Architectural Motifs Research Articles

Bridging traditions: Placemaking and authenticity in architecture for city branding

Abstract This paper explores the symbiotic relationship between placemaking and the authenticity of traditional architecture in the realm of city branding, using Surakarta City in Indonesia as a pivotal case study. It posits that the conscious integration of placemaking initiatives with the preservation and celebration of traditional architectural authenticity can significantly amplify any city’s brand identity, rendering it distinct and resonant on the global scale. Surakarta, with its rich cultural heritage and commitment to preserving Javanese architectural motifs, exemplifies how traditional elements can coalesce with contemporary urban development strategies to foster a sense of place and community identity. Through a qualitative analysis of Surakarta’s urban planning and community engagement practices, this study underscores the transformative impact of authentic architectural preservation in placemaking processes. The findings suggest that such an approach not only enhances the aesthetic and cultural landscape of cities but also strengthens their branding, attracting tourism and investment by offering a unique narrative. The paper concludes with strategic recommendations for urban policymakers and planners, advocating for a balanced integration of cultural authenticity and innovative place-making to achieve sustainable and impactful city branding. This study contributes to the broader discourse on urban development, highlighting the indispensable role of architectural authenticity in crafting compelling city narratives.

Metamorphosis of Tradition: Dong Arts from Folk Dong Painting to Contemporary Expressions

The Dong ethnic minority in southwest China possesses a distinctive cultural heritage. Dong's painting emerges as a unique and diverse form within Dong's artistic endeavors, capturing the essence of daily life among the Dong people. Regrettably, Dong paintings often endure neglect compared to the more recognized Dong architectural art. To revive appreciation for Dong culture, this study delves into traditional Dong folk paintings, aiming to discern various painting types and explore the impact of these traditional forms on contemporary Dong paintings. The similarities and differences between traditional Dong folk painting and contemporary Dong painting are obtained through the investigation and artistic practice of the Dong nationality. It mainly focuses on literature analysis, case studies, and art practice-based research. This investigation reveals that contemporary Dong paintings continue incorporating and reinterpreting symbols, architectural motifs, and dress patterns from traditional Dong folk art. This continuity in artistic expression contributes significantly to preserving and disseminating Dong culture in evolving artistic forms.

ANCIENT MOTIFS AND SYMBOLS ON THE FACADES OF MODERN BELGRADE

This paper deals with ancient facade motifs in the recent architecture of Belgrade and the influences under which they were created. Generations of our students who stayed in France and other European countries brought the neoclassical style to Serbia. With the development of Neoclassicism, characters from ancient mythology came to life on Belgrade’s facades. Particularly interesting antique facade motifs can still be seen today on the buildings of the Palace of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Archives of Serbia, Captain Miša’s building, Old General Staff, Old Royal Palace, Turkish Embassy, AdriaticDanube Bank, Palace of Yugoslav Bank, Government of the Republic of Serbia, and House of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.

Symbolism and Aesthetics: Analyzing Mughal Motifs in Art and Architecture

Spanning from 16th to 18th of imperial rule in the Indian subcontinent, the Mughal Empire is an indelible mark on artistic expression through its meticulous cultivation of motifs in various mediums, including art, architecture, manuscript illumination, textiles and decorative arts. This paper examined the symbolism reflected in the Mughal art and architecture. Through a multidisciplinary approach drawing from art history, cultural studies and material culture analysis, this study examined the diverse typologies of Mughal motifs, which included the study of flora and fauna imagery on Mughal monuments, illustrated manuscripts, textile and costumes. By analyzing their aesthetic qualities, symbolic meanings attributed to floral motifs and historical contexts, this research seeks to unravel the complex layers of cultural synthesis and exchange that characterize Mughal art. Through a comprehensive exploration of primary sources, scholarly literature and visual analysis, this paper examined the motifs in shaping the artistic identities, cultural narratives and aesthetic sensibilities in the Mughal Empire and beyond.

