Editorial: Understanding and Researching Traditional EnvironmentsKellett, Peter; Yýldýz, Hülya Turgut
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0001
During the 20th century, accelerating developments in construction, transportion and information technologies have made it possible to create environments almost anywhere on the planet which are no longer a product of locally available resources nor a response to local climatic conditions. Perhaps more critically still, the intimate interrelationship between built environments and the cultural values of those who build and inhabit them have been fractured. It is now possible to construct buildings and places which respond to the value systems of lifestyles and decision makers on different continents. We are all too familiar with these examples of universal design which reflect and privilege the values of so-called global culture at the expense of local cultures.
Traditional Environments, Culture and PreservationRapoport, Amos
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0002
This paper is conceptual and theoretical and should be seen as an extended hypothesis. I begin by pointing out that reasons for seeking to preserve traditional environments are rarely explicit (although they should be), however some of the reasons can be inferred. One of these is ‘culture,’1 in terms of cultural identity and continuity. I then argue that ‘culture’ can also be seen as possibly the major obstacle to preservation.I restate my position that ‘culture’ is both too broad and too abstract to be usable, and apply a specific approach which I have used for other aspects of Environment-Behaviour Relations. I suggest that it is also useful in this connection, so that the method becomes even more general. This involves dismantling ‘culture’ into a set of more concrete expressions and more specific components. These, and changes in them are used to understand the problem with trying to preserve traditional environments. These problems result from disagreements among a variety of groups about environments, especially about the components of environmental quality, which I describe by means of profiles. I then discuss some of the interactions among the different aspects of culture identified and some selected components of environmental quality.I conclude by discussing a different form of preservation – of the principles and lessons present in traditional environments, rather than the environments themselves. These, it is suggested, may be of use in designing better new environments. I also suggest that the approach used not only begins to explain the issues and problems, but may also begin to suggest solutions.
Necessity and Continuity: The Challenge of the Impending CrisisOliver, Paul
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0003
‘Traditional environments’ is a term by which we embrace vernacular dwellings, functional, religious and other architectural expressions and settlements of cultures in their natural, adapted and modified contexts throughout the world. Customarily, it does not include the design concepts and built structures of professional architects and engineers, and hence seldom enters their education or bears upon their practice. Consequently, they are often poorly informed on cultures and their traditional environments, and unprepared to relate to them.In the next few decades world population growth will reach crisis proportions, resulting in greater pressure on land, on cities and on material resources. Though some planners speak of a world which will be fifty percent urban, little attention is given to the corollary that half the world population will therefore be non-urban or rural. Responses to this challenge are frequently misguided. In spite of their failure in many past instances, high-rise developments are still seen by many professionals as being the solution to urban population growth, while others propose “mass housing”. Huge profits in an age of globalisation will doubtless attract inappropriate design interventions by alien professionals and by multinationals, among whom engineers and architects may soon be numbered.Where then, lies the future of traditional environments? As the “old heart” of expanded cities? As idyllic accommodation for tourists and city dwellers “getting away from it all”? In so-called ‘Open-air museums’ nostalgically presenting images of the pre-industrial past? As symbols of national identity or (as often perceived by their inhabitants), as indications of repression and poverty? In many western countries, including Britain, these may be their fate, but in much of the world, including Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America, vernacular traditions continue and, in some regions, thrive. The economies of many cultures and nations are not in a position to engage in mass housing, but with informed participation in servicing and planning they could support development by embracing the principles of design, the tested technologies and embodied values of existing vernacular traditions. Appropriate servicing, utilisation of renewable resources, encouragement in the transmission and training of skills, and respect for indigenous environmental knowledge could contribute to the continuity and development trends in traditional environments. But all these factors have implications for governments and for education, in which professional ethics, inter-and cross-cultural studies, the economic recognition of aided self-help in building, and many other principles and practices all play their parts. Who, in the new millennium, will take up the challenge?
Transformation of Traditional Environments: The Spatial Geography of Culture and Built-Form in Sri LankaDayaratne, Ranjith
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0004
This paper examines the transformations that have been taking place in culture and built form in Sri Lanka and their spatial geography mooted by the open economic policies introduced in the 1970 s and the subsequent developments. It analyses the major facets of the dominant Sinhalese culture having located them within the sacred and profane realms, nature and its social make up. Major characteristics of the traditional culture and built-form are identified and through a longitudinal study of six case studies around the southern region, the study elucidates the major transformations and the social and societal forces behind them. The paper proposes three models for understanding such cultural transformations; Conventional-Sri Lankan, Transitional-Sri Lankan, and Euro-Sri Lankan, the forms of which could also be used in other similar situations.
