Journal articles on the topic 'Beijing (China) – Buildings, structures, etc'

This paper first analyzes the climate characteristics of five typical cities in China, including Harbin, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Kunming. Then, based on Grasshopper, Ladybug and Honeybee analysis software, according to the indoor layout of typical residential buildings, this research extracts design parameters such as the depth and width of different rooms and their window-to-wall ratios etc., to establish a climate responsive optimization design process with indoor lighting environment comfort, with heating and cooling demand as the objective functions. Meanwhile, based on Monte Carlo simulation data, ANN (Artificial Neural Network) is used to establish a prediction model to analyze the sensitivity of interior design parameters under different typical cities’ climatic conditions. The study results show that the recommended values for the total width and total depth of indoor units under the climatic conditions of each city are both approximately 14.97 m and 7.88 m. Among them, under the climatic conditions of Harbin and Shenzhen, the design parameters of residential interiors can take the recommended value of UDI optimal or nZEB optimal. While the recommended values of window-to-wall ratios for the north bedroom, master bedroom and living room in Shanghai residential interiors are 0.26, 0.32 and 0.33, respectively. The recommended value of the window-to-wall ratio of the master bedroom in Kunming residences is 0.36, and that of the remaining rooms is between 0.15 and 0.18. The recommended values of window-to-wall ratios for the master bedroom and living room in Beijing residences are 0.41 and 0.59, respectively, and that for the remaining rooms are 0.15. The multi-objective optimization process based on parametric performance simulation used in the study can effectively assist architects in making energy-saving design decisions in the preliminary stage, allowing architects to have a case to follow in the actual design operation process.

Ground settlement, especially the ground surface settlement induced by subway tunneling is an important issue. However, there is no an agreed standard for controlling ground surface settlement during the subway construction at present. The control standard of ground surface settlement was studied using the methods of statistical analysis and numerical simulation based on the running tunnel in Beijing subway. According to the research results, a conclusion could be obtained that the ground surface settlement can be controlled within 40 mm using the general construction measures in Beijing subway running tunnel construction, and furthermore, the settlement of 40mm will not damage the existing nearby structures and utilities including neighboring buildings, bridges and pipelines, etc. So the control valve of 40 mm is rational, which can be adopted as the control standard of ground surface settlement induced by running tunnel construction in Beijing subway.

A great earthquake of magnitude 8.0 occurred on May 12, 2008 (Beijing Time) in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province of China. Leigu town, which adjoins Beichuan county, was the most seriously damaged place in this earthquake. The teaching buildings were destroyed severely and the earthquake disaster phenomena is very typical. In this paper, firstly, the characteristics of structures and the earthquake damage of the teaching buildings in Leigu town are introduced in detail. Secondly, their damage states are calculated by means of structure vulnerability analysis, which are used for comparative analysis with actual damage states, and the influencing factors on seismic behavior are analyzed. Finally, some reasonable suggestions on the reconstruction of teaching buildings after disaster have been given.

In order to assess the vehicle load carrying capacity of existing bridges on the national highway G103 in Beijing, the vehicle load model for the practical traffic flow conditions needs to be determined. Based on the traffic axle load data measured by the weigh-in-motion system and the methods proposed by General Code for Design of Highway Bridges and Culverts (JTG D60-2004) and Code for Design of Highway Reinforced Concrete and Prestressed Concrete Bridges and Culverts (JTG D62-2004), the vehicle load parameters under practical traffic flow conditions are investigated. A typical 6-axle vehicle model with a 2-1-3 axial pattern is proposed by using the statistical analysis of total weight, axial weight, etc. The live load effects of Daliushu No. 2 Bridge, one highway bridge on the national highway G103, are analyzed using the proposed model and compared to the vehicle load model given in the Chinese code. The results show that there are great differences in the vehicle load parameters and the live load effects from the proposed vehicle load model increased by 20–50% compared with the model given by the code. The overweight vehicles are potential threats to the safety of existing bridges.

In recent years, a large number of incidents of external fire spread up high rise buildings happened in the world. One of main reasons is that combustible organic materials, EPS, Polyurethane, etc, are used in external thermal insulation system (ETIS) for energy conservation purpose. In some incidents, fire spread in combustible organic materials couple with that from window to window make it impossible for fire fighters to prevent the external vertical fire spread up high rise buildings and caused severe damage to structures and loss of life and property. In this paper, some typical external wall fire hazards in China are described briefly, and then relative research progresses are presented. Furthermore, some research needs and possible directions of future research are proposed.

Subsiding soils are structurally unstable and are common and Russia (Northern Caucasus, Western Siberia, etc.) as well as worldwide (China, Mongolia, Central Asia, North America, etc.). Construction and operation of buildings and structures on such soils are associated with the nonuniform subsiding of soil due to water saturation, which causes excessive deformations in basements and foundations. The geotechnical and technogenic conditions of Eastern Donbass feature the commonness of subsiding loess soils and undermining of industrial areas prone to waterlogging. The three mentioned factors have a negative impact on ground facilities due to nonuniform vertical and horizontal deformations of the Earth’s surface. Despite considerable scientific progress in studying the surficial deformations attributable to various factors, the concurrent effects of undermining, technogenic waterlogging, and manifestation of subsiding properties on the condition of buildings and structures are currently understudied. This paper proposes a method for predicting the deformation of subsiding massifs in the undermined areas of Eastern Donbass. The research team has developed an analytical method for assessing the damage to a typical urban structure simultaneously exposed to soil subsidence and undermining.