A hierarchy index for networks in the brain reveals a complex entangled organizational structure

Networks involved in information processing often have their nodes arranged hierarchically, with the majority of connections occurring in adjacent levels. However, despite being an intuitively appealing concept, the hierarchical organization of large networks, such as those in the brain, is difficult to identify, especially in absence of additional information beyond that provided by the connectome. In this paper, we propose a framework to uncover the hierarchical structure of a given network, that identifies the nodes occupying each level as well as the sequential order of the levels. It involves optimizing a metric that we use to quantify the extent of hierarchy present in a network. Applying this measure to various brain networks, ranging from the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to the human connectome, we unexpectedly find that they exhibit a common network architectural motif intertwining hierarchy and modularity. This suggests that brain networks may have evolved to simultaneously exploit the functional advantages of these two types of organizations, viz., relatively independent modules performing distributed processing in parallel and a hierarchical structure that allows sequential pooling of these multiple processing streams. An intriguing possibility is that this property we report may be common to information processing networks in general.

Elucidation of Dithiol-yne Comb Polymer Architectures by Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Ion Mobility Techniques.

Polymers have a wide range of applications depending on their composition, size, and architecture. Varying any of these three characteristics can greatly impact the resulting chemical, physical, and mechanical properties. While many techniques are available to determine polymer composition and size, determining the exact polymer architecture is more challenging. Herein, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) methods are utilized to derive crucial architectural information about dithiol-yne comb polymers. Based on their unique fragmentation products and IM drift times, dithiol-yne oligomers with distinct architectures were successfully differentiated and characterized. Additionally, experimental collision cross-sections (Ω) derived via IM-MS were compared to theoretically extracted Ω values from molecular dynamics simulated structures to deduce the architectural motif of these comb oligomers. Overall, this work demonstrates the benefits of combining various mass spectrometry techniques in order to gain a complete understanding of a complex polymer mixture.

KOBIETY MALARKI I ARCHITEKTURA W OBRAZACH; OD RENESANSU DO CZASÓW WSPÓŁCZESNYCH

From Villa Benedetti in Rome to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, architecture created by women is an important contribution to the development of this field. Participation of women in various areas was limited up to the beginning of 20th century, and their works and achievements are still overlooked or attributed to men (Gingeras 2022). This material is dedicated to women painters, with emphasis on architectural motifs in their artwork. The article is a continuation of the earlier paper "Architectural motifs in painting, selected issues" Space and Form (2023) 55, covering period from the Renaissance to modern times.

Sapphire stories: the symbolic representation of blue motifs in Islamic architecture of Pakistan

This article focuses on analyzing and exploring the implication of blue motifs in terms of the representation of Islamic architecture in Pakistan. Architecture holds a great deal of importance within every nation's social and cultural domains. In the same way, architecture has played a significant role in dispensing Islam as a religion. The manifestation and reflection of blue motifs are present in various forms, such as formal, structural, and spatial. Moreover, these shapes carry symbolic connotations when presented in the form of ornamentation, geometrical patterns, floral displays, and arabesque. Furthermore, this study provides a valuable contribution to enhancing the awareness of the significance and representation of blue motifs in the Islamic architecture of Pakistan for the research. Secondary and primary data were collected to achieve the objectives of the study. The study concludes that mosques and shrines in Pakistan are loaded with examples in which the representation of blue motifs within the domain of Islamic architecture is quite evident.

Complex activity and short-term plasticity of human cerebral organoids reciprocally connected with axons

An inter-regional cortical tract is one of the most fundamental architectural motifs that integrates neural circuits to orchestrate and generate complex functions of the human brain. To understand the mechanistic significance of inter-regional projections on development of neural circuits, we investigated an in vitro neural tissue model for inter-regional connections, in which two cerebral organoids are connected with a bundle of reciprocally extended axons. The connected organoids produced more complex and intense oscillatory activity than conventional or directly fused cerebral organoids, suggesting the inter-organoid axonal connections enhance and support the complex network activity. In addition, optogenetic stimulation of the inter-organoid axon bundles could entrain the activity of the organoids and induce robust short-term plasticity of the macroscopic circuit. These results demonstrated that the projection axons could serve as a structural hub that boosts functionality of the organoid-circuits. This model could contribute to further investigation on development and functions of macroscopic neuronal circuits in vitro.

