REMOTE SENSING OF CITY. DIGITAL DATABASES FOR ARCHITECTURE

The study proposes advanced analyses of the monastic citiy of the western coastal area of the Athos Peninsula in Greece. This research is the result of architectural and environmental survey campaigns conducted since July 2020.The current bibliographic documentation is limited, and most of the volumes focus on an art and historical description of the paintings in the monasteries, as well as on visitors’ travel notes.Through the consolidated phases of the discipline of representation, such as digital surveying, point clouds and the processing of flat surfaces, a journey of knowledge of the third arm of the Chalkidiki peninsula is proposed with regard to the religious architecture considered as micro-cities.The initial part of the research was developed with photographic documentation from the sea, while in subsequent survey phase of the monasteries on the west coast was carried out.The instrumental survey activities, carried out with the help of quadrihelix drones and terrestrial photogrammetry, concerned the Monastery of St. Dionysius, the Monastery of Xeropotmus, the Monastery of Zographos, the Monastery of Dochiario, the Monastery of Simonpetra, the Monastery of St. Paul, the Monastery of Xenophon, the Monastery of St. Gregory, the Monastery of St. Pantaleimon and the Monastery of Konstamonitou.The research aims to expose, for the first time, the unpublished instrumental surveys carried out in the Athos community, which has been averse to the access of tourists and curious people for centuries.

Vietnam

In the 16th century, the first Spanish and Portuguese Dominican missionaries arrived in Southeast Asia, included Vietnam, but only after the first decades of the seventeenth century, Christianity began to take hold and lived through different episodes of the Proclamation of the Christian faith: first it was tolerated and then abandoned by the dynasties, supported by the colonialists, declined in the north by the communists, it expanded in the south under the Republic of Vietnam and stabilized until now after the reunification of the country followed by a long breakage due to political change. Along with this story, sacred architecture was interpreted in various ways to define identities in religious life and faith. However, the most difficult period of religious architecture is not only in the political conflict of the past, but also until now, the time of the economic boom. The change of values as well as the aesthetic system make sacred art and architecture remain a giant wheel stuck in mud.

MOSCOW’S INFLUENCE IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF RURAL CLASSICAL CHURCHES IN THE MIDDLE VOLGA REGION

A study done at the expense of the State program of the Russian Federation “Science and technology” in the framework of the plan of basic scientifi c research Ministry of Russia and the RUSSIAN. In the article, an att empt has been made to the analysis of a wide range of issues related to the formation of the rural architecture of Orthodox churches in the territory of the Middle Volga region in the 19th century. Considered layout, composition and stylistic features of the architecture of Orthodox churches in the region. Peculiarities of regional religious architecture of the Middle Volga region. Provides extensive material fi eld surveys.

