Architectural identity

This report will discuss the importance of architectural identity in society and the role it plays in marking the identity of a place. The report will also touch on related topics on how architectural identity can be altered and how this can be prevented.

Cities have an ever-changing nature according to its citizens needs, but not always for the best. During the past half century, Alexandria's heritage city center (historic district) has been facing an ongoing decay. A struggle between its symbolic significance of Euro-Medi-terranean heritage, urban form, and the distinctive spirit of place and the many economic and political agendas are diminishing its heritage sites and sense of place. There are few attempts being done today to revitalize the identity and spirit of Alexandria's historic districts that will be discussed in this paper. The paper endeavours to answer the question of what other initiatives should be taken to revitalize/regenerate the Euro-Mediterranean heritage of Alexandria, with a focus of Fouad street that lies in the heart of Alexandria's historic district, and developing the city center and therefore changing the image and perception of the city as a whole. The paper identifies key performance indicato...

Architecture has played a central role in the imagining and construction of national identity in many postcolonial nations, including Indonesia. The construction of a certain architectural identity for Indonesia has accompanied the rise of succession of political regimes through the last seven decades. This process, which involves the participation of generations of Indonesian architects, is an unfinished and contested endeavour.

In the 1980s, when the conception of ‘Indonesian Architecture’ was problematised by Indonesian architects and architecture scholars for its vagueness and unclarity, a new conception of ‘Nusantaran Architecture’ was launched. It was promoted as an ‘alternative’ direction in representing the country’s national identity. It situates Indonesia’s diverse traditional architecture as the ‘authentic’ source of ideas for contemporary architectural development. However, despite being driven by the aim to locate the nation’s unique architectural identity and to free itself from the shadow of colonial hegemony, this imagining of national identity is still governed by the hegemonic binary thinking of the East versus West comparison. The imagining of the nation’s architectural identity has instead unfolded as a creation of an ‘exotic’ architectural maker of the country, an attempt to distinguished the nation as being the non-Western ‘Other’.

Many studies have come to investigate the construction and contestation of Indonesia’s architectural identity as a field of political practices where power relations are enforced and legitimated, an unfinished internal dispute of dominance among the country’s multifaceted society (e.g. Achmadi (2006, 2007); Kusno (2000, 2010a, 2013); Permanasari (2007)). In this case, not only that Nusantaran Architecture has been adopted by the national government as both slogan, conception, and eventually an architectural representation of the country’s identity and as jargon for the country’s national tourism agenda, but it has also become a narrative to separate and distinguish what is perceived to be the ‘authentic’ culture from the ‘contaminated’. With the inclination to focus solely on ‘culture’, and with the glorification of a certain distant past as the official state narrative of the country’s national history to which the country has to reorient itself, contemporary development of the national identity discussion has put Nusantaran Architecture as the pristine, exotic, pre-existing and apolitical. This becomes a problematic predisposition that calls for debates among different actors and stakeholders in the country. Nusantaran Architecture thus becomes an object of a dispute through which its meaning is both fortified and challenged by its diverse proponents and opponents, between the academic scholars, the architects, and the national government.

This thesis mainly explores the perspective of Indonesia’s professional architects and academic scholars in seeing Nusantaran Architecture as part of the discussion of architectural identity. Not only that this thesis intends to compare the practical stance to the theoretical perspective of this debate, but it also aims to scrutinise the contrasting views, to see the gap in the knowledge production of this conception. On one side of the groups, some architects and academic scholars support the conception of Nusantaran Architecture in a somewhat dogmatic way, by idealising a certain cultural ‘other’ while incorporating a narrative of Indonesia’s certain glorious past to legitimate the standpoint. On the other side, the opposing group questions the definition of Nusantaran Architecture and how it would sit in the discussion of Indonesia’s national identity, and further problematises the conception amidst the social, political, historical and economic complexities that need beyond formalist and essentialist approach in solving the problem. By analysing both the pros and the cons, this thesis tries to examine the arguments that each group puts forward, to map how the debate develops among different actors with different backgrounds in different cities, and to understand better the conception of Nusantaran Architecture from different perspectives.

