Open House International

Abubakar, Aisha

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-12-2020-0171

The concept of basic human needs, though diversely interpreted, remains a policy and practice approach to combat poverty and improve wellbeing. Meanwhile, defining locally sensitive basic needs to support context-specific improvement is still an essential requirement. The paper examines basic human needs fulfilment in the context of effective improvement strategies and proposes a Basic Human Needs Glossary, a definition framework and tool for understanding needs pursuits and helping to streamline responses towards establishing their potential.Design/methodology/approachThe proposal for basic needs and development by the economist Manfred Max-Neef is examined from an operative point of view, including the role that the actualization of needs-centred goals performs in the pursuit of prosperity. The paper then adopts, adapts and defines the basic needs proposed by Max-Neef and outlines Basic Terms of Pursuit (BToP) for these through qualitative content analysis.FindingsIt is possible to breakdown the basic needs concepts into smaller subsets of traits, which are framed within the interrelated dimensions of personal and social interactions of people, and of people and environment (natural and man-made).Research limitations/implicationsThe glossary with BToP is not conclusive, however. There is still potential to advance and further refine these through further content, qualitative and ethnographic research.Originality/valueEnabling capacities for progressive needs fulfilment is, in theory, key to facilitating paths to prosperity, especially in intervention processes to improve vulnerable communities, like slums. A deeper clarification of needs pursuit presented by the glossary adds rigor to this task and to enhancing wellbeing standards overall. Thus, it can play an important resource role in urban practice.

Yoon, Chaeshin; Kim, Marie; Park, Jinho; Lee, Jeayoung

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-10-2021-0227

The purposes of this study are to prove that the content of floor flexibility can be designed objectively with the use of margins, which are an architectural vocabulary visualizing the possibility of formal change, and to conduct a case study on how the existing typical floor plans of South Korean apartments change with the extension of flexibility: the usability of margins and the results.Design/methodology/approachThis study reviews two housing projects with different methods of flexible housing design: one is the flexibility to change the sizes of spaces and the other is the flexibility to change the topology of spaces. In this paper, the architectural term “area margin” is used for the former and “linear margin” for the latter. These were applied to the case of current apartments in South Korea to transform them into floor plans with the two types of flexibility and investigated whether the proposed floor plans satisfy the required efficacy structurally and functionally.Findings This case study shows that margins can be used as architectural vocabularies representing flexible sizes of rooms and flexible boundaries with neighbors. The final form of the structural framework became homogeneous, even though it conserved its indigenous spatial characteristics of abundant natural sunlight and airflow. In addition, the transformed structural framework has higher rigidity than the original one, even though the transversal wall was cut off with a margin, as shown by the schematic representations in this paper. Research limitations/implicationsThe alternative plan, designed as a modification process, is not representative as a flexible floor plan. Rather, it is thought more important to make a range of variations rather than prototyping a model. This study starts from the premise that it is desirable for apartment house plans to share and encourage variations rather than aiming at typical sizes and shapes. Furthermore, this study exemplified the process to modify the existing typical floor plan into a flexible one using margins. Through this modification, it is thought that the typology of the South Korean apartment, which has succeeded in gaining social consensus for half a century, can be preserved while accommodating social changes in the future.Social implicationsThe control of future variations of floor plans will extend the socioeconomic and physical life of a building, enabling a reasonable reinvestment of resources.Originality/valueThis paper deals with a design method applying distinct visual symbols to different contexts of flexibility and using those as architectural vocabularies.

