Architecture Research Articles

Forging the City Image during the French Colonial Period (1883-1962) in the Case of Jijel (Algeria)

The urban configuration of Algerian cities reflects the influence of French colonization (1883-1962). This is characterized by a collection of contrasts and overlays of different forms of architecture and urbanism. In all urban agglomerations in Algeria, the colonial section remains the most prominent and structured. This legacy of colonial architecture and urban planning has ignited a national debate in political and academic circles regarding its classification as heritage. This current study contributes to the debate by adopting a neutral and scientific approach in order to smooth things out and shed light on the role and creation of urban form and its image, specifically through the example of Jijel. The notion of urban image is explored through colonial architectural achievements, urban planning, and artistic endeavours that were emblematic of the city during the colonial period and continue to be so today. This article showcases various works created during the colonial period in Jijel, those that still convey an identity that defines the city. The concern for this identity is substantiated by a research project that seeks to identify the city's image through significant architectural works across different epochs and determine those that accurately convey the city's identity within the country.

Identity of Architecture: The Case of the National Library of Kosovo

This article is part of a research on concepts that belong to theoretical speculation sin the discipline of architecture. The main intention is to shed light on the relationship of these theoretical concepts with the construction of architectural form and the episteme of architecture itself. One such concept is the identity of architecture. In this context, this research aims to clarify the interplay between identity – as a theoretical concept that is directly related to the form – and the architectural discipline. The first hypothesis is that architectural forms do not have a particular identity detached from their formal essence, but have an identity expressed by morphology. Second, different architectures, being forms of representations, express an external identity depended on the historical, political, social or cultural conditions. This article defines three main plans through which the identity of an architectural work is manifested: formal, stylistic/linguistic, and technological. The followed methodological approach is based on a theoretical analysis of the concept of identity, its contextualization within the discipline of architecture, and the interpretation of the results of such analysis through the case study of the National Library of Kosovo, built in Prishtina during 1971-1982. The study of the National Library is conceived as an example where the results obtained at a theoretical level and which aim to further clarify the discourse on the presented concepts, are expected to be verified.

Reproduction of Architecture in Modernizing Local Architecture: The Case of Muqarnas

The present study aims to investigate the cultural identity concept and its relation to cultural heritage within a conservation framework under the threat of unfettered interventions for modernity and its requirements by analyzing the reproduced architectural works. Furthermore, the study focused on clarifying and tracking the effects of architectural reproduction on society and individuals, as well as on the local way of thinking and local culture in a specific region known as the "Levant." The research method is developed in two interconnected ways: qualitative 'interpretive' research methods are used to explain the pure concept of cultural heritage, while a 'simulation strategy' is used between traditional and historical architectural elements to create new architectural elements with historical origins and contemporary touches. Construct logic is a method of "modernizing local architecture”, in that it controls modern architecture and uses it to develop local architecture rather than obliterating and distorting it. "Muqarnas," one of the Islamic architectural decorative elements widely used in the Levant and surrounding geography, is chosen as the simulation case study for developing new contemporary architectural elements used both structurally and decoratively. The simulation approach used in the study is limited to several traditional architectural elements from the study's historical and cultural context, which were documented with architectural and technical data as well as illustrative drawings. It may be possible to raise conservation awareness by simulating some traditional architectural elements and developing them in a highly technical environment. Furthermore, it can provide the opportunity to obtain new architectural elements of a contemporary cultural nature that resist architectural reproduction in a variety of internal and external fields, as well as structural solutions.

Specific Design Approach of Croatian Architect Dinko Kovačić: The Coexistence of Modernism and Tradition in the Second Half of the 20th Century

Dinko Kovačić is a prominent Croatian architect and university professor. His design approach is characterised by exceptional empathy that results in architectural works of intense connection with the environment as well as with that of their future users. Although many of Kovačić’s works have been published in the daily press and professional publications, the complete oeuvre of this architect has so far not been the subject of scientific research. The aim of this scientific work is to look at his specific design approach based on the analysis of representative examples. Research methods in this paper include the analysis of primary and secondary sources and on-site observation. The article gives a systematic presentation of Dinko Kovačić’s work as related to his specific approach, which integrates the modernism of the second half of the 20th century and the Mediterranean tradition.