SCULPTING INFRASTRUCTURE - A TEMPLE TO NATURE

<p>Off the coast of Paraparaumu lies one of New Zealand’s most iconic tourist attractions, the Kapiti Island nature reserve. Home to many native plant and wildlife species, this island sanctuary offers a unique nature experience that is under appreciated. The now flourishing nature deserves to be honoured a respected by locals and tourists of the Kapiti region. To date there is no designated building where ticket purchases and bio-security checks can be undertaken for island visitors. No obvious link exists from the local shops to the beach front where the visitors depart. This presents an opportunity for a gateway building to create a slice of the Island’s nature on the mainland. In doing so this would honour and celebrate the sanctuaries nature, installing a level of reverence for the island as visitors pass through. This thesis looks to explore the possible synergies between nature, highway infrastructure and religious architecture types. In order to develop a critical understanding of each architecture type and the possible synergies, explorations involving mass, volume and symmetry were conducted. These specific qualities put the project into a tradition of monumentality. As an understanding of this tradition developed Louis Kahn became an important precedent for me. Just as the late Louis Kahn achieved presence in his buildings, I argue that monumentality could be used in developing a successful synergy between infrastructure and religious architecture types. In the same way monuments and temples typically evoke respect I believe a monumental building on the Paraparaumu beach front will install a reverent homage towards nature as visitors to the island pass through. Throughout this thesis the series of design experiments involving traditional monumental qualities explore the synergies between nature, highway infrastructure and religious architecture types. The exploration utilizes the gateway building as a project to test the possible synergies in context . Operating within a design-led research methodology, varied approaches using multiple mediums explored formal language, spatial experience, composition and proportion of monumentality. The final design, situated on an existing roundabout, is a cylindrical concrete temple connecting the shop and beach front. The form is a subtracted mass obtained through an exploration of subtraction and composition. This temple evokes the desired homage towards nature as its visitors pass through to the island. Although grand in size, I argue, because the temple is situated on a traffic island, the over bearing power of monumentality is played down, respecting its surrounding context. As the design process unfolded a shift occurred in the preferred method for experiments. In the early stages a reliance on a digital experimentation method existed, however a shift towards an analogue experimentation method occurred as an understanding of monumentality and possible synergies between nature, highway infrastructure and religious architecture types were realised. This shift in methodology, required more precision and rigor for each experiment, invoking a deeper understanding of each success and failure. Critically reflecting on this transition forms the discussion of my thesis, understanding the opportunities of Paraparaumu and how a modestly scaled building can be developed that still imposes its significance in the surrounding context.</p>

Beyond the Portal

<p>This research project began by asking the question, ‘How does mixed reality aid the creation of an inexhaustible three-dimensional world that supports the evolution of inhabitable narratives within sacred spaces? Imdat As states, ‘The user in the digital age is not only a spectator but also an active participant of a parallel world.’ Within this environment, ‘we experience and manipulate virtual space (Imdat AS, 2006, p.60)’. As such, this notion of ‘experiencing and manipulating virtual space’ can provide a valuable set of tools to aid the evolution of inhabitable narratives within sacred spaces. To answer this question, the research proposes a proof of concept for a mixed reality multifaith environment. In its current conception, the multifaith space is limited to room scale spaces, treated as purely functional entities to the point where the experience within the space becomes monotonous. Religious architecture, whether it may be a church, mosque or temple, has been successfully translated into the collective memory of larger society, but within multifaith spaces, our focus has been on neutralization and in the process voided the space of any rich phenomenological experience. In order to activate the space, the research aims to digitally overlay ‘cultural information’ on top of a multifaith space in order to alter its use, essentially transforming it to the spiritual needs of the user. Hereby, a Muslim immersive experience was developed by investigating and interpreting both the tangible and intangible rituals of prayer. By incorporating an ‘altered’ immersive experience, the project aids the evolution in design and concept of a multifaith space that moves beyond the notion of an “empty white room (Crompton, 2013, p.487)”. By creating an MR environment for users of the Muslim faith the project contributes design concepts and methods for others, furthering research in this field.</p>

Beyond the Portal

<p>This research project began by asking the question, ‘How does mixed reality aid the creation of an inexhaustible three-dimensional world that supports the evolution of inhabitable narratives within sacred spaces? Imdat As states, ‘The user in the digital age is not only a spectator but also an active participant of a parallel world.’ Within this environment, ‘we experience and manipulate virtual space (Imdat AS, 2006, p.60)’. As such, this notion of ‘experiencing and manipulating virtual space’ can provide a valuable set of tools to aid the evolution of inhabitable narratives within sacred spaces. To answer this question, the research proposes a proof of concept for a mixed reality multifaith environment. In its current conception, the multifaith space is limited to room scale spaces, treated as purely functional entities to the point where the experience within the space becomes monotonous. Religious architecture, whether it may be a church, mosque or temple, has been successfully translated into the collective memory of larger society, but within multifaith spaces, our focus has been on neutralization and in the process voided the space of any rich phenomenological experience. In order to activate the space, the research aims to digitally overlay ‘cultural information’ on top of a multifaith space in order to alter its use, essentially transforming it to the spiritual needs of the user. Hereby, a Muslim immersive experience was developed by investigating and interpreting both the tangible and intangible rituals of prayer. By incorporating an ‘altered’ immersive experience, the project aids the evolution in design and concept of a multifaith space that moves beyond the notion of an “empty white room (Crompton, 2013, p.487)”. By creating an MR environment for users of the Muslim faith the project contributes design concepts and methods for others, furthering research in this field.</p>

