Curious Architecture: Felines, Stairs and Human Affairs: What Is Architecture Made Of?

10.26686/wgtn.16998718.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Jaq Penwell

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Alternative Approach ◽

Historical Investigation ◽

Design Experiments

The presence and reconciliation of the poetic with the pragmatic is deemed essential if any constructed endeavour in our built environment is to be termed architecture. This thesis argues that if architecture is that which offers us the ability to inhabit space and create place via the deliberate instigation of spatial, sensory, physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual experience that engages us, communicates meaning and supports our lives beneficially, then architects do not currently and have not considered the stair historically, to be architecture. This thesis posits that historically and contemporaneously architects have treated and continue to treat the stair as either a pragmatic but tiresome necessity to be afforded as little attention as possible or as a kind of object-plaything that if it must be present, should be exploited for its visual qualities and symbolic connotations, no matter how fanciful or how meaningless the results. This thesis argues that as a result of these paradoxical but equally superficial treatments, and the length of time over which we have subjected the stair to them, its nature is now so indeterminate that not only do we as architects not question this treatment, we no longer even notice it. It is argued that the consequences of this indifference are the loss of opportunity to identify and examine the potential of the stair to offer us architectural, in the sense of inhabitory, experience of worth and meaning. The aim of this thesis therefore is to demonstrate that the stair, when examined from the perspective of place, rather than just space, offers many possibilities with regard to meaningful inhabitation. This is achieved through the use of two methods. A historical investigation and analysis is first conducted to trace, document and explain the development and use of the stair, to understand the causes for our superficial treatment of it, the stair's consequent indeterminate existence at the present time, and our apparent indifference to this. The knowledge gained is used to inform the second method of investigation, that of devising and conducting a series of design experiments aimed at apprehending the stair from the position of architecture as inhabitable place. The experiments demonstrate an alternative approach to consideration of the stair that reveal its unrealised potential to contribute to meaningful architectural, inhabitory, experience, and so enrich our day to day lives.

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Assembling the Embodiment of Learning: How can an architectural assemblage be composed to provoke learning?

10.26686/wgtn.16652029 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Chutimon Boonprasit

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Learning Activities ◽

Educational Context ◽

Design Strategies ◽

Case Study Analysis ◽

Ongoing Process ◽

Close Analysis ◽

Alternative Approach ◽

Research Gap ◽

Research And Design

Education is moving away from being a theory-based discipline to one that is acknowledging the importance of practice within the process of learning. As educators and researchers realise the relevance of experience within the ongoing process of learning, the educational discipline is beginning to adapt its practice to accommodate this contextual shift. This shifting context has emerged the realization that architecture for education often lacks the integration and acknowledgement of embodiment and advocating experience. This realization has provoked many designers and researchers to reconsider how architecture is to be designed to accommodate this educational refocus. Through close analysis of previous research and the design strategies they adopt, the research gap can be identified. While trying to achieve new architectural designs with the aim to accommodate the shift that is the educational context, there is a discrepancy within the approach taken to achieve this goal. The general approach taken within pre-existing research and designs evidently tends to take inspirations and motivations from contemporary learning activities and architectures. Thus, resulting in architectural designs that remains to lack accommodating for embodiment and experience within the learning environment. This is an extensive issue as learning is an ongoing process that, both consciously and unconsciously, persists throughout individuals’ livelihoods as they engage to their surroundings. As a discipline that has the power to research gap can be identified. While trying to achieve new architectural designs with the aim to accommodate the shift that is the educational context, there is a discrepancy within the approach taken to achieve this goal. The general approach taken within pre-existing research and designs evidently tends to take inspirations and motivations from contemporary learning activities and architectures. Thus, resulting in architectural designs that fail to accommodate for the experience of learning. This is an extensive issue as learning is an ongoing process that, both consciously and unconsciously, persists throughout individuals’ livelihoods as they engage to their surroundings. As a discipline that has the power to influence the built environment and the metaphysical world that creates these livelihoods, it is imperative to better establish ways that the built environment can be more accommodating to heighten senses and experience. This thesis pinpoints the issues within the existing and previous research and design processes, while proposing for an alternative approach to how architecture can be designed to provoke the essence of learning through its assemblage. Alternative approaches will be taken through all the stages of research explorations; literature reviews, case study analysis, site and programme establishments, as well as performance and design criteria established. Rather than research and analysing typical learning processes and designs, this thesis reconstructs its own essence of learning and its criteria, thus taking inspirations from case studies that are not accommodating for typical educational activities, but the performances required. The research scheme constructs a framework that can become a guideline for assembling architectural environments that better accommodates the experience of embodiment particularly within an educational context.

