VOLUME 4
The International Journal of the
Constructed Environment __________________________________________________________________________
The Sustainable Divide Conflict of Preservation and Adaptable Sustainable Design KRISTEN BENDER
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The Sustainable Divide: Conflict of Preservation and Adaptable Sustainable Design Kristen Bender, Rhode Island School of Design, United States Abstract: There is an ongoing struggle between preservation and adaptive reuse in the modern design field today. Preservation as a movement is decaying, and instead adaptive strategies are becoming more successful to keep the historical integrity, and also allow future adaptability of the building life. Keywords: Heritage, Values, Sustainability
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oday, working with existing buildings, repairing and restoring them for continued use has become a creative and fascinating challenge within the architecture discipline. Many of the buildings are kept because of the historical context of the neighborhood, financial gains, as well as the character and memory of the building itself. Within the reuse of these projects, there are ongoing conversations about the struggle between preservation and sustainable adaptive design. One essay terms this battle as, “The promise and the paradox of conservation”.1 Conflicting views and ideologies about the reuse of existing buildings is just one reason among many this argument between replication of history versus re-adaptation continually occurs. By investigating where these two juxtaposed theories first derived, case studies can be synthesized through specific lenses to see which is more effective now, but more importantly find an answer to the question of whether there could ever be collaboration between the two ideologies for further adaptation in the future.
Origins of Conflict in Presevation and Adaptive Reuse Altering existing buildings for a new function is not a new concept, dating back as early as the Greeks and Romans. Buildings were altered to fit changing needs and wants in a pragmatic way. The Parthenon, for example, initially functioned as a religious gathering place for the Athenians. It was also placed there because the hill that it set on was considered a sacred place, as well as a military strategy. Through years of war and turmoil, it was taken over by the Ottoman Empire where a mosque was placed within it. As time went on and fighting increased, the Athenians bombed their own temple because the enemy had their military outpost within. The function changed throughout the decades from a religious place to one of military and government, and that is why although it lies partially in shambles, it has survived to this day. In Plato’s words, “Nothing endures but change” and in many of the historical cases, preservation was not considered the intention, instead it was always changing function and finances. While regular repair and maintenance were done by architects during earlier time periods, awareness of the past and retaining it only began to evolve in the early Renaissance. Writer Peveot’s explains 2, a theoretical approach towards adaptive reuse was only later established in the 1800’s when Eugène Viollet-le-Duc recognized adaptive reuse as a way to preserve historic 1
Matero, Frank. “Managing change : sustainable approaches to the conservation of the built environment .” Speech, 4th Annual US/ICOMOS International Symposium from US/ICOMOS, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 1, 2001. 2 Bie, Pleveots. “Academia.edu | Adaptive reuse as a strategy towards conservation of cultural heritage: a literature review | Bie Plevoets.” Academia.edu - Share research. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.academia.edu/919968/ The International Journal of the Constructed Environment Volume 4, 2013, www.constructedenvironment.com, ISSN 2154-8587 © Common Ground, Kristen Bender, All Rights Reserved Permissions: cg-support@commongroundpublishing.com
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monuments. He believed in restoration as imitation and reconstruction in the style of the original. He argued that, “The best way to preserve a building is to find a use for it, and then to satisfy so well the needs dictated by that use that there will never be any further need to make any further changes in the building”. 3 In his renovation of Notre Dame Cathedral, he replicated architectural details that never have existed in the original design. His ideas were strongly objected by Ruskin and his pupil William Morris who found it, “Impossible, as impossible as to raise the dead, to restore anything that has ever been great or beautiful in architecture”, and instead of pristine new restoration, they favored regular care and maintenance to ensure the preservation of historic buildings. In the early 20th century, the conflict between these opposing theories on adaptive reuse was approached by Alois Riegl, known as a pioneer of formal analysis. He ascribes this conflict in theories to the different values each of his predecessors attributed to historic icons. Riegl classifies and distinguishes different types of values which he generally grouped as commemorative values (including age-value, historical value and intentional commemorative value) as opposed to presentday values (including use-value, art-value and newness-value). By including the use-value in his assessment of monuments, he recognized reuse of historic buildings as an intrinsic part of modern conservation. 4