SCULPTING INFRASTRUCTURE - A TEMPLE TO NATURE

<p>Off the coast of Paraparaumu lies one of New Zealand’s most iconic tourist attractions, the Kapiti Island nature reserve. Home to many native plant and wildlife species, this island sanctuary offers a unique nature experience that is under appreciated. The now flourishing nature deserves to be honoured a respected by locals and tourists of the Kapiti region. To date there is no designated building where ticket purchases and bio-security checks can be undertaken for island visitors. No obvious link exists from the local shops to the beach front where the visitors depart. This presents an opportunity for a gateway building to create a slice of the Island’s nature on the mainland. In doing so this would honour and celebrate the sanctuaries nature, installing a level of reverence for the island as visitors pass through. This thesis looks to explore the possible synergies between nature, highway infrastructure and religious architecture types. In order to develop a critical understanding of each architecture type and the possible synergies, explorations involving mass, volume and symmetry were conducted. These specific qualities put the project into a tradition of monumentality. As an understanding of this tradition developed Louis Kahn became an important precedent for me. Just as the late Louis Kahn achieved presence in his buildings, I argue that monumentality could be used in developing a successful synergy between infrastructure and religious architecture types. In the same way monuments and temples typically evoke respect I believe a monumental building on the Paraparaumu beach front will install a reverent homage towards nature as visitors to the island pass through. Throughout this thesis the series of design experiments involving traditional monumental qualities explore the synergies between nature, highway infrastructure and religious architecture types. The exploration utilizes the gateway building as a project to test the possible synergies in context . Operating within a design-led research methodology, varied approaches using multiple mediums explored formal language, spatial experience, composition and proportion of monumentality. The final design, situated on an existing roundabout, is a cylindrical concrete temple connecting the shop and beach front. The form is a subtracted mass obtained through an exploration of subtraction and composition. This temple evokes the desired homage towards nature as its visitors pass through to the island. Although grand in size, I argue, because the temple is situated on a traffic island, the over bearing power of monumentality is played down, respecting its surrounding context. As the design process unfolded a shift occurred in the preferred method for experiments. In the early stages a reliance on a digital experimentation method existed, however a shift towards an analogue experimentation method occurred as an understanding of monumentality and possible synergies between nature, highway infrastructure and religious architecture types were realised. This shift in methodology, required more precision and rigor for each experiment, invoking a deeper understanding of each success and failure. Critically reflecting on this transition forms the discussion of my thesis, understanding the opportunities of Paraparaumu and how a modestly scaled building can be developed that still imposes its significance in the surrounding context.</p>

La salvaguardia del paesaggio delle certose

The European Landscape Convention lies on a series of guidelines aimed at the conservation of the landscape in its natural and human features. It is interesting to analyse how the Convention is applied in the case of the chartreuses, cloistered monasteries closely connected with the surrounding territories. Nowadays, it is possible to find a few examples of safeguarding actions which privilege religious architecture despite the land patrimony. In other cases, however, such actions are aimed at promoting the heritage of the Carthusian complexes overall, in order to provide a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of historical sites.

Religious Architecture

This chapter provides a review of major developments in Byzantine religious architecture. During the long period of Byzantine history, ecclesiastical buildings manifested the highest societal aspirations both by their cultural importance and by their aesthetic qualities. The chapter offers insight into church plans as well as the variety of approaches to interior and exterior design. As written records addressing Byzantine building practices are almost nonexistent, construction techniques and elements of architectural styles are here noted as a testament to the various building practices in the Byzantine domain. Emphasis is also given to new methodological approaches that may contribute to further understanding of Byzantine religious architecture.