This thesis further demonstrates how architecture has become a manifestation in maintaining certain assumptions regarding the country’s cultural otherness, that helps to perpetuate a specific framing in directing contemporary development of the built environment. Interestingly, the glorified narrative of Nusantaran Architecture falls flat in the process of designing contemporary architecture, as the conception, in the end, is merely translated no further than its connection to the local context and remains in the level of metaphor sphere. It hence leaves no particularity in the translation of Nusantaran Architecture into built form.

Deconstructing the canonical conceptions of Nusantaran Architecture within its continuous social and political challenges provides a space in which the dynamic imagining of the country’s architectural identity can be reclaimed. Attempting to transcend the debates on Indonesia’s architectural identity construction, this thesis offers a constructive rereading from the perspective of the field of critical studies of architecture in the 21st century postcolonial context. Beyond the claim of being pre-existing, there is power domination plays in orchestrating the construction of Nusantaran Architecture that has created a significant distance to the people, as identity representation is crafted to serve a certain group of people with power. The highlight over an officially selected authenticity and the indigeneity represent the legacy of Orientalism in the postcolonial world, paradoxical to the claim of an inherent anti-colonial spirit within the conception of Nusantaran Architecture. With an appropriation to conform with the need of the cultural tourism industry, Nusantaran Architecture has turned to be an instrument of capitalistic business.

The Arab architectural identity is characterized by the originality of the various Arab cultures. Islamic culture is what makes Arab societies unique and it is what inspired Arab architecture. Consequently, the Arab architecture encounters contemporary challenges. If modern architectural trends influenced Arab civilization, it could then obliterate its identity over the years. Moreover, positively interacting with modern architectural trends must take place rather than negative interactions. The aforementioned reasons leave this phenomenon the subject of discussion and research and thus the lack of update and development of the vocabulary of Arab architecture.
The proposed study discusses the problem of the correlation of deconstructive architecture with the architectural and Arabic identity through the end of the 20th century until 2017. In order to arrive at the definition of the philosophy of deconstruction architecture and the appropriate relationship between it and the Arab architectural identity, the study utilizes a qualitative descriptive methodology that tries to give a generic image of philosophy and characteristics. Deconstruction architecture attempts to link the positive aspects of architecture and Arab identity through the analysis of the frameworks of this philosophy of particular architectural works of various architects who adopt this philosophy of architecture. Responding to the above, the current study shows that it is better to strip the modern trends and take what suits the Arab culture.

Creating interior design stereotypes is a common, widespread, reoccurring procedure in tourism facilities. The established stereotypes are easily acceptable by the potential visitors, as they modulate their expectations of their tourist destination, visualize its characteristics, and portray expected identities that however are more often than not- far away from an authentic experience.Nevertheless, these trends show that visitors are able to customize their experience of stay while
also reinforcing cultural tourism. Also, they have formed a new approach to tourism development focused on sustainability, reduction of the environmental footprint, experience of journeys.
However, some fields are dissociated from these goals. Interior design is one of these fields as it carries the visual ideas of “picturesque”, “locality”, “tradition” and “decoration”. This paper refers to the illustrative dimensions of interior spaces and their contribution to the
formation of “Greek” identity, especially in areas of traditional local settlements, such as the Cycladic islands. The idea of authenticity in its simplest definition describes the meaning of “construction that is made or done in the traditional or original way, or in a way that faithfully
resembles an original”. And authentic is “something that is real or true”, as authenticity is exactly this quality. International evolutions concerning the preservation of traditional buildings and settlements have formed a whole set of regulations, laws and commitments that do not seem to be
implemented in host interior spaces, although they claim the opposite, that is to say they conceptualize the envelope’s interior as an “authentic” environment. This issue is not new. In 1976 Dean Mac Connell, verbalized his thesis about “dialectic of authenticity” stating that tourism
gradually alters the significance of touristic destinations, and deforms the host community. Michalis Nikolakakis (2015) notes “in reaction to this tendency, tourist destinations have staged themselves in such a manner as to seem to preserve their authenticity”. What is promoted as
authentic, what meanings are presented in the images of host interior spaces, what are the aspects that compose the narration about “Greek local identity” and how these could affect the expectations and the experiences of tourists?
These are the questions analyzed in the present paper, by describing the term “authenticity” in touristic interior spaces with reference to bibliography and an attempt at defining their qualitative characteristics.