High-rise buildings usually have more complex architectural structures and hold more people than single-storey buildings. Currently, crowd management under emergent conditions, especially rapid evacuations of high-rise buildings, is a worldwide problem. In this study, a bio-inspired simulation technology extracted from a cell migration process, namely Intelligent Decision System (IDPS), was used to model the dynamic evacuation of high-rise buildings and calculate the evacuation time for different scenarios. This work was motivated by the comparability between the pedestrian movement behavior and cell migration process. Specific structure information of high architecture was also described in IDPS. A case study was done about evacuation simulation of a 12-storey teaching building in China University of Geosciences in Beijing. The simulation results showed that evacuation time varied with different parameters, such as density threshold, interaction probability, walking speed, population distribution, and stair width. With the proper density threshold and good interaction probability, the load balance of staircases and exits can be improved. For staircases with high utilization ratios, it was recommended that the evacuation process can be accelerated by widening the staircases appropriately. Finally, the impact of initial number of evacuees at each floor level was also analyzed in view of safety management.

Traditional folk houses in rural areas of north China are mostly Brick-Wood Building, for those houses draw on local resources, only need simple structures and cost less, which precisely fits the economic conditions in rural areas. However, due to all sorts of reasons, walls of those houses might easily crack, which will bring safety loopholes and panic inhabitants as well. With a village in North China as the study and research subject, first of all, the paper analyzes the locations and patterns of cracks appearing on walls and divided those cracks into eight types; then the causes of wall cracks are primarily explored, and after analysis the author comes to a conclusion that the freeze-thaw action of subsoil, disastrous weather, seismic action, natural ageing and construction quality etc. are directly related to wall cracks, while bearing capacity of foundation soil and ground settlement has no direct relationship with wall cracks.

In modern urban conditions of dense construction, as well as in the production of special works in the mining industry, new quality materials for non-explosive destruction of buildings, structures and rocks are required. Such material is non-explosive expanding mixtures (LDCs). LDCs are used in cases when the destruction of rocks by explosion unacceptable due to the dangerous consequences associated with the violation of stability of rock massif and negative seismic manifestations of the explosion. Non-explosive expanding mixtures are widespread in mining and construction works in many countries: the USA, Japan, Canada, the Czech Republic and others. They are used in the extraction of stone blocks, cutting of oversized, destruction of concrete structures, etc. Specialists of the academic University, research Institute and industry representative developed a product that is not inferior, and even superior to domestic and foreign analogues. The maximum developed pressure on the walls of the hole reaches 187.5 MPa. To date, the Russian market is represented by cheap, but lower in quality LDCs produced in China. Domestic development directly meets all the conditions of the Russian government Decree on import substitution. The article describes the main types of LDCs, the fundamental differences from analogues in the mode of production (firing). The mechanism of impact on the mountain range is considered. The main advantages of this material are indicated. The scope of the compositions is very extensive is the construction work in cramped conditions (ie. near buildings and structures, highways, industrial communications, settlements, in existing shops, etc.), mining of piece stone, crushing array (burrs, oversized, etc.), careful extraction of crystalline materials, work on dismantling of building structures, etc. it is Advisable to use these compounds in those places where it is not possible to use explosives.

We study the property of double sodium layer structures (DSLs) in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) by a lidar at the low-latitude location of Haikou (20.0° N, 110.1° E), China. From April 2010 to December 2013, 21 DSLs were observed within a total of 377 observation days. DSLs were recorded at middle latitudes of Beijing and Wuhan, China, but were rarely observed at low latitudes. We analyze and discuss characteristics of DSLs such as time of occurrence, peak altitude, FWHM, duration time, etc. At the same time, the critical frequency foEs and the virtual height h'Es of the sporadic E layer Es were observed by an ionosonde over Danzhou (19.0° N, 109.3° E). We discuss such their characteristics as differences of time, differences of altitude compared to DSLs. We used an Nd:YAG laser pumped dye laser to generate the probing beam. The wavelength of the dye laser was set to 589 nm by a sodium fluorescence cell. The backscattered fluorescence photons from the sodium layer were collected by a telescope with the Φ1000 mm primary mirror.

We study the property of double sodium layer structures (DSLs) in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) by a lidar at the low-latitude location of Haikou (20.0° N, 110.1° E), China. From April 2010 to December 2013, 21 DSLs were observed within a total of 377 observation days. DSLs were recorded at middle latitudes of Beijing and Wuhan, China, but were rarely observed at low latitudes. We analyze and discuss characteristics of DSLs such as time of occurrence, peak altitude, FWHM, duration time, etc. At the same time, the critical frequency foEs and the virtual height h'Es of the sporadic E layer Es were observed by an ionosonde over Danzhou (19.0° N, 109.3° E). We discuss such their characteristics as differences of time, differences of altitude compared to DSLs. We used an Nd:YAG laser pumped dye laser to generate the probing beam. The wavelength of the dye laser was set to 589 nm by a sodium fluorescence cell. The backscattered fluorescence photons from the sodium layer were collected by a telescope with the Φ1000 mm primary mirror.

For building environments, meteorological factors such as daily mean temperature, extreme temperature and seasonal temperature changes, are essential, as they impact building structures significantly. Due to the importance of detailed and accurate temperature data, and taking Beijing, China, as an example, this paper developed a fast and effective interpolation method to extract hourly meteorological data, based on 30 years’ raw meteorological data. With the interpolated data, this paper defined the extreme weather for buildings. Moreover, a temperature model based on probability and statistical analysis was constructed, and the general climate standard for days and extreme climate for typical days with different return periods were obtained. Furthermore, meteorological models for standard annual temperature were also achieved, reflecting the daily variation and annual variation of temperature, and can provide continuous-numerical-simulation parameters for analyzing daily and annual temperature. According to the daily temperature difference obeys the Gumble Distribution, the daily temperature difference in different return periods and extreme climates is obtained by analysis. Therefore, annual temperature ranges of different recurrence intervals and extreme climate are also achieved, and the annual temperature ranges can be used to analyze the effect of different recurrence intervals and extreme weather on building structures.

