In the first post-war years, New Belgrade denoted a concept of a new city on the left bank of the Sava River, opposite to historical Belgrade. Initially, it was planned as a capital of Yugoslavia, a centre of administration, culture and economy. However, its basic purpose changed in the following years. As elsewhere in post-war Europe, affordable housing was high on the agenda. Therefore, New Belgrade was eventually realized as a city of housing mega-blocks, as an answer to the housing needs. In the period that followed, urban development strategies and policies were changing, thus New Belgrade passed through different levels of transformation. Today, the modern blocks are left to decay, while the urban pattern of New Belgrade is being altered once again, now by market-oriented urban practices. This paper investigates the metamorphosis of New Belgrade, and analyses the housing blocks in order to present their values and to contribute to the preservation issue, but also to highlight their current condition and need to be adapted. Furthermore, it aims to rethink the adaptive capacity of applied prefabricated systems: it investigates if their flexibility and modularity can provide adaptability of the structures to today's requirements. The analysis is conducted through a comparison of two buildings in Block 23: two prefabricated systems - panelised and IMS (Institute for testing of materials) skeleton system, layouts and appearance. Their ability to adapt to the contemporary context and needs is recognized as one of the most important criteria in the analysis on how sustainable the mega-blocks are.@en

Yugoslavian Modernist Architecture, although part of a larger cultural phenomenon, received hardly any international attention, since there are only a few internationally published studies about it. Nevertheless, Modernist Architecture of the Inter-war Yugoslavia (Kingdom of Yugoslavia), and specially Modernist Architecture of the Post-war Yugoslavia (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under the "reign" of Tito), represents the most important architectural heritage of the 20th century in former Yugoslavian countries. Belgrade, as the capital city of both newly founded Yugoslavia(s), experienced an immediate economic, political and cultural expansion after the both wars, as well as a large population increase. The construction of sufficient and appropriate new housing was a major undertaking in both periods (1919-1940 and 1948-1980), however conceived and realized with deeply diverging views. The transition from villas and modest apartment buildings, as main housing typologies in the Inter-war period, to the mass housing of the Post-war period, was not only a result of the different socio-political context of the two Yugoslavia(s), but also the country's industrialization, modernization and technological development. Through the classification of Modernist housing buildings in Belgrade, this paper will investigate on relations between the transformations of the main housing typologies executed under different socio-political contexts on the one side, and development of building technologies, construction systems and materials applied on those buildings on the other side. The paper wants to shed light on the Yugoslavian Modernist Architecture in order to increase the international awareness on its architectural and heritage values. The aim is an integrated re-evaluation of the buildings, presentation of their current condition and potentials for future (re)use with a specific focus on building envelopes and construction.

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Background: The number of people with dementia will increase tremendously within the next decades. Aim: The aim of the project was to develop an analysis tool that matches home environmental interventions to dementia-related needs. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to evaluate possible home environmental interventions for community-dwelling people. The analysis tool was developed taking into account current German health care regulations and dementia-specific needs that might be influenced by interventions in the built environment, in particular the domestic environment. Results: The analysis tool is an aid to help with better decision making when planning home improvement measures for people with dementia and shows the spectrum of possible interventions to meet individual needs. Conclusion: The main precondition for the use of this analysis tool is the need to assess the specific situation and the individual abilities of people with dementia. The complexity of the domestic environment can only be illustrated if personal and environmental requirements for the respective intervention are determined. The detailing of these factors will follow in a further study.@en

The hygienic requirements in health facilities, in particular in hospitals, lead in most cases to hard and high reflective surface materials and subsequently to long reverberation times. The noise level is high and the resulting speech intelligibility is low - both indicating poor room acoustics with stress-increasing impacts. In contrast, good room acoustics will help staff members to work more concentrated and with less mistakes and patients will profit from a better prevention, regeneration and healing. Sound absorbers generally reduce reverb and create a comfortable acoustic environment. Additionally, sound absorbers for health facilities and hospitals need to reach the hygienic requirements on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. This means in general, that surfaces need to be non-porous and smooth to implement the hygienic requirements, however, porous materials like foams are regularly used for sound absorbers. The purpose of the project was to develop a sound absorber that can be disinfected easily and with material that is chemically resistive to the usual disinfecting products. Constructive and acoustical solutions were developed and evaluated to meet the requirements of a high effective sound absorber with an aesthetic non-technical appearance to be used in common patient rooms and for specific applications in health facilities.@en

In offices and most other working environments a high speech privacy and a low noise level is desired to allow for concentrated work and calm work conditions. Hence a low Speech Transmission Index (STI) is required, as even irrelevant speech information at lower volumes can be extremly disturbing and performance reducing. At the same time working environments demand for other - often conflicting - requirements such as transparency to ensure visual connections and daylight transmission, functional flexibility for diverse activities in the same space and for hygienic, environmental or security aspects. These requirements have to be balanced by a sensible and intelligent design and layout of absorbers and partition elements and partition. Three research projects investigated an optimised design of low and mid frequency absorbers for working environments to improve the acoustic and design quality of different products. Acoustically optimised indoor spaces may become more important in the future due to an increase of hearing impairments in the aging population as well as in the younger generations. This is seen not only as a technical but as a design challenge to balance optimised sound pressure levels, reverberation times and Speech Transmission Indices.@en

