Architectural Culture Research Articles

Reading-With: A Collaborative Method for Inclusive Architectural Histories

This article describes reading-with, a new collaborative reading method developed as part of the ERC-funded project WoWA (Women Writing Architecture 1700-1900). It offers architectural and other historians a starting point to produce inclusive histories based on the writings of those so far invisible within disciplinary canons. Arguing that historiography can be made more inclusive if the historian’s approach to their sources changes, reading-with introduces a set of precise and timed reading tasks organised in layers to focus the researcher’s attention on different aspects of the narration as well as their response to the text. Based on methods developed in the fields of psychology and feminist oral history, it aims to disrupt learned, canonical reading methods, paying attention to the relationship between reader, text, narrator, and context. Performed by several groups of researchers and master students in Switzerland and Chile in 2022-23, the method has been tested with texts authored by women in the 18th and 19th centuries. It foregrounds their architectural agency and influence on architectural cultures, even if their links to the professional sphere have so far been regarded as marginal. Reading-with is an invitation to read otherwise to centre the experiences and agency of those not yet acknowledged.

ANALYZING MODERN PUBLIC INTERIORS THROUGH PASSAGES AND BAZAARS IN KEMERALTI, İZMİR, TURKEY (1960s-1970s)

Passages and bazaars, examples of public interiors, are types of buildings that have a variety of functions, like providing social and economic needs. However, due to changes in shopping habits in modern times, these public interiors are losing their commercial and social significance, along with their architectural functions. The study aims to analyze the urban, architectural, social, and cultural patterns of the modern public interiors while emphasizing the passages and bazaars built after the 1960s in İzmir, Turkey. For this case study, the characteristic commercial buildings of the modern period, Havuzlubey Bazaar (1961), Şan Passage (1968), and Salepçioğlu Foundation Bazaar and Office Building (1971) located in the historical Kemeraltı Bazaar in İzmir, have been examined. These buildings have distinctive architectural features and construction methods that have reflected the architectural culture of their period in terms of forms, functions, materials, and details. The method of the research includes a literature review, on-site observation, semi-structured interviews, photography, and analysis of the architectural and interior characteristics of the buildings. The findings show that throughout the years, these buildings have lost their importance in politics, economics, as well as daily life; thus, their sustainability has been negatively affected. The study’s contribution is raising awareness about the importance of values of modern public interiors in terms of documentation, urban identity, architecture and interior, functionality, commercial, sustainability, memory, and originality.

Balkrishna Doshi’s Contribution to the Development of Contemporary Architecture in India

Balkrishna Doshi has more than 70 years as an architect contributing to hundreds of projects with the architectural firm he founded, Vāstu Shilpā Consultants, ranging from institutes, residences, art galleries, public spaces, and more. Doshi has also played a leading role as an educator, particularly in India. He founded the Vāstu Shilpā Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design and the School of Architecture and Planning in Ahmedabad. With an understanding and appreciation of deep traditions in Indian character and architecture that he understood from childhood, regardless of local prefabrication and crafts, and developing a vocabulary that is in harmony with the history, culture, local traditions, and changing times in contemporary vernacular architecture in his home country, India.
 Keywords: Balkrishna Doshi, Contemporary Vernacular Architecture, Low-Cost Housing, India.

Research on the Architectural Features and Artistic Elements of Traditional Buildings in Different Regions of Jiangxi, China

Traditional buildings are a comprehensive manifestation of history, art, and architectural features, and are also a carrier of folk culture, traditional skills, and regional aesthetic tastes. This paper studies traditional buildings and arts from three regions of Jiangxi, including northern Jiangxi, southern Jiangxi, and central Jiangxi. Traditional buildings in Jiangxi Province flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As Jiangxi is located in the interior of China and is adjacent to many provinces, the architectural art of traditional buildings is greatly influenced by geographical location. Traditional buildings in northern Jiangxi are influenced by Huizhou architectural culture, while those in southern Jiangxi are influenced by Hakka culture. The patio-style buildings and high-lighting buildings that represent the local characteristics of Jiangxi are found exactly in central Jiangxi. The relatively diverse set of architectural features and artistic elements is due to a variety of intertwined regional cultures. Compared with those of the surrounding provinces, the economic level of Jiangxi is relatively underdeveloped, and the local architecture has accordingly formed a restrained, simple, and practical artistic style.

