Architectural Culture Research Articles

Research on Architectural Culture and Kiln Dwelling Forms in Yulin Area, Northern Shaanxi Province

Research on Architectural Culture and Kiln Dwelling Forms in Yulin Area, Northern Shaanxi Province

Symmetry, architectural culture and theory – the case of Hindu architectural texts ‘shruti/śruti’ and ‘smriti’ in ‘śāstra pramāṇam’ tradition

Symmetry is one of the most fundamental and ubiquitous phenomena in architecture and theory. In this article, we investigated Hindu architectural treatises of ancient Vedic literature that conceptualised and described symmetry in the theory of medieval India. The case focused on Shruti/Śruti and Smriti texts based on Śāstra pramāṇam tradition and asked how architectural treatises transmitted the narratives on symmetry through cultural dynamics, wisdom and heritage. The paper revealed that architectural texts approached symmetry in architectural culture knowledge.

Multiculturalism and the Fetishization of Ethnic Difference in Mauritius

ABSTRACT: Mauritius is often celebrated as a success story in lay and academic discourse. One version of this discourse highlights Mauritius's success in managing its diversity as a multicultural society. But there are a number of reasons to question this assumption. For instance, some writers have claimed that Mauritius's policy of multiculturalism encourages the promotion of ethnic difference and marginalizes certain minorities (Couacaud 2016, Eisenlohr 2006, Vaughan 2001). In this paper, however, I propose to go further and argue that Mauritius's policy of multiculturalism not only promotes ethnic difference and marginalizes certain minorities. It has also led to what one could describe as the "fetishization of ethnic difference." I propose to demonstrate this by discussing how material religious practices act as signs of ethnic difference in everyday life, using ethnographic observations and visual documentation methods for these purposes. Examples cited in the paper include the material culture of temple architecture, religious street-processions, garden shrines, homes, workplaces, and vehicles.

From the South: Exhibiting Architectural History

In 1983, the Museum of Modern Art in Bogotá established its Department of Architecture, a curatorial unit that was active until 1995. During that time, twenty exhibitions were presented, and eight of them were monographic shows. While at the start, the department focused on European architects, later on, more emphasis was placed on Colombian architecture. This emphasis echoed two significant events in Latin American architectural culture: first, the Seminars of Latin American Architecture, and second, the editorial series SomoSur. These two events encouraged exhibitions with a strong commitment to study, present, and celebrate Colombian architecture from diverse architectural traditions. Through archival research and interviews, this paper examines the intellectual reverberations between seminars, publications, and exhibitions. It highlights the use of monographic exhibitions and how they were channels for the continuous flow of ideas in the construction of Colombian architectural history.

De vliesgevel in the Netherlands between construction and representation. Past and present-day experiences in social housing

The crisis of the contemporary urban landscape (meant to convey cultural and social values) is evidenced by the upsurge of self-referential architectural artifacts whose ephemeral features manifest how unsuitable their project-based approach is since it tries to attain spectacular architectural shapes even when dealing with housing. This alarming trend is also present in the Netherlands, even if a relevant tradition regarding the construction of urban spaces by means of facade-prospects is present there. The lack of regard for the cultural and social values of residential collective housing is evidenced nowadays by the ephemeral facades of many Dutch quarters, where the values of traditional collective housing seem to have been lost. In this way, the all-encompassing feature of globalization gets confirmed: identical buildings appear in different cities and places. This work focuses on project-based experiences of social housing implemented in some meaningful periods in the development of Dutch housing culture. Such projects are deeply rooted in their sites, and though they do not neglect to produce buildings that meet contemporary requirements, they keep the connections, ensuring continuity with the shapes and construction traditions of the past. In particular, the features of facades - thanks to their formal and construction-related developments - clearly manifest the choice to regard the project as a well-devised blend of past, present, and future. This work relates the results of broader research regarding the urban role of residential collective buildings within the landscape of Dutch architectural culture in the early XX century.

Refactoring and Rebirth of traditional residential buildings based on the reconstruction of Yi Minority Country

The protection and renewal of traditional residential buildings help to enhance the functionality and adaptability of the buildings, pass on the traditional architectural culture, promote the sustainable development of traditional buildings, and contribute to rural revitalization. This article proposes some practical strategies for the protection and renovation of traditional residential buildings, and elaborates in detail on the long-term development of the reconstruction and renovation of traditional Yi ethnic villages’ residential buildings in Damoyu Village, Kunming City and Dabudong Village, Luoping County. It can provide methodological references for the renovation and reuse of traditional residential buildings.