A MOSQUE BEARING DEPICTIONS OF DERVISH LODGE ITEMS: AFYONKARAHİSAR BAŞMAKÇI RECEP BEY MOSQUE

Wall paintings, which started to be seen in Ottoman society from the 15th century, became widespread in civil architecture in Istanbul from the second half of the 18th century. They spread to all Anatolia and the Balkans in a short time anda re observed even in small-scale village mosques. In this study, the architecture of the Recep Bey mosque, which is located in the center of Başmakçı district in the southeast of Afyonkarahisar, was assessed in terms of Sufi culture by considering the embroideries made using the hand-drawn technique in the interior part, depictions, writing program, possible iconographic meanings that the depictions may have, and depictions of tekke items found in the structure. Mosques with two and four minarets, salsabil pool with arch and curtain on it, curtain and oil lamp placed in the niche of the mihrab, pitcher, clock, scales and scissors, eight-door, five-story paradise with a tree of heaven placed upside down on it and tekke items depictions were used on the walls of the work. According to the master inscription found on the west wall, the hand-drawn decorations were made by a master named “Hüseyin Arif” on “5 Muharram 1310” (G. July 30, 1892). The depiction of many tekke items found on the same wall suggests that “Hüseyin Arif” was working with a tekke. In the study, the depictions of the tekke items in the structure and the writing program were examined in detail, and it was concluded that the master could be Bektashi or Rifai, and the relations of these sects with each other as well as the futuwwa and ahi organizations were examined. With its depictions, the mosque is an original example of small-scale village mosques, which are frequently encountered in the region, and is an important representative of tekke art with its tekke item depictions. Keywords: Turkish Art, Afyonkarahisar, Recep Bey Mosque, Wall Paintings, Hand- drawn Decoration, Bektashism, Rifaism, Ahi Order and Futuwwa.

FORTE: Few Samples for Recognizing Hand Gestures with a Smartphone-attached Radar

Radar sensing technologies offer several advantages over other gesture input modalities, such as the ability to reliably sense human movements, a reasonable deployment cost, insensitivity to ambient conditions such as light, temperature, and the ability to preserve anonymity. These advantages come at the price of high processing complexity mainly due to the spatio-temporal variations of gesture articulation performed by different people. Deep learning methods, such as CNN-LSTM and 3D CNN-LSTM, have a high potential to recognize radar-based gestures but usually require hundreds or thousands of labeled training samples and high processing power. Asking a lot of people to acquire a lot of gestures is particularly tedious and tiring to the point of being unrealistic. To overcome these challenges, we propose FORTE, a hand gesture recognition with few samples based on an optimized CNN architecture working on pre-processed raw data. Using a k=5-fold cross-validation, we define and compare three alternative CNNs for recognizing hand gestures acquired in a semi-mobile context of use with a portable radar attached to a smartphone. The best CNN reaches an accuracy of 94.96% with a precision of 95.92% and a recall of 96.03% for a dataset composed of solely 5 participants producing 2 samples for 20 classes covering 1 pointing, 2 pantomimic, 3 iconic, and 14 semaphoric gestures. We suggest some implications for designing radar-based gestures and we discuss the limitations of this approach.

Analysis of Building Accessibility Using Inertial and Optical Sensors.

The inclusive use of urban spaces necessitates detailed knowledge of the accessibility of public buildings or places where educational, health or administrative services are provided. Despite the improvements already made in many cities regarding architectural work, further changes to public buildings and other spaces, such as old buildings or areas of historical importance, are still required. To study this problem, we developed a model based on photogrammetric techniques and the use of inertial and optical sensors. The model allowed us to perform a detailed analysis of urban routes in the surroundings of an administrative building, by means of mathematical analysis of pedestrian routes. It was applied to the specific case of people with reduced mobility and included analysis of the building accessibility as well as detection of suitable transit routes, deterioration of the road surfaces and the presence of architectural obstacles on the route.