Geographical gravity models can be employed to quantitatively describe and predict spatial flows, including migration flows, passenger flows, daily commuting flows, etc. However, how to model spatial flows and reveal the structure of urban traffic networks in the case of missing partial data is still a problem to be solved. This paper is devoted to characterizing the interurban passenger flows in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China using dual gravity models and Tencent location big data. The method of parameter estimation is the least squares regression. The main results are as follows. First, both the railway and highway passenger flows can be effectively described by dual gravity models. A small part of missing spatial data can be compensated for by predicted values. Second, the fractal properties of traffic flows can be revealed. The railway passenger flows follow the gravity scaling law better than the highway passenger flows. Third, the prediction residuals indicate the changing trend of interurban connections in the study area in recent years. The center of gravity of the spatial dynamics has shifted from the Beijing–Tianjin–Tangshan triangle to the Beijing–Baoding–Shijiazhuang axis. A conclusion can be reached that the dual gravity model is an effective tool for analyzing spatial structures and dynamics of traffic networks and flows. Moreover, the model provides a new approach to estimating the fractal dimensions of traffic networks and spatial flow patterns.

On 12 May 2008 at 2.28 pm Beijing Time, an Ms 8.0 earthquake occurred in the Wenchuan County of Sichuan province, China. The associated fault ruptured over 240 km on the ground surface. The resulting damage was very severe and widespread, with casualties of almost 70,000, another 18,000 missing and 370,000 injured. The New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering reconnaissance team observed the effects and the recovery from this massive earthquake. The team studied the damages caused to the natural and the built environment due to fault rupture, seismic shaking, huge landslides and rockfalls. Maximum shaking intensity of MM XI significantly exceeded design intensity of MM VII for the area. Earthquake induced landslides had a major and catastrophic impact on development and infrastructure in this earthquake. Site selection was demonstrated to be critical. Brittle or non-ductile and irregular buildings performed very poorly especially in a seismic overload situation. Well engineered structures and dams performed well. Lifeline facilities were severely damaged, which resulted in interruptions to key transportation routes, inhibited rescue and recovery operations.

The ancient wooden structure in China is a precious architectural cultural heritage in history, which has high cultural and artistic value. However, due to the influence of its own material structure and the long-term preservation and maintenance process, due to long-term loads, earthquakes, fires, man-made damage, etc., ancient buildings have suffered more or less damage, which may cause sudden failure of the structure, which seriously affects the safety of the building structure. Therefore, the research on the prediction of the life of ancient wooden structures has guiding significance for sustainable development. This paper studies the life prediction of ancient buildings and introduces artificial intelligence algorithms. By comparing the old and new of the ancient building with the damage of the various structures of the ancient building, and using a variety of methods to find a more accurate method to predict the life of the ancient building, through various aspects of research and comparison, we have discovered the variation of wooden columns and beams. The coefficients are 22.97% and 22.54%, which affect the service life of wooden members. The residual strength ratios of the compressive design strength and flexural design strength of the new material and the old material are 60.42% and 26.67%, respectively.

The adaptability is important in the technological reformation of industrial building. Bracket girder and cut column (BGCC), are widely used to expand the space and to increase the inner working room of the buildings. Reformation of the exiting industrial building is limited to the continuous and non-stop working and (must be) in service and the reformation is required to be non-stop. Industrial buildings, especially the industrial single-storey workshops mostly belong to static determinate and low-order static indeterminate structures and many risks may be faced during the BGCC reformation under the complicated working conditions, such as variable structure risk, structural failure caused by overload, injuries of workers resulted from the unsafe construction, injuries of the production workers due to construction operation, etc. Research on the safety risk management of the industrial building BGCC reformation is of great significance for ensuring the technological transformation of industrial enterprises and controlling the risks from the reformation of adaptability of industrial buildings in China. Consequently, based on the approaches of risk identifying on work decomposition structure(WBS) and the questionnaire, the whole process design and construction management methods are proposed to control the risks in the reformation of the exiting industrial buildings, and the total management of construction process can be used to reduce injury risks of engineering staffs. In this paper, the technological key points of the whole process design control and construction management are discussed in details based on examples of BGCC reformation of exiting industrial single-storey buildings and the corresponding injury risk management methods are suggested.

Soda residue soil (SRS) is a man-made engineering foundation soil formed by soda residue; it is mainly distributed in coastal areas in China. SRS is rich in a variety of corrosive salts, among which the concentrations of chloride ions are about 2–3 times that of seawater. These highly concentrated chloride ions migrate and diffuse in reinforced concrete (RC) structures built on coastal SRS through multiple transport mechanisms. However, current research on the durability of RC structures exposed to the coastal SRS environment has not led to the publication of any reports in the literature. SRS may be classified by analyzing the quantitative relationships among the corrosive ions it contains. In this paper, the deterioration of RC structures due to the corrosive saline-soil environment in China is discussed, and advances in RC structure durability under such circumstances are reviewed. Our findings show that a corrosive environment, especially when this is a result of coastal SRS, has a significant influence on the deterioration of RC structures, greatly threatening such buildings. A series of effective measures for enhancing the durability of RC structures in saline soil, including improvements in concrete strength, reductions in the water–binder ratio, the addition of mineral admixtures and fiber-reinforcing agents, etc., could provide a vital foundation for enhancing the durability of RC structures which are at risk due to coastal SRS. Vital issues that must be investigated regarding the durability of RC structures are proposed, including the transport mechanism and a prediction model of corrosive ions, dominated by chloride ions (Cl−), in SRS and RC structures, the deterioration mechanism of RC materials, a long-term performance deduction process of RC components, durability design theory, and effective performance enhancement measures. The findings of this paper provide some clear exploration directions for the development of basic theories regarding RC structure durability in coastal SRS environments and go some way to making up for the research gap regarding RC structure durability under corrosive soil environments.

