As far as a historic city is concerned, a city is a dynamic complex which consists of many different interrelated and interactive elements. It is unreasonable to assess urban heritage by using a single value category. The evaluation of urban heritage values needs to develop a theoretical framework to represent the relationships between different elements. In view of the above issues, there is so far still a lack of systematic study on urban heritage values in Chinese academic circles. Therefo...

In the Geomatics domain, a point cloud refers to a data set that records the coordinates and other attributes of a huge number of points. Conceptually, each of the attributes can be regarded as a dimension to represent a specific type of information, such as time and Level of Importance (LoI). Drastically increasing collection of high dimensional point clouds raises essential demand for smart and highly efficient data management solutions. However, effective tools are missing. File-based solu...

This thesis examines the energy performance of dwellings of Dutch non-profit housing associations towards a future sustainable housing stock. Improving the energy performance of dwellings aims to improve the quality of dwellings and therewith to lower the actual energy consumption. Lowering the actual energy consumption of dwellings contributes to the battle against climate change. This thesis addresses four studies. Study 1 assesses the energy performance progress of over two million dwellin...

This study investigates local activism in politically challenging contexts, focusing on Cairo. In such contexts, active resident groups strive for urban improvement, while governance arrangements often disregard citizen involvement in urban and public affairs. Cairo presents an exemplary case of local activism in a politically challenging and under-researched context. The study explores the characteristics, roles, and interrelations of active resident groups with local governance arrangements...

This thesis presents an alternative approach to intelligence in the built-environment, departing from the two established yet divergent branches in the discourse: the Technical, centered around Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and represented by Ambient Intelligence (AmI) and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL); and the Architectural, centered around architectural / spatial experiences and considerations, and represented by Interactive Architecture and Adaptive Architecture.

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The thesis, titled ‘Towards the Integration of Additive Manufacturing for Freeform Steel and Glass Façade Construction,’ explores the transformative role of additive manufacturing (AM) in enhancing the design and construction of Freeform Steel and Glass Façades (FFSGF). These façades involve intricate components, necessitating collaborative efforts among designers, engineers, and fabricators to achieve complex façade geometries with good performance while ensuring efficiency in design...