Timber in the City: Interior Design and City Environment Development with Wood Materials

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Architectural Design, Urban Science, and Real Estate".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 4452

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Furniture and Wood in Construction, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: furniture design; interior design; user-centered design methods; design thinking; well-being; ergonomics; user’s health; interdisciplinarity

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture Osijek, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: integral design; building information modeling; parametric modeling; visual perception; participatory design; urban design

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Guest Editor
Department of Furniture and Wood in Construction, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: modified wood; physical, mechanical and surface properties of wood construction products; reuse and recycling of wood construction products

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The trend of urbanization has significantly changed the environment in which people live, work, and move. The intense need for new construction and closed spaces has stimulated innovations in the fields of materials, structures, technology, building forms, and interior design.

Traditional materials and resources such as wood became less competitive with the development of new materials whose use ensured faster and more efficient construction and furnishing. New materials, constructions, and technology have achieved certain benefits but also expressed several negative environmental impacts.

In addition to research that measures the environmental effects of the use of building materials, part of the research focuses on measuring the effects on human health and well-being in interiors.

Interior design, whether it is for residential or public buildings (such as schools, offices, hospitals, hotels, and others), and the choice of materials and styles in interiors significantly influence human behavior and a sense of comfort.

The symbiosis between natural, biophilic design and wood is closely related to better mental and physical health and contributes to the well-being of the individual.

Historically, wood has always been used as a traditional material in construction and furniture making, but the impact of wood and how wood is used in indoor design influence physiological, emotional, and cognitive indicators of well-being. Additionally, the human experience of wood in interiors and the development of the city environment are still not sufficiently researched.

This Special Issue welcomes all case studies, empirical and/or interdisciplinary research, and new methods of applying wood in interior design and city environments.

The scope of the paper includes but is not limited to:

  • Wood in the interiors of residential and public spaces (education, health, administration, religion, sports, recreation buildings, etc.);
  • Wood structures and architecture;
  • Wood product design;
  • Product and building design solutions (aesthetics, construction, energy efficiency, technical optimization);
  • Quality of living in building interiors;
  • Benefits of wood on human health;
  • Reuse and Recycling of Wood Construction Products
  • User’s perception of materials in interior design;
  • Environmental impacts of wooden products;
  • Traditional wooden products and structures in interiors;
  • Elements and principles of design;
  • Biophilic design;
  • Technology developments in building information modeling of wood structures;
  • Interdisciplinary research.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Danijela Domljan
Dr. Dina Stober
Dr. Vjekoslav Živković
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • interior design
  • wood products design
  • city environment
  • trends in wood application
  • environmental
  • perception of wood
  • human-centered design
  • health
  • human behavior
  • well-being
  • biophilic design
  • multisensory stimulation
  • traditional wooden structures
  • design theory
  • BIM