Stone Endurance: A Comparative Analysis of Natural and Artificial Weathering on Stone Longevity

The long-term endurance of building stones must be assured since their longevity has repercussions for their economic and social value. Frequently, slabs for flooring and cladding are installed with polished finishing in outdoor environments for technical and ornamental purposes in cultural heritage sites and modern civil architecture. Compared to any other finishing, glossy surfaces are rather vulnerable to wear, particularly when they interact with slightly acidic rainwater. Several hydrophobic treatments are applied to prevent this damage by preventing contact between rain and stone; such treatments are efficient but sometimes non-durable. Stakeholders and conservation scientists need better methods to anticipate the future behaviour of this building material and hydrophobic solutions. Complying with this demand, a comparison is made between outdoor natural ageing and artificial weathering, reproduced by UVA radiation, moisture and spray accelerated weathering. Artificial weathering is applied to predict the behaviour of stones over time in the real environment. Data obtained through the measurement of gloss and colour parameters, the detection of micro-textures through SEM, and the calculation of micro-roughness using a digital rugosimeter demonstrate that weakly acidic rainwater is the main cause of superficial decay of stone finishing over just six months of outdoor exposure. This period corresponds to 7–14 days of artificial weathering. Furthermore, the loss of efficiency and durability of the hydrophobic coatings is detected by measuring the static contact angle. This highlights that even if a protective treatment was proficient, it could easily deteriorate in normal weathering conditions if applied on polished, low-porosity stone. Additionally, water vapour permeability indicates variations of regular vapour transmission through the stones due to ageing. The first solution to threats is the prevention of pathologies, including aesthetic ones. A careful choice of the most suitable lithotype finish and an environmental study represent an existing solution to the problem. It must be highlighted that aesthetic requirements should not be prioritised to detriment of the technical requirements of architectural quality, performance, durability, and safety.

A Brief History of the Restoration of the Theodosian Walls Before the Twenty-First Century

The main aim of this paper is to briefly present the history of the restoration of the Theodosian Walls in Constantinople and their green surroundings, with a focus on the different factors that have affected this process. The Theodosian Walls, now in Istanbul, were one of the most perfect works of military architecture for hundreds of years, contributing to the survival of the city in the face of repeated attacks, as well as surviving numerous earthquakes. Their design was characterized by a number of military solutions that were innovative at the time. However, due to damage caused by natural disasters, and as a result of war and the expansion of the city, many restoration works have been undertaken during their existence. The biggest changes were made during the expansion of roads in the twentieth century, as well as during restoration works carried out after 1991. These restoration works included the protection and partial reconstruction of the fortification’s original appearance. Today, a question remains regarding how to restore such an important monument in current cultural conditions while taking into consideration the importance of green areas in the city. The main conclusion of this research is that both the walls and bostans, as inseparable parts of tangible heritage, could significantly support cultural tourism following their complex restoration and full inclusion into the educational system in Turkey

The Ideological Background to Architectural Restoration in Turkey (1920s–1960s)

Abstract Based on primary sources such as field notes, reports, and project memorandums, this article addresses architectural restoration work in Turkey from the 1920s to the 1960s. Despite the country’s limited budget and workforce, especially in the early years of the republic, the government crafted an intense preservation program of historic monuments, whereby preservation professionals implemented the scientific protection of architectural heritage mainly through maintenance and repairs. This article argues that the historiography of Turkish art became an agent in restoration, while the concept of the essence of national architecture served as the ideological basis for physical interventions. Seeking to restore the pure forms of Turkish architecture, preservationists searched for the pedigree of built works, and Sinan’s style was treated as the zenith of Turkish architecture. Works by him, along with other examples associated with the “Classical Period of Architecture” were subjected to heavy-handed interventions aimed at achieving stylistic purity.