Adaptive Reuse In more contemporary terms, this process of altering a building is often called ‘adaptive reuse’. According to Brooker and Stone, 5 the term ‘adaptive reuse’ – also called ‘remodeling’, ‘retrofitting’, ‘conversion’, ‘adaptation’, ‘reworking’, ‘rehabilitation’ or ‘refurbishment’– includes that the function is the most obvious change, but other alterations may also be made to the building itself such as the circulation route, the orientation, the relationships between spaces; additions may be built and other areas may be demolished. This differs specifically to preservation because although adaptive reuse can take the history of the building into consideration and most always does, preservation has this as its highest goal. But what is the current definition of adaptability? From the adaptive reuse angle, it would be defined as the quality or potential of being adaptable, fitted to the conditions of the environment, the capacity to be modified by circumstances--the capacity of buildings to accommodate change. The end result would be to improve the performance and life cycle of the building itself. The concept of adaptability has key aspects that must always be fulfilled: flexibility, convertibility, expandability, durability, and the future design for durability. Without these, the building life may be decreased as well as the comfort level of the occupants within. This also supports why adapting the building more aggressively and wholeheartedly than just a core and shell interior left behind by preservation is more sustainable. All of these key points allow for sustainability requirements such as: longer durability, low energy consumption, secure and healthy indoor environments, wind and water tight from the weather, as well as having a loose fit with the ability to allow future change. In this way, important aspects of adaptability correlate with today’s sustainability programs, such as the USGBC LEED standards. 6 Contrasting, preservation is the least adaptable strategy involving renovation of buildings as well as the least sustainable in part because of present rules and regulations from U.S. historic commissions.
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Bie, Pleveots. “Academia.edu | Adaptive reuse as a strategy towards conservation of cultural heritage: a literature review | Bie Plevoets.” Academia.edu - Share research. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.academia.edu/919968/ 4 Bie, Pleveots. “Academia.edu | Adaptive reuse as a strategy towards conservation of cultural heritage: a literature review | Bie Plevoets.” Academia.edu - Share research. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.academia.edu/919968/ 5 Brooker, G. & Stone, S., Re-readings. Interior architecture and the design principles of remodeling existing buildings. RIBA Enterprises: London, 2004. 6 Berger, Markus. Building Adaptability. Web. 23.10.12.
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Designing by adaptive reuse is highly relevant today, 99% of the U.S. building stock is buildings that have already been built or just being completed. 7 As the world faces a reduction in overall ecological resources, the existing building stock represents the largest financial, physical, and cultural asset in the industrialized world. Adaptive reuse overall is a more efficient use of existing space and operating performance with 10% improved space utilization, 10% fewer buildings needed, 10% longer use, and less money needed towards the entire project. It also allows for a reduction of environmental impact. Along with the slower economy and historic and sustainable tax breaks, adaptive reuse has a strong case for being the most efficient way of designing. 8
Preservation Movement In America “Preservation is not the enemy of modernity but actually one of its inventions”. 9 As stated previously, preservation originated directly from the adaptive reuse discussion in the late 1800’s between Ruskin and Le-Duc. It came into full swing during the early to mid-1900 in the United States when Penn Station, which had great historical significance, was demolished without public consent. It caused American society to recognize that many of the buildings that have made American history needed to be saved. Some preservationists today take the stance that conservation should seek to manage change everywhere within the historic environment, as well as to protect the “best parts”. 10 One could question who chooses the best parts and what makes them relevant from one individual to another? Is it only those in the historical commissions or architectural historians? Government? Local neighborhoods? Supporting that theory, Graham Farclough, at a symposium in Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania stated, Managing change should be the objective for sites and monuments. For the historic environment, sustainability means controlling change and choosing directions that capitalize most effectively on the inheritance from the past....What is important--and achievable-- is that somehow we leave our successors with the ability to know their own past, to assess its significance for themselves, to decide for themselves how to live with its remains and what to pass on in their turn. This means leaving them enough of the historic environment, either unchanged or with reversible changes, to make their own choices. (Frank. 2011. Speech)11 In this description of preservation and conservation, Fairclough states there needs to be the option for passing on this history, to allow future generations to make decisions about our buildings, but he doesn’t state that they need to be replicated in the original state that they were built in.
