Статті в журналах з теми "Flashing error"

Purpose This paper aims to identify the characteristics of enduring audience engagement through social media. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to examine recent examples of successful social media practices to identify common characteristics. Findings The most common characteristics of successful social media engagement include continuous beta, co-ownership, room for error and convenor-ship. Originality/value The author’s analogy of successful social media to the biophysical phenomenon of entrainment is an original insight into social engagement.

A phenomenological model is presented for predicting the thermodynamic conditions at the onset of flashing in liquid undergoing a static or flow depressurization transient. It is shown that at extremely high rates of decompression (pulse expansion), a liquid may reach the homogeneous nucleation limit of superheat before appreciable phase transition occurs. A criterion for pulse expansion is derived by an asymptotic solution of the mass and energy equations in conjunction with the equation for spontaneous bubble nucleation and growth near the flashing inception point. The effect of impurities and dissolved gases is considered by an empirically defined heterogeneous nucleation coefficient. The model predicts the minimum pressure at the flashing point with a probable error of less than 11 percent, using 83 experimental data points.

The temporal interval between flashing lights that is required to perceive nonsimultaneity decreases as the refractive error increases from 0 to +2 diopters. The interval then remains constant with further increases to 3 and 4 diopters. The results are discussed in terms of the relative increase of transient to sustained visual channels and of the increase in apparent movement.

An experiment to measure driver comprehension of left-turn signal and sign configurations was conducted as part of a study to investigate the performance of left-turn signals used in various signal strategies. The responses of 191 individuals to 81 stimuli simulating left-turn signal phases were analyzed for the effect of signal message on driver comprehension. Stimuli included 17 left-turn signal displays used for permitted, protected, and protected/permitted left-turn strategies as well as left turns during nighttime or emergency flashing signal operations. Comprehension in the original study was based on a correct versus incorrect dichotomy: if the subject’s response agreed with a predetermined subset of possible answers, the answer was correct; all other answers were considered incorrect. These data are reanalyzed with three principal variations: ( a) individuals’ answers are based on a three-level correctness concept whereby answers considered incorrect in the previous study were further categorized into minor errors and serious errors depending on whether subjects incorrectly chose to “give away” their right-of-way or to violate other drivers’ right-of-way, respectively; ( b) signal message is introduced in the analysis as an explanatory variable of driver comprehension; and ( c) emphasis is placed on older drivers. Youngest, oldest, and female subjects were found to drive fewer kilometers per year than middle-aged males. Comprehension was found to deteriorate with driver age in terms of both higher serious error rates and lower correct answer rates. Flashing signals were the least well understood, whereas change and red interval stimuli were understood best by all age groups.

In this work, the stability of a two-phase, natural circulation circuit is analyzed, using a specially developed model. This thermohydraulic model results in a set of coupled, nonlinear, first-order partial differential equations, which are solved by means of the up-wind finite difference method, using combinations of explicit and implicit methods for the numerical integration of the different balance equations. An adaptive nodalization scheme is implemented, minimizing the error of the propagation of small perturbations through the discretized volumes and especially the ones having two-phase flow regime. A linearization method is implemented by means of numerical perturbations. Frequency domain calculations are carried out, allowing a rapid visualization of the stability of the linearized system. Two cases are analyzed: a test case, where the code is compared in a wide range of qualities with an analytical model, and an application case, where the model is used to analyze the stability of an integral reactor cooled by natural circulation. The CAREM prototype is taken as a reference. In both cases, the numerical diffusion and integration errors are analyzed in the stability limit prediction by means of a convergence analysis using different nodalization and numerical integration criteria.

In this article, a population based meta-heuristic search method called Firefly Algorithm with Wavelet Mutation (FAWM) is applied for the optimal switching characterization of CMOS inverter. In Firefly Algorithm (FA), behaviour of flashing firefly towards its competent mate is structured. In this algorithm attractiveness depends on brightness of light and brighter fireflies are considered as more attractive among the population. For the present minimization based optimization problem, brightness varies inversely proportional to the error fitness value, so the position of the brightest firefly gives the optimum result corresponding to the least error fitness in multidimensional search space. FAWM incorporates a new definition of swarm updating with the help of wavelet mutation based on wavelet theory. Wavelet mutation enhances the FA to explore the solution space more effectively compared with the other optimization methods. The performance of FAWM is compared with real coded genetic algorithm (RGA), and conventional PSO reported in the literature. FAWM based design results are also compared with the PSPICE results. The comparative simulation results establish the FAWM as a more competent optimization algorithm to other aforementioned evolutionary algorithms for the examples considered and can be efficiently used for CMOS inverter design.

An integrated model between surface and sub-surface is typically done by interconnecting many process modelling platforms. PROSPER and GAP are the common steady state modelling platforms for sub-surface while VMGSim and HYSYS are typical steady state surface modelling platforms. A major issue of using multiple simulation platforms is the compatibility of thermodynamic physical properties calculations among the platforms. This situation makes the simulations difficult to converge to a consistent thermo physical properties values. This is due to different interaction parameters applied in each platform that impact flashing and the physical property values even though the same property package such as Peng Robinson is used. To overcome this convergence problem, a single simulation platform within iCON (PETRONAS’s standard process simulation software, co-developed with VMG-Schlumberger) has been developed. This allows the use of one thermodynamic package across the integrated model. PROSPER sub-surface pressure-flow relationship results were automatically correlated and connected to surface models within the iCON environment. This integrated model was validated with data from operations and yielded about 1.23% average error tolerance. Based on this validated model, an optimization envelope can be developed with all possible well lineup configurations. This envelope covers set points for the operations where CAPEX free optimization can readily be applied.