Contribution of Rudolf Frič to the social architecture of interwar Czechoslovakia

Abstract Social policy in the interwar Czechoslovakia focused on the development of social housing. In Bratislava the establishment of new institutions and the related arrival of the Czech middle class of civil servants induced social change in the city population and its housing conditions. This necessitated the construction of modern residential blocks, which stabilised the internal urban structure and urbanised the outer city. A significant contribution to that field would be attributed to construction entrepreneur Rudolf Frič. Although the Slovak historiography exclusively presents him as a builder of civil engineering structures, his portfolio was more complex. The aim of the paper is to identify and critically evaluate Frič’s both architectural and construction work in the field of social housing in interwar Bratislava. The study focuses on projects of housing cooperatives, private rental blocks and partly on examples of city social housing. Cooperatives with the highest socio-economic relevance were set by the Bank of Czechoslovak Legions, for which Frič designed or constructed several buildings, such as the residential urban structure “Legiodomy”, housing colony in Koliba or the polyfunctional buildings of Legiopojišťovna and LUXOR. Frič's construction portfolio also includes individual projects of rental houses for smaller cooperatives, both in the compact city centre and at the then urbanising outer city peripheries. A specific case was housing for members of the army, like the residential blocks for military veterans in Bratislava. A critical category was social housing for the poorest and unemployed represented by the City rental house with habitable kitchens and the smallest-size flats. Finally, the paper examines private houses, the rental residential block of Irma Hanke and Helena Hudečková and the Trojan & Švarc polyfunctional department. Frič, as a construction entrepreneur, designed rental houses for his own employees, which all reflect the influence of private investors on the social and urban changes of the then modernising Bratislava metropolis.

The important architecture works of the sultan Abdulhameed the second 1867-1909 in Baghdad

The important architecture works of the sultan Abdulhameed the second 1867-1909 in Baghdad

METAPHYSICS OF THE OBJECT-IMAGE DICHOTOMY IN ARCHITECTURE

The physical and mental development of the phenomena of the world presupposes the distinction between the ob-ject of knowledge and the concept of it. The discovery of the difference between a thing and the idea of a thing became an unprecedented triumph of sci-ence in ancient Greece, noted Soviet art critic A. F. Losev [1]. The «stratification» of the object of study marked the beginning of a centuries-old confrontation between ideal-ism and materialism. The thesis «the idea of a thing exists by itself» has been overcome by progressive science for a long time, but recently it has risen from the ashes by the efforts of philosophers of the XX century, who declared the priority of thinking as a creative tool for replacing reality with hyperreality, the triumph of imagination over reality – and quite reasonably. The concept of metaphysics («that which is after – or outside–physics») is addressed precisely to the idea of a thing that precedes and closes the process of perception of the object of cognition with a conditional shell of a meta-physical cloud that provides functional and aesthetic persuasiveness in this case of architectural work in the role of a synharmonic superstructure, artistic comprehension superimposed on a physical medium – a conceived or realized object. Vitruvius also considered the content of architecture as a unity of thought and practice [2]. Not to the detriment of the sacred triad «benefit–strength–beauty», the article proposes to consider the dichotomy «architectural object–its semantic image», the dynamics of its historical unfolding.

LEGAL REGIME OF WORKS OF ARCHITECTURE CREATED WITH THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In the article the question of determination of legal regime of the works of architecture created with application of artificial intelligence technologies are researched. It is defined that architectural activity is one of the most important activities, so an architect has increased responsibility for the creation of works of architecture and architectural objects. It is established that works of architecture as objects of copyright are characterized by a complex multi-stage process of their creation. It is said about both drawings and sketches, and about constructed buildings as well. It is emphasized that from the point of view of copyright, architectural activity is a broader concept than the creation of a work of architecture, because it includes both the actual creative process of finding an architectural solution and the technological process of building edification, including work of performers, whose activities are not creative. Moreover, the architect as a subject of copyright has both the right and the obligation to carry out architectural supervision, which is conditioned by his increased responsibility for the result of architectural activity. It is underlined that currently architectural activity is carried out with the help of modern IT technologies, in particular including artificial intelligence technologies, which can significantly replace human activity and create new original objects. However, it was concluded that artificial intelligence cannot be recognized as an object of copyright, especially if it is a work of architecture. Firstly, according to the current legislation of Ukraine and other countries, as well as scientific doctrine, only a human is a subject who can carry out intellectual, creative activity. Secondly, any activity in which artificial intelligence is used must be controlled by a responsible person, especially in such a socially important field as architecture. Copyright for an architectural object should be divided between the developer of artificial intelligence and the architect depending on the degree of use of the corresponding software product in the creation of the work of architecture and the contribution of the architect himself as a user of artificial intelligence.

