- Table View
- List View
Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges Volume 1: Proceedings of the EAAE ARCC 10th International Conference (EAAE ARCC 2016), 15-18 June 2016, Lisbon, Portugal
by Manuel Jorge Rodrigues Couceiro da Costa Filipa Roseta Susana Couceiro da Costa Joana Pestana LagesThe EAAE/ARCC International Conference, held under the aegis of the EAAE (European Association for Architectural Education) and of the ARCC (Architectural Research Centers Consortium), is a conference organized every other year, in collaboration with one of the member schools / universities of those associations, alternatively in North America or in Europe. The EAAE/ARCC Conferences began at the North Carolina State University College of Design, Raleigh with a conference on Research in Design Education (1998); followed by conferences in Paris (2000), Montreal (2002), Dublin (2004), Philadelphia (2006), Copenhagen (2008), Washington (2010), Milan (2012) and Honolulu (2014). The conference discussions focus on research experiences in the field of architecture and architectural education, providing a critical forum for the dissemination and engagement of current ideas from around the world.
Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges Volume 2: Proceedings of the EAAE ARCC 10th International Conference (EAAE ARCC 2016), 15-18 June 2016, Lisbon, Portugal
by Manuel Jorge Rodrigues Couceiro da Costa Filipa Roseta Susana Couceiro da Costa Joana Pestana LagesThe EAAE/ARCC International Conference, held under the aegis of the EAAE (European Association for Architectural Education) and of the ARCC (Architectural Research Centers Consortium), is a conference organized every other year, in collaboration with one of the member schools / universities of those associations, alternatively in North America or in Europe. The EAAE/ARCC Conferences began at the North Carolina State University College of Design, Raleigh with a conference on Research in Design Education (1998); followed by conferences in Paris (2000), Montreal (2002), Dublin (2004), Philadelphia (2006), Copenhagen (2008), Washington (2010), Milan (2012) and Honolulu (2014). The conference discussions focus on research experiences in the field of architecture and architectural education, providing a critical forum for the dissemination and engagement of current ideas from around the world.
Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges: Proceedings of the EAAE ARCC 10th International Conference (EAAE ARCC 2016), 15-18 June 2016, Lisbon, Portugal
by Manuel Jorge Rodrigues Couceiro da Costa Filipa Roseta Susana Couceiro da Costa Joana Pestana LagesThe escalating interdependecy of nations drives global geopolitics to shift ever more quickly. Societies seem unable to control any change that affects their cities, whether positively or negatively. Challenges are global, but solutions need to be implemented locally. How can architectural research contribute to the future of our changing society? How has it contributed in the past? The theme of the 10th EAAE/ARCC International Conference, “Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges”, was set to address these questions. This book, Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges, includes reviewed papers presented in June 2016, at the 10th EAAE/ARCC International Conference, which was held at the facilities of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon. The papers have been further divided into the following five sub-themes: a Changing Society; In Transit – Global Migration; Renaturalization of the City; Emerging Fields of Architectural Practice; and Research on Architectural Education. The EAAE/ARCC International Conference, held under the aegis of the EAAE and of the ARCC, is a conference organized every other year, in collaboration with one of the member schools/ universities of those associations, alternatively in North America or in Europe.
Architectural Research: An Academic Textbook for Students of Architecture (SpringerBriefs in Architectural Design and Technology)
by Tomasz E. MalecThis book introduces the basic principles and methods of scientific research in architecture. Due to the specificity of the creative process and the architectural industry, the presented issues have also been adapted to the needs of architecture teachers, architects active in the design market, and others interested in the topic. The first chapter explains four crucial research skills: focus, reasoning, critical thinking, and creativity, supported by ethics. The second chapter focuses on preparation for research by formulation of the research problem, hypothesis, and correlated research questions. The third chapter is an introductory part presenting the various classifications of architectural research and explaining the roots and significance of reasoning, creativity, and ethics. The fourth chapter presents the main research methods applicable to architecture, starting with the literature review. All of them can be modified and adjusted to ever-changing requirements. In the fifth chapter, visual tools are described for clearly presenting the research related issues. The sixth chapter is the introduction to academic writing. It includes the main rules of article preparation using elements such as abstract, keywords, introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, conclusions, references, and the application of citation styles. Additionally, this chapter is concerned with general requirements for critical review preparation.
