Architectural knowledge

Estranged-Gaze Pedagogy: Probing Architectural Computing through Multiple Ways of Seeing

by Stanislav Roudavski

Cite as: Roudavski, Stanislav (2012). 'Estranged-Gaze Pedagogy: Probing Architectural Computing through Multiple Ways of Seeing', in Beyond Codes and Pixels: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia, ed. by Thomas Fischer, et al. (Chennai, India: CAADRIA), pp. 659–668

This paper discusses the challenges of teaching architectural design theory in a world transformed by the digital... more This paper discusses the challenges of teaching architectural design theory in a world transformed by the digital revolution. Design is changing in dramatic ways and architecture is changing with it but a well-defined body of knowledge that can serve as a foundation for digital architectural design has – as yet – not been established. Relevant concepts, methods and precedents originate in many fields that are typically well beyond the scope of reading suggested to (or encountered by) students of architecture. This material is highly dynamic, often contradictory and, typically, of varying quality. Presenting this developing body of knowledge to students is a difficult challenge. A suitable pedagogical approach ought to reflect the heterogeneous and volatile nature of the contemporary design discourse enabling critical analysis of existing design practices, evidenced defence of one’s own creative work and successful communication with many heterogeneous stakeholders.

Keywords: critical pedagogy; digital architectural design; architectural theory; architectural education.

Assessing ‘Quality’: The unfolding of the ‘Good’–—Collective decision making in juries of urban design competitions

by Joris Ernest Van Wezemael

The radical orientation towards the future; the notion of novelty, experimentation and creativity makes an... more The radical orientation towards the future; the notion of novelty, experimentation and creativity makes an architectural competition a fascinating object — not least for manage- ment studies. In the paper at hand we discuss findings of an ethnographic study on the jury assessment sessions of four recent architectural competitions in Switzerland. We consider these meetings as a laboratory from which we might gain a better understanding of collective decision making processes in general, that is, beyond the scope of design competitions.
We point out that the relevant criteria for assessment of architectural propositions are not given in advance; rather they emerge during, that is, through the jury’s decision making process: while the board of jurors explores the space of potential solutions as generated by the submitted architectural propositions. Therefore, we believe that a competition jury’s decision making (or sense making) process tells us a lot about dealing with complex situations. Situations that do not just display a variety of actors (humans and non-humans) but in particular a high degree of intertwining of the involved actors. # 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modulation of Singularities – a Complexity Approach to Planning Competitions. In: The Ashgate Research Companion to Planning Theory. Conceptual Challenges for Planning Theory. (Eds.) Jean Hillier and Patsy Healey. Ashgate

by Joris Ernest Van Wezemael

Collective decision making in juries of urban design competitions

by Joris Ernest Van Wezemael

The radical orientation towards the future; the notion of novelty, experimentation and creativity makes an... more The radical orientation towards the future; the notion of novelty, experimentation and creativity makes an architectural competition a fascinating object – not least for management studies. In the paper at hand we discuss findings of an ethnographic study on the jury assessment sessions of four recent architectural competitions in Switzerland. We consider these meetings as a laboratory from which we might gain a better understanding of collective decision making processes in general, that is, beyond the scope of design competitions.

We point out that the relevant criteria for assessment of architectural propositions are not given in advance; rather they emerge during, that is, through the jury's decision making process: while the board of jurors explores the space of potential solutions as generated by the submitted architectural propositions. Therefore, we believe that a competition jury's decision making (or sense making) process tells us a lot about dealing with complex situations. Situations that do not just display a variety of actors (humans and non-humans) but in particular a high degree of intertwining of the involved actors.

Collective decision making in juries of urban design competitions

by Joris Ernest Van Wezemael

The radical orientation towards the future; the notion of novelty, experimentation and creativity makes an... more The radical orientation towards the future; the notion of novelty, experimentation and creativity makes an architectural competition a fascinating object – not least for management studies. In the paper at hand we discuss findings of an ethnographic study on the jury assessment sessions of four recent architectural competitions in Switzerland. We consider these meetings as a laboratory from which we might gain a better understanding of collective decision making processes in general, that is, beyond the scope of design competitions.