More than 2,000 crashes and 239 fatalities were reported at public passive highway-railroad grade crossings in 1994. Driver error, often due to a breakdown in communication between traffic control devices and the driver, is commonly cited as a factor in passive grade crossing crashes. The objective of this study was to evaluate an improved method for communicating with drivers in an effort to improve safety at passive grade crossings. Specifically, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a vehicle-activated strobe light and supplemental sign as enhancements to the railroad advance (W10-1) warning sign at a passive highway-railroad grade crossing near Temple, Texas. Three study methods were used to evaluate this enhanced sign system including a before and after speed study, a driver survey, and a driver observation study. The results indicated that average speeds on the approaches to the grade crossing were lower after the installation of the enhanced sign system. Drivers responded favorably to the enhanced sign system, and no adverse driver reactions were observed at the onset of the flashing strobe light. The strobe light was effective in directing drivers’ attention to the railroad advance warning and supplemental signs. The enhanced sign system appears to increase driver awareness of the passive grade crossing, cause some drivers to approach the grade crossing with additional caution, and reduce the average speed near the nonrecovery zone on both approaches.

<abstract> <p>This work eases the feasibility of infrared thermometer application and reliability to introduce a novel design with upgraded applications &amp; functions. The custom-designed compact device "Badge" structured comprises the operative methods through the electronic packages of an optimal level. The physical and social distance measured by the ToF (Time of Flight) infrared laser sensor within 1 m from the subject and the measuring equipment (MLX90632 SMD QFN and VL530LX ToF). When the distance is not maintained, or the physical distance condition is not met, the flashing LED, or vibration should trigger an indication (warning for physical distancing and alteration for pyrexia warning, respectively). Statistical analysis and simulation-based studies criticized the accuracy of ±0.5°F and relational model of the independent and dependent variable for this device with significant R² = 0.99 and P &lt; = 1; values with the lowest accuracy error of ±0.2°F and least residual sum of squares 0.01462 values. The portable, lightweight, and dynamic body temperature monitoring altered the application from static to continuous, complete structural design. This alternative provides the best technique to combine worn (personnel) medical devices with primary healthcare instruments to help body temperature measurements that are not contactable, fast, and accurate. It builds a way of processing through the protocol Covid-19.</p> </abstract>

Adopting a mixed response strategy in competitive situations can prevent opponents from exploiting predictable play. What drives stochastic action selection is unclear given that choice patterns suggest that, on average, players are indifferent to available options during mixed-strategy equilibria. To gain insight into this stochastic selection process, we examined how motor preparation was allocated during a mixed-strategy game. If selection processes on each trial reflect a global indifference between options, then there should be no bias in motor preparation (unbiased preparation hypothesis). If, however, differences exist in the desirability of options on each trial then motor preparation should be biased toward the preferred option (biased preparation hypothesis). We tested between these alternatives by examining how saccade preparation was allocated as human subjects competed against an adaptive computer opponent in an oculomotor version of the game “matching pennies.” Subjects were free to choose between two visual targets using a saccadic eye movement. Saccade preparation was probed by occasionally flashing a visual distractor at a range of times preceding target presentation. The probability that a distractor would evoke a saccade error, and when it failed to do so, the probability of choosing each of the subsequent targets quantified the temporal and spatial evolution of saccade preparation, respectively. Our results show that saccade preparation became increasingly biased as the time of target presentation approached. Specifically, the spatial locus to which saccade preparation was directed varied from trial to trial, and its time course depended on task timing.

Wrong-way driving (WWD) on limited-access highways is a serious driver error that could be fatal for both the wrong-way driver and right-way drivers. Agencies and law enforcement officers (LEOs) can spend valuable time and resources responding to WWD events. A survey of 247 LEOs found that despite being dispatched multiple times per year in response to WWD, most issue fewer than one WWD citation per year. In the survey, LEOs also gave their perspectives on the characteristics of WWD events and the influences behind WWD. Agencies typically use dynamic message signs (DMS) for notifying right-way drivers of WWD events, but little research has considered solutions that are less costly and potentially farther-reaching. A survey of 900 Florida toll-road drivers found that drivers rely on navigation devices, apps, or both, significantly more than DMS for traveler information. Drivers were receptive to receiving WWD alerts through navigation services and indicated that they would react to WWD events in a way that is beneficial to highway safety. Crowdsourcing technologies were considered to generate WWD information and quickly disseminate alerts to drivers and officers. Additional survey questions answered by a combined group of 2,052 drivers, LEOs, and agency officials determined that among advanced WWD countermeasures, most preferred two sets of “Wrong Way” signs equipped with rectangular flashing beacons over one set of signs with light emitting diodes. Combining advanced countermeasures with innovative right-way driver notification methods could enhance law enforcement efficiency, reduce WWD crashes, and provide safer conditions for both drivers and officers.

At high-speed intersections in many Chinese cities, a traffic-light warning sequence at the end of the green phase—three seconds of flashing green followed by three seconds of yellow—is commonly implemented. Such a long phase transition time leads to heterogeneous decision-making by approaching drivers as to whether to pass the signal or stop. Therefore, risky driving behaviors such as red-light running, abrupt stop, and aggressive pass are more likely to occur at these intersections. Proactive identification of risky behaviors can facilitate mitigation of the dilemma zone and development of on-board safety altering strategies. In this study, a real-time vehicle trajectory prediction method is proposed to help identify risky behaviors during the signal phase transition. Two cases are considered and treated differently in the proposed method: a single vehicle case and a following vehicle case. The adaptive Kalman filter (KF) model and the K-nearest neighbor model are integrated to predict vehicle trajectories. The adaptive KF model and intelligent driver model are fused to predict the following vehicles’ trajectories. The proposed models are calibrated and validated using 1,281 vehicle trajectories collected at three high-speed intersections in Shanghai. Results indicate that the root mean square error between the predicted trajectories and the actual trajectories is 5.02 m for single vehicles and 2.33 m for following vehicles. The proposed method is further applied to predict risky behaviors, including red-light running, abrupt stop, aggressive pass, speeding pass, and aggressive following. The overall prediction accuracy is 95.1% for the single vehicle case and 96.2% for the following vehicle case.

