Architectural History Research Articles

A haplotype-resolved reference genome of a long-distance migratory bat, Pipistrellus nathusii (Keyserling & Blasius, 1839).

We present a complete, chromosome-scale reference genome for the long-distance migratory bat Pipistrellus nathusii. The genome encompasses both haplotypic sets of autosomes and the separation of both sex chromosomes by utilizing highly accurate long-reads and preserving long-range phasing information through the use of three-dimensional chromatin conformation capture sequencing (Hi-C). This genome, accompanied by a comprehensive protein-coding sequence annotation, provides a valuable genomic resource for future investigations into the genomic bases of long-distance migratory flight in bats as well as uncovering the genetic architecture, population structure and evolutionary history of Pipistrellus nathusii. The reference-quality genome presented here gives a fundamental resource to further our understanding of bat genetics and evolution, adding to the growing number of high-quality genetic resources in this field. Here, we demonstrate its use in the phylogenetic reconstruction of the order Chiroptera, and in particular, we present the resources to allow detailed investigations into the genetic drivers and adaptations related to long-distance migration.

A Common Space of Historical Knowledge? Russia and Architectural Histories of Violence

This field note responds to the EAHN Thematic Conference 'States in Between' and revisits a book by the author in light of the violence currently unfolding in Europe following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Shift Work: The Hospital in Histories of Architecture and Medicine

Shift Work: The Hospital in Histories of Architecture and Medicine

“Protean Mechanism”: Robert Willis and the Technics of Architectural History

Abstract Robert Willis’s writing in the nineteenth century was foundational to the development of the discipline of architectural history. Closely related to other Cambridge scientists, including William Farish and William Whewell, Willis deployed similar methods and forms of conceptualization in his writings about medieval architecture. He focused on five areas in particular: the isometric projection, the building as kit-of-parts, detailed technical forms of description using illustrations and specialized vocabularies, the machine tool, and new tools for measuring cogwheels and architectural profiles. Using an interdisciplinary approach and drawing upon contemporary ideas of political economy by Karl Marx and Charles Babbage, this article resituates Willis’s writing in the context of the separation of manual from intellectual labor under industrial capitalism, arguing that the architectural historian was complicit both with the forms of abstraction required of professionalization and with the alienation of labor.

Inheritance and Development of Architectural Heritage: A Case Study of China's First Architectural History and Theory Ph.D

Inheritance and Development of Architectural Heritage: A Case Study of China's First Architectural History and Theory Ph.D

Lin Huiyin, House Beautiful, and women’s place in architectural culture in the United States in the 1920s

Scholarly discussions of the experiences that Lin Huiyin would have had as a student in the United States between 1924 and 1928 have yet to include the experiences she might have had outside the classroom that educated her about contemporary and historic architecture in the country and about the role that women at the time had in understanding and shaping it. The shelter magazine House Beautiful provides an overlooked indication of the exposure to and participation in architectural culture available to middle class and wealthy women in the United States in the years in which Lin Huiyin studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale. Understanding how the magazine, which was written largely by and for women, celebrated the architecture of the country’s own past, as well as of China, and the way in which it provided a stepping-stone to either a literary or an architectural career suggests the encouragement Lin may have received from the women she met and how they in turn may have been inspired to take an interest in the field, at a time when there were very few female architects.

Bartenders in Marrakesh between the past and the present

The city of Marrakesh is among the oldest Moroccan cities. Since its founding by the Almoravid Emir Youssef Ibn Tashfin, it has played prominent roles in political, cultural and social life. It has also been, by virtue of its political location, a source of great radiance and an important cultural center that has resulted in a rich cultural heritage that has lasted for many centuries and been passed down to generations. Different. Irrigations constituted one of the most important water installations that marked the history of water architecture in Marrakesh. This is evidence that the latter had an advanced system for distributing water, especially irrigation technology, which is considered a vital facility that falls within the urban fabric of the city. It is spread in multiple locations such as hamlets, and there are some paths that still carry the path. Watering. Irrigation is the end of a network of mechanisms and facilities that supplied the city with water and made it consumable, starting from its natural sources of extraction, passing through the waterways, collecting, and storing it in tanks, and finally distributing it to the city through canals and waterways, bringing it to irrigation, the meeting point between the consumer and this vital natural product.

