on analysing the calculated CO2 equivalent using the slab above the first floor as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although household consumption contributes to climate change, it can be challenging to comprehend the consequences and effects from a personal perspective. In this paper, we explore the design of physical data visualisations to promote sustainable practices within households. We conducted 15 household design workshops involving household members to explore physical designs and envision the potential use of physical artefacts in the home to promote sustainability behaviours using five low to medium-fidelity prototypes. The findings from these workshops highlight the need to balance aesthetics, abstraction, and the presentation of actionable information in the design of physical artefacts. Based on our findings, we identify key design considerations for future design: (1) including all household members in the design process to reflect the collective goals and values of the home, fostering a sense of ownership and engagement, (2) considering child-friendly design in physical artefacts to promote awareness, education, engagement, and sustainable values in children, (3) and considering nature-based visuals to reduce the mental burden of information overload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an automatic layout method for indoor scenes that effectively satisfies specific constraints. Our approach involves enhancing the existing scene representation method to accommodate complex constraints, including the precise placement of doors, windows, and user-specified furniture. To achieve this, we construct a conditional vector that encapsulates the necessary constraints. Moreover, our automatically constrained layout approach is implemented by training a conditional variational autoencoder model. Given the constraints and randomly sampled vectors, the decoder module can generate diversified reasonable indoor layout results. Evaluations show that our model outperforms the existing methods. Furthermore, our model exhibits a lower parameter count and faster execution speed compared with the existing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the taxation of interior design contracts being implemented by the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR). Topics explored include the sales tax that interior designers need to settle in transactions involving tangible personal property (TPP), the sales and use tax exemptions outlined in the Florida Administrative Code Rule 12A-1.001(2)(a), and the planning and audit operations that need to be considered by interior design professionals to ensure tax compliance.

When considering how hotels can facilitate aesthetics that offer restorative benefits to business and leisure travelers, extant research suggests natural environments serve as a refuge and that time spent in nature promotes well-being. Based on the tenets of Stress Recovery Theory (SRT), combined with the theoretical perspective of prospect-refuge, we examine, through a series of conjoint analyses, how combinations of biophilic design elements differ in the extent to which they are perceived to enhance guests' restoration, including relaxation, energy, and mind clarity. We further explore how these perceptions change based on higher and lower levels of individuals' longer-term states of anxiety and stress. Findings can be translated into practical applications, ensuring that the biophilic elements more closely aligned with restoration and psychological needs are prioritized in urban hotel building and interior design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Prolonged periods of sitting have been linked to negative health outcomes. Implementation of sit-stand desks in the workplace has been one strategy to reduce prolonged sitting. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of sit-stand workstations on reducing sitting time and improving other health outcomes of office-based workers. METHODS: 39 Portuguese office workers were randomized into a 6-month parallel-group cluster RCT consisting by the implementation of sit-stand desks in the workplace. The primary outcome of sitting time was assessed using ActivPAL. Secondary outcomes included biometric, psychological, and diet-related variables. All outcomes were assessed at baseline and 6 months for the whole sample and at 3 months for a sub-sample of the intervention group (n = 11). RESULTS: No significant time*group interaction was found for the primary or secondary outcomes, apart from waist circumference favoring the control group (Δ–1.81 cm, pinteraction = 0.04). There were significant changes within the intervention group for sitting time (–44.0 min/day), prolonged sitting (>30 min) (–45.3 min/day) and standing time (51.7 min/day) at 3 months in the sub-sample and in prolonged sitting (>30 min) (–26 min/day) in the full intervention group (p < 0.05). Changes were also observed within the intervention group for percent body fat (Δ–3.7%) and ratings of quality of life (Δ2.2), musculoskeletal discomfort (Δ–4.9), overall fatigue (Δ–2.2), and the need for recovery after work (Δ–1.7) at 6-month follow-up (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Although not being effective for reducing sitting time, the implementation of sit-stand desks in the Portuguese workspace was shown to be feasible over the long term, received well by users, and may offer other health benefits. TRIAL REGISTRATION: OSF Registration, OSF.IO/JHGPW. Registered 15 November 2022. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/JHGPW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arab International Journal of Digital Art & Designs is the property of Arab Institution of Knowledge Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Arab International Journal of Digital Art & Designs is the property of Arab Institution of Knowledge Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Arab International Journal of Digital Art & Designs is the property of Arab Institution of Knowledge Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The global discourse on sustainability has heightened the importance of integrating sustainable design principles into interior architecture education. However, the implementation of such education faces complex challenges. This investigation draws upon Scopus-indexed papers published within the timeframe spanning from 2009 to 2023. Through a comprehensive analysis of these scholarly sources which contributed from 32 referred journals, this study examines these challenges, aiming to provide insights and strategies for effective implementation of Sustainable Interior Architecture Education. A primary challenge is the lack of a structured approach, leading to fragmented learning experiences for students. The wide-ranging concepts within sustainable design, coupled with resistance to change and limited