Journal of Architectural/Planning Research and Studies (JARS)

Editorial Board and Contents

JARS Editor — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Smart City Visioning and Design to Enhance Sustainability, Resilience, and Community Wellbeing: A Comparison of Bangkok, Thailand, and Singapore through a Smart Environment and Smart Mobility Lens

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Smart City characteristics, as exemplified by Smart Environment, in the form of green space, and Smart Mobility, as described by Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), are compared for Singapore and Bangkok. The two cities have different histories, social, cultural, economic, and physical attributes that are reflected in their Smart City Planning approach. Singapore has an efficient, top-down approach that can be business-friendly, while Bangkok is more of a hybrid that reflects aspects of national and local-level governance, but also includes the private sector. Despite differences in planning and governance systems, and progress towards Smart City development, endpoints of the Smart City visions embraced by the two cities have some distinct similarities with respect to Smart Mobility and Smart Environment. These similarities include consideration of green space, TOD, ICT (Information and Communication Technology) applications, and “smart hubs” that link the private sector and institutes of higher education, as part of the Smart City movement. While ICT technology is demonstrated to have an important role in assessing Smart Environment performance and seamless public transit, we emphasize that community consultation is essential in shaping the Smart City path and framing the support role for ICT. As illustrated in our case studies, it can be concluded that a Smart City design philosophy provides a rich diversity of opportunity to enhance sustainability, resilience, and wellbeing of a community with respect to future disruptions, including climate change and pandemics.

The Juxtaposition of Risk and Resilience in Heritage Areas

Gerarda Orbita Ida Cahyandari, Suratman, Djati Mardiatno — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Risk and resilience often enter the discussion with respect to hazard and disaster. In accordance with the meaning of juxtaposition, these two issues often are connected to each other but with contrasting effect. This paper aims to determine integrated factors used in assessment and strategies to reduce risk and to improve resilience in heritage areas. The method was based on observations and questionnaires that were undertaken in the protected heritage areas of Jeron Beteng inside the fort of Yogyakarta Palace, Indonesia. A literature review on risk and resilience factors preceded the formation of the questionnaires. The first questionnaire collected data from the owners or dwellers of the heritage sites, while the second questionnaire addressed the inhabitants of the surrounding area of the heritage sites. The field observation acquired information through visual assessment of heritage buildings, the surrounding communities, and their environments. The quantitative analysis applied a Likerd-like scale to score the questionnaires. The calculation represented the value of risk and resilience according to the score of attributes and each entity. The qualitative analysis explained essential risk and resilience factors by comparing the value. Historical precedents and demographic data support the analysis and understanding of the contextual phenomenon in the area. The juxtaposition of risk and resilience reveals the category of community and heritage entities (both tangible and intangible) at the macro- and micro- scales. Community is the main factor that connects risk and resilience in environmental, building, cultural, and hazard-disaster attributes. The intangible “heritage entity” and its surrounding community depend on each other, especially in relation to building and cultural attributes. The community surrounding the heritage building affects the improvement of resilience in macro-scale. The heritage building as a single entity influences risk reduction at the micro-scale. There are important roles of responsive community and maintained heritage buildings for enhancing the resilience of heritage area.

A GIS-Based Assessment of Attributes Affecting Publicness of Urban Open Spaces

Subrata Das, Farha Moon, Gourpada Dey, Mohona Das, Rina Paul — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Urbanisation is rapidly reducing open spaces, while the remaining urban open areas often need better qualities to transform them into inclusive public places. This study examines the effect of key factors such as accessibility, ownership, management, control, facility provision, and naturalness on publicness perception. Socio-political and physical attributes of the open spaces were recorded during field surveys and structured as geospatial data in GIS for geostatistical analysis. The findings reveal that accessibility and management significantly enhance publicness. On the other hand, natural features and government ownership negatively correlate with publicness due to the underutilisation of natural elements and strict access controls at government-owned open spaces. To address these gaps, this study recommends improving accessibility, adopting better management practices, reducing restrictions, and integrating natural features into open-space design. By combining empirical evaluations with GIS-based spatial analysis, this research presents actionable strategies to enhance the publicness of urban open spaces.

Indoor Air Quality Investigation of Fresh Markets in Hot and Humid Climates: A Case Study in Thailand

Patchareepon Jirasuwanpong, Chanikarn Yimprayoon — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

