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Article
Publication date: 1 November 2022

Temitope Muyiwa Adebara

The courtyard form of the traditional African house responds to people's culture and traditions. Nevertheless, in the era of globalization, the private open space (POS) is fast…

Abstract

Purpose

The courtyard form of the traditional African house responds to people's culture and traditions. Nevertheless, in the era of globalization, the private open space (POS) is fast disappearing in African homes due to neglect and lack of awareness of its value. This study, thus, aims to explore how culture relates to open space design in traditional houses of three major ethnic groups (Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo) in Nigeria. This is with a view to encouraging planners and designers to create open spaces in housing developments according to people's cultural values and needs.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on qualitative and quantitative research approaches involving a literature review, focus group discussions and a questionnaire survey. The quantitative survey was designed based on the literature review of the concept of culture and the use of space in traditional courtyard houses. Focus group discussions were conducted to identify the specific cultural components that dictated the use of the courtyard as a POS in the Nigerian context. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was carried out to determine the importance of each cultural component in the outdoor sociospatial design. Through systematic sampling, one of every five traditional houses in the study area was selected to determine where respondents were surveyed.

Findings

The results reveal that the cultural components that influenced the design and use of the open space were gender and privacy, family and social relations, religious practice and belief, and status and lifestyle. However, the importance attached to each of the cultural components varied from one culture to another in Nigeria. The findings also showed that the open space is used for a variety of purposes, such as ancestral worship, family gatherings and reunions, small-scale ceremonies, and leisure activities.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers professional planners and designers helpful insights to protect culture in housing development and improve daily living in residential environments.

Originality/value

Based on Amos Rapoport's theoretical framework, this study dismantles the concept of “culture” into different components and examines how they affect outdoor sociospatial design in a developing country. The study also provides researchers with ideas and inspiration to study the culture of POSs in traditional housing.

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2006

Hülya Turgut Yýldýz

This article aims to explore the changes and continuity in housing patterns of Turkish society comparing traditional and contemporary usage. In this context, the spatial and…

Abstract

This article aims to explore the changes and continuity in housing patterns of Turkish society comparing traditional and contemporary usage. In this context, the spatial and social structures of housing patterns are studied comparatively from an historical perspective. The article is based on research projects carried out by the author that aimed to identify the effects of socio-cultural and psychological factors on the spatial formation, meaning and use of domestic space in different types of Turkish dwellings. Examples chosen from a number of case studies in different housing patterns are mainly those of the Middle Asian Tent, the Traditional Turkish House and Squatter Housing ‘Gecekondu’. The article consists of six sections. In the first two, the aim and the general concept of the paper are defined, the research field is explained and the problem is specified. In the third section, the formation of spatial setting in different housing pattern of Turkish settlers will be analysed by comparing the tent, traditional house and squatter house. The fourth section focuses on related theoretical concepts in environmental behavioural studies with the conceptual model of culture and space interaction system in terms of meaning and use of home space. In the last two sections, the field study is presented and the article builds on the findings of the case studies to offer some proposals for new design principles.

Details

Open House International, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2015

Ghazal Farjami

Flexibility is known as an important term in the field of open buildings especially during modern era. Idea of flexibility has been one of the prominent implications in traditional

Abstract

Flexibility is known as an important term in the field of open buildings especially during modern era. Idea of flexibility has been one of the prominent implications in traditional Iranian architecture emerged in spatial organizations. Although, during modern period this quality of spaces has been mostly ignored some of the contemporary architects attempted to reconsider this characteristic in their projects. However, providing an interview with 7 pioneering contemporary Iranian architects and visiting their 25 residential projects it seems that flexibility has been reinterpreted in some of their projects. This research is an attempt for examining the idea of flexibility in 6 projects of 3 of these architects who were obsessed with this spatial term in their architectural works. Based on the architect’s words and analysis of their projects, and also looking for the roots of flexibility in traditional architecture, it can be asserted that there is an authentic emergence of flexibility in these projects. Examining these projects according to three main indicators of flexibility in modern architecture as structural systems, service organization and architectural layout, it is also tried to find their relation with traditional architecture. Being adapted with new lifestyles while ingrained in cultural and environmental issues of its context, idea of flexibility employed as an authentic characteristic of spatial configuration in some of the contemporary buildings in Iran.

