Editorial Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2016

Abstract

The Dept. of Architecture, BUET, has so far been the only centre of post-graduation in Bangladesh, contributing to, among others, the generation of expertise and knowledge through research. The central role of Protibesh, a DoA-BUET Journal—is arguably concerned with the dissemination of this knowledge. It is time now, to reassess the role of Protibesh, when completed academic research, especially through M.Arch degrees, is higher in number and diversity than ever before. The present multi-disciplinary Editorial Board, since its inception, has taken on board an agenda to create authors, from these budding researchers. The underlying objectives are: DoA-BUET retains the institutional ownership of the possible rst publications from the completed research in BUET; by making Protibesh available on the web, it promotes an increase in the number of citations of the publications by local authors that these research articles are based upon; at the same time, it encourages single-authorship among young academics and practitioners, gearing towards theiracademic/professional advancement, in an era of knowledge-based design and intervention.  With the aim of harboring a 'culture of publication' in Architecture, the Editorial Board has tried to ensure the quality of publications through a double-blind peer-review process. Yet the dearth of manuscripts submitted for publication, and the even fewer nal acceptances explain the lower-than-expected number of Protibesh issues published.

This last issue, under the present Editorial Board, has fve articles covering the streams of Human Settlement and Energy and Environment. We are pleased to note that, three of these are based on completed March dissertations at the DoA-BUET, by their respective authors. The first three articles address housing, amidst thematic issues, public/private sector, and income-group diversities, within the Human Settlement stream. All the articles, in one way or the other, address the social dimensions of housing, with variations in content and methodology, and most importantly, focus on issues previously unaddressed in Bangladesh. During the present ongoing rapid urbanization, a common theme running among them all is on ways in which discrete social groups in Dhaka appropriate indoor and outdoor spaces within buildings and neighbourhoods. The lead article entitled “Segregation in Domestic Spatial Organisation of the Contemporary Middle-Income Group Apartments of Dhaka” explores dwellers' gender-specic organization, and use of domestic spaces through an ongoing transformation of segregation by Space Syntax simulation, and their implications on house form. The following article “Changes in Shared Spaces for Social Interaction: A Socio- Temporal Evaluation of Real Estate Apartments in Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka” compares the making and changing of social spaces for social interaction, by using Post-Occupancy Evaluation method. It's comparison of cases, in a period of seven years, highlights the necessity of ensuring spaces for social interaction in housing design, when eroding public spaces conne urban dwellers within apartments, while technology expands their social networking in the virtual world. The third article “Women's Negotiation of Domestic Spaces in Slums: The Roles of Physical Environment on Practical Gender Needs in Hajaribagh and Ganaktuli Sweeper's Colony, Dhaka” reveals how women in a specific low-income occupational group, with mixed ethnicities, negotiate their use of indoor/outdoor spaces, through an in-depth ethnography. The revelation of women's negotiation of space for practical gender needs calls for mainstreaming gender issues in low-income housing design and service provision.

The fourth and fifth articles deal with day lighting, in an effort to make buildings more energy efficient, and thus contributing to the sustainability of the built environment. The former entitled “Comparing the Results of Static and Dynamic Daylight Simulations to Support

Architectural Decision-Making in the Context of Dhaka” presents a comparison between two methods of simulating day lighting – static and dynamic. The latter method is argued to be more appropriate for Bangladesh, and has implications for deign decisions for day light design of buildings. The fth article “A Study of Light Zone in Commercial Buildings: Assessing Energy Efciency for Shading Devices” shows how the passive architectural features of sunshades affect the nature and extents of the interior luminous environment. Fixed external shading devices from eld work are simulated, to suggest selection of shading devices with proper geometrical and material characteristics, for ensuring energy efficiency in offices of tropical areas like Bangladesh.

I, on behalf of the Editorial Board, would like to express our deepest gratitude to all reviewers at home and abroad, who despite their busy schedules, have made the time and effort to review the papers, and to those who have otherwise facilitated the different stages of the review and publication of Protibesh. We earnestly hope that this academic cooperation continues unabated, in the timely publication of future issues Protibesh.