Architectural Anthropology and the Study of the Built Environment

Abstract

Architecture has long been viewed as the monumental and formal edifices of society. In general, description mostly focuses on the material aspects of the building, which typically concern techniques of construction and types of building, environmental conditions, resources, technology, and some aspects of spatial organization, symbolism, and aesthetic values of the built forms. But relatively little is said about social facts of the people who live inside. In recent decades, many architects and anthropologists have begun to connect works with the development of social and cultural and coined the term architectural anthropology to describe the bridge between the two disciplines. As a result of the interest, this approach has become the subject of a growing literature. Several works written from different perspectives have in common a more holistic focus, emphasizing the theoretical significance of architecture as intellectual, political, and sociological processes. Various systematic techniques in have been applied to describe the interrelation between men and their built environment. This relation confirms that architecture is determined by socio-cultural factors: man within a specific social complex. Based extensively on historical documents, this paper devotes its attention to the chronological developments of and aims to illustrate how this approach is important to the study of the interconnection between man and the related built environment.