Spatial characteristics and cultural factors of Yi nationality traditional dwellings based on spatial syntax

The spatial layout of traditional residential houses is closely related to national and regional characteristics and culture. The traditional village of Yi nationality is selected, and the organization structure of the outside village and the inside living space is studied through the graphical and quantitative analysis method of space syntax. The primary purpose of this study is to analyze the spatial characteristics of Yi dwellings and infer the cultural factors behind them. To explore how to integrate traditional spatial characteristics into contemporary design and promote the preservation and inheritance of architectural culture. The results show that 1) the outer village space of residential houses is characterized by weak identifiability, compact and loose organizational structure, weak permeability, and weak accessibility; 2) The interior space of dwellings presents a spatial layout with the main room and courtyard as the core as a whole. The interior space of dwellings is abundant and flexible, and the accessibility of ancillary functional space is weak. 3) The cultural causes of the formation of these spatial features include complex landforms, family systems, hierarchical systems, semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral production modes, the concept of valuing family harmony, the use of regional materials, respect for nature, fire worship, etc. 4) The spatial characteristics of traditional dwellings are inherited in contemporary dwellings. Fuzzy elements can be added in villages according to family relations, and characteristic Spaces such as courtyards and fire ponds in traditional dwellings can be preserved.

Towards the New Synthesis of Architecture and City

The “Boska” Department Store is a large building at the historical core of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Its distinctive volume dominates the main city square, and it serves as one of the city symbols. It was built in 1978 as one of the large department stores that characterised Yugoslav cities. However, “Boska” and the less famous neighbouring The Worker’s Solidarity House are fragments of an extensive revitalisation project of the city centre and a new imagined megaform. This paper will portray the winning competition design project “Grad” (“City”) from 1973 by a team of eminent Yugoslav architects who envisioned a new urban landscape in Banja Luka’s centre that never materialised. The paper will interpret its design principles in the context of the period’s local and international architectural culture that pursued the new spatial synthesis of fixed and transient space, architecture and the city. Qualitative research is based on analysing the design project “Grad”, relevant journal articles from the period, and a recent interview with one of the authors.

Jorge Caron y la cultura arquitectónica de São Paulo

The trajectory of architect Jorge Osvaldo Caron, developed between the mid-1960s and 1990s, sharing design and teaching, with incursions in the visual, scenic, and cinema arts is obliterated by the historiography of modern São Paulo architecture. His works and his teaching activities in five different educational institutions are important contributions to architectural culture, from which and from his relations with his contemporaries, it is possible to broaden the understanding of modern architecture. The objective of this investigation is to analyse Caron’s work in the context in which it was carried out and its relations with the work of his contemporaries, providing new readings about this architecture.

Libros que también fueron exposiciones

Many of the books that have recorded the history of architecture in Colombia were also exhibitions. Between 1977 and 1992, when the study of the history of Colombian architecture reached great growth, architecture exhibitions and their accompanying publications were decisive actors in shaping Colombian architectural culture. In addition to documenting these ephemeral events, the publications fostered criticism, academic research, and heritage conservation. Although the enduring nature of books has ensured their significance, the history of architecture exhibitions has been forgotten. Through archival research and interviews, this article recovers the history of two architecture exhibitions from 1980 and 1985, a history that reveals the entanglement of the exhibition of architecture and its editorial dissemination.

Resilient joints with SMA bar-shear friction damper (SSFD) device in steel modern Chinese traditional-style buildings: Seismic performance evaluation and optimized design

To inherit and protect ancient Chinese architectural culture, modern building materials and techniques have been combined in the modern Chinese traditional-style building (MCTB) with similar exterior forms to ancient Chinese timber architecture. However, the typical joint in MCTB exhibits weak energy dissipation capacity and significant residual deformation under seismic actions, resulting in a problematic post-earthquake repair behavior. A semi-rigid friction-damped joint with resilient function has been proposed to improve the seismic performance and recoverability of MCTBs. Low-cyclic loading was conducted on four specimens of full scale. The results indicated that the yielding failure of four specimens primarily occurred in the vulnerable regions designed with replaceable angles. Compared with semi-rigid joints, the yield displacement, overall strength, initial stiffness, and cumulative energy dissipation of the specimen with the shape memory alloy (SMA) bar-shear friction damper device was significantly increased, and the residual deformation was significantly reduced, indicating that the device has a significant enhancement effect on the seismic and repairable performance of the structure. Based on the experimental results, a three-dimensional model was established using ABAQUS finite element software to optimize the design of joints and determine the optimal structural system that meets the requirements of MCTB.