Doubling matter (notes on architectural motifs in the lyrics of F. I. Tyutchev)

The paper focuses on the range of lyrical works by F. I. Tyutchev, which involve architectural images and motifs. Tyutchev’s interest in these motifs and images — from the “ruins of Ilion” to the “Tsarskoe Selo palaces” and Moscow churches — has been observed for more than half a century. Tyutchev’s poems discussed in the paper are studied taking into account their connections with the “architectural” poetry of their predecessors. First of all, the connections with G. R. Derzhavin and P. A. Vyazemsky are traced. Among the heirs of this tradition, the author singles out O. E. Mandelstam. A special place in the work is given to the comparison of architectural images and motifs in Tyutchev’s lyrics with those of A. S. Pushkin, possible Pushkin sources of a number of Tyutchev’s works are found. The author’s special attention is devoted to a group of poems (“Dream at Sea”, “Morning in the Mountains”, “Unexpectedly and Brightly...”), in which the presence of architectural images is involved in solving completely different lyrical and philosophical issues that are not related to direct poet’s impressions from works of architectural art. The specific Tyutchev’s distrust towards the plastic arts (architecture, sculpture), in contrast to the poet’s always benevolent attention to music, is associated with the most profound, fundamental features of Tyutchev’s personality and worldview. The author argues that the distrust of the plastic arts is caused by the poet’s more general skeptical attitude towards the objects of the man-made world (in this respect, Tyutchev is close to N. V. Gogol).

Hellenization of the monumental landscape of the Meroitic kingdom under Natakamani and Amanitore: cultural and historic context

The Meroitic Kush was the largest state on the southern borders of the Roman world. It reached its highest development by the 1st century AD under the rule of Natakamani and Amanitore whose extraordinary building activity attracted many scholars. Withing the framework of a large-scale program of renewing the monumental landscape of their state, the co-rulers erected, rebuilt, and restored cult and palace complexes throughout the country from Amara in the north to Naqa in the south. A characteristic feature of this activity was a wide use of Hellenizing motifs in both architecture and iconography. However, Hellenization did not affect all royal monuments: it was limited to palace complexes and temples of local Kushite gods, predominantly Apedemak, located on main trade routes passing from the inner Africa to the Mediterranean. The paper attempts to explain the reasons for such a striking but, to all appearances, carefully planned phenomenon. The author argues that Natakamani and Amanitore were willing to strengthen their own position within the country and beyond by emphasizing their independence from the northern neighbor through Egyptianization instead of Romanization. The latter could be an attempt to establish themselves as heirs of the Ptolemaic state using Ptolemaic iconography (primarily Dionysiac and solar), Egyptian language, and construction or restoration of the temples of Amun. The case of the Meroitic kingdom under Natakamani and Amanitore may be extremely useful for understanding cultural and historical processes that took place on the outskirts of the Hellenistic and then Roman worlds.

Культурный код Великого Новгорода: современность исторического города. Экспертное интервью

The expert interview is devoted to the analysis of the cultural code of Veliky Novgorod and to the architectural techniques, which represent it in the urban environment. The expert considers the general concept of cultural code and examines the modern situation of Veliky Novgorod, where only a small part of authentic objects has been preserved, as most of the structures were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Also, the expert evaluates various city objects and projects in terms of combination of Novgorod architectural motifs and modern solutions in them, and emphasizes that the design code, which has been introduced in Veliky Novgorod since 2024, is very poorly connected with the cultural identity of the city. The key thesis of the interview is that all urban objects that are located outside the historic part of the city (outside the berm boundaries) should be resolved in a modern architectural language. In addition, the creation of new projects in contrast with the existing urban environment is described as one of the possible and productive strategies for working in the historical area of the city. In this way, contemporary architects and urban planners can make their original, authorial contribution to the historical city and leave their mark on the urban texture.

Архитектурные мотивы в ювелирном искусстве XX — первой четверти XXI века

Throughout the history of jewellery, craftspeople have appealed to architectural motifs in the composition of church utensils or jewellery. In different historical periods, this process developed in accordance with the aesthetic requirements of the time, the peculiarities of the artistic and stylistic development of art in general and jewellery in particular. As a result, a number of certain artistic techniques have been formed; they were used by masters in past eras and are used by modern artists and jewellers, as well as architects and designers working in this field of decorative art. This article is devoted to the analysis of the formation and development of these artistic and stylistic techniques at the present stage. This topic has not yet been adequately reflected in scientific literature. The research problem is only mentioned in general works of foreign and Russian researchers on various historical periods (to a greater or lesser extent). Most interest in the topic is shown by bloggers who popularize certain brands or master jewellers in various electronic resources. In the first quarter of the 21st century, the appeal to architectural motifs as a key element of artistic, figurative, and compositional solutions in jewellery became very widespread both in the luxury segment and in the author’s jewellery art. This article is the first experience of art criticism research on this artistic and stylistic phenomenon. The research uses descriptive, formal, stylistic, and comparative methods. As a result, the author of the article identifies and formulates the main methods of using architectural motifs in the compositional, artistic, and figurative solutions in works of modern author’s jewellery art.