Wandering "paper" dominants: positions and functions of high-rise accents in the urban development projects of Pushchino, 1950–1980s

The subject of this study are the architectural and urban planning projects of the scientific town of Pushchino of the USSR Academy of Sciences, developed in the second half of the 20th century. It focuses on high-rise accents planned in the master plans from the 1950s to the 1980s, which, though never realized, played a crucial organizing role in the city's developmental compositions over the years. These "paper" projects significantly influenced the actual architectural ensemble of the city. Specific changes in the creative concepts are correlated with personnel shifts within the team that developed the projects for Pushchino. The dynamics and direction of architectural searches are considered within the broad context of the history of Soviet architecture and are compared with global processes and the positions of architectural theorists and philosophers. The research employs a formal and comparative analysis method, structured historically to segment the creative process into periods that reflect both the subject of the research and the broader historical and architectural context of the era. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive analysis of numerous urban planning and architectural projects, gathered through extensive research in state and personal archives. This allowed for the first time to consider the work of architects on the planning projects of Pushchino as a dynamic process, revealing changes that occurred at each of its stages. Through the analysis of the development of “paper” dominants, wandering from project to project, changes in the global urban planning concepts of the city were traced. Consequently, the article provides insights into the development of urban planning in Pushchino, viewed through the lens of high-rise accents. It also paves the way for further research into other aspects of the process, contributing to a more comprehensive and profound understanding of urban architectural development.

A Proposal for Utilization of Vaults as Floor-slab Structures in Contemporary Architecture

Abstract Vaults are among the oldest known engineering structures, and have escorted the history of architecture through thousands of years. Nowadays, construction industry rarely uses them, and doesn’t consider them as a general option to be used for floorslab structures, although they offer several opportunities. The presentation aims to re-introduce vaults into everyday usage, emphasizing their efficient shape, building technology and aesthetic values. The following aspects are featured in the paper: -mathematical definition of vaults, -main technical terms considering vault constructions, -main features of the statics of vaults, -connection of the force-trajectory and the central core, -importance of shape for ideal material distribution, -a proposal for a contemporary floorslab structure featuring beams and narrow vaultzones, -pros and cons of the proposed floorslab structure

Race, Time, and Architecture: Dilemmas of Africanization in Ghana, 1951–66

Abstract This article discusses the Africanization of architectural labor in Ghana during the late colonial and early postindependence periods (1951–66). It focuses on the state-supported emergence, advancement, and emancipation of Indigenous architects and institutions in the context of decolonization and the Cold War. Using archival materials held in Accra, Kumasi, and London, the article shows how professionals and administrators negotiated between their double obligations: to fast-track governmental development plans and to Africanize the Public Works Department and its successors. These decision makers addressed temporal dilemmas concerning recruitment, standards, allocation, and racialization of architectural labor. In so doing, they redefined both colonial-era racial categories and racialized Cold War imaginaries of who counted as an African and who counted as an Other. This study advances the architectural history of postcolonial Ghana and broadens the debate about racialization of architecture beyond North America and Western Europe.

SYNTHESIS OF NATIONAL AND WESTERN TRADITION IN EARLY EXAMPLES OF JAPANESE MODERNISM (THE CASE OF WORLD PEACE MEMORIAL CATHEDRAL IN HIROSHIMA)

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the existing influences of traditional Japanese architecture in the modernist World Peace Memorial Cathedral in Hiroshima built after the atomic bombing in Hiroshima on the site of the Noboricho Catholic Church destroyed by the explosion, designed by the architect Togo Murano (using some of the competition ideas of the Kenzo Tange project). According to the results of the study, it was found that the architecture of the World Peace Memorial Cathedral in Hiroshima in Hiroshima represents a synthesis of the traditions of European Romanesque, the Japanese tradition of temple building, and the actual style of modernism, transformed through the prism of the creative manner of the talented architect of Japan of his time, Togo Murano, who had a huge experience in creating architecture with reminiscences of various , both Japanese and European styles of the past and present. In particular, it was established that the general planning and composition of the cathedral is close to the style of basilica churches of European Romanesque, taking into account the simplified global forms of modernism. At the same time, the appearance on the facade of the cathedral of its frame structure and a number of decoration elements refers to the tradition of ancient Japanese architecture, which is especially noticeable in the decoration of the main facade in the form of Japanese carved partitions, which, however, in accordance with the ideas of modernism, are made of concrete. From the results of the work, it is generally clear that Japanese modernism, from the very beginning of its spread in Japan, fundamentally differed from Europe, as it did not accept the idea manifested by European modernism of a complete rejection of traditional form-making. On the contrary, modernism in Japan actively used the national tradition as a basis for ideas.

