Cultural Components of Well-Being and Vernacular Examples

2020 ◽  
pp. 223-247
Keyword(s):  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Interior Space ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Living Environments ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Cultural Components ◽  
Local Materials

Vernacular architecture expresses a highly sustainable approach to living as a result of strong connection to cultural and environmental context. On the other hand, today's architecture attempts to create artificial solutions that consume the environment and lack the authenticity of vernacular solutions. In this sense, vernacular living environments need to be conserved, appreciated, and studied carefully because of their great potential to inspire the new generation of living environments. Previous research on the topic has mostly focused on the use of local materials and inherited construction techniques, which are extremely beneficial. Starting from a short survey on international declarations and charters, and discussing the strong connectedness between vernacular design principles and human well-being as an outcome, this chapter will lead the discussion deeper on interiors. Interiors from selected cultural contexts will be examined in order to attract attention to the cultural components of well-being and their meaningful reflections on the creation of interior space.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 273-288
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Interior Space ◽  
Spatial Design ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Important Concern

This last chapter discusses the need for interdisciplinary research and approaches for well-being. Therefore, it is very important to investigate the intersections of well-being with architecture, social sciences, medicine, as well as neuroscience. Recent well-being research shows that we have the amazing ability to reshape our brains, to change our affective mindsets, and to improve our well-being. On the other hand, it is necessary to understand cultural differences and its effects on well-being and to grasp the issue in accordance with the specific context. Therefore, the conclusion tries to understand how design and architecture can contribute to the way we build up well-being. Since interior space is one of the most important determinants of our everyday experiences, its role in well-being as a conscious construct needs to be the most important concern of spatial design.

‘Vernacular’ accommodations: wordplay in contemporary-traditional architecture theory

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Richards
Keyword(s):  
Inner City ◽  
Sheet Glass ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Traditional Architecture ◽  
Tropical Waters ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Architecture Theory ◽  
Local Materials ◽  
Contemporary Approach

One might be forgiven for thinking that the concept of ‘vernacular’ architecture is straightforward. First, it suggests a contemporary approach to building that uses local materials and crafts, as well as the indigenous architecture of tribal peoples, such as piledwellings over tropical waters, mud houses in the desert, or animal-hide teepees on the savannah. These buildings can be distinguished easily from other types of buildings that use industrialised construction techniques and materials, such as concrete, sheet glass, plastics and steel. Second, it might suggest an alternative and more wholesome set of values towards life, the environment and aesthetics, than that represented by the out-of-town retail park or the inner-city office tower. Why bother with the word ‘vernacular’, though, let alone ‘indigenous’ or the more problematic ‘primitive’, when ‘traditional’ works well enough? Nothing could be simpler.

A Short History of Well-Being in Interiors

2020 ◽  
pp. 28-51
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Interior Space ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Living Well ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
The 1960S

Although well-being studies started in the psychological field (1961) when well-being was discussed in terms of “the good life,” the concept dates back to ancient times from Aristotle's idea of eudaimonia to the human-centered understanding of the Renaissance. During the last decades, different studies focused on social, physiological, and psychological impacts of the dwelling and the neighborhood, and some even applied neurosciences to architecture. The contribution of studies carried in healthcare contexts has been crucial, as well as experimental results in workplaces, but also biologists, psychologists, and sociologists supported theory and practice, starting from the 1960s. Nevertheless, the specific role of architecture and interior space has been quite under-evaluated. This chapter aims to discuss the foundations of the concept of living well evaluating the understanding of “space for human well-being” in different cultural contexts at different times.

scholarly journals ADOBE VERNACULAR HOUSING TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN CALIMAYA DE DÍAZ GONZALEZ, STATE OF MEXICO

2020 ◽  
Vol XLIV-M-1-2020 ◽  
pp. 1005-1010
Author(s):  
D. S. Romero Olguín ◽  
L. F. Guerrero Baca
Keyword(s):  
Social Transformation ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Cultural Exchange ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Architectural Analysis ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Local Construction ◽  
Spatial Shape ◽  
A Site ◽  
Local Materials