Mimbar Design Motifs in Pre-Independence Mosques in Ipoh Perak

Mimbar is where Khatib delivers a sermon before the Friday prayer begins. Undeniably, a mimbar built before the independence era in Malaysia is hard to find today, and there are deficiencies in research on the mosques' mimbar motifs. This research aims to identify the motifs on the mimbar before the independence era, particularly in Ipoh, Perak. Therefore, this research significantly benefits the future generation and nurtures their knowledge regarding the extrinsic values of the mimbar's aesthetics and the intrinsic meaning of its motifs that contribute to developing mimbar motifs in art and architecture in Malaysia and share the motifs' character representing Perak's state.

FOSAMPRENAVIR CALCIUM LOADED DENDRIMERS: FORMULATION DEVELOPMENT, EVALUATION AND HEMOLYTIC TOXICITY STUDIES

Objective: Dendrimers are the three-dimensional polymeric architectural motif which bestows an advanced platform for drug delivery and drug targeting. Dendrimers are a novel cargo system that can accommodate larger amounts of the drug in its structure by conjugating the drug with terminal amine functional groups. The present work was designed to develop Fosamprenavir calcium-loaded 5th generation poly (propylene imine) (5G PPI) dendrimers for effective treatment of Human immunodeficiency virus. Methods: The drug loading was carried out using a direct method with continuous stirring for 48 h. The sample was characterized using different analytical techniques and also evaluated for drug entrapment, drug release, and release kinetics. The hemolytic toxicity studies were also performed and evaluated based on % hemolysis and surface morphology of RBCs after incubating with the prepared formulation. Results: The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectral analysis confirms the conjugation of the Fosamprenavir calcium and dendrimers. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis (DSC) also confirmed the conjugation of the drug with dendrimers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showcased the spherical floral arrangement of the dendrimer structure. The drug entrapment studies revealed 69.83±0.31% of the drug encapsulated in the dendrimer structure. The drug release studies showed 80.18±0.65% in phosphate buffer pH 7.4 and 68.09±1.78% in acetate buffer pH 5.0. The drug release kinetics showed that the Higuchi release pattern was followed for the release pattern of pH 5 and pH 7.4. The hemolysis study revealed that the conjugation of the drug with 5G PPI dendrimers drastically reduces the hemolysis. Conclusion: Thus, from the studies, it can be concluded that an efficient drug delivery system can be developed for the anti-retroviral drug Fosamprenavir calcium by loading on 5G PPI dendrimers.

MOTYWY ARCHITEKTONICZNE W MALARSTWIE; WYBRANE ZAGADNIENIA

Both architecture and painting belong to the arts, and additionally they cross talk with each other. The architectural object itself, such as buildings or constructions, is often an independent work of art. Peter. It is worth quoting here a statement by Waldemar Januszczak "Where in these mentioned works by Bernini does architecture end and art begin? Or is it the other way around?" (Januszczak W). The research in the present work has been focused in particular on a cross-sectional view of the links between architectural motifs and paintings, combined with the creation of perspective, also with the aid of a camera obscura. The subject matter discussed in this article is extremely extensive, because almost every artist, and we are talking only about these great masters, has in his dossier works showing architectural elements, even in the background. This minireview, by necessity, includes only selected works that are an individual choice of the author.