The issue of poor air quality in fresh market facilities poses a public health threat, particularly in association with the food supply chain. This study assessed the indoor air quality (IAQ) of various food retailers and aimed to (a) identify IAQ problems, (b) investigate the source of indoor air contamination in the fresh market, and (c) recommend better design practices for IAQ in fresh markets. The IAQ of 33 food retailers in four fresh markets in Bangkok, Thailand, was measured for ten parameters: temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), air velocity, particle matter (PM2.5, PM10), carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), formaldehyde (HCHO), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), and bioaerosols. The result found mean values of IAQ parameters in 33 food retailers that exceeded the threshold limit values (TLVs) of the SOOK, Thailand’s well-being building standards, were PM2.5 of 30 μg/m3, HCHO of 124 μg/m3, and TVOC of 733 μg/m3. The retail stall provides fresh food products that produce wastewater from product displays and preparation, which had the highest averages of RH and bioaerosols, with RH of 66.4% and bioaerosols of 1,346 CFU/m3. The retail facilities with cooking activities, such as open kitchen restaurants, noodle restaurants, and cafés, had high averages, with PM2.5 of 51 μg/m3, HCHO of 216 μg/m3, TVOC of 922 μg/m3, and bioaerosols of 1,154 μg/m3. The stall provides dry food products with an average TVOC of 986 μg/m3, exceeding TLVs. A zoning-based approach was proposed as a design guideline to improve IAQ in fresh markets. Fresh food (FF), Dry Food (DF), and Cooking Food (CF) zoning should be carefully designed to lower the risk of cross-contamination.

The Potential of Low-Rise Dense Typologies for Post-COVID-19 Urban Housing Spatial Planning: A Case Study of Nablus, Palestine

Mohammed Itma — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Based on the global concern regarding human health in residential areas since 2020, this study delves into the potential of traditional low-rise dense typologies as a viable solution for post-COVID-19 housing spatial planning in Middle Eastern Mediterranean countries. Such typologies are found in the traditional architecture of Nablus City, Palestine. They are characterized by their horizontal stratification and distribution of courtyards through them, which offers a promising avenue for fair distribution of populations and avoiding crowded points in urban housing. The study seeks to elucidate the advantages, challenges, and applicability of low-rise dense typologies for future housing design in Palestine. It also aims to confirm their primary characteristics that can assist in limiting the spread of epidemics. Accordingly, the study analyses these typologies in Nablus City. It uses architectural analysis to verify its ability to enhance self-sufficiency, manage densities, facilitate isolation and quarantine, and encourage stay-at-home in residential areas. The survey results show that such typologies are characterized by mixed-use, activity-based densities and avoid crowding, support passive environmental systems, and facilitate flexible layouts for future design. The study also surveys expert opinions to confirm the research results and allocate factors such as spatial organization and community integration through empirical data collected in Nablus City. Accordingly, the study’s main finding is that low-rise dense typologies are a high-potential approach for future housing if designed in a contemporary way that preserves traditional values. Proposed guidelines for a modern architectural model are presented, which can be used in many similar urban environments.

Using Artificial Intelligence to Transform Sketches into Realistic Visualizations of Iconic Buildings

Fatmanur Atalay — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

The sketch phase in architectural design is a process where design requirements are not fully defined, but decisions regarding the architectural product largely become clear. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into this process can be considered an exploration of potential design products that address early-stage design decisions. This paper examines how AI technologies can be utilized in the field of architecture, starting from the sketch phase and continuing through 3D visualization and rendering processes. Inspired by the sketches of pioneering modernist architects, the aim is to demonstrate how “sketch-to-sketch rendering” and “sketch-to-3D rendering” can be produced using AI-based tools. Based on the selected sketches by well-known architects and actual visuals of the buildings as references, prompts obtained from ChatGPT were used to generate sketch-to-sketch and sketch-to-3D render visuals in the artificial intelligence tools Air for SketchUp and Leonardo AI, and the results are compared. The applications demonstrate that Air for SketchUp provides more realistic and visually successful results, especially in the 3D rendering phase. Leonardo AI was notable for its capacity to generate quick alternatives that are more experimental and artistic in nature. However, these outputs tend to show weaker ties to architectural context. The findings suggest that human-machine collaboration can offer new potential in architectural design processes and that artificial intelligence tools can transform the traditional sketch process, taking on a supportive role for designers. It was determined that AI tools can contribute to architectural design processes in terms of creativity, reflecting environmental context in design, and developing design ideas.

Memorable Places on Campuses Across Generations

Dalin Janpathompong, Sutee Anantsuksomsri, Akinobu Murakami — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This study explores the method of recording memorable places and highlights the peak recollection spots of college town universities across generations--prospective, present current, and past students. The chosen campus areas are the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Cornell University. Ninety participants produced mental maps based on memory, including landmarks, meaningful places, paths, landscapes, and anything they associated with the campus. Following Lynch’s methods, elements from sketch maps were mainly were landmarks (87%). Current students had a higher percentage of buildings recalled, but fewer landscapes recalled than prospective students and alumni. Adapting from Appleyard’s methods, over four-fifths of student populations provided spatial dominant maps, which indicated more substantial stages of spatial knowledge. Categorizing by functional aspects, the highest recollection of all students was landscape and roads (28%), exceeding academic buildings (25%). The researcher counted an element from sketch maps that demonstrated at least one stage of spatial knowledge development, and extracted and transformed it into digital maps. The collective memory-significant maps presented different patterns of recall frequency among student subgroups of the three student generations. The top three places with the highest intensities were iconic buildings and adjacent landscapes at the core campus. Memory intensity did not diminish equally as distance increased from the central zone. The Hot Spot Analysis, utilizing the Getis-Ord-Gi* statistic and inverse distance weighting (IDW), revealed different patterns of hot spots among generations. A landscape landmark served as a memorable hot spot in every subpopulation of all three generational groups. This innovative method could serve as an additional tool in bridging the gap between practical and theoretical knowledge, enabling the recording of intangible memory aspects into databases and measurable plans. Other campuses could implement the procedure and include the memory-significant assessment to design institutional environments that meet diverse student perceptions.