Is India on a sustainable road or not? Between April 2012 and January 2014 the authors have conducted a quantitative paper and online based user survey on energy awareness and attitudes in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. The survey was part of the project “Clime Related Energy Efficient Design - Product Solution (CREED-PS)” first funded under the aegis of Germany India Year 2011-2012 “Germany and India: Infinite Opportunities” with a focus on “City Spaces” and then as part of the project “DWIH Excellence on Tour. 2013-2014.” More than 2000 visitors were interviewed during the events about their individual energy consumption, their knowledge of selected energy issues and energy efficient building design and their sustainability attitudes. The majority of the visitors are part of the academic middle class group in India´s Megacities, as a limited group of India's society. One of the main results are that living in energy efficient residences is very important for most of the respondents, although two third don´t know exactly the energy consumption of their household. Yet, most of the respondents are willing to spend more money in energy efficient and energy saving building devices and household equipment. Summing up one can say that the interviewed middle class group (Shukla, 2005, Mawdsley, 2004) is on the sustainable road, although we have identified several inexplicable contradiction in knowledge and awareness as topics for further research work that are relevant for building and product design. This paper illustrates on the one hand the use of survey as part of an integrated design process and suggests on the other hand collaborative approaches to educating architecture and design students about sustainability in building and product design.@en

Façade plays an important role in modern movement architecture and a critical role in the conception of energy and climate-optimized buildings: it is the building's skin and functions as an interface between interior and exterior space. It provides thermal and sound insulation and ventilation, and controls and guides the entrance of daylight into the building. Tropical climates have unique challenges to reduce solar heat gain through building envelope to make buildings energy efficient. India has a rich tradition of different forms of architecture and design principles - most of them are perfectly adapted to the climatic requirements and constructed with local building materials and technology. In the twentieth century, Modern Movement Architecture shows a global trend towards transparent, light-flled buildings with great expanses of windows and façades with advanced building technology. However, the twentieth century modern movement architecture in India evolved in response to the climate and culture. In India, remarkably diverse constellations of façade design can be traced in modern architecture often taking into consideration traditional Indian principles combining them with new materials and constructions. Most of them marked by overhanging balconies and horizontal brise-soleils and as an example of a human scaled urban infrastructure offering private and public green spaces in transition. After independence in 1947 more public, administrative and governmental buildings followed in the tradition of the modern movement and with emblematic character. This paper presents a review of the influences of modern movement architecture on today's facade design in tropical climate of India. The purpose of this review is to reappraise works of the masters of the modern movement, in the context of today's energy and environmental value system; a value system which justifies a greater capital cost in money terms with a view to minimize recurrent costs in energy terms and environmental degradation.@en

The tremendous population growth and the booming economy in India have a lot of critical impacts on energy demand, consumption, and supply in the next decades. Natural resources as well in India are limited, but particularly the growing middle class with increasing incomes wants to improve their quality of life. This contradiction can only be solved with a strategic energy efficiency scheme in India. This chapter deals with the threats and opportunities of the building development in the next decades. Today, 40 % of the total energy consumption worldwide is covered by residential and nonresidential buildings. Energy- and cost-efficient design, material use, and maintenance of old and new buildings interwoven with higher user mobility are crucial points of smart cities in the future. Therefore, education, particularly higher education; R&D; and climate-related innovations are the main drivers for a better quality of life and for the more participation in fighting against the climate change. In an ongoing user study in five big Indian cities, we want to explore the awareness of the Indian people in urban areas between the contradictory contexts of energy consumption and the needs and expectations of comfortable living.

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Focusing on the use of advanced computational technologies within the design process the paper discusses the generation of a digital matrix to evaluate virtual, three-dimensional scenarios - including variations of geometry, light ambiances and material use - as a design decision tool. The emphasis of the research was placed on the digital representation of material appearance as one of the most a relevant parameter for the atmospheric quality of spaces. The case study Design Decision Matrix delivers a concept for a decision tool that on the one hand generates and displays design variations and offers on the other hand a clearly arranged visual interface for the decision process.@en

Since the late 19th century the improvement of human needs, social and environmental concerns is considered to be an integral part of modern architecture. Most buildings and environments have been designed without knowing the detailed impact of materials and technologies on performance user's perception. At the beginning of the 21st century architecture is again strongly influenced by new materials and the integration of technologies and in most countries by demographic changes and the needs of aging societies. The quality and impact of interior space on human perception as well as movement and orientation in buildings have become strategic requirements for designing buildings and environments. Digital tools of visualisation and simulation are known for supporting and optimising the planning and design process.@en

Modern glass facades of the early and mid 20th century have always been synonymous with innovative and sophisticated building concepts. These building skins were often established as a feature reflecting international stylistic standards, enhancing the prestige of builders and occupants - although often independent from or even in contradiction with climatic requirements and local conditions. In particular, in Central Europe varying strategies for the revitalisation of modern glass walls, facades and windows have been developed and realised. Multi-storey and high-rise buildings from the 1950s and 1960s, such as Haus Hardenberg by Paul Schwebes (1955-56) and Europa-Centre by Helmut Hentrich and Huber Petschnigg (1965), both in Berlin, are typical facade constructions. The very diverse approaches of revitalisation of Haus Hardenberg and the Europa-Centre will serve as examples to be compared and described with regard to different planning and decision frameworks. Both buildings have passed through certain episodes of modification and revitalisation. Both are preserving their original appearance, but while the original facade construction of Haus Hardenberg has been maintained and modified, the single glass facade of the Europa-Centre has been totally changed into a double facade system. The architectural design, construction, functions and environmental qualities will be described and evaluated with regard to the original concepts and requirements. These buildings will be presented addressing their impact on the refurbishment of modern building skins in general and in relation to increasing energetic requirements. In this context newly developed steel profiles have been investigated to be used as an alternative for the revitalisation of protected facade constructions. The way in which Modern Movement buildings in other countries and continents can be adapted to climatic and socio-economic conditions will also be discussed.@en