Segmentation in Traditional Madurese ArchitectureFaqih, Muhammad
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0005
By the beginning of the third millennium, Euro-American culture, which is usually labelled as global culture, can be encountered in almost every corner of the world, even in remote areas. Not only physical structures but also social structures tend to be affected by the new culture. These phenomena evoke questions about the life and continuity of local traditions in the face of development or globalisation.The dominant perspective argued that a global culture was being merged through the economic and political domination of the USA, which forced its hegemonic power into local cultures. This expansive cultural wave was regarded as a ‘corrosive homogenizing force’ against cultural diversity. The local culture would eventually give way under the relentless modernizing force of American cultural imperialism. With reference to the rise of Japanese economic domination, however, some scholars indicated that there is a new phenomenon of survival of the local culture. The Japanese adopted a global outlook and adapted to local conditions. This phenomenon however, should not be overly romanticized, due to the fact that global relations between the West and the East, or the North and the South are actually uneven, asymmetrical and unequal. Let alone the majority of developing countries are implementing development programmes that barely copy the capitalist development of Euro-American countries. Aspects of the Japanese experience however, still have influence on developing countries seeking revitalisation.In developing countries, where development and globalization are taking place, ordinary people and their ordinary settlements are the crucial point of cultural interaction, which has not been well understood in terms of the process itself or the outcomes. It raises fundamental questions about the relationship between broad socio-economic and cultural change, under the general heading of ‘development’, to housing environments, as well as the more intimate relationship at the micro level between dwellers and their dwellings in situation where transformation is carried out by the people themselves. The use of domestic space as a part of culture is certainly influenced by the process of development and eventually results in new environmental outcomes in domestic architecture. This phenomenon could be spotlighted from Kent’s segmentation theory that concerns the relation of culture segmentation to architecture segmentation. It is of interest to investigate the process of architecture segmentation within the development process on the same level of culture segmentation that is still questioned by Kent’s proposition.This paper investigates this within the context of Indonesia’s development programme. It consists of a detailed empirical study of three Madurese housing environments, which represent a continuum of settlements from the inner city of Surabaya to the inner remote area of Madura Island. Participant observation by living with households, in-depth interviews, measured drawings and photographs were the main methods of data collection complemented by a statistical survey. A projective test using models and in-depth interviews were used to explore peoples’ preferences as a tool to forecast future actions.The central conclusion to be drawn from this research is that domestic architecture in Madura has undergone a fundamental transformation, mainly since Independence. This transformation is manifested in domestic space organisation and housing style. Although Kent’s theory appears to explain the match between culture segmentation and architecture segmentation, that proposition alone was found inadequate in explaining the differences within the highest levels of culture segmentation. This research found that within the same level of segmentation, the most segmented culture, persist the different architecture segmentation. Other factors, such as changes in the economic system, social structure and social relations, interplay within the development process affecting the different types of domestic space segmentation within the most segmented culture. Furthermore, within the transformation process, where the old and new forms meet, the nuance of hybridisation is always present. People adopted new forms that separated from existing practices and recombined with new forms in new practices. It is a part of people’s adaptation to smooth the transformation process of culture change.
Change, Continuity and Home: The Tent, Traditional Dwelling and Squatter House in TurkeyYýldýz, Hülya Turgut
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0006
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.
Reproducing Tradition: Everyday Public Space in Popular Neighbourhoods in MexicoBonilla, Mauricio Hernandez
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0007
In Latin American cities a great part of the urban environment has grown through self-help processes leading to informal settlements. In the Mexican context, informal settlements are called “colonias populares” which means people’s or popular neighbourhoods. In the late 1960s Turner (1969) argued that popular neighbourhoods should be reconsidered as environments which are socially and culturally responsive to the needs of the inhabitants, as the architecture produced by low-income settlers is based on a system responsive to the changing needs and demands of the users. In these settlements the built environment is the result of the freedom available to inhabitants to take decisions and shape their own environment. This in turn gives place to a myriad of spatial expressions in which culture, identity and popular character are imprinted in both the private and public spaces. This paper explores these issues in the spaces between the dwellings in the public realm.
Reinforcing Traditional Values: Social, Spatial and Economic Interactions in an Indonesian KampungKellett, Peter; Bishop, Wendy
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0008
Traditional environments consist not only of physical buildings and spaces but also the people and their activities which take place within them. This paper examines some aspects of the interrelationship between people and places. Traditional social values are believed to be undermined by the harsh imperatives of survival in the expanding urban areas of the developing world. The collaborative nature of many rural societies can be contrasted with the hard, individualistic and competitive character of life in developing cities. Unregulated, urban, economic processes in particular are assumed to be antagonistic towards gemeinschaft ideals because the logic of the market has little respect for non-monetary values.However one of the key characteristics of many informal economies is the ability of participants to draw creatively and flexibly on all potential resources: human, material and spatial. This is particularly evident in households and settlements where a significant proportion of the economic activity is within micro scale, home-based enterprises (HBEs). By blurring and re-configuring the spatial and conceptual boundaries between work and home, between production and reproduction, many households are able to generate income to sustain themselves. Intrinsic to these processes are the linkages and exchanges between neighbours and residents, many of which are based on cultural and religious value systems which can be supportive of the economic activities taking place.This paper will explore aspects of the interrelationship between economic and social processes through the use of empirical data collected during periods of participant observation in a consolidated informal urban settlement (kampung) in the city of Surabaya, Indonesia. Detailed household case studies will be used to illustrate how income generation activities are embedded within social networks and how in many cases traditional collaborative cultural values directly reinforce economic production. This is echoed in the use of space, particularly the overlapping and shared use of streets and alleyways. The paper concludes that despite severe economic constraints many traditional values facilitate survival in times of crisis and can be conducive to longer term sustainability.