Architectural Robotics: Ecosystems of Bits, Bytes, and Biology
by Keith Evan GreenThe relationship of humans to computers can no longer be represented as one person in a chair and one computer on a desk. Today computing finds its way into our pockets, our cars, our appliances; it is ubiquitous -- an inescapable part of our everyday lives. Computing is even expanding beyond our devices; sensors, microcontrollers, and actuators are increasingly embedded into the built environment. In Architectural Robotics, Keith Evan Green looks toward the next frontier in computing: interactive, partly intelligent, meticulously designed physical environments. Green examines how these "architectural robotic" systems will support and augment us at work, school, and home, as we roam, interconnect, and age.Green tells the stories of three projects from his research lab that exemplify the reconfigurable, distributed, and transfigurable environments of architectural robotics. The Animated Work Environment is a robotic work environment of shape-shifting physical space that responds dynamically to the working life of the people within it; home+ is a suite of networked, distributed "robotic furnishings" integrated into existing domestic and healthcare environments; and LIT ROOM offers a simulated environment in which the physical space of a room merges with the imaginary space of a book, becoming "a portal to elsewhere."How far beyond workstations, furniture, and rooms can the environments of architectural robotics stretch? Green imagines scaled-up neighborhoods, villages, and metropolises composed of physical bits, digital bytes, living things, and their hybrids. Not global but local, architectural robotics grounds computing in a capacious cyber-physical home.
Architectural Robotics: Ecosystems of Bits, Bytes, and Biology
by Keith Evan GreenHow a built environment that is robotic and interactive becomes an apt home to our restless, dynamic, and increasingly digital society.The relationship of humans to computers can no longer be represented as one person in a chair and one computer on a desk. Today computing finds its way into our pockets, our cars, our appliances; it is ubiquitous—an inescapable part of our everyday lives. Computing is even expanding beyond our devices; sensors, microcontrollers, and actuators are increasingly embedded into the built environment. In Architectural Robotics, Keith Evan Green looks toward the next frontier in computing: interactive, partly intelligent, meticulously designed physical environments. Green examines how these “architectural robotic” systems will support and augment us at work, school, and home, as we roam, interconnect, and age.Green tells the stories of three projects from his research lab that exemplify the reconfigurable, distributed, and transfigurable environments of architectural robotics. The Animated Work Environment is a robotic work environment of shape-shifting physical space that responds dynamically to the working life of the people within it; home+ is a suite of networked, distributed “robotic furnishings” integrated into existing domestic and healthcare environments; and LIT ROOM offers a simulated environment in which the physical space of a room merges with the imaginary space of a book, becoming “a portal to elsewhere.”How far beyond workstations, furniture, and rooms can the environments of architectural robotics stretch? Green imagines scaled-up neighborhoods, villages, and metropolises composed of physical bits, digital bytes, living things, and their hybrids. Not global but local, architectural robotics grounds computing in a capacious cyber-physical home.
Architectural Science and the Sun: The Poetics and Pragmatics of Solar Design
by Dason Whitsett Matt FajkusArchitectural Science and the Sun synthesizes physics, climate, program, and perception to provide a foundation in the principles of architectural science related to the sun: solar geometry, solar analysis and design techniques, passive design principles, and daylighting. Part analytical handbook, part inspiration source for schematic design, the content comprises a critical component of effective sustainable design. Beyond the purely technical aspects of these topics, Architectural Science and the Sun begins with the premise that great architecture goes beyond energy performance and the visual-aesthetic to engage all of the senses. Given that the stimuli to which our senses respond are physical phenomena such as light, heat, and sound, the designer must manipulate these parameters through the craft of building form and technology to create the desired qualitative experience. This book is designed to help the reader develop that skill.
Architectural Technology: Research and Practice
by Stephen Emmitt… it gives me great pleasure to support the first ever publication to specifically address the area of research, and in particular its relationship with practice, in the discipline of architectural technology…not only ground breaking because it is the first book of its kind, but also because it provides at long last one of the accepted foundations needed to underpin the emerging academic discipline, namely a recognised research base. CIAT, in supporting this publication, is aware of the need for books such as this to sustain the process of research informed practice, as an aid for both students and those practising within the discipline of architectural technology. Norman Wienand MCIAT, Vice President Education, Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists Architectural technology is the realisation of architecture through the application of building science, forming the constructive link between the abstract and the physical. Architectural Technology: research and practice demonstrates the importance of research in architectural technology and aims to stimulate further research and debate by enlightening, informing and challenging readers. Chapter authors address the interplay between research and practice in the field of architectural technology, examining the influence of political, economic, social, environmental and technological issues. The focus throughout is on creating sustainable buildings that are constructed economically and function effectively and efficiently within their service life cycle. The book’s mix of chapters and case studies bring together a number of different themes and provides invaluable insights into the world of research from the perspective of those working within the architectural technology field - practitioners, academics and students. The underlying message is that architectural technology is not just a profession; it is a way of thinking and a way of acting. This is highlighted by contributions from architects and architectural technologists passionate about architectural technology as a field of knowledge. Contributions range from the theoretical and polemic to the pragmatic and applied, further helping to demonstrate the richness of the field. About the Editor Stephen Emmitt is Professor of Architectural Technology at Loughborough University UK and Visiting Professor of Innovation Sciences at Halmstad University, Sweden and a member of CIAT’s Research Group.
