Search Results (51)

Throughout history, communities have struggled to build homes in places actively hostile to their presence, a challenge long faced by African descendants in the American diaspora. In cities across the U.S., including Washington, D.C., efforts have often been made to erase Black cultural identity. D.C., once a hub of Black culture, saw its urban fabric devastated during the 1968 riots following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Since then, redevelopment has been slow and, more recently, marked by gentrification, which has further displaced Black communities. Amid this context, Black architects such as Michael Marshall, FAIA, and Sean Pichon, AIA, have emerged as visionary leaders. Their work exemplifies Value-Inclusive Design and aligns with Roberto Verganti’s Design-Driven Innovation by embedding cultural relevance and community needs into development projects. These architects propose an intentional approach that centers Black identity and brings culturally meaningful businesses into urban redevelopment, shifting the paradigm of design practice in D.C. This collective case study (methodology) argues that their work represents a distinct architectural style, Black Modernism, characterized by cultural preservation, community engagement, and spatial justice. This research examines two central questions: Where does Black Modernism begin, and where does it end? How does it fit within and expand beyond the broader American Modernist architectural movement? It explores the consequences of the destruction of Black communities, the lived experiences of Black architects, and how those experiences are reflected in their designs. Additionally, the research suggests that the work of Black architects aligns with heutagogical pedagogy, which views community stakeholders not just as beneficiaries, but as educators and knowledge-holders in architectural preservation. Findings reveal that Black Modernism, therefore, is not only a design style but a method of reclaiming identity, telling untold histories, and building more inclusive cities. Full article

The rapid urbanization and technological advancements in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have placed its modern architectural heritage from the 1970s and 1980s at increasing risk of being unrecognized and lost, particularly in Dubai following the discovery of oil. This research addresses the critical need for the documentation and heritage representation of Dubai’s modern heritage, a city undergoing rapid transformation within a globalized urban landscape. Focusing on the Nasser Rashid Lootah Building (Toyota Building), an iconic early 1970s residential high-rise representing the modern architecture of Dubai and a significant milestone in its architectural history, this study explores a replicable and cost-effective approach to digitally document and conserve urban heritage under threat. The existing building was meticulously documented and analyzed to highlight its enduring value within the fast-changing urban fabric. Through the innovative combination of drone photography, ground-based photography, and HBIM, a high-resolution 3D model and a semantically organized HBIM prototype were generated. This research demonstrates a replicable measure for identifying architectural values, understanding modernist design typologies, and raising local community awareness about Dubai’s modern heritage. Ultimately, this study contributes toward developing recognition criteria and guiding efforts in documenting modern high-rise buildings as vital heritage worthy of recognition, documentation, and future conservation in the UAE. Full article

Conventional approaches in architecture and urban planning still rest on modernist, deterministic assumptions that downplay the nonlinearity and deep uncertainty that characterize contemporary cities. Sustainability, although crucial, has often been operationalized through incremental, efficiency-oriented checklists that struggle to address systemic transformation. This conceptual theory synthesis reframes the built environment as a complex adaptive system and interrogates three paradigms that have arisen in the wake of the sustainability turn: resilience planning, adaptive planning, and regenerative design. Drawing on an integrative, narrative review of interdisciplinary scholarship, the article maps these paradigms onto a functional “what–how–why” theoretical scaffold: resilience specifies what socio-technical capacities must be safeguarded or allowed to transform; adaptive planning sets out how planners can steer under conditions of deep uncertainty through sign-posted, flexible pathways; and regenerative design articulates why interventions should move beyond mitigation toward net-positive socio-ecological outcomes. This synthesis positions each paradigm along an uncertainty spectrum and identifies their complementary contributions. Full article