Colombian Pavilions. Showcases of Nature Between 1851 and 2015

This article compiles Colombia's participation in universal and international exhibitions to uncover a specific, fragmented, and lesser-known genealogy of national architectural history. By conceptualizing container and content as integral to the same narrative, this study analyzes forms, objects, and texts that reference the natural landscape of the homeland as an alternative approach to the predominant chronological, stylistic, or technological studies within this typology. The proposed categorization of these ephemeral showcases, based on enduring anthropological discourses on nature, offers an alternative pedagogical resource and dissemination method that encourages transdisciplinary and performative interpretations, opening new avenues of exploration within the discipline.

Deep learning-based automated tile defect detection system for Portuguese cultural heritage buildings

A prominent feature in Portuguese historic architecture is Portugal’s azulejos or tiles that cover cultural heritage buildings with colorful patterns. However, tiles are prone to deterioration due to the quality of masonry materials, exposure over time, and natural and human factors. A careful approach is necessary to detect and assess tile damage in time to conserve cultural heritage. Deep learning (DL) methods are applied to detect deterioration and damage by automating vision-based monitoring. This study uses the You Only Look Once (YOLO), method to detect deterioration in tiles automatically. To obtain the initial dataset, over 5000 images of damage were collected, including cracks, craters, glaze detachment, and tile lacunae, as well as images with no defects. Additionally, a MobileNet model was used for binary classification of damaged and intact tiles to compare classification and detection approaches. Through the fine-tuning of hyperparameters and updating the dataset, an overall accuracy of over 72% for YOLO (multiple classification) and 97% accuracy for binary classification was achieved, demonstrating the adequacy of the tool for real-world applications.

Apotheosis of a Silesian miner

Director Kazimierz Kutz’s third instalment of the legendary Silesian Trilogy, The Beads of One Rosary, chronicles the destruction not only of the historic architecture of Giszowiec (Katowice), but also the tragic downfall of the film’s protagonist, a retired coal miner and socialist labour hero, Karol Habryka. The following article examines his status as a non-mythical but not pure scapegoat figure and thus as a victim of the successful collective persecution carried out by the Communist regime in Poland. When studied in tandem with the Girardian theory of victimization, in particular, as applied to the biblical story of Job, Habryka’s death restores peace to a community fraught with discord, leading in turn to his deification by the persecutors, a mechanistic process favoured by totalitarian systems in times of crisis.

The Architectural Christian Spolia in Early Medieval Iberia: Reflections between Material Reuse and Cultural Appropriation

The reuse of construction materials has been a consistent practice throughout the history of architecture, especially prevalent during periods of transition when it was preferred for its ability to simplify installation and reduce construction costs. This practice was particularly common in late Roman urban contexts, where construction materials, especially ashlar and sculptural elements, were abundant following the abandonment of temples and public buildings. However, there are occasions when the use of spolia, or reused materials, goes beyond simple material recycling. The reuse and display of certain pieces carry complex implications involving symbology, cultural appropriation, or collective memory exercises that convey messages through new buildings. In this paper, we focus on the unique case of Hispanic Christian architectural sculptures that were “recycled” in new buildings during the first centuries of Islamic domination of the Iberian Peninsula, specifically within places of worship. Through a general analysis and review of some examples, we aim to reflect on the motivations and intentionality behind the use of certain sculptural pieces and their placement in new buildings, which is not arbitrary.

Study on the Development Status and Prospects of Public History in Contemporary China

Public history is a combination of traditional historiography popularization, in which many topics related to social practice may arise. Public history is beneficial for improving the knowledge level of the general public. The United States was the first to begin the study of public history, and then public history was introduced to China. The development of Chinese public history is reflected in various film and television historiography, and has been integrated into the daily lives of the general public. The development of contemporary Chinese public history is also reflected in museum historical architecture and folk genealogy. The main reason for the rise of Chinese historiography is that the general public has increasingly high demands for spiritual nourishment, and there are more and more educated people. Public history has gained a lot of attention in this environment. The dissemination of works that combine many historical themes has aroused strong interest among the public. After two launches of public history in China, public history experienced an outbreak in the second round. The government and the public paid more attention to topics related to public history, which made the development of public history more prosperous.