An Investigation of Architectural Heritage Design Features On the Formation of Architectural Identity through Globalization

Purpose: This research project investigated the formation of the architectural heritage identity in Damascus within the context of globalization by analyzing the architectural principles of Damascus's prevailing architecture in the contemporary era. The research aims to identify the impact of globalization on the formation of heritage identity in terms of design and characteristics.
 Design/methodology/approach: The research project used studio practice method through studio experimentation and contextual approaches to investigates how architectural heritage contributes and creates the obsession, emotion, aspiration and belief of urban society towards shaping lifestyle in a contemporary culture.
 Findings: The research project has been successful in examining how globalization technology and the ability of its modern materials have influenced the representation of heritage elements to create a unique heritage architectural identity adapted to the surrounding space and place.
 Practical implications: The research contributed to raising the awareness of the community to enhance its appreciation of cultural heritage values, and also contribute to highlighting the pursuit of maximum benefit from all aspects of technological development in the architectural work to find new elements for architectural shape that match the new urban societies.
 Originality/value: This paper is original.
 Paper type: a Research Paper.

Performance of architectural teams: The role of team learning, reflexivity, boundary crossing and error communication

This paper examines the role of team learning behaviours in the performance of architecture teams. This is significant to architects because most architects work in project teams. Although there is a growing body of research on the behaviours of design teams, this survey is one of the first studies conducted specifically on the learning behaviours of architects working in teams. We conducted a survey with 105 architecture firms in Victoria, Australia to collect perceptions of team learning behaviour and team performance, then interviewed nine architects to explore their team learning practices. Results from the survey demonstrated that team reflexivity, error communication and boundary crossing behaviours were positively associated with team effectiveness and employee satisfaction.

Implicarea deconstrucției filosofice în muzica lui John Zorn

We started from the challenge launched by the professor and musicologist Marcel Cobussen in his doctoral thesis “Deconstruction in Music” (2002) and we investigated how the philosophical deconstruction promoted by Jacques Derrida is articulated in the context of avant-garde music promoted intensively in recent decades by artist John Zorn. Given that Derrida challenged us to understand that deconstruction applies to not only written texts and discourses, but also to other non-discursive ways of writing such as works of art, cinematography, architecture or music, we tried to explain first what is specific to Derridean deconstruction and philosophical writing and what we mean, in this context, by architectural writing or musical writing. We then followed a concrete example of involvement of deconstruction in architecture in the project of Bernard Tschumi in order to compare and follow more easily the way in which deconstruction is involved in the musical practice of the artist John Zorn. Thus, our challenge was to verify if we can identify, in the compositional and performative musical practice of the artist John Zorn, the same levers of deconstruction that we identified in the analysis of Derridean philosophy and deconstructive architecture. We have therefore identified several ways in which the artist John Zorn deconstructs music in the context of avant-garde music. For example, by transgressing all the boundaries between musical styles and currents, he created a lot of new and surprising musical fusion experiments: very diverse musical styles were hybridized, jazz music, classical music or traditional klezmer music, merged with the extremes of rock, heavy metal, hardcore, noise, atonal music, film music or improvisational experiments. All these musical fusion experiments challenged the artistic community and our way of perceiving music. John Zorn uses practices specific to Derridean deconstruction: he decontextualizes and recontextualizes musical styles and currents, musical pieces and fragments; he resorts to the practice of grafting, hybridization and fusion, building a heterogeneous, fragmented, discontinuous, mobile musical spatiality; he invented a personalized way of composition based on the practice of combinatorial transformations, of combining blocks of sounds that can be disassembled, multiplied, repeated, reconstructed and reassembled into unique musical compositions (they can be deconstructed and reconstructed in the style of Derridean deconstruction, or they can be deterritorialized and reterritorialized like the rhizomatic system of Deleuze and Guattari); he dissolved the classic distinction and hierarchy between composition / improvisation / interpretation by challenging the artists to become co-composers and discover their improvisational potential in a live process of collective musical creation; he transgressed the boundary between music and everything outside of music, between music and noise, given that noise was integrated as another form of sound. We draw the obvious conclusion: just like the philosopher Jacques Derrida, the musician John Zorn transgresses the boundaries of the musical field, the boundaries between musical styles and currents and looks for what escapes our usual frames of composition or reception of music. John Zorn looks for what is completely different in music, looks for the other beyond all musical styles, in the same way that Derrida looks for the other who escapes to philosophical discourses and languages.