Israt, Abontika Sara; Hassan, Ahmad Sanusi

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-03-2021-0058

The purpose of this research is to examine the current physical qualities and activities of pedestrian environment from the perspective of the users' needs and perceptions for making user-friendly streets in Dhaka city.Design/methodology/approachCase study research approach was adapted with a mixed method approach in data collection and analysis to gather information about the interrelationship concerning the variables. The questionnaire survey and direct observation was conducted with the users of the streets to get the actual scenes of the study areas. For the findings, multiple sources of evidence were triangulated and used to analyze which were derived from the convergence of the data.FindingsThe findings of this study show that the needs for the factors which make people to use the street are similar with the previous theories derived by different scholars. The results establish that making of user-friendly street from the users' perspective has a significant relationship with the attributes of public spaces in the context of Dhaka. Correlation among the attributes of public spaces concerning sociability, uses and activities, access and linkage and safety, comfort and image showed the issues affecting the pedestrian environment toward a crucial condition in Dhaka city.Research limitations/implicationsTime allocation, inadequacy of secondary data sources and earlier research on this topic in the context of Dhaka city, were the primary limitations to let an in-depth and full exploration of the research.Originality/valueThe study provided a detailed representation of Dhaka's users' perception of the pedestrian environment. This study suggests a new perspective of bettering pedestrian experience in the city center.

Khalil, Marwa; Eissa, Doha

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-08-2021-0178

This paper questions the change in patterns of use of the balcony during lockdown. It investigates whether residents, specifically of apartment buildings in Cairo, used their balconies more frequently or for different activities during the lockdown.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted through a mixed methods approach. More specifically, a sequential explanatory design was adopted where quantitative data were collected at first followed by qualitative data collection. The study proceeded in two stages. First, an online questionnaire with 160 respondents was conducted to depict the change in the frequency and use patterns of balconies pre/post lockdown in Cairo. The respondents were approached through snowball sampling. Second, in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 participants, approached through convenience sampling, were done. The interviews aimed to provide interpretation and rationale for the responses, patterns and correlations identified from the questionnaire results.FindingsThe findings of this study confirm that there is a change in the pattern of use of balconies in terms of frequency and the types of hosted activities. The analysis revealed three key ideas that characterize those changes: the balcony as a found space, as a loose space and as a space of self-expression at home. It also expands on spatial qualities of balconies that promoted their use. The study emphasizes the significance of such outdoor private spaces in apartment buildings and puts forward balconies as an essential element of future dwellings design for the multiple benefits they behold.Originality/valueThe originality of the study stems from tackling such a timely and unprecedented situation, where still few studies investigating the relationship between pandemic and the architecture of homes have been conducted. Furthermore, this study focuses particularly on exploring the use of balconies in Cairo, one of the largest cities in both Africa and the Middle East, during lockdown. Its findings might ultimately help formulate, define and characterize new trends in the architecture of homes that would embrace human needs in times of prosperity and rising tensions alike.

Manahasa, Edmond; Özsoy, Ahsen; Manahasa, Odeta

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-07-2021-0157

The proposed definitional framework can be used to define housing typologies of cities in developing countries. It aims to define housing typologies in the capital city of Albania, Tirana, using the proposed hierarchical framework within the dynamics of four political periods: Ottoman, establishment, socialist and postsocialist.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes a new definitional approach for the housing typologies through a hierarchical framework that defines the typologies based on their political period and legality statuses departing from the case of Tirana, which is featured by a heterogeneous context. Such context is characterized by uncontrollable urban development, making typology definition problematic. Furthermore, beyond the form, spatial and functional features, it presents their exterior distinctiveness as an innovative element. The methodology used in the study includes archival research, image documentation, spatial, functional and exterior distinctiveness analysis of housing typologies and exploration of housing form features in different political periods.FindingsThe study identifies urban formal housing typologies in Tirana detached houses, apartments, mass housing, social housing, gated communities, informal detached houses and housing with in/formal additions.Originality/valueThis definitional approach can be used to define housing typologies for cities featured by heterogeneous urban context.