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

10.26686/wgtn.17151428.v1 ◽

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

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.

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Assembling the Embodiment of Learning: How can an architectural assemblage be composed to provoke learning?

10.26686/wgtn.16652029.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Chutimon Boonprasit

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Learning Activities ◽

Educational Context ◽

Design Strategies ◽

Case Study Analysis ◽

Ongoing Process ◽

Close Analysis ◽

Alternative Approach ◽

Research Gap ◽

Research And Design

Education is moving away from being a theory-based discipline to one that is acknowledging the importance of practice within the process of learning. As educators and researchers realise the relevance of experience within the ongoing process of learning, the educational discipline is beginning to adapt its practice to accommodate this contextual shift. This shifting context has emerged the realization that architecture for education often lacks the integration and acknowledgement of embodiment and advocating experience. This realization has provoked many designers and researchers to reconsider how architecture is to be designed to accommodate this educational refocus. Through close analysis of previous research and the design strategies they adopt, the research gap can be identified. While trying to achieve new architectural designs with the aim to accommodate the shift that is the educational context, there is a discrepancy within the approach taken to achieve this goal. The general approach taken within pre-existing research and designs evidently tends to take inspirations and motivations from contemporary learning activities and architectures. Thus, resulting in architectural designs that remains to lack accommodating for embodiment and experience within the learning environment. This is an extensive issue as learning is an ongoing process that, both consciously and unconsciously, persists throughout individuals’ livelihoods as they engage to their surroundings. As a discipline that has the power to research gap can be identified. While trying to achieve new architectural designs with the aim to accommodate the shift that is the educational context, there is a discrepancy within the approach taken to achieve this goal. The general approach taken within pre-existing research and designs evidently tends to take inspirations and motivations from contemporary learning activities and architectures. Thus, resulting in architectural designs that fail to accommodate for the experience of learning. This is an extensive issue as learning is an ongoing process that, both consciously and unconsciously, persists throughout individuals’ livelihoods as they engage to their surroundings. As a discipline that has the power to influence the built environment and the metaphysical world that creates these livelihoods, it is imperative to better establish ways that the built environment can be more accommodating to heighten senses and experience. This thesis pinpoints the issues within the existing and previous research and design processes, while proposing for an alternative approach to how architecture can be designed to provoke the essence of learning through its assemblage. Alternative approaches will be taken through all the stages of research explorations; literature reviews, case study analysis, site and programme establishments, as well as performance and design criteria established. Rather than research and analysing typical learning processes and designs, this thesis reconstructs its own essence of learning and its criteria, thus taking inspirations from case studies that are not accommodating for typical educational activities, but the performances required. The research scheme constructs a framework that can become a guideline for assembling architectural environments that better accommodates the experience of embodiment particularly within an educational context.

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Kajian Karakteristik Iklim Mikro Dalam Pemukiman: Sebuah Pendekatan Berwawasan Lingkungan Untuk Penataan Lingkungan Binaan

JURNAL KESEHATAN LINGKUNGAN: Jurnal dan Aplikasi Teknik Kesehatan Lingkungan ◽

10.31964/jkl.v12i2.22 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 272

Author(s):

M. Ratodi

Keyword(s):

Global Warming ◽

Built Environment ◽

Community Involvement ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Literature Study ◽

High Rise ◽

Climate Assessment ◽

Alternative Approach ◽

Urban Conditions

Abstract: Micro-climate assessment in settlements; an environmenta-based approach built environment structuring. Global warming has become an emerging issue in the environmental field study. The urban conditions with all their environment development and layout still consider as majorrootcause for global warming. This literature study aimsed to find explanation for The rapid development of housing and high-rise buildings considered as a factor that responsible for an alternative approach in the effort of built environment restructuring. The results showed that the increasing of 70% global temperature within 1970 untills 2004. Moreover, the density of settlement area also believed as an affecting factor for air temperature increasement. In other words, the rapid presence of built environment contributes significantly to micro-climatic conditions. To accommodate the residential rapid development then the micro-climate assessment can be use as an alternative approach in the effort of built environment restructuring which can lead environmental quality improvement especially in settlement areas and to encourage the community involvement in the effort of sustainable development implementation. Keywords: micro-climate, micro-climatic characteristics, built environment, settelements

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

10.26686/wgtn.17151428 ◽

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

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.

Download Full-text