ABSTRACT thesis for the academic degree of Master of Architecture.
The work is devoted to identification and designation of architectural-artistic identity of the city characteristics manifestation and their synthesis in a conceptual model.
Range of problems, interfering with issue under consideration. Identity of cities; modelling of identity in a city space; citizen self-definition; preservation of distinctive character in the context of globalization processes; new design methods; designing based on place identity.
Research applicability. Associated with globalization processes interest of academic community in term of "identity" (identification of its specifics, structure and modelling algorithms) in addition to absence of due attention to this branch of architectural science.
Theoretical foundations of research. Literature, wherein term of "identity" is considered in the context of sciences associated with architecture; literature dealing with matters of city image, place image and city aesthetics; literature concerned with matters of designing and perception of cities’ architectural space.
Research materials of Yekaterinburg. Guides; post card sets; city artists’ paintings; social network content; author's opinion poll; maps, in particular, geographic information systems’ maps.
Research methods. Examination, synthesis and comparison of theories; examination and synthesis of reference materials; classification and systemization; consolidation of opinion poll data; mapping method; graphic analytic method; conceptual modeling.
Key findings. Invariant of "identity" term was formalized; invariant of "city image" term  in context of architectural science was identified; "architectural-artistic identity of the city" (AAIC) term intention was articulated and introduced into scientific context; main elements of urban environment constituting AAIC were revealed; separate layers (groups) of urban environment elements constituting AAIC were described; AAIC conceptual model was set up; all identified AAIC layers were illustrated through the example of Yekaterinburg city.

One of the problematic issues currently being addressed is the question of the identity of Arab-Islamic cities, where there is a multiplicity of visions in the way of achieving spatial identity, accompanied by a multitude of trends reflected in the production of contemporary Arab-Islamic architecture and its differing trends in conservation the local heritage and the orientations that embrace modern architecture in a holistic manner. The loss of identity in contemporary urban societies has become a phenomenon for many states with a physical renaissance, and most of the modern buildings that are created are not suited to environmental and cultural conditions, and depend on imported architecture language and vocabulary that blur local identity in various architectural and physical aspects. The aim of the research is to identify the architectural identity of the Arab-Islamic cities, which coincides with urban development and the problem of architectural identity, and examines this issue by reviewing the architectural expression of the local identity and architectural heritage and its relationship with contemporary identity by reviewing of the planning features of the Arab-Islamic cities and the problem of contemporary identity. The research concludes with a return to architectural heritage to preserve and rehabilitate them and to reach conclusions that can be used for future projects.

Salama, A. M. (2005). Architectural Identity in the Middle East: Hidden Assumptions and Philosophical Perspectives. In D. Mazzoleni et al (eds.), Shores of the Mediterranean: Architecture as Language of Peace. Intra Moenia, Napoli, Italy. PP. 77-85. ISBN# 88-7421-054X.

The built environment conveys and transmits non-verbal messages that reflect inner life, activities, and social conceptions of those who live and use that environment in association with the actions and values of society. Societies however tend to re-evaluate the meaning and desirability of built environments rather rapidly. What was visually acceptable some years ago becomes now unacceptable and what was considered eyesore while ago has become valued and acquired meaning overtime. Identity goes beyond the visual appearance of the built environment and involves meanings of those built environments to the people who created them and to the people who occupied them.

The search for an architectural identity seems to be a preoccupation with countries that have cultural richness and multi-layers of history. Intellectuals, architects, and designers in those countries find themselves dealing with a paradox needing to project a certain image of themselves through their built environment. In the Middle East, identity has been an issue in debate for over three decades, more so because of this region’s cultural uniqueness and plurality. However, it is this cultural uniqueness that has made it a tough quest and has – in many cases – culminated into sacred symbolism that is painful to behold or comprehend.

The questions I am raising here are philosophical in nature, and have been raised by many before with no clear answer. However, such questions are rephrased in a manner derived from recent practices of architecture in the last decade. Is it necessary to refer or resort to cultural or religious symbolism in architecture to reflect a Middle Eastern or Arabian identity? Or should architecture embody the collective aspirations of Middle Easterners or Arabs? On the other hand, there are many who have questioned the need to define an architectural identity at all, claiming that it merely displays a lack of “self-confidence” as a region or as a group of nations? Reviewing the recent practices and searching the recent identity debates reveal that we still seem to be at odds with the issue after several decades of independence. In response to this confusion, I believe it is critical to examine the subject in philosophical terms and elucidate some hidden concepts.