Vernacular classicism and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus: the architectural imaginary of a Danish interwar crematorium

Abstract This article discusses a crematorium inaugurated in 1923 in the municipal Northern Cemetery (Nordre Kirkegård) of Aarhus as a case of vernacular classicism in interwar Denmark. While earlier works by its architect Sophus Frederik Kühnel (1851–1930) followed National Romantic, Renaissance, and Gothic models, the crematorium stands out because of its crowning feature, a stepped pyramid roof that emulates one of the most characteristic architectural elements of the mid-fourth-century BCE Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, described by Pliny the Elder (HN 36.31) and other ancient authors. This reference to one of the most famous funerary monuments from classical antiquity is both functionally and symbolically appropriate in a cemetery setting and also fits into a longer history of ‘Mausoleumania’, both in Denmark and internationally. Furthermore, it reflects a broader architectural movement of vernacular, ‘Nordic’ classicism during the interwar period, when local architects ‘translated’ classical elements into the vernacular, for example, through prominent use of brickwork and eclectic combinations of classical motifs with both medieval and National Romantic forms. Kühnel’s crematorium shows some of the creative ways in which Scandinavian architects freely adapted distinctive elements from the repertoire of classical architecture, in this case in response to the rise of cremation.

A FRCM technique for strengthening of masonry domes against near-fault pulse-like vertical excitations

Masonry domes have been used extensively in historic architecture, covering large interior spaces in structures ranging from temples, mausoleums, palaces and fortresses to baths, churches, and mosques. This research is motivated by the post-earthquake observations following the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, which revealed significant structural damage to masonry domes caused by near-fault pulse-like horizontal and vertical ground motions. Previous studies in the literature have not investigated the impact of near-fault pulse-like vertical and horizontal ground motions on the seismic performance of masonry domes. This paper aims to explore the impact of the vertical component on the seismic damage behavior of masonry domes subjected to near-fault pulse-like ground motions. Additionally, it seeks to propose a cost-effective seismic strengthening technique characterized by minimal intervention, improved workability, and reduced cost. A 3D finite element model of a masonry dome with a drum was created using the isotropic continuum macro modeling technique with homogenized properties. The Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) model was selected as the nonlinear material model. Near-fault pulse-like vertical and horizontal ground motions recorded during the February 6, 2023, Kahramanmaraş earthquake (M7.7) were chosen for the nonlinear analysis. Initially, displacements, tensile strains, and damage patterns of masonry domes subjected to near-fault pulse-like vertical and horizontal ground motions were obtained and thoroughly evaluated for V/H (the peak vertical ground acceleration to the peak horizontal ground acceleration ratio) ratios of 0.0, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25. Subsequently, seismic analyses were conducted on masonry domes strengthened with four different Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Mortar (FRCM) configurations under near-fault pulse-like excitations with a V/H ratio of 1.25 to propose an optimal strengthening technique.

Towards an Effective Architectural Form: The Composition of Squareness and Roundness Based on Scale Proportion—Evidence from the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

Investigating the mathematical and geometric principles embedded in ancient classic architecture is a significant tradition in the history of architectural development. Drawing inspiration from the modular design and creative ideology based on the geometric proportions of squareness and roundness in ancient Chinese architecture, we propose a new mode of squareness and roundness composition based on scale proportion specifically for the design of multi-story buildings. Taking Yingxian Wooden Pagoda as the case study, we not only re-evaluate the modular system and proportional rules followed in the design of the entire pagoda, but also reveal the technical approaches and geometric rules for effectively controlling the form of multi-story buildings. In particular, the mode of squareness and roundness composition based on scale proportion, utilizing a modular grid combined with squareness and roundness drawings as decision-making tools, can control the scale and proportion of buildings across different design dimensions and organically coordinate the design of multi-story buildings’ plans and elevations. Thus, it can achieve an effective balance of multi-story architectural forms. This study has potential applications in the creation of traditional multi-story buildings and heritage restoration projects, and offers valuable insights for future research on ancient multi-story buildings.

Survey as method: field trips of the Society for Research in Chinese Architecture, 1930–1937

In 1932, the Society for the Research in Chinese Architecture (SRCA) undertook a field trip to the Dule Temple, a Buddhist temple complex located 100 km from Beijing. Led by the Ivy-League trained Liang Sicheng, this survey opened up a new chapter for research into historic architecture in China. Supplemented by a series of other field trips, the Society sought to understand the constructional logic of ancient Chinese timber structures, and to communicate their findings in texts and drawings to architects, scholars, and the wider public, both in China and internationally. In order to explore these field trips, their methods and techniques, findings and dissemination, this article uses various outputs produced by the Society alongside photographs, drawings, and descriptions of the work undertaken on site. Set within the context of a nascent national identity that was in flux during the Republican period in China (1928–1937), this article considers surveying as a fundamental research method to record historic buildings, enable cross-examination with literature sources, and synthesise evidence for a new generation of Chinese scholars and architects.