Open House International

Hurol, Yonca; Salama, Ashraf M.

2020 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-12-2020-105

Babatunde, Solomon Olusola; Ekundayo, Damilola; Udeaja, Chika; Abubakar, Uthman Olawande

2020 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-05-2020-0037

Although several studies have been undertaken on sustainability within infrastructure projects, limited attention has paid to the drivers for, and the barriers to, the incorporation of sustainability in public–private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects through empirical study, particularly in Nigeria. Therefore, this study aims to identify and examine the drivers that promote sustainability in Nigerian PPP infrastructure projects and assess the barriers to the full integration of sustainability practices into current Nigerian PPP infrastructure projects.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were collected using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire survey was targeted on four different stakeholders’ organizations. They were public sector authorities, concessionaires, consultants and banks already undertaking PPP infrastructure projects in Lagos State, Nigeria. The obtained data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean score, standard deviation and the Kruskal–Wallis test.FindingsThe study identified 17 drivers that promote the incorporation of sustainability in PPP infrastructure projects. The analysis of the total ranking of the drivers in Nigeria revealed the top five ranked drivers to be: consideration of long-term performance; contractual arrangements; incentives for new market penetration; award criteria; and selection criteria, respectively. The study further identified 11 barriers to sustainability integration in PPP infrastructure projects and the top five ranked barriers in Nigeria are as follows: comprehensive sustainability procurement guidelines; no enabling environment; education needs; uncertain economic environment; and a lack of clear government policy, respectively. The results of the Kruskal–Wallis test conducted on both the 17 identified drivers for, and the 11 barriers to, the incorporation of sustainability in Nigerian PPP infrastructure projects revealed that there is no significant statistical difference in both rankings from the perceptions of the aforementioned four different respondents’ groups.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides empirical insights on the knowledge and awareness of drivers which could lead to a greater uptake in sustainability measures by the stakeholders in Nigerian PPP projects; it also identified barriers to overcome.Originality/valueThe importance of the incorporation of sustainability in public procurement cannot be over-emphasized. It is anticipated that the study will be of great value to PPP stakeholders involved in sustainability decision-making processes when delivering sustainable PPP projects.

El-Kholei, Ahmed Osman

2020 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-07-2020-0075

Social, spatial and environmental justice are inseparable, and key for sustainable urban development. The city is the cradle of innovation and production. Also, the city is the site of riots, where protesters demand their right to access services and resources. The purpose of this paper is to answer the question: Why do plans to resolve urban ills in developing countries fail to deliver and achieve social justice?Design/methodology/approachThis paper investigates weaknesses, limitations and outcomes of planning processes in a developing country. The author used two qualitative research tools: document analysis augmented with informal interviews. The author uses Egypt as a case study in an attempt to answer this question. The author reviewed two types of documents: official reports that the Egyptian authorities produced and donor agencies prepared plus both published and unpublished research. Interviewees are those who participated in elaborating and executing urban plans and policies.FindingsAchieving social, spatial and environmental justice is amongst the reasons for planning metropolitan areas and their regions. Unfortunately, rarely plans accomplish social, spatial or environmental justice. Institutional setup is the reason for failed urban planning – institutional failures lead to both policy and market failures, thus complicating urban problems.Originality/valueApproved plans must have the power of legislation, and planners need to reclaim their authority and autonomy, which requires regulating the profession. Planning education must be at the graduate level and available to other disciplines, such as economics, public administration, law and the like. Planners must acquire the following competencies: technical competencies for analytical actions; hermeneutic competencies for communicative actions; and critical competencies to observe professional ethics. They must emancipate themselves from their bias to enlighten and empower their constituents.

Güngör, Onur; Harman Aslan, Ebru

2020 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-07-2020-0104

Legibility, intelligibility, mental images and cognitive and syntactical mapping are significant issues that help expose the spatial knowledge necessary for effective urban design. They also help us understand how a city’s new image is forming. This paper aims to present a new holistic approach to define urban design strategies that improve a city’s imageability through cognitive and syntactic concepts.Design/methodology/approachThe study establishes a coherent framework by including residents’ mental images and space syntax theory’s descriptors to understand how residents perceive their physical environment. Using a mixed-methods research design, the authors studied the Iskenderun city center’s image and spatial design. First, the authors used descriptive analysis techniques (questionnaires, verbal interviews and cognitive mapping) and consulted 110 Iskenderun residents. Second, the authors used analytical analysis techniques to investigate the structural relations among city elements with the help of space syntax descriptors.FindingsThe results demonstrated the importance of applying combined descriptive and analytic techniques to provide an understanding of the city’s image. The authors also offered a proposal including the appropriate urban design strategies to promote Iskenderun city center’s imageability.Originality/valueApplying this new coherent framework can support design decision-making for redesigning cities at the micro level and for planning new cityscapes at the macro level.