resources, further complicate integration efforts. Additionally, there is a lack of awareness among educators and students about the significance of sustainability in interior architecture, hindering motivation and understanding of sustainable practices. Evaluation methods also prove challenging, as traditional approaches may not adequately assess sustainable design principles. Pedagogical challenges arise from balancing fundamental design skills with sustainability teachings. Industry alignment and cultural variations further impact the implementation process. Addressing these challenges requires collaboration between educational institutions, industry stakeholders, and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present GLTScene, a novel data‐driven method for high‐quality furniture layout synthesis with general room boundaries as conditions. This task is challenging since the existing indoor scene datasets do not cover the variety of general room boundaries. We incorporate the interior design principles with learning techniques and adopt a global‐to‐local strategy for this task. Globally, we learn the placement of furniture objects from the datasets without considering their alignment. Locally, we learn the alignment of furniture objects relative to their nearest walls, according to the alignment principle in interior design. The global placement and local alignment of furniture objects are achieved by two transformers respectively. We compare our method with several baselines in the task of furniture layout synthesis with general room boundaries as conditions. Our method outperforms these baselines both quantitatively and qualitatively. We also demonstrate that our method can achieve other conditional layout synthesis tasks, including object‐level conditional generation and attribute‐level conditional generation. The code is publicly available at https://github.com/WWalter-Lee/GLTScene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precisely identifying interior decoration styles holds substantial significance in directing interior decoration practices. Nevertheless, constructing accurate models for the automatic classification of interior decoration styles remains challenging due to the scarcity of expert annotations. To address this problem, we propose a novel pseudo-label-guided contrastive mutual learning framework (PCML) for semi-supervised interior decoration style classification by harnessing large amounts of unlabeled data. Specifically, PCML introduces two distinct subnetworks and selectively utilizes the diversified pseudo-labels generated by each for mutual supervision, thereby mitigating the issue of confirmation bias. For labeled images, the inconsistent pseudo-labels generated by the two subnetworks are employed to identify images that are prone to misclassification. We then devise an inconsistency-aware relearning (ICR) regularization model to perform a review training process. For unlabeled images, we introduce a class-aware contrastive learning (CCL) regularization to learn their discriminative feature representations using the corresponding pseudo-labels. Since the use of distinct subnetworks reduces the risk of both models producing identical erroneous pseudo-labels, CCL can reduce the possibility of noise data sampling to enhance the effectiveness of contrastive learning. The performance of PCML is evaluated on five interior decoration style image datasets. For the average AUC, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F1 scores, PCML obtains improvements of 1.67%, 1.72%, 3.65%, 1.0%, 4.61%, and 4.66% in comparison with the state-of-the-art method, demonstrating the superiority of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the exhibition "Sonia Delaunay: Living Art" at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery in New York City. The exhibition showcases the multidisciplinary work of Sonia Delaunay, a Ukrainian-born French artist known for her innovative and versatile approach to art and design. The exhibition features nearly 200 works, including paintings, fashion designs, furniture, ceramics, and more, spanning seven decades of Delaunay's career. It highlights her use of color contrasts and her aim to bring art into everyday life. The exhibition also explores Delaunay's collaborations with other artists and her impact on the art world of the twentieth century. [Extracted from the article]

This study aimed to determine dust-phase phthalate levels in 112 dormitories of 14 universities during autumn and winter, investigate their potential sources, and estimate phthalate exposure via dust ingestion. Twelve phthalates were detected, among which di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) were the most abundant, followed by di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP). The median concentrations and contributions of DCHP and DEHP were the highest. The contributions of di-n-octyl phthalate and di-nonyl phthalate were higher in winter than in autumn. Potential sources included iron furniture, chemical fiber textiles, clothes, and personal care products. Medium-density fiberboard furniture is a potential sink for phthalates. In two seasons, DEHP, DCHP, DiBP, and DnBP were the main phthalates ingested by college students. The median oral exposure of ten phthalates was higher in females than in males. College students have a high risk of exposure to DEHP in dormitories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to explore how including biophilic elements in the architectural and interior design of assisted living facilities can improve the well-being and quality of life of older people. This research paper explores the concept of biophilic design and its potential benefits for assisted living facilities. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 39 peer-reviewed articles were reviewed. The research involved a comprehensive review of databases such as Scopus, EBSCO, Elsevier, JSTOR and Google Scholar using keywords and Boolean operators with reference to the study. The study's inclusion criteria for articles were restricted to academic articles published between 2013 and 2022. The analysis of the current research will offer insights into the concept of biophilic design research and its impact on the well-being and quality of life of baby boomers in assisted living facilities. Findings: The research advocates the benefits of biophilic design to enhance the psychological well-being and quality of life of baby boomers dwelling in assisted living facilities. Biophilic design is a strategy that blends natural elements into built environments to improve our connection with nature to enhance the physical and psychological health of older people. In the context of assisted living facilities, where residents commonly experience a variety of physical and psychological health concerns, adopting biophilic design in architecture holds enormous