Ongoing Projects

Prof Liane Lefaivre and Rotterdam architect Henk Doll are carrying out a research project, The World is my Playground, combining historical and sociological investigation on the topic of playgrounds in the city of Rotterdam. The project draws from pioneering work carried out by Aldo van Eyck and the planners of Amsterdam after the WWII. It is supported by a grant from the Stimulerings Fonds voor Architectuur.

G. Schira, M.Arch, University of Texas at Austin
Aesthetics of Texture and Computation, The relationship between spatial frequency and human preference
A relationship between spatial frequency magnitude and aesthetic preference is examined in this work. This research is currently composed of three studies; each utilizing several experiments. The first study examines the mean output of three filters in terms of preference ratings for a bank of Gabor filters. Three tests were conducted and the correlations between texture preference and the mean output for the filter set to extract frequency content at the scale of 0.35 cycles/pixel were largely significant and robust. The correlations for the mean frequency magnitude of this filter remained significant when image identifiably was incorporated: suggesting that memory and association are not exclusively driving (aesthetic) preference. Similarly, in the second study the variability of the mean filter response for three frequencies were examined. Results show that the standard deviation of the mean frequency magnitude filter set to 0.35 cycles/pixel was robust across three experiments. The third study examines the question of significant measurable preference differences between texture stimuli. A perceivable difference could be measured between two stimuli given that the two differ in magnitude along some dimension. Hence, it is asked in the fourth experiment whether there is a measurable preference difference between two image stimuli can be found. If so, the fifth study will seek to find if such preferences for texture that can be correlated to a measurable differ ence in the magnitude of frequencies present in those stimuli. The fourth study controlled for a relative change in context within which the textures were judged by participants. Results indicate that there is a significant difference between pairs of texture stimuli robustly significant through changes in context. Subsequently the research can conclude by examining preference for texture embedded in associative shapes and determine the correlation those have to spatial frequency content of the textures. The results of the first four studies are consistent with findings reported by Albrecht and Geisler (1997), demonstrating that human beings are tuned to specific frequencies and orientations. Over all, the results reported in this dissertation begin to substantiate a claim that specific frequencies of the visual environment do play a role in human aesthetic preference.

Vivian Constantinopoulos, University College London.
'Narratives of Modern Greek Urban Space: An investigation of perceptions and
constructions'
Current employment: Commissioning Editor, Reaktion Books, London

Jason Danziger, MIT, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Memory Constructs. The Case of Berlin since WWII
Current employment: Assistant Professor TU Berlin, Practicing Architect Think/Build group New York & Berlin

James Kennedy, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, Cambridge University U.K. and Leuven University.
Structures for the Displaced. Service and Identity in Refugee Settlements
Current employment: Shelter Consultant, CHF International Sri Lanka

Kong, Ping, Tongji University Shanghai, Master Architecture National University. Singa-pore (July 2005)
Sustainable Identity in Evolving Urban Structures. The Case of Singapore
Current employment: Design Assistant

Luca Molinari, Politecnico Milano.
Continuita: A Response to Identity Crisis. Ernesto Rogers and Italian Architectural Cul-ture After 1945
Current employment: Visiting Professor University of Naples, Politecnico Milano, Acqui-sition editor Skira.

Stella Papanicolaou, University of Cape Town.
Constructing Identity in Post World-War II Architecture in South Africa. The Role of Edu-cation
Current employment: University of Cape Town, instructor, practicing architect.

Eve Poha Siu Tracy, Wellesley College, Harvard University.
The In-between versus Buildings. Conserving Identity
Current employment: University of Hong Kong, Assistant Professor, Practicing Architect.

Alkistis Rodi, National Technical University of Athens, Harvard University
Reinventing the Knowledge-City for the 21st century. The Case of Athens
Current employment: Practicing Architect.