Floating hutongs life to diminishing Confucian courtyard narratives in Jinan, China

ABSTRACT Confucianism has shaped traditional Chinese urban patterns and sustainable housing development, resulting in a fusion of architectural styles across China and neighbouring regions. As previous research has focused on the physical and environmental aspects of sustainable urban environments and housing, the evolution of spatial narratives has been overlooked. This study explores the significance and influence of Confucian narratives in urban streets and juxtaposed courtyard houses, specifically in the Mingfucheng area of Jinan, Shandong Province. By employing a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with residents, the study explores architecture and hutong spaces. The findings highlight the positive impact of Confucian concepts on residents’ lives, spatial behaviour, and spirituality. It also addresses the challenges and opportunities in the process of urbanisation and rural revitalisation. This research provides a narratological perspective on the sustainability of culturally influenced traditional architecture, contributes to the knowledge on courtyards and hutongs, and suggests sustainable strategies for architectural culture and heritage conservation.

Research and Analysis of Modern Consulate Complexes --Taking Yantai Hill in Fuzhou City as an Example

Since the First Opium War, foreign forces have flooded into China, building a great variety of public buildings across China, and importing Western culture. As one of the representatives of the recent Western culture, the consulate building plays an important role in history. As the political, economic, and cultural center of Fujian Province, Fujian was introduced to many Western cultures as one of the five port cities after the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing. Foreigners set up all kinds of buildings and municipal facilities here, such as consulate buildings, customs, foreign firms, churches, hospitals, workshops, clubs, etc. Western architectural techniques and forms have collided and fused with the traditional architectural culture of Fuzhou, together constituting a diverse modern architectural history of Fuzhou. Taking the modern consulate building complex in Yantai Mountain of Fuzhou City as an example, through field research and literature arrangement and induction, we analyze the buildings of modern consulates, understand the historical evolution of consulate buildings in Fuzhou, the architectural form and the existing situation, excavate their characteristics and summarize them, to provide basic information for the study of modern architectural history in Fuzhou. The article concluded that the Western consulate architecture is characterized by the central axis symmetry, the characteristics of each country are obvious, while retaining part of the local characteristics, to achieve the fusion of Chinese and foreign.

Research on Classification of Huizhou Architectural Culture and Extraction of Cultural Characteristics of Villages Based on Cluster Analysis Algorithm

Abstract Based on the cluster analysis algorithm, this paper collects a large amount of sample data from Huizhou buildings and groups these samples using the cluster analysis algorithm so as to identify different categories of architectural culture types. By dividing the group similarity of each category of buildings, the village cultural characteristics related to each category of buildings are extracted, including information on architectural style, structural features, decorative elements and so on. The results show that the automatic cultural classification feature values are 1.2, 2.5, and 2.9, which highlight the unique characteristics of the Huizhou village culture. Especially in Hongcun and Pai Fang Lane buildings, the cultural features are more significant, with matrix classification degrees of 4.7 and 4.022, respectively, fully highlighting the cultural heritage of these buildings. In addition, the clustering analysis algorithm has only a 9.5% error rate, and the classification accuracies all exceed the high level of 0.9, showing its excellent performance in the extraction of various cultural features.

The Cabinets of the Sacristy of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan and the Representation of Architecture

After Beatrice d’Este’s death in 1497, the duke of Milan, Ludovico il Moro, commissioned cabinets for the storage of sacred objects (‘armariis ... ad res sacras custodiendas’) for the sacristy of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, where he planned to be buried. Although the archival sources are not unanimous, the cabinets are identifiable with those that nowadays occupy the eastern and western walls of the Dominican room, decorated with coats of arms and mottos of the Sforza family. Existing scholarship focuses on the cabinets’ unusual decorative technique and the general composition of the cycle, based on a calculated perspective, but their place within a broader architectural culture has largely gone unnoticed. Whilst the question of their attribution remains open, this paper argues that the buildings depicted in the background of the biblical scenes give us an insight into the architectural and figurative practice of the anonymous masters.

Analysis of the form characteristics of traditional dwellings in the Tongchuan area of Shaanxi Province, China

ABSTRACTTongchuan, Shaanxi Province, China, is known for its diverse culture and history. Tongchuan residents have created a unique creative and aesthetic sensibility. Geographic location, environment, and varied humanistic activities have shaped regional culture. A distinctive architectural cultural history has helped build architectural culture in Weibei, Guanzhong, China. Tongchuan’s culture shaped its architecture. Mapping records, image and data gathering, and field investigations were used to study traditional dwellings in the area. Tongchuan’s traditional dwellings were analyzed and illustrated simultaneously. Courtyard and kiln dwellings were used to map and study traditional dwelling architecture. A database of Tongchuan’s traditional dwellings is essential for cultural preservation. This method replicates and spreads traditional residential structures and provides data for architectural culture studies. The research findings were intended to serve as guidance for future Tongchuan’s traditional dwelling studies. While developing new rural areas in China, traditional villages must be preserved.

