This thesis is about change. It is about the way that art organisations have increasingly been used in the regeneration of the physical environment and the rejuvenation of local communities, and the impact that this has had on contemporary society. This historical analysis of the development of a young art organisation, the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT), which has previously not been studied in depth, provides an original contribution to knowledge with regard to art and culture, and more specifically the development of media and community art practices, in Britain. The nature of FACT’s development is assessed in the context of the political, socio-economic and cultural environment of its host city, Liverpool, and the organisation is placed within broader discourses on art practice, cultural policy, and regeneration. The questions that are addressed – of local responsibility, government funding and institutionalisation – are essential to an understanding of the role that publicly funded organisations play within the institutional framework of society, without which the analysis of the influence of the state on our cultural identity cannot be achieved. The research was conducted through the triangulation of qualitative research methods including participant observation, in-depth interviews and original archival research, and the findings have been used to build upon the foundations of the historical analysis and critical examination of existing literature in the fields of regeneration and culture, art and media, and museum theory and practice. This research concludes that FACT, in its establishment and development, has been heavily influenced by the unique local conditions of Liverpool, and by wider national policy, and it asserts that the organisation’s growth was aided by its location in a city that was in receipt of increasing levels of financial support after the social unrest of the early-1980s, throughout New Labour’s policies of ‘social inclusion,’ and following the award of European Capital of Culture status in 2003. Intrinsically linked to these funding opportunities was the process of institutionalisation that FACT has undergone, and the rebranding of the organisation in 1997 and opening of the FACT Centre in 2003 are cited as the main reasons for the redefinition of the organisation’s aims and objectives. These claims are supported by the interrogation of the Video Positive festivals, the Collaboration Programme and the Moving Image Touring and Exhibitions Service, sub-brands which comprised FACT’s core offer prior to the opening of the FACT Centre. The changes that have taken place within each of these projects is identified as symptomatic of the power of national funding and government policy, the changing technological environment and the production and consumption of art.

The main aim of this research is to build a body of knowledge, which would lead to understand the relationship between socio-cultural practices and urban form within the city centre of Tripoli. The research analyses the urban form of Tripoli by comparing three areas of the city centre, which have different origin, history and layout, at the scale of the neighbourhood and urban block. The research firstly applies a quantitative approach to urban morphology through the use of two sets of indices that identify and calculate the patterns of street network and urban blocks. Secondly, the thesis investigates how the quality of street front affects social interaction in different urban patterns, based on street centrality. Finally, the research defines constitutedness, including building permeability and typological depth as well as street intervisibility, which define the relationship between public and private spaces. Aspects of the investigation includes: the historical development of the city centre of Tripoli as well as the role of Islamic principles in shaping the social life and the built environment in the traditional urban form. The research proposes a methodology for the representation of Tripoli urban fabric. This method mirrors a structural approach to urban morphology, in that it selectively only represents those aspects of the urban form (spatial factors) that may result being connected by permanent spatial relationships. “Permanent”, in this context, means recurrent in space (geography) and time (history) within relatively large and defined geographical and historical domains. Supposed permanent relationships are therefore both extrapolated and tested by means of an evidence-based approach grounded on real case analysis. The case analysis is conducted at the street neighbourhood and block scale. The research seeks to identify the process of transformation that has occurred in the evolution of the urban form through comparing three samples that typically represent different periods in the history of the city’s formation. These samples are; the traditional neighbourhood represented by the Old Town, and the colonial urban fabric including Italian and British neighbourhoods. The findings will show how the morphology of the traditional and colonial fabrics differ, how the differences modify recurrent spatial relationships and how such modification took place in history, leading to the transformation of two important urban elements; the urban block and street structures. This research argues that rather than extensive transplantation of foreign urban models, it is essential to understand local structural principles and implement them into the design of future developments in order to maintain a sense of continuity and cultural identity while responding to contemporary life requirements.