Between Restoration, Urban Renewal, and Revitalization: Maribor Old Town during the Late Socialist Period (1978-1990)

The question of recovering the architectural heritage of Maribor in the post-war period — not just restoration but revitalization — found fertile ground in Slovenian architectural culture. During that time, Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia, developed primarily as a productive industrial center. Following the construction of the Srednja Drava 1 hydroelectric power plant in 1966, the level of the Drava River rose, and it was necessary to demolish some late medieval and Baroque buildings of the ancient port of Pristan (Lent). That area became the epicenter of urban revitalization in the 1970s and 1980s, animated especially by architects Branko Kocmut, Bogdan Reichenberg, and Igor Recer. These interventions entailed a search for reconciliation between the methods of the Yugoslav socialist idea of self-management and the requests for a historic center in the city that would serve both cultural and recreational-tourist purposes for many years.

Style evolution rules of Tibetan dwellings in the Amdo Tibetan region: An architectural typology perspective

The Amdo Tibetan region is one of the three major Tibetan regions in China, along with the Jiarong Tibetan region and the Kangba Tibetan region. The Amdo Tibetan region is located in the Tibetan-Qiang-Yi corridor, where many ethnic groups have migrated for a long period, and the Tibetan dwellings in the region have typical characteristics such as the intermingling of multiple cultures and various construction methods. With post-disaster reconstruction and rural revitalization work, the architectural landscape of the dwellings in the region has gradually become homogenized with that of other Tibetan regions, suffering construction damage and distorting the architectural culture. However, the current academic circle lacks a description of the evolution rules of folk styles in the Tibetan areas of Amdo. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper selected typical folk styles in Jiuzhaigou Valley in the Tibetan areas of Amdo as the research subject. Based on the perspective of architectural typology, this paper classified folk styles based on field research and constructed a quantitative analysis framework using a “classified-iconic index- characteristic calculation index.” Finally, the following conclusions were reached: (1) The Tibetan dwellings in Jiuzhaigou, as a whole, are evolving in a direction that reflects originality in the plans, modernity in the structure, and autonomy in construction. (2) In the rural settlements of the Ando Tibetan region, the environment, managers, and villagers interact with each other, and the method and degree of influence are intuitively reflected in the appearance of the dwellings. The results of the above study reveal the evolution of the residential landscape in the Tibetan area of Amdo, enriching the theoretical perspective and implementation approaches for the study of residential landscapes, and providing new ideas for the conservation and development of residential houses in ethnic areas in the future, contributing to rural revitalization.

A New Digital Culture in Architecture and Engineering Design Classes with Technological Advances

This work deals with the approach of information and communication technologies in the classroom activities of the disciplines of architectural projects to propose improvements in the formation of architects and in the teaching models practiced in schools of Architecture and Engineering of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The objective of this work is to discuss the use of technology through the design course. The position of Professors in the adoption of these technologies was analyzed. The work presents an analysis of pedagogical practices to reflect on possible advances, disharmonies and conflicts with the use of technologies in design development. This discussion can contribute to stimulating the qualification of Professors and future professionals. The findings indicate that new pedagogical practices with the use of technology can be gradually adopted. So Professors and students can better interact and develop the teaching/learning relationship with the updated models of teaching architectural projects.

