This paper examines the cognitive use of prior knowledge in design and evaluates the role of types and precedents in architectural design and education from a cognitive perspective. Previous research on design cognition shows that the amount of prior knowledge possessed by the designer plays a fundamental role in the production and quality of the creative outcome. Prior knowledge is thought to be held by way of specific cognitive structures that are called cognitive schemas and, the role of our cognitive schemas (be it personal or cultural schemas) is portrayed as indispensable for the formation of our creative productions. Although significant efforts were made in the way of studying the use of prior knowledge in design, the correlation of types and cultural schemas has yet to be explored. This paper examines this correlation between cultural schemas, a markedly cognitive concept, and types, an architectural one, culminating in an investigation of the cognitive role of types and precedents within architectural design and education in the light of the cognitive literature. Building on that attempt, the study endeavors to conduct an interdisciplinary theoretical inquiry that respectively studies the role of prior knowledge in design cognition, the concept of cognitive-cultural schemas, the concept of type and its relationship with cultural schemas, and finally, the cognitive role of types and precedents in architectural design and education. In conclusion, this study proposes that, in terms of function, types are virtually identical to cultural schemas at the cognitive level, and types and precedents have a generative value for architectural design, by virtue of the fact that they exist as the initial cognitive schemas that are employed at the beginning of the design process.
This study problematizes a case where the interpretation of local architectural types by a designer forms a new vernacular architecture that shapes the sphere of a newly developing small town towards one that became sustainable. The house built by Nail Cakirhan for himself in Akyaka (Turkey) opens up a new future in front of the small village of then, towards becoming a touristic center with a specific architectural language of its own. Cakirhan designs his house by interpreting the traditional houses of his hometown, Ula, which is only a few kilometers away from the village of Akyaka. The design of the house initiates the formation of a unique architectural language for Akyaka, which gradually evolves into a new vernacular architecture. Since then, this invented architectural tradition has both transformed the village into a popular touristic town and also initiated a sustainable approach due to its sensitivity for the cultural and natural assets of the context. This architectural language is protected by the master development plan now, and the town is declared as a ‘slow-city’ due to its culturally and environmentally sensitive character. In order to portray this development, this study will first examine Cakirhan’s house in relation to its referential and actual contexts, then it will observe the development of the town of Akyaka by means of looking at Cakirhan architecture in Akyaka, the master development plan of Akyaka that protects the architectural language, and the development of the town as a sustainable, slow-city. The portrayal of the architectural development of Akyaka could demonstrate how a fairly recent architectural practice can today result in the development of a sustainable and harmonious architectural environment.
This study looks at the issue of cultural sustainability in architecture from the perspective of architectural types and attempts to question the cognitive viability of using types in the creation of a sustainable cultural milieu. The study conducts a multi-disciplinary and cross-comparative discourse analysis on the subject areas of cultural sustainability, cultural schemas and architectural types, in an attempt to find out the social and cognitive role of architectural types with regard to cultural sustainability. Examining these subject areas comparatively, the study respectively investigates the role of cultural schemas in cultural sustainability, the correlation of architectural types and cultural schemas, and the social and cognitive role of architectural types in the formation of cultural sustainability. Consequently, the study questions if the use of architectural types has a cognitive basis in the creation of a sustainable cultural milieu.1 This paper makes partial use of some of the theoretical discussions about architectural type in the
This study aims to examine the imposition of an orientalist perspective to architectural productions and intends to show how that perspective creates examples of kitsch by means of its use of orientalist stereotypes. It is acknowledged today that there is a strong inclination in touristic contexts to form and enliven imaginary worlds that conjure superficial ideas about the settings in tourists" minds, by effectively using architecture. This is specifically true when the touristic settings are located in the so called "Orient" or in contexts that have lineage with orientalist dreams. Such practices by the use of stereotypical orientalist images in architecture give rise to the creation of "kitsch". In this study, these concepts are studied theoretically and exemplified by way of architectural cases from Turkey. The cases are comprised of five specific touristic establishments in Antalya, which are namely the Topkapı Palace World of Wonders, Kempinski Hotel the Dome, Mardan Palace, Crowne Plaza Hotel, and Delphin Palace Hotel. These architectural productions are analyzed formally by in-site survey and discussed as architectural consequences of the orientalist standpoint. It has been found out that the selected touristic establishments consciously use the stylistic stereotypes of the Orient to recall stereotypical Oriental images. In that way they also carry within themselves all of the features that make art works instances of "kitsch". This study suggests that such trials by the use of stereotypical orientalist images in architecture create examples of kitsch. The specific architectural cases are interpreted in this framework as the architectural consequences of the internalization of the orientalist standpoint, and on account of that, as forms of "Orientalist Kitsch".
Kitsch, devised as a term of modern aesthetics after the 19th century, indicates an aesthetic value judgment that is identified as ‘bad taste’. It is acknowledged that the issues of aesthetic judgment and taste were systematically addressed for the first time by Immanuel Kant in his “Critique of Aesthetic Judgment” in the 18th century. This study attempts to reevaluate the notion of kitsch as an aesthetic value judgment through a reading of Kant’s arguments over the concepts of aesthetic judgment, taste, and bad taste as presented in his work “Critique of Aesthetic Judgment”. Tracing the notion of kitsch as bad taste in the writings of Kant would demonstrate possible convergences or discrepancies there may be and would be significant for providing an understanding about the philosophical roots of the term. With such an attempt, this study conducts a discursive analysis, and respectively examines the notion of kitsch as an aesthetic judgment of taste; the notions of aesthetic judgment and taste in Kant’s “Critique of Aesthetic Judgment”; and the notion of ‘bad taste’ thereof in order to make a comparison with the notion of kitsch. The examination that looks for the definition of bad taste in the “Critique of Aesthetic Judgment” reveals that the conditions of ‘bad taste’, as portrayed by Kant through the role of charm and emotion in aesthetic judgment, overlap with the characteristics of kitsch on the basis of sentimentality and desire for attention. Consequently, as a result of the reading on bad taste in Kant’s arguments, this study argues that over the traits of sentimentality or the pretentious use of charms and emotions, the philosophical roots of the term kitsch as an aesthetic value judgment existed long before its name has been coined.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.