The increasing number of natural and man-made disasters is calling for more efficient provisions and effective handling of disaster relief and supply. Since architects, designers and structural engineers are creative in the field of post-disaster re-constructions, as well as being involved in the setting up of camps and settlements, the prospect for improvements in terms of cost reduction and enhancement of infrastructures arises. Practical experiences and research about existing solutions are essential for developing new methodologies and technologies, to make communities more resilient against future catastrophes. The question arises, how the design of transitional dwellings could help the victims during their process of recovery. The main focus in this research is the selection of adequate solutions for the form of emergency accommodations, which could best serve people in their calamity. The aim is to find out which shape of rescue shelter could effectively allay the difficulties of traumatised people. This is with consideration for their diversity, physical and psychological situation, and with regard to their needs and requirements. The question is not how sophisticated or complicated the object could be; on the contrary, a simplification of conventional structures may be much more effective. Using the principle of synergy effect, when concept, process and structure mutually reinforce each other, I will investigate which form or structure is able to consolidate the qualities of ancient nomad shelters with the most recent modem technologies and materials. This thesis is concerned with the investigation of the characteristics of existing shelters - in the past and contemporaneously - as well as the study of the qualities of transitional dwellings and its significance, from the point of view of representatives from different professional backgrounds involved in the activities of humanitarian organisations, and descriptions related to Nomads experiences. Additionally, the thesis discusses the physical qualities of applied materials in comparison to existing standards following laboratorial testing. The thesis is completed with an exhibition showing the principles of the construction and visualisation of LARS. Models with different sizes, as well as samples of materials and images of technological processes will be displayed.

The thesis aims to expand the contribution of architecture in developing innovation environments; it explores the issues confronting the subject through the lens of architectural urbanism, and proposes to instigate architecture as a strategic tool for the effective materialisation of the city of innovation. Although the thesis topic is mainly concerned with the scale of the urban quarter, It is nonetheless recognizes the convergence of key ideas and their interdependency across the three scales of innovation environments, namely the regional scale, the scale of the urban quarter, and the scale of the individual building. The thesis alms to open up the current debate on what diagrams and types mean to architecture as theory and as practice, so as to exploit the Inventiveness of architecture for the planning of a new generation of large-scale innovation environments.

The thesis examines the architectural discussion on modernity and national identity in post-war Greece. In particular it focuses on four cases that try to reconcile national stereotypes with modern ideas and reflect the problematic process of absorbing modernity. Each of four cases is examined in a separate chapter and each chapter is concerned with a distinct aspect of the myths of Greekness, which appear in the work and discourse of the four main architects _ protagonists of the thesis: Aris Konstantinidis, Eero Saarinen, Alexandra Moreti and Konstantinos Doxiadis. The thesis seeks to contribute to the dis- solution of myths and constructs in architectural historiography in Greece and add to recent international scholarship on critical issues of national iden- tity and modernity. Time wise, the focus is on the period between the Second World War and the 1974 dictatorship in Greece. Yet, links with the interwar period and with the early period of the Greek state are made, and material published after 1974 (but composed before it) is also examined. A timeline (after the introduction) laying out the basic events of modern Greek history alongside with events that are mentioned in the thesis, aims to facilitate the reader to contextualise them in a wider historical lineage. Part of the thesis is based on original sources in Greek. In cases where translations were unavailable, Greek texts were translated by the author, while the original texts are included in the endnotes.

The aim is to provide architects and specialist advisors associated with the design of health centres and hospital outpatient departments, with a comprehensive and reliable method for the determination of the degree of speech privacy provided in any given set of circumstances. A precise method of prediction is essential when relatively lightweight industrialized components are employed, or where composite partitions are used.