A reckoning with the maintenance of the built environment, a Sisyphean task

Maintenance concerns most of the artifacts, referring simultaneously to the socio-cultural, technical and managerial spheres. Contemporary scenarios impose an overall rethinking, where key-topics such as tradition, consumerism, sustainability and digitization become pivotal in the search for suitable production models, between post-industrial and neo-craftsmanship, in order to have fresher references for the maintenance activities.
 In the construction field, maintenance is not limited to the objective of prolonging the duration of quality levels that only affect direct users, but also has important implications of a social and collective nature, in the case of both public and private buildings and spaces. Despite this and other specific features, the parallelism between building maintenance and manufacturing maintenance was fundamental in the last quarter of the 20th century, when the subject made its way into the technological culture of architecture, in search of references that could replace pre-industrial habits.
 In support of the theoretical rethinking of maintenance (an activity which, like the Sisyphean task, does never foresee a definitive completion), the article suggests some considerations referring in particular to the reinforced concrete: a structural material almost omnipresent in the built environment since the second half of the last century, which poses significant problems in terms of duration and not only. In conclusion, some possible developments are presented, distinguishing between newly constructed and existing reinforced concrete constructions.

A reckoning with the maintenance of the built environment, a Sisyphean task

Maintenance concerns most of the artifacts, referring simultaneously to the socio-cultural, technical and managerial spheres. Contemporary scenarios impose an overall rethinking, where key-topics such as tradition, consumerism, sustainability and digitization become pivotal in the search for suitable production models, between post-industrial and neo-craftsmanship, in order to have fresher references for the maintenance activities.
 In the construction field, maintenance is not limited to the objective of prolonging the duration of quality levels that only affect direct users, but also has important implications of a social and collective nature, in the case of both public and private buildings and spaces. Despite this and other specific features, the parallelism between building maintenance and manufacturing maintenance was fundamental in the last quarter of the 20th century, when the subject made its way into the technological culture of architecture, in search of references that could replace pre-industrial habits.
 In support of the theoretical rethinking of maintenance (an activity which, like the Sisyphean task, does never foresee a definitive completion), the article suggests some considerations referring in particular to the reinforced concrete: a structural material almost omnipresent in the built environment since the second half of the last century, which poses significant problems in terms of duration and not only. In conclusion, some possible developments are presented, distinguishing between newly constructed and existing reinforced concrete constructions.

Exploring the appropriate technology for green renovation of rural buildings incorporating regional culture: Taking the renovation of village houses in Conghua, Nanping, Guangzhou as an example

In view of the rising energy consumption of rural buildings in recent years and the neglect of the connection with regional architectural culture in the construction process, this study explains the connotation and representation of regional culture based on the theoretical tool of cultural regional character, and constructs a suitable technical system for green transformation of rural buildings incorporating regional culture from five aspects, which are regional character creation, outdoor environment improvement, envelope structure performance optimization, indoor environment quality improvement, and renewable energy utilization. Based on the construction of this system, this study takes the renovation of the village residence in Nanping, Conghua, Guangzhou as an example, and explores the ways to achieve green and sustainable development in the renovation of rural buildings in the Lingnan Guangfu area with the guidance of the system and method of integrating regional culture and modern green building technology. The study compares the buildings of Nanping village residence in Conghua, Guangzhou, before and after the renovation, and finds that after the renovation, the building consumes less energy, the spatial quality is improved, and the overall spatial and stylistic expression is more in line with the regional cultural characteristics, which provides theoretical and practical references for the green renovation of rural buildings.

The Profession’s Vanguards: Arab Architects and Regional Architectural Exchange, 1900–50

Writings on architecture in the Middle East during the first half of the twentieth century have often focused on the legacies of colonial architects and planners in shaping Middle Eastern cities and built environments. Contrarily, this article focuses on the overlooked history of the first milieu of trained Arab architects in Middle East, focusing on Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. Examining unstudied historical materials and archives, it maps out the trajectories of individual architects as well as the architectural profession more generally in this period of rapid change. It is divided into three main sections that highlight this: first, architecture’s transition from the Ottoman guild system to its professionalisation by the turn of the century; second, the mobility of architectural knowledge and expertise in the Arab region following the First World War; finally, the development of a new institutionalised architectural culture that sought to cultivate bonds between Arab architects not only in their individual countries, but also regionally throughout the Arab world towards the mid-twentieth century.