Details

Open House International, vol. 40 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2015

Halleh Nejadriahi and Ozgur Dincyurek

Rapid changes due to the globalization process, cause in disappearance of traditional values and identity in the new architectural designs, particularly in the historical…

Abstract

Rapid changes due to the globalization process, cause in disappearance of traditional values and identity in the new architectural designs, particularly in the historical settlements. Presence of courtyard in the houses of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries dates back to nearly six thousand years ago. Privacy is one of the fundamental notions in the spatial organization of the traditional houses in this region and courtyard is the main component that assists achieving privacy in such houses. Kashan as one of the ancient cities of Iran possessing a considerable number of distinctive traditional courtyard houses, is crucial to be interrogated in terms of its traditional architecture to maintain its values and to sustain identity of the city. Space syntax as an effective method to clarify the spatial pattern of buildings and the degree of privacy in the interior spaces is applied in this study to identify privacy concerns on the formation of courtyards in the spatial organization of the traditional houses of Kashan. This paper may contribute in providing an approach for distribution of spaces in the house according to their level of privacy and its relationship in the process of current house layout design

Details

Open House International, vol. 40 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 June 2021

Mohammed M. AlNaim

This study examines the built environment in the preserved historic settlements of the Najd region of Saudi Arabia, providing insight into shared core concepts and forms that were…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the built environment in the preserved historic settlements of the Najd region of Saudi Arabia, providing insight into shared core concepts and forms that were commonly shared across the settlement's dwellings before the Kingdom's period of modernization.

Design/methodology/approach

Space syntax convex mapping and the justified access graphing as the main techniques to examine several internal elements at the building level. The study created elements such as connectivity, access graphs and depth graphs to understand the integration and placement of these elements to overcome surrounding forces. Also, the author combined graphical architectural analysis with space syntax techniques to understand the spatial and physical integration in three-dimensional space. This helped to establish a link between what is two-dimensional (the building layout) with what is three-dimensional (the physical form).

Findings

The paper found that the hierarchical order of internal spaces and the order's role in shaping the physical form served to satisfy the social behavior and environmental conditions. As a result, all building elements generated with the guidance of the main culturally rooted in support with internal spaces order. This order of spaces inside the house led the urban spatial hierarchy to connect but not conflict, as the whole process of generating the physical forms is to complement each other and to produce a unified built environment.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to Najdi dwelling form and culture, the author believes expanding the number of study samples in the five traditional settlements or expanding the scope of the study to examine other Saudi regions may result in new findings and insights.

Originality/value

The paper offers and discusses two mechanisms on how to enhance the process of designing modern houses in similar cultures or elsewhere in the world. Also, how traditional dwelling elements generated with the guidance of the main, culturally rooted values and beliefs, in support of the internal spatial order.

Details

Open House International, vol. 46 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 December 2022

Sadrodin Moqadam and Linda Nubani

The present study, based on a comparative analysis of several historic houses in Shiraz, presents a new perspective on uncovering the role of the social lives of homeowners in the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The present study, based on a comparative analysis of several historic houses in Shiraz, presents a new perspective on uncovering the role of the social lives of homeowners in the formation of the spatial configurations of their houses.

Design/methodology/approach

Twelve plans were selected and analyzed using space syntax techniques. The spatial characteristics were compared mathematically using integration, intelligibility and axial synergy.

Findings

The results of the research showed that spatial configurations reflected the social identity of their homeowners as well as their cultural and private beliefs. The results further highlighted the syntactical differences between different types of one courtyard houses, two courtyard houses and three courtyard houses. While privacy was maintained across all housing layouts, centralized one-courtyard typography had the highest synergy while the three-courtyard typology had the highest intelligibility.

Originality/value

This research advances the use of space syntax approach in the design of contemporary housing by recognizing the socio-cultural values of its occupants.

Details

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 May 2019

Saeidi Ramyani Saleh, Ehsan Mousavi Khaneghah, Nosratollah Shadnosh and Amirhosein Reyhani ShowkatAbad

This paper aims to propose a mathematical model for describing and clarifying the relationships among the indicators governing the social values of special customers in…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a mathematical model for describing and clarifying the relationships among the indicators governing the social values of special customers in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce systems. This mathematical model is also able to describe the degree of adaptability of e-commerce systems to the social values of specific clients, and commercial firms are able to use the parameters described in this paper to increase the versatility and has the power to trade with special customers in different areas.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, while analyzing the issue of trading from the point of view of the customer as an element of trading, the affecting factors the trading space have been extracted. These affecting factors are categorized in three major groups: culture, technology and customers. This classification is based on the e-commerce and developing the traditional commerce. Using the mapping functions, the effects of each element in these three spaces on the concept of social values have been analyzed. The result of this analysis is the mathematical model governing each parameter and its semantic relation with the concept of social value.