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Previous research has shown that there is a strong link between people, buildings and climate: the building sector contributes up to 30 per cent of global annual greenhouse gas emissions and consumes up to 40 per cent of all energy. Most 20th-century buildings in the world are currently reliant on electro-mechanical cooling systems. Researchers and scholars have studied and analysed the sustainability issues in architecture casting light from different perspectives. However, such studies have seldom paid significant attention to the principles of sustainable Iranian architecture. Environmental sustainability and sustainable architecture in Iran are still relatively new concepts. This research fills the gap on the application of vernacular architecture to modern building design, particularly in the context of Iran and its climate by creating an informed and tested understanding of how vernacular architecture can inform modern building design and techniques. There have been limited studies on vernacular design as a source of knowledge which can contribute to 21st century challenges. The scope of this study is not only limited to Iran as its finding are also applicable to other countries with hot climates. As one of the key contributions, this thesis demonstrates how energy use in buildings can be minimised using such principles that are adopted from Iranian vernacular architecture. The study firstly relies on the state of the art literature review on vernacular architecture in Iran using secondary analysis, and then offers comparisons, analysis and hypotheses testing in the following sections. The challenge of extracting Iranian vernacular architecture principles (IVAP) has been achieved by a multi-method approach. Site observations, sketches, drawings and measurements at the early stages were reinforced by further detailed analysis of the literature beyond IVAP, and supplemented by studies in sustainable design such as passive design. It was found that IVAP have many common elements which are shared today by passive design. The methodology for the above consists of simulation modelling and comparisons of the energy in use for building designed using IVAP versus designs using conventional building techniques in Iran. By using energy software packages (Integrated Environmental Solutions, Design Builder, CC5) it is found that the application of IVAP can significantly improve energy consumption in buildings. The research also explores a novel approach and tests the feasibility of using ‘adobe’ as an insulation material for construction of walls. The analysis involves construction of a wall using this new approach (inspired by IVAP) and testing it in the lab for its energy performance. The findings confirm that as a building material, ‘adobe’ could be potentially a feasible and environmentally friendly substitute to conventional insulation with additional sustainable benefits such as using local materials and preservation of traditional culture in the region. Another contribution of this study is to offer a deeper understanding of the drivers and barriers to the implementation of IVAP in today’s architecture in Tehran, Iran. To achieve this a survey was conducted which revealed that an integral part of the implementation and application of IVAP is education and design of the UG and PG curricula. Recommendations are made to highlight the necessary and critical adjustment to policies regarding promotion of IVAP to safeguard the environment and national and cultural identities.

This research explores the ways in which Iranian women make their diasporic home in the context of the Great Britain. It sheds light on a rarely discussed area of Iranian diaspora in the UK and particularly of their home. At the meantime through the study of home in diaspora, it points out the lack of architectural discussions in the current home literature, urging for investigations that situate homemaking, memory, identity and gender within the spatial dimensions of home. Therefore, this thesis aims to fill the gap between the studies of home in architecture and humanities, emphasising on developing a framework for the study of home with an interdisciplinary approach to examine the ways in which Iranian women situate their identity by the way they make their diasporic homes. The everyday space of the Iranian home, as well as the Iranian diasporic home, is analysed with a particular focus on the ways that these spaces accommodate cultural/religious modalities. Additionally, the importance of this study is designated by highlighting the lack of studies on Iranian female interactions with their home spaces, specific to their homemaking approaches. The transient nature of these diasporic homes as an embodiment of female identity provides a unique situation to be examined in relation to the notions of gender, culture and homemaking. To address this complexity, with the help of the theoretical studies, home is described as a place that embodies dialectic notions of real/ideal, one/other and tangible and intangible. Therefore, to be able to study home within those contradictory notions a theoretical framework is developed that responds to the necessity of examining home within an interdisciplinary study in relation to gender and identity conceptions. Hence, a combination of feminist and phenomenological theories are applied to deconstruct the conventional dualistic conceptions employed in current home studies by defining home as a space of in-between. As a result, a framework of tangible, intangible and the in-between elements is proposed for the formulation of an architectural methodology to provide an understanding of the making of Iranian home in diaspora. It is within this framework that the atmosphere of home is discussed across different disciplines and is examined as a possible approach to homemaking in diaspora. The research is developed through a phenomenological study of Iranian home that introduces hierarchy, hospitality and cleanliness as spatial/cultural themes under the dialectical notions of Zaher and Baten in Iranian culture. The feminist and phenomenological theories were incorporated into mixed qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups and visual analysis. Ultimately, the contribution of this thesis is a proposed architectural methodology for the study of home and homemaking that is incremental as well as holistic. The formulated framework is a combination of tangible, intangible and in-between elements that encompasses spatial/cultural elements of Iranian home. The contribution is two-fold one being, the substantive aspects: that contribute to the topic of inquiry by developing a theoretical framework, representing a deeper understanding of home, the concept of home in diaspora and particularly the experience of Iranian home. And other contribution is the methodological aspects proposing a framework of methodology for the study of home that can be replicable and scalable. It is concluded in this thesis that the study of home with an architectural evaluation is achieved, only if it is situated in a context that acknowledges subjective experience, memory of space, identity and gender while signifying its indispensable tangible aspects.