Spatial Configuration and Urban Identity: Analysing Cultural Change in Mardin’s Madrasas

Izzettin Kutlu, Rusen Ergün, Aslan Nayeb — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Mardin is famous for its extensive historical and cultural heritage, which includes numerous madrasas that were important architectural and educational institutions in Islamic civilisation.. This study investigatesthe interior organisation of three madrasas in Mardin—Sehidiye, Zinciriye, and Kasımiye—using a spatial syntax approach. The innovative aspect of this study is that it approaches the madrasas in Mardin using both a comparative typological analysis and a quantitative spatial syntax method based on socio-cultural changes. Thus, going beyond traditional interpretations, the analysis was based on numerical data to examine how the space was organised in terms of user behaviour, accessibility, and privacy. The results reveal that the construction of religious environments with increasing spatial depth reflects dominant social traditions and ensures user accessibility. The circulation areas in the three madrasas, which reflect a clearly defined movement hierarchy that encourages organised access and interaction, have the best integration scores. The higher control scores, particularly in these areas, indicate an architectural aim to manage spatial experiences within the complex. This study underlines the importance of including spatial analysis methods in heritage conservation and architectural discussion, revealing previously unknown aspects of the relation between space, culture, and society.

Plant Impact on Indoor Carbon Dioxide Concentration Using Ensemble Voting Prediction Models

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Indoor air quality, particularly carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, is critical to occupants’ health and comfort. This study developed predictive models for indoor CO₂ concentrations based on environmental variables, including light, temperature, humidity, and the presence of plants. Data collected from sensors within a controlled indoor environment were used to train predictive models using various techniques, including Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN), Random Forest, and Generalized Linear Models. Among standalone models, the ANN with a 70:30 train-test split yielded the best performance, achieving a root mean square error (RMSE) of 10.960, mean absolute error (MAE) of 7.300, and a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.640. The study further explored ensemble methods by combining ANN, k-NN, and Generalized Linear Models through soft voting. The optimal ensemble configuration—ANN and k-NN with a 90:10 split ratio—achieved an RMSE of 11.437, MAE of 8.153, and R² of 0.650, outperforming the standalone models. In addition, the results demonstrated that the presence of plants within a room reduced CO₂ levels under specific conditions (20-30°C and 200 lux), highlighting plants’ potential to improve indoor air quality. This research suggests that ensemble models offer a viable solution for accurate indoor CO₂ prediction, with practical applications in indoor environmental management, especially when coupled with biophilic design elements such as indoor plants.

Socio-Economic Constraints of Home Modification to Mitigate the Risk of Falls among the Elderly in the Diverse Regions of Thailand

Sumavalee Chindapol — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This research highlights the inequality arising from socio-economic constraints in implementing home modifications to mitigate fall risks among the elderly. The study provides significant evidence of the complex association between low socio-economic status (SES) and its limitations in adopting fall prevention strategies, particularly in rural areas such as northern and northeastern Thailand. The SES related to home modifications for mitigating fall risks among the elderly was assessed through the three factors of house conditions, styles, and amenities. Houses in rural and urban areas were compared to highlight disparities in fall risk and the capacity to implement modifications. This research shows that fall risk in rural areas was significantly higher than in urban areas (p = 0.03), and SES in rural areas such as the north and the northeast was significantly lower than in more urbanised areas (p < 0.00). Furthermore, all three SES factors show a significant relationship with the incidence of falls (p < 0.00). Home modification construction cost can be categorised into three levels based on cost and scope: minor (24,000 Baht or 750 USD in 2021), moderate (30,500 Baht or 953 USD in 2021), and major (47,000 Baht or 1,469 USD in 2021). Major modifications as part of the research project covering structural renovations included reinforcement and replacement which accounted for 41% of the total construction cost, while costs for universal design equipment constituted 34% of the total construction cost. A key contribution of this study is the identification and quantification of specific socio-economic constraints that limit home modifications in rural areas of Thailand. The most significant constraints include financial limitations, poor housing conditions, and limited access to technical knowledge for modifying specific local housing conditions and styles. This research frames these constraints as critical barriers to achieving safe living environments for the elderly, particularly before universal design can even be applied. By offering a classification of home modification needs linked to socio-economic capacity and advocating for an increase in current government construction subsidies, —including labour costs—by at least 10%, the study provides a practical framework for assessing readiness and challenges in real-world aging in place settings.