The Olivetti of Zanuso among project, process, and product


 
 
 During the years of post-war reconstruction in Italy, the project represented an instrument of revenge on the ruins inherited from the war and industry seemed to be the answer to the needs of a society that was rebuilding itself. The bond between project and industry thus spreads to all sectors of artistic production and the common thread is the use of words borrowed from the world of industry, thus raising the phenomenon of industrialisation.
 Olivetti’s experience is placed in this scenario, characterised by his interest beyond the factory, aimed at architectural, urban planning, cultural, publishing, and political issues. The Olivetti ideal focuses on aspects ranging from the typewriter to the city. The best architects work for Olivetti, and among them is Marco Zanuso. The factory is the topos of the project, in which theories of building industrialisation are synthesised. Zanuso experiments with the material’s potential to address issues related to the factory; in the reinforced concrete, he discovers the possibility of rationalising the composition process. Thus, the structure finds the perfect balance between technique and expressive language, generating space, light, form, and function. The beam-pillar system, an ideal synthesis of the architecture for Olivetti in Argentina and Brazil, discloses the capacity to conceive space as a single entity, in which the recognisability of the construction system becomes the identifying key of the factory itself.
 
 

The Olivetti of Zanuso among project, process, and product


 
 
 During the years of post-war reconstruction in Italy, the project represented an instrument of revenge on the ruins inherited from the war and industry seemed to be the answer to the needs of a society that was rebuilding itself. The bond between project and industry thus spreads to all sectors of artistic production and the common thread is the use of words borrowed from the world of industry, thus raising the phenomenon of industrialisation.
 Olivetti’s experience is placed in this scenario, characterised by his interest beyond the factory, aimed at architectural, urban planning, cultural, publishing, and political issues. The Olivetti ideal focuses on aspects ranging from the typewriter to the city. The best architects work for Olivetti, and among them is Marco Zanuso. The factory is the topos of the project, in which theories of building industrialisation are synthesised. Zanuso experiments with the material’s potential to address issues related to the factory; in the reinforced concrete, he discovers the possibility of rationalising the composition process. Thus, the structure finds the perfect balance between technique and expressive language, generating space, light, form, and function. The beam-pillar system, an ideal synthesis of the architecture for Olivetti in Argentina and Brazil, discloses the capacity to conceive space as a single entity, in which the recognisability of the construction system becomes the identifying key of the factory itself.
 
 

P-Adic statistical field theory and convolutional deep Boltzmann machines

Abstract Understanding how deep learning architectures work is a central scientific problem. Recently, a correspondence between neural networks (NNs) and Euclidean quantum field theories has been proposed. This work investigates this correspondence in the framework of p-adic statistical field theories (SFTs) and neural networks. In this case, the fields are real-valued functions defined on an infinite regular rooted tree with valence p, a fixed prime number. This infinite tree provides the topology for a continuous deep Boltzmann machine (DBM), which is identified with a statistical field theory on this infinite tree. In the p-adic framework, there is a natural method to discretize SFTs. Each discrete SFT corresponds to a Boltzmann machine with a tree-like topology. This method allows us to recover the standard DBMs and gives new convolutional DBMs. The new networks use O(N) parameters while the classical ones use O(N2) parameters.