In China, the topics of pandemic and economic recovery gradually lose their importance and give place to another deterioration in U.S.–China relations due to pressure from the United States on Hong Kong, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, and the insufficient, according to the American side, pace of implementation of China’s first phase of commercial transactions with the United States. Beijing takes Washington’s threats to deprive Hong Kong of the status of a special customs territory in trade and economic cooperation with the U.S. quite seriously. However, Chinese experts note that the implementation of these threats will not lead to the collapse of the Hong Kong economy, since the most-favored-nation regime applies to about 5% of Hong Kong’s exports to the United States. At the same time, Beijing is trying to find an alternative to Hong Kong as a financial center in the face of Macao. However, the main characteristics of the Macao economy do not yet allow us to seriously talk about a full-fledged replacement, since most of the GDP of this special administrative region is formed by the gaming, tourism and restaurant industries. To a certain extent, the “position” of Hong Kong is claimed by Shanghai, but the extent of its claims is limited by the Chinese legal system, which is less flexible and liberal than that of Hong Kong. In May 2020, the so-called “Two sessions” were held in Beijing: the national Committee of the People’s Political Consultative Council of China (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC). The latter presented a report on the government’s work in 2019 and the first quarters of 2020. The report contains the main guidelines and targets for the country’s socio-economic development for the current year, as well as a list of measures to support the economy in the so-called “post-crisis” period. Most of the mechanisms for stimulating growth are of a fiscal nature: the authorities do not want to inflate the amount of debt owed by public and private companies too much, and they go, first of all, for tax breaks. At the same time, the Central budget deficit is expected to increase to 3.6% due to reduced tax revenues because of quarantine measures and increased government spending to support consumer demand. At the same time, Beijing announced a reduction in spending by the central and provincial governments on “unimportant” and “non-priority items”: construction of buildings, business trips, celebrations, etc. The report on the government’s work reflected the desire of the Chinese leadership to accelerate the ongoing work on “launching” a new economic model of China’s development, aimed not at achieving high growth rates, but at quality indicators. For the first time, the NPC session did not specify the expected GDP growth rate in 2020. However, the main characteristics of this model have not yet been fully clarified. In the first approximation, it is a bet on the production of high-tech products, the implementation of traditional infrastructure projects within China and the expansion of domestic consumption – while maintaining the strategy of going outside in the format of the “Belt and Road” (or the “Silk Road Economic Belt”). The so-called “separation” of China and the United States in the financial and economic spheres, which is widely discussed in the world press, has not yet taken place. D. Trump’s “return of American business to the United States” is not yet perceived by the American private business itself, which is interested in expanding its presence in Chinese financial and other markets. China, for its part, by opening previously closed sectors of its economy is trying to provide new business opportunities to American companies in a “compromise” way, in contrast to military and political issues, where Beijing acts extremely harshly. In Russian-Chinese relations, there is still a trend to deepen strategic partnership in the military-political sphere and, if possible, in the economy – taking into account the negative consequences of the pandemic and adjusting for the scale of the Russian economy.

Abstract. Located in the northeastern part of China, the stretch of land named Liaoning is a region historically characterised by the convergence of multiple ethnicities and cultures. It used to be the northeastern boundary of central China with an array of military cities and fortresses intensively built for military defence. Unlike palaces and gentry residences, vernacular residences and urban tissue existing widely in historical towns are excluded in the national protection schedule and have thus experienced different levels of damages. They feature a paradox that the general city form is well preserved whilst architectural forms are changed to a large extent. Most vernacular buildings have endured centennial baptisms, as evidenced by their architectural layouts, structures, roofing, walls, decorations etc. As most historical Chinese cities are not renowned tourist destinations, they are faced with various threats and are on the verge of extinction. The threats include the departure of young residents, decay of historical architecture, insufficient financial and technical support for architectural renovation, improper modifications by residents and demolition of entire historical neighbourhoods. Such threats are widespread in Chinese historical cities which are struggling to survive. Prior to the implementation of professional interventions, the urban forms and vernacular architecture of such historical cities should be studied. Through on-site investigation and query of historical data, especially the historical satellite city maps of U.S. Geological Survey, this study analyses the current life conditions in the context of traditional architecture, reveals problems in the use of historical architecture, identifies potential threats and summarises the underlying reasons. Suggestions benefitting local architectural conservation are then put forward.

Engineered wood is increasingly used in large structures in Europe, though little is known of its behavior in cold climate. This paper presents the structural health monitoring (SHM) system of a newly built suspension bridge with a deck of glulam timber as well as a bond stability study regarding cold climate performance of engineered wood. The bridge is located in Skellefteå in northern Sweden, and it connects two parts of the city situated on opposite shores of the Skellefteå river. In this ongoing study of the timber-bridge, a structural health monitoring system is employed to verify structural design and long-term performance. This 130m-span bridge is monitored using GNSS receivers, MEMS accelerometers, laser positioning systems, wireless moisture content sensors, strain gauges and weather stations. Data from the monitoring systems is analyzed regarding accuracy, complexity, costs and reliability for long time use. Engineered wood application in bridges, sports centers and timber buildings are discussed. Bond stability of glulam structures in cold climate is also examined in a range of experiments ranging from small glued wood joints to full size glulam bridge performance over time. From an engineered wood material point of view, the study is relevant to cold regions such as Scandinavia, Canada, Alaska, Russia, and the northern parts of China and Japan etc. The engineered wood constructions in these areas will be exposed to low temperature in a quite long period each year. The goal is to determine how engineered wood behaves when exposed to temperatures between 20 °C to -60 °C.