The discussion of the issue of identity in general and in the Middle East in particular would be irrelevant if concepts such as imageability, legibility, critical regionalism, and environmental meaning are not debated and somehow theorized. This paper aims at raising questions of some hidden assumptions and philosophical perspectives relating to these concepts. Critical issues that pertain to identity crises in the Middle East are debated. A classification procedure of architectural trends in Egypt is conducted to establish the link between philosophical perspectives and actual practices.

Salama, A. M. (2014). Interrogating the Practice of Image Making in a Budding Context. Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, 8(3), pp.74-94. ISSN # 1938-7806.

Image making is a continuous worldwide practice of architects and designers whose concern is to create meaningful environments. Such a practice results in expressions that either reflect the regional context or mirror the wider global culture. This paper aims at interrogating image making practices in the city of Doha, which has experienced rapid urban transformations, associated with building large scale work and learning environments, mixed use developments, and cultural and sport facilities. Contextualizing current debate on Doha’s architecture and urbanism, a critical analysis of geo-cultural politics and on the notion of the 'scapes of flows' is undertaken. Based on contextual, critical, and perceptual approaches image-making practices in the city were discerned. Different types of efforts were categorized and critically analyzed underlying the contextual and critical approaches. The analysis reveals that efforts range from utilizing symbolism in contemporary imaging, to manifesting tradition-modernity in search for image identity, to addressing the global condition towards image making. The perceptual approach established empirical evidence by investigating users' reactions to three notable office buildings that their design attempts to evoke a unique image. This was supported by statements made by CEOs of architectural firms and development companies that reflected a promise towards image making in the architecture of Doha. A concluding critique is introduced to elucidate that while there are incessant attempts at image making, the practice of 'cutting and pasting' dominates in the absence of critical consciousness. Such a critique calls for avoiding 'case by case decision making' the urban governance in the city still adopts while engaging effective place making strategies.

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This book covers a broad range of topics relating to architecture and urban design, such as the conservation of cities’ culture and identity through design and planning processes, various ideologies and approaches to achieving more sustainable cities while retaining their identities, and strategies to help cities advertise themselves on the global market.
Every city has its own unique identity, which is revealed through its physical and visual form. It is seen through the eyes of its inhabitants and visitors, and is where their collective memories are shaped. In turn, these factors affect tourism, education, culture & economic prosperity, in addition to other aspects, making a city’s identity one of its main assets.
Cities’ identities are constructed and developed over time and are constantly evolving physically, culturally and sociologically. This book explains how architecture and the arts can embody the historical, cultural and economic characteristics of the city. It also demonstrates how cities’ memories play a vital role in preserving their physical and nonphysical heritage. Furthermore, it examines the transformation of cities and urban cultures, and investigates the various new approaches developed in contemporary arts and architecture.
Given its scope, the book is a valuable resource for a variety of readers, including students, educators, researchers and practitioners in the fields of city planning, urban design, architecture and the arts.

