Texas Tech University Huckabee College of Architecture’s Post

How should we understand the impact of war on the buildings, cities, and communities of Ukraine? What forms of international expertise can contribute to a future reconstruction led by Ukrainians, and how? This week Oksana Chabanyuk convenes this conversation with Oleg Drozov, Christina E. Crawford, PhD, MArch, Matias del Campo, Andrew Herscher, Iryna Matsevko, and others at Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning, University of Michigan

I’m thrilled to share that the latest issue of Architectural Research in Finland Vol. 8 No. 1 (https://lnkd.in/di-f8hgq), where I had the privilege of serving as co-guest editor, has just been published! 🎉 This edition focuses entirely on sustainability in the built environment, featuring a wide array of interesting articles. The findings within these articles often complement one another but sometimes challenge the status quo. For instance, one thought-provoking study questioned the commonly held belief that timber is inherently more sustainable than concrete. The research reveals that the sustainability of timber buildings significantly hinges on their design, raising important considerations for architects and builders alike. 🌱 Other fascinating studies delve into critical factors for enhancing the quality of Finnish housing, as well as urban studies on how green infrastructure can bolster urban resilience. 🏡🏙️ At this point, I would like to express my gratitude to all the other co-guest editors Sofie Pelsmakers, Mari-Sohvi Miettinen, Iida Kalakoski, and Raul Castaño de la Rosa. Thank you for sharing such deep insights into your work and for taking me on board in this journey. 🙏 On a personal note, I’m also proud to announce that one of the articles for my doctoral dissertation was published in this issue. Along with Satu Huuhka, I explored the construction and demolition activities in the Finnish cities of Vantaa and Tampere, investigating how they correlate spatially and temporally. We found that population growth drives an increase in residential building stock, but the impact on housing typologies varies based on factors such as urban density. Given the limited availability of land for new construction, this growth places pressure on existing buildings, particularly non-residential ones. The types of buildings that are demolished as a result of these developments depend on a variety of factors, including the economic structure of the city and the spatial distribution of buildings. Although the material intensities for the Finnish building stock are still under-researched, our study offers initial insights into how various factors influence both the quantitative and qualitative dynamics of building (and material) inflows and outflows. You can find my article under: https://lnkd.in/dGXwpyXG 🏗️📊

Check out my final Ph.D. paper. "An Architectural Design Framework to Promote Healthy Indoor-Outdoor Connections in Arctic Housing." This research establishes an architectural design framework that enables the optimization of the geometry of intermediate spaces to promote healthy connections with the challenging Arctic climate in public housing models. This research was supported by Sentinelle Nord | Sentinel North at Université Laval. The full paper is available (OA) here: https://lnkd.in/g8Y_4pxr

In "Spirituality in Architectural Education," I examine the rich connections between architecture, culture, and spirituality. This book is an invitation to rethink how we design spaces, highlighting that beauty in architecture goes beyond mere aesthetics. It’s an essential element that enriches our daily experiences and deepens our connection with the environments we inhabit. This book advocates a shift in architectural thought, focusing on the aesthetic and spiritual dimensions that make our built environments not just functional but also soulful and meaningful. "Spirituality in Architectural Education" is available now for those who are eager to embark on this enlightening journey and redefine the role of beauty in architecture. Get your copy here: https://lnkd.in/ehj2CTYx #TranscendingArchitecture #CulturalSpirituality #ArchitecturalBeauty

The spaces we design and build shape our experiences and further play a part in shaping us... and personally I feel Spirituality is one such aspect that needs to be understood and looked into while designing spaces

Thanks to SLB Education, the The University of Texas at Austin is pioneering a new approach to architectural education with the next iteration of its innovative design studio, “Time for Timber-FRAMING.” Through collaboration with the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, students are engaged in real-world projects that equip them with the skills needed for modern wood construction systems and foster a deep understanding of wood as a material, its properties, and its role within sustainable architectural practices. Learn more about Time for Timber: https://hubs.ly/Q02zdJpd0

The new issue of the journal Architectural Research in Finland (ARF) is now out including our article "Housing design quality in Finland: Room for improvement" 🎉

This is just a point of view. With a great respect towards all scientific jobs done in this case.🙏 As a university lecturer and a professional, I have been reviewing something in my mind for some time. Something that hurts, but it is a bitter reality. During these years, when I was involved with discussions in the fields of energy and architecture, sustainable architecture, the quality of interior space and similar topics, a key question bothered my mind. Why do we lack theorists and philosophers in these fields? Perhaps the biggest scientific gap in the field of sustainable architecture and green architecture and similar topics is theological theories. For modern architecture, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe and others presented theories of modern architecture in the form of philosophical discussions, where people like Charles Jencks, Bernard Chomi and... drew postmodern; Where people like Zaha Hadid and Peter Eisenman objectively turned deconstraction into a form; No one has done this for sustainable architecture, energy optimization in architecture and similar topics. It can be boldly said that with all the respect to the experimental work that has been done regarding sustainable architecture, a philosophical and theoretical view has not yet been presented in this regard sharply. Maybe it's time that after a mountain of articles and experimental works, someone philosophically draws the framework of sustainable architecture, green architecture, zero energy architecture, etc. Maybe it's time for universities that train doctoral students in this regard to train theorists instead of specialists.

The modern movement in architecture was a sweeping and multivalent phenomenon which changed the lives of millions of people across political, cultural and geographical boundaries worldwide. Bloomsbury Studies in Modern Architecture aims to create a more comprehensive history of the movement, by bringing to light the work of a wide range of architects whose significance is being reappraised in contemporary scholarship. The series, co-edited by Tom Avermaete and Janina Gosseye, uncovers the work of 'forgotten' architects of the modern era and demonstrates their critical importance in architectural history, offers a collection of in-depth monographic studies of modern architects, bringing valuable new research to scholarly attention, and broadens the geographical and cultural scope of the history of modernism. The aim is to nuance and enrich our understanding of the history of modern architecture, and explore the breadth and complexity of the global networks that underwrote the modern movement. The latest book of the series by Scott Colman will bring to light the work and influence of the German-American architect, art critic, and urban planner Ludwig Hilberseimer – a central figure of the Weimar Republic avant-garde, an important Bauhaus teacher, and long-standing collaborator of leading modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Will be published next November 2024, pre-ordering is already available here: https://lnkd.in/ewGXvpsV

We are happy to announce the newest addition to the editorial team of the Design Research in Architecture series, Professor Andong Lu. Currently Professor in Architecture and Urbanism at Nanjing University, China, he joins Professor Murray Fraser from UCL's renowned Bartlett school of Architecture. Featuring work from Early Career Researchers and leading architect-scholars in practice and academia, books in the open access Design Research in Architecture series vary widely in tone and structure, covering aspects such as design method, visual representation, reasoned critique, social processes and strategies for action. The series is deliberately inclusive to encourage a vibrant, novel approach, and is openly international. Each book combines serious historical or theoretical research with creative propositions expressed through drawings, models or texts; indeed, it is the symbiotic interplay between these components that forms the basis for design research in architecture. It is currently a fertile time for design research and this book series acts as the heart of these investigations. Find out more about the series at https://ow.ly/FvXE50STo3K