A relational model of university's identity and architectural design pre- and post-pandemic
ISSN: 2631-6862
Article publication date: 20 June 2022
Issue publication date: 6 June 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The present research aims to explore the relationship between the university's new identity and its architectural design, and to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on this model. It also aims to analyze the declared identity of the new Egyptian universities.
Design/methodology/approach
To formulate the hypothesis of the relational model, the research started with the literature related to physical and nonphysical variables of university's identity (organizational and visual identity) and the impact of the pandemic on its identity. Secondly, an online questionnaire targeting academic leaders was conducted to identify the relative importance of the selected variables of university's identity pre- and post-pandemic. Thirdly, a content analysis of the new Egyptian universities' identity was used to track the correlation between the selected variables based on information accessible on universities' websites. Finally, the results of the content analysis and the questionnaire were compared to test the hypothesis.
Findings
The study reveals the most important physical variable of university's new identity pre- and post-pandemic is technological infrastructure and flexible design, while the least important is university's unique design. The results highlight that the universities need to revisit the declared identity to reflect the new challenges posed by COVID-19.
Originality/value
This study is considered one of the first researches that links the physical and nonphysical variables of university's new identity. The current study contributes to analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on university identity and architecture.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all the faculty members who participated in this research.
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Citation
Beheiry, D.A., Shafik, Z. and Aboubakr, D. (2023), "A relational model of university's identity and architectural design pre- and post-pandemic", Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 301-322. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-03-2022-0075
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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