Previous methods for detecting the flashing behavior of fireflies were using either a photomultiplier tube, a stopwatch, or videography. Limitations and problems are associated with these methods, i.e., errors in data collection and analysis, and it is time-consuming. This study aims to applied a computer vision approach to reduce the time of data collection and analysis as compared to the videography methods by illuminance calculation, time of flash occurrence, and optimize the position coordinate automatically and tracking each firefly individually. The Validation of the approach was performed by comparing the flashing data of male fireflies, Sclerotia aquatilis that was obtained from the analysis of the behavioral video. The pulse duration, flash interval, and flash patterns of S. aquatilis were similar to a reference study. The accuracy ratio of the tracking algorithm for tracking multiple fireflies was 0.94. The time consumption required to analyze the video decreased up to 96.82% and 76.91% when compared with videography and the stopwatch method, respectively. Therefore, this program could be employed as an alternative technique for the study of fireflies flashing behavior.

Improving safety at railway level crossings remains a priority for the rail industry internationally, as they remain a significant hazard. A high proportion of collisions occur at passive level crossings, because of their high prevalence and their lower effectiveness at mitigating the risks that road users encounter at such crossings. The unreasonable cost required to upgrade them to incorporate active warnings implies that such crossings will remain on the road, and that alternative approaches are required. Drivers tend to make errors at such crossings, and this can be related to approaching such level crossings at speeds that are too high, exhibiting reduced scanning behaviors to look for trains, and not complying with stop signs at the crossing. An alternative approach is to upgrade the advanced signage with active flashing lights activated by road vehicles, aimed at reducing looked-but-failed-to-see errors and reinforcing the behavior expected from road users at such crossings. A field trial was conducted in New Zealand that evaluated how approach speeds and the visual scanning behavior of 27 drivers, recorded with an eye tracker, changed with such treatments. It was found that the presence of road vehicle-activated advanced signage provided a range of benefits for drivers unaware of the presence of a passive crossings, such as increasing drivers’ attention to road signs through drivers fixating on signage for longer durations and reduced (slower) approach speeds. Further research is needed to evaluate whether these benefits are sustained over time, and whether this can minimize complacency resulting from familiarity.

The vehicle-embedded system also known as the electronic control unit (ECU) has transformed the humble motorcar, making it more efficient, environmentally friendly, and safer, but has led to a system which is highly dependent on software. As new technologies and features are included with each new vehicle model, the increased reliance on software will no doubt continue. It is an undeniable fact that all software contains bugs, errors, and potential vulnerabilities, which when discovered must be addressed in a timely manner, primarily through patching and updates, to preserve vehicle and occupant safety and integrity. However, current automotive software updating practices are ad hoc at best and often follow the same inefficient fix mechanisms associated with a physical component failure of return or recall. Increasing vehicle connectivity heralds the potential for over the air (OtA) software updates, but rigid ECU hardware design does not often facilitate or enable OtA updating. To address the associated issues regarding automotive ECU-based software updates, a new approach in how automotive software is deployed to the ECU is required. This paper presents how lightweight virtualisation technologies known as containers can promote efficient automotive ECU software updates. ECU functional software can be deployed to a container built from an associated image. Container images promote efficiency in download size and times through layer sharing, similar to ECU difference or delta flashing. Through containers, connectivity and OtA future software updates can be completed without inconveniences to the consumer or incurring expense to the manufacturer.

Abstract. Calibration of conceptual hydrological models is frequently limited by a lack of data about the area that is being studied. The result is that a broad range of parameter values can be identified that will give an equally good calibration to the available observations, usually of stream flow. The use of total stream flow can bias analyses towards interpretation of rapid runoff, whereas water quality issues are more frequently associated with low flow condition. This paper demonstrates how model distinctions between surface an sub-surface runoff can be used to define a likelihood measure based on the sub-surface (or baseflow) response. This helps to provide more information about the model behaviour, constrain the acceptable parameter sets and reduce uncertainty in streamflow prediction. A conceptual model, DIY, is applied to two contrasting catchments in Scotland, the Ythan and the Carron Valley. Parameter ranges and envelopes of prediction are identified using criteria based on total flow efficiency, baseflow efficiency and combined efficiencies. The individual parameter ranges derived using the combined efficiency measures still cover relatively wide bands, but are better constrained for the Carron than the Ythan. This reflects the fact that hydrological behaviour in the Carron is dominated by a much flashier surface response than in the Ythan. Hence, the total flow efficiency is more strongly controlled by surface runoff in the Carron and there is a greater contrast with the baseflow efficiency. Comparisons of the predictions using different efficiency measures for the Ythan also suggest that there is a danger of confusing parameter uncertainties with data and model error, if inadequate likelihood measures are defined.