Abstract. Climate, topography, hydrology, and all the factors of the natural environment affecting a population, as well as accessibility to materials and its ease of transport have constituted the variables determining the vernacular housing characteristics. In the territory which now covers Calimaya various cultural groups settled, making evident the syncretism of various building traditions. Since its formation the place was a site of passage, which communicated various goods transport, generating a peculiar urban physiognomy and cultural exchange, leading to the introduction of buildings, typical of this place. The town’s current situation is characterized by a rapid process of urbanization and social transformation, generating new needs of usage and habitability. This growth transforms the architecture of the place, replacing it with buildings with physiognomic features that do not correspond to the original context, causing loss of local construction techniques. Assuming that typology is a theoretical and creative activity allowing the definition and structuring of a system of conceptual relations, within certain limits, in order to determine the representative elements of vernacular architecture of the site, a typological analysis is being carried out to identify local materials and buildings systems, its characteristics, and spatial shape. Likewise, a constructive and architectural analysis, identifying traditional building techniques, which will favour the development of solutions facing the problem of conservation, maintenance and sustainability in the locality, is being carried out.

scholarly journals Split level horizontal house plan in the Balkan vernacular architecture

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-74
Author(s):  
Tihomir Obradović
Keyword(s):  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
The Other ◽  
Floor Plan ◽  
Interior Space ◽  
Floor Level ◽  
Residential Architecture ◽  
Functional Nature ◽  
Floor Structure ◽  
Bay Window ◽  
Balkan Region

Analysing traditional residential architecture in the Balkan region, we notice a widespread use of a split level horizontal house plan. The paper studies and presents examples found in Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Based on spatial, functional and structural analysis of the house plans, depending on the reasons for the horizontal floor level split and the types of its implementation, there are different groups of buildings. One group features a structural floor level split in order to match the line of the terrain; because of the implemented floor structure; or because of a bay window or a projection construction on the façade. In the other group of buildings the reasons are of a functional nature rooted in climate, social or religious sphere. Here the floor level difference is achieved by applying secondary construction elements and certain interior details. Having conducted the analysis, we can conclude that the implementation of various horizontal floor plan level in traditional, vernacular architecture is quite significant and inspirational for the modern design process in residential houses. It shows how dynamism and complexity can be achieved in a simple way, without any partitions, giving a picturesque effect of a basic interior space.

Emotional Impact Feedback Changes How We Remember Negative Autobiographical Experiences

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 354-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie K. T. Takarangi ◽  
Deryn Strange
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Personal Perspective ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Potential Mechanism ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Negative Memory ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Memories ◽  
Over Time

When people are told that their negative memories are worse than other people’s, do they later remember those events differently? We asked participants to recall a recent negative memory then, 24 h later, we gave some participants feedback about the emotional impact of their event – stating it was more or less negative compared to other people’s experiences. One week later, participants recalled the event again. We predicted that if feedback affected how participants remembered their negative experiences, their ratings of the memory’s characteristics should change over time. That is, when participants are told that their negative event is extremely negative, their memories should be more vivid, recollected strongly, and remembered from a personal perspective, compared to participants in the other conditions. Our results provide support for this hypothesis. We suggest that external feedback might be a potential mechanism in the relationship between negative memories and psychological well-being.