Differing Ideologies The definition of preservation, to many in both the academic and career minded worlds is this: preserving history is to control it, and the people that could change it. For instance, the facade of the building should be a still frame of a certain time period. They argue freezing of time for future generations is sustainable and allows them to see their past history, and many locals agree. Yet, 7
Berger, Markus. Building Adaptability. Web. 23.10.12. Berger, Markus. Building Adaptability. Web. 23.10.12. 9 Berger, Markus. Change, Preservation, and Adaptive Reuse. Future Anterior Volume 1. Number 2 Fall 2004; Article is the transcription of part of a talk delivered by Rem Koolhaus at Columbia University on September 17th, 2004. 10 Matero, Frank. “Managing change : sustainable approaches to the conservation of the built environment .” Speech, 4th Annual US/ICOMOS International Symposium from US/ICOMOS, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 1, 2001. 11 Matero, Frank. “Managing change : sustainable approaches to the conservation of the built environment .” Speech, 4th Annual US/ICOMOS International Symposium from US/ICOMOS, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 1, 2001. 8
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this method also neglects the years of use and history after that building’s origin date. Supporters of adaptive reuse also see this as façadism, or a cosmetic form of conservation, arguing that this type of renovation is only skin deep, and not sustainable whatsoever. Reconstruction, preservationists say, seems to be the only way to keep the historic integrity intact, putting importance only on the facade. Seemingly to only want to retain the exterior while the entire context of a building or neighborhood may not be taken into consideration. Federica Goffi explains, “Conservation is a creative process, which allows for a building to change over time, and is concerned with the problems and modes of combining the old with the new. Currently, the practice of conservation has turned into a form of ‘still-preservation’. The belief is that a building can and should maintain its likeness in perpetuity in order to preserve its heritage. The past is frozen into still shots.” 12 Although many preservationists are severe with their ideologies about adapting an existing building, there are some who are more open to the concept that history is not only a single fragment of time, but it instead is always evolving and changing. Robert A. M. Stern from Yale University argues that “the past cannot be trapped in a false amber of pastness”. 13 Ned Kaufman’s concluding essay “Moving Forward: Futures for a Preservation Movement” emphasizes the value of knowing how relationships between people and places have evolved over time. 14 He suggests that while many preservationists understand this idea of its power as an organizing tool, it has yet to be adequately tapped. Reminding us that this is work animated by a desire to make the world a better place, Kaufman argues in favor of leveling the playing field between architectural development and preservation. He believes that the history of how people actually live in the spaces they inhabit can become a foundation for the preservation movement, and that it can promote broad social change. While he is somewhat persuasive, Kaufman does not ultimately convince other preservationists that preservation is such an all-encompassing, passionate and powerful cultural force.