Summary Formation fluid sampling early in the life of a well ensures that vital information is available for timely input to field planning decisions. For example, in subsea wells, flow assurance is a major concern, and formation fluid samples from openhole logging help operators optimize investment in both upstream and downstream facilities. When a formation fluid sample is taken from a well drilled with oil-based mud (OBM), sample contamination by the OBM filtrate is a critical factor for the accurate measurement of the sample pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) properties. A technique of monitoring sample contamination from OBM filtrate uses optical means to monitor the buildup of both color- and methane-absorption signals during sampling. The technique provides real-time analysis of sample contamination. Methane detection is essential for condensates and lightly colored crude oils; for such fluids, the color buildup becomes difficult to detect, but the high methane content of these fluids makes possible a reliable methane-based OBM-contamination monitoring algorithm. Gas/oil ratio (GOR) is an important property of crude oil, and it is a vital input to the design of production facilities. Conventionally, GOR is measured at a PVT laboratory, and it may take many weeks before the laboratory can provide this critical information. In this paper, we describe the development of an in-situ GOR measurement technique, which uses the optical properties of methane and oil components in crude oil. With this technique, GOR can be measured downhole in real time, when the sample is taken, and without requiring phase separation. Downhole GOR has many advantages over the conventional GOR measurement techniques. It does not require tampering with the sample, which helps the operator maintain the fluid in a single phase during and after sampling. It also can aid in fingerprinting oils from different layers and provides early indications of GOR that can be compared to PVT lab results. Both the OBM contamination monitoring and the GOR algorithms work well for most crude oils. However, for heavy (dark) oils, the contamination prediction from the methane component and the GOR prediction become unreliable because of the color effect. In this paper, we describe the methodology for downhole GOR measurement, and we provide details of a decolorization technique to remove the color effect of dark oils from the methane, oil, and base channels in a downhole optical fluid analyzer tool. This technique significantly improves real-time contamination monitoring and GOR prediction results for dark oils. Introduction Real-time estimation of sample contamination by drilling-mud filtrate is critical for the collection of representative hydrocarbon-fluid samples in wells drilled with OBM. The hydrocarbon sample may become useless if the contamination is too high (typically above 10 to 15% for crude oils or 1 to 3% for gas condensates). In-situ sample OBM contamination can be predicted in real time by a downhole optical fluid analyzer tool, which is used as a module of a formation testing tool (Mullins and Schroer 2000; Smits et al. 1995; and Crombie et al. 1998). This is accomplished by using a technique of monitoring OBM contamination, which is based on measuring the change of methane content and color in the flowline as cleanup with the downhole pump proceeds and progressively larger fractions of formation fluid replace the OBM filtrate. An accurate value of the GOR is important for many applications, including crude-oil typing and production facilities design. Conventionally, GOR is measured in a PVT laboratory by flashing the crude oil and then measuring the volumes of the gaseous and liquid phases at standard conditions (1 atm and 60°F). It may take many weeks before the laboratory can provide this critical information. The downhole optical fluid analyzer tool has a methane channel and an oil channel, which cover the methane absorption peak and oil absorption peak, respectively. We have developed an in-situ GOR measurement technique that derives GOR from the optical density (OD) ratio of the methane channel and the oil channel. Thus, GOR can be measured downhole in real time, when the sample is taken, and while keeping the sample intact. Downhole GOR is valuable in providing an early confirmation check for subsequent laboratory PVT analysis. The downhole GOR measurement also aids fingerprinting oils from different layers and helps the operator maintain the fluid in a single phase during sampling. Both the OBM contamination monitoring and the downhole GOR techniques work well for the majority of light- to medium-colored crude oils. However, when these two techniques are applied to heavy oils, the color absorption of the crude extends to the near-infrared region (NIR) and covers the methane and oil molecular-vibration peaks. If not corrected for, this would result in errors in the methane-based contamination prediction and GOR prediction. This paper describes a decolorization algorithm to remove the color effect from the methane and the oil channels. This algorithm is based on the exponential decay of color absorption toward the longer wavelengths in the NIR region. After decolorization, the methane and oil channels contain only the molecular-vibration absorptions of methane and oil, which are then used to derive an accurate crude-oil contamination value and GOR. The examples described here involved OBM. It should be noted that all the techniques for GOR calculation mentioned in this paper can be, and have been, applied successfully to sampling in wells drilled with water-based mud.

Purpose For the robot-assisted upper limb rehabilitation training process of the elderly with damaged neuromuscular channels and hemiplegic patients, bioelectric signals are added to transform the traditional passive training mode into the active training mode. Design/methodology/approach This paper mainly builds a steady-state visual stimulation interface, an electroencephalography (EEG) signal processing platform and an exoskeleton robot verification platform. The target flashing stimulation blocks provide visual stimulation at the specified position according to the specified frequency and stimulate EEG signals of different frequency bands. The EEG signal-processing platform constructed in this paper removes the noise by using Butterworth band-pass filtering and common average reference filtering on the obtained signals. Further, the features are extracted to identify the volunteer’s active movement intention through the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) method. The classification results are transmitted to the upper limb exoskeleton robot control system, combined with the position and posture of the exoskeleton robot to control the joint motion of robot. Findings Through a large number of experimental studies, the average accuracy of offline recognition of motion intention recognition can reach 86.1%. The control strategy with a three-instruction judgment method reduces the average execution error rate of the entire control system to 6.75%. Online experiments verify the feasibility of the steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP)-based rehabilitation system. Originality/value An EEG signal analysis method based on SSVEP is integrated into the control of an upper limb exoskeleton robot, transforming the traditional passive training mode into the active training mode. The device used to record EEG is of very low cost, which has the potential to promote the rehabilitation system for further widely applications.

Reactive and proactive cognitive control are fundamental for guiding complex human behaviour. In two experiments, we evaluated the role of both types of cognitive control in navigational search. Participants searched for a single hidden target in a floor array where the salience at the search locations varied (flashing or static lights). An a-priori rule of the probable location of the target (either under a static or a flashing light) was provided at the start of each experiment. Both experiments demonstrated a bias towards rule-adherent locations. Search errors, measured as revisits, were more likely to occur under the flashing rule for searching flashing locations, regardless of the salience of target location in Experiment 1 and at rule-congruent (flashing) locations in Experiment 2. Consistent with dual mechanisms of control, rule-adherent search was explained by engaging proactive control to guide goal-maintained search behaviour and by engaging reactive control to avoid revisits to salient (flashing) locations. Experiment 2 provided direct evidence for dual mechanisms of control using a Dot Pattern Expectancy task to distinguish the dominant control mode for a participant. Participants with a reactive control mode generated more revisits to salient (flashing) locations. These data point to complementary roles for proactive and reactive control in guiding navigational search and propose a novel framework for interpreting navigational search.

A P300 brain-computer interface (BCI) is a paradigm, where text characters are decoded from event-related potentials (ERPs). In a popular implementation, called P300 speller, a subject looks at a display where characters are flashing and selects one character by attending to it. The selection is recognized as the item with the strongest ERP. The speller performs well when cortical responses to target and non-target stimuli are sufficiently different. Although many strategies have been proposed for improving the BCI spelling, a relatively simple one received insufficient attention in the literature: reduction of the visual field to diminish the contribution from non-target stimuli. Previously, this idea was implemented in a single-stimulus switch that issued an urgent command like stopping a robot. To tackle this approach further, we ran a pilot experiment where ten subjects operated a traditional P300 speller or wore a binocular aperture that confined their sight to the central visual field. As intended, visual field restriction resulted in a replacement of non-target ERPs with EEG rhythms asynchronous to stimulus periodicity. Changes in target ERPs were found in half of the subjects and were individually variable. While classification accuracy was slightly better for the aperture condition (84.3 ± 2.9%, mean ± standard error) than the no-aperture condition (81.0 ± 2.6%), this difference was not statistically significant for the entire sample of subjects (N = 10). For both the aperture and no-aperture conditions, classification accuracy improved over 4 days of training, more so for the aperture condition (from 72.0 ± 6.3% to 87.0 ± 3.9% and from 72.0 ± 5.6% to 97.0 ± 2.2% for the no-aperture and aperture conditions, respectively). Although in this study BCI performance was not substantially altered, we suggest that with further refinement this approach could speed up BCI operations and reduce user fatigue. Additionally, instead of wearing an aperture, non-targets could be removed algorithmically or with a hybrid interface that utilizes an eye tracker. We further discuss how a P300 speller could be improved by taking advantage of the different physiological properties of the central and peripheral vision. Finally, we suggest that the proposed experimental approach could be used in basic research on the mechanisms of visual processing.

