Considering Socio-cultural Sustainability in the Design Process

AIA Middle East 2014 Year End Conference November 14 & 15 2014

Hilto Hotel

Doha, Qatar Considering Socio-cultural Sustainability in the Design Process Theme: Architecture & Sustainability Presenter:

Dr. Yasser Mahgoub Head, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning College of Engineering Qatar University

Course Description This presentation will focus on the broad definition of Sustainability as 3Es: Economic, Environmental and Equity/Socio-cultural. Sustainability efforts usually focus on economic and environmental sustainability with minimum efforts to address socio-cultural aspects of sustainability. This is due to the difficulty to identify and design for specific people, society and culture. Alas, sustainably assessment systems, such as LEED and GSAS, lack rigorous methods to asses socio-cultural qualities of projects and environments.

Socio-cultural sustainability encompasses social and cultural aspects of society that are rooted in geography, history and traditions. Change is an integral characteristic of cultural, yet cultural change is slower than techno-physical change. Rapaport suggested that , in considering the relationship between culture and environmental design, “these two are intimately related and that cultural differences must be considered in tracing environmental effects and in stating design requirements. Since culture is variable, designed environments respond to variable definitions of needs and priorities as expressed in varying schemata: environments are culture specific.� (Rapaport, 1980) Countries in the Gulf region have experienced rapid economic, physical and technological change during the second half of the 20th century. This change was introduced through super projects including urban master plans, infrastructure projects and individual buildings. These mega projects were based on 20th century planning and architectural design theories that focused mainly only modern and technological advances. This transformation influenced many cultural aspects of Gulf societies through the introduction of the villa to place of the traditional courtyard houses, aluminum and steel windows instead of traditional wooden dirwazahs, and plane walls replaced patterned and decorated walls. Balconies are rarely used due to their interruption of required personal and family privacy. Traditional details, patterns, shapes, colors, textures were replaced by modern materials and styles imported from other countries and influenced by architects and draftsmen backgrounds and education. Meanings conveyed by large and small design and details of the urban environment change completely.

Several levels of understanding should be addressed to study and design for a specific society or culture. Personal level includes the position of individual in society and culture, and privacy requirements based on gender and age. Social level includes relationships between men, women, children, extended family members, society, ethnicity, kinship, and nationality. Cultural level includes history, language, religion, sacred and profane, traditions, customs, and costumes.

Identity level includes personal, social and cultural identity. This understanding will help architects and planners design better spaces that correspond to social and cultural needs.

Design of built environments should address equally the socio-cultural and techno-physical aspects of spaces. There is a deficiency in the flow of information during the design process that tends to ignore socio-cultural aspects in favor of techno-physical aspects. Design methods and process should address the three dimensions equally; the techno-physical, the visual-aesthetic, and the socio-cultural. This approach will achieve the goal of transforming Gulf cities from Livable to Lovable environments. The presentation will discuss findings of recent research studies that attempted to understand the socio-cultural aspects of urban environments and approaches to address them in the design process.

Learning Objectives 1. Identify important issues that can improve projects’ socio-cultural sustainability and appropriate design approaches to use in current and future projects 2. Design projects that relate to people in particular environments 3. Improve project sustainability assessment 4. Incorporate socio-cultural knowledge into the design process

Socio-cultural Aspects: Detail and Context

Recognizing Socio-cultural Aspects

Where is this place?!

The Future!

I hope it is not!

Change

Change • Countries in the Gulf region have experienced rapid economic, physical and technological change during the second half of the 20th century.

Doha 1947

Super Prjects • This change was introduced through super projects including urban master plans, infrastructure projects and individual buildings.

Kuwait

Doha

Doha Skyline Development

Doha 1960

Doha 2005

Doha 2007

Doha 2010

Key Aspects of Change • A mixture of expensive materials • A range of surface treatments in terms of environmental control, • Arbitrary expression of internal functions • Range of forms • Lack of cohesion.

Doha

Dubai

Kuwait

Image and Branding

Socio-Cultural Change • These mega projects were based on 20th century planning and architectural design theories that focused mainly on modern and technological advances.

Fareej vs Neighborhood

Family

Houses

Modern vs Vernacular: Neighborhood

Sikka vs Street

People

Cars

Sikka vs Street

People

Cars

Modern vs Vernacular: House

Modern vs Vernacular: Houses

Social

Individual

Interiors

Traditional

Modern

Modern vs Vernacular: Climatic Responses

Socio-Cultural Change • This transformation influenced many cultural aspects of Gulf societies through the introduction of the villa in place of the traditional courtyard houses, aluminum and steel windows instead of traditional wooden dirwazahs, and plane walls replaced patterned and decorated walls.

Socio-Cultural Change • Balconies are rarely used due to their interruption of required personal and family privacy.

• Traditional details, patterns, shapes, colors, textures were replaced by modern materials and styles imported from other countries and influenced by architects and draftsmen backgrounds and education.

“More” Fence for privacy

Fence for privacy

Socio-Cultural Change Foreign decorating elements Balconies rarely used Exposure to sun

Windows always closed Distance from neighbor

Garages for cars

Fence for privacy

Gates for entrance

Levels of Socio-Cultural Aspects From Small to Super

Levels of Socio-Cultural Aspects

• Several levels of understanding should be addressed to study and design for a specific society or culture: 1. Personal level includes the position of individual in society and culture, and privacy requirements based on gender and age.