The Price of Truth: Reciprocity, Giving, and Generosity in the Philosophy of René Descartes

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 147-170
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Rene Descartes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Homo Oeconomicus ◽  
Intellectual Activity ◽  
René Descartes ◽  
Economic Thinking ◽  
Selfish Interest

The article provides a comparison of the concept of homo œconomicus with the core theses of René Descartes’ moral philosophy. The first section draws on the work of the contemporary Western philosopher Anselm Jappe in which Descartes’ philosophy is held to be the cornerstone of the established view and current scientific definitions of homo œconomicus as the fundamental and indispensable agent of capitalistic relations. As opposed to this “common sense” position in the modern social sciences, the second section of the article builds upon Pierre Bourdieu’s Anthropologie économique (2017) to demystify the notion of homo œconomicus. The article then examines some aspects of modern philosophical anthropology that show odd traces of Descartes’ thinking and that are regularly applied in economic science as well as in the critique of economic thinking as such. These are the concepts of mutuality, giving, exchange and generosity, and they are regarded as central to the philosopher’s moral doctrine.The author concludes that the philosophical doctrine of generosity has very little in common with the bourgeois ideology of utility which implies an instrumental relationship between subjects: in Caretesian moral philosophy the Other is neither an object of influence nor a means to achieve someone’s personal goals nor a windowless monad. Generosity certainly has its economic aspects, but these do not include accumulating wealth in the bourgeois sense. It is more in the realm of the aristocratic practice of making dispensations. All throughout his life Decartes may be viewed as exhibiting a peculiar kind of nobility in which the desire to give, endow and sacrifice outweighs any selfish interest. The vigorous pursuit of well-being gives way to a quest for the leisure required to pursue intellectual activity, and care for oneself does not preclude attending to and loving the Other, whatever form it may take.

scholarly journals Private retirement resorts in South Africa: Guidelines for wellness and sustainability in the long term.

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries C. Hauptfleisch
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Optimal Profile

Unsubsidised private retirement resorts in South Africa developed during the last three decades present residents with many challenges. There is no existing generally accepted knowledge base or guidelines to serve this sensitive market. The research objective was to establish which elements are experienced by residents of retirement resorts as satisfactory and which as problematic. A literature study was also undertaken. Quantitative as well as qualitative data were obtained by means of structured questionnaires, interviews and a seminar. The results reported pertain to eight resorts in the east of Pretoria, four in Bloemfontein and two in Knysna. The study is currently being extended to other centres. The quantitative data is arranged in order of the priorities set by the biggest group (Pretoria), with the other groups in comparison. So the research was based on the sourcing of quantitative and qualitative data, as well as on descriptive evaluations. The results offer insightful knowledge and guidelines towards establishing an optimal profile for the development of long-term sustainable private retirement resorts. The implications and value of this study are that both developers of retirement resorts and prospective residents are provided with guidelines to better equip them to evaluate a specific retirement resort with regard to the sustainable well- being of residents long-term.

scholarly journals Coping with COVID-19: The Strategies Adapted by Pakistani Students to Overcome Implications

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1799
Author(s):  
Gul Muhammad Baloch ◽  
Kamilah Kamaludin ◽  
Karuthan Chinna ◽  
Sheela Sundarasen ◽  
Mohammad Nurunnabi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Female Students ◽  
The Other ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
University Policies ◽  
One Year

COVID-19 has speedily immersed the globe with 72+ million cases and 1.64 million deaths, in a span of around one year, disturbing and deteriorating almost every sphere of life. This study investigates how students in Pakistan have coped with the COVID-19. Zung’s self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) was used for measuring anxiety and the coping strategies were measured on four strategies i.e., seeking social support, humanitarian, acceptance, and mental disengagement. Among 494 respondents, 61% were females and 77.3% of the students were in the age group of 19–25 years. The study findings indicate that approximately 41 percent of students are experiencing some level of anxiety, including 16% with severe to extreme levels. Seeking social support seemed to be the least preferred coping strategy and that female students seek social support, humanitarian, and acceptance coping strategies more than males. Students used both emotion-based and problem-based coping strategies. The variables of gender, age, ethnicity, level and type of study, and living arrangement of the students were associated with usage of coping strategies. Findings showing that students do not prefer to seek social support. The study outcomes will provide basic data for university policies in Pakistan and the other countries with same cultural contexts to design and place better mental health provisions for students.

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