Historians of Modern Architecture have cultivated the image of the architect as a temperamental genius, unconcerned by issues of politeness or pragmatics—a reading reinforced in cultural representations of Modern Architects, such as Howard Roark, the protagonist in Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel The Fountainhead (a character widely believed to be based on the architect Frank Lloyd Wright). The perception of the Modern Architect as an artistic hero or genius has also influenced the reception of their work. Despite their indisputable place within the architectural canon, many important works of Modern Architecture were contested on pragmatic grounds, such as cost, brief and particularly concerning issues of suitability and effectiveness in relation to climate and weather. A number of famed cases resulted in legal action between clients and architects, and in many more examples historians have critically framed these accounts to highlight alternate issues and agendas. “Complaints about the weather,” in relation to architecture, inevitably raise issues regarding a work’s “success,” particularly in view of the tensions between artistry and functionality inherent in the discipline of architecture. While in more recent decades these ideas have been framed around ideas of sustainability—particularly in relation to contemporary buildings—more traditionally they have been engaged through discussions of an architect’s ethical responsibility to deliver a habitable building that meets the client’s needs. This paper suggests these complaints often raise a broader range of issues and are used to highlight tensions inherent in the discipline. In the history of Modern Architecture, these complaints are often framed through gender studies, ethics and, more recently, artistic asceticism. Accounts of complaints and disputes are often invoked in the social construction (or deconstruction) of artistic genius – whether in a positive or negative light. Through its discussion of a number of famed examples, this paper will discuss the framing of climate in relation to the figure of the Modern Architect and the reception of the architectural “masterpiece.” Dear Monsieur Le Corbusier … In June 1930 Mme Savoye, the patron of the famed Villa Savoye on the outskirts of Paris, wrote to her architect, Le Corbusier, stating: “it is still raining in our garage” (Sbriglio 144)—a persistent theme in their correspondence. This letter followed another sent in March after discovering leaks in the garage and several bedrooms following a visit during inclement weather. While sent prior to the building’s completion, she also noted that rainfall on the bathroom skylight “makes a terrible noise […] which prevents us from sleeping in bad weather” (Sbriglio 142). Claiming to have warned Le Corbusier about the concern, the contractor refused to accept responsibility, prompting some rather fiery correspondence between the two. This problem, compounded by issues with the heating system, resulted in the house feeling, as Sbriglio notes, “cold and damp” and subject to “substantial heat loss due to the large glazing”—a cause for particular concern given the health problems of the clients’ only child, Roger Savoye, that saw him spend time in a French Sanatorium (Sbriglio 145). While the cause of Roger’s illness is not clear, at least one writer (albeit with a noticeable lack of footnotes or supporting evidence) has linked this directly to the villa (de Botton 65). Mme Savoye’s complaints about dampness, humidity, condensation and leaking in her home persisted in subsequent years, prompting Benton to summarise in 1987, “every autumn […] there were cries of distress from the Savoye family with the first rains” (Villas 204). These also extended to discussion of the heating system, which while proving insufficient was also causing flooding (Benton, "Villa" 93). In 1935 Savoye again wrote to Le Corbusier, wearily stating: It is raining in the hall, it’s raining on the ramp and the wall of the garage is absolutely soaked [….] it’s still raining in my bathroom, which floods in bad weather, as the water comes in through the skylight. The gardener’s walls are also wet through. (Sbriglio 146-7) Savoye’s understandable vexation with waterproofing problems in her home continued to escalate. With a mixture of gratitude and frustration, a letter sent two years later stated: “After innumerable demands you have finally accepted that this house which you built in 1929 in uninhabitable…. Please render it inhabitable immediately. I sincerely hope that I will not have to take recourse to legal action” (Sbriglio 147). Paradoxically, Le Corbusier was interested in the potential of architecture and urban planning to facilitate health and well-being, as well as the effects that climate may play in this. Early twentieth century medical thought advocated heliotherary (therapeutic exposure to sunlight) for a diverse range of medical conditions, ranging from rickets to tuberculosis. Similarly the health benefits of climate, such as the dryness of mountain air, had been recognised for much longer, and had led to burgeoning industries associated with health, travel and climate. The dangers of damp environments had also long been medically recognised. Le Corbusier’s awareness of the health benefits of sunshine led to the inclusion of a solarium in the villa that afforded both framed and unframed views of the surrounding countryside, such as those that were advocated in the seventeenth century as an antidote to melancholy (Burton 65-66). Both Benton and Sbriglio present Mme Savoye’s complaints as part of their comprehensive histories of an important and influential work of Modern Architecture. Each reproduce excerpts from archival letters that are not widely translated or accessible, and Benton’s 1984 essay is the source other authors generally cite in discussing these matters. In contrast, for example, Murphy’s 2002 account of the villa’s conversion from “house” to “historical monument” cites the same letters (via Benton) as part of a broader argument that highlights the “undomestic” or “unhomely” nature of the work by cataloguing such accounts of the client’s experience of discomfort while residing in the space – thus revisiting a number of common criticisms of Modern Architecture. Le Corbusier’s reputation for designing buildings that responded poorly to climate is often referenced in popular accounts of his work. For example, a 1935 article published in Time states: Though the great expanses of glass that he favors may occasionally turn his rooms into hothouses, his flat roofs may leak and his plans may be wasteful of space, it was Architect Le Corbusier who in 1923 put the entire philosophy of modern architecture into a single sentence: “A house is a machine to live in.” Reference to these issues are usually made rather minimally in academic accounts of his work, and few would agree with this article’s assertion that Le Corbusier’s influence as a phrasemaker would rival the impact of his architecture. In contrast, such issues, in relation to other architects, are often invoked more rhetorically as part of a variety of historical agendas, particularly in constructing feminist histories of architecture. While Corbusier and his work have often been the source