Building adaptation comprises a variety of construction actions that enhance current condition and extend the life span of buildings. Architectural adaptation involves refurbishing, retrofitting, restoration, renovation, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, material reuse, conservation, and preservation, as well as other activities to improve building conditions. In this study, the most relevant definitions, implementations, and ranges of the specified terminologies are examined; on the basis of this classification, a conceptual model is constructed to facilitate accurate categorization of building adaptations and its application in various case studies. The current state of heritage buildings in Erbil (the Erbil Citadel as a World Heritage Site and the buffer zone as cultural heritage) is evaluated. We aimed to investigate their current conservation status and determine whether the Erbil Citadel’s heritage building adaptation has addressed the issue of energy retrofitting to realize green and passive construction. The results indicate that the framework model is an effective assessment tool in the field of conserving heritage buildings. The majority of Erbil’s heritage buildings have been restored and rehabilitated for public interaction; nevertheless, additional interventions are required to improve the buildings’ energy efficiency and conservation for this to be recognized as sustainable heritage development. In the future, academics and practitioners may use the suggested framework to clearly and consistently describe the scope of the work in their building adaptation, thereby eliminating the high costs of correcting code and specification requirements that were not met.

Daylight represents one of the crucial factors that affect directly on the building performance and its occupants. This study assesses the daylight performance in the multi-storey residential buildings (apartments) in Erbil city. It aims to find out the impact of building typology on daylighting quality and quantity. The endeavour of this research is to determine the optimal plan typology in providing sufficient daylight levels. A simulation method has been used with an academic licensed Revit Architecture 2019 with plugged insight daylight analysis as one of Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools for achieving this goal. Five multi-storey residential buildings were selected as cases of study. Three types of simulation were run on each project: Illuminance, LEED, and Daylight Autonomy to achieve results. The results were analyzed and compared with daylight standards levels. The results demonstrated that the point typology is the best type of plans among all cases in terms of providing optimal daylight performance, while the double-loaded plan typology was the worst. The study concluded that the plan typology has an obvious impact on achieving daylight performance in the multi-storey residential buildings. The current research can contribute to identifying the shortcomings of daylight levels in buildings seeking to overcome it in the early phases of design. Header of solarlits.com

Due to its positive impact on human psychophysiological indicators, biophilic design can be implemented in various built environments. This design approach can be used when the connection to natural elements is limited and when the occupants feel stressed and uncomfortable in a specific space. Purposes: This research aims to investigate promoting Students’ well-being indicators through adapting biophilic design attributes in Salahaddin University dormitories Subjects: a cross-sectional field experiment conducted with 39 University students. Design: the participants experienced one of the two simulated rooms by using a virtual reality headset (VR). The first was a biophilic design room BDR based on the adopted BDAs, and the second was a non-biophilic design room NBDR. Besides, all participants performed a stress induction task SIT. Measures: Participants‘ physiological indicators were measured twice, one before and the other after the experiment. Measures included heart rate HR, Systolic blood pressure SBP and diastolic blood pressure DBP. Result: Paired-Samples T-Test was used to compare the mean of physiological indicators. The P-values of physiological indicators were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study provided statistical evidence that BDAs can provide a restorative environment that positively affects human psychophysiology indicators, and NBDR provide a more stressful environment. VR is a powerful research tool if an empirical experiment and time/cost limit is now allowed.

The retrofitting of traditional cities into smart cities is crucial for addressing rapid urban development by integrating smart technology while respecting the human dimension to fulfill human needs. The primary objective of this paper is to establish practical guidelines and develop a strategic, human-centered, comprehensive, and conceptual framework model that integrates smart technology through a set of smart city performance indicators. This framework aims to inform human-centered technological strategies for adapting Erbil City, retrofitting the old city into a smart one. Therefore, the paper aims to develop a roadmap scenario and build a conceptual framework model for retrofitting the traditional city of Erbil into a smart city. It outlines the methods that can be used, taking into account contemporary technology and citizens’ needs. In this context, the traditional city of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has been selected as a case study, represented explicitly by the Buffer Zone area. The research employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including a literature review, questionnaires, space syntax analysis, and statistical analysis. The results and conclusions demonstrate that the human-centered approach plays a significant role in achieving smart cities. In collaboration with smart technology strategies, old and traditional cities can be retrofitted to become smart cities.

Spatial adaptability is the ability of floor plans to adapt to families' changing needs and requirements over time. Apartment floor plans that are not designed according to the user's preferences cannot meet his or her changing needs over time. So, an adaptable apartment floor plan is considered a desirable alternative that can provide various solutions to households' changing spatial needs in the present and the future. Future low-income apartment designs will be more effective if users select the most appropriate types of floor plan adaptability for their needs and culture. The aim of this study is to identify user preferences for the types of adaptability of floor plans and assess the adaptability capacity of low-income apartment floor plans based on those preferences. Based on the research criteria, six low-income multi-family residential buildings in Erbil City were chosen as case studies. The questionnaire was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 363 participants. The study used mixed methodologies, including a quantitative questionnaire survey and a qualitative case study analysis method, to answer the research questions. This study concluded that users did not prefer all the types of spatial adaptability; they preferred the ones that most suited their needs, lifestyles, and preferences. Low-income apartment floor plans didn’t support user preferences, and residents of low-income apartments in Erbil City could not adapt their apartment floor plans according to their preferences. According to the findings of this study, there should be a greater emphasis on the future design of low-income apartment floor plans in order to meet the changing space needs and requirements of families. This study can help architects and policymakers improve housing quality in Erbil City by considering user preferences for space adaptation when designing low-income apartment floor plans in the future.

This study investigates the impact of interior design on employee's job satisfaction, and it is an exploratory study about employee's opinion to their office interior design at the presidency offices response through the study, in addition there are some questions that researchers try to get answer which including: of both Koya and Ishik universities. As well as interior design is as an independent variable and job satisfaction is as dependent variable. A questionnaire is used and its involving of thirty one phrases. Also, the scope of the population exists the employees of Koya and Ishik university, which are selected randomly and have been returned and analyzed, the following appropriate. Furthermore, statistical methods are used to analyze data and to test research hypotheses such as, regression, model summary statistics, one-sample t-test, mean and standard deviation, in addition (ANOVA) using statistical software program (SPSS.v.20).The main result of the study is summarize the result that interior design has an effect on job satisfaction of employees specify the result in both universities.