Sustainability in Materials The fundamentals of each way to renew a building comes down to the differing views and ideologies. Even if both sides can agree on similar terms for sustainability within the existing buildings, main contentions for constant arguments regarding details are windows, insulation, facades, and proper roofing conditions. Many preservationists make the case that window replacement should be an absolute last resort, believing that architectural details such as dividing light should always be maintained as originals, and that window profiles are so important to a building’s architectural authenticity that they must not be altered. Many are so adamant about replicating or maintain this detail that they will openly go against sustainability and adaptability if it suits their needs. According to the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) by the National Institute of Building Sciences, “LEED fails to acknowledge that historic windows are important features and that their energy efficiency can be upgraded.” 15 The WBDG authors suggest that old windows get a bad rap for being poor performers and that with storm windows, proper weather stripping, and a caulk gun, original window systems can achieve efficiency similar to that of new insulated-glass-window systems. This only reinforces the theory of façadism. While it may be true in some cases, most instances, window replacement is 12
Berger, Markus, Liliane Wong, and Heinriche Hermann. “Adaptive Reuse.” Int/AR : interventions, adaptive reuse 1 (2009). 1-45. Print. 13 Bie, Pleveots. “Academia.edu | Adaptive reuse as a strategy towards conservation of cultural heritage: a literature review | Bie Plevoets.” Academia.edu - Share research. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.academia.edu/919968 14 Bie, Pleveots. “Academia.edu | Adaptive reuse as a strategy towards conservation of cultural heritage: a literature review | Bie Plevoets.” Academia.edu - Share research. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.academia.edu/919968 15 Bond, Christina. “Adaptive Reuse: Explaining Collaborations within a Complex Process.” University of Oregon 1 (2001): 1-89. Print.
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necessary for the future longevity of the building. Technically speaking, the ability to save a historic window over the long term is often very limited given the costs, which are often unavailable, of de-leading and restoring the wood frames and sash, and then maintaining them over the long term. The more splits within each window system the greater the heat gain and loss. Michael Benette from Eco-Structure 16 gives another example of hot buttons between the two groups, “Another often-debated issue is insulation. It’s a fact that older masonry buildings were not well insulated and that adding insulation boosts energy efficiency. But issues abound. First, adding insulation invariably changes how a building responds to a host of internal and external environmental conditions, most notably moisture. Condensation or moisture vapor can accumulate within the newly insulated building envelopes because they will be tighter than anticipated by the original designers and builders. Failing to account for these changes means problems ranging from the development of mold to bricks and damaged façades.” 17
Precedents An innovative example of how adaptive reuse can keep the historic integrity of the building through a new technological glass skin, that also has sustainable properties, is the 185 Post Building in San Francisco, California. The first adaptation of this building was after the earthquake of 1906. In the 1950’s metal panels were added over the original facade, then finally in the 20th century it was adapted by two different architects. During the height of the ‘dot-com’ era, Prada initially wanted to gain more ground in the United States and use the building as an Italian fashion house. Rem Koolhaus was hired on to design, and incorporated none of the original building, wanting to demolish it. After 9/11, these plans were abandoned and it was left vacant until Brand + Allen came to its rescue in 2005. 18 Instead of demolishing, Brand + Allen used the original structure from 1908 to represent the historical district that it was surrounded by. The building was only structure and facade, but after introducing new mechanical systems, B + A designed a glass skin wall that was designed as a double wall. The original facade would be visible while the new skin could be lit throughout the day and night. The Planning Commission required the building to be compatible to the district it was set in, and the architects did just that. The glass wall not only reflected the buildings in close proximity on the surface but it also provided insulation from heat gain and loss and a sound barrier from ongoing heavy traffic throughout the day that was needed for the building to survive. The 185 Post Building approach is one that is all inclusive to every aspect of the building, not just the facade. In this case, the historical commission was lenient and open enough to see that the architects were really designing with conservation in mind, yet also up to date on sustainability standards for the overall health of the building. If only the 1960’s facade was preserved, in all reality the building would eventually be demolished as was Rem Koolhaus’s plan. One has to create a story with a building, not just a portrait of the past. Another case study, the Cambridge Public Library, was adapted while still keeping the original building intact. The library was originally built in 1888 and renovated through an addition designed by Ann Beha Architects and William Rawn Associates. The new and old structures are connected
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Binette, Michael, and Robert Verrier. “Bridging the Gap - Historic Preservation, Adaptive Reuse - eco-structure Magazine .” Eco-structure Magazine: eco-structure: Improving environmental performances of buildings and their surroundings. Eco-structure, 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.eco-structure.com/historicpreservation/bridgingthe-gap.aspx>. 17 Binette, Michael, and Robert Verrier. “Bridging the Gap - Historic Preservation, Adaptive Reuse - eco-structure Magazine .” Eco-structure Magazine: eco-structure: Improving environmental performances of buildings and their surroundings. Eco-structure, 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.eco-structure.com/historicpreservation/bridgingthe-gap.aspx>. 18 Berger, Markus, Liliane Wong, and Heinriche Hermann. “Adaptive Reuse.” Int/AR : interventions, adaptive reuse 1 (2009). 1-45. Print.