of intellectual contention from feminist scholars—for example in regard to authorial disputes and fractious relationships with the likes of Eileen Gray or Charlotte Perriand – discussion of the functional failures in the Villa Savoye are rarely addressed from this perspective. Rather, feminist scholars have focussed their attention on a number of other projects, most notably the case of the Farnsworth House, another canonical work of Modernism. Dear Herr Mies van der Rohe … Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, completed in 1951 in Plano Illinois, was commissioned as a country weekend residence by an unmarried female doctor, a brief credited with freeing the architect from many of the usual pragmatic requirements of a permanent city residence. In response Mies designed a rectilinear steel and glass pavilion, which hovered (to avoid the flood levels) above the landscape, sheltered by maple trees, in close proximity to the Fox River. The refined architectural detail, elegant formal properties, and poetic relationship with the surrounding landscape – whether in its autumnal splendour or covered in a thick blanket of snow – captivated architects seeing it become, like the Villa Savoye, one of the most revered architectural works of the twentieth century. Prior to construction a model was exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and, upon completion the building became a pilgrimage site for architects and admirers. The exhibition of the design later fuelled debate about whether Dr Farnsworth constituted a patron or a client (Friedman 134); a distinction generating very different expectations for the responsibilities of the architect, particularly regarding the production of a habitable home that met the client’s brief versus producing a design of architectural merit. The house was intended as a frame for viewing and contemplating nature, thus seeing nature and climate aligned with the transcendental qualities of the design. Following a visit during construction, Farnsworth described the building’s relationship to the elements, writing: “the two horizontal planes of the unfinished building, floating over the meadows, were unearthly beautiful under a sun which glowed like a wild rose” (5). Similarly, in 1951, Arthur Drexler described the building as “a quantity of air caught between a floor and a roof” (Vandenberg 6). Seven years later the architect himself asserted that nature “gained a more profound significance” when viewed from within the house (Friedman 139). While the transparency of the house was “forgiven” by its isolated location and the lack of visibility from neighbouring properties, the issues a glass and steel box might pose for the thermal comfort of its occupant are not difficult to imagine. Following the house’s completion, Farnsworth fitted windows with insect screens and blinds (although Mies intended for curtains to be installed) that clumsily undermined the refined and minimalistic architectural details. Controversy surrounding the house was, in part, the result of its bold new architectural language. However, it was also due to the architect-client relationship, which turned acrimonious in a very public manner. A dispute between Mies and Farnsworth regarding unpaid fees was fought both in the courtroom and the media, becoming a forum for broader debate as various journals (for example, House Beautiful), publicly took sides. The professional female client versus the male architect and the framing of their dispute by historians and the media has seen this project become a seminal case-study in feminist architectural histories, such as Friedman’s Women and the Making of the Modern House of 1998. Beyond the conflict and speculation about the individuals involved, at the core of these discussions were the inadequacies of the project in relation to comfort and climate. For example, Farnsworth describes in her journal finding the house awash with several inches of water, leading to a court session being convened on the rooftop in order to properly ascertain the defects (14). Written retrospectively, after their relationship soured, Farnsworth’s journal delights in recounting any errors or misjudgements made by Mies during construction. For example, she described testing the fireplace to find “the house was sealed so hermetically that the attempt of a flame to go up the chimney caused an interior negative pressure” (2). Further, her growing disenchantment was reflected in bleak descriptions aligning the building with the weather. Describing her first night camping in her home, she wrote: “the expanses of the glass walls and the sills were covered with ice. The silent meadows outside white with old and hardened snow reflected the bleak [light] bulb within, as if the glass house itself were an unshaded bulb of uncalculated watts lighting the winter plains” (9). In an April 1953 article in House Beautiful, Elizabeth Gordon publicly sided with Farnsworth as part of a broader campaign against the International Style. She condemned the home, and its ‘type’ as “unlivable”, writing: “You burn up in the summer and freeze in the winter, because nothing must interfere with the ‘pure’ form of their rectangles” (250). Gordon included the lack of “overhanging roofs to shade you from the sun” among a catalogue of “human qualities” she believed architects sacrificed for the expression of composition—a list that also included possessions, children, pets and adequate kitchen facilities (250). In 1998 excerpts from this article were reproduced by Friedman, in her seminal work of feminist architectural history, and were central in her discussion of the way that debates surrounding this house were framed through notions of gender. Responding to this conflict, and its media coverage, in 1960 Peter Blake wrote: All great houses by great architects tend to be somewhat impractical; many of Corbu’s and Wright’s house clients find that they are living in too expensive and too inefficient buildings. Yet many of these clients would never exchange their houses for the most workable piece of mediocrity. (88) Far from complaining about the weather, the writings of its second owner, Peter Palumbo, poetically meditate the building’s relationship to the seasons and the elements. In his foreword to a 2003 monograph, he wrote: life inside the house is very much a balance with nature, and an extension of nature. A change in the season or an alteration of the landscape creates a marked change in the mood inside the house. With an electric storm of Wagnerian proportions illuminating the night sky and shaking the foundations of the house to their very core, it is possible to remain quite dry! When, with the melting snows of spring, the Fox River becomes a roaring torrent that bursts its banks, the house assumes a character of a house-boat, the water level sometimes rising perilously close to the front door. On such occasions, the approach to the house is by canoe, which is tied to the steps of the upper terrace. (Vandenberg 5) Palumbo purchased the house from Farnsworth and commissioned Mies’s grandson to restore it to its original condition, removing the blinds and insect screens, and installing an air-conditioning system. The critical positioning of Palumbo has been quite different from that of Farnsworth. His