A STRUCTURED APPROACH TO CULTURAL STUDIES OF ARCHITECTURAL SPACE Abstract
This paper examines the areas and nature of cultural studies of architectural
space and presents a conceptual structure for thinking about, delineating
and discussing such studies. Following a brief examination of the
concept of architectural space as used in the study, the main argument
of the paper is presented in four sections:
Keywords: Culture, cultural studies, architectural space, theory.
Introduction
Cultural studies of space are found in many disciplines, where they
serve a central function in explanations. Despite this importance, Aiello
and Thompson claim, for example, that "only a small proportion of ...
research [on the description and comparison of differences in the structuring
and use of space] has examined spatial behavior within a cultural context"
(1980, 107-108). Furthermore, there appears to be no well-established,
coherent and systematic structure for a discussing the areas, scope and
nature of issues related to the cultural studies of space.
This paper attempts to address the problem in a limited context by proposing
such a structure, utilizing two fundamental concepts: a spectrum of cultural
sudies and the life-cycle of architectural space. Although the model proposed
appears to be founded on the conception of a professional, industrialized
building process, some reflection will reveal how it can, in reality, be
applied to many different instances of the analysis of spatial problems.
Some of the concepts introduced in this paper are ones which have varied
uses and definitions. Accordingly, introductory sections of the paper are
devoted to discussions of these concepts, and seek to define specific contexts
in which these concepts will be used.
Architectural Space
Space is a concept that is central to many different areas of study
and has varied meanings, ranging from totally abstract notions such as
mathematical space, to physical ones such as astronomical space, to more
earthly ones such as the expanse that surrounds us, to behavioral notions
such as territorial space and personal space. "This great variety of possible
'types' of space ... makes any definition of space [in planning and design]
difficult. Intuitively, however, space is the three-dimensional extension
of the world around us, the intervals, distances and relationships between
people and people, people and things, and things and things" (Rapoport
1980, 11). Although they are thought to have bearing on and are influenced
by space to some extent (Rapoport 1980, 26-27),
people to people relations have a scope that extends much beyond the interests
of this paper. However, the relations between people and things shall be
included insofar as they define and affect the use of space as outlined
below.
Our main concern in this paper shall be with architectural space, as
defined by Baykan and Pultar (forthcoming) in a set-theoretic
fashion to mean subsets of the three-dimensional extension of the world
around us such that it is entered by man, includes definite material elements,
especially a base, that allow one to perceive its boundaries and is perceived
as a whole, serves human functions of habitation, shelter or circulation,
and is intentionally built or appropriated by man to serve such functions.
According to this definition, not only well defined spaces such as halls
and rooms, but also arrangements of furniture so as to define a spatial
expanse, allowing it to be perceived as a whole, should be considered as
an architectural space, too. The notion of architectural space should also
be understood to include structures of space, i.e., sets of spaces so interrelated
to each other that the functions they serve extend through these spaces
(Baykan and Pultar, forthcoming). Thus, just as rooms
and halls in buildings may be individually considered architectural spaces,
so can buildings as structures of spaces.
An important characteristic of architectural space is man's involvement
in its generation and his partaking of life in it. In this sense, architectural
space is diachronic in addition to its spatially expansive nature. This
diachronic aspect aspect will be indicated by our use of the term life-cycle
of architectural space.
Hereafter in this paper, the term space will be used to mean architectural
space.
Components of Culture
"Culture" is used in a variety of meanings which are often related,
albeit loosely. Disregarding uses of the word for such notions as cultivation
(of crops), development of intellectual faculties (as in a cultured man)
or acquaintance with and taste in the arts (as in centers or ministers
of culture), there remain those understandings which may be considered
relevant within the context of this study. These refer to all things created
by man as distinct from natural things, as well as the shared ideals and
the common way of life of a group of people. Rapoport,
stressing the plurality of definitions and uses of the concept of culture,
suggests that "... all definitions fall into one of three views ... [the
first] as a way of life typical of a group, the second as a system of symbols,
meanings, and cognitive schemata transmitted through symbolic codes, the
third as a set of adaptive strategies for survival related to ecology and
resources. Increasingly, these three views are seen not as being in conflict
but rather as complementary" (1980, 9). Thus, it is the totality of "ways
of life, symbols, meanings, cognitive schemata, and adaptive strategies"
that forms culture. With this approach, culture should be understood as
a human essence by which human groups may be differentiated, be they tribes,
religious communities, companies, professions or others.