THE SPIRIT OF VATICAN II: THE IDEALIST ASPECTS OF LITURGICAL ARCHITECTURE IN EUROPE

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the “idealist” intellectual workshops behind the 20th-century liturgical architecture before and after the Second Vatican Council. These workshops established their concepts on the intriguingly historic presumption that, in order to refresh the Catholic liturgy, one must seek and return to the origins of Christianity. In other words, their worldview was characterized by the spirit of ressourcement, which was one of the great motivators of the new liturgical paradigm brought about by 1962. Ressourcement had both monastic and secular aspects to the invocation – or recreation – of the early apostolic communities by means of new spatial and contextual programs in contemporary church architecture. These programs were conceptually compound, and were often guided or implemented by the clergy itself. The study also sheds light on some of the 21th-century interpretations and the survival of the same ideas in today’s architectural culture.

Environmental Activism in the Architectural Culture of Socialist Yugoslavia: The Case of the Center for Urban Development Planning (CEP)

This article explores transfers of ideas and environmental practices that developed or circulated in late socialist Yugoslavia in the 1970s and 1980s. Case studies of alternative models for environmental initiatives in architectural and urban practices are explored to contest a historical narrative of environmental activism that claims it is underpinned by Western democratic political conditions. The research is based on a comparative analysis of documents and period sources about the activities, which ranged from self-organized exhibitions to architecture and urban-design competitions. Thus, the article examines how these strategies of environmental mobilization contributed to shifts in the highly formalized politics of urban planning prevalent at that time. This article therefore examines political and cultural factors, as well as the dynamics underpinning dialogues, critiques, and collaborative practices as part of a general movement to humanize the transition as a condition of the late-socialist society. This article challenges conventional models of interpreting relations between local and global architectural culture by bringing its multilayered transfers under the spotlight.

Interpretation of the role of architectural colour in the design of buildings in Tibetan ethnic architectural culture

The Tibet Autonomous Region is located in the southwestern part of the Tibetan Plateau. Under the influence of factors such as climate, topography, local building materials, history and culture, religion and ethnic psychology, the city of Lhasa has developed a unique architectural style. In this paper, the role of architectural colour in the design of Tibetan ethnic architecture is interpreted through an analysis of some traditional and modern buildings in the Tibet Autonomous Region, in terms of understanding the role of architectural colour in conveying cultural information, creating a sense of architectural hierarchy and creating an architectural atmosphere.

Study on Modern Veranda Style Architecture of Yantai Mountain in Fuzhou under the Fusion of Chinese and Western Culture

After the Opium War, veranda style architecture, as an important type of modern Chinese architecture, took root and sprouted in the major open trading cities, which was the result of the collision and fusion of Western architectural culture and regional construction culture. Yantai Mountain in Fuzhou is rich in modern veranda style architectural culture heritage, which has a profound influence on the modern urban pattern of Fuzhou and the evolution of modern architecture in southern China. Guided by the theory of modern Chinese architecture and detailed field research and literature research, this paper analyzes the function and form of modern veranda style architecture in Yantai Mountain, Fuzhou, discusses its evolution process under the background of regional characteristics in Fujian on the basis of the above, and expands the ideas of protection and activation of veranda style architecture.

Poetic Architecture of Robert Adam: Burns’s ‘The Brigs of Ayr’

This article investigates the discourse on architecture in the poem’s flyting dialogue to explain Burns’s humour directed at the culture and style of architecture (Neoclassic and Gothic) surrounding Robert Adam, famous Scottish architect, who was commissioned to design the New Bridge of Ayr. Concepts of ‘Tradition’ and ‘Modernity,’ apply not only to the Auld Brig and New Brig but also to Auld Ayr’s historic town and seaport and to Adam’s modern bridge with narrow roads fronting the harbour.