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together creating a 104,000-square-foot facility; almost quadruple the size of the original. The client and historical commission wanted to keep the original building intact, yet the architects also decided to do modern interventions within those spaces. The addition was a clear facade extension as wide as the original building with south facing orientation. 19 To preserve the concept of transparency and ensure the thermal and visual comfort of the occupants, the design team devised a double-skin curtain wall of low-iron glass. Its two layers, supported by a structure of vertically oriented trusses detailed to be as unobtrusive as possible, define a 3-footwide cavity that acts as an insulating jacket. With this new addition, approved by a usually strict preservation commission, this allowed a greater amount of functionality for the Cambridge community. “The architects have managed to provide spaces, within both the new and old structures, with a variety of distinct characteristics that appeal to a broad spectrum of users. At the same time, they’ve found a way to greatly expand a historically significant building without compromising its relevance.” 20
Will the Divide End? The reality of the ongoing conflict between preservation and adaptable reuse is currently not resolved, but there have been steps made by the federal government to try to alleviate this struggle. The National Park Service, 21 which oversees the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive program, recently announced changes to the guidelines for historic preservation. The new guidelines allow for flexibility in how the unique conditions of individual buildings can be addressed so that preservation efforts can be aligned with today’s energy codes and standards. It offers a 20 percent tax credit for qualified historic-preservation projects and, according to the NPS, the program is the federal government’s largest, most successful, and most cost-effective community revitalization effort. It preserves historic buildings, stimulates private investment, creates jobs, and revitalizes communities. The program has leveraged over $58 billion in private investment to preserve and reuse 37,000 historic properties since 1976. If any carrot could be dangled in front of the preservation commissions, the tax credit would be the most critically financial one. 22 But with the new guidelines comes a greater need to plan, understand, and engineer projects that balance modern energy efficiency with the goals of historic preservation. Successful architects with project teams can understand and navigate the increasingly complex issue regarding legislative code and tax nuances, but even then, if preservation commissions and their followers are unwilling to design further than ‘skin deep’ facadism, this conflict will continue on. The struggle comes down to two extremely differing ideologies: one that sees history as a freeze frame in time, and one that sees it as an ongoing change. It is also not only the movement itself but also the individual historians, architects, interior architects, government officials, educators, and preservationists that are divided: between those that believe in preventing change, and those who know as Plato does that “Nothing endures but change.” Can the divide really end? 19
Gonchar, Joann, and AIA. “Cambridge Public Library | William Rawn Associates | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Project Portfolio | Architectural Record.” Architecture Design for Architects | Architectural Record. William Rawn Associates,n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://archrecord.construction.com/project/portfolio/2010/10/ cambridge_public_library.asp>. 20 Gonchar, Joann, and AIA. “Cambridge Public Library | William Rawn Associates | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Project Portfolio | Architectural Record.” Architecture Design for Architects | Architectural Record. William Rawn Associates,n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://archrecord.construction.com/project/portfolio/2010/10/ cambridge_public_library.asp>. 21 www.nps.gov/TPS/tax-incentives.htm. Web 09 Oct. 2013 22 Binette, Michael, and Robert Verrier. “Bridging the Gap - Historic Preservation, Adaptive Reuse - eco-structure Magazine .” Eco-structure Magazine: eco-structure: Improving environmental performances of buildings and their surroundings. Eco-structure, 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.eco-structure.com/historicpreservation/bridgingthe-gap.aspx>.