The problematic of reinforcement bars splicing by overlap tying and by the way of welding is described, as well as alternative splicing by the mechanical compression couplers as a way of its solution. Lap splicing showed good results in structures with small nominal dimensions of steel bars, low rate yield strength and in buildings not higher than 15 floors. Welding is the more flexible method of steel bars splicing but its use brings to rising costs and complicity of construction work. The quality of welded splices depends on many factors mainly on the existing problems in welding process. The analysis of world construction practice shows a more reliable, technological and effective way of splicing reinforcement bars it means the use of connecting couplers i.e. mechanical rebar coupling. Successful international experience of applying mechanical steel bars splicing in USA, Japan, China, Kazakhstan, UAE, etc. is described. It must be noted that with the advance of the enactment of DBN V 2.6-98 and DSTU B V.2.6-156, standard acceptable methods of steel bars splicing in Ukraine are lap splicing, welded connections and mechanical splicing. General technical requirements of the connections of reinforcement were analyzed and systematized, as well as general advantages of mechanical splices were proved. Analysis of international and native regulations showed that in Ukraine it should be taken more strict requirements for mechanical splices. Methodology and test results of mechanical splices were covered. A number of regulation documents were developed as a result of large scale theoretical and experimental research of mechanical connections. The technology of coupling of reinforcement bars was applied at many construction projects as well as in seismic regions.

The problematic of reinforcement bars splicing by overlap tying and by the way of welding is described, as well as alternative splicing by the mechanical compression couplers as a way of its solution. Lap splicing showed good results in structures with small nominal dimensions of steel bars, low rate yield strength and in buildings not higher than 15 floors. Welding is the more flexible method of steel bars splicing but its use brings to rising costs and complicity of construction work. The quality of welded splices depends on many factors mainly on the existing problems in welding process. The analysis of world construction practice shows a more reliable, technological and effective way of splicing reinforcement bars it means the use of connecting couplers i.e. mechanical rebar coupling. Successful international experience of applying mechanical steel bars splicing in USA, Japan, China, Kazakhstan, UAE, etc. is described. It must be noted that with the advance of the enactment of DBN V 2.6-98 and DSTU B V.2.6-156, standard acceptable methods of steel bars splicing in Ukraine are lap splicing, welded connections and mechanical splicing. General technical requirements of the connections of reinforcement were analyzed and systematized, as well as general advantages of mechanical splices were proved. Analysis of international and native regulations showed that in Ukraine it should be taken more strict requirements for mechanical splices. Methodology and test results of mechanical splices were covered. A number of regulation documents were developed as a result of large scale theoretical and experimental research of mechanical connections. The technology of coupling of reinforcement bars was applied at many construction projects as well as in seismic regions.