Findings

The presence of a mathematical model between the indicators influencing the model adaptability and social values space allows e-commerce system designers to be able to make decisions on the adaptability of the model with a quantitative approach. To examine the proposed mathematical models, important frameworks and patterns in the field of e-commerce have been analyzed with an Islamic approach, as one of the adaptations of B2C e-commerce model.

Research limitations/implications

Regarding the innovation of the work, the case has been made, and the concept of social value and the model governing the elements of social values in this paper, in a B2C e-commerce model, has been discussed in general; the problem is parametric solved.

Practical implications

One of the key concepts in commerce is the ability of the commerce model to adapt to the requirements of special customers. This is more important in costumer-based e-commerce models. In these types of systems, if the commerce cannot match the customer’s characteristics, it will not be accepted and used by customers. This is especially more important in the field of social values for customers.

Originality/value

In this paper, a mathematical model is presented to examine the adaptability of e-commerce systems to the social values of special customers. In examining this model, the relationship between each element affecting the social value of specific customers and the factors affecting trade has been studied.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2011

Iftekhar Ahmed

Affordability and lifestyle choices in housing are critical to meet basic human needs for shelter, security and wellbeing. The meaning of a house for a particular group of people…

Abstract

Affordability and lifestyle choices in housing are critical to meet basic human needs for shelter, security and wellbeing. The meaning of a house for a particular group of people and what is ‘affordable’ for a particular community is the critical issue. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has greater population density and rate of expansion compared to almost any other mega cities of Asia. The historic core of the city known as old Dhaka is a combination of several traditional neighborhoods. Houses in these traditional neighborhoods are not only places to live, rather an integral unit of a social system, having a good mix of place of work and individual expression in living. They also show flexibility and adaptability (with more scope for personalization and individual life style choices) compared to the contemporary housing stock. One of the success factors in these traditional houses is the healthy mix of the income ranges to avoid a ghetto effect of low cost housing. The recent rapid urbanization has led to a discontinuity of the traditional housing form of old Dhaka, leading to a disintegration of the mix of lifestyle choices and affordability. Following popular market trends, they are often replaced by housing blocks in a higher density ignoring the need for a diverse mix. This paper studies the traditional housing of old Dhaka with two case study neighborhoods. Several elements of housing like the common price, materials and construction, space layout, scale, social space, facades, street interface, etc are selected for a qualitative study. Local residents interview, archival records, maps, Plans, figure-ground, aerial images are used to analyze, identify and demonstrate the elements that made them socio-culturally sustainable and affordable for the community. With the analysis, lessons from the traditional housing form that may contribute to the new housing in Dhaka are identified.

Details

Open House International, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Jinwei Wang, Haoyang Lan and Jiafei Chen

This study aims to elucidate the process and internal mechanism of place identity construction in traditional villages under the impact of tourism by taking Cuandixia village as a…

Abstract

This study aims to elucidate the process and internal mechanism of place identity construction in traditional villages under the impact of tourism by taking Cuandixia village as a case. The research methods comprise participatory observation and in-depth interviews with the residents. The main results are as follows: the impact of tourism on traditional villages is mainly reflected in space reconstruction, livelihood change, social relations restructuring and culture change; under the impact of tourism, the representation of residents’ identity construction shows complexity, with positive and negative effects; and the place identity construction of residents affects their perception of and attitudes toward tourism. Moreover, self-esteem and self-efficacy principles play a key role in their perception of tourism. This study provides some reference for further investigation of the tourism development model and the mental mechanism of residents in traditional villages.

Details

Tourism Critiques: Practice and Theory, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2633-1225

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 December 2020

Nahideh Rezaei, Rana Najjari, Arsalan Nezhadfard and Rahmat Mohammadzadeh

The purpose of this paper aims at the spatial analysis of the Rastas dealing with the wool market to revise the production resulting in a recreation of spaces and the pathways…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper aims at the spatial analysis of the Rastas dealing with the wool market to revise the production resulting in a recreation of spaces and the pathways based on its high economic–commercial role.

Design/methodology/approach

Secondary resources and direct observations through field research were the two critical methodological steps for this paper based on phenomenology and qualitative approaches.

Findings

The results represent that the usage of past experiences is the most effective solutions for activities relying on manufacturing inside the workshops leading to improvement in functional objectives of Bazaar. Integration between diverse institutions, precise planning regarding the creation and restoration of past and new jobs and organizing the exhibition of recreational spaces contributing to development regarding public attraction and strengthening the spatial relationships between production, representation and service. Indeed these mentioned steps will provide multifunctional space with a priority of production and reproduction useful on a recreation of urban life.

Originality/value

This study fulfils to examine the important of the bazaar (Iranian market) and recreate its manufacturing, service and economic processes.

Details

Property Management, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

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