Na, Le Thi Hong; Park, Jin-Ho

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-06-2021-0128

Among others in South Vietnam, the Temple of Literature in Vinh Long is the only one that has preserved its original form and layout. As such in 1991, the temple was recognized by the Ministry of Culture as a national-level historical and cultural relic. Nevertheless, the temple has been neither studied nor documented to any great depth. Only a few historical descriptions for local tour guidebooks and photo catalogs exist. Therefore this paper aims to initially record heritage values, spatial characteristics and the process of major changes, while documenting the current state of the temple structure and carrying out on-site inspections to survey the buildings.Design/methodology/approachThis paper outlines the collection of survey data through field survey and provides an overview of the existing significant heritage factors of the Temple of Literature in Vinh Long by comparative examination in relation to other surviving temples and analyzing its unique spatial characteristics and indigenous cultural decorations in detail.FindingsAlthough the layout of the temples was influenced by the Chinese Confucius's principles and the notion of Feng Shui, it is evident from the study that the design of the temple has many architectural elements that reveal Vietnam's unique culture and local features. In particular, the Temple of Literature in Vinh Long was a symbol of feudal education, symbolizing sacred traditional values in the field of education for the people of Vinh Long province. Stone steles recorded names of all contributors related to the construction and restoration of the temple with sincere gratitude. Moreover, many of the decorative motifs contain many indigenous cultural and artistic values of Vietnam, reflecting traditional Vietnamese beliefs and ethnographic features.Research limitations/implicationsBy comparatively analyzing the temple with others, it reveals the unique spatial features, layouts, changes and evolutions of the temple. Unlike the oldest and the largest Temple of Literature in Hanoi, the temples in the South are much smaller in terms of complex sizes and the number of buildings. They are mostly composed of a singular structure, the Attained Talent House, with some basic gates and water features interwoven within the landscape of the site. Based on the elementary layout, some subsidiary buildings were added according to the needs and site conditions, and in accordance with the bilateral axis.Social implicationsThe awareness and preservation of the architectural features of the local temple are needed to protect heritage monuments and to enhance cultural resources as part of securing Vietnamese ideology for a longer period of time. While the interest in historic preservation and conservation activities of heritage buildings in Vietnam has slowly grown in attention over the last decade, it is evident that many opportunities remain. It is hoped that this research is a small step toward further research, education and advocacy in the preservation of historic buildings in Vietnam.Originality/valueThe introduction of Chinese Confucian thought to Vietnam was one of the most substantial influences in Vietnamese intellectual history. Despite being an important part of the nation's architectural, cultural and intellectual heritage sites, the study and documentation of the Temples of Literature have been relatively neglected or marginalized. Accordingly, this study is significant to reveal not only the values and unique heritage characteristics of the temple, but also to prioritize resources for continued study and preservation.

Özçelik, Sedef; Sevinç Kayihan, Kutlu

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-06-2021-0115

This paper aims to understand how the residents have utilized domestic spaces and furniture during three months' lockdown time for the Covid-19 virus spread measures and to explore how domestic living practices were adjusted which had been the daily urban activities previously.Design/methodology/approachThe research method is a qualitative interpretivist philosophical approach with a quantitative data collection. Short questionnaires were conducted via e-mails with attached links via SurveyMonkey. The sample was the group of people who had been in active urban life before the pandemic and had been actively working at the office spaces.FindingsSeparate learning/working spaces were urged at home, at least for the set intervals in the daytime. Production in the kitchen also acted as an interactive production and entertainment. Balconies and terraces were re-discovered and acted as “urban-substitute open spaces”. The living room became the new venue for domestic interaction especially during working-learning breaks, for watching movies, personal care or reading sessions. Computers, tablets and smartphones became the urban activity base due to online meeting applications for social reasons, online shopping, working and learning. The separation of domains at home became essential.Research limitations/implicationsThe study only focuses domestic uses of white-collar workers; during the lock-down period, Covid-19 pandemic. Sampling constraints are the employees who were active urban life before the pandemic and working at the office space. Sharing the house at least with one other roommate, sibling or spouse with or without children. Individuals who had not been working outside the home before the pandemic, people aged over 65, retired, permanent home workers, housewives, freelancers and other such demographic structures are excluded from the study.Social implicationsDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first wave lockdown began between early March–June 2020, and millions of people were confined to the dwellings. “Staying home” stood for working-learning-shopping-interacting online, more production in the kitchen, using the living room as a domestic multi-functional venue, spending time on the terraces and balconies as domestic open spaces. The active living in the urban context dramatically shifted to “at-home living”.Originality/valueThe study only focuses on the three months' interval in which strict rules for staying home were enforced in Istanbul, Turkey. Schemas, charts and tables are generated concerning the input. The study challenges the making meaning via praxis of “to dwell” and urban living. Nevertheless, the main questions of housing such as production, social aspects, shared spaces, interaction are re-configured and the substitute urban space is created at home.