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Only when ideals shift and laws change. This happens when there is a compromise on a new, adapted definition of preservation which includes the history of how people live in the spaces they inhabit, from birth to death of a building. This form of palimpsest can become the foundation for a hybrid approach to the renovation of existing buildings. As Darwin states, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, but the one most adaptable to change”. 23
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Berger, Markus, Liliane Wong, and Heinriche Hermann. “Adaptive Reuse.” Int/AR : interventions, adaptive reuse 1 (2009). 1-45. Print.
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REFERENCES Berger, Markus. Building Adaptability. Web. 23.10.12 Berger, Markus. Change, Preservation, and Adaptive Reuse. Future Anterior Volume 1. Number 2 Fall 2004; article is the transcription of part of a talk delivered by Rem Koolhaus at Columbia University on September 17th, 2004. Berger, Markus, Liliane Wong, and Heinriche Hermann. “Adaptive Reuse.” Int/AR : interventions, adaptive reuse 1 (2009). 1-45. Print. Bie, Pleveots. “Academia.edu | Adaptive reuse as a strategy towards conservation of cultural heritage: a literature review | Bie Plevoets.” Academia.edu - Share research. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.academia.edu/919968/Adapt >. Binette, Michael, and Robert Verrier. “Bridging the Gap - Historic Preservation, Adaptive Reuse – ecostructure Magazine .” Eco-structure Magazine: eco-structure: Improving environmental performances of buildings and their surroundings . Eco-structure, 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.ecostructure.com/historic-preservation/bridgingthe-gap.aspx>. Bond, Christina. Adaptive Reuse: Explaining Collaborations within a Complex Process. University of Oregon 1 (2001): 1-89. Print. Brooker, G. & Stone, S., Re-readings. Interior architecture and the design principles of remodeling existing buildings. RIBA Enterprises: London, 2004. Gonchar, Joann, and AIA. “Cambridge Public Library” | William Rawn Associates | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Project Portfolio | Architectural Record.” Architecture Design for Architects | Architectural Record. William Rawn Associates, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://archrecord.construction.com/project/ portfolio/2010/10/cambridge_public_library.asp> Matero, Frank. “Managing change : sustainable approaches to the conservation of the built environment.” Speech, 4th Annual US/ICOMOS International Symposium from US/ICOMOS, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 1, 2001. U.S. Federal Government. Web 9 Oct. 2013. <www.nps.gov/TPS/tax-incentives.htm>
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kristen Bender: I am currently working on my Masters of Art in Interior Architecture, specializing in Adaptive Reuse. My undergraduate degree was in Architecture at the University of NebraskaLincoln and I grew up in a small rural farming community in Nebraska. Currently, I am interested in the ongoing dialogue between the differing ideologies of preservation and adaptive reuse in the modern design field today. I also would like to further my investigations in sustainable adaptive design and legislation that reinforces the changing ideals of the design community.
The International Journal of the Constructed Environment explores, in a broad-ranging and interdisciplinary way, human configurations of the environment and the interactions between the constructed, social and natural environments. The journal brings together the work of practitioners, researchers, and teachers in the architectonic and landscape arts. The resulting articles weave between the empirical and the theoretical, research and its application, the ideal and the pragmatic. They document and reflection upon spaces which are in their orientations private, public, or commercial. As well as papers of a traditional scholarly type, this journal invites presentations of practiceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including experimental forms of documentation and exegeses that can with equal validity be interrogated through a process of academic peer review. This, for instance, might take the form of a series of images and plans, with explanatory notes that articulate with other, significantly similar or different and explicitly referenced places, sites or material objects. The International Journal of the Constructed Environment is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal.
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