Contextualizing "context" in architectural theory via a conceptual model

Abstract

The context in architecture has been defined variously, widely referred to, discussed in terms of its scope, importance, and impact, and undergoes a semantic change under the influence of time and architectural criticism. It can be claimed that there is no consensus on a certain definition, scope, or criteria that would contribute to the context discussion on common ground in architectural criticism. The indeterminacy of the context causes an absence of its characteristics as a concept and causes concerns in context discussion, such as the development of contextual approaches, their association with one another, and their distinctions. The dynamic process is essential for the context in architecture research regarding the changing character of the concept and the architectural theory. 1.1 Goals & Problems The main research goal is to evaluate research problems, determine the components, scope, evolution, and evolution criteria of context in architectural theory, and map the relationships between context, architecture, and time in architectural theory through a conceptual model attempt. Accordingly, the research goals are: 1.1. Determining the dimensions of the relationships between context, architecture, and time 1.2. Modeling the data of the context in architecture to filter the scope, criteria, change, correlations, and impact of the context from architectural discourse. 1.3. Demonstrating the components that comprise the context's present meaning 1.4. Forming an object-oriented, open-source, and participatory platform in favor of context researchers, students, and design practitioners 1.5. Listing no longer relevant, changing, and likely to remain determinants, the vocabulary of context and factors affecting the common context discourse The research questions are: 1. What are the determinants of context, time, and architecture relationships in architectural theory? 1.1. How does a conceptual model of context in architectural theory benefit acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the context, criticizing context, and developing a context-oriented attitude as an architect/designer? 1.2. What are the determinants of mainstream context discourse? 1.3. What types of contextual relationships and criteria become apparent regarding the context in architectural theory? 1.4. Which context-related concepts, architects, and works of architecture are on the agenda of contemporary architecture? 1.5. Are there any correlation between the frequency of the contextual references of architectural theory and the prominent references in the context in architecture literature reviews? 1.2 Hypotheses 1. The context in architecture is changing under the influence of time, architects, architectural works, and architectural movements. 1.1. Context in architecture is discussed within the framework of certain criteria in architectural discourse. 1.2. Unchronological context analysis in architecture highlights the unclear dimensions of the architecture-context-time relations. 1.3. Context in architecture is discussed implicitly in other contemporary architectural debates. 1.1 Theoretical Background The analytic and data-driven approaches are the basis of the whole study. The research and model are holistic in contextualizing the context in architectural theory. The structural and object-oriented methods are used to identify the meaning, scope, change, effectiveness, and ambiguity of the context in architecture. The structural approach is used to analyze what patterns and correlations of the context are indicated and how the concept is grounded in architectural discourse. The object-oriented approach is used to filter the concept of context from architectural theory as an object; and to map the context correlations of contextual perspectives to determine the context, architecture, time, and other relationships.