Mud retention in hydrologically closed basins promoted pre-vegetation meandering: evidence from the Neoproterozoic Diabaig Formation, Scotland

Abstract Fluvial point-bar deposits are described from the c. 1 Ga Diabaig Formation, representing some of the most compelling architectural evidence of planform sinuosity recognized in pre-vegetation sedimentary strata to date. The stratigraphical architecture of the deposits indicates different planform transformations in response to meander-bend expansion and downstream migration. Point-bar architectural motifs are locally abundant in the unit and this is attributed to elevated amounts of mud-calibre cohesive sediment. Mud afforded landscape stability that, together with limited stream power, was sufficient to corral sediment into single-thread, sinuous channels. Significant volumes of fine-grained sediment were encouraged to accumulate by the local basin setting of several topographically confined endorheic depressions. These conditions ceased once the hydrologically closed valleys were filled, with the overlying sandstone-dominated Applecross Formation subsequently deposited by low-sinuosity, braided rivers that bypassed fine-grained sediment oceanward. Other endorheic basins conducive to the formation of depositional meanders should be expected to have been relatively widespread on pre-vegetation Earth, though many individually limited in size, confined by their inherited topographies. Depositional architectures representative of sinuous channel planforms remain scarce within more extensive, externally drained basins.

Building and landscape: the interaction of natural and urban motifs in modern architecture of Japan

The article provides an analysis of the interaction between natural and urban motives in architecture based on projects implemented in Japan and in other countries by Japanese architectural firms. The features of the Japanese culture and philosophy that had a direct impact on its architecture are outlined. Based on a study of texts and graphic material, we suggest a classification of interactions between natural and urban elements by the nature of interaction, type of the main natural element, and its use.

Innovative Textile Desiging for Ladies Apparels from Architectural Motifs of Sethi House

This study describes the uniqueness of traditional architectural motifs of the Sethi house situated in city of Khyber Pukhtun Khawa, Pakistan with respect to the revival of these motifs by digital printing on ladies apparel. Textile designs from historical motifs have initiated to be used frequently in various textiles industries. Goods designed in today’s fashion world play a significant role in the conservation of historical and cultural ideas. The combination of contemporary styles with timeworn designs and motifs safeguards the existence of these motifs for looming products. The Sethi house comprise of superb architectural elements like engraved woodwork, ainah kari, and jaili work etc. Sethi house interior is planned with so simple, yet complex pure Islamic architecture motifs that one could look at these features for hours.Designs from the ceiling of the rooms comprising unique jaliwork, naqqashi and courtyard decorating elements were selected for transformation in to textile designs through Adobe photo shop software. Various types of fabric specimens were digitally printed, stitched in to female costumes and exhibited for the students and numerous personnel belonging to fashion designing field. The data was collected through questionnaires by ranking the textile designs subjectively and statistically analysed regarding transformation of motifs, form, novelty, symbolism, aesthetics, texture, different color schemes, and commercial acceptability in the market. This work will help those designers who are striving to recover their own traditional details with the modern-day fashion movements. Architectural motifs of Sethi House can be a source of inspiration for current fashion designers to boost their culture in domestic as well as global market.

The Influence of Giovanni Piranesi’s Etchings on the Works of Mstislav Dobuzhinsky

The relevance of the article’s topic is determined by the fact that the etchings of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, one of Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky’s favorite artists, have never been specifically examined as artistic sources of his work.The scientific novelty of this article lies in the fact that it is the first attempt to analyze the influence of G.B. Piranesi’s etchings on the works of M.V. Dobuzhinsky. The author uses a complex method that combined the source analysis of the artist’s memoirs and letters, the traditional formal analysis of his works in comparison with Piranesi’s etchings and architectural monuments of Ancient Rome. The article also examines the industrial city motifs in Charles Dickens’ novels “The Old Curiosity Shop” and “Little Dorrit”. This made it possible to significantly expand and deepen the existing understanding of the historical, artistic and literary sources of architectural motifs and architectural fantasies in M.V. Dobuzhinsky’s works.The article reveals that G.B. Piranesi’s etchings from the series “Carceri” and “Vedute di Roma” influenced Dobuzhinsky’s fantasy drawings “Everyday life”, “Holiday” and the landscape “London. On the Bridge”. Piranesi’s etchings from these series also influenced Dobuzhinsky’s fantasy drawings of 1909—1921 on the theme of the city. In the early 1920s, some of the drawings were combined into the series “City Dreams”. The author also reveals the participation of industrial city images from Russian symbolist poetry, especially Valery Bryusov, in the formation of similar motifs in Dobuzhinsky’s works.