Introduction: Artist Villages in Beijing Many of the most renowned sites of Beijing are found in the inner-city districts of Dongcheng and Xicheng: for instance, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Lama Temple, the National Theatre, the Central Opera Academy, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Imperial College, and the Confucius Temple. However, in the past decade a new attraction has been added to the visitor “must-see” list in Beijing. The 798 Art District originated as an artist village within abandoned factory buildings at Dashanzi, right between the city’s Central Business District and the open outer rural space on Beijing’s north-east. It is arguably the most striking symbol of China’s contemporary art scene. The history of the 798 Art District is by now well known (Keane), so this paper will provide a short summary of its evolution. Of more concern is the relationship between the urban fringe and what Howard Becker has called “art worlds.” By art worlds, Becker refers to the multitude of agents that contribute to a final work of art: for instance, people who provide canvasses, frames, and art supplies; critics and intermediaries; and the people who run exhibition services. To the art-world list in Beijing we need to add government officials and developers. To date there are more than 100 artist communities or villages in Beijing; almost all are located in the city’s outskirts. In particular, a high-powered art centre outside the city of Beijing has recently established a global reputation. Songzhuang is situated in outer Tongzhou District, some 30 kilometres east of Tiananmen Square. The Beijing Municipal Government officially classifies Songzhuang as the Capital Art District (CAD) or “the Songzhuang Original Art Cluster.” The important difference between 798 and Songzhuang is that, whereas the former has become a centre for retail and art galleries, Songzhuang operates as an arts production centre for experimental art, with less focus on commercial art. The destiny of the artistic communities is closely related to urban planning policies that either try to shut them down or protect them. In this paper I will take a close look at three artist villages: Yuanmingyuan, 798, and Songzhuang. In tracing the evolution of the three artist villages, I will shed some light on artists’ lives in city fringes. I argue that these outer districts provide creative industries with a new opportunity for development. This is counter to the conventional wisdom that central urban areas are the ideal locality for creative industries. Accordingly, this argument needs to be qualified: some types of creative work are more suitable to rural and undeveloped areas. The visual art “industry” is one of these. Inner and Outer Worlds Urban historians contend that innovation is more likely to happen in inner urban areas because of intensive interactions between people (Jacobs). City life has been associated with the development of creative industries and economic benefits brought about by the interaction of creative classes. In short, the argument is that cities, or, more specifically, urban areas are primary economic entities (Montgomery) whereas outer suburbs are uncreative and dull (Florida, "Cities"). The conventional wisdom is that talented creative people are attracted to the creative milieu in cities: universities, book shops, cafes, museums, theatres etc. These are both the hard and the soft infrastructure of modern cities. They illustrate diversified built forms, lifestyles and experiences (Lorenzen and Frederiksen; Florida, Rise; Landry; Montgomery; Leadbeater and Oakley). The assumption that inner-city density is the cradle of creative industries has encountered critique. Empirical studies in Australia have shown that creative occupations are found in relatively high densities in urban fringes. The point made in several studies is that suburbia has been neglected by scholars and policy makers and may have potential for future development (Gibson and Brennan-Horley; Commission; Collis, Felton, and Graham). Moreover, some have argued that the practice of constructing inner city enclaves may be leading to homogenized and prescriptive geographies (Collis, Felton, and Graham; Kotkin). As Jane Jacobs has indicated, it is not only density of interactions but diversity that attracts and accommodates economic growth in cities. However, the spatiality of creative industries varies across different sectors. For example, media companies and advertising agencies are more likely to be found in the inner city, whereas most visual artists prefer working in the comparatively quiet and loosely-structured outskirts. Nevertheless, the logic embodied in thinking around the distinctions between “urbanism” and “suburbanism” pays little attention to this issue, although both schools acknowledge the causal relationship between locality and creativity. According to Drake, empirical evidence shows that the function of locality is not only about encouraging interactions between SMEs (small to medium enterprises) within clusters which can generate creativity, but also a catalyst for individual creativity (Drake). Therefore for policy makers in China, the question here is how to plan or prepare a better space to accommodate creative professionals’ needs in different sectors while making the master plan. This question is particularly urgent to the Chinese government, which is undertaking a massive urbanization transition throughout the country. In placing a lens on Beijing, it is important to note the distinctive features of its politics, forms of social structure, and climate. As Zhu has described it, Beijing has spread in a symmetrical structure. The reasons have much to do with ancient history. According to Zhu, the city which was planned in the era of Genghis Khan was constituted by four layers or enclosures, with the emperor at the centre, surrounded by the gentry and other populations distributed outwards according to wealth, status, and occupation. The outer layer accommodated many lower social classes, including itinerant artists, musicians, and merchants. This ”outer city” combined with open rural space. The system of enclosures is carried on in today’s city planning of Beijing. Nowadays Beijing is most commonly described by its ring roads (Mars and Hornsby). However, despite the existing structure, new approaches to urban policy have resulted in a great deal of flux. The emergence of new landscapes such as semi-urbanized villages, rural urban syndicates (chengxiang jiehebu), and villages-within-cities (Mars and Hornsby 290) illustrate this flux. These new types of landscapes, which don’t correspond to the suburban concept that we find in the US or Australia, serve to represent and mediate the urban-rural relationship in China. The outer villages also reflect an old tradition of “recluse” (yin shi), which since the Wei and Jin Dynasties allowed intellectuals to withdraw themselves from the temporal world of the city and live freely in the mountains. The Lost Artistic Utopia: Yuanmingyuan Artist Village Yuanmingyuan, also known as the Ming Dynasty summer palace, is located in Haidian District in the north-west of Beijing. Haidian has transformed from an outer district of Beijing into one of its flourishing urban districts since the mid-1980s. Haidian’s success is largely due to the electronics industry which developed from spin-offs from Peking University, Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the 1980s. This led to the rapid emergence of Zhongguancun, sometimes referred to as China’s Silicon Valley. However there is another side of Haidian’s transformation. As the first graduates came out of Chinese Academies of the Arts following the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), creative lifestyles became available. Some people quit jobs at state-owned institutions and chose to go freelance, which was unimaginable in China under the former regime of Mao Zedong. By 1990, the earliest “artist village” emerged around the Yuanmingyuan accommodating artists from around China. The first site was Fuyuanmen village. Artists living and working there proudly