This study focuses on how modern architecture can be interpreted using regional data and how hot and humid climate data ultimately affect façade design. Despite modernism’s dominance in 20th-century architecture, research on its adaptation to climates remains limited. Five educational buildings of modern architectural style in Adana, Türkiye, a city with a hot–humid climate, were selected for detailed analysis. These buildings were evaluated based on key façade parameters such as opening configurations and solar shading elements. Additionally, thermal imaging, sun-path diagram simulation, and thermal comfort evaluations were conducted to assess façade performance. The findings suggest that contrary to criticisms of modern architecture’s disregard for local conditions, the studied buildings integrate climate-responsive design strategies. In contrast to contemporary architecture’s reliance on technical equipment for thermal comfort, this study also demonstrates that passive design strategies and structural decisions can offer effective alternatives in hot and humid climates. Full article

This study uses generative AI to investigate the influence of building façade geometry on human physiological and psychological health. Employing Christopher Alexander’s fifteen fundamental properties of living geometry and a set of ten emotional descriptors {beauty, calmness, coherence, comfort, empathy, intimacy, reassurance, relaxation, visual pleasure, well-being} in separate tests, ChatGPT 4.5 evaluates simple, contrasting window designs. AI analyses strongly and consistently prefer traditional window geometries, characterized by symmetrical arrangements and coherent visual structure, over fragmented or minimalist–modernist alternatives. These results suggest human cognitive–emotional responses to architectural forms are hardwired through evolution, privileging specific geometric patterns. Finally, ChatGPT o3 formulates ten detailed geometric rules for empathetic window design and composition. It then applies these criteria to select contemporary window typologies that generate the highest anxiety. The seven most anxiety-inducing designs are the most favored today worldwide. The findings challenge contemporary architectural preferences and standard window archetypes by emphasizing the significance of empathetic and health-promoting façade designs. Given the general suspicion among many readers of the frequently manipulative and unreliable use of AI, its use in this experiment is not to validate design decisions directly, which would put into question what the AI is trained with, but to prove a correlation between two established methodologies for evaluating a design. AI is used as an analytical tool to show that Alexander’s geometric rules (the guidelines proposed beforehand) closely match emotional reactions (the desirable outcomes observed afterward). This novel use of AI suggests integrating neurodesign principles into architectural education and practice to prioritize urban vitality through psychological well-being. Full article

This research explores the integration of biomimicry and architectural/urban genotype concepts to model psychologically acceptable environments. Drawing on foundational psychological theories—Gestalt, Attention Restoration, Prospect-Refuge, and Environmental Psychology—this study examines the private–public interface at the various urban resolutions, encompassing land plots, buildings, and urban structures. Biomimicry serves as a unifying framework, linking these theories with principles derived from natural systems to create sustainable and psychologically beneficial designs. The methodology incorporates simulative modeling, employing space syntax and isovist analysis to quantify key spatial features such as proximity, complexity, and refuge. This study evaluates traditional historical architectures from diverse cultural contexts, such as Islamic medina, Medieval European town, and modernist urbanism, to identify patterns of spatial organization that balance human psychological needs and ecological sustainability. Findings highlight the fractal and hierarchical nature of spatial structures and the importance of integrating human-scale, culturally relevant designs into modern urban planning. By establishing a replicable framework, this research aims to bridge theoretical and practical gaps in environmental psychology, biomimicry, and urban design, paving the way for resilient and adaptive environments that harmonize ecological and human well-being. Full article

Ivo Radić (Split, 1930–Split, 2006) is a prominent Croatian architect who contributed mostly to the field of residential architecture and tourism facilities. The most important buildings that he designed were realised in Split, a city in the Mediterranean part of Croatia. Buildings that he designed have many features of the International style. Nevertheless, in their design, the architect also successfully introduced the elements of regional Mediterranean vocabulary, using contemporary materials and technology. This paper is focused on three formative projects of architect Ivo Radić, analysing them by their urban context, architectural design and technical innovation of their architectural elements, trying to outline the architect’s discourse. The aim of the research is to emphasise the importance of Ivo Radić’s work in the context of the modernist urban and architectural heritage of Split and Croatia and to underline the need to define an appropriate approach in the evaluation and protection of the heritage of modernist residential architecture and urbanism. Full article