Architectural Terra Cotta: Design Concepts, Techniques and Applications
by John Rowell Donald B. CornerArchitectural Terra Cotta examines the evolution of terra cotta and prepares architects and builders to make new, creative uses of the timeless material. Terra cotta is among the oldest of manufactured building products, yet it has once again become a material of choice in contemporary façade design. From the walls of Babylon to high performance rainscreens, terra cotta claddings have repeatedly proven to be technically superior and aesthetically triumphant. Understanding the evolution of terra cotta prepares architects to add new, creative chapters to a rich history. This book describes the key attributes that recommend the use of terra cotta and explain its continuing success. The core of the book traces the many ways that terra cotta can be formed, finished and applied to buildings. These techniques demonstrate the full potential of the material, showing how its unique capabilities have been developed over time. A comprehensive inventory of recent examples, project case studies and architectural details, this book provide a basis for understanding the nature of the material and the opportunities it offers in new work. With over 150 color images, this volume provides a concise resource for all those considering terra cotta as a façade system: architects, façade engineers, cladding subcontractors, materials suppliers, developers and prospective clients. With inspiring examples of expressive possibility, this invaluable book will find a home with students and professionals alike interested in making rich, colorful and durable buildings.
Architectural Wireless Networks Solutions and Security Issues (Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems #196)
by Aboul Ella Hassanien Nilanjan Dey Santosh Kumar Das Sourav Samanta Bharat S. PatelThis book presents architectural solutions of wireless network and its variations. It basically deals with modeling, analysis, design and enhancement of different architectural parts of wireless network. The main aim of this book is to enhance the applications of wireless network by reducing and controlling its architectural issues. The book discusses efficiency and robustness of wireless network as a platform for communication and data transmission and also discusses some challenges and security issues such as limited hardware resources, unreliable communication, dynamic topology of some wireless networks, vulnerability and unsecure environment. This book is edited for users, academicians and researchers of wireless network. Broadly, topics include modeling of security enhancements, optimization model for network lifetime, modeling of aggregation systems and analyzing of troubleshooting techniques.
Architectural, Energy and Information Engineering: Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Architectural, Energy and Information Engineering (AEIE 2015), Xiamen, China, May 19-20, 2015
by Ran Chen Wen-Pei SungThis proceedings volume brings together selected peer-reviewed papers presented at the 2015 International Conference on Architectural, Energy and Information Engineering (AEIE 2015), held July 15-16, 2015 in Hong Kong, China. The proceedings are divided into two parts, Architectural, Energy and Environmental Engineering and Information Enginee
Architecture Beyond the Cupola: Inventions and Designs of Dante Bini (Mathematics and the Built Environment #7)
by Alberto Pugnale Alberto BolognaThis book reviews Dante Bini’s inventions and designs, focusing on his form-resistant Binishell and other pneumatic construction systems. Dante Bini’s double profile of architect and builder underpins the narrative of the entire book. It is used to analyse the evolution of the early reinforced-concrete Binishell patent into a variety of automated construction systems based on the use of air. Dante Bini has always been quite proactive in promoting his work and disseminating the results of his experimentations and achievements via journal articles, conference presentations and public talks; promotional brochures in multiple languages were also prepared to export and license his patents in various countries, from Italy to the Americas and Australia. Despite this, a rigorous study of Dante Bini’s work is still unavailable, and the relevance of this figure to contemporary architecture has yet to be discussed comprehensively. This book fills in this gap and arrives at the right time: during the last two decades, there has been an exponential interest in shell and spatial structures, particularly concerning the use of complex geometries and innovative construction techniques. This book will be of interest to academics in architectural design, theory and construction history, and practitioners and students interested in expanding their knowledge in the design and construction of shell and spatial structures.
