Ideals of the Body: Architecture, Urbanism, and Hygiene in Postrevolutionary Paris. By Sun-Young Park. Culture, Politics, and the Built Environment. Edited by Dianne Harris.Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2018. Pp. xii+372. $49.95.

2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 940-942
Author(s):  
Peter Soppelsa
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
The Body ◽  
University Of Pittsburgh

scholarly journals Skin to Skin: A Provocative Expression of the Dynamic Relationship Between the Surface of the Body and the Surface of Architecture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Thomas Ibbotson
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Horizontal Plane ◽  
Ground Plane ◽  
Modern Architecture ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dynamic Force ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Building Typology ◽  
Skin To Skin ◽  
Contemporary Architecture

<p>It can be argued that modern architecture has expelled the building’s relationship to the ground. Raised on pilotis, modern buildings constructed the platform as an artificial ground plane. Ultimately, the platform was a two-dimensional plane, flattened to aid our transition across the built environment. This horizontal plane merely tolerated inhabitation. Unfortunately the language synonymous with this plane has been extended into contemporary architecture. It is proposed that the rigidity and stability expressed by the surface of the horizontal plane has failed to reflect the body, stimulate interaction, or challenge the inhabitant of architecture. To free the horizontal plane from its rigid axis this thesis aims to break away from the conventional building typology inflicted by modern architecture. As the force of gravity restricts our inhabitation of the built environment to the horizontal plane we directly engage with this surface of architecture. It provokes the question, how can the design of the horizontal plane engage the body and challenge the inhabitant to intensify the experience of architecture? An exploration of the skin-to-skin relationship between the surface of the body and the surface of architecture directs this thesis toward a provocative design exploration and evokes an expressive horizontal plane. To challenge the restrictive conception of architecture’s horizontal plane the program of inhabitation for this design project explores the practice of yoga. Now conceived as a dynamic force, the body can be activated by architecture’s horizontal plane. This surface provides an expressive canvas with the capacity to embody the dynamic movements of yoga. It aids, activates and challenges the participant’s body and amplifies the experience of yoga. An expressive horizontal plane, central to the inhabitation of a yoga centre, generates a dynamic space that provokes a dialogue of interaction between the inhabitant and the surface of architecture. A dynamic plane has emerged.</p>

Survival strategies of built environment organisations in a challenging economy

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 861-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Omoregie Aghimien ◽  
Emmanuel Imuetiyan Aghimien ◽  
Akinlolu Oyebobola Fadiyimu ◽  
Taiwo Fadeke Adegbembo
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Factor Loading ◽  
The Body ◽  
Survival Strategies ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Survey Approach ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Purpose The economic downturn in Nigeria calls for the need to appraise the survival strategies being adopted by organisations within the built environment, as it plays a major role in the development of every nation. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to appraise the survival strategies of organisations within the built environment, with a view to showcasing these strategies to ensure continuous survival of organisations within the industry. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a survey approach, and construction professionals across the six geo-political zones of the country were sampled using structured questionnaire. Data gathered were analysed using percentage, Kruskal–Wallis H-test and factor analysis. Findings The study revealed that organisation- and workforce management-related strategies are the most adopted survival strategies in the country, as they have the highest factor loading and accounts for about 37 per cent of the total extracted factors. This is followed by the adoption of strategies relating to organisation’s innovation, diversification, financial management and organisation’s networking, the combination of which accounts for 27.5 per cent of all extracted factors. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study imply that although organisations within the built environment see the need for effective management of their organisation and workforce in a bid to survive in the harsh economic situation of the country, more need to be done as regards the other identified survival strategies, as they can help ensure the survival of these organisations. Originality/value This study contributes to the body of knowledge as it showcases the survival strategies being adopted by the different organisations within the built environment in the challenging Nigerian economy, as against the usual common practice of studying specific organisations within the industry.

scholarly journals Where can I cry?: Providing for Emotionality in the Built Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Claire Ford
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Design Experiments