Qiao borrow "shape" potential —— Building renovation design based on traditional dwellings in northern Guangxi

The northern Guangxi region has beautiful scenery, and its special landform type and the cultural characteristics of multi-ethnic settlement give birth to the traditional architectural culture with distinct regional characteristics. The traditional dry dwellings in northern Guangxi take advantage of the landscape through the wooden pillars, so that the building is no longer restricted by the foundation of the house, and forms settlements between the complex landscape. Through the analysis of the structure vocabulary, the relationship between the building monomer and the mountain and the layout of the building settlement, this paper explores the out the path of integrating the abstract landscape environment view into the concrete architectural design, in order to enlighten the modern activation of the traditional residential buildings in northern Guangxi.

METAFORA: NARZĘDZIE LITERACKIE UŻYCZONE DO PROJEKTU ARCHITEKTONICZNEGO. ODNIESIENIA TEORETYCZNE, METODA BADAWCZA I PRAKTYCZNE DOŚWIADCZENIE W DYDAKTYCE

The design process in Architectural Design Studio’s first classes for students is often based on images that are erroneously used as references by copying some formal choices. In the most general sense, this issue is related to a gap between architectural culture and society, as architecture is considered a virtual and consumable object. Those problems could be faced with an old but still effective tool that is the metaphor. Architecture is mainly known by images, and each image has a visible and an invisible part; the latter concerns the culture that underlies it. The paper assumes the metaphor is a design tool that can be helpful in the initial stages of the design process as it allows anyone to quickly connect images, ideas, and experiences, getting deeper into the invisible part of images. Since the metaphor is mainly a linguistic agent, most of the studies concern the use of the metaphor in the field of theoretical criticism and for reviewing other projects. The paper proposes to integrate this approach by investigating the metaphor to support the transfer of shapes and figures between different architectures. Furthermore, the proposed process foresees a permanent part based on the type of dynamic and more mobile part where metaphorical thinking finds space. Therefore, two types of use of the metaphor are put forward: the first interprets existing buildings by recognising both linguistic metaphors used by the critics and those crystallized in the architectural form; the second instead stimulates students to use visual metaphors in determining the shape and volume of the project.

The Investigation of the Strategies of Embedding Elements of Local Culture into Marketing Activities in the Hospitality Industry Based on a Case Study of Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental

Many hotels are now seeking brand differentiation to improve competitiveness in the modern market, strategies are diversified, but a localization strategy of embedding elements of regional culture into marketing activities is popular amongst an array of hotels. The strategies of Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental, a luxurious hotel in Abu Dhabi, are investigated in this research to provide an authoritative example worth studying by hotel managers. The aspects investigated include using Arabic elements during the design of the architecture, creating repast experiences that emphasize the distinction and hospitality of the hotel, designing uniforms to highlight the culture of the hotel, and operating boutiques that provide memorable souvenirs facilitating revisits and word-of-mouth advertising. Several suggestions are then made. First and foremost, to provide more information regarding the local culture in architecture and cuisines. Moreover, moderately internationalize cuisines so that they would be more acceptable to customers. Furthermore, exploit high-quality and premium-priced souvenirs to emphasize the luxury and cultural DNA of the hotel. Last but not least, design unique, efficient, and easy-to-recognize uniforms for employees in different departments.

Adaptasi Nuansa Lokal pada Proses Perancangan Bangunan Komersial di Bali

Title: The Adaptation of Local Architecture in the Commercial Building Design Process in Bali
 The local Balinese architecture is still being developed and maintained simultaneously in Bali, incorporating elements of history and space. Over time, modernization has impacted the existence of local Balinese architecture in its manifestation. The local government responded to the act of preserving culture by establishing a Bali Regional Regulation, which regulates the design of architectural buildings with local Balinese nuances. The existence of this culture has become the main attraction in Bali, and it requires support from the spaces or commercial buildings. Therefore, the image of commercial buildings is regarded as a manifestation of the existence of local Balinese architectural culture. This paper focuses on the building's appearance, with two object location points as the case study to determine how to adapt local nuances to different typologies, namely Pahdi Coffee Kintamani and Benoa Beach Club, as objects that can illustrate the process of design acculturation. The research evaluated the design against existing benchmarks to obtain the adaptation process used in commercial building design. The method used was qualitative descriptive. As a result, the design of Pahdi Coffee Kintamani and Benoa Beach Club can fit with the function needed and adapt the local Balinese architecture through the appropriate process.