This PhD offers an insight into the powers that governed processes of space production in the city of Slemani, the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It concentrates on the decade proceeding the US-led war which consequently overthrew Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003. In addition to exploring the role of power, the thesis proposes an alternative strategy for political space making; a strategy which grew out of both the literature review and the subsequent analysis of the forces of productivity which exist in the city. The research studies the built environment within the Kurdish context, choosing to take an atypical socio-political approach which is developed in relation to western literature. An original conceptual framework is largely constructed through the use of ‘elite’ theory as well as Henri Lefebvre’s readings of space. Both of these scholarly concepts help to set the scene for an empirical investigation. The methodology is designed from a qualitative perspective, which in turn curates an approach centred on case studies. These studies highlight three spatial categories which differ in scale and feature the following: investment-driven projects, government-sponsored construction and privately-sponsored housing. The objective behind splitting the cases into three categories ranging from macro to micro scales was to reveal how social forces interact on different levels. These cases were chosen according to the power of their producers, as well as their physical properties (cost, location and scale). Data was collected through the methods of ‘mapping controversies’ and questionnaires. It was then analysed from a thematic lens with the support of three techniques: story configuration, mapping and descriptive analysis. The thesis concludes that certain intellectual, business and political decision makers exerted significant influence over processes of shaping the built environment, leaving extremely narrow opportunity for the rest of the inhabitants of the city to involve. This mode of spatial production has prompted unprecedented urban segregation because it resulted in the creation of ‘abstract spaces’, which are detached from their social, natural and historical contexts. Interestingly, power relations among social groups changed according to the scale of space: the city inhabitants did not challenge the authority of decision makers who had repurposed and commodified urban lands. However, important to note, is that these same inhabitants reacted and opposed decision makers when it came to the negotiation of their private spaces. This, generally speaking, indicates that the inhabitants paid more attention and were perhaps more invested in the nature of their private interests rather than public concerns. The politics of shaping space in Slemani, and other Kurdish cities, has been heavily criticised by numerous voices including academics and some urban officials, who have appealed for comprehensive alternatives. Therefore, this PhD proposes two sets of reforms: one is tangible and targets formal and informal governing structures, and the second is intangible. The latter has an ideological nature and aims to improve social consciousness in regard to space making. Similarly, it also encourages the local community to question the multiplicity of power structures which are commonly taken for granted. In a broad sense, the thesis contributes to theoretical, methodological and pragmatic arguments. Each of them is derived from one of the main components of this research. The theoretical contribution is related to the literature chapter and the pragmatic to the empirical study. Moreover, the methodological input is focused on creating a novel empirical approach based on the complex philosophical works of Lefebvre, who has been criticised by his scholars for not introducing a well-defined methodology. The thesis also customises the method of ‘mapping controversies’ in order to suit the scope of the research. The pragmatic contribution is divided into two levels: the actual and the alternate. The first is related to the role of identifying the underlying nature of the politics of spatial configuration in the context of Slemani, and the second is connected to the propositions that have been made as alternatives to the specific political approach found in the city or beyond it. In other words, Slemani is viewed here as a typical symbol of the urban transformations which have occurred in other cities within Iraqi Kurdistan, namely Erbil and Dohuk. Thus, the outcomes of this work can be mobilised elsewhere in the region, or even potentially outside this geographical territory.