<p>Increasingly, research suggests that urban life is characterised by rising levels of distress (Söderström, 2017). We exist in a melee of social, political, cultural and environmental constructs, many of which require individuals to repress emotional expression and experiences. Without consciously doing so, we take cues from the designed environment as to what behaviours should be acted out in that space, and this has a direct impact on our well-being. This thesis explores how the built environment can be designed to support the emotional wellbeing of its occupants.  Current practice addressing well-being predominantly looks at cases of severe mental dysfunction (Söderström, 2017) or designing spaces that privilege physical concerns (Jencks & Heathcote, 2010). The research in this thesis is not directed towards such extreme instances of distress; it focuses on the capacity of designed environments to emotionally enable and empower all building users, taking into account a broad spectrum of emotional expression and responses to space. To accomplish this, existing literary research on emotional well-being is traversed and used to inform a series of design explorations. These aim to discover how the design of space can enable occupants to feel supported; to live their emotional lives with complete agency. A conceptual framework is developed, drawing on philosophy, psychology, sociology, neurology and geography, which informs architectural design experiments that test relationships between the body, the mind, and the architecture we engaged with.  This thesis involves a speculative approach to design research. Using design experiments at multiple scales, this thesis explores the potential of moments in the built environment where people have strong emotional connections to space, in order that a consciously compassionate design approach may be developed. Four architectural briefs are explored at three scales - installation, domestic and public scale - allowing design to inform the research. Each investigation is successive and becomes a testing ground to evaluate and critique the design outcomes prior to it. The design tests also involve progressively more architectural and interactive complexity. This sequence of design tests explores the potential of spaces to empower an inhabitant in architectural space to experience joy and sadness; to directly associate architecture with emotional well-ness.</p>

scholarly journals An assessment of the level of emotional intelligence attributes of undergraduate built environment students in developing countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-115
Author(s):  
D. Owusu-Manu ◽  
D.J. Edwards ◽  
A.S. Kukah ◽  
E.A. Pärn ◽  
H. El-Gohary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Construction Technology ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Management Students

Built environment students graduate with good technical skills but often lack the rudiments of management and leadership skills. Other challenges they face, among others, include interpersonal skills, emotional skills, self-awareness and impulse control. This article presents a case study assessing the emotional intelligence (EI) attributes of built environment students. EI questionnaires (Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i)) were distributed to fourth-year undergraduates studying construction-related courses at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. A total of 182 questionnaires were completed and retrieved from the fourth-year students. Analytical tools included descriptive statistics, mean score ranking, regression and correlation. Construction technology management students had the highest EI value, followed by civil engineering students, quantity surveying and construction economics students and lastly architecture students. There was no significant difference in the overall EQ-i scores of the students. Furthermore, there is insignificant correlation between the built environment programmes and the EI level of the students. The results illustrate that the EI level of the students is not statistically dependent on the programmes undertaken. From regression analysis, age is a significant predictor of EI. This study presents a methodology for assessing the EI levels of built environment students in developing countries and adds to the body of knowledge. The work concludes with directions for future research.

Dementia-Friendly Neighborhood and the Built Environment: A Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R Y Gan ◽  
Habib Chaudhury ◽  
Jim Mann ◽  
Andrew V Wister
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
Neighborhood Built Environment