The main purpose of this article is to experiment a reading
of the settlement’s form considering the city as an urban object
and most of all as a cultural object, not only a creation of the
human society but also aesthetic, carrier of universal values, that
are inherited and transmitted from generation to generation.
More than any other architectonic isolated object,
the structure of the urban settlements has resisted time, a
structure that has accepted change, transformation and
development from time to time.
When we realize studies in the morphological field, this
does not mean that today we should copy from tradition
and the forms of the past, but, it means we should find the
ways that these studies serve to distinguish principles and
experiences through the understanding of the concepts,
models and theories that analyze the human environment.
This is possible by studying the environment from two
perspectives: in one hand there is the city as a long creative
process and from the other hand the study of the city as a
product of this disciplined process.
Staying within the idea of this study, we should point out
the fact that we are going to concentrate in the analysis of the
values of the urban situation of the city of Elbasan before 1960,
a time that sets a clear limit between the city from the past and
the first interventions in his urban structure from urban planners
that tried to respond to the necessities of the time.
What has been distinguished in this short analysis?
First of all, we distinguish the sustainable strategic,
geo-morphological and economic principles that have
determined the position of the city of Elbasan.
Another distinctive element is the stability of the urban
structure of the city, visible and present nowadays in his
plan. This structure was consolidated in long periods of time
accepting as non-conditional phenomena:
- Evolution in time and the territorial expansion through
an organic logic, but also, by overcoming the geographic
and natural barriers.
- The urban structure, protecting her identity, accepts
change, adaptation and transformation as indispensable
conceptual elements of the urban form in her efforts to
respond to the phenomena of the social and urban life of the
city.
• In Elbasan, in the general form of the urban structure
we distinguish:
- The extension of the settlement’s buildings in a very
rational way under the logic of creation in time, dense and
crystallized entirely in the Castle and the Bazaar quarter,
less dense and still carrying the inner energy of the forming
process in the quarters around her.
- The main roads are those in the most important
directions of the city, from east, west and south.
- The grid of the urban structure seems to adapt to the
geometry of the castle quarter, but it does not, nor inside the
castle where the grid is distorted. It would be necessary to
accentuate the organic nature, not orthogonal of the urban
grid that stands for casual suppleness, visual short and fluid
perspectives, not geometrical and spontaneous urban spaces
developed in a flat ground.
-The city urban grid is distinguished for the creation of the
street rings giving more than an option to approach the house.
ELBASAN, THE LOST IDENTITY OF A CITY
Maksim MITROJORGJI
Joli MITROJORGJI
76 Maksim MITROJORGJI - Joli MITROJORGJI
-The city quarters are formed as a union of different
satellite residence blocks around the castle and the economichandicraft
centre. This has enabled the insight of greenery
from the peripheral area toward the centre by the form of an
uninterrupted line.
- The surprising and organic spontaneity of the city
grid conception is associated to the conception and very
distinctive formal solution of the residential block whether
big or small. The residential block is characterized by the
perimetral roads and the 1 or 2 store buildings lined up
along the perimeter leaving the centre free for the yards. It
happens that the perimeter of the block is not entirely closed
with buildings realizing the infiltration of greenery from the
periphery toward the centre enriching the urban free space
structure with the most natural element.
- The position of the buildings in the territory or in
the plots very spontaneous, occasional following only one
apparent principle: to adapt with the property, the road and
not to interfere with the neighbors.
All these qualities of the form and the urban landscape
of Elbasan, realized through the years in the service of the
social relations and the quality of life and living, makes you
think about how much has this city lost from the interventions
of a cultivated urban plan, academic,

It has been almost a century since the first discussion of Indonesian architectural identity. From time to time, the face of Indonesian architecture has repeatedly been reconstructed and redeveloped, elucidated through various translations according to the architect's perspectives while adjusting to the governments' identity policies. Today, in a society where the local and the modern are in-terweaved together, and with the growing trends of using the term Nusantara 1 as a substitution of the term Indonesia, architectural translation is now being challenged. This paper will discuss how Nusantaran architecture is closely associated with physical translations, and how local culture is heavily affiliated with traditional architecture. A critical standpoint will be employed and combined with a literature study to scrutinize contemporary architectural praxis in dealing with the notion of Nusantaran identity.

The Indonesian government has recently adopted the term 'Nusantaran Architecture' as a new representation of Indonesia's contemporary identity and used it quite extensively in the national tourism agenda. This term is used to capture the locality of the country, whose narration is developed around the idea of bringing back the indigenous culture as part of preserving the 'authentic' identity of the country. This, however, leads to 'traditionalising' architecture, elucidated in the Nusantaran Architecture Design Competition, whose most of the winners selected using traditional design elements to 'localised' the building. This design competition, however, is problematic not only for its top-down method employed but also for its direction in appropriating traditionalism in contemporary built form based on the architects' arbitrary approaches. Since economic motive through 'tourist gaze' dominates the translation of identity, it portrays not only the hegemony of capitalism in the way the country imagines its own identity, but also the presence of Orientalist view as a legacy of colonialism. This paper aims to investigate the problematic implementation of Nusantaran Architecture through the design competition as an attempt to concretise the authorised version of the perceived identity, and to pinpoint the strong political influence that governs the whole identity construction process in adopting what is regarded as 'given' traditional architecture.