Tradition, Change, and Participatory Design: Re-Designing Tablita Market in Historic CairoShehayeb, Dina K.; Abdel-Hafiz, Mohamed
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0009
This paper focuses on an Egyptian experience of participation in the design of a vegetable and fruit market. In 1999, the re-design of the Tablita Market based on community participation was proposed as one of the components of a larger encompassing project aiming at the economic revitalization and environmental upgrading of Al-Darb Al-Ahmar; a physically deteriorating district located in the medieval city referred to as Historic Cairo. The idea was that the upgrade of this major local market would serve in promoting comprehensive environmental and physical upgrading of the whole Al-Darb Al-Ahmar. The funding for upgrading the Tablita Market required the vendors’ participation in the new design.This paper presents the participatory design process that we initially designed as well as its development and adjustment during implementation. The aim is to discuss to what extent the conflicts of interest and power relations among actors, inflamed by the historic dimension of the place, affect the process of participatory design. What type of reactions did the participatory design process provoke among the vendors and other actors including the local government authorities? Are there winners and losers in participatory design?In preparation for the community participation workshops, the findings from the Needs Assessment research were analyzed using the concept of Functional Opportunities (Shehayeb, 1995) to show the relation between the advantages and disadvantages, problems and concerns expressed by the different actors. These were then summarized into six categories of Functional Opportunities that represent the Goals of the vendors. The means of achieving these goals were to be explored in a series of workshops with different groups of vendors. The criteria for selecting each group was to mix in awareness levels, but not power, so as to give an opportunity for the less influential vendors to express their opinion and not be dominated by the more powerful leaders of the vendor community. A scaled model of the existing Tablita Market was constructed as an aid to help the participants spatially represent their ideas. After implementing the first and second group workshops, the reactions to those events necessitated a revision of the process as well as a readjustment among ourselves as to the goals and impacts of this process. It turned out to be much more than a process involving a group of vendors in the re-design of a market place.
Encouraging Communities in Taiwan to Define Historic PreservationWang, Hui-min; Shieh, Leslie L.
2006 Open House International
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2006-B0010
In Taiwan, particularly in rural settlements, the temple serves as the religious and social centre. In the past 30 years, as Taiwan experienced rapid economic growth, modernizing temple architecture was something worshipers viewed as the newest and best offering. Many old temples were demolished entirely or in parts to build larger temples using modern materials and construction methods.In the early 1990s, finding the old temple too small to fulfil the large number of worshipers from outside the community, the Chen-An Temple Association proposed to raise funds for a new temple. It commissioned a Japanese architecture firm, well known for several public projects in I-Lan, to design the new temple. The design partially preserved the old temple building, integrating it into the landscape design of the new temple. At the time, the central government cultural bureau was promoting the preservation of community historic spaces, and at first had agreed to give funding. However, after reviewing, funding was refused because the jurors had failed to see community involvement in the design.It was under these circumstances that the Er-Jie community invited our organization to work with them, in hope that by bringing in a new perspective, the original scheme could be altered to satisfy government funding. Through a nine month participation process, the community realized that what meant the most to them about the old temple was the public square defined by the temple building, the large canopy of the Banyan trees, and the social activities that took place there. After much deliberation and numerous design workshops with the architects of the new temple, the resulting design preserved the entire old temple building by moving it to an unused space across from its current location; and to recreate the character of the temple square through attention to design elements.Our work in Er-Jie demonstrated that although language is a vital part of preservation efforts, most community members do not have a grasp of the planning and design language, including words, drawings, body language, and actions. Not having adequate language ability leads to misunderstanding, prevents one’s voice from being heard, and creates obstacles in dialogue. In retrospect, the lack of a common language was the cause of many of the difficulties and issues we confronted during the project.There were five key players in the project -the government, the Chen-An Temple Association, the community, the architects, and us. The participation process was about encouraging a common language. Through the process, we observed a rise in the community’s confidence, as they were increasingly able to share their thoughts with and define their values to the others involved.Accordingly, we were able to draw from the community that the temple square was what they valued most. The end product of the preservation effort is more than a conserved temple building. The revitalization effort also preserved the meaning the public square holds for the community. For the community, temple preservation is about public space because of the cultural and historical attachments the local residents have to that space. Revitalization is about providing the opportunity for the community to redefine the role of the building given the community’s current needs.The success of the conservation effort can be measured by the effect the process has on the community. Following the preservation of the Chen-An Temple, the community led the restoration of a waterway that runs through their community. As the community became more comfortable with the language of participation, preservation, space, and design, there emerges a preservation and environmental design consciousness in the community.