Khan, Asif R.; Thilagam, N. Lakshmi

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-05-2021-0113

The unparalleled crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic has displaced the existing normal in every field of higher education. Especially architecture education with high dependence on institutional studio based pedagogical participation has been affected. Consequently, there is a critical necessity to reinvigorate pedagogical approaches in order to ensure continuity of pedagogical pursuits.Design/methodology/approachA systematic approach is used to conduct an interdisciplinary study. The research mainly attempts to externalize the basics of virtual design studio composition. In concurrence role of instructional design in providing an underlying framework for enabling virtual discourse is also explored. Primarily, the process commenced by identifying objectives and queries which needed to be addressed. In order to deal with the concerns rationally, the research used exploratory approach. The primary data were based on focus group interactions. The secondary data were based on relevant subject-oriented literature reviews; explicit information based. Explanatory mode of analysis is used to interpret the outcome.FindingsA pedagogical design; an instructional design process model for effectively structuring the virtual design studio has evolved as part of the research. In addition detailed insights have been derived about the key integrals that make up the constituent phases of the virtual design studio.Research limitations/implicationsThe research provides insights into the methodological structure of virtual design studio. The inferences would provide the pedagogues a comprehensive and rational overview to envision and conduct architecture studio discourse virtually.Originality/valueThe study presents a unique contribution to the limited literature available on virtual design studio pedagogy and instructional design in virtual mode.

Bakir, Ramy; Alsaadani, Sara

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-09-2021-0206

The paper aims to understand and assess architecture students' experiences of online teaching during the initial lockdown caused by the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic between March–June 2020. The exploratory study was conducted across two architectural engineering departments of two separate campuses of the same not-for-profit, non-governmental higher education institution in Cairo, Egypt, focusing on two course streams within their architectural curriculum; design-studio-based courses (DC) and technology courses (TC).Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods approach was used, where a questionnaire-based survey was developed to gather qualitative and quantitative data based on perceptions of a sample of 245 students. The survey quantitatively queried five dimensions related to students' learning experiences and qualitatively sought to evaluate both the positive experiences and challenges the students experienced.FindingsFindings outline that students' experiences were neutral but veered toward the positive end of the scale. Three factors appear to have affected students' learning experiences; students' reliance on educational technologies, the stage of architectural education students were enrolled in when they went into lockdown, and finally, quality and timing of feedback received. While challenges were faced during transition to the digital realm, these may have compelled students to take ownership of the students' own knowledge construction.Originality/valueResults provide a nuanced understanding of how students dealt with this critical transformation in architectural pedagogy at a unique moment in history, highlighting merits that could have an everlasting impact on design education during and after times of pandemic.

Akçay Kavakoğlu, Ayşegül; Güleç Özer, Derya; Domingo-Callabuig, Débora; Bilen, Ömer

2022 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/ohi-07-2021-0144

The paper aims to examine the concept of architectural design communication (ADC) for updating design studio dynamics in architectural education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Within this perspective, the changing and transforming contents of architectural education, the thinking, representation and production mediums are examined through the determined components of ADC. There are five components in the study, which are (1) Effective Language Use, (2) Effective use of Handcrafts, (3) Effective Technical Drawing Knowledge, (4) Effective Architectural Software Knowledge and (5) Outputs.Design/methodology/approachThe research method is based on qualitative and quantitative methods; a survey study is applied and the comparative results are evaluated with the path analysis method. The students in the Department of Architecture of two universities have been selected as the target audience. Case study 1 survey is applied to Altinbas University (AU) and Case study 2 survey is applied to Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) students during the COVID-19 pandemic; ‘19-‘20 spring term, online education.FindingsAs a result, two-path analysis diagrams are produced for two universities, and a comparative analysis is presented to reveal the relationships of the selected ADC components.Originality/valueThis paper fulfills an identified need to study how ADC can be developed in online education platforms.