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4043 KiB  
Article
Structural, Exterior, and Interior Medium of Wood as a Holistic Museum Experience: A Case Study of OMM (Odunpazarı Modern Museum)
by Meryem Yalçın and Esin Fakıbaba Dedeoğlu
Buildings 2024, 14(3), 649; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14030649 - 01 Mar 2024
Viewed by 670
Abstract
The fundamental research inquiry in this study revolves around wood materials’ diverse facets, including structural identities, contextual considerations, interior and external spatial applications, and their user experiences. To address this research, a comprehensive literature review, case study, and survey were conducted. The objective [...] Read more.
The fundamental research inquiry in this study revolves around wood materials’ diverse facets, including structural identities, contextual considerations, interior and external spatial applications, and their user experiences. To address this research, a comprehensive literature review, case study, and survey were conducted. The objective being to elucidate technical, functional, sensory, perceptual, and psychological impacts of wood in a sample structure where it is the primary material in the overarching user experience. The Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM), conceptualized by architect Kengo Kuma and inaugurated in 2019 in Eskişehir, stands as a testament to the historical significance of the timber trade in the region. The deliberate choice of wood as the primary construction material serves as a tribute to this historical narrative. The conspicuous incorporation of wooden lath materials into both the external and interior spaces signify a conscious reference to the region’s historical heritage and aligns with sustainability principles in design. Factors such as form characteristics, dimensional distinctions, spatial arrangements, and the extent of surface interactions collectively contribute to the compelling effect of this integrative approach. Within the confines of the museum, unconventional partitioning is implemented, and the strategic arrangement of masses results in multiple facades, even in the absence of overt wooden surfaces. The exterior impact of the wooden shell complements its interior application. For this reason, OMM enabled the understanding and explanation of all dimensions of the wooden material, including physical, technical, and psychosocial. Full article
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17 pages, 2703 KiB  
Article
Trends, Problems, and Solutions from Point Cloud via Non-Uniform Rational Basis Spline to Building Information Modelling: Bibliometric and Systematic Study
by Dina Stober and Nikolina Raguz-Lucic
Buildings 2024, 14(3), 564; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14030564 - 20 Feb 2024
Viewed by 981
Abstract
Building Information Modelling (BIM) has found applications not only in the planning and designing of new buildings but also in project monitoring, record-keeping, and analyses of existing structures. In addition to its primary application, information modelling spreads to other areas, developing solutions for [...] Read more.
Building Information Modelling (BIM) has found applications not only in the planning and designing of new buildings but also in project monitoring, record-keeping, and analyses of existing structures. In addition to its primary application, information modelling spreads to other areas, developing solutions for their specific uses. This study engaged a mixed-method literature review according to the extent of the pool of knowledge for two research steps between three concepts—from point cloud to NURBS and then from NURBS to BIM. In the first step, the keywords point cloud and NURBS were analysed using scientometric methods. In the second step, a systematic analysis of the content of works obtained with the keywords NURBS and BIM is presented, extracting problems and proposed solutions for information transfer technology. The results of a quantitative analysis identified major trends, (1) research is distributed in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary areas and historical (heritage) modelling is the highlighted one, (2) development of technologies for object surveying, and (3) the application of data in different engineering fields, while a qualitative analysis points at problems in (1) model building, (2) interoperability, and (3) automatization. Solutions such as mixed models, multi-layered models, a mix of formats, or bridging elements (semantics, proto-model) are proposed. Full article
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23 pages, 5950 KiB  
Article
The Creation of “Sacred Place” through the “Sense of Place” of the Daci’en Wooden Buddhist Temple, Xi’an, China
by Minglan Zou and Azizi Bahauddin
Buildings 2024, 14(2), 481; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14020481 - 08 Feb 2024
Viewed by 813
Abstract
After the Industrial Revolution, new technologies and architectural forms gradually replaced China’s wooden construction system, which had lasted for thousands of years. The architectural narrative also turned a new page. As pieces of architectural and cultural heritage and as the residence of “gods”, [...] Read more.
After the Industrial Revolution, new technologies and architectural forms gradually replaced China’s wooden construction system, which had lasted for thousands of years. The architectural narrative also turned a new page. As pieces of architectural and cultural heritage and as the residence of “gods”, wooden Buddhist temples carry the indelible imprints of history and religion and have become a healing place or spiritual home for people living in urban areas. In order to preserve the local cultural context and explore the creation of a spiritual “sacred place”, this study traces the spiritual and cultural value of Xi’an’s wooden Buddhist temple through ethnographic qualitative methods of text analysis, observation and interviews. The case study examines the metaphorical symbolism of the architecture’s “sense of place” and religion in terms of architectural structure and components, and the advantages of creating a “sacred place” are examined based on the characteristics of wooden materials. The results show that the design elements of wooden Buddhist temples connect cultural identity and collective memory, which are inseparable from religion, and because of the material properties of wood, they sublimate the sacred atmosphere of religion. Moreover, identifying the “sense of place” and the atmosphere of sacred spaces through the structure, components, and material characteristics of wooden temple architecture offers a new perspective that focuses on architectural emotions and creates a new topic of “sacred places”. Such temples have the potential to enhance human spiritual health and well-being. Full article
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19 pages, 3070 KiB  
Article
Human Preferences for the Visual Appearance of Desks: Examining the Role of Wooden Materials and Desk Designs
by Dean Lipovac and Michael D. Burnard
Buildings 2023, 13(7), 1680; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13071680 - 30 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1375
Abstract
Visually pleasing materials and furnishings may be an important component of pleasant, restorative indoor spaces, where people can rest, relax, and recover from stress. We conducted two studies to examine human preferences for different wooden desk materials and designs. In Study 1, 77 [...] Read more.
Visually pleasing materials and furnishings may be an important component of pleasant, restorative indoor spaces, where people can rest, relax, and recover from stress. We conducted two studies to examine human preferences for different wooden desk materials and designs. In Study 1, 77 participants evaluated the visual appearance of 20 wooden materials and 18 desk designs, in which desk elements and their arrangements were systematically varied. The three highest rated wooden materials and desk designs from Study 1 were combined in 18 new desks evaluated by 80 participants in terms of visual appearance in Study 2, where we systematically varied the type of material, amount of material, and desk design. The results show that preference for different materials and desks varies greatly from person to person, but several evaluated items are on average preferred to others. Study 1 shows that certain materials, desk elements, and the arrangements of those elements received higher preference ratings than others. Study 2 indicates that the type of material, amount of material, and desk design all play a significant role in human preference for the visual appearance of desks. Researchers and designers can build on these findings to create aesthetically appealing indoor environments that have the potential to positively impact human wellbeing. Full article
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