In order to establish an operational basis for dealing with the nature
of cultural studies of space, it is necessary to attempt to separate culture
into its constituent components. One way of doing this may be to view cultural
components as comprising technology, knowledge and value systems.
Ways of life and adaptive strategies are composed of solutions that
have been found to be effective in dealing with various problems of life.
These solutions may appear, among others, in the form of processes
of production, rules of conduct, techniques of doing, and various tools
and implements. Together, these constitute what we conveniently refer to
as technology. Technology consists of two different components: know-how
knowledge and technics. This integration of two essentially different elements
is its peculiar characteristic.Know-how knowledge comprises, on the one
hand, an accumulated body of solutions to problems, ranging from rules
of social conduct to effective use of resources, and on the other, techniques
for doing things in an effective manner. Technics, the latter component,
comprises all artifacts created by man for the purpose of solving problems.
Typically, it contains tools, implements, machines, apparati, containers,
etc.; it is also referred to as material culture.
Symbols and cognitive schemata form the essence of man's knowledge.
Knowledge is formed through the use of cognitive schemata and is transmitted
among people and generations through the use of symbols. Part of this knowledge
(know-how knowledge) has been introduced above as falling under the scope
of technology. Two other types of knowledge used in solving problems are
instances of know-that knowledge: information (factual and historic knowledge
and hypothetico-theoretical knowledge. Obviously, these are components
of culture.
What drive man into action regarding problems are conceptions of desirable
situations as described by value judgements. Value judgements are central
in the conception, formulation and solution of man's problems. Value systems,
which are formed by value judgements in interaction, are discussed by the
author elsewhere (Pultar, forthcoming).
In conclusion to this brief discussion, we may assert that culture can
be broken down into three fundamental components: technology, knowledge
and value systems. A graphical representation of a spectrum describing
this breakdown is shown in Figure
1.
We note that although an attempt has been made to separate the components
into distinct categories, this has not been possible; there are obvious
overlaps in knowledge and beliefs. Thus, one should consider this spread
not as a categorization but rather an alignment of cultural components
along a spectrum. At the upper end are material elements such as technics
and as one proceeds down this spectrum, these change into techniques, which
vary from acquaintance with the bodily use of technics, through familiarity
with conventions to technical knowledge, which is an accumulated body of
effective solutions. With this component, the spectrum begins to cover
to beliefs, which can be classified into two general types: knowledge and
value judgements. The former is belief in the truth of various statements.
If these statements concern the effectiveness of modes of action, the knowledge
is technical. If the statements are descriptions of facts, the knowledge
is information. If they are related to hypotheses and, by extension, to
theories, the knowledge is hypothetico-theoretical.
The latter type of belief concerns the inherent goodness and worth that
lies in certain choices. These may vary from belief in goodness by habit,
to goodness dictated by authority or goodness justified by empirical evidence.
Such beliefs in interaction with each other form value systems.
The spectrum of cultural components seen in Figure
1 constitutes one dimension of a schema of cultural studies of space,
as described later.
Life-cycle of Space
In a manner similar to that of a majority of human activities, the life-cycle
of space consists a four stage process: problem formulation, problem solution,
implementation and use. This process is cyclic; most spaces reach the end
of their useful life due to some reason or other and, thereby, lead to
a repetition of the cycle in the form of renovation, remodeling, re-adaptation
of use or the generation of new spaces. The duration of this repetition
is variable and often indeterminate.
In formalized, professional generation of space, the stage of problem
formulation comprises the planning and programming stage. Here, a misfit
is recognized between the present state of a space and some ideal conditions
that are deemed to be desirable for that space. The former factor can be
described in terms of state descriptors which range from simple quantitative
variables such as size or qualitative behavioral descriptors such as spaciousness
to complex composite descriptors such as quality. The latter factor expresses
what kind or level of the state variables are acceptable or ideal. Whereas
the description of the state variables requires the use of knowledge in
some form or other, the ideal conditions are obviously bound to value judgements.
The next stage, that of problem solution, corresponds to the stage of
the design of the space. In this stage decisions are made as to how the
projected state of the space should be so that the misfit between the state
descriptors and the desirable conditions shall no longer exist. Here, the
design's outcome will reflect the designer's interpretation (re-formulation)
of the problem, as well as his own understanding of the desirable conditions
that he deems are fit to the situation.
The period of the actual construction of the space is where a major
transformation of materials, energy, finance and manpower takes place,
based on the decisions made in design. This is the stage of solution implementation.