Architecture Follows Fish: An Amphibious History of the North Atlantic
by Andre TavaresA highly original exploration of the history of architecture in relation to fish, shedding light on the connection between marine environments and terrestrial landscapes.Architecture Follows Fish is set in the North Atlantic, and its protagonist is fish. In this book author and architect André Tavares explores the notion of fishing architecture, a concept coined to describe architectural practices that are spawned by fisheries. To encompass the scope of fishing architecture, and to establish the connections between marine ecology and architectural practice, the book oscillates between different continents, centuries, and species. Fisheries are unique, and this book sheds light on that uniqueness through an articulated narrative and a wealth of iconography.Up until now there has been no history of architecture from the perspective of fish, although there are counterparts for meat, timber, oil, and many other industries. Tavares provides a counternarrative to the traditional history of marine environments, which tends to focus on water ecosystems, and instead forms a bridge between what happens at sea and what happens on land. The hope is that, after reading this book, readers will better understand life in the sea in relation to urban growth and terrestrial landscapes.
Architecture Follows Nature-Biomimetic Principles for Innovative Design (Biomimetics Series)
by Ilaria MazzoleniThis full-color volume proposes an innovative methodology that uses the functional aspects of nature to inspire improvements in building design and form, encouraging designers to apply biomimetic principles to architectural processes. The book focuses on the analysis of various animal skins, translating the principles of communication, thermoregulation, water balance, and protection into the built environment. Illustrating how biomimetic principles can create a more sustainable way of building, this is the first time the author's new methodology-as well as the 12 case studies-has been published.
Architecture Inspired by Nature: Experimenting Bionics
by María Rosa Cervera Sardá Elena-Codina Dușoiu Tana Nicoleta LascuThe book brings together the research completed during 10 editions of International Seminars of Bionics, organized by the School of Architecture of the University of Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, several of them in partnership with the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, Bucharest, carried out in Spain and in Romania. The articles here consider advanced bionic design principles, implementing them to an impressive variety of application fields, including, but not limited to, urban planning and landscape, public space, architecture and building structures, design and detailing, application of natural dynamic processes, bio-digital architecture, innovative materials based on living organisms (micro-algae), and nano-modified materials. A particular focus is given to light and perception of light. To illustrate the principles developed, this contributed volume includes descriptions and full-color images of the experimental projects created during the workshops held in the framework of these ISB meetings: Learning from Nature, Integrating Bionics (2009); Adaptability, Efficiency and Biostructures (2010); Bionics and Innovation (2011); Forms and Structures Inspired by Nature (2016, 2017); Furniture Inspired by Natural Models (2018); Relation between Structure and Envelope: Light Structures (2019); Light, from Nature to Architecture. Structures Inspired in Nature (2020); Light in Architecture and Design: A Bionic Perspective (2021); Sustainable Thinking and Bionics (2022).
Architecture and Design for Industry 4.0: Theory and Practice (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering)
by Angelo Figliola Alessandra Battisti Maurizio Barberio Micaela ColellaThis book collects contributions of forefront research and practices related to the use of the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0 in the architecture and design fields and their impact on the UN's Sustainable Developments goals. The book is structured into three sections (research, practice, and technologies), with the goal of creating a new framework useful for widespread awareness necessary to initiate technology transfer processes for the benefit of the public sector, universities, research centers, and innovative companies, and a new professional figure capable of controlling the entire process is essential. Thus, the book chapters arouse a series of relevant topics such as computational and parametric design, performance-based architecture, data-driven design strategies, parametric environmental design and analysis, computational and parametric structural design and analysis, AI and machine learning, BIM and interoperability, VR and AR, digital and robotic fabrication, additive manufacturing and 3D printing, R&D and entrepreneurship, circular architecture, and didactics. In the post-digital era, where the essence of design lies in the control and information of the process that holistically involves all the aspects mentioned above, rather than in formal research, it is necessary to understand technologies and analyze the advantages that they can bring in terms of environmental sustainability and product innovation.