Gemci, Ayse Gul; Ferah, Bahar

2020 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-05-2020-0039

This paper aims to discuss the spatial interactions of street music in public spaces. It proposes to clarify why relationship between street music and people in public spaces is important and how street music evokes an external stimulus on people.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual framework of this paper is based on the triangulation process of Whyte and the qualities of public spaces, forming a relationship between space and people produced from the seminal literature of the paper. Accordingly, a case study based on the qualitative research method was conducted in Istiklal Avenue, where street music performances can be observed for long term. During the field work which spans a period of 12 months, 10 spots of street music performances have been observed and photo–video documentation was collected.FindingsThis paper provides empirical insights on how the triangulation process reflects social interactions in public spaces. This also suggests the triangulated position of street music as an external stimulus relating with the people as actors of daily urban flux.Research limitations/implicationsRegarding to the chosen research approach which is based on deeper understanding, this paper interrelates the interactions of street music and people in public space.Social implicationsThis paper includes qualitative research steps of data collection and disaggregates findings with a “Cross Matrix Table” proposed at the end of the study.Originality/valueThe proposed disaggregating “Cross Matrix Table” and case study fulfil an architectural need to research how everyday street art activity can reflect the qualities of public space.

Ibrahim, Anwar; Ali, Hikmat H.; Alqarra, Wala'a

2020 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-07-2020-0085

This study aims to evaluate the effect of the installed photovoltaic (PV) systems on the aesthetic perception of the mosque’s architectural form. It also aims to develop a framework for integrating PV cells with the various elements of the building type.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a mixed-method approach comprising both qualitative and quantitative techniques for data collection procedures. This includes surveys, literature review, focus groups and an experiment.FindingsThe results revealed a negative impact of the building-applied PV panels on people’s perception of the mosque’s architectural form. However, integrating the PV cells with the mosque form was perceived as more aesthetically pleasing. Certain integrating PV strategies integrated more harmoniously with certain mosque styles.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is focused on limited styles of one building type. Extra research is needed to explore the differences between the different participated groups.Originality/valueThere is a lack of research that explores the ways the installed PV systems impact the users’ architectural aesthetic perception of the mosque. This study informs the design process and practice and construction industry by highlighting the opportunities PV systems, as a legitimate sustainable energy resource, offers to architects and manufacturers.

Rauf, Hozan Latif; Gunce, Kagan; Ozersay, Munevver Ozgur

2020 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-05-2020-0041

The study aims to identify the issues that restrict students to show their real performance in the design due to lacking of self-advocacy skills and suggesting a new concept to overcome these difficulties.Design/methodology/approachThe current literature was surveyed to form a comprehensive understanding of the issue. A case study has been taken for three years and two groups of students were taken. Results achieved and discussed.FindingsThe result of the study showed that those students who undergo an environment equipped with knowledge about self-advocacy can perform better and the success level is relatively higher amongst these students.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the current literature an original knowledge that has not been previously written about (empowering self-advocacy amongst students of interior architecture). The profession of interior architecture is a relatively new profession and faces challenges in fixing its feet on the ground that is why the subject can add a real value to it to alleviate the challenge.

Pasha, Yasira Naeem; Adnan, Shahla; Ahmed, Noman

2020 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-05-2020-0032

This paper aims to position the evidence in the history of architectural education, which has contributed to the development of architecture as a discipline. The paper focusses on the transformational stages of architectural education through history. It builds on considering its evolution from informal stages towards formal educational discipline and then standardization as a curriculum-based model in contemporary times.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopts a qualitative approach focussing on epistemological interpretations through triangulation. The qualitative data includes two main categories; first, historical research and second, interviews and focussed group discussions. It then adopts the triangulation method for the analysis of data. The exploration positions historical pieces of evidence encompassing important factors involved in the process that directed the changes while suggesting the modes of training of architects. The interviews and focus groups provide a valuable addition to historical data for connecting it to contemporary times. Significant modes examined include master pupil, apprenticeship and curriculum-based model, in addition to several fundamental skill sets such as drawing, painting and sculptures that remained constant in this process.FindingsThe historical pieces of evidence inform that architectural education has been inclusive and considerate towards cultural concerns throughout its developmental stages untill the currently adopted curriculum-based model. It concludes that the development of architecture as a discipline in formal education has been influenced by methods of disseminating knowledge, contents incorporated for teaching architecture, deliberate inclusion of relevant knowledge areas such as arts and cultural integrations of societies.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to a structured study to explore and position pieces of evidence in the history of architectural education considering its methods and contents. While it signifies the role of culturally sensitive contents in the architectural curricula, the scope of this research is not to focus on the development of any new theory, model or postulate regarding the inclusion of some specific contents. The implications of this research aspire to the best use of methods and contents deeply rooted in the development of the discipline, of architectural curricula in the future. It suggests the negation of possible overlooking of such content in curricula.Originality/valueThe study signifies the core argument of the relevance of architectural education to social and cultural concerns as an important facet in the developmental stages in the history of the discipline. The exploration of pieces of evidence is significantly important to avoid the inadvertent overlooking of the culturally sensitive content in architectural education in the future development of architectural curricula that were included purposefully.