restoration and writings on the project have in some ways seen him positioned as the “real” architectural patron. Furthermore, his willingness to tolerate some discomfort in his inhabitation has seen him in some ways prefigure the type of resident that will be next be discussed in reference to recent owners of Wright properties. Dear Mr Wright … Accounts of weatherproofing problems in buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright have become the basis of mythology in the architectural discipline. For example, in 1936 Herbert Johnson and J. Vernon Steinle visited Wright’s Richard Lloyd Jones house in Oklahoma. As Jonathan Lipman wrote, “Steinle’s most prominent recollection of the house was that there were scores of tubs and canning jars in the house catching water leaking through the roof” (45). While Lipman notes the irony that both the house and office Wright designed for Johnson would suffer the same problem, it is the anecdotal accounts of the former that have perhaps attracted the most interest. An oft-recounted story tells of Johnson telephoning Wright, during a dinner party, with regard to water dripping from the ceiling into his guest-of-honour’s soup; the complaint was reportedly rebuffed unsympathetically by Wright who suggested the lady should move her chair (Farr 272). Wright himself addressed his reputation for designing buildings that leaked in his Autobiography. In reference to La Miniatura in Pasadena, of 1923, he contextualised difficulties with the local climate, which he suggested was prone to causing leaks, writing: “The sun bakes the roof for eleven months, two weeks and five days, shrinking it to a shrivel. Then giving the roof no warning whatever to get back to normal if it could, the clouds burst. Unsuspecting roof surfaces are deluged by a three inch downpour.” He continued, stating: I knew all this. And I know there are more leaking roofs in Southern California than in all the rest of the world put together. I knew that the citizens come to look upon water thus in a singularly ungrateful mood. I knew that water is all that enables them to have their being there, but let any of it through on them from above, unexpectedly, in their houses and they go mad. It is a kind of phobia. I knew all this and I have taken seriously precautions in the details of this little house to avoid such scenes as a result of negligible roofs. This is the truth. (250) Wright was quick to attribute blame—directed squarely at the builder. Never one for quiet diplomacy, he complained that the “builder had lied to [him] about the flashing under and within the coping walls” (250) and he was ignorant of the incident because the client had not informed him of the leak. He suggested the client’s silence was undoubtedly due to her “not wishing to hurt [his] feelings”. Although given earlier statements it might be speculated that she did not wish to be accused of pandering to a phobia of leaks. Wright was dismissive of the client’s inconvenience, suggesting she would be able to continue as normal until the next rains the following year and claiming he “fixed the house” once he “found out about it” (250). Implicit in this justification was the idea that it was not unreasonable to expect the client to bear a few days of “discomfort” each year in tolerance of the local climate. In true Wright style, discussions of these problems in his autobiography were self-constructive concessions. While Wright refused to take responsibility for climate-related issues in La Minatura, he was more forthcoming in appreciating the triumphs of his Imperial Hotel in Japan—one of the only buildings in the vicinity to survive the 1923 earthquake. In a chapter of his autobiography titled “Building against Doomsday (Why the Great Earthquake did not destroy the Imperial Hotel),” Wright reproduced a telegram sent by Okura Impeho stating: “Hotel stands undamaged as monument of your genius hundreds of homeless provided perfectly maintained service. Congratulations” (222). Far from unconcerned by nature or climate, Wright’s works celebrated and often went to great effort to accommodate the poetic qualities of these. In reference to his own home, Taliesin, Wright wrote: I wanted a home where icicles by invitation might beautify the eaves. So there were no gutters. And when the snow piled deep on the roofs […] icicles came to hang staccato from the eaves. Prismatic crystal pendants sometimes six feet long, glittered between the landscape and the eyes inside. Taliesin in winter was a frosted palace roofed and walled with snow, hung with iridescent fringes. (173) This description was, in part, included as a demonstration of his “superior” understanding and appreciation of nature and its poetic possibilities; an understanding not always mirrored by his clients. Discussing the Lloyd Lewis House in Libertyville, Illinois of 1939, Wright described his endeavours to keep the house comfortable (and avoid flooding) in Spring, Autumn and Summer months which, he conceded, left the house more vulnerable to winter conditions. Utilising an underfloor heating system, which he argued created a more healthful natural climate rather than an “artificial condition,” he conceded this may feel inadequate upon first entering the space (495). Following the client’s complaints that this system and the fireplace were insufficient, particularly in comparison with the temperature levels he was accustomed to in his workplace (at The Daily News), Wright playfully wrote: I thought of various ways of keeping the writer warm, I thought of wiring him to an electric pad inside his vest, allowing lots of lead wire so he could get around. But he waved the idea aside with contempt. […] Then I suggested we appeal to Secretary Knox to turn down the heat at the daily news […] so he could become acclimated. (497) Due to the client’s disinclination to bear this discomfort or use any such alternate schemes, Wright reluctantly refit the house with double-glazing (at the clients expense). In such cases, discussion of leaks or thermal discomfort were not always negative, but were cited rhetorically implying that perfunctory building techniques were not yet advanced enough to meet the architect’s expectations, or that their creative abilities were suppressed by conservative or difficult clients. Thus discussions of building failures have often been invoked in the social construction of the “architect-genius.” Interestingly accounts of the permeability of Wright’s buildings are more often included in biographical rather that architectural writings. In recent years, these accounts of weatherproofing problems have transformed from accusing letters or statements implying failure to a “badge of honour” among occupants who endure discomfort for the sake of art. This changing perspective is usually more pronounced in second generation owners, like Peter Palumbo (who has also owned Corbusier and Wright designed homes), who are either more aware of the potential problems in owning such a house or are more tolerant given an understanding of the historical worth of these projects. This is nowhere more evident than in a profile published in the real estate section of the New York Times. Rather than concealing these issues to preserve the resale value of the property, weatherproofing