Salama, A. M. (2016) Evolutionary Interventions in Search of National Architectural Identity. In Molinari, L. and Jaidah, I. (eds.), AEB 1966-2016: Fifty Years of Architectural Design in Qatar. SKIRA: Milan, Italy. PP. 8-19. ISBN # 978-88-572-2860-8.
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During the second half of the 20th century Qatar witnessed its first modern urbanisation period accompanied by rapidly increasing oil production. Today new development strategies have been initiated and implemented to diversify its economy; these have led to a second major urban transformation process. Doha, the capital city of Qatar, has seen rapid growth from a small fishing hamlet in the middle of the 20th century to a vibrant emerging regional urban centre with more than 2.1 million inhabitants.  In this essay, I present selected works from AEB that are discussed within the overall urban development process.

During the bustling1960s settlement patterns were determined by the development of modern infrastructure such as roads and the supply of fresh water and electricity. Modern public administration, distributed among various buildings throughout the city, was just in its infancy. Despite the introduction of the first public housing law in 1964, planning and regulations still had limited impact on the general development. With Qatar’s independence and in response to rising demands, roads were widened in central areas to provide access by car while the old courtyard buildings were replaced by modern concrete structures made of cement and brick. In order to accommodate expatriate labour as well as Qataris moving from other parts of the country to Doha, new housing areas were developed around the former city boundaries. In this first period of Doha’s urban development incentives such as land reclamation of an area around Doha’s port and the construction of the Al-Corniche Road on the waterfront around the attractive bay would later become defining elements of urban development. Rectangular grid settlement patterns and modern cement buildings added a belt around the old centre and its harbour; these in turn were gradually replaced by modern urbanisation. Thus, Doha’s traditional urban environment faced a rapid decline resulting from first investments in modern infrastructure and the increasing purchasing power of its population. In addition, cars and air-conditioning units further enabled the emergence of a new urban structure with low built densities, extensive road grids and cement block architecture.

Salama, A. M. (2016). Nationalist Particularim and Levels of Legitimizing Architectural and Urban Traditions in Four Gulf Cities. Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review Working Paper Series, Volume 272. ISSN # 1050-2092.
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This article interrogates acts and levels of legitimizing traditions with the aim of originating discerning accounts from the perspective of ‘Modern State’ and ‘Nationalist Particularism.’ The analysis is undertaken at three different but related levels: chronological, representational, and interventional where each places emphasis on a particular aspect of legitimization.  Gulf cities are identified as an appropriate context for this investigation, which is based on a multi-layered approach that interweaves procedures devised to probe each level separately while contributing to portray the overall milieu of legitimizing traditions. Genuinely legitimizing traditions necessitates employing bottom-up strategies while going beyond the practice of cloning traditions to embrace authentic responses to environmental, socio-cultural, and socioeconomic realities.

Salama, A. M. (2013). Manufacturing the Image of Doha: From the Public Face of Architecture to the Printed Media, Open House International, 38(4), pp. 6-15. ISSN # 0160-2601.

This paper explores image-making efforts in the city of Doha. A multi-layered critical discussion is employed and articulated in a number of procedures that include conceptualizing theoretical underpinnings for understanding image making in terms of contextual and critical approaches, identifying the types of efforts that took place and that are currently taking place towards image making, mapping the contextual and critical approaches on actual examples from the city, and examining the printed media by conducting a content analysis study of two widely acknowledged magazines in an attempt to answer the question of how the country wants to portray its capital city through image-making to the global community. The results of this exploration convey a commitment toward image making, presenting an image of Doha as an emerging international hub. The paper concludes by arguing for the need of critical consciousness in response to that fact that image making practices in Doha continue to subdue the profession to client aspirations through oversimplified imaging while ignoring the professional discourse that scrutinizes the quality of those images and the meanings they convey.

Salama, A. M. (2012). Architectural Identity Demystified: Visual Voices from the Arab World.
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In. P. Emmons, J. Lomholt, and J. L. Hendrix (eds.), The Cultural Role of Architecture: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives. Routledge: London, PP. 175-185. ISBN # 978-0-415-78341-5.
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This chapter offers a positional interpretation and interrogates the irony of identity, tradition and modernity by critically outlining a number of visual voices that represent selected interventions developed within the Arab World. Through a reading of trends that emerged over the past few decades an effort is made to place such a reading in focus by outlining contextual geo-cultural politics and their inferences on the shaping of architectural identity. An approach for a deeper insight into contemporary Arab architecture within which inevitable trends co-exist is framed based on positivistic and anti-positivistic positions and their underlying ontological and epistemological perspectives.