promise. Originality/value: The research focuses on applying biophilic design in assisted living facilities and its holistic approach to the overall well-being of older people. The conceptual model proposed in the study has defined the positive aspects of the biophilic design on the psychological and physiological health of older people. Few studies have been done on the impact of biophilic design, specifically on baby boomers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In interior interaction design, achieving intelligent user-interior interaction is contingent upon understanding the user's emotional responses. Precise identification of the user's visual emotions holds paramount importance. Current visual emotion recognition methods rely solely on singular features, predominantly facial expressions, resulting in inadequate coverage of visual characteristics and low recognition rates. This study introduces a deep learning-based multimodal weighting network model to address this challenge. The model initiates with a convolutional attention module, employing a self-attention mechanism within a convolutional neural network (CNN). As a result, the multimodal weighting network model is integrated to optimize weights during training. Finally, a weight network classifier is derived from these optimized weights to facilitate visual emotion recognition. Experimental outcomes reveal a 77.057% correctness rate and a 74.75% accuracy rate in visual emotion recognition. Comparative analysis against existing models demonstrates the superiority of the multimodal weight network model, showcasing its potential to enhance human-centric and intelligent indoor interaction design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollutants such as formaldehyde, benzene series compounds and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) released by residential interior decoration activities (including household renovation and new furniture) pose a severe threat to children's respiratory health. To study the effect of indoor decoration on children's respiratory diseases and provide suggestions to prevent it, we conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey amongst 6547 preschoolers from 34 kindergartens in Chongqing, China, and selected 39 houses to measure their indoor air pollutants concentrations. The results showed that household decoration, during pregnancy and early childhood, would increase the risk of children's rhinitis, asthma and pneumonia. Vacancy time after the completion of decoration, furniture pieces and decoration materials significantly affected the concentration of formaldehyde, xylene and TVOC, which could pose a potential risk to children's respiratory health. The concentration of xylene and TVOC and the incidence of children's asthma and pneumonia were both negatively correlated with the vacancy time. Decoration materials such as composite and ceramic tile/stone/cement flooring and water-based/latex/oil-based paints emit more gaseous pollutants than solid wood flooring and wallpaper, respectively, which were more likely to increase the risk of children's respiratory diseases. Adequate ventilation and air purification can reduce the impact of home decoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caisson paintings are an integral part of the unique interior decoration ceiling of traditional Chinese architecture. There are a large number of Yuan Dynasty caisson paintings in the Puzhao Temple, in Hancheng, Shaanxi Province, China. These caisson paintings have exquisite patterns and rich colors, which are rare artistic treasures of the Yuan Dynasty. In the history of nearly 700 years, due to various environmental and human factors, the caisson paintings have experienced various degradation; for example, the paper of the caisson paintings is acidified, the surface is polluted, the color is faded, mottled, and it is difficult to identify. Therefore, their protection is vital. In order to ensure the scientific and targeted development of the protection scheme, this study conducted a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the paper fibers, pigments, adhesives, wood supports, and pollutants of the caisson paintings and carried out a series of protection experiments in the field and laboratory, providing a step-by-step review of the protection treatment application for the caisson paintings. Mechanical and wet cleaning were used to remove the pollutants. The caisson painting was deacidified with a barium hydroxide ethanol solution, and the paper and pigments of the caisson painting were strengthened with water-based fluorine. Several conservation problems, such as the removal of pollutants, the deacidification of acidified paper, and the reinforcement of flaking paper and pigments, were solved. Meanwhile, good conservation and restoration results for caisson paintings were obtained. This research method of combining theory and practice has greatly improved the scientificity and success rate of conservation work. These research results provide valuable experience and reference for other caisson paintings in similar environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Appropriate arrangement of classroom ergonomics is necessary for maintaining health and improving academic performance, learning, and motivation. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the anthropometric measurements and ergonomic risk levels of students during a handwriting activity on a fixed desk and chair and to analyze the mismatch and relationships between these factors. METHODS: This study included 149 university students (female:73, male:76). Anthropometric measurements (lower and upper extremity length, shoulder height, elbow-rest height, hip-popliteal length, popliteal height, knee height, the distance between tragus and wall, and between acromion and wall) were done with a tape measure. The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) tool was conducted to determine the ergonomic risk level while students wrote a standard text on a fixed desk and chair as if they were taking notes in the classroom. The mismatch was evaluated between backrest height and sitting shoulder height, seat height, and popliteal height. The Pearson Chi-Square and the Spearman Correlation test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The median values of the participants' age, height, weight, and BMI were 22 years, 1.70 m, 68 kg, and 23.18 kg/cm2, respectively. Most students had inadequate ergonomic posture while writing on fixed furniture at the university (Median RULA grand score: 4). More mismatches for seat height (54.4%) were found in high ergonomic risk levels but mismatches for backrest height did not follow a similar result. CONCLUSIONS: More investigation should be conducted with prospective studies including interventions like adjustable furniture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]