problems are presented as an endearing quirk. The new owners of Wright’s Prefab No. 1 of 1959, on Staten Island declared they initially did not have enough pots to place under the fifty separate leaks in their home, but in December 2005 proudly boasted they were ‘down to only one leak’ (Bernstein, "Living"). Similarly, in 2003 the resident of a Long Island Wright-designed property, optimistically claimed that while his children often complained their bedrooms were uncomfortably cold, this encouraged the family to spend more time in the warmer communal spaces (Bernstein, "In a House"). This client, more than simply optimistic, (perhaps unwittingly) implies an awareness of the importance of “the hearth” in Wright’s architecture. In such cases complaints about the weather are re-framed. The leaking roof is no longer representative of gender or power relationships between the client and the uncompromising artistic genius. Rather, it actually empowers the inhabitant who rises above their circumstances for the sake of art, invoking a kind of artistic asceticism. While “enlightened” clients of famed architects may be willing to suffer the effects of climate in the interiors of their homes, their neighbours are less tolerant as suggested in a more recent example. Complaints about the alteration of the micro-climate surrounding Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles prompted the sandblasting of part of the exterior cladding to reduce glare. In 2004, USA Today reported that reflections from the stainless steel cladding were responsible for raising the temperature in neighbouring buildings by more than 9° Celsius, forcing neighbours to close their blinds and operate their air-conditioners. There were also fears that the glare might inadvertently cause traffic problems. Further, one report found that average ground temperatures adjacent to the building peaked at approximately 58° Celsius (Schiler and Valmont). Unlike the Modernist examples, this more recent project has not yet been framed in aid of a critical agenda, and has seemingly been reported simply for being “newsworthy.” Benign Conversation Discussion of the suitability of Modern Architecture in relation to climate has proven a perennial topic of conversation, invoked in the course of recurring debates and criticisms. The fascination with accounts of climate-related problems—particularly in discussing the work of the great Modernist Architects like Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright—is in part due to a certain Schadenfreude in debunking the esteem and authority of a canonical figure. This is particularly the case with one, such as Wright, who was characterised by significant self-confidence and an acerbic wit often applied at the expense of others. Yet these accounts have been invoked as much in the construction of the figure of the architect as a creative genius as they have been in the deconstruction of this figure—as well as the historical construction of the client and the historians involved. In view of the growing awareness of the threats and realities of climate change, complaints about the weather are destined to adopt a new significance and be invoked in support of a different range of agendas. While it may be somewhat anachronistic to interpret the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright or Mies van der Rohe in terms of current discussions about sustainability in architecture, these topics are often broached when restoring, renovating or adapting the designs of such architects for new or contemporary usage. In contrast, the climatic problems caused by Gehry’s concert hall are destined to be framed according to a different set of values—such as the relationship of his work to the time, or perhaps in relation to contemporary technology. While discussion of the weather is, in the conversational arts, credited as benign topic, this is rarely the case in architectural history. References Benton, Tim. The Villas of Le Corbusier 1920-1930. New Haven: Yale UP, 1987. ———. “Villa Savoye and the Architects’ Practice (1984).” Le Corbusier: The Garland Essays. Ed. H. Allen Brooks. New York: Garland, 1987. 83-105. Bernstein, Fred A. “In a House That Wright Built.” New York Times 21 Sept. 2003. 3 Aug. 2009 < http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/nyregion/in-a-house-that-wright-built.html >. ———. “Living with Frank Lloyd Wright.” New York Times 18 Dec. 2005. 30 July 2009 < http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/realestate/18habi.html >. Blake, Peter. Mies van der Rohe: Architecture and Structure. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1963 (1960). Burton, Robert. The Anatomy of Melancholy, vol. II. Eds. Nicolas K. Kiessling, Thomas C. Faulkner and Rhonda L. Blair. Oxford: Clarendon, 1995 (1610). Campbell, Margaret. “What Tuberculosis Did for Modernism: The Influence of a Curative Environment on Modernist Design and Architecture.” Medical History 49 (2005): 463–488. “Corbusierismus”. Art. Time 4 Nov. 1935. 18 Aug. 2009 < http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,755279,00.html >. De Botton, Alain. The Architecture of Happiness. London: Penguin, 2006. Farnsworth, Edith. ‘Chapter 13’, Memoirs. Unpublished journals in three notebooks, Farnsworth Collection, Newberry Library, Chicago, unpaginated (17pp). 29 Jan. 2009 < http://www.farnsworthhouse.org/pdf/edith_journal.pdf >. Farr, Finis. Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1961. Friedman, Alice T. Women and the Making of the Modern House: A Social and Architectural History. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998. Gordon, Elizabeth. “The Threat to the Next America.” House Beautiful 95.4 (1953): 126-30, 250-51. Excerpts reproduced in Friedman. Women and the Making of the Modern House. 140-141. Hardarson, Ævar. “All Good Architecture Leaks—Witticism or Word of Wisdom?” Proceedings of the CIB Joint Symposium 13-16 June 2005, Helsinki < http://www.metamorfose.ntnu.no/Artikler/Hardarson_all_good_architecture_leaks.pdf >. Huck, Peter. “Gehry’s Hall Feels Heat.” The Age 1 March 2004. 22 Aug. 2009 < http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02 /27/1077676955090.html >. Lipman, Jonathan. Frank Lloyd Wright and the Johnson Wax Buildings. Introduction by Kenneth Frampton. London: Architectural Press, 1984. Murphy, Kevin D. “The Villa Savoye and the Modernist Historic Monument.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 61.1 (2002): 68-89. “New L.A. Concert Hall Raises Temperatures of Neighbours.” USA Today 24 Feb. 2004. 24 Aug. 2009 < http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-02-24-concert-hall_x.htm >. Owens, Mitchell. “A Wright House, Not a Shrine.” New York Times 25 July 1996. 30 July 2009 . Sbriglio, Jacques. Le Corbusier: La Villa Savoye, The Villa Savoye. Paris: Fondation Le Corbusier; Basel: Birkhäuser, 1999. Schiler, Marc, and Elizabeth Valmont. “Microclimatic Impact: Glare around the Walt Disney Concert Hall.” 2005. 24 Aug. 2009 < http://www.sbse.org/awards/docs/2005/1187.pdf >. Vandenberg, Maritz. Farnsworth House. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Foreword by Lord Peter Palumbo. London: Phaidon Press, 2003. Wright, Frank Lloyd. An Autobiography. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1943.