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1 – 10 of 46This study aims to define the main characteristics and possibilities of ontological approaches to research in architecture by considering content, methodologies and subject…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to define the main characteristics and possibilities of ontological approaches to research in architecture by considering content, methodologies and subject position in this type of research and questions if there is a future for this type of research or not.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary data collection method of this research is based on the ethos of the author who has taught research courses for many years. This research has also been questioned through the discussions made within a related PhD course.
Findings
Results of this research reveal that the spontaneous ideology of architecture might have influenced the neglection of the ontological approaches in academic research in architecture.
Social implications
Architecture has an interesting position towards reductionism because architectural thinking has ontological characteristics. The ontological approaches to academic research seems to be more applicable to architecture. However, research in architecture does not necessarily have this ontological character.
Originality/value
The “ontological approach to academic research” covers a larger set of research than the method of ontology, which is used to discuss the categories, limitations in research. Thinking on ontological approaches to research is needed because there is a considerable increase in the use of mixed research methods, which combine qualitative and quantitative research. The second reason for this is the criticisms about the unethical reductionism directed towards contemporary science by philosophers. However, there is no sufficient literature on the ontological approaches to research. This is true also for the academic research in architecture.
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The purpose of this paper is to advance the methodological self‐understanding of the emerging field of organizational space and architecture by employing concepts and frameworks…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to advance the methodological self‐understanding of the emerging field of organizational space and architecture by employing concepts and frameworks from multi‐paradigm and mixed methods research.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a methodological re‐reading of a recent research process that analyzed the spatial and architectural dynamics in a Finnish university organization.
Findings
While the analysis of architectural meanings is often grounded in researcher‐participants auto‐ethnographic experiences, triangulating personal insights with other methods is important for the validity and richness of the subsequent description of spatial dynamics and its outcomes. Especially, the incorporation of architectural visions and representations into the analysis is argued to enhance our understanding of the emergence of particular social‐material collectives.
Originality/value
Although there is a steady stream of empirical studies on the meanings of organizational space and architecture, rigorous accounts of the methodological challenges of spatial analyses have so far been scarce. This paper aims to partially fill this gap.
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Ashraf M. Salama and Yonca Hurol
The purpose of this paper is to construct a series of narratives by assessing a selection of the key literature generated by Open House International (OHI) over a period of 15…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to construct a series of narratives by assessing a selection of the key literature generated by Open House International (OHI) over a period of 15 years. The paper also presents a brief review of the latest developments of the journal while introducing concise observations on the articles published in this edition – Volume 45, Issues 1 and 2.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a classification procedure of selected special issues published by OHI since 2006, 10 issues were identified based on the currency of the issues they generated. Following the review of the editorials, the key content of more than 100 articles within these special issues, the content of this edition and relevant seminal literature, the analysis engages, through critical reflection, with various themes that echo the polyphonic nature of built environment research.
Findings
The analysis conveys the plurality and diversity in built environment research where generic types of narratives are established to include three categories, namely, leitmotif, contextual/conceptual and open-ended narratives. Each of which includes sub-narrative classifications. The leitmotif narrative includes design studio pedagogy, sustainable environments for tourism, responsive learning environments, affordable housing environments, diversity in urban environments and urbanism in globalised environments. The contextual/conceptual narrative encompasses architecture and urbanism in the global south and the tripartite urban performance and transformation. The open-ended narrative embraces thematic reflections on the contributions of this edition of OHI.
Originality/value
Constructing polyphonic narratives in built environment research based on contemporary knowledge is original in the sense of capturing the crux of the themes within these narratives and articulating this in a pithy form. The elocution of the narratives stimulates a sustained quest for re-thinking concepts, notions and issues of concerns while invigorating research prospects and setting the future direction of OHI.
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The purpose of this paper is to report a study of architectural development and organizational meanings and uses of space in a Finnish university.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report a study of architectural development and organizational meanings and uses of space in a Finnish university.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws from actor‐network theory and Lefebvre's spatial‐social approach to shed light on the organizational assumptions of the various building phases and how current employees use and make sense of the architectural space in the case organization. The methods used include participant observation, interviews of employees and architects, and interpretation of planning documents, architectural statements and administrative representations of the complex.
Findings
It took over 30 years to build the campus. The original plans for the university buildings were substantially revised as architectural and organizational paradigms changed over time. However, regardless of the more recently built state‐of‐the‐art facilities, the early architectural design ideas have persisted as material‐social forces that participate in the ongoing production and reproduction of organizational space.
Originality/value
Despite of the recent surge of writings on organizational space and architecture, there are relatively few empirical studies done on the topic. In particular, analyses investigating the travel of design ideas from architectural planning to actual physical constructions and further to the everyday organizing practices of employees have so far been rare in organizational literature. This paper partially fills this gap.
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Alfons Van Marrewijk and Leonore Van den Ende
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between the spatial intervention of open-plan offices in a university, the consequential change in work practices of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between the spatial intervention of open-plan offices in a university, the consequential change in work practices of faculty members and how these practices appropriate the designed space.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors executed a two-year longitudinal ethnographic study following the case of the science faculty, which moved from a traditional office setting to open-plan offices. The authors studied the space and interviewed staff before, during and after the introduction of open-plan offices.
Findings
Findings show that the new spatial setting triggered staff members to attribute certain meanings and practices of adaptation which were, partly, unintended by the design of the open-plan offices.
Research limitations/implications
This paper contributes empirically grounded insights into the (un)intended consequences of a spatial intervention in terms of how staff members, far from being passive, attribute meaning and alter their work practices leading to unprecedented organizational changes.
