Author Archive for kathryn

The Impact of Globalisation on Architecture and Architectural Ethics by Faida Noori Salim  is now available as part of  The Constructed Environment series.

The development of globalisation, both economically and financially, has promoted the flow of both information and people. Globalisation is seen as an outcome of advancing communication technology and the development of the Internet, which subsequently encouraged international interdependence and the compression of time and space. This book is devoted to answering the question: In what way does the impact of globalisation affect the role of architecture, and how should it be interpreted ethically? This book argues that the ethical evaluation of the role of architecture should be linked to architecture’s natural ethical responsibility to form a relationship with a culture. Today, iconic architectural forms and celebrity architects lead the innovation/transformation process, while the “ordinary” practice of architecture leads the innovation/stabilization process using the differentiation/integration dynamic. Architectural theory advances the use of the interpretation/reinterpretation dynamic in architecture, which helps to destabilise meaning in architectural language. When this theory is transcribed to real world architecture, it can result in the alienation of the physical horizons of cities and thus in the alienation of its citizens.

Faida Noori Salim is an Assistant Professor. She graduated from the University of Baghdad in June 1975 and obtained her Master’s Degree in Architectural Studies at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in May 1984. She has taught in three Departments of Architecture in Iraq: The University of Baghdad, The University of Mosul, and the University of Technology. She studied for her Doctoral degree at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and graduated in March 2011.

Cultural Sustainability and Changing Worldview: Dilemmas of Architecture and the Built Form by Faida Noori Salim  is now available as part of  The Constructed Environment series.

“Network societies” will never replace traditional communities. In today’s evolving global culture, the issues of cultural sustainability, identity, and belonging are being challenged. At the heart of this challenge is the difficulty of individuals’ spatial and social assimilation. Looking back, architecture and the constructed urban form have always faced dilemmas that continue to challenge communities. Thus, the challenge facing the traditional mechanisms of belonging is an urgent matter and is presented as a dilemma due to the transitional nature of today’s time period. Individuals as users and as architects need to rediscover the secure home and place, without which no community can be sustained.

This book discusses Baghdad as an example of a city whose cultural stability was challenged over a short period of time, and should serve as a reminder to other cities of the importance of stability and belonging. The flow of information affects the flow of people’s inner space, which can no longer be thought of as internally controlled, and architecture should be aware of such changes and the dilemma it creates for the occupation of space. It concludes that architecture and the built form cannot afford to continue on its current path if society aims at sustaining its cultural and social capital. This is especially evident in the fact that architecture is closely linked to power, which has an important role in the stability of communities and their cultures.

The role of iconic architecture’s transition to sovereign architecture plays an important role in changing the norms of the built form and asserting new rules. Thus, the role of the architect’s responsibility becomes increasingly important, and the question of good faith and freedom becomes central in relation to the ethical role of the architect and architecture in the social system.

Faida Noori Salim is an Assistant Professor. She graduated from the University of Baghdad in June 1975 and obtained her Master’s Degree in Architectural Studies at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in May 1984. She has taught in three Departments of Architecture in Iraq: The University of Baghdad, The University of Mosul, and the University of Technology. She studied for her Doctoral degree at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and graduated in March 2011.