The paper will focus on the topic of adapting digital humanities methods from architectural history to technical history, considering mapping and image analysis for increasing disaster resilience in Art Nouveau and Modernist buildings in different geographical areas—including lessons from Europe to the USA. The project proposes the transformation of the collection of photographs of early 20th-century architecture gathered by the applicant over about 30 years of travel into a database by answering the research question on how threats from the hazards of earthquakes, floods, and fires can be answered by taking into account the local culture in the European countries covered, for buildings from a period when the architecture styles were already global at that time. For this purpose, digital humanities methods of image annotation (including architectural volumetric analysis) and mapping are employed. From the knowledge gathered and the resulting database, a prototyping ontology and taxonomy is derived. This outcome can be further developed into a set of evaluation criteria, considering the decisions that can be taken to prioritize the retrofit interventions depending on the geographic positions of the buildings. Full article

Globalization has profoundly impacted architecture by promoting urban homogenization, where global styles and materials overshadow local character. This shift prioritizes standardized functionality and energy efficiency over cultural identity, erasing regional architectural distinctiveness. In historical urban centers, globalization-driven interventions—such as ventilated facades or external thermal insulation systems (ETISs)—often simplify original compositions and alter building materiality, texture, and color. The Ensanche of San Sebastián serves as a case study highlighting this issue. Despite its architectural richness, which includes neoclassical and modernist buildings primarily constructed with sandstone from the Igeldo quarry, unprotected buildings are at risk of unsympathetic renovations. Such changes can distort the identity of what is considered “everyday heritage”, encompassing the residential buildings and public spaces that shape the collective memory of cities. This study presents a replicable methodology for assessing the vulnerability of buildings to facade interventions. By utilizing tools like digital twins, point cloud modeling, and typological analysis, the research establishes criteria for interventions aimed at preserving architectural values. It emphasizes the importance of collaborative efforts with urban planning authorities and public awareness campaigns to safeguard heritage. Ultimately, protecting architectural identity requires balancing the goals of energy efficiency with cultural preservation. This approach ensures that urban landscapes maintain their historical and social significance amidst globalization pressures. Full article

In the current context of a necessary reduction in environmental impact, the reuse of heritage buildings is key. Although architectural rehabilitation already significantly reduces this impact, thermal comfort facilities present several challenges, both due to the huge visual impact they entail, compromising buildings’ historical values, as well as the environmental impact due to machines and ducts and the operating energy consumption. This paper demonstrates, through the case study of the Rocafort de Queralt Wine Cellar, that it is possible to reduce to nearly zero the thermal comfort facilities of converted heritage buildings for public cultural use. This historic building, considered one of the “Wine Cathedrals” in Spain, was built in 1918 and is characterized by its architectural style typical of Catalan modernism. The method applied was in situ monitoring, combined with dynamic simulation with DesignBuilder v7 software and NECADA software v2024, considering four different scenarios of the building: (1) the current state; (2) after passive improvements; (3) after architectural rehabilitation; and (4) subject to the climatic conditions expected for 2050 according to IPCC AR4 A2. The conclusions are surprising. In Scenario 2, 87% thermal comfort is reached with zero facilities, and 100% thermal comfort is reached when the location of cultural activities within the building is changed according to geographical orientation and the season of the year. Full article

The Sustainable Development Center of the University of Brasilia is one of the modernist buildings that make up the Darcy Ribeiro campus. The architectural project contains several recommendations for the execution of a flat roof waterproofing system, as well as details for rainwater runoff and drainage, which reveals the architect’s concern with watertightness. This research seeks to identify the relationship between the pathological manifestations recognized on the roof and the details of the semicircular shape of the building, assessing the state of conservation using damage maps as an auxiliary analysis tool. This study is based on a field survey using aerophotogrammetry with a drone, the application of vector drawing software for graphic representation and discussion of the possible causes, and the agents and mechanisms of degradation at work. The results show the importance of mechanical protection for the good performance of the waterproofing system, as well as the need for correct sizing of expansion joints to absorb and relieve the stresses caused by hygrothermal variations. The incorporated methodology proved to be effective and economical in diagnosing and monitoring pathological manifestations, making it possible to plan maintenance actions that extend the useful life and preserve the intrinsic characteristics of building systems. Full article