The term ‘Nusantara’, which literary means ‘the archipelago’, has been revisited and adopted in a newly emerging terminology of ‘Nusantaran architecture’. This new term is widely accepted among Indonesian architects and scholars as an alternative direction of Indonesian architectural identity and is currently employed by the Indonesian government as a centrepiece of the national tourism strategies. The notion is being challenged as it is considered as vouge and problematic in many fundamental aspects, and the necessity to use this term as the county’s identity representation is also being questioned since it may fall short into superficiality and end into commodification. This paper scrutinizes the perplexity behind contemporary Nusantaran architecture as Indonesia’s widely celebrated exclamation. Focusing on scholarly discussion, this paper aims to investigate both sides of supporting and opposing arguments, to get a more comprehensive understanding of the discourse Indonesian arch...

The term ‘Nusantara’, which literary means ‘the archipelago’, has been revisited and adopted in a newly emerging terminology of ‘Nusantaran architecture’. This new term is widely accepted among Indonesian architects and scholars as an alternative direction of Indonesian architectural identity and is currently employed by the Indonesian government as a centrepiece of the national tourism strategies. The notion is being challenged as it is considered as vouge and problematic in many fundamental aspects, and the necessity to use this term as the county’s identity representation is also being questioned since it may fall short into superficiality and end into commodification. This paper scrutinizes the perplexity behind contemporary Nusantaran architecture as Indonesia’s widely celebrated exclamation. Focusing on scholarly discussion, this paper aims to investigate both sides of supporting and opposing arguments, to get a more comprehensive understanding of the discourse Indonesian architectural identity.

Through these arguments peculiarities of theoretical foundation creation were examined that are required for research of “identity” notion status in the area of architectural science, and studied scientific works were reviewed that served as a basis for construction of new notion – “architectural artistic identity of a city” which the author deems necessary to introduce for scientific use with the purpose of adaptation of available knowledge on identity within the context of architectural science.
Keywords: identity; cities identity; actualization of scientific concepts.

Cities have an ever-changing nature according to its citizens needs, but not always for the best. During the past half century, Alexandria’s heritage city center (historic district) has been facing an on-going decay. A struggle between its symbolic significance of Euro-Medi-terranean heritage, urban form, and the distinctive spirit of place and the many economic and political agendas are diminishing its heritage sites and sense of place. There are few attempts being done today to revitalize the identity and spirit of Alexandria’s historic districts that will be discussed in this paper. The paper endeavours to answer the question of what other initiatives should be taken to revitalize/regenerate the Euro-Mediterranean heritage of Alexandria, with a focus of Fouad street that lies in the heart of Alexandria’s historic district, and developing the city center and therefore changing the image and perception of the city as a whole. The paper identifies key performance indicators (KPI’s) ...

In this presentation, I discussed the Nusantaran Architecture Design Competition (Sayembara Desain Arsitektur Nusantara) as a platform from which the Indonesian government attained the representation for the perceived contemporary architectural identity. I problematised its hazy purpose, whether for culture preservation or tourism development. I also unpacked some problems in the competition, mainly that it approached what is dubbed as 'the Ten New Bali', as the selected sites for the competition, with a one-size-fits-all framework. Moreover, I questioned the participating architects' apolitical standpoint that merely saw the competition as a pure philanthropic attempt at a culture preservation project. At the end of the presentation, I highlighted the presence of a new perspective of Orientalism and the hegemony of Capitalism that has directed the way the country perceives itself. (I presented this at the 38th Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ), Adelaide, 10-13 November 2021).