called their village “West Village” in China, comparing it to the Greenwich Village in New York. At that time they were labelled as “vagabonds” (mangliu) since they had no family in Beijing, and no stable job or income. Despite financial difficulties, the Yuanmingyuan artist village was a haven for artists. They were able to enjoy a liberating and vigorous environment by being close to the top universities in Beijing[1]. Access to ideas was limited in China at that time so this proximity was a key ingredient. According to an interview by He Lu, the Yuanmingyuan artist village gave artists a sense of belonging which went far beyond geographic identification as a marginal group unwelcomed by conservative urban society. Many issues arose along with the growth of the artist village. The non-traditional lifestyle and look of these artists were deemed abnormal by many of the general public; the way of their expression and behaviour was too extreme to be accepted by the mainstream in what was ultimately a political district; they were a headache for local police who saw them as troublemakers; moreover, their contact with the western world was a sensitive issue for the government at that time. Suddenly, the village was closed by the government in 1993. Although the Yuanmingyuan artist village existed for only a few years, it is of significance in China’s contemporary art history. It is the birth place of the cynical realism movement as well as the genesis of Fang Lijun, Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Mingjun, now among the most successful Chinese contemporary artists in global art market. The Starting Point of Art Industry: 798 and Songzhuang After the Yuanmingyuan artist village was shut down in 1993, artists moved to two locations in the east of Beijing to escape from the government and embrace the free space they longed for. One was 798, an abandoned electronic switching factory in Beijing’s north-east urban fringe area; the other was Songzhuang in Tongzhou District, a further twenty kilometres east. Both of these sites would be included in the first ten official creative clusters by Beijing municipal government in 2006. But instead of simply being substitutes for the Yuanmingyuan artist village, both have developed their own cultures, functioning and influencing artists’ lives in different ways. Songzhuang is located in Tongzhou which is an outer district in Beijing’s east. Songzhuang was initially a rural location; its livelihood was agriculture and industry. Just before the closing down of the Yuanmingyuan village, several artists including Fang Lijun moved to this remote quiet village. Through word of mouth, more artists followed their steps. There are about four thousand registered artists currently living in Songzhuang now; it is already the biggest visual art community in Beijing. An artistic milieu and a local sense of place have grown with the increasing number of artists. The local district government invests in building impressive exhibition spaces and promoting art in order to bring in more tourists, investors and artists. Compared with Songzhuang, 798 enjoys a favourable location along the airport expressway, between the capital airport and the CBD of Beijing. The unused electronics plant was initially rented as classrooms by the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in the 1990s. Then several artists moved their studios and workshops to the area upon eviction from the Yuanmingyuan village. Until 2002 the site was just a space to rent cheap work space, a factor that has stimulated many art districts globally (Zukin). From that time the resident artists began to plan how to establish a contemporary art district in China. Led by Huang Rui, a leading visual artist, the “798 collective” launched arts events and festivals, notably a “rebuilding 798” project of 2003. More galleries, cafés, bars, and restaurants began to set up, culminating in a management takeover by the Chaoyang District government with the Seven Stars Group[2] prior to the Beijing Olympics. The area now provides massive tax revenue to the local and national government. Nonetheless, both 798 and Songzhuang face problems which reflect the conflict between artists’ attachment to fringe areas and the government’s urbanization approach. 798 can hardly be called an artist production village now due to the local government’s determination to exploit cultural tourism. Over 50 percent of enterprises and people working in 798 now identify 798 as a tourism area rather than an art or “creative” cluster (Liu). Heavy commercialization has greatly disappointed many leading artists. The price for renting space has gone beyond the affordability of artists, and many have chosen to leave. In Songzhuang, the story is similar. In addition to rising prices, a legal dispute between artists and local residents regarding land property rights in 2008 drove some artists out of Songzhuang because they didn’t feel it was stable anymore (Smith). The district’s future as a centre of original art runs up against the aspirations of local officials for more tax revenue and tourist dollars. In the Songzhuang Cultural Creative Industries Cluster Design Plan (cited in Yang), which was developed by J.A.O Design International Architects and Planners Limited and sponsored by the Songzhuang local government in 2007, Songzhuang is designed as an “arts capital incorporated with culture, commerce and tourism.” The down side of this aspiration is that more museums, galleries, shopping centres, hotels, and recreation infrastructure will inevitably be developed in order to capitalise on Songzhuang’s global reputation. Concluding Reflections In reflecting on the recent history of artist villages in Beijing, we might conclude that rural locations are not only a cheap place for artists to live but also a space to showcase their works. More importantly, the relation of artists and outlying district has evolved into a symbiotic relationship. They interact and grow together. The existence of artists transforms the locale and the locale in turn reinforces the identity of artists. In Yuanmingyuan the artists appreciated the old “recluse” tradition and therefore sought spiritual liberation after decades of suppression. The outlying location symbolized freedom to them and provided distance from the world of noisy interaction. But isolation of artists from the local community and the associated constant conflict with local villagers deepened estrangement; these events brought about the end of the dream. In contrast, at 798 and Songzhuang, artists not only regarded the place as their worksite but also engaged with the local community. They communicated with local people and co-developed projects to transform the local landscape. Local communities changed; they started to learn about the artistic world while gaining economic benefits in many ways, such as house renting, running small grocery stores, providing art supplies and even modelling. Their participation into the “art worlds” (Becker) contributed to a changing cultural environment, in turn strengthening the brand of these artist villages. In many regards there were positive externalities for both artists and the district, although as I mentioned in relation to Songzhuang, tensions about land use have never completely been resolved. Today, the fine arts in China have gone far beyond the traditional modes of classics, aesthetics, liberation or rebellion. Art is also a business which requires the access to the material world in order to produce incomes and make profits. It appears that many contemporary artists are not part of a movement of rebellion (except several artists, such as Ai Weiwei), adopting the pure spirit of art as their life-time mission, as in the Yuanmingyuan artist village. They still long for recognition, but they are also concerned with success and producing a livelihood. The boundary between inner urban and outer urban areas is not as significant to them as it once was for artists from a former period. While many artists enjoy the quiet and space of the fringe and rural areas to work; they also require urban space to exhibit their works and earn