Abstract Background and Objectives There has been a proliferation of research on dementia-friendly communities in recent years, particularly on interpersonal and social aspects. Nonetheless, the neighborhood built environment remains a co-constituent of the lived experience of people living with dementia (PLWD) that is amenable to interventions for health and well-being in the community. This scoping review presents a narrative synthesis of empirical research on dementia-friendly neighborhoods, with a focus on the built environment and its associated sociobehavioral aspects. Planning and design principles are distilled to identify research and policy implications. Research Design and Methods We reviewed 29 articles identified through a systematic search of AgeLine, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Global Health, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, and Scopus. Peer-reviewed articles that employed quantitative and/or qualitative methods in community settings were included. Results An equal number of studies focused on behavioral/psychosocial aspects of the built environment and assessment of specific environmental features. The former often used qualitative methods, whereas statistical methods were common in studies on discrete features of the neighborhood built environment. Few studies focused on rural contexts. Emerging research areas include interactions between dementia risk factors and neighborhood environments to support primary and secondary prevention. Discussion and Implications The body of literature needs expansion into planning and design fields to foster community participation of PLWD by optimizing environmental stimuli, minimizing environmental barriers, and engaging PLWD in dementia-friendly community initiatives. While evidence has accumulated on landmarks and social participation at the individual level, research at the community and policy levels is limited. This requires advanced mixed methods.

scholarly journals Device-Measured Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors, Built Environment, and Adiposity Gain in Older Women: A Seven-Year Prospective Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3074
Author(s):  
Pablo Molina-Garcia ◽  
María Medrano ◽  
Jana Pelclová ◽  
Izabela Zając-Gawlak ◽  
Lenka Tlučáková ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Prospective Study ◽  
Sedentary Behavior ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Bioelectrical Impedance ◽  
The Body ◽  
Neighborhood Environment ◽  
Sedentary Behaviors

The search for determinants of adiposity gain in older women has become vitally important. This study aimed to (1) analyze the adiposity gain based on the participants’ age and (2) determine the prospective associations of baseline intrapersonal, built environment, physical activity, and sedentary behavior variables with the adiposity gain in older women. This was a seven-year prospective study (baseline: 2009 to 2012; follow-up: 2016 to 2019) in older women (n = 178, baseline age = 62.8 ± 4.1 years). Baseline and follow-up adiposity (bioelectrical impedance) and baseline physical activity, sedentary behavior (accelerometers), and intrapersonal and built environment (Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale questionnaire) variables were included. The body mass index (BMI) increment tended to be inversely associated with the women’s age (p = 0.062). At follow-up, 48, 57, and 54% of the women had a relevant increase (d-Cohen > 0.2) in their BMI, percentage of body fat, and fat mass index, respectively. The women that spent ≥8 h/day being sedentary were 2.2 times (1.159 to 4.327 CI95%, p < 0.02) more likely to increase BMI (0.82 to 0.85 kg/m2) than non-sedentary women. No built environment variables were associated with seven-year adiposity gain (all ps > 0.05). A reduction in sedentary time should be promoted for adiposity gain prevention and health preservation in older women.

scholarly journals Body | Movement | Architecture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dinushi Kumarawansa
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Direct Relationship ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
The Body ◽  
Micro Scale ◽  
Iterative Design ◽  
Dynamic Architecture ◽  
Macro Scale ◽  
Static Nature ◽  
Personal Engagement

<p>Architecture is considered a permanent and solid structure incapable of responding and adapting to the constant changing needs of the user. This thesis questions the static nature of architecture and instead seeks to create a typology of flexible and dynamic architecture which engages the body with the built environment. The thesis focuses on the direct relationship between the body’s movement and architecture to understand how spatial experiences can be created in the built environment. In order to answer the thesis question how can movement be used to engage the body with architecture, investigations into architecture at the micro, medium and macro scale were completed. Two strategies of using movement; the physical and the contained (“conception/perception of movement in the architecture” ) have been explored to understand which strategies work best at what scale. This inquiry into how movement engages the body with architecture was investigated using a design through research methodology . An iterative design process including model making, photography and sketches was used to create a body of work that tests architecture and movement. The results of this inquiry into movement in architecture were three architectural outcomes at three scales. Firstly the design of a mobile installation tested the user’s personal engagement with architecture at a micro scale. Secondly a medium scale house was designed to test how movement could be used to create different experiences in one space. Finally the findings of these two outcomes were incorporated into the design of a macro scale transport hub that used movement to create spatial experiences and engagement for the user. The use of movement in architecture, enables user to have an engagement with architecture through the varying spatial experiences created in the space.</p>

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