At the time of its construction, which started in 1913, the architectural design of Moscow’s Kazan Station was considered by many to be out of step with the avant-garde creative energies that pervaded fin-de-siècle Russian culture. The same opinion applied to the artworks that were installed to decorate the station’s interior. In the decades since, art historians have generally shared the judgments levied by those who complained about the station’s supposed deficits in the 1910s. The purpose of this article is to show that, while the designs and décor of Kazan Station were indeed anachronistic—especially considering the high-tech purposes and functions of the industrial-era railroad station—the anachronism, far from reflecting a lack of awareness or innovative ability, resulted from conscious decisions on the part of Alexei Shchusev as architect, Alexandre Benois as the individual who selected artists to work on the station, and the artists themselves, including Nikolai Roerich and Pavel Kuznetsov, namely, those who built and decorated the station deliberately concealed the station’s inherently modernist and utilitarian nature behind a backward-looking, past-oriented façade, both to fulfill their mission of commemorating old Russia’s imperial expansion and subjugation of the East and to assuage the social and cultural anxieties often stirred up in the late 1800s and early 1900s by the construction of infrastructural assets such as railroad stations. Full article

Twentieth-century housing estates are an important part of the architectural heritage of the modern age, reflecting not only the evolution of housing forms, but also the technological advances and sociocultural dynamics of the twentieth century. However, awareness of the value of this heritage is still insufficient, resulting in a lack of legal protection and numerous threats in the form of transformation and negligence. In this research, we present the problem using the example of modernist Turkish architecture. The settlements of Izmir, a cosmopolitan port city with a diverse socio-cultural fabric and rapidly developing housing architecture, are chosen as the subject of the study. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the state of conservation and the degree of transformation of the selected estates. The overall assessment of the maintenance of the legibility of urban layouts and the form of individual buildings shows that, despite the lack of systematic protection, it is possible to preserve the existing architectural heritage in the examples analyzed and to provide recommendations for future policies to sustain the heritage values of modernism. The research aims to fill the existing gaps in the discourse on modern housing and contribute to a broader international dialogue on the conservation of modern architecture. By including these estates in the ongoing discussion, we recognize their historical significance and promote their preservation as important participants in contemporary urban life. Full article

Semantic segmentation of building facades has enabled much intelligent support for architectural research and practice in the last decade. Faced with the free facade of modern buildings, however, the accuracy of segmentation decreased significantly, partly due to its low regularity of composition. The freely organized facade composition is likely to weaken the features of different elements, thus increasing the difficulty of segmentation. At present, the existing facade datasets for semantic segmentation tasks were mostly developed based on the classical facades, which were organized regularly. To train the pixel-level classifiers for the free facade segmentation, this study developed a finely annotated dataset named Irregular Facades (IRFs). The IRFs consist of 1057 high-quality facade images, mainly in the modernist style. In each image, the pixels were labeled into six classes, i.e., Background, Plant, Wall, Window, Door, and Fence. The multi-network cross-dataset control experiment demonstrated that the IRFs-trained classifiers segment the free facade of modern buildings more accurately than those trained with existing datasets. The formers show a significant advantage in terms of average WMIoU (0.722) and accuracy (0.837) over the latters (average WMIoU: 0.262–0.505; average accuracy: 0.364–0.662). In the future, the IRFs are also expected to be considered the baseline for the coming datasets of freely organized building facades. Full article

Modernism has emerged as the preeminent iconic representation of Barcelona. However, the process through which this peculiar style has attained its iconic status is an arduous and multifaceted endeavor. This paper examines the challenges inherent in the categorization and periodization of Modernisme, followed by a succinct review of its initial filmic representations, culminating in a comprehensive analysis of two films in which Modernisme assumes a pivotal role: All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar 1999) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen 2008). We conclude that Modernisme’s transformation into a cultural brand is largely attributable to the erosion of its ideological component in favor of a touristic and globalizing gaze. Full article