money. This factor explains the recent emergence of Caochangdi and other artist villages in the neighbouring area around the 798. These latest artist villages in the urban fringe still have open and peaceful spaces and can be accessed easily due to convenient transportation. Unfortunately, the coalition of business and government leads to rapid commercialization of place which is not aligned with the basic need of artists, which is not only a free or affordable place but also a space for creativity. As mentioned above, 798 is now so commercialized that it is too crowded and expensive for artists due to the government’s overdevelopment; whereas the government’s original intention was to facilitate the development of 798. Furthermore, although artists are a key stakeholder in the government’s agenda for visual art industry, it is always the government’s call when artists’ attachment to rural space comes into conflict with Beijing government’s urbanization plan. Hence the government decides which artist villages should be sacrificed to give way to urban development and which direction the reserved artist villages or art clusters should be developed. The logic of government policy causes an absolute distinction between cities and outlying districts. And the government’s enthusiasm for “urbanization” leads to urbanized artist villages, such as the 798. A vicious circle is formed: the government continuously attempts to have selected artist villages commercialized and transformed into urbanized or quasi-urbanized area and closes other artist villages. One of the outcomes of this policy is that in the government created creative clusters, many artists do not stay, and move away into rural and outlying areas because they prefer to work in non-urban spaces. To resolve this dilemma, greater attention is required to understand artists needs and ways to combine urban convenience and rural tranquillity into their development plans. This may be a bridge too far, however. Reference Becker, Howard Saul. Art Worlds. 25th anniversary, updated and expanded ed. Berkeley, CA: U of California P, 2008. Collis, Christy, Emma Felton, and Phil Graham. "Beyond the Inner City: Real and Imagined Places in Creative Place Policy and Practice." The Information Society: An International Journal 26.2 (2010): 104–12. Commission, Outer London. The Mayor's Outer London Commission: Report. London: Great London Authority, 2010. Drake, Graham. "'This Place Gives Me Space': Place and Creativity in the Creative Industries." Geoforum 34.4 (2003): 511–24. Florida, Richard. "Cities and the Creative Class." The Urban Sociology Reader. Eds. Jan Lin and Christopher Mele. London: Routledge, 2005. 290–301. ———. The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books, 2002. Gibson, Chris, and Chris Brennan-Horley. "Goodbye Pram City: Beyond Inner/Outer Zone Binaries in Creative City Research." Urban Policy and Research 24.4 (2006): 455–71. Jacobs, Jane. The Economy of Cities. New York: Random House, 1969. Keane, Michael. "The Capital Complex: Beijing's New Creative Clusters." Creative Economies, Creative Cities: Asian-European Perspectives. Ed. Lily Kong and Justin O'Connor. London: Springer, 2009. 77–95. Kotkin, Joel. "The Protean Future of American Cities." New Geographer 7 Mar. 2011. 27 Mar. 2011 ‹http://blogs.forbes.com/joelkotkin/2011/03/07/the-protean-future-of-american-cities/›. Landry, Charles. The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators. London: Earthscan Publications, 2000. Leadbeater, Charles, and Kate Oakley. The Independents: Britain's New Cultural Entrepreneurs. London: Demos, 1999. Liu, Mingliang. "Beijing 798 Art Zone: Field Study and Follow-Up Study in the Context of Market." Chinese National Academy of Arts, 2010. Lorenzen, Mark, and Lars Frederiksen. "Why Do Cultural Industries Cluster? Localization, Urbanization, Products and Projects." Creative Cities, Cultural Clusters and Local Economic Development. Ed. Philip Cooke and Luciana Lazzeretti. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2008. 155-79. Mars, Neville, and Adrian Hornsby. The Chinese Dream: A Society under Construction. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers, 2008. Montgomery, John. The New Wealth of Cities: City Dynamics and the Fifth Wave. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007. Smith, Karen. "Heart of the Art." Beijing: Portrait of a City. Ed. Alexandra Pearson and Lucy Cavender. Hong Kong: The Middle Kingdom Bookworm, 2008. 106–19. Yang, Wei, ed. Songzhuang Arts 2006. Beijing: Hunan Fine Arts Press, 2007. Zhu, Jianfei. Chinese Spatial Strategies Imperial Beijing, 1420-1911. Routledge Curzon, 2004. Zukin, Sharon. The Cultures of Cities. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1995. [1] Most prestigious Chinese universities are located in the Haidian District of Beijing, such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, etc. [2] Seven Star Group is the landholder of the area where 798 is based.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many buildings in northeast China have had clusters of infected cases in the vertical layout. There is speculation that vertical aerosol transmission occurs. The houses in northeast China are airtight, and range hoods may be used for a long period of time when cooking. The pathway and factors influencing vertical aerosol transmission are worth studying. To elucidate a viral aerosol transmission pathway, we selected a multistory apartment and a high-rise building in Changchun city, Jilin province, China, to conduct an in-depth investigation and on-site simulation experiments. According to epidemiological investigation information on infected cases, building structures, drainage, ventilation, etc., we used fluorescent microspheres to simulate the behaviors of infected people, such as breathing and flushing the toilet after defecation, to discharge simulated viruses and track and monitor them. The field simulation experiment confirmed the transmission of fluorescent microsphere aerosols to other rooms in two types of buildings using a vertical aerosol transmission pathway of toilet flush-sewage pipe-floor drain without a water seal. Our study showed that, in the absence of a U-shaped trap or floor drain water seal whether in a multistory apartment or high-rise residential building, there is a transmission pathway of “excretion of virus through feces-toilet flushing-sewage pipe-floor drain without water seal,” which will cause the vertical transmission of viral aerosol across floors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the negative pressure generated by turning on the range hood when closing doors and windows increase aerosol transmission. Based on this negative pressure, prevention and control measures for residential buildings in northeast China during the COVID-19 pandemic were proposed.

Recognizing urban functions is crucial for understanding urban spatial structures and urban planning. Previous work has investigated urban functions based on human activities that were derived from mobile phone positioning data, check-in data, taxi data, etc. However, urban functions can only be comprehensively sensed from both human activities and the physical environment together. To do so, a deep learning method was proposed to predict urban functions by integrating social media data and street-level imagery. The verbs extracted from social media posts were taken as the proxy for human activities, and we identified urban physical environmental information from street-level imagery. Then urban functions were uncovered from both the verbs in terms of human activities and street-level imagery from the perspective of the physical environment. Twelve types of urban function were recognized by verbs in social media posts, which were then improved by integrating street-level imagery within the 5th Ring Road of Beijing, China. The experiment demonstrated that verbs as direct proxies for human activities can avoid noise, and the multi-source data integration eliminated biases caused by a single data source. This work provides a comprehensive understanding of urban structure and dynamics for urban management and planning.