We point out that the relevant criteria for assessment of architectural propositions are not given in advance; rather they emerge during, that is, through the jury's decision making process: while the board of jurors explores the space of potential solutions as generated by the submitted architectural propositions. Therefore, we believe that a competition jury's decision making (or sense making) process tells us a lot about dealing with complex situations. Situations that do not just display a variety of actors (humans and non-humans) but in particular a high degree of intertwining of the involved actors.

Spaces of knowledge creation Tracing knowing-in-action in jury based sense-making processes

by Joris Ernest Van Wezemael

In this article we analyse how knowledge is generated in the design field of knowledge-based urban development (KBUD). Planners and urban designers, governments on various levels, or construction industry are dealing with complex urban realities in which places, discourses, but also specific spatio-temporal dynamics of economic, juridical and political systems come together. We approach the issue of planning by studying decision-making within juries of design competitions. Here knowledge is produced between actors from different professional and economic backgrounds, between global discourses and local specificities. In order to trace how knowledge creation takes place in decision-making – between various and heterogeneous types of knowledge, between global tendencies for innovation and local prerequisites and settings – we apply Amin and Roberts' concept of 'knowing in action'. We will elaborate on this model using ethnographic data on the work of a jury board in a design competition. As a result we propose a spatial conception that uses the modes of 'knowing in action' as its axes. This allows for the simultaneous positioning of activities and an understanding of the intertwining of different knowledge backgrounds.

Upright Stones and Building Narratives: Formation of a Shared Architectural Practice In the Ancient Near East

by Ömür Harmansah

in Ancient Near Eastern Art in Context: Studies in Honor of Irene J. Winter by Her Students. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East. Jack Cheng and Marian H. Feldman (eds.). Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2007: pp. 69-99.

The architectural practice of using orthostats—sculpted wall slabs in stone—in monumental buildings is usually... more The architectural practice of using orthostats—sculpted wall slabs in stone—in monumental buildings is usually understood as an idiosyncratic phenomenon in the Upper Mesopotamian cities of the Iron Age. Late Assyrian and Syro-Hittite rulers of this period are known for sponsoring building projects that incorporated carved orthostats into their architectural corpus, lining the monumental walls of ceremonial and public spaces. These orthostat programs were commemorative in nature and often took the form of pictorial narratives that structured and animated the ceremonial spaces of the Iron Age cities. Irene J.
Winter was among the very first to address critically the problems of representation in the narrative relief programs of Late Assyrian palaces, while breaking new ground in developing a contextual approach to study Syro-Hittite monuments within the artisanal networks of the early first millennium BC. In a number of articles, she eloquently demonstrated that architectural technologies and material styles offer exceptional opportunities to study cultural interaction between the Assyrian empire and the Syro-Hittite polities. As the following discussion was sparked in part by Irene Winter’s work on networks of cultural interaction, it seems appropriate on this occasion to present this paper on the architectural significance of the orthostats.

Architectural Creativity in Commercialised Cyberspace

by Stanislav Roudavski

Roudavski, Stanislav and Sonya Parton (2011). 'Architectural Creativity in Commercialised Cyberspace', in Circuit Bending, Breaking and Mending: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia, ed. by Christiane M. Herr, Ning Gu, Marc Aurel Schnabel and Stanislav Roudavski, pp. 365-374

This paper is written for architectural researchers, practitioners and educators who explore the potentials of... more This paper is written for architectural researchers, practitioners and educators who explore the potentials of networked, location-aware, rich-media computing. Augmented and networked environments open new possibilities in urban and architectural design. At the same time, their adoption by the mainstream is underpinned – and constrained – by commercial motivations. To be able to counter the consumerist interpretation of inhabitable augmented environments, the field of architecture needs to foster a critical discussion of cyberspace. In turn, architectural education needs to provide students with the knowledge necessary to adopt cyberspace for creative purposes. The purpose of this paper is to invite further discussion and experimentation in this area.

The Drafting Knife and Pen

by Marco Frascari

MEANING IN THE TRADITIONAL DWELLING OF NORTH GUJARAT, INDIA: AN ETYMOLOGIAL EXPLORATION

by Rutul Joshi

MEANING IN THE TRADITIONAL DWELLING OF NORTH GUJARAT, INDIA: AN ETYMOLOGIAL EXPLORATION

by Rutul Joshi

A Review for A Mudbrick City Wall at Hattuša

by Güner Coşkunsu