Being a stage which is characterized by an intense concentration of economic
resources, construction will necessarily reflect the interests of the parties
concerned with it. What are now considered to be desirable are likely to
be quite different than those of the problem initiators (clients, owners)
or the designer.
The stage of use is the longest stage of the life-cyle of a space. However,
very often the user, who shall be involved longest in the life-cycle has
very little to say about its formation until he occupies the space. It
may even be the case that he remains unknown until much later.
These four stages of the life-cycle of space take place in a medium
that is directly influenced by ecological and cultural factors. Rapoport
argues that "... sociocultural variables are primary, with ecological ones,
such as climate, materials and ways of making a livelihood [being] secondary,
constraining or modifying ... " (1980, 21). These primary cultural factors
are the beliefs that owners, users or professionals of space hold as to
what is desirable and acceptable. Thus, the life-cycle of space is intimatey
bound to the cultural components.
The life-cycle of space is shown diagrammatically in Figure
2. Even though the process is an open-ended one, it is cyclic and only
one representation of that cycle has been shown in the figure as representative.
This cycle forms the second dimension of the schema of cultural studies
of space.
Areas of Cultural Studies of Space
Cultural studies of space spread both over the spectrum shown in Figure
1 and over the different phases of the life-cycle shown in Figure
2. A convenient manner for describing the extent over which such studies
spread is to consider the Cartesian product of the two dimensions. This
product can be represented by a graphical image as shown in Figure
3.
The schema in Figure 3 allows one to delimit
areas of cultural studies by identifying
Some randomly chosen examples are also shown shaded in Figure
3. Area A, for example, concerns the value systems used in the design
of space; these might involve the formation, acceptance and application
of technical value judgements as codified in building regulations, or the
perceptual value judgements (e.g. style-related judgements) that are in
fashion at a particular time and place (Pultar, forthcoming). In area B,
cultural studies might be related to the technics utilized in the daily
use of the space, such as furniture, maintenance or heating equipment,
draperies, etc. An area such as C might concern the gathering of social
and economic data for the programming of space, and might involve the use
of such techniques as surveys and interviews, reliance on previously collected
statistical data.
It is possible, of course, to extend studies over larger areas to include,
in area D for example, the technology of construction which would comprise
the technics, techniques and the technical solutions used in construction.
Such extension, however, would bring along with it a loss of focus and
depth in the study.
Nature of Cultural Studies of Space
A cultural study, the area of which is delineated on the schema in Figure
3, may be differentiated further when its nature or its approach is
taken into account. Here, we may bring distinctions based on
An area such as E in Figure 3 related to information
used in construction empasizes the fact that one needs caution when dealing
with cultural studies. Such information might be related to the cost of
materials in a particular site at a particular time. Although very important
for effective implementation, that information, in itself, would hardly
be considered a cultural study. However, how that information is collected,
stored and processed by firms is one. Thus, in most cultural studies of
space it is not the subject matter of the particular area but rather how
it relates to the life-cycle that is important. This distinction is readily
apparent in studies of knowledge but might not be so in other areas. A
study of value judgements is not so readily separable from a study of how
they are used in or influence the life-cycle of space. Alternatively, an
historical study of the development of a particular technique (e.g. Bras
and Crawford, 1995) or a material (e.g. Simpson,
1995) may be considered cultural studies whereas studies of these techniques
as subject matter may not.
An obvious distinction in the nature of cultural studies is related
to the type of the space studied. Many cultural studies of space are limited
to particular types of space or make comparative studies of different spaces
(e.g. Erman, 1997).
Culture is often associated with particular groups, so much so that
groups which share a common culture are sometimes referred to as cultures
themselves. This association of culture with various groups allows us to
distinguish several types of studies on the basis of the group with which
they are concerned. It is possible to identify these groups in two ways:
As is the case in differention with respect to types of space, identification
of groups on either of the bases above allows one to make comparative studies
of the cultural areas of these groups; this cross-cultural approach is
a very common one in cultural studies (e.g. Stea and Turan,
1993).
A further distinction regarding the nature of cultural studies might
be based on the cultural process involved in the study. We might distinguish
studies concerned with the following processes:
Conclusion
The analysis presented in this paper has the purpose of providing
a structure for identifying the area and nature of cultural studies of
space by suggesting dimensions that may be used in the analysis. Some aspects
of these dimensions have been examined in connection with space-related
issues. The use of the structure proposed may lead one to identifying
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