Earthly Matters, Earthy Visions: National Architecture Narratives and the Unexpected Culture of Norwegian Rammed Earth Houses

Abstract: This research paper shares the neglected story of rammed earth houses in Norway, with a focus on the past conditions that enabled its craft and emergence. Architectural representations in the country have been inexorably tied to craft traditions and localisms, framed as a marriage of natural materials and the built form; however, wood and stone occupy center stage of this material-oriented ethos. Very little attention is given to old rammed earth building techniques. Beyond tectonic considerations, the paper's aim is to document the value-tinged discourse around the making of rammed earth houses, or jordhus, built at the end of the nineteenth century, between 1920 and 1930, and during the post–World War II building boom. I examine and document the social circumstances and ideologies that caused Norwegian individuals to turn to—and away from—such a material. Based on Asbjørn Klepp's seminal "Jordhus i Norge," as well as Akershus Museum's little-known surveys, building projects in Østland, Vestland, and Sørland are the focus of this study of the social, cultural and technological histories embedded in rammed earth free-standing walls. Notions of sustainability and craft, of vernacular knowledge and home aesthetics are then utilized to qualify and weigh the significance of jordhus for present-day building narratives of Norway, thus shedding new light on established methods for the writing and telling of the country's architectural narratives: in the concluding section, I briefly comment on rammed earth's resurgence in the face of current climate concerns and describe a contemporary case study (Raab Jordhus, 2019) that shows the material's significance for future Norwegian architectural cultures.

Architettura e ambiente, una relazione complessa e mobile

The thesis underpinning the thoughts presented in this issue is the interaction between architectural culture and the environment, between intentional environmental modification brought about by building in the mountains and its conceptualization in the historically-determined forms that have characterised modernity since the late 18th century. The environment is here understood as material – mountains, lakes, forests, climate, air, water, ice, animals – with its countless cultural and scientific modes of conceptualization. This theme is not only up-to-date, but will be the core issue of the long phase of climate transition that is our future. Thus, it is natural to question the extent to which environmental transformation is redefining how constructive action and the environment relate to and influence each other. In order to look at this interaction in the present and in the near future, it may be essential to interrogate the two-and-a-half centuries of history of modernity within the Alps, with the progressive prevalence of urban technology cultures that will disperse the historical ways of life and the relative building practices as the 21st century advances.

Architettura, legno e ambiente. Esperienze dal Vorarlberg

The contemporary architecture of the Austrian Land of Vorarlberg represents a paradigmatic case of sustainable architecture at the international level. It owes its fame, above all, to the massive use of wood in contemporary architectural production. According to Marie-Hélène Contal, in this region, ecology and sustainability, whether environmental, social or economic, do not simply symbolize a vision or a political programme, but are rooted in the inhabitants’ everyday life and rules of behaviour. The regional architectural culture owes its relevance to various social, cultural and economic factors, including the well-established construction timber industry, which plays a crucial role in generating architectural quality and design in the region. The essay deals with several key issues that, on the one hand, have determined the critical fortune of Vorarlberg architecture and, on the other, shows how the social, cultural, environmental and economic components rooted in the Land have reverberated in architectural quality.

Bio-Modules: Mycelium-Based Composites Forming a Modular Interlocking System through a Computational Design towards Sustainable Architecture

In a resource-constrained world, raising awareness about the development of eco-friendly alternative materials is critical for ensuring a more sustainable future. Mycelium-based composites (MBC) and their diverse applications are gaining popularity as regenerative, biodegradable, and lightweight alternatives. This research aims to broaden the design potentials of MBC in order to construct advanced systems towards a novel material culture in architecture. The proposed design method intends to explore the design and fabrication of small-scale components of MBC to be applied in modular systems. Mycelium-based modular components are being developed to fulfill the geometrical requirements that allow for the creation of a lightweight system without additional reinforcement. The modules are linked together using an interlocking system. Through computational design and form-finding methods, various arrangements of the modules are achieved. An initial prototype of five modules is created to demonstrate the ability of the system to form various geometrical configurations as a result of the used workflow. The proposed application aims to expand the scope of the use of mycelium-based composites in modular systems and to promote architectural applications using bio-based composite materials.