2. Family level: includes immediate and extended family members and family members relationships and obligations.

3. Society level includes relationships between men, women, children, society, ethnicity, kinship, and nationality.

4. Cultural level includes history, language, religion, sacred and profane, traditions, customs, and costumes.

5. Identity level includes personal, social and cultural identity.

Identity

Culture

Society

Family

Personal

Levels of Understanding

Levels of Socio-Cultural Aspects

Identity is constructed from the person through family, society and culture. This understanding will help architects and planners design better environments that correspond to social and cultural needs.

Global

Islamic State/Official Arab Governmental Gulf Institutional Socio-cultural Public Technical Semi-Public Economic Private

Iconic Pragmatic

Canonic Analogic

Metaphoric Symbolic

Identity Global

Scale Islamic

State/Official

Arab

Governmental

Gulf

Institutional

Cultural Public

Technical Semi-Public

Economic

Private

Approach Iconic Pragmatic

Metaphoric

Canonic Analogic

Symbolic

Socio-Cultural Change

1960’s style

1980’s style

1970’s Style

1990’s style

Cultural Constants and Variables • The problem of current approaches to sociocultural applications is that they view culture as constant relating it to the past only and not as a variable that relates to the present and the future.

Socio-Cultural Change • Change is an integral characteristic of culture, yet cultural change is slower than techno-physical change.

CORE PERIPHERAL

“Culture is variable, designed environments respond to variable definitions of needs and priorities as expressed in varying schemata: environments are culture specific.”

Rapaport

Understanding Socio-Cultural Aspects Traditional Contemporary

Culture Built Environment

Core

Peripheral

Super &

Small

Super and Small Meanings • Meaning is conveyed by large and small details of the urban environment.

Sustainability

Architecture Concerns • • • • • • •

Modern Architecture crisis 1960’s Vernacular 1970’s Energy 1980’s Environment 1990’s Sustainable (Economic, Environment, Equity) 2000’s Green 2010’s Integrated/Rated Sustainability (Systems, Smart, Strategy) 1960’s

1970’s

1980’s

1990’s

2000’s

2010

Vernacular

Energy

Environment

Sustainable

Green

Integrated

85

Sustainability • Sustainability as 3Es: Economic, Environmental and Equity (Sociocultural).

Sustainable Building Design

Socio-Economic

87

Sustainability • Most projects focus on economic and environmental sustainability.

Sustainability • They usually ignore sociocultural sustainability due to lack of knowledge and strategies. • This is due to the difficulty to identify and design for specific people, society and culture.

Sustainability Assessment Systems • Sustainably assessment systems, such as BREEAM, LEED, ESTIDAMA and GSAS, lack rigorous methods to asses sociocultural qualities of projects and environments.

Design

Purpose and Function in Design • Design of built environments should address equally the socio-cultural and techno-physical aspects of spaces. • There is a deficiency in the flow of information during the design process that tends to ignore socio-cultural aspects in favor of techno-physical aspects.

Design Challenges

Design Considerations SocioCultural

Programmatic

Design

Formal

Technical

Design Considerations • Design methods and process should address the three dimensions equally; the technophysical, the visualaesthetic, and the sociocultural.

Sociocultural

Visualaesthetic

Technophysical

Education, Research and Practice • There is a growing need to integrate Education, Research, and Practice activities to solve real life societal problems.

Education

Practice

Research

Integrated Activities

Architectural Research as a Tool to Understand Socio-Cultural Aspects •

•

Research is the systematic process of collecting and analysing information (data) in order to increase our understanding of the phenomenon with which we are concerned or interested.

Research involves three main stages:

planning data collection analysis

Architectural Research as a Tool to Understand Socio-Cultural Aspects • Research is a basically a twophase informing process, which include: • 1- informing oneself and • 2- informing others with regards to the newly found knowledge, solution, problem, hypothesis, theories, methodologies, design, etc.

Informing via Education

Informing

Informing

via

via

Practice

Research

Information and Knowledge

AIA Research Priorities Research needs to be fostered within a spirit of collaboration across the practice and academic enterprises.

AIA Research Priorities align with the AIA initiatives of: Integrated Practice, Sustainability, and Diversity.

Specific research agenda areas include: Design 1. 1- Social, Organizational Educational 2. 2- Technological, 3. 3- Environmental, 4. 4- Cultural, 5. 5- Organizational, Technological Environmental 6. 6- Design, and 7. 7- Educational.

Social

Cultural

The Built Environment Interior Design

Architecture Landscape Urban Design Urban Planning

Architecture is not enough!

From Livable to Lovable Environments • This approach will achieve the goal of transforming Gulf cities from only Livable to also Lovable environments.

Livable and Lovable

Company Name/Logo

Dr. Yasser Mahgoub, Architect - D. Arch, UM, USA Head, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning College of Engineering, Qatar University Bldg. C07 Room 220, P. O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar O. (974) 4403-4343, M. (974) 3383-7805 Email: ymahgoub@qu.edu.qa Webpage: http://faculty.qu.edu.qa/ymahgoub