Some of the most striking accounts of the inventive power of imagination come from former prisoners who have spent time in solitary confinement. In these testimonies, they relate how their imaginative capacity enabled them to keep their sanity, even in the most arduous circumstances. Somehow they managed …

The seismic assessment of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings with cavity walls is a relevant issue in many countries, such as in Central and Northern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China and several other countries. A cavity wall consists of two separate parallel masonry walls (called leaves) connected …

Initial expectations about the interactive affordances of VR were often inspired by science fiction and technological fantasies rather than based on actual technical possibilities. In these futuristic accounts of VR, interactors would have the opportunity to fully engage with the characters that inhabit …

This paper presents a proof of concept for monitoring masonry structures using two different types of markers which are not easily noticeable by human eye but exhibit high reflection when subjected to NIR (near-infrared) wavelength of light. The first type is a retroreflective marker covered by a special …

This paper aims to quantify the evolution of damage in masonry walls under induced seismicity. A damage index equation, which is a function of the evolution of shear slippage and opening of the mortar joints, as well as of the drift ratio of masonry walls, was proposed herein. Initially, a dataset of …

The grand objective of this research report can be reiterated by the main research question, which was: “What final product is the most optimal for the utilization of the Viberscrete high miscanthus concentration mixture within the construction & building field?” To be precise, the research report aimed …

Masonry structures comprise a significant portion of the historical building stock all over the world. Previous studies have clearly pointed out that unreinforced masonry buildings are vulnerable against extreme loading conditions, such as seismic actions. Therefore, strengthening is inevitable in most …

Masonry structures represent the highest proportion of building stock worldwide. Currently, the structural condition of such structures is predominantly manually inspected which is a laborious, costly and subjective process. With developments in computer vision, there is an opportunity to use digital …

Online knowledge-sharing platforms could potentially contribute to an accelerated climate adaptation by promoting more green and blue spaces in urban areas. The implementation of small-scale nature-based solutions (NBS) such as bio(swales), green roofs, and green walls requires the involvement and enthusiasm …

In recent years, the number of human-induced earthquakes in Groningen, a large gas field in the north of the Netherlands, has increased. The majority of the buildings are built by using unreinforced masonry (URM), most of which consists of cavity (i.e. two-leaf) walls, and were not designed to withstand …