Practical implications
For change consultants, facility managers and university managers the outcomes of this paper are highly relevant.
Social implications
Large budgets are spent on new office concepts at universities but the authors do know little about the relation between spatial (re)design and organizational change.
Originality/value
The introduction of new office concepts, spatial redesign and co-location is for many academics highly emotional.
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Ali Aumran Al-Thahab and Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem
Traditional architecture and urban form is a harmonious and interrelated blend of social relations, cultural beliefs and religious principles forming coherent spatial organisation…
Abstract
Purpose
Traditional architecture and urban form is a harmonious and interrelated blend of social relations, cultural beliefs and religious principles forming coherent spatial organisation living in harmony despite diversity of religious beliefs, social class or cultural practices of different communities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theoretical background of social cohesion and solidarity in the everyday life of the Mahalla with reference to its religious background in Islam.
Design/methodology/approach
The study of Beit Hadawi and Beit Hammadi el-Hassan as distinct evidences of prominent families within the boundaries of Mahallat El Mahdia in Old Hilla offers an empirical investigation on how values of the past informed and, to some extent, governed the very organic organisation of interlocking residential units in Iraq.
Findings
It investigates the architecture of home and the spatial organisation of Mahalla’s social activities through highlighting the effect of previous factors in creating a responsive environment that sustained its operational mechanism and fluidity over centuries.
Originality/value
This paper examines how previous values, traditions and rituals are behind the organic tissue of traditional quarters and thus providing an effective criterion to be considered when discussing sustainable development or creating a responsive environment in societies with exceptional privacy.
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Yerkesh Kozhbankhan and Aidana Kaldybekova
In the Kazakhstani context, the instrumentalization of the Muftiate as a social engineering tool is particularly pertinent, as it stands out as a unique channel for the political…
Abstract
Purpose
In the Kazakhstani context, the instrumentalization of the Muftiate as a social engineering tool is particularly pertinent, as it stands out as a unique channel for the political, moral and cultural shaping of Muslims. This study aims to outline the role of the Muftiate, its historical background and recent restructuring process. It focuses on the ideological practices and religious discourses of the Muftiate.
Design/methodology/approach
In Kazakhstan, as a result of reforms in the religious sphere, which were started in 2011, the scope of activity of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan (the Muftiate) has entered a new phase and become an important ideological tool within national policy. It has emerged as a civil society institution that will centralize the process of Islamization and instrumentalize the importance of Islam to create a new fantasy of unity and solidarity.
Findings
Thus, it discusses how Muftiate fabricates the correct forms of action and the correct form of thought. The theory of “ideological state apparatuses” (ISA) of the French philosopher Louis Althusser should be considered as a theoretical framework of this study. This approach not only gives a theoretical definition of the Muftiate but also allows us to determine its position in society and outline three different dimensions of the practice that it performs.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates how the Muftiate as an ISA actualizes various concepts, ideas, beliefs or images in which Muslims live their imaginary relations to the real world and transforms Muslim individuals into ideological subjects, thus enabling them to become apparently free bearers of the ideology.
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David O'Brien, Sandra Carrasco and Kim Dovey
This paper analyses the incremental housing process developed at Villa Verde, a housing project designed by the Chilean architecture firm Elemental, whose director Alejandro…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyses the incremental housing process developed at Villa Verde, a housing project designed by the Chilean architecture firm Elemental, whose director Alejandro Aravena received the Pritzker Prize in 2016. This project is conceived within a social housing framework and designed as an affordable “half-house” to be incrementally extended by the owners.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on research undertaken in August 2017 with data obtained through site surveys, trace analysis, interviews with 32 residents and photographic surveys. The researchers mapped the modifications made by all households at Villa Verde in the four years after occupation.
Findings
The strategy of designing a formal framework for informal additions has generally been successful with most houses undergoing substantial expansion to a high standard of construction. The paper raises concerns regarding the settlement's urban design, response to local climate and the quality of shared open space. We also find evidence of over-development as informal additions extend across front and rear yards that are in some cases fully enclosed.
Originality/value
This project is critiqued within the context of a long series of architectural attempts to harness the productive capacities of self-help housing. Villa Verde engages the freedom to build in a self-organised manner within a formal framework. But what will stop these additions from escalating into a “slum”?
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Ivette Arroyo, Norma Montesino, Erik Johansson and Moohammed Wasim Yahia
The aim of this article is to explore the everyday life experiences of elderly (+70 years) living with young locals and refugees in a collaborative housing project before and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this article is to explore the everyday life experiences of elderly (+70 years) living with young locals and refugees in a collaborative housing project before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden. The paper discusses the importance of the spatial dimension in the conceptualization of social integration.
Design/methodology/approach
The main method is a qualitative case study based on observations of settings, document/video analysis, online diary entries made by ten residents and eight semi- structured interviews conducted with the residents.
Findings
SällBo was conceived as a new type of collaborative housing in which elderly, young locals and refugees share common spaces with the aim of enabling social integration. In this context, COVID-19 interrupted the ongoing processes of living together after four months of moving to the house. The three main themes that emerge from the empirical material are (1) changes in the use of common spaces and social interactions, (2) residents' resilient coping responses during the pandemic and (3) insights for future design of collaborative housing based on their experience. The pandemic caused a moment of institutional vacuum, which triggered the agency of the residents whilst developing social bonds and social bridges among them.
Social implications
Social connection created in everyday life at SällBo's common spaces has triggered processes of social integration.
Originality/value
The ongoing processes of social integration have included the spatial dimension. We understand social integration as a process that involves people from different generations and ethnical backgrounds, which takes place in common spaces and everyday life as different modes of socialization.
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