Çevreye ilişkin sosyal, kültürel ve fiziksel özellikler, tasarıma veri sağlayarak yere özgü mimari biçimlerin oluşmasında etkili olmuş ve her çevre kendi kimliğini üretmiştir. Bir bölgenin/yerleşimin/kentin kimliğinin oluşmasında en önemli unsurlardan biri, bina/bina gruplarının kimliğini ortaya koyan mimari kimliktir. Çalışmada, termal turizm faaliyetlerinin gerçekleştiği Karahayıt bölgesinde, 4 ve 5 yıldızlı termal turizm yapılarının mimari biçimlenme ve yerleşme özelliklerinin oluşmasına etki eden ölçütlerin ortaya konulması amaçlanmaktadır. Bölgede farklı konularda yapılmış çalışmalar mevcut olmakla birlikte, konaklama tesisleri özelinde gerçekleştirilen mimari kimlik analizi özgün ve ilk olma özelliği taşımaktadır. Çalışmada, literatür araştırmaları yapılarak ‘Mimari Kimlik Analiz Şeması’ oluşturulmuştur. Bu şema doğrultusunda ise, yerinde gözlem ve derinlemesine görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Yapılan analizlerden elde edilen bulgular değerlendirildiğinde, mimarın yerleşim ölçeğindeki kararları vermesindeki en önemli faktörün çevresel özellikler olduğu görülmüştür. Bina ölçeğinde verilen kararlarda ise çevresel özelliklerin yanı sıra yasal faktörlerin de etkili olduğu görülmektedir. Elde edilen bulguların yorumlanması ve mimari kimlik bileşenlerinin doğrudan veya dolaylı olarak birbirleri ile etkilenme biçiminin tespit edilmesiyle ‘Mimari Kimlik Etkileşim Şeması’ oluşturulmuştur. Bu şema, bölgenin termal turizm mimarisinin araştırılması ve geleceğe dair planlama tasarım stratejilerinin hazırlanması, tasarım rehberleri içeriğinde bir çalışmanın yürütülebilmesi, farklı bölgelerdeki termal turizm mimarisi karşılaştırmalarının yapılması, elde edilen mimari kimliğin turizm yapılarındaki yerinin tespit edilmesi ve birtakım iyileştirme müdahalelerini gerçekleştirmesi açısından önem arz etmektedir. |||-------- ||| Social, cultural and physical characteristics related to the environment provided data to the design, influenced the formation of architectural forms specific to the place, and each environment produced its own identity. One of the most important elements in the formation of a region, settlement and city identity is the architectural identity  that reveals the identity of the building / building groups. In the study, it is aimed to reveal the criteria that affect the formation of architectural formation and settlement characteristics of 4 and 5 star thermal tourism buildings in the Karahayıt region where thermal tourism activities take place. Although there are studies on different subjects in the region, the architectural identity analysis performed specifically for accommodation facilities is unique and first. In the study, "Architectural Identity Analysis Chart" was created by conducting literature research. With this scheme,  on-site observation and in-depth interviews were carried out. When the findings obtained from the analyzes were evaluated, it was seen that the most important factor in the architect's decision making in the scale of the settlement  was the environmental characteristics. On the other hand, it is seen that legal factors as well as environmental
characteristics are effective in decisions made at building scale. The "Architectural Identity Interaction Scheme" was created by interpreting the findings and determining the way the architectural identity components are directly or  indirectly affected by each other. This scheme is important in terms of researching the thermal tourism architecture of  the region and preparing planning design strategies for the future, conducting a study in the content of design guides,  making comparisons of thermal tourism architecture in different regions, determining the place of the architectural
identity in tourism buildings and performing some improvement interventions.

Cities have an ever-changing nature according to its citizens needs, but not always for the best. During the past half century, Alexandria's heritage city center (historic district) has been facing an ongoing decay. A struggle between its symbolic significance of Euro-Medi-terranean heritage, urban form, and the distinctive spirit of place and the many economic and political agendas are diminishing its heritage sites and sense of place. There are few attempts being done today to revitalize the identity and spirit of Alexandria's historic districts that will be discussed in this paper. The paper endeavours to answer the question of what other initiatives should be taken to revitalize/regenerate the Euro-Mediterranean heritage of Alexandria, with a focus of Fouad street that lies in the heart of Alexandria's historic district, and developing the city center and therefore changing the image and perception of the city as a whole. The paper identifies key performance indicators (KPI's) of Alexandria's heritage town center, measuring their current status, to form the basis of setting a list of recommendations to develop each criterion affecting the town's center performance. The paper concludes that a full strategic urban regeneration and revitalization of Alexandria's historic district is much needed to conserve and preserve what can be rescued in the area. Fouad Street can be central in conveying tomorrow's economic benefits and welfare of Alexandria's historic districts, and a holistic regeneration of that street can act as a catalyst of change and regeneration in the area.