Architecture and Design for the Future Internet: 4WARD Project (Signals and Communication Technology)
by Luis M. Correia Klaus Wünstel Henrik Abramowicz Martin JohnssonArchitecture and Design for the Future Internet addresses the Networks of the Future and the Future Internet, focusing on networks aspects, offering both technical and non-technical perspectives. It presents the main findings of 4WARD (Architecture and Design for the Future Internet), a European Integrated Project within Framework Programme 7, which addressed this area from an innovative approach. Today's network architectures are stifling innovation, restricting it mostly to the application level, while the need for structural change is increasingly evident. The absence of adequate facilities to design, optimise and interoperate new networks currently forces a convergence to an architecture that is suboptimal for many applications and that cannot support innovations within itself, the Internet. 4WARD overcomes this impasse through a set of radical architectural approaches, built on a strong mobile and wireless background. The main topics addressed by the book are: the improved ability to design inter-operable and complementary families of network architectures; the enabled co-existence of multiple networks on common platforms through carrier-grade virtualisation for networking resources; the enhanced utility of networks by making them self-managing; the increased robustness and efficiency of networks by leveraging diversity; and the improved application support by a new information-centric paradigm in place of the old host-centric approach. These solutions embrace the full range of technologies, from fibre backbones to wireless and sensor networks.
Architecture and Design of Molecule Logic Gates and Atom Circuits: Proceedings of the 2nd AtMol European Workshop (Advances in Atom and Single Molecule Machines)
by Christian Joachim Nicolas LorenteHave you ever puzzled over how to perform Boolean logic at the atomic scale? Or wondered how you can carry out more general calculations in one single molecule or using a surface dangling bond atomic scale circuit? This volume gives you an update on the design of single molecule devices, such as recitfiers, switches and transistors, more advanced semi-classical and quantum boolean gates integrated in a single molecule or constructed atom by atom on a passivated semi-conductor surface and describes their interconnections with adapted nano-scale wiring. The main contributors to the field of single molecule logic gates and surface dangling bond atomic scale circuits theory and design, were brought together for the first time to contribute on topics such as molecule circuits, surface dangling bond circuits, quantum controlled logic gates and molecular qubits. Contributions in this volume originate from the Barcelona workshop of the AtMol conference series, held from January 12-13 2012.
Architecture and Governance for Communication Services
by Emmanuel Bertin Noël CrespiCommunication services are evolving at an unprecedented rate. No longer limited to interpersonal vocal communication, they now integrate functions such as address books, content sharing and messaging. The emergence of social networks – which may also include these features – is an important element of this transformation. Content services are becoming flagship services themselves, and are sometimes paired up with conversation services. The boundaries between different services are becoming less and less distinct. This book meets the need for a better understanding of communication services, and for a general framework of their description. A detailed overview on service architecture in the Telco, Web and IT worlds is presented, offering a roadmap with explanations on how to improve the architecture and governance of communication service architectures by exploiting the syntax and semantics that are common to different services is clearly outlined. This book also responds to recurring questions about service design, such as the functional scope of enablers or SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) services, the relevance of service composition to the user and collaboration between different services in a converged environment. Many concrete examples from telecoms service providers’ operations illustrate these concepts. Contents 1. Describing Service Architectures. 2. Convergence of Service. 3. Building an Architectural Framework for Telecom Services. 4. Modeling and Case Study. 5. Organizational and Software Applications. About the Authors Emmanuel Bertin is senior service architect at Orange Labs in France. He is the author of more than 40 research papers, and holds more than 10 patents in the area of communication services. Noël Crespi worked at Bouygues Telecom, France Telecom R&D, and then at Nortel Networks where he led the Telephony Programme. He is currently Professor and Head of the Service Architecture Laboratory at Institut Mines-Telecom, Telecom SudParis in France and is the author/co-author of more than 160 research papers and 140 contributions in standardization.
Architecture and Principles of Systems Engineering (Complex and Enterprise Systems Engineering)
by Charles Dickerson Dimitri N. MavrisThe rapid evolution of technical capabilities in the systems engineering (SE) community requires constant clarification of how to answer the following questions: What is Systems Architecture? How does it relate to Systems Engineering? What is the role of a Systems Architect? How should Systems Architecture be practiced?A perpetual reassessment of concepts and practices is taking place across various systems disciplines at every level in the SE community. Architecture and Principles of Systems Engineering addresses these integral issues and prepares you for changes that will be occurring for years to come. With their simplified discussion of SE, the authors avoid an overly broad analysis of concepts and terminology. Applying their substantial experience in the academic, government, and commercial R&D sectors, this book is organized into detailed sections on: Foundations of Architecture and Systems Engineering Modeling Languages, Frameworks, and Graphical Tools Using Architecture Models in Systems Analysis and Design Aerospace and Defense Systems Engineering Describing ways to improve methods of reasoning and thinking about architecture and systems, the text integrates concepts, standards, and terminologies that embody emerging model-based approaches but remain rooted in the long-standing practices of engineering, science, and mathematics. With an emphasis on maintaining conceptual integrity in system design, this text describes succinct practical approaches that can be applied to the vast array of issues that readers must resolve on a regular basis. An exploration of the important questions above, this book presents the authors’ invaluable experience and insights regarding the path to the future, based on what they have seen work through the power of model-based approaches to architecture and systems engineering.
Architecture and Urbanism: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Architecture and Urban Planning, Cairo, Egypt
by Shaimaa Kamel Hanan Sabry Ghada F. Hassan Mostafa Refat Abeer Elshater Ahmed S. Abd Elrahman Doaa K. Hassan Rowaida RashedThis proceedings addresses the challenges of urbanization that gravely affect the world’s ecosystems. To become efficiently sustainable and regenerative, buildings and cities need to adopt smart solutions. This book discusses innovations of the built environment while depicting how such practices can transform future buildings and urban areas into places of higher value and quality. The book aims to examine the interrelationship between people, nature and technology, which is essential in pursuing smart environments that optimize human wellbeing, motivation and vitality, as well as promoting cohesive and inclusive societies: Urban Sociology - Community Involvement - Place-making and Cultural Continuity – Environmental Psychology - Smart living - Just City. The book presents exemplary practical experiences that reflect smart strategies, technologies and innovations, by established and emerging professionals, provides a forum of real-life discourse. The primary audience for the work will be from the fields of architecture, urban planning and built-environment systems, including multi-disciplinary academics as well as professionals.
Architecture of Brazil: 1900-1990
by Hugo SegawaArchitecture of Brazil: 1900-1990 examines the processes that underpin modern Brazilian architecture under various influences and characterizes different understandings of modernity, evident in the chapter topics of this book. Accordingly, the author does not give overall preference to particular architects nor works, with the exception of a few specific works and architects, including Warchavchik, Niemeyer, Lucio Costa, and Vilanova Artigas.
Architecture-Aware Optimization Strategies in Real-time Image Processing
by Fan Yang Chao Li Souleymane Balla-ArabeIn the field of image processing, many applications require real-time execution, particularly those in the domains of medicine, robotics and transmission, to name but a few. Recent technological developments have allowed for the integration of more complex algorithms with large data volume into embedded systems, in turn producing a series of new sophisticated electronic architectures at affordable prices. This book performs an in-depth survey on this topic. It is primarily written for those who are familiar with the basics of image processing and want to implement the target processing design using different electronic platforms for computing acceleration. The authors present techniques and approaches, step by step, through illustrative examples. This book is also suitable for electronics/embedded systems engineers who want to consider image processing applications as sufficient imaging algorithm details are given to facilitate their understanding.
Architecture-Based Design of Multi-Agent Systems
by Danny WeynsMulti-agent systems are claimed to be especially suited to the development of software systems that are decentralized, can deal flexibly with dynamic conditions, and are open to system components that come and go. This is why they are used in domains such as manufacturing control, automated vehicles, and e-commerce markets. Danny Weyns' book is organized according to the postulate that "developing multi-agent systems is 95% software engineering and 5% multi-agent systems theory." He presents a software engineering approach for multi-agent systems that is heavily based on software architecture - with, for example, tailored patterns such as "situated agent", "virtual environment", and "selective perception" - and on middleware for distributed coordination - with programming abstractions such as "views" and "roles." Next he shows the feasibility and applicability of this approach with the development of an automated transportation system consisting of a number of automatic guided vehicles transporting loads in an industrial setting. Weyns puts the development of multi-agent systems into a larger perspective with traditional software engineering approaches. With this, he opens up opportunities to exploit the body of knowledge developed in the multi-agent systems community to tackle some of the difficult challenges of modern-day software systems, such as decentralized control, location-awareness, self-adaption, and large-scale. Thus his book is of interest for both researchers and industrial software engineers who develop applications in areas such as distributed control systems and mobile applications where such requirements are of crucial importance.
Architecture: Changing Spatial Transitions Between Context, Construction and Human Activities (Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements)
by Martin van der LindenThe question of what architecture is answered in this book with one sentence: Architecture is space created for human activities. The basic need to find food and water places these activities within a larger spatial field. Humans have learned and found ways to adjust to the various contextual difficulties that they faced as they roamed the earth. Thus rather than adapting, humans have always tried to change the context to their activities. Humanity has looked at the context not merely as a limitation, but rather as a spatial situation filled with opportunities that allows, through intellectual interaction, to change these limitations. Thus humanity has created within the world their own contextual bubble that firmly stands against the larger context it is set in. The key notion of the book is that architecture is space carved out of and against the context and that this process is deterministic.